Gotta Be Crooked to Get Along in a Crooked World

**Gotta Be Crooked to Get Along in a Crooked World** is the seventh episode of the third season of Max's original martial arts crime drama *Warrior* and the twenty-seventh episode overall. It premiered on July 27, 2023.

## Synopsis

In the wake of Father Jun's injury, Young Jun steps up for the Hop Wei. As Leary struggles to smooth over rising working-class tensions, Ah Sahm grapples with revelations from Yan Mi and Mai Ling.

## Plot

Ah Sahm and Young Jun return to Chinatown with an injured Father Jun. They arrive at Hop Wei headquarters and place him on the center table, where their doctor removes the bullet. Once he's in a less fragile state, Young Jun asks to be alone with him.

The Donahue boys, Garrett and Conor, break into a marketplace in Chinatown. The shop owner confronts them, but they run out the front door, knocking over Zimo, who attempts to interfere as well. Unfortunately for the brothers, they are apprehended by Harrison and another officer.

Bill arrives for his first day at the factory, under the impression that he would be working on the books, but Horace informs him that he has to start at the bottom as a laborer, as he can't be seen to show favoritism towards a family member.

Killy reveals to Leary that his boys got arrested last night after trying to steal from a grocer in Chinatown. Killy explains that they were just trying to feed themselves, but that's precisely why Leary gave them a job, which they screwed themselves out of. Nevertheless, they don't belong behind bars, and so Leary will see what he can do.

Ming Yu barges into Ah Toy's brothel in search of his girls, who Nellie initially took and brought to Sonoma. But now that they're back, he's come to reclaim them. However, Ah Toy reminds Ming Yu that he's on Hop Wei territory and urges him to leave. When he refuses and attacks Ah Toy, she defends herself, with help from her bodyguard and Lai, who kicks Ming Yu over the railing.

Buckley agrees to a sit down with Leary and Strickland, as they'd like to make things easier for him and help him win his mayoral campaign. Despite Thayer's visions for the city, he's having second thoughts about the race. Buckley doesn't like owing people favors, however, Leary and Strickland can hand him the race right now, and in exchange, he's going to make sure that their interests are looked after.

Happy Jack returns to his bar, where Abigail drinks alone and seemingly mourns Lee's loss. Happy Jack tells Abigail that her relationship with Lee was only ever going to end badly. However, Lee then enters the bar with Chao and confronts Happy Jack, at which point, Abigail pulls her shotgun from behind the counter and shoots Happy Jack in the chest, with Chao finishing him with a shot to the head.

Ah Sahm tells Yan Mi about the confrontation that led to Father Jun being shot, which he suspects Young Jun blames him for. Ah Sahm feels like he's only making things worse, but Yan Mi believes that's because he hasn't decided which side he's fighting for. During the riot, he wasn't fighting for any tong, rather for what was right. He so much more than those around him, and Yan Mi hopes that one day he will see that. She tells Ah Sahm that she can't wait around for things to change, because when her father dies and her bother takes over the shop, she'll have to look after her own future, which is why she's been stealing fake chop, which she reveals to Ah Sahm. The money will at least buy her a future to get on a train elsewhere and start over. Ah Sahm agrees not to tell anyone but makes her promise not to take anymore.

Young Jun finds Father Jun in a state of confusion, going on about the Navy. Young Jun notices that he's bleeding through his bandages and encourages him to sit down. Father Jun, clearly not in his right mind, begins muttering that there's "too many of them."

Leary arrives at the police station to learn that Bill has quit. When asking what happened, Harrison and Stone tell him to ask the new police chief. However, Chief Atwood doesn't intend to speak to Leary without an appointment. Leary explains that he's always had a good relationship with the law, a relationship that works both ways. He's hoping Atwood will release the Donahue boys, who were only trying to feed their families. Atwood recalls going through hard times as a young man as well, but he never broke the law. Conor and Garrett are charged with breaking and entering, larceny, and assaulting an officer. Atwood believes in law and order and will see to it that the Donahues are held accountable.

Bill's first day on the job isn't without its challenges; he is called into Horace's office, as he is lagging behind the others. Bill promises to do better tomorrow.

Mai Ling interrupts Ah Sahm and Yan Mi hooking up in the print shop and asks for a moment alone with her brother. Mai Ling informs Ah Sahm that she's engaged and that he's invited to the wedding. She also welcomes him to bring Yan Mi along.

