A long-form story about Hawaii’s violent attempts at unification in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, told primarily in Hawaiian dialogue, seems like a tough sell, especially in an era of TV over-saturation, where one constantly struggles to keep up. Thus, I went into Jason Momoa and Thomas Paʻa Sibbett’s newest show, “Chief of War,” with much trepidation. Not the least was Momoa’s previous Apple TV+ show “See,” which was not very good, even if it improved in later seasons. That show attempted to ride the wave of post “Game of Thrones” fantasy and world-building to occasionally interesting and, mostly, derivative results. 
READ MORE: Summer 2025 TV Preview: 43 Shows To Watch
With Momoa and Sibbett, again, invoking ‘Thrones’ as a touchstone here on their press tour, one wonders when the comparison might die, though I’m sure Apple would welcome such ratings. So, while “Chief of War” may not reach the dexterous multi-plot heights of ‘Thrones’ in its earliest seasons—when the show could essentially tell three to four disparate narratives at once—it’s nevertheless a pretty profound achievement of storytelling, not only for its cultural representation, but also just in terms of narrative momentum. 
A nine-episode season that never feels like it’s spinning its wheels, the two friends and collaborators, who co-write the season alongside Doug Jung (“Star Trek Beyond”), keenly understand how to world-build, spending time in each of the three diverse kingdoms—Maui, Hawaiʻi, and Oʻahu—before bringing them into conflict with each other. 
It also helps that they center Momoa’s character Kaʻiana as the protagonist. A previous chief of war for Maui’s King Kahekili (Temuera Morrison), the show begins with Kaʻiana living life with his family as outcasts. He abdicated his position as the Chief of War, realizing that Kahekili had used an ancient prophecy of unification as a means of bloody conquest, attempting to eliminate all other noble bloodlines. 
Quickly, the narrative expands from there, with the rest of the season dealing with brewing conflicts between multiple factions in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, one led by Kamehameha (Kaina Makua) and his wife Kaʻahumanu (Luciane Buchanan) and the other by Keōua (Cliff Curtis), in addition to the specter of Kahekili’s conquests and attempts at British and American colonization. From the summary alone, it’s a lot. I haven’t even mentioned the myriad subplots dealing with Kaʻiana’s family, Heke (Mainei Kinimaka), Namakeʻ (Te Kohe Tuhaka), and Nahiʻ (Siua Ikale’o), or another narrative about Kahakili’s son Kupule (Brandon Finn) and his conflicted relationship to his bloodthirsty father.
But Momoa, Sibbett, and Jung, in addition to directors Justin Chon and Anders Engström (a holdover from “See”), keep everything moving relatively rapidly, moving between months and even years in between episodes. While this leads to some disorientation in the first two episodes, as one struggles to place themselves historically, culturally, and narratively, the show settles down by episode three. Favoring propulsive action over drawn-out conversations and politicking, the show also plays to Momoa’s M.O. as a grizzled action star. He’s more Khal Drogo here than, say, Aquaman. 
It’s also a brutally violent show, especially in the latter episodes, as war comes closer to the kingdoms. While being billed as a limited series, Sibbett and Momoa are playing the long game here, using these episodes to tell a relatively contained story and setting up what is clearly a multi-season arc with many other antagonists on the horizon. In terms of narrative scope, it’s a massive swing that, if fully realized, would actually put it in a lineage with “Thrones.” 
While Momoa is comfortably in his lane with Kaʻiana, both Buchanan and Makua are standouts, all the more so considering that Makua has no previous acting experience and was an educator and taro farmer before being cast. He conveys the simultaneous confidence and uncertainty that goes along with his character, who is thrust into a leadership position he never asked for. Buchanan is in a much different register here than in “The Night Agent.” Still, she’s really wonderful as a wife, trying to navigate pleasing her husband while asserting her authority. Further, while Morrison is only playing one register here—mainly menacing—he’s pretty good at it, reinforcing that Morrison is an underrated actor outside of Boba Fett. 
Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.
Of course, not everything works as effectively. The subplots involving the “paleskins” who happen upon Hawaii and attempt to either trade with the indigenous or colonize their land are under-realized. Perhaps those strands will come into focus as we move closer to European and American colonization of the islands, but in these episodes, at least, they are the least interesting aspects, especially with so many other characters to keep track of. 
While I doubt that “Chief of War” will be the type of monocultural event that ‘Thrones’ was—it’s perhaps too historically dense and violent for the masses—it’s nevertheless a pretty stunning achievement for Momoa, who has cashed in his chips here to write, produce, star and even direct a (limited) series about an underrepresented culture and history. Even better than that, though, is that he (alongside Sibbett and Jung) makes that history come alive. [A-]