It certainly seems like 'Into the Badlands' made a point with its bloody debut: this AMC TV series is the ultimate martial arts drama right now.
The season premiere of 'Into the Badlands' showed off exactly what the show is all about: amazing fight sequences, a little drama, maybe some mystery and a whole lot of martial arts. Whereas other action dramas might feature at least one major fight scene per episode, 'The Fort' boasted of three fight sequences, one of which is done in the pouring rain.
At the center of one of these fight scenes is Sunny, played by 'Warcraft' star Daniel Wu. Sunny is a regent Clipper, trained from childhood to work for a baron named Quinn (Marton Csokas). In the Badlands, the barons have the power. However, their power may not extend beyond the Badlands.
When Sunny rescues a young captive named M.K. (Aramis Knight), he finds out that there may be great cities that exist outside of the Badlands. However, it might be a dangerous place if the only known resident evidently has superpowers that turn him into a killing machine. It could be a special skill, since the Widow wants to get her paws on him so bad.
The redheaded antagonist of the show (or maybe just for the first episode) is The Widow (Emily Beecham), who obviously has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. She had allegedly killed her own husband to claim the title as baron, and knows about the city where M.K. is from as well as Sunny's own mysterious past. The baroness also has skills that could rival Sunny's, which makes one wonder if her past is just as mystifying.
Over all, 'The Fort' certainly set the rapid martial arts pace for the rest of the series.
'Fist Like a Bullet,' the second episode of 'Into the Badlands,' will air on AMC on November 22.
