Airwolf: Season 2 Episode 13 The American Dream
Hawke and Dominic help defend a group of Vietnamese immigrants from a warlord.
Series Index
Characters/Groups
Stringfellow Hawke - Jan-Michael Vincent
Michael Coldsmith Briggs III - Alex Cord
Caitlin O'Shannessy - Jean Bruce Scott
Col. Tranh Van Zung - James Shigeta
Sgt. Bryant - F. William Parker
Character thumbnails with links to profiles
Detailed Synopsis
Minh, Tru and Sama are helping Tommy and Diem harvest their produce. Diem tells Minh that after he and Tru stand up to Col. Tranh Van Zung then there will no longer be any extortion or warlords. Mae's Mother grabs Minh and takes him to get dressed for his wedding. As Tommy and Diem are driving their truck to sell their cabbage a plane flown by Ko flies low towards them. Ko sprays Diem's vehicle with gasoline and then drops an incendiary grenade onto the truck, causing it to explode and killing Diem and Tommy. During Minh and Mae's wedding ceremony, Tru welcomes the guests and welcomes Minh into his family as a son and partner in the farm. During the wedding ceremony Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic give Caitlin O'Shannessy a hard time for crying. Ko tells Tranh about Diem and Tommy and Hua tells Tranh that only Tru hasn't fallen in line. Hawke gives a gift to Tru, who thanks him. While Hawke and Minh are talking outside they hear a scream and run back to the wedding. Sama tells Minh that Diem and Tommy were killed and then tells Hawke that Tranh has been collecting protection money from the farmers. Tranh and Hua show up at the wedding and Tranh gives a vase as a gift while bringing up preserving their traditions. Minh hands back Tranh's gift and Sama calls Tranh a liar and a thief. Sama charges at Tranh and is punched by Hua, who is then punched by Hawke.
During the night, Mae's Mother tells the other farmer families the story of the white spider that transformed into the black spider or moon spider due to it being exposed to the evil thoughts of children. Minh hears a noise and goes outside to investigate and is attacked by people on motorcycles. The next morning Hawke and Caitlin visit Mae. Caitlin tells her the doctors said Minh will be okay and Hawke offers to help harvest their cabbage crop. Mae tells them none of their neighbors will come to help due to their fear of the warlord Tranh, who even uses the insignia of the moon spider to keep people in line. Sama runs to them and tells them they have a crop to pick and excitedly juggles and takes a bite from a cabbage. Dominic comes to help and they have a competition to see who can pick cabbages the fastest. Tru wins and celebrates. Hua warns Tranh that Hawke is helping Mae pick their crops, but Tranh believes Hawke will not have the stomach for battle.
Sgt. Bryant stops at the farm and questions Hawke and others about rumors that someone is trying to extort the local Vietnamese farmers. Sama tells Sgt. Bryant that Tranh is the man responsible for shaking down the farmers. Sgt. Bryant gives Hawke his card and tells him to call him if he has anymore information. Hawke and Dominic go to where Diem and Tommy were killed and Hawke finds what he thinks is a trigger mechanism from a grenade. Hua flies overhead in his plane and drops gasoline on Hawke and Dominic and then drops an incendiary grenade. Dominic and Hawke run for cover and manage to jump into some nearby water before they are burned. Mae brings Minh back home from the hospital and he is greeted by his family and neighbors. Sama tells Minh he has to lead them against Tranh, but Minh tells him, he is not their leader. A group of riders on motorcycles wearing patches of Tranh's spider insignia and masks attack the people and Minh freezes. One of the riders crashes and Sama pulls off his mask and recognizes him. As Sama is walking home at night, he is attacked by the riders and killed and his body dumped near Tru's farm.
The next morning Minh finds Sama's body and Hawke tells Sgt. Bryant that people might be reluctant to give information due to the corruption of cops where they come from. Hawke gives Sgt. Bryant the trigger mechanism and they go into town to see what the lab says. Minh gets his knife and rifle and tells Mae that he is going to bring their crop to the market. Mae tells Minh he promised not to use a weapon when he came to the United States, but he tells her that he feels he failed Sama. Hawke and Dominic drive to the Saigon Bar and confront Tranh. Hawke then threatens Tranh and warns him not to hurt anymore of the farmers. As Hawke and Dominic leave, Tranh tells Hua to kill Minh. As Minh and Tru are driving their produce to market, Hua drops gasoline on their truck, even as Minh shoots at his airplane. As Hua is about to throw a grenade down, Hawke and Dominic arrive in Airwolf and force his plane to crash. Hua is arrested and taken to the Saigon Bar and Minh tells Tranh, he is finished. That night, Minh holds a meeting with the local farmers and tells them, he will lead them if they help him harvest. He asks for help and Mae's Mother steps forward, followed by Caitlin and the others.
The next day, a large group comes together to pick cabbages while Tranh puts on his old pilot's uniform. Ko and another pilot drop gasoline on the farmers, but are forced to temporarily fly off when Hawke and Dominic arrive in Airwolf. Hawke blows one plane out of the air and then the other one with Ko in it. Tranh arrives and starts firing at Airwolf and brags it is not the machine, but the man that gives the edge in battle. Hawke hits the rudder of Tranh's plane and Tranh parachutes to the ground with a parachute bearing his spider logo. Child tells Mae's Mother that the spider is coming for them. Tranh lands on the ground and demands the farmers get his parachute. Minh citizen arrests Tranh and brings him to Sgt. Bryant and the police and the farmers stomp on Tranh's parachute. At Hawke's cabin, Hawke receives boxes of vegetables, a small American Flag and a note thanking him, Dominic and Caitlin, and Tranh's parachute.