Into the Badlands (TV series)

Into the Badlands
Genre	Action Adventure Drama Wuxia
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 Nick Frost Lorraine Toussaint Babou Ceesay Ella-Rae Smith Sherman Augustus
Theme music composer	Mike Shinoda
Composers	Dave Shephard Trevor Yuile (season 2)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	21 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Daniel Wu Stephen Fung David Dobkin Stacey Sher Michael Shamberg Alfred Gough Miles Millar Michael Taylor
Producers	Dee Dee Ku Dany Wolf Morgan O'Sillivan James Flynn Kari Hobson
Production locations	New Orleans (season 1) Ireland (seasons 2– )
Cinematography	Shane Hurlbut Owen McPolin (season 2)
Editors	Vikash Patel Bridget Durnford Ben Wilkinson Anthony Pinker Erin Deck
Running time	44 minutes
Production companies	Millar/Gough Ink Big Kid Pictures Diversion Pictures Double Feature Films AMC Studios
Original release
Network	AMC
Release	November 15, 2015 (2015-11-15) – present

Into the Badlands is an American television series that premiered on AMC November 15, 2015. Based on the 16th-century novel by Chinese author Wu Cheng' En, Journey to the West, the series features a story about a warrior and a young boy who journey through a dangerous feudal land together seeking enlightenment. AMC renewed the show for a 10-episode second season, which premiered on March 19, 2017. On April 25, 2017, AMC renewed the series for a 16-episode third season, which premiered on April 22, 2018.

Premise

Opening introduction, narrated by M.K. (Aramis Knight):

The wars were so long ago nobody even remembers. Darkness and fear ruled until the time of the barons, seven men and women who forged order out of chaos. People flocked to them for protection. That protection became servitude. They banished guns and trained armies of lethal fighters they called Clippers. This world is built on blood. Nobody is innocent here. Welcome to the Badlands.

The series is set in a post-apocalyptic world approximately 500 years after a war that left civilization in ruins. Many elements of technology, such as electricity and ground vehicles, have survived the apocalypse but society now shuns guns, leading to a reliance on melee weaponry.

In a territory known as the Badlands, the former state of Oklahoma, a feudal society has developed to fill the power vacuum left by the war. Barons control land and monopolies over commodities like opium and fuel, trading amongst themselves to maintain the peace. Each baron is served by a massive workforce of slaves called cogs, as well as a prostitute class called dolls. A baron maintains power through a corps of young men and women called clippers: highly trained and loyal warriors. clippers are forbidden from marrying and having children lest their loyalties be divided. Each clipper force is captained by a regent.

Several groups exist outside the strict hierarchy of the barons. Nomads are the most common, mostly lawless homicidal bandits who subsist on stealing from trade convoys between the baronies but some live in organized clans. The River King and his men control water trade in the Badlands and beyond, and is considered a neutral party in the barons' power struggles. An ascetic religious movement called the Totemists is also shown to exist on the fringes of society, living in isolated communities and practicing a form of idol worship. The Widow leads a revolutionary group of anti-feudal fighters from her late husband's barony; although nominally recognized as a baron by her peers, they do not respect her, and the contempt is mutual.

Little is known of the world beyond the Badlands, but it is implied that it is far less politically stable and environmentally sound than the Badlands. The mythical utopian city of Azra is believed to exist outside the Badlands but most dismiss it as a legend.

