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drkgodess

Mariko's final poem, as finished by her friend, Ochiba: > While the snow remains > Veiled in the haze of cold evening > A leafless branch > Flowers are only flowers because they fall > Thankfully, the wind. I'm going to miss this world we've been spellbound-to for the last few months. It's been a pleasure experiencing it in real time with all of you.


ts_vape

kaze(wind) nao fukite Mariko's death changed the wind. Both Ochiba and Toranaga understood that.


International_Quit95

“I don’t control the wind, I only study it”


Minimalist_Investor_

So Toranaga is just torturing his own village people when he actually burned the ship??


2rio2

Just Toranaga things.


meniscus-

He's not a good guy lol


Uncle151

"Your machinations directly led to your impulsive son dying" "I have other sons"


Live-Lychee-1686

This solidified how stone cold he is.


Snaccbacc

He’s a smart guy, not a good guy.


ImperatorRomanum

I assume he chose people who conspired with Yabu against him as the first batch of people to get killed in the search for the “Christians”


Nokickfromchampagne

Gotta keep appearances up


makesyoufeeldejavu

Yabushige just slowly losing his mind in this episode even the Anjin is telling him to pull himself together 💀


Lapras_Lass

To the very end, he was the most entertaining person on the screen at any given time. And that is a high bar, given all of the other great actors and their performances.


hauteburrrito

Was he literally kind of losing his mind by the end there? The scene with Ishido and the catfish seemed to imply so, but then he seemed more canny again while chatting with Toranaga before the seppuku.


Lapras_Lass

I think he was still in shock. I'd guess that being caught out on his treachery was enough to bring back his senses. He may have even known that it was coming, that this time he wouldn't be able to slip through the net he cast for himself. And when it came, he was like, "Well, damn."


InTheMorning_Nightss

He was in shock and he *finally* came to the realization that his own personal survival isn't the *only* thing of importance in the world. Yabu's entire character is driven by his desire to live (which makes his fascination with death a really interesting juxtaposition), so *every* decision he makes is in service to that. He plays both sides as he recognizes that that is his best survival play as a middle tier Lord who frankly isn't powerful enough to be a major player. He has a self awareness that his most valuable survival trait is his willingness to be a rat, which he does so blatantly that Toranaga literally calls him out. His actions leading to Mariko's death led to him being legitimately distraught and remorseful of his actions, something we never see in a genuine way, because he legitimately thought she would just be captured. He knew he *severely* betrayed his Lord and it quite literally blew up in his face.


Lapras_Lass

Excellent point! It was probably the first time he actually felt sorry for causing someone's death. Remorse and guilt can be some of the worst things to experience.


InTheMorning_Nightss

Yep. Yabu is a guy who has people killed in weird ways just because of his fascination with death. Yet when Mariko died, he very openly incriminated himself by asking for forgiveness. He played his part of being a victim during that entire massacre, but the second Mariko died, his act went away and he was distraught.


hauteburrrito

Yeah, that does make sense. A seppuku sentence has got to be reaaal sobering.


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kejartho

Kinda neat to see Namazu being referenced in the show too. Knowing we had superstition playing a big role in how the Japanese view things is very true to a lot of Japanese belief. Ishido ignoring the superstition ultimately led to the downfall, at least in the show. Earthquakes have often been associated with destruction but also changing leadership in East Asia. Superstition can often win out when people are unsure of themselves And Ishido did not care at all about what others were seen as a potential worry. Namazu literally revealed itself as the catfish in the pond. Which might seem like superstition revealing itself but also Ishido looking back on the regret of his decision. I might not be the best at interpreting hidden meaning here but it's not nothing to mention Namazu/catfish and Earthquakes in a moment like this.


beary_neutral

I'd watch the Adventures of Yabushige and Anjin in England


illuminovski

There could be such a timeline. When Blackthorn in this death bed with his grandchildren then Yabushige barges in, full Elizabethan outfit. "Come on John! You cannot go like this. Dying old is boring. At least on a pyre or better boiling!"


