Into the Badlands 303 – Leopard Snares Rabbit
Old alliances and broken bonds come back to haunt the Iron Rabbit in the opening moments of Leopard Snares Rabbit. Moon and the Widow’s forces have come for Tilda’s head and will not stop until they’ve achieved their objective.
Speaking of alliances, Lydia and the Widow are now in league with each other. A lot has changed for Lydia since she broke ranks with Quinn but in some ways things have remained the same. Now in the role as the Widow’s viceroy, Lydia is back in her former home and is in line for her very own symbol. Her previous relationship with Moon also scores her some points with the Widow’s new regent even though he’s wise to her affiliation with Tilda.
In a bid to save Henry, Sunny and Bajie go undercover in the Widow’s forces to ensure safe passage through the Badlands. One snag in their plan is that their route runs right into a point where Baron Chau’s deadly archers lay in wait. The challenge of dealing with Chau’s archers produces some good action sequences but also reveals one of Sunny’s hidden talents. Later on Sunny’s cover is blown and draws Moon’s attention. Not to be outdone, Bajie reaches into his bag of tricks and works some magic to help a wounded member of the Widow’s forces.
To go along with the action, Leopard Snares Rabbit has it’s fair share of political gymnastics as well. Most of the episode deals with the wheeling and dealing of many of the characters as they try to strengthen their grip on power. The Widow is willing to make concessions if they can ultimately give her what she seeks. Tilda gets a lesson in the art of survival from Lydia and even Moon learns a thing or two from his former flame. There’s a reason Lydia was able to survive as long as she did as Quinn’s wife and those skills are on full display during the episode. There’s also Sunny’s realization that life in the Badlands exacts a heavy toll on not just a person’s body but on their soul as well.
One of the more interesting developments in Leopard Snares Rabbit is Bajie’s reaction to the injuries sustained by Wren. Bajie has always looked out for number one but it appears he’s coming around a bit. Ironically his compassion doesn’t yield the desired results and he’s left to wonder if doing what he thought was a good deed was actually worth the effort.
As the end credits roll the table is set pretty nicely for next week’s episode. New alliances, M.K.’s awakening and Moon hot on Sunny’s trail hold promise for things to come. More of Good Samaritan Bajie is also welcome, but maybe not too much.
