Into the Badlands Episode 2.04 Palm of the Iron Fox

The Widow's fight for power lands her in a showdown with her enemies, who have joined forces against her; an old threat resurfaces.

At Quinn's hideout, Veil asks for access to the ventilation room while Quinn is on his mission. Quinn plans to leave Edgar behind to look after Veil. Quinn pulls off his armadillo ring, which he imagined giving to his son, and leaves it to Henry in case he doesn't return.

Quinn motivates his men before their mission to "cleanse this land once and for all." The men cheer and pledge their willingness to die for Quinn's cause.

At Ryder's mansion, The Widow and Waldo get ready for the reception before the conclave. Waldo tells her to be fearless.

Downstairs, the Widow smoothly sashays into the lavish banquet as the other Barons stare. A server offers food to Waldo - it's Gabriel, one of Quinn's Clippers. The Widow approaches Baron Chau, who says the Widow is lucky to have Waldo since people respect him. "You married a Baron, killed him and took his title," Chau notes. The Widow asserts she defended herself against a "monster". Waldo interjects and smooths over Chau. He takes the Widow to the side and says the temperature of the room is "chilly," so Chau's vote is needed.

At the Widow's sanctuary, Odessa - now in a Butterfly uniform - asks Tilda to train her, but it's not part of Tilda's Regent duties. Odessa asks why Tilda isn't at the conclave and questions the Widow's motives to empower women. Odessa suggests that Tilda should protect the Widow from her own choices.

At the Abbot Monastery, M.K. sneaks into the Master's chamber and grabs the origami blossom. He goes to the Mirror Chamber and sends himself back into his memories.

In his vision, M.K. finds his mother covered in blood. "Everything you've done, I forgive you" she says, before falling over. M.K.'s dark self appears. He says M.K. is responsible, then fly-kicks him in the chest. In the present, M.K. collapses.

Veil asks Edgar for access to the ventilation room. Once inside, she quietly locks the door and uncovers a grappling hook attached to a rope.

Gabriel runs into Jade and pretends he's a new house Cog. Out in the yard, he ties a message to a dove's foot and sends it flying.

The dove lands at Quinn's camp in the woods, where his men are stationed before the mission. The message brings word that Gabriel is ready to "welcome" them. Quinn recounts Ryder's betrayal and a Loyalist says Ryder will "pay for his sins along with the other Barons." The men prepare to move out.

Veil climbs the wall, with Henry, to escape through the grate in the ventilation room. Edgar bangs on the door and finds it locked. Suspicious, he unlocks it but just finds her nursing.

Veil joins Edgar for a meal. While he's distracted, she slips the contents of a vial into his cup and toasts to "new friends". Before he sips, he shares admiration for Sunny and toasts to him. Veil mentions Henry needs Sunny around as his father. Suddenly, Edgar gets dizzy. She promises he'll wake up in an hour. He collapses.

Quinn's men move in on Ryder's mansion.

Outside Ryder's Mansion, the Widow and Chau talk in private. The Widow offers a deal on oil if Chau backs her during the vote, but Chau worries about the Widow's plans to disrupt the system. The Widow recalls being a Cog herself under Chau and how torture and rape are a way of life for Cogs. Chau notes the Widow is now a Baron and says "the strong always rise to the top". She warns a war will unfold if the Widow loses the vote, but agrees to support her so long as she doesn't shelter any more runaway Cogs. The Widow agrees to think about it.

Back at Ryder's Mansion, the Widow runs Chau's proposition by Waldo. He assures her that compromise is not weakness, but survival.

Veil takes Henry and attempts to flee through a tunnel, but runs into a locked gate. She realizes Edgar has the key and tries to break the lock with a pipe. Edgar appears and throws her to the ground, saying Quinn would kill him if she escaped. She hits him with a rock and reaches for his key to try the lock, but he grabs her again. She hits him with the pipe until he bleeds from his head then tries the gate, but the key has broken off inside the lock.

At Ryder's mansion, the conclave begins. The Widow stands among the Barons and defends her decision to raid the oil fields. She mentions Quinn's illegal seizure of the fields and challenges the idea of a "different set of rules for different Barons". She pledges to stop harboring future runaway Cogs if the Barons recognize her rights, but Ryder stands and tells the Barons how she incited a war between Quinn and Jacobee. The Widow reminds him he "required no convincing" and murdered his own father. Ryder stands by his actions and calls Quinn a danger, just like the Widow. He submits they strip the Widow of her title and banish her from the Badlands.

Gabriel smiles as he kills one of Ryder's Clippers guarding an iron gate. He signals Quinn and his men to proceed through the tunnel into the mansion.

Back at the conclave, Barons Ryder, Broadmore, Chau and Hassan light red candles to indicate votes against the Widow, while Rojas lights a blue candle in favor. Broadmore finds the Widow in breach of the Foundation Treaty and strips her of her title and land. He grants her 48 hours to leave the Badlands. The Widow asserts her land will be taken "over my dead body" and promises all her Butterflies will kill the Barons' families if she's killed. The Barons all stand, ready for a fight. Just then, Quinn's men emerge and surround the gathering - before Quinn himself struts in. "Did you miss me?" he says. Ryder, dumbfounded, makes a run for it while Quinn instructs his men to kill everyone. The entire group springs into action as Barons, Regents and Clippers all slash at each other. The Widow takes on Chau while one of Ryder's Clippers tackles Waldo to the ground. Tilda appears and throws a star to save Waldo. She then throws a sword to the Widow, who decapitates Chau's Regent. Chau runs off. A pile of bloody Clipper bodies lie on the ground in the aftermath.

Quinn finds Jade and condemns her deceit. Through a window, he sees Ryder running. Jade begs him not to hurt Ryder, but Quinn pursues him.

Ryder races through a maze of hedges outside the mansion, and Quinn catches up to him in the garden. "You can't run away from what you did," Quinn tells him. Ryder says the world is better without Quinn. They tussle until Quinn hands a sword to Ryder and demands he "do it with honor" this time and take what's his. As Ryder hesitates, Quinn turns the sword around and pushes it into Ryder's chest - much to Quinn's own shock. He cradles his dying son as Declan appears and instructs him that they must leave. Jade runs towards Ryder's body and cries.