Are John Blackthorne and Lady Mariko up for romance in FX's Shōgun? Now that the series on Hulu is one episode away from ending, Blackthorne and Lady Mariko's setup becomes even more complicated, but still, do they end up together?
CONTENT SPOILERS: This article contains spoilers for FX's Shōgun series, so proceed with caution.
Do John Blackthorne and Lady Mariko End Up Together in Real Life?
John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis) and Lady Mariko's (Anna Sawai) blooming romance turned forbidden to... well, star-crossed lovers in the series, but here's how the real story went before we deep dive into the series.
In the premiere, they were nothing more than two completely different people serving their roles.
However, even though Blackthorne is being held prisoner, this doesn't stop him from surprising Lady Mariko with his own tactics that are considered foreign in Japan.
One of the key moments they shared was when Blackthorne opened up about having to return home to England for his kid.
Lady Mariko seemed quite taken aback at finding out this fact, which sparked the idea they may end up getting romantically involved with one another at some point in the future episodes.
Based on the American historical drama James Clavell wrote, some of the characters portrayed in the story are based on real life.
This includes Blackthorne, who was inspired by the 'first white samurai' William Adams, and Lady Mariko, who is really Hosokawa Gracia. However, did the love story blooming between them happen in real life, too?
The short answer is no. The series, however, is based on the historical drama novel and ended up differently.
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Shogun is Less About Romance and Leans More on Politics
It is worth mentioning that despite the potential romance developing between John Blackthorne and Lady Mariko, Shōgun is less focused on their dynamic and more on depicting the intense power struggle between Lord Toranaga and Lord Ishido.
However, this doesn't mean fans would shy away from the potential romance unraveling right in front of them.
See, Lady Mariko is married to Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), and John Blackthorne has a son to return to in England. You'd think this would already render their romance null and void.
And yet their relationship goes deeper than that, beyond friends, beyond anjin/hatamoto and translator.
By episode 9 titled Crimson Sky, Lady Mariko and John Blackthorne unsheathed their feelings and slept together that night, knowing full well that only tragedy awaits their doorstep once the final episode unravels what's in store for their future.
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