Cast and characters

Main

• Daniel Wu as Sunny, regent (head clipper) to the Badlands' most powerful baron, Quinn. Despite being a man of conviction, he is very loyal to Quinn. Very skilled and proficient in various styles and weapons, he is considered to be one of the deadliest clippers – if not the deadliest – in the Badlands. Based on Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.
• Orla Brady as Lydia, Quinn's first wife, who is both his fiercest critic and most devoted follower.
• Sarah Bolger as Jade, Quinn's new wife-to-be, whose beguiling demeanor hides a core of ambition and tenacity which she uses to manipulate others. She later marries her step-son, Ryder, after Quinn's presumed death. (seasons 1–2)
• Aramis Knight as M.K., a seemingly average teenage boy who is anything but. Lurking inside him is a dark energy that the Widow wants to harness into a weapon. Based on Tripitaka, or Tang Sanzang.
• Emily Beecham as Minerva, better known as the Widow, the Badlands' newest baron; a brilliant martial artist. She has adopted a blue-winged butterfly as her baronial symbol, shown in yellow on a light blue banner. It represents a transformation from insignificance to beauty and power. Her territory produces crude oil.
• Oliver Stark as Ryder, Quinn's only son and presumed heir who later takes over as baron after his father's presumed death along with marrying his step-mother, Jade. (seasons 1–2)
• Madeleine Mantock as Veil, a doctor who is in a secret relationship with Sunny (seasons 1–2).
• Ally Ioannides as Tilda, a teenage assassin well-trained in the martial arts, she is the Widow's adopted daughter and later becomes her regent.
• Marton Csokas as Quinn, the Badlands' preeminent baron and a former clipper. His baronial symbol is an armadillo shown in white on a maroon banner. His territory produces poppy flowers, which are harvested for opium. (seasons 1–2)
• Nick Frost as Bajie, a schemer with questionable morals who finds himself allied with Sunny. (season 2–present)
• Babou Ceesay as Pilgrim, a self-described "Son of Azra". He is the leader of the Totemists, worshipers who are with him to recreate Azra in the Badlands. Can control those with the Gift, including Nix, Castor and M.K. (season 3).
• Lorraine Toussaint as Cressida, high priestess of Pilgrim and his followers (season 3).
• Ella-Rae Smith as Nix, a member of Pilgrim's followers who has the Gift. She is close friends with Castor (season 3).
• Sherman Augustus as Nathaniel Moon, a former clipper who fights with honor, looking for his 1,000th Clip. Battled Sonny; after he lost, wanted to be killed but lost his hand instead. The Widow's regent, he is tasked with tracking down Sunny (guest season 2; main season 3).

Recurring

• Yohance Myles as Ringo, the tattoo artist of the clippers who inks their kill marks on their bodies.
• Benjamin Papac as Bale, a colt (a clipper-in-training) and a seemingly benevolent boy who befriends M.K.
• Mike Seal as Petri, one of Quinn's clippers.
• Stephen Lang as Waldo, a paraplegic former regent serving under Quinn (season 1) and the Widow (season 2).
• Teressa Liane as Angelica, a prostitute/spy loyal to the Widow (season 1).
• Ellen Hollman as Zypher, a regent of Baron Jacobee who has a history with Sunny.
• Edi Gathegi as Baron Jacobee, who has an alliance with Quinn. His baronial colors are a pattern of blue and green plaid.
• Lance E. Nichols as the River King, an importer and exporter of goods and cogs (indentured servants) up and down the river through the Badlands.
• Lance Henriksen as Penrith, Lydia's father and the leader of a Totemist religious commune (seasons 1–2).
• Cung Le as Cyan, head Abbott who journeys with his fellow Abbotts, Ramona and Dury, searching for those who have abilities.
• Eve Connolly as Ava, an fighting instructor who works with M.K. (season 2).
• Stephen Walters as the Engineer, boss of the pickers (miners) in the Bordeaux Mines (season 2).
• Chipo Chung as the Master, leader of the Abbott who trains M.K., teaching him how to control his abilities (season 2–present).
• Maddison Jaizani as Odessa, a former doll who becomes one of the Widow's Butterflies, and later is Tilda's lover (season 2–present).
• Eleanor Matsuura as Baron Juliet Chau, who wants Quinn dead. She has adopted a fox as her baronial symbol, shown in black on a cream colored banner. Her baronial color is mostly white (season 2–present).
• Alan Wai as Baron Hassan, who voted against the Widow's barony at the conclave. For his baronial symbol, he adopted a peacock shown in yellow gold on a purple banner. His territory produces silk (season 2).
• Jonathan Ryan as Baron Broadmore, who also voted to exile the Widow during the conclave. His baronial symbol is two narwhals with their tusks crossed shown in white on a navy blue banner (season 2).
• Ivo Canelas as Baron Rojas, who voted against the Widow's exile at the conclave. For his baronial symbol, he adopted a grasshopper shown in green on a black banner (season 2).
• Dean-Charles Chapman as Castor, a member of Pilgrim's followers who has the Gift. Is friends with Nix (season 3).
• Lewis Tan as Gaius Chau, brother of Juliet Chau who has childhood history with Minerva (season 3).
• Wayne Gordon as Otto, a regent for Baron Chau.

