Showing posts with label Into the Badlands. Show all posts

Into the Badlands: An Underrated Trailblazer (WonderCon 2019 Interview)


The tides are shifting in Hollywood, with more executives taking note that diversity and inclusivity are indeed financially profitable and adored by wider audiences. From Jordan Peele's horror films that put black actors in the lead roles, to the box office hit Crazy Rich Asians that boasted a large ensemble of Asian actors being the most profitable romantic comedy in years, some may presume that these changes are a recent development. In moving focus from big studio films to television series, one AMC show has made significant strides in representing and resonating with members of various socially ostracised groups in a fusion of drama, comedy, and action. Ahead of the series finale, the cast and executive producers of AMC's Into the Badlands paid a visit to WonderCon to preview the show's final episodes and offer a greater insight to the show's run.

The prolific writing and producing team Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, The Shannara Chronicles) created the show's story and concept from scratch, and brought together a diverse group of characters that was in no way accidental.

"It's something that we very much wanted to do. To us, the idea of diversity is that you see everybody. There's a lot of shows where it's mostly white but then there are show that are kind of considered 'African-American shows' whereas what we wanted to do is have that diversity. It's something you actually have to do. If you go into any studio or television network in Hollywood and say, 'We want to have a diverse cast', they're going to be like, 'Great, absolutely.' No one is against it philosophically. It's when you have to actually put it into practice and that's where it gets hard. We had it on Shannara as well. I remember the first season, we had Maori, which is the Native New Zealanders. In season two we were bringing in this royal family and we said 'They're African-American, that's all we're looking at.' Sometimes you just have to declare and do it that way. Sometimes casting directors will say, 'It's colour-blind, it's fine,' which it is a lot of times but then inevitably... you have to go [further]. That goes with extras as well. Then once you have them you have to train the assistant directors to put them in the shot. It's not conscious, it's just institutional. One article very nicely said, 'The diversity seems effortless.' It was a lot of effort. You have to do it and you have to mandate it, so to speak, or else it doesn't happen. People just fall into their routines. People don't think about it enough so you have to make a conscious effort."

Daniel Wu had never acted on television before, having spent his career moving from film to film, but in working as both an actor and producer for five years on Into the Badlands he never lost the excitement and passion for the project.

"I've produced a couple films before but never for such a long period of time. The first season I'd help set things up but when we moved to Ireland, I had to explain how to do the show. There's a whole new crew and I had to explain how there's a fight unit, there's a drama unit. They didn't understand it, they wanted to cut that out. I had to tell them this is the only way to do the show. Eventually I basically became the fight unit executive producer. I was making sure all the fight team got what they needed, that we had the right stuntmen for the right job, all that kind of stuff, and doing all the research. I was going on YouTube, finding these guys, it was very difficult to find this kind of level of stuntmen in Europe. We have a lot of people in Asia and the States but in Europe martial arts action is not very common. My job was to do all of that."

The action is a central component of making the show stand out, as the artistry and style is unlike much of what is produced in the action genre of Hollywood's produced content. Recently, Lewis Tan joined the series. Tan rose to prominence following a short appearance in the Marvel/Netflix show Iron Fist and the consequent media storm when it was revealed that he had originally auditioned for the show's lead and lost out in favour of a white actor with no significant martial arts experience. His extensive background and training as a martial artist serve him well as Gaius Chau.

"There are certain scenes in Into the Badlands where Nathan Barress did some stunts for me. There's one of the scenes when they raid the Iron Rabbit camp and he gets kicked into a cabinet and a canopy and onto a table. That's something I wouldn't do because if I get injured, how am I going to continue? But when it comes to fighting and telling the story I will do everything that I can do. I would say 95% of the fights, I do. Even if it's risky, anything that I can do I will do. If it's just like crashing into a wall, anything like that, it's dangerous for me to do and there's no point for me to do it. For me as an actor and a martial artist, they're one in the same to me. It's just expression. It's expression with my body and expression with my emotions. If I can do the fights you're going to see a different dynamic of my character than if a stunt double does it. That's how I look at it and that's how I approach all my work."

It's unclear why Into the Badlands spent much of it's run being overlooked and ignored by so many mainstream outlets and consumers. It's a show that offered so many exciting aspects, compelling character content, and visually stunning presentation in things like the fight sequences and the costumes. Executive producer Miles Millar isn't holding back any longer, now that the series is about to finish airing the last few episodes.

"I think the legacy of the show has just begun. The great thing about streaming is that the show will live on. We are incredible proud of the episodes. When you see all the seasons together, there are other questions to be answered but the viewing experience will be complete. We set out to do something, we did it. It has without a doubt the best action on television and the fact that it hasn't been recognised by the Academy is a disgrace, and it's something that I think in future years will be talked about. The fact that we have the only Asian-American male lead in decades and was not something that was ever written about, the show has been ignored by the press. The racial diversity has been ignored by the press. It's a disgrace, particularly the lack of recognition for our stunt team, there is no other show on television save Game of Thrones which has fives times the budget that even attempted to do what we did and we pulled it off week in, week out. We have fights which are cinema-worthy week in, week out. This season alone we had forty fights which I've not seen better in a movie. We've had some of the most empowered women of agency on television, from Orla to Emily Beecham as the Widow, and we created our own world in terms of the cinematography. We wanted it to be cinematic and world-class, it is, the sets, the costume design, there's so many things that I think are unlike anything else on television."

