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How 'Into The Badlands' Champions the Struggle of Humanity

'Into The Badlands' answers age-old questions about the struggle of humanity and what it means to be human.

By Matthew BaileyPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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What does it mean to be human? How do we interact with the world around us? These are questions that delve into the idea of humanity. Honestly these are popular questions through so many shows over the years because the struggle of being human is the pursuit of life itself.

If you're anything like me, you've probably caught wind of a few popular shows over the last few years: shows like The Walking Dead, The 100, Westworld and Into the Badlands. These shows champion the elements of humanity in one way or another; whether it's facing hordes of the undead or exploring an artificial reality filled with pleasure and pain at every turn.

One of my favorite shows in recent years is Into the Badlands, partly because it stars Daniel Wu but mostly because it's an amazing show about how each character faces their own humanity. Into the Badlands follows several character through their own trials and tribulations as they learn the truth about hope, love, heart, humility and life itself. Set in an apocalyptic future, Into the Badlands showcases the struggle that every character goes though in their own unique attempt to find meaning and purpose in life.

Their pursuit of answers and understanding are often struggles that we all face in our lives, so it's interesting to watch how their perspectives have changed over the course of two seasons and by the end of the second season we've seen these characters go through some dramatic changes in how they pursued their own sense of humanity.

The Pursuit of Hope

Image Credit: AMC

From the very beginning, Sunny has spent much of his life looking for a way to leave his life as a clipper behind him. Much of his life was spent with a sword in his hand and tattoos on his body numbering his kill count. By the third episode of Season 2, Sonny stated to have accumulated 404 kills.

The burden that Sunny carried weighed heavily on his soul, and through a couple positive relationships (M.K. and Veil) he came to the understanding that he had to strive for a better life. A life where he could live in piece.

It doesn't matter how brutal the world is, killing just hollows you out. - Nathaniel Moon

As Sunny progresses through both seasons, his humanity is tested as he tries to make his escape from beneath the rule of Baron Quinn and leave behind the warriors life and the death that comes with it. Sunny holds onto the hope of a better life for the people he cares about: M.K., Veil and his unborn child. His hope of finding the three people whom he cares for is what drives him to hold onto his own humanity; his newfound respect for the sanctity of life. Countless times in season two Sunny says that he no longer kills or that he won't take anyone's life for payment. Yet, he will fight to protect the people under his care as we see in first half of season two. No matter his situation, he's holding onto hope for the future as he believes that there is still something worth fighting to protect.

It will be interesting to see where Sunny's demeanor changes as we progress into Season Three with the incredibly heart-wrenching finale. Sunny's hope may or may not have been destroyed in one fell swoop, but hope can rise again and I believe that he will still be that beacon in the next season; eventually.

The Pursuit of Control

Image Credit: AMC

M.K.'s journey through the badlands has been one that likely we can all relate to. We all struggle with one aspect of control: whether it's controlling the world around us or controlling the world within us. M.K.'s journey of trying to control the darkness inside of himself has been a massive testament to the power of humanity in Into The Badlands.

We met M.K. as a young boy just seeking to escape the harsh reality of the world, which in a sense was his best attempt at controlling the world around him. By attempting to run from his past, he hoped to find some way of escaping from the truth that there was a darkness inside of him

You can't ever outrun who you are. - Waldo

Yet through the first season, his relationship with Sunny directed him towards a path of learning self-control. Sunny sought to teach him how to control the dark power inside of him, rather than let that power run rampant and control him. This relationship with Sunny led him to a fate that he hadn't expected when he was captured by the abbots. By being taken to the mountains in order to train to master his inner darkness, M.K. was forced to look deep inside himself and face his demons. It was through this that he though he could find a shortcut into gaining control, but it only wound up sending him away in fear again; coming essentially full-circle to where we met him. The only difference now is that M.K. has a friend in Sunny who cares enough about him to help him as their new journey begins in Season Three.

The Pursuit of Idealism

Image Credit: AMC

The Widow is one of my favorite characters, quite honestly because I sense a bit of a kindred spirit in the fact that she has strongly grounded ideals on a few moral issues. Although her actions are brutal and violent, there is an elegance behind her reason for aggression: she believes that equality and choice are rights for every person: not just Baron or Regent.

The appearance of weakness is the greatest advantage. - The Widow

The Widow saw the brutality of her previous husband towards her as well as the immoral advances that he chose to take against Tilda - and she acted. She chose to harness her sense of idealism and equality, even in a world overrun with fear, death and a power-struggle. She sought for a better life - one where all people were treated equally, and no could define who you are or were going to be.

Her rise to power was similar to Quinn at first, taking what she saw as hers by force, but through the second season we learned that there was more to her quest for liberation than just simply the benefit of her cogs and butterflies. She was motivated by her past with her husband, her abuse as a young cog which just shaped her almost revolutionary nature.

Moving into Season Three it will be interesting to see how she fits into the story as Sunny and MK travel through the badlands to one day hopefully reach Azra.

The Pursuit of Power

Image Credit: AMC

Baron Quinn is the epitome of a man on a mission to obtain absolute power. Considering that in Into the Badlands, the feudal barons all joined together in a treaty called the twin pillars of the foundation which dictated that each baron would uphold peace through force and justice without mercy. Baron Quinn captures the essence of force and without mercy although his sense of peace and justice are, shall we say a bit lacking.

A man cannot wait to be given what he wants. He must take it. - Quinn

In his relentless pursuit of power, Quinn has waged wars, killed countless men, been plagued with hallucinations and through it all his humanity has never faltered because it sure seems as though he has no humanity as we know it. Yet, there are moments where his seemingly repressed humanity leaks out. In the first half of season two we see Quinn claiming that he loves the imprisoned Veil and her baby as if it was his. The fact that even through his delusions and desires, he can muster the concept of love and guardianship shows that he still retains the ability to harness the power of humanity in a morally absolute sort of way.

His outlook on life is one of power trumping all, and through power one can become the best that one can be. By seeing someone else seemingly more powerful, Quinn is driven to great lengths to usurp that power for his own benefit. As much as we may disagree with his methods, it's a part of humanity; albeit a darker side - it is still a part of life as we know it.

Image Credit: AMC

Ultimately, humanity is a relative term. It's the art of being human, and since there is such a wide variety of human emotions and interpretations of the world - it's no wonder that Into The Badlands has been able to capture four of the most pivotal pursuits that anyone can undertake in their lifetime.

With all the revelations that occurred in the last couple episodes of season two, it will be incredibly exciting to see their return in season three in 2018.

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About the Creator

Matthew Bailey

Husband. Father. Gamer. Cinema Lover. Mix it all together, and there I am. I love all things pop-culture and coffee; but coffee is the best.

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