The Reel Rejects - SHŌGUN 1x06 "Ladies of the Willow World" | Breakdown & Review

Episode Date: March 27, 2024

PREPARE FOR CRIMSON SKY!! Visit AsteproAllergy.com to Save on Allergy Relief!! LIQUID IV: Visit http://www.liquidiv.com & use Promo Code: REJECTS Shōgun Episode 6 Full Episode Reaction Watch Along: h...ttps://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects Continuing FX & Hulu's highly-acclaimed new adaptation of SHŌGUN with our First Time Reaction, Commentary, Breakdown, and Full Spoiler Review of Episode 6, "Ladies of the Willow World" - as the Lady Ochiba continues her grasp for power in Osaka, Blackthorn and Mariko share an intimate interlude in the Willow World, and Toranaga weighs his options for the coming conflict... John & Andrew dive into the epic drama starring Hiroyuki Sanada (John Wick Chapter 4, The Wolverine, Sunshine) as Yoshii Toranaga, Cosmo Jarvis (Peaky Blinders) as John Blackthorn, Anna Sawai (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, F9) as Toda Mariko, Tadanobu Asano (Thor, Mortal Kombat) as Kashigi Yabushige, Takehiro Hira (Monarch, Gran Turismo) as Ishido Kazunari, and MORE! How does this adaptation live up to the original book, the 1980 miniseries (starring Richard Chamberlain), and the actual history? Let's find out!! #Shōgun #Shogun #FX #Hulu #HiroyukiSanada #Miniseries #Japan #Samurai #Feudalism #FirstTimeWatching #Reaction Follow Andrew Gordon On Socials: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieSource Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agor711/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/Agor711 Become A Super Sexy Reject For Full-Length T.V. & Movie Reactions! https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Aparrel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Music Used In Manscaped Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG On INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:47 so you can save even more on everything you need to get active and outside. Visit your local Sierra store today. This video is brought to you by AstuPro and Liquid IV. So we up into the video, just want to remind y'all that Greg, Coy Chandra, Michael Tesler, and myself will be at WonderCon the Sunday, March 31st, 2 p.m. in room 207, come say hey and check out our second annual panel. Without further ado, let's watch the shoot. Oh, my goodness. Well, gang, before we hop into this, please, if you're listening to this on Apple and Spotify, don't forget to rate us. And, hey, a big thank you to the folks made this week's episode possible.
Starting point is 00:01:28 Well, that was quite, quite a thick episode. What did you think, sir? As always, I just loved it again, hardly any action, if really any at all. And I'd love that we just got, what was the title again, Ladies of the Willow, something like that. Yeah. But, and I love that, you know, the whole thing was literally on Mariko and what's, what's her name again? Ochiba? Ochiba, yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:59 And again, that's literally how the... Ladies of the Willow World. Yeah, and it literally starts on, you know, the whole montage, that flashback, which was extremely powerful. And I like that connection between the two that was so fascinating. I was just so engulfed in that relationship. I didn't realize that we were going there and just getting, you know, even... I mean, again, I'm so invested in Mariko as it is. and obviously the turmoil and the pain and the anguish she's gone through.
Starting point is 00:02:31 And obviously, what she, just everything she has to do in general with Buntar, just the translating for John Blackthorn and how there's a forbidden relationship there with me. And then obviously, you know, the mental anguish she's got to go through with Buntaro, the services, and, you know, the faith that she has with her religion. And then obviously, you know, her services to Toranaga. I mean, this is a very, just fleshed out incredible character. Now you got this incredible flashback and this relationship again. I'm like, damn, this is such a deep character.
Starting point is 00:03:08 And then seeing this relationship with, sorry, what's her name? I will get all these names down one day. Lady Ocuba. Oh, Chabah. Thank you so much. That was quite the reveal that her, I mean, obviously we had been told from the previous episode that her father was, you know, the one that killed the tyco from the previous, you know, the previous tyco before the last one.
