"Anjin"
- The death of one of the Dutch sailors by being boiled alive. His desperate pleas for mercy fall on deaf ears, and his slow death is so horrific that even some of the townspeople can't help but sympathize over his terrible fate.
"Servants of Two Masters"
- The existence of Father Domingo in prison (due to the Jesuits throwing him there) is a quite sad portrayal of how the Catholic Church's presence in Japan, despite being nominally out of evangelization, has been much compromised and corrupted by their proximity to the samurai elite. This gains greater weight (or a source of anger) when you also consider how much more complicated it was (as discussed in the Artistic License—History tab).
"Tomorrow Is Tomorrow"
" The Eightfold Fence"
- Mariko's Thousand-Yard Stare as she explains the concept of the Eightfold Fence - an internal place of peace that she and so many others must construct and retreat to in order to bear the pains and burdens of everyday life. As she puts it, they put on smiles and perform their ceremonies, but aren't really there at all, a severe dissociation needed just to survive.
"Broken to the Fist"
- The immediate fallout of Nagakado's stunt at massacring Jozen's retinue haunts everyone:
- Toranaga rightfully tears into his son for his immaturity, stripping him of command. At the same time, he seems less concerned about the fact that Nagakado accelerated the war (which is about to happen anyway)—and more understandably-frustrated as a father who is having a hard time impressing tough lessons on his son. Nagakado seems to have taken this to heart—realizing both a) what a massive mess he's caused and b) how much he's damaged his own standing with his father.
- Yabushige realizing that his own nephew (Omi) seems to be surpassing him both as a samurai and a potential ally to Toranaga is the first time we've seen him really lash out. We've seen him throughout the series actively trying to net more agency and influence for himself, and being left with nothing to show for it is easy to understand, despite how much of a villain he has been.
- The return of Buntaro unleashes much domestic strife between him, Blackthorne, Mariko and Fuji in their dinner.
- Buntaro's first arrival at Blackthorne's estate involves him mouthing off to Fuji and her being a "barbarian's" consort. Understandably, she politely deflects at him, saying a) she's married to a hatamoto (who technically even outranks Buntaro), and b) obliquely saying Blackthorne does not "pillow" with her—needling Buntaro's insecurities (especially when it comes to Mariko). This may or may not have directly contributed to Buntaro's awful showing later that night.
- Blackthorne, despite his best efforts, is still the same rough and straightforward "barbarian" he's been, which rankles Buntaro no end. When Blackthorne tries to needle Buntaro about his exploits (something which he seems averse to talking to), it snowballs to a) Buntaro loosing a couple of arrows too close to Mariko's face, b) Blackthorne's criticism of his treatment of Mariko leading to Mariko revealing her tragic past, against her will; and c) Buntaro actively committing Domestic Abuse on Mariko, which leads to Blackthorne almost shooting at Buntaro if not for his belated apologies.
- The particulars of the death of Akechi Jinsai (Mariko's father) are also revealed to be heartwrenching and horrific. For essentially committing Tyrannicide and doing the right thing, Jinsai was forced to execute his entire family (save Mariko) before being forced to commit Seppuku. Whatever motivations the Real Life Akechi Mitsuhide had in killing Oda Nobunaga, he at least had a less cruel and Undignified Death than this.
- While he's in no way sympathetic, Buntaro's constant Thousand-Yard Stare and general irritability all but points to his being a Shell-Shocked Veteran—both before and after the escape from Osaka. This puts his general distance to his family in a pretty understandable light. Even his subsequent apology (presenting his katana and bowing) is somber (and almost evocative of the first steps involved in Seppuku)—suggesting he's not entirely oblivious to what an awful man he's been so far.
- Blackthorne's attempt at reconnecting with Mariko only causes her to rebuff him further—saying that even as she will continue to be his translator, she has realized she has compromised so many people emotionally because of her impulsive affair with Blackthorne.
- Mariko reveals one other Awful Truth: the swords of Fuji's father (which Blackthorne now carries) aren't his: her father died in the Japanese invasion of Korea like a coward, and her grandfather Hiromatsu bought it cheaply off someone so Fuji has a Tragic Keepsake instead. Their collaboration to silence about it, she says, is their best way of honoring her feelings.
- The entire affair over the pheasant is a prime example of Poor Communication Kills and the biggest Hard Truth Aesop Blackthorne's been slapped with throughout his stay in Japan. In leaving the pheasant to dry out and stating "anyone who touches it dies", it simply rots, ruining the cleanliness standards of his Japanese household and causing a health scare throughout the neighborhood. The gardener Uejiro (whom Blackthorne is shown to be on excellent terms with) volunteers to dispose of it and die for it. Blackthorne realizing he essentially caused a good man to die gives him a severe Heroic BSoD.
