Kung Fu (2021) s01e09 Episode Script

[Nicky.]
Previously on Kung Fu You are a descendant of Liang Daiyu, the first woman warrior.
It was said that one member of every generation would be chosen to wield the sword.
Auntie Mei-Xue.
This is everything I know about my sister.
It's yours.
You shut me out.
You betrayed my trust.
I'm sorry, Jin.
[Mei-Li.]
A dried plum blossom.
My sister's favorite flower.
You know, she pressed them in between her school books? - This? - I don't know.
She sent it with one of her letters.
She would write to us occasionally just to let us know that she was safe.
Over time, the letters, they just stopped making sense.
You have no idea where she is? No, I have no idea.
I have so many questions.
Like, what was she like? Nicky Look at these letters.
You will see why I never wanted you to follow her path.
[Nicky.]
Our last plan to smoke out Zhilan was a bust.
She has the sword, the dagger.
If your hunch is right, that means she has a third weapon, too.
Every day, she gets closer and closer to unleashing the true power of the weapons.
Who knows what her plan is if she collects all eight.
- But if the legend is true - [Henry.]
She'll be unstoppable.
We have to get ahead of her.
Your aunt's one of the only people we know who actually went looking for the weapons.
Henry, if we can find her, and actually talk to her Yeah, but your mom said the letters stopped coming.
You don't even know if she's alive.
I know.
But I have to try.
It's my aunt and my family.
I can feel it.
This is the last one.
Forwarded to my mom by my The last letter Mei-Xue sent home.
And according to my mom, she sent it with this red panda figurine, whatever that means.
She writes affectionately about an old buddy.
Had to read the letter twice to realize she's talking about her fringe jacket.
Fringe jacket? What? When we started running out of scholarly texts, I started looking at more obscure sources.
Reddit, couple of treasure hunting boards I found Conspiracy sites? Conspiracy-adjacent.
Anyway, most of it was nonsense, but I did find some old enquiries posted by Professor Chau.
He was asking about a mysterious woman in fringe who he believed was after the weapons in the '80s and '90s, rumored to be a loner and a fierce brawler.
Now the only details I managed to find on her an Asian woman who wore a green fringe coat.
Anything else? A name.
I'm guessing it's an alias.
Sandra Yang.
You're back.
You've, um, started the lunch prep? I'm almost done.
Jin, should we talk? I need time, Mei-Li.
You kept secrets from me for decades about you, your sister, Nicky.
I kept secrets, too, but I need time.
Of course, Jin.
[chopping.]
Was it painful? Braces on my legs, my back, all through childhood.
Exploratory surgeries, leg extensions, spinal correction, rehab for years.
Pain is a constant for me.
No beginning.
No end.
Is that what drives you now? The source of all this anger? Enduring pain.
It's what honed my strength.
My anger comes from elsewhere.
Betrayal.
Tell me, Kerwin.
What do you know of betrayal? We should get back to the scroll.
And this? Car accident.
Alas, no story there.
[exhales.]
So my friend at DHS did me a favor, pulled records for a Sandra Yang.
The last hit was 20 years ago.
She entered Canada through Vancouver.
And then after that, nothing.
She disappeared.
Okay, what was the exact date? December 2nd, 2000.
Why? Mei-Xue's last letter.
It was just a few weeks later.
There's got to be something in here.
"The red panda, a sign, a sentinel, I believe my journey ends here.
" [Henry.]
What are you looking up? Red pandas aren't native to Canada.
Just searching for a connection.
"Roadside curiosities of North America.
" Nash Creek, small town in British Columbia.
They have a large red panda statue on the edge of town.
- What? - Same design.
She must have sent it from Nash Creek.
Mei-Xue was there.
I have to go.
Nicky.
I'm coming.
What about your classes? I can reschedule.
And you and I can take turns.
I'll study while you drive.
I'll come, too.
Don't you have work? Actually, I banked some vacation time.
