The seventh episode of the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "The Royal Family" (Sundays at 9 PM), starring Satoshi Tsumabuki, aired on November 23rd. The scene in which Sanno Kozo, played by Koichi Sato, sheds tears became a hot topic on social media, with viewers saying it "brought tears to their eyes."
◇The following contains spoilers
Kozo proposes to Koichi (Ren Meguro) that he will not apologize or offer any assistance, but instead, "Would you like to take over my horse?" Koichi initially declines, but then confesses to Kurisu (Tsumabuki) that he is interested only in Royal Hope's offspring.
Koichi's suggestion that Royal Happiness should bear a foal in order to make the most of Royal Hope's power was accepted, and a foal was born in 2020. It was named "Royal Family."
In June 2022, the day of the Royal Family's debut finally arrives, and Kurisu heads to the venue with Koichi, Kozo's representative. Meanwhile, Kozo's condition suddenly worsens at the hospital. His daughter Yuriko (Nagisa Sekimizu Nagisa) desperately calls out to Kozo, saying, "The family is coming," and contacts his mother Kyoko (Kuroki Hitomi) and other family members to come to the hospital quickly.
The race began, and the Royal Family came in first place. Kurisu and Koichi embraced each other in joy. At the hospital, Kyoko, who was watching the live broadcast, choked up as she said to Kozo, "Congratulations, that was fun." At that moment, a tear fell from Kozo's eye.
Then, Kurisu received a phone call at the ceremony. When Koichi was reluctant to take part in the commemorative photo, Kurisu told him, holding back tears, "You will be standing beside the family. From this moment on, Koichi is the family's owner. Congratulations on your debut race."
On social media, people were talking about things like, "Wow, I can't stop crying, Kozo-san," "I seriously cried this time," "This might be my favorite episode of all time," "It's such an amazing episode that I want to watch it again and again," "It was so moving. The president dies after watching Royal Family come first in their debut race. Koichi becomes the horse's owner," "President Kozo's single tear as he 'witnesses it's over,' and "The way Kurisu tells Koichi about his father Kozo's death now that he's officially become the horse's owner was an amazing piece of scriptwriting."
