Blue Eye Samurai – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

The Great Fire Of 1657

Episode 8 of Blue Eye Samurai begins this finale with Mizu apologizing to her mother in the past. Believing her to be dead, she promises to do everything in her power to avenge her life.

Back in the present, Mizu and Ringo arrive at Edo. The pair prepare to find Akemi and rescue her from the castle, while simultaneously saving Taigen’s life. Fowler’s army is a concern if they kill the Shogun and usurp power, but Mizu promises to kill Fowler. If she doesn’t return, she gives instructions to Ringo on what follows, but the cook shrugs it off, claiming she can’t die.

Meanwhile, Fowler drops by with a bag of gold for Takayoshi and his brother. He wants a seat at the table, but he’s rejected, which seems to be the final turning point before he attacks. Mizu catches up with Haji and tells her to run, pointing out the chaos that’s about to befall Edo.

What’s the plan to get the Princess out?

Seki shows and saves Akemi from her father, and having seen the true courage and beauty of the Princess, stands by her side. With a blade in her hand, she leaves and Lord Daichi’s men show to try and stop them. However, Mizu shows up and slays the guards, encouraging the pair to join her down in the sewer where Ringo is waiting.

Ringo happens to be waiting by the sewer entrance, where Taigen is waiting in disguise. Time is running out, and Seki stops to give Akemi a crate of gold to claim her freedom – and stay free.

With everything hanging in the balance, Taigen joins the Shogun and his soldiers to try and stave off the threat of Fowler and his men. Interestingly, Taigen ends up with the second son, Takayoshi. He asks about his wife, but he doesn’t know where Akemi is either.

Does Fowler take the castle?

Guns against arrows doesn’t make this much of a fight, more a massacre. The arrows are out of range, and Fowler has the firepower to take the castle with ease. Each gate shreds to pieces like wet paper, with Fowler’s army marching through without much in the way of resistance. Unfortunately, Fowler has men on the inside, like Heiji, who do the hard work for Fowler and open the gate without resistance.

After slaughtering almost the entire army, Taigen stands alongside the Shogun and his sons as Fowler shows up. When he’s done, Fowler shoots the Shogun and a few of his loyal subjects, while Lord Mori kills himself with his sword.

Just before Fowler kills Takayoshi, Mizu appears and stops Fowler. She fights them off single-handedly, as she dodge several bullets in quick succession. In the bloodbath, Fowler runs. Mizu follows, while Taigen finds himself conflicted over which path to take. In the end, he grabs Heiji, who is somehow still alive, and finishes the job slowly, slicing him with a sword in a brutal way.

With her new blade, Mizu heads downstairs and ends up fighting with Fowler… alongside Taigen. The fight is brutal, with shades of the conflict in Captain America: Civil War at the end. When Taigen is downed and left a bloody mess, Mizu tells him to run and meet up with Akemi at the sewer. She reinforces that the way of the samurai is paved in blood and he needs to leave before it’s too late.

Does Mizu kill Fowler?

As for Mizu, she squares off with Fowler and even ignites the room to prevent him running away. Escape he does though, fleeing through the door, muttering “He’s crazy”. With the place burning up, and the flames eager to eat everything in sight, Fowler rushes downstairs toward his army.

Outside, Akemi and Seji flee to the sewer, but on the way, Akemi decides they should close the gate and trap the soldiers inside, leaving them to their fiery fate. Unfortunately, a gunshot sounds as it turns out Seki has been shot dead.

Taigen shows up by her side outside and wants to be with her, to be a man and live by her side. However, Akemi refuses to leave, shrugging off Taigen’s plea to be happy, and deciding that she wants to be great. Where’s there’s destruction, there’s opportunity, and that seems to be the plan here.

Meanwhile, Mizu finds herself fighting off Fowler. He chokes out the warrior and in his grip, realizes that she’s actually a girl. As he taunts her, it’s enough for Mizu to knee him in the face repeatedly and then brandish a blade to her neck. Apparently the other two men Mizu seeks are Skeffington and Routely.

They’re the worst of the four and apparently Miu’s mother may actually still be alive. The one killed was her maid, and she was paid to keep Mizu hidden and quiet.

How does Blue Eye Samurai end?

Fowler taunts Mizu and tells her another “magic word” that she needs… London. While Ringo returns to the Swordsmaster and decides to get to work, while Mizu keeps Fowler alive in a cage, onboard a ship seemingly bound for London.

In the aftermath of the fire, Takoyashi and his mother make a big decision and decide to destroy the guns. Akemi is there too and apparently her father is still alive too, but under Akemi’s care.

The Episode Review

It’s ironic that Samurai accurately depicts London and the UK with huge, ominous grey clouds because honestly, that’s what the weather is like here all the time. Miserable – just like the reaction to finishing this excellent series and finding there are no more episodes to binge through.

Blue Eye Samurai has been a great watch, chock full of excellent action, brutal fights and some solid drama too. The aesthetic has been excellent all round and seeing the evolution of weaponry and how that ties into the massacre of Edo. And yet, with all that in mind, it’s fire that ends up the undoing of Fowler and his army.

There’s some fascinating storylines bubbling under the surface here and it would seem that Akemi is actually on-course to become a resourceful and cunning Queen, perhaps one twisted and conniving rather than warm and gentle. That’s definitely the feeling you get from the way this closes out, where she turns away from Taigen’s idea of being happy and deciding she wants power instead.

Either way, the ending opens up a whole world of ideas for the future, and quite what that means for our characters, remains to be seen. Let’s just hope this one gets a second season!