Showing us Jacob's perspective leading up to Mayor Blake's death and then tracing back his movements to where the previous episode left off, as well as attempting to give him depth by showing us his mother, was unnecessary. The episode should've continued where the previous episode left off. The only reason we were shown his perspective, and then, a little bit into his life with his mother, was because he was going to be killed and written out of the show by the writers. It was an attempt to try and make you become attached to him. To make his death more impactful. And, well, for me, it didn't really work. Don't get me wrong, his death was impactful, alright. That whole situation was impactful and a little disturbing. But he was a fictional character. And he was one that I didn't care about. Hell, his entire purpose besides being Penelope's manservant was probably because the writers planned for him to be a disposable character. They may not have thought of how to do it back when they created him, but I feel like they already planned to dispose of him the moment they created him.
And there was a minor inconsistency that I noticed. Well, it may not have been an inconsistency. But when Jacob was seen by that one policeman and ran away, that struck me as odd. That policeman and the other policemen with him would've reported that they may have found who they're looking for to everyone else, and all of them probably would've started looking around that specific area, narrowing down their search area. I guess that did happen because those policemen did show up to look, but it happened way too late. You'd think it would've happened immediately. But if that were the case, there's no way they wouldn't have found him. And I guess that's why that inconsistency was there. He wasn't supposed to be found that soon, for some reason, even though he was found, anyway; I guess because he just had to go to Chao and then be betrayed by him.
There was also something that I found to be a little ridiculous. After Jacob went through that square space after being spotted and while he was being chased, one of the policemen went to it, touched the metal gate, and said something along the lines, "No one here." What? How about you open it up and check everywhere inside that area? Hello? I can't be the only one who noticed that and thought it was ridiculous. Come on, it was ridiculous.
Yet another episode where Ah Sahm is barely in it. But he was more prominent and significant in this one. I wonder if that has something to do with Andrew Koji not being available. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it, but the way the previous episode was structured with the scenes he was in and the way this episode was structured with the scenes he's in feel and felt more like having scenes with him for the sake of it rather than Andrew actually having been available for more but the writers choosing to go with what they went with if that makes any sense. Either I'm thinking too much into it, or Andrew wasn't available as much for the filming of the previous episode and this episode. Or maybe there was a rush to film, and that's why Ah Sahm was barely in the previous episode and this episode.
The score used a little bit during the brief fight sequence where Ah Sahm got the nunchucks, and then used more in the following fight sequence where he's fighting more with it, was great. It reminded me a lot of the type of scores you'd hear in a "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" game. It sounded very similar, at least. I don't think it necessarily fit those scenes, but it was something nice to hear.
The fight choreography in this episode was fantastic. And the final move that Li Yong did a few seconds before the episode was at 32 minutes was great. The fight sequence with Ah Sahm using the nunchucks was just as good - I'm referring to the one after the one where he got the nunchucks. But it was a little cheesy. The people on the balconies watching and getting excited, even though their lives are/were in danger. The final demonstration Ah Sahm did with the nunchucks after he beat everyone. Those aspects were really cheesy.
Furthermore, there was something slightly disjointed about that fight sequence. Andrew Koji's movements looked very stiff when he started doing that thing with the nunchucks that Bruce Lee did. And imagine my surprise when I just googled him and found out that he's a martial artist. No offense to him, but I guess his skills in that regard mostly means that he's very athletic. Is there a sports aspect of martial arts as a whole and a more serious aspect of martial arts, and Andrew's trained in the former? Because I feel like the difference between his fighting skills as Ah Sahm versus Joe Taslim as Li Yong and Dustin Nguyen as Zing is very noticeable. The difference between him and Joe Taslim, Dustin Nguyen, and other martial artists must be that they have a lot more experience than he does, or the type of martial arts training that he did was different from what they did. Or something. But I guess having smooth movements with nunchucks when you're doing something like that with them is very different from being a martial artist.
Why do I feel like Lee is going to join Ah Sahm's side? More specifically, the Hop Wei's side. He's getting more antagonistic towards Bill, and he's definitely getting angrier at the racism and discrimination towards the Chinese. I'm not necessarily saying that he may join the Hop Wei, but that would be even better than taking their side, the side of the Chinese. I'm sure it's likely that a white man joining a Chinese tong has never happened in history, and if that's the route the writers go with Lee, it wouldn't be realistic. But, you have to admit, it'll be cool and interesting if the writers do that with Lee. And it would be even better if Ah Sahm or Young Jun have him dress like them, too. Imagine how cool Lee would look in a Hop Wei suit.
And while I'm not 100% sure about the real-life history behind some of the stuff in this show, I'd imagine the writers care enough to try and not stray too far from it. And Lee joining the Hop Wei would definitely count as straying too far away from history and realism. Or whatever. Still, this is a TV show. Even if inspiration was taken from certain historical stuff for some of the things and aspects in this show, you don't have to adhere to it too seriously. Plus, since the prospect of Ah Sahm teaching people how to fight was brought up four episodes ago, and considering that was something unprecedented that happened with Bruce Lee; a Chinese man teaching white men how to fight: wouldn't Lee be the perfect, first pupil of Ah Sahm for him to teach? I mean, come on. That would be pretty cool. Just imagine it. Lee getting taught by Ah Sahm and slowly but surely learning and then beginning to fight similarly to Ah Sahm.
Anyway, at least this episode was better and more enjoyable than the previous episode was. It was probably one of if not the only episode that wasn't self-contained and untethered from the main plot that was actually almost as enjoyable as the two self-contained episodes: the sixth episode of this season; and the fifth episode of the first season. And that probably has a lot to do with the fact that there was only one plot thread going on, for the most part. For this show, that's an accomplishment. The main plot and supporting subplots are the weakest aspects of this show. I hope the finale is just as enjoyable, but it still won't make up for the main plot and supporting subplots being the weakest aspects.
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