The Eightfold Fence

Toranaga, Blackthorne, and Mariko arrive at Ajiro, and Mariko has Fuji to serve as Blackthorne's consort, despite her reluctance. Blackthorne finds the Erasmus and attempts to sail in a boat with help from Muraji, only to be stopped by Mariko, who informs him that his ship has been confiscated and now belongs to Toranaga, and his men have been sent to an unspecified location. Toranaga converses with the villagers before leaving for Edo.

Blackthorne is given a home and provided with a good salary. He starts training Yabushige's army, although he struggles due to his lack of wartime experience. Eventually, he decides to use his maritime knowledge to teach them how to use cannons, impressing Yabushige. Blackthorne also begins to learn more about Japan's culture and slowly learns the language. Ishido's retainer Nebara Jozen arrives and tells Yabushige to return to Osaka and pledge his loyalty to the remaining regents. When Yabushige tries to deviate, Jozen warns him that he will face treason if he refuses. To ease tensions, Yabushige invites Jozen to stay the night and witness a demonstration of the cannons the next day.

Grateful for her services, Blackthorne gives Fuji one of his guns as a token of gratitude, and she gives him her late father's swords. He also goes to swim and is seen by Mariko, where they engage in a conversation about Blackthorne's home life in England and what it's like. She later visits him in his room and they sleep together, although later she pretends to have hired a courtesan with help from Fuji. At the demonstration, Toranaga's son Nagakado deviates from the plans and leads an ambush on Jozen and his men, using the cannons to kill several of them while also blowing off Jozen's arm and blowing up his horse. Yabushige furiously protests about this as it will mean an unprovoked declaration of war, but Nagakado tells him to inform Toranaga as his men finish off the survivors. A badly wounded Jozen angrily denounces the use of the cannons and calls Nagakado's actions savage, only for Nagakado to behead him, much to Yabushige's horror. A horrified Mariko says that war is now inevitable.

In February 2024, Hulu confirmed that the fourth episode of the series would be titled "The Eightfold Fence", and was to be written by Nigel Williams and Emily Yoshida, and directed by Frederick E. O. Toye.{{Cite web |title=(#104) "The Eightfold Fence" |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20240213fx01/ |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=The Futon Critic}} It was Williams' first writing credit, Yoshida's first writing credit, and Toye's first directing credit.{{Cite web |title=Shogun (2023) - WGA Directory |url=https://directories.wga.org/project/1240441/shogun-2023/ |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Writers Guild of America West}}

The episode is dedicated to the memory of Larry Beckett, the series' technical advisor and cannon expert.{{Cite web |last=O'Keefe |first=Meghan |date=March 12, 2024 |title=Why is 'Shōgun' Episode 4 Dedicated "In Memory of Larry Beckett"? |url=https://decider.com/2024/03/12/shogun-episode-4-who-is-larry-beckett/ |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=Decider}}

The final scene deviates from the original novel. While Blackthorne teaches the army and Nagakado kills Jozen, the novel depicts Blackthorne showing the use of muskets, while the series employ chain shots from the cannons. Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo explained that the change was because it was more historically accurate, as Japan had already been introduced to muskets 50 years prior to the events of the story.{{Cite web |last=O'Keefe |first=Meghan |date=March 13, 2024 |title='Shōgun's Historical Advisor is Responsible for Episode 4's Gory, Gross Cannon Fire Ending — A Bloody Shift from the Book |url=https://decider.com/2024/03/13/shogun-episode-4-canon-chain-shot-vs-muskets/ |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=Decider}}

Marks said that Nagakado was in a "tough and not-so-tough position", citing his ambitions in living up to his father's standards, and suggesting he could've ended like Omi had he not been born in his lineage.{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2024 |title=Episode 4 - The Eightfold Fence {{!}} FX's Shōgun: The Official Podcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtab2lerJgI |access-date=May 26, 2024 |publisher=FX}}{{rp|4:10–5:37}}

