Kung Fu (2021) s01e02 Episode Script

Nicky! We didn't want to wake you up yet.
Come on.
What is all this? Your welcome-home breakfast, of course.
Golden child's back, baby.
Eat up.
Where's Mama? Whipping up your favorite jeok.
She's been cooking since the crack of dawn.
You know how she like to take her time with it.
Simmer, never boil.
Jeok cannot be rushed.
I'm glad you got some sleep.
I know you've got a million things to catch up on, but I really need your help.
Bridesmaid dresses.
Mmm, stand in line.
Nicky owes me at least 96 pickup games if I'm doing my math right.
Uh-uh, not before she goes fishing with me.
Lake Merced wasn't the same without you.
The trout weren't biting.
First things first.
I was speaking to Mrs.
Lee's son.
He is a partner in a big firm downtown.
He said you are welcome to intern at his office.
Mama, actually, I don't think I'm going to go to law school anymore.
I see.
Well I respect your decision.
You should follow your heart.
Thank God you came to your senses.
Law school would have been b-b-boring.
Mama! Mama, the jeok is burning! The sword is not meant for you.
Shifu! No! Aah! Poor, scared girl.
You'll never be strong enough to wield the sword.
No! Nicky.
Uh, how did you You always take the marina loop on clear days and the park loop on foggy days, so I took a chance.
And if I didn't find you at the park, I was gonna swing by Bluestone Coffee.
Where you would have also found me.
Wow.
Am I totally boring? I swear, I'm not creepy stalker ex-girlfriend, just lurking around corners, waiting to talk to you.
As long as you don't break into my apartment again.
I used a key, so technically Technically, it's still unlawful entry.
So what's going on? I'm just having a hard time focusing.
I had a nightmare about Zhilan again.
I wanted to see if you had any leads? Well, uh, it's 6 a.
m.
, I haven't checked my emails, and not to mention all you gave me was a first name and some sketches.
Some very detailed sketches.
Look, I know it's important, but without more to go on, it's gonna take some time.
God, I wish I remembered more.
When I think about Zhilan, all I see is the horrible stuff, my shifu.
Is that what your nightmare was about? Yeah.
I was back at the monastery, but this time, Zhilan took me down.
And before that, it was all about my family, but this bizarro version where no one is mad at me.
I thought things were looking up at home now that Tony Kang was gone.
I guess so.
I mean, I don't really know.
I haven't spent much time with anyone since I moved back in.
Well, maybe that's the problem.
Look, they might not admit it, but but they missed you.
We all did.
Look, go talk to them, Nicky, all right? I'll keep you posted with any updates.
Oh.
Hi, Mama.
I thought you were still sleeping.
- I went for a walk.
- Jin.
Jin, we're late! One second.
I think I know where it is.
You said that 30 minutes ago! I'm fine, Ryan.
I never felt better.
Good, so it won't take long.
You haven't had a checkup since you left the hosp Hey, Nicky, you're up.
We wanted you to sleep in.
I'll be in the car.
We'll catch up tonight, okay? Yeah.
Talk some sense into Dad, will you? He needs a checkup, and he's been saying he's too busy.
I'll try.
You need to do a little better than try.
I've been doing it alone for 3 years! Ryan, we got to go! Mom needs the minivan back by noon, and I have to pick up the centerpieces from Marin! I thought you were still sleeping.
This saves me a reminder text.
Dress-shopping at 10:00, cake-tasting at 2:00.
Don't be late! Good morning.
Aah! Hyah! You must stop Zhilan.
Middle.
That's class, everybody.
Thank you very much.
I'll see you next time.
Zhilan's pendant.
Uh, hi.
How did you I had a dream, well, actually a memory.
Kind of both.
I know Zhilan was wearing this.
Maybe if we can track it, it'll give us a clue about who she is.
It looks like some kind of crane.
Does that mean something? Cranes represent wisdom in about a thousand different Chinese legends.
Based on symbolism alone, it's kind of hard to narrow it down to something useful.
How accurate is the sketch? You mean, am I a good artist? Well, this pictograph looks consistent with Shang era art styles.
If we could find an exact match, that could tell us something.
Should we hit the library? Sure, but I've got TA duty in an hour.
