In the first season of The CW’s Kung Fu reboot, a young Chinese-American woman named Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang, Legacies) decided to drop out of college and journey to an isolated monastery in China, where she learned martial arts and discovered that she was part of a legacy of Guardians. But when her shifu Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai) was killed and monastery destroyed, Nicky returned to her hometown in pursuit of the assassin, a warrior named Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman, Family Law). The show’s first season primarily concentrated on Nicky in a race to stop Zhilan from collecting the eight ancient weapons that would allow her to wield the biange power. Zhilan had teamed up with Kerwin (Ludi Lin, Power Rangers), the son of ruthless billionaire Russell Tan (Kee Chan), to get the resources she needed for her mission. Meanwhile, as Nicky reconnected with the family she hadn’t seen in years, she discovered that San Francisco had become overrun with crime and corruption while she was away, and decided to put her newfound Shaolin skills to good use. She was joined in this mission to clean up the city by her brother/
For much of the first season, Nicky’s parents, Jin (Tzi Ma, Veep) and Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan, Marco Polo), were in the dark about Nicky’s new crime-solving life, but also hiding some family secrets of their own. Mr. and Mrs. Shen were often busy trying to keep the flailing family restaurant afloat, while also butting in to ensure their children were headed down the right paths. Zhilan managed to collect the ancient weapons one-by-one, but when the biange power was released, it went into both Nicky and Zhilan. Nicky decided that no one should wield all that power, and after duking it out with Zhilan, she sent the biange back into the earth. As the first season came to a close, Zhilan had been arrested, Kerwin Tan was seemingly dead, Althea finally let her new husband Dennis Soong (Tony Chung) in on what was really going on, Nicky could sense she had been somehow transformed somehow by the biange that flowed through her, and Evan warned the group that there was definitely more to come from evil billionaire Russell Tan. In the closing scene we discovered that Tan had been keeping tabs on a young woman for years, a cousin that Nicky is unaware of, who is the daughter of both a Warrior and a Guardian, and now that the weapons are gone and biange is free without a home, this young woman will be the key to his next evil plan.
The second season picks up sixth months later. Everything appears to be going great, with Nicky and her team combining their various skills to keep San Francisco safe. The relationship between Nicky and Henry is also going strong. Althea and Dennis are enjoying their newlywed life, but Althea is growing increasingly discontent in her job. Ryan has completed medical school and is waiting to hear back about his residency placement. He hasn’t had much luck in love, going through a stream of boyfriends, but Sebastian (JB Tadena, SEAL Team), the new line cook hired by his parents, soon catches his eye. Meanwhile Evan suspects that his boss, District Attorney Hughes (Janet Kidder, Star Trek: Discovery), may have been compromised by the Tans and he and his protégé Nadia (Marissa Cuevas) must tread lightly when gathering intel for the team. Elsewhere, Zhilan isn’t doing too well in prison, believing that Kerwin is dead. Meanwhile, Kerwin lies in a coma while Russell Tan already has his next evil plan underway with daughter Juliette (Annie Q. Riegel, The Leftovers), the heir-apparent to his evil empire.
Nicky and the rest of the gang are thrown for a loop by the arrival of Mia (Vanessa Yao), a cousin that Nicky wasn’t even aware of. Mia had been living an isolated and sheltered life and doesn’t really know who to trust—she’s not sure what to make of the Shen’s big, welcoming family. Mia is unique in that she’s both a Warrior and a Guardian, a rare hybrid. She is the key to Tan’s latest evil plan, but the fact that she’s a hybrid may also make her a danger to others. In addition to trying to protect and get to know Mia, dealing with their own personal and professional issues and roadblocks, rooting out crime and corruption in Chinatown, and trying to figure out what the Tans are up to, Nicky and the others also find themselves up against an ancient organization, a new and dangerous magical force, and a mystical being known as “The Alchemist”, who was responsible for creating the Warrior and Guardian bloodlines. Once again, Nicky and her crew not only have to save San Francisco but also the world, and they find themselves turning to some unlikely allies to do so.
