S01.E12: Sacrifice

[paigow]

Airdate: Jul 14 / 21

With time running out, Nicky and Henry work to translate a cryptic map that could lead them to the Forge; Althea and the family prepare for Po Po's arrival.

[Trini]

Well, that'll teach me to get invested in a villain couple... again. Fool me twice, shame on me. 😩  They always pick revenge over love! I figured there was a good chance that Kerwin might die, but I thought it would be in the finale during a fight or something. Don't know if Zhilan is going to make it to Season 2, but if she does, I imagine her story will be dodging the Tan family's revenge.

Zhilan may have the eight weapons, but Nicky has the Power of Love™!

Exchanging 'I love you's ? Too soon! Although I like Nicky and Henry. I'm glad she changed her mind about Henry coming with her, but I feel like he would have followed her anyway.

Poor Althea, and the rest of the family, stressing out over Popo visit! For some reason, I didn't think the wedding was coming so soon. I wonder if it will actually happen next week or will they push it to next season.

Nicky finding the Forge because of info from her ex-warrior grandmother makes more sense than a lot of other things she achieved so far. Wow, so Nicky and Zhilan are even more connected than we knew. I guess it makes sense with what they've already set up. That may be a way to keep Zhilan in the story next season?

So Zhilan shows up to the monastery alone; she's out numbered. I would think that she could be overpowered, so how are they going to justify NOT doing that next episode? Because even though she's wanted for murder, I bet there's some honor code or whatever.

Edited July 15, 2021 by Trini

[Camera One]

Like most of the episodes this season, it was sort of hit and miss.

Zhilan is just full of vendettas, isn't she?  Were they only showing Father Tan's mouth because he hasn't been cast yet?  Clearly, he will be next year's big bad since Nicky will surely be against an unethical factory owner who pollutes the environment.  

All these months, and Nicky hadn't had anyone translate the characters burned onto her hand by the sword?  It looks like Zhilan remembered them and immediately figured out how to find the forge.  Which of course was the only location we've seen in "China".   Speaking of which, Henry really knows his Chinese geography.  He plotted those map locations without looking closely at the map.

The family stuff was fun, especially with everyone lying to Popo.  

The scene with Nicky and her mom confronting the grandma was well done.  But they seemed to cast too young for the grandma so it just looked like some middle-aged woman with a grey wig.  I think I would have preferred a slower burn of Nicky's grandmother's backstory.  Everything just felt too rushed and undeveloped.  How did she know the young woman who trained her was the mother of Nicky's shi-fu?  

So a bunch of thieves came for the sword, and shi-fu's mother decided to train Popo?  Was she hoping she would keep the sword from then on, and she wouldn't need to be Guardian anymore, or what? 

When the shi-fu spirit told Nicky "People you care for is what makes you strong" and it jumped to China, for a moment, I thought Nicky brough the whole family to fight with her, LOL.

One thing taking me out of the episode was at the back of my mind, knowing Nicky's fighting "skills", this all just felt like a suicide mission.  Her first instinct not to bring Hostage, uh, I mean Henry, was the right one.

So Nicky actually had "friends" at the monastery?  Funny how they thought they would never see her again, sort of like how she abandoned her biological family.  I hope the other fighters at the monastery don't end up being redshirts.  Nicky said she "lost many sisters" when Zhilan attacked the first time, but I thought only her shi-fu died.

Maybe if Nicky corresponded with her monastery "sisters" by letter more, she would have known that the forge was there earlier.

Last and definitely least, look at Evan risking his job to help Nicky.  I guess all that Tan business info isn't relevant until next season?  He must have a steady hand and a great phone for those quick pics in the dim lighting to not be super blurry.

Edited July 15, 2021 by Camera One

[HerkyJerky]

50 minutes ago, Trini said:

Zhilan may have the eight weapons, but Nicky has the Power of Love™!

 

[paigow]

All next episode will be trying to unlock the forge door - looks like thousands of symbol combinations 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Trini said:

So Zhilan shows up to the monastery alone; she's out numbered.

She came to offer Nicky a Dark Side invitation... then kill everyone.... 

[tv echo]

Two things stood out to me in this episode (other than Zhilan killing Kerwin and Althea's beautiful red Chinese dress)...

Family dinner with Po Po when Nicky suddenly confessed that she was not a lawyer - I think the intent was to make Nicky look like an honest hero who was tired of secrets, but it kinda looked like she blindsided the family to make herself look better at their expense (like the kind of thing one might do to make the matriarch of the family change her will to leave everything to the one honest heir). While I think it was wrong for the family to lie to Po Po in the first place, the whole family agreed to it in advance. For Nicky to break ranks in front of Po Po just made the rest of the family look dishonest. It was also clear that Nicky was still single-mindedly determined to ask Po Po about the photo, even at the expense of throwing her family under the bus. I realize that time was of the essence, and I actually liked the three-generation conversation with Po Po, Nicky and Mei-Li that followed. I just wish the confession had been done differently, like Nicky tells her family ahead of Po Po's arrival that she wasn't going to lie about being a lawyer. Also, later when Nicky referenced her mother's secret-keeping as almost breaking apart the family, I cringed. What, no taking responsibility for your disappearing to a monastery for three years?

