The scent of death continues to linger in the new episode of Shogun. Toranaga's son met his maker in Episode 7 after continuously talking about war and achieving a glorious end. Well, his demise wasn't that, um, splendacious. Yabushige says, "Cracking his head on stone. Wasn't a death I'd thought of. Be sure to record it in our book. I'd rank it lower than boiling, but higher than eaten by dogs." Make no mistake, the atmosphere here is strongly gloomy. The mourning, the pain, is incredibly palpable. Toranaga is sad and is seen in poor health. His suffering is evident in the way he carries himself. He doesn't. Instead, he relies on a helper to take him from one room to another. Toranaga rests and coughs and looks tired. "Your face...has the color of defeat," observes a concerned Hiromatsu.
Toranaga splashes that color of defeat on everyone and everywhere. We, as well as the characters, constantly wonder if the lord has a plan. He can't just surrender himself, no? But Toranaga firmly maintains his position on succumbing to Ishido's wishes. He doesn't want to fight; he doesn't want to lose any more men. No one believes Toranaga at first. They all suspect he has a secret plan. When Blackthorne goes to Yabushige with a wish to sail on his behalf, Yabushige says, "The Anjin is wrong to think Lord Toranaga has given up. I don't know what the old man is up to, but it's not surrender." Even in an earlier scene, Hiromatsu tells Yabushige that Toranaga will fight or else "our lord would not send him to Osaka with a message." ("him" here is Father Martin Alvito).
Yet, there comes a moment in Episode 8 when Hiromatsu decides to commit seppuku because he cannot see Toranaga accepting defeat without a battle. You expect Toranaga to stop his one and only friend from committing suicide. You wait for him to reveal that, yes, they were all correct, and he indeed has a plan. But remember, I mentioned in the beginning that the scent of death is still present in Episode 8. Two characters die here, though Toranaga's bad health also makes you assume terrible things about his fate.
"Terrific" is a word I was constantly whispering while watching Episode 8. I love how Shogun grabs the viewer even during moments of complete silence. The characters move with such precision that you admire watching their actions, and their movements. Buntaro makes tea for Mariko with so much discipline that you think he might as well be laying down a strategy for war or performing a crucial ritual. Shogun gives you the pleasure of good performances, good visuals, and good sequences. It deserves your highest compliment.
Final Score - [10/10]