Kung Fu is just as strong in its sophomore season. The series finds this great blend between action, drama and humor—the Shen family is so much fun to spend time with, and constantly put a smile on your face as they joke around with each other, and find ways to have a good time while still clamping down on crime and saving the world. The second season brings in some great new characters with Mia, Juliette, The Alchemist (Vanessa Kai in a dual role), and Sebastian. The series also does a nice job of both progressing a larger season-long arc while also sending the characters off on self-contained missions or issues of the week. This second season focuses a little more on the season-long arc than the first season did, but we still see the group going on some fun excursions, such as trying to stop a group of car thieves, breaking into the Tan mansion, stealing a mystical object, protecting a whistleblower, or even just saving the family restaurant. However, these side missions usually also tie into the season’s greater arc in some way.
The way the show utilizes each of member of the group’s skills is also really well done. While Nicky and Henry are the muscle, Ryan can provide support with his chemical and medical knowledge or access to medical databases, while Althea can hack into any computer or security system, and Evan can look into police records or ensure the cops show up when needed. The series also delves into the personal lives of these characters, whether it’s a couple’s first fight, an estranged relationship with a parent, a new boyfriend, etc. Each of the characters is given a chance to grow over the course of the season, dealing with their own personal or relationship issues that may or may not affect the group as a whole. There’s also the mystical side of things, mixing in legends and mythology as new magical objects and powers are introduced, and ultimately weaponized by the Tans. Plus there are a lot of great action sequences—Nicky and/
Each episode flows right into the next, usually ending on some big reveal or cliffhanger, making you excited to see what happens next. The show makes a great binge on this DVD release, since there’s no waiting for the next episode. You’ll sit down to watch one episode, and soon four have gone by and its time to get up to change the disc.
Warner Bros. has released this second season of Kung Fu only on DVD even though the first season also received a Blu-ray release. Having just binged the first season on Blu-ray before checking out this second season DVD release for review, I definitely noticed the difference in picture quality. While the DVD’s picture is very good, and quite clean, it is lacking that little extra level of detail and clarity that the HD presentation brings. That said, the SD picture is far from bad, and didn’t detract in any way from my enjoyment of the season. Any difference from the HD presentation became less and less noticeable as I made my way through the season. However, it’s still a bit disappointing that a show which originally aired in HD is only getting an SD disc release—perhaps some time in the future Warner Archive will offer a Blu-ray option. There’s nothing lacking about the audio track, which provides clear dialogue throughout, and makes excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to bring the action and excitement to life. The track provides a very immersive viewing experience, and the show’s score and soundtrack really shine.
The season’s 13 episodes are split across 3 discs, with the first disc containing five episodes and the other 2 containing three each. The final disc also contains the bonus material. The discs are placed in trays in a standard-size DVD case, which has a cardboard slipcover slid over the top. Unfortunately, there is no digital copy included this time around, and the bonus material amounts to just a 4-minute gag reel. While it’s nice that there is at least some extras, it pales in comparison to what was included on the first season release. The CW’s YouTube channel contains a bunch of cast interviews for the second season—it would have been nice if these had been thrown on the disc as well.
What’s Included:
- All 13 episodes of the second season:
Disc 1 (3:31:03): “Year of the Tiger: Part 1”, “Year of the Tiger: Part 2”, “The Bell”, “Clementine”, “Reunion”
Disc 2 (2:48:30): “Jyu Sa”, “The Alchemist”, “Disclosure”, “The Enclave”
Disc 3 (2:49:25): “Destruction”, “Bloodline”, “Alliance”, “The Source” - 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Gag Reel (3:49)
Laugh along with the cast as they flub and forget their lines, crack each other up, pull faces, curse (bleeped), and just have fun on set.
Episodes: (9:08:58)
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed this second season of Kung Fu. The series does a nice job of giving each season its own self-contained story arc, while also including some fun missions-on-the-week, allowing each of the characters to develop and grow, and setting things up for the next chapter. In addition to the character drama, the series also has a lot of humor and some excellent action sequences. It’s a little disappointing to see no Blu-ray option this time around, but the DVD still looks and sounds great. Another disappointment is that there’s just a single bonus feature and no digital copy this time around. However, I’d still recommend the DVD based on the quality of the series itself.