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	6		November 15, 2015 (2015-11-15)	December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20)
2	10		March 19, 2017 (2017-03-19)	May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21)
3	16		April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)	TBA

Season 1 (2015)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Fort"	David Dobkin	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar	November 15, 2015 (2015-11-15)	6.39
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 an opposing baron, The 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.
2	2	"Fist Like a Bullet"	David Dobkin	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar	November 22, 2015 (2015-11-22)	4.83
After wandering into The Widow's territory, M.K. meets the Widow's daughter Tilda, whom he follows for refuge in her mother's mansion. But it turns out to be a dangerous place since she wants to use his dark power to overthrow the other barons. Meanwhile, after Quinn's headaches are diagnosed by his long-time doctor as a tumor, he doesn't have long to live. He wants to keep the news a secret, so he orders Sunny to "clip" the doctor and his wife, Veil's parents, who know about their unborn baby. However, Sunny refuses and Quinn has to murder them himself, and gives him a second chance to test his loyalty. Later, when Sunny and Ryder are attacked by The Widow's nomads, M.K. saves Sunny's life and agrees to show him the way out of the Badlands. But Sunny has a condition; he will bring M.K. back to The Fort for training so he can be strong enough to smuggle Veil and the baby out.
3	3	"White Stork Spreads Wings"	David Dobkin	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar & Justine Juel Gillmer	November 29, 2015 (2015-11-29)	5.17
Quinn seeks retribution against The Widow and pays the price with losing many Clippers in his surprise attack. M.K. breaks away from the Colts to steal the book about Azra in The Widow's study, where Tilda sees him. Sunny begins to train M.K., but he must first learn discipline, especially when he underestimates Waldo during their fight because Waldo uses a wheelchair. As Ryder's life slowly fades, Jade desperately seeks help from Veil who reluctantly yet successfully treats him. But it results in Quinn knowing about her and Sunny's relationship. In order for Quinn to form an alliance with Jacobee, the one baron who doesn't hate him as much, Sunny must reunite with Zypher, Jacobee's regent to arrange a meeting. M.K. brings the book to Veil to be translated, but it's in a language she doesn't recognize. As M.K. hides, Veil is interrupted by Quinn who wants her to save him from his deadly illness.
4	4	"Two Tigers Subdue Dragons"	Guy Ferland	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar & Michael Jones-Morales	December 6, 2015 (2015-12-06)	2.42
Sunny has to figure out how to control M.K.'s power, especially when he gets knocked out by a single punch. Jade prepares for her wedding, and taking Lydia's advice, she stops her relationship with Ryder, who feels broken and betrayed. Sunny finds out Veil has been helping M.K. translate the Azra book and treating Quinn for his tumor. Later, Quinn sets a parlay with Baron Jacobee to help him defeat The Widow after she beheads one of his Clippers. Both barons meet in the City of the Dead at Cross Bend where problems arise. M.K. spies a disguised Tilda and gives pursuit and they fight. Tilda cuts him, unleashing his darkness that only she can stop. Ryder is enlisted by Zypher who is secretly working for The Widow to join their cause to start a war. Waldo grants Sunny an audience with the River King, importer of goods and cogs, to reserve a passage out of the Badlands. However, the River King demands M.K.'s head as payment due to M.K. having previously killed some of his Cogs.
5	5	"Snake Creeps Down"	Guy Ferland	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar & Justin Doble	December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13)	2.21
Sunny finds a direction when he uses his broken compass in the Azra book's cutout. After the poppy fields are abandoned, Quinn has a migraine and puts Jade in charge to train Clippers how to harvest. In order to look for "the boy at the Fort", The Widow takes in Quinn's cogs, promising them freedom in return for loyalty. Waldo tells Ryder to take M.K.'s pendant to Ryder's grandfather Penrith, a preacher, who says Azra is just a made-up story. Veil asks Quinn if he killed her parents and says it was Sunny's blade that ended their lives, not his. When Sunny brings Petri and his Colt, Bale, to track The Widow and her Butterflies, Tilda warns M.K. every time he is cut, his life force gets weaker, and gets captured. A fight ensues between her mother and Sunny, while Bale, wanting to make his first kill, fights Tilda, but meets a deadly end when M.K. cuts himself to save her.
6	6	"Hand of Five Poisons"	Guy Ferland	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar & Michael R. Perry	December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20)	2.16
After his failure to finish off The Widow, Quinn suspects that Sunny is a traitor and imprisons him. Meanwhile, Jade frames Lydia for trying to poison her, resulting in Quinn exiling her. With no other choice, Lydia returns to Penrith and rejoins her father's congregation. Later, Tilda kidnaps Veil, asking her to treat The Widow's wounds. Veil warns Tilda that her mother does not truly love her. She leaves two bottles of poison and the tincture, making it Tilda's choice whether to kill her or not. Instead, Tilda confronts The Widow who insists she's trying to save M.K. and explains she was once special like him. When M.K. escapes, Quinn convinces him to join his ranks in return for sparing Tilda and Sunny's lives; he agrees. Sunny is freed by Waldo, who reveals himself as the true traitor, and urges him to leave the Badlands, but he goes in search of M.K. At the Dollhouse, Quinn is ambushed by Ryder who teamed up with Jacobee and Zypher. Quinn triggers M.K.'s abilities and he quickly disposes of them all. Sunny shows up, impales Quinn with his sword, and attempts to subdue M.K. However, three Abbotts arrive and easily defeat them, revealing they have the same abilities as M.K., and take him away. In order to secure transportation out of the Badlands, Sunny had presented Bale's head to the River King, to pass off as M.K.'s. But the River King finds out and knows Sunny tried to cheat him. The River King captures him, intending to sell Sunny to the highest bidder.

