# AMC's Into The Badlands



## Juliana

Decided to see what this was about, since it premiered last Sunday. I thought it was pretty good. I loved the whole post apocalyptic-steampunk-feudal-wild west vibe going on. First episode was more about introducing the world and the characters, but held enough interest to make me want to watch it again. Visuals were gorgeous, both in terms of scenography and wardrobe, and the fight choreography was great.

Did anyone else catch this?


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## REBerg

*1.01 The Fort*


Juliana said:


> I loved the whole post apocalyptic-steampunk-feudal-wild west vibe going on.


I loved your description.

I just watched this premiere, and I was totally blown away. AMC, you've done it again.



Spoiler



Martial arts mayhem, impossible to kill hero, kid with mysterious powers, forbidden romance, drug-addicted baron, black widow, a Victor-Victrola sitting on a boom-box – I'm in!


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## REBerg

*1.02 Fist Like a Bullet*
A black widow walks into a bar …


Spoiler



I'm thinking Baron Quinn's senior wife is M.K.'s long-lost mom.
How is it that the Widow knows all about M.K.'s special powers?


Lots of red mist in the air.


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## Kylara

I really enjoyed the first episode and fully intent to watch it again as I know I missed things (I was sewing at the time and didn't expect it to be quite so good!)


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## Juliana

The Widow rocks. Completely and absolutely. Fight scenes are so slickly perfect, they're a pleasure to watch. And the outfits... I want every single one of the Widow's outfits. 

Visually, in terms of scene setting, the only show as pretty as this (in my opinion, obviously) is Gotham, with those moody city shots. Sunny's character, now that we're two episodes in, is developing nicely, and contrasts nicely with MK.

Link posted on Madeleine Mantock's twitter feed (if anyone watched The Tomorrow People, she was the best friend): http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...ion?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
"It is absolutely bonkers and there is nothing else like it on television" Yup, sounds like a good description.


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## REBerg

Juliana said:


> The Widow rocks. Completely and absolutely. Fight scenes are so slickly perfect, they're a pleasure to watch. And the outfits... I want every single one of the Widow's outfits.
> 
> Visually, in terms of scene setting, the only show as pretty as this (in my opinion, obviously) is Gotham, with those moody city shots. Sunny's character, now that we're two episodes in, is developing nicely, and contrasts nicely with MK.
> 
> Link posted on Madeleine Mantock's twitter feed (if anyone watched The Tomorrow People, she was the best friend): http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...ion?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
> "It is absolutely bonkers and there is nothing else like it on television" Yup, sounds like a good description.


 The Widow's outfits are proof that one can be bristling with weapons without sacrificing style.

The way the black contrasts with her flaming red hair is amazing. I haven't seen such saturated color in anything on television since _Pushing Daisies_.


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## REBerg

Behind-the-scenes look.
http://www.amc.com/shows/into-the-badlands/video-extras/building-the-world-of-into-the-badlands


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## Juliana

Nice link, thanks for sharing.


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## Mark Ragland

Saw the first episode while I was cooped up in the hospital. I liked it. However, I'm one of the few people in the world that doesn't have cable at home.

Read a TV Guide magazine review of the show by Matt Roush. He didn't like it. Only gave 2 out of 5 stars.


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## REBerg

*1.03 White Stork Spreads Wings*



Spoiler



Baron Quinn is developing nicely as the pure evil supervillain of the series. If he allows Veil to operate on his tumor, she would do well to keep on drilling right through his bastardly braincase. She knows he turned her parents into sushi because they knew too much. She could expect to suffer the same fate.

I amazed at how easily Quinn and his men stormed the Widow's stronghold. Things weren't exactly peaceful between Quinn and the Widow, what with the exchange of murder attempts and all. She should have had more guards on duty. Quinn didn't even appear to have a full contingent of clippers with him when he took Widow World and drove the Widow and her martial arts maids into substandard housing.

How fortuitous for her that Quinn had a migraine just as he was about to spike her to the floor. How fortuitous for viewers, as the Widow is definitely a character who would be missed.



Three episodes in, and I'm still enjoying this series immensely -- unlike _Dark Matter_, which had an exceptional premiere and went steadily downhill thereafter. I guess that's the quality difference between AMC and Syfy.


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## Juliana

Missed last night's... Will resist reading your spoiler, REBerg! And hopefully catch up tomorrow.


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## Moonbat

I'm enjoying this, just watch ep3, pretty good so far, lots of promise.


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## The Bluestocking

Just catching up on this - I'm pretty impressed. Love The Widow and Tilda!

Mark Millar redeems himself re female characters with this series!


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## REBerg

*1.04 Two Tigers Subdue Dragon*

I don't see how they can possibly wrap all of this up in only two remaining episodes. This was billed as a six-part mini-series, but it definitely deserves more.



Spoiler



The Widow is always a step or 100 ahead of the others. Not only does she have Zypher, Baron Jacobee's regent, in her pocket, she now has Quinn's inept son, Ryder.

Well, how many times has Quinn told sonny, that real men take what they want? Ryder is only taking Pop's advice.

The Widow did a nice job of keeping the war pot boiling by sending Tilda to take a shot at Quinn during the parley with Jacobee. I was glad that M.K. came out his Hulklike trance moments short of ending her.

The Widow took Quinn by complete surprise by killing the clippers guarding the fort and bribing his cogs to defect to her.

All hail the Widow! She is obviously the queen on this chessboard.

The big cliffhanger question of the episode, how will Sonny get around the River King's price for passage out of the Badlands -- M.K.'s head.


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> *1.04 Two Tigers Subdue Dragon*
> 
> I don't see how they can possibly wrap all of this up in only two remaining episodes. This was billed as a six-part mini-series, but it definitely deserves more.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The Widow is always a step or 100 ahead of the others. Not only does she have Zypher, Baron Jacobee's regent, in her pocket, she now has Quinn's inept son, Ryder.
> 
> Well, how many times has Quinn told sonny, that real men take what they want? Ryder is only taking Pop's advice.
> 
> The Widow did a nice job of keeping the war pot boiling by sending Tilda to take a shot at Quinn during the parley with Jacobee. I was glad that M.K. came out his Hulklike trance moments short of ending her.
> 
> The Widow took Quinn by complete surprise by killing the clippers guarding the fort and bribing his cogs to defect to her.
> 
> All hail the Widow! She is obviously the queen on this chessboard.
> 
> The big cliffhanger question of the episode, how will Sonny get around the River King's price for passage out of the Badlands -- M.K.'s head.



Yeah, I wanna see how Sunny gets out of that one...


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## Juliana

I'm supposed to be watching this with my son, but now we're 2 episodes behind so if he doesn't get organized soon I'm going to catch up on my own.


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## REBerg

Juliana said:


> I'm supposed to be watching this with my son, but now we're 2 episodes behind so if he doesn't get organized soon I'm going to catch up on my own.


Yeah!
I'm way behind on the other series accumulating on my DVR, but Into the Badlands is at the top of the weeklies. A guy has got to learn to prioritize, especially when it comes to something like TV watching.


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## Juliana

I know... I already gave up on waiting to watch Gotham and The Flash with him. He prefers to let them stack up and binge-watch a whole bunch of episodes at once. But we had an agreement that this was to be 'our' show.


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> Three episodes in, and I'm still enjoying this series immensely -- unlike _Dark Matter_, which had an exceptional premiere and went steadily downhill thereafter. I guess that's the quality difference between AMC and Syfy.



Well, SyFy has KILLJOYS which is pretty good. I guess it really depends on the production team...


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## REBerg

The Bluestocking said:


> Well, SyFy has KILLJOYS which is pretty good. I guess it really depends on the production team...


Love _Killjoys._ I guess what I meant to say is that AMC hits the bullseye with almost everything it puts out, whereas Syfy usually misses the target completely. The only program it has ever produced comparable to top AMC offerings was Battlestar Galactica.


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> Love _Killjoys._ I guess what I meant to say is that AMC hits the bullseye with almost everything it puts out, whereas Syfy usually misses the target completely. The only program it has ever produced comparable to top AMC offerings was Battlestar Galactica.



That is true. Though if you like cheesy Sci-Fi Lite, there's always WAREHOUSE 13...


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## REBerg

The Bluestocking said:


> That is true. Though if you like cheesy Sci-Fi Lite, there's always WAREHOUSE 13...


I'm on record as being a big fan of _Warehouse 13_ (remember "Savage Seduction"?), and I also loved _Eureka_. I'll further refine my comment to "Syfy science fiction dramas" _usually_ miss the target. Whew! Am I covered?


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> I'm on record as being a big fan of _Warehouse 13_ (remember "Savage Seduction"?), and I also loved _Eureka_. I'll further refine my comment to "Syfy science fiction dramas" _usually_ miss the target. Whew! Am I covered?



MWAHAHA! Yes, you're now covered!


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## REBerg

The Bluestocking said:


> MWAHAHA! Yes, you're now covered!


You are one tough woman, The Bluestocking

Based on that character trait, I have determined your true identity to be Emily Beecham. I hope that you have fully recovered from your tropical cold and that you are regularly fortifying your constitution with generous intakes of protein-rich meatloaf.

