it was poorly executed. We went from “wtf are you” to “I love you like a son” and all off screen. It could have been summarized in 3 lines with the same emotional impact. The village chief had 0 depth, 0 personality, and 0 influence on the story since it’s everything in the past, told not shown. Again, this is just my opinion but this whole flashback could have been done much better. it feels shallow and a waste of space overall.

The sad feeling for me is how this character’s death affects Ijin, who so rarely shows emotions, and the fact that he shows it here, albeit subtly, is even more impactful. The Chief character wasn’t introduced solely for the drama, but to give us some more background information on how Ijin became Mercenary Jin.