Chief of War (2025) s01e06 Episode Script

1
It was Keōua.
He challenges you, my Chief.
Keōua will never attack Kohala.
He wants you to seek him
in the Black Desert
where he holds some advantage.
Your cousin must be dealt with.
You must unify this island
before King Kahekili comes, or worse.
There might be another way.
[IN HAWAIIAN] Let her speak.
I was raised in Kaʻū.
I have history with him.
I can convince him to join you
without bloodshed.
And what do you think of
your woman's counsel, Kaʻiana?
She speaks with false hope.
He will not join you.
Keōua worships war.
We must prepare no matter what.
Is this your counsel as well?
If we are to one day have harmony
for all the kingdoms,
we must prove we are worthy in ours.
I agree with Kūpuohi.
Let her speak with your cousin
and perhaps preserve
the blood of your childhood.
[IN HAWAIIAN] The women see
what my Chiefs cannot.
in Keōua's court.
He would kill any who go.
I will go.
Alone.
We will go.
I do not trust Keōua as she does.
[IN HAWAIIAN] If peace can be reached,
let it come by your word.
[FIRE CRACKLING]
Why bring your father's mahiole?
This is the symbol of his kingdom.
The strength and power of his rule
still lives in the weaving.
I can feel it.
But I no longer want it.
[SIGHS]
I no longer fight to
preserve his kingdom.
I will live to build my own.
Even if this one must burn.
That's good.
Give our great king
strength from the sea.
Give him the hidden wisdom.
Show him the path as the Prophesied One
to lead our people to light.
Give the Prophesied One strength
from the sea.
Give him the hidden wisdom.
Let the Prophesied One see as you do,
through the darkness of the world.
Let the Prophesied One hear as you do,
only the truth in the wind.
Give the Prophesied One
strength from the sea.
Give him the hidden wisdom.
- Let the Prophesied One hear as you do
- [KAHEKILI GRUNTS, DISTORTED]
only the truth
in the wind.
What is this talk of replacing
all the royal bloodlines?
I have not heard him speak of it before.
The history of the islands is
told through the bloodlines.
Your father cannot erase that.
That is not prophecy, Kūpule.
I know.
Confidence in your father's ambition
is beginning to falter.
There is much talk
among the people back on Maui.
About what?
You.
There are many who believe it
better for you to replace your father.
- No, no.
- You are learned
in the arts of governance,
politics, history, and war tactics.
[CHUCKLES]
My father
My father is the greatest
warrior king Maui has ever known.
His legacy cannot end with
his own son taking everything from him.
Your father is unwell and the shedding
of blood, his only medicine.
This is how we protect his legacy.
Let history speak of his greatness,
not his madness.
Send me to Maui,
and I will win the
kingdom in your favor.
My father is wrong,
but he is not lost.
Let me try to reach him.
[GRUNTING]
- [HEKE] Nāhi.
- [GRUNTING CONTINUES]
[HEKE] Nāhi.
I wanted to ask you something.
I haven't seen Kūpuohi.
It's not about her.
I want to learn to fight.
I want to help.
I don't think Kūpuohi will like it.
She would never teach you.
I was hoping
you could do it.
Ready?
Yes.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[HEKE GASPS, GROANS]
[GROANS, PANTS]
Get up.
help you up in battle.
[SIGHS]
[PANTS]
How is Kaʻiana?
Kaʻiana is good.
Kūpuohi is quiet.
She seems not the same.
I did not notice.
Again.
You do not notice many
things about women.
Do you?
I notice
when they cannot fight!
- [GASPS, GROANS]
- [HEKE GRUNTS]
[BOTH GROANING]
- That's good.
- [GRUNTS]
[NĀHI EXCLAIMS]
- [HEKE LAUGHS]
- [GROANING]
You keep the Pale-man's habit.
[KAʻIANA SNIFFS]
It does not feel like you.
[INHALES DEEPLY] They're waiting for me.
[SAILORS CHATTERING]
Tell them to gather what food and water
they need for their journey.
That seemed to have gone well.
We will see.
What of the sandalwood trade?
[SPEAKS HAWAIIAN]
There's no There's no chance of peace
among these people, Kaʻiana?
There is,
but I fear war
is the only way they can bring it.
You see that you survive this,
my friend.
'Cause you're of no use to us dead.
Right?
[SIGHS]
[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
[IN HAWAIIAN]
You ruin my appetite with that face.
