The 17th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, titled "The Fall of Odani Castle," aired on May 3rd, and the reappearance of a popular character and what happened afterward attracted the attention of viewers.
In the 17th episode, Takeda Shingen (Masahiro Takashima) raises an army against Oda and invades Tōtōmi, but Ieyasu (Kohei Matsushita) who meets him at Mikatagahara suffers a crushing defeat.
Yoshiaki (played by Onoe Ukon) also raised an army in Kyoto, and Nobunaga (played by Shun Oguri) seemed to be in dire straits, but for some reason the Takeda army suddenly retreated. Having lost his backer, Yoshiaki was driven out of Kyoto. Having escaped the crisis, Nobunaga resumed his attack on the Asai and Asakura clans. With no options left, Nagamasa holed up in Odani Castle. Koichiro (played by Nakano) and Fujikichiro (played by Ikematsu Sosuke) tried to do something to rescue Oichi (Aoi Miyazaki) and the others, but...and so the story unfolded.
As more and more people defect to the Oda side, cornering Asakura Yoshikage (Tatsugo Tsurumi), he decides to retreat to Ichijōdani, but is stopped by Saitō Tatsuoki (Ryūsei Hamada), who has clashed with Nobunaga in the past. Tatsuoki believes that the Oda invasion is the work of his former retainer, Masaki Suda), but Yoshikage pretends to listen to Tatsuoki's advice and orders him to serve as the rearguard, saying, "If you understand the Oda that well."
Having clearly drawn the short straw, Tatsuoki sneered at Yoshikage, "I've stayed in Ichijōdani too long. I'm like a frog in a well," but it was too late.
After that, Ryukou was shown desperately trying to keep the rear guard, but that was the end of his appearance.
In response to the reappearance of Ryukou, who has been quietly gaining popularity, viewers on social media reacted with comments such as, "Ryukou's back!!", "Ryukou was there after all", "Saito Ryukou is doing his best", "Ryukou is tenacious", and "I'm so happy he's back!! But he drew the short straw".
Because his final moments were not explicitly shown, some viewers expressed their anticipation, saying things like, "Hmm... Lord Tatsuoki wasn't killed at Tonesaka, so could it be that he survived!?", "According to the established theory, Saito Tatsuoki died in battle here. But with this script, it looks like he'll also appear at Honnoji," "Historically, Tatsuoki is said to have died in the Battle of Ichijodani, but since there was no death scene for Toyo-niichan Tatsuoki, maybe we can go with the survival theory?", and "I'm glad they portrayed Saito Tatsuoki tenaciously. There's also the survival theory, so I wonder what will happen in this drama..."
