Disney Plus’s original series American Born Chinese season one, episode four entitled “Make a Splash,” kicks off with Daniel Wu’s The Monkey King talking to his son Jimmy Liu’s Wei-Chen. This is a result of him causing trouble for him as he took his staff for a quest. The interesting part about this is how this leads to a flashback to when The Monkey King was headed to a party with his friend Leonard Wu’s Bull Demon King. The viewer can see that when he was young, he was just like his son. This is demonstrated by how he stands out and does not apologize for being who he is. Meanwhile, his friend is extremely shy and would rather stay in the background. The interesting part about this is how Jin’s dad is the same way when it comes to his boss. This could lead to a possible friendship in the future as Jin’s normal world will collide with the Wei’s as they go on their quest.
Additionally, the viewer sees The Monkey King as he tries to get his friend to speak up about the ideas he wants to share. In his mind, he sees that The Bull King’s ideas are really good and should be shared with the sage he admires so much. He just cannot understand why he keeps hesitating when the time comes to speak up. Deep down he knows it is okay to be shy when it comes to talking to the person one admires so much. However, he knows that in life one must be willing to make a fool of themselves when they go after something. He keeps seeing his friend losing his opportunity to be heard and that makes him frustrated. Meanwhile, The Bull Demon King sees what his friend is trying to do by pushing him to speak up about his ideas. Unfortunately, he knows that speaking up is not something he does as a normal person. In his mind, he is grateful that The Monkey King supports him greatly. However, he wants to do things on his own terms and be like him. Deep down he knows that his friend is right about speaking up, it is just that he is too shy and afraid to do what must be done.
At the end of the episode, things start to make sense as to why The Money King and The Bull Demon King hate each other. This is due to The Monkey King getting the opportunity that The Bull Demon king wanted. The viewer can argue that The Bull Demon King has no one to blame but himself. The Monkey King told him numerous times to speak up and he kept refusing to listen to him. Now he is rewarded for speaking about his own ideas regarding how the party and system are ridiculously run. Unfortunately, the new job he is given leads to him, and The Bull Demon King hating each other as he sees that The Monkey King took the job on purpose. In his mind, he has worked hard to get to where he is at in life. Now he sees that his friend comes along and with a simple speech quickly gets everything he has worked for. Deep down he hates himself for not being brave like him even though he will never admit it. In the end, there is no clear wrong or right person, just a miscommunication and an exchange of words said in the heat of the moment.
Rating: 9.5/10