Tokyo Vice (Season 2 Premier), Episodes 1 & 2: Two years after Tokyo Vice’s first season was unceremoniously cut off by a major cliffhanger, the J.T. Rogers-created show, based on the memoir by Jake Adelstein (whose accuracy is very much in dispute), returns. But like most shows that leave off with a cliffhanger, this show does the irritating job of resolving that plot thread halfway. What that does is ensure that the current television model, which is like the original television model, is maintained.
Considering that Adelstein’s memoir is about him working as a reporter for the Meicho, it stands to reason that the stories he had investigated would be more variety-driven than the central Yakuza plot. For that plot, the ensemble cast more than picks up the slack. As for the veracity of the source material, “Tokyo Vice” is more inspired by the book, according to one of its executive producers. Does that cut the show slack? Not really, but then again, it doesn’t stop the show from being entertaining and refreshingly old-school.
Tokyo Vice (Season 2 Premier), Episodes 1 & 2 Recap:
Episode 1 – Don’t Ever F**king Miss
Who was involved in the murder of Polina?
The show makes a double-blind opening in the yacht, where we realize it is the same one Polina had been taken to before the camera pans out, and we realize we are watching the video recording that Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) had brought to Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe). The video recording is harrowing because it depicts the sexual assault of Polina’s character. But accepting Katagiri’s advice, Jake looks at the recording in detail, and then Katagiri learns that the man with the attacker of Polina is Jotaro Shigematsu, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He reveals that Jotaro is a man with powerful friends and, as inferred, is connected with Tozawa. Jake and Katagiri agree that Jake would submit the video to the Meicho for the story while Katagiri would investigate Tozawa indirectly. Showing the tapes to his higher-ups raises their eyebrows. While the higher-ups admit that, at best, this is evidence to put the vice president away for manslaughter, they agree to run the story, but only after they get a comment from the vice president.
After the meeting, Jake is consoled by his friends Trendy and Tin-Tin, and Jake asks them for a favor: to check the registry for Yoshino, Tozawa’s boat, for further evidence. Eimi (Rinku Kikuchi) orders Jake to go home. The next morning the two of them meet with Shigematsu. Eimi tries to break Shigematsu by showing him the photographs that capture him that night with Polina (Ella Rumpf). However, Shigematsu initially denies that the person in the photograph is him, and later he just says, “No comment.”
But Jake, high on righteous anger and general American gusto, tries to force him to give up Tozawa’s name, and they will go easy on him. Predictably, it backfires, with Shigematsu insulting the “slovenly foreigner” with no foreigners. Jake is unfettered and asks his mentor why they aren’t pressing the Tozawa angle to put him away for good. To which Eimi reminds him that they don’t actually have any proof. Their story is about the disappearance and murder of a poor girl, and they shouldn’t break their eyes off the ball for that.
Jake also gets a call from Trendy, who informs him that Yoshino is registered with Misaki, Tozawa’s mistress. Jake immediately cycles to the hotel where Misaki had holed herself up for protection. She implores Jake not to put her name in association with Yoshino in his article. From the way she caresses Jake’s wounds and the conflicting look that crosses Jake’s face, we can feel the attraction rolling off in waves (at least we are supposed to, even though Elgort isn’t the most charismatic lead).
How does Katagiri get officially called off the investigation?
Meanwhile, Katagiri gets an envelope left for him, containing a matchbox of a hotel with the room number scrawled inside. Pretty complicated way to send a message, but Katagiri goes to investigate, only to find the dead body of Detective Miyamoto in the room, his death designed to look like an overdose. When the police finally arrive to investigate and recover the body, Katagiri’s superior also clearly sees the ruse, realizing that this death is linked to Katagiri and Miyamoto secretly investigating and building a case against Tozawa. Katagiri’s involvement in this below-the-line investigation invites the ire of the Chief of Police, who officially removes Katagiri from the investigation while they inform the press that Miyamoto had died of a heart attack because it would be a huge blow to the morale of the department if they learn that one of their own is intricately involved with the Tozawa gang.
How does Samantha handle the death of Polina?
