In the first episode of Apple TV’s Chief of War, backing the wrong king cost Ka’iana a great deal. To spend his lifetime as a weapon at the bloodthirsty King’s disposal, get away from it all, and to then be pulled back into it with lies and false hopes, Ka’iana’s been through a lot. But if his indomitable spirit in the second episode of Chief of War is any indication, Ka’iana will find the shore no matter how far the current pulls him. Things are about to change for Hawai’i in an unprecedented way. The clear skies and the glowing red star, Kapuahi, are practically a sign that a new savior is about to rise, someone who’ll help steady the sails as the prophecy starts to take shape.
Spoiler Alert
What does Taula see in Ka’ahumanu’s future?
From the moment we meet Ka’ahumanu, something about her stands out. It’s not just the way she’s fascinated by the glowing Kapuahi against the clear Maui skies. It’s also the fact that in ancient Hawai’i, women weren’t allowed to study the stars. So her secret lessons with her uncle come with the risk of defying kapu; the social, spiritual, and gender laws that the Polynesian people were expected to live by. But in her restless longing for the kind of knowledge only men could access, Ka’ahumanu wasn’t scared of the consequences. She wanted to know all about Kapuahi, the great red star that guided her ancestors’ voyages. Lucky for her, her uncle enjoys telling her all about the mythical lore around the red star, the one where he is a warrior who braves his path to the heavens in search of the waters of life. In this lore, the warrior repeats this same journey every day to awaken his love, the sun. But it’s not the tale of love and devotion that she derives the most joy out of. Ka’ahumanu’s far more thrilled by the journey that the red star makes–the journey beyond the known land. That’s probably something that Ka’ahumanu’s spirit is hungry for, the knowledge of the world beyond her home. It’s not a curiosity that is encouraged in her community, but she feels it just the same. History will come to acknowledge and celebrate Ka’ahumanu’s brilliance in politics and her bold defiance of the patriarchy. But before that, she’ll need to brave a whole lot of storms. We get to know who Ka’ahumanu is when her frantic father, Moku, a Chief from the Kingdom of Hawai’i, finds her with terrible news. Kahekili’s unprecedented attack on O’ahu has gotten people nervous. The Kingdoms of Maui and Hawai’i weren’t friends, but this war has threatened to destroy any tie the two islands had. Ka’ahumanu’s place in this is exceedingly complicated. Her mother, Chiefess Namahana, is sister to the King of Maui. Because there is bad blood between Maui and Hawai’i, and Ka’ahumanu’s identity is divided between these two worlds, she’s not wanted by either for much longer. So Moku has done the only thing he could think of. He’s promised to marry his daughter off to a Hawaiian Chief. It’s not that Moku and Namahana don’t understand that Ka’ahumanu is meant for far greater things than bearing heirs for a Chief. But the world they live in doesn’t have a whole lot of space for women to be much more than that. Ka’ahumanu plays along, however much it crushes her to change all her future plans in a matter of hours. Since she has no other choice but to accept her fate, all she wants to do is make sure that it’s the right path for her. That’s where Taula, the Prophetess, comes in. The fact that she even shows up when Ka’ahumanu calls for her is a sign that she’s far from ordinary. Taula doesn’t have happy things to share when it comes to Ka’ahumanu’s future as wife to the Chief her father has promised her hand to. In fact, Taula can see that most of the paths that Ka’ahumanu can take only lead to misery for herself and the people around her. But that doesn’t mean that Ka’ahumanu will live a wayward life. Nothing else will work out for Ka’ahumanu because she’s meant for a singular purpose, something a “guardian” will help her navigate. Since the show’s staying true to history so far, it’s safe to assume that the guardian that Taula’s speaking of is King Kamehameha. When Taula senses that even the gods fear Ka’ahumanu, it foreshadows the waves of change that she will bring to her world when she wields the authority that she’s meant for. Taula says that Ka’ahumanu will “break the world.” I think she’s referring to all the ways Ka’ahumanu is going to destroy the old cycle of power, fear, and pain when she’s by Kamehameha’s side as Kuhina Nui. The gods are empowered by men who claim to be their representatives on earth. In the rules that they make up, there is no space for women to thrive. When Ka’ahumanu secures her position in the world, she’ll threaten the exclusive power that men have been holding in her community for generations.
