After the first few episodes of The CW’s hit Kung Fu danced around exactly what happened to Althea Shen (Shannon Dang), this week’s episode, “Hand,” finally revealed at least part of what went down with her at work before the series even started. Spoilers past this point, but after a fraught dinner with her fiancé Dennis Song’s (Tony Chung) parents, Althea revealed to her sister Nicky (Olivia Liang) that she had been sexually harassed — and possibly more — by her boss.
“She decides to tell Nicky because, look, Nicky is everything that Althea is not at the moment,” Dang told Decider about the emotionally charged confession. “Nicky is brave and using her voice, to not only stand up for others, but to stand up for what’s right.”
It seems like this could be an abrupt turn for a character who even Dang admits at times is a “bridezilla,” trying to plan the perfect wedding to Dennis, the perfect fiancé. But seeds of what has been really going on with Althea revealed themselves last week when a reporter tried to go on record for a story about her boss’s harassment. The complicated emotions at play in this week’s episode find Althea dealing first with the idea that someone else is going on the record; and then that the story was canceled, because that person backed out.
It culminates in an emotional speech at dinner about duck — that isn’t, of course — really about duck. And later in the confession to Nicky. Decider discussed these big moments with Dang, what it was like transitioning from the worlds of cheerleading and business school to acting, and whether Althea is gonna get to kick butt any time soon.
Decider: You’ve got a pretty varied background, from working successfully as a cheerleader, to getting a business degree, to pursuing acting. What led you to ultimately settle on the latter?
Shannon Dang: I grew up performing all my life. I started out a lot with dance, and then made my way into acting. I focused on school, and then went the professional dance route. I loved it. I loved my dance teams, I loved performing. It was right after college, when I studied abroad and saw so much of the world and how people live and how there really isn’t one right path and way of living… I really just went for it. I was like, “Okay, what do I really want to do?” and I found my love for acting. It’s been, I guess, working out ever since, my family has been super supportive. I have a history of entertainers in my family. So there’s been a lot of support and encouragement to go that route.
I know Olivia Liang has a background in dance as well, and Eddie Liu had a little bit of the martial arts training. Did your dance/movement background play into the audition process at all? Or was that just a pleasant surprise for them?
It was a pleasant surprise. Actually, I first auditioned for Nicky and I thought I was gonna fight and everything. But after I read for Nicky, the casting director was like, “on second thought, here’s her sister. Why don’t you take a look at these sides and come back next week.” I remember reading it and I was like, “wow, I love her. This is more like me,” and so that’s how I got to Kung Fu.
So my dance training has not needed to come in for this character. I don’t want to spoil anything. But, you know, if she were to fight in the future, she might be doing it in heels. I don’t know. That’s just the type of person she is, and she would be fabulously dressed.
Althea starts as a very surface-y character, but we’ve learned a lot more about her as we’ve gone… What’s it been like for you discovering the different facets of this character over the first couple of episodes?
I’ve been loving exploring this character. When I first received the role, I didn’t know about her storyline, and her arc. So I was a bit nervous at first, given the important and sensitive subject matter. I wanted to be as accurate and truthful as possible, and give and shed light on this story. But it’s been wonderful, I’m really grateful that the writers have given so much range to this character. One moment she’s up and she’s the comic relief of the Shen family. And then the next moment she’s a totally neurotic bridezilla planning her wedding.
But as we get deeper, you will find that underneath all of that there’s a heavy secret and heavy pain that she carries throughout her journey, and throughout the season. You will find her needing to tap into that, and come at a crossroads of: does she tell her fiancé Dennis; how this will affect that relationship and the relationship with his family; and the relationship with her family and Nicky. I think the audience is going to love following her journey, and watching her find her voice.
The duck speech in this episode, the one that she gives to Dennis’s parents, is so heartbreaking and so emotional when she’s putting herself out there. What was it like filming that scene?
It was emotional. I was nervous for that scene, to be honest, I am so grateful for our director who created such a comfortable and safe space for me to explore the duck scene in particular. I think it meant more than just a duck, and I really wanted to play into the monetary value, and how Althea is struggling to find her worth… And the irony of the fact that we are eating a duck. At the beginning of the episode, there’s a reference of a cow option. So to me, what resonated was the idea of livestock and putting a value, monetary value, on a woman. I found that very moving and empowering. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I think you see her struggle, not wanting to talk about it. There’s a lot of power in watching someone want to talk about something, or saying something, and underneath they’re saying something else.
Towards the end of the episode she finally confides in Nicky about the abuse. Why do you think she made that decision? Why was it important to tell Nicky above Dennis?
She decides to tell Nicky because, look, Nicky is everything that Althea is not at the moment. Nicky is brave and using her voice, to not only stand up for others, but to stand up for what’s right. And she’s very outspoken about it. I think that moment Althea sees that, and she wants to be like Nicky, she can’t hold on to this secret anymore. She finally tells Nicky, and throughout the season you will really see these two sisters and how they balance each other out. Althea will continue to help Nicky on her quest for justice, and finding the weapons and defeating Zhilan. But you will also see that Althea is inspired by Nicky and her passion, and her heart and her bravery. She will come at crossroads many times on whether she wants to speak up or not.
Dennis almost seems like ideal fiancé at this point. He’s so supportive. He’s kind. Given that Althea is keeping these secrets, though, is it going to cause any friction in the relationship going forward?
Yes, Dennis is pretty much a dream boat fiancé, and Althea knows that, and it adds another layer to why she wants to continue to keep her secret. You will definitely see how hiding this and keeping it to herself will affect the relationship with Dennis, and his family, and the rest of the Shen family. You will see throughout how the couple feels with this.
Looking forward, we’ve heard about but we haven’t seen Althea’s boss… Are we going to meet him going forward? And will this storyline and Nicky’s storyline start to dovetail at all?
I’m not so sure I can speak too much into that. But the boss does naturally come into the storyline, as far as the root of her fear, and there are certain triggers that Althea will have that will constantly bring her at a crossroads of, “do I bring this up? Do I keep hiding it?” And it definitely goes along with Nicky’s story.
As I mentioned before, both of their storylines are a mirror and a reflection of the other. On one hand, you have a sister who is so sure of herself, and brave and doing the most she can with her voice. Then on the other hand, you have a sister, Althea, who’s not so sure, and how these two sisters build off of each other and learn from one another. I think audiences are really going to enjoy seeing this dynamic, and both these storylines.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Kung Fu airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
This post first appeared on Nypost.com
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