There is a war brewing, and episode 4 is the opening salvo.
Mariko is still holding out hope that her husband did not die in the previous episode.
What he does know is naval warfare and cannons.
Their dreams, ambitions, fears, and doubts are hidden behind a multi-layered fence in their minds.
Fuji has one, Mariko has one, and almost everyone Blackthorne has met in Japan hides behind theirs.
It’s in part why he’s had trouble connecting.
Custom Image by Zach Moser
Mariko and Blackthorne continue talking and come across one another while bathing.
It’s tantalizing enough that Mariko comes to Blackthorne’s room that night, and the two sleep together.
Once again,Mariko hides behind her “Eightfold Fence”.
Shōgun, released in 2024, is set in Japan during 1600 at the onset of a significant civil war. It follows Lord Yoshii Toranaga as he battles political adversaries on the Council of Regents, while a European ship mysteriously appears in a nearby fishing village, complicating the tides of power.
He’s sworn loyalty to Toranga and to Ishido (Takehiro Hira) and the other regents.
Instead, he shrewdly invites Jozen to stay the night and see a cannon demonstration the next morning.
Jozen and Yabushige were once friends before the series began.
Nagakado, Toranaga’s son, will do anything to impress his legendary father, and Omi knows this.
This comes in the form of cannonfire as the soldiers point barrels at Jozen.
Jozen, the soldiers, and their horses are almost literally torn to shreds by the cannonballs.
The rest ofShogunis going to be steeped in this horrific sort of bloodshed.
The eightfold fence is what you build within your head to just bring yourself into a peaceful place.
Mariko hides herself behind her “Eightfold Fence” and suggests that everyone does so to an extent.
After learning this, Blackthorne figures out a way to see past it.