I was heading up to Mount Hood for some climbing, but I'm free.
What about your girlfriend? Sabine's, uh busy.
Alternating drivers, we'd never have to stop to sleep.
Time for a road trip.
I don't like this, Nicky.
Mama, it's just Canada.
Auntie Mei-Xue is the only person who understands what I'm going through.
And what it means to carry this birthright.
If this is my path, I need to know what she knows.
I need to know what happened to her.
Don't you? Of course.
Ever since she's left, I've wanted to know, but it's been so long, Nicky.
And what if Sometimes, not knowing hurts less.
This document is hundreds of years old.
It chronicles the eight guardian families, those entrusted with the weapons until they're needed again.
According to this section on the battle axe, the original guardian, Wang Yezi, was given refuge by a religious leader in Kengtung.
Modern day Myanmar.
We need more information on this weapon.
This isn't quite enough to go on.
I know that you two have tension.
But perhaps your father knows something? Out of the question.
We'll find another way.
I kept my end of the deal by translating the scroll.
I did not come this far to be stonewalled! I'm not asking him for help.
Did he do this to you? [cell phone vibrating.]
Hey.
- Hey.
- So what's the plan? Take it in turns, only stop to refuel and stretch, we could make it to Nash Creek in a day.
- I'll take the first leg.
- Great.
You take the front.
You sure? You need more legroom.
Yeah, I'm good.
Well, here we go.
[Ryan.]
Women in tech seminar.
I'm proud of you.
It's been a while since you've done something like this.
Longer than a while.
When I was working full-time, I always turned down invitations like this.
What changed? I want to give back, and I want to get back in the game after the wedding.
It'll be good to get my feet wet.
Okay, Ryan.
Students are coming.
What's with the loitering? I'm bored.
Still on reduced hours at the clinic.
Joe's at a criminal justice conference in Chicago.
Can't I stay and watch? N-O.
I'm starting to get nervous.
A little advice from the land of experienced coupledom? When Dennis is out of town, I catch up on reality TV, I eat kimchi and curry, I wear sweats.
It's heaven.
I get to rule my space again.
So, Joe's out of town.
Enjoy it.
Althea, hi.
My name's Courtney.
I'm a huge fan.
Oh, thank you.
You're just such a pioneer.
I'm dying to hear everything you have to say.
Like, what are your thoughts on the move from relational databases? - We've moved on? - Yeah, I mean, these days, it's all about Mongo.
- Oh, Mongo? - I know.
The default to binary collation is the worst.
And good luck collating diacritics with Mongo.
[cell phone beeping.]
I'll let you get to it.
Hi! [yawns.]
Are you sleepy? I can take over again.
Oh, no.
I'm wide awake.
Let's let Nicky sleep.
Right.
And it's my job to keep you awake.
[radio playing.]
Won't that wake Nicky up? [chuckles.]
Not a chance.
Pulled enough car trips with her, she'll sleep through anything.
Saw that.
You saw nothing.
[upbeat pop music plays on radio.]
One night, he sat me, my brother, and my sister down at our Hong Kong estate.
He assigned us numbers.
A type of ranking for how useful we'd been to him.
He gave me a three.
The least useful.
He spent my entire childhood molding me into a perfect son.
The ideal copy of him.
But that night, he said I failed to push back, that he wanted me to find myself in resistance to him.
Just a sadistic little test.
A test I failed.
So, I got drunk, drove off the estate in a rage, and plowed my car right into a tree.
This hand got crushed between the steering wheel and the door frame.
Never been quite the same hand.
Yet I was glad, because I thought, "Not him anymore I'm me.
Me.
Ready to resist.
" I'm here working with you for one reason, and that's to see the look in his face when he realizes I did the one thing he failed to achieve.
You're closer than you think.
Perhaps it's time for both of us to put all our cards on the table.
Now, Kerwin, what haven't you been telling me? This was it.
The red panda was right here.
Guess this is why nobody answered when we called from the road.