Starting point is 00:03:36 Monaco's father. Correct. Thank you so much. Yes. So we had been told that, but actually to see that it was her father and that they were, yeah, and that they were friends. I'm like, oh my God, I didn't realize that. Now we're going to have a turmoil on that they were friends.
Starting point is 00:03:50 And now there's going to be, obviously, there's bad blood between them, I would imagine. And for her to go from that to being the mother of the heir to the successor to is like a whole other kind of twist. Yeah, for sure. And I know like the whole first half I probably look. Well, I mean, I often look foolish in general. But, you know, just just saying like, oh yeah, her and Toranauga, they're in cahoots. I'm like, I don't know about that because while Toranaaga didn't actually, you know, kill him. Mariko's father did. So, but he planned it and, you know, helped him do. At least she thinks he does. Yeah, or that's what she thinks. But obviously, I'm curious to see what the resolve is with her and what her end game is.
Starting point is 00:04:31 Although I have an idea, but I've been very wrong. But I love that this show always keeps me on my toes. My predictability is very usually wrong, which I love because everyone who knows me knows a big pet peeve of mine is I hate stuff that is predictable. It's just inform you like, I hate it so much. And the show is the exact opposite of that. It's always got me on my toes. I'm like, I did not see that.
Starting point is 00:04:53 coming. That was one thing. I really did not see that coming with that. Again, that relationship between the two of them and that flashback. That was incredible. I got so much more to say. What did you think of the episode? Yeah, no, I agree. It's always really gratifying when a show, any kind of, you know, story can grip you, yeah, with context and with just the revealing of further information or further, you know, corners of the map we haven't quite trodden yet. And And this show is great at that. I mean, yeah, because you have, and it's a lot to keep track of certainly, and it makes me excited to go back and catch the finer points on a rewatch and see some of the greater nuances that underlie and underpin all these things, especially because, again, they do, you know, give you the credit to pay attention and all that stuff. And you're on such a kind of complicated chessboard.
Starting point is 00:05:45 And despite all of that, I just feel so kind of steeped in the intrigue, the pain. the sort of weird resolve that rises out of some of these traumas, you know, because you're watching, there are so many characters, especially the women on this show who are sort of like forced
Starting point is 00:06:06 to die and be reborn almost as like a whole other person in order to cope and survive with you know, this world that is set up. It's that thing she says at the end, you know, like men go to war for various reasons, but a woman is always at war. And I mean, you know, you can
Starting point is 00:06:22 fight in the comments and unpack that in the in the modern sense but in a in a more you know in a grander sense i do think that that's a really sort of interesting theme to to lay down because of course i mean you've got someone like lady ochiba who is clearly you know making a play for power and making a play to pull the strings and you know perhaps land herself in you know at like as the bearer of the air you know she's already got a certain she's already managed to like climb to a certain protected status or a certain, you know, uh, you know, status of, of great importance to everything. And so watching her really embrace and use that after seeing what we saw in the flashback and her kind of echoing that sentiment of like turn your eyes away from, I can't
Starting point is 00:07:10 remember the exact line, but you know, from things that you can't control. And there's so much of that at play across all of this because so much of what we've seen thus far, I thought back to the very first episode. It's like, you know, that guy couldn't control himself in the face of disrespect toward his lord, you know, in Torunaga. And that's another, it's just a small, seemingly small thing that had grave consequences that is sort of, yeah, just born of like, you either got to go with this, this just seems like a place and time to live in where you have to have like so much restraint and force sight and control over your emotions. And, you know, if men are subject to that in the ways that we have seen here thus far, it seems like the women are subject to it in like a
Starting point is 00:08:00 wholly more twisted way. And this is a, you know, show that's already given us a couple characters who are being kept alive as a means of punishment and torture in at least, you know, one perspective or another, you know, Madako and Fuji being, you know, the two I'm directly thinking of now. But yeah, like having this, this setup where, you know, minus a couple places and a couple sort of situations, you know, it's mostly men calling the shots and, you know, lording over each other and, you know, bickering and doing the politics and all that stuff. And in this episode, I think, especially, we kind of get the glimpse into, you know, the ways in which, you know, a lot of these characters, a lot of the, the, you know, female characters
