Into the Badlands Information

Into the Badlands is an American television series that premiered on AMC November 15, 2015. The series features a story about a warrior and a young boy who journey through a dangerous feudal land together seeking enlightenment. On March 8, 2016 AMC renewed the show for a second season.

Premise

Opening introduction: (narrated by Aramis Knight/M.K.):

Cast and characters

Main

• Daniel Wu as Sunny, regent (Head Clipper) to the Badlands' most powerful Baron, Quinn. Despite being a man of conviction, he is very loyal to Quinn. Very skilled and proficient in various styles and weapons, he is considered to be one of, if not the, deadliest Clipper in the Badlands.
• Orla Brady as Lydia, Quinn's first wife who is both his fiercest critic and most devoted follower.
• Sarah Bolger as Jade, Quinn's new wife-to-be, whose beguiling demeanor hides a core of ambition and tenacity.
• Aramis Knight as M.K., a seemingly average teenage boy, M.K. is anything but. Lurking inside him is a dark energy that The Widow wants to harness into a weapon.
• Emily Beecham as Minerva, better known as The Widow, the Badlands' newest Baron: a brilliant martial artist and skilled swordswoman. She has adopted a blue-winged butterfly as her Baronial symbol, shown in yellow on a light blue banner. It represents a transformation from insignificance to beauty and power. Her territory of oil fields manufactures crude oil.
• Oliver Stark as Ryder, Quinn's only son and presumed heir.
• Madeleine Mantock as Veil, a doctor who is in a secret relationship with Sunny.
• Ally Ioannides as Tilda, The Widow's daughter and teenage assassin, who is well-trained in the martial arts.
• Marton Csokas as Quinn, the Badlands' preeminent Baron and a former clipper. His Baronial symbol is an armadillo shown in white on a maroon banner. His territory produces poppy flowers, which are harvested for opium.

Recurring

• Yohance Myles as Ringo, tattoo artist of the Clippers, inking their kill marks on their bodies
• Benjamin Papac as Bale, a Colt, Clipper-in-training, a seemingly benevolent boy who befriends M.K.
• Mike Seal as Petri, one of Quinn's Clippers
• Stephen Lang as Waldo, a wheelchair-bound former Regent serving under Quinn
• Teressa Liane as Angelica, a prostitute/spy loyal to The Widow
• Ellen Hollman as Zephyr, a regent of Baron Jacobee, has a history with Sunny
• Edi Gathegi as Baron Jacobee, has an alliance with Quinn. His Baronial colors are pattern of blue and green plaid
• Lance E. Nichols as the River King, importer of goods and "cogs" or indentured servants up and down the river through the Badlands
• Lance Henriksen as Penrith, a leading priest who is Lydia's father.

Episodes

| Viewers = 6.39 | ShortSummary = Regent Sunny, a highly-skilled fighter and the deadliest "Head Clipper" for Baron Quinn battles the Nomads to rescue a mysterious boy named M.K. who harbors a dark secret about his past. But when he brings him back to The Fort to train as a "Colt", a Clipper-in-training, things quickly get out of hand with another trainee. When first blood is drawn, M.K. loses control of himself as if something takes over his body, making the boy valuable to opposing Baron Widow. Meanwhile, Sunny discovers M.K.'s pendant has the same image as the one on his childhood compass of a place called Azra, the boy's home. In order to seek out the truth about his own past, Sunny wants to know more of this city beyond the Badlands, and must find a way out, especially now that his lover Veil is illegally pregnant with his child. | LineColor = A60108 }}

| Viewers = 4.83 | ShortSummary = After wandering into The Widow's territory, M.K. meets her daughter Matilda, who he follows for refuge in her mother's mansion. But it turns out to be a dangerous place since she wants to use his dark power to overthrow the other barons. Meanwhile, after Quinn's headaches are diagnosed by his long-time doctor as a tumor, he doesn't have long to live. He wants to keep the news a secret, so he orders Sunny to "clip" the doctor and his wife, Veil's parents, who know about their unborn baby. However, Sunny refuses and Quinn has to murder them himself, and gives him a second chance to test his loyalty. Later, when Sunny and Ryder are attacked by The Widow's nomads, M.K. saves Sunny's life and agrees to show him the way out of the Badlands. But Sunny has a condition; he will bring M.K. back to The Fort for training so he can be strong enough to smuggle Veil and the baby out. | LineColor = A60108 }}

| Viewers = 5.17 | ShortSummary = Quinn seeks retribution against The Widow and pays the price with losing many Clippers in his surprise attack. M.K. breaks away from the Colts to steal the book about Azra in The Widow's study, where Tilda sees him. Sunny begins to train M.K., but he must first learn discipline, especially when he underestimates wheelchair-bound Waldo during their fight. As Ryder's life slowly fades, Jade desperately seeks help from Veil who reluctantly yet successfully treats him. But it results in Quinn knowing about her and Sunny's relationship. In order for Quinn to form an alliance with Jacobee, the one baron who doesn't hate him as much, Sunny must reunite with Zephyr, Jacobee's regent to arrange a meeting. M.K. brings the book to Veil to be translated, but it's in a language she doesn't recognize. As M.K. hides, Veil is interrupted by Quinn who wants her to save him from his deadly illness. | LineColor = A60108 }}

