NOTE: This review contains SPOILERS. New episodes will be airing Sundays (10PM EST) on AMC.

Episode 2: Force of Eagle’s Claw

Sunny and Bajie (still chained together) have to fight their way out of the pit. That huge/tall warrior they’re forced to fight ends up defeated in a VERY bloody way. Body parts are flying… and this ep is about to get MORE bloody! 

For people like us, there is no place that’s safe. -Waldo explains to Tilda, who is Regent to The Widow

Waldo, now dressed in blue, chides Tilda re: going after those Clippers in E1 (after The Widow let them go). Tilda says that she’s NOT a “mindless killer”- she was doing what she thought was right. Waldo explains that Sunny was the best Regent b/c he “boxed up his feelings.” We can see the respect that Waldo has for his former protege, Sunny, while he’s recounting this story. 

Tilda and The Widow are practice fighting; it looks like Tilda still has more to learn. After Tilda leaves, The Widow admits to Waldo that she’s NOT one for politics; he tells her that “politics is war by other means.” They speak of an upcoming “conclave”- meeting of Barons. The Widow wonders if she can kill them all, since they’ll be assembled in the same place. She and Waldo drink a toast. 

Killing is a privilege left only to the gods. -Lydia’s father tells her (w/ disapproval) after she defends herself and other Totemists from the Nomads

The Totemist community’s simple wedding reception in the woods is interrupted by two violent/murderous Nomads. The groom is speared through the chest; the bride is almost carried off my the Nomads. Nobody fights back (which was quite shocking), except Lydia. This lady knows how to fight- what a surprise! This segment of the ep reminded me of Braveheart and Game of Thrones. 

Half of your Cogs worship the same gods we do. -Lydia drops some truth on Ryder 

Did you see how badly Ryder treated his mother!? I felt VERY bad for Lydia, though we now know she’s a tough cookie. Even though Ryder is now dressed like Quinn, he’s NOT able to fill his father’s shoes (as many viewers have commented). The Nomads attacked b/c they knew that Quinn was out of the picture, so the Totemists were left unprotected. Lydia hoped that Ryder would help out her people, BUT he refused in such a nasty manner. He didn’t forgive her for what she said re: his ineffectiveness at the end of S1.

Unless you master your past, you’ll always be a slave. -The Master explains to M.K. after his first vision in the room of mirrors 

The Master continues MK’s training, this time is a room filled w/ mirrors. The young man is pulled back into his past; he sees the bodies of the MANY people he killed on the ship. Suddenly, his alter ego appears (w/ black eyes) and tells him that he doesn’t belong there. MK is upset when The Master pulls him out of it.

I killed people- good people. -M.K. says w/ disgust

We all have. -Abby reveals 

Later on, M.K. has an intense fight w/ his alter ego in another vision. There is some cool choreography. Also, the body double for Aramis Knight looks/moves VERY much like him. It was shocking that the alter ego was winning, nearly choking MK to death! Hmmm… will MK be defeated by “the dark side” or learn to reign-in those destructive urges? I don’t think this will be easy work from the looks of concern on The Master’s face. 

In West Avalon (a secluded/underground training area) Quinn is working w/ a group of Cogs who show promise in fighting. Inside a dusty room, Veil is breastfeeding her newborn son; a Clipper is watching her intently (creepily). The former Baron notices this and let’s him know it. 

Veil tells Quinn that the baby needs sunshine and fresh air. He says he’ll get her sun; after all, she’s the one who found him and patched him up. Quinn gives off some creepy vibes in his interactions w/ Veil, too, BUT I think she can handle him w/ her clever/calm personality. It turns out that there is a little room where one can look up and see the sun!

The Clipper who’d been eyeing Veil gets killed by Quinn before he baptizes Veil’s son (named Henry after her dead adopted father). There is a decorative bowl that Quinn drinks deer’s blood out of, then smears a bit of that blood on Henry’s forehead. This ritual reminded some viewers of the naming ceremony in The Lion King. Marton Csokas “just brings this intense gravitas,” as J.B. Zimmerman said on the Afterbuzz TV. 

Bajie is able to snag some food- a rather large rat. Sunny says he’s NOT going to eat that (LOL). It seems like Sunny is out of his element; he hasn’t had to survive outside the Badlands before. Bajie may turn out to be VERY helpful, since he was a wanderer who traveled to different places looking for “opportunity.” 

At the very end of the ep, they come upon a long, tall wall. (Donald Trump would probably call it “big” and “beautiful.”) This barrier separates them from the Badlands, but Bajie perks up and says there MUST be a way to get to the other side. This scenery is quite different than what we saw in S1; the filming of S2 is in Ireland.