Our Verdict: 5/5
Episode 2 gives us the back story and plot building that we were hoping we would get after the first episode. One of the most redeeming qualities of Into The Badlands is its ability to maintain its quality in set pieces, and choreography. They maintained the beauty of the fight sequences and fleshed out the characters a bit more so that we actually begin to care about them and really want to understand what it is the widow seems to know about Azra that everyone else is so blind to. We also see Quinn is just crazy, plain and simple.
The reveal that Quinn is dying brings to mind a few thoughts on where they might go in 6 episodes (more if they renew the series). Many theories about Quinn’s first wife have gone around, including that she may be M.K.’s mother and knows about the pendant. Ryder still hasn’t had a lot of time on screen to be fleshed out as much as Sunny, MK or even Tilda but I would expect more is coming.
The scene with Sunny and Quinn when visiting the doctor was a turning point in Sunny as a character. M.K. finds himself getting passed around like a hot potato between the Widow, The Nomads and then back into the hands of Quinn. Now that Sunny has taken M.K. as a colt, we will begin to see them train and see just how powerful he is.
Aramis and Daniel have great chemistry on-screen, you really want to root for both of them as things begin to heat up. After just 2 episodes, war is about to break out and we thought the fighting was intense already. The series wasted no time kicking into high gear but with reason, there are only 6 episodes in season 1.
The recent ratings numbers indicate fans are interested in Into The Badlands with 6.2 Million LIVE viewers, and a nice 29% increase to 8.2 million viewers in LIVE +3 numbers. Many expect, myself included, to see renewal news right around the corner.
Emily Beecham as The Widow – Into the Badlands _ Season 1, Epsiode 2 – Photo Credit: James Dimmock/AMC
Recap
The widow attempts to get her husbands former regent to join her in an attempt to overthrow Quinn who is considered the strongest among the barons. After agreeing to join her, he is quickly killed as assassins come after the widow in the same bar. She easily kills each and every one of them. Clearly she has been trained well. She also finds out Quinn’s son is the one who hired the assassins to kill her.
Ally Loannides as Tilda and Aramis Knight as M.K. – Into the Badlands _ Season 1, Epsiode 2 – Photo Credit: Patti Perret/AMC
M.K. continues to run away from Quinn’s fort only to be caught by a young female assassin who believes his story of being a farmer running away from bandits. When she sees he is running from Quinn’s clipper force, she decides to help him and bring him to her masters home. M.K. soon finds out that her mother, the baron, is the widow. The same person who was hunting for a boy his age.
Quinn wants to find out who let the boy out, and questions Sunny about the pendant the boy was trying to take back. It is clear that Quinn suspects his son of attempt on the widows life.
The Widow begins to question M.K.s story about his parents when he makes the mistake of saying they farmed tobacco and his hands were not stained. She knows he came from the fort. The widow attempts to recruit nomads to join her in an attempt to take down Quinn. She challenges one of his men to a fight with Tilda. If she wins they join, if she loses they get to keep Tilda. Tilda wipes the floor with them.
Quinn and Sunny go for a ride alone to a doctor who lives outside the fort. Quinn’s headaches are getting worse and it turns out he has a tumor that will kill him in a few months. Veil refuses to give up the baby, even though she knows it may mean getting killed, Clippers cannot have families.
Quinn fears anyone finding out and asks Sunny to kill both of them. Sunny refuses to do it, and has words with Quinn. So he takes Sunny’s sword and kills them using it. This is the only person Quinn has ever given a second chance to.
The Widow thinks M.K. is the one, so she asks Tilda to test him by cutting him in order to awaken it. When she has him cornered he begs for his life and she believes his story. She cuts herself and puts the blood on his face to make it appear she cut him.
Veil isn’t taking the death of her parents well, she doesn’t understand why they were killed. Sunny reveals the truth to Veil of Quinn’s condition and Sunny decides that he wants to be with her, to be her family. M.K. is caught kissing Tilda as she attempts to help him escape, so the widow gives the boy to the Nomads who want to collect the bounty on his head.
Ryder has intel on nomads skimming their opium shipments and he
Oliver Stark as Ryder and Daniel Wu as Sunny – Into the Badlands _ Season 1, Epsiode 2 – Photo Credit: Patti Perret/AMC
wants to strike them now. Sunny agrees to go with him and wants to scout it out. When Sunny and Ryder arrive, it turns out to be a trap and a fight ensues. Ryder is left hanging by his neck slowly dieing as Sunny continues to kill nomads who outnumber him significantly.
Sunny is nearly killed before he is saved by none other than M.K. who managed to untie himself from the trunk of the car and save Sunny before he was killed. Sunny is willing to train M.K. but in turn he wants him to take Veil with him safely away from the badlands. Sunny then brings a nearly dead Ryder back to Quinn who wants to know what happen. The widow setup an ambush. Sunny makes a shocking choice to take M.K. as a colt which Quinn comments Sunny has never done before. Quinn says that its time to go to war.