Starting point is 00:08:49 especially have to kind of navigate around that and use, again, unspoken means to influence and or to, you know, grasp at power. And then you think of, like, Kiku, like, all, we don't really know that much about her even still. And yet, you know, because we have her proximity to these other characters and stuff like that and with what we know about various other characters, what we've seen them do in the present versus how they came up in the past. Everyone kind of, you know, keeping an eye on the throne because, you know, everything is up in the air right now. It makes me all the more curious if we're going to get some kind of big reveal
Starting point is 00:09:28 or some kind of revelation with Kiku as to what her plan is or what her motivations might be beyond, you know, being one of the willow, one of the, you know, blossoms beneath, you know, the willow on the lake or whatever, however they summed that up. Right. And it was interesting seeing like all three. I mean, obviously there's so many different things happening in this episode, so many different subplots that were just so well done. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:56 But like having the focus of those three characters and then seeing like the different, like you have two characters who really crave power with Oceba and Kikku. And again, I'm very excited to see like what possibly the revelation is with Kiku and her backstory and all that too. And then you have a character like Mariko who is just so... I mean, again, Ochoba has had a lot of pain and anguish with what happened to her father
Starting point is 00:10:22 and obviously having to be... You know, there was that interesting line with her too with like, I looked fate in the eyes and scratched it or something. It was just, again, so many interesting and wonderful lines of dial. I don't know where these incredible writers come up with these insane, amazing lines.
Starting point is 00:10:39 But it's just, again, interesting seeing how they're like working up the totem pole of power and then Mariko is just such a woman of honor and just like her journey as well. And then I really loved that scene with her and Torinagra. He's like, he's like, why did my father like marry me off to a man like Buntaro? And like, you know, and he's like, you, you, you, you haven't figured it out yet after all these years. Like he like he was just setting you up. Like his mission is not yet over. He's instilled that into you like. He set you up to carry on his mantle. Exactly. And like, that is.
Starting point is 00:11:13 just that's just incredible writing it's just it's so layered and it's got so much emotional depth there and like well it makes you think so many things yeah because in her position you're like i didn't i didn't ask for that but also you know i've had to carry the the weight of shame from you know the actions of my family before me and just like yeah there's so many different things at play yeah and i know we're going to see i would guess there's going to be some theories in the comments like did uh john blackthorn and kiku Did they actually do it? Did they consummate?
Starting point is 00:11:47 It's my opinion, and again, we can get into arguments in the common section. I do not believe they did. I'm curious what your theory is on that, because, I mean, obviously, we didn't see it. That is not always the case of, oh, well, if we didn't see it, it didn't happen. But just the fact that he's turned down so many cortisans, did I say that right? Okay, cool. John's always making sure I say things right, which I appreciate, by the way. People love a grammarist.
Starting point is 00:12:13 Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much, John. I appreciate it. But, no, I mean, he's turned down so many in the past and also, too, like, you can tell just, obviously, we know how much, like, him and Mariko just care for each other and just how much, you know, how passionate they are towards each other. And obviously, the looks and, and there was so much subtext into how, you know, how they were speaking towards Kiku, how they were talking towards each other. And then how they were whole kind of, like, just touching hands, like, before he walked in the room. in my opinion there's no way they did anything so i'd be shocked if they did um even with the words that were exchanged afterwards so um but again some incredible lines of dialogue that were uh when they were in that room like oh we can turn the lights off and make it darker or the shadow whatever the lines were very interesting yeah play of of negotiation across all this because you had the
Starting point is 00:13:04 the initial haggling with the the miss the madam or whatever you call it the you know you know, the head of the brothel, you know, and that back and forward to being like, you know, you know, charge you 500 because we're the best out there, you know. And it's like, well, I mean, come on. It's only for, except for Toranaga himself, is for his, you know. Hatamoto. Yeah, it's for his hatamoto. It's for, you know, a friend of his who he wants to honor a little bit.