Does Kahekili want to kill Ka’iana?
It was never going to be a smooth take over for Kahekili, even he knew that when he’d made up his mind about filling the vacuum that had existed ever since the prophecy had been told. Prince Kupule is only trying to catch up when he questions his father about this sudden, volatile move. I doubt that he’s too bothered by the moral implications of it. He’s probably only looking for clarity and reassurance that he’s about to help someone who actually knows what he’s doing. What Kahekili has to say for himself makes one thing clear, for sure. He actually believes in the goal he’s trying to achieve. For him, the prophecy doesn’t have to be about a man of miraculous birth. It’s simply about a king who can, by any means necessary, unite the four kingdoms. What Kahekili doesn’t see, or doesn’t want to see, is that there’s a fundamental difference between him and the prophesied king. Peace is the farthest thing from Kahekili’s mind. He doesn’t want to spare a life even when he can afford to. That kind of thirst for violence is the very antithesis of the values the prophesied king is about to represent. But it’s not like Kupule has the choice to defy his father anyway. Ka’iana was supposed to meet with the king and discuss further proceedings. After the massacre he inadvertently helped cause, he doesn’t have the time to lick his wounds. He needs to take his family and get away before the king notices that he’s gone. But he needs to make one thing clear to the king. By leaving his father’s war club in two pieces for Kahekili to find, Ka’iana wants to let the king know that there’s nothing that he can hold over him anymore. What’s worrisome is that, as Ka’iana, Namake, Nahi, and Kupuohi take the boat and sail to Maui, they don’t know that the stakes have shot up. Before, Kahekili needed Ka’iana alive and well. But the adrenaline of all the kills has given him this newfound confidence that he can win any war just by himself. That’s why, instead of asking Kupule and his men to capture Ka’iana and bring him back in one piece, he asks for his estranged warrior’s blood. If Kahekili can’t have Ka’iana’s unconditional loyalty and support, he would rather have his “mana.” In Hawaiian culture, a person’s bones are supposed to hold the essence of their spirit, which they call mana. It doesn’t bode well for Ka’iana that Kahekili’s men know about Heke waiting for her family in Maui. They know where to look.
If Heke wasn’t performing her Akua moon rituals in the woods when her family reached the shores of Maui, Ka’iana would’ve gotten away much easier. They won’t leave Heke behind no matter the danger to their own lives. So it’s a good thing that they at least know where she’s gone. But the circumstances largely favor Kupule and his father’s men. When they corner Ka’iana, Kupuohi puts her sentiments aside and makes the smart decision to save herself and the rest of her family. It would’ve been foolish to try to take on such a large and ruthless army. In Ka’iana’s absence, Kupuohi’s emotional and spiritual stability helps her hold down the fort, even with Nahi’s sporadic grumbling. Ka’iana has a better chance at surviving if he isn’t busy protecting the people he loves and can focus on keeping himself safe. But even then, it becomes practically impossible to dodge all these warriors. He doesn’t get caught, but he does get hurt bad enough for him to need a breather. Lucky for him, he goes to the same cave where Ka’ahumanu has been spending most of her time. She doesn’t just nurse him back to health, but her existence itself is a source of comfort to Ka’iana because it makes him feel like he’s not alone in his fight. Ka’ahumanu and Ka’iana share some parts of their complicated fate. They’re both close to the king, and yet hated by him. They’re both on the run from king Kahekili, and yet, the uncertainty of the future is just as overwhelming for them.
Where Is Ka’iana Going?
