WARRIOR – Season 3: Episode 3 – The Grass is Never Greener

The Hop Wei try to test out their new bills out with Happy Jack, successfully settling their debt with him, giving the Hop Wei the financial advantage they need. However Young Jun starts using the bills upon their own people in Chinatown with the intent of it spreading into the rest of the city to gain back more.

Ah Sahm notices this, questioning Young Jun’s motives on leading the Hop Wei. Leading to the start of the dissolution as Ah Sahm starts forming a bond with Yan Mi while Hong starts falling for a Cabaret singer named Marcel.

Lee agrees to Mosley’s offer, joining the Secret Service. The two show counterfeit bills to O’Hara and his men, and they plan on visiting Chao. Lee tries to get answers but Chao brushes him and Mosley off.

Mai Ling is invited to a function held by Eliza Pendleton, putting her in the equal footing with Mayor Buckley.

Douglas Strickland continues to push Nellie for her land, bringing up her taking in former Chinese sex slaves, and calling out her relationship with Ah Toy. Nellie makes her stand in denying a deal with Strickland.

This causes Strickland to go to extreme measures of setting fire to the land, killing some of the women in the process but Nellie, Lai and Ah Toy fight back, managing to fight off Strickland’s men but it is a sour victory.

The interactions in this episode have been the standouts.

Leary is asked by Merryweather’s right hand Pierce, to take care of Strickland. It would have been nice but that is not what happens. Strickland knows who Leary is and invites him for a drink.

This gives more of who Leary and Strickland are, both former soldiers who fought in the American Civil war, now fighting for what they believe in. Strickland points out that Merryweather and the rest of the council don’t see Leary as one of them, he does invoke that he is the voice of the Workingmen.

Like Sophie before, Strickland is someone who is pushing Leary to be who he is meant to be by not just being who they are but what they’re meant to be.

Which brings us to Ah Sahm and Yan Mi.

What started out as just work, slowly turns into interest and selfishness. Yan Mi has been working nonstop and Ah Sahm offers to be respectful which she neglects, bringing to light he works for the Hop Wei and all are the same.

After Young Jun reprimands Ah Sahm for calling him out, Ah Sahm offers a peace offering to Yan Mi which she shows him a better option. The two watch a shadow play of the God of Thunder Leigong. The story touches Ah Sahm thinking nobody has a choice where Yan Mi recollects him being a savior but still chooses to be a hatchetman.

The legend itself made be a foreshadowing as we don’t know what Yan Mi might be to the story or Ah Sahm but I would watch out. I have been right about a couple things in the series and I will say, if the legend she shares with Ah Sahm ends up in the finale… I will either be shocked or disappointed.

Ah Sahm meeting with Mai Ling since she called him out. It is a sister trying to get her brother to choose wisely. He calls her her out for the Long Zii roaming free in Chinatown while the Hop Wei and everyone else suffers. Telling her it will blow up in her face while she stays firm in Young Jun is going to fail for all of them.

Although the moment is brief, it is a nice moment with both Mai Ling and Ah Sahm, still looking out for each other and even Li Young shows compassion for both of them. This does bring up what Young Jun asked Ah Sahm in the Season 2 finale, will he choose his sister or him?

Nellie and Ah Toy’s happiness is shattered, I did mention whether or not if it will last. This episode shatters it for both women. With Strickland’s men setting the land ablaze; Lai, Ah Toy, Nellie and the female survivors try their best to repel them.

This closing moments in the episode almost reminiscent of Season 2, Episode 9, with the music of the riot returning, the women who are killed mercilessly and this time the women fighting their hardest to save what was their home.

Lai unleashing to save Ah Toy is a great moment as I knew it would happen one day. Ah Toy taking up the sword to fight back, shows she is far from backing down from the fight.

It is unknown what will come next but as we know… Leary said it’s a reckoning. And it is coming.

Lead photo: David Bloomer