If You're Going to Bow, Bow Low

**If You're Going to Bow, Bow Low** is the tenth and final episode of the first season of the Cinemax original martial arts crime drama *Warrior*. It premiered on June 7, 2019. The series has since been acquired by Max.

## Synopsis

Ah Sahm rejects his warrior roots and retreats into the netherworld of the Chinese working class. A guilty Big Bill stands vigil for Lee at the hospital. With the police roughing up tong members in retaliation for their violence, Zing and the Fung Hai make a show of force to compel Mai Ling to honor her partnership. Burned by Buckley, Leary decides to take matters into his own hands at Mercer's factory. Seeking to snap Ah Sahm out of his funk, Chao shares a harrowing story of personal hardship. Ah Toy preaches a not-so-ancient message to Ah Sahm: In the middle of chaos lies opportunity.

## Plot

After recovering from his loss and being banned by the Hop Wei, Ah Sahm is now working as a coolie. It's a tiresome job that leaves him weak and sore.

Bill watches over Lee, who is recovering in a hospital bed. Lucy stops by to see if there's been any change, but there hasn't been in over a week. Lucy tells Bill that he can't keep spending a night here and that he needs to come home, but Bill retorts that Lee has no one else to watch over him. Lucy understands and hands Bill some food. She then kisses Lee on the forehead and tells him to wake up on his own time. Lucy wonders if Bill knows whose responsible, which he claims he doesn't but, he in fact knows it was the work of the Fung Hai.

As per their agreement, Father Jun has marked off a zone that corresponds to Long Zii territory, where they will be allowed to sell opium. Father Jun warns Mai Ling that if she even takes a single step out of line, he won't stop until he has her head on his table.

Leary enters the Banshee to find Mac hassling a couple black men who simply stopped by for a drink. He reminds Mac that these two men have done nothing to him and that everything has been done to them. They were dragged to America in chains and have paid their dues, and as far as Leary is concerned, they've paid their drinks as well. Leary then notices one of the guys from the Mercer job, who informs him that they've been fired in exchange for cheap Chinese labor.

Leary confronts Byron after learning that he's employed Chinese labor. He made promises based on Byron's promises, and now Mercer's made a liar out of him, but Byron reveals that the mayor's office kept grinding him until he had no choice. Leary warns Byron to fix this and reminds him that they shook hands.

Ah Sahm returns from his shift to find that his bed mate, Po, is sick. He seems to be suffering from some kind of infection after getting hurt a few days ago.

Bill continues to watch over Lee, who remains unconscious. He tells Lee that he's a good cop and good man. He's guilt ridden for having put Lee in harms way and promises to make the Fung Hai pay.

Bill goes into the Fung Hai gambling den and shoots a Fung Hai hatchet man in the leg before demanding to see their boss. Before Long, Zing arrives and disarms Bill, killing one of his own men with Bill's gun, proving to Bill just how savage the Fung Hai are. Zing reminds Bill that he owes them a debt, but it's not money they want.

Penny approaches Buckley at the bar. He assures her that Mayor Blake is probably working, but she suspects that he's more likely whoreing. Buckley naively thought that encouraging Blake to marry Penny would curb some of his more unsavory impulses. Penny blames Buckley for putting her father in an impossible situation and forcing him to hire Chinese labor, which resulted in a visit from Leary, which Penny fears will eventually turn violent. They need protection, but Buckley encourages her to take it up with her husband. When Penny threatens to have him fired, he reveals that he knows that Penny was at the duel in Chinatown between the tongs. While they can't be seen to be protecting a private company, as a kind gesture, Buckley can have a small squad of men on stand by, ready to go at a moment's notice.

Ah Sahm wraps Po's leg. He came to San Francisco to make money for his family. He thought he'd be there for a year, but that was eight years ago. He's never been able to buy his way back. He failed them. Ah Sahm replies that he failed his family before he ever even left China. Now, Po will be buried in America, and his spirit will never find its way home. The ghosts of 1,000 coolies will haunt the country.

Mai Ling meets with Buckley, who congratulates her for the new-found leadership, but he is concerned that with the Long Zii being cut in on the opium business, she's inadvertently achieved the peace that her late husband so badly wanted. But Mai Ling assures him that war isn't far off. As for the opium, she'll need twice as much as she ordered last time. While Mai Ling may be a big deal in Chinatown, Buckley tells her that half a mile in any direction, and she's just a Chinese woman of no consequence to anyone. She simply replies that a lot can happen in half a mile.

Chao approaches Ah Sahm, in disbelief that a guy with his intelligence and skill is working as a coolie. Chao informs Ah Sahm that they're starting to staff a big job with decent conditions. He'll make sure Ah Sahm gets picked if he shows up tomorrow, but he hopes Ah Sahm won't be.

Lee awakens from his coma with Bill at his side. Lee doesn't remember what happened, and Bill reveals he was jumped in Chinatown.

With Bill and Lee in the hospital, Stone, Harrison, and McLeod lead the Chinatown Squad in a rampage through Chinatown, hunting down any tong members and arresting them on sight.

Li Yong informs Mai Ling that they've been raided again. The cops are out for blood after Lee was put in the hospital by the Fung Hai.

Young Jun finds Ah Sahm working as a coolie. He reveals that Ah Toy is worried about him. Young Jun tells Ah Sahm that he wants him to come back to the Hop Wei. Father Jun hasn't been the same since the explosion. He's given away the store, meanwhile the Long Zii and Fung Hai are getting too close for comfort, and it's only a matter of time before they make a move. And when that happens, Young Jun needs people he can trust at his side, but Ah Sahm turns down his offer, claiming that being a coolie is honest work. Young Jun tells Ah Sahm that he can't just walk away, but as he recalls, he fought for the Hop Wei before they tossed him out like garbage. Young Jun explains that they were simply following the rules, but he's come to right the wrong. However, Ah Sahm still isn't interested.

