Spoler Alert!
You have been warned that it will include spoilers right from the start. The seventh episode of Shogun is out now, and like with each new episode, it gets better and better. As Torunaga’s half-brother Seiki Nobutatsu entered the picture, we witnessed power struggles within the family, plotting, and the downfall of Torunaga’s life and men, leaving him with nowhere to turn and nothing to be.
The words “where’s the beauty in this?” sent shivers down my spine as the episode came to a close; I’m heartbroken for Nagakado since death is revered and viewed as a beautiful thing among these men. Was he ignorant? Yeah. Was he, nevertheless, his father’s most devoted son?
Shogun Episode 7 : The Death of Nagakado
Definitely so. I will get that stick burning immediately, so there’s no need to wait any longer. The Death of Nagakado is the subject of Episode 7 of Shogun. Always the best part of Shogun is the last fifteen minutes; they include the episode’s climax, which has been building up to this point. For what reason are those who have never been in a fight so keen to do so?
This is what Torunaga told his son Nagakado when the latter was pressuring him for an answer about whether Crimson Sky would proceed or surrender. At the episode’s climax, everything of Nagakado’s inherent inexperience reached a fever pitch. His desire to be respected and powerful, as well as his desire to make his father proud, were first displayed in episode 4 when he secretly ordered the attack on Jozen.
So, he planned to exact revenge for his uncle Saeki Nobutatsu’s betrayal of his father and family by launching a surprise attack on him at the tea parlour. If Nagakado were to be beheaded like a chicken, he would have died a lovely death, he had earlier claimed in the episode, because he would have died fighting for his beliefs.
Nevertheless, before he was ready to strike his uncle dead, he tripped and struck his head on a boulder, causing him to experience a slow and agonising death while being acutely aware of his own mortality. What about the aesthetic value? his uncle asked. Additionally, the line had a profound impact. In addition to dying in a manner that would make his legacy—a major plot point in the episode—forgettable due to its lack of significance, Nagakado also attacked his uncle in what was probably a cowardly move.
His last deeds may be disastrous for the recently sealed contract in which Toranaga committed to travel to Osaka, which could have repercussions for both his father and the agreement. According to what Saeki said earlier, death is simply a solitary journey through the forest, and that is precisely how Nagakado met his end.
On my alone, helpless, and for no reason at all. I’ll admit that I felt terrible for the boy, but his innocence and eagerness to fight didn’t save him from his inevitable downfall. Matsudaira Tadayoshi, the fourth son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, supposedly had a life different from the one depicted in Nagakado; he did not die in this manner.
Despite suffering wounds in the pivotal battle of Sekigahara, he was bestowed the Kiyosu domain and lived until his death in 1607. I think Nagakado’s death will undoubtedly determine the future of the drama’s narrative, even though the show didn’t adhere to the genuine events.
Although it might have a bad effect on Torunaga, I believe it could also be the catalyst that causes him to reconsider surrendering. His son’s death will surely be a constant presence in his thoughts. We also witnessed his reaction when he admonished his kid not to follow the council’s order to commit suicide.
Therefore, I anticipate that this will incite Torunaga’s aggression and heighten his level of hatred. First scene and its significance. We travelled back in time 46 years to see a 12-year-old Torinaga overcome an older Mizuguchi, who admittedly said that fate had compelled him to declare an unwinnable war, at the opening of this episode.
Throughout the show, this was something that Torinaga couldn’t help but think about. From time to time, Toronaga would reminisce about the exact moment he decided to accept or reject the council’s offer of total submission. My destiny.
It emerged again when Toronaga gave Jin a stick of time and Jin declared his fate was sealed; it had been a recurring theme in the show. His motivation seemed to have been a desire to avoid repeating Mizoguchi’s fateful decision to engage in an unwinnable conflict from all those years ago.
In light of the heavy casualties sustained by Toranaga’s forces in the earthquake and subsequent landslide, it is reasonable to assume that he anticipated a difficult confrontation with Ishido, Lady Ochiba, and the western army. In contrast to Mizoguchi’s actions in the beginning portion, I believe he believed it was his destiny to surrender before beginning a war.
