mledawn

I cannot imagine an entire show based on those two. This has to be one of those BS interview filler comments.

Yes, from the second time we see Frodo, I knew I was going to enjoy that community element. And Detective Sims has definitely grown on me over time. I loved her calling Chalmers “Alan Turing”.

A giveaway to me was him pulling out the knife. Someone in Sugar’s line of work would know not to do that. LA Confidential is one of my favourite movies so I was excited at the mention. Plus James Cromwell was in that, too. I was spoiler-free so the reveal was fantastic.

Because your post I replied to said that the general audience didn't know what happened in the book. I was commenting on my understanding that the book viewer and the no-book viewer had the same amount of info. The fact that you didn't like it is of course fair regardless.

This is what happened in the book, though, isn't it? Clavell just writes out what happened going forward in about 10 pages at the end of a 1200 page novel. Toranaga was the exposition fairy at the end, telling Yabu before he died. @magdalene Clavell's daughter Michaela was one of the executive producers on the show and she was interviewed on the official podcast. She said she spent her formative years on that lake and her father's ashes were spread there. It was interesting and sort of surprising no one in the production seemed to know that, but perhaps the host (Emily Yoshida, i think?) was just pretending for the pod.

The flash-forward Blackthorne held Mariko's rosary beads, but he dropped them in the lake with Fujiko. I really enjoyed the finale. I want to rewatch before commenting further but Toranaga and Fujiko were pitch perfect in this.

This is a good point. In the book Blackthorne was hired by the Dutch East India company to pilot their ships through the Magellan's Pass with a stolen Portuguese rutter. Blackthorne's rutters are then stolen from his ship and given to Father Alvito (who doesn't know the order to take the rutters was given by Toranaga) translates them and tells Toranaga what they contain. Also in the book, Mariko and Blackthorne both speak Latin - perhaps he wrote his rutters in Latin as an extra level of protection? It's tough to fanwank that little detail for sure!

Brenda Blethyn has announced that S14 is her last. It would seem by extension that the series will also end.

My memory of the book is a bit muddy but from what I recall, Mariko's father and Toronaga were pals and both in on the plot to kill the mad king (Ochiba's father). Flash forward, Toronaga knew Ishido would not let the hostages leave, he knew Mariko wanted to die - it was the perfect mission for her. Apparently women would not disembowel themselves, they would set up their knife and fall on it and rely upon the second to complete the job (roughly summarised from the official podcast). My hope for Mariko and Blackthorne both was that the sword was sharp and Blackthorne was strong enough to compensate for what would certainly have been shady technique. I didn't see Fujiko amongst the women in the episode, which was odd.

THIS. All I could think was why the hell did he volunteer when he has absolutely no idea how to use the sword properly!

The scene with Mariko and Ochiba was well done by both actors. I enjoyed how Blackthorne was just a prop in that scene. It was nice to have the flashback with how Mariko met Father Alvito and to see him act so kindly towards her. It helps to understand their relationship. I can't believe we've only got one episode left.

Acorn just shared that Season 4 of My Life is Murder is premiering on June 17th

Enjoyed this episode if only to finally get confirmation that Toranaga has a plan. It's devastating that he lost Hiromatsu in the process, but I guess it's all in support of the bigger picture... It was interesting that Toranaga knew what his two vassals would do, he knew what Blackthorne would do, but he didn't know what Hiromatsu would do. Hiromatsu denying Buntaro's request to accompany him was a nice burn, but having Buntaro as a second ensured Hiromatsu would die quickly. I liked how the show has changed the involvement of Blackthorne's crew and with this change still given us more backstory regarding his ambitious nature. Hearing it from Mariko was one thing (as she read his rutter) but hearing it from a crewmember was something else. Loved Father Alvito being so happy to get his great parcel of land and then realising who his neighbours were. The men showing him the plot seemed pleased.

Acorn just shared that Whitstable Pearl has begun filming S3. https://www.instagram.com/p/C5WZYlsOUBq/

There is the conversation by Gin to Omi about how Toranaga's brother got past the guards, implying it was suspicious, which I did like. The Ladies of the Willow World are attuned to many things. Understood - I was more comparing it to his character in the book (I haven't seen the old miniseries, just screenshots/clips). His intelligence is important as we experience how he navigates his strange new world. He has his outbursts and misunderstandings but he is more thoughtful and picks up on social cues much quicker. BookBlackthorne would not need to be reminded by Mariko to bow, for example. He picks up on bowing and its importance very early. He is the only one to see that it's Toranaga in the palanquin and not Kiri (the equivalent scene is in the first episode of this series, much more watered-down). He just isn't as strong a character here, which is both fine and frustrating I guess!

