Into The Badlands
Episode 2.4 “Palm Of The Iron Fox”
Directed by Toa Fraser
Written by Daniel C. Connolly
Starring Daniel Wu, Orla Brady, Sarah Bolger, Aramis Knight, Emily Beecham, Oliver Stark, Madeleine Mantock, Ally Ioannides, Nick Frost, Marton Csokas, Chipo Chung
AMC
Air date: Sunday, April 9th, 2017, 10pm

Warning: Spoilers for Into the Badlands below:

Last week on Into the Badlands, Sunny (Daniel Wu) and Bajie (Nick Frost) had an intense encounter with an infamous ex-Clipper, that ended with the duo escaping after a brutal battle. Sunny’s refusal to kill was almost Batman-like, but I think he’s saving up his remaining kills for when he gets back to the Badlands. In the Badlands, it’s all about the Conclave, a meeting of Barons called by Ryder (Oliver Stark). The Widow (Emily Beecham) sees this as an opportunity to unite other barons to her cause. The wildcard in all of this is Quinn (Marton Csokas). First, he is presumed dead, and second he has built and trained himself a reliable army of clippers. Does Quinn make a play at the Fort that once was his, against his son and former fiancé Jade (Sarah Bolger), who betrayed him?

Spoilers below.

Quinn pep talks his clippers, and I’m pretty sure they just threw shade at Game of Thrones as he says “Some say the world will end in fire, some say ice…”. Whatever Marton Csokas says, I believe. His voice lends itself perfectly to cult leader status, and we see right away the plan is to interrupt the Conclave.

And oh my… the Conclave. It’s like a live action art museum of violence. Stephen Lang who plays Waldo says it best to The Widow; “You look exceptionally fine, if we go down at least it’s with style.” You have all the Barons in their bright colors creating a smorgasbord of visual delight. Perfectly contrasting this is Veil (Madeleine Mantock), and her pursuit of freedom from Quinn’s dirty and dingy lair. Her attempted escape and battle with her overseer, Edgar (Ladi Emeruwa), is brutal. The sounds of the kills plus the colorful mess of blood, this show pulses through the screen and makes you part of it!

The Conclave commences and the votes are cast. They want The Widow out of the Badlands, but she’s got a trick up her sleeve. What they don’t know is Gabriel (John Bell), Quinn’s clipper, is inside and setting the trap. Before the Barons can come to blows, they are forced into uncomfortable partnership against Quinn’s invasion.

What commences in the final 10+ minutes is what you’ve come to expect from Into the Badlands: epic violence, spectacular stunt and fight choreography, and a phenomenal blend of music, art, and production design. In the end, there’s a rather emotional confrontation between father and son, as Quinn and Ryder have their final conclave.

I didn’t even realize till the very end that Sunny wasn’t even in this episode. And no disrespect at all to Daniel Wu, but this was about the Barons and the episode didn’t drag for a minute. That goes to show how well developed these characters are that in the 10th overall episode, they can omit the main character completely and the show cruises along. My favorite moment was the casual glance shared between The Widow and Waldo after a long battle sequence.

Into the Badlands is one of the best shows on TV, features eye popping visuals, stunning battles and great characters. They return with a new episode next Sunday night at 10:00pm ET only on AMC.

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Into the Badlands: ‘Father vs Son’ Talked About Scene Ep. 204

Father and son face off as Quinn seeks his revenge on Ryder.