In the world of Chief of War, fate seems to be the decisive force behind every action. Try as they might, Ka’iana and Ka’ahumanu don’t get to choose exactly what parts they play when it comes to pushing their world toward the fulfillment of the prophecy. Taula may not have all the answers for them, but judging by her visions about the two of them, it can be said with absolute certainty that Ka’iana and Ka’ahumanu will be vital to the social and spiritual healing of Hawai’i. They’re kindred spirits, really. They’re practically homeless in the home that they love and want to fix. And despite their noble births, they’re hardly interested in claiming the privileges that they’re owed. So it makes sense that the two of them work really well together. In some ways, Ka’ahumanu understands the world far better than Ka’iana does. When he sees the gun Ka’ahumanu got from her father, he remembers the “paleskin” as weak. But Ka’ahumanu shivers at the thought of the threat the European weapon poses. Ka’iana’s rather shortsighted when it comes to the Europeans. He wildly downplays the damage they can do should they choose to. He doesn’t even think they’ll be back. And as it so happens, a fleet of European ships have just made a stop at Maui to look for supplies.
Before Ka’iana and Ka’ahumanu got into this awkward face off with the Europeans, they’d come up with a plan. Ka’ahumanu convinced Ka’iana to board the ship that her father would send for her and sail off to Hawai’i. They were on their way to find Ka’iana’s family when they ran into the terrified Europeans. Standing across from each other, most of them don’t want trouble. Before this tension, one of them was even saying that they should try to avoid the mistakes that got Cook killed. He was talking about James Cook, the European explorer who’d come to the Islands of Hawai’i and paid a karmic price for his abuse of the native people. Considering Ka’iana prefers to avoid escalation, they could’ve walked away peacefully. But true to form, one of the Europeans gets trigger happy. He obviously has terrible aim. Too bad for him, Ka’iana doesn’t miss. But before Ka’iana and Ka’ahumanu can get out of this mess, Kupule and the King’s men catch up to them. He knows he has to take them on alone. But he wants Ka’ahumanu to take his family to the safety of Hawai’i. Ka’iana is yet again separated from a friend when he’s hunted by the King’s men. Away from everything that transpired, Heke must’ve been hopeful about the outcome of the war. She thought her husband and the rest of her family went off to achieve the first step towards a better future. So now when she’s found, and she can see the disappointment written on Namake, Nahi, and Kupuohi’s faces, she is faced with the futility of all of their hopes and efforts. It’s difficult for Nahi to sit on his hands when his brother is out there fighting for his life. He’s a tough one for Kupuohi to manage, but she does so with grace and, when necessary, a knife to his throat. When Ka’ahumanu catches up to them, they trust her instantly. Ka’ahumanu has that effect on people. It’s got to be excruciating for Kupuohi to do the right thing and take up Ka’ahumanu on her offer. They’ll be leaving Ka’iana behind. But they’ll be of no help to him if they’re captured. When they’re about to sail off to Hawai’i, they’re stopped by a European sailor. When his crew got caught in the struggle between Ka’iana and Kahekili’s men, they bolted as fast as they could and left this poor guy behind. If it wasn’t for Ka’ahumanu making a case for him, Kupuohi would’ve left the paleskin to fend for himself. But Ka’ahumanu is far more humanitarian. And that’ll be one of her strongest qualities as a leader going forward.
In the ending of Chief of War episode 2, Ka’iana’s cornered and outnumbered by the King’s men. Being stuck on the edge of a cliff is both a boon and a curse for him. He has nowhere to run, but taking care of the men charging at him is much easier when he’s got the cliff to drop them from. But how long can he go on fighting anyway? He’s already not at his 100%. The nefarious grins on the faces of Kupule and his men tell him that fighting isn’t the way to win this. So he takes his chances on fate and plunges from the cliff. But unlike what Kupule would like to believe, Ka’iana isn’t dead. He was rescued by the European ship crew, the same people he’d met in the woods. Waking up on a ship that’s taking him far away from his home is a good enough reason for Ka’iana to fly off the handle. But these people don’t mean to hurt him. In fact, I think this is how Chief of War is setting up the voyage to the unknown lands that the real Ka’iana was known for. On this journey, Ka’iana will gain perspectives and knowledge that will help him guide the prophesied king toward his destiny.