Samantha (Rachel Keller), meanwhile, is involved with the building of her own club, which she had resumed construction of after joining in a partnership with the Chihara-Kai, with Sato (Sho Kasamatsu) as their representative. But she is in a bind. Not only is she unable to connect with Polina, but she is also worried because she knew Polina was supposed to go to that yacht, and instead of Sato, one of the point guards of Chihara-Kai, had arrived to speak about the money. Samantha finally learns about the death of Polina through Jake. Jake tries to console her, but she shuts herself down emotionally.
She also reacts angrily when Jake asks her for information about Polina so that he can paint a three-dimensional picture of her in the story rather than just depict a normal victim. She kicks him out of her club. Later we see her that evening excessively drinking while calling older friends to hang out with her, as she obviously doesn’t want to be alone. The notable call she does make is to her “Mama-San,” which will be revealed in the next episode as Erika. We then see Samantha drunkenly walking down the street, pushing people away, and proclaiming that the clubs are stealing the money of the hard-earned individual. In her drunkenness, we see her, the blonde American, circled by judgmental looks being given to the expat by the locals.
The final straw comes when she parties hard and falls flat on her face at a club, realizing that she clearly isn’t okay. Her final thought or memory of Polina is one she sees while standing near the staircase to a famous temple in Tokyo. In a flashback, we see Polina and Samantha climbing up the stairs and Polina telling the story of how her grandfather had gifted her a sheep to look after.
To ensure she learned responsibility, her grandfather asked her to keep guard of her sheep outside the house with a gun in her hand through the night. That night, young Polina tries to shoot a wolf and misses. But her grandfather, who had been keeping guard over her all night, shoots the wolf dead. Then he advises her to “never f***king miss,” and that’s what Polina advises the younger, happier Samantha, and we see the present-day Samantha break down, processing her grief.
What Happened to Sato?
Sato’s younger brother, Kaito, who we learn is a freshman at the university, rushes to Chihara-Kai headquarters looking for his brother because their father isn’t doing well. Sato’s compatriots chase him away, informing him that they aren’t sure where Sato is either. Kaito is later called by a hospital because he had been listed as Sato’s emergency contact, and we see Sato connected via tubes after the fatal knife wound that had been inflicted on him last season.
Kaito and the doctor are interrupted by Sato’s comrades, who had been keeping a watch on Kaito, who immediately disconnect Sato from the tubes and carry him to their safe house, promising to make the bastard who had attacked him pay. Unbeknownst to them, the traitor had been one of them all along, and upon discovering and bringing Sato back to their safe house, the traitor goes to Tozawa’s right hand and tries to exchange information about Sato’s location for immunity.
The Oyabun of Chihara-Kai had a soft spot for Sato, and he was shocked to learn of the traitor within his own ranks when Tozawa’s right hand called him, delivering that battered and bloody man in a body bag. To make things right, Sato, who had taken time to recover, finally wakes up to see the Oyabun placing a knife on his prone hand and asking him to slash it through the neck of the perpetrator.
Sato, however, refuses, proclaiming “no more” weakly. The Oyabun grants his wishes, warning the man that he would have to prove the worthiness of the life that Sato holds in his hands. We also learn that this was a hopeful start to a peace treaty between Tozawa and Chihara-Kai; at least, that’s what Tozawa’s right hand is planning to implement because their boss has gone to the United States because he has been ill, and there is a high chance he won’t be coming back.
Does Jake publish his article?
At the Meicho offices, Jake finally finishes his article, with Misaki’s connection to Tozawa deleted from the record. But unfortunately, Jake learns, while having dinner with his friends, that a cigarette had been left burning in an ashtray, and the entire room had burned down. The videotape had been inside a safe in that room, and the temperature had been too high, leading to the safe melting. As it stands, without the tape, if the article is published, it would be tantamount to libel, and the Meicho couldn’t print unsubstantiated claims.
Thus, Jake’s entire story is shelved. To top that off, Jake is invited to Katagiri’s home, where Katagiri informs him that he has been kicked off the case, Miyamoto is murdered, and it would be in their best interests if Jake and Katagiri kept their mouths shut, as Tozawa and his gang have eyes everywhere, and they would be in danger.
