There is no moment that isn’t urgent in Tomorrow is Tomorrow and as our Western eyes follow the evolution of Blackthorne (Cosmos Jarvis) and Mariko’s (Anna Sawai) relationship, it is their connection with Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) that has been strengthened. The navigator doesn’t know yet, but his destination is defined on this trip.

The third episode of Xógun maintains the quality of the narrative and production, maintaining the grandeur of the story. Toranaga and his antagonist, Ishido (Takehiro Hira) are a chess game where he currently leaves him at a disadvantage and captive in Osaka castle. To survive, he must act and (almost anything) counts when escaping.

Our Littlefinger this time is Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), who is taking advantage of the two advisors’ enmity to step up in his power game. He acts almost transparently to both, and his loyalty serves only himself but is used in such a way by the opposing sides that it confuses us. Sorry for the spoiler: Yabushige is dangerous. He is not cunning like the evil strategist from Game of Thrones: he dances to the music, but he tries to control the repertoire.

And Toranaga, of course, knows exactly where he stands with Yabushige, which is why he tells his vassal that he knows about his agreement with Ishido. Betrayal would be grounds for death, however, the (future) shogun proposes something riskier and paradoxically simple: he helps take his wife, Lady Kiri, and the foreigner to the fishing village of Ajiro, in exchange for increasing the fiefdom of Yabushige. After the attempt on Blackthorne’s life, it is clear that the Portuguese want him dead and if this helps Ishido kill him it is no longer possible to stay in Osaka.

The escape is what takes the episode, revealing once again Toranaga’s cunning and how he knows how to use the pieces as necessary. In the blink of an eye – if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you don’t understand – he switches places with the woman and he is the one who escapes from Ishido without anyone knowing his original plan. Mariko and Blackthorne are the only ones who see what’s going on and he’s just as quick and smart as his captor. Using his inability to understand cultural differences, he creates the necessary confrontation to distract Ishido and Yabushige’s men and when they discover what happened, it is too late, Toranaga is on his way to Yedo.

Mariko is the translator for Blackthorne and the audience because she shares the tip that Toranaga “is famous for his tricks” because as a child he learned that “enemies are everywhere and friends are nowhere” when he was sold as a hostage by his own family. It is the philosophical way of explaining that as a survivor, Toranaga thinks of himself above all else, as he makes clear in the conversation with his son with the hint that life is not “a game of friends and enemies”, but an anything goes where only you determine the result.

Blackthorne’s initiatives to help Toranaga, after having defended him in the attack, win the hearts of the shogun and Mariko. If in her case it is more obvious that the romance is being drawn in the air, his friendship with Toranaga is less clear. The shogun uses English as a bargaining chip with the Portuguese, although at this point we can already tell that he considers Blackthorne to be an astute survivor, the day may always come when that doesn’t work out, as we see later that this is what happens with Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe).

Mariko’s hated husband sacrifices himself to help Toranaga escape, who thanks him but does not compromise her safety for his. Yes, Mariko is a widow and it’s great timing, after all, Blackthorne already said that she left her wife and children in England many years ago, because her passion is the sea. This story between the two will develop soon.

Returning to the last part of the episode, we know that, faced with all or nothing, Blackthorne acts and therefore achieves unexpected results. As Toranaga imagined, he succeeds and makes the Englishman his Hatamoto (a high-ranking military leader). It’s a great honor, but men have a tacit understanding. Toranaga shows Blackthorne that he has in his hands the evidence of the piracy that would cost the Englishman his life. Still, that translating everything takes time (one that he will not prioritize), and then asks Blackthorne to take the weapons he saved and train a regiment in “tactics foreigners”, with the help of Yabushige and Nagakado. Oh yes, he wants to learn to dive too.

And with that, we conclude more than once brilliantly: Toranaga not only escaped from Ishido but also nullified his move to remove him from the council. He gives up his position, but that doesn’t help his opponent. Instead, because Taikō has determined that each council vote needs five members, they are now stuck in a stalemate and cannot do anything until they add a new member. Toranaga bought time and tied Ishido’s hands. As the concept of the title ties in, “Tomorrow is tomorrow,” but today Toranaga focuses on learning other tactics. Time can be controlled if you know how to use it to your advantage.

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