Chao remarks that the Hop Wei hasn't forgotten about Ah Sahm, but he no longer wishes to be with them and recalls Chao mentioning that he has a job for Ah Sahm. Chao remembers when he crossed the salt. He was much younger than Ah Sahm. His parents died during the Taiping Rebellion and he didn't have a reason to stay in China, so he figured he'd come to America and make his fortune. But the captain of the ship had a different plan. He sailed them to Cuba and sold them as slaves. It took a week before Chao realized he wasn't in America. He was a slave for 11 years. He often thinks about the people he left behind, and as far as he knows, most of them are still in Cuba, but not him because he knows that he's more than just a slave, same way Ah Sahm isn't a coolie. Warriors have only two paths: get killed or get better. Ah Sahm isn't moved and tells Chao that he simply wants to work.

Penny informs her father that his costs are out of line at certain margins and that he needs to see his suppliers and renegotiate. He's making large purchases and needs to leverage his position. While Byron appreciates her help, he'd rather handle the balances himself, but if he continues to do so, the business will go under and her sister will be on the street, and she didn't make the sacrifices she did just for her father to squander the opportunity. Byron retorts that he never asked Penny to do anything, to which she replies that he didn't stop her either. Penny then exits the office and notices Ah Sahm working as a coolie. She approaches him and asks if this is really what he's going to do. With his English, he could get a better job, like translating for the foreman and become invaluable to the managers, but Ah Sahm is content with the position he has.

Mai Ling informs Zing there's been an increase in police presence since his men attacked a cop and asks what he was thinking. Zing replies that it doesn't concern her. But it does when his actions are cutting in on their profit by bringing extra police scrutiny. Zing suspects that Mai Ling has the wrong impression. He agreed to their partnership because it was a way for him to gain leadership and get the Fung Hai into the opium business, but he informs Mai Ling that he doesn't work for her and that Fung Hai will continue to do business as he sees fit, even if that means killing ten cops. With that said, Mai Ling tells Zing that he's been paid for his trouble and that they'll work something else out moving forward. Refusing to simply leave the opium business, Zing invites them outside to show them his army waiting just outside their door. And with that in mind, he wants to discuss the details of their partnership.

Ah Sahm returns to find that Po is dead. So, he carries Po out on his shoulder to bury him.

Leary pays Buckley a visit. He pulls out a knife and slams him against his carriage. The only way to deal with men like Buckley is close and personal, but Buckley doesn't appear intimidated and tells Leary that they have similar goals. He's every bit opposed to Chinese labor as Leary, but he's looking at the bigger picture, whereas Leary is a common thug, who certainly can't influence state politics with threats and a pocket knife. Leary releases Buckley and says that he'll be seeing him around. After Leary leaves, Buckley vomits on the ground.

Armed with rifles and blunt weapons, Leary leads an Irish band of thugs into Mercer's building and begins attacking Coolies. When Byron notices the attack, he locks himself in his office. Leary and his men have lined up a dozen or so coolies and begin smashing their fingers with a steel hammer. Meanwhile, Byron goes for his gun. However, the entire ordeal causes him to have a heart attack and die on the floor of his office. Ah Sahm arrives just in time to stop the Irish thugs from harming any more laborers than they already have. After single-handedly taking down all of Leary's men, Ah Sahm and Leary come face to face. They exchange blows but disperse when the police arrive.

Bill has been employed as the Fung Hai's new security officer. His first stop at is with a man named Jonas, who owes a debt to the Fung Hai. If Bill can at least bring them 15, it will buy him some time. And so, Jonas pays Bill and is given two weeks to pay the rest.

Lee returns for his first shift back since his attack and patrols Chinatown along with Bill.

Meanwhile, Lai continues to practice her swordsmanship under Ah Toy's watchful eye and guidance.

Following the death of her father, Penny takes over the family business and begins running the operatio and Mercer Steele.

Ah Toy is surprised to find Ah Sahm in the brothel. She's happy to see that he's alive. He came to thank her for taking care of her after the tournament and brought her something, more specifically someone — two Irish thugs who were breaking the hands of coolies with a hammer. And so, they intend to return the favor. Ah Sahm doesn't necessarily know what happens from here, but he figured Ah Toy could use some help now and then fighting back. Ah Sahm is done working as a coolie and is ready to make a change. Part of that change is rejoining Young Jun and the Hop Wei.

## 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 (credit only)
* Perry Yung as Father Jun
* Joe Taslim as Li Yong
* Emily Child as Lucy O'Hara
* Dustin Nguyen as Zing
* Orion Lee as Po
* James Cairns as Jonas
* Damon Berry as Mac
* Robert Hobbs as Stone
* Jacques Bessenger as McLeod
* Nicholas Pauling as Harrison
* Jenny Umbhau as Lai
* Steve Park as Tu
* Ryan Kruger as Gareth
* Litha Bam as Ben
* Michael Makhosandile Mvandaba as Aaron
* Robert Coutts as Nate
* Leslie Hoy as Old Man
* Wayne Harrison as Foreman
* Gavin Werner as Tom
* Trevor Frost as Henchman
* Frans Steyn as Henchman

## Trivia

* The episode title was spoken by Chao to Ah Sahm in reference to Ah Sahm being a coolie.