Flashback of Po Po as a young girl fighting with the sword and magically having extra special fighting skills through the sword - Perhaps this is a foreshadowing of how Nicky will beat Zhilan, despite their vast disparity in martial arts skills. Maybe Nicky will somehow get a hold of the sword and suddenly have the sword-fighting skills of all past Warriors?  Honestly, I don't see how Nicky can credibly beat Zhilan in a one-on-one fight just using kung fu.

Edited July 15, 2021 by tv echo

[tennisgurl]

Oh no, not my favorite villain couple! I figured that Kerwyn would die but not that Zhilan would kill him so quickly, both because she hates his father (and the lady really holds a grudge) and because she actually does have feelings for him. Its another parallel between them and Nicky/Henry, where the female half of the couple tries to get rid of the male half because she's afraid that her feelings for him are getting in the way of her mission. Of course, they handle dealing with that very differently...

I like Henry/Nicky, but they are moving way too fast, it seems like its too early for I Love You. 

Poor Althea, such constant stress for her. At least the visit ended up going pretty well, even if Nicky went off script to start dropping truth bombs all over the place. I get why she did it, especially because she needed information about their family secrets, but I wish that she had maybe apologized to Althea for causing dinner to go off the rails, even if it was for the greater good. Of course Althea would be alright with it, just like she understands her leaving and missing her wedding, she's the most understanding person on the entire west coast. Everyone trying to keep up their elaborate lies was pretty funny though, as was Po Po's reaction when the guys came back from their paintball party. 

Learning more about their family history is interesting, it combines the best parts of the show, Nicky's family and the sword mythology, which is still pretty vague but I enjoy it. 

For whatever reason I thought a lot of the women at the monastery were killed when Zhilan and her minions attacked, and I guess some were, but a lot of them are still alive, and ready to be Nicky's backup for the big Zhilan vs. Nicky final battle. She's ridiculously outnumbered by people who have every reason to want to see her head on a pike, but I am guessing that ancient rules or honor or something say that Nicky has to fight her one on one for the whole prize. 

[possibilities]

There might be a monastery rule against killing someone, and that might mean the women don't kill Zhilan even if they are able to overpower her. 

The forge is kind of like the force, isn't it? 

[tvwatchergordis]

I enjoyed this episode. One of the best of the series imo. 

The family aspect is one of the best of this series too. Althea is def my fave. Love her. 

Nicky is ready to accept her destiny. The only thing I didn't enjoy is that Po Po told her that accepting the Shen women family Destiny means that she can't have a family. Why must all women heroes have to give up everything? UGH. But Nicky wants to save the world and break the curse that has plague her family for centuries. 

I agree that Henry and Nicky saying "I love you." was way too soon. I would have expected that in S2 TBH.

And whoa is Zhilan evil. Just killing Cohen like he was nothing? Damn. All for a revenge that's misguided IMO. Pei-Ling didn't mean to kill their father it was an accident. But I guess Zhilan will never see it that way.

BTW I'm glad Pei-Ling's ghost changed Nicky's mind about giving up Henry and she allowed him to come with her. 

Now the big fight awaits us. I hope Nicky can beat Zhilan this time because watching Nicky lose every. single. time. well it's not fun.

 

[Trini]

9 hours ago, tv echo said:

Maybe Nicky will somehow get a hold of the sword and suddenly have the sword-fighting skills of all past Warriors?  Honestly, I don't see how Nicky can credibly beat Zhilan in a one-on-one fight just using kung fu.

I think this is very likely to happen, or some other *magic*.

 

16 hours ago, Camera One said:

Last and definitely least, look at Evan risking his job to help Nicky.  I guess all that Tan business info isn't relevant until next season? 

I don't think they explained why he needed those files, and why he had to sneak around to get the info. Not sure what the point of that plot point was, but maybe it will be explained next week.

[paigow]

[Exterior: Monastery]

Zhilan: I see you brought your boyfriend...

Nicky: Is yours hiding to launch a surprise attack?

Zhilan:  No. I killed him

Henry: Hey! You have stolen my revenge

Zhilan: Silly boy, I saved your life

 

[possibilities]

If she's supposed to have it, why did the sword burn her last time she touched it?

[Camera One]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

If she's supposed to have it, why did the sword burn her last time she touched it?

Yeah, the grandma was able to yield the sword just fine.  Did the sword "know" Nicky needed instructions to find The Forge, so burned her to imprint those characters into her hand?  But that also allowed Zhilan to steal the sword, so sword is not a smart device.

