A lot of familiar faces in this episode of Airwolf: Roberto Ito (Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai), Branscombe Richmond (always that guy who got his ass kicked in countless action movies in the 80s; also known in "Renegade"), and George Cheung (Rambo: First Blood Part II; Big Trouble in Little China).
A destructive Nam village attack that was an "intelligence mistake" is responsible for the kidnapping of the families of pilots, orchestrated by a victim of that fateful tragedy, Tran Van Hieu (Ito). Tran has been living with the nightmares of his wife and child's death in that village, along with his people, having raised two children also left victims of that mission miscalculation, Lia (Kim Miyori) and Dao (Cheung). Lia is to get close to Hawke and return to Tran (we learn his lover and confidante) with details on what he knows and doesn't about that mission. String's pilot buddies from Nam are victims of Tran's kidnapping, but he doesn't recall, when asked by ArchAngel for details, why they would be targeted. Once Lia takes String to an alley and he successfully wards off Dao and his thugs, Tran is there to give him bits of info that ultimately provides the mission that is behind the kidnappings. This mission didn't involve String, and Lia doesn't convince Tran that he's innocent. Tran "dispatches" Lia when he realizes she isn't invested in his mission of revenge and plans to use two choppers similar to those String's buddies piloted in Nam to "recreate" the village tragedy, except this time it will be those kidnapped who serve as massacre targets! Lindscombe is one of the pilots whose families are taken. String is deeply involved because "his family" (Santini and Caitlin) were kidnapped to.
Exciting episode has String involved in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts with Cheung and others, some thrilling Airwolf aerial action as he pursues two choppers (one with Tran and Dao aiming for innocents, consumed with vengeance, the other piloted by a real nasty piece of work played by Joe La Due), and Santini not only getting pummeled for trying an escape but trying to outrun Tran's chopper in a van supposedly carrying the families. When that van tips over, it is really kind of rad; however, I don't think anyone really buys that the group is still in there once the chopper is right behind the van. With a tragic story behind the tale of revenge, there's real emotional potency, really successfully sold by Ito. Of course, the fate of Lia is quite unfortunate, because she's a victim of circumstances out of her control due to Tran's obsessive need to make those he considered responsible for the devastation of his village pay. This isn't your typical heavies with no redeeming qualities much deserved of their being exploded in helicopters because Tran and Dao both have reasons to be as upset as they are, but once Lia is left for String to discover in an elevator the darkness driving them becomes definitely questionable. Lia's stance that following tragedy with tragedy doesn't sit well with Tran. And associating themselves with Joe La Due's creep, Art, nothing more than a hired brute, certainly paints them even more suspect. Understanding Tran's pain is important, because it is what drives him towards an unspeakable agenda. Some might consider the big celebration at the end not in altogether good taste because even though the families are all okay, the Nam village was a tragedy that only was satisfied through "compensation" (those that survived given clearance to live in America, and there was "payment" never quite enough to replace lost loved ones).
A destructive Nam village attack that was an "intelligence mistake" is responsible for the kidnapping of the families of pilots, orchestrated by a victim of that fateful tragedy, Tran Van Hieu (Ito). Tran has been living with the nightmares of his wife and child's death in that village, along with his people, having raised two children also left victims of that mission miscalculation, Lia (Kim Miyori) and Dao (Cheung). Lia is to get close to Hawke and return to Tran (we learn his lover and confidante) with details on what he knows and doesn't about that mission. String's pilot buddies from Nam are victims of Tran's kidnapping, but he doesn't recall, when asked by ArchAngel for details, why they would be targeted. Once Lia takes String to an alley and he successfully wards off Dao and his thugs, Tran is there to give him bits of info that ultimately provides the mission that is behind the kidnappings. This mission didn't involve String, and Lia doesn't convince Tran that he's innocent. Tran "dispatches" Lia when he realizes she isn't invested in his mission of revenge and plans to use two choppers similar to those String's buddies piloted in Nam to "recreate" the village tragedy, except this time it will be those kidnapped who serve as massacre targets! Lindscombe is one of the pilots whose families are taken. String is deeply involved because "his family" (Santini and Caitlin) were kidnapped to.
Exciting episode has String involved in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts with Cheung and others, some thrilling Airwolf aerial action as he pursues two choppers (one with Tran and Dao aiming for innocents, consumed with vengeance, the other piloted by a real nasty piece of work played by Joe La Due), and Santini not only getting pummeled for trying an escape but trying to outrun Tran's chopper in a van supposedly carrying the families. When that van tips over, it is really kind of rad; however, I don't think anyone really buys that the group is still in there once the chopper is right behind the van. With a tragic story behind the tale of revenge, there's real emotional potency, really successfully sold by Ito. Of course, the fate of Lia is quite unfortunate, because she's a victim of circumstances out of her control due to Tran's obsessive need to make those he considered responsible for the devastation of his village pay. This isn't your typical heavies with no redeeming qualities much deserved of their being exploded in helicopters because Tran and Dao both have reasons to be as upset as they are, but once Lia is left for String to discover in an elevator the darkness driving them becomes definitely questionable. Lia's stance that following tragedy with tragedy doesn't sit well with Tran. And associating themselves with Joe La Due's creep, Art, nothing more than a hired brute, certainly paints them even more suspect. Understanding Tran's pain is important, because it is what drives him towards an unspeakable agenda. Some might consider the big celebration at the end not in altogether good taste because even though the families are all okay, the Nam village was a tragedy that only was satisfied through "compensation" (those that survived given clearance to live in America, and there was "payment" never quite enough to replace lost loved ones).
