Summary
If you’re like me, you love a good romance.
Specifically,a historical one, and bonus points if it amplifies the surrounding story’s themes.
Of all the heady topicsShoguninterrogates, romance might not seem like an applicable candidate.
Image via FX
As each episode unfolded, I held my hopeful breath.
Would they overcome their differences and kiss?
Once they did, would they reunite?
When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.
After Episode 8, the second question’s answer is acting like a non-starter.
Reader, I am tormented.
I’m just asking foronemore kiss.
Image via FX
Their convergent journeys have always echoed, because an echo both parallels and distorts.
They’re lost souls who discover a delicate and reciprocal human connection.
She wanders through a desolate, lonely wasteland.
Image via FX
Mariko’s faith, her sole comfort, is the first thingJohn Blackthorne’s arrival calls into question.
In direct contrast to Mariko,Shogunintroduces Blackthorne as someone who knows his purpose.
It’s one of destruction and death, but his stubborn determination weathers starvation and a shipwreck.
Ironically,the storm that tosses him onto Japan’s shores strips him of that agency.
They’re the same individuals in whom Mariko has placed her salvation.
She willingly obeysLord Toranaga’s request, but once the two have privacy, Mariko’s hostility emerges.
Understandably:he’s an uncouth foreigner accusing her trusted priests of duplicitous subversion.
Still, Blackthorne reaches out, albeit messily; Mariko retracts, frostily setting boundaries.
So begins their push-pull dynamic, something that’s ripe for evolution.
Mariko and Blackthornes Intimacy Develops Naturally on Shogun
And their relationship indeed evolves.
John acts impulsively, wearing his emotions on his sleeve.
Mariko operates with silent calculation and protects herself throughher Eightfold Fence.
Instead, Mariko and Blackthorne are the pinnacle of star-crossed lovers.
Even when they’re strangers,Mariko protects John through her very intentional translations.
Speaking Portuguese becomes their private space.
Their consistently revealing conversations unearth their innate humanity.
Each recognizes the other as more than their dismissive assumptions.
To use an overused metaphor, they become one another’s safe harbors.
They are shipwrecked hearts adrift at sea who float together thanks to the tide’s pull.
Even if she’s not a samurai, this fan-favorite character can steal a scene with just a look.
Acknowledging one another’s humanity proves key.
He respects her, values her contributions, and seeks her opinion.
He never expects contrition, obedience, or silence.
Nor does he demand her time, even after they sleep together.
Instead, he offers genuinely selfless affection.
Blackthorne’s difference, while intriguing enough to warrant sexual attraction, embodiesthe freedom Mariko lacks.
Mariko letting John within her emotional walls says more than their many exchanged words.
He sneaks his way through not because he exploits cracks, but because Mariko allows herself to be vulnerable.
It’s no great leap to assume Mariko has never been in love.
When Mariko is briefly free to choose, she choosesthe Englishhatamato.
The door separating them is achingly symbolic.
Once again,all they can share are their words what united them in the first place.
They discover intimate commonalities even though their meeting-in-the-middle-ground fluctuates like an earthquake.
That inescapable push-pull representsShogun’s defining, universal conflict.
If either character relented to the other’s viewpoint, neither would remain authentic.
A re-invigorated Mariko seizes control over her destiny.
Even though Mariko and John aren’t one another’s priority, they ache to be.
Mariko rejectsBuntaro’s offer of jointseppukubut doesn’t fall into Blackthorne’s arms.
She can’t afford to.
Anna Sawai and Cosmo Jarvis Have Spectacular Chemistry on Shogun
Chemistry is a fascinating beast.
It either exists between actors or doesn’t; simple as day.
(Blackthorne doesn’t need his beloved ship back.
)Their emotional friction is multifaceted because there’s no circumstance where their romance could be anything less.
Both characters navigate uncharted territory and situational cages.
The chains of Mariko’s emotional heartbreak rattle her every step, even though she never sacrifices her dignity.
Physically, Blackthorne is quite literally trapped, a bristling mercenary turned into an unwilling pawn.
Together,Sawai and Jarvis play a range: fraught yet tender, electric but combative.
The world’s unlikeliest fictional pair fit together as easily as airandspark like bonfires.
If I thought the hot springs scene was breathtaking, then the brothel exchange left me unconscious.
During the latter,Sawai plays Mariko as taken aback by the depth of her feelings.
In a word, they’re bewitching.
The trailer forShogun’s penultimate episode does tease an emotional scene between them.
Beyond that: who knows?
More unconsummated longing and loaded sentences?
Do we stand any chance of a kiss?
In another reality, this pair might have a chance.
As it stands,they’re as akin to soulmates as the situation permits.
No matterhowShogunconcludes, this couple will destroy me.
I’ll be in good company.
John and Mariko’s hearts were shattered long ago.
New episodes ofShogunpremiere each Tuesday on FX and Hulu in the U.S.
Watch on Hulu