| Viewers = 2.42 | ShortSummary = Sunny has to figure out how to control M.K.'s power, especially when he gets knocked out by a single punch. Jade prepares for her wedding, and taking Lydia's advice, she stops her relationship with Ryder, who feels broken and betrayed. Sunny finds out Veil has been helping M.K. translate the Azra book and treating Quinn for his tumor. Later, Quinn sets a parlay with Baron Jacobee to help him defeat The Widow after she beheads one of his Clippers. Both barons meet in the City of the Dead at Cross Bend where problems arise. M.K. spies a disguised Tilda and gives pursuit and they fight. Tilda cuts him, unleashing his darkness that only she can stop. Ryder is enlisted by Zephyr who is secretly working for The Widow to join their cause to start a war. Waldo grants Sunny an audience with the River King, importer of goods and cogs, to reserve a passage out of the Badlands. However, the River King demands M.K.'s head as payment due to M.K. having previously killed some of his Cogs. | LineColor = A60108 }}

| Viewers = 2.21 | ShortSummary = Sunny finds a direction when he uses his broken compass in the Arza book's cutout. After the poppy fields are abandoned, Quinn suffers a migraine and puts Jade in charge to train Clippers how to harvest. In order to look for "the boy at the Fort", The Widow takes in Quinn's cogs, promising them freedom in return for loyalty. Waldo tells Ryder to take M.K.'s pendant to Ryder's grandfather Penrith, a preacher, who says Arza is just a made-up story. Veil asks Quinn if he killed her parents and says it was Sunny's blade that ended their lives, not his. When Sunny brings Petri and his Colt, Bale, to track The Widow and her Butterflies, Tilda warns M.K. every time he is cut, his life force gets weaker, and gets captured. A fight ensues between her mother and Sunny, while Bale, wanting to make his first kill, fights Tilda, but meets a deadly end when M.K. cuts himself to save her. | LineColor = A60108 }}

| Viewers = 2.16 | ShortSummary = Sunny presents Bale's head to the River King, and passes it off as M.K.'s, in order to secure transportation out of the Badlands. Outside the Badlands, three monks learn of M.K.'s existence and set out to search for him. Jade frames Lydia for a poisoning attempt on her life, resulting in Quinn exiling Lydia. With no other choice, Lydia returns to Penrith and rejoins his congregation. Quinn suspects that Sunny is a traitor after his failure to finish off the Widow and imprisons him. Veil is kidnapped by Tilda, and is asked to help treat the Widow's wounds. Veil reluctantly does so, and as she leaves, warns Tilda that the Widow does not truly love her. She privately confides in Tilda that she left two bottles of poison in addition to the tincture, and that it is Tilda's choice whether to kill the Widow or not. Tilda confronts the Widow who insists she's trying to save M.K. and explains she was once special like him, but does not elaborate. Quinn then convinces M.K. to join his ranks in return for sparing Tilda and Sunny. M.K. agrees, and they both head to the Dollhouse to find the Widow. Sunny is freed by Waldo, who reveals himself to be the true traitor, and urges Sunny to leave the Badlands while he has the chance. Sunny instead heads off to find M.K. At the Dollhouse, Quinn is ambushed by Jacobee, Zypher, and Ryder. Quinn triggers M.K.'s abilities, and M.K. quickly defeats all of his opponents. Sunny arrives, kills Quinn, and attempts to subdue M.K. At that moment, the three monks arrive and easily defeat M.K. and Sunny, revealing they have the same abilities he does. The monks take M.K. away while Sunny is captured by the River King, who knows Sunny tried to cheat him, and intends to sell him to the highest bidder. | LineColor = A60108 }} }}

Production

Described as a "genre-bending martial arts series", Into the Badlands will be loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. AMC ordered 6 one-hour-long episodes of the action-drama developed by AMC Studios for a premiere in late 2015. Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park composed the title theme. Executive producer Stephen Fung also serves as the series' action director alongside veteran Hong Kong choreographer, Ku Huen-chiu.

Broadcast

Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on November 17, 2015, on Showcase. In Germany and the UK, the series is available through Amazon Prime Instant Video with each episode accessible the day after US air date.

Reception

Into the Badlands has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the season has a rating of 51%, based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Into the Badlands is loaded with off-kilter potential that's left largely unfulfilled"?although its well-choreographed action sequences should satisfy martial arts fans." Metacritic gives the season a score of 54 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter gave a generally positive review and wrote, "AMC finds a bloody, fun and entertaining non-zombie counterpart to The Walking Dead and turns Sundays into an escapist red zone." Maureen Ryan of Variety wrote, "The action scenes scattered throughout Into the Badlands are not just stirringly presented, they represent a test passed with flying, and bloody, colors. This efficient AMC series is an homage to classic Samurai films and kinetic action fare churned out by Hong Kong maestros of furious fists, and if the TV drama had failed to meet the standards set by the sturdiest examples of those genres, it would have seemed superfluous at best. Fortunately, star Daniel Wu is more than up to the task of occupying the center of this streamlined story of vengeance, tyranny and roundhouse kicks."