Am I the only one having Game of thrones flashbacks?
Such a gorgeous scenery and colorful environment (the clothes are beautifiul) and it feels like they taped the show in a cave and forgot the lights in the truck.
Why does it have to be filmed so dark?
Cheaper. Needs less attention to detail.
Mind you, it annoys the hell out of me.
I’m sure that’s not why.
I have no issues with the darkness levels of this show on my TV.
As you point out, you do see Buntaro being refined, I just wished there was more time to show him preparing for the ceremony. It would not have had to been long, and maybe there is a longer version of the episode that shows this. And my main disagreement is Mariko’s, for lack of a better word, distinctiveness at the end.
I have to be clear that I am enjoying the series, and as I mentioned above, it is nice that I don’t know everything since they made some changes. There are some choices that they made, that I disagree with, but on the whole I am still liking it.
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That’s considered cool. It’s also consistent with accuracy, of course. This is a time when they didn’t have electric lighting. People lived by candle. Life was darker.
And died by the fuse?
Okay not how I thought things were going to go …
Great episode but we went from “Whew” to “F this show” ……
Chapter Nine: Crimson Sky This to me is the best episode of the series. They definitely hewed back to the original novel while adding just the right amount of additional material to round it out.
In the Novel how and why Mariko became a christian is not really explored, it was a nice touch for them to, like giving Toranaga a reason to delay, put in a reason why and under what circumstances she did. This is taken from the real life counterpart of the character who did convert while in exile, though it was not through the auspices of João Rodrigues the real life counterpart to Alvito.
There is also no direct solo confrontation between Mariko and Ochiba, thought that was a great scene and helped to ratchet up the tension. They did a great job representing the fight out of the castle, and I was especially happy that Mariko did not become a super human fighting machine that dispatched 20 soldiers before stopping. That scene comes directly from the novel, though of course, how you decide to show it is important, and the visual of her walking among the arrows was just great.
The sepukku scene was more touching than in the novel. Just as in this episode, Lord Kiyama is not there to be her second. In fact, Ishido essentially made it so no one could be her second. Blackthorne stepping up to do so was a nice touch. In the Novel he is prepared to shoot her from where he is standing to spare her the agony, though he does not tell anyone. Having him step up and take up the sword really was much nicer and led to a more intimate moment.
The final assault on the Toranaga compound was also very good. The only difference is that in the Novel, it is not a storehouse that they go to hide in, but a secret safe room that Toranaga built/knew about but the shinobi did not. The rest plays out pretty much the same with Mariko uttering the same words she did.
All in all, an excellent episode. The tension, the humor between Blackthorne and Yabu, the action, the political intrigue, and the emotional moments where well balanced. For someone who has read the novel, there were no surprises, just the enjoyment of well executed storytelling.
One more to go!
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Spoilers, though no more than in icon’s post. Gift link.
I agree it was good, but IMHO they dragged out the sepukku scene too long.
Why were they so concerned about not (publicly) harming her? Or letting her sacrifice herself?
I get that Ochiba cares about her but in the bigger picture is of what is thought of as a disgraced line. Why would other forces care? As clearly we are to believe they do.
We are soon to see I guess why her death has such power. But it does not seem obvious to me.
It is a question of face. Up to this point, everyone in Osaka castle are “guests” though they really aren’t as proved by the one lord who tried to sneak out and was killed. By requesting to leave publicly, Mariko has put Ishido in a bind. If he refuses, then the lie of why the other families can’t leave is exposed. If he lets her go, then Mariko leaving sets a precedence and he loses his hostages. Also, by couching the request in her fulfilling her duty to her lord which is the highest precept of bushido, shows him as one who does not follow bushido as well as not being of noble birth.
Mariko is someone that all of these lords know, and even though her father was a traitor, she was married at the time into a respected family which takes away a lot of the stigma attached to his betrayal. It is not just Ochiba who thinks highly of her as evidenced by Lord Kiyama accepting to be her second and the alliance her son was going to have by marrying into that family.
Having her die, in any way will be blamed on Ishido. That is why in the final scene none of the shinobi are trying to kill her, but rather capture her. Then they can make up whatever lie as to why she did not leave.
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I read the book after I had come to Japan so it didn’t have the magic for me that it would have otherwise. It’s not just the facts, but also the culture which needs to be let go in order to appreciate the story.