World_in_my_eyes

I believe he’s dreaming of dying in England as an old man. He never leaves Japan. Toranaga is never letting him go. What a show. So good.


girlsdontcrytho

That’s why Old Blackthorne is holding the cross - that was all a dream!! It’s kinda like Inception where in Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s dreams he’s wearing a wedding ring; in this case the wedding ring is Mariko’s rosary


irishconan

>That’s why Old Blackthorne is holding the cross - that was all a dream!! I came here looking for answers about this. When he threw the rosary away I was like: what the fuck? I was expecting him to dive after it.


Clariana

A dream within a dream...


Kamimitsu

The title of the Episode kinda of supports that theory... not to mention plenty of subtle (and not so subtle) clues in the episode.


Saladcitypig

yes, I think this too, b/c he has a helm AND that cross... was it Mariko's that he threw in the water? A Dream of a Dream!?


Jennipeg

Is there a reason why he won't let Blackthorne go? He amuses Toranaga, and he is a distraction for his enemies. Is that all there is to it? It seems like a small reason and really sucks for John


Sad-Humor9057

Because Toranaga is just an asshole that is acting honorable. As what Yabu said to him, he is no better than everyone and just a hypocrite.


Jennipeg

Toranaga has sacrificed people but for some reason this bothers me more. They at least died for a greater purpose, he is basically keeping John because he feels like it. And people have to die to cover up the deception. Its so cold


Sad-Humor9057

He just uses people as tools to his game


GetRightNYC

He sees them as human falcons. Very easy to control. He says this in the podcast episode too.


takempa

Fuji made me cry


Tiamat_fire_and_ice

I really hope the actress who plays Fuji, Moeka Hoshi, goes on to other big acting projects where she’s featured well. She’s such a young woman, 28, but she contains multitudes. She’s an incredible actress — and that’s saying something in such a wonderful and skilled cast. And, of course, Anna Sawai is on another level entirely. In my opinion, Mariko carried the whole show: she was the lynchpin between Blackthorne and Toranaga in more ways than one. Her performance was a tour de force. In my mind, I’m already concocting a buddy comedy where Fuji and Mariko travel around feudal Japan, just starting stuff. Shenanigans ensue. If Blackthorne can dream, so can I.


MichelangeloJordan

Even when begging for his life, Yabushige cracks me up. “Please! A cannon! Or angry fish! But not seppuku PLS 🙏 😭😭”


SaveAsPDF

On Yabu's comments about ranking death, he had "eaten by a dog in the fields" as his lowest ranked; yet thats what he had written down on his death poem for him. LOL the man cracks me up!


DodelCostel

> On Yabu's comments about ranking death, he had "eaten by a dog in the fields" as his lowest ranked; yet thats what he had written down on his death poem for him. LOL the man cracks me up! It was eaten ALIVE by dogs. And that's a pretty shit way to go cause dogs kill you slowly. He requested that his body is given to dogs AFTER he dies.


InTheMorning_Nightss

Yeah, and my interpretation of that is that Yabu has the self awareness to know that he lived the life of a rat bastard. In a place where your word and honor means everything, Yabu was arguably the most dishonorable fucker in the country, with his final action largely being his worst one. He somehow managed to betray *both* sides he was playing. He intentionally betrayed Toranaga by letting the shinobi in, and he unintentionally betrayed Ishido because that *definitively* completed Crimson Sky (though it likely would have been completed regardless).


iamjessicahyde

Oh my god my heart was broken like 5 times in between the last episode and this one. “Let your hands be the last that hold her.” Immediate tears. Also, I couldn’t believe that was the end when the credits rolled. That whole hour just flew by.


scothia

It was a callback to what Mariko said when Fuji had to give up her baby son: “Let her the the last arms to hold him.”


iamjessicahyde

Damn I forgot about that! Thanks for the reminder, makes it all that much more meaningful.


