review megapost, part 2
These are the recaps and reviews associated with the second quarter of this season's The Legend of Korra, enjoy!
forewarning: i will not add the reviews from The Movie Pool this time. they didn't review the episodes weekly and I'm currently searching for the site who did. leave a comment if you found one. thanks.
IGN by Max Nicholson (Score: 8.5)
After Amon's energybending revelation in last week's episode, it was obvious that Korra had her work cut out for her. With this new looming threat endangering the benders of Republic City, it was time for an intervention from the United Republic Council, Zuko and Aang's version of our own United Nations. Personally, I've gotta say, this was badass. I loved the whole "Jedi Council" vibe. What's even cooler is that Tenzin was a part of it. I particularly enjoyed his dynamic with Tarrlok (Dee Bradley Baker), the Northern Water Tribe representative. This guy reeks of trouble, but his plan to assemble a task force against the Equalists was actually a neat idea. Even though it probably wasn't the smartest choice for Korra -- after all, she still lacks the proper training -- the notion of the Avatar leading a team of covert bending operatives was just plain rad.
And, as expected, the training camp raid was prime. I still love that this show started with an Avatar that can bend three elements from the get-go. Korra had some very creative uses for both her water- and earthbending this time around. In general, I've been really impressed with the show's elemental combat thus far, even the little throwaways like each team member collecting their own water from a giant barrel or Korra freezing those smoke bombs in midair. The only question now is, how long can they keep it up without airbending support? I feel like Tarrlok's team will be hitting a brick wall soon without Tenzin's help.
But while Korra was off being all Sydney Bristow, Mako had his own thing going on with the lovely Asami Sato (coincidentally voiced by The Last Airbender's Princess Yue, Seychelle Gabriel). After getting to know each other over a fancy dinner, the pair met up with Asami's father Hiroshi (Daniel Dae Kim), a wealthy industrialist who agreed to front the tournament money for the Fire Ferrets. I enjoyed getting some background on the "Satomobile" -- that was a nice touch, and it's nice to see we're slowly peeling back the layers on some of the show's advanced tech. But perhaps even more interesting is the potential of adding a non-bender to the Korra crew ("Krew?"). With Mako's googly eyes for Asami, it looks like our love triangle might soon be turning into a love square -- and I'm already digging the rivalry between Asami and Korra. Perhaps the writers will play up a discord similar to how they handled Toph and Katara in the original series.
Speaking of whom, this brings us to the climax: the would-be showdown between Korra and Amon on Memorial Island. And as a side note, Steve Blum is killing it with this guy's voice. His cautionary speech to Korra was super menacing. I was worried about the show finding a voice actor on par with Mark Hamill as Fire Lord Ozai, but Blum has been doing an excellent job. His final scene here was deliciously evil, and I'm glad we got to see both Amon and Korra meet face to face, if only for a minute.
Of course the showstopper this week was Korra's vision, featuring flashes of not only a fully grown Avatar Aang (with chinstrap!), but an older Toph and Sokka as well. I'm not really sure if these shots were supposed to be from a specific event in Aang's life or just a series of random images, but this was way awesome. It's also possible that these were glimpses of the same conflict Tarrlok was referencing at the beginning of the episode during the Council meeting. In any case, this has definitely whet my appetite for more Gaang history. I suspect we'll be getting more answers on this front once Korra makes her first journey into the Spirit World.
AV Club by Emily Guendelsberger (Score: B+)
“After I take your bending away, you will be nothing.” In the opening of “The Voice In The Night,” Korra dreams of being attacked by Amon and the chi-blockers and wakes up screaming. But the voice that has the Avatar so terrified in this episode isn’t Amon’s, though he’s the character in her dream who says it-Korra’s own subconscious came up with that nasty line. Though her cloistered upbringing has made her physically powerful, it’s clearly left her with no idea who she is if not “The Avatar.”
