FX’s acclaimed historical drama miniseriesShogunwas anchored by Anna Sawai’s award-winning performance as the loyal translator Lady Mariko, and the Emmy and Golden Globe winner made a great point about her character’s return forShogun’s second season. Set in feudal Japan,Shogunchronicles a fictionalized and dramatized version of the events that led to the beginning of the real Tokugawa shogunate in the mid-1600s.Anna Sawai’s Lady Marikoacts as an integral part of the narrative, both as a character driving the plot and as the audience’s guide to both the Japanese language and feudal Japanese customs.
Shogunwas originally conceived as a limited miniseries based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel, and it followed fairly closely to its source material throughout the season. However, with the show’s unprecedented success, FX renewed the show for two more seasons, withShogunseason 2 progressing beyond the original source material. Naturally, that raises questions about which of its characters will return for the next chapter, and the first name on most fans' lists is Sawai’s Lady Mariko. However, Sawai recently spoke on the subject, and made a compelling point about Lady Mariko’s return.
Shogun’s Best Episode Is A Worrying Reminder Of How Difficult It Will Be For Season 2 To Be As Good
Shogun’s “Crimson Sky” episode showed the best of Anna Sawai’s Mariko, and season 2 of the FX show will somehow have to reconcile with her loss.
Anna Sawai Makes A Very Good Point About Bringing Back Lady Mariko For Shogun Season 2
She Believes It Must “Serve The Story”
At the Golden Globes press conference, whereScreen Rantwas in attendance,Anna Sawai commented on the possibility of Lady Mariko’s return. With her character dying in an explosion in the penultimate episode of the first season ofShogun,Sawai made sure to clarify that she wanted her character’s return to serve the story:
If they asked me, I would absolutely do it. There’s no way I’m gonna say no. But, I don’t know if it serves the story, and I want it to be really good and not to bring the character back just to have [her] back.
While her enthusiasm for a return is clear, she understands how important her character’s return would be to the show as a whole. It remains to be seenhow her character could possibly returnafter her defiant sacrificial death in the first season ofShogun, although it seems likely that a second season could utilize her in either a flashback role or something similar. While the showrunners have said that the second season would still be grounded in the source material, there hasn’t been any real clarification about the story, so it’s unclear how Lady Mariko might fit in.
Why Shogun Season 2 Should Not Bring Anna Sawai’s Lady Mariko Back
A Forced Return Could Damage The Character’s Legacy
Given the bevy of awards that Anna Sawai has already obtained for her portrayal of Lady Mariko, it seems natural that the showrunners would want her to return for the second and already-confirmed third seasons ofShogun. However, if that return feels forced in any way,it runs the risk of tarnishing the character’s legacy and long-term perception. Anna Sawai delivers an all-time performance in a season of dramatic television that many consider near perfect, so shoehorning her into another season can only damage the character unless it’s executed flawlessly and makes complete sense.
For her performance as Lady Mariko, Anna Sawai has already won a Primtime Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Television Critics Association Award among many others.
A return would also detract from the power of Lady Mariko’s character arcin the first season ofShogun. Her sacrifice at the end of episode 9 saw her fulfill a debt to her disgraced family name by defending Lord Yoshii Toranaga, and spark a rebellion that would change the face of Japan. It’s difficult to imagine a more perfect and powerful death for a character, and bringing her back for another season ofShoguncan really only serve to take away from that ending.