Starting point is 00:13:31 So, you know, can we cut the, and then just the, yeah, the insistence when they're there, that there are no prying eyes that we can, you know, make it dark if you want it dark. We can, you know, keep you in this, you know, fantasy place removed from everything else where you can kind of feel free to be at ease and be open and express and indulge and whatever else. But you're constantly sitting there wondering to yourself like, but how secret is all of this really, you know, because I got to imagine that maybe this fortress is impenetrable, so to speak. but you know who on the inside is paying attention you know and and where are those people taking this information and if kiku has you know as much ambition as it seems like she does right i have to imagine that yeah i mean behind the scenes there's probably a whole lot of talk that you know in again the you know transactional space doesn't get brought up to just the people passing through but i have to imagine that like you know there's a whole other life being lived behind the the scenes here that we don't get to see. And two, you know, since it is sort of a crossroads point, I would imagine, you know, you never know whose information is going to come through and fall into, you know,
Starting point is 00:14:50 certain hands, especially in a privileged and intimate situation such as this one. So it's like fascinating to think about it. And to, yeah, and to watch yet another conversation between, you know, the engine, between Blackthorn, Modico, and someone she's translating between them for, you know, and like the looks, again, like there's so many great things across this show, across the different subplots that are held in looks and body language and you're often left to wonder like, okay, what is really being said, you know, and sometimes it's clear and other times you're like, okay, you know, I can kind of see the wheels spinning under the surface, but I can't quite tell what conclusion is
Starting point is 00:15:35 being reached or whatever else and so like they're great at orchestrating these situations that are so intimate but that are also uneasy and i think that's really it takes a lot of finesse to do that and and amid a show that again has so many different layers in terms of politics culture language you know uh various other you know sort of timeless clashes between the sexes and the classes and all sorts of stuff you know like it's it's continually kind of tipping the hat to the construction and the and just the uh the you know mapping out of the events and and the emotionality shout out to ask the pro for sponsoring us so some fun facts about me i've been seeing an en t the past couple of months got a CT scan done for my allergies and right now i'm trying
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Starting point is 00:19:21 So stay hydrated, stay healthy, and let's keep crushing those health and fitness goals together in the year 2024. For sure. Also, uh, one of my favorite. are parts of the show, as I've mentioned a few times, is the relationship between Tornaga and Blackthorn and just seeing more the development of that relationship. I just, like, him honoring him with some gifts just to say thank you for jumping in there to save me during the earthquake and the landslide.
Starting point is 00:19:44 You jumped in there with no intention of getting anything back in return. You just jumped in there to save a life. And I appreciate that. Like, thank you so much. And I'm not going to give you exactly what you want. Yeah, but I'm going to reward you for this. But again, I still. I love that relationship.
Starting point is 00:19:59 I love all their interactions. I just, I find it so fascinating again. And I also think it's interesting, too, just watching the actual politics of it, too. Like, again, he's not doing it for politics. He's just, hey, I appreciate what you're doing for me kind of thing. And then you're seeing his son.
Starting point is 00:20:14 And then you're seeing, God, I can't. Yeah, Yabush, Yabushige. Yabushige's nephew, like, you're seeing, like, them getting very jealous at this barbarian is being lavished with gifts. and he's got ahead of the command now and all that. And it's just, it's like it defies logic too for them.
Starting point is 00:20:35 Yeah, it's like, hey, we've, we've been here for years. We've paid our dues and this guy. Holding it down. Yeah, and this guy comes in out of nowhere. Well, yeah, and I would equate it like for sports logic. It's where someone just like, you've been like head of the team for like three or four years. You're like on the varsity.
Starting point is 00:20:52 And then this freshman just comes in. It's like, wait, what the hell? We've been here for years. And this guy just comes in. And it's like respect kind of thing. So, I mean, I understand where they're coming from. So it's an interesting look, you know, POV look from where, you know, their heads are at. But again.
Starting point is 00:21:07 And on the heels of the last episode where Yibushige was like, who's army you're trying to give me commander? Then this episode is like, it's not my army anymore. But again, like that's not the threat. And I understand why. Like, it's still great writing. But from their perspective, it's like, you all focused on the wrong thing. Like, you got a way graver threat out there. than worrying about a barbarian getting some lavish gifts and having a command of something he doesn't even want.
