The Chinese Connection

**The Chinese Connection** is the second episode of the second season of the original martial arts crime drama *Warrior* and the twelfth episode overall. It premiered on October 9, 2020. The series has since been acquired by Max.

## Synopsis

Ah Sahm and Young Jun search for a discreet place to hide their product after striking a deal with a new opium supplier. As Lee becomes increasingly dependent on laudanum, he and Bill continue to investigate the swordsman murders. Mai Ling sends Li Yong and Zing to deliver a message to a rival tong. Penny asks for Ah Sahm's help in protecting her factory. Sophie continues to pique Leary's interest. Ah Toy receives a visit from Nellie Davenport, a wealthy widow committed to ending the exploitation of Chinese women.

## Plot

Bill hunts down a man named Floyd, who owes a debt to the Fung Hai. Bill slams him down and forces the man to pay up.

Vega arranges for Ah Sahm and Young Jun to meet with a molasses source, Happy Jack. He is reluctant to work with anyone from the tongs, but Ah Sahm is willing to pay for a dozen crates and storage for it. However, Jack is not in the business of storing molasses, as it's too risky, and they'd have to pay more for storage. Nevertheless, Ah Sahm and Happy Jack come to an agreement to meet later that night.

In order to find their swordsman, Lee has been looking into the victimology. All those killed by the swordsman had a history of targeting the Chinese, leading Lee to suspect this is a vengeance scenario. However, Timmons and McCormick are the only victims not known to have expressed any type of anti-Chinese sentiment. They're the only inconsistency, leading Lee to go through Timmons finances for clues. The last deal Timmons made was selling a piece of property in Spring Valley to Leonard Patterson for $5,000, which Bill agrees to help him investigate.

An emergency meeting is hosted at Mayor Blake's office for all business owners after the recent bombing, which Penny attends. Leland's business was targeted and set ablaze. Chief Flannagan is already on the case, but Penny points out that they already know that Leary's workingmen are responsible. Merriweather agrees, noting that they'd be better served with those same officers guarding their work sites. Penny questions if they intend to do anything to protect their sites from Leary and his thugs.

As planned, Chao goes to visit Claire, a white woman with whom he has a child. He gives her some money to hold her over, though payment is light due to his shop being closed down. He notices her cleaning a new dress, though she assures him that she hasn't been "entertaining" if that's what he's thinking. Before leaving, he gives his daughter Hannah a spinning top to play with. When she calls him papa, he tells her to just call him a friend instead.

Bill and Lee meet with Patterson, who claims to have never met Timmons and that their business was conducted through the bank. Lee asks Patterson about his doubled bidding price, to which Patterson replies that he simply wishes to own the property and beat the other offers, but Lee isn't convinced. Bill asks if he ever does any business with the Chinese, which he insists he doesn't. They both suspect that he's hiding something, but Bill doesn't believe he's a killer.

Jacob retrieves Ah Sahm at Penny's request and brings him to Mercer Steel, where she makes Ah Sahm a proposition: she wants to pay the Hop Wei to guard Mercer Steel and protect her workers, which Ah Sahm doesn't think is a good idea, even when Penny reveals that her father died the day the workingmen attacked and that she's willing to compensate them well.

Accompanied by Stone, Harrison, and McLeod, Ms. Nellie Davenport raid McClean & Son barbershop, which is running a secret prostitution ring. Rather than arresting the men, which Nellie insists, the police simply escort them out. She then heads further inside, where she finds several cowering girls.

Father Jun tells Young Jun about how he cried from the moment he was born. He kept his mother awake days at a time. She couldn't handle Young Jun, so at four months old, she left him, seeing his stubbornness as a curse, but what Father Jun saw was a born fighter. But the stiffest tree cracks easiest. Mai Ling will learn that the hard way, while they will survive by bending the wind, Father Jun explains. All he needs from Young Jun is to trust him. They will uphold their end of the treaty until he says otherwise.

When Ah Sahm and Young Jun arrive at Happy Jack's, they learn that he no longer intends to store their opium, despite their initial agreement. So, Ah Sahm requests for their money back, and when that fails, he and Young Jun simply take it back, killing several of Happy Jack's men until Jack draws his gun on Young Jun, bringing the fight to an end. He explains that the cops have been cracking down and raided two shops in the area already, which is why he can no longer store their product. So, they can either walk out with nothing or they can give him a delivery location.

Mai Ling's truce with the Hop Wei is pushing Buckley's patience, but that truce has allowed them to increase their share of the molasses trade. Unfortunately, the other tongs are becoming restless, and it's only a matter of time before they get greedy and make a move. However, Buckley informs Mai Ling that he needs chaos, and he needs it quickly. He also reminds Mai Ling that they're not partners. He sells, and she buys. That's the simple nature of their arrangement.

Lee's headache is keeping him awake at night, and with his medication making it no better, he heads out for a drink at a bar. He's served by a young black woman that looks surprisingly a lot like his old girlfriend, Nora. She pours him a shot of whiskey mixed with laudanum, before asking for his name and warning him that he doesn't want to be walking around alone when his drink kicks in. Abigail invites him into the back, where they kiss until Lee's drink starts to take effect. However, it would seem that she added more than just laudanum and Lee passes out, resulting in a couple of the guys from inside the bar robbing him.

