Wu 1×09 Review: Final Episode

Niran makes a bold choice in order to defeat Qi Rong and bring peace and balance to the country.

I’ll be honest, I did not expect much from Wu when I started watching it. Sky and Nani together are a force to be reckoned with, and director Waa Wassuthep has done some stellar series. But I knew so little about the story, and the episode count was so short, that I was afraid to get my hopes up. And now that the series is finished, I can admit that I have been blown away. This may be one of my favorite Thai series.

I love a lot of Thai dramas. (Obviously, given that I basically only watch those anymore.) But it’s a fairly common issue that a lot of them just cannot stick the landing. So when I find a show that has a strong start and finishes strongly as well, I have to give credit where it’s due. The relationship between Niran and Pete, as the focal point of the series, was so well-written and nuanced. And I was concerned about the political commentary, but I really think they nailed it.

I did think it was a bit anticlimactic that Niran essentially talked Qi Rong into submission. (I don’t even watch Naruto and I immediately thought, “talk no jutsu“.) But I actually think this is a brilliant way to deal with the demon. Sometimes brute strength is not the answer, and Niran recognized that. He acknowledged that Qi Rong’s method of violent retribution does have a place, but that it should be used to fight true injustice and not to serve the whims of a power-hungry madman.

Mostly, though, the anticlimactic nature of Qi Rong’s “defeat” was balanced with the fact that the Prime Minister literally had Niran kidnapped. Pete stealing a bike so that he could catch up with the kidnappers was great. Niran full-on chi-blocking his captor à la Ty Lee (from Avatar: The Last Airbender) was spectacular – particularly since that was the first time he’s really done any fighting. Then they legitimately stole the kidnappers’ vehicle. And Pete had to release the demon to fight off ten men. Everything about that sequence of events was perfection.

The political commentary felt extremely timely. Wu emphasized that even those with good intentions can be corrupted by the system, and once that line is crossed, their good intentions no longer matter. Those leaders need to recognize when they are part of the problem and actually hindering the work they claim they are doing. Niran’s fake ritual, to make the Prime Minister realize that he was no longer the bastion of progress he used to be, was so tense and well done. I guessed that it wasn’t a real ritual, but I was still half-expecting something to happen.

I wanted to know what Fei would do when confronted with the information that the Prime Minister had done the things he was accused of. Now I wonder if she knew, but had excused it, because in her mind, he was still the idealistic man of the people that he had been when she first met him. That happens a lot, I’d wager. We always want to see the good in people, particularly in people we know. It’s hard to watch someone veer so far from who they used to be.

It’s too bad that there isn’t a real “mandate of heaven” ritual that would make corrupt leaders resign. We sure could use some of that right now.

I think it’s interesting that the final episode aired today, and that it featured a scene of Fei wearing a “protect our democracy” pin, given that there was an election in Thailand this past weekend. I can’t imagine that was intentional, but it felt like a nice coincidence. (New York just had its primary election last week! Make sure you’re registered to vote!)

The show also makes the statement that the yao are not inherently evil, and it reaffirmed that in this final episode. I really hated Niran’s whole “this is actually a blessing” speech about the Macaque, because in the moment, it felt very ableist. Especially given that the demon was inside Pete in the first place to “cure” his deafness. But the fact that Pete learned to work with it, rather than exorcising it, seems to be an acknowledgment that demons are a natural part of life.

Niran all but confirmed this, when he said that Heaven and the demons are the same. They both have their place, and we must learn to work with them. He also basically says that while Qi Rong might have fanned the flames, the people in power are still responsible for their actions. Not everyone was being stirred by the demon; the people did have legitimate gripes, and they should be able to express those without fear of reprisal.

Also, I love that Pete let the demon loose to protect Niran. I am a very simple soul.

The best thing about the relationship between Niran and Pete is that they changed each other without either of them having to change. These are not two people who altered some fundamental aspect of their being. They both became better people because of what they can offer each other. Pete needed temperance and stability, having lost both when his parents died. (Having a demon inside certainly didn’t help!) Niran needed faith and support, as he had been struggling with both since before his grandfather died. Together, they fill in the gaps that the other is missing. They gave each other a purpose.

These two truly felt like a unit in this episode. I couldn’t help but laugh when they bickered in front of the freaking Prime Minister. Pete immediately rode to Niran’s rescue… again. Pete asking Niran to trust him, the way Pete trusts Niran. Niran changing his mind and deciding that binding his soul to Pete’s was the “rightest thing he’s ever done”, and Pete’s stupid smile when he said that.

And it feels very fitting, on this last day of Pride month, that the final scene of the show is Niran only truly realizing the power of his amulet when he met Pete. I loved the montage of their relationship – and I love that they put in what was clearly a behind-the-scenes moment (when Niran and Pete are wrestling in their room – that smile is all Sky). It felt like they were highlighting the power that love can bring to someone. Love is love, regardless of what form it comes in. And these two do love each other; they are honest-to-goodness life partners, and they didn’t need to kiss for us to see that.

Do I have a few nitpicks? Of course. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have some complaints. I thought Fei was seriously underutilized. They really did seem to imply some major incident in her and Tong’s past, and I’m a little upset that we never got more of their backstory. I also wish we had gotten to see more of the rest of the Wu; I am extremely curious how they would have responded to Niran’s shenanigans.

But for the most part, this has been a phenomenal show. The acting was superb, the action was well-done, the cinematography was great, the score was beautiful. This really was just a great show start to finish. (And they must recognize it, because they actually brought back DVD boxsets, which they haven’t produced for over a year.) I would like to officially petition GMMTV to seriously consider doing a second season, because I would absolutely watch it.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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