Yabushige really does read as so obviously gay w/in the context of what exclusive homosexuality looked like in feudal Japan and yet I know there are people who would think I’m crazy for saying that. Which is hilarious considering he’s apparently never married or had children of his own (quite uncommon for men of his time period, esp of his status), he has a younger samurai with a wakashū* hairstyle (*“youth/boy” typically used to describe adolescence to early 20s, but some men chose to maintain this social class into their 30s) who follows him everywhere (relationships between youths/younger men and older men were an existing institution w/in martial culture), and he has a demonstrated disinterest in women unless they are actively having sex with said younger man. Like yeah gee I wonder what his deal is 🤔 what could possibly~ be going on there
The fact that Blackthorne turned out to be a total red herring may be my favorite way that Shōgun subverted expectations.
Because the show followed his journey, we assumed he would have some greater importance as part of Toranaga's eventual victory. Maybe he would have come to the rescue, heroically using his ship and the guns to attack Osaka castle, giving him prime of place as an ally and as a vital part of Toranaga's plan.
In the end, though, Toranaga had Blackthorne's ship destroyed — and was prepared to destroy any others he might build. Blackthorne himself turned out to be a funny foreign distraction, unimportant to the cause beyond just making headaches for Toranaga's enemies, kept around simply because he made Toranaga laugh.
fucking sucks ass that detective is a subtype of cop or always some type of law enforcement. a detective should be someone who is a master of disguise, a weirdo, socially maligned, and hated by the police. he should solve the cases using his ultra specific knowledge about geography, linguistics, human biology, and cigar ashes