The remaining episodes of Into the Badlands are set to air on Mondays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E08 "Leopard Catches Cloud" Recap


Sunny and Bajie finally make it to Pilgrim's Fortress where they are reunited with M.K. who furiously demands that Sunny give baby Henry to Bajie before attacking him. They fight, with Sunny not wanting to hurt M.K. who uses his Gift to enhance his strength while warning Bajie to stay out of the way of the fight. The fight continues until M.K. is able to beat Sunny into near unconsciousness and considers snapping his neck until Pilgrim uses his powers to deactivate M.K.'s gift and welcomes Sunny, saying it's been a long time.

Pilgrim tells Sunny that his real name is Sanzo and that his older sister had helped Pilgrim survive the attack when they were young but he doesn't know what happened to her. He considers Sunny to be a brother, and says that they can cure Henry if they open the Meridian Chamber which is an ancient underground vault from the Old World Pilgrim's followers have recently uncovered.

The Widow and Chau plot their attack on White Bone, Chau's sister's mansion. He swears to do anything for The Widow and it's revealed that they once had a romantic connection that they decide to rekindle as Chau promises to kill his sister if and when she commands him to. Meanwhile, Lydia also resumes her romantic relationship with Moon. The following day, The Widow works alongside Gaius Chau, Lydia, Moon, and other soldiers to set off for White Bone.

Sunny tries to make amends with M.K. who angrily yells at him for killing his mother, something Sunny doesn't remember doing but he still apologises for all the brutality of his past as a kller. M.K. doesn't want to forgive or mend his relationship with Sunny, though Nix appears moved by Sunny's words while standing in the same room as them while they speak. Bajie pulls Sunny aside to warn him that Pilgrim wants to make an army of Dark Ones for a new Azra but Sunny doesn't care about this consequence since he believes there is no other way to cure Henry. Bajie wants to blow up the chamber but Sunny and Pilgrim stop him and Bajie is taken prisoner to watch what's about to unfold.

The Widow, Gaius, and Tilda attack White Bone, while Moon battles Baron Chau's troops and Lydia helps to hold the line. Lydia saves Moon from being killed on the battlefield but she ends up being badly injured in battle. The Widow confront Baron Chau who orders her soldiers to shoot The Widow but the arrows are frozen in air and shot back from whence they came, with Baron Chau being nonfatally wounded in the process. A monk-like figure emerges and says that it's time for The Widow and Baron Chau to put aside their differences as there is a far greater threat coming.

Sunny helps Pilgrim to open the Meridian Chamber, as Sunny is the key while Pilgrim is the focus. Together, they are able to use the door and its powers so Pilgrim is able to absorb Henry's gift for himself. Henry is saved, while Pilgrim now has a dangerous power boost.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E07 "Dragonfly's Last Dance" Recap


The Widow's butterflies are scheming to put together a mutiny against her, as they are suffering significantly from fighting on her behalf in the war. They are lead by a fighter named Wren who has the others set off some smoke bombs while they wear oxygen masks. They attack both The Widow and Chau, who fight for a bit but succumb to the effects of the smoke and are taken captive. Wren was formerly a fighter in the war till she lost a limb, much like other fighters serving Widow in the war against Baron Chau.

Pilgrim and his followers hold a funeral ceremony for Castor. He continues to have visions related to Sunny's impending arrival, while Sunny and Bajie have managed to hold the River King captive to compel him to assist them in getting passage to Pilgrim's Fortress. Nix questions Pilgrim about marks on Castor's neck and Pilgrim claims Castor died peacefully in his arms while also making subtle threats not to question him any further on the matter.

Sunny learns that he was on a boat during his childhood that was attacked by the Black Lotus, a group of menacing warriors hunting for him specifically. This prompts Sunny to seek out Captain Udo, the last survivor of the attack. He leaves baby Henry with Bajie to be looked after and during this time, Bajie seemingly begins to rekindle his relationship with Lydia.

Wren and her followers are searching for an important seal when Lydia emerges and manages to negotiate an armistice with the turncoats. Lydia then goes to The Widow to inform her that she has managed to negotiate terms that will end the war. The Widow signs an agreement which Lydia is supposed to bring to Baron Chau.

Sunny learns from Captain Udo further details about the massacre that he survived, and a stunning revelation that he had a sister who protected him as a child.

Lydia flees to Moon and Tilda with the intention that they'll work together to rescue The Widow and Chau, who manage to break out on their own and begin fighting off Wren's fighters. Just as Wren and her followers get them surrounded and are preparing to kill them, Tilda, Moon, and other reinforcements arrive to take out Wren's followers. Tilda tosses a sword to The Widow so she can decide for herself whether to kill Wren. Ultimately, The Widow decides to execute Wren and all of her remaining supporters.

More members of Black Lotus try to kill Sunny but he manages to kill them instead. The River King tries to offer up his assistance to Sunny but Sunny decides to kill him instead. With his position now vacant, Lily assumes the role of River Queen.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E06 "Black Wind Howls" Recap


Sunny and Bajie are travelling through a rough patch in the Badlands that is home to many unsavory characters including petty thieves and pirates. They manage to find Lily, Bajie's ex-wife, who is now operating at a smuggler and get into a fight to help her after another thief accuses her of cheating in a gambling game. They need her help in getting to Azra, as she has a ship that they'll need to make the journey. She initially doesn't want to help but changes her mind after Bajie returns the money she had won in the gambling match and is reminded that he and Sunny helped her out in the scuffle.

After a disagreement with her girlfriend, Tilda decides to visit The Widow and make a truce so they can be realigned. Chau had taken some of the camp's refugees and Tilda hopes that making peace with The Widow will be better for the refugees in the long run.

While on Lily's boat, Sunny begins to experience visions of himself a boy on board the same ship, as it's revealed to have once belonged to the River King. Bajie tries to mend his relationship with Lily but she still feels resentment towards him for all the bad things that have transpired between them. The River King is later shown to be coming after them in search of bounties.

