One of the Best Action Shows on TV
Summary
Warrior is still one of the best action series of recent times; there’s a lot going on this season with some great character work and performances with no shortage of regular fight scenes and graphic violence making it essential viewing.
Plot: Struggling under the pressure of an increased police presence, the Hop Wei search for a new, lucrative way to survive. As Ah Sahm and Young Jun struggle to produce authentic bills, they get valuable printing advice from an unexpected source.
Review: I just finished the third season of Warrior which remains one of the all-time great action TV shows. It had been a couple of years since season 2 so I had to do a refresher before watching this so I could remember everything that happened. There are a lot of characters in this show and they are all interesting in their own ways. This season I think might be the best for sheer character development as the relationship between Young Jun (Jason Joban) and Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) has changed dramatically. In the first two seasons they were like brothers but in this season Ah Sahm falls in love with an outsider so the two begin to drift apart climaxing in a bloody showdown.
Then we have Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger) who essentially started out as a thug but is now becoming more of a political powerhouse learning all the machinations as he tries to do his best for the Irish workers of San Francisco. He is one of my favourite characters as Jagger brings such a fierce intensity to the role that even though he’s tough as nails you love every moment he is on screen, especially when he’s providing beatdowns (which he does rather brutally in this season). One of the most memorable scenes is when a group of goons come to Dylan’s bar, and he destroys them all with one being force-fed the bar and definitely requiring dental work.
As expected, the action in Warrior is some of the best you’ll see on TV (and some movies) with amazing choreography from Brett Chan. Watching Andrew Koji in fight scenes is always the highlight of any episode as he can really movie as well as being one of the most charismatic actors working today. As great as the action is in this season for me personally, nothing quite matches the sheer intensity of the riot from season 2 but this comes damn close.
Jason Tobin has really made Young Jun a fascinating character where he used to be almost playful and ambitious but by this season, he has essentially become an all-out villain with the only moments we can care for him are the tender moments with his father.
Joe Taslim is a little underused but he’s as magnetic as always and I hope we get a fourth season to see where they take his character Li Yong as it’s certainly going to be interesting. His relationship with Mai Ling (Dianne Doan) is complex and really gets explored here and I must say it’s nice to see Mai Ling get what’s coming to her as she was never a particularly likeable character.
It’s great to see Mark Dacascos finally join this show as he just belongs in it and he doesn’t disappoint; he still has the moves too and is always a joy to watch.
There are so many other characters and storylines in this season that I won’t go into them all here (although there are a couple I could have done without). I mostly just want Ah Sahm, Young Jun and Dylan on screen all the time as those are my favourite characters with the most engaging stories.
That opening theme tune is still classic and one of the coolest of recent times; it’s rare to have a TV show with memorable music these days so it’s refreshing.
Overall, season 3 of Warrior has so much happening in it that it’s hard to go into it all here but I’d be happy for another 2 seasons to wrap up all the story threads as there are still a lot of unanswered questions. The performances are faultless and the action is some of the best you’ll see in a TV show, so it’s definitely been worth the wait. Let’s hope season 4 doesn’t take as long…