The Itchy Onion

**The Itchy Onion** is the first episode of the first season of the Cinemax original martial arts crime drama *Warrior*. It premiered on April 5, 2019. The series has since been acquired by Max.

## Synopsis

San Francisco, 1878. Ah Sahm, a newly arrived Chinese immigrant with serious fighting skills, is introduced to Chinatown's most ruthless tong, the Hop Wei, by Chao, a fixer. After impressing Young Jun, son of tong leader Father Jun, Ah Sahm is branded and taken to a brothel, where he befriends Ah Toy, a courtesan with connections.

Later, in search of a woman who left China two years earlier, Ah Sahm crosses paths with Mai Ling and Li Yong, followers of the rival tong leader Long Zii, who is trying to avoid an opium war with the Hop Wei — a war that Walter Buckley, deputy to San Francisco Mayor Samuel Blake, actively promotes. Meanwhile, after two Chinese laborers are killed by white thugs, police sergeant "Big Bill" O'Hara is tasked with creating a Chinatown squad. Enlisting southern-born cop Richard Henry Lee, Bill soon finds that the hostility between the Chinese and white dock workers, whose unofficial leader is Irish tough Dylan Leary, is unlikely to end anytime soon.

## Plot

San Francisco, 1878, Ah Sahm arrives off a boat to a not so welcoming community of Irishmen. He, among the other Chinese arrivals, are greeted by their new employer, Wang Chao, who welcomes them to the city and explains the law of the lands. When Ah Sahm comes to the aid of a fellow Chinese man who is being assaulted by one of the immigration officers and warns them to stand down in English, which he learned from his American grandfather, a brawl erupts between Ah Sahm and the attacking officers, who he makes quick work of, which doesn't go unnoticed by Chao.

Chao sells Ah Sahm to the Hop Wei, informing Young Jun of Ah Sahm's remarkable fighting abilities against the immigration officers. Bolo isn't convinced and presses Ah Sahm, who doesn't back down, but Young Jun prevents the altercation from going any further.

Ah Sahm is presented to Father Jun, who inquires further about the newcomer's upbringing. Ah Sahm reveals that he's from Fo Shan and that he was trained by Sifu Li Qiang. Father Jun warns Ah Sahm that war is brewing among the tongs and welcomes him to the Hop Wei. When Ah Sahm forgets to bow, Father Jun reminds him that he's nothing more than an "onion" and that it would be in his best interest to bow before ever turning away from him.

Officer Lee catches a couple drunken Irishmen attacking two defenseless Chinese men and commands them to stop. When they turn their anger on him, Lee disarms both men and places them under arrest.

Mayor Blake greets his wife Penny and invites her to join him for breakfast, but she doesn't seem too pleased to be in his company. They are joined by Deputy Mayor Walter Buckley, who reveals that two chinamen were killed last night; they were working on the Merriweather building, and a couple of labor thugs smashed their heads in with hammers. Mayor Blake wants to keep this as quiet as possible, meaning having to speak with Merriweather himself. Penny is disgusted by her husband's attempt to sweep such heinous crimes under the rug, but Mayor Blake isn't interested in her opinions.

Mayor Blake wants the two labor thugs arraigned as fast as possible and worries about Merriweather's response, as they promised him that his laborers would be protected. They used to just beat the Chinese, and now they're murdering them in the streets. Death isn't good for re-election, Buckley warns Mayor Blake, who arrives at his office to find Mr. Merriweather awaiting his arrival in regard to his dead labor men. Merriweather advises Mayor Blake to find a way to better police Chinatown for both of their sake.

Chief Flannagan and Buckley inform Sergeant O'Hara that the mayor would like to form a Chinatown squad, which Bill will lead, despite the high risk task. Bill is reluctant, but Flannagan informs him that it's a straight climb up the letter without kissing a single arse. Flannagan has also taken the liberty of picking three out of the four other officers that will be joining the taskforce. It's up to Bill to decide who will be the final member.

Leary is present in the courtroom and watches in disgust as Officer Lee announces that he's prepared to take the stand against the two Irish thugs who killed a couple Chinese labor men.