You're going to need all of your strength when next you cross swords with Baron Quinn.


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> You are one tough woman, The Bluestocking
> 
> Based on that character trait, I have determined your true identity to be Emily Beecham. I hope that you have fully recovered from your tropical cold and that you are regularly fortifying your constitution with generous intakes of protein-rich meatloaf.
> 
> You're going to need all of your strength when next you cross swords with Baron Quinn.



HAI-YAH!

(Also: I'm vegetarian so it would be a Lentil Loaf, not meatloaf  )


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## REBerg

*1.05 Snake Creeps Up*

Lots of unanswered questions in this first-season penultimate episode.



Spoiler



*Does Jade live? *Collapsing and foaming at the mouth. Never a good thing. Ask Joffrey.

In the unlikely event that Jade does survive and Lydia is not her poison pen-pal, *will Lydia and Jade continue to bond?* Current wife and future wife becoming a team – not a good thing for Baron Quinn, which makes it a good thing, in general.

*Is Tilda M.K.'s surge suppressor?* If so, should he never leave home without her?

*Is the Widow's skin really *_*that *_* porcelain white,* or does the AMC makeup department make a special effort to bring out the contrast inherent in the Widow's extremely red hair and black attire?



Will the final episode of this frustratingly short season give us any answers? Inquiring minds want to know.


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## REBerg

*1.06 Hand of Five Poisons*

This show must go on!


Spoiler



If _Into the Badlands_ fails to get a second season, this be the most untidy ending of a series I can remember.

Both Sunny and M.K. got what they wanted, escape from the Badlands. They aren't exactly leaving in style -- Sunny on a boat in chains, a prisoner of the River King; M.K. in a trunk, captured by the Magic Flying Monks. Will their paths ever cross again?

Sunny doesn't look too worse for the wear, considering the beating he got from the mysterious monks. He didn't have much of a chance against opponents who can snap his sword in two with their bare hands. They seemed to be toying with him until they lost patience and sent him through a brick wall.

Quinn finally got his due. I'm assuming that he couldn't possible survive being skewered by a master clipper like Sunny, who must know exactly how to turn Quinn's heart into shish kabob.

Speaking of surviving, Jade seems to have recovered from her poisoning. Whodunit -- Lydia or Jade herself? Lydia took the fall when Quinn banished her from the fort, but will she have a way back in with Quinn's death?

How hokey was that ceremony re-baptizing her into her father's cult? The participants looked like they were doing the Watusi or something.

I don't think Tilda will pick the poison for her mom. The Widow may have shown her daughter some tough love during her upbringing, but she does seem to be a force for good.


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## Jakjac

a strong series, thought this show wouldn't work but I'm impressed watch it


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## WaylanderToo

sounds like this should be right up my street - however can't see any mention of it over here


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## REBerg

WaylanderToo said:


> sounds like this should be right up my street - however can't see any mention of it over here


The first "season" only ran six episodes. I hope AMC plans more. Enough loose ends remain to justify another season or twelve.
Full episodes are available online: Into the Badlands


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## Juliana

I've finally managed to catch up, fun series! I hope they decide to do a second season.


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## REBerg

Juliana said:


> I've finally managed to catch up, fun series! I hope they decide to do a second season.


Looking promising: 'Into the Badlands' Is Very Successful For AMC: Season 2 Inbound? (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)

Even the opening credits were spectacular.


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## WaylanderToo

thanks for that - AMC is no good for me as I live in the UK  However an Amazon Prime trial will let me watch


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## Juliana

Here's to hoping!

Yes, the opening credits are fab. And my son loves Linkin Park so the Mike Shinoda theme tune hit the spot, too.


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## REBerg

WaylanderToo said:


> thanks for that - AMC is no good for me as I live in the UK  However an Amazon Prime trial will let me watch


Also, most AMC series' come to Netflix, eventually. Just checked, but _Into the Badlands_ wasn't there, yet. Don't know what the timespan is between initial presentations and Netflix acquisition.


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> *1.06 Hand of Five Poisons*
> 
> This show must go on!
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> If _Into the Badlands_ fails to get a second season, this be the most untidy ending of a series I can remember.
> 
> Both Sunny and M.K. got what they wanted, escape from the Badlands. They aren't exactly leaving in style -- Sunny on a boat in chains, a prisoner of the River King; M.K. in a trunk, captured by the Magic Flying Monks. Will their paths ever cross again?
> 
> Sunny doesn't look too worse for the wear, considering the beating he got from the mysterious monks. He didn't have much of a chance against opponents who can snap his sword in two with their bare hands. They seemed to be toying with him until they lost patience and sent him through a brick wall.
> 
> Quinn finally got his due. I'm assuming that he couldn't possible survive being skewered by a master clipper like Sunny, who must know exactly how to turn Quinn's heart into shish kabob.
> 
> Speaking of surviving, Jade seems to have recovered from her poisoning. Whodunit -- Lydia or Jade herself? Lydia took the fall when Quinn banished her from the fort, but will she have a way back in with Quinn's death?
> 
> How hokey was that ceremony re-baptizing her into her father's cult? The participants looked like they were doing the Watusi or something.
> 
> I don't think Tilda will pick the poison for her mom. The Widow may have shown her daughter some tough love during her upbringing, but she does seem to be a force for good.



Yes, we must have a second season - they can't just leave us hanging like that!


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## Ashaman

It was a nice one I think, but we'll see how it goes in the next season. If they don't over-milk it, it will be a good series.
After the last episode though me and the wife had a question. Will the next season's title be Back to the Badlands and out again?


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## Dave

I haven't read anything in this thread, but I need something new to watch. Thanks for sharing this. I'll be back again when I've seen it.


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## Heather Myst

I really enjoyed the series and am looking forward to seeing another season.


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## Dave

I forgot to say, I loved it and wish there were more than six episodes. We learnt nothing about the world outside of the Barons or those Clerics. Lots of questions with no answers.


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## WaylanderToo

well just gorged on E1-6 today... loved it and am awaiting S2 eagerly


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## REBerg

Season 2 unofficially official.

'Into The Badlands' Season 2 Release News: AMC Renewed For Second Season; Describes It As ‘Expanded’


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> Season 2 unofficially official.
> 
> 'Into The Badlands' Season 2 Release News: AMC Renewed For Second Season; Describes It As ‘Expanded’



YAY! *Happy Dance* More Widow to KICK BUTT!


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## WaylanderToo

way cool!


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## Juliana

Great news.


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## REBerg

The Bluestocking said:


> YAY! *Happy Dance* More Widow to KICK BUTT!


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## Droflet

I guess, once again, I'm in the minority. This show just doesn't work for me. Hey, different strokes, right?


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## The Bluestocking

Droflet said:


> I guess, once again, I'm in the minority. This show just doesn't work for me. Hey, different strokes, right?



Dude - this is the second show that doesn't work for you. You didn't like KILLJOYS either


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## Droflet

Hey, dudeess, not everyone has the same tastes.


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## Juliana

I confess I haven't seen Killjoys. Actually, I don't even know what it's about!!


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## REBerg

Juliana said:


> I confess I haven't seen Killjoys. Actually, I don't even know what it's about!!



One of Syfy's best offerings of late. Fairly comprehensive summary here. Trailer on the end.

Welcome to the World of Killjoys


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## Juliana

Thanks for the link REBerg. Looks like it might be worth having a look at. I do have SyFy's upcoming Hunters penciled in as 'to check out'; will add this one to my list.


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## The Bluestocking

Droflet said:


> Hey, dudeess, not everyone has the same tastes.



True!

Also - I ain't no "dudess". (Is that even a word? LOL! )


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## Ashaman

I didn't like killjoys too much either. But I liked badlands well enough


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## WaylanderToo

well I've just started on Killjoys and.... I like it! It does seem remarkably good for a syfy product


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## REBerg

Nov. 8 wasn't all bad news.
_Into the Badlands_ season one was released on dvd and blu-ray.
I hope that means that the season 2 premiere is not far off.


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## Juliana

REBerg said:


> Nov. 8 wasn't all bad news.
> _Into the Badlands_ season one was released on dvd and blu-ray.
> I hope that means that the season 2 premiere is not far off.



My son just informed me there was a teaser tonight during The Walking Dead...


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## Rodders

Sounds interesting. I will keep an eye out for this.


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## REBerg

Juliana said:


> My son just informed me there was a teaser tonight during The Walking Dead...


Missed that. Found this. Promising "spring." March 20?


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## Juliana

(Sunny isn't looking very sunny.  )

Looking forward to it!


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## JoanDrake

Nice to know it's coming back. I must go and watch it now, as I meant to but somehow missed it completely last year


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## REBerg

The women will be ready to kick gluteous maximus and take appellations.

Fight Camp: The Heroines of Into the Badlands

Into the Badlands Season 2: The Widow


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## Juliana

REBerg said:


> The women will be ready to kick gluteous maximus and take appellations.



That Fight Camp video is so cool! Thanks for sharing.