Later? Uh, yeah.
Okay.
You been training since you got back? Does fighting gangsters count? Uh, no, not since I came home.
- I haven't even stretched.
- Why? I keep hearing my shifu's voice telling me to find the quiet within, but I can't.
You're dealing with a lot.
And reentry's always hard.
When I got back from Beijing, it took me months to get my routine back.
You trained in China? Wushu Academy.
Two years.
You know, the studio's free for another hour if you want to train.
Come on, Nicky, I want to see it.
Just a minute.
The zipper's tricky.
I told you to stop calling me.
This conversation is over.
Ahem.
Look at you! What was up with that phone call? Uh, wedding vendor.
This guy's trying to gouge me on favors.
Ohh.
Do you love it? It's beautiful.
I'm sensing a but.
No, I'm just getting used to dressing up.
I basically wore the same thing for 3 years.
Well, you rocked the dress at my date-picking ceremony, and absolutely slayed in it.
Ugh.
Maybe too much.
I totally forgot you have killer legs.
You can't pull a Pippa on me at the wedding.
Kate Middleton's sister.
She wore this super tight bridesmaid's Yeah, I was only gone for 3 years.
- I know who you're talking about.
- Marisa, I think we go full-length.
And can you work your magic on the neckline? Off the shoulder.
- No, I like the one shoulder like this.
- Let her do her job.
- Stop it.
Put it down.
Let her do it.
- No, I think it looks good.
What is that? Nothing.
I just I don't want to talk about it right now.
Heh.
You said it was a fire at the monastery.
You didn't say anything about being attacked.
I may have left some parts out.
I should have known that there was more to the story.
Sorry.
Today was supposed to be about you, picking out dresses.
If anything had happened to you Why didn't you tell us? I couldn't.
How do you think Mom would have taken it? Really bad.
"Mama, sorry I've been gone for 3 years, but I'm back now.
Oh, by the way, I'm not going to law school, kind of busy tracking down Zhilan".
Hold on, what? You're trying to track her? The crazy, sword-wielding psychopath who shish kebab'd you, threw you over a cliff, and torched the monastery? She killed my shifu.
And she almost killed you.
What, you want to give her another crack at it? I don't know.
This is why I didn't tell anyone.
Not all of us get to live in some bridal fairytale.
You couldn't possibly understand.
You have no idea what I've been through.
A lot has happened since you've been gone.
Believe it or not, my life is no fairytale.
Althea.
I didn't mean to Do you still want me at the tasting? Yes! Jin, customers are starting to arrive.
I knew it was here.
That game.
You are so quick to forgive.
She's our daughter.
I know you're hurt, but we got Nicky back.
That's what we wanted for 3 years.
She abandoned us.
What if she does it again? I don't want you to get your hopes up.
We don't even know why she's back.
She told us.
There was a fire.
We should be grateful that the first place she'd think of was to come home.
Shifu! Hyah! You want to get hurt? Give it.
Hey! You can't do this.
- Shut up.
- Okay.
Please, please - Please, stop.
- No.
Hey.
Get your hands off me.
- Hey.
- Stop! Ohh! Get out of here.
Hey, wait! Are you okay? Shifu.
Fear is the death of mindfulness.
You acted from fear.
And right action can't flow from fear.
Hmm? Don't be afraid.
Help her.
Ahem.
Uh Heard you have a standing takeout order here.
Every Friday.
You didn't tell me about your peace treaty with my mom.
Once we stopped dating, it was surprisingly easy.
Ohh.
If you tracked me down for a Zhilan update Actually, it's not about Zhilan.
Okay, there's a girl.
She's in trouble.
I saw her arguing with this guy.
He had a gun.
- So I stepped in - You stepped in? Well, more like punched and kicked.
But after that, the girl ran off with the gun.
I think I broke up some kind of deal.
Jeez, Nicky.
I feel like I need to help her.
Why? It's what I've been doing the last 3 years.
We'd see a sister in need, we'd help.
These sisters you speak of, were any of them packing heat? I know how it sounds, Evan.
But she's just a kid.
And I could tell she's afraid.
All right, I'll call my buddy Josh with SFPD.
We can trust him.
He'll contact you, take your statement.
They might be able to locate her.