- Another part of this is Muraji's exploitation of Uejiro's death, framing him as a spy to deflect Yabushige and Omi's search for him (the real spy for Toranaga). Considering Muraji/Akinao is revealed to be a samurai (and has been a Reasonable Authority Figure, even as a Mole in Charge), he doesn't feel right besmirching the dead good old man's name (even if it does give Uejiro's death more meaning than it would have otherwise).
- Blackthorne's awful realization after Uejiro's death is further piled upon by the occurrence of the earthquake that levels Ajiro, almost kills Toranaga by burying him in the ground, damages his own house, and injures Fuji amongst many casualties. His last scene in the episode is him despondently attempt to reorient the stone in his garden (the same one Uejiro was working on before he dies), finally being struck by everything Mariko and Japan has been trying to teach him.
- Just after they manage to dig Toranaga out, they all realize Toranaga's swords were lost in the ground. Blackthorne, now realizing the value of things, offers Fuji's swords to Toranaga—finally giving them more meaning than they ever had.
"Ladies of the Willow World"
- While it in no way excuses his abusive behavior, Buntaro's frustration toward Mariko is given its due in this episode. He really does love her, but she has no affection to return. The reason he denies her requests for death is not to punish her further for her family's sins, but because he wants her to live, and her continuing death-seeking makes him feel unappreciated.
"A Stick of Time"
- Fuji being given the ashes of her infant son by her grandfather, and saying that she too will 'become like ashes' once her marriage to Blackthorne is over.
"The Abyss of Life"
- Toranaga really gets put through the wringer in this episode; he's already mourning the loss of Nagakado, and then Hiromatsu commits seppuku in defiance of his intention to surrender to their enemies. Toranaga has lost his son and his best friend in a few short days, and his followers are openly hostile and defiant; it's his darkest hour. Even though he reveals at the end that Hiromatsu was in on a Batman Gambit to not only convince Ishido of Toranaga's surrender, but compel Yabushige to join Blackthorne in heading to Osaka, it's abundantly clear that watching the closest ally he's ever had kill himself was the hardest thing Toranaga has ever done, and he comes within inches of breaking down there and then.
- Despite his despicable behavior and attitude, Buntaro's open despair and heartbreak at being made to assist in his father's suicide is heart-rending. The episode isn't kind to him overall, showing him breaking down crying after Mariko's continued rejection of every part of him.
- Mariko's pained expression when Buntaro remarks that he recalls happiness in their marriage. To which she replies that she cannot clearly remember those moments, underlining just how oblivious he was to her pain.
- And when Buntaro thinks he's finally made her happy (by telling that they can 'go to death as husband and wife'), Mariko calmly tells him that she never wanted death. That all she wanted was 'a life beyond [his] reach,' and says that she would rather live a thousand years than ever be with him in death. As awful as he has been to her, his heartbroken expression as she leaves is piteous.
- Meanwhile, Blackthorne finally reunites with his crew in Edo...and is stunned to find himself so at odds emotionally and mentally with the one sailor he does encounter, stumbling drunk and feeling up a courtesan before abjectly blaming Blackthorne for the crew ending up in this mess at all instead of just going home again. He also casually reveals that there are only 6 sailors left, down from 11 in the first episode, and the strong implication is that at least some of them were Driven to Suicide by the confusion and misery they've been left in for several months. Losing complete control of himself at these accusations, John beats the sailor unconscious, and later admits to Yabushige that while he obviously doesn't belong in Japan, he no longer recognizes or understands his countrymen, so he has no idea of what to do with himself now; even Yabushige seems saddened by this.
"Crimson Sky"
- Faced with stern opposition from Ishido's forces when she and Toranaga's wives try to leave Osaka, Mariko finally makes good on her desire for revenge and promises to commit seppuku herself. Though this is part of Toranaga's plan to force Ishido into an impossible situation, the cascading effect this has on the rest of the cast is heartbreaking:
- Mariko asks Kiyama, a fellow man of God, to second her since it would be a mortal sin for her to kill herself and damn her soul, and he accepts - but Ishido refuses, not wanting to cede any ground to the woman who is humiliating him, and an appalled Kiyama is powerless to intervene.
- Ichiba calls a meeting with Blackthorne and Mariko under the pretense of her son wishing to see the former, using the opportunity to plead with Mariko to call off her crusade for revenge, as she knows exactly why Mariko seeks this outcome and, in addition to her personal beliefs about dying, sees her suicide as a pointless Rage Against the Heavens. However, despite the two of them clearly still caring about each other, Mariko rejects Ichiba and leaves her in tears, but not before delivering this poignant rebuke:Mariko: Accepting death isn't surrender. Flowers are only flowers because they fall.
- And then there's poor Blackthorne, completely removed from the culture that reveres suicide as a way to atone for sins, who begs Mariko to not give up on living for the sake of Toranaga's plan. This comes the closest to stopping Mariko...but after briefly clasping Blackthorne's hand in her own, she simply walks away without an answer.Blackthorne: What I'm asking...what I'm begging is, if not for good sense, if not for God, then will you consider living for me?