[thuganomics85]

Whelp, fare thee well, Kerwin!  I knew Zhilan would always pick her quest over him in the end, but I didn't suspect that she would just flat-out kill him due to a massive grudge she has against his father, due to his company causing her mother's death.  I mean, I get wanting to bring down Daddy Tan because of that, but it seems a bit much to take out his son who had nothing to do with it and who she clearly has/had feelings for.  But I guess that's why Zhilan is Zhilan.  And so far, everything she has done seems to work out for her, so who am I to question her judgement?!

The stuff with Po Po was typical "older relative makes things awkward due to their rigid and traditional way of doing things" stuff, but it was still fun watching the Shens try to avoid all of the pratfalls.  The show really is at its best when the whole family is involved.  And, hey, it seemed like she was warming up at the end!  Of course, even before that, she was already a fan of Dennis, so at least he's got that going for him (I'm still worried that something bad is going to happen to him...)

Nicky and Henry are already declaring their love for one another?  Guys, chill!  You've known each other for, what, months?  And only been together for maybe a few weeks top?  Hell, have you even been to each others' houses, yet (insert obvious "Does Henry just live at the library?" remark here)?

Althea would be someone who would understand why Nicky has to leave before her wedding and not make it a big thing (even though it clearly hurt her.)  She and Shannon Dang continue to be the best.

As much as I enjoy Zhilan as a villain, I would die with laughter if the finale starts with everyone just stabbing her with their spears and swords.  But, alas, I guess something is going to happen that will lead to Nicky vs. Zhilan: Round 3 (or is it 4 at this point?), and Nicky will somehow pull off an upset of some kind.  Can't wait to see how they'll somehow make that believable!

[paigow]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

As much as I enjoy Zhilan as a villain, I would die with laughter if the finale starts with everyone just stabbing her with their spears and swords.

That is a fully functioning android replica running on Tanerberg A.I. - The real Zhilan is already performing the ritual

[william0102]

The writers' actually attempted an explanation as to how Zhilan knew stuff!! Progress, yay! I was pretty sure though that Nicky won the book when she fought the Kung Fu fanboy? Did I forget the end of the episode of her losing another fight, and the book, against Zhilan?

I liked that the family story went along with Nicky's quest- although I did think it was a bit of a leap when Nicky said to Henry she thinks her Popo was a warrior. Like, you knew your family was the guardian of the sword, she could have just been taking a picture since Nicky never knew when the sword got to the monastery.

I laughed when the sister said she never thought she'd see Nicky again. I don't know why, I just did. Like there is a 98% chance that Nicky will run off again to find herself, especially if this makes it to season 3. Girl, you were always gonna see her again.

I think the Evan stuff was just to give his story some closure/ set him up as an info source about Papa Tan next season. He all but handed in his resignation by breaking into the D.A.'s office, so clsure there. Guess he's gonna become a PI or something? idk or care. On the other side of the love front, I don't get why Henry is so all in? Is it because he's had a troubled and lonely upbringing, and Nicky's devotion/obsession to the weapons is the kinda thing he'd want?  Agree with all of you about the I love yous being too soon. I wonder if they are setting up her realizing she was just transferring her feelings about having someone on her side/someone supporting her desire to be the chosen one? And she'll realize there's nothing much else next season?

Nitpicking aside, this episode really flowed well, made sense for the most part. And Nicky only came off as cringe in the dining scene. Have to say I LOVED Nicky and Althea's scene, really well done. That Nicky had changed the wedding book for Ryan, also really added to Nicky/Althea scene. A nice way of showing us that Nicky really does care about them, instead of just telling us. 

I cannot speak about Kerwin yet. I'm sad. I totally got it, and Zhilan at least does what works for her. Tho I do wonder if all the interactions with Nicky are what made her wait this long before killing Kerwin- like deep down she feels bad about her sister, but feeling bad before getting the weapons did nothing and would mean questioning her whole life. And now it happened again, she couldn't trust Kerwin, like she couldn't trust her sister. They are much better at building Zhilan's character than Nicky's, imo. Here's hoping Zhilan survives, I mean i'm 95% positive she will, but to me her and Althea are the most developed characters at this point, and I don't want to lose Zhilan.

[yourmomiseasy]

On 7/16/2021 at 2:54 AM, william0102 said:

I laughed when the sister said she never thought she'd see Nicky again. I don't know why, I just did. Like there is a 98% chance that Nicky will run off again to find herself, especially if this makes it to season 3. Girl, you were always gonna see her again.
 

I don't want it to be true, but probably when Henry tragically dies.

[AnimeMania]

Nicky has time to computer generate an entire multipage color illustrated manual about how to manage Althea's wedding, but couldn't be bothered to help her Baba draw one little dumpling clipart for the restaurant menu.

[DanaK]

Aw Kerwin, we knew ye well. I will kind of miss the bad couple partnership. It was interesting to see Zhilan carry out her revenge, yet emotional that she was killing Kerwin, plus Kerwin refused to fight her