Instead of risking more casualties in a bloody conflict, he reasoned that it would be more honourable to surrender before inflicting further carnage. This is the exact reason he agreed to go to Osaka and surrendered to his brother and the council at the episode’s end. As of this point on, Crimson Sky would not be performed.
The fact that Torunaga gave the stick of time gave me the impression that he was planning something hidden. However, I truly think that Torunaga was exposed as weak and betrayed by his brother at that same moment, and he was caught unawares. The weight of that battle’s outcome, which he had won 46 years earlier, was resurfacing, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how he could never become Mizoguchi.
Tragedy in the Family. I thought it was fascinating to observe the dynamics inside the family in this episode. As far as I was concerned, the initial meeting between the brothers was ideal. How amicable or antagonistic it would be, or how well they would get along, were all unknowns. We didn’t have a solid basis to build on since Yabushige and Hiromatsu brought up the fact that they hadn’t seen each other for quite some time.
However, we noticed that they were exchanging pleasantries, and Toronaga was acting as a gracious host to his brother. One funny moment occurred when Toronaga was griping about how much it was going to cost to have Lady Kiku spend a week with his brother. He called his brother “myongrel half brother,” implying that he didn’t respect him and that his whole act was an act to win over his brother.
With Seiki on his side, Toranaga had a fighting chance at completing Crimson Sky, and Seiki was willing to stay loyal to his brother Yabushige so long as Toranaga gave him the land of Izu, which Yabushige would have lost otherwise.
But it was already past the hour. It was all a trap; Toranagasama’s brother had become the fifth regent after being given the position by Ishido, Lady Ochiba, and the council—but he had already proclaimed his allegiance to the opposite side. When Seiki betrayed his brother and attempted to embarrass him in front of his soldiers, he revealed his real colours.
His jealousy of his brother’s achievement came across to me as resentment. His initial comment to Toranaga was that Toranaga would also look wonderful if all he had to do was watch over Yozenji’s tranquil waters. The fact that Toranaga possessed more than him likely irritated him, as it demonstrated his insatiable want for more.
That is why he betrayed his brother: he was seizing his chance for power and success. He told his brother, “From this day on, you have nowhere left to go and nothing left to be,” in the episode’s last line. It proved that he had achieved his lifelong goal of dominating his sibling.
His choice to stand while Torunaga sat once again served to visually emphasise the power disparity he had always sought. Throughout this episode, tensions between Tod and Abentaro were increasing, while Lord Omi stirred the pot. It’s been there the whole time, and it’s hard to escape it. However, after seeing in earlier episodes that Toda loved Mariko deeply and always had, despite treating her horribly, Buntaro was envious of how John could bring out something in her that prevented her from being cold and icy.
The fact that Blackthorn spent the night with Lady Kiku—the one with whom Lord Omi has a profound connection and whom he loves—made Omi envious. Omi began manipulating Buntaro after hearing from Jin that Blackthorn had been thinking about someone else that night; Buntaro’s desire to murder John Blackthorn reached a boiling point while they were on the beach near the water. Omi had assumed that Blackthorn was thinking about Lady Mariko.
Buntaro desired John’s total removal from the situation to the point where, with Toranaga’s approval, he wished to chop off his head. But Toranaga claimed he couldn’t remove Mariko’s head either if he had these doubts about Blackthorn; we saw that he failed miserably at that. Toda is the one who stops Mariko from committing seppuku, thus it’s clear that he doesn’t want her dead. However, Mariko has been pleading for her death throughout their relationship.
The historical figure that Lady Mariko depicts in the literature had already passed away at this point. If this were true, she would have met her demise during Lord Ishidor’s takeover of Osaka Castle and subsequent hostage situation. No spoilers here regarding the 80s show or book—I’ll just have to watch how the season progresses to find out.
