The ending of Blue Eye Samurai Season 1 left a lot of questions to be answered: In Episode 8, Mizu did not get her revenge on Fowler despite her lifelong mission to kill him. She was reminded by Fowler of the other white men who wronged her, Skeffington and Routely. Fowler is a slippery character who seems impossible to kill. Once he made Mizu realize that she needed him to find the other men and, potentially, her biological father, she immediately embarked on a new mission to London to find them with Fowler helping her.
Mizu’s character arc has been complicated since Episode 1. She has always been conflicted by the principles of being a samurai and her thirst for revenge. Her anguish between the two was not resolved in Season 1. She shows flickers of who she could be as a samurai while falling short due to her constrained anger.
Of course, the ending of the Season 1 finale is a perfect lead into the second season. London will surely be the cornerstone of the story moving forward, while the rebuilding of the Shogun in Japan will become an important subplot. It will be interesting to see the character development of Mizu. With Fowler undoubtedly meddling, her arc could go either way.
The Character Fowler in Blue Eye Samurai – Image Courtesy of Netflix
Blue Eye Samurai Season 1 Episode 8 Recap
Let’s explore and summarize what happened in Episode 8, which was aptly titled “The Great Fire of 1657.”
The finale opens up with a flashback. Mizu explains to her mother’s grave that the white men came for her. She apologizes for “being a monster” and promises that she’ll spend all her life to get revenge. This connects well to the present, showing the length that Mizu has gone to. In the present, Mizu awaits Fowler’s army, which is ready to go to war with the Shogunate. Mizu’s only concern is killing Fowler.
Akemi’s father, Daichi, continues to lay out his evil plans to rule over Japan: he is aware of Fowler’s plans to defeat the empire, and he wants it to happen. Seki has a change of heart and saves Akemi from her father. As they flee, Mizu helps them fight. Meanwhile, Taigen finds Ringo and tells him he must warn the Shogun that Fowler’s army is arriving. He asks Ringo to help him. Ringo is conflicted as his loyalty is to Mizu, but Taigen insists she only cares for revenge, so Ringo joins him.
Taigen charges the castle and fights the guards. Eventually, he manages to warn Shogun Itoh that Fowler’s army is approaching. Dramatically, Fowler’s massive, impressive army arrives, with the Shogun unprepared. Itoh prepares his army and gives Taigen a samurai sword. Before the war begins, Mizu tells Akemi that Taigen will be waiting for her and that he can be a “great man,” which is parallel to a later scene when Akemi realizes she needs to be a “great woman.”
Fowler’s Army and War with the Shogun
Fowler’s army unleashed their loaded guns. The Shogun army has no reply with their swords, and the first line of defense is slaughtered. The Shogun army continues to fall as Fowler’s army marches in.
Fowler celebrates how easily he has defeated the empire. The last line of defense is Shogun Ito, who is protected by Taigen, Ringo, and guards. Fowler announces to them that he will create a new Shogun and open Japan to the world of various trades and people of the world.
Shogun Ito asks for a duel, but Fowler ruthlessly kills him by shooting him in the head. As Fowler is about to kill the Shogun’s sons, Mizu enters and swipes away his gun with her sword.
Maya Erskine as Mizu in Blue Eye Samurai – Image Courtesy of Netflix
Mizu versus Fowler
Mizu fights Fowler’s guards while Taigen helps others to safety. Fowler runs away, so Mizu runs after him. Taigen ruthlessly kills Shindo, Fowler’s partner.
Fowler enters a three-way fight with Taigen and Mizu but effortlessly takes them on before running away again. Mizu tells Taigen to stop helping her as it isn’t his fight. She asks him to find Akemi.
Mizu confronts Fowler again. The man is frustrated that she doesn’t stop tormenting him. Mizu sets the establishments on fire and continues chasing Fowler. With the fire blazing throughout the city, Akemi and Seki close the gates to trap Fowler’s army. However, as they walk away from the gate, Seki is shot. Akemi is devastated, but Seki tells her she’s free. Seki dies. Akemi may not have been his daughter, but he treated her like one.
How does Blue Eye Samurai Season 1 end?
Taigen finds Akemi and realizes that Seki is dead. Akemi tells him that Seki wanted her to be free from royalty. Taigen tells her he wants to be a man for her and live a happy life. However, Akemi realizes with freedom, she has a choice: she wants to stay. Taigen is flabbergasted by her decision, but Akemi tells him that she wants to be great. This is an interesting theme in the story, the concept of “greatness.” Taigen does not believe he can be great, but Akemi has always believed she can be.
Getting the upper hand, Fowler squeezes the life out of Mizu and realizes her “bones break like a woman’s.” He then realizes that Mizu is a woman. While distracted, Mizu frees herself from him and beats Fowler.
Fowler laughs as Mizu is on the cusp of revenge, explaining to her that she’s burned down the city to get revenge. He tells her that maybe he is her father after all. Mizu asks him the whereabouts of the other white men so she can seek revenge on them, too. Fowler tells her she will not find Skeffington or Routely. Fowler explains that those men were the worst of Japan, selling unwanted daughters.
Fowler then explains that her mother was not her biological mother but her maid, paid to keep her hidden until the money ran out. Fowler knows that Mizu needs her alive to find the other men who are in London.
Blue Eye Samurai Season 1 ends with the Shogun rebuilding the city with a new leader. Ringo appears upset that Mizu did not return to him. Mizu sets out at sea on a boat, with Fowler imprisoned in the chambers. London, here she comes.
Did you think Episode 8 was a good ending for Blue Eye Samurai Season 1? We’d love to know your thoughts. Comment below!