And Korra’s now very anxious to get fully accredited. Even before she gets boxed into being on the Equalist-hunting task force, she’s blowing off Fire Ferret practice to work on the last element she needs to get down. Pretty much every time we see her this episode outside of eating, sleeping, or attending an official function, she’s running through airbending forms. Amon interrupts her practices via a radio monologue about it being time for benders to be afraid, but Korra clearly is already there. Even Bolin’s goofy impression of Amon gets a scary music cue.
Korra’s insecurity makes her easy to manipulate: Because she doesn’t know what to do, she’ll do whatever anyone tells her the Avatar should be doing, which apparently is taking on the Equalists directly like a good superhero, even though she’s not done with her training and still can’t pull an Avatar state. (Tenzin, who’s similarly without a map as the head of a culture he never experienced, is susceptible to this as well-Councilman Tarrlok manages to get face time with Korra by pointing out that real Airbenders never turn away a hungry person.)
There’s a lot of questions about why Aang would tell the White Lotus to find and protect (and, as a side effect, isolate) his successor when standard procedure is to let the new Avatar grow up normally. This episode’s flashbacks and references to some past event involving the middle-aged Aang Gang imply that he may have had his reasons for making sure Korra was hidden away on the compound-and that Korra isn’t going to be as separate from the original show as recent episodes have implied.
A few new characters were introduced: first, Councilman Tarrlok, who is both a sleaze and a dandy fop. (The airbending kids haven’t had much to do lately, but Ikki’s “Why do you smell like a lady?” and protracted glaring were funny.) Even though he’s got a weaselface, doesn’t know how to take no for an answer, and tricks her into joining him, Korra’s so naïve and afraid of the chi-blockers that she seems to trust him more after he rescues her from one. Tarrlok also drops the first hint that we’re going to get some stuff from the past: “Forty-two years ago, Republic City was threatened by another dangerous man-” Yako? Yakko? Yakov? The character’s name isn’t up online yet. Tenzin’s of the opinion that this is just another power grab, but it’s unclear what Tarrlok’s motivations are for kicking the hornet’s nest.
I kept thinking “Dude! Clearly evil!” about the other prominent new character, Asami Sato, despite no good textual reason; I realized about halfway through that that button was being pushed by how much she looks like Lust from Full Metal Alchemist. (Well, neck up, anyway-one thing I really appreciate about the design in A:TLA and Korra is how none of the female characters are saddled with huge, physically improbable racks.) Asami’s by far the most femme character to get a prominent role in this universe, with makeup, fancy clothes, and slo-mo hair out of a Pantene commercial. When she flusters Mako by offering to buy him dinner, the fraternal resemblance between him and Bolin is evident, and pretty adorable. The Asami-Mako couplehood progresses superfast, to the point where cheeseball lines like “I feel so safe with you” are being spoken. The implication that Asami, a non-bender, doesn’t feel safe most of the time isn’t explored here, but I’d guess it will be.
Speaking of love interests, it’s funny how pointedly oblivious both brothers are to the fervent Internet shipping around Mako and Korra. Both of them have the understanding that Bolin’s the one who’s into the Avatar-when Bolin went missing, Mako’s first thought was “Ugh, he’s definitely on Air Temple Island trying to make out,” Bolin’s thanks-for-rescuing-me present to Korra is the utterly platonic rose-and-a-cupcake combo, and when Asami shows up, it’s clear that Korra isn’t even on Mako’s radar. We’ll see how that goes, but as of now the writers are dedicating very little energy to complicated love polygons.
But: Let’s talk about that flashback. After making her incredibly teenage challenge to Amon and getting schooled, spared, and knocked out, Korra has what appears to be her first connection with past Avatar incarnations. She flashes back to grown-up Sokka, grown-up Toph, and grown-up Aang (if this is the event from 42 years ago, the Aang Gang would be in their 40s) in what looks like a courtroom, with a saggy-eyed guy-Yako?-on the stand. Everybody looks very serious, then Bearded Aang looks really pissed and flies at the camera. It’s guaranteed that the brief flashes will get expanded, probably as the root of Amon’s Big Plan and why Korra was hidden away at the South Pole.
