Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
If we do read them, we cannot also be looking at our phones.
When so much of the battle for viewership is about claiming attention, translation isShoguns not-secret weapon.
rather than an hour-long drama.
Attention for TV is hard to get and hard to keep.
It was scarcely mentioned as something that might scare audiences away.
Its thematic bedrock is about focusing carefully on precise interpretation and close reading.
TheShogunmemesare not about all the beheading or evenToranagas rise to power.
Theyre about the hilarious slippage between Blackthornes word choices and Marikos interpretation.
Thefinales big closing gestureis not an enormous battle that sweeps across the landscape and secures Toranagas victory.
Instead, its Toranaga andYabushigetalking through the potential future.
What will it look like?
What are everyones motives?Shogundoesnt need to actually reach that future point.
Imagining it describing it, explaining it, considering all the angles is enough.
One analogy isGame of Thrones, which sharesShoguns sweeping scale and investment in supreme leadership.
LikeDeadwood, too, so much ofShoguns storytelling is contingent on characters attempting tocreate action through language.
The powers in the language and whether youre paying close enough attention to wield it.
Everything else is afterthought.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly statedMoney Heists country of origin.
