Aahana Swrup
Created by Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, ‘Chief of War’ presents the riveting tale of the unification of the Hawaiian Islands. The Apple TV+ show transports the audience to the 18th century, when a gruesome conflict was unraveling between the four kingdoms of O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i, and Hawai’i. Ka’iana, the former chief of war to the Maui king Kahekili, has long abandoned the life of violence. Nonetheless, a prophecy pulls him and his family away from their peaceful lives and right into the center of horrifying bloodshed. Episodes 1 and 2, respectively titled ‘The Chief of War’ and ‘Changing Tides,’ follow Ka’iana and his family as they arm themselves in the name of King Kahekili and traverse to the O’ahu lands. However, as the battle unfolds, their faith in the prophecy inevitably tarnishes, especially in the shadow of the Maui King’s ruthless ambition. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Kahekili Uses the Old Prophecy to Bring Ka’iana by His Side
The four kingdoms of O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i, and Hawai’i have long lived in disharmony with enterprising kings perpetuating the never-ending cycles of war. Still, a sliver of hope survives through an old prophecy that foretells the coming of a Great King, who would unite these four kingdoms under one banner. For his part, Ka’iana stays far away from the influences of this prophecy, building a life of peace in Kaua’i for himself and his family. Nonetheless, the warrior’s past catches up to him when King Kahekili sends out his men to summon his former Chief of War.
Even though Ka’iana left his old life behind when he deserted the Maui army, he has no choice but to respond to the call and return to his home island. His wife, Kupuohi, her sister, Heke, and his two brothers, Namake and Nahi’, also follow. In Maui, King Kahekili, Ka’iana’s uncle, shares news of O’ahu’s growing danger. As he tells it, the kingdom’s young Prince, Hahana, once loyal to them, is now preparing to wage battle against them. He claims that the shift has arrived due to the poisonous counsel of a menacing High Priest. Furthermore, Kahekili’s seers have also foreseen a fateful future, one that revolves around the old prophecy.
The future seen by the seer confirms that the King would only secure his victory if he had his old Chief of War by his side. When Ka’iana remains reluctant to the offer, the King allows him a groundbreaking revelation. Apparently, in the old war, the evil High Priest had sought out the bones of a former chief, the King’s brother, as a sacrifice. The bones remain now, stuffed into and adorned on a ritualistic doll. Kahekili insists all of it accumulates into an omen that asserts the King will only find his victory with the younger man by his side.
Ka’iana Leads a Charge Against O’ahu
Even after Kahekili attempts to convince him otherwise, Ka’iana remains unsure about picking up the violence of war once again. His inexplicable meeting with Taula, the Prophetess, further confuses the matter when she encourages him to follow where his father’s hand leads him. Eventually, the discovery of his father’s old weapon settles the matter for him. Thus, Ka’iana prepares to return as the Chief of War, with his spouse and his brothers as his fellow trusted warriors by his side. Still, he’s opposed to needless bloodshed. Since he believes the High Priest is poisoning young Hahana’s mind, he wants to capture him and free the Prince from his influence.
For the same reason, Ka’iana comes up with a plan for a stealth attack in which King Kahekili will act as a distraction, drawing out the forces, while the Chief of War and his team attack the eastern stronghold. Yet when the time for battle arrives, nothing goes according to plan. As it turns out, the King was never planned to follow the younger man’s plan. Instead, he and his troops openly wage war against the O’ahu, targeting their Temple Refuge. Worse yet, the brutality of the attack reveals that the other kingdom was never planning on waging war against Maui. Thus, the entire thing had been a charade put upon by the King to lure his War Chief and lucky omen back onto the battleground. Ka’iana realizes the same once he and his men witness the burning of the Temple Refuge and watch Kahekili slit the throat of Hahana, a young boyish Prince who only ever idolized the King who delivers his demise.
Ka’ahumanu’s is Cornered Into a Political Marriage
On the shores of Maui, a young woman named Ka’ahumanu dreams of defying tradition and blazing her own path. Her secluded life and supportive starreader uncle only stoked her intrigue into the lands beyond the known skies. Yet, her dreaming comes to a halt on the night that her father arrives with awful news. King Kahekili’s attack on O’ahu can only bring danger to this family. Therefore, he has made preparations to find them a safe haven in Hawai’i by promising his daughter’s hand in marriage to the kingdom’s King. His decision remains steadfast even in the face of Ka’ahumanu’s distress. Meanwhile, the mother insists that despite the danger, she can’t leave Maui since she belongs to the royal lineage as Kahekili’s sister.
Consequently, the mother decides to only help prepare Ka’ahumanu for her own send-off to the kingdom of Hawai’i. Even though it feels like a sentence, the daughter dons her new garb and prepares to see the Prophetess as per tradition. However, their meeting doesn’t go as expected. The Prophetess tells Ka’ahumanu she is right to be scared of retaining no happiness in her future. If she marries the King of Hawai’i, only disappointment will follow her since she won’t be able to give him an heir. In fact, every path she can take is chosen for misery. Yet, there is one road that can lead to freedom. In order to take this path, the young woman must accept the help of a guardian. Lastly, the Taula shares her worries about how the Gods are scared of Ka’ahumanu’s fate since she possesses the ability to break their world.
An Attempt at Escape Takes Ka’iana to Strange Stations
Once Kahekili’s true colors reveal themselves, Ka’iana realizes he can no longer fight beside the leader. Nonetheless, since the King’s seer saw the warrior as the key to his win, he remains reluctant to let him escape. Still, once the former Chief of War manages to slip away from his grasp, the King resorts to a new solution. He reasons that he only needs Ka’iana’s bones to fulfill his victory. Thus, he sends his men after the warrior and his family. Meanwhile, the latter group sails back to Maui to pick Heke up before fleeing to safety. This puts them at a disadvantage. Consequently, Ka’iana decides to use himself as bait to draw the forces away from his family, who continue their search for Kupuohi’s sister.
The draining chase eventually leads Ka’iana to a cave, where he runs into Ka’ahumanu. The woman helps him rest and sees to his wounds, allowing him a moment of respite. The two realize they are kindred in Kahekili’s animosity toward them. Ka’ahumanu was born and raised away from her uncle’s eyes since he was bound to dole out retribution toward his sister and her daughter for the former’s relations with a Hawai’i Chief. Therefore, once the young woman realizes the warrior and his family need help, she offers to take them to the other kingdom in her own canoe. Consequently, the duo end up traversing back into the community to look for Kupuohi and the others. In the end, Ka’iana is forced to sacrifice himself once again to ensure his family can escape from under Prince Kupule’s nose without any trouble.
As the warrior gives the Prince and his men chase, Ka’ahumanu finds his family and convinces them to leave with her. Eventually, the warrior is forced into an impossible choice, wherein he has to jump off a cliff to escape Kahekili’s forces. However, even this does not lead to his end. Instead, Ka’iana wakes aboard a European ship, sailing far away from the Islands. The ship’s captain and his crew had stumbled across the warrior once before in the forests. During the confrontation, he had left the Europeans to their devices, more concerned with his people’s affairs. Perhaps for the same reason, the captain saves his life, even though his boat takes Ka’iana away from everything he knows. Inversely, Ka’ahumanu finds one of the European sailors left behind by his crew and agrees to take him with her on her voyage.
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