First Impressions: Into the Badlands

Now that the second episode of AMC’s new hit series Into the Badlands, it’s time we gave you our opinion. Welcome back to “First Impressions”.

INTO THE BADLANDS

CREATED BY: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

STARRING: Daniel Wu, Orla Brady, Sarah Bolger, Aramis Knight, Emily Beecham, Oliver Stark, Madeleine Mantock, Ally Ioannides, Marton Csokas

GENRE: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Martial Arts, Drama

YEAR: 2015

COUNTRY: United States

Regent Sunny, a highly-skilled fighter and the deadliest “Head Clipper” for Baron Quinn battles the Nomads to rescue a mysterious boy named M.K. who harbors a dark secret about his past. But when he brings him back to The Fort to train as a “Colt”, a Clipper-in-training, things quickly get out of hand with another trainee. When first blood is drawn, M.K. loses control of himself as if something takes over his body, making the boy valuable to opposing Baron Widow. Meanwhile, Sunny discovers M.K.’s pendant has the same image as the one on his childhood compass of a place called Azra, the boy’s home. In order to seek out the truth about his own past, Sunny wants to know more of this city beyond the Badlands, and must find a way out, especially now that his lover Veil is illegally pregnant with his child.

I have been trying to make time to watch Into the Badlands for the past two weeks and have now finally caught up on the first two episodes. First off,  the choreography during the first two episodes is superb. I didn’t exactly expect anything less from a martial arts-centered series, but I was actually pleasantly surprised with the incorporation of the environment during fights instead of it just serving as a backdrop. The main cast has performed beyond my expectations and I can’t wait to see what is on the horizon for the last four episodes. Into the Badlands has to be picked up for a second season, it just has to!

There isn’t much that I don’t like about Into the Badlands so far, but I can nitpick. Most of the supporting cast I dislike as I feel they are just there for filler purposes. I know that it has only been two episodes, but put these characters to work! Make them more than just conflict starters who we eventually never hear from again. Also, I am not particularly fond of the world they are creating. After my first viewing of the trailer, I thought it would be on a much larger scale. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Hopefully we will be able to see more of this world, particularly beyond the Badlands.

PROS:

• Choreography.
• Main cast performance.
• Incorporation of the environment.

CONS:

• Lackluster Supporting characters.
• Disappointing world.
• Number of episodes.

SCORE: 7.0 / 10

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Brandon Stuhr

Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more “on” version of me.