In Shōgun episode 3, Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) takes focus — sort of.
The whole conceit of the episode is, through a cunning escape plan, Toranaga remains largely distanced from immediate danger (and even people seeing him at all). But the episode “Tomorrow Is Tomorrow” lets his precise presence speak volumes about him and those he surrounds himself with.
Pretty much all of “Tomorrow Is Tomorrow” is about Toranaga’s efforts to keep himself and his people safe, namely by getting them out of Osaka entirely. Because he is not not a prisoner of Ishido (Takehiro Hira), he cannot simply walk his crew out. But while almost everyone knows he’s up to something, almost no one knows exactly what. The threat of his machinations, though, is enough to make Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) and Ishido go along with the ruse (with a healthy side-eye) to try to beat him at his own game. Ultimately, Toranaga — with the help of his allies — proves to be too formidable an opponent. And with good reason: As Sanada himself told Polygon, Toranaga is more strategist than warrior.
“That’s why I didn’t want to fight too much. I tried to [give him] a good balance,” Sanada says. “And then all [his] action had to have a reason and emotion.”
Photo: Katie Yu/FX
As Sanada sees it, action is not “showtime” for Toranaga, since battle scenes typically come from the peak of drama, where words have failed. Instead, it’s trickery he prefers. Toranaga makes bold moves and even fights a bit, but largely wins because of the way he takes a backseat — having his consort pretend to have trouble with her baby so he can sneak into a palanquin and get carried out. By the time the council of regents is ready to vote to expel him, his right-hand man has already announced Toranaga’s bureaucratic trap.
It’s notable exactly how well his tactical brilliance is rewarded by those around him in this episode alone. Blackthorne steps up, showing his growing loyalty in the quiet ways he protects Mariko (Anna Sawai) on the road, as well as the loud ones he uses to keep Toranaga hidden. Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe) proudly kneels as he stays behind to sacrifice himself so Toranaga may fight another day. Even Yabushige is all set to betray Toranaga, but falls in line when Toranaga summons him and asks for his help. When he asks Toranaga about his own plans, the lord is quiet, telling him to come “watch the morning” with him.
“Tomorrow Is Tomorrow” is an episode about what waits in that quiet, and how the people around Toranaga are so eager to fill it in. And although he plays his cards close to the chest, it’s easy to see why; as Sanada says, action is body language too, and he imbues every moment Toranaga is on screen with a sense of careful ferocity. We as the audience are given more insight into his plans than anyone, but even we can’t see how his puzzle is coming together quite yet. What we are left with is the warning he gives his son, its own reveal about allegiances: “You are playing a game of friends and enemies, when you have only yourself in this life.” It’s not much to go on, but episode 3 makes sure we know that even if Toranaga is only counting on himself, he’s in good company.
The first three episodes of Shōgun are now streaming on Hulu.