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‘Warrior’ Season 2 on Cinemax: Will Dylan Leary be the Mayor? How Sophie could hatch a plot to get him the seat

An air of mystery surrounds Sophie's character. She might have barely stepped into the world of ‘Warrior’, but she already seems to be part of a larger plan

It's one thing to have a bitter brawl and another to set someone's dreams on fire. What really is Sophie Mercer's (Céline Buckens) agenda? The fourth episode of ‘Warrior’ sowed a seed of doubt as she betrayed her own blood. After the treachery, she was devastated to witness her sister Penelope Blake's (Joanna Vanderham) factory on fire, but it was too late by then. An air of mystery surrounds Sophie's character. She might have barely stepped into the world of ‘Warrior’, but she already seems to be part of a larger plan. When we first came face-to-face with Sophie and Penny, it was at the breakfast table. On that lovely morning, Sophie repeatedly mocks the Mayor with his first name “Samuel” after he insisted she call him that instead of “Mr Mayor.” 

Since then, Sophie's digs at her sister have not been so subtle. She clearly resents the fact that her sister chose to marry Samuel Blake (Christian McKay) — the Mayor of San Francisco) — just to gain access to his family's wealth to help her late father, industrialist Byron Mercer. The two ladies then have a conversation where Penelope comments on how she manages to “disqualify” every man that comes her way. Sophie snaps at her, saying, “I'm discerning. You should try it sometime.”

In another scene just before she destroyed her factory, Sophie lashes at her sister saying, “I never asked you to run Daddy's business. Just as I never asked you to marry that walrus!” and adds, “You two deserve each other, you know that?” It doesn't take a moment to see the hatred she has for the Mayor who frisked away her sister. On top of that, it's quite surprising that she herself leans closer to Leary. Remember how she flirted with him while playing Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the pub piano? Or how the two kept crossing paths? 

Now, it's not clear whether she is really in love with him, but there's a strong possibility she has a plan in mind. Ever since the two met, Sophie has been driving Leary towards a bigger picture. In Episode 3 ‘Not How We Do Business’, she asked Leary if his plan was to blow up the factories until they stop hiring coolie labor? “No one at the top seems to care,” he tells her. It is then that Sophie instigated him to move toward a higher calling. 

“If you want change, lasting change, you gotta be in the room where it happens,” she exclaims. “You know, City Hall, the State Senate.” Leary explained how those people won't let men like him into those rooms. But Sophie was insistent. “Shame. I would kill to see their faces if you showed up.” 

Now, it's also true that Sophie is quite away from the ugly truth of their lives. “What do you know? I've seen whole villages wiped out by famines. What it feels like to have your brothers cry out in the night because they haven't had anything solid to eat in a week? And shame in realizing you're actually more relieved than anything when they've passed in the morning,” Leary tells her, making her realize something she didn't know earlier.

She begins to see the things people sitting in their ivory towers could never understand. Maybe that's why Sophie is lobbying for him to be the Mayor. Whether that turns out to be true or not, only time will tell. For now, fans hate Sophie.

“Penelope's speech in the last episode epitomizes the difference btw a doer and a talker. It shows that she acknowledges her privileges as a result of the faulty system, but is actually working to fix it. Not without a flaw, but Penelope is better person than Sophie,” one said and another posted, “Sophie really planned to burn Penny's business and their father's legacy. Talk about a brat.”

But the brilliance of ‘Warrior’ lies in its unpredictability and that makes us believe that Sophie is in this for a larger good deed. And Leary in the Mayor's chair — wouldn't that bring real change to the society? He may hate Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) and the Tongs for now, but when he realizes that they're fighting for the same thing in the end, the two might just come together.

Catch more episodes of ‘Warrior’ Season 2 as it airs on Cinemax every Friday at 10 pm ET.