Bullet Points: Warrior (S3 Ep1) “Exactly the Wrong Time to Get Proud”
Warrior is back! Typing those words felt good because there was a time not all that long ago that it seemed like Warrior was going to join the long list of beloved television shows that disappeared into the ether without any sort of closure.
Fortunately the action gods smiled upon Warrior fans and Season 3 is here… this time not on Cinemax, but on the newly re-christened streaming service, Max.
I will be covering all of Warrior Season 3 starting right now with the Season 3 premiere…
- It’s Time: After a tremendous recap of the first two seasons of the show, it does not take long for the action to begin. Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji, Bullet Train), who has achieved folk hero status in Chinatown, tells one of the youngsters admiring him to let Young Jun (Jason Tobin) know that “it’s time”. Then in classic Ah Sahm fashion he doesn’t wait for Young Jun and his Hop Wei brethren to confront members of the rival Long Zi, who have the audacity to set up an opium den on Hop Wei turf. Ah Sahm kicks some major ass, chops off some fingers and overall handles himself well against the odds. The numbers game does catch up with him however and Ah Sahm finds himself defenestrated from the would be opium den landing outside at the feet of Young Jun and Hong and it is about to be a total tong war on the streets of Chinatown! That’s also about the time Li Yong (Joe Taslim, The Night Comes For Us) shows up and we get a brief rematch between Ah Sahm and Li Yong, who as a reminder is the right hand man to Ah Sahm’s sister, Mai Ling aka the boss of the Long Zi! But that’s when Big Bill (Kieran Bew) and the rest of the police force (or Bulls as they are known by the residents of Chinatown show up and break the whole thing up.
- Enter the Dacascos: As if Warrior returning for a third season was not enough to get me excited, the news that the one and only Mark Dacascos (of Only the Strong and Drive fame) was joining the cast only poured gasoline on the fire. Dacascos’ plays Kong Pak, the leader of a tong that had good relations with the Long Zi in the past, thanks to a strong friendship Kong Pak has with Li Yong and a tong that will now join the Long Zi and pledge their loyalty to Mai Ling (Dianne Doan), with Kong serving as a trusted member of Mai Ling’s council. The “merger” was just one of the strategic moves Mai Ling orchestrates in this episode as she makes it abundantly clear that she wants to expand her power well beyond Chinatown… Kong Pak was not the only new character introduced in the episode, acting Mayor Buckley (Langley Kirkwood) has named a new Chief of Police and it’s not Bill O’Hara, instead it is Col. Benjamin Atwood (Neels Clasen). Atwood cleaned up New York City’s Chinatown and Buckley, who is looking to officially be elected mayor of San Francisco in the upcoming special election, feels bringing Atwood in shows the voters of San Francisco that he is serious about the Chinatown problem. This decision does not sit well with “Big Bill”, who was banking on the promotion to get him out of Chinatown and back with his wife and kids… Buckley tells Bill he can fall in line or resign.
- Business is Not Booming: While things are on the upswing for Mai Ling and the Long Zi, the same can not be said for Young Jun and the Hop Wei. With the police presence growing in Chinatown and enforcing all sorts of ordinances that are causing Chinatown merchants on Hop Wei turf to close up shop. Now simple economics will tell you if the merchants aren’t brining in any money, they have no protection money to pay the Hop Wei. The new climate in Chinatown is putting a lot of pressure on Young Jun, not to mention the fact that he is still reeling from the revelation that his Hop Wei brother Ah Sahm, is the actual brother of his rival, Mai Ling. But before the end of the episode things may be looking up for the Hop Wei… Going off a tip from Chao (Hoon Lee), Young Jun, Ah Sahm and Hong pay a visit to some guys on the docks that had recently purchased some guns from Chao and who weren’t all that respectful about it. While Chao was there earlier to conduct business he noticed a large amount of money, so Chao figured he could get a little revenge on those guys and help the Hop Wei out with their cash flow problem at the same time. But after dispatching of the disrespectful assholes they find no money… they find something better… a printing press and the plates to make money… as Chao’s dad always said “The best way to make money is to make money” …a fantastic way to end Episode 1!
And just like that I am sucked back in to San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 1800s and eagerly anticipating the next episode, Since Max decided to overdeliver and dropped the first three episodes of Season 3 today, I won’t even have to wait long. Stay tuned for some upcoming Bonus Posts this weekend as I cover Episodes 2 and 3 and I’ll be back next Thursday with my coverage of Episode 4.
But now let’s use these Bonus Bullet Points to ask some questions…
- Will Leary Become Mayor?: I know that weasel Walter Buckley is the most likely to be elected Mayor it’s what he has been aiming for. And I know I have an extreme hatred for Buckley and because of that I really don’t want to see him succeed, so maybe it is wishful thinking that I believe the proud Irishman, Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger), could throw his hat in the mayoral ring. Leary is already a part of the city council and this episode reinforced his “negotiating” skills. If Leary is getting jobs for the Irish they could very well get Leary elected to office.
- Will Ah Toy Leave San Francisco?: Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng) is already splitting her time between her brothel in Chinatown and with her lover Nellie Davenport in Sonoma. But when Nellie talks about investing in more land, Ah Toy considers going in on the deal with her, which prompts Nellie to encourage Ah Toy to move to Sonoma full time.
- Why Didn’t Li Yong Ascend to the Long Zi Throne?: Kong Pak and Li Yong have a chance to catch up and have a drink and Kong Pak poses an interesting question… why was Li Yong passed over for the top spot with the Long Zi. There’s obviously some tension between Young Jun and Ah Sahm on the Hop Wei side, but that single question from Kong proves that things may not be all sunshine and rainbows on the Long Zi side either.
- Will Zing Make His Return in Episode 2?: Dustin Nguyen’s Zing may be the most violent character on a show filled with violent characters. Last we saw him, he was sentenced to death… but also planning his escape from San Quentin.
