Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

[Slash]

I think a major thing is also that the older age demographic is also more likely to actually want to watch episodes online, rather than on the actual telly.

[DaveTheFishGuy]

http://imgur.com/a/NyAM5

Caution, Korra S3 spoilers but it's a good laugh.

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by DaveTheFishGuy

http://imgur.com/a/NyAM5

Caution, Korra S3 spoilers but it's a good laugh.

My point from yesterday in a more humorous form and with pictures.

[Slash]

Okay, so I watched all of Book 3, and then I watched Book 2 because I hadn't gotten to it yet.

Quite frankly, Book 3 was the best book we've had of Avatar so far, in my opinion. Zaheer was excellent. I also don't really see what was wrong with Book 2. I loved Wan's story, and Jinora's badassery was pretty awesome. Seeing a certain favourite from tLA in the spirit world was also a treat.

[Stealthy]

Season 4 Trailer

This will be interesting.

[DaveTheFishGuy]

>Annotation takes you to every episode of Korra on Nick.com
>'Not available from your location'
>Go to Nick.co.uk
>Fuck-all about Korra

Welp.

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by Stealthy

Season 4 Trailer

This will be interesting.

Thoughts! (Spoilers!)

Spoiler: show

>three years later

Oh FUCK yes! This is how it's done, people! Thank God they didn't have Korra miraculously back to walking in like one month. Not only that, but they've given Jinora and the other young airbenders plenty of time now to get accustomed to their self-assigned role as members of the Peace Corps. Which means we've been gifted enough time for the possibility of Jinora and Korra drifting apart in their visions for the future of the Air Nation and the planet as a whole.

>Uncharted-style Korra

FUCK YES! WHAT IS THIS!? CHRISTMAS!?

>the metalbending clan as the villains (or at least one of the villains) of Book 4

Ehhhhhh. Not sure how I feel about this one. I feel like we missed the window once it was more or less established that Su is a clueless softie who befriends cutthroats and scoundrels only because she is a poor judge of character and that she is not a mastermind scheming revolution. Also the Earth Queen's already dead so yeah.

Though I guess this might be the answer the writers have come up with re: the void left by the Earth Queen's demise? In that sense it's interesting, I guess, sure. I just don't know how I feel about the metalbenders being the bad guys.

>the main villain being a young man metalbender

Is he one of Su's sons? Is he somebody unrelated?

>the woman sitting between Zuko and Raikoh at 1m50s

The sitting Fire Lord?

>short-hair, Lara Croft-style Korra

DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I LOVE THE NEW KORRA? (And I'm not even a short hair kind of guy! )

>Varrick hinted at being a metalbender at the very end

Well that sure is interesting. O_o I guess that means that the new airbenders of Book 3 weren't the only ones who'd be gifted bending powers by the planet following the events of Book 2, huh?

>October 3

Holy cow, that's next week!

>"I can't believe it ... Toph?"

HYPE.

I left a few things out that I'll be sure to chime in on should others bring them up, but this list o' impressions is good enough for now.

[Jerichi]

So...

Spoiler: show

That little name drop at the end of Book 3 of the random Metal Clan officer seems to be not so insignificant after all (duh).

This looks like it's going to be a nice mix between personal struggle and political conflict... I just hope they can find a satisfying note to end on...

[Schadenfreude]

Love the trailer <3 <3 <3

[Slash]

So much yes.

Spoiler: show

I do dislike them going with the metal clan as a big villain, it felt too obvious (hey there, Kuvira) and I was hoping for a subversion. Also I really hope the Fire Nation gets really seen in this Book. Book 1 was about Air, Book 2 was all about the Water tribes, Book 3 we saw a lot of the Earth Kingdom, and I really want there to be a heavy Fire emphasis in Book 4. Even a significant firebending villain, maybe as the secondary villain (like Varrick in Book 2, or the Earth Queen in Book 3, were). I'd like a full-out Firebending main villain, but not for the final season.

On the other hand, I do love that we seem to be having primary villains that are earthbenders, finally. The Dai Li were always pretty secondary to the threat Azula posed in the original series, the sandbenders were Jawas, and although Ghazan was a great step and probably the most personable of the Red Lotus, there was a full 4-element ensemble, instead of primarily earthbenders as the main threat. So after seeing Fire main villains in the entire original series, Water in Book 1 and 2 of this series, and our first villainous Airbender as last season's Big Bad, I welcome earthbending villains.