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## REBerg

Juliana said:


> That Fight Camp video is so cool! Thanks for sharing.


You are most welcome!
Still can't find a start date, other than "spring," for season two. The increased frequency of teasers is promising.


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## The Bluestocking

Oh look @REBerg @Juliana - YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!!


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## REBerg

Still can't find a season 2 premiere date.


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## WilliamDavey627

REBerg said:


> Love _Killjoys._ I guess what I meant to say is that AMC hits the bullseye with almost everything it puts out, whereas Syfy usually misses the target completely. The only program it has ever produced comparable to top AMC offerings was Battlestar Galactica.


Yeah that's true, but you never know Syfy might change. Couldn't believe USA network produced Mr Robot. That surprised me. I think there's so much change in TV nowadays that some lesser known or lesser appreciated networks are starting to pump out some awesome shows.


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## WilliamDavey627

Have to see Into the Badlands. I think it looks ace


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## REBerg

*Something to get us to "Spring 2017"?*​


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## REBerg

Sunday, March 19!   

Into the Badlands Season 2 Trailer


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> Sunday, March 19!
> 
> Into the Badlands Season 2 Trailer



YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!


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## REBerg

*Only about a week away!!! (Sunday, March 19)*

Into the Badlands: A Look at Season 2


Into the Badlands: The Complete Season 1 Fights


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## WaylanderToo

REBerg said:


> *Only about a week away!!! (Sunday, March 19)*



Squuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


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## The Bluestocking

REBerg said:


> *Only about a week away!!! (Sunday, March 19)*
> 
> Into the Badlands: A Look at Season 2
> 
> 
> Into the Badlands: The Complete Season 1 Fights



YAAAAAAAAAAAS!


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## REBerg

I thought the season 1 fight recap was great. The Widow vs. the would-be assassins in the bar tops my ratings.


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## Heather Myst

if I was going to be in a bar fight I would like The Widow and Arya Stark to have my back.


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## Juliana

Tomorrow!!!!!!


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## The Bluestocking

Juliana said:


> Tomorrow!!!!!!



*HAPPY DANCE*


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## REBerg

*2.01 Tiger Pushes Mountain
*
*



*​
Holy shift lever! They packed more action into the second season opener than they did during the entire first season. Well worth the wait.  
Still intensely colorful -- especially at the red end of the spectrum. 


Spoiler



How the hell did Quinn survive Sonny's blade? And why do his son and daughter-in-law/fiancée seem unaware that he still alive?


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## Juliana

Wow, that was quite the kick-off to S2! And a couple of great new characters, too!!


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## Heather Myst

What a great episode. I can't wait to see where this is leading.


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## REBerg

*2.02 Force of Eagle's Claw*


Spoiler



Loved Sunny's fight with the champ while tethered to Badjie, the new best friend who wasted no time in selling him out. Hey, if you've got a 300-pound human mace attached to your arm, why not use him?
I'm glad they didn't keep Sunny in the mining prison for a too long. I'm relieved to learn that Veil is Quinn's prisoner, not his new wife.
The first two episodes are doing a nice job of distributing time among the multiple story lines and keeping them all moving.


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## Dave

What is the general opinion about the introduction of Nick Frost's character (Badgie) into this? I wasn't very keen at all. I didn't think we needed to have light comic relief but I thought he was a guest character and would likely get 'clipped' quickly. It seems now that he is in the main cast. On the other hand, the character has grown a little and isn't quite as annoying either.


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## REBerg

Dave said:


> What is the general opinion about the introduction of Nick Frost's character (Badgie) into this? I wasn't very keen at all. I didn't think we needed to have light comic relief but I thought he was a guest character and would likely get 'clipped' quickly. It seems now that he is in the main cast. On the other hand, the character has grown a little and isn't quite as annoying either.


Developing lovable rascal?


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## REBerg

*2.04 Palm of the Iron Fox*





*Baron Chau and The Window perform a complex, spike-heeled tango at the Barons Ball hosted by Ryder
*​The Widow, my favorite character in the series, did not disappoint when finally got to do her thing in this episode's epic battle.


Spoiler



Baron Chau definitely had earned a martial arts beating, when she reneged on her offer to compromise, sided with the majority of the barons and voted against The Widow. Being stripped of her baronship and banished from the Badlands, predictably, was not acceptable to The Widow, who promised that would only happen over her dead body.
Fortunately, it didn't come to that. In fact, I don't think any of the barons died in the big bloodbath dance.
Ryder, who's claim to the title was questionable, demonstrated his courage by fleeing the scene as soon as his supposedly dead dad, Quinn, made his dramatic return. Ryder didn't even have the guts to end Quinn when given the chance.
I had thought Quinn would return the favor by sparing his son. Nope. His mushrooming brain tumor makes him a little to loony for that.
Sunny's storyline apparently was completely eclipsed by Veil's escape attempt. I don't know why they took the time to make Guard Edgar a nice guy, when he was destined to have his head brutally smashed during his wrestling match with Veil. When Quinn returns to his underground headquarters, Veil is going to have a tough time explaining how Edgar met his end.


​


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## The Bluestocking

AMC has just announced that INTO THE BADLANDS is on for an expanded season 3!

AMA headed deeper INTO THE BADLANDS with expanded third season


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## Dave

I haven't yet watched all of Season 2 but I have some more general questions on the geography, culture and history?

Where and when is this series meant to be set? I'm assuming North America, in the not so far future, rather than some fantasy invented world. Which I base upon the recycled technology and vehicles, the pop culture references, the architecture of the Baron's houses, and the language and ethnicity of the residents. 

Where exactly though? What are the Badlands and who built the wall? When we saw Qinn's hideout, the entrance had some old notices. I couldn't read them, but it looked like the "Way In" to some public building, and that might help pin it down better. 

Are the Badlands radioactive wasteland? Has it ever been made clear what went wrong with the previous civilisation? Opium poppy farms seem to grow perfectly well near the Badlands and there is no evidence of genetic disorders in either humans, animals or plants. 'Badlands' have a specific geographical meaning related to loss of soil, but here it appears to just mean somewhere populated by "bad men." The area outside the wall appears less civilised and with more outlaws than that we saw inside. The Barons have a social structure and a social order. 

There are also Oilfields. Could the wall be the US/Mexican border? This series was developed long before the last US election campaign began, so I doubt that it is a political statement. Not an intentional one in any case. Also, if that was so then there would be more Hispanics within the population.

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I'm sure there is an overall plan that we might eventually get revealed to us.


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## REBerg

Dave said:


> I haven't yet watched all of Season 2 but I have some more general questions on the geography, culture and history?
> 
> Where and when is this series meant to be set? I'm assuming North America, in the not so far future, rather than some fantasy invented world. Which I base upon the recycled technology and vehicles, the pop culture references, the architecture of the Baron's houses, and the language and ethnicity of the residents.
> 
> Where exactly though? What are the Badlands and who built the wall? When we saw Qinn's hideout, the entrance had some old notices. I couldn't read them, but it looked like the "Way In" to some public building, and that might help pin it down better.
> 
> Are the Badlands radioactive wasteland? Has it ever been made clear what went wrong with the previous civilisation? Opium poppy farms seem to grow perfectly well near the Badlands and there is no evidence of genetic disorders in either humans, animals or plants. 'Badlands' have a specific geographical meaning related to loss of soil, but here it appears to just mean somewhere populated by "bad men." The area outside the wall appears less civilised and with more outlaws than that we saw inside. The Barons have a social structure and a social order.
> 
> There are also Oilfields. Could the wall be the US/Mexican border? This series was developed long before the last US election campaign began, so I doubt that it is a political statement. Not an intentional one in any case. Also, if that was so then there would be more Hispanics within the population.
> 
> Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I'm sure there is an overall plan that we might eventually get revealed to us.


The show has been slow to unveil its mythology, but I have not been bothered by that. It's always fun to theorize.
From what I've read on the AMC site and elsewhere, the setting is hundreds of years from now in North America. Wars supposedly ended civilization, but nukes aren't mentioned.

Into the Badlands (TV series) - Wikipedia

My guess is wars with China, which might explain why the eventual survivors developed a Chinese feudal society in the Badlands.
I also thought about Trump's fabled U.S.- Mexico border wall when Sunny encountered it this season. As I recall, they said that the wall was built before the wars. It does not seem that the barons would have the resources to build it.

I like the cultural hodge-podge the show creators are presenting and their selection of things that have survived (e.g. motor vehicles) and thing that have not (guns).

*2.06 Leopard Stalks in Snow*


Spoiler



Bajie was a Magic Flying Monks Brother? Did not see that coming!
Just like the Monks didn't see Badjie coming when he barreled into them in the stolen Mad Maxmobile. Bajie may have let himself go after his Monk days, but he still knows how to improvise.
How do you make sure a bad-ass monk will not come back to beat you senseless for a third time? Why, you slice off a third of his head, of course.



My only reservation about the show is the level of violence -- not because I am one of those "more sensitive viewers," but because I can't watch it with my grandson, who loves sword fights.


