WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Yasuke, now streaming on Netflix.
In Netflix's Yasuke, the titular Black samurai comes across quite a few foes in his journey in Asia after being bought out of servitude. Under the feudal lord, Nobunaga of the Oda clan, he does battle with the supernatural Daimyo and her mystical forces. There's also the evil priest Abraham and the many bounty hunters that come after Yasuke to get to the godlike Saki.
However, the real villain of the series is someone with a much deeper connection to him than his other adversaries: the Dark General.
This sinister samurai appears early in the season, marshalling the Daimyo's forces and helping end the reign of Nobunaga. It results in the leader committing seppuku, with Yasuke having to behead his master before fleeing to a life of exile where he'd spend years as a boatman in Saki's village, hidden from the world. But the tyrant would emerge again as the Daimyo covets Saki's power for her own, leading to a massive showdown in the final couple of episodes at Morisuke's base against his mystical army.
There, the Dark General reveals himself to be someone who betrayed Yasuke and the Oda clan, Mitsuhide. In flashbacks littered across the season, we find out that Mitsuhide hated Nobunaga moving away from the old code. He didn't want progress, instead, seeing a Black man like Yasuke rising in the ranks, as well as a female soldier in Natsumaru, as blasphemy -- spitting on everything their ancestors worked and bled for.
In many exchanges during Yasuke, it became clear Mitsuhide came to embody racism and misogyny, the main themes of the series. He even leaves Yasuke to fight enemies on his own. Yasuke's success turned Mitsuhide into a traitor, allowing him to be imbued with power by the Daimyo to take the Oda dynasty down. Eventually, when he unmasks himself, Yasuke is totally floored. He thought Mitsuhide died a hero in the war, fighting on his side.
Whilst they didn't get along, Yasuke didn't harbour any hatred towards the samurai. He respected Mitsuhide's discipline and desire to preserve their culture and heritage. They end up in a swift, brutal brawl here, and when Morisuke and Saki weaken the Daimyo, Yasuke's able to murder his nemesis with the power source cut off, revealing a frail figure in his formerly powerful place.
The fight could have gone a bit longer, but nonetheless, Yasuke exorcises his demons as he beheads Mitsuhide -- revenge for taking away the first family and that initial life of happiness he'd ever really known. Sure, the Daimyo's more powerful as the 'final-level boss' but her arc is more connected with Saki. Yasuke's emotive climax is with Mitsuhide as he makes it clear classism, elitism and bigotry have no place in the new world.
Created by LeSean Thomas, Yasuke stars LaKeith Stanfield as Yasuke, Takehiro Hira as Nobunaga, Maya Tanida as Saki, Ming-Na Wen as Natsumaru, Paul Nakauchi as Morisuke, Darren Criss as Haruto, Julie Marcus as Nikita and William Christopher Stephens as Achoja. The series is out now on Netflix.