One note is that historical dramas on NHK tend to not be that realistic, either, but they have became what’s expected.
I’ve read some good reviews in Japanese. I hope to have a chance to see it. We don’t have Disney + and I’m not sure what the other options are.
I can watch it on regular ol’ ABC. Episodes that have been shown so far are available when I tune to ABC. I understand it is also streaming on Hulu, but I don’t have Hulu, so I can’t verify that from my own experience.
I watch it on Hulu, though lately I have seen that Disney+ and Hulu are getting more integrated so I have seen the thumbnail for the show on Disney+ so I imagine it is available there too. I have the Disney+ bundle though (Disney, Hulu, ESPN+) so it may based on what type of subscription you have.
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Episode 9 hewed back to the book. We see the key things:
The ceremony wherein Mariko declares her intent to leave is significantly different in the book; it’s Ochiba’s birthday, Blackthorne makes a great impression, and, again, Mariko is not quite as glum, stoic a character. Her attempt to leave Osaka is longer and just a far more impactful scene with terrific dialogue, and when she goes to commit seppuku, more people are present, and it’s Yabu who steps up to be her second when Kiyama doesn’t show up. (Actually, when Kiyama flakes, she asks Yabu to be her second.)
However, the basic point of the plot is made:
[spoiler]It’s entirely a trap, and Mariko had no expectation of survival. She wanted this, because Toranaga will destroy those who destroyed her family. Now the de facto hostages will be streaming out, allowing Toranaga to forge alliances with enough daimyos to even the odds and be able to win the war.
What it does miss a bit is the fact Toranaga’s delaying is ITSELF part of his plan; it’s not just using Mariko. While he delays his arrival in Osaka, Ishido’s alliance crumbles; in the book Ishido promises Toranaga’s lands to more than one person, so his alliance starts to crumble, and the threat of Blackthorne and his warship being loosed on the Black Ship panics the Portuguese and Christian daimyos into making mistakes.
Toranaga delaying, delaying, delaying, being patient and letting his opponents screw up a good position, is a frequent theme and plot point in the book; his tendency to do this over and over is commented on by other characters, including Yabu’s family, and his history of doing that is one of the reasons a few key players figure out that he’s bullshitting before he makes it public he was never going to Osaka.[/spoiler]
The shortness of the show as compared to the book robs you of a lot of the subtlety. No way around that I guess.
One improvement I like is the fleeting nature of the love between Blackthorne and Mariko. In the book they spend the entire trip (by land) to Osaka screwing; they never fall out. The brevity of it in the show makes it more poignant, somehow.
I think the show does a better job to show how much he cares about her. He clearly states how much he thinks she should not commit seppuku earlier in the episode, but then out of respect to her, and her wishes, steps up to be her second. It is a great moment because we know he does not agree with her view of things, but will support her anyway. Her surprise and gratitude for him doing that is also conveyed. I can’t think of anything similar in the book.
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I have not read the book so that was not at all how I expected the last episode to go.
I guess with Toranaga’s weaker army the only way that he could win is through diplomatic deals and out maneuvering his competition. After the rest of the season, I expected at least a minor battle.
I am not sure I agree with Mariko being too “morose” in this. Maybe in the scenes when she is the focus, which usually revolve around serious matters she is. It is very clear every time we get a POV from someone else watching her interact with Blackthorne that she is smiling, happy, animated and engaged with him. That is why it is so obvious to everyone they are into each other, even someone like Buntaro can see it. Granted, we probably could have used some lighter scenes in which she is the focus, like the one in the brothel, but the one we got was so well done I have a hard time complaining about it.
[spoiler]
The battle of Sekigahara is not shown in the book either. (The Battle of Sekigahara was a real battle in which Toranaga’s real life counterpart, Tokugawa Ieyasu, won control of Japan.) Instead it’s just explained in a postscript what happened. That makes sense to me; the story is essentially over once Mariko’s ploy works, and everything after that is housecleaning.
Although the end result is the same a lot is different. Blackthorne threatening suicide NOW doesn’t happen, Yabu’s death is more dignified, Toranaga doesn’t abuse the village of Ajiro, Omi’s characters plays a bigger role, and much of what Toranaga tells Yabu is told to the reader in internal dialogue, and just a lot more happens in general but we end up in the same place.[/spoiler]