----------



## Dave

Thanks for the link. So, confirmation that the 'Badlands' are actually the territory ruled by the Barons. I wasn't quite sure in the first series because Sunny was attempting to use the broken compass to leave for mythical Utopian city of Azra, and because the series is called '*Into* the Badlands' as if they weren't quite *there* yet. In the second series, clearly Sunny is now beyond the wall and is trying to get back *into* the 'Badlands.' It is an odd name, given that the world outside the wall seems much less politically stable or environmentally sound.



REBerg said:


> My only reservation about the show is the level of violence -- not because I am one of those "more sensitive viewers," but because I can't watch it with my grandson, who loves sword fights.


All of these AMC shows have a very high level of violence - _Walking Dead_ and _Preacher - _I don't consider myself 'sensitive' either but had great difficulty watching those Neegan scenes at the start of the current season of _Walking Dead_. 

I accidentally saw your spoiler when I quoted your post. I find that hard to believe. I'll have to catch up to the current episode now!


----------



## REBerg

*2.07 Black Heart, White Mountain*
Kind of a plodding episode -- more feverish dreaming than forward motion.


Spoiler



Did Sunny resolve his inner demons before Bajie and M.K. manged to save him from the poisoning? It didn't seem like it from my perspective, but perhaps it satisfied a need for those behind the cameras. The season is not long enough for more extended introspection.
I continue to be surprised at the failures of the invincible Magic Flying Monks. It seems implausible that M.K. and Bajie could prevail in the midst of the monastery, yet escape they did.
I'm not happy about the continuing alliance between the Widow and Quinn. I understand her reasons, but i hope both the alliance and Quinn end soon.


----------



## REBerg

*2.09 Nightingale Sings No More*
Only one episode left in the season.


Spoiler



Did Minerva (AKA the Widow, AKA Flea) really kill Tilda? I thought that bringing the chandelier down her defiant daughter was the end, but Tilda wouldn't stay down for the count. I don't know if the final blow from the Widow delivered death or only an end to a great, high-flying family fight.


----------



## REBerg

*2.10 Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire*
Excellent season finale



​


Spoiler



I repeatedly attempted to alert Sunny that he really should remove Quinn's head, but did he listen? No. One would think that beheading would be SOP, especially knowing that he failed to kill the resilient ******* last season.
I didn't believe Tilda was dead after the previous episode, and I was right. I don't believe Bajie is dead after this episode, but I am probably wrong.
What will the signal he successfully transmitted bring in season 3?


----------



## Dave

They do seem more reluctant to kill off major characters this Season. At least two exceptions this week, and a pity as I liked those characters. 



Spoiler: 1



Yes, Quinn "it's only a flesh wound" has nine lives. Are we sure he is actually dead now?





Spoiler: 2



Given that Nick Frost is still titled as a "With" in the opening titles, I'm not sure if he will appear next Season, but who knows?





Spoiler: 3



The signal is Morse Code SOS but the technology looked retro. If not exactly steam-punk, then 1960's Cold War. Is this an alternative reality where the Cold War wasn't quite so Cold? However, that doesn't explain the "Mexican" border wall that hasn't yet been built, but more on that in a moment...



When Sunny found and uncovered the motorbike, hidden in a damp old shed, and it started first time, I was reminded of the scene in Woody Allen's _Sleeper_ when the VW Beetle starts first time after hundreds of years in a cave. In that case, it was _meant_ to be a joke.

The final scene shown in the picture. We speculated earlier that the series might be set in the former USA along the Mexican border. Arizona and New Mexico are landlocked. Does Texas have cliffs that look geographically and geologically like those pictured in that scene? I don't think so, and so, where is that place? This series produces many questions about the mythology, but provides very few answers.


----------



## Ashaman

I am quite annoyed by this series. I mean there are soooo many inconsistencies, in my eyes at least.


Spoiler



There are no guns, ANYWHERE! Ok I get it that into the badlands the barons, for their protection, have decided to stop anyone using or even trying to use guns. But out of the badlands? Why? Who could or would stop even the crudest gun to be produced after hundrends of years? I mean they know how to service cars, make them work, even create dynamite, but noone has managed to create a gun? Really? 
Sunny in the last episode had 2 arrows, one of them in his breast and the other in his leg. And then he had a bomb go off a meter or so away from him and the whole wall and ceiling come on his head. But he gets up juuuuust fine!
Veil is running with Henry and while she has been shown to breastfeed, when the baby starts crying while hiding she never thinks to ... oh I don't know, BREASTFEED the child to quiet it?? No? Only for my daughter was it that her mother's breast was the best silencer, no matter what? 
Quinn was run twice through his breast. I mean u CANNOT avoid getting at least a lung getting pierced and deflated and maybe a little blood from the mouth? But nooo.. He can still survive and fight and die from a single stab to the throat (if he even dies at all)!!!
Arghhh


----------



## REBerg

An opportunity to watch/rewatch the whole series (or episodes missed) before the new season begins in spring.

Schedule


----------



## WaylanderToo

I'd forgotten all about this - Lord alone knows how since I loved S1 so this'll be another for me to catch up on


----------



## REBerg

Season 3 premiere Sunday, April 22

Into the Badlands Season 3 Sneak Peek: Iron Rabbit


----------



## Dave

> Geographic Restriction
> 
> This content is not available in your location.


----------



## REBerg

I don't know why they do that.

Try these:


----------



## svalbard

Looks like they have upper the anti budget wise. Another favourite returns.


----------



## WaylanderToo

ohhhhhhhhhhhhthat looks good!!


----------



## Dave

Thanks, they're okay, but I stopped watching as it gives too much away.


----------



## REBerg

*3.01 Enter the Phoenix*
Great opening fight in the season premiere.


Spoiler



Maybe I'm just inobservant, but I noticed for the first time that the always amazing Widow was making all her moves against Nathaniel in high heels. Imagine how spectacular she would be in sneakers. 
I was a relief to learn that the source of baby Henry's fever is The Gift. I'm assuming this condition will require no additional medical help, but it's going to bring him of a lot of unwanted attention.
The arrival of Pilgrim and his followers in the Badlands really showcased what The Gift can do for a pair of young trained warriors. Pilgrim has a compass like Bajie's, which makes me think that this group came from Azra response to Bajie's radioed message.
Conditions in Azra must not be as utopian as fabled if the Azrians believe they can improve their lot by migrating to the Badlands.


----------



## Anthoney

I noticed it as well.  They featured the heels more prominently than usual in that fight.  Made me think of Nikita.


----------



## sinister42

Hell yeah I'm glad this show is back.  Love the sh*t out of it.  ****ing Nick Frost.  Damn.  

What I love about this show is how it seamlessly blends antebellum southern American feudalism with Chinese martial arts to create a totally unique future dystopia that also has magic in it maybe?  

Anyway, here's hoping Sonny and his kid make it.  Not sure who this new guy is who has the two magical kung fu black-eyed kids with him, but I'm sure we'll find out his deal.  And what the heck are these compasses pointing towards?  

I'm just glad creepy southern Baron dude is finally dead - his voice grated on my ears.


----------



## REBerg

*3.02 Moon Rises, Raven Seeks*
Hard-to-watch ending scene



Spoiler



An extremely pain-intensive Pilgrim path to Visionville.
Love Moon's new steampunk hand.


----------



## REBerg

Final episodes coming next month.


Spoiler: WARNING: May contain minor spoilers for first half of season 3



Into the Badlands Season 3 Return Date and Trailers



If ever a series deserved a few follow-up flims, _Into the Badlands_ is it.


----------



## Juliana

REBerg said:


> If ever a series deserved a few follow-up flims, _Into the Badlands_ is it.



Agreed!!


----------



## REBerg

Well, the first two of the final eight episodes have been presented. Any reactions out there?


----------



## Juliana

I haven't managed to watch them yet!!


----------



## REBerg

Whaaaaat? Letting the real world get in the way of your entertainment?
I had to wait for a full day off to watch them. I think I'll need to re-watch the previous episode or two in order to patch the storylines back together.
Too much time has passed for my failing memory.


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler: 3.09 Chamber of the Scorpion



OK, having re-watched 3.08 (Leopard Catches Cloud), I now recall how the Widow ended up in that strong box on her way to the Land of the Waterfalls. She got that Master’s magic tap to her forehead, which instantly put her down and out.

The way the Widow (aka Minerva) rocketed out of the box when the chains were smashed made me wonder if I had also somehow forgotten that she had regained the gift. She had not, which made her no match for the Master. The fight which ensued was, for lack of a better word, epic.

Emily Beecham has dominated so many episodes of this series that I wonder why she still gets second billing behind Daniel Wu in the opening credits.



*The Master’s cure of Minerva’s wounded arm with a passage of her hand verified a surprise
revelation. Throughout the series, the gift had served as nothing but a force for mass destruction.*​
“The gift was never meant to dominate or control. It was meant to heal us, to set us free," she told Minerva.”

Tell that to Sunny, as M.K. uses the gift to pound him into a pulp.

It must be painful when those with the gift “go dark.” Their eyes make a dramatic crunching sound as their irises disappear. Maybe a little Visine would help.

