Wu Assassins (2019-Present)

Wu Assassins is a show that started slowly for me, but at some point, it snuck up on me and I kind of started to love it. Featuring some good twists, some great characters, and some top-notch fight scenes, it makes for a good time.

Kai is a hardworking chef in San Francisco’s Chinatown. He has dreams of owning his own food truck, but for now, he’s working two jobs and refusing any financial help from his adopted father, triad boss Uncle Six. However, one ordinary day, Kai is yanked into another dimension, where a spiritual guide informs him that he’s been chosen to play a key role in a centuries-long mystical war. He is the last Wu Assassin, the only one who can defeat the five Wuxing, who each wield power over a different element. Kai is imbued with the strength and skill of the Wu Assassins who came before him, and although his new mantle is wild to even fathom, he soon realizes he has no choice but to use the power given to him and face his destiny.

In any kung fu show, the first question you ask has to be, “How’s the kung fu?” If the fight scenes don’t cut it, what are you even doing here? In Wu Assassins’s case, everything is up to snuff. There are all kinds of cool, well-choreographed fights in this show, and while Kai gets a lot of the most impressive moments, there aren’t many slouches in the cast. Most of the characters get to majorly throw down in at least a few episodes, bringing some serious style to their ass-kicking.

I also enjoy the character work in the show. While some characters seem pretty one-note at first, we see their layers build over the course of the first season, and by the end of it, everyone is clearly defined. The core relationships between Kai and his friends are strong, and Uncle Six is a great entry into the canon of likable antagonists.

I feel like the overall storyline doesn’t really meet the quality of the fight choreography or the character interactions. Plot points definitely feel cookie-cutter in places, and while there are some terrific twists, others are obvious to the point of goofiness. Still, the story improves as it goes on, and by the time I got to the last few episodes of the season, I was pretty invested in seeing what was going to happen.

Also, not for nothing? I love that, when this group is doing a mystical blood ritual that involves five people cutting their hands and feeding their blood to animals, they use five different knives. I know it’s a little thing, but most shows don’t bother with that. No hepatitis for this crew!

I’ll cop to not being familiar with most of the cast, although Lewis Tan (who I first saw in the best five minutes of Iron Fist’s first season) plays a major supporting role and the always-solid Tzi Ma appears as a recurring character. Everyone does well, but the standout for me is Byron Mann as Uncle Six, in a real “can’t take your eyes off him” performance.

Warnings

Lots of violence, swearing, some drinking/smoking/drug use, and thematic elements.