As Nicky and Henry team up to find the bell before Russell Tan can use it, a familiar face makes her way back to San Francisco. Althea, Ryan, and Jin make some big decisions about their futures, and the Tan siblings both make power grabs. Read on to find out what happened in Kung Fu season 2, episode 3!
Moving On
Jin goes to see Frank at the collective, bearing dumplings from Mei-Li. They reminisce about old times, and Jin offers Frank money to help with the studio. Frank reveals that it’s too late; he’s closing down soon. The studio next door offered to buy him out, and he laments that Chinatown has changed. He can’t keep the collective running on his own.
This sparks a realization in Jin, and he tells Mei-Li that he is leaving Harmony Dumplings to pursue his dreams of preserving the Chinatown they love before it’s gone. He knows she can do it on her own now, and it truly makes her happy. Mei-Li is supportive, but sad about losing her partner.
A Sense of Purpose
Althea’s rage quit incident has gone viral, and she’s fielding multiple job offers. Meanwhile, Ryan goes looking for his parents only to find Sebastian eating lunch with the staff. He shares that he matched at UCSF for his residency, and Sebastian calls him out on not being particularly thrilled. Ryan claims it was his first choice, his dream for years, but we see that he seems to be questioning something.
Althea and Ryan meet, waiting for Nicky, and both share their news. Like Sebastian, Althea calls Ryan out for his lack of enthusiasm. Ryan says he’s put off a lot of things in anticipation of getting his match outside of San Francisco, including traveling the world, and now he’s not going anywhere. He wonders when he will have time for adventure.
While helping Nicky with the case (more on that later), Althea realizes she likes being in charge and decides to become her own boss. Ryan comes to his own realization: that with Nicky by his side, he’ll have plenty of adventure without leaving his hometown. He even gets in some quick flirting with Sebastian (good for you, Ryan!).
“Bell” of the Ball
Nicky wakes Henry up with some early morning, insomnia induced exercising. She’s worried about Mia and theorizing over where she could have gone. Henry is reassuring and supportive (and shirtless) as always, once again putting in some serious work for the Best Boyfriend Ever award.
Kerwin is being grilled by an interviewer who questions where he’s been. He explains it away with a fake car accident and gushes about how excited he is to work with his father again as Russell and Juliette look on.
Henry and Nicky hit the books, with Henry discovering the bell was originally sent to Chinatown as a gift before being buried under the city. Evan texts Nicky that Kerwin is back, sending her a link to an article profiling him. Nicky wants to try and get Kerwin on their side, and even as Henry is skeptical, he agrees to try.
They confront Kerwin, with Nicky getting digs in about Kerwin’s status in the family. Kerwin thinks Zhilan is dead after the hit at the prison, and Nicky realizes he’s faking his cooperation to get revenge on his father for her “death.” She suggests they talk. They tell him that the best way to get revenge is to make sure the bell is out of Russell’s hands. Henry even flatters Kerwin, saying that Nicky, Henry, and Zhilan couldn’t stop Russell, but that Kerwin can.
Kerwin tries to fish for information as Juliette is suspicious. He manages to get a diagram of the bell to Nicky and Henry. He mentions he found something in his father’s plans about a combination warrior/guardian as Nicky and Henry try to act like this is news to them. But the “butterfly” Kerwin mentions is clearly Mia as they find photos of her amid the documents Kerwin has. Kerwin mentions that this butterfly is sacrificed in the larger plan Russell is building towards, which concerns Nicky. Kerwin tells them that the bell will only be in his house for one more night before being moved to a maximum security location, meaning Nicky and Henry only have one night to steal it. He gives them the map of the compound before leaving.
Henry and Nicky regroup with Althea and Ryan to figure out how to destroy the bell. Ryan remembers some good old college chemistry that will allow Henry and Nicky to destroy the bell quickly, while Althea works on getting the chemicals they need. Nicky invites Ryan along on the break in attempt when it becomes clear they need his chemical expertise.
Kerwin walks in on Juliette and Russell discussing Mia. Juliette reveals they pulled out of the company’s charity dinner, meaning they’ll both be at home when Nicky and Henry break in. He suffers through the world’s most awkward dinner as the trio break in. Kerwin sneaks away to help them, but Juliette catches him. He pretends all his sneaking around is to try to catch up, claiming that he wants to know what’s going on so he can be involved. He says he only needs five minutes, and a flattered Juliette gives in. He opens the gate so the trio can enter.
Ryan gets to work on the bell, but a worker enters and sets off the security alarms. At the same time, a newly freed Zhilan makes her way to the Tan compound, just missing her chance to kill Russell when the alarms go off. The worker is accidentally injured with a knife, causing Ryan to stop destroying the bell to help. Zhilan makes her way towards the antiquities room where the alarm is kept as Kerwin urges Nicky to leave.
Zhilan finds Kerwin in Russell’s office, and both look shocked that the other is still alive. He asks her why she tried to kill him, and she says it was never about their relationship. She loved him, but she needed to destroy Russell. She goes to leave, intent on killing Russell, but Kerwin stops her. He doesn’t want her to win, even as Zhilan points out that Russell does not care about him.
They fight, with Zhilan getting progressively more upset as she realizes he has no intention of letting her get to his father. She tearfully asks him to stand down, telling him she’s only there for Russell and that she doesn’t want to hurt Kerwin. He says she already has. He tells her that he also wants Russell to pay, but that going after his family or the man himself won’t really do it.
Nicky and Henry finish melting down the bell as Ryan looks after the worker. As the security guards close in, they escape with a laptop containing more information. But the bell isn’t fully destroyed. The three celebrate with drinks as Henry gets a text message from his estranged father.
Meanwhile, Juliette is busy placating her angry father. She tells him she can build another device that will mimic the tones of the bell, which was the important part anyway. She just needs time and resources. Both Kerwin and Zhilan leave separately, with Zhilan going after Mia to get back at Russell.
Kung Fu airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find our other coverage of the series here!
