The Checklist: Warrior (S1 Ep9) “Chinese Boxing”

The Cinemax series Warrior had been on my radar for quite some time prior to its premiere back in April of this year. Working for a site that is devoted to the genre of action entertainment, I am always on the lookout for movies or series that I think will be of interest to the readers of Bulletproof Action. Considering the series was based on the writings of Bruce Lee, there was no way Warrior was not going to receive some sort of coverage on this site.

But Warrior quickly went from “good site content” to my Friday night addiction. My anticipation for the next episode has increased weekly, but my anticipation for the ninth episode of season one, entitled “Chinese Boxing”, was off the charts. And now it is time to see if Episode 9 lived up to the hype inside my head…

#1- Were there any quality fight scenes?

The duel between Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) representing the Hop Wei and Li Yong (Joe Taslim) representing the Long Zi was set up perfectly in Episode 8, after the bloodbath that occurred after the Hop Wei and Long Zi tongs waged war on the streets of Chinatown… The head of the Hop Wei, Father Jun (Perry Yung) agrees to meet with the new head of the Long Zi, Mai Ling (Dianne Doan) and the two come to a compromise, each will pick a fighter to represent their respective tongs, if the Hop Wei win things they will continue to control the running of molasses in Chinatown, but if the Long Zi win, they will be able to get in on the molasses game.

To call this duel a quality fight scene would be doing it an injustice… as it was so much more. The high stakes storyline wise made this fight to the death huge… and the fact that Chinatown is a ghost town as EVERYONE wants to see this fight only added to the magnitude.

But even without the benefit of the backstory, if I was going to try to sell a person on this series I would show them this scene, not just because of the quality fight and the brutality that is on display but the energy that radiates from the screen, and the ambiance that is created with an amazing set. It is so easy to escape into the world that the Warrior production staff has created for their actors to play in. 1/1

#2- Is the romantic relationship between Ah Sahm and Penelope really over?

Another key moment in the prior episode was the realization by Penelope (Joanna Vanderham) that her romance with Ah Sahm really had no future. Here she was the mayor’s wife, she couldn’t just up and leave and then there’s the gangster Ah Sahm, who she believes sooner or later will end up dead. So she abruptly ends it and sends Ah Sahm on his way.

But… when Penelope finds out that Ah Sahm is fighting in a duel to the death, she makes her way to Chinatown and is horrified when it appears Ah Sahm is about to have his neck snapped…. so obviously she still has feelings for the guy from the other side of the tracks. A point that is reiterated when she checks on him while he is convalescing after the fight. So to answer my own question, NO the romance is not over and that makes for some interesting possibilities to come. 2/2

#3- Were there any notable guest stars?

Being that this is the first season of the show, Warrior has not relied on bringing in guest stars too much as they had plenty of regulars to establish this season… however “Chinese Boxing” is a notable exception.

At the end of the show we see Zing played by Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street and No Escape No Return) representing the Fung Hai tong send a message to Officer Bill O’Hara by beating the holy hell out of Bill’s partner Lee… the Fung Hai have obviously not forgotten about Bill’s unpaid gambling debt. Nguyen had appeared briefly in a few other episodes, but this was by far his most impactful appearance and he’ll continue to make an impact in Season 2 when he becomes a series regular.

But Nguyen wasn’t the only notable guest star… as Ah Sahm is laying in bed clinging to life after the war he was in with Li Yong… he is having flashbacks to his younger days in China, when he first started getting into fights and getting his ass kicked and the man who trained him to fight so he would stop getting his ass kicked. Ah Sahm’s Sifu was played by none other than stuntman/actor James Lew (Midnight Man and Balance of Power). 3/3

#4- Is Walter Buckley still the biggest weasel on the show?

In a show filled with murderers (nearly all the main characters have killed someone at this point), drug dealers, whores, gangsters, shady businessmen and cheating spouses… the Walter Buckley character still stands out as the worst of the worst, because while he never directly does anything he is constantly stirring shit up. I really hope somebody knocks him on his ass. 4/4

#5- Can the season finale top “Chinese Boxing”?

“Chinese Boxing” could have easily been the series finale… but it wasn’t which makes me believe based on the track record Warrior has developed that they have something big in store for next week’s season finale.

What is next for Ah Sahm now that his Hop Wei days are over? Is his bromance with Young Jun really over or do we have another Penelope situation on our hands? Speaking of Penelope, why do I feel like we are going to find out she is pregnant? And while there is still tension between the Hop Wei and the Long Zi, will the Irish union/mob led by Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger) end up bringing them together? And what about Big Bill and his issues with the Fung Hai… oh and the unsolved sword murders?

There’s enough meat on the bone that I am fully expecting a spectacular finale next week and I guess we will soon find out if my prediction holds up. 5/5

Final Score = 5/5 (100%) Warrior has been a quality series from the word go, so another perfect score is really no surprise.