Starting point is 00:21:33 Oh, it's a wild card, though, too, you know, because it's like they obviously can, you know, he's obviously garnered the favor of Toronaga, but they also have that barrier of culture and understanding. And so, yeah, like, I don't in a breath blame there for side-eyeing and for being sort of skeptical, but also you can easily tell that there is, you know, self-serving layers that we have become very familiar with here is they're both, you know, sort of upset that their viper power has not worked out, or at least their chess moves in this most recent round have not panned out in their favor so much. Absolutely. And before I get to the Regents, which I definitely want to talk about, I found it very fascinating. Toranagas, as we know, he's a very intelligent character. He plays chess while other people play checkers. He's he could tell something's up with Marico and.
Starting point is 00:22:27 John Blackthorn, so I found that fascinating to see where that's going to lead to, because I mean, at some point, I have a feeling he's going to find out that something happened. But again, I feel like he, like, that's the, again, another great thing is to me, that whole scene where he's talking to her, to me that said, hey, I know, here's an opportunity for you accompany him, you know, as a translator. Sure, and she makes the choice to not accompany them into the quarters for, you know, the actual act. Right. And so she cannot, you know, translate if he, you know, is talkative whilst pillowing or however he decided to put that.
Starting point is 00:23:09 And so like, yeah, and it could be, you know, obviously it could be different. But yeah, to me, that conversation said like, hey, look, you know, you know, Puntro was just in here being like, hey, you know, I've tortured this woman forever. and there's just something softer and warmer and totally unreserved for me in the way she looks at that guy. So I feel like he's got to know. No, for sure. In Toranaaga, I thought that was fascinating too
Starting point is 00:23:34 that he asked to, well, why don't you just divorce her then too? I was like, I was not expecting to know. Is that even an option? Yeah, right, right. Yeah, that was fascinating. And for which of you is that? It's like, is it an option for you? And then she gets killed.
Starting point is 00:23:45 Like, I honestly don't know how that side of things works. And most, I feel like it's from my vantage, seems like only very recently that like divorce has become like a common thing that isn't like disgrace your entire standing in your in your community. But yeah, like all the little things surrounding that and even the summation of like, again, we see there a lot of older shows obviously involve this aspect of society and brothels and courtesons and things like that. But this has been a fascinating glimpse into that because I think a lot of shows to pull from like a Game of Thrones or something like that, you know, you'll
Starting point is 00:24:26 cut to the brothel and it'll be basically an excuse to just have like a bunch of naked actors on screen and, you know, you're doing something that feels like not inappropriate to like the time and place necessarily, but often it strikes me as sort of like a, yeah, let's get our soft core scene going. Whereas here, you know, I like that like, yes, we go to the brothel, we confront that certainly and there is the temptation. There is the sort of, rush of what that is. But there's something like way spiritually and in practice different about it that's just quite striking to me. And yeah, like there's little waxes of poetry back and forth about, you know, the ways in which you can kind of ascend to a different plane for a
Starting point is 00:25:14 brief moment and leave all these various, you know, slings and arrows of life behind and, you know, for a perfect moment you can synthesize with somebody and feel infinite and just like stuff like that is not usually the priority I am used to seeing out of stuff like that and so I appreciate
Starting point is 00:25:31 that this show has just sort of come with that examination of like even though I am sure that like the way they staff these establishments is probably problematic to understate it
Starting point is 00:25:46 at the same time like the purpose and the full philosophy is more interesting just like the simple blunt transaction of it all. So it's just another thing that I'm glad that this show is approaching with a certain amount of sophistication and thoughtfulness instead of just being like, yeah, let's take a break for a nude scene or something like that. Yeah, I would have liked that more, but I mean, also fun can be fun sometimes. Yeah, right. No, no, no, I feel you.
Starting point is 00:26:21 It's more deep and layered than that. I totally agree with you. Again, very fascinating, great stuff with having the actor, I believe his name was Ido, making him the regent for Tornaga. They replaced Tornaga with Ido. That was very interesting. And then you had that other region. I'm not remembering his name at the moment. You trade one for the other.
