Well, it’s fiery alright. And I mean that in every possible senses of the word. If you were here to see guts spilled, bones broken, and eyes stabbed, Chief of War’s finale makes it worth your wait. The war even the most pacifist chief has been waiting for is upon the islands of Hawai’i. Gods are sarcastic in their communication with the men who wield the weapons and rule their kingdoms. But the prophecy was always supposed to win against all odds.
Spoiler Alert
Keoua has a wicked way of gathering support
In the ending of Chief of War’s penultimate episode, the mystical eruption of the volcanoes favored Keoua in the war between Kau and Kohala. It wasn’t just Keoua who saw it as the goddess of fire, Pele’s blessing. Some of the Hawaiian districts that were previously too wary to join Keoua’s side are now terrified of Pele’s wrath. Hilo’s chief now falls to Keoua’s feet to offer his support and men in his war against Kamehameha. He’s changed his tune. Once very much against the idea of warring against Kamehameha, Hilo’s chief now wants to help Keoua correct the wrong that was done to him by the last king, Kalani’opu’u. But Keoua isn’t known for his mercy. Empowered even further by Maui’s Opunui and the goddess’ blessing, Keoua wants nothing more than to cause pain to anyone who ever stood against him. So the chief’s offering of the sacred club that holds the spiritual strength of his bloodline and god isn’t enough for Keoua. The mad chief of Kau wants the chief of Hilo to offer his own teeth for the fire goddess, and he won’t be satisfied with just one. The chief of Hilo is in no position to say no to Keoua’s wish. It’s either his teeth, or the bones he’d prefer to hold on to more. His teeth get an affirming roar from the fire goddess. Keoua now has Hilo and Maui’s combined support in the war he’s started.
Ka’iana is as prepared as he can be
Kamehameha couldn’t have picked a better time to dismiss his doubts about Ka’iana. It’s not necessarily Kamehameha’s fault either, but now is just as good a time as can be for him to pick the warrior who’s fit to lead his army. When we met Ka’iana, he was running from his last post as Kahekili’s chief of war. He’s come a long way since then. He’s longed for the gods to tell him which king he should fight for. And everything pointed towards Kamehameha. Ka’iana’s honored to be given a sacred ivory tooth necklace and the charge of the Prophesied King’s army. Once again, he’ll lead men as the chief of war. Only this time, he’s fighting for a king who’s the very antithesis of Kahekili. Kamehameha doesn’t doubt his capacity to lead his men to victory. But he mourns the lives that will be lost in the war. He’s lucky to have Ka’ahumanu by his side. Her perspective is his guide back to the realities of politics and society. She’s earned the honor he bestowed on her by giving her an official position in his council. By not even addressing the murmur of disapproval among the men of his court, Kamehameha wants to communicate that his decision isn’t up for debate. But there’s a complicated attachment between Ka’iana and Ka’ahumanu. And it might be just the thing that her father feared. When Namake couldn’t help but do the right thing and came clean about her love for Kupuohi to Ka’iana, it didn’t take him a second to forgive his brother. Ka’iana understands that the only reason Namake would ever even consider thinking of Kupuohi as someone he could want was if Ka’iana was dead. That’s what they all thought was the case. Now’s not the time to nurture a grudge against an ally anyway. Pele’s lava worries Ka’iana too. He feels like the gods are against him in this war. And like always, the only voice of faith that does work on Ka’iana is Ka’ahumanu’s. All she needs to do is to hold his hand and tell him that the red mouthed weapons will win them the war, and Ka’iana doesn’t need the gods to speak to him anymore. Ka’iana isn’t alone in the feeling that he doesn’t fear what they’re walking into. Tony hasn’t felt fear in a long time either. It’s a tragic tolerance they’ve grown. They’ve seen death too closely too often. And a known enemy doesn’t terrify warriors. It’s a personal war for Ka’iana. He’s fighting it for his fallen brother, Nahi. And he hasn’t forgotten that there are other people who are mourning him, people who are far more affected by his death. No one has lost more in Nahi’s death than Heke. But she wants to do more than just pray this time. She wants to honor Nahi through what he’d just started to train her in. She wants to fight in the war alongside Kupuohi, Ka’ahumanu, and the army of women fighting on behalf of the Prophesied King.
Does Kamehameha win the war against Keoua?
Kamehameha received the war god because he believed in his uncle’s faith. And ever since, he’s worshipped Ku while doubting his worthiness as his worshipper. Ku has never spoken to the king who’s supposed to unite Hawai’i. But even then, Kamehameha hopes for the war god’s blessings before leading his army to the black desert. It’s almost like Ku was waiting for his warrior to arrive before he blessed Kamehameha as the future king who’ll bring the prophecy alive. In Ka’iana’s presence, Ku speaks through a single feather that flies from his mahiole and lands on the cape of Kamehameha’s chief of war. Kohala’s war god has spoken.
