Into the Badlands Review: Chamber of the Scorpion (Season 3 Episode 9)
On Into the Badlands Season 3 Episode 9, “Chamber of the Scorpion,” epic showdowns and key alliances are made.
The epic fight scene between Minerva and the Master is a brilliant way to come back to the show. There is an anger in it, where the level of intensity speeds up the more harsh it becomes. The show does combat so well, but this one in particular is one of the most memorable ones.
Minerva’s past has been a hint in the past, with the reveal of her being the Flea in Bajie’s stories, of her servitude to the Chau family, and her Dark One powers. Placing her with the Master for the episode provides some more backstory where we see a little more, where anger drives her rather than reason.
Her wounds and loss in battle appear to humble the Widow. Emily Beecham doesn’t always get an extra amount of time for her character to be vulnerable and show a softer side, and so here it gives Minerva a little extra drive, not only to prove herself but for a greater cause than simply war.
That greater cause comes from Pilgrim and Sunny’s awakening. The benefit of Pilgrim now realized as the antagonist of the season is in his determined morality, that he believes he is doing the right thing.
Previous villains of Into the Badlands suffered at times from being cartoon villains, one-upping each other with their villainy.
Here, Pilgrim believes he is rebuilding Azra as intended. His attempts to make Sunny see reason show he does care beyond simply power, and so the rift is painful for him, Babou Ceesay playing the paranoia really well as he watches Sunny from afar and lectures Cressida.
Sunny takes a lot of beatings, but it’s interesting how evenly matched he is against Pilgrim until he turns into a Dark One. It’s not often Sunny meets a match, and their fight is kinetic in its use of the castle museum (though the triceratops skeleton deserved better, losing its head).
One intriguing note is on Sunny’s sudden turn to go after Cressida during the battle. As Pilgrim’s priestess and main confidante, Sunny appears to see her as the greater threat, the one who poisons Pilgrim to anyone around him.
Nick Frost’s Bajie continues to be a favorite of the series, his biting commentary continuing to be the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s nice to know the rift between Sunny and Bajie is temporary, as they make the perfect odd couple.
The effect of slow motion to show off the more beautiful moments is quite striking on this episode of Into the Badlands. The snow gently falling during the violence, and Nathaniel racing to save Lydia, and Sunny falling through the window, are three instances where fast sequences are given the room to breathe, and are all the better for it.
Into the Badlands Season 3 Episode 9, “Chamber of the Scorpion,” is strikingly quick. It’s setting up a showdown for the ages, those with the gift versus those who stand for freedom. The episode is a reminder that everyone has their own agenda, and nothing is forever.
Alliances shift constantly on the show, and here, Sunny suffers for trying to do right by the people of the Badlands. No one appears to win, as it only leaves more rifts. This is a fantastic episode of the series, and sets up some exciting roads for the series to go down.
What did you think of this episode of Into the Badlands? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Into the Badlands airs Mondays at 10/9c on AMC.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.