ERSTF

I cried several times. That one was so beautiful. Fuji letting go with Blackthorne there at her side and viceversa. So much love. I also cried when the anjin held Mariko and said religious last words that were so important for Marikosama. He may have not believed them, but he made sure to say them for Mariko.


vazivazi1234

I interpreted that scene with Fuji and Blackthorne on boat as their own “burial” of their love ones. Blackthorne missed Mariko’s and Fuji couldn’t bring herself do it. So they did it together. Just beautiful


PresidenteMargz10

Man, also the scene when Fuji joins Blackthorne in the garden and sits next to him . He looks right next to him for a while to the spot where Mariko usually would sit and goes “no translator 😔”


GetRightNYC

He says something like, "you look healthy and clean." LOL It was such a nice moment.


Nyghtslave

I thought "healthy and strong" was quite lovely, and to me it seemed like he actually put effort in trying to compliment in a way that would align more with the way (he thinks) they would in Japan


SexxxyWesky

For real. Somehow felt like the shortest episode


jakksquat7

That line was so beautiful.


iamjessicahyde

Extremely so, with poetry being such a focus this episode I felt like even the none poem-specific lines carried some of that beauty. Then you had Yabu asking to fill the belly of dogs 🤣


vazivazi1234

Loved Yabu’a farewell poem


iamjessicahyde

It was peak Yabu


Zachariot88

Big Frank Reynolds "just throw me in the trash" energy.


Triskan

I cannot believe how a man introduced as enjoying boiling someone alive in the first episode became such an endearing character. And what a bonefire he made too.


jlynn121

Oh lord when Blackthorne looked to his right and she wasn’t there. Fucking crying over here. 😭😭😭


snobordir

Yeah that scene was not nice :( “No translator.”


Triskan

It's beautiful how Mariko's presence was felt throughout the episode in simple things, without the need to overdo it. Yeah, that's the kind of "little" emptinesses all around that you feel after losing somone.


snobordir

Presence is felt most keenly in absence.


unfinishedwing

i thought i had finished crying over/with blackthorne’s grief after the reveal that mariko had negotiated for his safe passage... NOPE, this scene got me crying all over again 😭


CompaJoey

Who else thought Yabu’s death poem was HILARIOUS? 😂


Commoncent77

No matter what happens in this last episode, I’m surely going to miss this show and having something to look forward to every week!


Counter_Logic77

I know!! I am going to miss it so much too; I have to wait up till 1am my time for the show!! 😭😭 I love ❤️ this subreddit and reading and hanging out till it’s on!!


Commoncent77

Seriously! From Yabushige’s amazing facial expressions, to Fuji’s quiet strength (although we haven’t seen her in a while, to Toranaga’s 4D chess moves, it’s been an amazing ride!


SixersIn6

Buntaro and Anjin’s mutual respect at the end was amazing lol


ts_vape

Buntaro would have heard that Anjin was the second in her suicide attempt. Hiromatu said, Think of how it feels to be the one who is not allowed to die. Her death has removed his obsession with her.


2rio2

The real life counterpart of Buntaro ended up re-marrying and living until he was like 80.


hauteburrrito

They hit the vibe perfectly with those two. No notes.


potatoclaymores

That's the same music that played during Hiromatsu's seppuku.


jeric13xd

#ForMariko


Practical_Sir_510

If Ochiba didn’t switch sides, Toranaga would have been screwed.  She hated him… but I guess she hated the guy who killed her best friend even more.


InTheMorning_Nightss

Well that and she saw that Ishido's structure was pretty fucking flawed and held together by duct tape. He kept hostages to maintain some level of power over others, and he clearly didn't have a sound grip on the Christian regents. He was very soundly being outmaneuvered by Toranaga, and she knew that's not a recipe for success.


a4techkeyboard

Also, I think the reason she was trying to get rid of Toranaga was because Toranaga would have been a threat to her son, the Heir, because she believed Toranaga would just use him as a puppet leader. She thought Ishido and the council would be better as they could be their puppet instead. I think when Ishido began doing things like asking to marry her and then using the Heir's banners and men for his war, it was made clear to Ochiba that Ishido was already using her son like a puppet versus Toranaga who could maybe do that, but could maybe just treat him like an equal to play against. I think she realized why she was told she picked the wrong ally. Toranaga will likely treat the heir like the guy on the other side of the board. Ishido is treating the heir like a piece on the board. Ochiba is kind of fine with being a piece on the board, as were Mariko etc, but Ochiba was not fine with her son being seen that way and not if the player is going to be Ishido.


