Anything Short Of A Blow To The Head – As this episode begins, Special Agents Moseley and Donaldson with the United States Secret Service stop a carriage. The men explain that they don’t load the cargo. If there is a paycheck in it, they don’t ask questions. When they try to search the wagon, the men begin shooting. Donaldson is shot while Moseley manages to shoot the other men. Moseley checks the carriage before handcuffing the man inside a building. He tells the man that his friends were printing counterfeit bills in there. Someone took the press and the plates for the bills.

The man tells Moseley that everything was there when he picked up the money. He begins telling Moseley about the Chinese fella who was there. After the intro, Young Jun (Jason Tobin) and the others agree that the counterfeit bills aren’t good enough. They argue about whether they should bring in outsiders. Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) suggests they can bring in someone local who they can control. He agrees with Wang Chao (Hoon Lee) that they can’t do this on their own, but it is Young Jun’s call. Young Jun tells Ah Sahm he wants him on this before leaving. Ah Sahm admits he may have someone in mind. Benjamin Atwood (Neels Clasen) raids a Chinese establishment for being in violation of the Cubic Air Ordinance.

He explains that the property must be vacated by order of the mayor. Bill O’Hara (Kieran Bew) sees them roughing up a man so he asks if this is necessary. Benjamin believes it is justified because he threatened an officer of the law. He yells that it is Bill’s job to follow his orders. Walter Buckley (Langley Kirkwood) reads about Mr. Thayer in the newspaper. He asks why they’d even bother with a campaign with press like that. The state attorney for the late Mayor Blake has been questioning recent expenses. Walter believes Blake and his wife would’ve wanted him to keep his legacy alive if his wife hadn’t fallen ill. They better hope she doesn’t recover anytime soon because Walter will need all of Blake’s money to mount a winning campaign against Mr. Thayer.

In front of the media, Walter tells Chief Atwood that he did excellent work today. A man shows up at the pub and speaks to Abigail (Gaosi Raditholo) about finding Richard Lee. She kills the man before Richard (Tom Weston-Jones) attacks his friend. Once they kill him, Abigail tells Richard to lock up while she gets Jack. She believes he’ll take care of a couple of dead white men in his bar. Mai Ling (Dianne Doan) speaks to Kong Pak (Mark Dacascos) about how he is settling in. They begin talking about the Hop Wei as Mai Ling says Li Yong thinks they’re being too aggressive. Kong says Li Yong is a great fighter because he knows when to strike and when to hold his ground. Young Jun isn’t half the leader his father was so the Hop Wei’s fortunes have suffered him his leadership.

Kong recommends letting them bleed out naturally. Mai admits that patience isn’t her strong suit. Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger) meets Merriweather (Andre Jacobs). He complains that he hired the Irish men, but they’ve given him nothing but grief. The Donahue boys beat up two skilled laborers today. Dylan immediately scolds the boys. He learns they’re not the only ones who don’t want to work with the Chinese. Dylan gets rid of them because there are other Irish men wanting those jobs. He warns the others before leaving. Benjamin Atwood approaches Bill to tell him he is trying to accomplish something here, but he can only do that if his chain of command is strong. Benjamin says there is plenty of work for a man with his experience.

Big Bill doesn’t seem eager to leave though. When Benjamin returns to his office, he is introduced to Agent Edmund Moseley. Edmund wants to see the personnel files of the division assigned solely to Chinatown because he will need some of them to assist him. Benjamin tells him that whatever his business is there has nothing to do with him or his men. Edmond reveals he came as a courtesy because he doesn’t need his permission or blessing. He has already taken a holding cell and an office. Ah Sahm visits the man Young Jun harassed previously to say they’re having some trouble with a printing press. He thinks he can clear his debt if he can make it work. Ah Sahm leaves without getting help. The family argues about whether they should’ve helped.

Hong (Chen Tang) and Young Jun hang out at a pub. When Hong grabs some drinks, he begins listening to the singer. Young Jun wants to get out of there because the place is bad luck. Hong looks at the singer, Marcel, once again before leaving. Jack helps Abigail and Richard deal with the bodies. Jack tells Richard to let them rob him next time because Abigail could be killed for shooting white men. Jack makes it clear that he doesn’t like Richard who says he hides it well. He suggests he’ll grow on him in time. Jack finds one of the reward flyers for Richard. Meanwhile, Richard tells Abigail that they didn’t have to do it that way. She argues he’d be on his way to Georgia if she hadn’t pulled the trigger.

Richard worries others will find him so he thinks they should get out of town. Abigail doesn’t want to leave because she doubts she could run a bar anywhere else. She questions whether she is worth the risk of staying. Li Yong (Joe Taslim) finds Mai Ling reading the duck newspaper. She tells him that Muchen reached out and asked to meet. She was surprised because Three Brothers are one of the last Tongs to resist joining them. Li Yong doesn’t like Muchen. Mai Ling thinks he’ll change once he answers to Li Yong, but Li says Zing didn’t. Mai tells him to take the meeting and bring Kong Pak. If he thinks Muchen is serious, she’ll meet him. Ah Sahm speaks to Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng) about being survivors.

