Into the Badlands

[alton]

Had to catch up with this one on Netflix and am impressed with all aspects of the show. A very bizarre take on Mad Max meets Crouching Tiger and Sergio Leone. If something has been posted on this previously I didn't see it and hopefully this thread can stay up because I'm curious to see what everybody thinks of the show. Not familiar with anybody connected with it other than Millar and Gough. Check it out.

[Killercroc357]

I really liked the visuals on this show - great scene shots and sets!

But I really couldn't connect with any of the characters. Other than the kid being hunted (M.K. I think it was). It just felt like a never-ending plot of evil versus eviler.

[alton]

I really liked the visuals on this show - great scene shots and sets!

But I really couldn't connect with any of the characters. Other than the kid being hunted (M.K. I think it was). It just felt like a never-ending plot of evil versus eviler.

You are right about the visuals and sets but I think you missed Daniel Wu's/ Sonny's occasional look of fear and dread over the coming conflict between himself and the Baron. The fact that he is the best trained Clipper doesn't mean he can protect those around him forever in the Badlands environment. As evil as he is the Baron is still a compelling character driven to survive anyway he can. The never ending plot of evil vs. evil may be a metaphor for the American Wild West aspects of Badlands central premise fused with a more critical and less romanticized view of Feudal Asian culture than we have gotten in the past. Unfortunately you and I seem to be the only ones watching this show given the weak response this thread is getting. So it goes I guess.

[Spiritualcramp]

2 episodes left before I finish season 1, I need to get to it. Might finish it off tomorrow night before Iron Fist drops on Netflix

[tsaimelemoni]

Caught up on Netflix. Plot isn't super compelling, but I like most of the characters and the show clearly has potential. Glad they got a second season.

[Flyattractor]

This show is fun and more unpredictable then WTD is right now and had been for quite a while to TBH.

[numberthirty]

Didn't mind the first season. Thought it was an interesting place to leave things if they did not wind up getting picked up for a second season.

[TheInvisibleMan]

I enjoyed this, interesting to see where it goes

[alton]

Sorry if there's already a thread on this, but I couldn't find it.

Anyway, after posting in the I don't want an Asian Iron Fist thread of what turned me off of this programme (among other things), I decided to give it a chance.

Okay, so the "boy" - thankfully - is NOT a boy, as in either a Babycart Assassin rip-off or annoying child actor for us to suffer sense, but is a teenager on the verge of manhood.

The premise is pretty daft but gives the excuse to use martial arts, so I'll forgive it; Revolution got away with a pretty stupid premise in order to have an American Civil War era look, with cutlasses and crap... but then, we all know how well that programme went down.

So, in the pilot, Daniel Wu's character is less of a Ryu and more of a lapdog. I'm not sure which is best or why he puts his sword down in the beginning if he plans on killing everyone anyway, but the wire-fu is okay, even if it doesn't offer anything new, and him being almost super-human with his wuxia pien stuff is kind of retarded, given that the "boy" is the one with the apparent super-human martial arts. Seriously, the only difference between them is that the "boy's" eyes glaze over...

The actress playing The Widow is super hot(!), which is always welcome, even if such an attitude limits roles for less attractive women (so go on, girls, call me a bigot...), and, well, that's about all there to it. A lot of sword fights, CGI blood mixed with fake blood that somehow works, and the promise of more action to come.

Not the best programme ever made, but worth checking out for another couple of episodes to see if the writing keeps me engaged.

Anyone else like to chime in?

Sorry vivachiba I didn't see your thread on Badlands when I posted on Season 1. Actually I like the show so far and feel the naysayers have completely missed what may be certain plot points and we will see what develops in Season 2. The mix of Asian Samurai/Ninja culture with a post apocalyptic American Wild West is whack at first but explodes the romantic rose colored glasses approach we usually take with both eras. What I find hilarious is that this show is dismissed by some of the Walking Dead cultists who wallow in the unremitting despair and sociopathic rationalizations it's fan base need as entertainment. Whatever.

[j9ac9k]

I really liked the visuals on this show - great scene shots and sets!

But I really couldn't connect with any of the characters. Other than the kid being hunted (M.K. I think it was). It just felt like a never-ending plot of evil versus eviler.