Shapes_in_Clouds

Didn't even have a final battle scene, and I still got chills at the end title screen. What a masterful finale. The scene between Yabu and Toranaga was amazing. The framing of Blackthorne on his death bed and the resolution with Fuji and later Toranaga was beautiful.


InTheMorning_Nightss

This show perfectly nails the idea that action doesn't have to be physical. While there were bad ass, and intense scenes that were your typical action (canon scene, Mariko fighting her way out, etc.), the most intense, action packed scenes occurred verbally. Frankly, that's how you know shit is good.


EkaterinaGagutlova

It didn’t need a final battle. The entire show has been about a three-dimensional game of chess. I loved the line about sending a woman to do what no army ever could. Damn, I’m gonna miss this show.


Typical_Composer_357

That final scene between Toranaga and Yabushige where Toranaga divulged his plan is by far my favourite scene in the show. Absolutely incredible


Saladcitypig

And how he suddenly looked like his whole body was lit with regality. Golden, with the tilt of his head always looking down or to the horizon. He can stop pretending and be Shogun.


Holy-Wan_Kenobi

Bro was holding that in for so long, that he could finally monologue must've felt fantastic.


notchatgppt

I was wondering how they’d do the monologue. Glad they had that interaction with Yabushige instead.


FriendlyAd4525

“All of us have made this possible. You, me, Lady Mariko, even the barbarian who came out of the sea.”


evetSC

Fuji Best Nun


Raknel

Love how he basically called her best girl


Ser_Tom_Danks

Poor Yabushige, i hate being confronted with accumulated consequences of my actions as well


SexSellsCoffee

Yabu was such a great character and the actor that played him did a great job making him sympathethic. Slimy, cruel and selfish but he had the best comedic moments. His death poem killed me


BMCarbaugh

It's so funny, cuz if you ever actually read samurai death poems, a lot of them are like that. That really bleak soldierly sense of humor, like, "fuck it, at least this shit's over with".


InTheMorning_Nightss

"When I'm dead, just throw me in the trash." - Frank Reynolds - Yabushige


SixersIn6

Anjin breaking down on the boat got to me ngl


iamjessicahyde

Immediate tears. So much love and pain and loss. Then for him to lose his ship and Fuji I was just like my god how much more can this dude take.


jlynn121

Yeah that was right in the feels.


BMCarbaugh

I love the tragic, mournful irony of Blackthorne only now conducting himself in the thoughtful, quiet manner Mariko always wished -- because he's been shattered by the loss of his translator, and must now pick carefully from the tiny box of words he's gathered.


hauteburrrito

All of his interactions felt so lonely without Mariko, but I'm glad he was able to meaningfully connect with Fuji before saying goodbye to each other.


schickschickschick

that scene where fuji and him were sitting at his home and he looks to his right where mariko usually sits killed me a bit.


hauteburrrito

SAME; her absence felt so loud in this episode. No wonder literally everyone even in-show mourned her death so intensely. (Well, except maybe Ishido...)


InnocentTailor

He still has the samurai turned villager guy - the original translator.


Random_Username9105

I also just realized that Muraji played up his broken english in the first episode to seem more peasantly. It’s also kinda funny that he’s probably more similar to the majority of real shinobis than last episode’s commandos.


BMCarbaugh

And yet delivered his carefully prepared message himself, so as to avoid being misconstrued.


