Into the Badlands 305 – Carry Tiger to Mountain
Carry Tiger to Mountain begins with a history lesson and establishes a link between Gaius Chau and the Widow. Their connection flows into the present and Gaius showing up on the Widow’s doorstep with an offer leads him back into a life behind bars. The trip down memory lane is just one of several storylines in the episode that scramble characters’ allegiances to potentially pit former allies against each other.
Sunny and Bajie head into the mountains to find a reclusive woman named Ankara who may hold the key to curing Henry. Bajie’s former Master only provides temporary relief for Henry but she also opens a door to Sunny’s hidden potential. Ankara continues to pay dividends when she reveals that the signal Bajie sent out at the end of last season was indeed answered by none other than Pilgrim.
Pilgrim and Cressida cover a lot of ground in Carry Tiger to Mountain. At first they confront Baron Chau presenting her with the heads of Gaius’ hit squad and then they extend a warm welcome to M.K. who has just regained consciousness. M.K.’s first encounter with Pilgrim and Cressida is an interesting one. Even though he’s still injured, M.K. wants to keep moving but runs into some resistance from Pilgrim and discovers first hand the power the religious zealot wields. An olive branch is then extended and M.K. decides to stay with Pilgrim to heal and search for Azra.
The Gaius/Widow connection cements Gaius in the present narrative while allowing a small bit of tenderness in the Widow that was lost when she parted ways with Tilda. The Widow’s reluctance to trust men is well documented but a professional and perhaps personal relationship with Gaius has some potential. The key to making it work would be to keep the Widow’s edge while adding another dimension to her character.
Carry Tiger to Mountain sets the stage for everything to come together in the coming episodes. Sunny and Bajie are on Pilgrim’s trail; the Widow, Gaius, Lydia and Tilda are united against Baron Chau and M.K. is now a member of Pilgrim’s crew. One of the wrinkles moving forward is even though M.K. wants Sunny dead that goes against Pilgrim’s wishes. The revelation that Sunny is the catalyst for the Gift means that Pilgrim wants him on his side. That obviously won’t go as planned and with Baron Chau hell bent on running things Into the Badlands is poised to raise its entertainment level even higher.