Toda Bintaro will simply have to repress his emotions because neither he nor his wife will consent to her death. Torobuntaro needs John to save him in battle at some point, in my opinion, so that he can earn Torobuntaro’s respect. At least, that is my expectation.
Even after all this time, Mariko begged Toronaga to let her perform seppuku. Her allegiance is with him, and she serves him, but not even he is willing to let her. Torinaga will not stand by and watch her die; last week we saw that she plays a part in this conflict that originated with her father’s desire to defend the kingdom.
In my opinion, he cares about her just a little bit, and he values her too much. With no other options, Yabushige is at a loss. I found Yabushige’s attitude to be the most amusing part of this episode, and it was completely his fault. Evidently, he was terrified that Sayuki would turn against him in battle or that Torinaga would decide to surrender, and he also knew that he might die fighting Ishido.
Yabushige had been juggling opposing forces throughout the whole series up to this point. Even though he had been faithful to Torunaga, he had been secretly working to appease Ishido and would have jumped ship if it seemed like the odds were stacked against him. The head of Igarishi was sent to Yabushige as a response from Ishido on the secret peace pact he was attempting to set up for himself, as we witnessed, though.
Once again, proving that he was completely self-serving. The fact that Ishidor and Lady Ochiba returned the head as a sign of their disapproval demonstrated that they would not listen to him or be willing to spare his life when the moment came. He straddled the fence for far too long, and now he’s burned.
So, it was Torunaga or nothing, regardless of his preference. He was venting his anger to John Blackthorne, despite their language barrier, because it was on his mind. On the other hand, I felt this demonstrated the drastic change from Yabushige’s previous opinion on Blackthorne.
Even though he couldn’t understand him, he was now pouring his heart and soul into him. The sentence where Yabushige described how he manages to evade death time and time again, only to be pulled in a different path by it, was a brilliant summary of the character’s journey in the episode. Even after he managed to escape, it continued to call out to him, bringing him closer and closer until he couldn’t resist any more.
Now that he is stuck with Toranaga sama, I expect him to be even more faithful and, with any luck, transform into the kind of companion Toranaga always wanted him to be. My overall impression is that this was a top-notch episode. While I can see how some could find the pace tedious, I really enjoy how the show builds to its climax.
The story gives us brief but significant scenes of action before plunging back into the main topic of discussion: the diplomatic animosity and feuds between the East and the West, as well as inside each side. However, I must mention that the score for this episode was really outstanding.
Shogun Episode 7 Review
Because of the shift in the episode’s score, the betrayal altered the entire tone and mood. In addition, the music reached a climax during Nagakado’s death, which was part of the last attack. As Seiki delivered his statement, the rain began to fall, lapping against the sea, and eventually rolled over the credits as well.
The scene was perfectly enhanced by it. Among the goals scored this season, it ranks high in my opinion. This show’s adaption is fantastic, but my favourite part is watching John Blackthorne in a pickle. Since he is not permitted to depart, he is left with nowhere to go. Even after swearing allegiance to Toronaga and receiving numerous titles and gifts, he continues to feel confined and has only experienced freedom in his mind.
No, he isn’t available. He was clearly done and not willing to die for a man who was ready to just give up as he walked off at the end. You can tell that Nagakado One was deeply contemplating something when John said it, and I really believe that it saved him from having to do what he did.
In this episode, John went so far as to suggest taking Lady Mariko sailing away—clearly not possible—but it demonstrated his unwillingness to die for a guy who wasn’t willing to fight. The closer we get to the end, the more I wish there were more seasons of this programme, even if we only have three more episodes remaining.
It’s undeniably the top show on television at the moment. I find myself captivated by the show’s tempo, performances, plot, action sequences, and overall watchability on a weekly basis. The only thing I can say is that I can’t wait for the next episode, which I’m hoping will be plenty of action.
Here you have it, the explanation of the ending of Shogun Episode 7. If you would want to see each episode analysed, I have been covering them all and have created a playlist on the channel for your convenience. Is this episode anything you found interesting?
Post your opinions in the space provided.