Cressida revealed herself to be something other than completely evil as she observed the weaponry which has been developed over the centuries to "shed blood and to summon pain and suffering." She appears to be serving as a brake on Pilgrim’s darker side, helping him to control his emotions.

Bajie again showed some amazing martial arts agility (no doubt greatly aided by wires and CGI) in his fight with one of Pilgrim’s harbingers. He also revealed his ability to turn off the gift in the harbinger, using what looked like a double version of the Vulcan nerve pinch.


----------



## Droflet

I saw the first one and it was good.


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler: 3.10 Raven’s Feather, Phoenix Blood



There’s that magic tap to the forehead again, only this time the Widow was put into dreamland in the Master’s vision quest chamber of mirrors. The intent was apparently to give the Widow a taste of what things would be like if she regains the gift.

As the episode progressed, the color intensity increase would probably have been enough to cue the dream sequences, but starting each of those scenes showing the Widow still unconscious in mirror world didn’t hurt. Just to ensure that perceptively challenged people like me could follow the action, they marked dream Minerva with a slight cut on her left cheek, courtesy of a throwing star in her opening fight with the ninja squad.

Sunny did such a thorough job of smashing the Meridian Chamber controls that it looks like Pilgrim’s designated repairman may not be able to put the pieces back together. The evermore emotionally explosive Pilgrim failed to realize that picking the guy up by the throat because he found his lack of faith disturbing was not the solution. Good thing Cressida got Pilgrim to release him.

Pilgrim made a huge miscalculation four episodes back, when he put the dying Castor out of his misery, setting up Nix to be an indispensable ally for Sunny. Plus, Nix now can turn on her gift without cutting herself – just by picturing Pilgrim killing Castor. Does that also mean that Pilgrim no longer has the power to deactivate Nix’s gift?

Nix got Pilgrim right in her argument with M.K. Pilgrim's belief that he is a god betrays his vision of everlasting peace through war.
“We’re not fighting for a cause," Nix said. "We’re fighting for a man. And when we stop being useful weapons, he’ll get rid us. Just like Castor.”

Sunny’s temporary base of operations in what looked like the remains of an ancient Walmart, was spooky. I half-expected one of the manikins to suddenly go all _Westworld_ host and attack him. His talking to the manikins, even addressing one of them as his old mentor, Waldo, made it seem like he was losing his grip on reality.

Considering Bajie’s general lack of credibility, how did he talk Nathaniel into loaning him his car? Bajie’s promise that he might bring it back in one piece was not reassuring.

Gift-enabled Minerva couldn’t stop herself from killing Tilda. She further revealed her evil nature when she knifed her paramour, Gaius, on mere suspicion of being a traitor.

I was momentarily mystified when those Widow-trademarked, stiletto-heeled boots started down the stairway, but the voice was unmistakable. Why, of course, it was Minerva’s dreamworld nemesis and “good” twin, the Raven.




*The sword fight that ensued was again, for lack of a better word, epic. The closeups of red vs. black stilettos were
over-the-top highlights of the incredibly choreographed battle.*




*I noticed, however, in the longer shots, that neither combatant was actually wearing heels.
Apparently, special effects are not without limits -- even in a fantasy.*​
“You are the darkness, and I am the light within you.” Black-clad Raven told the sword-skewered, red-dressed and getting redder Minerva.

When she awakened among the candle smoke and mirors, did the real-world Minerva still want her gift back?


----------



## Dave

REBerg said:


> Just to ensure that perceptively challenged people like me could follow the action, they marked dream Minerva with a slight cut on her left cheek...i


Not just you, I had no idea what was going on. I eventually understood that it was a dream sequence, but not what it meant. And did she or didn't she, as you say? It wasn't answered.

I loved this series, but for me it seems to have gone off the boil. There are so many unanswered questions for me and none seem to be getting answered. There isn't long to go either.

My biggest problem is probably going to be the explanation of the gift itself. For all the technology, it is going to be some kind of magic like the _Star Wars_ 'Force' but without the midichlorians.

And then there are the fight sequences - women fighting in high heels!!! Nick Frost doing backward somersaults!!!!


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler






Dave said:


> My biggest problem is probably going to be the explanation of the gift itself. For all the technology, it is going to be some kind of magic like the _Star Wars_ 'Force' but without the midichlorians.


I think that "the gift" is a benevolent technology gone terribly wrong, developed by the ancients (that would be us, I guess). Unless they were using the label ironically, it seems unlikely that the gift was created to turn human beings into weapons.
My theory, based on what the Master did to heal Minerva, is that the gift was aimed at immortality (automatic gene repair?), but was used for evil instead. Extended violent overuse results in the death of the user, as was the case with Castor. Even Pilgrim and dream-state Minerva were showing signs of wear and tear through gift abuse.
The gift may be the curse that destroyed the ancients.


----------



## Dave

REBerg said:


> Spoiler:  Spoiler - The Gift
> 
> 
> 
> The gift may be the curse that destroyed the ancients.





Spoiler: Spoiler - The Gift



I agree that the gift is what brought down our civilisation and that it could have a genetic explanation.

From the "benevolent" use that the Abbess spoke of, maybe it was developed as a medical 'healing' procedure rather than that 'super-soldier' trope. However, the existence of the 'temple' tends towards the latter explanation. Also, the 'temple' doesn't look very 'medical' to me. On the other hand, it also seems a little steampunk too, and not very far into the future - it is very mecho-electrical rather than electronic - and wouldn't gene-splicing be done with something akin to bone marrow injections, rather than holding hands with a phallic stone carving?


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler






Dave said:


> From the "benevolent" use that the Abbess spoke of, maybe it was developed as a medical 'healing' procedure rather than that 'super-soldier' trope. However, the existence of the 'temple' tends towards the latter explanation. Also, the 'temple' doesn't look very 'medical' to me. On the other hand, it also seems a little steampunk too, and not very far into the future - it is very mecho-electrical rather than electronic - and wouldn't gene-splicing be done with something akin to bone marrow injections, rather than holding hands with a phallic stone carving?


Yeah, the gift distribution from Pilgrim to his most faithful subjects was quite ritualistic, not to mention spectacular. Injecting them with immortality juice would have been a little blah.
The series has been scant on details of the descent into a feudal society. Considering how little time remains, I'm not expecting much more backstory there.
I'm confused about the golden city of Azra. Pilgrim's reverence for the place hints of something from the distant past, yet didn't he and Sunny "Sanzo" grow up there together as privileged sparring partners?


----------



## REBerg

Just revisited the opening scene of episode 1.01, which is the only time I can recall getting any Badlands background.
To loosely paraphrase: The wars happened so long ago nobody remembered them. Out of the dark aftertimes, the barons emerged and restored order.
Very vague.
Emily Beecham was listed fifth in the opening credits of the first episode, so it would seem that her contributions to the series have been recognized.


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler: 3.11 The Boar and the Butterfly



Pilgrim’s megalomania is starting to take over.
“Faith is for mortals. A god only has himself to believe in."
Unfortunately, Cressida'a days of retraining her man appear to be simultaneously coming to an end.
“Give me two harbingers, and I will make certain that no one defies you. "It’s time to put the fear of the gods into the badlands.”
She didn’t waste any time in making a courtesy call on Lydia, harbinger henchmen in tow, to inform her that the Widow’s land is now the Pilgrim’s.

Tilda was a bit overly enthusiastic in her execution of Mama Chau. Anger issues fueled by social status insults? Never call Tilda a “filthy cog” or an “ugly little pet.”

I can’t complain about a lack of action in this one: M.K. vs. Nix. The Widow vs. Bajie. Sunny vs. the Widow.
Even the department store manikins briefly got into the mix during the fight between M.K. and Nix. I thought that Sunny should have taken M.K.’s advice and finished him while he was rebar-impaired.




*Beyond Bajie's amazing jumping ability, the ending of his “chopsticks challenge” against "Flea" was also amusing.
Oops! There goes Nathaniel’s ride, although  I don’t know how a couple of stick punctures can cause a car to immediately
burst into flames and explode. Magic? There’s nothing like the burning wreck of a borrowed car to bring a pair of estranged
companions back together.*​
The Widow’s clash with Sunny was seriously hampered by her efforts to avoid killing him while he was doing his best to kill her and avenge the death of Veil. When Sunny asked Bajie why he was now allied with the Widow, Bajie summed up the situation nicely.
“Well, it’s the end of the world, isn’t it? That makes for strange bedfellows.”

The bedfellows coming together in this episode are strange indeed. They now include The Master, The Widow/Minerva/Flea, Bajie, Sunny, Nix, Mad Witch (and former Master) Ankara, Sunny and, possibly, the gift-hating Black Lotus.

Is the Black Lotus cult something new? I don’t remember it in previous episodes. Their members can’t be too tough, if the Mad Witch could dispatch the pair of assassins who found her.

Pilgrim is showing signs of weakness on the trek to the monastery -- tiring, breathing heavily, hallucinating Castor’s ghost. An attack of conscience?
In Pilgrim’s apparently depleted state, will he be any match for the Master – even with the backing of M.K. and the Harbingers (hmm…sounds like a good band name)


----------



## Dave

REBerg said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I thought that Sunny should have taken M.K.’s advice and finished him while he was rebar-impaired.


