INTO THE BADLANDS: Ep. 204 “Palm of the Iron Fox”
Warning: This review contains spoilers!
Daddy’s home!
In an episode featuring betrayal, blood and a Baron battle royale the lasting memory in viewers minds will no doubt be the final moments of Palm of the Iron Fox. While last week’s episode was Sunny heavy, Palm of the Iron Fox focused on Quinn’s quest for revenge, the Baron conclave and a dash of M.K.’s dark side.
Quinn preps for a mission with his new clippers and gets all biblical as he rallies them for battle. Martin Csokas does bad better than anybody and the way he commands scenes makes it easy to see how Quinn became the most feared Baron in the Badlands. His interest in Veil and baby Henry is equal parts creepy and sad. Before Quinn sets out to reclaim his home he gives Veil his baron ring – the one he’d intended for Ryder – but now wants it to be passed onto Henry if he doesn’t return.
Meanwhile, M.K. refuses to listen to himself and journeys back into the dream realm. There he sees his dying mother before getting his ass kicked once again by his dark side. How many flying kicks to the solar plexus is young M.K. going to take before he begins to learn his lesson?
At the Baron conclave, the Widow gets a pep talk from Waldo before being put on trial for reclaiming her oil fields. Baron Chau and the Widow hash things out and we get some backstory for the Widow. As her story comes to light one can’t help but wonder if the Widow has more in common with someone like Lydia than might have been first realized. The Widow’s quest to eliminate cogs in the Badlands is upsetting the balance of power and commerce, particularly for Chau and it’s going to take some diplomacy and deal making to avert a potential war.
There’s a fair bit of gender politics at play in Palm of the Iron Fox. It’s interesting to see the contrast in the scene where Chau tries to throw shade at Widow for her rise to power vs the one featuring the younger women, Tilda and the young colt, as they reflect on the Widow’s decision to take Waldo to the conclave instead of her. Solidarity for the sisterhood dominates the colt’s rant and scores one for the sistas in a world mostly ruled by men.
Amid the fantastic fight sequences, wonderful sets and elaborate costumes, the heart of Into the Badlands is its humanity that allows it to connect to its audience. Palm of the Iron Fox delves into the disappointment people have when those they hold dear let them down. In Quinn’s case, it’s betrayal – Ryder’s betrayal to be exact that stings the most. It can be difficult when children don’t live up to a parent’s expectations. Conversely it can be just as crushing when a child realizes that they may never fill their parent’s shoes. They either decide to forge their own path or forever struggle under the weight of unrealized expectations.
With all of these dynamics in play, Palm of the Iron Fox features Ryder’s finest moment and perhaps his worst in a span of a few scenes. When he’s hosting the event and calling out the Widow, he’s truly in his element. The Widow’s rebuttal to his charges is strong but Ryder balks at her counter proposal and justifies betraying his father. Ryder felt Quinn was reckless, selfish and a danger to their way of life and now seeks to have the Widow stripped of her title and banished from the Badlands.
As things look darkest for the Widow, she remains defiant and a royal rumble Baron style breaks out – with Quinn as the final player. After some slicing, dicing and fancy footwork in high heels it’s evident that there’s a new top Baron in town. Palm of the Iron Fox goes a long way to establishing the Widow as the most dangerous Baron of the bunch, even with Quinn’s return.
The moment Quinn shows up, it’s like Ryder’s knees buckle as his whole world crumbles around him. The showdown between father and son is painful to watch not just because of the inevitability of their battle but also because of the shattered potential of what could have been. Ryder could never be his father’s type of Baron because he is a child of privilege. He wasn’t forged like Quinn was as a cog. While Quinn’s a man of brawn and tyranny, Ryder’s a man of intellect and diplomacy. This father and son were never meant to walk the same path. Even in the final moments of their battle, Quinn tries to teach Ryder something until the ultimate lesson is learned. It’s almost as though, in that final moment, that they were closer to each other than they’d ever been.
Palm of the Iron Fox is an entertaining, yet heartbreaking episode. With families and the Barons in disarray the fallout from the events of this episode will have long lasting repercussions for everyone involved. It will also be interesting to see how Quinn deals with Lydia and how that shapes things for them as a couple once the true ramifications of his actions sink in.