And if they do? Well, she may be in illegal possession of a firearm.
She'll probably go into the system.
It's not pretty, but it beats her hurting someone or herself.
Hello, Nicky.
Evan, I've put some spicy pickles for your boss because I know he likes them.
Thanks, Mrs.
Shen.
You'll get used to it.
You and my mom being friends? Never.
Nicky.
Wait up.
Look familiar? Is that Our last match.
We were 4 days in.
Oh, I remember.
I was definitely gonna win.
If you're so sure, prove it.
Pick up where we left off, 8:00 tonight.
Game on.
Get ready to lose.
Bye, Baba.
Nothing in this.
One down.
Hundreds to go.
Waiting for a call? Yeah, actually.
I had a run-in with a girl today.
I think she's in trouble.
A detective is supposed to call me about her.
You don't sound excited about it.
Cops find her, maybe that's good.
Maybe that makes things worse.
I feel like I should be doing more.
Do you know her? Not at all.
Don't know her address, don't know her name.
All I have is this, but there was nothing useful in it.
No ID.
Well, there's this.
Either she's hitting the clubs or she's staying at Montgomery House.
I recognize the band.
It's a homeless shelter in the Tenderloin.
That the detective? I think so.
You gonna answer it? Aah! Wait! Wait! Hey! I just want to help.
Leave me alone.
I know you're afraid.
You don't want to shoot me.
I don't think you want to shoot anyone.
My name's Nicky.
Ronda.
Why'd you follow me here? Why'd you pull a gun on me? I thought you were a cop.
I panicked.
Ronda, why did you need the gun? Who was it for? Derek.
My mom's boyfriend.
I wasn't going to hurt him.
The gun isn't even loaded.
I didn't know how else to stop him.
Stop him from what? My mom was injured at work a couple years ago.
She got a small settlement that we lived on.
Then she met Derek.
Our landlord jacked the rent way up, so we moved in with him.
As soon as we did, though, he took over everything.
My mom's bank account, her medical treatments.
My mom started missing appointments and getting behind on meds, getting sicker.
I started to do the math.
Things didn't add up.
He was stealing from her.
A few weeks ago, I called him out on it.
He threw me out.
I've been living on the street since.
My mom's too scared to stand up to him.
So you decided to take things into your own hands.
I thought I could scare Derek, get him to admit it, get my mom to see.
It was a crazy, stupid plan.
You acted from fear.
And right action can't flow from fear.
Right action can't flow from fear.
When you're going through a lot, it's hard to see things clearly.
You just have to find a way to move forward without fear.
You hungry? One bite per person.
Score each slice on a 1 to 10 scale.
And absolutely no talking.
Huh? Why? It's a blind ranking.
I want your unbiased assessment, each of you.
Sorry.
Nicky, we're trying to hold to a schedule.
I know, I know.
Just a sec.
Screw it, I'm starting.
- Ryan! - What? I'm hungry.
And I have to be back at the clinic in 30 minutes.
- Do you know who that is? - I have no idea.
Eat.
Yuck.
"Yuck" is not a 1 through 10 score.
Mark it.
Who's your new friend? Long story.
What? I'm here now, ready to roll.
Come on, cake me.
That one's yucky.
What did I say? Ugh.
It tastes like - Deodorant? - Mmm, almost.
More like Dad's aftershave! Please.
Just stick to the scores.
Speaking of Dad, he hasn't shown at the clinic.
Have you seen him? I did.
But I forgot.
I'm sorry, Ryan.
Next time, I promise.
Uh-huh.
I know you're very busy hunting an international assassin.
- You told him? - Ryan.
It's nuts, Nicky.
You're being nuts.
Respectfully, as your sister, I had to tell Ryan.
He's a doctor.
This one's pretty good.
Mm-hmm.
Red velvet.
I just can't believe you would violate my trust like that.
Is that cake? Yeah.
Yeah.
Here.
Tell me what you think.
1 to 10, please.
Who is she? Ronda.
She's homeless.
I'm trying to help her.
Her mom's boyfriend, a real emotionally abusive piece of trash, has been stealing from her mom.
When Ronda spoke up, he threw her out.
Ronda's been trying to get her mom to leave him, but she's dependent on him for housing, and they don't have enough money to sign a new lease.
