Into The Badlands
Episode 2.7 “Chapter XIII: Black Heart, White Mountain”
Directed by Stephen Fung
Written by Michael Taylor
Created by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
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 30th, 2017, 10pm

Last week on AMC’s Into the Badlands, we had unions and reunions that served to bring all the characters back together. Sunny (Daniel Wu) and Bajie (Nick Frost) re-entered the Badlands and met up with M.K. (Aramis Knight) who was fleeing the Abbots from the monastery. This led to a suitably epic showdown between Sunny and former UFC fighter Cung Le and the reveal that Bajie is actually a runaway Abbot with his own secret powers. Sunny continues trying to get back to Veil and his baby; all the while she has been held prisoner by Quinn (Marton Csokas) whose brain tumor is making him more and more maniacal. Veil (Madeleine Mantock) thought she found refuge with The Widow (Emily Beecham), but she did not count on an alliance between Widow and Quinn. We are one step closer to Sunny finding Quinn, Veil and his seeing his baby for the first time. Last night’s episode was directed by Stephen Fung, who has been executive producer and fight director since Into the Badlands debuted, which means this episode should be fueled by fight sequences the typically great ItB choreography.

Spoilers below for this week’s Into the Badlands:

Sunny was left victorious but incapacitated by his battle with the Abbots, and we find him in a dreamlike state, alongside Veil and Henry. But there is something dark lurking inside his dreams, something that looks like Samara from The Ring. Bajie explains to M.K. that Sunny is infected by the “5 poisons” and has a day, maybe less. M.K. challenges Bajie to help, and Nick Frost is just great in this role with his sarcastic responses. His interactions with M.K. about the monastery are funny and insightful.

Meanwhile, Sunny’s fantasyland Henry (who is older) claims to have a friend, Artemis in the woods who gives him swords. This is after they find their livestock ritualistically slaughtered. Artemis appears to Sunny like a horror movie ghost trying to expedite his death. As Bajie and M.K. drive across the Badlands Mad Max style, Jade (Sarah Bolger) is losing her grip on The Fort. Her Clippers are on the run, and The Widow’s butterflies are on the attack. Soon, she is face to face with The Widow and Tilda (Ally Ioannides). That does NOT go well for her… and Emily Beecham uses the high heel of doom before passing her over to Quinn. He makes a determination of Jade’s fate – bring her to the border and leave her to fend for herself.

Bajie is scared of returning to the monastery, but M.K. convinces him to help. “If we make it out of this alive, I’m gonna kill you,” he warns. Again, the sets are just so gorgeous, the monastery looks like a 3D painting! They sneak around to get what they need to help Sunny, but they’re greeted by the Master (Chipo Chung). Soon, a huge battle breaks out with Bajie and M.K. barely escaping. Sunny is fighting a battle within himself against the hundreds of his victims. The bright red blood flowing, provides a visually stunning climax to this episode.

I loved how Bajie and M.K. bonded with Sunny down and out. This show balances character driven stories with ferocious action better than any I can think of. The Widow/Quinn alliance is coming along smoothly as they’ve already taken down one of the Barons out to destroy them. This was a very focused episode, and while the Sunny dream sequences got a bit crazy towards the end, the two battle sequences were great and there is so much more to explore within the world of the series.

Tune in next Sunday at 10:00pm ET for a new episode of Into the Badlands only on AMC.

Into the Badlands: ‘A Haunting Vision’ Sneak Peek Ep. 207

Sunny’s vision of a happy reunion with Veil and Henry is haunted by a disturbing presence. Don’t miss the next episode of Into the Badlands, Sunday, April 30 at 10/9c.

Into the Badlands: ‘Sunny Faces His Demons’ Talked About Scene Ep. 207

In a nightmare, Sunny faces off against the ghosts of all the people he has killed.

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