The Widow has taken Castor captive in the hopes of returning him to Pilgrim so they can continue down a relationship of peace, though she is also curious to learn about how Pilgrim is able to control Castor's Gift. Tilda accompanies her to the meeting where Pilgrim's second-in-command points out that The Widow once had the Gift and wants to get it back. The Widow later tells Moon and Tilda that they will need Pilgrim's army to be able to defeat the Dark Ones and returning Castor will help towards this end goal as well as buy them some needed time. However, once Pilgrim and his followers from the meeting make it back to the palace Castor gets into a fight with M.K. Pilgrim deems him too far out of control and apologises before killing him.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E05 "Carry Tiger to Mountain" Recap


Gaius Chau sneaks into The Widow's car to come back with her and offers to help her take his sister down. It's also revealed that they first met when they were children. Gaius was the son of a baron and The Widow was just a servant girl responsible for housekeeping.

Pilgrim confronts Juliet Chau with the heads of the men that came with Gaius to attack him. She denies any involvement in the plot against his life but later is weary of the fact that her brother's head is missing from the lot.

Moon returns to The Widow and explains how Sunny is still alive but isn't interested in pursuing revenge against her. The Widow swears that if Sunny comes anywhere near her she will kill him as well as Moon.

Sunny and Bajie arrive at Vulture's Peak where they meet Ankara, a reclusive witch. She is able to use her abilities and knowledge to temporarily heal Henry's darkness. She won't be able to take away his Gift but she can heal him from succumbing to it as a mere infant. She puts baby Henry under water and draws from Sunny's strength using her powers to help Henry. Sunny then pulls Henry out of the water and he's shown to be better for the time being. Ankara says that the answers Sunny seeks are within himself in order to find a more permanent solution to Henry's predicament. She identifies Sunny as a Catalyst. Someone powerful dispelled Sunny's Gift when he was just a child and this was what made him a Catalyst. Now the dark Gift flows through him and Sunny may be the most powerful of them all.

After Nix saves M.K. in the forest she brings him back to meet Pilgrim. Initially M.K. wants to leave but decides to stay when Pilgrim displays an ability to control M.K.'s Gift and offers him a place to stay with a community that will support him. Pilgrim wants to use M.K.'s powers for his greater cause to bring about a new era of blood and chaos in the name of Azra. Castor looks on in jealousy at seeing a new Dark One seemingly taking his place in Pilgrim's esteem. Castor later confronts M.K. but Nix talks him down and points out that he is suffering from another nosebleed. The high priestess believes that Castor is a liability that should be put down but Pilgrim doesn't believe in this course of action despite M.K. being a more powerful Dark One than Castor.

The High Priestess later sends Castor to ransack Tilda's refugee camp so that if he died, he will die for their cause. Juliet's Clippers are also ransacking the camp but The Widow arrives with Gaius to help fight off these intruders. They take Castor captive to lure Pilgrim out.

Ankara tells Sunny he needs to confront Pilgrim. The High Priestess has a vision foretelling Sunny paying them a visit and when M.K. announces his intention to kill him, Pilgrim forbids him from doing so, saying Sunny's destiny is intertwined with theirs.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E04 "Blind Cannibal Assassins" Recap


Baron Chau has her brother Gaius imprisoned for eighteen months for betraying her commands but offers him another shot at his freedom which he initially turns down. She threatens to kill the men that helped him smuggle out Cogs from her territory and he agrees to take on her job. She orders him to clip Pilgrim, who took out the members of the border patrol at a particular checkpoint and has begun recruiting Cogs from her territory. She warns him of the two Dark Ones that Pilgrim has working for him and orders him not to return until he has Pilrim's head.

Sunny and Bajie continue their journey through the Wasteland and end up in a confrontation against a band of blind cannibals. They go after the cannibals to retrieve Henry whom the cannibals had kidnapped.

M.K. goes on the run and leaves Tilda despite her pleas that they stay together. He decides that he must now find Sunny as he believes he killed his mother. M.K. struggles to travel due to still being injured from his fight against the Widow's guards, and is forced to hide when Gaius and his men are passing through the same patch of forest.

The Widow and Lydia are shaken after hundreds of workers abandon their posts to join Pilgrim who has been recruiting more and more followers to his cause. Lydia proposes that they find Pilgrim and try to befriend him in order to prevent more loss of workers.

The cannibals are planning to eat baby Henry but are willing to spare his life if Sunny agrees to join their group and be blinded in the process. They give him one day to decide. When Sunny and Bajie are brought back to their holding cell, Sunny reveals that these blind cannibals were once renegade Clippers before Quinn's forced tracked them down and blinded them as punishment for their actions against his son. Sunny was much younger at the time, and it was only his first time out on a mission such as this. Sunny was ordered to participate in the blindings in order to become a Clipper.

Moon arrives in the same area as the blind cannibals, as he is hunting for Sunny and Bajie. He agrees to stay at a shelter one blind man has set up, not knowing of the looming threat.

The Widow and Lydia arrive at Pilgrim's castle. While Lydia heads out to spend time with the High Priestess discussing various artifacts and philosophies, The Widow has a tense meeting with Pilgrim. All the while, Gaius and his warriors are infiltrating the castle. The Widow saves Pilgrim from an incoming knife and then a fight begins with The Widow fighting alongside Pilgrim and his fighters. Lydia also fights off some of the masked intruders with the help of the High Priestess, while Gaius ends up in a one-on-one fight against one of Pilgrim's Dark Ones. Eventually Gaius gets knocked out and Pilgrim intervenes to stop his out-of-control Dark One from killing The Widow.

