Into The Badlands - Season Premiere - Review

Featuring some solid drama sandwiched between two brutal fight scenes, Into the Badlands brings martial arts back to our television screens with a pow!

The episode begins with protagonist Sunny (Daniel Wu) who comes across a group of nomads holding something or someone in a chest. After disposing of them in the most bone crunching and brutal fight sequence I have ever seen in recent memory, it is revealed they are holding a boy by the name of M.K.(Aramis Knight).

Sunny takes M.K. to the fort and here we are introduced to Quinn (Martin Csokas), one of seven barons who rules the feudal lands of this post-apocalyptic America. With his southern drawl Quinn is a charismatic and charming leader, and Csokas adds a certain menacing gravitas to the role. He comes across as someone who can be very ruthless, but we have not yet seen the true extent of his ruthlessness in this episode

Quinn has a son, Ryder (Oliver Stark). Both arrogant and impulsive, he is the heir to be the next baron, to his father's displeasure. He wants his father to take action against the other barons and is rebutted. Ryder seems like a man of action, despite being both reckless and immature, which is not a good combination.

The mother, Lydia (Orla Brady), was not explored enough in this episode, other than how she wants to be The wife, despite Quinn having many wives and is engaged to his eigth. She comes off as someone who will end up to very manipulative, pulling all the strings in the same vein of Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones

Lydia is one of five female characters in Into The Badlands. I can't recall a show that has more females than males in its main cast, which is great to see. The most compelling of all the women on the cast is The Widow (Emily Beecham). She is not explored much in the premiere, only introduced as a deadly baroness who killed her husband to apparently gain power. The Widow is after M.K. and his ability, though for what reason is unknown. Her daughter, Talia, will be introduced next episode.

With such a large cast, the rest of the characters are, so far, underdeveloped and come off as a tad bit archetypal. Veil, for example, is Sunny's lover. She acts as the typical lover, being Sunny's conscience through the violent lifestyle he lives. They talk about running away together, which pretty much dooms her, I don't see her being around by the end of season 1.

Being only one episode, it would be too harsh to mark the underdeveloped characters as a negative; we will see how they grow as the series progresses. Overall, the episode achieves its job in setting up this rich world and introducing the main players involved in it.

Most importantly, director David Dobkin, fight director Stephen Fung, choreographer Master Dee Dee, and the rest of the crew did a masterful job in making the fight sequences both brutal and breathtaking. However, the writers did not want to make this series martial arts pornography and so far they have backed their words. The premiere did a commendable job in balancing its dramatic elements with the action set pieces.

I am not entirely wowed by the premiere, but it was a solid 45 minutes of television and I have a feeling the series will only improve as the characters continue to develop and as we delve deeper into the story.

What is everyone's thoughts on the premiere? Will you be sticking around for the rest of the season? Please leave your comments below!

About the Author - Kollin Lore

Kollin is an entertainment writer and a film and television, in particular genre TV, freak having grown up during the 90s and early 2000s a dedicated fan of Buffy and Angel. Current shows like Person of Interest, Supernatural, Ripper Street, Penny Dreadful, Grimm, The Blacklist, Game of Thrones, and dozens of other shows are currently occupying Kollin’s nightly hours. His reviews for Into the Badlands and The Expanse will be coming this fall!

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