In the latest episode of Shogun — which was excellent as ever — Nagakado brained himself a rock while trying to assassinate his uncle Saeki. This needless death will surely determine many aspects of Episode 8, “The Abyss of Life”, as Toranaga attempts to deal with the loss of his son potentially being the fault of his decision to formally surrender himself to Osaka and the Council of Regents.
Toranaga Could Rescind His Surrender
While the relationship between Toranaga and Nagakado hasn’t been the healthiest father-son dynamic in the world, there’s no doubt that Toranaga will not take his death well. He will rightly blame Saeki for it, although he technically didn’t touch the boy, and it’s also likely that he will be so incensed at Ishido and the Council of Regents that he rescinds his surrender and does something drastic.
If the show stays true to the book, what we’re building towards is Mariko and Blackthorne heading to Osaka to force Ishido into dishonoring himself by revealing he’s essentially holding the rest of the Council hostage. This will happen in Episode 9, based on the available plot titles and synopses, so Episode 8 will surely get the pieces in position for this.
Will Shogun Deviate From the Book?
NOTE: MAJOR POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOLLOW
While thus far Shogun hasn’t remained completely faithful to the book, the broader plot is pretty much the same, and I do expect this to continue as we enter the final few episodes. However, the ending of the novel is famously the weakest bit, and if any major changes to the narrative do occur, it’s likely they’ll be related to Mariko’s death and Blackthorne’s ultimate fate.
However, I don’t think the show will veer away from the source material in any major respects, and the information we have about upcoming episodes seems to confirm this. The Episode 9 synopsis mentions Mariko and Blackthorne going to Osaka to confront Ishido, and the Episode 10 synopsis makes reference to a “tragic death”. This makes sense since Mariko dies in Osaka in a self-sacrifice moment that’ll probably end up being the biggest thing on TV since Hodor holding the door in Game of Thrones.
I also don’t expect to see anything different in Blackthorne’s arc, including his crew being appalled at how Japanese he has become, or him eventually remaining in Japan, with Toranaga burning his ship to keep him on-side against Ishido and remain useful to him when he becomes Shogun (which was his plan all along.)
Shogun Episode 8 Release Date and Where to Watch
Shogun Episode 8 is scheduled to release on FX on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. The release time is 10 PM EST on FX and 12:01 AM EST on Hulu. Episode 8 is titled “The Abyss of Life” and will have a runtime of 58 minutes.
