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Major spoilers follow forShoguns ninth episode, Crimson Sky.
Alas, it was never going to work out between John Blackthorne and Lady Mariko.
She is bound to honor codes dating back to long before she ever existed.
He longs to return to his boat so he can get back to slapping around Catholics.
Both are pieces on a chessboard theyre not allowed to see.
From a pure logistical standpoint, there was no clear pathway to a happy ending.
Where would they run off to, anyway?
In any case,Shogunis not that kind of show.
Still, it hurts to say good-bye to the sweet romantic fantasy of the Blackthorne-Mariko relationship.
But again,Shogunisnt that kind of show.
Consider the shows unexpected expressions of humor, mainly of the gallows variety.
Yabushige, the Sengoku-era rock-star warlord?
Lord Toranagas fail-son dying after slipping on a rock?
Blackthorne, in general?Very funny.
Blackthorne: Everything that happened on the Island, really happened.
They were NOT dead all along.
The pairing also makes emotional sense; we can easily see what draws them to each other.
In Mariko, Blackthorne finds safe harbor in a world he barely understands.
That allows her to become very vulnerable with him,Sawai recently explained to Vulture.
The fact shes being accepted for who she is, thats very refreshing.
It also allows them to have substantive debates that contribute toShoguns thematic heft.
Take their differing outlooks on the idea of freedom, for example.
(Hes a man-child, in other words.)
But within the argument, the two hover at the edges of finding their own answers.
Being each others dialectic now thats sexy.