One of the blind cannibals asks Sunny why the baby has a fever and he explains that Henry is sick with a poison in his blood that they're trying to find a cure for. The blind woman explains how the reason why she was blinded was because she and a Clipper from a rival baron had fallen in love and tried to run away together. Sunny reveals to her that he also tried to run away for love but the baron killed his wife in revenge, and that Sunny was the one to blind her all those years ago. He feels that he owes her the truth and is damned without his sun anyway. Still, she is furious at the revelation. It's then that another cannibal reveals Moon, who has also been taken prisoner by the cannibals.

M.K. meets Pilgrim's other Dark One in the woods and witnesses her kill some men that tried to attack her.

Sunny comes up with a plan that requires Moon to work with him and Bajie. Though Moon initially doesn't want to allow them to escape, Sunny uses Moon's glove weapon to kill the cannibals trying to kill them. Sunny refuses to let Moon out of his chains when he refuses to help Sunny's plan to rescue Henry. While Sunny and Bajie head out to find Henry, they pass by some other cannibals who later circle back around. A fight breaks out in which Sunny and Bajie are able to kill most of them. They finally get to the remaining cannibal woman who has Henry. Sunny gets Henry back and asks the woman to come with them but she says she has lived in darkness too long and is implied to have decided to kill herself since she has no one left. Sunny and Bajie return to Moon and free him from his chains. They all re-emerge out of the caverns and Moon demands that Sunny pick up his sword and fight him to the death. Sunny gives a speech about insisting on stopping the cycle of violence he was in and says that Moon is free to kill him but if he does, Henry will be his responsibility. Moon declares that his honour is satisfied due to his sparing Henry a father. He also warns Sunny that The Widow still wants his head and to not return to the badlands.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E03 "Leopard Snares Rabbit" Recap


Moon continues his quest to capture the Iron Rabbit and brings more soldiers to Tilda's refugee camp to hunt her down. She is discovered but manages to kill all of the soldiers, however Moon is still alive and bests her in combat. She is knocked down and some of her subordinates load up her unconscious body into a truck before Moon can take her captive or kill her. He takes Odessa, one of her friends, from the camp in order to lure Tilda out. Once Odessa is brought back to the Widow, she is interrogated about the identity of the spy that warned them that Moon was coming. The Widow orders Odessa to be tortured to get the information but insists that she be kept "pretty" enough to still be an incentive for Tilda to return.

Lydia decides to play both sides of the war by accepting the Widow's offer to be her Viceroy and take over Quinn's mansion. Those assigned to work for her are welcoming of her return to the Badlands.

M.K. is now forced to live with his hands and feet tied to his bed after his failed suicide attempt. The Widow cuts his arm to see if his Gift is back but there's no visible change.

Moon confronts Lydia for being the one to send Tilda the warning note, as he recognised her handwriting. She points out that he won't betray her to the Widow and for the time being it seems that this is true. She claims to have only accepted the Widow's offer because she believes she can do more to help people from this position but Moon pushes her to admit that part of her incentive in accepting the offer is that she knows how to survive. His main goal is to kill Sunny for not finishing the fight that they had together and allowing Bajie to take his sword. He tries to rekindles the romantic relationship he once had with Lydia, which she turns down due to her belief that romantic love poses too many risks to surviving.

Sunny and Bajie disguise themselves as The Widow's Clippers in order to get to the frontlines. Sunny has left Henry with a healer that will look after him while they complete their quest to get out of the war zone in order to find a cure for Henry's Gift.

Tilda sneaks into Lydia's new set-up to confront her for both sending the note and seemingly aligning herself with The Widow. Tilda then decides to finally confront her mother and attempts to make a deal that she will return to her home if M.K. is freed. But while M.K. is being force-bed some treatment, his Gift returns and he bursts free from his restraints and crashes out of his room. He fights off the Widow's guards and is prepared to kill the Widow but only stops when Tilda intervenes. M.K. declares that he is leaving and Tilda and Odessa decide to go with him.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E02 "Moon Rises, Raven Seeks" Recap


M.K. has a confrontation with Moon, and tries to goad him into killing him so he will finally be put out of his misery. Moon leaves him alive, and later is sent by The Widow to hunt down and kill the Iron Rabbit's head (not knowing that the thief is actually Tilda), as well as to find Bajie and bring him to her since he has information she needs for her to thrive in the war. Moon is officially The Widow's new Regent.

Bajie sends a signal to Pilgrim, the son of Azra, who are travelling with their Acolytes on a long journey to find a new kingdom in the Badlands. They eventually find one deep within a ruined castle on an island; it was once an natural history museum. Pilgrim fights and kills some dissenters in their group while blindfolded, with the last dissenter being spared when he changes his mind and declares that he still believes in their cause.

Moon arrives at Lydia's camp and comes across Tilda, not knowing she is the Iron Rabbit's head, and none the wiser that the baby they are taking care of belong to Sunny, who learns that he passed The Gift to baby Henry. Lydia agrees to talk to Moon but discretely warns Tilda not to follow them or fight anyone.

M.K. has one of the house's servants sneak him a large dose of opium which he uses to attempt suicide, having grown tired and hopeless from his captivity and her failed attempts to bring back his Gift. While overdosing he has a vision of his Gifted self telling him that he's trapped inside M.K. because he blames himself for the death of their mother, forcing him to remember what really happened. The scene changes to the violent day when his mother died. The scene is replayed and M.K. watches in horror as Sunny stabs and kills M.K.'s mother. Seemingly, M.K.'s Gift then returns to him.

