Never Use Double Negatives is the third episode in Season 2.
Synopsis[]
Upon reaching San Francisco's Chinatown, our heroes -- and their newfound prison buddy Chang -- discover its criminal underworld has been taken over by an old acquaintance.
Plot[]
The plot of this episode is split into two storylines: a flashback that shows how Noggin rose to power and a plot set in the show’s present, where Sam and Chang discover what happened in Chinatown. The narrative switches back and forth between these two.
Flashback[]
Eleven months before the present, Noggin arrives in San Francisco on the ship he left Shanghai. He created more Gremlins, but they did not inherit his intelligence. They were killed when they were eager to see the city and leave the ship while the sun was still out.
Once in San Francisco, Noggin changes his name to Algernon and ends up in Chinatown. When he tries to get himself a table in a Chinese restaurant, he is met with hostility due to his appearance. He gets into a fight with the patrons until Boss Chang, the leader of the Chinatown Benevolent Society (which is a criminal organization), interferes. He pitties Algernon as he remembers his struggles as a new immigrant in the United States and offers the Gremlin a seat on his table.
Algernon becomes a member of Boss Chang’s gang and, over time, grows close to the crime boss. The boss runs all of Chinatown, though he claims it’s nothing like the triads back in the old country. He rules by gaining people’s respect. Algernon’s actions, however, earn him the ire of the other members of Boss Chang’s inner circle, who don’t like him.
On Boss Chang’s birthday, Algernon even brings Chang a dish prepared with his favorite fish. When he arrives at the restaurant, he notices Boss Chang is not feeling well. Chang tells Algernon how the previous boss of Chinatown put him in charge after his passing since he wanted an heir that would put Chinatown first, and now Boss Chang wants to do the same. He would have preferred to give the power to his son, Chang, but since Chang is in prison and does not believe the other members of his inner circle would protect Chinatown, he names Algernon his heir.
Not much later, Boss Chang passes away. But when Algernon tries to claim his promised title, the other members of the Chinatown Benevolent Society rebel against him since they see him as a butt-kisser who stole what they believed should have been theirs. They try to execute Algernon by tying him to a chair and tossing him in the San Francisco Bay, but this backfires as it causes Algernon to spawn more Gremlins. With their help, Algernon eliminates the other members of the society. He then renames himself Boss Noggin and vows to rule through fear.
Present day[]
Elle, Sam, and Chang are in Chinatown after escaping Alcatraz. All of Chinatown is deserted, and all the lights are out. Sam believes the Gremlins are responsible, though he wonders why they didn’t destroy the place like they did with Shanghai.
Elle wants to go find her mom, and Sam understands, so she leaves the group and heads for the building from her dream.
Sam and Chang go to the restaurant that Chang’s father used as his second office, and there they learn that Boss Chang has passed away and that Noggin is now leading the Chinatown underworld. Chang is sad his father is gone and furious at Noggin. While in the restaurant, Bobo and Lucky escape from the box. While Sam and Gizmo try to capture them, Gizmo’s condition acts up again, and he almost kills Bobo. He snaps back to his senses just in time. Then, the restaurant is attacked by Gremlins. Sam and Chang fight them off with fire, but Gizmo, Bobo, and Lucky are taken captive and brought to Noggin. Noggin is surprised to see Gizmo and happy to see that Gizmo has produced more Mogwai. He offers Bobo and Lucky food, which they eat despite Gizmo trying to urge them not to.
Elle, meanwhile, has reached the building, which is a luxurious hotel. At first, she has no luck finding her mom and begins to believe the dream meant nothing after all, but then she bumps into her mom, who is alive and well.
Cast[]
- Izaac Wang as Sam Wing
- Gabrielle Green as Elle-Marie
- A. J. LoCascio as Gizmo
- Simu Liu as Chang, Crewmember #1
- George Takei as Noggin
- Eric Bauza as Bobo, Evil Mogwai, Gangster #2, Peng
- Moujan Zolfaghari as Lucky
- Keone Young as Boss Chang
- Yael Grobglas as Margot
- SungWon Cho as Gangster #1
- Grey Griffin as Elderly Woman
- Keisuke Hoashi as Fishmonger, Wong
- Tina Huang as Gangster #3, Zhou
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Revelations and significant events[]
- It's been 11 months since Noggin arrived in San Francisco.
- Sam is 11 years old now.
- Elle's mother, previously believed to have died, is revealed to be alive somehow.