As Toranaga and his men mourn Nagakado and prepare to meet their own fates in Osaka, Blackthorne faces a difficult decision: Should he remain loyal or save his own skin?

These are bleak times in Edo, as Toranaga announces to his men that he's sincere in his desire to surrender to Ishido and leave his fate to the Council of Regents.

He's lying, of course, but we don't find that out until much later.

Blackthorne wants nothing to do with Toranaga's surrender, and he tries unsuccessfully to strike up an alliance with Yabushige.

He's only successful much later in the episode, after Hiromatsu shockingly commits seppuku in protest of Toranaga's concession.

This episode also sees Blackthorne reunited with a member of his crew -- but the reunion is not a happy one.

The man drunkenly blames the pilot for the Erasmus crew's current predicament.

After some disparaging comments about Blackthorne's traditional Japanese garb, the men fight, and Blackthorne brutally pummels his former friend.

The situation between Buntaro and Mariko comes to a head, as he grants her permission to take her own life and vows to do the same -- only to be rebuffed.

Before his death, Hiromatsu denies Buntaro permission to commit seppuku.

As the newly allied Blackthorne and Yabushige prepare to set sail for Osaka, they're joined by Mariko, who will presumably work tp ensure a more favorable outcome for Toranaga.

In a final scene that's both moving on a personal level and ri