Young Jun informs Ah Sahm how the Hop Wei have built an entire opium network from the ground up. But then they had some trouble back in China involving the emperor. In that time, they went a few months without molasses. And Long Zii, a rival tong, moved in with better prices. So now, the Hop Wei intends to bleed them out and take it all back for good.

Young Jun takes Ah Sahm to a nearby whorehouse, which is frequented by the Hop Wei. He introduces Ah Sahm to Ah Toy, the owner of the brothel, who takes them upstairs to pick from a variety of women. Young Jun immediately picks two women, but Ah Sahm isn't interested in sex, revealing that he's looking for someone who would've arrived about two years ago, a woman named Xiaojing, but Ah Toy claims not to know anyone by that name and offers a girl named Zhang Yan to Ah Sahm instead.

Mayor Blake watches from the bedroom as Penny gets undressed. She takes off her robe, but instead of joining him in bed, she simply slams the door shut.

While getting drunk at the Banshee, Leary recalls his time at war. He and 150,000 other Irishmen fought Lincoln's war against other Americans and Irishmen, but they won and freed the slaves, who instead of going back to Africa, came north and took their jobs. And now the Chinese are coming to take their jobs as well. Leary refuses to lose his home after fighting so hard for it, and is willing to go to war over it. No matter what, he declares, "The Chinese must go!"

A small group of Long Zii hatchet men arrive at Ah Toy's after learning that Ah Sahm was asking about Xiaojing. Ah Sahm refuses to leave with them and single-handedly takes out all four men. Afterwards, Ah Toy joins him on the balcony after witnessing his skills first hand. Ah Sahm suspects that either she or one of her girls sold him out. Ah Toy insists that it wasn't her and advises Ah Sahm against speaking his business in a room full of whores, reminding him that he's in Chinatown, not China. Moving forward, he's going to need someone he can trust outside of the tong, and Ah Toy believes that could be her. When he asks about Xiaojing again, Ah Toy informs him that someone also came around asking for her about a year ago, and he was dead within a day.

Bill informs the precinct about the new Chinatown squad. Harrison, McLeod, and Stone have already been selected, but one last spot remains. Lee surprisingly volunteers to join the squad, after having come to San Francisco from Savanna, Georgia, having only been a cop all of six weeks. Stone accuses Lee of being a confederate and refuses to work alongside him. When Lee accuses Stone of being drunk, a fight ensues between the two until Bill and the other officers intervene.

Ah Sahm is branded into the Hop Wei by Father Jun before joining Young Jun and Bolo on a stroll through Chinatown, in which he notices exactly how feared the Hop Wei are within the community.

On their way over to Chao's shop, Bill questions what made Lee leave Georgia. He explains that the war fractured his family after his two older brothers died at Gettysburg. Upon arrival, Chao takes the officers into the back of his shop, where he works as a weapons dealer and is supplying Bill and the Chinatown squad with various weapons.

Leary bails out the two Irish thugs who were arrested after killing a couple Chinese labor men. He informs them that their bond was $15 apiece and advises them against any plans to run. For the time being, they need to simply stay out of the way while he handles Officer Lee.

Ah Sahm follows two Long Zii hatchet men into rival territory, but before he can get himself into any trouble, Young Jun pulls him to safety and warns him against trespassing in enemy territory.

Leary pays Bill off to ensure that Lee doesn't show up in court.

Mayor Blake arrives out back of Ah Toy's brothel, and she sneaks him inside with a mask, where a young man and woman await to pleasure him.

Leary hosts one-on-one brawls just outside the Banshee, where he takes on any and all competitors. He is undefeated and remains so after brutally beating a man into unconsciousness.