Season 2 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
7	1	"Tiger Pushes Mountain"	Nick Copus	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar	March 19, 2017 (2017-03-19)	3.44
Six months later, Sunny, now a "Picker", a miner used for slave labor, excavates coal in the Bordeaux Mines far from the Badlands. He befriends Bajie, a smuggler who is shackled to him. After watching an arena fight in which under-performing Pickers are executed for not making their quota, Sunny plans to escape. Bajie acquires a map and wants to go with him. When Sunny refuses, Bajie betrays his true identity to the mine boss, The Engineer. Meanwhile, M.K. undergoes training from the Abbotts under the tutelage of Ava. Later, M.K. meets The Master, who promises his freedom if he can learn to control his abilities, and oversees his training. In the Badlands, Ryder, whose Baron following his father's presumed death controls Quinn, Jacobee, and The Widow's territories, alongside his love, Jade. During an inspection of the oil fields, The Widow and Tilda, now a regent, return. In a surprise attack they reclaim them, kill most of Ryder's Clippers and force him to retreat. They preside over a growing army of former Cogs and Dolls, promising to end the Badlands feudal system and replace it with a democratic society. Tilda recruits Odessa, a former doll, and has the clippers who abused the dolls killed. While stationed in an abandoned train station, Veil gives birth to a boy and is in the company of Quinn, who survived his impalement.
8	2	"Force of Eagle's Claw"	Nick Copus	Matt Lambert	March 26, 2017 (2017-03-26)	3.41
After Bajie betrays Sunny, The Engineer decides he doesn't like a "rat" for a Picker so he sends them to the fighting pit to battle his champion Mouse. Fortunately, the arena is unguarded. They defeat their foe, make it to the exit and escape through the mine's ventilation system. They find themselves in the Outlying Territories with a wall separating them from the Badlands. Meanwhile, Tilda learns how to be a proper Regent from Waldo who is working for The Widow. Lydia is living with Penrith and his Totemists. All is peaceful until Nomads interrupt a wedding, looking for goods. Lydia takes it upon herself to save the religious group by killing all the bandits herself, resulting in her father's disapproval due to his non-violent beliefs. She is once again cast out and returns to Ryder, who doesn't receive her kindly. Also, The Master sends M.K. to her room of mirrors in order to conquer his inner demon; himself. Later, while hiding out in the abandoned West Avalon transit station, Quinn performs a bloody baptism on Veil's son, Henry, who he proclaims is the Badlands newest heir.
9	3	"Red Sun, Silver Moon"	Toa Fraser	Michael Taylor	April 2, 2017 (2017-04-02)	3.11
While wandering the Outlying Territories, Sunny and Bajie find a bridge that leads into the Badlands, but it is guarded by a stranger and they've been followed by bounty hunters. The stranger lends them a helping hand defeating the bounty hunters and gives them shelter. They learn that he's the legendary Clipper Regent Nathaniel Moon, "Silver Moon" who, like Sunny, left the Badlands to live a violence-free life. After he fell in love with a warlord's daughter, he started a family, but they were murdered. Now he hunts fugitives, returning to his violent ways. He tries to convince Sunny that men like them never change. Meanwhile, The Widow asks Waldo to be her Second at the Baron conclave instead of Tilda, but she is in charge if she doesn't return. Veil lies to Quinn about his prognoses by switching out his x-rays with healthy ones. M.K. discovers that the Abbotts are up to something when his friend Tate is experimented on, draining his abilities. Later Silver Moon, still searching for his 1,000th kill mark, sees Sunny as a worthy opponent. He challenges Sunny to a fight to the death or to put him out of his misery by ending his life. Sunny continues on his quest to find his family and does not want to be his executioner; Bajie comes to his aid.