> Su Yin a clueless softie
I'd not say she was ever really clueless. I mean she was pretty savvy up until the point of someone she trusted as family in a society where lies are pretty much impossible, she just wasn't savvy enough to suspect the one man who could, because he was able to frame someone else. She was savvy enough to set up a society wherein she can trust everyone because any time they're lying, Aiwei would tell her. She had all the reason in the world to be trusting, and the only person she really made the mistake of trusting when she should not have was a manipulative genius who, as stated, was like family to her. That was the only real poor judgement of character she showed since she matured from her rebel phase, in fact she, and not Lin, was actually staying in reasonable contact with her mother, the Toph. And she's kind, caring, very family-oriented, but I'd never say she was a softie. I mean, clearly she traveled in some reasonably tough circles if her chef was a former pirate and she's fully aware of it, and unflinching about it, and about Varrick being an escaped criminal. She's very human, but she's still undoubtedly Toph's daughter.

[Red Panda]

The Love and Hype flow through my veins

Spoiler: show

>Metal Clan

Okay so I'm not seeing them as the true "villains" yet. My prediction is that there will be a vie for power over the Earth Kingdom and a few groups are going for it, one being Metal Clan led by Kuvira.

Another thing I was interested to see were the Automotons from Season 1. What are they doing there?!

>IKKI WITH LONGER HAIR

YES

Overall I'm incredibly excited and cannot wait.

[Talon87]

The fourth season begins! Nick.com already uploaded the first episode. Not sure if it went up at midnight last night or what, but either way it's available before noon on the East Coast which is a welcome surprise.

The Legend of Korra Book 4 Episode 01:

Spoiler: show

This was wonderful. One of the best "welcome back" episodes I've ever seen in a kids show. So well written, so well paced, so well done ... I was very, very happy with what we got here.

I love that the writers were comfortable enough to give us a season premiere that was largely devoid of Korra. It not only helped us to make so much progress with the other plot threads this season wants to open with, it also helped to foster the sense of "the world is missing her Avatar."

I guess I was super confused by Kuvira's androgynous face (that jaw, man!) in the sneak peeks. Didn't recognize her as being the named woman from the end of Book 3, despite many UPNers comments about how said named woman was her. Honestly? I brushed them off as your guys' confusion. ^^; Oopsie.

So anyway, yeah ... Kuvira. She's an interesting villain. She reminds me of various warlords in history and historical fiction. It's obvious that she is uniting the Earth Kingdom to serve her rather than to serve Prince Wu, and so all that really remains to be seen is whether Wu, Kuvira, or a third party will wind up leading the Earth Kingdom when all is said and done. Okay, fine: clearly not Kuvira, so I guess it's Wu or a third party.

The village elder was handled really well.

Loved the scenes with Opal and Kai. Honestly? This is what I think George Lucas was aiming for in Episode I. It didn't work there because McGregor was busy trying to convince us that he was Obi-Wan Kenobi while Neeson was assigned a bland character we had no prior emotional investment in. But with Opal and Kai, who we got to see several times in the previous season, their ... I guess "chemistry," for lack of a better term, worked really well and was very believable.

Enjoyed the introduced drama with Bolin having somehow wound up on Team Bad Guys' side. You just know that he's going to be joining us shortly. But in the meantime, it creates some nice tension regarding his fate and how he is going to get out of this one. Kuvira obviously isn't going to just let him go. Not when he's, presumably, one of few people in the world who can lavabend.

Similarly enjoyed the introduced drama with Mako. Again, you just know that he isn't going to spend the bulk of the season as Prince Wu's on-site bodyguard. But the questions of course are 1) how he'll justify adventuring with Korra & Co. instead of minding the prince and 2) whether he'll be obliged to return to the prince's side after all is said and done.

Really loved seeing how the younger characters have noticeably aged whereas the older characters are largely unchanged. (I think the only change to an older character was that Tonraq is now sporting some gray along the sides.) It was especially best with Asami and Mako, who pretty much look like full-blown adults now. Bolin's babyface interferes somewhat, but he and Opal look a touch older too. Kai and the younger ones are noticeably older. Yeah. Really nice.

Not sure why Jinora grew her hair back out though. =\ I don't remember any airbenders growing their hair out once they go through with the head tattoo ritual. In fact, we've specifically seen a few female airbenders in the original series courtesy of flashbacks or conversations with Aang's past lives, and none of them had hair either iirc. Did the writers just forget? Is Jinora no longer so excited to be bald? Not sure what it is, but it's a minor annoyance, one which will hopefully be explained.

