S02.E06: Jyu Sa

[Trini]

After a tip from Evan leads Nicky and Mia to a secret meeting between Juliette and a mysterious scientist, Nicky begins to question whether she should approach her relationship with Mia as a friend or a shifu. Elsewhere, Henry's findings lead him to an expert that may be able to help decipher his research. Finally, Jin and Mei-Li help to settle an age-old dispute between Chinatown's oldest grocers.

Kristin Windell directed the episode written by Matt Young.

Airdate: 4/13/2022

 

[AnimeMania]

Finally, Jin and Mei-Li help to settle an age-old dispute between Chinatown's oldest grocers.

That had absolutely nothing to do with the story, just put there so that the characters were in this episode.

Is Henry's father pretending to help the Tans?

[william0102]

Pretty sure the writers are implying the opposite, that Henry's dad is neutral, or less bad than the Tans. The music guy was a part of the wonsai (sorry i have no idea how it's spelled), and Henry's dad is claiming to be from the group as well. Music man was keeping the sheet music hidden so the musical tones couldn't be used.

[Cress]

The subtitles said the group was called teh Wan Zai, so apparently Henry's dad is part of the group keeping the music secret. He'll probably question Henry about the dead guy.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, Cress said:

The subtitles said the group was called teh Wan Zai, so apparently Henry's dad is part of the group keeping the music secret. He'll probably question Henry about the dead guy.

But Henry's dad was getting paid by the Tan's to try to break up Henry and Nicky. He seems to be interacting with both sides.

[tennisgurl]

Does the show runner have some massive daddy issues that they need to unpack? Henry's dad is a part of...something or another, too early to tell if he's really evil, although no matter what it sounds like he was a deadbeat, Mia's dad sold her out, Dennis's dad might still be working for the asshole who assaulted Althea, Papa Zhang was neglectful and shady, Russel Tan isn't exactly father of the year, Jin is the only unambiguously good dad to be seen. 

So it was ancient artifact magic that started the San Francisco earthquake? I dig it, I am so down for the show to really lean into the magic. I love how Althea and Ryan were like "this seems weird, even for this situation" while Nicky, who's already experienced magic, is just rolling with it. Also looks like Ryan's new boyfriend has some mysterious fighting skills. Oh Ryan, we all know that it wont just be that he started doing martial arts for the PE credit in high school.

The Jin and Mei-Li's plot was fun, just the right amount of comic relief from the more serious main plot.

[possibilities]

Cinnabar is a real thing, though of course the show is acting like it is magical and rare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar

Pretty pictures: https://geology.com/minerals/cinnabar.shtml

I wish they'd left Althea's feeling of empowerment alone, and not felt the need to have the guys go into violent mode. I get this show is full of thuggery, and they also wanted to catalyze the issue of Sebastian's secret. But it's irritating that they used Althea as a pawn for that, and it made me respect Dennis less, though I suspect they wanted us to think he was doing something good.

I like Jin and Mei-li. Their marriage is awesome. 

[paigow]

58 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Also looks like Ryan's new boyfriend has some mysterious fighting skills.

Obviously Sebastian & Mia are siblings.... both showed up in S.F. at almost the same time... 

[Camera One]

Poor bell music guy.  It looks like Juliet was at least a little shaken by killing that guy with the music tones and when her dad was talking about destroying the city.  

So there's another secret organization out there, with Henry's father and the music guy.  It's hard to keep it all straight.  I had to rewind a bit at the beginning when Henry and Nicky were talking about that Guardian that disappeared in the 1920s (?).  They made it sound like it was mentioned previously but I don't remember it.

Mia was bratty again in this episode.  I can see why Nicky was giving into her demands, since she didn't want her to run away again.  

I didn't like all the fighting at the bar, either.  Sebastian being able to fight will make him an asset on their growing team, I guess.  

I enjoyed the subplot with the parents and the feuding grocers.  I don't mind that it is disconnected with the supernatural kung fu stuff.

[william0102]

This episode was a little boring to me, but I understand we have to move things along to get to the exciting parts. I did have one question though: was Nicky affected by the cinnabar? Or did she only have a lesser reaction because she's not a guardian and a warrior like Mia? It didn't really seem like to me that she had been affected by it, but I could be wrong. That said, I really liked Nicky this episode, and it made sense that she was worried about bossing around Mia.

I really liked that the writers are giving us more info about the community. I think we got like one instance of that in the first season, when Nicky was trying to get people to talk about one of the gangsters blackmailing the different shop owners, so I'm all for them continuing to give us more of it this season.

