Into The Badlands season finale begins with Sunny paying a visit to the River King, presenting him with a head, as the King demanded in the previous episode. Sunny expresses his need to leave the Badlands that very night, the River King tells him that he will depart at midnight, and to not be late. Telling Vail they are leaving tonight, she demands to know how her parents died. Sunny finally tells her the truth, that Quinn killed her parents with his sword while he stood by. Vail questions whether Sunny can be different if they do leave the Badlands, and not the Clipper he has been his whole life.
Last weeks’ episode saw Jade collapse in Quinn’s arms, the Widow wounded in her fight against Sunny and barely escaping, while Quinn looked on and witnessed M.K.’s hidden power.
A lone traveler walks along the road, heading towards a mysterious building in the distance. Inside, three monks sit in meditation and the traveler tells them that a dark one has been found.
At the Fort, while Lydia comforts Jade, Quinn has discovered that Lydia poisoned Jade and that the poisonous flowers she used were also responsible for the death of Quinn’s previous wife, Beatrice. Quinn spares Lydia’s life and opts to cast her out of the Fort. Pleading with Ryder to help prove her innocence, and her pleas falling on deaf ears, Lydia returns to her father and begs to be taken back by the father she abandoned for a better life with Quinn years before. Meanwhile, Ryder sets his plan into motion to become Baron, making the Widow’s infiltration look like a betrayal by Sunny. Quinn confronts Sunny, accusing him of treason, stripping him of his position as Regent, and has him put in chains. Sunny vows to clip Quinn first once he gets free.
Photo: AMC Networks
Vail is taken, not by Quinn, but by the Widow’s butterflies. Wounded from the battle at the Fort, her wound has become infected and requires immediate treatment. Treating her to bargain for release, Vail gives Tilda a choice, heal the widow with medicine she has left, or poison her and make her own path.
In chains, Sunny receives a visit from Waldo. Two swift moves later, Waldo has disabled the guard and released Sunny, revealing himself as the Widow’s spy inside the Fort. Quinn, having cast Lydia out and imprisoned Sunny, decides to take M.K. to the doll house to celebrate a new beginning for both of them. Ryder and Zypher confirm their plans to unseat their respective masters when Quinn heads into town that evening.
Calling out his attackers before they strike, Quinn is not surprised to see Jacoby and Zypher, but is taken aback when seeing Ryder. Taking his father’s lessons to heart, Ryder seeks to take power, as his father took it from the previous Baron. As stated in previous reviews, and pretty much any article talking about this show, the fight scenes and action sequences, they are superb and the final one of this season is no different. Cutting M.K. to give himself the advantage, Quinn steps aside while the three attackers attempt to subdue him. Quinn slinks off and looks to wait out the fighting and runs into Sunny. Clipping his Baron as promised, Sunny tells Quinn that he will be his last tattoo before attempting to stop M.K. from doing further damage, and then the monks show up.
Photo: AMC Networks
Shutting M.K. down in efficient fashion, the leader (former UFC fighter Cung Le) look to leave with M.K. and Sunny isn’t about to let that happen. Taking on the other two, Sunny holds his own, but the leader takes him on head to head. At this point, Sunny may stand a chance but then all three monks are shown to be what M.K. is, their pupils go black and they thump Sonny through 3 walls and into darkness.
Vail gets back to town to find nothing but bodies and Sunny’s broken blade. We next see Sunny in the hold of a ship, the River King knows Sunny lied about the head he bought him. In chains, the River King tells Sunny that a man of his skill has value and that his wish to leave the Badlands has been granted, and M.K., is taken by the monks into parts unknown.
A solid season finale has answered a few questions but leaves many more. Quinn is dead, it is unsure if Ryder and Jacoby survived their encounter with M.K., and the Widow is alive but wounded. Lydia has returned to her father Penrith and his religious order, of which we know very little about, and there is a whole lot of territory left unclaimed.
A 6 episode first season of Into The Badlands has raised the bar for any action series going forward. Engaging characters, strong performances, and action sequences that would make a Hollywood blockbuster question its’ own worth, we’ll have to wait until late 2016 for season two.
An upcoming column will feature the best fight scenes in the show this season.
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