I told a friend after he watched the trailer that the way the trailer depicts Timeskip Korra reminds me of a gladiator (specifically Maximus from the movie Gladiator or Judah Ben-Hur from Ben-Hur). It was nice to see that my impressions weren't just right -- but that Korra literally has committed to life as a bonafide cage match fighter / ring fighter! Really loving this development with Korra. Cannot fucking wait to find out both how she spent the past three years as well as where she's going to go from here. Going to be real sad and real cross if the writers simply explain all of this away as Korra being in an emo funk and that, once she gets back into the swing of things, she's going to be 100% identical to pre-paralysis Korra. Please no. Please let her crippling experience have given her some development as a character, as a human being. Please let her have grown. Thankfully, all signs from the trailer point to the writers planning to give me exactly that. So that's good.

Could probably think up other things to discuss but this is already plenty good enough to get some conversation going. So! Let's discuss!

[Loki]

All really well done. Very enjoyable first episode. I literally can't find anything to complain about at all.

[Jerichi]

4.1:

Spoiler: show

hnnnnnnnnnng geopolitics

Boy I really love the character of Kuvira they're setting up already. The Villain with a Righteous Cause is a really fantastic archetype for the series as we've seen already with Amon and Zaheer and I think she could be even better, considering her cause is pretty much just, even if her methods and motives are questionable.

And Book 4 Korra is looking to be awesome. Even with what little we've seen already, I can tell that they're really trying to develop her meaningfully. (Though, C'mon Korra, you're a better Earthbender than that!)

My only possible complaint was the sorta rushed pacing of the episode but I can hardly justify it since it was all for the good of the story to establish plot threads and get them moving along.

Really excited for this season.

[Schadenfreude]

lol, this review:

Spoiler: show

"Prince Wu may put the moves on Asami, but he’s definitely setting off my gaydar with his flamboyant personality, affinity for luscious spa treatments, and obvious affection for Mako. I get the impression he’s interested in Asami because he wants Future Industries, but he’s interested in Mako because he wants Mako."

[Talon87]

The Legend of Korra Book 4 Episode 02:

Spoiler: show

This was a good episode. Good as in decent to just above decent, not good as in just shy of great. I enjoyed watching it, but I felt like it was simultaneously guilty of wasting too much time and of advancing things far too quickly. ^^;

First, advancing things too quickly. Rather than cram all of the past three years into one episode's set of flashbacks, and rather than have them all be presented as flashbacks period, I think I would have preferred it if the writers had opened Episode 02 the way they did (i.e. with the "Previously on Avatar!" bit) but then, right after the title card flashes, we're taken to Republic City and a caption informs us, "~3 Years Ago~". And then we tell the story from there over the course of the next two to three episodes. What we got instead was:

• Mako entirely offscreen but for one letter about rejoining the force and one brief dock scene
• Bolin ditto except he wrote a few more letters and his mention joining Kuvira
• Asami ditto except she received a few more letters
• no Desna or Eska
• no Iroh or other human spirits
• no Tenzin, Bumi, or the other airbenders (but for Tenzin and Jinora getting the dock scene)

The focus was entirely on Korra, which is where it should have been if we had to pick. But I just feel like we didn't have to pick. That the writers could have -- easily -- written the story such that we explored the last three years a little more thoroughly.

Second, wasting time. How can I accuse the episode of wasting our time when I just finished saying how I thought it went too quickly? Well, that's the thing: I felt like the plot relative to its potential went by too quickly. But I felt that the plot relative to its reality went by pretty slowly. Probably the easiest way I can explain this is just by stating what the writers did wrong imo:

• too many seconds/minutes spent on the various times Ghost Korra appeared before Korra
  • both the "omg there's a ghost" aspects of this ...
  • as well as, more specifically, the combat aspects of this. (Korra fought the ghost no fewer than three times. In the alley, in the ring, and in the swamp.)
• too many seconds/minutes spent on Korra following the puppy on a wild goose chase
• maybe one too many scenes with Korra's physical rehab given that there were otherwise dozens too few to make the rehab feel super believable

I feel like we could have gotten to Toph about five minutes sooner, the writers knew it, and so they padded for time because they also knew that they couldn't possibly end the episode in the middle of Korra's meeting Toph: either end it before (which they did) or else end it after (which necessitates truncating the scene).

