Just before the turning point in Netflix's action comedy series "The Brothers Sun," Michelle Yeoh's character Eileen Sun stabs a needle under her husband's fingernail while he's comatose in the hospital. Apparently, that twisted bit of cruelty was all the Oscar-winning actor's own idea.
"She had to make sure that he was really in a coma and not faking it," director Viet Nguyen told Salon. "It was f**king Michelle Yeoh's crazy as dark f**king idea to pull out a f**king needle and stab him under his his fingernail. I was like, 'Damn, lady!'"
"It's a power move."
In the episode "Country Boy," Mama Sun (Yeoh) is back in Taipei, having been separated from her husband Big Sun (Johnny Kou) for 15 years. While he's been running Taiwan's Triad group the Jade Dragons with his eldest son Charles (Justin Chien) as his enforcer, Mama Sun has been leading an unassuming life in the U.S. as a nurse, raising their other son Bruce (Sam Song Li). When an assassination attempt lands Big Sun in the hospital, that kicks off a series of events in "The Brothers Sun" that sends Charles to the U.S. and eventually sends Mama Sun back to her home country on a mission.
Nguyen said that the hospital scene hadn't originally included the fingernail detail.
"I don't even remember anymore, but it wasn't that," he said. "I mean, it might have been something similar where she scrapes him with something sharp. But this is such a specific torture thing, right? Maybe I'm just not dark or crazy. But, no, let's get the needle out and stab him under the fingernail, which is so jacked."
Despite the harm inflicted, Big Sun's heart rate never wavers on the monitor. Satisfied that her husband is indeed out of commission, Eileen unleashes all of her pent-up frustration and anger out to his still and listening body. Not only is she upset that he never informed her of her sister's passing in her absence, but she also tells him, "I'm here to take the only thing you love: your empire."
It turns out her trip to Taipei wasn't as a loving spouse trying to reassure the Jade Dragons' business partners; it was to win them to her side before she returned to America.
"It's also such a great scene for her as an actor," said Nguyen. "He's probably treated her a certain way all of their lives, and she hasn't seen him in a while. And he's on his deathbed, according to her, and for her to just kind of let go a little bit and say, 'You know what? F**k you. This is how I really feel.' It's a power move."
Surprise! Big Sun was faking the severity of his condition and heard everything but doesn't let on until she leaves the room. He eventually follows Eileen to the U.S. When he tries to convince the Triad leaders to rally behind Charles as the Dragon Head — the leader of all the Triad groups ––Big Sun learns that his wife has planned her own coup. Outraged by Eileen's betrayal, he decides to exact his revenge by having Charles kill Bruce in front of her.
That plan also fails, and Bruce has his revenge . . . by shooting his father and sending him to the hospital once again. The parallel opportunity for cruelty is apparent in this final scene when Mama Sun enters his room, but this time as a nurse who knows how to alter his chart.
"I'm not going to kill you because I want you to suffer," she tells him, like a master villain unveiling her plan. "Everyone will think you're diabetic. You'll get regular injections of insulin. It will make you weak, unable to move, unable to speak . . . and it will hurt."
"When Mama Sun betrays him, he doesn't just say to Charles, 'I'm gonna have you kill mom,'" said Nguyen. "He wants something more painful than death, which is he wants Bruce dead. He wants Mama Sun to see her son dead, which is just such a terrible thing that we felt like, Mama Sun killing Big Sun didn't feel equal or right. So we wanted for her to do the same thing, basically, get her revenge, which is putting him in this sort of diabetic coma."
Mama Sun's reconciliation with Charles
Justin Chien in "The Brothers Sun" (Netflix)
"He definitely still has that ingrained sense of duty to his family that he can't escape."
In the end, Eileen boards a private plane to Taipei to try to build the Jade Dragons back up, and Charles decides to return with her. It's an intriguing choice for someone who has tried to escape his upbringing as a killer, turning to "The Great British Bake-Off" and making pastries as a way to soothe his soul. He's even landed a commercial-grade kitchen and perfected his churro recipe. With his goal within reach, why would he return?
"Charles gets asked to do the most terrible thing [to kill his brother], and it shakes him. He's not able to do it," co-creator Byron Wu told Salon. "His only other way out is to confront his dad, and he's not really able to really do that either. We've taken him to the step where he is able to entertain the idea, but he's not ready yet to fully leave that life. So he has to go back to Taiwan and be with mom. It's the only step for him."
Charles might have another reason to accompany Mama Sun.
"He's been without his mom for 15 years, right? So long that he's just starting to see his life, he's trying to see who he might have been with mom around. And so he wants to go and see what that life would've been like. It's catching up on a lot of lost time as well. He still has that duty to him that he can't just leave mom to tackle Taiwan alone; she's been gone for all that time. He knows that he knows better. He knows that landscape. He can help. He definitely still has that ingrained sense of duty to his family that he can't escape."
Meanwhile, improv-loving younger brother Bruce was able to pull the biggest power move of all – he's the one who in the end captured Big Sun and sent him to the hospital. Bruce tricked his unsuspecting father by confronting him head-on with a gun. Although Bruce doesn't kill his father that's not part of the plan. Sending his father to the hospital with a gunshot would allow the police to apprehend Big Sun and build a case against him based on one Triad leader's testimony. Bruce was able to defeat his father without killing.
"Bruce learns how much power he really holds and he exerts power in his own weird way," said Wu. "And he gets his dream car; we see him drive off in it. We kind of get the sense that he's definitely taking a step forward, and we want to let the audience get more of a feeling of his growth."
While a mid-credits scene sets up a possible second season – with the Triad informant possibly being targeted – Wu hasn't solidified any plans yet.
"[Co-creator Brad Falchuk] and I have have talked about it and thought about it for a little bit," Wu said. "Knock on wood. Let's hope we can do it."
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