The two episode premiere dropped two nights ago, and it’s already looking like it’s going to be a wild ride for the whole miniseries.


I am already 1000% in. I havent seen the 80s miniseries or previously read the books so im not coming in with any preconceived notions about it- I just think the show is really cool. Anyone else watching it?

 

Same. I watched the two episodes last night. Sooo good.

it kinda ticks me off that shows like WoT or ATLA or Rings of Power weren’t done with this level of quality.

it’s already high tier stuff.

 

I vaguely remember the 80's tv mini-series being good for the time. I saw Shogun(TV) and Nobel House (TV). There were two movies that I never saw, King Rat and Tai Panthat I never saw either, but I read the entire series, and it was pretty fucking good, barring Whirlwind, which was a snooze-fest. Granted, the books span being written from the 60's - 80's, so I don't know if it aged well. I didn't even know the remake was a thing, so I'll have to check it out. Kudos for mentioning it here!

For those that are interested: (books in order of chronology)
Shogun
Tai Pan
Gai Jin
King Rat
Nobel House
Whirlwind

Some of them are monster sized books, so settle in.

 

I'm gonna tackle the first couple eps this weekend between FF7R breaks. Looking forward to it. Been awhile since I've seen such universal praise for a show.

Charlotte Brandstrom is helming episode 3, so it should be fire as well. The only really good Rings of Power eps from a directing standpoint were hers.

 

I just read Shogun and was pleasantly surprised how well it aged. Yeah, it can be a little cringe in spots, but it holds up pretty good overall. In my opinion, one of the reasons it holds up is because Toranaga is such a badass, and Blacktorne is a pawn in his plans. Very little white savior moments.

As for the new show, I watched the first two episodes and I give it a 8/10 so far.

The acting is great, and scenery is fantastic but the story is moving along incredibly quick. That first hour covers almost a 1/4th of the book. We are introduced to so many characters but only get to experience a few minutes with them. Because of this, don't get a good sense of who these individual characters are and why they matter. It's a little TOO focused on Toranaga, Blackthorne and Mariko.

One of the big draws of the book is that you see the world through Blackthrone's eyes. The world is small at first, focusing only on the local lords of the area. Then, it expands and expands until you get to Osaka and Toranaga and you begin to realize how small and insignificant these local lords are. The show rushes to get to Toranaga at the expense of many of the characters- Rodrigues (the Spanish Pilot) in particular.

The second episode is far better with it's speed, and slows down the pace considerably. I'm hopeful that this pace continues. Not everything needs to be go-go-go to the best parts.

Personally, I believe this show would have been even better had it been 10 episodes instead of 8. Those two extra hours would have made the characters feel far more real.

 

i am happy to inform you that it is a 10 ep series instead of 8. If only it was a series instead of a miniseries though.

 

Huh, so it is. Now I'm quite a bit more surprised the first episode covered so much.

I'm glad it's not a series though. They would likely ruin it by having to add more and more content. Mini series are the best in my opinion.

 

Sometimes I think reading the book first is a curse. Because people will always say, "the book/original is better"

Anyway, its a limited series. I'm sure if they had like 5 to 10 more episodes to flesh out the story and include the stuff you mentioned they would.

 

Watched episode 1. Production value is high. But I feel no urge to watch episode 2. I'm not sure what the hook is intended to be here. Also suffers from the "it doesn't have a protagonist" problem.