Into the Badlands Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Force of Eagle's Claw
Ron Gilmer
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One minute you're watching a martial arts fight-fest, and before you know it, a Road Buddy movie breaks out!
On Into the Badlands Season 2 Episode 2, Sunny and Bajie have to fight for their lives, but what follows is a very funny take on the mismatched, buddy, road movie trope.
I really love this season so far, and the main reason is the humor that has come into the plot.
The whole Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome vibe was in full effect, with the battle between The Engineer's champ Mouse and the chained duo of Sunny and Bajie.
It brought back fond memories of Master Blaster, but with a far deadlier result.
I was surprised how well Bajie fought, being such a big guy and all. And the constant snarky remarks were totally hilarious.
You could tell Daniel Wu, who plays Sunny, was having a blast, what with all the great facial reactions to Bajie's wisecracks.
That scene could have just as easily been in a Jackie Chan flick, and the humor is a nice addition. At times the show is a real downer, so I like the added element of humor to lighten the proceedings.
Sunny: Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?
Bajie: Because it will be a lot harder to win chained to a corpse.
The action was top notch (as usual), but I was hoping the fight lasted a little longer. It seemed they dispatched Mouse pretty easily considering they were chained together.
Sunny flipping Bajie in mid-air to land on Mouse was very imaginative, and that's what sets this show apart: the action sequences are eye-popping, and the choreography is feature film good.
If only another certain new show's fight scenes were even half as good (yes, I'm looking at YOU, Iron Fist.)
I hope The Engineer isn't gone for good; he's a hoot! He told the boys he'd find them, and it would be great if they keep him in the plot line.
He's batsh*t crazy, and that kind of loony tunes character is too good to leave behind.
Another big improvement is the change of locations. New Orleans was the base for filming last season, but this time around they are filming in Ireland.
It brings a much more grand scale to the story, and that's a very good thing.
Sunny and Bajie out in the wild is much more believable now, and the last scene where they encounter a huge wall wouldn't have had the impact last year that it does in this location.
Why do you always walk uphill?
Bajie [to Sunny]
Sunny and Bajie are a match made in heaven, and I hope they keep them together even after they make their way back to the badlands.
I'm not feeling MK, however.
I know he's supposed to be the "chosen one" and all, and maybe it's the actor, but I don't feel invested in his character.
The most interesting part of his story line is when he hulks out after being cut, but now that we know there are a butt load of others who can do the same thing, it's big whoop to me.
The actor is terrible IMO, so maybe that's why it leaves me cold.
His fight scenes against his evil self were well shot, and the action choreography was clever, but I just don't care what happens with him. YET. Maybe that will change.
MK, your gift is the most powerful I've seen in a long time, but you're letting someone else control it.
The Master [to MK]
I do like the fact The Master is a woman; we've seen so many old, bearded masters in countless martial arts movies that it's nice to see they went outside the box a little.
I hope they don't use the fact she's a young woman to shoehorn a romance with MK.
Right now the only lovers are Sunny and Veil, but since they're apart, they might be thinking of "shipping" MK and The Master. Please don't do it!
I knew they wouldn't get rid of Quinn, and now we know what his deal is. Aside from amassing an army, he has a creepy as frak obsession with Veil and her newborn baby, Henry.
I know she saved his life more than once, but the way he looks at her and puts his hands on her is VERY disturbing.
He seems to think Henry is a Baron in the making, or maybe he's looking to make up for his messed up relationship with Ryder. Either way, it's bothersome.
Quinn: I have a feeling this child is destined for great things. Have you decided on a name?
Veil: Henry.
I hope it doesn't take the entire season for Sunny to find and rescue Veil. I could definitely see a smackdown between Sunny and Quinn over Veil, and that would be a pretty awesome fight between two former clippers.
One thing that bothered me was how the totemist religious clan refused to defend themselves against the nomads.
It's a good thing Lydia was there to save their bacon!
Her battle was incredibly brutal, with lots of blood spurting everywhere! The fight scenes are a good deal more intense, with more carnage than last year, especially for basic cable. Is this on purpose? You betcha!
Lydia: They would have killed you.
Penrith: So be it. Killing is a privilege left only to the Gods.
Lydia was all over the place, with multiple stabbings, some ladle fu to a dude's head, and some nice hot soup fu to the face of a nomad; excellent!
It's still weird for me to see the well known badass Lance Henriksen as Lydia's pop, the wimpy pacifist Penrith, content to kneel down and get his throat slit. C'mon dude!
My favorite character is The Widow, and I was kinda disappointed she didn't have that much to do.
Other than learning the other Barons, led by Ryder, are plotting against her, the only surprise here was seeing Waldo (played by the amazing Stephen Lang) now aligned with her, after evidently abandoning Ryder's opium trade.
War is probably inevitable, but I like The Widow trying to break up this feudal society to give people freedom.
Everyone in this post-apocalyptic world, unless you're a Baron, is oppressed to varying degrees. Sunny tried to break free, and all he got was a death sentence in the opium mines (until his escape, that is.)
I really like it so far. The location change is a big upgrade. Add to that the writers raising the mayhem quotient, and you have a crackerjack action show everyone should be watching.
That's my take. Tell me yours. Do you like the humor they've added? Does Quinn creep you out as much as he does me? Let me know in the comments section.
And, as always, you can watch Into the Badlands online anytime, right here on TV Fanatic!