Roast him with sweet potato.
It's delicious.
Maui has long been a great kingdom.
Kings and queens of the highest rank,
loyal to the gods
and beloved by the people.
I have stood by you to exalt Maui
as a light for all others to see.
But,
all of this is not necessary.
We cannot destroy the royal lineage
of the other islands.
We must not taint the
name of our kingdom.
You have the heart of your mother,
and I miss her.
And you are right,
we must keep Maui pure.
Come here.
[GASPING]
These are Chiefs of Maui.
They whisper conspiracies against me,
questioning the Prophecy and my gods.
Just like the treacherous O'ahu Chiefs,
their bloodlines are infected
by weakness and evil.
And as you said,
we must keep Maui pure.
[MAUI CHIEF STRAINING]
[WHISPERING] Your father has gone mad.
[MAUI CHIEF BREATHES SHAKILY]
Will you just stand there, Kaʻiana?
[CHUCKLES] I can hear your thoughts.
I must speak with you.
[IN HAWAIIAN] Come.
Sit with me.
You do not agree with Kūpuohi.
No.
Or Kamehameha.
They are not wrong.
If there is any hope to unite
this kingdom with Keōua,
Kamehameha will seek it.
There is no hope. No peace.
Keōua is a man of war.
This will end in blood.
That is why he has you.
No, he has us,
and we must convince him
There may come a time,
but for now
we must honor Kamehameha's wishes.
This is a mistake.
See this through, Kaʻiana.
If not for Kamehameha, for me.
[IN HAWAIIAN] I am KeKūpuohi,
once a Chiefess of this land
and cousin to Keōua.
Send word to him that I have come home.
[GRUNTS]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
let's go through this again.
First, we got the powder.
[POWDER STREAMING]
Next, the ball.
Then
you ram it down.
[IN HAWAIIAN]
The black desert has missed you Kūpuohi,
as well as your family.
I have missed this place.
But I am not here to stay.
If you are not here to stay,
then why are you here?
To help negotiate peace with Kamehameha.
If Kamehameha wanted peace,
he would deliver the War God to me.
- Enough.
- Stop!
[SIGHS]
Kahekili is coming for this kingdom.
We must stand together
if we are to survive it.
Kahekili is not my enemy.
It was my own cousin,
Kamehameha, who has wronged me.
Please.
I don't want us on
the other side of war.
[CLEARS THROAT, SIGHS]
[SCOFFS]
[SIGHS]
Choose peace.
[CHUCKLES]
[ALL GASP]
[IN HAWAIIAN] Together with Kamehameha,
we'll unite the scattered
kingdoms as one,
just as the Prophecy predicts.
[SIGHS] The Prophecy is a fool's myth.
We will never be united
because we are not the same people.
I will never be Maui, O'ahu or Kauaʻi.
I am Hawaiʻi, I am Kaʻū,
I am the Black Desert.
And I will keep this island divided
before
I bow before my cousin Kamehameha.
I told you. He will never listen.
[SPEAKS HAWAIIAN]
[IN HAWAIIAN] Kūpuohi.
How could you leave us for this?
A man who embraces
the Paleskin's language
and weapons is no longer a man.
He is the pet of a new master.
Kaʻiana.
[GRUNTS]
Kamehameha has my father's War God,
but where is your worship, Kaʻiana?
In the gods,
or in the Paleskin's weapons?
[MUSKETS CLINKING]
[GRUNTS]
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
[WARRIORS GRUNTING]
I have my answer.
Tell Kamehameha
that I am coming
for what is mine.
[STONE THUDS]
[SIGHS]
Your father [CLEARS THROAT]
was a great Chief, Kaʻiana.
But he would be embarrassed
of what you've become.
Worthless.
Kaʻiana, "Son of the Haole."
[GROANS]
in front of Kamehameha's council,
and now you would see Keōua as
our enemy rather than try for peace.
[KAʻIANA] I do not trust him.
[KŪPUOHI, IN HAWAIIAN] Trust in me!
the gods and for peace, Kaʻiana.
Now you fight for something else.
I fight for our people.
There are no gods where I have been.
There is no peace.
I will face my enemy,
and I will take it.
[KAʻIANA GRUNTS]
[SIGHS]
[IN HAWAIIAN]
Kaʻiana has the Red-mouthed weapons.
I will call upon the mana
of our ancestors to face him.
You cannot win, son.
