Shōgun recap: The show tries out some new tricks in “The Eightfold Fence”

We’ve finally left the confines of Osaka Castle. Now we can get into some really rich stuff. A training montage? Sure, that’s in there. Sitting on a wooden deck in the rain drinking tea? That is definitely in there, and that’s the freaking dream. (I for one would love to play those scenes on a loop for myself as I type away on my laptop.) And tenderhearted friends, when I say it gets a bit gorier in this fourth episode of Shōgun, I really mean it.

So the crew sails into Toranaga’s fishing village Izu, and to remind you all, Izu used to be Yabushige’s fishing village until Toranaga’s general claimed it for his boss, gripping his katana by the handle while his men behind him did the same. We’ve actually been here before, to Izu, in the first episode. This is where Blackthorne and his men first came ashore in Japan. His ship is still there, actually. Blackthorne inquires about the ship and his men immediately and is told 1.) that’s not his ship anymore, it’s Toranaga’s, and 2.) his men have been transported elsewhere. (Are they dead? I kind of think so, but Shōgun always seems to have surprises in store.) Omi, Yabushige’s nephew, is the guy who kind of holds it down in this town and he’s stoked as hell that Toranaga is coming to pay him a visit. It’s interesting to see him reunited with Blackthorne, too, as Omi was the guy who first searched his boat and imprisoned him upon his arrival. He also peed on our Anjin. Remember that? Blackthorne yelled at Omi and made a profane gesture to his nether regions, then Omi’s response was to take out his Johnson, step on the Englishman, and pee right on his head. Needless to say, Blackthorne is not pleased to see him.

Just like Omi, the villagers are losing their minds that Toranaga is there. They gather en masse and chant “Toranaga-sama” at him. He humors them with a little speech and a bow, then peaces out to Edo, leaving Blackthorne behind to train some samurai in Western weaponry. They’re giving Blackthorne a bunch of stuff there, too, since he’s now a hatamoto and all. One thing he gets is a house; the other is a woman—a consort—specifically Toranaga’s general’s newly widowed granddaughter, Fuji. She’s the one whose husband died for being too cringe; their infant son was killed, too, which sucks.

Anyway, Fuji’s not super into being with a “barbarian” at first, but she’s full of surprises. When Omi and his guys are trying to get Blackthorne to turn over his guns, she asks him to turn them over to her instead, then lifts one, cocks it, and aims it at the men herself to get them to go away. She’s also Mariko’s niece (maybe-dead Buntaro the Bitch is Fuji’s uncle) and when alone on that dreamy porch with Blackthorne one night, Mariko fills him in on his consort’s full backstory. It’s sweet to see him bond with Fuji after this—he even gives her his guns as a gift and promises to teach her how to use them. She gives him her dead father’s samurai swords in return, saying that it isn’t fitting for a hatamoto to be without them. (She can’t have him being cringe, too.)

As much as he still feels like a prisoner but with prettier surroundings, Blackthorne seems to settle in at least a bit this episode. He’s finding his groove. He’s teaching the fellas how to use his ships’ cannons, he’s learning Japanese a bit better, he’s trying out natto—he’s bathing, too! Mariko even catches him in the gorgeous, rocky hot spring where he bathes, and they have a conversation about what they do for fun in their respective cultures. (This leads into a beautiful, low-lit love scene. Maybe it’s with a courtesan, as Mariko claims? Maybe it’s with Mariko herself? I think it’s the latter; she’s just trying to cover her ass.) In fact, there are quite a few meaningful scenes between Blackthorne and Mariko this episode. She teaches him about how Japanese houses are constructed to go up as quickly as they can come down (natural disasters and manmade ones being the culprits for their fall); about how her people have had to accept that death lurks around every corner for them; and about the concept of the Eightfold Fence, the internal barriers that Japanese children are taught to construct to keep their emotional lives safely concealed, to have a space to which they can retreat within themselves.

Apparently this can be a sneaky barrier, too. I mean, we’ve already seen as much with Toranaga and friends, but we see it a bit more in his kid. Omi and Toranga’s son Nagakado get chatting one night about being overlooked and disrespected, and junior hatches a scheme. He tells Omi not to tell his dad, the king of “wait for your enemy to make a mistake.” The next day, when Yabushige and Blackthorne have promised Nebara Jozen, one of Ishido’s best samurai, a demonstration of their cannon skills, Nagakado heads out a little early and preps an ambush. Some faraway cannons are turned toward Ishido’s men, and with a wave of his sword, Toranaga’s son orders them to fire. Guys, this is so gross. Bodies explode in bursts of blood; scraps of flesh fall away. If you’ve ever been curious to see what it looks like for a cannonball to rip through a guy, now’s your chance. It’s nasty and it’s made all the more disgusting in contrast to the beauty that precedes it. Jozen, now armless and legless, shouts that this is not how samurai fight, then Nagakado cuts off his head. (At least they don’t show that). Mariko whimpers, “It is war.” So I guess we know what to expect next episode! Yeesh.

Stray observations

• Mariko assumes Blackthorne is going to think natto is too weird to eat? Fermented soybean? I believe Blackthorne has sampled much wilder fare.
• Mariko knows a bit about Blackthorne’s previous exploits, too: she has his journal and a handy little translation guide. Just how much of it has she translated? Is she still reading it? Will she reach a point of utter disgust with him, or will she think he’s super cool now?
• Yabushige was really trying to scheme a little with Ishido on the side, but now that Toranaga has resigned from the council, that ship has sailed. Sucks for that guy, eh?
• We’ve seen that Toranaga is cool with killing people’s baby sons (Fuji’s). Is Nagakado safe from his own dad for this crap he just pulled?
• When Blackthorne begins his first training, talking about tactics, he describes some legendary old battle (Malta), and Mariko stops him before translating, saying it has to be a battle he actually fought himself. Dude’s a poser. That’s when he pivots to cannon stuff, boat stuff. He’s a boat guy at heart.
• Yabushige doesn’t like that Blackthorne has Fuji’s dad’s samurai swords. Yabushige doesn’t like a lot of things right now. I bet he’s gonna get up to some shenanigans real soon—maybe in the next one.

Shōgun is available to stream now on Hulu.