S02.E07: The Alchemist

[Trini]

As Nicky investigates the secrets behind a mysterious stone that Juliet is after, Henry uncovers a shocking revelation about his father. Elsewhere, Althea prepares for investor meetings for her app, and Dennis receives an ultimatum from his dad.

Richard Speight Jr. directed the episode written by Jon Bring.

Airdate: 4/27/2022

[HerkyJerky]

I wonder how Dennis' dad would react to somebody talking shit about HIS wife in a bar!

[owenthurman]

“The Alchemist wanted to create a more powerful human. Many died in the process, but in the end, she created a miracle: the Warriors and Guardians. Xiao’s design was for a better world.”

So, the writers embrace Nazi eugenics now? It’s ok that “many died” from human experimentation because the ends justify the means? And then the next lines call for racial purity.

I’m hoping all this gets subverted, because it’s looking pretty awful.

Edited: whoops, I should probably make it a point to watch the episode to the end before commenting!

Edited April 28, 2022 by owenthurman
Because everything I said was misinformed.

[Cress]

Yeah, 'cause then we learn that it's not Pei-Ling giving this commentary, it's the Alchemist justifying her methods. Her words and her predictions about Mia should be taken with a grain of salt.

[william0102]

Well... this episode happened.  Henry's plot was boring. If his dad isn't using him, then that was a waste of storytime. That whole thing with the lady coming in, but backing down so easily to Henry's dad just smells of a setup. No one from the order thought to go with them? The writers want me to believe that the lady didn't think H's dad could interrogate his son, but was cool with the two of them finding the directions to the scroll? Yeah right.

Liked the direction of Dennis and Althea's plot, wish it had been longer. Or heck, just include a text to Althea from a burner phone, laying it out that yeah whatshisname was behind those people turning down Althea's pitch (or even Tan's daughter being behind it is a possibility). Liked Althea turning to Dennis for help, and good for Dennis standing up to his dad. I really hope though that Althea is the one who gets the last word with whatshisname, and Dennis gets the last word with his dad- I don't want to lose the point of Althea's arc last season by having Dennis fix everything. Evan wasn't terribly annoying, I liked that they showed him not being okay with his uselessness when it comes to the plot since he's jobless.

I'm just gonna roll with it about the cinnabar trapping the cousin and Ryan being able to make the tea. Knew it wasn't Shifu, she never does plot exposition these days. The fight was kinda cool. Got the return of Nikki using the force, maybe that's a hint that she still possesses the ability to channel it if her mind is in the right space. As much as I'm indifferent to Mia, I felt bad for her having to see what happened, so I'm glad Nicky got her to turn away. I'm very much enjoying Nicky being more decisive. Even though I'm 90% certain I know how the plot with Mia and Nicky is going to go down, the actors are doing their best to sell the emotions, I'm in.

And we did get an explanation as to who buried the aunt. I'm surprised Tan actually went through with it. Why? He could have hidden the aunt's body anywhere and would have likely gotten away with it. Overall a decent episode, but definitely could have used a few tweaks with the subplots.

 

[Trini]

I admit I'm not much into the magic and mythology part of this show, so maybe I missed some things; so the terrible "destiny" for Mia is to go mad with power? What exactly are the Warrior and Guardian powers again? Besides fighting skills?

But I did like the dream parts of the episode, and how they stylized the look of everything. The fighting between Xiao and Nicky was pretty too! Too bad now Nicky has an evil 'ghost shifu' to deal with. But now Vanessa Kai gets to play another character!  Also we got a few answers about Mei Xue, so that was good.

Crap - I don't want extra drama for Althea and Dennis!! But Dennis must have some of his own money/investments that his father can't touch, right?

I also liked the pairing of Evan and Althea for that one scene; but I really hope they find something to do with him other than sporadically connected to other character's plots.

Okay, so they're making Henry's criminal past (and I guess present too, because of Nicky shenanigans) an actual family legacy? Poor Henry has so many bad influences in his life! LOL! But I guess if they run out of ideas for Warrior/Guardian stuff, they can do plots with the Wan Zai - Magic Object Protectors.

And yeah, I also thought it was suspect that Yuen backed off and disappeared from the story. I assume we'll see them again, though.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Trini

[thuganomics85]

The dream sequences were more stylized than most other shows that have similar stories/plots, I thought.  The fight sequence was pretty cool too.  I'm all for them continuing to let Richard Speight Jr. take on the director's chair when he can, because I've really been enjoying his style.

Not surprised Nicky was able to save Mia, but we get some big reveals with a) knowing for sure that it was Russell that killed Mia's mom and b) the hybrid between Warriors and Guardians was created by this Alchemist lady, who is claiming that a hybrid is destined to go mad at some point.  Not sure if I fully trust this particular character, but I wouldn't be surprised if Nicky does have to face off against Mia at some point, despite her efforts to avoid it.  Having the Alchemist take on the form of Pei-Ling was neat and Vanessa Kai seemed to be enjoying getting to be more sinister here.

