Shōgun 1.02

Servants of Two Masters

The episode opens up with a flashback to one year prior, when the Taikō was dying but not quite dead. He calls for Toranaga and suggests to him that he could appoint him to be the sole regent while his son is still a minor. Toranaga advises against that course of action. The Taiko concurs.

Blackthorne is called before Lord Toranaga. Father Marin Alvito, a Portuguese priest serves as a translator. Blackthorne explains that England, his country, is at war with Portugal. The priest translates truthfully. The meeting is interrupted by a visit from one of the other regents, Lord Ishido. The result of the meeting with Ishido is that Blackthorne is thrown into a prison cell.

Blackthorne learns from a Portuguese priest, while he is in prison, that Toranaga is in danger of being impeached by the other four regents. Two of the five regents are Christians and closely tied to the Portuguese. They want Blackthorne, an enemy of the Portuguese, dead. Ishido has similar concerns about the two regents who are Christians even though he is not allied with Toranaga but against him.

Blackthorne almost gets executed but the men who take him out for execution are killed and Blackthorne is taken, by Kashigi to see Toranaga. Mariko translates while Blackthorne explains to Toranaga about how the Spanish and the Portuguese have divided up the world and that Japan is within the Portuguese portion. He tells him about the secret Portuguese base at Macao.

An assassin breaks into the quarters of Lord Toranaa that night. She kills many people before she is taken down by Toranaga. He believes that she was sent to kill Blackthorne who was staying in Toranaga's quarters.

Thoughts

Blackthorne seems to be in a bit of a bind but so is Mariko. She is a Catholic but she works for Toranaga. She serves as translator when Blackthorne meets with Toranaga towards the end of the episode. She doesn't care for Blackthorne's news that the Portuguese are looking to oust anyone who is not loyal to them.

I think I like this a little more than I did after the first episode. I'm not still not loving it, just liking it. It's good. It's not great.