The Widow visits Lydia to try to convince her to help her hunt down the Iron Rabbit. But Lydia stands strong and refuses to give in to threats. The Widow reveals that she doesn't want to threaten Lydia, but to offer her a high-ranking position and a sizable portion of land to rule over if she only gives up the Iron Rabbit.

Sunny and Bajie have learned from Lydia about Ankara, the Mad Witch who possesses important knowledge about the Dark Ones. They intend to set out to north to Vulture's Peak in order to find her, and Tilda asks Sunny if she can come with them but he warns her that he can't offer her the redemption she is looking for.

The Widow returns to her home and learns of M.K.'s attempted suicides and calls for a healer to come tend to him.

Finally, Pilgrim performs a ritual in which he must sacrifice Azra, who willingly has her back pierced by hooks before they are used to lift her high into the air where she declares that she can see everything.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S03E01 "Enter the Phoenix" Recap


It's been six months since Sunny returned to the Badlands with his child. There is a civil waging between the last two barons left: The Widow and Chau. The Widow meets with a skilled warrior, Moon, hoping to recruit him to her side but when he refuses the two break out in a fight. After considerable action between the two, they reach an impasse and Moon agrees to hear out her proposal.

Tilda, who has gained the name of the "Iron Rabbit," is working with a group of thieves to steal supplies from The Widow. Along the way, they inadvertently help Bajie to escape captivity while he is being transported.

M.K. is being held captive by The Widow, who is trying to help him get his power back. He has a large cage with a luxurious bed and women coming in and out his bed. He is despondent from the agonising process of pain to try to trigger his powers again. She tries to tell him that she's the only one he has left since Sunny hasn't tried to come for him for the last six months.

Sunny viciously beats some scavengers to death when they attack his in the trailer where he has taken refuge with his son. He has resorted to drinking often to nurse his emotional wounds following the loss of his love, and discovers a flier offering a large bounty for him on the body of one of the scavengers.

Tilda and the thieves are revealed to be protecting Lydia in a Totemist camp where they help refugees from the war. Lydia tells Tilda to stay away from the camp for a while, believing that her antics are too risky to the well-being of the refugees. Tilda becomes angry, saying that Lydia is breaking her promise to help her rescue M.K. She tries to get Bajie to help and mentions Sunny but Bajie points out that no one has seen Sunny in six months.

Sunny seeks help to treat his son Henry, who is sick. But his efforts turn up futile, forcing him to carry on and look elsewhere. Sunny ends up spotting Bajie at a marketplace, gambling and drinking. Bajie is about to get beat up for cheating and have his compass stolen but Sunny steps in, takes his compass back, and saves Bajie from the beating. While Henry is being tended to by a medicinal caretaker, she pricks his hand to check his blood and his eyes turn black. She calls Sunny and Lydia back, who learn that Henry has The Gift.

A new threat emerges in the form of a mysterious new leader who has bodyguards that also have The Gift along with tremendous fighting and killing abilities that will be unleashed to protect their leader.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into the Badlands S2E10 "Wolf's Breath, Dragon's Fire" Recap


Bajie is shaken to be reunited with the girl whom he once knew who is now The Widow. He is put in captivity near Tilda, who wakes badly injured in the next cell following her fight with The Widow. M.K. is still held captive by The Widow. Odessa breaks Tilda free and at her insistence, frees Bajie too. Waldo also helps them to make their escape but they're not able to get M.K. out too.

Bajie finds Sunny, who is going after Quinn, and insists on helping him in his pursuits even if it means dying. Sunny begins his attack on Quinn's tunnel system and fights off hoards of men with Bajie. Bajie is injured while fighting one of Quinn's lieutenants but Sunny is finally able to reunite with Veil. Lydia was about to be executed but her life is saved due to the timing of Sunny's attack.

Sunny and Veil encounter Quinn and Sunny demands the return of his son. Quinn triggers an explosion that knocks a giant hole in the train station and Sunny begins to fight him. After sometime, Sunny wins the fight and moves to get out of the tunnel, as it's ready to collapse at any moment. A badly injured Quinn manages to grab Veil and tries to hold her hostage as Sunny demands she be released. Veil refuses to be held captive by Quinn any longer, tells Sunny to take care of their son, and uses Quinn's sword to stab herself but also Quinn in the process. In her dying moments, she tells Sunny to teach Henry to be good and he promises to do so.

Sunny leaves the station with Henry. Bajie is shown to be elsewhere, alive. He reaches a run-down communications tower and reactivates it before collapsing from his earlier wound.

Into the Badlands will return for season 3 on AMC.

Into the Badlands S2E9 "Nightingale Sings No More" Recap


The episode opens with a twenty-year-old flashback of Bajie as an Abbott, training a young girl who was brought to the monastery in a large chest. The girl has a powerful "Gift" which she used to break free from the box but Bajie subdued her and subsequently nicknamed her Flea due to her small stature. The girl's name is Minerva and she has the book of Azra, as it had been passed down through her family for generations.

In returning to the present story, Sunny has aligned himself with The Widow. She is made aware of M.K. having lost his abilities and both he and Sunny are given sanctuary at her place. Tilda begins to reconnect with M.K. but her friend Odessa warns her to stay away from M.K., having witnessed his power unleashed when the two were held captive together.

The Widow wants to attack Quinn's bunker, where Veil is growing increasingly emboldened to stand against Quinn, though this proves difficult with him keeping a close guard on her and baby Henry. Quinn sends a young Clipper named Gabriel with a suicide bomb to deliver a message to about Veil, which is how Sunny learns that The Widow had traded her to Quinn who then married Veil and now intends to raise Henry as his own. Following the explosion, Sunny runs and fights his way out to escape. On the way out, he encounters Bajie and tells him to get M.K. out of there and meet him at the bunker.