I am a fan of the show - there's a lot to recommend it, but I also felt that connecting to the characters to be a bit of a challenge. Sonny and The Widow have some qualities, but they're still overshadowed by the plot/counterplot machinations. And MK as the main plotpoint is not exciting to me. I'm glad that he's not the only "special one" so maybe he'll be less important moving forward.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Sorry vivachiba I didn't see your thread on Badlands when I posted on Season 1. Actually I like the show so far and feel the naysayers have completely missed what may be certain plot points and we will see what develops in Season 2. The mix of Asian Samurai/Ninja culture with a post apocalyptic American Wild West is whack at first but explodes the romantic rose colored glasses approach we usually take with both eras. What I find hilarious is that this show is dismissed by some of the Walking Dead cultists who wallow in the unremitting despair and sociopathic rationalizations it's fan base need as entertainment. Whatever.

Ugh...

I'm not a fan of the plotting or internal logic in Walking Dead, but sadly its far better than what we see from Into the Badlands.

While Walking Dead at least started exploiting its genre tropes at the beginning and applied them logically, Badlands' plotting starts in the middle, and goes from there.

The main villain (Widow) is morally superior to everyone, including the protagonist. While seeing an idealist fall has a tragic, bitter sweet appeal, the time for that is the second or third season, not opening arc. More than that, the whole 'breaking up the band' bit only really works when the band has been together for a while, and not the first season finale.

More than that, it leans on the loyal samurai trope with Sunny, even though Sunny serves a man who proudly boasts of a Klingon promotion. That he is so loyal to such a man, to the point of standing aside when the parents of the woman he loves are killed, simply doesn't make sense.

Lastly, the villain, Widow, simply isn't compelling, in large part because she's not threatening. She's lost both her major fights (in a series that's all about fighting), and what happens if she wins?

Well, from what we've seen, she'll work towards a society more equitable for all. The horror! The writers tried to paint her darker by saying how she uses child soldiers, but in this world that's par for the course. More than that, she's actually loyal to said soldiers. At worst, she might be slightly sexist against men because of past abuse, but given all she's done thus far, that's all but meaningless. Only rabid 'mens rights' A-holes wouldn't root for her.

The action's good for TV, but that's about it

[ZeroBG82]

Ugh...

I'm not a fan of the plotting or internal logic in Walking Dead, but sadly its far better than what we see from Into the Badlands.

While Walking Dead at least started exploiting its genre tropes at the beginning and applied them logically, Badlands' plotting starts in the middle, and goes from there.

The main villain (Widow) is morally superior to everyone, including the protagonist. While seeing an idealist fall has a tragic, bitter sweet appeal, the time for that is the second or third season, not opening arc. More than that, the whole 'breaking up the band' bit only really works when the band has been together for a while, and not the first season finale.

More than that, it leans on the loyal samurai trope with Sunny, even though Sunny serves a man who proudly boasts of a Klingon promotion. That he is so loyal to such a man, to the point of standing aside when the parents of the woman he loves are killed, simply doesn't make sense.

Lastly, the villain, Widow, simply isn't compelling, in large part because she's not threatening. She's lost both her major fights (in a series that's all about fighting), and what happens if she wins?

Well, from what we've seen, she'll work towards a society more equitable for all. The horror! The writers tried to paint her darker by saying how she uses child soldiers, but in this world that's par for the course. More than that, she's actually loyal to said soldiers. At worst, she might be slightly sexist against men because of past abuse, but given all she's done thus far, that's all but meaningless. Only rabid 'mens rights' A-holes wouldn't root for her.

The action's good for TV, but that's about it

Or maybe Widow isn't the villain at all...

[tsaimelemoni]

Yeah, never felt like the Widow was a villain either.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Yeah, never felt like the Widow was a villain either.

She was after MK, tried to kill Sunny, kidnapped his main squeeze, so yeah. She was the villain. Not super evil true, but still the villain.

[tsaimelemoni]

Quinn and his family were the villains. Widow was the rebel and rebels occasionally engage in less than virtuous behavior. Doesn't make her a villain.

Giving us a POV character from within the villain's camp just made sure we saw the impact on both sides.