10	4	"Palm of the Iron Fox"	Toa Fraser	Daniel C. Connolly	April 9, 2017 (2017-04-09)	1.57
Quinn puts his plan in motion to start anew and sets off with his Clippers. Meanwhile before the conclave voting ceremony, The Widow tries to get Baron Chau on her side and thinks about her condition of pledging not to shelter any more runaway Cogs at her Sanctuary. Later, M.K. takes one of The Master's opium-infused origami and returns to the room of mirrors, this time to find out what happened to his mother, but learns that her blood is on his hands. When Quinn is off on his mission, Veil, trapped at the transit station with lone Clipper Edgar, tries to escape with Henry in her arms by drugging him, however he blocks her only way out. During the conclave, the five remaining Barons vote The Widow in breach of the Foundation Treaty, stripped of her baron title, and her lands and privileges are revoked. They give her 48 hours to vacate the Badlands, but she has no intention of giving it up and a baronial showdown is about to begin. Just then, Quinn makes a dramatic entrance first and goes after Ryder, killing his son in the middle of his hedge maze. In the end, Tilda shows up at the melee and helps Waldo and her mother in their fight for a Cog-free world.
11	5	"Monkey Leaps Through Mist"	Paco Cabezas	LaToya Morgan	April 16, 2017 (2017-04-16)	1.42
With Ryder dead, the other surviving Barons have fled, going to ground. Jade, the only successor, is sworn in as Baron by her Regent, Merrick, and declares war. She then turns to Lydia for help in finding Quinn. However, Lydia has one condition; she gets to kill Quinn herself. Meanwhile, Bajie takes Sunny to Nos, the Commandant of the Mechs, or metal traders, to trade Silver Moon's sword for a shortcut back into the Badlands. Sunny learns from the leader that Quinn's still alive. During their overnight stay, a Doll named Portia visits Sunny asking him to kill Nos so her young daughter Amelia will not lead a life of prostitution. He refuses at first, but after seeing Portia's face mutilated and her stabbed, he and Bajie steal their ride, bringing mother and daughter with them. Also, while training, M.K. escapes the Abbotts and disguises himself with clothes from a corpse that was hanged nearby. Later, The Widow ignores Waldo's advice, to either align with the other Barons who tried to kill her or lose everything she built, instead aligning herself with Quinn. Lydia and the Clippers seek out Quinn, but the bunker doors are booby trapped, and she loses most of her men. In the commotion, Veil finds her way out of the transit station and flees from Quinn, who is having hallucinations of his dead son.
12	6	"Leopard Stalks in Snow"	Paco Cabezas	Matt Lambert	April 23, 2017 (2017-04-23)	1.31
In the aftermath of the transit station explosion, Lydia loses all her men and is captured by Quinn who offers her a chance to avenge their son with a dagger to his heart. Unlike Ryder, she doesn't hesitate, but Quinn stops her hand from the killing blow, then has an intimate moment. Meanwhile, after their escape from the Mechs; Bajie and Sunny go to Portia's healer friend, located in a Gasper addicts opium den. Veil finds temporary solace at the Widow's Sanctuary, but the Widow makes an unholy alliance with Quinn and hands her and baby Henry over to him. Also, Tilda gets closer to Odessa by telling her why she calls Minerva "mother" and they share an intimate moment witnessed by Waldo. Later, Ava finds M.K., who seemed to have lost his power after a skirmish with a Nomad, leaving him bloody. They make camp at an Old World hotel left abandoned during Christmas 2024. Sunny and M.K. reunite, but he's followed by the three Abbotts; Cyan, Ramona, and Dury, seeking out M.K's darkness with an Azraian device. A melee ensues and they're quickly defeated until Bajie shows up, revealing his secret of being an Abbott in another life. Ava dies from her injuries after saving M.K. while Sunny suddenly collapses from a mysterious blow to the chest.
13	7	"Black Heart, White Mountain"	Stephen Fung	Michael Taylor	April 30, 2017 (2017-04-30)	1.42
