If there was a phrase that could summarize Warrior Season 3 Episode 4, it’s the common, almost cliché saying, “You play with fire, you get burnt.”
Many characters played with fire, and when it burned them, the pain was nothing like they had ever experienced.
The search for the fake money plates brought the cops to the doors of the Hop Wei, where they wasted no time in raining hell on the place.
It led to an eventful night for Yan Mi as she crossed more than one boundary, many of which she had never envisioned herself crossing.
Elsewhere, Mai Ling’s attempts to be accepted into the wide society led her directly into police custody after she was accused of a serious crime.
The episode picked up directly after the events of Warrior Season 3 Episode 3, where Sonoma Valley was attacked at night, leading to multiple casualties.
Ah Toy decided to head back to Chinatown because it was home, and she knew how to handle trouble there.
Nellie: Ah Toy, you cannot take these girls back to the brothel. We worked so hard to get them out of there.
Ah Toy: You no protector! You no protect them here. In Chinatown, I can.
Seeing her give up so fast wasn’t particularly thrilling, but maybe there was some wisdom in her decision. If anything, it was expected she would fight more.
We didn’t see the reasoning behind her decision, but there were many factors, including her inability to handle more fights.
Some people come into your life quietly and leave how they came in. Yan Mi cannot be categorized that way.
She came in and won everyone over crudely, but Ah Sahm was in another boat.
In Chinatown, no one thinks about forever.
The conditions do not allow for such luxuries, and Ah Sahm had never allowed himself to think about the future. Yet, here he was with Yan Mi, talking about the past and the future.
Yan Mi had a rough idea of what she would do, but Ah Sahm didn’t. He began seriously considering the possibility of life outside the Tong and Chinatown.
You know, my father isn’t perfect. But he sacrificed everything to bring us here to America. And in spite of how awful it has been, I still really think it’s the land of opportunity. People like us just need to try a little bit harder.
Yan Mi
Was Ah Sahm outgrowing Chinatown in Warrior Season 3?
While searching for easement of pain, Lee stumbled upon what he had spent most of the day searching for — a fake dollar bill.
He and Agent Mosley were very effective as law enforcement because they did the job. Agent Mosley was impressed with Lee because everyone knows if you want to see laziness, hang around cops.
I can see why other cops didn’t like you. You actually work for a living.
Agent Mosley
Dabbling in printing fake currency was something Hop Wei should have never done. But who were they to pass up such a great opportunity?
Everything has consequences, and they would pay dearly.
The new police chief was not messing around; like most men in his force, he was charged with racism. One could almost see the glee on the cops’ faces as they waited for anyone to move a muscle, and they would have a not-so-great excuse to murder them.
Chief Atwood: You have something you wanna say to me, boy?
Young Jun: [speaks in Cantonese]
Chief Atwood: Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
Young Jun: Fuck your mother smelly pussy!
It was scary thinking that Hong might be murdered when he’d just begun to get in touch with a vital part of himself.
It wasn’t clear what his going to an underground queer bar might mean for him because, on the one hand, he was still a mobster — troubles always follows mobsters around — and on the other hand, queer spaces provide safety for people who can not get that in the outside world.
I think I’m gonna like it here.
Hong
Here’s to hoping it’s the latter.
They say when it rains, it pours. The Hop Wei experienced that literally and figuratively.
Rain was falling outside; punches were falling inside. To be beaten how Young Jun was and unable to do anything about it has to be the most humiliating thing for anyone, let alone a tong boss.
The police hauled Young Jun to prison like a common criminal — which he is –, but his station was above most common criminals.
Ah Sahm and Yan Mi tried to get the printing machine and the plates as far as possible, but the rain was not making it easy. There was low visibility, the horse was stubborn, and the place crawled with cops.
You play with fire, and you might get burnt. Yan Mi was burnt.
Her dad had done everything in his power to shield his children from the chaos of the outside world, and if I were to bet, Yan Mi had never done anything violent in her life, let alone anything criminal. No, hitting her mouthy brother on Warrior Season 3 Episode 1 doesn’t count.
Yet, within a few days, weeks at most, she had printed fake money and assaulted a police officer.
She was changing too fast.
The highlight of her night was when she and Ah Sahm had sex. It had been building up since they met, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise. The surprise would be how she would feel about it the following day.
The night didn’t end so well for Mai Ling.
One had to admire her ambition, but the odds were stacked against her. She was a Chinese Woman in 19th century America. If a woman was not to be taken seriously, a Chinese woman was to be ignored altogether.
And to women, she was, but to men, all they saw was a sex object. All Bernard saw was a sexual object.
Crimes — or accusations — relating to sex were taken with a degree of seriousness that one would find laughable today.
Being accused of running a brothel was enough for a judge to take away your property. Isn’t that ridiculous?
Being accused of solicitation was even worse because “you were corrupting otherwise good men and women.” And just like that, Mai Ling was dragged to jail.
Events on “In Chinatown, No One Thinks About Forever” teased an entirely new direction for these characters’ journeys. There is so much that could happen.
Will Ah Toy agree to help Nellie fight Douglas now that he’d taken her land? Will this be their common ground with Mai Ling and Young Jun in jail?
Are we about to witness a war between Hop Wei and the police because there is no way Young Jun will let that beating go?
There is much to look forward to, and we can’t wait to discover everything. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out our Warrior quotes, and let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.
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