Bajie finds himself reunited with an adult Minerva but the reunion is tense, as it is when he and M.K. are captured for trying to steal the Azra book.

Tilda confronts The Widow, claiming that she is becoming just as corrupt as the other barons with her willingness to sacrifice the lives and well-being of others in the quest for power. The two fight, with The Widow winning the battle and Tilda demanding that she kill her. The Widow does a fancy spinning kick, knocking Tilda to the ground.

Into the Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E8 "Sting Of The Scorpion's Tail" Recap


One of the remaining Barons, Hassans, and all of his remaining clippers are killed by the Widow's Butterflies. Hassans' head is cut off and presented to Quinn, who exchanges it for not only Baron Broadmore's head, but that of Broadmore's wives and children. The Widow is displeased that Quinn murdered innocents but Quinn believes that no one can stay innocent forever and she herself is proof that even women are not to be trusted.

Sunny, M.K. and Bajie reach the final checkpoint before the Wall. Bajie must deliver on his promise to get them through and organises a trade of the car they took from Nos to get them passage through. Sunny and M.K. are not pleased about losing the car but they must immediately board an old school bus that the smugglers are supposed to use to get them through, but the smugglers instead plan to sell everyone aboard to Baron Chau as servants. Sunny picks up on the fact that something is wrong and refuses to let everyone get captured so easily, resulting in a confrontation involving Chau's Clippers. They're outmanned and outgunned so they have to surrender for the time being.

Tilda is ready to defend the Widow but she orders Tilda to stand down and not attack Quinn. Tilda and the Butterflies are ordered to stay behind and keep watch on the situation, resulting in Tilda spotting Lydia and Veil who are now Quinn's captives. Veil is further terrified when she learns that Quinn wants to marry her and raise Henry with her. Tilda tries to apologise to Veil for what the Widow has done but Veil snaps back that the Widow is not so benevolent if she was willing to trade Veil back to Quinn.

Sunny, M.K. and Bajie are put into Chau's cages, meaning that they are now back in the Badlands. Sunny eventually convinces a Clipper into letting him meet with Chau and once she sees all of his kill tattoos, she's more than happy to have him join her ranks. Sunny quickly learns of the new alliance between Quinn and the Widow, and how the pair have been killing the remaining Barons and Chau is likely next. She offers Sunny the opportunity to be her new Regent but he instead proposes that he will help her to lure the Widow out and she can be used to locate Quinn. In exchange, he will be granted his freedom. Sunny knows that the Widow wants M.K. for his dark abilities.

Tilda confronts the Widow for her actions regarding Veil and the Widow says that it was done out of revenge for Veil trying to turn Tilda against her. Though the argument has yet to be resolves, one of Chau's Clippers is escorted in, claiming to have defected, and says that Chau plans to trade M.K. to the River King. The Widow decides to intercept the deal and take M.K. back for herself.

Sunny goes to retrieve M.K. and slips Bajie a metal bookmark that he'll be able to use to pick the locks of his restraints and escape with his freedom. Meanwhile, Veil is forced to marry Quinn when he threatens to kill her and raise Henry alone if she doesn't. Veil is distraught at the thought of having to marry and consummate that marriage with Quinn but Lydia assures her that it is all for Henry's safety and promises that once everything is over, she will help to find a way out for them.

Sunny, M.K. and Chau's Clippers reach the exchange point, and unbeknownst to all of them, Bajie is following behind on a stolen motorcycle. The Widow and her Butterflies attack but this was all part of the plan. Sunny is thrown off when she offers to give up Veil and Henry's location but only if her life is spared. Sunny feels he has know choice but to align himself with her, which results in all of the Clippers being killed. She then offers that they work together to also kill Quinn.

Veil is anxious about having to consummate her marriage with Quinn but the wedding night is interrupted as a result of Sunny and the Widow's new alliance. Lydia had been attempting to escape with baby Henry but then she comes across a messenger that came with news of the two working together. Veil had been preparing to kill Quinn with a razor she'd had hidden to use before any consummation could take place. Lydia interrupts them before anything can transpire, and Quinn leaves to deal with this latest development, while Veil is shaken and relieved to learn that Sunny is still alive.

Into the Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E7 "Black Heart, White Mountain" Recap


Sunny has been poisoned and lies comatose after receiving a mysterious blow to the chest from one of the Abbotts he fought. In his dream, he is reunited with Veil and a version of Henry that is already a few years old. He briefly sees a mysterious figure outside their window.

In the real world, Bajie realises the nature of Sunny's injury based on the bruise on Sunny's chest. He has been hit with the Five Poisons, one of the Abbotts' deadliest weapons. Sunny will die unless they find the necessary medicine to cure him. They must return to the monastery and break in to retrieve what they will need to cure Sunny. On the way there, Bajie reveals that he once instructed a girl with a gift similar to M.K.'s that eventually led him to leave the monastery. He used his gift to bring her back to life and freed her from the needle room, after which she ran off. He promised he'd find her but has so far been unable to do so.

Back in Sunny's dream world, he is instructing Henry on fighting before finding that their pigs have been slaughtered and left with strange marks on their carcasses. Later, Henry reveals a hidden sword that he got from a friend named Artemis that he was playing with in the woods. Sunny is concerned for Henry's well-being but frightens him when warning him not to play with her anymore. Later, Sunny finds a strange wound on Henry's back that he claims was inflicted by Artemis, who was angered when Sunny took the sword. When he goes to get some supplies to tend to Henry's wound, he is attacked by Artemis, who asks if Sunny remembers her.