Hong and Marcel are going on a stroll through Chinatown when Marcel reveals that he's going to stay in San Francisco a little bit longer after being offered a residency.

Bill soaks in a hot bath after a long day at work, though he lies to Lucy and says that the first day went well. Lucy spoke to her sister about hopefully moving things along so that Bill could begin moving up the ranks and working on the books.

Zimo and a couple of friends attack an Irishman in an alley way, completely unprovoked.

Abigail wonders if Lee is ever going to tell her what happened out there. He replies that maybe someday, but now he would rather think about the future. Abigail fears that Lee's future isn't going to be any easier. Inside the four walls of the bar, they are good, but outside, danger still lurks. Abigail goes on to tell him how her husband died. Wesley was a good man. He had a job down at the docks. Ir didn't pay much, but it was honest work, and that's what mattered to him, but one night, when he was walking home, he ran into some white boys out looking for trouble. It was four against one, and both sides were bloodied up by the time the cops came. Wesley try to tell them what happened, but they saw the color of his skin and decided that he was in the wrong. When the cops tried to cuff him, and he resisted, they shot him. Being good didn't get him anywhere but dead, so when Happy Jack asked her to work for him, she said yes, because you have to be crooked to get around in a crooked world. Lee asks if she regrets what they did to Jack, but Abigail has no regrets. Her husband didn't get enough time on the Earth, and the way she sees it, Jack got more than his share.

Young Jun informs Yan Mi that they need to ramp up production, as splitting their take with the Long Zii is cutting into profit. So he's brought two hatchet men for her to train. Yan Mi informs him that printing like she is a delicate process, and that everyone can't do it. And even if they are capable, it will take months before they can do so efficiently. Which is why she better get started, Young Jun advises. He worries that if something were to happen to her, he'd lose the only pair of hands capable of making his chop.

Agent Mosely arrives at the bar to find Lee alive and well. Lee hands over his badge, but Mosely does not accept his resignation. He asks Lee what happened to him, to which Lee replies that his family won't be coming after him anymore, and therefore he will no longer require the Secret Service's protection. Family matters aside, Lee still has a murder charge to attend with, and that doesn't go away until Mosley says it does, which he will do, but only after he has the plates.

Mai Ling has arranged a sit down between Ah Toy and Ming Yu regarding his girls. Ah Toy explains that she didn't steal his girls and that she simply gave them a place to stay, as they don't belong to anyone. Mai Ling is not going to ask her to hand over the girls, but Ming Yu is under Long Zii protection and Mai Ling would like to see him compensated for his loss. And so, Ah Toy offers him money. He becomes enraged, but Mai Ling orders him to sit down. He lost his girls to the bulls, not Ah Toy. She doesn't owe him anything and is already giving him more than he deserves. So Mai Ling orders him to take it and to stop wasting her time. After Li Yong walks Ming Yu out, Mai Ling invites Ah Toy to her wedding, an offer that she accepts. On her way out, Ah Toy says that Mai Ling's new place is very Chinese and traditional, like the version of them the ducks expect. Their future in America must be as Americans, not as an exotic cultural curiosity. Mai Ling admits it was a strategy, a way to lure them in, but perhaps that was a mistake. Ah Toy replies that the only mistake was thinking that appealing to them would change how the Chinese are treated. As far as Ah Toy is concerned, they belong there, even if the ducks don't know it yet.

Young Jun enters Father Jun's room to discover that he's missing. Young Jun runs out onto the street and orders his men to begin the search for his father.

Leary returns to the Banshee to learn that one of his guys were jumped by a mob of Chinese outside a bar. Leary urges everyone to calm down as a mob begins to form. He urges them against starting another riot, as they lost good men during the previous one. They are weeks away from the election of a mayor who will ban Chinese labor once and for all. Hundreds of jobs are about to come their way all because of Leary, so he takes offense when they accuse him of giving up, even though in reality, he's the only one fighting for them and defending them against men who see them as thugs and hooligans. He orders them to stay put while he tends to the matter.