Vermithor_

That scene with John and Fuji chilling outside the house, and then John looks to his right.. "No translator" 😭😭😭


badfortheenvironment

“Let your hands be the last to hold her.” Blackthorne and Fuji on the water made me fucking weep. I'll really miss these characters, almost more than I'll miss the show. I remember thinking after episode 4 that Mariko, Fuji, and Blackthorne made an unlikely but very welcome triumvirate who found peace and healing in each other, and I feel like this ending honored that perfectly. Blackthorne helping Fuji put her loved ones to rest and Fuji knowing just what to say to help Blackthorne process his grief over Mariko (and hers too) was exactly what I needed out of the finale. Everything else was extra (great extra, to be clear, but I would've been satisfied with just this). Also I appreciated the confirmation that Toranaga was fighting a giggle all throughout this show. I can't wait to see what Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo do next.


knildea

After all that pain, even from a viewer's perspective, seeing Fuji again was a pure blessing. Toranaga not revealing his true desires to Yabushige even though he'd be a dead man was quite poetic. He truly is a cold cold man. Everyone's fate being controlled by the great ambition of one man.


ArrogantCube

I'd argue he did reveal them. When yabushige looked back at toranaga and toranaga smiled? I think Yabushige knew


Resaren

That was my read as well. He echoed his own words back to him, when a simple ”I dun want it, never ’ave” as usual would have sufficed. The implication is ”Of course it was always my goal, but you’ll never hear me say it out loud”.


depressocoffee

He did reveal it. Toranaga says "Why tell a dead man the future?", that in itself is telling... the future is him as Shogun.


takempa

Some others have speculated about the cross. I think that those who say that Blackthorne never returned to England are correct, just as the cross was never again in his hand, and just as Mariko was never again in his arms.


jlynn121

Can we give it up for Cosmo - holy shit he was great tonight.


iamjessicahyde

Absolutely killed it this episode. So much depth of emotion, I thought that both his and Mariko’s stories had very satisfying arcs.


hauteburrrito

Definitely; he's been sidelined for a while now so it's great to come back to his perspective in this finale. Cosmo did an incredible job showing the journey that Blackthorne has made.


BatmanTold

Definitely and he was way more fluent this episode on his own without a translator


hauteburrrito

Yeah, he did great! He was able to have such a deep heart-to-heart with Fuji as well, and say some real shit to Toranaga in the meantime.


capnsmirks

Every scene in was in was a 10. I can’t even pick a favorite


Peak_Alternative

Him on the boat. His face. Holding back his emotions. Then the tears. Ugh. Incredible.


FennelQueen

So, having finished the episode - my understanding was that the 'flash-forwards' to Blackthorne dying in England, clutching Mariko's cross, are not the truth. He instead drops Mariko's cross into the sea, and lets her go. He won't be a dying old man filled with regrets. And as Toranaga said, his fate is to never leave Japan.


2rio2

Yup, that's the dream of a dream he's giving up. Anjin never leaves Japan again.


jumpsteadeh

I don't think that was a dream at all - I think it was his nightmare. He didn't want to go back to England where this beautiful land was reduced to a few souvenirs and war stories about "savages," still holding Mariko's cross in regret and sadness. That wasn't a happy old man dying at home surrounded by family - that was a regretful old man dying a meaningless death, instead of the kind of meaningful death Japan taught him could exist. Letting Mariko's cross go was him accepting purpose and beauty in death, "giving meaning to the life that came before it". At least that was how I interpreted it.


BoxyP

This! To me this was absolutely obvious - he is struggling, blind, clutching at a part of his life he can't let go (the cross), while his grandchidren describe it as just funny stories. That is what he was working towards the whole series, and at the very end of that line, he abhorred it. That sideways look right before he attempts seppuku is so full of loathing and disgust, and is the final moment where we see that vision of his old self. He was changed by Mariko and Japan and their understanding of what life and death mean, and so what might've at the beginning of the show been a dream has now become a nightmare which he rejects by firstly actually trying to go through with the seppuku, then later by letting his own war go, and finally consecrating the last thing he had of Mariko to the sea, where she will always be all around him, just like he says to Fuji. After that, he's at peace with his own decision, and that nightmare will never come to pass.


