{"id":50068,"date":"2024-04-23T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T07:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2028407"},"modified":"2024-04-23T10:40:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T08:40:58","slug":"shogun-ending-explained-did-spoiler-really-die","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/shogun-ending-explained-did-spoiler-really-die\/","title":{"rendered":"Sh\u014dgun ending explained: Did [spoiler] really die?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The epic historical drama has now come to an end on Disney Plus \u2013 but how was the story brought to a close? <\/p>

By David Opie\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 23 April 2024 at 07:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Sh\u014dgun loves to toy with viewers just as much as the lords and generals in Japan\u2019s real-life Edo period<\/a> manipulated their subjects in the pursuit of power.<\/p>\n

From the moment English navigator John Blackthorne washed up on the shores of Japan in 1600, the series<\/a> has thrown surprise after surprise our way, while throwing Lady Mariko and Lord Yoshii Toranaga for a spin as well.<\/p>\n

Episode 9 ended with perhaps the biggest surprise of all; the apparent death of Lady Mariko, who\u2019s caught in the explosion that Ishido\u2019s ninja clan used to blast their way through Osaka castle in a failed kidnap attempt.<\/p>\n

Well, that might not have been a surprise if you\u2019re already familiar with James Clavell\u2019s original book<\/a> that this show is based on.<\/p>\n

But maybe Mariko doesn\u2019t die this time around? Maybe showrunners Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks have changed their minds, using our understanding of the source material to throw us for one more loop? Or maybe we\u2019re just toying with ourselves now in the desperate hope of seeing Anna Sawai return one last time as Mariko?<\/p>\n

Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of Sh\u014dgun<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sh\u014dgun ending explained \u2014 Did Lady Mariko really die?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Eita\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Eita Okuno as Saeki Nobutatsu, Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko, Hiromoto Ida as Kiyama Ukon Sadanaga in Sh\u014dgun.<\/span><\/figcaption> Katie Yu\/FX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The final episode opens with yet another surprise, a much older version of Blackthorne who seems to be recalling the past in his mind\u2019s eye while his actual eyes and entire body deteriorate in bed. Two kids who seem to be his grandchildren approach and ask John about a sword in his room that\u2019s chipped because he apparently used it to \u201cfight off a whole army of assassins\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas it really given to you by a savage?\u201d one of the precocious children asks in the most English of English accents. Blackthorne ponders this question while holding tight onto the rosary he was given in Japan. So are the events of this show but a memory for Blackthorne now, or is this actually a future he\u2019s imagining in the wake of what happened to Mariko?<\/p>\n

Because yes, Lady Mariko is really dead, it turns out. Everyone is crying around a now younger Blackthorne again, who\u2019s holding her corpse in his hands. The opening credits and a procession follow before we cut to a meeting with all the big players who are discussing the ramifications of what took place and what to do next.<\/p>\n

Lady Ochiba argues that Mariko deserves a proper Christian burial, which the men reluctantly agree to, and then discussion of an \u201cinevitable\u201d war is interrupted by an earthquake which worries the more superstitious council members attending. The vote moves forward with a \u2018yes\u2019, though, regardless, setting the stage for an epic power play that should concern Toranaga, but he\u2019s more focused on the loss of Mariko right now.<\/p>\n

Old Man Blackthorne pops up again briefly before we move back to his meeting with that shady Portuguese priest who\u2019s been stirring the pot this whole time in the background. \u201cMariko might be happy to see us getting on,\u201d he says, to which John asks if this is the moment he\u2019s going to be ambushed and killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were meant to die in these woods, but an arrangement was made,\u201d says the priest. \u201cYou will leave Osaka alive.\u201d That\u2019s because Mariko asked the church to spare Blackthorne\u2019s life before she died, so John is sent back to Toranaga in a small rowing boat.<\/p>\n

\"Cosmo\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne in Sh\u014dgun.<\/span><\/figcaption> Katie Yu\/FX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Back at base camp, the truth is revealed when Toranaga confronts Kashigi Yabushige about his involvement in Mariko\u2019s death: \u201cThat night, you were seen letting intruders into my quarters\u2026 After Mariko\u2019s death, they said you were guilt stricken and begged for forgiveness\u2026 Did you aid this attack?\u201d<\/p>\n

Yabushige admits that it\u2019s all true, to which Toranaga says: \u201cFine, all your lands are forfeit. Please slit your belly by sunset tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to this casual request, Yabushige begs, but not for his life. No, he begs for a more decent death by cannon fire or even to be \u201ceaten alive by a school of angry fish\u201d.<\/p>\n

Toranaga doesn\u2019t trust him though, so these \u201cfine suggestions\u201d are refuted. \u201cPlease commit Seppuku by sunset tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