One final complaint, hinted at a few seconds ago: Korra's rehab. I dunno. I feel like the writers noticeably tried to make the rehab believable (by not instantly granting her her recovery) but then they failed in the end by giving it to her too easily. I especially didn't like how her legs were flexed when she woke up from that one nightmare in an early scene of the episode. Her paralysis was not psychosomatic. She should not have had that much motor control while unconscious only to lose it when regaining consciousness.

But that's about it for the complaints. "Too fast. Too slow. And unsatisfying rehab." Aside from that, I thought the episode was pretty good bordering on great.

The writers gave me a scare by having Korra, in the first half of the episode, display her exact same psychology and behavior as we've known her to have all series long. But then by the second half of the episode we see the arrival of "New Korra." There's no telling how long she's here to stay. It's entirely possible that Korra's meeting with Toph will kill off "New Korra" and we'll be right back to the plucky young Avatar we've known all series long. We'll see.

Toph is probably my favorite cameo yet. They horridly ruined Iroh. Katara I'm ambivalent towards. But I liked Toph. She felt largely in character while at the same time having subtly changed, as one would expect growing up to do to a person. She wasn't decrepit, but she wasn't gorgeous either: time has had its toll on her body. Given her hermit status, I look forward to finding out how much Toph is aware of and how much she isn't. Like, does she know that the link between Korra and all of the past Avatars is severed? Does she know that Korra was mercury poisoned? Does she know anything about the politics of the Earth Kingdom or Republic City? We'll just have to wait and see.

The one spirit who turned out to be the puppy ... in his spirit form, he was pretty darn adorable.

I enjoyed the ambiguity as to whether Ghost Korra is friend or foe. The implication would seem to be "friend" (and quite possibly Raava herself, trying to communicate with Korra the only way she knows how), but for a friend she sure does some strange things. I also enjoyed the ambiguity as to whether the bending components of Korra's fights against the ghost are all in her mind or not. Like, the fact that Korra seemed to be sent flying into swamp trees by the ghost's fire and and earth blasts certainly would seem to suggest that the elements were real ... but then we have Korra sinking into that puddle of mercury and it just seems so unlikely that Korra could have really been submerged beneath a puddle of mercury and survived. (How would you stop it from rushing into her nostrils, for starters? That shit's heavy, yo.)

And finally, I did appreciate the writers at least trying with the rehab scene. Korra seemed a typical patient. Katara seemed an ideal physical therapist. And even though it was accelerated, they did at least show that Korra's gains were disproportionately small to the effort she put into them, that she had to work so hard to regain so little. They could have taken the sloppy, lazy way out and just started Book 4 off with Korra being in tip-top shape. But they didn't. And I'm grateful to them for that.

[Jerichi]

Book 4 Ep 2:

Spoiler: show

This is basically exactly what I wanted after the big everyone-else-expositon ep that we got. Korra's story has turned from a shell of the original series to something completely unique and fascinating in just the course of two episodes (though some credit is definitely due to Book 3).

Also, man, the guy they have doing the score is spot on. The dramatic swell as Korra took her first steps was perfect. The music in this book and the last have been absolutely fantastic.

Also TOPH!

I am soooo hyped for the rest of this book. They've really hit their stride; it's just a shame that this has to be the last time they can.

[Talon87]

The Legend of Korra Book 4 Episode 03:

Spoiler: show

Very good episode. A nice improvement over last week's, and since all three honestly have been varying degrees of good, it's promising for the overall quality of this season.

Toph's cameo has been handled remarkably well. Where Zuko's was disappointing and Iroh's an insult, Toph's has been not only entertaining but delightfully appropriate as well. She feels like an aged Toph, a woman who is the product of the girl we knew all those years ago multiplied against the passage of time. It was remarkable to see just how negative she was, moreso than she was as a child, I would say; but at the same time it felt so right for her, for what I would have expected to happen to the girl who grew up to become chief of police, to the girl who fell in love with another woman's husband, etc. Nothing they did with her felt out of character, yet there were many little moments that came as surprises. And when they did have her be the same as the Toph we knew from the original series, it felt natural. Maybe a feeeeeeeew slightly forced bits here or there, but nothing major. Of all the cameos we've had so far, Toph Bei Fong's is by far the best.

Really loved the direction the plot took with respect to Prince Wu. No offense to the guy, but I'm glad to see him go through what he's going through right now. Out the other end of it is going to either come a wiser monarch who will select great ministers to help him lead the Earth Kingdom to prosperity or else a humbled normal citizen who will leave the ruling to more able-minded people. Either way, the Earth Kingdom wins.

