Like, what are we doing here? I didn’t love everything about the FX show, Shogun, but one thing I adored was the fact that it looked like we were only getting one season.
But, according to a recent The Hollywood Reporter article, they're discussing not one, but TWO new seasons to the popular FX drama.
And, like, how? Back in April, we were under the impression that Shogun would be a limited series, and I honestly wish that it would have remained a limited series. Here’s why.
Oh, and spoilers up ahead for Shogun if you haven’t watched it yet.
Shogun Ended At A Perfect Place
Shogun pretty much had the perfect ending. Lord Toranaga had skillfully outwitted his enemies, and had already thought ahead to how the other regents would want to go to war, but that it wouldn’t move forward. In this way, we see him talking to Kashigi Yabushige about how he is confident with how things will turn out, and we don’t actually see if these plans come to fruition, and I LOVE that about this ending.
It was so elegant, and even beautiful. No huge battle. No ultra-costly, “Battle of the Bastards” confrontation (Oh, and I’ll get more into Game of Thrones in a second). Just a man discussing his plans as he watches the water and prepares to behead his traitorous underling.
Not only that, but Blackthorne also had a pivotal moment, where he offered to commit seppuku himself, only for Toranaga to prevent it from happening. But, let’s also not forget that intriguing intro to the episode, in which we see Blackthorne as an old man, thinking back to his time in Japan.
All of this created a deeply engaging conclusion, and I feel like it should STAY concluded. Having more seasons would quite possibly disrupt the beauty of that final episode, which felt final. As it stands now, there is no reason for the show to continue. (Especially not for TWO more seasons!) It’s perfect as it is.
Doesn't Anybody Remember What Happened To Game Of Thrones When They Ran Out Of Source Material?!
I told you I was going to come back to GOT. Haven’t we already learned from that show’s mistakes? While the CinemaBlend staff had pretty mixed feelings about the ending of Game of Thrones, a lot of people thought the final season ruined the entire franchise. Sure, we now have House of the Dragon, and that’s popular enough, but it also uses elements from the novel, Fire & Blood, so it has some source material to pull from.
The main problem that most people agree on when it comes to Game of Thrones was that it ran OUT of source material. George R. R. Martin still hasn’t finished Book 6 of A Song of Ice and Fire, and the showrunners pretty much had to run blind into that final season, which seemed, to many, like an utter mess.
Now, I can’t entirely blame the people behind that series (though many have) for the last season being so sloppy, because I think they honestly tried their best to go with what they had (for example, we readers of the books still don’t know if Jon Snow lives or dies).
So, with that knowledge of GOT's downfall likely being because of a lack of source material, why then would the showrunners of Shogun possibly think they could do a better job of flying blind? Do they really want to take that risk when people obviously enjoyed the story that they already got? I mean, it seems like a hell of a gamble, if you ask me.
Shogun Without Mariko? No, Thank You
I love Mariko. She kicks ass. Anna Sawai did a masterful job of bringing her to the small screen, and I love that she was more than just a love interest for Blackthorne, which she could have been. I also adore how well the series did her famous death scene, as that was a major moment in the book that actually made me a little glassy eyed when I originally read the novel.
In every way, the miniseries (or at least, what I thought would be a miniseries) was the story of three main characters, those being Lord Toranaga, Blackthorne, and Mariko. But, Mariko’s dead now, and I really can’t see a story based around the world of Shogun without her.
For one thing, she was instrumental to Blackthorne’s character, and for another thing, she was one of the best things in the entire 10 episode run.
Honestly, I don’t want a second (or third!) season of Shogun without Toda Mariko. And no, I don’t want flashback scenes of her. I hate when shows do that. I feel like it’s cheating!
The Best Stuff In Season 1 Was From The Book
I’m a big fan of the Shogun novel, so even though I read it a number of years ago, there are certain scenes that are still emblazoned in my mind. I can tell you, even though the series took some creative liberties, the very best scenes in the show were also in the novel.
The massive earthquake that Blackthorne saves Toranaga from? In the book. The ninja attack? In the book. Mariko sacrificing herself and getting blown to smithereens? In the book. Mariko threatening to commit seppuku, only for Ishido to put a stop to it? In the book.
In fact, while I did appreciate that we got to see the story more from the Japanese perspective (Blackthorne is our main lead in the novel), I still think that the series pulled quite a great deal from the book, and those parts were, quite frankly, the best parts.
I feel that way because the series kind of meandered a little bit along the way. I know not everybody agrees with this opinion, but there were parts that, while engaging, I found to be a little off-track, and it wasn’t until the plot started leaning back into Clavell’s novel that I found a bit more stability in the story.
I know not everybody will agree with this assessment, and people who never read the novel likely didn’t see any problem whatsoever. But, for somebody who has read the novel, I can attest that the best parts were almost all in the book. And now, they’re thinking about making more seasons without the book? Why? Actually, I have an even better question than that.
Why Not Just Adapt Gai-Jin Instead?
Did you know that James Clavell actually wrote five more books about Asia? Now, granted, only two other novels take place in Japan (King Rat and Gai-Jin), but why not pull from one of those novels instead of making more seasons of Shogun?
Granted, King Rat would likely be too far of a departure from Shogun since it takes place during World War II, but Gai-Jin would be a good place to continue the Japanese saga. Taking place over 200 years following the events of Shogun, there still is a connection between the two stories, and it would be really cool to see the differences of samurai from Shogun’s period to that of Gai-Jin’s.
We’d also see a more advanced Japan. Do you remember the advancements we saw on The Legend of Korra from that of Avatar: The Last Airbender? I think a follow-up to Shogun in Gai-Jin’s world would feel like that kind of a natural progression. And I don’t know why we’re not getting word that this is in the works rather than more seasons of Shogun. It honestly doesn’t make any sense to me.
What do you think? Are you as adamantly against more seasons of Shogun as I am?
