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'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' season 1: What to look forward to in episode 4

Hulu dropped the first three episodes for the show about the Wu-Tang Clan's origins last Wednesday. This Wednesday, Episode 4 will be released. We look at the previous episodes and what the viewers can expect in the upcoming episode

When the news about Hulu's series on the beginnings of the Wu-Tang Clan came about and that it was to be co-created by the RZA himself with Alex Tse, it was expected that the show would offer an in-depth and perhaps a slightly fictional look at the members' lives and how the RZA - then Robert "Bobby" Diggs - got together members of opposing factions on Staten Island to come together to make sweet, sweet music.

In the first episode, we are introduced to many members, before they were the RZA or Raekwon or Ghostface Killah. We see them as they were in their lives, whether they are members of either Park Hill or Stapleton hoods, fighting on the streets for their drug-dealing. In the premiere itself, we see Bobby mixing music and writing lyrics and we know how important music is to him. During a conversation, he has with an older man while playing chess for money in the park, the two sides are pulling at him are put into words. He tells the older gentleman that music is his calling, however, the streets still keep calling him.

It can be hard to figure out which of the characters you see on the show ends up becoming which member of the Wu-Tang Clan. By the second episode, we still do not see the names that the public is used to. While the first episode was about setting the scene to introduce the main characters and to show how mired they were in New York's early 90s drug scene, the second episode brings the audience more action. Here, the two factions take their battle against each other to the next level, with one setting to fire to Bobby's house where his faction had stacked all their drugs and even here, it is clear that his music was more important to him - Bobby is upset about the loss of his music and tapes. By the end of the second episode, one of the boys, Jah Son is shot.

The third episode begins with an alternate look at what could have happened with Jah Son's life had he "played the game right". It is in this episode where hints are dropped about where the members could eventually end up, with the music taking the center stage for the episode - there is a rap battle, after all. It is also here that we get to see the future stage-names that the members use. While the RZA does take part in the rap battle, it does not go as well for him as he expects, but this is when the goosebump-inducing realization comes to him - instead of performing individually, he wants the Staten Island rappers to perform together and this is where the episode ends.

From episode 4, Hulu will be airing weekly and this episode is set to air on September 11. The first three episodes have been doing well, with a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (and 83% from the audience). The preview for the fourth episode sees Bobby making an attempt to take over the streets in the absence of his brother Divine - who is in jail - and tries to make some money. Meanwhile, the romance between Dennis and Shurrie - Bobby's and Divine's younger sister - is heating up, while Divine's mother tries to get Divine to take a plea deal so that he is released from prison. 

With the episodes that have come so far, Hulu's 'Wu-Tang: An American Saga' is a thrilling and deeply emotional watch for longtime fans of the hip-hop group. The RZA revolutionized the hip-hop scene in the East Coast and while we have only just seen the start of that brilliance up until episode 3, the future episodes are set to reveal how he eventually got together with the members of opposing hoods, created a record deal for the group and diversified to include the many businesses that evolved from under the Wu-Tang umbrella.