When Kohala’s army faces Keoua and Opunui in the black desert, the goddess of fire sets the stage for an explosive battle with her roar. I guess it’s a thing for 18th century Hawaiian chiefs of war to engage in a serious roast-off before taking up arms. Nothing is beyond Opunui and Ka’iana as they rip into each other with words. It’s fun to sit through. But if you’re fond of gore, very few shows do it as well as Chief of War‘s finale does it, with the fight between Kohala, Kau, and Maui. The red mouthed weapons boasted by Kamehameha’s army do a lot more damage than Keoua and Opunui were expecting. But there’s plenty of spears, blades, and hand-to-hand combat to go around. Keoua and Opunui’s army prove weak against the combined strength of Ka’iana, the men and women in Kamehameha’s army, and surprisingly, Ka’ahumanu. When Kamehameha gets down to the battleground, he makes the most of his shot at being a worthy keeper of the war god. Like I guessed in my last article, Opunui is a beast in every sense of the word. He forced himself on Heke after Keoua killed Nahi. And on the battlefield, he’s cornered her again. Even at her most fierce, Heke is too dainty for Opunui. She’s lucky that Ka’ahumanu heard Kupuohi’s cries for her sister. Before Opunui can really hurt Heke, Ka’ahumanu shoots him in his leg and leaves him on the ground for Heke. She takes her sweet time avenging herself and the man she loves. It’s a side of Heke that Opunui never expected to see. He dies the death he deserves when Heke’s poisoned hairpin goes into his eye. It’s a soul-cleansing win for Heke. Ka’iana’s fighting the same fight when he finishes off the only man standing with Keoua. But the god of fire has her own plans. Near the end of the battle, the ground gives into the magma and melts a lot of people into itself. Pele isn’t on Keoua’s side after all. Before Ka’iana can hurt him, the lava rejects Keoua’s prayer and cooks him alive. To Ka’ahumanu’s relief, Ka’iana was only knocked out by the explosion. But the way Ka’ahumanu leaps into Ka’iana’s arms can’t be too comforting a sight for Moku. I don’t think Kamehameha has seen them. But Ka’iana and Ka’ahumanu will have to address their feelings once the festivities die down. Those who made it cheer for Ka’iana instead of their king. They didn’t expect Ka’iana to make it, so their joy is understandable. But Ka’iana leads them to a more appropriate chant when he hails Kamehameha as his king. This win has brought Kamehameha a lot closer to fulfilling his prophesied goals. But history doesn’t remember things ending well between Ka’iana and Kamehameha. This war may be over, and the right people may have won this time. But danger looms over Hawai’i in many different forms. Kahekili hasn’t changed his mind about Hawai’i. And I think he might’ve even intentionally injured Kupule. Kahekili sure wants to torment him when he tortures his lover and counsel, Lima, in front of him as he helplessly begs his mad father to stop. Kahekili doesn’t kill Lima this time. But by pulling this while Kupule is grievously injured and recovering, he’s just reminded his son that he hasn’t loosened his grip over his kingdom.
In Chief of War’s ending, we find Kahekili in a trippy orgy. It looks like he’s tortured Lima into submitting to his will, and he now works for the king of Maui. Kahekili isn’t thrilled to find out about Opunui’s failure in Kau, but it excites him to hear the mention of one name, Ka’iana. He has a lot of unfinished business with his former chief of war. And now that he’s about to prepare for an assault on Hawai’i, he’s going to single out Ka’iana and make him pay for abandoning his army not once, but twice.
Season 2 expectations
Considering the closing events of the first season of Chief of War doesn’t include a whole lot of things that are supposed to happen before the four islands of Hawai’i are united, we can expect Apple TV to greenlight a second season of the Jason Momoa-starrer soon. In the first season, we’ve come to realize that Ka’iana is a significant part of the prophecy. And by placing his feather on Ka’iana’s cape, Ku might be hinting at the fact that Ka’iana is the feathered cape from the prophecy. From the beginning, it’s not just been about Ka’iana’s search for a purpose and a place he can call home. It’s also been about his search for the Prophesied King. Things haven’t always been smooth between Ka’iana and Kamehameha, and since Chief of War follows history, things are going to get much more complicated between these two in the second season. But that doesn’t change the healing effect Ka’iana and Kamehameha’s brief friendship has had and will have on the warring islands of Hawai’i. All of their differences aside, their goals are the same. They want to protect their homes against all kinds of threats, and they want to stop the islands from going at each other’s throats and hindering their shared progress and prosperity. To that end, Ka’iana winning the war against Keoua is a big step forward for Kamehameha. He is now the one true king of Hawai’i. The first season hasn’t really gone back to the subplot with Captain Metcalfe ever since his attack on the outer village of Kohala. But I think it’s safe for us to expect that he isn’t going anywhere.
If a second season of Chief of War happens, Ka’iana and Kamehameha will have align their politics to save their home from the greedy Europeans. They’ll also be busy defending Hawai’i from Kahekili. The mad king is still very much in pursuit of his wicked version of the prophecy. Maui’s army is strong. And most importantly, they’re ruthless. Ka’iana and Kamehameha will have to take up the red mouthed weapons again when Kahekili attacks Hawai’i. But what if he manages to get guns for his army as well?
