Tokyo Vice (1×06) The Information Business Review

For our review of the last episode of Tokyo Vice, click here.

After the events of the last episode, this episode had a tough act to follow in making it all work but somehow it did as yet another wrinkle in the mystery is unveiled in an ingenious way as Adelstein’s exuberance may very well put him in danger. The other parallel subplots also moved forward nicely with all the moving parts slowly coming together and inevitably converging.

Adelstein tried to make it up to Samantha but fumbled it following his warning to her but she could clearly take care of herself. The third part of that triangle in Sato is still very alive though now suffering from PTSD. However, he would need to set those feelings aside as he continued to rise with Ishida. He also got a tip about an incoming meth shipment coming into Tokyo for Tozawa via airplane.

Ishida was a mentor of sorts to Sato and he noticed what was happening with him. They needed to figure out what to do with Sato’s tip while keeping their hands clean. The answer was Adelstein which saddled him with the burden of figuring out what to do with it. He and Katagiri had their ways but the former had to be patient and trust his judgment which clearly meant that the opposite was going to happen as the former looked to build a case against Tozawa.

Tozawa became the focus of Adelstein as a meeting with a profile writer directed him towards one of his mistresses for information. However, that connection was going to be a hard one to crack considering his history with mistresses who have spoken to the press. Nevertheless, he followed one in the hopes of getting her to open up to him despite the risk to both of them. Meanwhile, following his failed attempt on Ishida, he would need to make amends in front of the council of Yakuza leaders, embarrassing himself and his organization by getting down on his knees and begging for forgiveness in front of the others. From there, he was shook and Tanida’s performance reflected that.

Adelstein took his tip to Eimi who saw a story there. Going around Katagiri, he approached his other contact in Detective Miyamoto (Hideaki Itô), he was seemingly more motivated to pursue it. However, upon searching the plane, no meth was found. As Katagiri was frustrated and disappointed, the story became about the failure of the police thus hurting Adelstein’s reputation with them. He was not happy and was sure to tell Sato about it but Elgort’s performance here was off. He has struggled whenever depth is required.

Samantha vowed that she’d keep her professional life and personal life separate but she needed help with her blackmailer therefore she opened up to Sato who, facing a similar dilemma, did the same. Their relationship arguably clouded their judgement. Nevertheless, she asked for his help which he did though perhaps went too far rather than risk being exposed to his bosses for which the private investigator had previously worked for.

In the end, the reason why no drugs were found was because Miyamoto worked for Tozawa and made sure they weren’t found. While an unsurprising surprise, the main takeaway from that was that the detective put Adelstein on Tozawa’s radar by sharing that the tip came from him.

Adestein’s actions had consequences. Whatever they may be remains to be seen but Tozawa will certainly strike back.

still courtesy of HBO Max

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.