Tokyo Vice – Season 2 Episode 3 ” Old Law, New Twist” Recap & Review

Old Law, New Twist

Episode 3 of Tokyo Vice Season 2 begins in Club Maralina, in the Kabakuchi district. Despite Yabuki’s instructions not to arm-twist its owner for money, the two men demand a cheque. When they come back to base, Yabuki, who is temporarily in charge of the gang since Tozawa isn’t back yet, forces one of them to punch the other. The gang has been losing a lot of territory to Chihara-kai lately with little to no retaliation. Tribe members are getting restless and anxious due to this trend. But Yabuki is clear in his instructions to maintain the status quo. 

Meanwhile, it has been almost a month since Jake and Misaki started dating. Although it is going well for the two, the relationship is a well-kept secret. Misaki knows there is a target on her back and Tozawa’s men are watching. Jake is getting desperate to bring out their relationship in the public light but perhaps her logic makes sense.

DS Nagat’s special task force will undertake its first mission in the episode. She is determined to take down a Yakuza gang every new week. The gang in her crosshairs this week is Hishinuma-kai. One of its members, Hiroshi, has recently been caught for stabbing another man. Nagata and Katagiri want to use Hiroshi to trap his boss.

At Club Polina, Samantha and Ohno’s closeness grows. He invites her to his house but she is reluctant. Hayama and his henchmen create a ruckus but Sato, who is there to watch over them, does not intervene because Hayama outranks him. The chatter is eventually settled with Erika’s intervention.

Sato has continued to drop Erika back at her house every night. They are supposedly into each other. Erika invites him in to have leftovers. Due to the noise, Dai-chan, her young son, wakes up. He insists Sato read to him before he goes to bed and Sato obliges. Erika is even more impressed seeing his softer side. As he is leaving, they share a passionate kiss, kick-starting a new relationship. 

To resolve the issues Hayama has been causing, Samantha visits Jake’s house. She beseeches him to talk to Sato about it, choosing not to do it herself. Jake suggests that she should go to him in the capacity of a friend if not anything more.

Jake, Tin Tin, and Trendy are all given invites to a party at the US Embassy the following day by Emi. They are tasked with cultivating resources for new stories for the paper. Emi’s relationship with Shingo is also hidden for now. He insists that they must break the shackles but she feels it isn’t the right time. Jake invites Mistuki to the party the next day under an alias and she agrees.

Samantha heeds Jake’s advice and meets Sato. Despite her reluctance to get intimate with Ohno, Sato reveals why it is imperative. He says that the Yakuza placed Claudine at the club as a spy. Ohno is the chief architect on a new city project to develop a shopping centre. It is to be built on a railway station. But the exact one isn’t known yet. 

Claudine had to find out the name of the station, which would allow Ishida to buy everything around it. When the announcement is made, the prices of that piece of real estate would grow multifold. Samantha remains undecided but Sato doesn’t mince the importance of her agreeing to it.

Nagata, Katagiri, and the rest of the force get ready to raid the Hishinuma quarters. The plan is to use the law of Obstruction of Police Duty “with a new twist.” The only thing they have to do is provoke the foot soldiers to lay a hand on them.

Hishinuma, whose forces and resources have been dwindling, is in the process of joining ranks with Chihara-kai. However, this deal is interrupted by the police and Nagata’s plan is a success. Katagiri has a close call when a foot soldier is able to isolate him and get his revolver. But luckily, Katagiri escapes unhurt. The force celebrates this big victory, although Katagirui grows impatient over his disconnect with his family.

Among other things at the party, Jason Aoki, from the Embassy, hits on Trendy. Perhaps it is an indication of his sexual orientation. Miotsuki almost flys under the radar and has a gala time…until she doesn’t. She spots a familiar face she saw with Tozawa. Upon seeing him, she rushes out of the party, afraid of what might happen to her. Hayama takes an interest in Kaito, Sato’s younger brother who is still in school. He is impressed by Kaito’s dexterity with computers and in Sato’s absence, takes him to a brothel.

Jake learns from Chika, Tats’ sister, that he has been arrested. Jake has been raking in the praise for his groundbreaking story on the bike gang. However, this has dire consequences as Tats is arrested by the police. Jake swears he didn’t name anyone one of them and now faces an uphill task to ensure Tats’ safety. Emi remarks that Tats’ situation doesn’t look good. So to find other means of protecting him, Jake turns to Sato. This is their first meeting after the fight at the Onyx. But the two men hardly hold any grudges. Sato agrees to provide protection to Tats inside the facility, in exchange for a big favour.

The episode ends with two stark events. Samantha fixes a meeting with Ishida directly, where she discusses a proposal. She agrees to spy on Ohno in exchange for the sole ownership of the club and restriction on the entry of any Chihara-kai. Ishida agrees after Samantha refuses to budge, forcing the old man to praise her courage. Misaki is driven back to the Tozawa Hotel where it is revealed that the crime boss is back in Tokyo! 

The Episode Review

My wish from the previous episode’s review has come true! Before the release of the new season, the makers kept a tight lid on Ayumi Tanida’s involvement. His comeback is surely going to stir things up, as if we didn’t have enough drama on our platter. Episode 3 primarily focuses on different relationships blossoming in the macabre setting of Tokyo’s vices. The clock of secrecy is bound to spill over at some point…and as we saw with Misaki’s case, the result can as easily be fatal.

I am really glad that the makers and HBO have used the ammunition from the first season to take the show to a new level. The standard of storytelling has vastly improved in terms of pace and momentum. At this speed, expect these small fires to spitball into loads of action for us.

Episode 3 presents both sides of the coin where the loyalties are as much black and white as alliances are the middle ground. The narrative is much more developed compared to the previous season and now they’re making the most of it.