As per tradition, another man is asked to \u201csecond\u201d the death, which means someone else will slice Yabushige\u2019s head off with a sword after he cuts into his own stomach. Yabushige requests the Anjin, aka Blackthorne, but again, Toranaga says no, and so it\u2019s decided that the lord himself will second the death instead.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Blackthorne visits his consort Usami Fuji, who reveals that she is no longer his consort. Instead, Toranaga has given her permission to leave and become a nun, thereby ending her service to the Anjin. John gets upset about it for a second, but he\u2019s overruled, so he then wishes her the best.<\/p>\n

Fuji is sad for what will become of the village now though, because the locals are being punished for their apparent role in sinking Blackthorne\u2019s ship while he was away.<\/p>\n

The next day, John meets Toranaga via a local fisherman slash samurai who translates for them both. Blackthorne argues that the villagers don\u2019t deserve to die because the loss of his ship was actually wrapped up in Mariko\u2019s machinations, but Toranaga disagrees, pointing out that: \u201cThose who are disloyal to me continue to breathe air in my realm.\u201d And that cannot be allowed.<\/p>\n

\"Hiroyuki\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga in Sh\u014dgun.<\/span><\/figcaption> Colin Bentley\/FX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI was the disloyal one,\u201d replies Blackthorne, desperate to save the village. \u201cI came here to use you from the day I set forth on your shores.\u201d Toranaga ignores John though, even when he shouts the word \u201cEnemy\u201d and points to himself over and over again.<\/p>\n

Another cut to Old Man Blackthorne reminds us that this has all happened in the past now, and then he tries to commit Seppuku in front of Toranaga to protest the lord\u2019s \u201ccallous punishment of his village\u201d.<\/p>\n

Toranaga intervenes with a well-timed punch and then hits even harder with the words, \u201cIf you\u2019re finally done, rebuild that ship and make me a fleet.\u201d Blackthorne is gagged, as are we.<\/p>\n

The next morning, Yabushige hands over his final will to his family before meeting Toranaga one last time. They sit together overlooking the sea in contemplation, and then\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIf only I could have lived to see it,\u201d says Yabushige. \u201cThe day your plan comes together, whatever it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toranaga reveals his master plan then, and it\u2019s a doozy. Yes, it turns out he was the one who destroyed Blackthorne\u2019s ship, not the villagers who are being punished, as a ruse to test him, one which Mariko also took part in through negotiations with the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps someday I\u2019ll tell him the truth\u2026 By then, he\u2019ll have rebuilt the ship, and I\u2019ll likely have to destroy it again. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s his fate to ever leave Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gobsmacked by this revelation, Yabushige asks, \u201cHow does it feel to shape the wind to your will?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t control the wind,\u201d replies Toranaga. \u201cI only study it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, the lord explains his plan to defeat Ishido, even though his enemies\u2019 forces far outnumber his own. Sending a mere army to Osaka would have meant certain death, so Toranaga sent \u201ca woman to do what an army never could\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Cosmo\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko in Sh\u014dgun.<\/span><\/figcaption> Katie Yu\/FX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In short, Mariko\u2019s actions in Osaka these past couple of episodes have ensured that Lady Ochiba will have grown tired of her alliance with Ishido. Via a secret letter, she\u2019s now pledged to keep the heir\u2019s army from the battlefield at Sekigahara. One month from now, Ishido will show up without a banner, which means that the regents will turn on him before a sword is even drawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly then will my dream be realised,\u201d says Toranaga. \u201cI will start it in Edo, my centre of power. A nation without wars, an era of great peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us have made this possible,\u201d he continues. \u201cYou, me, Lady Mariko\u2026 Even the barbarian who came out of the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lord reveals the main reason why he kept Blackthorne around all this time is because he makes him laugh \u2013 which might be the most homoerotic moment of the show yet. And that\u2019s saying something.<\/p>\n

Yabushige is mad though, pointing out the hypocrisy of sacrificing all the lives of \u201clesser men just to ensure victory in our names\u201d.<\/p>\n

To which the lord replies: \u201cIf you win, anything is possible. Even Sh\u014dgun.\u201d<\/p>\n

So yes, Toranaga might have noble aims, but he also wants power. Yabushige begs for more insight into his lord\u2019s \u201csecret heart,\u201d but Toranaga makes a very good point when he asks, \u201cWhy tell a dead man the future?\u201d And with that, Seppuku is performed and Yabushige is no more.<\/p>\n

In a more solemn moment, Blackthorne and his former consort discuss the afterlife before they pour Mariko\u2019s ashes into the water as they row. John holds tight onto his rosary before letting it go into the depths as well, which begs the question how does Old Man Blackthorne have it again in old age? Unless he just bought a replica to remember Mariko by, of course.<\/p>

In one final scene, Blackthorne works with the villagers to pull what remains of his boat out of the water, while Toranaga watches from the shore nearby. The pair look towards each other with mutual respect, although John is none the wiser when it comes to how the lord has been manipulating him this whole time.<\/p>\n

But Blackthorne is just another pawn, ultimately, something which Toranaga no doubt contemplates staring out across the mountains before him while the music builds and swells as the title Sh\u014dgun majestically appears on screen.<\/p>\n