A superb episode with lots of development and contribution to the storyline plots with stellar final moments.
The level of acting never ceases to amaze me!
The level of acting never ceases to amaze me!
2 Reviews
[9.5] Doing what to you Sir?!
cjonesas9 July 2021
This episode was still entertaining, but it felt jarring to me.
LegendaryFang564 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Leadership over the Hop Wei tong has finally been "transferred." And even though it wasn't intended, it's been a long time coming. There has been a lot of underestimating going on from a few characters. Characters who underestimate Young Jun. I don't remember all of the instances, but it's happened before. And the ones I remember are when Mai Ling didn't even consider him as the one who may take control over the tong in the scene with her and Li Yong at the end of one of the previous episodes, only thinking of Ah Sahm; and when Ah Toy mentioned, "Like Young Jun would do any better?" He's probably been aware of such sentiments from people but doesn't really care. But now, he's proven them wrong and WILL prove them wrong, I think.
I'm not interested in the plotline with Ah Toy. It's boring and uninteresting. If you do, and a lot of people probably do, good for you, I guess. I'm not. And I'm guessing all roads will end up leading back to the police going after Ah Toy. That scene with her and Patterson a few episodes ago where he told her that he was questioned, to which she told him that it wouldn't be a problem, still hasn't gone anywhere. And Lee's quest of looking more into Patterson's business hasn't been brought up again other than mentioning to Bill that he hasn't found anything yet in the scene where he was hacking away at the carcass a few episodes ago.
But now, it seems like that plotline is back up and running again. Patterson has been brought back into the mix and is employing the services of two butchers to go after Ah Toy, I'm presuming. She's getting ahead of herself and continued her hobby of killing people with a sword, and Bill and the Chinatown squad are aware of it, following the arrest and trial of the supposed culprit, Zing. And considering Lee's discovery that Bill likely planted Timmons' watch at Zing's place, it's likely that Bill probably never bought into Chao's suggestion that Zing is The Chinese Swordsman. Of course, the main reason he planted the watch was probably that he knew the sword wouldn't be enough to put Zing away, to free himself of Zing's grasp, on him and his family. But again, I couldn't care less about that and where it'll end up going by the finale.
The scene with Mai Ling and Li Yong nearing the end was a little odd. I don't want to call it weird, but it was something. First and foremost, it gave me major BDSM vibes. Not only the use of the collar but one of the things she said, too. She mentioned trust. And, well, trust is undoubtedly a big, important thing when it comes to BDSM. But it was more than that. She was probably subtlety referring to trust from a wider perspective. Specifically, when Li Yong went behind her back and conspired with Chao to deal with Zing. And she said it herself: she is still angry at him for that. Whether or not she killed him was left in the air, left ambiguous, on purpose. I don't think he's dead. She probably used that scenario as a way to vent out her anger, something she probably has the temptation to do. But I think it was more so to combat her impulses, her impulse to kill him because of all the power she possesses now, and in a way that allows her to capitalize upon the nature of the impulse but not the impulse itself. It's like she was getting off on the possibility and power she had in that situation; the roleplay, so to speak. So, with that being said, I think Li Yong is still alive. I'm probably wrong and so off, aren't I? Lol.
I'm assuming that Samuel is dead. Even if he survived that and merely passed out, he'd quickly die with an injury like that. I don't know how to feel about that. Say what you want about him, but he was one of the more interesting characters. And one of the aspects that made it so was probably the performance by Christian McKay. At this point, Leary is probably going to be written out of the show, too. As I've said before in a previous review or two of previous episodes, I'm aware that Ah Sahm and Leary will have their rematch in the finale. So, now that Samuel has seemingly been written out of the show, I wouldn't be surprised if it'll be the same with Leary in the finale. If so, I don't like it. The decision to write Samuel out was disappointing enough, especially because he was one of the better characters. It'll be much more disappointing if Leary will be written out, too.
Honestly, after the previous episode, this one felt jarring and unfulfilling. When an episode of this show is free from the main plot and the subplots, it really is way more enjoyable. I think the writers are biting off way more than they can chew with all the plotlines and all of that. At times, both the pacing and editing feels off.
Nevertheless, each episode still manages to be entertaining, even though I don't care as much about what's happening. But, if it wasn't obvious already, I much prefer the previous episode and the one in Nevada in the first season; episodes like that.
I'm not interested in the plotline with Ah Toy. It's boring and uninteresting. If you do, and a lot of people probably do, good for you, I guess. I'm not. And I'm guessing all roads will end up leading back to the police going after Ah Toy. That scene with her and Patterson a few episodes ago where he told her that he was questioned, to which she told him that it wouldn't be a problem, still hasn't gone anywhere. And Lee's quest of looking more into Patterson's business hasn't been brought up again other than mentioning to Bill that he hasn't found anything yet in the scene where he was hacking away at the carcass a few episodes ago.
But now, it seems like that plotline is back up and running again. Patterson has been brought back into the mix and is employing the services of two butchers to go after Ah Toy, I'm presuming. She's getting ahead of herself and continued her hobby of killing people with a sword, and Bill and the Chinatown squad are aware of it, following the arrest and trial of the supposed culprit, Zing. And considering Lee's discovery that Bill likely planted Timmons' watch at Zing's place, it's likely that Bill probably never bought into Chao's suggestion that Zing is The Chinese Swordsman. Of course, the main reason he planted the watch was probably that he knew the sword wouldn't be enough to put Zing away, to free himself of Zing's grasp, on him and his family. But again, I couldn't care less about that and where it'll end up going by the finale.
The scene with Mai Ling and Li Yong nearing the end was a little odd. I don't want to call it weird, but it was something. First and foremost, it gave me major BDSM vibes. Not only the use of the collar but one of the things she said, too. She mentioned trust. And, well, trust is undoubtedly a big, important thing when it comes to BDSM. But it was more than that. She was probably subtlety referring to trust from a wider perspective. Specifically, when Li Yong went behind her back and conspired with Chao to deal with Zing. And she said it herself: she is still angry at him for that. Whether or not she killed him was left in the air, left ambiguous, on purpose. I don't think he's dead. She probably used that scenario as a way to vent out her anger, something she probably has the temptation to do. But I think it was more so to combat her impulses, her impulse to kill him because of all the power she possesses now, and in a way that allows her to capitalize upon the nature of the impulse but not the impulse itself. It's like she was getting off on the possibility and power she had in that situation; the roleplay, so to speak. So, with that being said, I think Li Yong is still alive. I'm probably wrong and so off, aren't I? Lol.
I'm assuming that Samuel is dead. Even if he survived that and merely passed out, he'd quickly die with an injury like that. I don't know how to feel about that. Say what you want about him, but he was one of the more interesting characters. And one of the aspects that made it so was probably the performance by Christian McKay. At this point, Leary is probably going to be written out of the show, too. As I've said before in a previous review or two of previous episodes, I'm aware that Ah Sahm and Leary will have their rematch in the finale. So, now that Samuel has seemingly been written out of the show, I wouldn't be surprised if it'll be the same with Leary in the finale. If so, I don't like it. The decision to write Samuel out was disappointing enough, especially because he was one of the better characters. It'll be much more disappointing if Leary will be written out, too.
Honestly, after the previous episode, this one felt jarring and unfulfilling. When an episode of this show is free from the main plot and the subplots, it really is way more enjoyable. I think the writers are biting off way more than they can chew with all the plotlines and all of that. At times, both the pacing and editing feels off.
Nevertheless, each episode still manages to be entertaining, even though I don't care as much about what's happening. But, if it wasn't obvious already, I much prefer the previous episode and the one in Nevada in the first season; episodes like that.
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