There are programs, transitional housing for in-need families.
It's not completely free, and it'll take some time and money to arrange, but Ronda and her mom could qualify, if you can get her out of there.
Uh, yeah.
That's the part I'm stuck on.
Seriously, Nicky.
Weren't you pre-law? This guy's an abuser and a thief.
Surely you learned something in school you can use to force him out.
- You're right.
- Mm-hmm.
Mom? Mom, are you home? Ronda, baby.
You came back.
Who's this? It's Nicky.
She's my friend.
She's here to help.
Help what? Help us get out of here.
I know what Derek said.
I'll talk sense into him.
- You just came back - Mom, you know I can't stay here.
Not with him around.
And you can't, either.
You don't have to live like this.
I need him.
I can't make it without him.
No.
You don't need him.
We never needed him.
We don't have to be afraid anymore.
We have a plan.
Nicky will help us.
Help us? What do I do? First you need to revoke Derek's power of attorney to keep your money safe.
He's home early.
He switched shifts.
He gets Fridays off now.
Well look who came crawling back.
I told you it was a lot of crying over nothing.
Don't tell me.
This is another one of your social workers.
My name's Nicky.
I know everything that's going on here.
Oh, yeah? What's that? You've been using Carmen, and she's ready for it to end.
Carmen, are you hearing this crap? Carmen! Mom, please.
Do it for us.
I want to be with Ronnee, Derek.
She's my daughter.
Well, where you gonna go? Huh? You gonna leave here, join your brat down at the shelter? Actually, until we can find them a new place, you're leaving.
This is my apartment.
- Just a few days.
- Like hell.
This is your doing, isn't it? You've been trying to split us up since day one.
Aah! It's over, Derek.
Stay away long enough for Ronda and Carmen to sort things out and for us to get a restraining order in place.
Or you can make things difficult.
The theft, the abuse.
My friend at the DA's office is already aware of the situation, and he's just a phone call away.
Don't even think about stepping foot back in here until I say so.
Forget this.
Baba.
He waited for you.
I know, Mama.
I just forgot, that's all.
I didn't just mean tonight.
When you left for China, he kept that board out for you for months.
Even when I gave up hope, told him you weren't coming back, he didn't believe me.
He just waved me off and said, "she will be back soon".
We fought over that board.
One day he just packed it up.
Didn't say a word.
Maybe it hurt too much.
When you came back, I told him not to get his hopes up, but he just couldn't help it with you.
Mama, I'm trying my best.
I know I left you, but I came back.
You may be back, but do you really want to be here? I think you just had nowhere else to go.
Am I wrong? No.
Aren't you gonna answer that? - Hello? - He took it.
- Nicky, he took it all.
- He took what? Before my mom could sign the POA, Derek went to the bank and drained everything, her savings, her safety deposit box, everything.
Nicky, we have nothing.
I'll be right there.
Go.
He's not answering mom's calls, but he texted back.
Says we have 24 hours before he comes and kicks us out himself.
I started packing us up, but we don't even have enough money for a motel room.
My friend at the DA's office he can help.
Maybe he'll start an investigation, get your money back.
That money will be gone before daybreak.
What do you mean? Derek plays cards, and he plays badly.
But he lives for it.
With all that's left of my money in his pocket, he's taken it straight to a table.
Nicky! What's the latest? Long story.
Short version I need you to hack Derek's phone.
- Derek? - The Mom's boyfriend.
Sure thing! After you finish your form.
My what? Your taste test.
You left it blank.
Fine.
Red velvet.
- That's my favorite.
- Great.
So we agree.
Nicky! I did not go through all that trouble just to be placated! All right.
Lemon cream.
Simple, elegant, delicious.
And I'm sorry, but I was in a monastery for 3 years, and even I know red velvet's played out.
Thank you.
Do you have this creep's phone? - No.
- Then I can't hack it.
I'm not a magician.
What about his computer? Is that his? - Needs a password.
- Not a problem.
If there's one thing I learned about working in cybersecurity, it's that 90% of people are complete dumbasses about passwords.
Was this guy a dumbass? Yeah Put me on speaker.
