The first season of Warrior ends on a really strong point. The penultimate episode is the culmination of the past few episodes as well as the fallout from that. The finale expands on those events and sets up the characters to be in somewhat different circumstances than they were at the beginning of the series.
“Chinese Boxing” is centered around the fight between Ah Sahm and Li Yong, and how the events of branch out from there. Ah Sahm loses the fight but is saved from being killed by Bill. Ah Sahm is nursed back to health by Ah Toy, while recovering he remembers how his sister introduced him to his Sifu in China. Ah Toy tells him that his sister was going to let him die in the ring. He’s also visited by both Penny and Young Jun, with Jun telling him that he’s no longer part of the Hop Wei and that he can’t join another tong. Buckley tells Penny’s father that there was another bidder on the project, lying to him about it. This causes him to hire Chinese labor instead of Irish labor. The episode ends with Lee being attacked by the Fung Hai in retaliation of Bill not paying his debt.
“If You’re Going to Bow, Bow Low” has Ah Sahm at a crossroads with him thinking that he’s no longer a warrior but just a laborer. Bill feels guilty about what happened to Lee, who is comatose and in the hospital. Bill tries to take revenge on the Fung Hai but ends up working as their enforcer. The Fung Hai also strongarm their way into renegotiating their alliance with the Long Zii. Young Jun tries to bring Ah Sahm back into the Hop Wei but is declined. Ah Sahm starts working in Penny’s father’s factory. Leary and a group of his men attack the factory but Ah Sahm fights them off before they can hurt too many workers. Leary and Ah Sahm spar before the police show up. Penny’s father dies from a heart attack during the attack. The season ends with Lee and Bill patrolling Chinatown while Ah Sahm rejoins the Hop Wei. He also joins Ah Toy in her mission to strike back against those working against the Chinese.
The factory fight is one of the best fights of the season. Between that fight and the fight between Ah Sahm and Li Yong there are two very different fights but two fantastic fights. Where the characters are at the end of the season is interesting with all of the characters being in different spots than they were at the start of the series.
I had forgotten how these two episodes were paced. I remembered that it wasn’t paced like I thought it would be, because when I first watched the show I thought it would end with the fight between Ah Sahm and Li Yong. Both “Chinese Boxing” and “If You’re Going to Bow, Bow Low” are some of the best episodes and a great way to end the season. I give both episodes 9.5 hatchets out of 10.