If you consider the state of London's water supply in the late sixteenth century, you'll understand Blackthorne's concerns about catching "the Flux" (i.e. dysentery).
Arianna's prejudices aren't quite as egregious as the first episode, but she really has it fixed in her mind to take everying John does in the worst possible light, while ignoring the behaviour of literally everyone else!
Actually a few years off England really getting into the empire game. The 1500s-1600s were really dominated by Spain, Portugal and eventually the Dutch. It wasn't until the 1700s after the act of union things got into the swing of tings and arguably not for another 100+ years until Britain became the defacto world power and established Pax Britannica after defeating Napoleon in 1815.
Just want to thank you for this concise little history lesson, my dude. It would've taken me a solid hr of Wikipedia reading to learn this fact. Important context.
It's genuinely hilarious to see Ariana actively belittling the first Englishman to ever see Japan for things his nation will do 100 years in the future while ignoring the Portuguese who are ACTIVELY doing the same thing at this time just because she doesn't know any better and lacks the fortitude to acknowledge her ignorance.
@@jeambeam3173 the thing you have to realize is the japanese [as a culture] have LONG memories. historically, before ww2, japan had only ever been invaded twice [by the mongols / chinese in 1274 and then by korea in 1419]. the war in korea that the taiko talks about, happens a century later [either in 1592 and 1596. the events of this show happening in early 1600s, so it's still pretty fresh in everyone's minds. not saying it's correct but they [the japanese] by that point [the 1500s], still considered it a slight against their "honor" that korea and china invaded their lands and "got away with it." in the book, the taiko laments to toranaga about his wanting to conquer both korea AND china. he [the taiko] states he would've ruled china, toronaga would've ruled japan, and ishido would've been "given" korea [they both laugh at this]. the only reason this didn't happen, was because their supply lines were stretched too thin and the taiko had taken ill. to them, by invading / attacking korea and china they avenged their honor and took their measure of revenge against an injustice done to them centuries prior.
@@jeambeam3173 That's not the point. It's that Arianna seems to have a problem with the Europeans doing it but glossing over that Japan did it. It's a double standard that she's repeatedly been showing in ep 1 and 2 reactions. Like we get it. She's been brought up to be anti-European colonialism or whatever. But she's being very narrow focused when commenting on the history at this time.
@@megamonster1234 They aren't _quite_ the same, though. Europeans were the first to achieve the ability to circumnavigate the world, and they almost immediately chose to go the global-empire-building route. Now, obviously, we can't say that other powers wouldn't have done the same (you can't really say either way), but the Europeans _were_ the ones to escalate first. And while yes, other powers were very brutal to their historical enemies, Europeans were brutal to peoples they had only just encountered.
You need to remmember that this is the 1600s. Britain wasn’t even United in the UK yet. Colonialism at this point was almost purely a Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese thing. England had only just established the Jamestown colony in Virginia. The French had only just landed in the carribean and Canada. So this is Way before all our modern notions of colonialism came into existence. So for the English, all they wanted was just to set up Trade with the Japanese. Edit: also worth mentioning. A few years before the story of this Series, the Japanese Shogun tried to colonize Korea. The Japanese where no better themselves.
And yet we British don’t even feel bad about colonialism I no that what people want but we really don’t care or we don’t care what people think about us Brit people of today need to get over it and accept that colonialism was a common thing everywhere back then sick of people crying over something then never went through if you ask me get over life to short
Interestingly the english were not the conquerors they came to be in this period yet. Portugal and Spain were the big boys, England wasn't really a player on the world stage at this point.
@@daquaviousbingleton9763 you mean they spent 100 years administering and paying to develop a global empire which it then dissolved, largely of its own volition, into a voluntary commonwealth, cut the inferiority complex, its getting pathetic
I love that you're only favoriting the comments that confirm to your biases even though many of the comments in this and the previous episodes' reactions are telling you that you historical understanding of this time period is all wrong.
These to our American and everyone knows that American knows nothing beyond there own shore when it come to history and historical fact there brain dead people facts
26:47 "I mean the English did the same shit" Minor correction: no, they didn't. This show is set in the early 1600s, the infamous British Empire as we knew it is still quite a while in the future. At this point, the only overseas colonies England has had have been the failed ones in Virginia. The first permanent English settlement in the New World doesn't get going until almost a decade later. Even then, the kind of regime changing shenanigans that are being described here were way beyond what Britain was capable of until the 1750s onwards. In this period, Spain and Portugal are unique in their ability to do this kind of imperialism, like with Cortes and the Aztecs. its also worth noting that Protestantism, especially in the earlier stages of the Reformation, is a lot more Laissez Faire than Catholicism. There isn't really a Protestant equivalent to the Jesuits (represented by the two Portuguese priests in this show) who were a powerful society dedicated to the spread of Catholic rule by any means necessary. When Britain did begin with the same level of imperialism, it was not religiously motivated. It was a purely economic venture, which is why former British colonies don't really have the same degree of cultural assimilation as former Spanish colonies do. For instance, India does not have a large Christian presence despite more than a century of colonial rule, because Britain wasn't interested in proselytizing, it was interested in profit. This is not to say that one form of imperialism is more benevolent than another, simply that their goals were different and they're separated by a fairly substantial chunk of time. TL;DR: The British Empire doesn't properly get going for another 150 years.
