The best of the year or empty finale?

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In favor: the series of the year, round but willing to take risks

Micaela Fe Lucero

Shōgun is, without a doubt (and I dare say it when it is still only April), the series of the year. It has everything: an exotic and fascinating component, a hero’s path, hypnotic photography, a story rich in meanings and nuances to discover, several plot twists that leave the viewer on the edge of their seat without the need for cliffhangers, novelty and commonplaces in perfect balance, an ending that, yes, is somewhat empty for those who expected one full of action, but with which it marks the field and makes it clear that it wants to differentiate itself from others and that it takes risks.

The Star+ series, created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, is based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell. It manages, in just 10 episodes, not only to tell what needs to be told, but to be sufficiently clear about the world it shows, a considerable task in which similar productions have failed: it has to respond both to the book that gives rise to it and to introduce a viewer into the world of feudal Japan in the 1600s, a world with which many may not be familiar (point for fans of anime that addresses this era in different productions).

It also achieves other results, to a greater or lesser extent: on the one hand, although it is self-explanatory, it makes you want to go read the book that gave rise to it. On the other hand, she helps create a dialogue between classics like The Last Samurai or Memoirs of a Geisha (which take place centuries later). Not only because the three productions delve into Japanese culture and history, but also because Shōgun shows the early stages of European exploitation of Eastern civilizations.

In fact, this opens the door for a personal recommendation: watch, next, Blue-Eyed Samurai, an impeccable Netflix animated series that, without being related, takes place a few decades after the events of Shōgun, when “the white man” is already has been expelled from Japan.

In conclusion, Shōgun could have easily been a resounding failure, but it is a resounding success. With the expertise that Mariko-sama (we love her, despite her romance with death) handles the naginata (Japanese spear) or with which Toranaga weaves and unweaves the threads of his country’s destiny (the best strategist in the fictional world until now?), the series takes its audience wherever it wants, an audience that, at first, does not even suspect that John Blackthorne is just an excuse to start telling a story of which, in the end, he is also a spectator.

Mariko-sama, easily the most engaging character in “Shōgun.” (Photo: Star+)

Cons: decisive, but bitter ending (spoiler alert)

Nicolas Lencinas

Before taking a stand against it, I must say that I enjoyed Shōgun from its premiere and I took it upon myself to recommend it in every area I could. The series awakened a certain fascination in me (which I didn’t have) to learn more details about feudal Japan during the time of wars and samurai.

Each chapter is a great visual and narrative display that excites and invites you to delve into the story of Yoshii Toranaga, John Blackthorne and Lady Mariko. Perhaps mistakenly, I ventured to compare it with the classic Game of Thrones when I saw the way in which the protagonists politically negotiated what the succession of the kingdom would be like, amid the emergence of the Catholic Church and the European crowns.

I expected that after betrayals and power disputes, an exciting war will be unleashed (on screen) to see the fate of the confrontation between Toranaga and the regents. I imagined a face-to-face ending between the leader and Ishido, a possible “Battle of the Bastards” that didn’t happen.

Beyond the desire of a simple spectator, no major battle was fought, a fact that was hinted at throughout the season. Then, the series defined a decisive and empty ending.

The thing is that in each episode an epic was built through the weaving and management of Toranaga, who moved wills in the name of protecting his fiefdom. Meanwhile, after several falls, war seemed inevitable and, like the “Anjin”, many of us expected revenge against Ishido and the regents.

But Toranaga, in his chess, planned to become Shōgun from the beginning, with the peace of his people as his final mission. None of his allies (whom he sacrificed in the plot’s best moments) were aware of the extent of his plan. He did all this with the “Anjin” as a wild card or catalyst to generate discord and small confrontations. Finally, the heir withdrew his troops and there was no such war.

And this is the reason why Shōgun did not give us what many of us expected: an epic battle with thousands of extras that would culminate the series in an epic way. For me, the ending undermined the excellence of the series.