Tokyo Vice – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Yoshino

Samantha and Jake continue to try to figure out how to get Polina back in episode 8 of Tokyo Vice. They decide to use Tozawa’s publicist to get a headstart.

As Ishida, Sato, and Kobayashi discuss new plans to increase revenue, Ishida walks in anger to his men’s quarters. He humiliates Koji for the soup not being prepared according to his wishes. Miyamoto explains to Hiroto about he got started with Tozawa.

Believing him to be a good man, Hiroto offers him a chance to prove Miyamoto is a good cop. The plan involves busting Tozawa’s incoming shipment by duping him. Samantha and Jake reach Hikari’s house.

After agreeing to smoke meth with him for information, they learn that Yoshino is actually the name of a boat. Tozawa uses girls in debt to satisfy the needs of government officials and businessmen to gain favors. At Ishida’s, Koji tries to offer his little finger as a sacrifice to Ishida. He creates a scene but is asked by Sato to be let go.

While doing so, Sato tells him that he is lucky to be getting out, referring to his own lost chance.

Miyamoto proceeds with the plan and visits Tozawa. He offers to end his association with Miyamoto but he agrees to continue to avoid raising suspicions.

Jake asks Eimi to talk to her sources in the “Missing Persons” department to get information on Polina. Akira dupes Samantha into giving him all her savings by saying that some men called him demanding it for Polina’s life. She visits Duke and asks him to get her a bridge loan from Ishida.

Jake returns home to find Tozawa’s men waiting for him. They beat him and warn him not to get involved with his business. They destroy all the work Jake has done on him, leaving him hopeless. He calls home and asks to come back.

His father tells him he will personally buy him the return ticket if he still wishes to come home the next day. Ishida puts Sato in charge of Samantha’s club. He asks him to protect the clan’s investment, come what may.

Hiroto discovers that Tozawa has got wind of his and Miyamoto’s plans. Having already “taken care” of Miyamoto, Tozawa warns Hiroto of dire consequences for his family if he continues to go after him.

Sato visits Samantha’s house to talk to her about the club. He tries to rekindle their relationship but Samantha is unwilling.

Out of nowhere, one of his own clan members repeatedly stabs him as he walks to his car. Tozawa leaves for a trip to an undisclosed place, possibly where he can get treatment for his ailment, as he reveals to Misaki.

Jake wakes up to go to his office. Outside his apartment, he finds an envelope with “Yoshino” written over it. He witnesses Polina’s death on camera. The boat records the activities that go on there, and the Vice President from Tozawa’s birthday in the earlier episode is also present.

He straightaway takes the tape to Hiroto. Jake is surprised to find his family, not at the house to which Hiroto replies that they are out of town. Hiroto invites him in, signalling his willingness to continue fighting the town’s crime.

The Episode Review

‘Tokyo Vice’s final episode of season one stays true to the carefully constructed world created by its predecessors.

The consistency that was preserved hitherto proves to be pivotal in establishing the finale’s tone. It might not be the most likable but it will make purists and fans of the show happy. In many ways, strangely, it feels more like the beginning of a crusade than an end.

Although the episode starts off in an optimistic vein, Tokyo’s world yet again proves to be no place for men of morals. Its incorrigible traditions are set in stone.

The idea that Jake and Hiroto could work with the Yakuza proves how dangerous it is to play with fire.

Taming a lion will always come with its consequences. But what will it take to break the spirit of those dreamers? A whole lot more than what came their way, as the final shot involving Jake and Hiroto shows. “Yoshino”, from minute one, already seemed prepared to begin a new chapter.

But turning a new leaf like this is not easy. Now that Jake and Hiroto know what they’re up against, they are even more determined to keep their moral compass intact.

Sato is a changed man too. His character arc is probably the most satisfying outcome of ‘Tokyo Vice’s narrative, although more about his past would have laid the stronger groundwork.

Any which way, ‘Tokyo Vice’ season one ends on an extremely positive note to conclude the series for viewers. The wait for a season two now begins but not without a renewed hope that some men can never be corrupted, while those who have lost their way, can always find it back.