As the episode begins, Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) and Young Jun (Jason Tobin) join Hong (Chen Tang) who tells them about the violin man. According to Hong, the violin man’s hangs got destroyed from fighting so he couldn’t play the violin anymore. Instead, he would use their strings to choke people out. Hong says his chain is his trademark but Ah Sahm and Young Jun do not understand that. We see that they have killed many members of the Fung Hai. After that, we join a makeshift hospital and watch as a group of workers saw off a man’s leg. That man, Walter Buckley (Langley Kirkwood), wakes up after reliving the nightmare. He checks his leg before learning that the police are there to see him. He goes with Russell Flannagan (David Butler) and they check Samuel’s body.

Penny hasn’t made a statement yet and Russell thought it was best not to press her. They turn their attention to Penelope (Joanna Vanderham) and tell her she’ll need to talk since she has been in a struggle. She says Samuel was drunk when he attacked her and she was defending herself. Russell wants to know who hit Samuel in the back of the head with the poker but Penny says she doesn’t know because it happens so quickly. Her sister, Sophie (Celine Buckens), tries to come to her aid but she was thrown against a wall. Russell wants to know who it was if it wasn’t Sophie. Then, Sophie admits it was Jacob who killed Samuel Blake but Penny denies it. Buckley warns her that someone is going to be arrested for Samuel’s murder and it can be her or the man who actually killed him.

He tries to place the blame on Sophie before asking Russell to search the house and find the Chinese man. They’re worried about having chaos on the streets so Walter says they need to stay ahead of it. Walter suggests pulling police off of the other patrols and Russell reminds him he is the acting mayor so it would be his decision. He wants to get it started to make it seem they’re on top of things even if they’re not. Next, Young Jun suggests burning the place down to send a message but Ah Sahm says flying their colors is the message and it is one Mai Ling will have to live with every day. She’ll look weak as long as she doesn’t retaliate but she can’t because of the Six Companies. Jun agrees to try this but he doesn’t want to maintain the stalemate forever. Mai Ling (Dianne Doan) watches from a distance and tells Li Yong (Joe Taslim) that she underestimated him.

She believes it was strategic, personal, and Ah Sahm is daring her to break the treaty. Li didn’t think they would act so quickly after Zing so Mai Ling says he wasn’t looking at the bigger picture. Mai Ling believes there are other avenues and people who aren’t concerned about their treaties. Young Jun returns to his father with drunks and tells him it is a celebration because they took out the Fung Hai and screwed the Long Zii without breaking the treaty. Father Jun wonders how many men he lost in the process. Young Jun says he at least did something and Father Jun admits he did and says it was likely a heck of a scrap. Father wonders if there was a smarter way to do it without losing men. Bill O’Hara (Kieran Bew) and Richard Lee (Tom Weston-Jones) join other police officers as they’re briefed about Samuel’s death and are told that Chinatown is closed.

Wanted posters for Jacob are handed out to the officers. Bill tells Richard that it should be a good show since Buckley pulled in all cops. Bill asks Richard if he is even up for this but Richard says he believes they’ll pin it on the first China man they find when push comes to shove. They argue before Richard tells Bill he spoke to Timmons’ widow. Now, he believes Bill had a problem with the Fung Hai so he framed Zing. Bill tells Richard to tell his voice down and Zing deserved to go down anyway. Richard reminds him that good men died before Bill tells him that the world isn’t black and white. Richard says he at least knows where to draw the line so Bill asks which side killing your kin falls on. They get into a physical fight and Bill ends up on his back. It is broken up seconds later.

Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger) greets his men and learns that William’s family is hungry. He gives him money but William wants a job like he promised. Dylan tries to tell the men that he is out there fighting for them day in and day out but the guys are starting to lose their patience. Dylan believes they’ll be back to work any day now since the mayor has taken their side and will be forcing the coolies out. Then, he tells William he should try if he thinks he can do better but William shoots back by saying a politician’s promises won’t put bread on his family’s table. Sophie arrives and Dylan notices that her face is damaged.

He takes her to the pub and learns about Blake. She goes on to tell him about Jacob (Kenneth Fok) killing Samuel Blake. He says the mayor is dead and someone has to swing for it so she did the right thing. He wonders who will be put in change while Walter is sworn in and Samuel’s blood is cleaned from the floor. The police department searches Chinatown for Jacob. As they walk past Dylan’s pub, the men cheer them on. Jacob watches from a hiding place while the police search for him outside. Walter takes over his office before consulting with Flannagan about the search for Jacob. He tells the Chief of Police that he doesn’t have long if he wants to maintain his position. Buckley orders curfews and roadblocks to prevent anyone from entering or leaving Chinatown without speaking to a cop.

