Geekscape Recaps: ‘Into the Badlands’ — Snake Creeps Down

There’s one week left in Into the Badlands, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. A plodding, busy episode leaves a questionable status quo to set up for its (presumed) finale. Will it be enough?

Let’s get this out of the way: the action remains superb. The fight in The Fort dungeon between The Widow and Sunny is among the best in all of TV action to date, and very few shows are willing to be as ballsy as Badlands. If the show doesn’t get an Emmy for stunts it’ll be a crime.

But otherwise, Into the Badlands suffers this week to juggling too many arcs and as a result, not feeling like we’ve gone anywhere. Quinn now knows M.K.’s secret, and Jade is most likely dead (presuming, since Quinn looked all kinds of disheveled when he sees M.K.). Those are the biggest developments. Can you think of anything else?

Granted, Veil now knows Sunny was involved with her parents’ murders, but Quinn was straight up lying to her or twisting the truth to fit his reality. But what will she do? I think she may have seen through Quinn’s lies and poisoned his precious Jade, but when could that have happened? (Side note: It’s gotta be Lydia who killed her. It makes the most sense.)

Sunny is really ceasing to be the star of his show. How he’ll manage to get out of the Badlands when the ticket price is M.K.’s head is his biggest challenge right now, and that went entirely unanswered this week. Also unanswered is what Ryder’s plan against his father is. After meeting his grandfather (Alien fans, it’s Lance Henriksen!) and failing to get the answers he seeks, Ryder arrogantly walks off determined to figure it out himself. One throwaway line by Henriksen’s character hints that M.K.’s dark power is more widely known, but Badlands doesn’t care to explore that further at the moment.

But will it really matter? Quinn is dying. They could literally just wait it out, but The Widow appears to be the impatient type. I can’t recall if she knows he’s sick (I feel like he does? Somebody must have told her. I think Ryder told her?) but I do know that it’ll be used against him. That much is obvious.

Into the Badlands heads home next week, and maybe for the final time as the show hasn’t been renewed yet. Would you want it to? There’s still a lot to explore, and I hope we get that chance.