Not a good week for Althea and Dennis.  Certainly sounds like Althea believes that her sleazy ex-boss is using his power to make no one want to invest in her company.  Meanwhile, Dennis cuts ties with his father after he finds out he's still working with said ex-boss, which is a noble thing to do, but it now means he no longer has a job or any of his family's money.  I guess he better brush off his resume!  Did like Althea and Evan bonding over getting screwed over and participating in some day drinking!

Henry and his father have at least moved to "cordially giving handshakes after participating in some light thievery" phase of their relationship, but I'm not sure I trust Henry's dad still.  Certainly don't trust his boss.

Who knew being a doctor means you also have mad tea making skills?!  Or was it his time at the restaurant that made Ryan the best choice for that?

The parents took a backseat here, but I did like them holding the ceremony at the end for Mia's mom/Mei-Lei's sister.  Jin continues to be the best dad here: hell, maybe even the best on the CW!

[possibilities]

Let's hear it for Dennis's arms. Why didn't they give him sleeveless garments sooner?

[paigow]

Juliet will set up a fake company to finance the app so she can spy on Nicky indirectly.

[Camera One]

The dream sequences were pretty and the outline of Mia's mom's cabin was interesting visually.  If they have to include a magical mind realm, I suppose the explanation was peripherally adequate.  Seeing the actress playing Pei-Ling as the sinister Alchemist was fun.  I'm not sure how Nicky will be able to differentiate between her Shi-fu and Evil doppleganger hallucinations in the future, though.  

It's amazing a "create a warrior/guardian" tea recipe from the first dynasty was passed down with such accuracy.  Surely it needed a few drops of mercury, no?

The stuff like Henry's dad and his boss and why they hate Nicky is still up in the air.  I too was confused why the boss just walked out.  It was good to hear that bell expert guy didn't die, though.  I did like the mission with Henry and his dad.  Henry should have asked more questions.

Althea should have just left the bar last episode right away, and all these problems would have been avoided.  

It was a nice idea to have that ceremony for Mia's mom at the end.  I've never actually heard a couple in real life address each other as "husband" or "wife" in daily life, even older couples.  

Edited May 1, 2022 by Camera One

[tennisgurl]

So the daddy issues theme continues, with Henry finding out about why his dad has been absent for most of his life and Dennis finding out that his dad is still in business with Althea's scummy boss, who proceeds to cut Dennis off. Good thing we still have Jin as the best dad ever, even if he and Mei-Li were only in the last scene. No wonder Henry has a checkered past, he must have picked some stuff up from his absentee dad, who, in true long lost relative fashion, shows up at the exact most inconvenient time.

The dream sequence was really cool, very surreal and interesting, it made it a lot more interesting than your typical; backstory vision quest. I also liked the twist that Pei-Ling was actually the Alchemist, you could tell how much fun the actress was having playing sinister. The whole warriors/guardians backstory seems pretty convoluted, and now Mia being some kind of chosen one who can possibly bring chaos to the world, but I am still decently interested. Also, the mention of the Alchemist using a glowing red rock in her experiments to research immortality makes me think that she created a Philosopher Stone. They really are going hard on the magic now, and with this new Celtic artifact we found out about, the floodgates are really open. Will Henry's dad stop by England to pick up the Holy Grail next? All of the immortality talk also makes me wonder if the Alchemist could still be alive somewhere.

I wish that Dennis and Althea had less drama, but I am interested in where their story goes from here. I also liked the scene between Evan and Althea, who don't get a whole lot of interaction. Evan seems to be struggling with his new lack of employment, but seems to be trying to stay positive and did give Althea some much needed advice and a pep talk. Not taking Dennis's money really was stupid rule, even if that isn't an option anymore.

Edited May 3, 2022 by tennisgurl

[paigow]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So the daddy issues theme continues, with Henry finding out about why his dad has been absent for most of his life and Henry finding out that his dad is still in business with Althea's scummy boss,

Need to search & replace some Henry with Dennis....

[Trini]

I don't know how deep the writers will go with it, but I've been mulling over the broader implications of the twists in this episode:

1. So you're telling me there's a magical dream realm with with the knowledge and memories of every previous guardian and warrior that the current guardians and warriors can access with ... tea? (Tell me I'm not the only one seeing parallels to Avatar:TLA.) The big downside is that it's controlled by an evil immortal alchemist, but otherwise it seems like it could be a huge resource to the characters, and opens up other story possibilities. (Flashback/time travel episodes?)
2. The Wan Zai: an international brotherhood of magic protectors -- the show has already been to China and Canada, but this could really take the scope global. They can do stories with myths, legends, etc. from other countries and cultures outside of China; and have a personal connection with Henry.

I just thought these are some interesting ways to expand on the mythology of the show.