Anjin – As the opening episode of Shogun begins, the year is 1600. For decades, Portuguese Catholics have profited from trade in Japan. They have kept its whereabouts hidden from their sworn enemies, the European Protestants. In Osaka, the reigning Taiko has died leaving an heir too young to rule. Five warrior lords are trapped in a bitter struggle. Captain General (Ned Dennehy) is told he was unable to take any celestial destinations because of the clouds. John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) says the Spaniard’s rutter was right about Magellan’s Pass.

The Captain tells him it is time to start making plans because he has no food and no water. Blackthorne is confident they’ll make land and reach Japan. Captain tells him they had five ships and a crew of over 500. Blackthorne reminds him that the Erasmus remains home to a dozen men. Blackthorne learns that the Captain wants to take the coward’s way out because he believes they cannot fulfill their mission. The Captain calls it a blessed release. A Japanese man with a cross walks outside before seeing a boat among the fog. Samurai arrive and storm the boat. They find starved men aboard. A group makes it to Osaka Castle moments later.

Lord Ishido asks that they confine themselves to their personal quarters. They’re surprised he actually came. They believe a wise man knows when his time has come to an end. Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) is told the Council of Regents appreciates his coming. He is reminded it has been a year since Taiko’s death. They accuse Toranaga of aligning power against the council including six marriages he’s contested to. Toranago says he is content as Lord of the Kanto. He goes on to say he will never be the first to break any peace. They say the Heir’s mother was taken to his castle at Edo, but he explains the Lady Ochiba’s sister and his daughter-in-law is in labor. They suggest she has been taken hostage to guarantee his safety.

Toranago tells Ishido (Takehiro Hira) that this is a time of peace. Ishido wonders what the Taiko would say if he was with them now. Toranago thinks he’d be pleased that the five of them still can’t agree. Ishido reveals the council has voted to demand the lady’s return under penalty of impeachment. The time has come to expose the traitors who wish to usurp the heir’s power. Toranago is shown four signatures including Lords Kiyama, Sugiyama, Ohno, and Ishido. Tadayoshi gets upset because his lord has done nothing wrong. Toranaga urges him to sit down and suggests Ishido didn’t insult him. Tadayoshi asks for permission to commit seppuku and to end his family line. Ishido believes childish outbursts are common of Toranago’s clan.

He gives Toranago seven days to release the heir’s mother from Edo. After the meeting ends, Toranago talks to a colleague about Tadayoshi’s behavior. He doesn’t approve of all this pointless death. Toranago is warned they’ll all be killed once they have the heir’s mother back. He knows he’ll lose if they go to war now so he asks his friend to travel to Ajiro in his place to check the barbarian ship. Near the boat, everything is to remain on board until Lord Yabushige arrives to inspect it. On the boat, the men learn they’ve reached Japan. They’re told that the orders are still on. Some of the men are worried they’re going to be hanged. One insists this is not where they die. Tadayoshi tells Fuji this has gone too far and she needs to hand over the son. Fuji threatens to kill herself.

Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai) interrupts and learns about Tadayoshi’s actions and how he committed their son to die. Toda reminds Tadayoshi that this is the granddaughter of Toda Hiromatsu. Toda urges her to give up the baby although Fuji insists she cannot remain in the world without purpose. Toda says she has been ordered to live and that’s her purpose. The prisoners on the boat are ordered by Yabushige to come up and present themselves. Blackthorne tries to speak to their leader. Blackthorne and his men end up taking one of them hostage to use as leverage. He is attacked when he climbs up the attack before explaining they’re merchants. Omi (Hiroto Kanai) uses a translator to tell Blackthorne to be good. Blackthrone ends up ticking off Omi who urinates on him.

As he is led away, a man is killed in front of him. Blackthorne is brought in front of Lord Yabushige. A priest, Father Sebastio (Paul Moniz de Sa), is brought forward to translate for them. Blackthorne quickly scolds Sebastio who calls him a pirate. Blackthorne tries to convince Yabushige (Tabanobu Asano) otherwise. He believes Sebastio has told them Portugal is the only flag in Europe. He is the first English sailor to reach his Catholic treasury. Yabushige decides to take Blackthorne’s ship. Blackthorne and his men will soon be executed. He yells that he will not be spoken for by Catholics. Yabushige agrees to have him housed and bathed. He argues that Sebastio does not have any proof he is a pirate. Sebastio says the pirate must die.

Yabushige wants Sebastio to choose another to replace Blackthorne. Toranaga speaks to Lord Yaechiyo until he is pulled away for his writing lesson. Yaechiyo tells Daiyoin he wants to practice archery instead. Once he goes, Toranaga speaks to Daiyoin about Ishido. She believes he’ll kill his fief next. Toranaga promises to protect the heir with his life. She doubts he can stop them. Daiyoin reminds him they don’t fear his name. instead, they fear his Minowara bloodline. Toranaga does not seek the title of his ancestors. He is told it is time for Shogun, but he does not seek to be Shogun. Toranaga explains it is a brutal relic from a bygone era. Daiyoin asks what happens to Yaechiyo if he is gone. Omi watches as one of the men from the boat is thrown into boiling water.