Leary makes his way to Chinatown, where he comes face to face with Ah Sahm after stumbling upon his mural. Leary reveals that a few of the Chinese attacked an Irishman last night and beat him pretty badly. He's trying to stop a riot from forming. All Ah Sahm has to do is hand over the boys responsible, which Ah Sahm sarcastically agrees to do, but only after Leary hands over the guys who robbed one of their grocers, which Leary can't do as they're already in custody. Leary warns Ah Sahm to keep the Chinese out of his neighborhood, and he'll do the same from his end. And maybe between the two of them, they can keep a bunch of people from ending up dead. After Leary leaves, Ah Sahm tells Hong to put out the word that anyone who goes into the pond will have to answer to him.

Meanwhile, Father Jun, in his state of confusion, has made his way into Long Zii territory. Armed with a sword, Father Jun challenges Long Zii hatchet men to come out and fight him, but instead, he is laughed at by the hatchets. Realizing that he is not right in the mind, Li Yong orders his men inside and returns Father Jun home to Young Jun.

Ah Sahm enters Ah Toy's brothel and goes straight after Zimo after learning that he and his friends jumped the Irishmen. When he feigns ignorance, Ah Sahm slaps him. He informs Zimo that his actions were close to igniting another riot. A lot of people died last time, and the ducks are looking for any reason to kill them. If they come back, that blood will be on Zimo's hand. Ah Sahm warns him not to do anything else and sends him home.

Ah Sahm convenes with Ah Toy in her bedroom, where he informs her how Zimo's actions almost led to another riot, which Ah Toy believes is inevitable. Ah Sahm agrees but not today. She then asks if he's going to Mai Ling's wedding, which he is, as is Ah Toy, who's been saving a dress for a special occasion.

Lai hides outside of Strickland's estate and watches as he enters his home.

Thayer confronts Buckley to inform him that he's dropping out of the race. Thayer has a family he loves and things he believes in, whereas Buckley doesn't even have a friend to share a celebratory drink with. And that's because everyone knows what type of man Buckley really is. Unlike Thayer, who Buckley says is actually a soft and entitled man who inherited his wealth and clings to the notion that he accomplished something beyond an accident of birth. He never fought for a single thing in his life, and that's why men like him will always be undone by men like Buckley, who then makes his way to Catherine to have sex.

Young Jun has a drink while dealing with his world around him crashing in. His father is losing his mind because his best friend had to play hero, and now they're shoveling shit for his sister. Hong argues the last thing Ah Sahm wanted was to work for Mai Ling and that he did it to help Young Jun, who then turns his attention to Yan Mi and Ah Sahm's secret relationship with her. They've let too many outsiders in, and the Hop Wei has to come first, but Young Jun isn't sure if Ah Sahm believes that. Hong believes that their partnership with the Long Zii isn't so bad if they can get rich without killing each other, but Young Jun replies that peace never lasts. When this deal with Mai Ling blows up, Young Jun is going to need soldiers who will die for him. And he's not sure if Ah Sahm will be able to be relied on.

## 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
* Tom Weston-Jones as Richard Lee
* Hoon Lee as Wang Chao
* Langley Kirkwood as Walter Buckley
* Perry Yung as Father Jun
* Chen Tang as Hong
* Chelsea Muirhead as Yan Mi
* Adam Rayner as Douglas Strickland III
* Mark Dacascos as Kong Pak
* Joe Taslim as Li Yong
* Nat Ramabulana as Happy Jack
* Neels Clasen as Chief Atwood
* Telly Leung as Marcel
* Robert Hobbs as Stone
* Nicholas Pauling as Harrison
* Colin Moss as Thayer
* Emily Child as Lucy O'Hara
* Gaosi Raditholo as Abigail
* Dominique Maher as Catherine Archer
* Jenny Umbhau as Lai
* Morné Visser as Killy Donahue
* Matthew Vey as Conor Donahue
* Ross Van Der Walt as Garrett Donahue
* Kevin Otto as Horace Clark
* Milton Schorr as Officer Graham
* Jandre le Roux as Shaw
* Jason Wong as Ming Yu
* Angelo Chen as Zimo
* Richard Wright-Firth as Callum
* Jason Li as Hop Wei Hatchet
* Steven P. Park as Tu
* Fu Zen Chase as Grocer

## Trivia

* The episode title was spoken by Abigail to Lee about her dead husband.

## Gallery

### Videos

The Official Warrior Podcast - Episode 7 - Max