- Finally, Mariko speaks with Father Alvito for her first (and last) confession. With Alvito both pleased to see that she has kept his rosary and heartbroken to see her preparing to take her own life (but unable to steer her away from doing so), a tearful Mariko begs forgiveness for her sins, but is unable to even express what they are in her grief.
- The eve of Mariko's seppuku is several somber moments in a row:
- All has been prepared and Mariko is kneeling gracefully before her friends, preparing her dagger to initiate the ceremony...only to learn that Kiyama has not been permitted to attend, and so she has no second to take her life with, meaning she's about to kill herself in direct defiance of Catholic doctrine.
- Shaken by this, Mariko breaks off her rosary, steels her resolve and readies her dagger at her breast as the attendants begin to close the doors - but Blackthorne steps forward and offers to be her second, solely to ensure she can die with peace of mind.
- Implicitly grateful for this, Mariko hands him her rosary and merely asks that he wait until she has fallen to behead her, and Blackthorne raises the katana he's been handed in preparation...but both of them are trembling, Mariko in particular visibly struggling to actually go through with what she's wanted for so long now that she actually has the blade in her hand and the man she loves at her side.
- And then Ishido strolls in at the last second, handing Mariko a permit and claiming she can freely leave Osaka tonight. This may have only been done to take the lesser of two evils and stop Mariko's suicide from enraging the other noble houses, but Mariko collapsing in relief and Blackthorne helping her to her feet is enough to make you forget all about that for the moment among the Tears of Joy.
- And then comes the final scene of the episode, undoubtedly the most heartwrenching of the entire show. With Yabushige's help, Ishido brings in shinobi to dispatch Mariko and the others, making it look like intruders broke through his defenses, and while they fight valiantly, Mariko, Blackthorne, Yabushige, and the other women are eventually corralled into a room with sturdy doors...which the shinobi plan to blow open with them inside it. Realizing that they cannot escape, Mariko finally performs her Heroic Sacrifice with pride and dignity by standing in front of the doors and announcing that her death will bring dishonor upon Ishido, letting Toranaga pull off his Crimson Sky gambit. Then the doors explode behind her - and like that, the woman we've come to know and respect is gone.
"A Dream of a Dream"
- From the first scene and throughout the episode, we are being shown what appears to be a Call-Forward of Blackthorne back in England—a decrepit old man, holding onto Mariko's crucifix while surrounded by a number of Japanese memorabilia and artifacts, mostly serving as a morbid curiosity to his two innocent grandsons. This ultimately turns out to be, as the title says, "a dream of a dream", what Blackthorne thinks he could still be as he is still holding onto what he thought he had control of during his stay in Japan. All of these will be torn down by the denouement of the story, mostly under the auspices of Toranaga.
- Yabushige having a mental breakdown as he stares at Mariko's corpse, forced to reckon with the consequences of his betrayal. When Toranaga sentences him to die by seppuku, he begs for a dishonorable death.
- Blackthorne is escorted by Fr. Alvito and Kiyama's men out of Osaka. Expecting he'll be once again ambushed the way it happened back in "Tomorrow is Tomorrow", he is surprised when Alvito admits he was supposed to, but he has been spared. The two foreigners (who are now much-inculturated by Japan) settle into an uneasy but mutual respect, wishing that they could finally not be divided by their religious allegiances. Then the kicker: before Alvito finally leaves the story, he reveals Mariko negotiated for Blackthorne's life just before she died. While this already drives Blackthorne to Manly Tears as his boat drifts away from the godforsaken city, the cost of this deal was just about to dawn on him.
- The destruction of the Erasmus; Blackthorne had been pinning all his hopes on fulfilling his obligations to Toranaga and then returning home, only to find this last hope burned to ashes. Toranaga allows Blackthorne to rebuild the ship, but he reveals to Yabushige a particularly cruel Hope Spot just before the latter commits seppuku - he had ordered the Erasmus sunk and the nearby village punished severely as a test of Blackthorne's loyalty, and he will continue to destroy whatever ship Blackthorne builds next so that he will never return to England, all because Toranaga finds Blackthorne amusing.
- Despite what he reveals about his plan and intentions by the end, it's not hard to feel sorry for Toranaga in the closing shot of the episode. Yes, he's accomplished what he set out to do and manipulated everyone just right in order to defeat the Council of Regents without needing to actually go to war...but as you can see in that haunting image of him staring at a mountaintop, he's completely alone. His son, his closest advisor, and his translator are all dead, either directly or indirectly due to his actions, and whatever mutual respect he had with Blackthorne is also gone due to his machinations in keeping the latter stuck in Japan for his own amusement. It may be a life he's accustomed to by now, and it may bring about an era of peace that's worth all the suffering, but the Taiko was completely right: it's Lonely at the Top.
