Shōgun Finale Sets Up Exciting Season 2 Storyline

Shōgun Episode 10 was the Series Finale, but it also feels like it sets up a clear Season 2 story arc.

By Kofi Outlaw

Shōgun pulled off a masterful finale, which took a brewing war into a climatic direction that few could've seen coming. And, while this Shōgun (2024) TV series did right by all accounts in honoring the original novel by author James Clavell, it also carved out its own space to potentially continue entertaining audiences in a second season. 

Shōgun's creators and crew have all been united in their stance that this miniseries is meant to be an adaptation of Clavell's book and nothing more. That said, the Shōgun finale took a unique approach to adapting the book's ending – one that many viewers will fairly interpret as a clear setup for Season 2. 

How Shōgun's Finale Sets Up Season 2 (SPOILERS) 

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(Photo: FX/Hulu)

The Shōgun Finale Episode "Chapter Ten: A Dream of a Dream" saw the aftermath of Markio's (Anna Sawai) sacrifice reverberate across Japan and turn the tide of the entire war that was brewing. Mariko's status as both a member of a highborn family and a revered figure in the Christian community was all the leverage needed to turn the hostage lords in Osaka Castle against Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira), as well as swaying his new ally Ochiba no Kata (Fumi Nikaido) and her son the Taiko to take a step back and leave Ishido without the legitimacy of their support. In essence, Mariko's death allows Toranaga to dismantle Ishido's entire coalition within the Council of Regents, leaving the bureaucratic lord to drown in his unpopularity.  

Of course, viewers don't get to see the fruits of Toranaga's plan blossom. The climatic sequence of Shōgun sees Toranaga finally dispatch with his duplicitous vassal Kashigi Yabushige, on a cliffside with a scenic view. During their final conversation, Toranaga explains to the bewildered Yabushige how he will achieve victory in the coming war, and why Mariko was the true sacrificial play that Toranago had teased with his "Crimson Sky" plan. However, Toranaga wouldn't even go so far as to admit that he has always been planning – in his secret heart – to seize the power of Shōgun before he cut off Yabushige's head. 

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In the epilogue of Shōgun, Toranaga's surviving vassals and soldiers (Blackthorne, Buntaro, Omi) were all committed to serving their lord and taking the war to Osaka. That is admittedly enough implication to call the ending of Shōgun's TV series a complete thematic arc, even if it's not a traditional narrative resolution. But with the show now cemented as one of the most acclaimed of 2024, there's also going to be a lot of mainstream viewers who want that more traditional sense of narrative completion – meaning they'll be calling for more  Shōgun episodes to "finish the story." 

Shōgun (Season 1) is streaming on Hulu.

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