Stream It Or Skip It?

Has there ever been a TV series conducted entirely in native Hawaiian? Chief of War is ready to set that precedent. Jason Momoa is co-creator of the 9-episode series with Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, also one of its writers, and also an executive producer, so it’s safe to say it’s a passion project for the Hawaiian-born actor. Momoa is Ka’iana here, a warrior and noble out of Hawaiian history who was a key figure in the 18th century battles for conquest and unification in the Pacific islands. And when we meet Ka’iana in Chief of War, his recent respite from violence is about to end. In addition to Momoa, the series features Luciane Buchanan, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis, Moses Goods, Te Ao O Hinepehinga, Te Kohe Tuhaka, and Brandon Finn. 

Opening Shot: We hear drums in the distance. It’s the late 1800s, and we’re in the Hawaiian Islands, where a narrator describes four kingdoms united by water, but riven by endless warfare. 

The Gist: Working the rudder on an outrigger canoe, Ka’iana (Momoa) isn’t thinking about war at all. He’s hunting sharks, together with his wife Ka’ahumanu (Buchanan) and brothers Nāmake (Tuhaka) and Nahi’ (Siua Ikale’o), and man, this guy can hold his breath for a really long time. After a lasso, an underwater ride on the big fish’s fin, and a sedating agent known as ‘awa pressed into its gills, Ka’iana leans close. “In your death, may life be preserved.”

Kai’ana and his closest people might have continued to live in the solitude of the kingdom of Kaua’i, but soon an envoy from over on Maui arrives. As the son of their late war chief, Ka’iana has been summoned back home by King Kahekili (Morrison). Unrest has continued to roil these kingdoms, which also include O’ahu and Hawai’i, and Kahekili has a proposition that might end Ka’iana’s self-imposed exile. After a one-on-one battle with another warrior to make everybody remember his skill – spears deflected, grappling, bones snapping – Ka’iana settles in to listen to the Kahekili. Trouble is brewing with O’ahu. “The omens are clear. The Prophecy does not foretell the rise of a king. It predicts the birth of a moment. And that moment is now.”

Filmed in Hawaii and New Zealand, Chief of War is full of grand landscapes of high ridges and forest meeting sand. Moody close-ups abound, often showing off elaborate ceremonial tattooing, and there is a ton of gorgeous natural light throughout. Wars for dominance have scarred the land, killed many – including his father – and Ka’iana sees no point in any of it anymore. But the prophecy Kahekili spoke of is no small thing. Could another war finally facilitate the rise of a new ruler, one to unite the four kingdoms of these islands?

Not fully trusting Kahekili, but also devoted to his father’s legacy, his wife and brothers, and the everyday people of Maui, Ka’iana visits with a medicine woman in a vision. “Taula told me to take my father’s hand,” he tells Ka’ahumanu. “I don’t know what that could mean.”

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The time of conflict and unification that Chief of War is working from is also the period in Hawaiian history when white Europeans first showed up on the island shores. It takes place 200 years later, but this still puts the series in line with the power struggles and cultural change happening in the epic first season of Shogun. Jason Momoa was last on Apple TV+ in the ambitious sightless battles of See. And Chief of War co-star Luciane Buchanan also plays Rose Larkin in The Night Agent, which is currently shooting its third season.

Our Take: Jason Momoa’s trademark Hard Guy Stare – familiar from his work as Khal Drogo, Duncan Idaho, pick any really – is already getting a workout in the early going of Chief of War. This is Apple TV+, so the battle sequences aren’t necessarily going all in on blood and guts. But with his father’s shark tooth war club, and warrior woman Ka’ahumanu with her sling, and hundreds of sharpened spears raining down on attackers, Chief of War definitely has bloodshed on offer. We also love the full commitment the series makes to the Hawaiian language, from Momoa and the entire cast. No half-assed accented English happening around here. We felt instantly immersed in this 18th century Pacific island world, before contact by Westerners, where omens and prophecies are all powerful and the stars above are as important a guide as what the land and sea can give. 

The Hard Guy Stare is here, yes. And the badass bonafides of a guy who can wrestle a shark underwater and bust the bones of a fearsome rival. But Momoa is also playing Ka’iana with a good amount of sensitivity. “I am no chief,” the chief of war of the show’s title tells a Kaua’i villager early on, so we’ll see how long that lasts. Because we really like the unity between him and his core of loved ones, and the internal conflict he exhibits. This is a guy who seems to be assumed as one thing – the baddest on the island block – when maybe he’d wish to not be that, were it only possible in this culture of prophecy and continued conquest. We’re psyched to see what path Ka’iana will choose.

Sex and Skin: Lotsa loincloth and ass cheek action; not much else, though. 

Parting Shot: After an incident we won’t spoil here, Ka’iana’s wife Ka’ahumanu rests her forehead on his. “We will face what’s ahead together.” 

Sleeper Star: We’re looking ahead to the always great Cliff Curtis joining the cast of Chief of War as Keōua, a noble with his own claim to rule over the Hawaiian kingdoms.  

Most Pilot-y Line: A tough guy from Ka’iana’s old stomping grounds drops some fighting words. “When you left Maui’s army, I vowed to feed your heart to the pigs.” Yikes dude! Tell us how you really feel.

Our Call: Stream it! Chief of War features a fully-invested Jason Momoa as it imagines the fractured society of 18th century Hawaii, a place full of prophecy, quests, schemes for power, and – inevitably – warmaking. 

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.