Attachment

Season

1

Episode

11

Series

Kung Fu

Air date

July 7, 2021

Writer

Michael Deigh & Richard Low

Director

Viet Nguyen

Episode guide
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Choice	Sacrifice

Attachment is the eleventh episode of The CW series Kung Fu. It premiered on July 7, 2021.

Synopsis[]

NICKY AND HENRY HEAD TO VEGAS - Nicky (Olivia Liang) and Henry (Eddie Liu) follow a lead that brings them to a K-pop concert in Las Vegas... and on a collision course with Zhilan (guest star Yvonne Chapman) and Kerwin (guest star Ludi Lin). Elsewhere, Jin (Tzi Ma) and Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) make a major decision about the restaurant. Shannon Dang, Jon Prasida and Vanessa Kai also star.^[1]

Plot[]

Henry and Nicky wake up entangled in the library as community members knock, attempting to get in. As it turns out, after her talk with Evan Hartley made Nicky realize how she felt about Henry, the eventually fell asleep after quite the romantic night. The two frantically clean up, but their act fools no one as the senior citizens knowingly wink at them. The two then discuss Mei-Xue’s hidden message in the lullaby leading them to the Forge, with Nicky points out that for the first time they have the lead on Zhilan. They then flirt for a bit before Nicky gets an emergency family meeting text.

Nicky heads to the restaurant, where Althea immediately clocks what Nicky was up to last night. Ryan enters, hiding his breakup with Joe when they ask him what’s wrong. Mei-Li and Jin enter to share the big news, which is that they’re closing the restaurant. Their rent increased again, and they can’t afford to keep it. Mei-Li points out that if they stop fighting the inevitable, she and Jin might actually be able to take a vacation for the first time in forever. Nicky and Althea are supportive, but Ryan is still reeling from his breakup and takes it hard. He accuses them all of quitting before storming out to go to work.

On the other side of the world, Zhilan and Kerwin wait outside his father’s house, with Zhilan preparing to steal his weapons. She makes her way through the house and grabs each weapon one by one. Now, there’s only one weapon standing between Zhilan and the complete collection.

Back in San Francisco, Nicky and Henry meet up at the library to research as Evan calls to share the news of Zhilan’s break in. Henry suggests they call his friend who has an algorithm designed to find references to song lyrics online. The only problem is that the lyrics aren’t a match for an ancient song. Instead, they match a K-pop song by Simon Lau exactly. However, Simon isn’t just a K-pop idol. When they zoom in on his necklace, it looks like Zhilan and Pei-Ling’s necklace with a falcon instead. Nicky realizes he may be a guardian as well. Henry then sees that Simon is performing in Las Vegas the next day, and they prepare to go and talk to him about what he knows.

Althea goes to visit Ryan at work. She deduces that something is going on with Joe, and he tells her about the job in Chicago. He cries as she comforts him. Later that night, Althea takes Ryan out for drinks. Ryan shares that the breakup is hitting him hard because for the first time, he let himself picture getting married and having kids. He admits that he wants a long term partner and is sad he never got to fully open up to Joe. Althea points out that the time he spent with Joe wasn’t a waste. He gained the courage to be out to his parents and even intended to bring Joe as his plus-one to Althea’s wedding to Dennis. She also advises him to emotionally separate Joe leaving from the restaurant closing.

In Vegas, Nicky has her eyes on the prize while Henry makes plans for their private after-party. They find that Simon’s meet and greet is sold out, but they quickly remedy the situation by pickpocketing tickets from two snotty girls at the front of the line. As Simon takes a picture with them and goes to sign an autograph, Nicky asks him about the song and reveals who she is. Simon scoffs that Biange and the weapons are a fairy tale. When Nicky asks a detailed question about the hammer connected to his family, Simon accuses them of working with a collector who started harassing him for the weapon a few days ago. Realizing that Zhilan is onto them, Nicky insists that they’re not connected and that Simon is in danger. The security guards escort them out just as Zhilan and Kerwin enter the casino.

