Tokyo Vice (2x9-2x10) ⁞⁞ Episode Spotlight

Season 2 of the MAX original thriller Tokyo Vice recently came to an end. The final two episodes of the season featured some resolution on the romantic subplot that was introduced for supporting character Jun "Trendy" Shinohara (Takaki Uda), the closeted gay journalist working with leading man Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort). Trendy continued to pursue a romance with Jason Aoki (Aoi Takeya), which Jake put together from his interactions with the two men together as he sought some information from Jason to help with their journalistic investigation. Jake was supportive of his friend Trendy, despite Trendy's adamance about saying nothing. Episode 9 of the season began with Jake, Trendy, their fellow reporter Tin Tin, and their boss Emi discussing the investigation into Yakuza boss Tozawa, whom they now believed was working with the FBI to target other Yakuza in an effort to regain his power in Tokyo. Looking for evidence of the connection between Tozawa and the American agency, Jake suggested Trendy reach out to his source at the US Embassy in Tokyo, knowing Jason worked there. A reluctant Trendy agreed. Emi (Rinko Kikuchi) swore the group to keep things quiet, knowing the controversy and danger that could come from their investigation. Trendy met with Jason to seek his help and Jason wasn't keen on getting involved, wanting instead to turn the conversation towards their relationship. He didn't appreciate Trendy using him for a story but he ultimately agreed to see what he could find. Later, Trendy got a call from Jason, providing him the corroboration that he needed, which Trendy shared with Jake & Emi. This led Jake to the Embassy where he confronted Lynn Oberfield, the FBI agent working with the U.S. Foreign Service at the Embassy. When Jake cornered her and demanded an official quote for the story, given what he knew, she agreed, in exchange for the name of his source. While no answer from Jake was shown, he did get the quote he needed to expose Tozawa and bring him down. 

In the meantime, things got more dangerous for the journalists, with Tin Tin (Kosuke Tanaka) being viciously stabbed while talking with Trendy on the phone, putting him in the hospital. Trendy was by his friend's side, relaying his condition to Emi. The Episode 10 finale began with the journalists collecting enough evidence to go public with their story. Trendy got a call from Jason, demanding he come and see him. Trendy arrived to find Jason furious, revealing that he lost his job and was heading back to the United States, where he might be brought up on charges for disclosing the information that Trendy asked him for. A tearful Trendy told him that a source would have never been revealed. Jason's anger was not tempered, as he disagreed with that. This led Trendy to Jake at the hospital, knowing that only the two of them knew that Jason was their Embassy source. When Jake denied he would ever reveal a source, Trendy grew more angry, pushing his friend against the wall. Trendy said he wanted the truth because he knew that he hadn't revealed Jason as the source. Jake then confessed that he had no choice in order to get the quote he needed. The angry Trendy told Jake that from now on, Jake needed to stay away from him, ending their friendship and forcing Jake to face the consequences of his vendetta against Tozawa.