Shogun
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It doesnt help that Ruris father is the corrupt and brutal leader that Marikosfather assassinated.
And the man at the center of the decision that fractured the lives of these women?
You guessed it: Toranaga.
And yet Toranaga still cant help but meddle in these womens lives.
While Mariko is stuck enacting Toranagas latest plot, Lady Ochiba is doing some plotting of her own.
There is a price for this return to power, however.
We would eliminate the council and form a new government.
With Toranaga as sole regent.
Its a drastic move, one that just about everyone save the ever-eager Nagakado recognizes as bound to fail.
Blackthorne bumbles through complimenting her appearance and sake pour while Mariko is clearly nervous about being watched.
Dark … if one wants it dark.
A woman cannot look away when another suffers.
Kikus gracious offer seems to unlock something in Mariko.
Inside the Willow World, there are no expectations but privacy.
When the courtesan ends her speech by saying, I ask you into my openness.
I ask you to be here now, Mariko quickly flashes back through the traumatic moments of her life.
The eightfold fence, it seems, is no match for the Willow World.
Later, Mariko is summoned by Toranaga, who inquires about her childhood friendship with Lady Ochiba.
The way she wars against us.
What could have turned her into the woman she is today?
he asks, before implying that her tactics pitting the council against him are dishonorable.
Its a small line that delivers a huge gut punch.
While the men ofShogunare battling to satisfy their ambitions, the women are left to battle their own desires.
Ive failed him, she says, crushed, but Toranaga assures her, Your war isnt over.
Later, at Osaka Castle after Lord Itos confirmation fails, Lady Osaka confronts Ishido one last time.
He implores her to be patient, but she tells him they cannot delay facing Toranaga.
You have no idea the enemy you face … she reprimands Ishido.
And does he want to know how she did it?
By compelling fate to look at me.
So I could scratch out its eyes.
Maybe Lady Ochiba needs a visit to the Willow World herself.
Were up to two on the official Yabushige I should write a new will count.
Buntaro is a fairly pathetic character in this episode.
When Toranaga confronts him about his sake-fueled rage in thelast episode, hes absolutely heartbroken.
Both Anna Sawai and Cosmo Jarvis had extra homework assigned to them for this episode by director Hiromi Kamata.
