Review: Into The Badlands Episode Five “Snake Creeps Down”

Threads are coming together in the fifth episode of Into The Badlands. Sunny (Daniel Wu) is still pondering the offer made by the River King.  Bring him the head of M.K. and Sunny, along with a pregnant Vail, will be granted passage out of the Badlands. The Widow is offering sanctuary, freedom, and food to the Cogs she took from Quinn’s fields in exchange for loyalty. Meanwhile Jade has convinced Quinn to use part of the Clipper force for the upcoming poppy harvest, much to Lydia’s protest, and his headaches have become worse.

Sunny and M.K. continue their search for The Widow while The Widow continues her search for the boy with power. Tilda has been lying about who M.K. really is as it has been revealed that if M.K. is not trained to control his power, he will die. Ryder pays a visit to Waldo, still looking to better his position, and hoping to have Waldo’s loyalty if things were to change at the Fort. Waldo advises Ryder to pay a visit to his grandfather Penrith (a solid guest appearance by Lance Henriksen). Penrith is a preacher of sorts and father to Lydia, he is still resentful of Lydia marrying Quinn and also appears to be looking for M.K., referring to him as a “dark one”.

Lydia seems to want to make peace with Jade by pitching in with the poppy harvest. It is a nice moment at first, but seems rather forced. It doesn’t last long as later, when Jade goes to see Quinn she drops to the floor and appears to have some sort of seizure.

Tilda has come across Sunny and M.K. while they have been searching for The Widow’s current hideout. Tilda attempts to warn M.K. about what his power can do to him and the tender moment is short lived when Sunny shows up, taking Tilda prisoner and demanding the location of The Widow. Leaving a piece of Tilda’s jacket with a dagger that bears Quinn’s sigil, this episode is about to give the audience what is has been wanting since the first episode.

Sunny versus The Widow.

But first, Sunny reports back to Quinn, and Quinn commands Sunny that he is to no longer see Vail. Quinn also orders Sunny to torture Tilda until she reveals where The Widow has been hiding. Making her way into the Fort by clandestine means, the Widow has come to reclaim her daughter. Showcasing one of the best fighting sequences to date, Sunny and The Widow battle through the Fort’s dungeon. Employing a number of weapons between them as the fight ends up in the armory, the show is setting a very high bar with these action sequences, and they keep delivering. The battle is fast, powerful, and ends with Sunny getting the upper hand slightly when he wounds the Widow.  He is not able to finish her as M.K. has unleashed his powers to save Tilda from another Colt. Tilda makes her escape with The Widow, Sunny has lost their trail, and Quinn has seen the whole thing.

Another solid episode right before the season finale, with progression for all the characters, next week’s finale is a must watch. The addition of Lance Henriksen as Penrith and the inclusion of Lydia’s past definitely gives her another dimension outside of jealous wife, and Ryder has taken his father’s lessons about seizing power to heart.

Into The Badlands airs Sunday nights at 9pm EST on AMC Networks, and has been renewed for a second season.