At the risk of justifying Chief of War’s fairly slow pace for the last couple of episodes, I’d say that the pauses are important in a way. They’re there so you sit with the event and its meaning for a moment, and not rush to the next one without pondering at everything between the lines. Everything that comes in the way of Kamehameha’s movement for peace makes one thing certain. The right decision needs to be taken over and over again, against all odds. In the 6th episode of Chief of War, Kamehameha changes a whole lot of things. But the odds stacked against him aren’t going anywhere.
Spoiler Alert
Why does Ka’iana think Kupuohi is making a mistake?
Keoua never meant to hide the attack. He wanted a grand exhibition of the fire that courses through his veins. Kamehameha’s reluctance to accept that his cousin would do such a thing is really more a testament to his own morals than those of Keoua. But even he knows that no one else has any reason to hurt Kohala. It doesn’t make Ka’iana happy to advise his chief to prepare for war, but he is only doing what he thinks is right. Moku is with him on this. But Kamehameha’s council echoes more than the voice of men. Ka’ahumanu’s intellectual strengths have been a unique gift to Kohala’s politics. And as the first woman to have a say in matters of governance and war, Ka’ahumanu has made it a place where the voice of reason isn’t rejected just because the speaker is a woman. In her own space, Kupuohi has been similarly fierce. So when she takes a stand for peace in the court of men, and offers to try to convince Keoua to call a truce, she does so with the confidence of a woman who has never looked to men for answers and advice. People like Moku may not be comfortable with this. But Kamehameha finds far more sensibility in the advice of the women than of the men. Nothing that Kamehameha does is ever passive. And his support for women being included in the political discourse about Hawai’i’s future is loud in his sarcasm. Ka’iana doesn’t have the same faith that Kupuohi has in Keoua’s capacity for sensible thinking. But while he might be right, Ka’iana’s thoughts are very evidently affected by the cynicism his visit to Zamboanga has imbued in him. Kupuohi may think that Ka’iana has become a bit too much like the Paleskin, the trousers he still wears back at home and the gun he keeps with himself are supposed to make her see it that way. When Kupuohi and a gun-toting Ka’iana go to Kau to talk some sense into Keoua, even he picks on Ka’iana for the signs of Europeanness he carries with himself. But Ka’iana is far from the Europeans’ pet. He’s terrified of the wreckage that follows when they target places. His fear has almost turned into this paranoia that is actively directing his words and actions. That sort of wrecks any possibility of Kupuohi winning peace out of her meeting with Keoua. Her hope hinged on the fact that she is originally from Kau. But Keoua was never going to go for peace anyway. His tunnel vision has blurred out everything other than the god of war, the privilege and honor that his father bestowed on Kamehameha. For the god of war, he can burn the whole world to the ground. Keoua’s acutely selfish obsession with authority over the Kingdom of Hawai’i has pushed him to a state where he needs to burn his father’s mahiole in a ceremony to feel like the true king. He doesn’t care about the unification of Hawai’i. All he wants is the god of war and the entirety of Hawai’i to fall at his feet. So while Kupuohi has reasons to be frustrated with Ka’iana’s lack of faith in her instincts, he wasn’t wrong about Keoua.
Has Kahekili gone mad?
Kupule has never been okay with his father’s bloodlust. But call it respect or fear, he’s never really brought it up to Kahekili. Kupule must’ve expected that not every chief of Maui would back the surge of violence under Kahekili’s rule. Anyone with a rational head on their shoulders should be terribly afraid of a king who’s been wiping out bloodlines all around the islands he conquers. But when Lima advocates the idea of Kupule taking the kingdom from his father, he shudders at the thought of ending his great father’s legacy on a note of humiliation. But Lima is making sense when he argues that that’s how people should remember Kahekili, as the great king of a great kingdom. You can’t blame Kupule for taking his time either. As a loyal prince and son, he has to try to reason with his father before sending Lima to gather support for a takeover. Kupule’s denial doesn’t change the fact that Kahekili has lost himself in his version of the prophecy. Instead of reassuring Kupule when he does speak up against Kahekili’s brutal erasure of entire bloodlines, he leads him to the two Maui chiefs he’s caught and had hung on spikes. Their terrible state is a result of Kahekili’s suspicion that they’ve been conspiring against him. It may not be up to Kupule to protect his father’s legacy anymore. Kahekili has chosen who he wants people to see him as. He’s not likely to change his mind.
Will Kahekili Betray Keoua?
Keoua’s ambition is far grander than the last King of Hawai’i. But while Kalani’opu’u was very organically admired by his people, Keoua wants to earn that admiration with war and bloodshed. That’s Keoua’s thing; fear and violence. But while he has walked away from Kupuohi and Ka’iana’s offer of peace with his head held high, if he does go up against Kamehameha, his chances aren’t great. That’s something even his mother knows. The combined strength of the war god’s blessings and the Europeans’ red mouthed weapons will make Kamehameha impossible to beat. She isn’t wrong. Kamehameha’s army’s vigilance as Tony welcomes them into the world of guns should terrify Keoua. But his mother has a way out for him. She wants him to turn to Kahekili, the enemy of his enemy. Kalani’opu’u was never too fond of Kahekili, but Keoua doesn’t have a problem with him. With all other doors closed, Kahekili’s sinister altar is the only place that Keoua can turn to anyway. As you’d expect, Kahekili’s thrilled by the news of a crack in the strongest kingdom he wants to conquer. But he’s even more delighted by Keoua’s offer of allegiance in exchange for men to defeat Kamehameha in battle. Keoua knew that he was protected. If Kahekili killed Keoua, Kamehameha would make Hawai’i practically impenetrable. What Keoua’s hubris makes him blind to is the truth that after he defeats Kamehameha, Kahekili won’t have any need for him. That’s why he’s sending his most unhinged warrior, Opunui, to lead his army in Keoua’s war against Kamehameha. As a warrior, Opunui’s values align with Kahekili’s. He plans to fulfill the wish that his king didn’t voice. By siding with Kahekili and antagonizing his cousin, Keoua may have just signed his own death warrant. Opunui means to disembowel him just as soon as he’s done with Kamehameha. Of course, Kamehameha is practically untouchable by men who are ruled by violence. His strength aside, his empathy and determination to rule with kindness only mean that he knows how to take care of himself. The only other person he completely trusts with his and Hawai’i’s well-being is his wife, Ka’ahumanu. Ka’iana’s desperation for war has made Kamehameha question his future. But as long as Ka’ahumanu bats for him, Kamehameha will keep his faith in Ka’iana’s role in their plans for a unified Hawai’i. Anxious as he usually is, Moku worries that Ka’ahumanu may have to pay the price for any future fallout between Ka’iana and Kamehameha.
But the ship that heads to the coast of Hawai’i in Chief of War episode 6’s ending might make Ka’iana indisposable to Kamehameha. Captain Metcalfe doesn’t have humanitarian work in mind. His visit to Hawai’i evokes the dread of colonization. He means to control the islands. As the only person who knows the real face of the Paleskin, Ka’iana is the only person who can protect his home against foreign dangers. It bodes well for Metcalfe that he’s arriving in a Hawai’i that is transformed by the law that Kamehameha has introduced. By setting the law of the Splintered wood in motion, Kamehameha makes his point clear once and for all. He sets his people, royal or common, free from the fear of harm and death to send a message all across the four kingdoms of Hawai’i. Kamehameha’s pacifist stand will define the very core of his rule.
