The fourth episode of Shōgun titled “The Eightfold Fence” showed just how gruesome cannons can be. It was a dramatic and, quite frankly, disgusting scene that is poised to bring war to Japan.

The episode was slow building, focused more on the political machinations of Kashigi Yabushige as he juggled his loyalties to Toranaga and Ishido.

Then, the shocking ending to the episode with Toranaga’s son and his men launching a ruthless attack on Ishido’s emissary Jozen and his men using the cannons from Blackthorne’s ships.

Now, I should have realized that having Blackthorne explain the chain artillery for the canons was going to come back sooner rather than later. Still, that did not prepare me for the gruesome mutilation of the bodies of Jozen’s army. My god.

I think the even bigger shock was me finding out this week that the voice that Cosmo Jarvis does in the show for John Blackthorne was going to be even weirder than what he sounds like on the show.

At this point, Jarvis felt that he was closing in on Blackthorne’s voice. However, shortly before filming, he bumped into showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo in Vancouver (where all of Shōgun was shot). At this point, Jarvis was already speaking in Blackthorne’s voice…and there was a bit of a note on the “wispy” tone he was closing in on.

“Rachel said, ‘Is that the voice?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’” Jarvis said. “And she said, ‘Lower.’”

I’m kind of blown away by this and don’t even know what to think. The voice he gives off is pretty annoying, and it is hands down my least favorite part of the show.

I want to give a shout out to Anna Sawai for her terrific performances so far in the series as Toda Mariko. Her performance gives off a vulnerable yet intelligent woman who is building her power in the background, collecting evidence and learning everything there is to learn about her lord and others.

This series is spectacular, and I love it. It’s a great show, and I can’t wait for next week.