TV Talk - Into The Badlands Season 1

Next up for the month is something that’s been in my Netflix Watch List for some time. In 2015, AMC aired Into The Badlands, a show that feels like a mix of Django Unchained, Mad Max, Game of Thrones, and The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin. The show was a bit of a hit and got a longer second season in 2017. It’s slated to release a third season this year. I had heard of the show but I never really got around to watching it until now. I wasn’t even sure if it was still airing on AMC. I was grateful to find the first season on Netflix.

The show was created by a couple of familiar guys: Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the guys behind Smallville. Headlining (and serving as executive producer) the show is Daniel Wu, an actor I haven’t heard of until now. From what I’ve looked at online, he’s been pretty busy in a variety of movies. I didn’t recognize any of the other main cast, though. There were some guest stars I recognized. They were Stephen Lang, Lance Henrickson, Edi Gathegi, and Cung Le.

Into The Badlands takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. Over time, a feudalistic society rose up in this area known as the Badlands. Electricity and cars are still around but guns have been done away with. Barons control land and use manual labor to produce resources for the whole territory. They use soldiers called “Clippers” to carry out their orders. You’d also have wars, skirmishes, and all that sort between the barons. This ain’t even including the other bits of randomness in the Badlands.

Our main character is Sunny (Daniel Wu), the lead Clipper of Baron Quinn. We catch up with him as he finds M.K., a young man who has some weird abilities. Sunny, who is getting tired of the Clipper life, does what he can for the kid when he finds out that he’s not from the Badlands. Meanwhile, others are looking for M.K. especially a baroness called the Widow. While all of this is going on, we get a weird family drama with Baron Quinn and his family. Also, wushu theatrics get sprinkled in and it is awesome.

PROS

While this season is far from perfect, I can say that I enjoyed it. The premise alone was pretty interesting. It’s like Gough and Miller saw Mad Max, A couple of Jet Li movies, and Gone With The Wind over a weekend. I feel like you would only see this combination in a comic, an anime, or a Quentin Tarentino movie. A lot of stuff gets thrown at you in six episodes and most of it is interesting. We got family drama, teen drama, and kung fu action in about 301 minutes.

The acting for the show is pretty good all-around. While most of the characters are okay at best, there are some I did like. Sunny was fine as the somewhat invincible protagonist. I also liked the Widow (Emily Beechum) and her daughther Tilda. The other lead character, M.K. (Aramais Knight), has his cool moments but I’ll talk about him later. Veil, Sunny’s girlfriend, was also nice and kind of reminded me of one of my friends. I also thought Stephen Lang’s character, Waldo, was pretty cool and unfortunately more engaging than Sunny was. While it wasn’t all great, the show did leave me wanting more in a nice season finale.

Cool. 'Nuff Said!

Then, we get to the fight scenes. If there’s one aspect of this show that totally works, it’s the fight scenes. They’re well-choreographed and well-paced. They’re also pretty brutal. Since it’s coming on a network that houses The Walking Dead, you know they’ll go there. Pretty much everyone who fights gets to show off here and it is done so well. If only that Netflix show about a supposed martial arts master had good fight scenes, I wouldn’t have to complain about it. Y’all know what I’m talking about.

CONS

Sunny: If you don't shut it, you're going to end up like that one Nomad in the pilot!

M.K.: You mean "Pretzel Dude?"

Sunny: Yeah.

While the show is enjoyable, it does have its problems. Outside of the fight scenes and a couple of plots, the show can get pretty dull. There is interesting stuff there, but it’s not handled as well as it can be. I wonder if the episode count is the problem. Six episodes seems pretty short for a season especially when it’s got a lot of stuff going on.

There were some characters I wasn’t that much a fan of here. Quinn, our main antagonist, it pretty much your “EVIL” dude who’s “EVIL” and stuff. He has his moments, though. To be honest, his whole family is a mish-mash of “meh”. His son, Ryder, is pretty much of the backstabbing type and sometimes looks like he needs sleep. Quinn’s wife and wife-to-be (gotta love polygamy!) were okay. Even though I didn’t like the family that much, some of the drama was okay.

I also thought our main protagonists had their “meh” moments. While I liked Sunny, he could be a bit dull at times. While I’m wasn’t expecting him to be throwing quips out everywhere, I wished he had a little more life to him. While the plot involving M.K. was interesting, M.K. himself wasn’t all that great. He tends to be the whiny type and not the cool “whiny” either. I think Anakin Skywalker could give him lessons on controlling that. It could have been the actor too but I’m not sure. Other than those things and some small things, this was an alright season.

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Since it’s only six episodes, I’m skipping out on the Favorite Episodes section. While it’s not a perfect show, it does have a lot going for it and I’m glad it has more seasons. If you’re curious, check it on out. Well, I’m outta here. I need to get back on the exercise horse and try to watch a movie at the same time. I’ll let you know how that works out. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and don’t mess with the dude with swords, okay? “The Abridged Book of Ninja Fighting” ain’t the best manual out there, so lay off!