History Series / IntoTheBadlands

''Into the Badlands'' is an American television series that premiered on Creator/{{AMC}} on November 15, 2015. The show ran for three seasons, clocking in at 35 episodes, before ending on May 6th, 2019.

''Into the Badlands'' is an American television series that premiered on Creator/{{AMC}} on November 15, 2015.

The series features a story about a warrior named Sunny, the top enforcer of a ruthless baron who together with his peers rules the Badlands with an iron fist. One day he meets a young boy with a mysterious connection to his own past, and together they will embark in a journey through a dangerous feudal land, seeking enlightenment.

The show ran for three seasons, clocking in at 35 episodes. The character page could do with some troper love if possible.

** M.K. is the monk Xuanzhang, aka Tripitaka.

* FourIsDeath: In Season 2, episode 3, Sunny says he has 404 kill-marks.
** Quinn also said this of Sunny in the Series premiere.

* InvincibleHero: Sunny never loses a fight, even when he's drastically outnumbered. Other established Badasses like the Widow somehow become less badass just by facing off with him. Ironically the only [[spoiler: non-superpowered]] person to land a cut on him without any help was some random assassin-prostitute who was easily dispatched shortly afterwards.

* ExoticExtendedMarriage: Barons are allowed to take multiple wives, but it's implied they're the only ones allowed to do so.[[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since they have a crapton of social/physical power, so [[NoWomansLand it's not like the women would have a choice in saying no.]]

A third and final season is currently airing. The character page could do with some troper love if possible.

* ActionGirl: Full of them. At least one of the founding barons was a woman, as are the Widow and Baron Chau. So far, The Widow has an all-female personal guard called the Butterflies and a large portion of her Clipper force is also female. The regent of Baron Jacobee, Zephyr, is yet another example.

* AdultFear: Both Sunny and Veil feel this for their unborn child, who would be killed if Quinn ever found out about its connection to him.

** He also [[spoiler: gets killed pretty easily by Sunny despite his famed battle skills and heaps of proven cunning, seeing as he's past his prime with a brain tumor.]]

* TheScrappy: Ask any fan of the show who their least favorite character is, and the answer will almost always be M.K.

** Season One Finale: We have a [[spoiler:[[DespairSpeech depressing monologue]] given by M.K. as he's hauled away inside a trunk to the city of Azra for gods-know-why, Sunny being held prisoner by the River King as revenge for lying about killing M.K., and a cliffhanger with Tilda in regards to whether or not she poisons the Widow. And apparently... ''the journey has only just begun''.]] ''Damn''.

* NonIndicativeName: Despite being called "the Badlands," the land is lush and green with plenty of wildlife -- what makes them "bad" is that it's full of ruthless killers, many of whom are badass OneManArmy martial artists who can kill other experienced killers by the dozen. [[spoiler:The "Outlying Territories" are ''even worse'' -- {{Thirsty Desert}}s that no-one's successfully traversed... and filled with just as many killers -- though luckily they seem to lack the super-martial artists of the Badlands]].

* HufflepuffHouse: There are seven Barons in the Badlands, but only Quinn, The Widow and Jacobee get any screentime or are actively involved with the plot during the first season. Averted in the second season with the other barons introduced, most prominently Baron Chau.

* NotHyperbole: Bajie ended up in the mines when the opium for a deal he was brokering turned out to be shit. Which he means literally as in actual human feces, compressed into Quinn's trademark coiled armadillo-shaped bricks.

* KarmaHoudini: So far in Season 2, The River King has yet to appear again let alone [[spoiler: get his comeuppance for selling Sunny off into slavery earlier in ending of the first season.

* HistoryRepeats: The series mixes and mashes feudal societies from all over the world and throughout history -- [[JidaiGeki feudal Japan]], ImperialChina, [[TheMiddleAges medieval Europe]], [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica antebellum South]] -- and shows that they are NotSoDifferent in all ways save name; [[ProudWarriorRace an ideology of glorifying endless war]], [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum monopolization of resources by a small elite]], [[MightMakesRight the domination and exploitation of the weak by the strong]].

* NotSoDifferent: The series mixes and mashes feudal societies from all over the world and throughout history -- [[JidaiGeki feudal Japan]], ImperialChina, [[TheMiddleAges medieval Europe]], [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica antebellum South]] -- and shows that they are ''absolutely identical'' in all ways save name; [[ProudWarriorRace an ideology of glorifying endless war]], [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum monopolization of resources by a small elite]], [[MightMakesRight the domination and exploitation of the weak by the strong]].

* NotSoDifferent: The series mixes and mashes feudal societies from all over the world and throughout history -- Japan, China, Europe, antebellum South -- and shows that they are ''absolutely identical'' in all ways save name; [[ProudWarriorRace an ideology of glorifying endless war]], [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum monopolization of resources by a small elite]], [[MightMakesRight the domination and exploitation of the weak by the strong]].

* NoWomansLand: Whether within the Badlands or outside of it, women are treated as little more than property to powerful men unless they're hypercompetent fighters like Zephyr or Chau.

* NonIndicativeName: Despite being called "the Badlands," the Territories are lush and green with plenty of wildlife -- what makes them "bad" is that it's full of ruthless killers, many of whom are badass OneManArmy martial artists who can kill other experienced killers by the dozen. [[spoiler:The "Outlying Territories" are ''even worse'' -- {{Thirsty Desert}}s that no-one's successfully traversed... and filled with just as many killers -- though luckily they seem to lack the super-martial artists of the Badlands]].

* NotHyperbole: Bajie ended up in the mines when the opium for a deal he was brokering turned out to be shit. Which he means literally as in actual human feces wrapped in the opium paper.

* NonIndicativeName: Despite being called "the Badlands," the setting is green and has plenty of trees.

** Sunny is Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King.
*** The parallel becomes even more apparent in season three, when Sunny expertly uses a quarterstaff to kick some ass on a few occasions.

* ColdSniper: Chau's crossbow marksman from Dragonfly's Last Dance definitely seems to fit the archetype, as he stays in complete silence throughout the entirity of his and Sunny's duel, resolutely remained at his post even after his whole squad was wiped out as he was "Just following orders", and when he has a kill shot lined up on Wren, instead drops his aim, kneecaps her with no less than ''three'' bolts, and leaves her in the open as bait to draw the rest of her squad.

* CoolGuns: Well, cool crossbows. Chau's sniper in Dragonfly's Last Dance carries a custom self-loading crossbow which can chamber up to three bolts at once, and has several scope options including night vision. We get several shots of the side-mounted revolving reload mechanism in action as he tries to pin down the Widow's forces.

* ColdSniper: Chau's crossbow marksman from Dragonfly's Last Dance definitely seems to fit the archetype, as he stays in complete silence throughout the entirity of his and Sunny's duel, resolutely remained at his post even after his whole squad was wiped out as he was "Just following orders", and when he has a kill shot lined up on Wren, instead drops his aim, kneecaps her with no less than **three** bolts, and leaves her in the open as bait to draw the rest of her squad.

* ColdSniper: Chau's crossbow marksman from S3E7 definitely seems to fit the archetype, as he stays in complete silence throughout the entirity of his and Sunny's duel, resolutely remained at his post even after his whole squad was wiped out as he was "Just following orders", and when he has a kill shot lined up on Wren, instead drops his aim, kneecaps her with no less than *three* bolts and leaves her in the open as bait to draw the rest of her squad.