TV Show review
Review basis: 1 season, 9 episodes · through September 18, 2025
July 31, 2025 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Chief of War is a historical drama about Hawaii in the late 1700s. It follows a warrior named Kaʻiana who tries to unite the islands as Western ships arrive. The show focuses heavily on anti-colonial themes. It shows the native people defending their culture against greedy European explorers. Indigenous identity and cultural pride are highly visible throughout the story.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Chief of War.
Woke representation / casting
The show has an almost entirely Polynesian cast. This casting matches the historical Hawaiian setting perfectly. However, the casting was heavily promoted in marketing as a major victory for representation. The focus on identity casting is noticeable, but it is accurate to the historical setting.
Woke political dialogue
The dialogue focuses on protecting native culture and resisting foreign invasion. The characters speak mostly in the Hawaiian language with subtitles. While the story features anti-colonial resistance, the dialogue stays grounded in the history and avoids modern progressive activist jargon.
Identity-driven story themes
The main themes center on cultural pride, preservation, and protecting a homeland from colonization. The narrative champions native self-rule and frames the arrival of Western explorers as a major threat. These themes are highly visible but are based on real historical events.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The series criticizes Western colonization by showing European arrivals as greedy and violent. This is a critique of historical Western actions. However, it does not critique modern Western social norms, and the conflicts remain appropriate to the 18th-century setting.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
The series is based on real historical figures from Hawaiian history. There are no woke, gender-swapped, or identity-driven changes made to these real-life people in the story.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
There was no major anti-woke backlash against the series. Some minor, isolated social media comments complained about the show's emphasis on representation in its marketing. However, these complaints did not turn into a widespread public controversy.
Creator track record context
The key creators have a moderate track record. Co-creators Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett focus on cultural pride and native storytelling. A few producers have high activism scores for promoting Hawaiian representation, but the overall crew is focused on historical entertainment.
