Why Into the Badlands Made M.K. A Villain In Season 3

Into the Badlands season 3 turned one of the show’s original protagonists, M.K. (Aramis Knight), into a villain, which was done to exemplify the brutality of the Badlands. In the beginning, the post-apocalyptic martial arts series focused on Sunny (Daniel Wu) and his adventures with M.K., a young boy who harbored a dangerous power called the Gift, and a connection to a mysterious city called Azra. As Sunny trained M.K., the two formed a close bond, with Sunny having to protect M.K. from people who developed an interest in his Gift.

M.K.’s story took a dark turn in the beginning of season 3 when he overdosed on opium and experienced a repressed memory from his childhood. He relived his mother’s death and was horrified to discover that she was killed by Sunny, during his days as a Clipper for Baron Quinn (Marton Csokas). As a result, M.K. turned against Sunny. He was later found by season 3’s main villain, Pilgrim (Babou Ceesay), who gave him a new purpose by bringing him into his family. M.K. loyally served Pilgrim and fought at his side until the very end, when he was slain by the Widow (Emily Beecham) in the Into the Badlands series finale.

During Into the Badlands season 3, many fans were disappointed with the direction the show took with M.K.’s character, as well as the fact that the series didn’t even try to redeem him. So why did Into the Badlands send him down this path? Into the Badlands co-creator Miles Millar defended M.K.’s story by explaining that he’s “a cautionary tale of the Badlands“, and an example of the “devastating consequences” that can arise from a person’s choices. Millar says that Into the Badlands is “not a fairy tale” where everyone gets a happy ending. Also, Millar doesn’t mind the divisive aspect of the character, and feels that its good for the show. As he points out, M.K. is a character who fans either like or hate [via AMC].

Fans were understandably frustrated with M.K.’s choices in Into the Badlands season 3, and his decision to stick with Pilgrim. M.K., who once had interesting friendships with both Tilda (Ally Ioannides) and Sunny, never repaired those broken relationships. And after joining up with Pilgrim, he continued to descended into darker and darker territory. M.K. ultimately made it clear where his loyalties lied when he killed the Master (Chipo Chung). His humanity, which used to be one of his strongest qualities, seemed non-existent when he coldly watched Pilgrim murder Nix (Ella-Rae Smith).

M.K. fell far in Into the Badlands, and Millar’s argument for why that needed to happen makes sense. The world of the Badlands has been a dark place from the very beginning, so it’s not necessarily surprising that the show took an innocent character like M.K., and corrupted into him a villain over the course of three seasons. The show tempted him with Pilgrim, a person who made M.K. feel like he was finally where he belonged. The trust that Pilgrim put in M.K. had a lot to do with the  decisions that M.K. made in season 3, and it wasn’t until M.K.’s final moments – right after he stabbed Tilda – when he seemed to realize that he had made the wrong ones.

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