Into The Badlands Showrunner Talks About That Twist Ending [Exclusive]

03/19/2017 11:05 pm EDT

WARNING: Major Spoilers ahead for the season two premiere of Into The Badlands! Only look if you want to know!

If you just watched the season two premiere of Into The Badlands, you're probably still recovering from that massive shock at the end of the episode.

Quinn is still alive, despite having Sunny's sword shoved through his stomach, and he's in hiding with Veil. He even helped to deliver her and Sunny's baby.

This twist came out of no where, and fans were in left in awe. To try and make sense of the episode's ending - and how it will impact the rest of the season - showrunner Alfred Gough took some time to chat with ComicBook.

We asked him why they decided to bring Quinn back in season two, and if it was in the plans all along.

AG: Well, it's ... Yeah. I mean, I think for us the ... Sunny's big quest is getting back to Veil and the baby, and we wanted to hold the reveal that Quinn is still alive deep below the Badlands in a bunker with his loyalists until the very end, and that he has Veil and the baby, and that's something that for us was a ... Cause I thought he was a character that ... I know most people think, 'Oh, they just killed him in [episode] six. It was unceremonious, and now he's gone.' And we didn't really want it to be that.

And we wanted Quinn to survive because we thought we have ... There's a lot more story to tell with that character. We like the idea that he's almost a deposed dictator in a way. So, he's like Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein, in a ... Down in a bunker, or hidden, or something in a bunker planning his return. I think Quinn was a very polarizing character, and I always think that's good. I'd rather have people have strong feelings one way or another about a character than just being different, but I think you'll see a lot more shades of him as well this year. And I think his dynamic with Veil and the baby is actually pretty fascinating. And then, obviously, more twists and turns come into that story as well. So, we thought that would be a great surprise. Like I said, we've done everything.

I think AMC did a terrific job doing it, just keeping ... 'Cause in a spoiler world it's hard to keep that stuff under wraps.

We asked Gough about the relationship between Quinn and Veil in season. They're working together now, but they've always been enemies. Remember, it was Quinn who killed Veil's parents in season one.

I think that relationship is really interesting. And I think, again, with Quinn there really are no ... There's nobody's black and white in this world it's very gray. I think you could say Quinn's definitely more on the dark gray spectrum.

But he's ... I think he remains a fascinating character. Marton [Csokas] does such a really great job playing him.

If you love the show as much as we do, be sure to give it a rating below, and see how it stacks up against other popular series'!

Season Two of Into the Badlands finds Sunny and M.K. separated and scattered to the wind, each imprisoned in unlikely places. While M.K. struggles to control his powers, Sunny is determined to fight his way back into the Badlands to find his family or die trying. On their journey, Clipper and Colt are assisted by new allies whose motivations may be anything but pure. Meanwhile, the Widow continues to consolidate power against the other Barons, while a dark and mysterious threat prepares to exact revenge on them all. Alliances are struck, friendships betrayed and, by season's end, Sunny and M.K.'s lives will be forever altered.

From AMC Studios, Into the Badlands was created by showrunners/executive producers/writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and executive produced by Oscar®-nominated producers Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg, director David Dobkin, fight director Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu.

Into the Badlands stars Wu (Tai Chi Zero) as Sunny; Aramis Knight (The Dark Knight Rises) as M.K.; Oliver Stark (Luther) as Ryder; Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later) as The Widow; Orla Brady (Dr. Who, Fringe) as Lydia; Sarah Bolger (Once Upon a Time, The Tudors) as Jade; Ally Ioannides (Parenthood) as Tilda; and Madeleine Mantock (Edge of Tomorrow) as Veil.

More Into The Badlands:

• Season 2 Review
• Alfred Gough on Big Season 2 Changes
• Season 2 Exclusive Clip

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