Jake takes that to heart, shutting down his friend’s story about the suspicious nature of Miyamoto’s death by lying to him that Miyamoto had ventricular arrhythmia and, thus, the heart attack, as described in the press release, is legitimate. But Katagiri meanwhile sneaks into Shigematsu’s house in the dead of night, where he corners and threatens to cut Shigematsu’s fingers off if he doesn’t inform him what Tozawa wants. Shigematsu could only tell him that Tozawa wanted his name off the United States no-fly zone list, and Shigematsu had been unsuccessful. Threatening to return if Shigematsu ever breathed a word of this meeting, Katagiri walks away, with the Tozawa case looming over their heads but so far temporarily resolved.
Episode 2 – Be My Number One
Episode 2 is when the show actually reveals its true form this season – a procedural-based story following the principal characters while the looming Yakuza plot develops slowly. For Jake and Samantha, both of their stories involve their professional lives and an exploration of Tokyo and a very specific culture of the 90s. For both Katagiri and Sato, it is the development on the Yakuza front, as an investigative task force is proposed, while a wildcard enters into the Chihara-Kai.
What story does Jake choose to cover?
We learn that it has been three months since the events of the first episode, and within those three months, Jake has delivered some great stories in the paper, such that his editor Maruyama grants him the cream of the crop—two stories to cover, and he can choose. Jake, somewhat uncharacteristically, chooses the stolen motorcycle story rather than the body of a dead Yakuza gangster. In his meeting with Katagiri, we learn that both Jake and Katagiri have decided to lay low. Katagiri has been given punishment detail, where he basically takes complaints from people believing that the Yakuza are involved in their grievances. Jake finally gets the lead when he goes to visit Samantha in her new club, now christened Club Polina.
She gives him the phone number of her mechanic, who informs Jake that the bikes are being stolen because the parts are in high demand, as these expensive superbikes are like “organ donors.” The mechanic gives Jake the lead to a motorcycle club, whose leader we had already introduced, sans face hidden in a helmet, in the opening of the episode, stealing a superbike by drilling through the keyhole. Jake tries to get them to talk by offering them a free meal at a restaurant, but the club members taunt Jake and are unwilling to answer their questions unless they are being paid. Jake, frustrated, leaves with a wad of bills at the table, which angers them, and the leader and Jake come to blows outside the restaurant.
To the club’s surprise, Jake handily defeats the leader by throwing him over his shoulder on the asphalt. That impresses the leader, who decides Jake is cool enough to hang with them. This proximity also impresses Maruyama, who tries and succeeds in convincing Baku, the chief editor for Jake, to stick with the story. But Jake hanging out with the group also makes him an unwitting accessory to one of their crimes. In one of their interviews, the leader of the club reveals that one of his underlying reasons for continuing to strip-mine these stolen motorbikes for parts is to have enough money so that he could send his sister off to a prestigious university, away from the city. Jake, meanwhile, helps distract a young couple while the leader manages to steal the couple’s bike.
Who is Karen, and how does she help Samantha in her new club?
Samantha’s new club, christened Club Polina, is the new talk of the town. Samantha runs it with poise, grace, and empathy towards her hostesses, unlike her previous boss. However, one night, she confronts one of her most-earning hostesses, Claudine, at her office, accusing her of ripping her off almost a million yen. Claudine doesn’t protest the accusations and refuses to pay the money, believing that because she brings in the “whale” in the form of a rich architect, she deserves that amount. She is skimming off anyway. Instead, Claudine leaves, warning Samantha that she will be bringing her illustrious clients with her.
Sato finally comes to visit her after being admitted to the hospital. We realize that he hadn’t contacted her out of fear of risking her safety, but now he is back, resuming his duty as the representative of the Chihara-Kai for Club Polina. Except Sato has a condition. The Oyabun wants Claudine to resume working at the club, and Samantha is adamant. She reminds Sato of the contract they had drawn up, where the gang would get their cut on the condition that the club would be exclusively looked after by her. Thus, according to her, the club would only run by her rules. Sato unwillingly has to accept.