Yes, a real mistake. This if this is "the end of the world" then there is no time for sentimentality.


REBerg said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Is the Black Lotus cult something new? I don’t remember it in previous episodes. Their members can’t be too tough, if the Mad Witch could dispatch the pair of assassins who found her.





Spoiler



The Black Lotus rang a bell with me from some mention in a very early episode, but my memory these days is like a sieve. It isn't unlikely that the Mad Witch (strong in the "power" is this one) could dispatch them so easily since they don't have the power. However, why they think have a chance, or how are they so well respected when they don't have any chance, that I cannot say.



In the first Season we were given the strong impression that the setting was middle America somewhere in the distant future. Then we crossed some mountains out of the wastelands (which looked rather fertile for wastelands) into more scrub and desert. Then Pilgrim came along and camped out on some temperate island on a lake with a medieval church or abbey on the hill. Now we are in an area with high mountains and a floodplain of a large river with waterfront quays and markets that looks like eastern Asia. Now I realise that Geography is never a strong point in these series, but all of these places are meant to be with a few days/weeks travel at most. So, where exactly are they?


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler: 3.12 Cobra Fang, Panther Claw







Nooooooo! Not Bajie!

Despite the closeup of what appeared to be Bajie’s final breaths, there’s a slim chance that he may survive being run though by a Black Lotus swordsman.

If not, what are the remaining episodes going to do for comic relief with Bajie gone? None of the other characters have shown a sense of humor, unless they were playing off Bajie. I’ll miss you, Bajie.

Ankara, the sarcastic, all-powerful mad witch, also made a blah exit. Even with the acupuncture-immobilizing needle removed, she was defeated by a couple of chains, gift-deactivated and skewered.

Especially disappointing was the Pilgrim’s beatdown of the Master. I’m hoping that, even in victory, the fight drained the Pilgrim enough that a rematch with the Master will end in defeat.

He seemed to lose a little more of his stamina with every “Dark One” sleeper he revived. The Gift appears to be, as the Master warned, consuming him from within. Bleeding from the eyes is not a sign of robust health.

M.K. seems to have gone completely over to the dark side. His execution of a downed opponent by plunging a pair of knives into his eyes amped up the violence scale this time around.

Setting the battle between the Window and Baron Chau in a fun house was a nice touch. Chau probably did not qualify for that final ride because she no longer met the minimum height requirement.


----------



## REBerg

Spoiler: 3.13 Black Lotus, White Rose



Big action. Bigger surprises.




I was surprised by Bajie’s resurrection, courtesy of a little leftover magic from Ankara. I was also surprised by the Master’s demise, and even more surprised that her real name was Ada. I had expected her to recover and be available for the final battle against Pilgrim, who incidentally, answered to Taurin back in the Azra glory days, when Sunny was Sanzo.

Not so surprising was the revelation that Sunny’s big sister, Kannin, is alive. That’s convenient, as she is the sole person who can unlock Sanzo’s special, mega-super-powerful Gift, which is certain to be needed in the series finale.

Sunny, Kannin and Bajoie vs. the Black Lotus in the chain chamber was the biggest, baddest battle royale of the series – so far. The Disturbed cover of the Simon and Garfunkel hit, “Sound of Silence,” gave the final few minutes of the episode a real power push.


----------



## Dave

REBerg said:


> Spoiler: 3.12 Cobra Fang, Panther Claw
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 51505​
> Nooooooo! Not Bajie!
> 
> Despite the closeup of what appeared to be Bajie’s final breaths, there’s a slim chance that he may survive being run though by a Black Lotus swordsman.
> 
> If not, what are the remaining episodes going to do for comic relief with Bajie gone? None of the other characters have shown a sense of humor, unless they were playing off Bajie. I’ll miss you, Bajie.
> 
> Ankara, the sarcastic, all-powerful mad witch, also made a blah exit. Even with the acupuncture-immobilizing needle removed, she was defeated by a couple of chains, gift-deactivated and skewered.
> 
> Especially disappointing was the Pilgrim’s beatdown of the Master. I’m hoping that, even in victory, the fight drained the Pilgrim enough that a rematch with the Master will end in defeat.
> 
> He seemed to lose a little more of his stamina with every “Dark One” sleeper he revived. The Gift appears to be, as the Master warned, consuming him from within. Bleeding from the eyes is not a sign of robust health.
> 
> M.K. seems to have gone completely over to the dark side. His execution of a downed opponent by plunging a pair of knives into his eyes amped up the violence scale this time around.
> 
> Setting the battle between the Window and Baron Chau in a fun house was a nice touch. Chau probably did not qualify for that final ride because she no longer met the minimum height requirement.


I agree totally with your summation, especially about where it is all going. And if Asra was a rebuilt city, then that surely negates the idea that it was the whole world before the fall, though not that the "Gift" caused the fall itself. The Master made some cryptic comments in this about them failing to be able to resurrect Asra, but I'm afraid they were too cryptic for me. Also, if the "Gift" in Pilgrim is "unnatural" and failing then that means it cannot be the gene therapy that we postulated earlier. It really wouldn't make it natural whether you were born with it, or were given it later. I thought I understood what was going on, but now I've no idea. The comic relief is indeed going to be a problem, because those that are left are very serious.


----------



## Dave

REBerg said:


> Spoiler: 3.13 Black Lotus, White Rose
> 
> 
> 
> Big action. Bigger surprises.
> 
> View attachment 51677​
> I was surprised by Bajie’s resurrection, courtesy of a little leftover magic from Ankara. I was also surprised by the Master’s demise, and even more surprised that her real name was Ada. I had expected her to recover and be available for the final battle against Pilgrim, who incidentally, answered to Taurin back in the Azra glory days, when Sunny was Sanzo.
> 
> Not so surprising was the revelation that Sunny’s big sister, Kannin, is alive. That’s convenient, as she is the sole person who can unlock Sanzo’s special, mega-super-powerful Gift, which is certain to be needed in the series finale.
> 
> Sunny, Kannin and Bajoie vs. the Black Lotus in the chain chamber was the biggest, baddest battle royale of the series – so far. The Disturbed cover of the Simon and Garfunkel hit, “Sound of Silence,” gave the final few minutes of the episode a real power push.


There was a lot of exposition packed into this episode. (There has probably been too much back-story over the last few episodes - it is required, but why all of it at once?) I also don't like the now they are dead, now they are alive again. In addition, this resurrection makes the "Gift" more magic than the explanation we were discussing. 

That map must have had twenty or so Black Lotus outposts. I saw about twenty or thirty in the fight. If they all turn out to meet them in the series finale then Pilgrim's "dark army" will be met by 19 x 30 = 570. That will be some fight scene.


----------



## Dave

Spoiler: 3.14 Curse of the Red Rain



I'm tiring of this series now. Nothing happens, except some unfeasible aerial martial arts where some major character dies... then they are alive again next week. Who has really died this week? Has MK? Has Lydia? How many lives does the Pilgrim have left after surviving his fall into the explosion?

And they make stupid decisions -  to keep following some unreliable people on wild goose chases... and why didn't they kill Cressida when they had the chance? And if they then decided to rectify the mistake and execute her, do it properly, don't unlock her cell door and send a single person inside to fight one to one.

To begin with it was a high tech world that had fallen into ruin, but what is it now with all the magic - red rain - how is it raining blood exactly? The gift cannot be explained without magic. We had black eyes, but now we have red eyes too. And the geography of the place, which I've mentioned before, makes no sense at all. Apparently they are now all just a short walk away from the Badlands when it took a whole Season to get out.

BAJIE: "No, you don't get it. You blunder blindly from one drama to the next, trying to find answers, when in fact you have no idea what the question is." Yes, that sums up this show quite well really.


----------



## REBerg

Dave said:


> Spoiler: 3.14 Curse of the Red Rain
> 
> 
> 
> I'm tiring of this series now. Nothing happens, except some unfeasible aerial martial arts where some major character dies... then they are alive again next week. Who has really died this week? Has MK? Has Lydia? How many lives does the Pilgrim have left after surviving his fall into the explosion?
> 
> And they make stupid decisions -  to keep following some unreliable people on wild goose chases... and why didn't they kill Cressida when they had the chance? And if they then decided to rectify the mistake and execute her, do it properly, don't unlock her cell door and send a single person inside to fight one to one.
> 
> To begin with it was a high tech world that had fallen into ruin, but what is it now with all the magic - red rain - how is it raining blood exactly? The gift cannot be explained without magic. We had black eyes, but now we have red eyes too. And the geography of the place, which I've mentioned before, makes no sense at all. Apparently they are now all just a short walk away from the Badlands when it took a whole Season to get out.
> 
> BAJIE: "No, you don't get it. You blunder blindly from one drama to the next, trying to find answers, when in fact you have no idea what the question is." Yes, that sums up this show quite well really.