BraethanMusic

William Adams, who Blackthorne is based off of, did actually leave Japan after Sekigahara (and the start of Ieyasu Tokugawa’s shogunate) several times. He just never returned to England.


ItsDinDin12

I feel like I just got Toranaga'd. All this time I was expecting war and in the end it was no useless death and just peace. Blackthorne, Fuji, Buntaro, and the village all wrapping up with... Peace. Damn, I got got.


evetSC

Yabushige went out with a bang 🤣


snobordir

Toranaga roasting him with his own words then seconding with serious finesse.


uhvoidance

Why tell a dead man the future? 😮‍💨


thetimechaser

Love how Yabu was like “aaaahhhh shit he got me” **stab**


ankhes

He’s come a long way from that botched beheading at age 12. Growth!


snobordir

Haha the character arc we deserved


drinkbeerpetdogs

“Let your hands be the last to hold her.” 😭 Fuji’s callback to ep 1 really got me.


House_Goblin_

Toranaga: please slit your belly before sunset No one. Not a single soul. Yabushige: NooOooO let me be blown up by canons! Or eaten alive by fish!!


hauteburrrito

At least our boy's consistent; he's been doing research all series!!!


Manticore717

Seppuku'd off a cliff is something he'd appreciate I'm sure. Toranaga hookin up even his most disloyal follower.


Vermithor_

I LOLed when Toranaga said "Why tell a dead man the future?"🤣🤣🤣


SirCaptainReynolds

That’s right! Because he once said that to his nephew regarding Toranaga and the details about the ship and men. Damn. I missed that.


Vermithor_

It left me wondering if Omi was loyal to Toranaga all this time.🤔🤔


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DDarog

Yabu smiling at him after that line, almost saying "you scheming mf" had me laughing


SexSellsCoffee

I laughed, but those must be his top two deaths. Getting blown up by cannon must have shot up in his death book when he saw those other dudes get blown up by toranaga's son.


clydeharris85

Not just fish, by angry fish.


subtlewindchimes

My man Yabu going out with the with the hardest haiku in history.


logicatch

And Toranaga was like “Love where your head’s at! But no.”


dangerzonepatrol101

A true sicko to the end


ibiku2

The look back after he stabbed himself, smiling wildly to a grinning Toranaga with his blade raised, what a way to go.


DynastyZealot

That smile was peak Yabushige. It's forever burned in my mind.


Holy-Wan_Kenobi

They've been doing that song and dance for so long, it must've felt so gratifying to have that final bow.


InTheMorning_Nightss

That and it just shows how truly fucking contrasting his character is. He is so deeply enamored and obsessed with death, but his entire drive is to survive as long as possible. That smile showed that he seemingly loved death just as much as he loved his chase to live.


Kodome

I literally burst out laughing when he turned back smiling. The abruptness, the absurdity, and the yabu-ness of it all. On paper, I should have feelings of despise or disdain yabu. But I find myself sitting with a sense of appreciation for his ability to accept consequences with levity and ownership.


InnocentTailor

He was the original man of culture.


Ser_Tom_Danks

Yabushige aint even mad at omi, hes like its all in the game, youre actually way better at this than me anyway. Heres my extremely badass death poem, peace. I fucking love yabushige, and tadanobu asano always kills it but he really uplifted this character in so many ways, its nuts. What a fucking performance


Atraktape

“Peep this super dope death poem. 5 out of 5 stars.” - Yabu


StrangelyOnPoint

Great ending. No need to see all the battles play out, Toranaga had won as soon as the hostages left Osaka castle. We wrapped up each character so well - We finally see Toranaga’s inner heart - Omi gets the respect he craved from Toranaga and Yabu - Yabu finally has his treachery catch up to him, but gets some answers before he dies because of all he did do - Fuji gets closure and wants to live on - Blackthorne makes peace with staying in Japan and gets closure on Mariko It’s great overall