This bias against England is tripping me out, during this period England hadn't yet become the empire it's now renowned for, the true powerhouses in this period are Spain and Portugal. It's also important to remember that Japan has a bloody and horrific history like every other nation that ventured into the idea of forming an empire. What the Portuguese are doing to Japan in this show, the Japanese had already done 100x worse to Korea only a few years prior. Also the English weren't just “dirty”, they genuinely couldn't bathe in the still water because of dysentery and other such issues, they had a solid reason.
Americans seem to think hating the UK (well, England in particular) is virtuous. It's funny, because Scotland and Wales were VERY on-board with the whole empire and colonial stuff. I never see the imperial history of other countries held up to the same level of scrutiny as the UK. It's either cognitive dissonance or ignorance of history.
Kinda annoying she's screaming at John "that's what England did" when they actual hadn't done that at this point in history. She might as well scream at the Japanese, for what they did in ww2 to the Korean and Chinese
It's kind of hilarious that the haircut is having its exact intended effect on Arianna, but rather than take the time to understand the effect she uses it as an excuse to criticize Catholics. Kind of like how she's been brought up in a society that would not exist without Catholics, but takes every opportunity to disparage her benefactors.
@@nathancollins1715 The way you worded your reply above, I thought maybe you were. As someone who still identifies as Catholic for whatever reason, I'm... uncomfortable at the implication that someone who isn't white should be grateful to the church as their "benefactor." There's a lot of bad precedent under that line of thinking.
@@Crazy_Diamond_75 What does her race have anything to do with this? Western society objectively would not exist in the state that it currently does if it weren't for the Catholic Church. I made no comment on Arianna as an individual at all, I only said that the society she lives in would not exist without the Church, so it's a bit presumtuous of her to lash out at them at every opportunity. Especially knowing that that hatred comes largely from a place of misinformation.
Why so much hate for the John? It feels like Arianna just hates him because he is a white Englishmen. Did the English eventually do horrible things? Yes. Did everyone else do the exacts same things at different points in history? Also yes. It appears one of the triggers is his insensitivity and arrogance to other cultures. Are both sides not guilty of this? All the factions believe they are morality and culturally superior to each other and by hating on John for his standard behavior you are showing your arrogance. Arianna, if I am mistaken, I apologize. Your comments are just coming across to me as blind hatred with very little understanding of the society and pressures placed upon the people of the times. With understanding comes compassion.
It seems to be a very American thing to only express outrage at British colonialism and war crimes, yet giving a pass to everyone else. Hating on modern nations for the actions of their past is silly, since good luck finding any nation that has been a benevolent power for their entire history. I've spoken to Americans who are convinced the UK is the most evil country, despite being one of the most liberal countries in Europe. Anti-Western sentiment is anti-liberal and anti-progressive.
She’s a brainwashed racist of the politically correct school. Add to that, an ignorance of history and a RU-vid channel and you have her and others like her. They think their popularity adds meaning to what they say, no matter how stupid
We English don’t care what she thinks about us one thing about us English we not so easily wounded by world like her race is we our pointing and laughing at her because at the end of the day we no that the disease she got is wokeness and in my eyes that like a cancer and it is plus she clearly uneducated when it come to historical fact clearly people can see that she nothing more then a 🤡😂
yo so is this whole reaction to this show gonna be the right one hating the Anjin lmao, like the Japanese say something fucked up about him she laughs the Anjin says something fucked up about the Japanese and she snickers and shit talks. I'm like super confused anything he does she's got something to critique.
@@LeVidocq the point is all the main characters other then like mariko arent "likable" they all have something assholish about them. my point is she only has a problem with the Anjin. Its weird to be mad at one person for doing something and then not the next for the same thing
@@LeVidocqseriously stop making excuses he likeable its people like you and them judging people before you get to know them seriously it’s bias that what it is so stop with you pointless excuse 👌🏻🤡
Do they forget that England had plagues back in the day and it was in the waters that’s why he only baths once a month that’s why people from England moved to America because of how bad it was. Clearly they don’t know much about the history they should learn more before judging them 😂😂😂
@@diablohorerOr understanding of history from a point of view that ISN'T "oppressed VS oppressor". History is much more complicated than that. Fucking Americans lmao. I'm American, so I can say that lol
blackthorn's "willing his survival" because up until that point, everyone around him was telling him to just "accept his fate" and give up. that because other's deemed it so, he was to die and be left in the gutter and forgotten. having come that far, blackthorn's enraged by the mere thought of "giving up," because of how much he's sacrificed by that point. keep this in mind, as this thought process is VERY important as the show progresses.