Spoiler



I can't disagree with either assessment -- yours or Bajie's. Still, the show is just so colorfully spectacular that I can't help but continue to love it -- whether it makes sense or not.
The Pilgrim threat should have been allowed to continue building (adding Sunny, Bajie and Kannin to the Forces of Good) until the last episode, reserving enough time for a decent epilogue.
I don't know what purpose killing Lydia served, other than underwriting Cressida's evil credentials, which was hardly necessary. In a reverse sort of way, the same goes for Minerva's pregnancy. Motherhood, this far along in the Widow's badass history is not going to do much to make her seem soft and cuddly.
Then, why all the scenes showing a faltering Pilgrim, pointing out that now was the time to strike, only to have him hold is own, sans gift, against the Widow and, as you noted, survive a tumble into an explosion? May the gods have mercy on the good guys should Pilgrim fully regain his health before the final, final battle.


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## Dave

REBerg said:


> Still, the show is just so colorfully spectacular that I can't help but continue to love it


It is visually spectacular. There are enormous choreographed fight scenes with smartly and colourfully dressed combatants, but there is little substance any longer. It is fluff and popcorn. The fights are incredulous and ridiculous - performed in high heels and restrictive clothing, actually flying unsupported, _Matrix_-style slow motion. This is superhero territory. Which is fine if that is what you seek, but the show drew me in because of the world-building. I wanted to know about how the world before became the world we see today. They have trashed any of that in place of producing more of the "colourfully spectacular." I will continue to watch it to the end only because I've invested in watching 30 episodes so I might as well watch the final few.

Also, no one else comments any longer. Is it just us two watching?


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## REBerg

Sadly right and right again.


Spoiler: On the slight chance that anyone else plans to watch



References to Azra and a single, brief flashback glimpse of that fabled city have given me no sense of how the world got from ours to theirs. Mystique and speculation are fun, but at some point I need some solid history. I would have preferred more science and less magic in explaining The Gift and its role in destroying civilization.


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## sinister42

Spoiler: You know, spoilers, that spoil things in a spoilery way.



I can't disagree with any of you.  This episode made very little sense.  The Widow & crew set up some pretty cool-looking defenses against the dark ones, but like, everything they did ended up kind of stupid.  Like, ok, fire moats. Neat. Why light them AFTER the army has crossed?  To keep them...in??  Arrow volleys.  Have more than one, maybe?  Then you just...blew a hole in your own defenses.  And then your plan was what, to hole up in a...garage full of cars?  I really don't get that.  And yeah.  Why unlock the cage and engage Cressida?  Just kill her in the face with an arrow or whatever. 

Yeah, the geography is nonsense.  Pilgrim lives in a castle in the middle of a lake that was apparently once a natural history museum??  Where is that??  Also, did our heroes just end up at the cliffs of Dover?  I am...confused. 

I still love the sh*t out of the insane fight choreography, but the story has gone all wibbly wobbly in ways that don't work at all. 

When's the series finale?  I mean, I'm going to see this through, but sh*t.


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## BAYLOR

Dave said:


> It is visually spectacular. There are enormous choreographed fight scenes with smartly and colourfully dressed combatants, but there is little substance any longer. It is fluff and popcorn. The fights are incredulous and ridiculous - performed in high heels and restrictive clothing, actually flying unsupported, _Matrix_-style slow motion. This is superhero territory. Which is fine if that is what you seek, but the show drew me in because of the world-building. I wanted to know about how the world before became the world we see today. They have trashed any of that in place of producing more of the "colourfully spectacular." I will continue to watch it to the end only because I've invested in watching 30 episodes so I might as well watch the final few.
> 
> Also, no one else comments any longer. Is it just us two watching?



It took me a bit to get into the  show bt,, t it was worth it .  This show is such  fun to watch  The over the top Bruce Lee/ Matrix like   battle  sequences are a  joy .  The characters are very likable, engaging  , larger then life and the writing is top notch  . This show is definitely must see tv.


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## Dave

BAYLOR said:


> It took me a bit to get into the show but it was worth it. This show is such fun to watch....


Are you up to date though Baylor? I felt the same way as you up until about six episodes ago. Absolutely nothing of importance has happened since then except for the death of some major characters in various battles that take place in different places. The story has not progressed and with only a couple of episodes left I can't see how the ending will improve that, no matter how good it is written. They just aren't going to be able to tell me what I expected to find out. 



BAYLOR said:


> The over the top Bruce Lee/ Matrix like battle sequences are a joy.


I'm happy that you like it. I want more than that. Bajie summed it up nicely when he said to Sunny, "You blunder blindly from one drama to the next, trying to find answers, when in fact you have no idea what the question is." That's precisely how I see the show itself.


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## Dave

3.15: Requiem for the Fallen
More major characters die. More poor planning. Those that do survive, survive by luck more than anything. One episode left. Can they really resolve this in one more episode?


Spoiler: 3.15: Requiem for the Fallen



They are trying to tie things up, with the return of Tilda's old love and Nathaniel Moon's speech, but I can't see any big reveal about Azra or the old world being plausible now. It is meant to be our future. The coin was deliberately to show that. Cressida looks set to turn on Pilgrim, and that is really the only way I can see him defeated. I'm not sure how M.K. fits into the final conflict, our what is happening to him with his flesh falling off.


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## REBerg

Spoiler



Pilgrim's execution of Nix was unnecessarily brutal -- even by _Into the Badlands_ standards of bloody violence.
Breaking her neck was SOP, but twisting her head off and rolling it down the stairway? Hell hath no fury like Pilgrim scorned by a "dear one."
Cressida has good reason to fear her significant other. That's one vision she can expect to become reality.
I'm expecting the series finale to be painful in a multitude of ways.


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## REBerg

> ...barons are locked in a power struggle for territory in the former American state of Oklahoma, now called the Badlands
> --_*Sci Fi Magazine*_, August 2019​


​This factoid appeared in the magazine's "tv in focus" section, which includes a segment on_ Into the Badlands_ spotlighting Lewis Tan. Tan plays Gaius Chau in the show.
I don't know where the tv section writer, Steve Eramo, got his information; but with the setting finally revealed, the show can go on.


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## Dave

REBerg said:


> I don't know where the tv section writer, Steve Eramo, got his information; but with the setting finally revealed, the show can go on.


In that case, I'll say this once and won't mention it again for fear of being boring. There is one large river that could be the one we see, The Red River or Rio Cororado, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. I guess the shanty town didn't have to be on the sea, just somewhere along the river. The shape of the hills was very like the karst hills of south-east Asia, however, Oklahoma does have karst hills - the Arbuckle uplift - and there are some falls called the Turner Falls that look like exactly the falls seen near the monastery. Most of Oklahoma is however part of the Great Plains which could easily have become unproductive given the time that has past. I don't know about the Zoo on the island, but it is at least feasible. I still think the times taken for the distances travelled is wrong.


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## sinister42

Oklahoma? I think bloody not.  I'm an Okie (grew up there) and these vistas ain't it.  

Here's a list of filming locations: Where Into the Badlands Is Filmed 

If they're trying to say that in the future, Oklahoma suddenly looks like Ireland, um...no?  No.  Also, no.  

Oklahoma does not have a castle on an island on a lake.  Oklahoma does not have cascading waterfalls and sheer cliffs.  Oklahoma does not have high cliffs that overlook a large body of water.  Oklahoma is a mostly flat state of wheat fields, tallgrass prairies, MAGA fascists, and a little bit of rocky desert in the west.


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## sinister42

Ok the show's website tells all: The World .  There's a map.  The Badlands are bordered by the Mississippi River on the East and go basically to the Rocky Mountains, with the Rio Grande river basically the south border.  Makes very little sense with the geography of the show, but whatevs.

Edited to add: Looking deeper at the map, Oklahoma looks to be split between the two territories.  I see names like "Bartsville" and "Tosko" that must correlate to "Bartlesville" and "Tulsa" based on their positions on the map.


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## Dave

It is worth quoting that filming locations link in case the link get's broken:



> Most of the first season was filmed around New Orleans and Louisiana. The first season was also headquartered at the St. John Center Soundstage. Here are some of the landmarks they filmed at:
> 
> Fort Macomb
> Longue Vue House and Gardens
> Evergreen Plantation
> Luling Mansion
> Market Street Power Plant
> Lafayette Cemetery
> Meanwhile, most of the filming locations in seasons 2 and 3 were set in Ireland, particularly the fields of Wicklow county. Here are more landmarks from the recent seasons of the show:
> 
> Killruddery House
> Powerscourt Waterfall
> Hell Fire Club
> Cabinteely House
> O’Brien’s Tower
> Ballycorus Leadmines
> McDermott’s Castle
> That’s pretty much all you need to know about where Into the Badlands is filmed.


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## REBerg

The Oklahoma claim surprised me. My guess for the location, both real and depicted, was always New Mexico, a state which doesn't need to wait for a major war and 500 years to have bona fide badlands.

San Juan Basin Badlands, New Mexico





New Mexico also shares a relatively short border with Mexico. My setting guess was reinforced when Sunny and Bajie  had to get through a wall to return to the Badlands. I thought that it might be "The Wall" currently being pushed by U.S. anti-immigrationists.

