“ | I have never pledged myself to any Baron, not even my family's. I don't care about titles. I don't care about territories. | „ |
~ Gaius Chau |
For my first ever PG proposal, I will be covering what is likely the most virtuous character from my favorite TV show, Into the Badlands.
What's the Work?
Into the Badlands is a wuxia-style martial arts series set in the post-apocalyptic wasteland known as the Badlands. This world is brutal, being separated into territories ruled by Barons, who train the citizens of their territories to act as mercenaries called Clippers. This world is also the home to Dark Ones, people with supernaturally powerful martial arts abilities. The series focuses on a Clipper named Sunny, and his quest to get his pregnant wife safely out of the Badlands.
Who is Gaius Chau? What's He Done?
Gaius Chau is the sister of Juliet Chau, the Baron of the Fox Territory. His family is the oldest Baron family in the Badlands, with their ancestor Horatio Chau having created the Badlands. The Fox Territory is the source of the Cog slave trade, the human chattel slavery in the Badlands. Growing up, their parents Alexander and Ophelia Chau taught them to show no mercy to the Cogs living in their territory, something that Juliet accepted happily, but Gaius did not enjoy as he didn't agree with his family's brutality. Gaius eventually met a house Cog named Minerva whom he developed a crush on, but things took a turn on his birthday celebration when Minerva accidentally dropped a tray of glasses and his father Alexander ordered Gaius to beat her. He refused to hurt Minerva, which led to Juliet beating her in his place. Minerva was then locked in the pig pen, but Gaius went to the pen and unlocked it so she could escape. The sight of her crawling out of the pen covered in filth disgusted him so much that he decided to begin working against his family to free Cogs. Over the next several years, he used the underground passages in his territory to smuggle Cogs to freedom with the help of a small group of loyal Clippers, but eventually, as adults, they were caught and imprisoned. By this time, his sister Juliet had become Baron of the Fox Territory and wanted to kill Gaius, but didn't do so due to her mother Ophelia demanding he be kept alive as he was part of their family. Gaius would then be kept in a cage for 18 months, but he refused to rejoin his family as he truly wanted nothing to do with him. He is eventually let out by Juliet, who informs him that a man named Pilgrim attacked one of her Clipper outposts, and she wants Gaius and his group of loyal Clippers to kill Pilgrim for her. He initially refuses but agrees to do so after Juliet threatens to execute innocent Cogs if he doesn't. Gaius and his Clippers travel to the First Temple of Azra, where Pilgrim resides, attempting to kill him, but they are stopped by Pilgrim's forces alongside Minerva (now known as the Widow) who happened to be having a diplomatic meeting with Pilgrim at the time. Gaius is taken captive by the Widow, who recognizes him from their childhood.
Now imprisoned by the Widow, she accuses him of being a spy for his sister Juliet, whom the Widow is currently at war with. Lydia, one of the Widow's closest allies, informs her of how long Gaius was kept imprisoned and states that the likelihood of him trying to con her is very low. The Widow confronts Gaius in his prison cell, saying she can't trust him, but he reveals that he was the one who freed her from the pig pen when they were children, and he is adamant that like her, he wants to take his sister down and end the Cog slave trade. Juliet is later confronted by Pilgrim for her attempt on his life, with Pilgrim requesting workers as payment for trying to have him killed. Juliet decides to abduct people from a war refugee camp to deliver to Pilgrim, and when the Widow gets word of this happening she arrives to stop Juliet's Clippers. The Widow recognizes how skilled Gaius is, and frees him so that he can help fight against Juliet's forces, successfully saving multiple refugees from being kidnapped. After this, the Widow finally trusts Gaius, and the two of them rekindle their romance. Gaius makes it clear that he doesn't care about titles, territories, or Barons, but he remains loyal to the Widow due to his love for her. The two of them launch an invasion into the Fox Territory, managing to break through the front lines so that the Widow and Gaius can face Juliet. The two of them do manage to break into White Bone Manor, where Juliet resides, but the Widow is lured into a trap by Juliet and nearly killed, only being saved by the timely intervention of the Master, a powerful Dark One who incapacitates Juliet and captures the Widow to enlist her help in stopping Pilgrim. Gaius breaks into the room where the trap was set but finds no trace of the Widow or Juliet. Gaius and the Widow's adoptive daughter Tilda begin looking for her, assuming that the Widow was abducted by Juliet since they don't know about the Master. Gaius confronts his mother, Ophelia, asking where his sister is hiding, but she refuses to tell him. He tries to intimidate her into telling him, but he can't bring himself to harm his mother, and instead gets his sister's location from his half-brother Daegan.