When Toranaga said, "My spies tell me the Barbarian troubles the Portuguese" I just then figured out that Rodrigues probably works for Toranaga on the side.
Hoping to clear the confusion - Toronaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) is Yabushige's liege lord, his superior. They're not related. Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) is in charge over a portion of Toronaga's territory including the fishing village where Blackthorne arrives (Ajiro), which is handled by his nephew (Lord Omi), the guy who first detains and pisses on Blackthorne.
happy with the little nod to the 1980 shogun series.. because it has a special place in my heart... my dad introduced me to it when I was a kid... we watched it together quite a few times... later I bought the complete DVD collection and lent it to him... a few years ago my dad died and he still had the DVDs and my mom gave away his DVD collection and accidentally gave away my shogun DVDs to some people... my mom tried to contact them again and explained that they were actually mine and if we couldn't get them back... she never heard from them again…
@@YourMajesty733 yeah i know... it's just sad that they didn't show any consideration especially since they got everything for free... but I'm just happy that this interpretation is so good... but also a little sad that I can't show it to my dad... I think he would have loved it...
Careful, Diegesis, your prejudices are showing. All groups of people in this time period were bad as each other. Everyone saw, who weren't them, as barbarians and savages and brutally massacred those who did not align with them. There are no real good guys and no real bad guys, there is only fate - and lots of violence from all sides. I don't think you ladies should watch shows, or films, based on historical events. They only prove your own bias and ignorance on the subject matter.
29:00 I mean, in the context of Medieval Europe (which they were barely out of by 1600), sometimes bathing was quite deadly. There's a reason people stopped using the bath houses quite so frequently during and after the Black Death.... Public places have always been a vector for disease spread. This is literally why we had shutdowns in the early phases of COVID. And they didn't have germ theory yet....
26:49...Ah the 'well the English did bad sh*t too' justification. I'm genuinely surprised it took so long for Ariana to roll that out. She does appear to have toned her bigotry down a few notches but it's kinda reassuring to know it's still there, festering beneath the surface. Never change Ariana, never change. 😉😊🥰
American liberals don't like being called out for being racist/hypocritical. Rather than apologize and grow after having their mistake pointed out in the last episode they decided to pretend nothing happened 🤣
Yup. I bet they were expecting people to be supportive and wave the politically woke banner with them. Turns out people understand historical context and have a sense of fairness.
@@lukefury8162 It's their channel to espouse whatever beliefs they have. Don't watch left leaning content creators if it's not your thing. I wouldn't go to right-wing chud channels and keep coming back to see if they will leave out their opinions 🤷♂️
I love the actor, Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Yoshii Toranaga, he was amazing in The Last Samurai was amazing in, albeit a smaller role, Westworld, and he's amazing in this.
29:00 - You will address me as... Mariko SAMA! (-San vs -Sama is like saying Mr Smith vs Sir Smith (in old English) and in Japanese Culture, telling someone to address you as Sama vs San is NEVER done, so her doing this is basically showing how much hate she has for him)
I'm overall enjoying the series but one of the most annoying changes are Mariko's Americanized girl boss clap backs. Mariko had some of the most savage badass lines in the book but they where in the context of her culture. The show is doing a poor job of portraying that and instead we get Mariko through the lens of 2024 American politics to appease vapid morons.
Lol, why? If we're all just products of our time, like how the folks in the show is being portrayed - why is Arianna not allowed to mention shit she noticed through the lens of today? Maybe I don't understand your critique, but someone from the 20th century would most likely also view it through the lens of the status quo of the 20th century. We're all walking around with different contextes and upbringing... it would be impossible not to apply that shit to everything we watch and react to. But to each their own, I suppose.
@@PhillyEastSide Because it is as false thinking as expecting someone from Argentina to act the same culturally as someone from Russia. That's the kind of fallacious thinking critical thinking skills should seek to reduce.
@@user-zx9jq4pv1w fair, but this is also their first gut reaction to the show? Like when I watch something for the first time, I view the shit through my own context and I prob comment on it from this lense. Its only afterwards that I apply critical thinking to it. I'm just lucky because my initial gut reactions aren't being filmed and shared. Point is, the shit they say in the moment isn't necessarily ideas or views they're married too. But then again, I also can't speak for Arianna. I might also be wrong here, but I do give em the benefit of doubt.
