WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Kung Fu Season 1, Episode 9, “Isolation,” which aired Wednesday on The CW.
After learning her mother’s side of the family is part of an ancient lineage linked to the mystical weapons, Nicky Shen goes on the road for answers about the family history she never knew growing up. And while Nicky and her friends Henry Yan and Evan Hartley grow closer as they venture out of town for information, the villainous Zhilan continues to forge a sinister alliance of her own back in Asia as she races to acquire the remaining mystical weapons for herself and gain enough power to conquer the world.
Mei-Li shares old letters from her sister with Nicky, with her sister being the woman of their generation to protect the mystical weapons. Nicky and Henry feel that Nicky’s missing aunt is their best hope in stopping Zhilan from acquiring all of the weapons for herself. On the other side of the world, Zhilan and Kerwan Tan have embarked on a whirlwind romance as they search for the weapons, comparing scars from their respective pasts, though Kerwin refuses to ask his father for more assistance, revealing his abusive past is what fuels his partnership with Zhilan.
Based on data acquired by Henry and Evan, Nicky deduces that her aunt’s last known location before stopping her correspondence with Mei-Li was in Canada. The two men decide to accompany Nicky on her Yukon investigation, with Nicky happy that the two rivals appear to overcome their initial tension and begin to bond with each other. After an epic bar fight at their destination, Nicky and her friends search a remote cabin and talk to her former partner Duke, learning he hasn’t seen Nicky’s aunt for four years before revealing she is keeping to herself in the wilderness. Nicky sets out to meet her aunt alone, discovering she has since passed away but left information for where Nicky needs to go next through some audiotapes. While Nicky goes on her journey, Evan privately reveals to Henry that he and Sabine have since broken up.
While guest speaking for a local community class, Althea is concerned when an aspiring tech student named Courtney is interested in working for her abusive former employer, with Althea advising her to look for opportunities elsewhere. When Courtney decides to accept the job offer anyway, Althea reveals to her brother Ryan what happened to her at her old workplace and resolves to break her NDA to protect Courtney, realizing she will also have to tell her fiancé Dennis the truth behind her traumatic past.
As Kerwin and Zhilan learn that Kerwin’s father is searching for the mystical weapons to gain their power for himself, they resolve to beat him at his own game by recovering the next set in the jungles of Myanmar. And after listening to audio recordings from the aunt she never got to meet in person, Nicky hears her message of the importance of creating and maintaining interpersonal relationships as she breaks the news to Mei-Li.
Executive produced by Christina M. Kim, Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Ryan Berens and Warner Bros. TV, Kung Fu stars Olivia Liang, Tzi Ma, Kheng Hua Tan, Tony Chung, Jon Prasida, Shannon Dang, Eddie Liu and Vanessa Kai. The new episodes air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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