Gaius and Tilda are told by Daegan that Juliet is hiding in an abandoned amusement park known as Iron Fan, and they attempt to ambush her there but are caught off guard by a group of Clippers still loyal to Juliet and captured. The Widow and a Dark One named Nix arrive to save Gaius and Tilda, with the Widow defeating and killing Juliet at last. With Juliet dead, Gaius takes over the Fox Territory, showing mercy to the Clippers that once served his sister and ensuring that the Cog slave trade is shut down permanently. Gaius and the Widow plan to rule the Badlands together, but they soon find that the threat of Pilgrim has risen, as he has defeated the Master and found an ancient device known as the Meridian Chamber, which enables him to turn all of his followers into Dark Ones, creating a nearly unstoppable army. All of the warriors of the Badlands join together, including Gaius, the Widow, Tilda, Sunny, Nathaniel Moon, Bajie, and Kannin. Gaius, Bajie, and Sunny meet with a cult known as the Black Lotus which are known for hunting Dark Ones and enlist their help in the war against Pilgrim. Gaius, the Widow, and Tilda are tasked with destroying the Meridian Chamber while the others defeat Pilgrim. Around this time Gaius learns that he got the Widow pregnant, stating that he will support her in raising their child, with the Widow believing they need to defeat Pilgrim for the world to be safe if they want to have their baby. During the final battle at the First Temple of Azra, Gaius, the Widow, and Tilda set up explosives in the Meridian Chamber but are confronted by M.K., a powerful Dark One in Pilgrim's following. They are overpowered by him and he fatally wounds Tilda, only to then be killed by the Widow. Gaius checks Tilda's pulse and finds that she might live if they immediately get her to a healer. Gaius is last seen driving the Widow and Tilda away from the Meridian Chamber in a truck before detonating the explosives they set up, destroying the source of Pilgrim's power. This event, combined with Sunny killing Pilgrim, puts an end to the war in the Badlands.
Corrupting Qualities
The first question would be whether Gaius is lethal or not, considering every major character has to kill people in this series. In the world of the Badlands, you have to fight to survive, so Gaius having to kill people who are attacking him would be self-defense, so long as he never kills an unarmed person who cannot hurt him. Gaius actually does show mercy towards those who are defenseless, as after the end of the war against his sister the Widow's Clippers try to execute Juliet's Clippers, but Gaius stops them, saying that they are going to prove they are better than his sister by offering mercy to their enemies. Even when his mother demands that he strike her down, he doesn't do it, and there isn't a single incident of him using violence unless someone attacks him first.
Similarly to the above point, at one point his sister Juliet calls him an assassin, but he isn't actually in the assassin category since he was imprisoned by her for freeing Cogs, not for an assassination attempt. His attempt to kill Pilgrim is something that Juliet blackmails him into doing, threatening to execute not only his loyal Clippers but also several innocent Cogs, so he truly had no choice, not to mention Pilgrim is a monster himself, so nothing about this scenario makes Gaius an assassin considering he didn't want to do it and was forced into it. So yeah, despite the Badlands being a world of blood, Gaius manages to never harm someone who is defenseless and despite his sister's claims he's not an assassin but a vigilante trying to make the Badlands a better place.
Admirable Standards
Into the Badlands does have decently high admirable standards, but Gaius is still easily the most admirable character. Born into a privileged position, he abandons it to become a vigilante who frees slaves from his sister's territory, later joining the Widow to help in her cause to put an end to the Cog slave trade permanently. He helps lead the invasion into the Fox Territory which ultimately takes it down, and after his sister is defeated he becomes the Baron of the Fox Territory himself, not only ending the Cog slave trade but also showing mercy to the Clippers that his sister forced to fight for her. He also helps to destroy the Meridian Chamber, thus putting an end to the Gift. Gaius' presence helps the Widow to be a better person, she is a villainous character when first introduced due to her extreme methods, but after entering into a relationship with Gaius she calms down significantly and undergoes a redemption, so he is somewhat responsible for admirable traits as well.
Those are some impressive qualities, his only main competitor would be the Widow herself, who personally kills Juliet and Hassan, two brutal Barons, and is also responsible for going to war in the Badlands to end the Cog slave trade, but the reason Gaius can still stand out is that after he abandoned his original position in the Fox Territory he became a vigilante with significantly fewer resources than the Widow who had the entire Butterfly Territory and a Clipper army when she started fighting to free Cogs whereas Gaius only had a handful of Clippers loyal to him. So even though the Widow overall has more admirable feats, Gaius' lack of resources and the fact that his presence makes the Widow a better person, therefore making him partially responsible for admirable traits following the start of their relationship, means he can definitely still stand out and qualify.
Final Verdict
Yes, despite the brutal world of the Badlands he manages to only kill when he has not other choice, gives up his position of privilege to act as a vigilante for justice, and helps to end the Cog slave trade while fighting against both his sister Juliet and Pilgrim.