Is miniseries ‘Shogun’ a new ‘Game of Thrones’?
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It’s inevitable: any big-budget, bigambition TV show that features warring groups of characters is compared to “Game of Thrones,” the drama that won a staggering 59 Emmy Awards and was arguably the last true “water cooler” show.
This has certainly been the case for “Shogun,” the FX miniseries based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel about rival warrior lords in 17thcentury Japan and the Englishman who becomes part of their wrangling. And it’s understandable, too: “Shogun” is a sweeping, beautifully shot historical epic full of intrigue and compelling characters that, like “Thrones,” is based on a popular literary work.
On the other hand, hello, dragons? “Thrones” is a work of fantasy that, while inspired by real historic events, is also rooted in the supernatural; there is nary a three-eyed raven, White Walker or other otherworldly creature to be found in “Shogun.”
It’s also worth noting that “Thrones” unfolded its complex story over eight seasons and 74 episodes while “Shogun” is a mere 10, which in itself renders comparisons moot.
And yet, as I watched “Shogun,” I perceived echoes of “Thrones.” Here are 10 places where the dramas are — but also aren’t — alike. And please note, there are spoilers ahead for both shows.
1. The opening themes
I would wager that if you watched “Game of Thrones” you can bring its magnificent theme music by Ramin Djawadi instantly to mind. I don’t expect to be humming the “Shogun” theme years after it ends. And yet, the music by Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba builds to a suitably grand climax that reminded me of the other show, while the close-up of a bird of prey on a samurai helmet near the end brings to mind the stag, direwolf, dragon and lion sigils seen in the “Thrones” opening.
2. Rival warriors
In “Thrones,” there were seven kingdoms, each with their own ruling families, under the ultimate control of one king. When King Robert Baratheon dies in Season 1, several of the families go to war against each other, including the Starks and the Lannisters. In “Shogun,” the death of the Taiko, or ruler, begins a power struggle among the five regents appointed to control Japan. As the series opens, four of the regents plan to impeach the fifth, Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), which would compel him to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). The series follows Toranaga’s efforts to outsmart his enemies and stay alive.
3. A man and a death sentence
Speaking of Toranaga, his wisdom, quiet authority and seeming disdain for ultimate power are reminiscent of Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), the noble who was the hero of “Thrones” — until the sadistic King Joffrey had his head cut off for treason, shocking viewers who weren’t used to seeing a main character die so early in a show. Were Toranaga to submit to main enemy Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira) and the council, he would also lose his head, a fate he has managed to avoid so far.
4. A rascal with nine lives?
There’ll never be a character quite like Tyrion, the cunning Lannister sibling who used his wits and his shifting alliances to defy death several times while also providing comic relief for viewers. (Peter Dinklage won four Emmys for the role.) Still, warlord Kashigi Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) does his share of manoeuvring to escape death while allying himself with both Toranaga and Ishido, and he’s also the drama’s funniest character. The running joke is that he keeps writing wills and tearing them up.
5. Daughter of a traitor
In “Thrones,” both Sansa and Arya Stark suffered after their father, Eddard, was executed as a traitor. Sansa (Sophie Turner), in particular, became a pawn in various power plays: held virtual prisoner by her cruel fiancé, King Joffrey, and his family; forcibly married off to Tyrion, then tricked into marrying the vicious Ramsay Bolton, who raped her on their wedding night. Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai) is also the daughter of a so-called traitor who was married against her will, to the samurai Buntaro, who never lets her forget her family’s disgrace and beats her in a drunken rage. But like Sansa, Mariko gains some agency over her life.
6. A brash outsider
We haven’t talked yet about John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), the English “barbarian” whose ship washes up on the Japanese coast. Initially a prisoner and a pawn of Toranaga, his bullheaded acts of bravery gain the lord’s respect and he is rewarded with a title. In “Thrones,” Jon Snow (Kit Harington), the bastard son of Eddard Stark (well, until his true parentage was revealed), was also something of a brash outsider who eventually became king in the North.
7. A complicated romance
Blackthorne and Mariko play a dangerous game of their own by falling in love. Not only is Mariko married, but Toranaga would frown on a romance between the “anjin” (ship’s pilot) and his translator even if she weren’t spoken for. “Thrones” had a bunch of forbidden, or at least illadvised, romances: Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark; sister and brother Cersei and Jaime Lannister; Tyrion Lannister and prostitute Shae; Jon Snow and, um, his aunt Daenerys Targaryen. Let’s all just be glad that Blackthorne and Mariko aren’t related.
8. A woman out for vengeance
Speaking of Cersei (Lena Headey), she is easily the most vindictive character in “Thrones.” Widow of a king, mother of two others (doomed sons Joffrey and Tommen) and eventually queen in her own right, she goes so far as to have a church full of people blown up to consolidate her family’s power. As the most powerful woman in Japan, Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaidô) isn’t that bloodthirsty, but she has a grudge against Toranaga and wants him dead, all in the name of the safety of her son, the Taiko’s heir.
9. The fate of children
“Shogun’s” first episode includes a death that is truly shocking, even though it happens off-screen. When Tadayoshi, one of Toranaga’s samurai, dishonours him with an outburst during a meeting with Ishido, not only does Tadayoshi pledge to commit seppuku, his infant son is put to death to end his family line. Brutal though that is, it pales in comparison to “Thrones’” child body count. And let’s not forget Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj CosterWaldau) pushing Bran Stark out of a tower window to what he assumed was certain death after Bran saw Jaime having sex with his twin sister.
10. Sex and violence
This is where “Shogun” differs most from “Game of Thrones”: the quantity and relatively graphic nature of the sex and violence in the latter, including orgies and fullfrontal nudity. The sex scenes in “Shogun” are chaste by comparison, even the ones involving courtesan Kiku (Yuka Kouri). And while heads roll, throats are sliced, a sailor is boiled alive and some of Ishido’s samurai are cut into gory pieces by cannon fire, there has been no Red Wedding, and no battle scenes on the scale of a Battle of the Bastards or other epic “Thrones” warfare.