‘Into the Badlands’ Star Oliver Stark on Ryder’s Choice: ‘Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend’
(Spoiler alert: Do not read if you have not seen Sunday’s episode of “Into the Badlands”)
Ryder (Oliver Stark) made a bold move on Sunday’s “Into the Badlands,” striking a deal with The Widow (Emily Beecham) and Zypher (Ellen Hollman) to unseat his father.
Ryder definitely has reason to look beyond his family for support. His mother Lydia (Orla Brady) told him last week that he would never be Baron. This week, Jade (Sarah Bolger) spurned his advances as she prepares to marry Quinn (Marton Csokas).
But does Stark believe that Ryder could one day be as powerful as his father?
See video: New 'Into the Badlands' Clip Reveals Tilda's Painful Secret (Exclusive)
“Ryder has everything there,” Stark told TheWrap. “The potential is there. It’s a case more of growing into himself and calming down a little, not being so desperate and having this almost voracious need to prove himself.”
“If you keep on pushing someone, eventually you push them too far,” he continued. “I think Quinn has never given him the approval that he craves. His mother has now turned her back. He’s dumped by his lover. I feel like there’s nothing left for him in The Fort. And then it simply becomes a case of ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'”
And what an enemy indeed. This week saw The Widow move forward with her efforts to overthrow Quinn. She framed him for robbing a gold transport from fellow Baron Jacobee (Edi Gathegi). This leads to an epic sword fight at a graveyard that leaves several of Quinn’s clippers dead.
Also Read: 'Into the Badlands' Star Orla Brady on Quinn's Mental State: 'He's Becoming Unpredictable'
Sunny (Daniel Wu) also continued training M.K. (Aramis Knight) to fight, but M.K. does not prove to be the most cooperative student.
Sunny tries to teach him how to control the strange power within him, telling M.K. he must focus on something pure inside himself to reign in the power. M.K. finds that purity in his feelings for Tilda (Ally Ioannides).
Later, Sunny meets with the River King (Lance E. Nichols) to continue planning his own exit from The Fort. The River King agrees to help Sunny–for a price.
We learn that M.K., under the influence of his power, killed a shipment of cogs that the River King was transporting. The River King says that if Sunny delivers M.K.’s head, he will grant him passage out of the Badlands.