Ah Toy tells him that the kids worship him. Ah Sahm asks about Lai. Ah Toy explains that she plants and smiles before asking about Ah Sahm. She isn’t sure she’ll ever pick up a sword again because she believes she might have something with Nellie in Sonoma. Dylan tells Walter that he wants him to outlaw Chinese labor for once and for all. Walter thinks he’ll be able to do that once he wins the election. He warns Dylan that the Irish lose if he loses because Thayer supports Chinese labor. Dylan doesn’t like hearing that he’ll have to trust Walter. Dylan warns him that he doesn’t want to screw him on this. The printer’s daughter, Yan Mi, approaches Ah Sahm on the street to ask about the broken press. She admits she wants what he promised.

Once she checks it out, Yan Mi confirms it isn’t broken although they’re not using it correctly. They need to learn how to fine-tune it to the bills they’re trying to print. Yan is confident she can do better. She knows what they need and where to get it, but she wants them to leave her father’s shop alone. Young Jun wants them to take her to get what she needs. Dylan meets with Mr. Pierce who says the cornerstone of his business is the infrastructure or the railway lines. Unfortunately, only a certain number of manufacturers can provide him with the quality of steel he needs. One of Pierce’s competitors is using his purchasing power to strong-arm these manufacturers into making him their sole client.

Pierce wants Dylan to pay the man a visit and make him play fair. He needs many men, but he can’t hire them if there is nothing to build. Bill visits Lucy to tell her that he needs his family. Lucy says the family will come home when everything is settled. Before Bill leaves, Horace asks him if anything would ever consider him quitting the force entirely He recommends Bill come to work for him at the factory. At the pub, men talk about Dylan screwing them over. Bill joins Dylan who begins arguing with the men in question. Dylan is approached by a boy who tells him he has a problem. He tells Connor to bring his brother before walking out. Dylan ends up beating them up. Douglas visits Nellie Davenport (Miranda Raison).

He wants to sample what it is he is buying. Douglas is impressed with the wine. He offers to buy her out entirely because the federal government wants to build a railroad up the coast of California. Their survey identified this valley as being an ideal route. Douglas would like to see her profit from this. He warns her that the government will use eminent domain to take it for pennies on the dollar. She asks Douglas why he’d want to buy a property that he can’t keep or sell. Douglas admits he is building the railroad since he was awarded the contract a few weeks ago. Nellie says he can find another route if he really wants to help her. Once he says he tried, Nellie makes it clear that the land is not for sale.

Douglas says he’ll do what he can for her before leaving. Douglas thinks she’ll come around. Ah Sahm tells Young Jun that Yan has been at it all night. Ah Sahm and Young Jun are impressed with the finished product. Walter speaks to the public about Mayor Blake being killed by Chinese hands. He intends to honor the Blake legacy of American jobs for American workers. Thayer argues that they deserve a mayor who will fight as hard for their families as he will fight for his. Buckley is told he can’t win the war without getting a little bloody. Catherine Archer introduces herself to Buckley and reveals she volunteered for Councilman Waithe. She argues that Thayer is just a pretty face spouting platitudes. She thinks it is obvious that Walter understands the economics of San Francisco.

Catherine wants to help his cause in whatever way she can. Mai Ling talks about her experience. She explains that part of her didn’t survive the horror, but she grew stronger when it died. Once they’re alone, Eliza gives Mai a tour of the house and reveals that her husband works for the Bank of California. Mai Ling is given a fancy dress to try on. Li Yong meets Muchen who knows Mai Ling wants to absorb their Tong. He says they can acknowledge the Long Zii takeover of all Three Brothers businesses. In exchange for that, they’ll maintain their name and control of all enforcement and collections in their territory. Kong saves Li Yong from being killed. Li Yong and Kong Pak end up fighting a bunch of men from the Three Brothers Tong.

Kong stabs Muchen before telling everyone that joining the Long Zii is the only path forward. Muchen says she’ll never have his balls in a box. Kong stabs him again. Richard grabs Moseley and tells him he doesn’t like being followed. Then, he finds out that he is with the Secret Service. Moseley tells Richard what he is doing in San Francisco. Richard thinks he needs the Chinatown squad since he isn’t a cop anymore. Moseley believes he’ll be interested in helping because he is the only one who can stop him from being dragged back to Georgia in chains. He can help him clean up the Georgia mess permanently if Richard helps him find the missing plates. Moseley knows he is wanted for murder, but he is willing to help him anyway.

 

Warrior Review

This was a perfectly fine episode of Warrior that did a good job of expanding on the story and main conflicts for this season. There is a lot crammed into the season although it is easy enough to follow. The Hop Wei is trying to get money by creating counterfeit bills with help from a printer’s daughter.

Nellie has to worry about losing her land as a result of eminent domain because the government wants to build part of the railroad there. Richard may help the Secret Service agent so he can avoid being sent back to Georgia. Bill wants to get his family back and Dylan is trying to get things done for his Irish friends.

The series has done a good job of juggling all of these storylines although some of them are more interesting than others. At this point, it feels like the series is building up to something bigger and I am just waiting for that to happen. We can just hope it gets there and the season really takes off.

This episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Warrior are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here.