In the real world, Sunny is in a car being driven by Bajie. When the attack makes Sunny struggle to breathe, M.K. finds a mask and puts it on him to help him breathe. When they reach the monastery, they are discovered and end up in a fight with the Abbotts. Back in Sunny's nightmare, Veil ends up dead with Henry being the one to have killed her. Sunny follows Artemis to the woods where he is tormented by the ghosts of all his kills. On the outside, Bajie and M.K. work together to finally cure Sunny.

Quinn and The Widow coordinate an attack on Jade's palace to overthrow her. Many of her Clippers and subjects abandon her, forcing her to flee. The few remaining clippers loyal to her end up dead when Jade is cornered by The Widow and Tilda.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E6 "Leopard Stalks in Snow" Recap


Lydia is captured following her attack on Quinn, who comes across her after the explosion at the transit station. All of Lydia's men are dead from the encounter, while Veil continues her escape into the woods. She is discovered by an older woman that brings her to hide at The Widow's Sanctuary.

Bajie takes Sunny to a healer friend in a Gasper addicts opium den. M.K. is still on the run but after getting into a fight with a Nomad, he seemingly loses his power. He is discovered by Ava, who warns him that they need to keep running or else the Abbotts will find them.

Quinn gives Lydia the opportunity to run a dagger into his heart to avenge the death of their son, echoing the opportunity he gave Ryder before killing him. Though Ryder had hesitated to do so, resulting in his death, Lydia is ready to kill Quinn but he stops her hand from dealing the blow.

Tilda opens up to Odessa about why she calls Minerva "mother" and an intimacy is established between the two.

The Widow visits Quinn at his bunker and forges an alliance with him to get his help to kill the other Barons. It is presumed that the two will try to kill each other then but that is a fight for another day. He agrees to do so but in exchange, The Widow must return Veil and baby Henry to him, which she later does.

M.K. and Ava seek refuge at an abandoned Old World hotel that was abandoned during Christmas. M.K. finds proof that Azra is real and that The Master had lied to them. They are reunited with Sunny there, but end up in a fight with three Abbotts, Cyan, Ramon, and Dury, that are hunting M.K. for his darkness using an Azraian device. They are seemingly defeated by the Abbotts until Bajie shows up to help, revealing that he was an Abbott in another life. Ava dies from her battle wounds and Sunny is also badly wounded.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E5 "Monkey Leaps Through Mist" Recap


Following the murder of Ryder, all the surviving Barons retreat to hide underground. Jade is the only remaining successor and thus is sworn in as Baron by her Regent, Merrick, and promises that Quinn will pay for what he has done.

Bajie leads Sunny to Nos, the Commandant of the Mechs (metal traders) in order to trade Silver Moon's sword for a way into the Badlands. Through this encounter, Sunny learns that Quinn is still alive.

M.K. is able to break out of the Abbotts and uses the clothes from a hanging corpse as a disguise.

Jade asks Lydia for her help to find Quinn on the condition that she will be the one to kill him.

Sunny is visited by a Doll names Portia who asks him to kill Nos so that her daughter will not have to grow up to become a prostitute too. He doesn't want to get involved, and turns down her offer for sex, which later results in Nos mutilating her face. This leads Sunny and Bajie to steal a ride and bring both Portia and Amelia with them.

The Widow disregards Waldo's advice to align with the other Barons who tried to kill her or risk losing everything she built by aligning with Quinn.

Lydia and her Clippers go after Quinn by attacking his bunker but the Clippers die from the booby trapped bunker doors. During the attack, Veil is able to escape the transit station with her son and get away from Quinn, who has been hallucinating his dead son Ryder.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E4 "Palm Of The Iron Fox" Recap



Veil's storyline sees her taking violent action against a guard named Edgar, despite having earlier gotten along well with him. When he tries to stop her from escaping, she brutally murders him in a desperate attempt to finally reclaim her freedom.

Meanwhile, Baron Quinn finally makes his presence known by attacking his former peers at the Baron Conclave, leaving nearly everyone in attendance either dead or gravely injured. Ryder flees a confrontation with his father for as long as he can but the too eventually get into a fight in which Baron Quinn easily gets the upper hand on his son and kills him. This is to the Widow's advantage as Ryder had been proposing that she be stripped of her title and banished from the Badlands.

Additionally, M.K. is shown to have finally learned the identity of his mother's murderer - himself while under the Dark influence of his powers.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E3 "Red Sun, Silver Moon" Recap


Sunny is with Bajie trying to find a way through the wall surrounding the Badlands. Bajie claims to know a smuggler that knows a way through. They find a bridge that leads into the Badlands but it's guarded by a strange man armed with a sword. Sunny and Bajie have a bounty placed on their heads and many bounty hunters have followed them so the stranger fights them off with Sunny and Bajie. The stranger provides shelter.

The Widow asks Waldo to be her Second as they attend the Baron conclave instead of Tilda, who is upset to be excluded but she is put in charge while The Widow will be away and ordered to blow up the oilfields if anything happens to her.

Veil switches out Quinn's x-rays with healthy ones to hide the fact that the malady in his head is still present and killing him.

Sunny and Bajie determine that the stranger is the legendary Clipper Regent Nathaniel Moon, also known as "Silver Moon," who left the Badlands in order to live a life free from violence. He fell in love with a warlord's daughter and they started a family that ended up murdered. He proceeded to hunt fugitives, thus returning to the life of violence he had tried to escape. He implores Sunny to understand that me like them never change.

M.K. finds that the Abbotts are doing something ominous after discovering his friend Tate has been experimented on so that his abilities are drained.

