Shogun: Servants of Two Masters Show Only
February 27, 2024 1:20 PM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
Blackthorne's arrival in Osaka stirs up a hornet's nest of rivalries. Mariko is trapped between her cause and her faith when she must translate for the barbarian in Lord Toranaga's custody.
Check out those opening credits! Dayum!
Check out those opening credits! Dayum!
Agreed, very interesting concept for the opener.
The rock garden pays off at the end of the episode.
posted by porpoise at 11:35 PM on February 27
The rock garden pays off at the end of the episode.
posted by porpoise at 11:35 PM on February 27
It's very Game of Thrones, including those spectacular opening credits. Four decades have passed since I've seen the original TV series and read the book, but I'm enjoying this a lot more than what I recall from my memories: Blackthorne is most definitely not the superior here, and the series is showing him to be a pawn in a far larger game.
I love that they're keeping the Japanese subtitled, that one of the showrunners is of Japanese descent, and that Hiroyuki Sanada gets first billing in the credits. Some of the photography and lighting is excellent: in particular, the first meeting of the Portuguese looked like a Flemish painting. The academic sources I've been reading also claim that the series has a fairly high degree of historical accuracy when it comes to clothing and armor, which is satisfying.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 11:32 PM on February 29 [1 favorite]
I love that they're keeping the Japanese subtitled, that one of the showrunners is of Japanese descent, and that Hiroyuki Sanada gets first billing in the credits. Some of the photography and lighting is excellent: in particular, the first meeting of the Portuguese looked like a Flemish painting. The academic sources I've been reading also claim that the series has a fairly high degree of historical accuracy when it comes to clothing and armor, which is satisfying.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 11:32 PM on February 29 [1 favorite]
The ambush site is a bouldering spot near Squamish.
posted by Cuke at 6:07 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]
posted by Cuke at 6:07 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]
I kind of like how in the first episode when Toranaga met with the other leaders in the Council, we were introduced to them juuust enough to distinguish them but in the second episode, we learn their motivations. I also like that the focus is on the Japanese machinations and not Blackthorne but I am already pretty lost outside of the Big Picture stuff and will be checking out the recaps. I read the book so long ago.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:52 AM on March 4
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:52 AM on March 4
So far this shows no signs of jumping on the white savior (or what my friend calls "What this town needs is a honky") trope, which is great. Blackthorne is obviously not stupid and he's clearly going to be useful (it's been a while since I read the books, so I don't recall how), but he's also arrogant, and it obviously hurts his feelings that he's so badly out of his depth here.
I always watch stuff with subtitles on to avoid waking the family late at night, so that's a non-issue for me, but I'm really glad to see them.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:25 PM on March 26
I always watch stuff with subtitles on to avoid waking the family late at night, so that's a non-issue for me, but I'm really glad to see them.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:25 PM on March 26
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I feel I've seen the bandits' ambush location before though. Didn't the Wheel of Time kids have some nasty dreams there once?
posted by Molesome at 1:31 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]