Ah Sahm approaches Long Zii's house in search of Xiaojing, instead he finds Li Yong waiting. He asks why Ah Sahm is searching for Xiaojing, but he refuses to answer until he sees her himself. Li Yong proceeds to challenge Ah Sahm to a fight, which for the most part is relatively one-sided, as Li Yong is the superior fighter. Before either of them get too badly hurt, Xiaojing interrupts and orders Li Yong to allow her and Ah Sahm to speak in private. Ah Sahm came to bring his sister home, explaining that it's safe now with Sun Yang dead. Unfortunately, as is their father, who Sun Yang had killed after Xiaojing fled. However, she never would've had to leave if not for Ah Sahm. Sun Yang would've had him killed years ago if she didn't agree to marry him. He beat and raped her repeatedly. She asks Ah Sahm where he was to save her then, not that it matters, as she no longer needs his saving. Her new name is Mai Ling. Xiaojing was merely a stupid farm girl who died in Sun Yang's bed, she explains. And when Mai Ling discovers that he's been branded by the Hop Wei, she orders him to leave.

Mai Ling joins Long Zii as he prepares for bed. He asks about the noises, but she claims it was just a couple itchy Hop Weis. Long Zii remarks that the tension amongst the tongs isn't good and wants to reach out to Father Jun, considering his tong broke the agreement. However, Mai Ling doesn't believe it's the best call, as Chinatown has grown so much since their initial agreement. These are dangerous times, Long Zii adds, and asks Mai Ling to arrange a meeting with Father Jun.

Ah Sahm return to Ah Toy's brothel for a drink, where he runs into Chao, who tells him that there's a lot of money to be made with someone who can scrap as well as Ah Sahm, but he simply wants passage back to China, which Chao cannot do, explaining that Ah Sahm is owned by the Hop Wei now. Ah Toy joins them and deduces that Ah Sahm found his sister, Xiaojing, who now goes by Mai Ling. Hoping to calm his nerves, Ah Toy invites him upstairs, first for a mix of herbs she concocted to help with Ah Sahm's pain, and then sex.

Mai Ling rendezvous with Buckley, with whom she's apparently been meeting with regularly. She informs him that Long Zii intends to reach out to Father Jun to make peace, which doesn't serve either of them. With that said, Buckley will expedite the opium delivery, which her men can pick up tomorrow. Buckley also warns Mai Ling that he can take her out of the opium business just as fast as he brought her in.

Whilst Ah Sahm sleeps, Ah Toy sneaks out in the late hours of the night to seek vengeance against the two Irish thugs who killed a couple Chinese labor men. She beheads the first man and guts the second man. Meanwhile, Ah Sahm awakens alone and begins practicing his technique.

## Cast

* Olivia Cheng as Ah Toy
* Jason Tobin as Young Jun
* Dianne Doan as Mai Ling
* Kieran Bew as Bill O'Hara
* Dean Jagger as Dylan Leary
* Joanna Vanderham as Penelope Blake
* Tom Weston-Jones as Richard Lee
* Hoon Lee as Wang Chao
* Langley Kirkwood as Walter Buckley
* Christian McKay as Samuel Blake
* Perry Yung as Father Jun
* Joe Taslim as Li Yong
* Henry Yuk as Long Zii
* Robert Hobbs as Stone
* Jacques Bessenger as McLeod
* Nicholas Pauling as Harrison
* David Butler as Russell Flannagan
* André Jacobs as Merriweather
* Zoya Pon as Li Juan
* Xin Wuku as Long Zii Hatchet Man
* Johnny Yang as Long Zii Hatchet Man
* Ryan Kruger as Gareth
* Ron Smerczak as Judge Belstaff
* Grant Ross as Bailiff
* Michael Bundred as Prosecutor
* Aidan Whytock as Phillip Coleman
* Kevin Murphy as Davis
* Branwell Donaghey as Morgan
* Greg Parves as Jimmy
* Xiaoyu Peng as Zhang Yan
* Murray Todd as Officer
* Matthew Leong as Wu
* Shane John Kruger as Scab
* Trevor Frost as Cahill
* Aiden Kelly as Rooney
* Rebecca Makin-Taylor as Miss Carlson
* Richard Chen as Eunuch

## Trivia

* The episode title, "The Itchy Onion," refers to Ah Sahm. "Onion" is a slang term coined and often spoken by Cantonese speakers in reference to Chinese immigrants.

## Gallery

### Videos

Warrior - Full Episode- The Itchy Onion - HBO Max