The bit with Bolin falling for Kuvira's justifications is a little disappointing but only because we like Bolin and don't want to see him gallivanting about with the bad guys. It honestly made sense, even if it was oh-so-conveniently set up by the writers. Bolin is by far the most gullible and naive member of Team Avatar. And what he's experiencing reminds me a lot of what young Germans who joined the Nazi party went through and what they put their families and loved ones through. He wants to do good, he feels like he sees Kuvira doing good, and so he's in defense mode when people levy attacks against her character. Cliche in our WW2-stories-down-the-throat society? Maybe. But still appropriate.

I think my biggest complaint with the episode is the plot twist that Korra still has some of Zaheer's poison in her. While it seems a little silly that no one in the world except Toph could tell that there was still poison inside of Korra, let's say we roll with it since Toph Bei Fong is the greatest metal bender who ever lived. Okay. Fine. But in that case, why is she leaving Korra to extract it herself? If Toph has little confidence in the Avatar's abilities, and if it's just been established that Su wasn't a good enough metalbender to tell that there was still poison left, then how is Korra -- a metalbender even more inferior than Su -- supposed to get it out herself? I know what the writers are trying to do here. It's some tough love from Toph. Toph's trying to get Korra to toughen up and learn how to bend it out herself, such that she become a suitable replacement for Toph once Toph's gone. But it just seems ... I dunno ... strangely harsh, even for the gruff old Toph, to leave Korra to do this all on her own. Sillier still, and my biggest complaint attached to the scene, is Toph's accusation that Korra won't let Toph remove the poison because she doesn't want it out. This is pretty lazy writing imo. Not only did Korra not even know of the poison's existence until just two minutes ago but when she did find out she became super happy that Toph could take it out and restore Korra to her old self. Toph has been established as a master truthseer. She can easily tell when people are lying. So why in the blue blazes would she think that Korra secretly wants to remain a nobody when everything the girl's body is telling Toph is that she desperately wants to return to being a somebody?

Raiko is hopelessly naive. Sadly, Tenzin is kind of along for the ride. He's not quite as bad as Raiko -- he did kinda sorta see it coming in the final moments before Kuvira's speech -- but still.

My second biggest complaint with the episode is that Kuvira's motivations don't line up with her actions whatsoever and any fool can see that yet none of the characters bring it up. She says she's sick and tired of the Earth Kingdom being ruled by tyrants and monarchs ... yet she hasn't just become a tyrant herself, she's gone and declared a new empire and set herself up as empress. WHAT!? That doesn't make any sense. How can a woman in the same speech both claim to hate monarchs and dictators but at the same time claim that she wants to found an empire? It's preposterous. I feel like the writers could've handled this much better. Either don't have Kuvira publicly claim she's anti-monarchy (as that destabilizes her own position as empress) or else do have her make such claims but don't have her publicly claim that what she's been doing is consolidating Earth Kingdom provinces under the banner of a new empire. Have her call it a "confederation of states" or some such. Have her pretend that it's democratic or republican when in reality we all know that it's empire building. By having her publicly claim to hate the very person she's publicly set out to become, it's just weird.

Despite these complaints, I'll end this post with a reiteration that I thought the episode was overall not just good but very good. When it ended, I was almost as crushed as I was when the season premiere ended. I really wish that we could see Episode 04 right now, but alas we can't. Until next week!

[Talon87]

Don't let this ruin your impression of any of the characters, but I was paused on the credits' second page and just discovered that three celebrities are voicing three of the main supporting characters in the franchise:

Spoiler: show

I'll do it two ways for you. The first way will go Character Names followed by Celebrity Names. The second way will do it the other way around. So pick your path and play on!

(Click here if you want to know the character names first)

Spoiler: show

The three characters in question are Su, Kuvira, and Eska.

Spoiler: show

They are voiced by Anne Heche, Zelda Williams, and Aubrey Plaza, respectively.

(Click here if you want to know the celebrity names first)

Spoiler: show

The three celebrities in question are Anne Heche, Zelda Williams, and Aubrey Plaza.

Spoiler: show

They voice Su, Kuvira, and Eska, respectively.

Pretty sure people mentioned the third one before but I probably didn't know who that person was at the time and so it didn't really stick. But as for the other two, this is the first I've heard of it!

[Loki]

Episode 4

I originally wrote something, then took a nap, then Firefox crashed while talking on Skype.

