In AMC’s Into the Badlands, the Gift is a powerful ability that’s widely feared and sought after by the people of the Badlands. The Gift is directly related to much of the conflict that takes place in the series. The latest episode has suggested that there may actually be more than one kind of Gift, and that some characters’ Gifts may be different or superior to others.
Monday’s episode of Into the Badlands saw war break out between the Widow (Emily Beecham) and Pilgrim (Babou Ceesay) after the Widow decided to take Cressida (Lorraine Toussaint) prisoner. During the battle, the Widow sent Lydia (Orla Brady) to kill Cressida, who cast a spell that gave her red eyes. Cressida killed Lydia and escaped. Meanwhile, Sunny’s sister, Kannin (Eugenia Yuan) failed to convince Sunny to leave the Badlands and give up on stopping Pilgrim.
Both of the storylines that unfolded in the latest episode of Into The Badlands offered interesting tidbits regarding the Gift and the idea that some characters have different Gifts. While Cressida’s spell didn’t seem to give her any unique abilities that the Gift doesn’t typically give Dark Ones, her red eyes set her apart from everyone else who’s ever been seen using the Gift. This could be because Cressida doesn’t naturally possess the Gift. She was only able to access it after chanting something in a strange language, so her Gift could be different simply because it’s tied to her magical powers.
Cressida isn’t the only character with a unique Gift. According to Kannin, Sunny’s Gift is special too, but not necessarily in a good way. Sunny isn’t able to use his Gift because it was locked away inside him a long time ago. Kannin is capable of turning it back on, but she knows that to do so would cause more harm than good. Apparently, if Sunny’s Gift is unlocked, it can only be turned off again by Pilgrim, while everyone else can shut theirs off through self-control, willpower, and training. Sunny’s Gift is the key to beating Pilgrim, because Pilgrim can’t use his own Gift and turn off Sunny’s at the same time.
So what makes Sunny’s Gift so unique? The reason could have something to do with what makes Sunny important in the first place. Both Sunny and Pilgrim were chosen as children to be the guardians of Azra’s future. Sunny’s father was the leader of Azra, so his heritage could be a factor somehow as well.
Like Sunny, Pilgrim’s Gift also has a downside. Since gaining the Gift, Pilgrim has shown signs of poor health. The Gift is taking both a mental and physical toll on him. The Master blames the Gift’s negative effect on his body on the fact that Pilgrim acquired the Gift through unnatural means. This could indicate that the Gift itself may be what finally brings Pilgrim to his knees.
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