Hi there! May I get this gentleman's first and last name, last 2 digits of his birth year and his most common nickname? Derek Willmot, 71, and It's "The D Man".
Okay Nicky, try willmot71.
- Nope.
- Try derekwillmot 71.
Wrong.
Try thedman71.
It worked.
I'm in.
What are you seeing? Let's see I see a conversation with a guy named Harris 2 hours ago.
They're talking about a game tonight.
He's telling him to check his texts.
I got it! An address and a security code.
Nicky, what are you gonna do? Go bust up some high-roller's game night? Althea, you are a beautiful, brilliant genius, and I hope we never fight ever again.
Thank you! I'm gonna get your money back.
I promise.
Players only.
I'm a player.
Oh, yeah? Buy-in's a grand.
- I'm sorry, I - Not a chance.
Stop! Excuse me? That money.
It's stolen.
Pardon the interruption.
We'll be escorting her out now.
No.
That money is not his to play.
You say it's stolen? Sir, I didn't catch your name when you joined the table.
It's Derek.
Is what she's saying true? No.
I've never seen this girl in my life.
He's lying.
Well, he says you're lying.
And as the host of this game, I say the hand plays.
House rules, darling.
Sorry.
Wait! No! That money's not his! It's stolen! Oh! Ronda and Carmen are filing that restraining order.
If you ever mess with them again, you'll be arrested.
And if the cops don't get you Got it? Got it.
Now, like I said, that money is stolen, and I'm taking it back.
My rules, darlin'.
All right.
We'll cancel this hand.
Give her the money.
I miss you.
It's been so hard finding the quiet within because I've been too scared.
Scared of what, my child? Of feeling it, my grief for you.
Are you scared now? Not of that.
Not anymore.
Helping Ronda, practicing what you taught me, it made me less afraid.
Past fear, I can feel my grief as joy.
I feel clearer now, closer to you, but I still don't know how to honor you, shifu, how to stop Zhilan and reclaim the sword.
I don't know how to do all that without you.
Practice, Nicky.
Always practice.
Mindfulness will bring you the clarity you seek, the clarity to truly see what's right in front of you.
Good morning.
Now, Nicky.
What? You don't have to make this up to me.
- It's okay.
- No, Baba.
It wasn't okay.
You sure? It's Saturday morning.
No brunch plans? Mimosa at Althea's? Nope.
Just this.
Come on.
Play with me.
I will find a photo.
Actually, I was thinking a new match.
New board a fresh start.
That game's nearly finished.
We start a new game, it could stretch out for days.
I'm not going anywhere.
I was thinking, we play a few hours today, a few tomorrow, then on Monday, we swing by the clinic so Ryan can check you out.
I'm fine, Nicky.
Baba.
Okay.
Good.
Now let's play.
- How are they doing? - Way better.
We're getting them into bridge housing, and they feel so much safer since the restraining order took effect.
Nicky, what you did for Ronda was pretty amazing.
I couldn't have done it without you.
Glad I could help.
Hey, so, I've got an update for you.
There was a ping on Zhilan.
She flew out of Beijing last night, headed to Singapore.
It's not all I got.
Had a couple of other contacts do some off-the-record digging.
Pei-Ling and Zhilan were sisters.
My contact at the embassy helped me dig up birth records.
You believe you are the only one with a difficult family.
Zhilan killed her own sister? Wow.
Um, Evan, thank you so much for everything.
You got it.
Henry.
Hey.
Where have you been? Finding the quiet within.
Glad to hear it.
So your crane Found the pattern.
It's a symbol, one of 8.
According to this, these symbols represent the bloodlines of the 8 mythical protectors of these weapons.
The guardian families.
I just found out Zhilan and Pei-Ling were sisters.
That means they were part of the sword's guardian family.
The 8 weapons, the 8 guardian families.
Most of lit treats it as pure myth, but there's a professor takes it seriously.
He wrote this book, and he's dedicated his life to unraveling the mysteries of these weapons.
Winston Chau.
Turns out, he's a visiting professor at Berkeley.
- Seriously? - I called his office.
He's giving a guest lecture out of the country.
His TA says he'll be back next week.
We need to call him now.
Do you know where he is? Yeah.
Singapore.
Oh, my God.
That's where Zhilan's going.
Greg, move your head.