I do not fear the foreign weapons.
Father's men defeated them,
I will do the same.
It is not just that.
Your father had the God of War.
No one has ever lost
when in possession of it.
Kamehameha has it.
And with the Paleskin's weapons,
it's sad to say,
but we will surely lose.
What must I do?
[SIGHS]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[CHANTING] Take your fleet
[INHALES SHARPLY]
cross the channels,
and find strength
with the enemy,
of your enemy.
[SIGHS]
The time for talk is over.
If we do nothing,
the kingdom will think us weak.
The people will turn to Keōua
and place him above you.
We could lose everything.
[KAMEHAMEHA, IN HAWAIIAN]
I will not be drawn into a cycle of war.
I left this council one night
in secret.
I took my canoe to a village in Puna.
I was attacked.
Canoe paddle broken over my head.
[IN HAWAIIAN] What?
They shall be stoned.
Send the executioners.
[KAMEHAMEHA] Wait.
No one will harm them.
I am the one
who should be slain by stones.
I was attacked
because they thought I was there
to plunder their village.
For the Chiefs
have built a cycle
of war
and fear.
Fear can be a useful tool.
I do not want my
people to live like that.
I make a new law.
A law of peace.
No king, Chief, or warrior
will seek to kill,
unless life is threatened.
Let everyone, common or royal,
go forth and be free
from harm or fear.
This is the law of
the Splintered Paddle.
It protects everyone,
even Keōua.
To break this law,
is to die.
Stop there!
I come to you with an empty hand.
King Kahekili, rival to my father.
Let the Hawaiʻi men come to me.
You will honor the King.
Keōua,
son of Kalaniʻōpuʻu,
my most respected enemy.
Sit.
It was brave of you to come
unannounced and unarmed.
No bravery needed. [GRUNTS]
Your men leave Waikīkī unattended,
to excel in the art of laziness.
I am aware of your campaign.
You claim to be the fulfillment
of the ancient Prophecy.
You are here to give allegiance
to the Prophesied One?
The Prophecy is a lie.
I claim allegiance to no one.
You are not here to kill
or honor me.
So what do you want?
My cousin, Kamehameha,
claims to be
the heir of Hawaiʻi's Kingdom.
I have been stripped of what is mine.
I ask for men to get it back.
- Hawaiʻi is divided.
- Stop.
Why not kill you where you stand
and take your kingdom now?
[CHUCKLES]
If I die here,
Hawaiʻi's Kingdom will unite
under Kamehameha,
and Maui has never
defeated a unified Hawaiʻi.
And I know you still face
resistance here on O'ahu.
What do I get in return for helping you?
Peace among our kingdoms.
You can chase your prophecy
among whomever you want
and Hawaiʻi will never
stand against you,
as long as you leave us in peace.
I see the fire in your eyes.
I will send my finest battalion.
[SIGHS]
Go.
My god is at work
to deliver Hawaiʻi's Kingdom.
They are divided.
[SPEAKS HAWAIIAN]
Bring me ʻŌpūnui.
'Ōpūnui is a man of chaos. I will go.
Chaos brings the harmony of rule.
You stay.
Send me ʻŌpūnui.
[FIRE CRACKLING]
[KŪPULE] ʻŌpūnui.
Keōua has need of Maui's Men.
Your King asks you to lead them.
The King no longer asks his son
to do the work of real men?
I will go.
And when Maui helps Keōua to
win his kingdom,
I will steal his victory
and bring back his intestines
to decorate your father's altars.
[CHUCKLES]
My father does not ask you
to kill Keōua yet.
The King has sent you to me
because he knows you won't.
You called me, my Chief.
You brought Kaʻiana to my council.
The gods have blessed it,
but,
is his path clear?
in a way we do not, my Chief.
[IN HAWAIIAN]
But is it the way we should see it?
Though, like you,
Kaʻiana seeks peace above all else.
Hmm.
You trust him.
I trust he will do what is right.
Kaʻiana will help us.
He listens to you.
Is that not what you wanted?
It is,
but you have woven
Kamehameha and Kaʻiana
in a way that cannot easily be undone.
Kamehameha is the heart of our people,
and Kaʻiana is the fist.
We will need both to face the troubles
that will come our way.
But if it does not work,
all eyes will
look to you, who brought them together.
Remember it is
Kamehameha you stand with.
Not Kaʻiana.
[CREW ON SHIP SHOUT, CLAMOR]