Shogun Episode 7's Major Book Change Explained By Showrunner

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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Shōgun episode 7!

Summary Shōgun showrunner Justin Marks defended the decision to kill Naga in episode 7, a deviation from the original novel.

Marks explained the importance of this new decision and how they got permission from James Clavell's daughter.

The decision to kill Naga was made to add depth and draw a point to the story.

Shōgun showrunner Justin Marks defended a shocking decision made in episode 7, creating an event that doesn't actually happen in the original novel. At the end of episode 7, Toranaga's son Naga attacks his uncle, Saeki, in the middle of the night. However, things go awry before he can slay the treacherous leader, as he ends up slipping on wet rocks, hitting his head, killing him. This scene is absent in James Clavell's original work, though, with Naga simply falling into the background.

Speaking with Decider, Marks defended the decision to kill Naga at the end of Shōgun episode 7. The showrunner explained the importance of the new decision and how they got permission from Michaela Clavell, daughter of the original novel's author. Check out some of what Marks had to say below:

There is an area of the book…where that was the hardest area to adapt [Episodes 6, 7, and 8]. We had to make some conflations.... How do we distill this and, you know, kind of draw a point to it? There are a number of characters in the book who kind of just exited stage left without really a goodbye, so to speak.

More to come...

Source: Decider