We can head to the local sheriff's office, ask about a Sandra Yang.
Or go to the Hall of Public Records, see if her name pops up.
She was here.
Uh, Nicky? [Henry.]
Give her a moment.
Once she gets that look on her face, she has a way of finding the right path.
Hi.
We were hoping you could help us.
We're looking for someone.
This red panda is the same one on your sign.
Panda? Always thought it was a cat.
Well, my aunt sent it years ago, I think, from this town.
She might even still live here.
Asian, she might be about 60 now, maybe wearing a fringe jacket.
Sorry, Dimples.
You're the first Asian folk I've seen all year.
Mostly White and First Nations living up here, and tourism ain't what it used to be.
We'll have a round of beers.
And one for yourself.
- Sure thing, honey.
- So this panda, we were thinking it might have come from Creek Carvings, but it looks like they closed down.
One of many.
- Town's dying.
- Sorry to hear that.
It's beautiful up here.
Funny when people say that.
Grew up here my whole life, always wanted to leave.
See that guy over there in the vest? That's Hank.
His dad, Duke, used to own this place and the shop across the street.
He might be able to help you.
But he probably won't.
[Nicky.]
Thank you.
I'm surprised you reached out.
I kinda tanked that presentation.
What? No.
Who cares? You're obviously brilliant.
Anyhow, I wanted to pick your brain.
I've been getting some offers.
The bigger firms are offering very competitive packages and some VC-backed startups, like one from Chase Matheson.
[clears throat.]
Chase? I know you worked at Cloud Rush, thought I'd take your temperature.
But, I'm guessing it was a bad experience? No.
No.
Well Look, Court, you're obviously a rock star.
You should be somewhere where you can express yourself.
Somewhere where you can pursue your inspiration.
I'm sure Chase promised you the moon, but he micromanages.
You need somewhere where you can flourish, and I just don't see that for you there.
Okay.
I guess it's off my list.
Mind if I ask you a question? Hey, that's a nice pool cue.
Is that a custom? It's about Duke.
He's your dad, right? He was.
So, he's gone? He's not dead.
He's dead to me.
Sorry to bring up a sore subject.
It's just I've come a long way and if I could just talk to him even for a minute I doubt he'll have much to say.
He shut us all out.
I'll take my chances.
Hey.
Can't you take a hint? He doesn't want to talk about it.
And besides, you're interrupting our game, so piss off.
Hey, come on, man.
There's no need for [grunting.]
[bottle shatters.]
Come on, Hank! Henry, watch out! Call off your boys.
Why? This is the most fun I've had all day! Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa! I paid a fortune for that.
We didn't come here to fight.
All we want is your dad's address.
It's a couple of miles out of town.
End of Briar Lane.
Thanks.
Come on.
[upbeat pop music playing over earphones.]
Hmm.
What's going on here? Uh Took your advice.
Taking some me time.
So, you're eating your feelings while you wait for the spin cycle.
You told me to take advantage of Joe being out of town, sow my oats, do what I want.
Well, catching up on laundry, looting Baba's Mint Chip is what I want to do.
That's all? Sounds pretty innocent to me.
And I'm going to catch up on Love After Lockup.
- Mmm.
- Joe hates reality TV.
- Don't tell him.
- Your secret's safe.
Why're you here? I'm here to raid Nicky's calligraphy set.
I want to do some mock-ups on place cards before I commit to stationery.
Don't tell Nicky.
[cell phone chirps.]
[Ryan.]
Althea.
Althea.
Hey.
Are you okay? Definitely not okay.
Your father has three weapons.
Yes.
The deer horn knives, the crossbow and the short sword.
It took him 30 years to get them all.
Three weapons took you what, a few months? It's impressive.
Three weapons won't bring forth biange.
Well my father's weapons won't be easy to obtain.
But, when the time is right, consider them ours.
Why is biange so important to you? Biange defeated armies, changed history.
That kind of power, to shape the future however I see fit.
With that, no one will ever betray me again.
