The eighth episode of the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "Diamonds Sleeping in the Sea" (Sundays at 9pm), starring actor Kamiki Ryunosuke, was broadcast on December 15th.
◇The following contains spoilers
The drama is a story of love, friendship and family spanning 70 years, set on the island of Hashima (Gunkanjima) in Nagasaki Prefecture, which developed through coal mining from the beginning of the Meiji era to the postwar high economic growth period, and in modern-day Tokyo. It is written by Akiko Nogi, directed by Ayuko Tsukahara, and produced by Junko Arai, the team behind the dramas "Unnatural" and "MIU404" (same series) and the movie "The Last Mile."
The story is set in Hashima in 1964, four months after the mine was closed due to an explosion that could not be prevented. Many of the miners have left the island, and those who remain are beginning to lose hope. In the Araki family, Ippei (Kunimura Jun) falls ill due to years of strain. Nevertheless, Teppei (Kamiki) works hard to develop a new area with undeveloped coal seams and somehow revive the island.
Teppei and Asako (Hana Sugisaki) go on a date to Nagasaki for the first time in a long time, avoiding the attention of others. The two of them build a good relationship, but there are also bad rumors about Teppei.
At the end of the film, in the present day, Izumi (Nobuko Miyamoto) remembers her time on Hashima, where we learn that Asako married Torajiro (Mizuki Maehara), a restaurant employee. Later, Izumi tells Reo (Kamiki, in a dual role) about Teppei, that he left the island with Rina (Elaiza Ikeda) and never returned to Hashima.
At the end of the episode, there is a scene where Teppei is rowing a small boat with Rina holding her son Makoto, and on social media, many people commented, "Was it Teppei after all?", "Where did Teppei go?" and "A two-hour special next week? Amazing! I can't wait!!!"
