Parents' Guide to Warrior

This pulpy series challenges stereotypes by combining Western TV and movie conventions with intense martial arts action sequences. It's a work of fiction, but Warrior takes place during an important series of post-Civil War events that are barely acknowledged in mainstream U.S. history, including the hiring of Chinese immigrants by U.S. railroad companies to make up for the postwar labor shortage, and the systemic racist treatment they, and their American-born children and grandchildren, were forced to endure. But it is the interpretation of the strife among San Francisco's Chinese tongs—many of which evolved from Chinatown community aid associations to organized crime gangs specializing in gambling, prostitution, and the opium trade—that is the most unique and interesting part of the series.

Centering Ah Sahm's story around the Tong Wars is what makes it entertaining, and it creates the room necessary to challenge stereotypes that characterize Chinese and other Asian communities as submissive or as trying to become model minorities. However, the problem with Warrior is that it also features multiple storylines and characters that fall outside of this space. Despite being connected to Ah Sahm in some way, these plot lines feel unnecessary, and create a dense and sometimes confusing viewing experience. In the end, it's a mature series that has a lot to offer, but simply tries to do too much.