Loved Althea, and that she wasn't buying any of Mr. Predator's pr excuses. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the Dennis' punching situation. Obviously it was for showing Sebastian can fight, and getting that ball rolling with Ryan. And I can even see how in that moment Dennis would want to punch such a vile person. The problem is Dennis has never been shown to be a violent person; and add in the fact that he was there with coworkers, that he thought may just be sucking up to him/dislike him because of nepotism, I don't see how someone as thoughtful as Dennis reacts with violence.

Also, good on Ryan for recognizing that all might not be right with Sebastian. I appreciate when people involved in dangerous groups/situations, realize that sometimes new people in your life might be plants/undercover etc. I guess really I'm just happy that Ryan isn't falling for Sebastian in one date. If Sebastian is bad, obviously we'll find out once Ryan IS in love with him, but at least we can expect it won't be until the end of the season. If Sebastian is good, then yeah, he has the right to his privacy. I'm actually starting to wonder if he's going to get a slightly different version of Henry's backstory. Sebastian was worried about being able to keep his job, so maybe he did some crimes as a kid, and either has a hard time keeping jobs once owners/managers/coworkers find out, or just getting jobs in the first place?

[thuganomics85]

Here I thought that the dumpling restaurant game could get intense, but apparently the rivalries amongst the grocery stores run deep!  The plot was admittedly there to give the Shen parents something to do, but I enjoyed it.  It's just nice seeing Mei-Lei and Jin together and getting a sense of what their relationship is like in general and what it used to be like before the kids came into the world.

I was wondering if they were ever going to introduce Althea's former boss and it looks like that is the case after-all.  He was certainly a piece of work, but I'm not sure having it end with Dennis punching him was the right call.  Realistically, even if he was an asshole, couldn't he probably get away with accusing Dennis of assault, now?  I get Dennis was probably not thinking clearly, but it didn't quite work for me.  Of course, it sounds like this was mainly to set up that Dennis' own father might not be all that great since he's apparently still working with the guy.  Fathers really aren't faring well on this show!

Juliette's reaction near the end was interesting.  She clearly seemed shaken up over what the music/stone did to that guy and seems disturbed by Russell's grand plan to use the bell to destroy San Fransisco.  I wonder if she wasn't fully aware about what her dad's plan was or was it a case of seeing all of this making her realize that this is all real and she's now unsure if she thinks she can handle it.

Nicky realizing real quick that being a Sifu isn't easy!

Figured it was going to be Henry's dad who kidnapped poor Henry.  Curious to see how this will all play out.

[Trini]

Danggit - I was hoping that Henry's dad wasn't going to be mixed up in Tan/Warrior/Guardian shenanigans. But I guess it's an interesting twist. I just don't need everything and every character connected to all that.

Just me, or have they changed the way they present Ghost Shifu and the way Nicky talks with her? In the first season it seemed more like Nicky's mental manifestation of her memories of Pei Ling; but now it's more like Pei Ling's ghost(?) is actually here in the present and Nicky talks with her like with anyone else. There's a difference, in any case.

Aw, this show has such great couples! I liked Jin and Mei-Li's plot; and the actors are great together. I'm glad that they still have plots together even if Jin isn't at the restaurant anymore. And Althea and Dennis are always cute; and I don't like them getting even more drama, but suppose Dennis could use more layers. Well, I was already expecting Sebastian to know how to fight - because it's just that type of show - so that adds some intrigue to Ryan/Seb.

So what is Tan's deal?? I know he's a billionaire, but destroying *a city* seems more expensive overall? I'm hoping his plan is actually more sophisticated. We'll see, I guess.

So this season, it's mystical bells, magical gems, and ... killer songs? What else are they going to introduce next??

 

On 4/14/2022 at 3:22 PM, tennisgurl said:

... Jin is the only unambiguously good dad to be seen. 

He's definitely overtaken Joe West as CW's Favorite Dad!

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Trini
oy, grammar

[HerkyJerky]

"Who would destroy a city for no reason?"

Althea: "Godzilla?"

LOVE me some Shannon Dang!😁

[possibilities]

And didn't someone say Godzilla was justified-- that really made me laugh.

[Trini]

On 4/18/2022 at 2:15 AM, HerkyJerky said:

"Who would destroy a city for no reason?"

Althea: "Godzilla?"

Ryan: "No, he had his reasons."

[Camera One]

17 hours ago, Trini said:

Ryan: "No, he had his reasons."

That line definitely made me chuckle.

[peachmangosteen]

On 4/14/2022 at 3:22 PM, tennisgurl said:

Does the show runner have some massive daddy issues that they need to unpack? 

It's giving Lost lol.