After a dying Cyan attacked him with the hand of the Five Poisons, a poisoned and comatose Sunny is trapped in a nightmare in which he must confront his inner demons. In the dream, he is living a simple life as a farmer with Veil and Henry who has grown into a boy. Things quickly escalate as the poison seeps through his body, causing all the victims he clipped, including a girl named Artemis, to kill him. Bajie and M.K. infiltrate the Abbott monastery to gather medical supplies and special needles in order to revive Sunny, along with Sunny's Azra compass that Bajie secretly steals. Later, Bajie explains his departure from the monastery. He had a loving relationship with his novice Flea, who had dark abilities similar to M.K. and wishes to find her. Meanwhile, Quinn and the Widow assault Jade's palace in order to exile her from the Badlands.
14	8	"Sting of the Scorpion's Tail"	Stephen Fung	LaToya Morgan	May 7, 2017 (2017-05-07)	1.29
Quinn and the Widow prove their alliance by presenting their gifts: Baron Hassan and Baron Broadmore's heads. Meanwhile, Bajie gets Sunny and M.K. out of the Outlying Territories and through the wall into the Badlands. But it comes at a price when they're captured by Baron Chau's Clippers. However, Sunny devises a plan to get them out by proposing to Chau he knows how to lure The Widow out. He becomes Chau's Regent, slips Bajie the cell key to his freedom, and delivers M.K. to The Widow in order to find Quinn's hideout. Sunny and The Widow's reunion is a bloody one as they work together, alongside M.K. and Tilda, fighting the Clippers. Later, Veil is forced to marry Quinn so he can help raise Henry, grooming him as his heir to the baroncy. Their consummation is interrupted by a report that Sunny is alive, and has joined forces with the Widow and is coming to find Quinn.
15	9	"Nightingale Sings No More"	Paco Cabezas	Justin Britt-Gibson	May 14, 2017 (2017-05-14)	1.56
Twenty years ago, Bajie, an Abbott is tasked with training a new novice who, due to her powerful "Gift", is brought to the monastery in a large chest. She breaks free and Bajie has to subdue her, and because of her small size, he nicknames her Flea. However, her name is Minerva and she carries the book of Azra that's been in her family for generations. Back to the present, Sunny aligns with the Widow who offers him and M.K., now without his abilities, sanctuary. The Widow plans to attack Quinn's bunker, but Quinn sends his young Clipper Gabriel strapped with a suicide bomb to deliver Sunny a message about Veil, and learns that the Widow traded her to Quinn. In the chaos of the explosion, Sunny escapes and runs into Bajie, telling him to get M.K. out and meet him at the bunker. Bajie reunites with Minerva, but it's not the reunion he wanted, as he and M.K. are captured trying to steal the Azra book. Later, Tilda confronts the Widow about how she's become like the rest of the barons: power-hungry and sacrificing innocent lives. The two fight, and Tilda is defeated.
16	10	"Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire"	Paco Cabezas	Alfred Gough, Miles Millar & Matt Lambert	May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21)	1.37
While M.K. remains in the Widow's clutches forcing him to get his Gift back, Odessa frees Bajie and a crippled Tilda from captivity with the aid of Waldo. Bajie helps Sunny in his assault on Quinn's bunker. During the assault, Bajie is wounded by one of Quinn's lieutenants before disappearing, and Lydia is saved from execution. Meanwhile, Sunny is reunited with Veil and fights a final battle with Quinn. Badly wounded, Quinn grabs Veil and tries to take her hostage and gives him an ultimatum; either Sunny gives him Henry or he will kill Veil. Refusing to let Quinn have the upper hand, Veil fatally impales both herself and Quinn with his own sai. With her dying breath, Veil implores Sunny to raise their son to be good. Later, an injured Bajie rides Sunny's motorcycle to a derelict communications tower and reactivates it with the Azra compass, sending out a Morse code before collapsing from his stab wound.

