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Shōgun Teaches You How to Watch


The Japanese saga of court intrigue luxuriates in the language of taking and holding power.

The ensuing discussion reveals that the other lords fear Toranaga has been accumulating power to use against them: taking six brides, expanding his fiefdom, holding hostage the mother of the shōgun-to-be, Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido). Whenever things seem like they’re about to slow down to the point where fickle viewers might log on to social media to complain that they don’t understand the plot, a volley of flaming arrows flutters through the air or a sliding door splatters with blood. But it’s equally impressive how often the filmmakers keep you on the edge of your seat wondering if a character will keep their mouth shut while being insulted or scapegoated into blowing their stack at the rudeness or injustice of it all, provoking a legal or physical attack that could land them in prison or at the bottom of the ocean.

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