Ryan tells his parents about Joe and also shares his thoughts about the restaurant. He respects the challenges they would face in keeping the restaurant open, but he wants to give it one last chance. He suggests that they start making authentic Chinese recipes again, not catering to the Americanized version of Chinese food that the tourists want. He says that if they’re going to go out, it should be on their terms.

Simon waits for a label executive in his suite when Zhilan and Kerwin enter. She has a case full of cash in exchange for the hammer. Simon firmly tells her to get out, and she and Kerwin immediately kill his security team. A shocked Simon stares at them as Kerwin says he doesn’t want to have to kill his favorite celebrity, but he will if he has to. Zhilan notes that his tattoo and necklace speak to his status as a guardian, but Simon swears he thought it was all a story. He agrees to give up the weapon, but Kerwin gets an alert as Nicky and Henry find their way into the casino. Kerwin heads out to deal with them. Simon hands Zhilan a case that supposedly contains the weapon, but it has his guitar inside instead. He fights her, showing that his innocent act was a lie. Kerwin finds Nicky and Henry in the hall. Calling her “The American,” he says he’s been looking forward to meeting her.

Zhilan and Simon battle in the main room while Kerwin fights Nicky and Henry. Nicky finds an opening and runs for Zhilan while Henry fends off Kerwin alone. Nicky teams up with Simon, and they both manage to subdue her. But before they can finish her off, Kerwin enters with a bloody Henry. Zhilan takes advantage of Nicky’s distraction and makes a move, taking the weapon for herself. Simon tries to fight back, and Zhilan hits Simon with the weapon. She saunters off with Kerwin as he falls into Nicky’s arms. With his dying breath, Simon tells Nicky that the song was meant to be sung from the sword’s perspective. He dies as Nicky and Henry panic. Henry drags Nicky away.

Nicky berates herself for letting a moment’s hesitation cost Simon his life. She feels bad that she is relieved that Henry is okay despite the cost. Nicky thinks about Simon’s words and realizes the sword’s scabbard will show them the way to the Forge. Shining a flashlight through the scabbard, they see a constellation that matches Simon’s tattoo. It’s a map to the forge.

Later, the Shen family gather in the restaurant once again for happier news. Mei-Li and Jin have decided to keep the restaurant open for a few more months while they workshop traditional menu items. The Shen siblings tease each other over their respective romantic lives while they enjoy dinner.

Pei-Ling then appears to Nicky and warns her that soon, Biange will come. In that moment, Nicky realizes that she will have to leave her family once again in order to protect them.

Cast[]

Main[]

Olivia Liang as Nicky Shen^[2]
Kheng Hua Tan as Mei-Li Shen^[3]
Eddie Liu as Henry Yan^[4]
Shannon Dang as Althea Shen^[4]
Jon Prasida as Ryan Shen^[4]
Gavin Stenhouse as Evan Hartley^[5]
Vanessa Kai as Pei-Ling Zhang^[6]
Tony Chung as Dennis Soong^[7] (Credit Only)
Tzi Ma as Jin Shen^[3]

Recurring[]

Yvonne Chapman as Zhilan^[8]
Ludi Lin as Kerwin Tan^[9]^[10]
Michael Bow as Simon Lau^[11]

Co-Starring[]

Michasha Armstrong as Security Guard
Hugo Raymundo as Bodyguard
Brittany Mitchell as Handler
Peter Chan as Old Man
Veronique A. Cormier as Super Fan #1
Marlowe Percival as Lau Fan
Althea Kaye as Tai Chi Lady
Lisa Huynh as Super Fan #2
Ayden Lim as Young Fan #1
Angela Gengas Young Fan #2

Trivia[]

On July 2, 2021, Michael Deigh, one of the writers for this episode revealed that this was his first TV writing credit that appear on screen.^[12]
On July 7, 2021, it was revealed that the K-Pop song heard in this episode was written and produced by David Choi specifically for the show and sung by Michael Bow as his character of Simon Lau.^[13]