Spoiler: show

Ikki's story was decent and cute. Korra's felt rushed.

She didn't discover anything on her own. Toph just yelled it at her. Felt trivial and pointless to add an extra episode with Toph if Korra isn't going to solve her emotional problems on her own and if Toph is just going to explain it away. And how did Toph know Korra could metalbend?

Ikki's story was nice to see her perspective as a middle child and second daughter. It makes her stand out the least. Jinora is both eldest and an Airbending master. Milo is a boy. Ikki... well... she's Ikki. Nothing special. So it was nice to see that she was the one to basically find Korra. I liked the hints as to what Kuvira is doing and the time table the show set up with that little scene with the guards.

Wasn't the worst, but did feel rushed to me. While we can argue it's due to the 12 episode season, we've seen seasons in the past waste lots of episodes for trivial things and this, something important felt trivialized.

[Concept]

God I hate Tenzin's kids and I still think Jinora's magic spirit powers from back at the end of season two are stupid as hell.

[Talon87]

The Legend of Korra Book 4 Episode 04:

Spoiler: show

I enjoyed this episode. If I had to rank them so far, I think it would go 1 > 3 > 4 > 2, but 2 and 4 might swap positions and there's a solid point out of ten gap between #2 in the list and #3 in the list.

Friends worried that I would hate this episode since it focused heavily on Tenzin's bratty kids. And indeed I was a little scared when the episode first started. But it didn't take long for me to enjoy the episode.

Timeskip Meelo is a little too forced, just like his pre-timeskip counterpart, but he's a lot more tolerable. I actually quite enjoyed both his scene with the Earth Kingdom girl as well as his later scene with the poisonous and/or rotten berries. The latter was especially humorous for showing off just ugly this poor kid is! ^^; Good God was he horrifying with that sickly smile with the purple-stained teeth!

Timeskip Jinora isn't that different from her former self. She seems a little "maturer" and "calmer," I guess, but it's subtle. She's still the anointed Savior of the Air Nomads that no one wanted but what can you do? *shrug* At least the episode was kind enough to show us that Jinora isn't always God's gift to humanity. I hated her role in Book 2, and so no offense to the poor girl but I enjoyed Book 4 exploring the imperfections of her technique. I suppose the writers realized just how stupid-powerful Book 2 Jinora's Avatar-tracking powers were and decided they'd need to make up a canon excuse for how/why Jinora might not always be able to locate the Avatar. Having Korra go to the swamp, and arguing that the swamp is rich in spiritual energy, seems to have been the writers' ticket to how they could have their "The Avatar has gone missing and no one knows where she is" cake and eat it too.

Timeskip Ikki was the star of the first half of the episode for sure. Jinora's been made out to be the leader of the children, the veteran, the most experienced, and the most naturally gifted. That places her on viewers' radars. Then there's Meelo, who for much of his existence has basically been the Obnoxious Eyesore: ugly as sin, constant fart jokes and other dumb 5-year old humor, Meelo's been the sort of character you just can't ignore even if you want to. So that left Ikki being the forgettable one. Middle child, no spectacular powers like Jinora, no noteworthy personality quirks like Meelo has, Ikki's just kind of ... been. Her one big scene came in Book 2 with the running-away-from-home-and-living-in-a-cave-with-the-sky-bison scene, but aside from that she's been pretty unimportant. So it was a nice little gift from the writers to allow her to be the heroine who saves the day here.

I liked the part where they found the vendor with Aang's and Korra's photographs.

I liked how Ikki managed to handle the two buffoons all on her own. I disliked how Jinora and Meelo ruined it but whatever.

I disliked that the two buffoons were such cartoonish buffoons. It was especially ridiculous when the dumber of the two began to untie Ikki in order to help her locate the Avatar. Untying her because she's smooth talked you over, okay, fine, I'll roll with it. It's points in Ikki's book. But doing it with the stated intention of helping her locate the Avatar ... when she hasn't persuaded you to betray Kuvira yet ... and when you were just. saying. that the return of the Avatar would likely get in Kuvira's way ... it was just dumb.

The second half of the episode felt like the more enjoyable half, but I think it balanced the best parts of the episode against the worst parts.