@@PhillyEastSide She can have her opinions, we all have those. But she has a reaction channel and should react to the show as the show is, and not like it is a modern reality tv show. And it would be fine if she was fair with her expressions and opinions , but she is not. She clearly has a anti-European stance and every time Blackthorn opens his mouth and says something bad she rolls her eyes and makes a anti-European comment, all the while the Japanese characters can do the same or worse and nothing is said by her. She uses modern day leftist thinking in her reactions, thinking all Europeans are always evil and the rest is always innocent and victims. This is false, all people of the Earth did things what are considered evil, that is just history.
If you ever get the chance to see another James Clavell work, try The Last Valley (1971) -- also about religious conflict, in this case the Thirty Years War in Europe. Should have been successful, but wasn't. It happens. I personally loved it, though I remember the theatre being almost completely empty. Any film that says religious extremism sucks is okay by me. Starred Michael Caine, Omar Sharif and Florinda Bolkan.
Saw that on tv long ago when it was shown late at night. I’m a fan of Michael Caine so I made sure to watch it. I liked the movie but I could see why it wasn’t a hit.
**SPOILER WARNING** Coming back it sucks that toranaga is just exactly who we think he is. They held back a lot of the capital punishment that the irl toranaga would’ve exhibited way prior to crimson sky. We learn that’s it’s inherent with the type of military government toranaga runs at the end of the series, so we should’ve seen more smaller examples of it throughout the show. Very weird pacing in terms of the perception through which this story is being told.
Ariannas lack of knowledge while pretending to have any understanding of whats happening is nuts. (Also hilarious while playing morality police they confused random characters as brothers because they're both asian) 29:12 1,100,000 people die a year because of those beliefs in Africa, Asia and the Americas, sad beliefs to hold when the world knows better.
@@Diegesisif you have a problem with English people then come to our face and say it you racist woke muppets and learn your history when it’s come to historical fact you might learn something but then again what do Americans know about history you lot no nothing beyond your own shore when it comes to historical fact 🤡😂
@GarmrsBarking The book is based on historical history, and that's where they can get their source material. Season 2 can be about toranaga becoming shogun during the siege of osaka
@@lukefury8162 yeah but they have to come up with a whole new story with whole new characters with a whole new premise... I'm not saying it's impossible to make something good but it's quite unlikely... they had a lot of advantages with this series, for example the original story was written by a critically acclaimed author, the book was also critically acclaimed and they also had a mini series that has been named one of the best mini series ever made... they had a lot of things to go by but it will be hard to recreate the same thing without it… plus now there will most likely be quite a lot of interference from the production company... because of the success and these days that is often quite bad...
@nomore1088 Oh, right, he had become shogun and retired well before the siege of osaka did tokugawa ieyasu still lead the attack even though he wasn't shogun anymore
The only thing that really bugs me is Blackthorn keeps saying "Your god". Like hey dude, you're all christians, you believe in the same god. No one says that.
@@megamonster1234 No. That's actually a historical inaccuracy. Protestants don't have a different god than the catholics. The war between them is a politically driven one and not necessarily a matter of faith.
We watch so many serious shows. Any chance we could throw a comedy in the mix as balance? I'd love to see the ladies watch It's Always Sunny, What We Do In the Shadows, Eastbound and Down, or hell even My Name Is Earl. It'd be nice to share a laugh with our watching pals instead of laughing at them freaking out when they get to the intense moments. But I realize this is just another random comment from a random person, you got every right to take or leave my comment in the ether. Either way, I love the channel and appreciate the whole team. It's why I subscribe. Keep up the good work. I'll love this channel either way. Take care guys!
I love your reactions to Shogun. I hated that I had to wait for every episode of Shogun and now I have to hate waiting for your reactions :D They're great though!
@@GarmrsBarking it doesnt matter just curious. it can be cute when a couple react to stuff sometimes, i've seen a few couples channels where they react to movies and stuff
I love that Anjin think s he's gonna come swooping in like a typical white savior character, and meanwhile the Japanese characters are like, "This barbarian is one useful piece in a much larger game." He's like the antithesis of the usual fish out of water protagonist, he can make himself useful and try to stay alive, but ultimately it's him who's going to have to fit in to what these powerful Japanese characters want him to be.
"swooping in a like a typical white saviour" - people who unironically say shit like that turn out to be the most unaware of their own racism, every single time, what was he trying to save, exactly? from who? When did he refer to himself or when did someone refer to him as white, does white mean english to you? huh racist
Racism and feelings of superiority aren’t just the purview of white people. You would be surprised how much racism is directed at white people from Asians even today. Let’s not even talk about how they view black people. 😂
I get the sentiment, but the “white guy joins another culture and becomes the leader/best warrior” has been a trope in film for a long time. It was done in the past to get a predominantly white audience more invested in the stories. I personally found this variation of the trope refreshing.
@@indi_prime wtf are you ranting about? 'white saviour' refers to an old media trope in which white protagonists were often depicted as heroes who would come to the rescue of non-whites who had no agency of their own.