Shogun Episode 3 Explained | Toranaga Did WHAT?

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Shogun Episode 3 is here and with it my (somewhat late, I know. my bad) breakdown of the episode. Quite a lot happened in this episode with Toranaga meeting Yabu, the escape of Osaka and the standoff in the sea! In this vid, I break down what happened while adding the context from the book that was missing in the show.
Intro 00:00
Toranaga and Yabu 00:09
Yabu's Wife 00:53
Fujiko 01:12
Blackthorne and "Pillowing" 01:29
The Osaka Escape 03:18
The Buntaro Change 04:37
The Sea Battle Of Wits 06:38
Toranaga's Negotiation 06:40
Blackthorne vs Rodrigues 07:16
The Book's Version 07:59
The Diving Scene 12:32
Toranagas Personality Difference 13:34
Long Time Coming 14:03

[@BadTakeRisan]

Lmk if you enjoyed the context I added from the books. I didn't wanna just do a recap of the ep and wanted to offer a little more info on the characters and their decisions , perspectives etc.

[@Kayy996]

I liked it. I find those '"explained" videos that just recap the episode fucking BORING. Like how tf is just saying what happened in an episode an explanation lol. I prefer this cause your actually explaining stuff

[@getnkosi]

I love these side-by-side comparisons, thank you for your hard work.

[@BadTakeRisan]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@lacesoutalex_]

I feel lucky to have found these videos and this channel. I love the way you include parts of the book to compare and contrast. Great job!

[@BadTakeRisan]

Thanks 🙏🏽. I wasn’t sure how ppl would receive the inclusion of excerpts from the book. I’m glad too see that you and others seem to like it. I’ll be sure to do the same in the upcoming videos for this series!

[@ladeerelli]

Yes I agree. My husband and I had seen the trailer and couldn't wait to start watching and are very impressed with the show. I've been watching all kinds of reviews to get a better view of the history, storyline, and characters. Your recap with the inclusion of book excerpts is very helpful in understanding more about the characters. I look forward to more videos!

[@BadTakeRisan]

Thanks! I’m glad the vid was helpful. The added context from being a book reader helps me enjoy the show so much more so I wanted to share that experience with others.

[@getnkosi]

Same

[@furryfury.]

I enjoyed this!!! You’ve convinced me to read the book. :D

[@BadTakeRisan]

Nice! I really do recommend the book. It’s well written and if you like anything about the show, you’ll love the book.

[@Fuzzball]

This episode was exciting but I had a major questions the book must answer. Why did Toranaga run? He knew he was walking into a trap and expected to be killed so he had Anjin brought to Osaka to shake things up. Then it looks like Ishido is starting to realize with Toranaga gone, the Christian lords would hold the power and with the Macau threat being known, Toranaga might survive but then… he runs. Also they give away Anjin only to fight to get him back and no one is fooled.

[@BadTakeRisan]

The show was a little weird in how they showed it. He went to Osaka since they would impeach him if he didn’t. Then , knowing they’d impeach him once he’s there he planned his escape. The whole point of the journey to Osaka and eventual escape was so that once he left , Hiromatasu could inform the regents of his resignation. This effectively buys him more time since they can’t order him to commit seppuku/execute him until they have 5 members in the council. Anjin was fairly insignificant to Toranaga other than the fact that the Portuguese didn’t like him. So he wasn’t gonna make a big deal over him and risk giving Ishido and the council a different reason to impeach / execute him. It was only after the conversation about the world that Toranaga takes a genuine interest in Anjin and his usefulness. Hopefully that cleared some stuff up 👍🏾

[@Fuzzball]

@@BadTakeRisan That helps a lot. Thank you!

[@BadTakeRisan]

You’re welcome!

[@jng99]

Great recap. I really like the novel comparison you do, with excerpts from the book. Keep it up. This is one of my favourite books and my favourite of Clavell’s Asian Saga series. Taipan and King Rat are tied for second place.

[@BadTakeRisan]

Thanks! Shogun is definitely my favourite in Clavell’s Asian Saga Series too. It actually might be my favourite book of all time. I do think Tai Pan would probably make for a more exciting tv show tho. What do you think?

[@gonaye1]

This was a great breakdown man. Loved all the excerpts you used direct from the novel. I’ll be “that guy” and say I like the changes the show made over the book, but it’s probably because this show can do no wrong in my eyes at the moment, lol. Great video man!

[@BadTakeRisan]

Thanks man! Honestly apart from the Buntaro scene , I like all the changes. I’m right there with you tho. I’m just glad we get to see Shogun in live action so even with that criticism, I love the show!

[@blossjs]

I'm really enjoying your videos. I didn't read the book, just like I didn't read the game of thrones books. This channel reminds me of Alt Shift X and how he would break down game of thrones. You should check it out to see how he worked it.

[@BadTakeRisan]

Thanks man! Being compared to such a huge channel means a lot. Alt Shift X’s House Of The Dragon videos were actually the inspiration for these Shogun vids. After watching those I knew I could make similar ones on Shogun since it’s my favourite book and I’m pretty knowledgeable on it. I’m glad you’re enjoying them!