One of my favorite scenes in the entire episode, possibly my #1 favorite, was when Toph is telling Korra at the banyan tree that she needs to reconnect with the people she loves and the people who love her ... and then Korra sees the kids ... and then the kids come flying to Korra, going "KORRA! " ... and Korra just starts to weep with joy. That was not only touching but a really solid reminder that Tenzin's kids aren't just "my friend's kids" or "my mentor's family" or something: they are her family. It's easy for me as a viewer to see a greater disconnect between Korra and the kids than I think the writers intended, and this scene does a good job of (re-)establishing that Korra feels truly adopted into Tenzin's family at this point in the story.

A scene I was more neutral towards was the obvious Empire Strikes Back homage in the swamp. Toph tells Korra to go out to the swamp, Korra goes out, she rounds a corner, and the next thing she knows she's facing Amon, then Unalaq, then Zaheer. It was a clear nod to Luke's similar scene on Dagobah, and it's for that reason that I simultaneously liked it and disliked it. Liked it because who doesn't like Star Wars, disliked it because it's distracting in its unoriginality.

Another great scene, probably my #2 favorite in the episode, was where Toph tells Korra about some of her past adventures with the Avatar. (Paraphrased) "What's there to tell? The Avatar was whiny, I threw some rocks at him, and Sokka fell in a hole." Then "We were on a blimp, it was hot, and there was a lion-turtle." So great.

I remarked to AK2 last night though that this scene really reminded me just how amazing the original series was, just how much Korra has both been different from it and been inferior to it. I feel like we don't have episodes like the Sokka-falls-into-a-hole episode or the Fire-Nation-vacation-island episode in Korra. And that we don't have scenes like Iroh's memorial to Lu Ten on the hilltop in Ba Sing Se or like Uncle Iroh's scene with the bounty hnnter who had the shrew. Korra just feels so much less quotable than A:tLA, so much less citable, so much less ... memorable, I guess you could say. ^^; It's tried hard to tell a great set of stories, but I feel like the writers forgot what made A:tLA so magical. Where is our "Zuko Alone" moment? Where is Zuko on top of that mountain in the lightning storm, howling with rage and frustration? I can't think of anything in Korra that is remotely close. I can list of climactic plot points ("Remember that time when Zaheer's girlfriend's head got blown off?") but they're not the same type of scenes as what I'm describing here, as what Toph is hilariously condensing down to their barebones TV Guide formulae.

Probably my least favorite part of the episode: Korra's swift recovery. NOTHING HAPPENED between last week and this week that would have explained why Korra could successfully rid herself of the poison now but couldn't before. Like, the ONLY THING was her moment at the banyan tree with the kids. Is that really all she needed to be able to heal herself? Seriously!? Give me a break. She didn't even realize that she had poison still left inside of her. Neither did Su or Lin! We're supposed to believe that Korra can perform surgery on her own body -- an amazing feat for any physician -- when she can't even locate the poison? I was not only hoping but I was really expecting Toph to teach Korra how to become a master metalbender, such that Korra could go head-to-head with Kuvira. Instead, all we got was some fun Toph cameo time and then that was it: all of the potential for epic storytelling you left us with at the end of Book 3, wasted. Just wasted.

Finally, ending on a high note: the theme of the book. "Balance." I enjoyed how the writers explored the fact that all three of Korra's nemeses so far have been men blinded by their honestly pretty decent ideals. Okay, fine: Unalaq, ridiculously cartoon villain that he was, might have been a stretch. ("Unalaq wanted to return the spirits to our world." Man if that one didn't stand out from the other two. ^^; Poor writers!) But the other two were very obvious. "Amon wanted equality for all." Yup, pretty hard to argue against that or how good the ideal sounds on paper. "And Zaheer wanted freedom." Again, pretty hard to argue that point. But the writers explore, via Toph, that these three men's ideals became poisonous because of the extreme lengths to which they took them. Amon, in his pursuit of equality, was basically going around blinding and deafening everybody so that no one born deaf or blind has to feel left out. ^^;; Horrific. And Zaheer, in his pursuit of "freedom," was pretty much a radical anarchist. I liked how the writers, via Toph, encourage Korra to accept that these men were not purely evil. (Although that Unalaq ... ;roll That they had some good ideas and some good intentions behind their actions. That Korra shouldn't just dismiss everything they stood for as being "evil," that she should learn to separate what was good from what wasn't. Essentially, it's like the Oracle of Delphi said: "nothing in excess." Or as Aristotle rephrased it: "everything in moderation." Freedom is good! Just don't go crazy anarchical. ^^; Equality is good! Just don't go around crippling people. O-o Spirits are good! Just don't go merging with Spirit Satan like the Disney's Aladdin's Jafar character you were. ("Now I shall be the all-powerful genie! ") And similarly uniting the Earth Kingdom will be argued as "good" (though I don't really understand how we can argue the inherent goodness of something like specific national borders, but whatever) but uniting it under a banner of tyranny will of course be argued as bad. "We don't want anarchy, but we don't want a dictatorship either. Let's seek out a working middle ground." What the middle ground will be remains to be seen. Good Guy Monarchy with Prince Wu on the throne but, having been wizened by his eye-opening experiences this year, he will be a good ruler who surrounds himself with capable ministers? Democracy because LOL American Writing Team who will never miss an opportunity to plug the supremacy of democracy? Other? We'll just have to wait and see.

