'Shogun' finale recap: Hiroyuki Sanada explains Toranaga's masterful moves

Spoiler alert! The following article includes details of FX's "Shogun" finale.

Never count out Yoshii Toranaga in "Shogun."

Through nine episodes of FX's critically acclaimed series set in 17th-century Japan, the embattled warlord (Hiroyuki Sanada) has been down but never out in the deadly battle against his conspiring enemies: the powerful feudal lords on the Council of Regents.

After the explosive death of his prized vassal, Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai), in Episode 9, Toranaga flips the script and takes charge in the series finale (now streaming on Hulu). It's such a miraculous turnabout of fate that traitorous Kashigi Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), before committing ritualistic suicide – known as seppuku – suggests Toranaga can control the wind. "I only study it," Toranaga responds.

"That's classic Toranaga style," Sanada tells USA TODAY. "He never throws the first punch or attacks first. He waits until the others make their move, and then he makes his strategy."

The Japanese star and first-time producer, who consulted on even minute details for the remake based on James Clavell's best-selling 1975 novel, helped break down the series finale.

Why did Mariko die? The honorable death deals a pivotal blow to Toranaga's enemies

Toranaga has dealt with the painful deaths of his son Yoshii Nagakado and his right-hand general Toda Hiromatsu. Yet each time he used the loss to gain an advantage over his enemies, just like Mariko, who put herself in front of a lethal explosion rather than be taken captive by the scheming Council of Regents leader Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira).

"The deaths are so sad, but they are never wasted. They are meaningful deaths for Japan's future, and they give Toranaga strength," says Sanada. "It's not just loss if Toranaga ultimately wins."

Mariko's death disgusts Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaidổ), the mother of the Emperor's heir, who is too young to rule. Ochiba secretly writes to Toranaga, saying she will hold her son's troops back from battle against him, a stunning blow to her fiancée Ishido's plans.

Thanks to Mariko, Toranaga's battle against Ishido is over before it begins. "Instead of thousands of soldiers, Toranaga's strategy relied on one woman," says Sanada. "And it worked."

Wait, so Toranaga burned John Blackthorne's ship?

Marooned English pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmos Jarvis) is changed by the selfless loss of his translator and true-love Mariko. The next blow is finding his ship has been destroyed, presumably by Portuguese rivals.

Toranaga secretly confides to doomed Kashigi that he allowed for his ally Blackthorne's ship to be burned, showing how much of a pawn the Westerner Blackthorne is on Toranaga's grand chessboard.

"Blackthorne is useful to Toranaga, who wants to keep him in Japan and not let him go back to England," says Sanada. "And when Blackthorne builds the ship again, he'll burn it again."

What part of 'Shogun' was Blackthorne's bad dream?

Previous episodes showed a future vision of an aged, forlorn Blackthorne on his English deathbed. The finale, titled "A Dream of a Dream," reveals Blackthorne has a new destiny. "Blackthorne had these dreams of being an old man in England. But after Mariko's death, he changed. He realized that wasn't his happiest life," says Sanada.

Blackthorne immediately shows signs of a greater purpose in Japan than his original selfish aim of establishing trade routes. His final moments are spent enthusiastically pulling his destroyed ship from the waters with local villagers, including former enemy Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), who was married to Mariko.

The Englishman and Toranaga exchange glances. "It's a symbolic scene for their real future," says Sanada. "Their look says they know each other with even a deeper friendship."

Blackthorne is loosely based on the life of William Adams, a navigator who was the first Englishman in Japan, married and had two children but never left the country.

Is Toranaga the shogun of 'Shogun'?

Sanada says Toranaga did not set out to claim the ultimate military-ruler title Shogun during the time of warring factions in Japan, "but he started thinking maybe only (having) the Shogun title can make a peaceful era, so the title followed him."

The finale shows a fleeting flash forward scene of armies gathered, with victorious Toranaga in full armor.

But there is no showdown battle. The "Shogun" ending features Toranaga staring into the sunlit ocean, pondering his future as the all-powerful military leader. The character is based on Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shōgun of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate, who ushered an era of peace and prosperity in the warring country that lasted from 1603 to 1868.

"Toranaga can see the future he's dreamed about," says Sanada. "It's a simple but meaningful scene. Every Japanese schoolchild knows the real historical character and the peaceful era that followed. He's still a hero in Japan (and) my hero as well."

Will there be a 'Shogun' Season 2?

The FX series ends at exactly the end point of Clavell's novel. There are no plans for a new "Shogun" series.

"We don't have any more novel," says Sanada. "But we know what happened afterward based on real history. So let's see. Who knows?"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Shogun' ending, explained: Episode 10 recap from Hiroyuki Sanada