Warrior Season 3 Review: Still The Best Thing On TV You're Not Watching
"Warrior" is probably the best thing on television right now that isn't getting the attention it deserves. The series — inspired by an eight-page treatment Bruce Lee sadly couldn't make on his own due to his untimely passing — could be described in our current pop culture as a cross between "Deadwood" and "John Wick." Those comps, however, don't do it justice. "Warrior" is its own show, one that explores complex relationships (familial and otherwise) and the political machinations that revolve around the Tongs battling for power within 19th-century San Francisco's Chinatown.
The third season picks up right where we left things at the end of season 2: the two Tongs — the Hop Wei and the Long Zii — are still at each other's throats with brother and sister, Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) and Mai Ling (Dianne Doan), on opposite sides. Mai Ling has come up in the ranks at Long Zii and is now their leader with an eye for expansion, while Ah Sahm now serves under his pal Young Jun (Jason Tobin), who — after ousting his father in a coup — is having difficulty living up to the former leader's legacy.
Season 3 of "Warrior" also starts out with a reminder of how this series is different than anything else currently available on television: a fight scene that puts pretty much any other fight scene on any other show to shame. Previous seasons of "Warrior" have left a high bar for action sequences, especially the set piece in the penultimate episode of season 2, which gave us an impeccably choreographed blowout on the streets of Chinatown that depicts the real-life 1877 San Francisco riots between the Irish and Chinese in bloody detail.
The drama is as impressive as the fighting
Initial fight scene aside, things have calmed down in Chinatown now ... except they haven't. Mai Ling is looking to encroach on Hop Wei territory but is also trying to expand outside of Chinatown into "the pond" by getting in with some of the white women who run in San Francisco's high society. The Hop Wei are now faltering under Young Jun's leadership and hurting for cash, and — with the help of independent contractor Wang Chao (Hoon Lee) — seize on a risky scheme that could solve their money problems.
Season 3 also adds some additional wrinkles and expands on previous subplots. Police officers Bill O'Hara (Kieran Bew) and Richard Lee (Tom Weston-Jones) have their personal problems, while law enforcement of the Federal persuasion makes its presence known in the city (and ultimately, will be a problem for a certain Tong in Chinatown). Acting mayor Walter Buckley (Langley Kirkwood) also has his political ambitions and an election to face, which makes him eager to win at all costs, while teamster Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger) makes an unexpected alliance to help out his fellow Irish. We even spend some time in a Sonoma vineyard with Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng) and her girlfriend, a place so beautiful and so much like a true paradise that you can't help but worry it will all come crashing down.
With all these characters, the series continues to up the political intrigue and also delves into the ambitions and struggles of those looking to carve a space for themselves in a system run by white male supremacy. While the Tongs butt heads with one another, "Warrior" also makes clear that no matter how powerful one may be in Chinatown, that power falters against the many injustices and inequities that those who live in Chinatown face in America. The deck is extremely stacked against them, and nothing is fair. That doesn't deter the main characters, however, from fighting for more.
A kick-ass show, figuratively and literally
Speaking of fighting, for those tuning into "Warrior" for the amazing fight choreography, don't fret: you'll get plenty of that in season 3 — the show at its core remains an action series — but it's not as front-and-center as it was in episodes past.
"Warrior," however, doesn't falter with relatively less action (which, again, is still more action — and better action — than what else is currently out there). The show has found its stride in its third season. We know these characters, and we get to see how they've changed after what they've been through in the episodes that came before. The stakes are high, and the drama is higher. And as you follow Ah Sahm and others through the streets of Chinatown and other impressive set pieces that capture the beautiful brutality of 19th-century California, you can't help but root for him and others, flaws and all. And, of course, you also can't help but marvel at when they violently stab, impale, and break the bones of those who, from their perspective, deserve it.
"Warrior," to put it simply, kicks ass. If you've been sleeping on this series, get on board with the knowledge that the show only gets better in its third season. There's nothing more entertaining to watch on television right now, and nothing more deserving of your eyeballs' attention.
/Film Rating: 8 out of 10
The first three episodes of "Warrior" season 3 premiere on Max on June 29, 2023, with subsequent episodes dropping on Thursdays.