[@AndyMillerPhotoUK]

Lots of other minor and less minor changes vs the book - name and nationality - Kasigi Yabu, Rodrigues made a Spaniard, Friar Domingo seemingly made Portuguese when he is clearly Spanish in the book. And so. But these are tiny gripes when compared to the spectacular production and performances.

[@BadTakeRisan]

True, I wanted to focus on the bigger differences tho. Since it’s an adaptation of such a long book, there’s bound to be minor changes. I even debated on whether or not to include Mura in the video but since he’s essentially not in the show, I decided against it.

[@AndyMillerPhotoUK]

@@BadTakeRisan Yes - there are many many slight changes. I am interested in understanding the reasoning for them all - no doubt this will emerge over time. However, these changes make little no difference to normal viewers. I note there was no mention of "a duck" later in the pillowing scene, but then M&B were alone in this telling and the reference came from "an older samurai" and Ona suggested M ask B !!!

[@SplashAttackTCG]

I don't know why they tried to act like bontoru sacrificed himself and died when they have trailers from future episodes where he is alive and pointing down a sword at Blackthorne....

[@BadTakeRisan]

Yeah it was a very pointless scene lmao. At least he doesn’t seem to be dead so we can forget about this scene eventually. It’s not that important in the grand scheme of things. Just a dumb part of one episode lmao.

[@AndyMillerPhotoUK]

Agreed wrt B but we have seen a clip from a future episode where B is drunk and shoots and arrow it to the right fence/gate post through a soju screen in Anjin-San’s house in Anjiru. This leaves the opportunity for a brief retrospective telling of how B escaped.

[@BadTakeRisan]

I haven’t seen that trailer yet but if that’s the case then yeah , the buntaro scene in ep 3 isn’t that big of a gripe. It was still quite a pointless scene all things considered. However I’m glad they’re including that scene from the book, it was one of Buntaro’s coolest scenes imo.

[@AndyMillerPhotoUK]

@@BadTakeRisan It was on Jimmy K when he interviewed Anna. Only some of us who have read the book many many times and seen what feel like everything ever made about Shogun may have picked this up. If you look at the scene again - B heads of down a street - no doubt this is where he is join by other Browns and horses.

[@BadTakeRisan]

Lmao it sounds like you think I thought Buntaro was dead? My point was that the scene was cliche and his escape doesn’t make much sense within the context of the show( somehow makes it thru hundreds of samurai alone). I know Bunataro is alive , which makes the “sacrifice” scene even dumber. Also, I don’t watch trailers so I go in to the episode blind with no spoilers. Even if I already know the source material.

[@rylariousproductions4418]

Ok bro obvi Buntaro is coming back later to add conflict to the Blackthorne-Mariko affair

[@BadTakeRisan]

Ok? I dont really know what this comment is a response to ngl 😭. My problem with that Buntaro scene was that it was cliche and they changed it for no reason. Obv I know hes coming back , i've read the book bro lmao.

[@POTLmovie]

Regarding your comments on Page 395 or Buntaro’s scene. It was not budgetarily viable time wise to shoot this as it was in the book. Horses on set is a major deal and sucks a lot of time out of your shooting schedule. So it was decided to focus on the story points rather than trying to do exactly what was written in the book for every single incident, which is impossible to do on the production schedule we had of 15 days per episode. When you don’t know or understand production limitations, such assumptions such as what you have made, should be tempered.

[@BadTakeRisan]

They could adapted the scene from the book and had the cavalry come in on foot instead of on horseback. I am aware of the production limitations however that doesn’t absolve the show of fault when talking about a poorly written scene. The Buntaro scene was cliche and didn’t make much sense ( 1 samurai somehow escapes from 100s of enemies alone). If you actually listened to what I said instead of being condescending, you’d realise that my issue was that they changed it to a scene that didn’t make sense within the context of the story. There were other equally viable options they could have pursued.

[@alexandrupatru2892]

I wonder how they managed to to way better and make more sense in the original mini series with a lower budget and more limitations than this epic production remake?

[@BadTakeRisan]

@alexandrupatru2892 While it isn’t as faithful as the miniseries in the 80s, I still think the 2024 show is good. Also the 80s show wasn’t perfect , it was way more focused on Blackthorne and had less focus on the Japanese side.

[@alexandrupatru2892]

@@BadTakeRisan Yeah, it's one of those shows that you should just shut your inner voice out and enjoy the drama, ignoring there are better ways to do things. I'm just glad I can see another version at this point. The way this remake has gone, I wouldn't even mind if they add demons. It's fun.

[@El_Superhombre_Blanco]

They jumped the shark with making Mariko join the battle and easily kill a bunch of professional samurai, while she is surrounded and a housewife in 1600 Japan

[@BadTakeRisan]

Yeah it was definitely a bit of the modern Hollywood agenda seeping thru. There were female warriors at the time capable of fighting but Mariko in the book is explicitly stated to struggle with combat. That being said, it wasn't really a focal point in the battle so I can forgive it. I'm also assuming/hoping it was a one-off throwaway scene lmao

[@bennygerow]

Well, historically it's accurate that samurai class women were trained to fight and were expected to fight alongside their husbands.

[@BadTakeRisan]

@bennygerow That’s not true. They were trained in basic self-defence to defend themselves when the men were off at war. While there were female warriors who fought alongside men , it happened occasionally but wasn’t common.