'Shōgun' Season 1 Finale: John Blackthorne's fate uncertain as Episode 10 sparks wild speculations
OSAKA, JAPAN: The epic narrative of FX's 'Shōgun' eventually wrapped up its first season with a dramatic and ambiguous climax, leaving fans with numerous unresolved issues, most notably the fate of John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis).
The story revolves around an Englishman, Blackthorne, who becomes embroiled in a political battle in feudal Japan as five daimyos compete for supremacy.
Despite this, he works as a hatamoto for Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and develops feelings for his translator, Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai).
However, after Mariko's death, Blackthorne was shown suffering emotionally and wanting to return to England, but he was devastated when he discovered his ship had sunk.
So, the burning issue remains whether Blackthorne returns to his homeland or not.
Fans speculate about John Blackthorne holding Toda Mariko's rosary
The last episode of the series begins with a now-elderly Blackthorne holding Mariko's rosary while his two grandchildren recall his time in Japan, leading viewers to conclude that Blackthorne must have departed for England; however, nothing of the sort was established in the episode.
Instead, it was seen that Blackthorne tosses away Mariko's rosary, implying that he would move on; yet, since he threw the rosary into the sea, how can he keep it in the future?
Following the release of the finale episode, fans were left perplexed as to how Blackthorne could make a comeback in England.
A Reddit user offered an admirable explanation, which is the only plausible explanation for why we see old Blackthorne holding onto Mariko's rosary in the future even though he had thrown it away in the past.
The user said, "I believe he’s dreaming of dying in England as an old man. He never leaves Japan. Toranaga is never letting him go. What a show. So good."
The argument was clear and straightforward. Blackthrone may be fantasizing about dying in England as an elderly man since Toranaga would never let him visit Japan.
The aforementioned argument adeptly addresses the query of why Blackthorne is in England, given that he was not seen departing Japan in the climax episode.
John Blackthorne let go of his ambition to return to England
Another fan made a similar hypothesis, summarizing the true reason for Blackthorne's holding Mariko's cross.
The fan said, "So, having finished the episode - my understanding was that the 'flash-forwards' to Blackthorne dying in England, clutching Mariko's cross, are not the truth. He instead drops Mariko's cross into the sea, and lets her go. He won't be a dying old man filled with regrets. And as Toranaga said, his fate is to never leave Japan."
To put it briefly, it was determined that Blackthorne never really returned to England and that Toranaga's claim that he would stay in Japan to serve him was indeed true.
While another fan also responded with the theory and said, "Some others have speculated about the cross. I think that those who say that Blackthorne never returned to England are correct, just as the cross was never again in his hand, and just as Mariko was never again in his arms."
Additionally, Blackthorne's character is based on real-life navigator William Adams, who spent a long time in Japan.
So, it is reasonable to assume that Blackthorne is very much a part of Toranaga's quest to unify Japan and will prove to be an important confidant to the crafty Lord.
'Shōgun' trailer