While it has felt like the entire season to this point has been the proverbial "calm before the storm", "The Abyss of Life" truly was the silent calamity before the storm of storms we'll see in the final two episodes. But what a beautiful, tragic, heart wrenching silence it was.
The entire series up to this point has been pretty stellar - well acted, well written, and poignant as all hell - but this episode embodies exceptionally what it is about Shogun that makes it so... exceptional. Shogun, on its face, is a show about power, which it is, but more subtly is a show about power over - power over others, power over oneself, power over life and death, power over one's fate; or, really, powerlessness over all of the above. In the context of the story, there are machinations larger and more powerful than any one person, even Toranaga (as Hiramatsu showed), that would make even the most powerfully resolute fold like a towel. In the context of the metaphysical introspection that Shogun ponders, we are all powerless over something and, whatever it is and however it may manifest for us individually, accepting our place is the only rational approach. But as much as this series broaches our powerlessness, it also broaches how powerful we can be when fate bears us down like a ten-ton anchor. Toranaga, for all his scheming and apparent willingness to wade into the overwhelming current of fate, might be the most powerfully defiant of the fate laid out for him.
But this show is much more than a meta commentary on the designs of concepts residing in the furthest reaches of human philosophy, it is a visual masterpiece that often uses hushed and drab tones to underscore the dire and damned situation our main cast finds themselves. Subtly framed shots that capture the (emotional and spiritual) distance between those depicted are a wonderful touch of the masterful cinematography that ties together beautifully this masterwork of television. Every element is perfectly crafted and laid out to build the environment and tension and intrigue that elevate this work to the very highest echelons of the canon of television and cinema altogether. This episode is a marked moment for how powerful television can be and solidifies Shogun, for me, as one of the greatest shows of all time. I cannot wait to finish this incredible visual story. 9.5/10.
