Shogun Episode 5: Recap and Ending Explained – Has Lady Ochiba Aligned against Toranaga?

Based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name, the FX show “Shogun” has been a terrific piece of Television work so far. In its fifth episode, titled “Broken to the Fist,” it maintains the same electrifying intensity with ramifications of actions and unpredictability of both humans and nature. “Shogun” episode 5 marks the halfway point of the show and sees the return of one character and a new enemy raising her head. Let us explore the eventful episode and wonder what those means for individual characters.

Shogun Episode 5 Recap

Toranaga Comes Back

Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) comes back to the coastal village. He brings a surprise, and a surprise is in store for him. In the last episode, Toranaga’s son, Nagakado (Yuki Kura), spurred by Yabushige’s (Tadanobu Asano) nephew Omi’s (Hiroto Kanai) jibes, takes matters into his own hands. In Toranaga’s absence, in a bid to prove himself as his father’s true successor, Nagakado killed the men of Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira), including Ishido’s samurai, Jozen Nebara. 

Now, Toranaga comes back with an army, which also includes Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe). We saw Buntaro battling Ishido’s men single-handedly, thus allowing Toranaga and his party, which included Lady (Anna Sawai) Mariko and Anjin Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), to escape. We should have known that there is a possibility of Buntaro’s return as we never actually saw him “die” on screen. Buntaro’s return complicates the relationship between Blackthorne and Mariko. They were just getting involved romantically, as evident from last week’s episode. 

The Council Discussion

Meanwhile, back in Osaka, the Regents continue to discuss Lord Toranaga’s fate under the leadership of Lord Ishido. Ishido reminds them that despite the Council of Regents now agreeing to impeach Toranaga, Toranaga cannot be impeached until the Council consists of five lords. Lord Toranaga resigned in the third episode and that allowed him to evade the Council’s judgment based on the Council lacking all five members. Lords Kiyama, Sugiyama, and Ohno all try to nominate their favorites as the candidate to replace Toranaga in the Council.  Lord Ishido considers them and provides a suggestion of his own. But an agreement is not reached. That is the moment Lord Ishido receives the news of Nagakado’s attack on his men. He receives the head of Jozen Nebara in a box. 

Buntaro and Blackthorne’s Drinking Competition

As mentioned, Buntaro’s return complicates Blackthorne’s life with Mariko and Fuji (Moeka Hoshi), who was assigned as Blackthorne’s consort. Buntaro is also to live in Blackthorne’s house, with his wife Mariko. Their first dinner is full of tension. Buntaro continues to mock Blackthorne, and Blackthorne often chips in with rebuttals of his own. Mariko, with her translations, tries to alleviate the situation, while Fuji also tries to calm the environment. But the two men could not help but escalate things like men often do. 

It starts with a drinking competition, which leads to Buntaro showing his archery skills while humiliating his wife in the process. The night brings more pain for Mariko as Buntaro beats her brutally. Blackthorne is woken by the sound of the commotion, and he confronts Buntaro. Blackthorne takes his gun out while Buntaro stands opposite him. When it seems that an unbalanced gun-vs-sword duel is about to break out, Buntaro takes his sword out and apologizes to Blackthorne. 

As Toranaga awarded the quarter to Blackthorne, Buntaro’s behavior broke the harmony of Blackthorne’s house. As a samurai and as a loyal servant of Lord Toranaga, it is not fitting for Buntaro. This is why he apologizes and blames his behavior on alcohol. Blackthorne stops himself from pulling the trigger. The next morning, he meets with Mariko and tries to persuade her to break free—break free of all her shackles. Mariko does not take that kindly and says their unofficial relationship cannot continue. 

The Earthquake

Fueled by Mariko’s rejection, Blackthorne pleads his case to Lord Toranaga once again. He says that he has kept his end of the bargain. He has taught Toranaga’s men European warfare techniques, like how to use cannons properly. This was Toranaga’s condition. He asks Toranaga to let him go now and to let him leave Japan with his ship. Toranaga, who has the impending war in mind, comments that he cannot think about this now. 

Before Mariko could translate this, a massive earthquake hit the village. Toranaga almost dies in a landslide, but Blackthorne saves his life. Toranaga, however, loses his precious sword. Blackthorne comes to the rescue once more. He gifts Toranaga his sword — the sword Fuji gifted to him in the last episode. There could be no greater honor for the sword than to be yielded by the Lord of Kanto. 

Shogun Episode 5 Ending Explained:

What Happened to Blackthorne’s Gardener, Uejirou?

This episode also saw the repercussions of the cultural gap that is often neglected by Blackthorne. It starts with a simple thing like hanging a pheasant to rot and dry. Blackthorne hangs the carcass of a pheasant on his house, which was a hunting gift from Toranaga. Blackthorne casually mentions that the pheasant carcass is prohibited for everyone else. In his rough Japanese vocabulary, he says that touching the pheasant would mean death. 

However, as the carcass starts to rot, Fuji and other Japanese inhabitants of the quarters grow concerned. The rotting flesh represents something demonic. So, a decision gets made that someone has to take the pheasant down. But that would also mean death for that person, as Blackthorne’s words meant that. Because it would be betraying the words of the owner of the house. Now, Blackthorne is unaware of this. He has not paid much attention after jokingly saying that touching the pheasant means death. So, he is shocked to find that his gardener, Uejirou, is killed because he volunteered to bring the rotting pheasant down. 

Who Is Toranaga’s Spy?

Although Blackthorne is devastated to learn his unwitting role in Uejirou’s death, we need to consider the possibility that Uejirou might not be dead. Just like Buntaro, this is another death we learn, but one that we do not see happen on screen. Uejirou’s death is also linked with Toranaga’s plan. We know Yabushige, with Omi,  has been searching for Toranaga’s spy in the village. We also know that it is Muraji who sends messages to Toranaga via pigeons. 

Now, we learn that Muraji is an old samurai sworn to serve Toranaga. His real name is Tonomoto Akinao. Toranaga tells him to find a “spy” for Yabushige to discover. In the end, we see Muraji planting evidence in Uejirou’s house to make it appear that Uejirou was the spy. Yabushige and Omi seem satisfied to learn that Uejirou is now dead. This also makes us wonder if Uejirou is truly killed because of Blackthorne’s words or not. 

Why Did Toranaga Reward Omi?

Toranaga seems to do the same that Omi, egged on by Yabushige, did to him. He tries to create a rift between Omi and Yabushige. That is why he tells Yabushige that he is rewarding Omi with the command of the European artillery. Toranaga knows this will hurt Yabushige’s ego. As he explains, Omi’s influence on Nagakado ensures that the war happens in Toranaga’s preferred location and not in Ishido’s preferred location. Ishido is bound to attack now because his samurai has been killed, and an offensive move has been executed. It is expected of Lord Ishido to attack Toranaga now, as opposed to waiting to be attacked under the safety of Osaka walls. 

Is Lady Ochiba against Toranaga?

Lady Ochiba, the late Taiko’s wife and mother of the heir, finally returns to Osaka after she was allowed to leave Toranaga’s abode from Edo some days ago. She immediately makes her presence felt as she tells Lord Ishido that she has had enough of the council’s politics. The council will report to her, and she will ensure Toranaga is punished. It does appear that a higher power has entered the fray against Toranaga.

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Shogun Episode 5 Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
The Cast of Shogun Episode 5: Cosmo Jarvis, Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroto Kanai, Takehiro Hira, Moeka Hoshi, Shinnosuke Abe
Shogun Episode 5 Genre: Historical Drama | Runtime: 10 Episode (55–70 min)

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