In its original FX broadcast, "The Eightfold Fence" was seen by an estimated 0.517 million household viewers and gained a 0.10 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.10 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.{{Cite web |last=Pucci |first=Douglas |date=March 13, 2024 |title=Tuesday Ratings: CBS Tops All Networks Despite Opposite 'The Voice' and Return of 'Password' on NBC |url=https://programminginsider.com/tuesday-ratings-cbs-tops-broadcast-networks-despite-opposite-the-voice-and-return-of-password-on-nbc/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313204420/https://programminginsider.com/tuesday-ratings-cbs-tops-broadcast-networks-despite-opposite-the-voice-and-return-of-password-on-nbc/ |archive-date=March 13, 2024 |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Programming Insider}} This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 0.492 million household viewers and gained a 0.09 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.{{Cite web |last=Pucci |first=Douglas |date=March 6, 2024 |title=Tuesday Ratings: Season Premieres of 'The Cleaning Lady' and 'Alert: Missing Persons Unit' Places Fox Behind Big-3 Networks |url=https://programminginsider.com/tuesday-ratings-season-premieres-of-the-cleaning-lady-and-alert-missing-persons-unit-places-fox-behind-big-3-networks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307190735/https://programminginsider.com/tuesday-ratings-season-premieres-of-the-cleaning-lady-and-alert-missing-persons-unit-places-fox-behind-big-3-networks/ |archive-date=March 7, 2024 |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Programming Insider}}

"The Eightfold Fence" received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for the episode, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10.{{Cite web |title=Shōgun: Limited Series, Episode 4 |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shogun_2024/s01/e04 |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}

Meredith Hobbs Coons of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" and wrote, "We've finally left the confines of Osaka Castle. Now we can get into some really rich stuff. A training montage? Sure, that's in there. Sitting on a wooden deck in the rain drinking tea? That is definitely in there, and that's the freaking dream. And tenderhearted friends, when I say it gets a bit gorier in this fourth episode of Shōgun, I really mean it."{{Cite web |last=Hobbs Coons |first=Meredith |date=May 24, 2024 |title=Shōgun recap: The show tries out some new tricks in "The Eightfold Fence" |url=https://www.avclub.com/shogun-review-season-1-episode-4-1851317065 |access-date=March 5, 2024 |website=The A.V. Club}} Jesse Raub of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "After three episodes of sword fights, sweeping landscapes, and political maneuvering, Shōgun finally pulls out the missing piece of its historical-epic puzzle: romance. But as with every other element in the show, Shōgun is going to earn its love story."{{Cite web |last=Raub |first=Jesse |date=March 12, 2024 |title=Shōgun Recap: Baby Earthquakes |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/shogun-recap-episode-4-the-eightfold-fence.html |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Vulture}}

Sean T. Collins of The New York Times wrote, "Last week's episode dropped the ball when it came to depicting visceral combat. This week's fired it straight at the enemy and pulped them."{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Sean |date=March 12, 2024 |title='Shogun' Episode 4 Recap: Fire Away |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/arts/television/shogun-episode-4-recap.html |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} Josh Rosenberg of Esquire wrote, "Once you get familiar with its characters — and acquire a tepid understanding of feudal Japan's political climate — Shōgun is easily the best drama on television. A little history lesson couldn't hurt anyone now and then."{{Cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Josh |date=March 12, 2024 |title=Shōgun Episode 4 Recap |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60165846/shogun-episode-4-recap/ |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=Esquire}}

Johnny Loftus of Decider wrote, "Shōgun Episode 4 comes in like a cannonball. With a shocking, Red Wedding-esque act of gory provocation, balanced against the blossoming of secret love, it now seems clear that no amount of ritual, subtlety, or political gamesmanship will be able to prevent what's coming."{{Cite web |last=Loftus |first=Johnny |date=March 20, 2024 |title='Shōgun' Episode 4 Recap: "The Eightfold Fence" |url=https://decider.com/2024/03/20/shogun-episode-4-recap/ |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=Decider}} Tyler Johnson of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "It's a testament to Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks' talent for establishing tone that while Shogun takes place in a world about which the average viewer knows very little, there's seldom any doubt in the audiences' mind with regard to what's at stake and how we should feel about it."{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Tyler |date=March 12, 2024 |title=Shogun Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The Eightfold Fence |url=https://www.tvfanatic.com/2024/03/shogun-season-1-episode-4-review-the-eightfold-fence/ |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=TV Fanatic}}

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Category:2024 American television episodes

Category:Shōgun (2024 TV series) episodes

Category:Television episodes directed by Frederick E. O. Toye