[Red Panda]

Partial Response to Talon

Spoiler: show

>None of those moments like AtLA

I completely agree! I think the main culprit of this is the fact that each Korra season has only had a solid 11 episodes or so, while iirc AtLA was ~20 or so. This means that by the end of each series AtLA will have had ~60 episodes while Korra will have just above 40. Now, I'm sure you already know you this as it's not exactly difficult information to come up with, but still the 20 episode difference is pretty huge. Korra hasn't really had much time in any of the seasons for anything but plot development (or it seems that way to me), and anything that was similar to those scenes in AtLA have been poorly executed and/or weren't memorable.

So yeah, I definitely agree with you in that Korra is seriously lacking in those special scenes that its predecessor had. Maybe Season 4 will do something to remedy that? I dunno.

[Loki]

I brought this up originally, but didn't rewrite it after.

Spoiler: show

The Empire Strikes Back scene I felt was wasted potential. That should have been the scene where Korra faced her fears just like Luke did. That scene was amazing in Empire Strikes Back! In Korra, it's just another scene where KORRA IS RUNNING AWAY FROM HER PROBLEMS! What the fuck?

In the following scene, how did Toph know about Amon, Unalaq, and Zahir? I thought she was a swamp hermit. And if you argue that she's been 'listening to the world' with her crazy feet touching the ground, then that begs the question as to why Toph never showed up earlier to help. Even Zuko showed up in season three and it wasn't even his two children in a fight with Zahir.

If she did ignore the world problems, she's a pretty cold hearted bitch. She didn't even stop her two daughters from almost killing one another.

[RealMrGame10]

>in response to stuff

Spoiler: show

>The removal of the poison

I will never disagree with the idea that the ease with which this was accomplished was harmful in the big picture. However, I think this idea was a little telegraphed at the beginning of this arc. A point that I think the writers were trying to get across early on was that this affliction was less physical than it was mental. To that end, I feel as though the writers just took the arc to its logical conclusion: that meeting with Toph, who is more renowned for her physical abilities rather than wisdom, confirming that the block that Korra was going through was, indeed, mental, and helping her with that, provided a sense of clarity to Korra that really pushed along the process. Toph being Toph was actually a great choice because she reminded Korra of something she frequently reminded Aang, that as the Avatar, they have a responsibility whether they like it or not, so they should just toughen up. I doubt many characters from the original show could accomplish this. Then Tenzin's kids solidified that sense of duty to the people who cared about Korra. Honestly, it was handled indelicately, but in a sense, that was one of the only ways that could go down.

>Swamp scene

With the placing of this scene in the episode, I don't think it would have been possible for THAT to be the turning point for Korra should we agree that it was a mental block rather than physical. Korra had been trying for three years to overcome her inhibitions on her own, and although Toph made her ridiculously aware of that BEFORE the scene, it still doesn't change the fact that this wasn't something Korra could easily do on her own. For the entire first season, her identity was found in her toughness, her bending prowess. Take that away, and who is Korra? That's what this arc is about. Because Korra is human too. This is her "I never wanted to be" story. All that it's brought her is pain. And in the original story, Aang wasn't able to conquer that by herself. It took a new family for him. Isn't that exactly what happened to Korra? It's her family that reminds her, "but you are. And we still love you." In a sense, the only reason Su and Lin couldn't locate the metal is because Korra was holding back. I see Korra magically being able to bend the poison out of her body as a metaphor: She can let go of her past and keep moving forward into the future. That's why I think it was better not to have the swamp scene be her turning point: What would that accomplish? The whole reason she was in that position was because she was incapable of letting go by herself. I'm of the opinion that the way the story was set up, it's better this way.

>ATLA is more memorable than Korra
Oh yeah, definitely. *waves at the friendly mushroom*