We then see Samantha arriving in front of an apartment, where we finally meet Samantha’s “Mama-San,” Karen. Karen used to be a hostess at Club Destiny, and she had given Samantha a shot at being a hostess before. And now Samantha wants her to join the club, proposing to give her half of the money she earns by selling the whisky in the bar. It is pretty evident that Samantha is desperate, but Karen also has a pretty compelling reason to turn down the job: she is a mother to a six-year-old kid. Samantha is shocked to learn about this new development, but it doesn’t deter her. Samantha just requested that she visit the club.
Her ruse works because the next step she takes is calling the architect and trying to impress him to return to her club again, unlike the last time when he visited and left the club upon realizing Claudine’s absence. But even as she brings in Karen, Samantha has to deal with the attention of the architect, who is now more interested in her than the hostess she had worked so hard to seduce back into the business. But Samantha’s storyline ends with her club back on track, and Sato and Karen meet, with Samantha asking Sato to drive Karen home.
Who are the new players in the Yakuza plot?
The Yakuza plot so far seems to be the one with the newer additions and dealing with plot progression. On Sato’s end, Sato joins the ranks of Chihara-Kai, only to work under a much more volatile head of his group in the form of Hayama, the eldest son of Oyabun Ishida. Hayama is decidedly more bloodthirsty and violent than his father, more set to decimate the Tozuma clan rather than maintain a peace treaty.
As a result, and also because of the events of the first season, Sato takes cautionary steps. Acting against the no-gun rule of the Chihara-Kai, we see Sato bringing in guns and dealing with weapons dealers. We also see Sato trying to go legitimate and bringing in his brother to deal with a sneaker-selling business by launching a website to order sneakers. The legitimacy of the prospect puts his brother off, but all of Sato’s tactics make you realize that this is a man who is crafting his fallback plan.
And perhaps crafting a fallback plan is essential, as it turns out because Hayama starts going around Tozawa’s previously owned establishments and collecting money from them. In one such establishment, he roughs up the older female owner of a club, and even when slapped back by the owner, he doesn’t hesitate to threaten the woman with a knife before taking the money, even increasing the collection frequency to twice a month. When the owner protests that Tozawa would hear of it, Hayama jeers at her, saying that Tozawa is gone. Hayama also sneers at Sato’s cautious nature, revealing that while Sato is scared of Tozawa’s retaliation, Hayama expects it to happen and even welcomes it.
Katagiri’s diminishing work prospects change when he meets Detective Nagata, who wants to work with Katagiri to start a new task force against the Yakuza. The two of them are on opposite sides of the spectrum on how to deal with the Yakuza. While Katagiri maintains a strict rule of balance between the gangs, Nagata is not troubled by gang violence if that means Yakuzas killing each other. She wants organized crime to be completely rooted out of Tokyo. Katagiri, however, refuses to work in this task force until he is convinced by his wife, who contextualizes the current life that Katagiri is stuck in, all for the notion of keeping his family safe rather than moving away from Tokyo and spending time with them. It made Katagiri realize (perhaps) that this could be the decisive and final mission in his career before he bows out. That’s why he accepts.
Tokyo Vice (Season 2 Premier), Episode 2 Ending Explained:
In the final moments of the episode, we see Adelstein finishing up his stolen motorcycle story and calling his editors. As he signs off for the night, he gets a call in his cell from Misaki, inviting him to his hotel. Jake cycles rapidly to her hotel and meets her in her room. She pours two glasses of wine before edging closer to him, revealing that Tozawa’s guys aren’t interested in her anymore. She hasn’t heard from him for more than three months, and thus Tozawa may be dead. As they inch closer, Jake whispers that this is a very bad idea. Misaki admits this before they kiss and sleep together as the episode ends.
To a certain extent, the second episode is the true beginning of a long season, and as we see, newer characters are getting introduced into the already dangerous and volatile world of the city of Tokyo in “Tokyo Vice.” The looming threat of Tozawa is still hanging in the air, and as Hayama predicted, retaliation might be on the horizon sooner rather than later.
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