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Ever since Game of Thrones came to an end back in 2019, I’ve been itching for some expansive medieval political intrigue. FX’s adaptation of Shōgun, James Clavell’s 1975 novel, provides exactly what I’ve been craving. It widens its view of the original story, which follows a fictionalized version of the adventures of the first Englishman to reach Japan, to put a greater emphasis on the dangerous political world that man finds himself trapped in. This new adaptation of Shōgun is all about the machinations of feudal lords, their vassals and retainers, and their spies and confidants, as Japan careens toward civil war in 1600.
The wider scope that creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks give the story makes room for a wide array of characters, all of whom are trying to square the requirements of loyalty and duty with their own searches for power or even just survival. That almost makes Shōgun a political thriller, and every scene carries the undercurrent that, despite the polite strictures of the society they find themselves in, everyone is fighting a death that’s inexorably sweeping toward them.
At the center of the story is Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada, John Wick: Chapter 4), who is trying to navigate the dangerous politics of a degrading peace. A year after the death of the Taikō, the leader of a unified Japan, Toranaga sits on a council of five regents who share power until the rightful heir comes of age. His main rival on the council, Ishida (Takehiro Hira, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters), is already maneuvering against him when things pick up, aligning the other regents to vote to impeach Toranaga, which will mean his death.