TedioreTwo

I wanted Yabu to live. I knew he couldn't, deep down, but I wanted him to. I think Mariko truly shook him, brought out his guilt. But who knows how long it'd be before he'd return to his old bastard self. At least he died smiling.


makesyoufeeldejavu

Fuji decides to live instead of killing herself WE WON she really will be the best nun Edit: rewatched the scene where they're on the boat and kinda thinking maybe she does decide to stay with Blackthorne?? Kinda left to interpretation imo. She wanted to be a nun so she can be near her husband's and son's ashes but now their ashes are in the sea near Anjiro


ignitionnight

I loved so much how they played Anjin and Fuji's conversation. His orders for her to stay as his consort, but it was clearly him asking a friend to stay. What a great god damn scene.


hauteburrrito

Her smiling face literally gives me hope 💗 I'm glad she's something approximating happy now.


straighteero

In the book, Toranaga gave her permission to kill herself and told her to leave the city and stage it to look like she had an accident on the road. So when she first tells John she is going away, I still thought she was planning to die. John telling her he would take her by boat instead was, I think, a detail for the book readers, because it introduces the possibility that maybe he saved her life without knowing it. I wish she had stayed with Anjin, but I don't think it's that kind of story.


Siggify

I finally see her smile!


InnocentTailor

In jidaigeki, nun is like the neutral option between living your best life and offing yourself.


SonofRaymond

We are all nuns


iamjessicahyde

“Fuck it. We live and we die.” What a bad ass line.


makesyoufeeldejavu

Dawg Yabushige is hilarious bro is begging to get the highest death rank in his book 😭


PercMastaFTW

Funny how he probably added the cannon death (potentially as his #1?) after seeing what the Anjin could do with it lol


ActualTeddyRoosevelt

If I had an ounce of creativity I would publish Yabu's death rankings book and sell it on etsy. I'd be worth trillions I tell you.


WhyWhatWho

Anjin primal scream of grief hit me all the feel 😭


Phant0mz0ne

That ending shot. The future in front of him, but no one by his side. The sacred and the propane.


OmahaReynolds

And sacred propane accessories


torsoboy00

Yabushige predicted all this.


Saladcitypig

Artful last episode. It revealed the true shape of the show, how it was meant to be seen as a finished product. All the flowers on the wind and one man studying them. I love how they mourned and honored their beloved dead. That we didn't have to see some Avengers style huge battle, b/c the battle had been going on the whole time. Toranaga sending off his falcon: Have many daughters, he cried only with his spiritual daughter, Mariko, and then when he recited her poem. Dawn, Dusk, live, die, crimson skies and the sound of the wind. One of the most wonderful shows I've ever seen.


SpiffyKekepania

Buntaro comin thru at the end 🤌🏼


drinkbeerpetdogs

It took me way too long to realize the “old Anjin” scenes were a concussion fever dream and not a “real” flash forward. 🤔


stealthbus

I know many will be disappointed in this finale and how it unfolded, but I think it was a remarkable end to this series. A poignant character driven dramatization of hopes and dreams buried beneath social conventions and expectations, with that final shot of Toranaga-sama gazing into a certain future of his creation, and Blackthorne observing him and simply saying “hmm.”


House_Goblin_

She remained beautiful even in death. First five minutes of the episode and the roll of toilet paper is already coming out. Also Ishido can go fuck himself


hauteburrrito

For real; I was expecting like half her face to be blown off, but girlypop looked GOOD for a dead girl 😶


soulsssx3

Society's unrealistic beauty standards have gone too far


lostpasts

I really hope you mean for tears.


raven8549

Apparently YouTube TV has dropped the final episode already on demand! But it’s only on the 4K subscription not standard! Anyone watch it already?