This episode was so frustrating. I don't think the audience has seen enough of Toranaga being the great tactician/strategist to have any dramatic effect with the surrender. I'm not sure why the writers have chosen to make Blackthorne so insufferable but he was definitely not this bad in the book. He is completely unable to just sit back and listen/pay attention to what is happening around him. He's almost completely unlikeable in this version, however; I did laugh at the "This appears to be occurring..." as he got into the 'swordfight' on the beach with Yabu.

Really enjoyed this episode - Ewan McGregor is doing a great job. I like that they're just going with English accents so we don't hear awful put-on Russian accents. Enjoying the H!ITG! of English actors, too.

What Ishido did is not the same as simply gathering his army and steamrolling everyone else. Definitely going to just agree to disagree.

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a60334809/shetland-season-9-filming-ian-hart/ "Production is officially underway on the Scottish detective drama"

Lady Ochiba holds tremendous power in this age and culture as the woman who gave the Taiko an heir. Admittedly, there is a lot of nuance missing in the miniseries vs the book, and we miss out on not hearing the internal monologues of characters and some of the history of the society, but I think this has been made clear. If you disagree with this key point, then yes, nothing else will make sense. Ishido would not risk acting alone and potentially losing the support of the other Regents. His big army is not just his - it is an amalgamation of his vassals and the other Regents who support him because of who he is and what he stands for - ensuring the heir becomes Taiko. Ishido and Ochiba are very anti-Christian. He would immediately lose support from the Christian daimyos should he move forward with a blunt show of force. The fact that he is following her direction is a combination of strategies on his part.

Ochiba is also the head of a powerful clan - the lineage of the Taiko. Ishido has to acquiesce to her bidding as he knows the Council of Regents is only ruling because the heir is not yet of age. He recognises her place in the hierarchy. If Ishido goes against her, he goes against the heir and the heir's rightful place as Taiko. She holds power in this society precisely because she is the King Mother. Aside from all of that, Lady Ochiba is intelligent and shrewd, who (likely) learned a lot about warfare and strategy from her vicious warlord father. She is revered and feared.

Lady Ochiba is not Ishido’s wife/consort. She was the Taiko’s consort. He is kissing up to her because she is the one with power at this point. Ochiba is backing Ishido because she hates Toronaga for his involvement in her father’s death. But in this episode or the last, her mother or an elder close to her says she has hitched her wagon to the wrong horse - the belief being that Toronaga is the better strategist/leader.

My iPad is old and replying to multiple quotes is painful with it so I apologize in advance… People definitely question how Lady Ochiba was the only one to sire an heir. It was why Ishido was so riveted to her story - as if she might have confessed. Buntaro is the son of Toronaga’s military advisor Hiromatsu. It is an honourable/revered samurai family. Crimson Sky as a plan existed before Blackthorne arrived to Japan. The cannon regiment just worked out in Toronaga”s favour. I absolutely loved Fuji’s facial expressions while Mariko negotiated Kiku’s price.

"The movie is set to begin filming at Digbeth Loc Studios in September, and will be set during the Second World War." https://www.nme.com/news/tv/cillian-murphy-confirmed-return-peaky-blinders-movie-3607379

I know the majority of people watching this miniseries haven't read the books but I can't fathom how. There is so much nuance that isn't being shown, so much backstory they don't have time to show. Even with the fantastic sets and quality actors (for some reason, Cosmo isn't really doing much for me as Blackthorne - but there also doesn't seem a lot for him to do other than alternating raving and not raving) it seems like something is missing. Maybe I'll feel differently if I binge it later vs watching week-to-week. One of my favourite parts of the book is when Blackthorne realises that HE has killed the gardener so I am glad that part was left in. It was an interesting follow-up to Mariko explaining to Blackthorne that Fuji was honoured by her community with silence about her father's swords. The scenes with Buntaro and Blackthorne having the sake battle were also good, if a bit over the top (out of necessity). We see a bit of Yabu the leader in this episode when he confronts Omi about "returning" the cannon army to Yabu. I think it'd be helpful to see more Yabu the leader, and less bumbling Yabu. Lady Ochiba at the end declaring herself in charge was a nice way to end the episode.