Funny that the supposed setting for the series should generate more lively discussion than the show itself in the last two seasons.


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## Dave

REBerg said:


> Funny that the supposed setting for the series should generate more lively discussion than the show itself in the last two seasons.



If you wanted to, we could talk about the technology instead? How are they running those cars? Looks like petrol engines. There is/was Oil in Oklahoma, but do we see oil drums or pumps? Do they ever need to fill up the cars? How do they get parts?

Maybe they run them on electricity? They have electric lights and that machine that gives you the "Gift" lights up and has power gauges with needle dials. Where is that electricity from and how is it made and supplied?

And that machine that gives the "Gift" - does it look futuristic? It looks like a 1950's B Movie to me, or even a 1930's serial. It is electro-mechanical rather than electronic. I can imagine the Emperor Ming the Merciless strapping Flash Gordon to it. A couple of weeks ago someone broke it in a shower of sparks and cloud of smoke, but last week Pilgrim announced it had been fixed again (by that strange workman who just stands around doing nothing.)

If you wanted to, we could talk about agriculture and food supply. People cannot live on Poppies alone.

Let's face it, very little in this series makes any kind of sense at all.


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## REBerg

Dave said:


> If you wanted to, we could talk about the technology instead? How are they running those cars? Looks like petrol engines. There is/was Oil in Oklahoma, but do we see oil drums or pumps? Do they ever need to fill up the cars? How do they get parts?
> 
> Maybe they run them on electricity? They have electric lights and that machine that gives you the "Gift" lights up and has power gauges with needle dials. Where is that electricity from and how is it made and supplied?
> 
> And that machine that gives the "Gift" - does it look futuristic? It looks like a 1950's B Movie to me, or even a 1930's serial. It is electro-mechanical rather than electronic. I can imagine the Emperor Ming the Merciless strapping Flash Gordon to it. A couple of weeks ago someone broke it in a shower of sparks and cloud of smoke, but last week Pilgrim announced it had been fixed again (by that strange workman who just stands around doing nothing.)
> 
> If you wanted to, we could talk about agriculture and food supply. People cannot live on Poppies alone.
> 
> Let's face it, very little in this series makes any kind of sense at all.


_Into the Badlands_ has been primarily a showcase for colorfully choreographed martial arts battles. Maybe that’s all the producers ever intended it to be.

The show, as you’ve said, could have been so much more if it had engaged in more of the world-building we had hoped to see. A little more attention to character development wouldn’t have hurt, either.

The big unanswered question, for me, is how much technological progress did society make between our present day and the fall of civilization? Not much, it would seem, considering the vintage of the cars and other machinery featured.

Reverting to a feudal society seems logical enough, but the specialties of each barony – opium, oil, ore (Barony) -- do not add up to a world in which one could expect to find gasoline and electricity. Refineries, factories and power plants must exist somewhere outside of the Badlands.

I noticed in the above-referenced web page that territories were dedicated to agriculture, textiles and weaponry. I do not remember seeing any of them in the show.

Another Badlands barony which served as a manufacturing hub, exchanging products for raw materials, would have added a little of that longed-for sense the series lacked. Episodes set inside the industrial district could have provided another story thread -- contrasting life there with life in the outlying territories.

I remain disappointed that “The Gift” did not turn out to be explained by advanced genetics instead of magic. I can envision a world in which a struggle between the "haves" and "have-nots" over immortality would result in destruction.

Who knows? Maybe the finale will explain all of these shortcomings and completely redeem the series. Or not.


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## L.L.Lotte

It's unlikely any of those questions will be answered, i think the writers are more concerned about wrapping up the story than fleshing out the world at this point. The remaining story is all about defeating Pilgrim...

So much missed opportunities. Probably why its ending after such a short run. At least we will get an actual ending. 

For me, watching this show is all about the widow and bajie. Best characters ever.


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## Dave

L.L.Lotte said:


> For me, watching this show is all about the widow and bajie. Best characters ever.


When they first introduced Nick Frost as a guest character I was astounded, even more when he became a permanent addition. I had only seen him in "Attack the Block" and as Simon Pegg's less funny sidekick in the Edgar Wright directed films and in "Spaced." This series has changed my whole outlook on him. I didn't know that he was also a wrestler, so the addition makes perfect sense, and he is also very funny in this, with his deadpan humour set against the exuberance of the other characters. I'd agree than he is one of the best things about the series.


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## REBerg

Dave said:


> When they first introduced Nick Frost as a guest character I was astounded, even more when he became a permanent addition. I had only seen him in "Attack the Block" and as Simon Pegg's less funny sidekick in the Edgar Wright directed films and in "Spaced." This series has changed my whole ou"tlook on him. I didn't know that he was also a wrestler, so the addition makes perfect sense, and he is also very funny in this, with his deadpan humour set against the exuberance of the other characters. I'd agree than he is one of the best things about the series.


As in "Requiem for the Fallen," when ...


Spoiler



... upon learning that Minerva was pregnant, he said to Gaius: "You banged Flea? You brave, horny idiot."


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## REBerg

Spoiler: 3.16 Seven Strike as One



Whaaat the ....?
Were they setting us up for a movie or a spin-off, or were they simply creating an opportunity to make an anti-gun statement?
Anyway, it wasn't a bad series finale.





*I fervently hope that the next world will not be one of constant snowfall*​

I had pegged Tilda or Kannin as those most likely to be sacrificed. Sunny's "death" was a surprise. So was his future resurrection.
I had wondered why his eyes momentarily lighted as he gasped his last breath. His recovery had better hit the accelerator before his body is buried or burned.
Pilgrim and M.K. are, I assume, permanently dead. Who knows in this series? Cressida is another lose end, possibly saved for a story continuation.
The showrunners had plenty of time to wrap things up completely after the cancellation was announced. So, what's up? Has a streaming service shown interest?

Maybe, like Sunny, the series isn't completely dead ... yet.
Into The Badlands Season 4: New Network, Comic & Release Date Info



​


----------



## Dave

I was left wanting... but I don't know what I wanted.


----------



## sinister42

Well I guess that's the end of Crouching Stupid, Hidden What??


----------



## Dave

I've had more time to think about the final scenes and is that really the 'Secret of Azra'?


Spoiler: The Secret of Azra



Was the old world; our world, brought down by the discovery of guns and rifles, and not by a machine that turns eyes black, gives superhero strength and abilities, including an ability to heal yourself and others, and to resurrect people from the dead?


----------



## REBerg

Dave said:


> I've had more time to think about the final scenes and is that really the 'Secret of Azra'?
> 
> 
> Spoiler: The Secret of Azra
> 
> 
> 
> Was the old world; our world, brought down by the discovery of guns and rifles, and not by a machine that turns eyes black, gives superhero strength and abilities, including an ability to heal yourself and others, and to resurrect people from the dead?





Spoiler



Sure, the power-hungry barons, in a selfless act to preserve their new feudal society, outlawed the firearms that had destroyed their old civilization. Instead,, they embraced the martial arts and swordplay, building armies of murderous clippers to keep their cog slave laborers in line and expand their territories.
At some unknown point in this brave new world, the "gift" came along, and became the most sought-after new weapon on the planet by the peace-loving barons. After all, it wasn't a gun, so it didn't break the anti-gun rule. It was just a jujitsu enhancement.
The gun ban was the crowning achievement of Badlands society. That, and colorful uniforms.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

REBerg said:


> Spoiler: 3.16 Seven Strike as One
> 
> 
> 
> The showrunners had plenty of time to wrap things up completely after the cancellation was announced. So, what's up? Has a streaming service shown interest?
> 
> Maybe, like Sunny, the series isn't completely dead ... yet.
> Into The Badlands Season 4: New Network, Comic & Release Date Info



That link just sounds like wishful thinking... Netflix is the platform it's already streaming on, so if any service picks it up, it will be Netflix. There is no word on that yet, but I consider it unlikely to happen.

So much for the network assuring "it will have a proper ending"

While that did wrap up some plotlines, it could hardly be called a proper ending.



Spoiler: Spoiler



Leaving Sunny in limbo, off to start another mission and come back to life somehow. Cressida getting away, leaving Moon's revenge unfulfilled. No epilogue given to any of the other characters. We don't know if Tilda lives or dies from her wound. Don't see Flea have her baby...

imo, they really should have cut that snow scene, knowing that the show was cancelled and all.


----------



## Dave

REBerg said:


> ...That, and colorful uniforms,


I wondered about those too. Did we ever see any tailors? Any Bowler hatters? *Some Baron was making a killing, trading in cloth-making and millinery.*


L.L.Lotte said:


> ...No epilogue given to any of the other characters...


There were a lot of deaths, but are we sure the machine was destroyed? It appeared earlier that it doesn't take much work to re-wire it? *Some Baron is making a killing in electrical works* Anyway, wouldn't there be plans to rebuild? So, is anyone really dead when resurrection is possible?


L.L.Lotte said:


> So much for the network assuring "it will have a proper ending"


I can think of series I've watched with worse endings, but they usually were cancelled without an ending at all.


----------