Season 3 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
17	1	"Enter the Phoenix"	Paco Cabezas	Matt Lambert	April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)	1.35
It's been six months since Sunny returned to the Badlands, which is now ravaged by a civil war between the only two barons left: The Widow and Chau. He reunites with Bajie to seek a cure for his infant son Henry, who has The Gift. Tilda, known as the "Iron Rabbit", and her band of thieves are stealing from The Widow and protecting Lydia in a Totemsist camp. Meanwhile, M.K. is being held captive by The Widow who is trying to help him get back his power. She also recuits Moon who is in hiding after his fight with Sunny left him with one hand. Later, a new threat emerges.
18	2	"Moon Rises, Raven Seeks"	Paco Gonzalez	Matt Lambert	April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29)	1.27
After receiving Bajie's signal, Pilgrim, the son of Azra, along with his Acolytes travel a long way in search for a new kingdom in the Badlands. They find one in a ruined castle on an island, once a natural history museum. Moon joins The Widow as her Regent. He's tasked with finding Bajie, who is vital in the war effort. Sunny learns he passed The Gift to Henry. He and Bajie seek help from Lydia who tell them about Ankara, the Mad Witch who processes knowledge about The Dark Ones. Wanting answers, they set out north to Vulture's Peak where she can be found. Later, The Widow struggles to control M.K. who tries to kill himself with opium. She wants the Iron Rabbit's head, unbeknownst the thief is Tilda.
19	3	"Leopard Snares Rabbit"	Toa Fraser	Michael Taylor	May 6, 2018 (2018-05-06)	0.97
On orders to capture the Iron Rabbit, Moon raids Tilda's refugee camp and takes Odessa to lure her out. Lydia decides to play both sides and partners with The Widow as her Viceroy and she takes over Quinn's mansion. Disguised as The Widow's Clippers, Sunny and Bajie make their was to the frontlines and leave Henry with a healer while they find a way out of the war zone for a cure. Tilda confronts her mother and makes a deal that she'll come back for M.K.'s freedom. M.K. gets his Gift back.
20	4	"Blind Cannibal Assassins"	Toa Fraser	Michael Taylor	May 13, 2018 (2018-05-13)	1.20
While traveling through the Wasteland, Sunny and Bajie face-off against a band of blind cannibals who were once renegade Clippers tracked fown and blinded by Quinn's forces, including Sunny when he was a Colt. They join forces with Moon who was also captured by the assassins, and his honor is satisfied after sparing Henry a father. Baron Chau enlists her imprisoned brother, Galis to clip Pilgrim who is recruiting Cogs from her territory, while The Widow and Lydia try to befriend Pilgrim, and save his life in the process during Chau's attack. Later, M.K. is on the run, deciding he must find Sunny and kill him, believing he murdered his mother.
21	5	"Carry Tiger to Mountain"	James Marshall	LaToya Morgan	May 20, 2018 (2018-05-20)	1.08
Sunny and Bajie reach Vulture's Peak and seeks help from Ankara, a reclusive witch, who temporally heals Henry's darkness. She tells Sunny someone powerful dispelled his Gift as a child, and in doing so, made him a Catalyst, from where the dark gift flows through him. She also declared that Sunny may be the most powerful of them all. After Nix saves him in the forest, M.K. meets Pilgrim, who wants to use his powers for his cause in ushering in a new era of blood and chaos in the name of Azra. The Widow confronts Galis, Chau's brother and a ghost from her past from when she served his father as Baron Chau's Cog. He agrees to help fight his sister's Clippers who, along with Caster, ransacked Tilda's refugee camp.
22	6	"Black Wind Howls"	Unknown	Unknown	June 3, 2018 (2018-06-03)	N/A
23	7	"Dragonfly's Last Dance"	Unknown	Unknown	June 10, 2018 (2018-06-10)	N/A
24	8	"Leopard Catches Cloud"	Unknown	Unknown	June 17, 2018 (2018-06-17)	N/A

