i love that the katy chen character is not a “sidekick.” she doesn’t hesitate to throw herself into every challenge that shang chi faces and he also includes her/doesn’t stop her from doing so even if it’s dangerous. if this girl can take a valet sports car for a joy ride and save a group of passengers in a sawed off bus from impending doom, and is resourceful enough to protect shang chi in adolescence and adulthood by screaming hotel california to bullies and henchmen, you know that she is fearless, resourceful, and can do ANYTHING.
while this movie is about shang chi’s return home, it’s also about directionless youth. shang chi has a defined history and a path to take, but so does katy! she has so much untapped potential! i’m really happy that this movie explores this fully. the woman who gave her the bow and arrow initially wanted to make katy useful, but also recognizes she just needs to aim for a goal, “if you don’t aim for something you’ll never hit the target.”
honestly if she wasn’t so good with the bow and arrow i thought she would end up a precision driver. but i’m also happy to see that every magical being or superhero looks at shang chi and knows that katy’s part of the package.