S01.E08 Protect The Family

[arc]

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The Suns' lives and legacy hang in the balance as old wounds and hard truths come to light. Bruce makes a choice that could change the family forever.

Nah, Eileen is right. Bruce bringing the Boxers to the meeting was a colossal betrayal.

For a gangster action-comedy, I'm pleasantly surprised at the show making Boxers have very legitimate, justifiable grievances with the triads. (Rather than just triads vs triads or triads vs cops.) The Boxers' indiscriminate murder sprees did suggest an early corruption, though.

Haaaaaa, I knew it! I knew that assassination attempt on Big Sun seemed too neatly wrapped up by a fourteen year old Charles killing the assassin in single combat.

In that little outdoor breakdown Bruce had talking to Alexis, it struck me as just a hair too dramatic -- and then it was! Bruce was playing her! Nice. This is very nitpicky, but I've love to hear the thought process of the writers on when the family members say "Sun" like the English "sun" vs the Chinese, kinda more like "Suen". Certainly earlier in the series, even in English conversation, Charles would say "Suen".

If I was gonna kill my evil dad, maybe a waterlogged gun wouldn't be my first choice for a murder weapon.

It was probably for the framing of the shot that Big Sun sat facing away from the door, but come on, a career gang leader should know better than to sit with his back to a door.

Oh wow, I didn't think Bruce would shoot to wound. I thought 50% chance he takes Big Sun up on the offer to replace him and 30% chance he kills Big Sun like he said, and 20% chance he runs away or something. This was pretty diabolical, honestly.

... but not nearly as much as Eileen using her medical training to incapacitate Big Sun with insulin. Holy shit.

If there's a second season, I'd love to see Bruce continue being a fish out of water, by bringing him to Taiwan.

Aw snap, a mid-credits scene! And that Jade Dragons senior member who I thought was shady the whole season is shady! I really hope they do a second season.

[arc]

One last thing: I really liked how the Sun family showed off the skills they acquired in America. Bruce used his acting (improv) to get one over on Alexis, and his pre-med knowledge to shoot his dad to wound, not kill. Eileen used her nurse training, albeit to cause harm, in the end.

[Chaos Theory]

I really wanted to like this.   The fighters were great.   I thought the story itself was entertaining.  I especially liked the mother.  I really wish the show dig a little deeper into her network of gossiping old woman playing mahjong.  I thought the irony of both the father and Charles dismissing them as just gossiping old women completely overlooking the fact that mom had managed to figure out everyone’s secrets in the Triad was something the show should have focused on more.  
 

My other big issue continues to be Bruce.  Yes he pulls out a big win in the end but he is still way too much a moralistic coward for this kind of show.  I was hoping Charles or mom would knock some sense or big truths into him but for some reason the show is making him out to be the moral center…..and it falls flat.

it is 50/50 of I will watch if there is a second season.   I like the crime stuff.   Hate Bruce.  

[arc]

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

he is still way too much a moralistic coward for this kind of show.

That may stem from the producers wanting to keep things light. I've been reading a bunch of pieces since finishing the show, so I can't find it now, but I remember reading that they wanted some kind of balance leaning towards lightness*. So that may be why Bruce is conflicted about it all. Plus, this is a pretty short amount of time for a newbie to just dive in and fully commit to the gangster life.

(edit: found it:

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That emotional core and levity are what underscored the production, said co-creator Brad Falchuk. “We didn’t want any darkness in the show,” he said. “You’d watch this show and you’d feel good afterwards. You wouldn’t feel like you had been sort of beaten down in any way.”

)

But yeah, one thing they definitely could have done more with was earlier in the season when Charles said Bruce wasn't being a rebel, but just a coward because he was pursuing improv secretly, not in open defiance of his mom. That hit hard because it was valid.

Even so, he did change a little over the course of the season. He started off like a typical Asian American son, outwardly obedient but secretly slightly rebellious, but he ends up with no hesitation in aiming Xing at the Boxer who killed Blood Boots, he fully lies to the cops, and he doesn't oppose his mother when she firmly states her intention to take over the gang.

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I was hoping Charles or mom would knock some sense or big truths into him but for some reason the show is making him out to be the moral center…..and it falls flat.

I love Charles and Eileen, but they're pretty bad people who are definitely not committing only victimless crimes. The Boxers may not have been good people themselves, but they had legitimate reasons to want to destroy the triads. I do agree that Bruce was too naive, even at the end, but I'm just not sure anyone had much of a moral high ground to talk to him about it.

Edited January 17 by arc

[cdnalor]

On 1/16/2024 at 5:48 PM, arc said:

Aw snap, a mid-credits scene! And that Jade Dragons senior member who I thought was shady the whole season is shady! I really hope they do a second season

So was he the one behind the Boxers or were we never told who Grace was reporting to?

[arc]

17 hours ago, cdnalor said:

So was he the one behind the Boxers or were we never told who Grace was reporting to?

Yeah, it never made sense to me that Grace was head of the Boxers or even high enough to be able to promise not to hunt Charles or Eileen. But I never thought the Jade Dragons consigliere was behind them either, and we never even saw her reporting to anyone.

Who was the guy on screen left in the mid credits scene?

[cdnalor]

21 hours ago, arc said:

Who was the guy on screen left in the mid credits scene

No idea.  I didn't even remember who the consigliere was until I came here.