From gory beheadings and sword fights to graphic (and, unsurprisingly, violent) depictions of war, Disney and Hulu’s new Shōgun series is chock-full of unappetizing moments. But few are quite as nauseating as John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) letting a pheasant rot outside his home—but why?
Shōgun, FX’s latest historical drama, is currently taking the viewership charts by storm, promising to be the next big epic since HBO’s Game of Thrones. Co-created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, Shōgun is based on author James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name and marks the source material’s second TV adaptation, following NBC’s critically acclaimed 1980 miniseries, also titled Shōgun.
What’s happened in Shōgun so far?
Following its action-packed two-episode premiere in February, Shōgun has since taken audiences further into feudal Japan, detailing the political intrigue, scandal, and religious conspiracy that rocked the nation at the start of the Edo Period. While the characters are, for the most part, fictional, Clavell was inspired by real-life historical figures, including its three leads, John Blackthorne, Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), and Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai).
Throughout the season, we’ve seen Toranaga go head-to-head with the Council of Regents—a group of five high-ranking Yamatians appointed to rule until the Taikō’s heir comes of age—after resigning from his position, as well as the more tender love story between Blackthorne and his translator, Mariko, which was pretty much doomed from the start.
As per the latest episode, tensions are coming to a head between Toranaga’s clan and Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira), especially now that Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido) is plotting to execute the former, whom she blames for her father’s death and sees as a threat to her son’s ascent to power. This leads Toranaga to launch his contingency plan, Crimson Sky, which, if successful, will see him become, as the show’s title suggests, Shōgun.
With operation Crimson Sky underway and a whole cast of characters actively working against Toranaga, the stakes have never been higher. But as Shōgun nears its conclusion, it’s important to look back on one key scene that might be foreshadowing Blackthorne’s dark future. And it involves a … dead bird?
John Blackthorne’s rotting pheasant is more important than you’d think
While the rotting corpse of Blackthorne’s prized pheasant might seem like more of a gag-out than anything else, there’s actually a lot to unpack here. If you recall the subplot of Shōgun episode five, titled “Broken to the Fist,” Toranaga presents the English pilot with a pheasant as a gift for training his warriors. Instead of cooking the bird on arrival back to his home, however, Blackthorne hangs the bird to ripen outside, much to the confusion—and disgust—of his Japanese staff.
Eventually, the corpse of the pheasant begins to rot and draw flies. Afraid to defy Blackthorne, who accidentally declared that anyone who dared to touch the bird would “die,” the Japanese patrons of his home put up with the overwhelming stench for what appears to be days, if not weeks—until the gardener and Toranaga’s spy, Uejiro (Junichi Tajiri), has enough and disposes of the pheasant, thus sealing his fate.
Due to his broken Japanese, it’s clear to the audience that Blackthorne never actually intended to order his staff killed if they moved the pheasant. But ever the literal bunch, Fuji enforces the Anjin’s orders, and Uejiro is sentenced to death for his crimes. The incident leaves Blackthorne understandably shaken, further exemplifying the cultural divide.
So, what’s the significance of the dead pheasant? Well, Shōgun has certainly made food a metaphor for cultural differences, but this nauseating scene from episode five really drives home the danger and unintended consequences of an Englishman meddling in the affairs of a prominent Japanese clan, regardless of how well-intentioned he may be.
Where Blackthorne goes, carnage tends to follow, and he’ll have to be careful, moving forward, to respect the traditions—no matter how grim—of feudal Japan as he gradually becomes a Samurai warrior. Blackthorne will have to play by the rules if he hopes to return to Europe alive, and if not, he might accidentally destroy those he cares for, including Mariko and Toranaga.
It’s a rare for a TV show to depict something so foul, so nauseating that you practically smell it through the screen, and Shōgun certainly delivers—the visual of flies slowly picking away the pheasant’s decaying carcass might just take the cake, no pun intended.
The next episode of Shōgun premieres on Tuesday, April 2, on both Hulu and Disney+, at 12:01AM (ET), before its FX premiere at 10PM (ET) the same day.
(featured image: FX)