Episode eleven is written by Stephanie Hicks & Matt Lambert, and directed by Tricia Brock.

Production

Described as a "genre-bending martial arts series". AMC ordered 6 one-hour-long episodes of the action-drama developed by AMC Studios for a premiere in late 2015. Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park composed the title theme. Executive producer Stephen Fung also serves as the series' action director alongside veteran Hong Kong choreographer, Ku Huen-chiu.

Broadcast

Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on November 17, 2015, on Showcase. In Germany, Austria, Italy, and the UK, the series is available through Amazon Prime Instant Video with each episode accessible the day after the U.S. air date. BBC America began airing double episodes on August 20, 2016, at 10pm ET.

Home media

Complete Season	DVD/Blu-ray Release dates			Additional info
	Region 1/A	Region 2/B	Region 4/C
1	November 8, 2016	n/a	n/a	The Blu-ray/DVD box-sets include featurettes, making of the fight scenes, the characters of the series, and digital comic.
2	March 13, 2018	n/a	n/a	Deleted scenes.

Reception

Critical response

The first season received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 54% approval rating with an average rating of 4.72/10 based on 39 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Into the Badlands is loaded with off-kilter potential that's left largely unfulfilled -- although its well-choreographed action sequences should satisfy martial arts fans." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

The second season received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.53/10 based on 5 reviews.

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter gave a generally positive review and wrote, "AMC finds a bloody, fun and entertaining non-zombie counterpart to The Walking Dead and turns Sundays into an escapist red zone." Maureen Ryan of Variety wrote, "The action scenes scattered throughout Into the Badlands are not just stirringly presented, they represent a test passed with flying, and bloody, colors. This efficient AMC series is an homage to classic Samurai films and kinetic action fare churned out by Hong Kong maestros of furious fists, and if the TV drama had failed to meet the standards set by the sturdiest examples of those genres, it would have seemed superfluous at best. Fortunately, star Daniel Wu is more than up to the task of occupying the center of this streamlined story of vengeance, tyranny and roundhouse kicks."

Ratings

Season 1 (2015)

Viewership and ratings per episode of Into the Badlands

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"The Fort"	November 15, 2015	3.2	6.39	0.8	1.83	4.0	8.22†
2	"Fist Like a Bullet"	November 22, 2015	2.3	4.83	—	—	—	—
3	"White Stork Spreads Wings"	November 29, 2015	2.5	5.17	0.7	1.52	3.2	6.69†
4	"Two Tigers Subdue Dragons"	December 6, 2015	1.1	2.42	0.6	—	1.7†	—
5	"Snake Creeps Down"	December 13, 2015	1.0	2.21	—	—	—	—
6	"Hand of Five Poisons"	December 20, 2015	1.0	2.16	—	—	—	—

Notes

^† Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.

Season 2 (2017)

Viewership and ratings per episode of Into the Badlands

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Tiger Pushes Mountain"	March 19, 2017	1.4	3.44	0.6	1.28	2.0	4.71
2	"Force of Eagle's Claw"	March 26, 2017	1.5	3.41	—	1.23	—	4.64
3	"Red Sun, Silver Moon"	April 2, 2017	1.4	3.11	0.6	1.38	2.0	4.50
4	"Palm of the Iron Fox"	April 9, 2017	0.6	1.57	0.5	1.12	1.1	2.69
5	"Monkey Leaps Through Mist"	April 16, 2017	0.5	1.42	0.6	1.25	1.1	2.67
6	"Leopard Stalks in Snow"	April 23, 2017	0.5	1.31	0.5	1.22	1.0	2.53
7	"Black Heart, White Mountain"	April 30, 2017	0.5	1.42	0.4	—	0.9†	—
8	"Sting of the Scorpion's Tail"	May 7, 2017	0.5	1.29	—	—	—	—
9	"Nightingale Sings No More"	May 14, 2017	0.6	1.56	0.4	1.15	1.0	2.71
10	"Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire"	May 21, 2017	0.5	1.37	0.4	1.07	0.9	2.44

Notes

^† Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.

Season 3 (2018)

Viewership and ratings per episode of Into the Badlands

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Enter the Phoenix"	April 22, 2018	0.5	1.35	—	—	—	—
2	"Moon Rises, Raven Seeks"	April 29, 2018	0.4	1.27	0.3	—	0.7	—
3	"Leopard Snares Rabbit"	May 6, 2018	0.3	0.97	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
4	"Blind Cannibal Assassins"	May 13, 2018	0.4	1.20	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
5	"Carry Tiger to Mountain"	May 20, 2018	0.4	1.08	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	Saturn Awards	Best Action-Thriller Television Series	Into the Badlands	Pending

External links

• Into the Badlands at IMDb
• Into the Badlands at TV Guide
• Into the Badlands on TV.com