He wants the entire force on the street regardless of the cost. When Buckley steps outside, he finds Dylan there waiting for him. Dylan wonders if he has enough men to find the man who killed Samuel Blake and he offers to tip the scales in Buckley’s favor. He suggests deputizing one working man for every cop they have looking for the killer until the search is over. Dylan offers to give him the sharpest men he has for 3 dollars a day. Buckley admits the city’s budget won’t accommodate it so Dylan drops his price to 2 dollars. Buckley doesn’t think Dylan will be able to intimidate him but Dylan thinks it might change now that he has more to lose. Dylan wants to make sure he sticks with Blake’s promise to help the working men before Buckley says he put all of Blake’s speeches in his mouth and says he might have to use Dylan’s crude tactics down the road.

Bill and Harrison search a brothel and run into Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng) who says the man is not there. She is worried that the cops will hurt her business so Bill gives her the bad news about the curfews. Bill approaches Ah Sahm outside and wonders if he remembers him. Bill saw the beating Ah Sahm took and takes credit for stopping it. Ah Sahm doesn’t thank him before Bill begins telling him about the murder of Blake and how it doesn’t bode well for his people. Ah Sahm is asked if he knows Jacob who was Penny’s servant. Later that night, Buckley enters Chinatown and meets with Mai Ling. Buckley wants to find Jacob but Mai admits that won’t be easy. Buckley warns her that failing to help will mean the end of her opium supply and the beginning of a new era in Chinatown in which the Long Zii are no longer immune to prosecution.

Mai wants something in exchange for finding Jacob. She wants her enemies to be his enemies and his cops to help crush the Hop Wei. Buckley doesn’t say if they have a deal but he tells her to find the coolie. Nellie Davenport (Miranda Raison) visits Ah Toy at her brothel. Ah Toy admits it was kind of her to come check on her and considers returning with Nellie before officers enter. The officers try to get Nellie to leave so they can perform a surprise inspection. Nellie claims they can’t barge in there without a proper warranty but they slap her across the face. Ah Toy attacks the officers and they fight back. Nellie begins moving as Ah Toy tries to retreat upstairs. Ah Toy is sliced across the shoulder before being knocked out. Nellie stabs one of the soldiers with a bottle before he throws her down and Ah Toy takes care of the other man.

Ah Toy kills him and goes back upstairs so the other officer follows her. She grabs the sword and tries to take care of him. Nellie gets up in time to see Ah Toy walking down the stairs with blood all over her. She tells Nellie that she must leave but Nellie believes she needs a doctor. Ah Toy tells her to go because she doesn’t belong there and it isn’t a place for a white woman. Wang Chao (Hoon Lee) is targeted next. Bill gets involved and stops the officer harassing Wang. Bill encourages Wang to help him find Jacob but Wang thinks he has done enough since he helped him get Zing and the Fung Hai. Wang says he is a friend of the police. Bill tells him to stay off of the street and that he is sorry for shutting him down.

Later that night, Frank sits in bed and hears something in his home. He gets up and goes downstairs before finding blood on the wall. Then, he finds Ah Toy sitting at his kitchen table. She accuses him of trying to kill her but he denies it. He is shocked when he finds the heads of two men sitting on his shelf. She tries to force him to sign the paperwork and warns that he will die if he doesn’t. He promises that he would never hurt her before she threatens to kill his children. She wants him to sign and go far away where she’ll never see him again. He signs the paperwork before we join Wang Chao who finds that someone has been in his building. He grabs his gun and begins searching the property until he finds Jacob hiding in a corner. Jacob pleads for help as the episode ends.

 

Warrior Review

Overall, this was a better episode of Warrior. Although Samuel’s murder seemed forced, I think it’ll work out in the long run. We have new blood running the show in Walter Buckley and that should bring new life to the show. Dylan has some good ideas but it seems he is mostly just a romantic side story right now.

That may change if Buckley decides to employ his services in tracking down Jacob. If that happens, the next few episodes could be chaotic and bloody. I am not sure what is going to happen between Ah Toy and Nellie but that relationship might be short-lived. The episode was better than the last one and it did a good job of possibly setting up a fantastic ending to the season. It scores an 8 out of 10. You can find previous recaps of Warrior on Reel Mockery.