Starting point is 00:26:46 Yeah, exactly. It's like, now we're back to square one. see what you're doing. You're trying to mess with the system here. You're trying to game the system right now. And again, just keeping me on my toes. Like, finally, we've got what we've been trying to do here for the last six episodes. Boom.
Starting point is 00:27:02 Well, and that's another sort of fascinating way to show like, yeah, even Ishido, who in the first half of the show has felt like the antagonist or like the leader of the antagonists in a sense now feels at least as of these couple episodes, certainly less effective or effectual. Because he is bound by these protocols and these, you know, is bound by ceremony and tradition and these agreements, this bureaucracy. And on the one hand, you're like, well, you know, perhaps we need some of that for society to be society. But at the same time, as Ochiba is, you know, making her maneuvers around, it seems like she is looking to operate on a wholly other plane for which those kinds of machinations will almost be irrelevant at some point. Yeah. So I'm, again, fascinated to see what kind of fire that lights under the regents.
Starting point is 00:27:53 Yeah. No, she's definitely got some strings and some plans that she's twisting around. But also, too, when we saw that that regent was trying to escape with his family, like, obviously that's what could have possibly happened to Torinaga. Had he not, you know, escaped in such a methodical way as he did in that one episode. So I'm glad, obviously, he got away. And that obviously sucks for that region. who wanted to get away peacefully. Also, too, again, them holding back on, I think it's a wise decision because we know with the crimson sky,
Starting point is 00:28:28 is that what they said right? The crimson sky. We know we've got some crazy action, I would imagine either in the next couple episodes or in that final episode, I would imagine that it's going to be some bombastic, psychotic, amazing action. But that was an interesting transition,
Starting point is 00:28:43 how like we saw that and then the very next shot. They're all dead, and then you can see his fingers, are missing. I was like, damn, they are just holding back. The intimacy of the violence. Yeah, for sure. But I'm like, I just have a feeling we're going to go like apes shit with the action.
Starting point is 00:28:58 Yeah. They were holding back. Like, wait, we got something special playing for you guys. Yeah, and I like that, you know, we've had these brushes with like, oh shit, war is definitely coming. And I feel like they're mounting the tension nicely. I didn't feel like, I don't feel like thus far we've spun our wheels
Starting point is 00:29:14 at all, even though certainly the inevitable has been prolonged to some degree. But that's, I think, part of the tension is like watching as any moment this could all fall over and certain things happen. And, you know, when, uh, uh, uh, what's his name, uh, Nagakado does the whole, you know, attack on Joe's end. You know, you expect one set of things to happen. Certainly there are repercussions, but it's not exactly what you expect. So, you know, part of me is, is anticipating, you know, this mounting climax to be some kind of all out attack on Ozaka. or something like that. But yeah, I mean, you don't bring up a prospect like that if we're not going to do some serious, you know, battle at some point. Yeah, no, I was just going to also say, too, in regards to Toranaga and Blackthorn,
Starting point is 00:30:02 I found that in that conversation, too, they were talking about how the Portuguese only do things for profit. That was a very, again, very fascinating conversation. And also, too, you could see that Mariko was getting very defensive because obviously she's got faith and religion. religious and so like and then those guys were like maybe we should lie with Toranooga you know what I believe
Starting point is 00:30:22 can we scroll down just a little is Alvivo is that his name Alvito sorry I really feel like that's going to be a major downfall for the guy who's ahead of him that I just he never ever takes his he's too comfortable in his status no and I understand that but like you know it's it's not it's not good to always just like
Starting point is 00:30:43 be comfortable in your own status like it's It's good to take other people's info at face value and just, like, weigh the pros and cons. You know what I mean? And Alvito, like, whether you agree with him or disagree with him, he is cunning, as you say. Like, he's got some good info. I would like, he just never listens to it. You might as well just not even happen there if you're never going to take his advice. Like, at face value or anything, it never listens to him.
