Drama
Chief of War
Apple TV+’s ‘Chief of War’ paints an interesting portrait of Hawai’i’s history circa the 18th century. But like many historical dramas, it’s painted in blood.
Did you know that the things that happen to your family happen for a reason?
You see, everything comes back around. Perhaps not right away. But eventually. Eventually, it all comes full circle.
This is what mob boss Mrs. Mahabir is counting on.
After the murder of a close family member on the streets of New York City, Mrs. Mahabir seeks counsel from a witch doctor. That witch doctor tells her that the only way to restore order to her family–the only way to right what is wrong–is to kill a young, wealthy, and apparently unconnected teenage boy named Jared.
Of course, she won’t be doing any of the killing. She has enough corruption and money laundering to manage as it is. So she flys two young men out from her homeland of Guyana, Louis and Xavier. They want nothing to do with her dealings, but they have no choice. They’re stuck in America with no way to get back. Plus, they owe Mrs. Mahabir. And they can’t escape until they pay off their unknown debts.
Their first real step toward absolution is to kidnap Jared, hold him for ransom and collect his parents’ money: $314,159.
A full circle.
But they kidnap the wrong boy.
Quickly, a carefully calculated plan unravels into a mountain of mess that finds Mrs. Mahabir, and Jared’s family, entangled in a deep, dark web of evil secrets that threatens to destroy all who are found within it.
Welcome to Max’s noir mystery-thriller called Full Circle. Get ready to be confused.
The premise, as you’ve read above, revolves around money and corruption. But before I get into more, let’s chat about who is in this series.
First, there’s Claire Danes, who plays Sam, Jared’s calculated mother. Then there’s Timothy Olyphant, who plays Derek, Jared’s seemingly practical, innocent and level-headed father. The two live with Jared in an elaborate Manhattan flat. Dennis Quaid is Jared’s wealthy, arrogant grandfather. CCH Pounder plays the evil, twisted mob boss Mrs. Mahabir. And Zazie Beetz plays the annoying, boundary-pushing protagonist, Inspector Harmony.
As you might imagine, the good guys want to take down the bad guys. But the problem is that good and bad are loose terms here. And most people aren’t as they seem.
This limited series is rooted in the deep belief that an eye for an eye equals true justice, and then some. If Full Circle was a full meal, occult practices and witchcraft are the appetizers while corruption, violence and dark secrets are the main course. Or maybe it’s the other way around.
The show involves plenty of subplot finger food, too–way too many tangents to get into here. If you want to know about those, I’d say you’d have to watch it for yourself to see–but given the show’s problems, that’d be dubious advice.
Instead, I’m going to tell you that there is a lot of violence (the kind that makes you wince), tons of harsh profanity, a lesbian protagonist, heavy witchcraft and a whole bunch of gray morality that can’t make up its mind if it wants to be black or white.
After the murder of a family member, mob boss Mrs. Mahabir goes to see a witch doctor in an attempt to avenge the wrongs that have been done against her family. The witch doctor tells her the only way to bring balance to what has been done is to kill a young boy that’s attached to a very wealthy family with their own dark secrets.
A group of Guyanese mob members are sent on a job to kidnap and potentially kill a wealthy teenage boy. They accidentally kidnap the wrong boy and torture him. (The torture potentially involves some very sensitive parts of the male anatomy; the kidnappers record the torture and send the horrific video to the parents). Although we don’t see any images, we do hear screaming, moaning and pleading for the pain to stop.
A man is shot to death (we only see blood splattered in a car) and his life is grieved at a funeral. A young man kills an innocent man in a wheelchair and then lies about his actions.
Mrs. Mahabir pays for teens and youth to fly from Guyana to the United States and then blackmails them into various forms of slave labor.
A young man and woman put a large voodoo mannequin in the back of a car. A man draws a circle around a future crime scene as an act of ritualistic dark magic. Mrs. Mahabir gets advice from a witch doctor on how to proceed with future events in “restoring order” to her family.
A married couple drinks a few glasses of wine.
A lesbian couple hold hands and flirts while walking out of a gay bar.
Jesus and God’s name are each misused once. The f-word is used nearly 30 times and the s-word is heard nearly ten times. Other profanity includes a few utterances each of “a–,” “d–n” and “h—.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Apple TV+’s ‘Chief of War’ paints an interesting portrait of Hawai’i’s history circa the 18th century. But like many historical dramas, it’s painted in blood.
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