Katie Yu/FX
FX’s Shōgun, whose 10-episode season ended Wednesday night, is a remarkable adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 novel. In a landscape of remakes, franchise, and reboots, it is a series that feels remarkably fresh, despite being the fourth time the book has been adapted (including an ill-fated, yet Tony-nominated, 1990 musical). Yet, in a story told almost exclusively in Japanese, perhaps the most remarkable thing about Shōgun is how it ends: not with a riotous, prestige television bang, but with a quiet and considered conclusion.
Over the course of its season, Shōgun’s action simmers under a calm exterior, erupting here and there in sudden bursts of energy. This isn’t a world of blood and gore, but one in which a conversation can be violence and death sudden and silent, as Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) connives his way to becoming shōgun—the de facto military dictator of Japan. As its palace intrigue intensifies, Shōgun is gentle yet decisive in ratcheting up the tension around Toranaga’s grand plan.
It’s understandable, then, if viewers expect the release of that tension to be explosive. After all, so many characters reference that Toranaga is about to plunge Japan into war and even deep into the finale they talk about the battle to come. I admit, despite familiarity with the book, even I thought Shōgun would conclude with a battle—nor would I have blamed co-creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for tossing one in.
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