Moon is searching for his 1,000th kill mark and sees Sunny as a worthy opponent and challenges him to a fight to the death, begging to be put out of his misery and have his life ended. Sunny does not want to be his executioner and leaves to continue his journey. Bajie decides to accompany him.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into The Badlands S2E2 "Force of Eagle's Claw" Recap


Bajie's betrayal of Sunny puts The Engineer off, as he doesn't want a "rat" to be one of his Pickers so he sends the pair of them to the fighting pit to fight the current champion Mouse. After defeating him, they are able to escape the unguarded arena through the mine's ventilation system. They come out and find they are in the Outlying Territories with a wall blocking Sunny from returning to the Badlands.

Tilda is learning how to be a Regent from Waldo, who is now working for The Widow. Lydia is living with Penrith and his Totemists, who practice a peaceful, non-violent way of life. When Nomads interrupt a wedding in the community, wreaking violence and murdering. Lydia saves the religious group by fighting back and killing the bandits but her father strongly disapproves of her violence. She is cast out as a result and returns to Ryder who casts her out after he loses his temper at her criticisms of him.

The Master sends M.K. to a room she has filled with mirrors so he can conquer the inner demon of himself. Quinn and Veil are still hiding out in the West Avalon train station. He performs a bloody baptism on her son, Henry, and declares that he is the newest heir to the Badlands.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

Into the Badlands S2E1 "Tiger Pushes Mountain" Recap


Six months after the events of the season one finale, Sunny is now a "Picker" which means he works as a miner working slave labour excavating opium in the Bordeaux Mines far away from the Badlands. He is shackled to a smuggler named Bajie (Nick Frost) whom he becomes friends with. M.K. is being trained by the Abbotts with Ava being the main one in charge. He later meets The Master, who offers up his freedom if and when he learns to control his abilities and that she will now be in charge of his training. Sunny observes an arena fight in which under-performing Pickers are executed for not reaching their quota and it inspires him to plan his escape. After Bajie obtains a map, he wants to go with Sunny but Sunny refuses. In turn, Bajie reveals Sunny's true identity to the mine boss known as The Engineer.

Back in the Badlands, Ryder has been living it up with his love Jade as the Baron after his father died and controls all the territories owned by Quinn, Jacobee, and The Widow. The Widow and Tilda, a Regent, attack during an inspection of the oil fields and kill most of Ryder's Clippers and he has no choice but to retreat. They are forming an army of Cogs and Dolls with the promise that they will end the Badlands feudal system and establish a democratic one instead. Tilda recruits Odessa, a former Doll, to join them as a Butterfly and goes against her mother's orders to have the Clipper prisoners murdered as vengeance for their abuse of the Dolls.

Finally, we see Veil give birth to a baby boy in the company of Quinn, who is still alive.

Into The Badlands airs on Sundays on AMC at 10/9c.

THE SEASON TWO PREMIERE OF AMC'S MARTIAL ARTS DRAMA "INTO THE BADLANDS"AIRS SUNDAY, MARCH 19TH AT 10:00PM ET/PT

THE SEASON TWO PREMIERE OF AMC’S 
MARTIAL ARTS DRAMA “INTO THE BADLANDS”

Daniel Wu as Sunny

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The second season of AMC’s martial arts drama, “Into the Badlands,” debuts onSunday, March 19th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The premiere episode, “Tiger Pushes Mountain,” picks up six months after the Season 1 finale, Sunny finds a new foe, as well as a new, unexpected ally, while MK learns about his gift in a mysterious place.

Season two of “Into the Badlands” finds Sunny and M.K. separated and scattered to the wind, each imprisoned in unlikely places.  While M.K. struggles to control his powers, Sunny is determined to fight his way back into the Badlands to find his family or die trying.  On their journey, Clipper and Colt are assisted by mysterious, new allies whose motivations may be anything but pure.  Meanwhile, The Widow continues to consolidate power against the other Barons, while a dark and mysterious threat prepares to exact revenge on them all.  Alliances are struck, friendships betrayed, and by season's end, Sunny and M.K.'s lives will be forever altered with devastating consequences. 

“Into the Badlands” was created by showrunners/executive producers/writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and executive produced by Oscar®-nominated producers Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg, director David Dobkin, fight director Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu.  The series stars Wu (Tai Chi Zero) as Sunny; Marton Csokas (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) as Quinn; Aramis Knight (The Dark Knight Rises) as M.K.;  Oliver Stark (“Luther”) as Ryder; Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later) as The Widow; Orla Brady (“Dr. Who,” “Fringe”) as Lydia; Sarah Bolger(“Once Upon a Time,” “The Tudors”) as Jade; Ally Ioannides (“Parenthood”) as Tilda;  Madeleine Mantock(Edge of Tomorrow) as Veil; Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe) as Waldo and Nick Frost as Bajie (Shaun of the Dead).

About AMC
AMC is home to some of the most popular and acclaimed programs on television. AMC was the first basic cable network to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series with “Mad Men” in 2008, which then went on to win the coveted award four years in a row, before “Breaking Bad” won it in 2013 and 2014. The network’s series “The Walking Dead” is the highest-rated series in cable history and the number one show on television among adults 18-49 for the last five years.  AMC’s other current original drama series include “Better Call Saul,” “Hell on Wheels,” “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Humans,” “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Into the Badlands,” “The Night Manager,” “Preacher,” and the forthcoming “The Son,” “The Terror,” “Lodge 49,” “Loaded” and “McMafia.” AMC also explores authentic worlds and discussion with original shows like “Talking Dead,” “The Making of The Mob,” “Comic Book Men,” “Ride with Norman Reedus” and “The American West.” AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, SundanceTV, BBC America and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile.
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