‘Chief of War’ Ending Explained – The Year’s Most Epic Hour Of Television

Throughout its entire first season, Chief of War has been building to this. And I don’t just mean narratively, either, since that goes without saying. It’s everything. Of all the money spent on the production, most of it must have been directed here. There’s enough bloodlust to account for every minor conflict that threatened to erupt into violence but never did. All those characters you hate get killed — almost — and the ones you like get their moment of heroism. There are even two, arguably three love stories threaded through it all. Episode 9 might not be the most conclusive of endings, since it’s very explicitly setting up a second season that I sincerely hope it gets, but it’s the most epic hour of television in 2025, bar none.

I sincerely hope the people who lambasted this show for being primarily subtitled are feeling pretty silly now. Any detractors about the quality of Jason Momoa’s acting are going to have egg on their face, even if the best of his acting is almost always some version of violently screaming. There isn’t a tremendous amount to break down, since so much of it is prolonged scenes of carnage, but we’re going to attempt to anyway just for fun. But in the most simplistic possible terms, know this: It absolutely rules from start to finish.

The Calm Before the Storm

“Calm” is a relative term, obviously, since the finale of Chief of War technically starts with Keoua forcing a man to pledge allegiance to him by clubbing out his own teeth while kneeling on an active volcano, but you know what I mean. The first half of “The Black Desert” is devoted to the night before Kamehameha’s army, led by Ka’iana, marches to war, and thus is all about tidying up some character-based subplots before all hell breaks loose.

We get a nice scene with Ka’iana and Tony, for instance. The former notices the latter’s lash scars while he’s training the natives in proper use of firearms, but the implication does all the heavy lifting. Tony doesn’t need to elaborate. Ka’iana can intuit what he feared, what he fled, and why, having escaped it, he no longer lives in the thrall of terror about his potential death. Ka’iana doesn’t patronise him with sympathy; he just offers him the kindest thing he can — reassurance that, no matter what happens to him, Tony will have a home on the islands and no longer need to run from anyone.

Namake also chooses this time to confess that he “found comfort” with Kupuohi, and she with him, in the long spectre of loss cast by Ka’iana’s apparent demise. Ka’iana forgives him immediately, at least in part because he can’t stand against Keoua’s army without his family, but he notably doesn’t address Namake’s claim that he still loves Kupuohi. That might be pretty awkward in the aftermath of the battle, should it be won. But Ka’iana isn’t too bothered because it’s clear he also has the hots for someone else — Ka’ahumanu. This isn’t exactly a viable romantic option since she has just been given an official seat on Kamehameha’s council, but the heart wants what it wants. 

Facing Off

The battle lines are drawn. The hair is braided. The guns are loaded, and the ceremonial attire is slipped into. We know the macro stakes and the micro ones, such as Heke’s personal crusade to avenge Nahi’s death. Chief of War‘s ending is extremely good at building tension around the conflict before it happens, but it truly excels when the two armies meet.

An active volcano is a pretty gnarly setting for a fight. The vibe is set by opposing priests engaging in a spiritual battle, with the gods making their presence felt in rumbling magma and spurting geysers. What follows then is essentially an argument, something like a proto rap battle, with both sides trading insults through chosen representatives. Opunui speaks for Keoua. Ka’iana speaks for Kamehameha. It’s funny, but also deeply serious, especially once Ka’iana really gets going. Momoa is awesome in this, but credit should also go to Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, who does such a great job playing Opunui.

Anyway, let battle commence.

Cliff Curtis in Chief of War | Image via Apple TV+

A Battle for the Ages

It’d be impossible to recount all of the stuff that happens during the climactic battle, but I’ll give you some highlights for vibes purposes. Ka’iana and Namake wreck everyone, but check out how the choreography kind of makes Namake subservient to Ka’iana, always tossing him new weapons and dealing with his cast-offs, even if it makes him more vulnerable. It’s a nice way of reiterating the hierarchy and why Ka’iana was so keen to make amends with him prior to the fight.

Tony turns into John Wick at one point, but all of Kamehameha’s army makes good use of the guns. The women all fight, including Kupuohi, Heke, and Ka’ahumanu. Nobody sits back and observes, with the exception of Keoua, who remains apart from the battlefield even while Kamehameha gets into the thick of it. Predictably, he’s no slouch, but this is very much Ka’iana’s showcase rather than his. As if to prove this, at one point Ka’iana skewers Keoua’s priest with his spear, pulls out his tongue, and eats it. 

Heke also gets her revenge on Opunui, with an assist from Ka’ahumanu, who shoots him in the leg when he gets the upper hand. Opunui’s death is exceptionally brutal — anyone sensitive about eyeballs need not apply — but it feels deserved, especially given he taunts Heke about sexually assaulting her the first time in the middle of the fight. Good riddance, if you ask me. 

The Battle Is Over, But the War Is Just Beginning

There’s a lot of history to be covered by Chief of War, so it stands to reason it’d need more than one season to do so. Taking down Keoua is just the beginning — the real enemy is Kahekili, and then the colonisers who’re certain to arrive on Hawai’i’s shores, the precedent having already been set by Metcalfe’s attack. But it’s still nice to see Keoua meet his end in the meantime, even if his death is rather unceremonious.

All throughout the battle, Ka’iana is trying to make his way to Keoua’s position. When he finally makes it, he plans to simply shoot him dead like Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But there’s no need, since a sudden eruption of lava sends them both flying, killing Keoua in the process. The battle is over. Ka’iana is knocked out, but Ka’ahumanu rushes to his side in a grand romantic gesture that doesn’t go unnoticed by Moku, who looks furious, or indeed Kamehameha. The Wife Swap quality to all this is reiterated when Kupuohi takes a spear to the belly, and Namake removes it, leaving the two of them in each other’s arms as the fighting ends. 

Romantic confusion aside, everyone is going to need to get on the same page, since Chief of War ends with Kahekili’s orgy being interrupted so that he can be told Keoua’s army has fallen, and, more importantly, that it was largely on account of Ka’iana. Simply hearing Ka’iana’s name inspires Kahekil to immediately declare war on Hawai’i. That Season 2 renewal should be coming any day now.