AMC's Into the Badlands

I watched the first season of Into the Badlands on Netflix a while back. Here's my take. Spoilers Ahead.


I had heard of the show, but only in passing. It looked like a mid-budget martial arts action flick in the previews and I knew nothing about the plot except that it was a post-apocalyptic setting.
The plot throws us into the near future in a post-World War III America where the government has collapsed and the nation is carved into factions, each one ruled over by a dynastic Barony. Guns have been outlawed and violent conflict falls to highly trained melee combatants called Clippers.

We begin following one of these fighters, Sunny, who's the chief Clipper for his Baron, Quinn. He is sent on a recovery mission to bring back escaped/stolen "Cogs", the slang term for serfs or indentured servants. Only one of them survived, a boy with the cipher of a name, M. K. Turns out, M. K. has a fearful secret related to a mythical place beyond the Badlands. Sunny must protect M. K., his pregnant girlfriend, and himself, all while navigating the ever escalating war between Baron Quinn and his neighboring baroness, styled The Widow.

Pros

The show is very stylized and I loved the look, from the dilapidated Southern plantation, to the Wild West shanty town, to the steam-punk bike. The costuming and visuals were so very different from anything on TV at the moment.

But where the show really shines is the action. Show runners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (of Smallville and Shannara) went full on wuxia and it works.

For one, they got Daniel Wu to play Sunny. He's an experienced kung fu practitioner and a seasoned actor. He gives credibility to the Clippers and their superhuman fighting prowess, just by his comfort with martial arts.

Second, their stunt and fight choreographers did an excellent job.  They even managed to make Marton Csokas look like a passable swordsman to a layman like myself. The couple of times he picks up a blade, you can believe he used to be a Clipper himself.

Third, in some of the fights, the writers and directors play up the supernatural abilities of the fighters with wire work and computer special effects. It's like a Jackie Chan movie meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It completely fits the tone and allows for some really fun fights. (I wish Iron Fist had been willing to do as much.)

The show isn't all action, however. There are some great performances by members of the ensemble. Marton Csokas oozes charisma as Baron Quinn. Madeleine Mantok plays Veil, Sunny's paramour and the town doctor. And Stephen Lang shows up once or twice as Waldo, the wheel-chair bound former Clipper and Sunny's mentor.

Cons

Sadly, the show also has some very wooden performances. Of particular note are Aramis Knight as M. K. and Oliver Stark as Baron Quinn's son, Ryder. Part of that may be the writing (these characters are very one-note) but it was just painful to watch them on screen, especially opposite Csokas and the others.

Speaking of writing, there are a lot of badly answered questions in this show. Basically, the writers ask you not to think while watching. Here's a few that occurred to me:

Why are guns outlawed?

We're told this happens, but not why. This is completely against human nature. Trained hand to hand combatants are expensive and time consuming. The attrition rate, through injury, disease, or death, is high. Then they fight and in a bad engagement you lose the majority of the force. Then the opportunity cost. All the time and money you spend training them can't be spent on other things, like developing manufacturing capacity.

Comparatively, you can spend a few weeks training novices how to fight with guns and have them ready and able to stand up to a vastly larger melee-focused force. Also, guns and bullets can be mass produced much faster than swords and other hand weapons.

At least tell us metal is rare and valuable, lead is all irradiated, something that makes not using firearms make sense. Otherwise, the victory goes to the first person to roll this paper shield up and use it as a fuse for their cannons.

Why does The Widow only use women Clippers?

In any world where Newtonian physics applies, if two people are equally well trained, size and strength are going to make a big difference. A lucky punch is going to hit harder for the bigger opponent if Force= Mass x Velocity.

I get that she's wounded and thinks she's fighting for women's freedom in a male dominated pseudo-feudal society. Still, she's shown to be smart and ruthless. Why not train women to be nurses, maids, wives, and painted ladies, plant them in important positions and orchestrate a mass slaughter of the men-in-charge? THEN, roll in with your own highly trained army. Or heck, hire one with your money. When the dust settles, you're the only game in town.

If M. K. goes berserk whenever he bleeds, what happens when he stubs his toe, gets a splinter, bloodies his nose training, or cuts himself shaving?

We never see, because writers can't be bothered to think through the consequences of Rage Mode Power activation unless it happens on the schedule dictated by the network.

Why can't Clippers have children?

This is the motivation for a MAJOR plot point and it makes no sense. Contraception should be outlawed. People die all the time, especially in your knife-and-sword combat set. You need replacement troops to send through your training process. You need hostages to compel loyalty from some of your men. You need skilled servants, like doctors, butlers, maids, and craftsmen. You need nannies. If Clippers get married and have kids, congratulations, BOGO sale on isle five. Don't make them give them up or abort them.

Lastly, remember the mythical city? At least four people in and around the Barony not only suspect that it's real, they know it's real and/or have been there themselves. A couple even cooperate with the city itself. There is no way that secret does not get out somewhere, sometime.

One final complaint about the show: it is very dark in tone. Veil and her parents are the only truly good people we spend any time with. Everyone else is motivated entirely by self-interest. Heroic and compassionate decisions are nearly always rewarded with pain, betrayal, or death. There is very little hope, and it seems to constantly dangle just out of reach like the light of an angler fish.

Conclusion

I'm in the same place I was when I watched through Smallville. Gough and Millar have great ideas, but the execution falls flat. The show has intrigue, stunning visuals, and plenty of great action, but is let down by some stiff performances and a lack of commitment to make the world make sense.

If you're looking for a turn-your-brain-off-and-enjoy-the-kung-fu series, this is your jam. If you are unable to put some serious umph into your suspension of disbelief, this series is going to annoy you.

I'd give it a 3 out of 5, mostly on the strength of style and the ability of main actors.

P.S.- Parents, if you haven't looked up the show's rating, it contains a lot of bloody violence, a smattering of foul language, and a handful of sexual situations. While fairly restrained (this is no HBO or Showtime series) it's probably not a good idea to watch it with the kids.