Bill and Lucy have sex, and she jokes that she enjoys not having to have to do all the work around the house for a change. Last time they had sex like that, Bill gave her twins, she remarks. Bill then gifts her an expensive necklace, leading her to question where he's getting all this money from. Bill claims that he's simply been working a couple extra shifts. She isn't convinced, but she wants Bill to know that she doesn't need jewelry or steak. All she needs is for her husband to come home after every shift.

Lee wakes up the following morning, stripped clean of everything.

The Long Zii get word of the Suey Sing tong selling opium in back alleys and brothels. Two Long Zii hatchet men catch one of the dealers and bring him to Mai Ling and Li Yong. The Hop Wei had a stranglehold on the molasses business for so long, but now that they've broken it, other tongs, even small ones like Suey Sing, are seeing what they can get away with. While they're not a threat, Mai Ling sees this as an opportunity to send a message, which Li Yong isn't in agreement with. The leader of the Suey Sing, Loa Che, is young and reckless, but he's not stupid. Li Yong suggests simply talking to him. Mai Ling agrees, but tells Li Yong to bring Zing with him.

Under the guise that he's reconsidered her offer to guard Mercer Steel and it's workers, Ah Sahm goes to Penny to accept her offer. But in reality, he simply needs a place to store his opium. Additionally, he questions why Penny is going through all this trouble of running a company instead of selling it. She tells her sister it's their father's legacy, which is true, but the real reason means that she doesn't have to depend on her husband's money.

Senator Crestwood holds a gathering near the Banshee to discuss Chinatown, labor, and the violence the Chinese bring. In doing this, he also points the finger at Mayor Blake and the San Francisco police department. He believes that the only option is to send them back to China. Bill and Chief Flannagan are among those in attendance and are outraged by the Senator's accusations, especially since Flannagan can't point to any progress. Chief Flannagan doesn't care who Bill has to shake down to get an arrest, he just needs a swordsman as proof of progress.

Following Senator Crestwood's speech, Sophie follows Leary into the Banshee and reveals her father was Byron Mercer. Sophie then walks over to the piano and plays a few notes. Leary is impressed, but she's sloppy and she knows it. Her teacher said she was awash in the stink of wasted potential. She also dropped out of finishing school.

Mayor Blake is irate at Senator Crestwood for encouraging the hate on Chinese and also pointing some of the blame on him. Buckley suggests that maybe the Senator was trying to motivate him to pick a side and get his household under control, considering that his own wife is in support of Chinese labor and hiring coolies.

Mai Ling makes an unexpected appearance at a diner, where she gathers the attention of all those dining. She approaches Mr. Nichols, whom she's done her research on. He used to work for the Pinkertons, and she knows why they fired him. She hears that he still does a bit of private consulting and needs his help to find dirt on Buckley.

Li Yong and Zing confront Lao Che and Suey Sing tong, but he claims they're not dealing. Li Yong didn't come for a confession. He simply means to warn Lao Che, and in response, Lao Che replies that he understands. Li Yong is satisfied and is prepared to leave, but Zing picks a fight with Lao Che, attacking him, with his men following his lead and killing many of the Suey Sing. When all is said and done, many are dead, and Li Yong is enraged, but Zing reasons that Mai Ling sent him along for this exact reason.

Ah Toy exits her home to find Nellie on her doorstep, and this isn't their first encounter. Ah Toy insists that all her girls are very happy and choose the life they live with her, as she gives them a job, food, a bed, and clean clothing. Ah Toy tells Nellie that her girls can leave whenever they want, as she owns no one.

Just like before, the workingmen block the road to keep a carriage of coolies from passing. However, this particular carriage is being escorted by Hop Wei hatchetmen, forcing the workingmen to fall back.

Meanwhile, as Samuel and Penny's standoff continues, Mai Ling moves forward with her plans, but Li Yong is starting to question her intentions. Elsewhere, the O'Hara family are preparing for dinner, and Lee continues to investigate the swordsman case.

Late that night, Ah Sahm and Young Jun hide their opium shipment within Mercer Steel whilst the building is empty.

## 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
* Dustin Nguyen as Zing
* Céline Buckens as Sophie Mercer
* Miranda Raison as Nellie Davenport
* Chen Tang as Hong (credit only)
* Maria-Elena Laas as Rosalita Vega
* Joe Taslim as Li Yong
* David Butler as Russell Flannagan
* Kenneth Fok as Jacob
* Frank Rautenbach as Patterson
* Gaosi Raditholo as Abigail / Nora
* André Jacobs as Merriweather
* Craig Gardner as Mr. Simmons
* Michelle Allen as Claire
* Emmanuel Castis as Clyde Nichols
* Robert Hobbs as Stone
* Jacques Bessenger as McLeod
* Nicholas Pauling as Harrison
* Selena Teles-Fernandes as Hannah
* Juan Versfeld as Jeff
* Shane John Kruger as Mutt
* Patrick Baladi as Senator Crestwood
* Nathaniel Ramabulana as Happy Jack
* Deon Lotz as Leland Clemmons
* Charly Azade as Nagenda
* Gustav Gerdener as Floyd
* Luke Kilian as Piano Player
* Egor Korznikov as Pimp
* Paolo Wilken as Lao Che
* Loryn Krook as Woman at Happy Jack's

## Trivia

* The episode title was spoken by Lee to Bill in reference to the recent murders.

## Gallery

### Videos

Warrior - Season 2 Episode 2 Preview - CinemaxWarrior - Inside Episode S2 Episode 2 - Cinemax