[sighs wearily.]
Two weapons left.
Two weapons we need to get before your father does.
And no idea where to find them.
My father has been pouring considerable resources into an archaeological dig in Myanmar.
I always suspected it was a weapons operation, and when you mentioned Kengtung The dig is a recently discovered religious site close to the Temple of Dhammayangyi.
I will not reach out to him.
I won't ask him for help.
But What are you proposing, Kerwin? We take a little trip to Myanmar.
We steal the axe.
It'll be especially satisfying, taking it right out from underneath his nose.
[Althea.]
I thought I could live with it.
But if I keep silent, Courtney takes this job and it could all happen again.
I have to break the NDA.
I have to tell her the truth and somehow, I have to come forward.
This can't happen again.
Not to anyone.
But first I have to tell Dennis.
Anyone else clocking the creepy axe murderer vibes, or It's just rustic.
Not that different from my family's cabin.
Oh, right, the cabin.
I don't think there's anyone inside.
Should we look around? Yeah, I'll check the back.
Hello? Mei-Xue? [gun cocking.]
Turn around real slow.
Who are you? What are you doing on my property? My name's Nicky Shen.
I just wanna talk, Duke.
How do you know my name? Your son, he gave me your address.
My son's an ingrate.
Probably just screwing with you, or screwing with me.
Look, I just I wanna show you something.
But I have to reach into my pocket.
Slow.
You carved this.
It belonged to my aunt Mei-Xue.
She also went by Sandra Yang.
That's her, isn't it? - [Duke.]
Get back! - Hey.
Whoa, whoa! Get back! Hey, calm down.
We're unarmed.
Just put that down.
What is this? You didn't tell me that you brought friends.
- Go back to the car.
- Nicky I've got this.
Duke's not gonna hurt me.
We're just gonna talk, right? It's okay.
Promise.
Sorry.
My friends are protective.
Sandra always told me that there were people after her, one day they'd come looking.
How do I know that you're not one of them? I just wanna talk to her, I swear.
She's my mom's sister.
Prove it.
Prove that you mean her no harm.
Prove it that you knew her.
I didn't.
That's why I need to find her.
I'm not talking anymore without more to go on.
You better get off my property.
Look, wait, wait.
I can prove it.
Nicky? Are you okay? Did something happen? No.
I'm fine, Mama.
I just I think I have a lead for Auntie Mei-Xue.
But it would help if I knew more about her.
I don't know what else to tell you.
I gave you everything I had.
I need to know about her.
What did she look like? She looked beautiful.
Even when she was mad, her eyes were kind.
She always looked out for everybody else, animals, people.
She was like you.
There was this one time when this boy was picking up my bag and he threw me down onto the road and this car almost hit me, but Mei-Xue was there and she stood right in front of me, and she put out her hand and the car stopped.
She risked her life for me.
Oh, Mama.
She was my hero.
- Mama, thank you.
I'll call you later.
- Be safe.
[shuddering.]
- Hey.
- Hey.
[sniffling.]
Uh [sobbing.]
Duke? Sounded like Sandra, all right.
One day I was setting some rabbit snares a few kilometers up in the snow area.
And this embankment I was standing on gave way.
And then I just started rag dolling my way down the slope, bashing my head off rocks all the way to the bottom.
And then when I came to, she found me.
She started a fire and built a splint for my broken leg and a makeshift sled.
And then she dragged my dead weight all the way back here.
Did you ever see her again? Yeah.
She'd come and visit me on occasion.
She never did tell me exactly where she lived though.
She never let me get too close.
She never said who she was running from? Nope.
She told me to never go up there and look for her.
But I couldn't help myself.
I went looking for her.
And I felt like I was getting real close to her cabin and then she found me.
It was the last I've seen of her.
How long ago was that? Four years, one month.
I need to find her.
Told you, I don't know exactly where she lives.
You got closer than anyone.
[sighs.]
