Shogun (2024)

Excellent, rebalanced storytelling (ep 1-3)

Honored samurai, ruthless ronin, wayward vagabonds, shadowy ninja and helpless villagers... welcome.

Opening Volley
The much-anticipated Shogun remake is here. I’ve been excited for months. I’m not much of a fan of remakes as I’m of the opinion that if it was done well enough to endure the decades the first time, leave it be. Fortunately, Shogun 2024 is a breath of fresh air. What follows is a spoiler-free “recap” of episodes 1 to 3 that hopes to spark interest in those who haven’t seen it yet.

Osaka Castle. Copyright FX, Hulu. No infringement intended.

Main Event
Let's not waste much time by addressing the elephant in the room. Is John Blackthorn a white savior?

This was my biggest concern, that while the show was being heavily reviewed by Japanese script writers for historical accuracy, that Blackthorn, who is clearly the protagonist of the original 1980 series (I mean, Richard Chamberlain, whaddya gonna do, amirite?), would be the focus again.

To my great relief, this is not the case. While the original miniseries is good (saw it with my mom back when it originally aired), it starts off pretty slow, mired in following Blackthorn and his crew as they are stranded in Japan and thrown in a pit. And this point of view makes it a white savior story as Blackthorn pushes his way onto every scene. (At least, this is my memory of it. I was 9.)

UPDATE: After his review of the original,

Wolf

informs me that while Blackthorne is certainly the (about “90%”) focus of the 1980 miniseries, that he isn’t really a white savior and is just as helpless as in the new series. This is kind of a relief. Go check out his Substack as he is doing recaps/reviews as well.

However, in the updated version, the Dutch ship is only on screen for about 6 minutes (and doesn't show up again until nearly 20 minutes in) into the first episode before the point of view is switched from the crew to the plethora of wonderful Japanese characters -- Toranaga, Ishido, Kashigi, Toda (Mariko), etc. Toranaga in specific. We quickly find that they are embroiled in a power struggle plot, and this is where Blackthorn becomes part of their story.

Blackthorn is a catalyst introduced as a pawn of Japanese political power to change things without his knowledge, planning or consent. However, it is true, that without him, Toranaga was doomed, because there is no out for him. If the Dutch ship had not shown up when it did, everyone would have died -- Toranaga and Blackthorn -- because Toganaga has been outmanuvered by the other four regents. So Blackthorn is pushed from one scene to another (quite literally in many) and there are only a few marked moments of him pulling some wildly unexpected antics. He was never the instigator of events around him. He reacts to everything. As the miniseries remake continues, we will surely see that him being rewarded and becoming more of an "equal," but until then, when in Rome, you do as the Romans want you to.

My favorite scenes in each episode:

ep 1 - Hiromatsu Toda's landing in Ajiro to take possession of the Dutch trader. The dialogue between him and Kashigi (Todanobu Asano, an absolutely kick ass actor) is just dripping with "one wrong move" moments. Asano's Kashigi is brilliant. Both actors are POWERHOUSES.

ep 2 - Blackthorn's "execution" scene and the assassination scene.

ep 3 - Toranaga asking Blacksmith how to dive... He was getting Blacksmith to bathe. I was on the floor.

Overall, this is a brilliant remake, and I'm glad it's happened. I'm excited for the future of more historicals or even accurate depictions of Japan (or even Asian) on Western TV (doesn't have to be in the US in my opinion).

We never meet without parting
Next issue... Love to do ep 4 and 5. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Until then!
Made in DNA

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