Into the Badlands 316 – Seven Strike As One
An impossible war, as Sunny puts it, lays before the former clipper and his allies in the final episode of Into the Badlands. It’s an uphill climb for Team Sunny as they prepare to face Pilgrim and his army for control of the Badlands. Pilgrim’s quest for power has corrupted his soul to the extent that even his closest ally, Cressida has lost faith in him. With that crack in his armor, the door is open for Sunny, Bajie, Moon and the Black Lotus end his reign of terror once and for all.
While Sunny leads an assault on new Azra, the Widow, Gaius and Tilda are tasked with destroying the Meridian Chamber, the source of the dark ones’ powers. Their mission leads them to face off against M.K. who finally gets a chance to showcase the full extent of his powers. Watching him take on Gaius, Tilda and the Widow all at once is bittersweet as his heel turn illustrates what could have been if not for a few wrong turns along the way.
One of the defining aspects of Into the Badlands since it hit the airwaves has been it’s dynamic fight scenes. Seven Strike As One plays like one extended dance routine, overflowing with balletic swordplay, kicks and blood and it doesn’t disappoint those who’ve loved the show’s hand to hand combat scenes. All of the players get their due on the dance floor, particularly Sunny and Pilgrim, but it’s the Widow who has the most eye opening performance.
Seven Strike As One brings to a conclusion an innovative and action packed journey but not without a few unresolved plot threads. Moon’s thirst for vengeance goes unquenched and although Pilgrim is no more a new, dangerous threat looms on the horizon. There’s even a call back to the world that predated Azra that could also complicate matters in the future. These developments make the episode seem less like a series finale and more like the end of a chapter. There is enough there to continue the story in a series of TV movies if the show isn’t renewed or picked up by another network.
Into the Badlands, with it’s diverse cast, martial arts artistry, fantastic sets and costume design changed the perception of what an action adventure show could be. Hopefully this ground breaking show will inspire others to adopt its blueprint and weave tales that represent us all while entertaining an audience with engaging stories and characters viewers love to watch each week.
