The tenth episode of Shōgun aired today and pushed the story down an unexpected path, so now everyone wants to know if Lord Toranaga and John Blackthorne will be back for an eleventh outing next week.
Shogun has taken the world of television by storm and is already being hailed by many as one of the best historical dramas in history. The series is an adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name, and follows the adventures of an English sailor named John Blackthorne who ends up on the shores of Japan in a period of unrest and civil war.
Blackthorne has to navigate his way through Japan’s strange culture as a vassal to Lord Toranaga. The daimyo (the Japanese counterpart for a baron or a duke) is fighting a battle of his own with the other members of the Regent Council — led by the ambitious and villainous Lord Ishido —who are trying to supplant the Heir and get rid of Toranaga’s influence. The friendship between Blackthorne and Toranaga and how the two meander their way through this treacherous time comprises the majority of Shogun‘s story.
Now, with the release of episode 10, what can we expect from this story going forward?
Warning: Major spoilers for the Shōgun season finale follow.
Is there going to be a Shōgun episode 11?
After Mariko’s heartbreaking death in episode 9, Blackthorne returns to Toranaga and pleads for the people of Anjiro, who are being punished for the destruction of his English galleon. The two eventually reach an understanding, whereupon Toranaga once again hires Blackthorne’s services to create a fleet. Toranaga then reveals to Yabushige that it was his plan all along to keep Blackthorne in Japan, and that Ishido is all but defeated because of Mariko’s sacrifice.
Shogun ends with Toranaga and Blackthorne looking to the horizon at the prospects of their hard-earned victory, leaving audiences to wonder if this is truly the story’s ending.
Alas, there isn’t going to be another episode of Shōgun. What’s more, the producers conceived this show as a miniseries, which means that another season is highly unlikely. Even leafing through James Clavell’s original novel, it seems that the story of Shōgun was supposed to end here, only heralding the creation of another Shōgunate under Toranaga, rather than actually depicting it.
That being said, the soaring popularity of Shōgun over the last couple of weeks may compel the network to renew the series for a second season. The story certainly warrants a sequel, so we’ll just have to wait and see if Hiroyuki Sanada can get to once again don the mantle of the cunning Japanese warlord.
