The Hulu show is living the dream — Toranagas, to be specific

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the ending of Shōgun.]

Just before he is forced to commit seppuku in the final moments of the Shōgun, Yabushige demands to know how Toranaga's plan to overthrow Ishido will work. At this moment, Shōgun shows us a glimpse of tens of thousands of soldiers from five armies gathered on a battlefield. The entire series has apparently been building up to this point – the training of the cannon regiment, Toranaga's half-brother switching alliances, the regents all signing a declaration of war – and yet, just before the battle is about to begin, Ishido is delivered a note letting him know that the heir's army will surrender from the battlefield. Without the heir's banner, the other regents will turn on him before the battle even begins. But this is only Toranaga's plan; Shōgun never shows us any war.

It's subversive to never have a war in a historical war epic, with Toranaga's subversion delaying his impeachment vote (and eventual declaration of war) until the ninth episode. Most films or television shows in the genre set up the narrative to provide the viewer with a satisfying and violent conclusion to the tension that has been building, such as the final stand in The Return of the King, the faceoff in Braveheart, or even the final stand of The Last Samurai (which is also about a Western military that lands in Japan, and shares some crew with the Shōgun). Basically, no matter how brutal and bloody the fight, an explosive battlefield is the natural climax of the story arc. These movies and shows also often land on an implied conclusion: War, however disgusting it may be, is a justifiable, even virtuous pursuit.