#warrior 3x04

[booasaur]

Warrior (2019) - 3x04

[booasaur]

Warrior (2019) - 3x04

[booasaur]

SPOILERS for Warrior Episode 4

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Where to fucking start with this episode? The beginning of the episode broke my heart all over again. So much death and destruction! Even worse is the rift it caused between Ah Toy and Nellie. Ah Toy blaming Nellie and herself for indulging in this fantasy that was too good to be true. It’s easier for Nellie to be optimistic with her privilege as a wealthy white lady. In season 2 she pushed Nellie away because it wasn’t safe in Chinatown. Now she’s pushing Nellie away because it’s not  safe for them outside of Chinatown. Ah Toy leaving after telling Nellie “Happy mean nothing if you are dead.” Fucking hell. 

Ah Toy going back to Chinatown and immediately throwing herself back into work. Staring in the mirror, the bruises on her face. Covering up her wounds and trauma with makeup, wearing her dress like armor. Back to square one again and it sucks. It was sweet when Ah Sahm came to see her though. We also see the darkness in Lai rising again, poor baby. I guessed that Ah Toy’s line was gonna be the title, “In Chinatown, no one think about forever.”

Finally, Nellie is crushed when that judge took her away their land as “imminent domain.” She starting to see the limits of her power as a wealthy white woman, because of sexism. The fucking audacity of Dickhead to be like “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Nellie was unhinged and dragged his ass in front of everyone. Flashbacks to Penny and Buckley last season…please don’t throw her in an asylum! It wasn’t surprising that he bribed the judge. If he did that, then what’s the point of attacking the vineyard and killing innocent women?? Male ego and pettiness, that’s what!

I hope we’ll see Ah Toy and Nellie  together again next episode. They need each other more than ever now! Ah Toy will get revenge eventually, so Dickhead better watch out!

Yeah, the opening was brutal, and the thing is, normally I'd think Ah Toy is reacting more to her internalized fear and indeed, punishing herself for daring to wish for more, for herself, but in the end she's right. Usually Nellie WOULD be able to use her lawyers and money would win, but you can't win against someone who's just as white and wealthy as you and also male and who wants power and uses that to influence others. It's such a good point, why attack when you were already going to get the land? Just plain evil.

Indeed, now, I'm not sure what the plot is for Nellie going forward. They probably won't repeat something from before, but her role on the show is tied so strongly to Ah Toy, what is there for her if they're separated? And as much as I wish they are back together in the next ep, I think this is the part of that review where Ah Toy is going to be depressed, because in effect she has lost Nellie. If she were to get that support again, I feel like that would help resolve her arc too quickly. I think there's more of downward spiral in store for her, for all of them, until enough is enough.

But, you know, that actually makes me more hopeful for Nellie's future, at least at the moment. It's absolutely very possible that she does die in the next eps, but there's no narrative weight to it now, she's already lost everything, and she and Ah Toy are already separated. Its biggest impact would have been when they were happy together, so in ep 3, actually. Now... I'm just not sure.

That scene of Ah Toy putting on the makeup was so good! Sad but very effective and honestly, kind of beautiful. Although, see, that's where I think it IS her punishment for herself and inability to accept she deserves more that stops Ah Sahm, because, well, why not assassinate him? They've done it before. But I guess that's literally her season's arc. It'll happen, hopefully, even if later on, that's the "getting even" part the review addresses.