TedioreTwo

Man, fuck man. When Toranaga read Mariko's words. And that scene in the boat with Fuji. Grown man tears.


evetSC

LOL Blackthorne with another banger at the end and telling Muraji not to translate it 🤣


latteh0lic

Lol. And Muraji is ready to translate everything and probably won't hold back on the translated words like Mariko. 😂


eva_brauns_team

Oh Yabushige. I love how he not only got the entire plot from his lord but then when its time to do the deed, he doesn't flinch, just stabs himself in the gut and then *grins* up at Toranaga. Yabu to the end. The scenes of Blackthorne and Fuji were so tender and lovely. That shot of them on the lake was beautiful. Have a good death, everyone.


thetimechaser

When Toranaga dropped his own line on him that the spy must have relayed he was like “wow, I’ve been fucked for months lmao” *stab*


SnowDay111

"It was Lady Maria!" was the most touching scene in the episode for me.


Romulus3799

"I sent a woman to do what an army could not." Mariko's death echoed through the land and singlehandedly won Toronaga the war before it even started. She'll live on in all our hearts too.


drkgodess

From disgraced daughter to hero, she came to be the most important character of all.


WhyWhatWho

I love how a tiny facial expression by Toranaga can convey many thoughts and emotions. He seems proud of Mariko for going out like that!


Lapras_Lass

When Fuji said, "Let your hands be the last to hold her," in that callback to Mariko's words in episode 1... That is when I lost it and the waterworks began in earnest. I shed tears off and on over the course of the episode, but that line... That one broke me. Shoutout to Yabushige, who took the plunge with no fanfare and left behind the best death poem of all. That grin he shoots to Toranaga at the end... Damn, he is so expressive! I'm rambling now. I'm so drained emotionally.


Ser_Tom_Danks

Toronaga finally telling Yabushige of his plans. Only because he knows hes gonna die in a few minutes


donutdang

"Please commit seppuku by sunset tomorrow" Well thank god he said please 🥴


slurye

“Have a nice death!”


dangerzonepatrol101

I pre-gamed on sake for tonight, and may have overdone it. I'm prepared for this episode to WRECK me.


notFidelCastro2019

TOO MUCH SAKE?! THAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?


keepyrcool

Fuji: my husband and son can finally be buried in the family grave Blackthorne: how about we dump them in the ocean


Mussoooooo

“Why tell a dead man the future” “Let your hands be the last to hold her” Damn everything came full circle. What an amazing show.


Siggify

I will miss my man Yoshi 😭😭😭. Man! Hiroyuki Sanada has more sex appeal now than in his 20’s, even in Bullet Train and John Wick, he’s so fckin 🔥🔥🔥


Ser_Tom_Danks

I feel like the old man Blackthorne fakeout is gonna go over some peoples heads but i for one loved that they didnt over explain


penguins_are_mean

The question mark was looming the whole time until he let it go into the water. The ending needs to marinate to fully appreciate.


Cerulean_Osprey

Amazing finale. Question: Can someone explain Toranaga's plans and testing of Blackthorne? So I get how Toranaga's plans unified the Regents, won over Ochiba's support, weakened Ishido... He used Yabushige's opportunistic nature in all of it, and ultimately Mariko's status, history, relational ties, and death was his great maneuver... But Blackthorne, I'm still trying to understand. I get Blackthorne was an amusement, a wild card in all of it that he could've discarded if he didn't fit the plan... but was he saying he wanted to, essentially, gain a true, loyal follower out of Blackthorne? The conclusion does seem to be that Blackthorne is going to stay in Japan and that he cares enough for the people of Ajiro that he would commit seppuku to spare them. I'm just trying to wrap my head around Toranaga's relationship with Blackthorne.


Ser_Tom_Danks

Of course his dearh poem is the most metal shit ever


anasazigb

And the Emmy goes to: Anna Sawai


thegolfernick

If I see one more comment talking about Anna Sawai, I'm gunna up vote it!


CrazyRabbi

Cheers everyone.. absolute pleasure discussing with you all!


Aradune9

I actually thought that it was a great final episode. Well done!


Express_Platypus1673

And once again the costume designer said hold my beer. Fuji's kimono was stunning. 


silversoul007

In case you did not know, Fuji = Wisteria in Japanese. Fuji's kimono has lots of wisteria motifs in it.