Starting point is 00:31:08 Like, this is clearly, again, great writing, but he's just going to be a major downfall for him, never listening. this guy. I mean, he's given some sound advice so many different times. I'm like, I'm glad he's not listening because, I mean, clearly, you know, we're meant to root against these guys, but still, it's like. For now. Yeah, right, right. But still, it's like, it's just, it's, it's, it's incredible to watch that this guy just never listens to him. But again, like he said, makes sense because he's so comfortable in his standing. So, but again, fascinating. But also to, I just, I thought it was interesting, the tension where Mariko got just so uncomfortable in the conversation because, and then, again, that's where Tornaga was watching, like, why are you not translating? Like, what's the arguing
Starting point is 00:31:54 in the conversation here? That was, again, just the show does such a good job, like, without actual action, like, you really feel the drama. It brings tension. Yes. It's just, it's not an easy thing to do with, like, lots of dramatic tension. Yeah, with dialogue. It's a very difficult thing to do as a writer. So I just absolutely praise to the show. I know we keep praising it, but it's so damn good. It continues to hold the bar of quality. And too, I thought it was even, I mean, obviously it served the plot story, but I thought it was cool, too, to spend some time like watching the,
Starting point is 00:32:28 I don't know if it was Kabuki specifically. I'm sure there are more kinds of theatrical performance than just that. But watching that performance and then having that segue into like, oh, hey, we can use you as a pawn in our little. political game. I thought that was fascinating, too, because, again, you're watching, you know, a moment of, of, it's, again, it's like, you're watching what by many accounts would be like a shared communal sort of leisure activity of sorts, but at the same time, everyone's a little tense
Starting point is 00:33:03 because of the circumstances of like how we're all here and who feels like they're being kind of politically imprisoned or not. And also we're in the text of what is happening on stage, like literally reviewing this traumatic piece of ancestral history. It seemed like for Ochiba. It seemed like they were recounting, like, actual events from her life. Or if not, maybe I misunderstood. And they're just things that, you know, echo very much her experiences.
Starting point is 00:33:30 But just even the layers on a scene like that, again, from just the sheer cultural aspect to the in-context aspects are continually fascinating, beautiful. final thing I want to say that has no bearing on the actual narration or acting or anything, which was all fantastic in this episode. I love that humming music that we were hearing from in the flashback. And then also at present time, we heard her son humming that same thing. So it's like a passed on thing through generation and generation. I thought that was such a beautiful, like, harmony that we were just listening to.
Starting point is 00:34:03 I loved it. Yeah. Beautiful. I got the feels from that. It's simple, but striking. Oh, yeah. No, I really like, because you were talking about it, and I like, I was in my head. I was like, I'm loving this.
Starting point is 00:34:13 And then you said, yes, exactly. You were, you were reading my mind. But it was just, again, simple, but beautiful. And I just, I felt it was another impactful, incredible episode. I'm sad we only have four more, but this is damn good television. It's very good television. I'm very excited to watch. Just let us know in the comments.
Starting point is 00:34:35 Are you getting sick of this? Never. John Blackthorne. I hope you make it to the end, boy. Do you want to see an episode where I just do this accent only? Yes. Let us know in the comments.
Starting point is 00:34:45 This is a really solid impression, man. Oh, thank you. I admire them. I'm jealous. Practice seven days a week, 24 hours a day. You're just going to live in this character. Marika Marigo helps me practice these lines. I have so many questions, but we'll save those for next week.
Starting point is 00:35:04 We'll hop into your... Sounds good, Joe. Yes, your method to process. Oh, yes. I'm really look forward to that next episode, John. Well, gang, who do you think's going to make the first move? Everyone's circling around and everyone's got their knives at the ready. Who's what's going to pop off next week? Aside from, don't actually spoil it if you've read the book or something.
Starting point is 00:35:25 But, but, you know, leave your speculations and we will catch you for episode seven. Cannot wait. Thank you guys again for just being so great along this journey and lightning us and joining the show alongside us. It's been a real treat, and yeah, we'll catch you next week. Much love. Be well.

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