You go straight through the woods about a kilometer, and you'll hit the creek, and you follow that five kilometers west.
And there's a gap in the hills to the north, her cabin's up there someplace.
Thank you.
You want a word of advice? If she sees you coming over the hill with your two friends, she will spook.
Don't think you'll ever find her that way.
[chainsaw whirring.]
Did you hear that? Hello! Hello! Where'd she go? What? Where did she go? I gave her some supplies.
She headed off into the woods.
She told me to tell you.
She said if she told you herself, you'd just try and stop her.
She's gone.
[chainsaw starting up.]
We're not going after her.
Look, I'm worried, too.
But Nicky has made her decision, she can handle herself.
In the cold? In the woods with half-assed directions alone? Yes.
We used to go camping all the time.
She's a better outdoorsman than I am.
She's certainly more experienced than you.
If we don't hear from her by the morning, we call in help, we go looking ourselves.
For now We have to trust her.
Yeah.
Gap in the hills.
[growling softly.]
[continues growling.]
[snarling.]
[grunts.]
[panting.]
[sighs.]
[grunts.]
[Evan.]
There's plenty of space back here.
It doesn't have to be weird.
- I'm fine.
- Suit yourself.
It's only gonna get colder.
I, uh I never thanked you for that assist back at the bar.
Technically, you still haven't.
[chuckles.]
I'm kidding.
And I'm sure you had him.
Still.
Thanks.
No problem.
You ever notice whenever we help Nicky on these adventures, they always turn out like this? You mean she always ends up doing what she thinks is right? Even if it means going alone? Mmm-hmm.
I guess we should've seen this coming.
[both chuckle.]
Can I tell you something? Sure.
You asked me why I was free this weekend.
I was leaving the city to clear my head.
Sabine and I, we, uh broke up.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Does Nicky know? You know, after everything she's been going through, it hasn't really been a right time to tell her, you know.
Yeah, I get that.
Look, I know you and Nicky are, um It's okay, man.
We don't have to go there.
Besides, we both know it doesn't matter what either of us do, or what we feel.
- In the end - Nicky will choose.
[wolf howling.]
[wolf snarling.]
[barking.]
[panting.]
- [snare clacking.]
- [wolf whimpering.]
A trap.
You're hurt.
Okay, I'm not gonna hurt you.
[barking, snarling.]
Easy.
Okay, easy.
Easy.
[panting.]
[Mei-Li.]
Dried plum blossom.
My sister's favorite flower.
Ka-Yi.
[gasps.]
Mama and Mei-Xue.
She kept this photo all this time.
She missed her sister.
What is it? I can feel it.
This is what I was meant to find.
[Mei-Xue on tape.]
I've learned so much in my pursuit of the sword, though I never found the sword itself.
I learned more than I needed about the terrifying, corrupting power of the eight weapons.
In the wrong hands they could unleash biange, and those hands could bend the world to their will.
With what I know, isolation became my only choice, to stay here unfound to keep my secret safe.
Myjourney had to end.
But if you're listening to this, yours has just begun.
[turns off tape.]
[door opens, closes.]
Who buried you? [Nicky clears throat.]
Uh That's not what it looks like.
Hmm.
Sure.
[Evan sighs.]
Glad you made it back.
Did you find her? She's gone.
Are you okay? I'm okay.
Did you find what you were looking for? Yeah, I did.
[singing.]
Took off in the dark Thought the thrill was gone Didn't get too far I know that something's wrong [Mei-Xue on tape.]
Every generation, one in our line will be compelled.
Drawn to the sword.
This journey is now yours.
Now I feel it is important to preserve the lessons I've learned, so you don't make the same mistakes I did.
Don't carry your burdens alone, as I had to do.
Hold on to these connections.
Savor them.
[inaudible conversation.]
Let them in.
Connection.
This is what life is for.
[inaudible dialogue.]
Take it from me, young one.
You'll never forget the people you love.
My deepest regret is fighting this battle alone.
[theme music playing.]