After last week’s pheasant fiasco, I was a little afraid of what Shōgun would have in store for us in episode 6. What new knowledge will this episode require from me? Will I need to learn even more about dry-aging bird meat? Will I have to call up another historian to understand some factoid about feudal Japan? Plus, if you recall episode 6’s final moments, an important new character is on the way. (Will they hang dead birds in front of their house? I hope not.) It’s a lot, no doubt, but I think we can make it through together. Ready? Here we go.Lady Ochiba is back. If you take anything from episode 6, it should be anything and everything related to who this important power player is moving forward. Her story starts 20 years before she returns to Osaka, when she and Mariko were children. Ochiba is the daughter of warlord Kuroda—and Mariko is the daughter of one of Kuroda’s most trusted generals, Akechi Jinsai. The two become best friends, with Ochiba even helping Mariko get ready before her wedding to Buntaro. As we know from last episode’s big reveal, however, everything changes once Mariko’s father betrays and assassinates Kuroda. If you thought the Taikō’s death (which we saw in the beginning of the second episode) was the true catalyst for Shōgun, know that Kuroda’s assassination is actually where this… Click below to read the full story from Esquire
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