In the CWs Kung Fu, Nicky Shen (Heritage‘Olivia Liang) is still figuring out who she wants to be while embarking on a new destination.
Wednesday’s series premiere begins with Nicky in the middle of a cultural tour to China. After realizing that it’s actually a gimmick to find a Chinese man (orchestrated by her mother, no less), she flees and cross paths with Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai), who runs a local monastery. Her one-night visit becomes a martial arts training course of three years, and Nicky finally feels at home.
Admiring the scenic views, Pei-Ling encourages Nicky to try to make peace with her family, whom she has not seen in three years. However, Nicky is determined to stay in the convent. That night, their monastery was attacked by a group of assassins who were searching for a mystical sword that was said to penetrate the field worker with great force. During the fight, Pei Lei is fatally wounded by an assassin named Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman), who steals the sword and takes off.
According to Pei-Ling’s last instructions, Nicky chases after Zhilan in an attempt to get the sword back and take her killer off her mentor. During their fight, Nicky picks up the sword, which glows and burns her hand, leaving mysterious marks on the palm of her hand. Still, Zhilan gets away, and Nicky returns home to San Francisco.
She receives a mixed response from her family: her father Jin (Tzi Ma) and sister Althea (Shannon Dang) are glad she’s back, while her brother Ryan (Jon Prasida) and mother Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) are not. is not so enthusiastic. Mei-Li was particularly disappointed and said her daughter “passed away three years ago”. There is a lot of tension between mother and daughter – Nicky is upset about her mother for trying to control her, and Mei-Li is indignant about her disappearance – and they do not seem to get over their grievances. Jin encourages Nicky not to run away again and later gather at their family’s restaurant.
Meanwhile, Nicky visits her ex-boyfriend Evan (Gavin Stenhouse), who is now an assistant district attorney, to look at the sword and the assassin Zhilan from sketches she drew. Later that evening, she sees the ghost of her late mentor Pei-Ling, who again asks her to heal her relationship with her family before they go after the sword. Nicky goes to her dad’s restaurant in time to see her dad badly. It appears her parents took out a $ 50,000 loan from Tony Khan, a member of the local triad, which has now been doubled with interest. If they do not pay within 72 hours, Khan’s people will kill Jin and take over his restaurant.
Nicky goes to campus to visit her brother, who is still upset that she was not there for him when he visited their parents. Nicky apologizes for letting him dry out, and they share their first sincere hug in over three years. Nicky also runs into Ryan’s hungry friend Henry (Eddie Liu), who is doing his master’s degree in ancient Chinese history and will definitely be a useful ally.
She tells Henry about the sword, and he identifies it as a sword with power that can only be used by the rightful owner – and that’s one of the eight.
In an effort to help her parents, Nicky asks the locals about Khan, but everyone is too scared to talk. She and her siblings are soon attacked by members of the local triad, indicating that they are getting close to something. Nicky, with a surprising help from Henry, can take them down. Although her mother is upset because Nicky put their family in even more danger, it is clear that Nicky’s strength did well as well. Cindy, a local store owner, was inspired to speak after watching Nicky fend off the trilogy. But even if a witness is willing to testify and has access to Khan’s confidential documents, Evan does not think their testimony is strong enough for conviction. They need a smoking gun.
Althea caught up with Khan’s bank accounts and discovered a shady recent transaction. It looks like Khan is smuggling drugs and could make a big drop later that night. Ryan sneaks down to the docks to gather evidence that will hopefully save their family. Nicky locates her brother and fights the trio. Ryan watches in amazement as Nicky assumes the entire gang alone and displays serious power – including an extraordinarily high jump that refers to her potential as someone who can use the sword – which Nicky finishes off as mere training combined with physics. Either way, Nicky did it.
The next day, the Shens gather for Althea’s wedding. and this is the first time we look like a cohesive unit. Jin and Mei-Li agree that Nicky should stay with them, and bring all three of them one step closer to reconciliation.
Henry appears to reveal important new information about the sword: if anyone were to collect all eight, they would unlock astronomical power and cause great devastation and destruction. Zhilan already has one, and it’s up to Nicky to prevent her from getting the remaining seven. Play on.
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