A man and woman talk about how Yabushige has become obsessed with the moment of death. Once Yabushige comes inside, he is introduced to Kiki (Yuka Kouri) who is the most celebrated courtesan in Izu. Yabushige enjoys watching them have sex. Blackthorne gets up and eats. He breaks a door or window before asking a woman about his boots. Yabushige tells Omi that it took the barbarian a long time to die and he was stronger than most Christians. Yabushige asks for a poem about him. Blackthorne asks about the screaming man while he is getting dressed. Yabushige tours the village and speaks to Omi about how well he has done. Omi asks his uncle if he is going to tell Lord Toranaga about the barbarian ship. He learns that Toranaga is trapped in Osaka.

They suspect there will be a war once Toranaga is dead. Ishido will have to contend with the Christian lords. They learn a ship has arrived. Hiromatsu (Tokuma Nishioka) approaches them to tell Yabushige that Lord Toranaga has requested for him to wait for him in Edo. Hiromatsu asks about the weapons, silver, and gold on board the ship. Yabushige admits he had everything brought ashore. As President of Foreign Relations, Lord Toranaga confiscates the ship and everything it contains. Yabushige relents and agrees to give up the ship. Once Hiromatsu leaves, Yabushige suggests there is a spy in the village because he knew everything. Blackthorne learns he is being taken to Osaka. Vasco Rodriguez offers to take care of him. Vasco pulls him to the side and asks for the latitude of The Lizard.

Blackthorne is told one of his men has been executed. The rest are Yabushige’s prisoners. Vasco explains The Great Lord Yoshii Toranaga wants to meet him. As they travel, Vasco tells him the meaning of Shukumei. Blackthorne denies being a pirate. They end up running into a storm. Vasco falls overboard. Blackthorne yells for them to pull if they want to live. Once they make it through, Blackthorne wants to go looking for Vasco. He argues with Hiromatsu about it. Yabushige agrees to go with Blackthorne. After they find him, they don’t want to let Blackthorne climb down because he is a skilled pilot. He thinks Yabushige doesn’t want to turn down a challenge in front of his men. Yabushige climbs down before falling and cutting his head. The others go back for more ropes.

Yabushige confirms Vasco is still breathing. Yabushige almost kills himself because he is worried about drowning, but the ropes arrive before he has to. Toranaga summons Toda Mariko and thanks her for helping Fuji. She says they will welcome death with him if the council votes for his impeachment. Toranaga wants her to translate for the prisoner when he arrives. They talk about her father Akechi Jinsai who died 14 years ago. Toranaga offers to restore her purpose. He asks if her loyalty to God would conflict with her service to him. Toda suggests she has more than one heart. Toranaga believes the barbarian could turn the tide. Blackthorne tells Vasco how Yabushige was going to kill himself. Vasco shows him the rutter he found on his ship.

He also found a list of Catholic bases Blackthorne and his crew were going to torch. Vasco warns him he’ll hand them to the Portuguese as soon as he arrives. Blackthorne insists he won’t die in this wretched land. Vasco tells him to look at Osaka and question whether their world is the hilt of civilization. He asks whether the man who schemes in the open or the one you never see wields power in a world like this. Vasco tells him about the saying that every man has three hearts. Blackthorne is taken to Toranaga.

Shogun Review

The opening episode of Shogun had a lot to live up to with the rich history and the already glowing reviews, but it really leaves a lot to be desired. For someone going into the series with a fresh slate, this was a mess without any real setup for the characters and the bloated cast makes it impossible to know who is who half the time. Truthfully, it was frustrating trying to figure out who was who when only a handful of the characters mattered in the big scheme of things.

Ned Dennehy was the best of the European bunch, but he was gone in the blink of an eye. Cosmo Jarvis wasn’t convincing, but the dialogue for the English-speaking roles was off-putting enough to tarnish any performance. Vasco’s dialogue was far worse though. The Japanese cast fares much better with Tadanobu Asano being the highlight of the opening episode, especially among a heavy cast.

The camera movements and special effects create a very low-budget feel that is unbecoming of the story. The glitz and glamorous work well, but the opening episode felt pretty shallow when everything was said and done. After a pretty dull episode that spanned over an hour, only Yabushige seemed to have any personality or purpose. If Yabushige was the center of attention from here on out, Shogun would be a bit more promising to me.

Otherwise, nothing in the first episode lured me in enough to want to remember every little detail for the next ten weeks. The opening episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Shogun can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent work at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss Shogun and other shows at the Reel Mockery Forum.