Looks like we’re going to see more of the Aang Gang after all, and I’m looking forward it. I've been enjoying the show as a standalone, but I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t awesome to see that Sokka grew up to look just like his dad.
Stray observations:
IGN by Max Nicholson (Score: 7.5)
Coming off of last week's plot-centric episode, "The Spirit of Competition" reeled The Legend of Korra back into more humorous territory. And where there's humor, there's a lot more Bolin -- and, of course, Tenzin's kids are sure to follow. But most of all, this week's installment decided to play all of its relationship cards at once. Basically every potential romance that's been discussed was laid out on the table in one, big hormone-fueled episode.
As we already know, there's been a bit of a love triangle stirring for the last few episodes among Korra, Mako and Bolin. And judging from the start of the episode, Mako and his new gal pal Asami appear to be full-on dating, amping up the tension even further. But it wasn't until after the Fire Ferrets' first tournament win that Korra decided to reveal her true feelings for Mako. Unfortunately, it was around this same time that Bolin worked up the courage to ask Korra out on a date... You can see where this would all become a recipe for disaster.
Despite getting a little ham-fisted with the romances, it was interesting to see exactly where things are relationship-wise with all the characters. If nothing else, we got solid confirmation of who likes who, and I suppose that's a reasonable step to take considering the show's target demographic. (Sometimes those blushing cheeks just don't quite cut it, am I right?) Nevertheless, I feel like a few of these reveals were seriously rushed. In just one single episode we had Korra spill her guts to Mako, Korra and Bolin go on a date, Korra and Mako share a kiss and a rivalry spark between Mako and Bolin. That's a lot of teen angst to pack into one episode.
I do appreciate that these scenes were handled without taking themselves too seriously though. In the spirit of Avatar, almost every flirtatious gesture was thrown in with a side of funny. Even when Bolin witnessed Korra and Mako's tender embrace, the characters didn't burn any bridges in doing so. In fact, for the most part, it seemed like every aspect of the romantic development was more or less erased by the end of the episode. Instead of playing it coy throughout the series, it looks like the writers took a different approach and used the romantic tension as a vehicle for the characters to learn a lesson in teamwork.
Speaking of which, I think interspersing the pro-bending matches with the relationship drama made things a little more visually interesting (if only just). There wasn't too much here to get excited about in terms of action sequences. Most of what we saw was all stuff we'd seen before. However, I did really like Bolin's one-on-one tiebreaker with the Boarcupines. In general, I think Bolin had some of the better scenes this time around -- his mental breakdown and subsequent tantrum were pretty hilarious. Likewise, Jinora and Ikki had some cute moments while they were offering their love advice to Korra.
Overall, it's nice to see that The Legend of Korra isn't afraid to embrace its lighthearted side for an episode. After all, Avatar's sense of humor is one of the things that made the original series so great. It'd be nice if we could see more of this integrated into some of the action scenes later on, something similar to the banter in "The Revelation." That being said, I think I'd prefer it if they laid low on the shipper stuff for a while, especially since we got such a saturated dose of it this week.
AV Club by Emily Guendelsberger (Score: A)
When I was a kid, I insisted on being an extra Michelangelo at recess instead of April. (Believe that I had a costume.) The lone female character who hung out with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles probably wasn’t as heinous as I remember-she was probably full of girl power or whatever, and I guess she was a journalist. But 7-year-olds at recess have a way of boiling down characters to their defining characteristics, and April’s was passiveness. The job of the designated April was to hang out on the jungle gym until she was rescued, which was boring. An April couldn’t lead the gang. I could sometimes lead the gang, but only as Michelangelo.
This was the case with most of the TV shows, movies, and to a degree books I loved when I was a kid. Even female characters obviously set up to be girl role models didn’t feel as great as being Michelangelo did. Mulan and Wonder Woman operated in the same system as April and Ariel-just as anti-princesses instead of princesses. They were the weirdos, the exceptions to the rule; and without fail some character would point this out by saying, “But she’s a girl!” All the other, normal girls, this seemed to imply, were still sitting on the jungle gym waiting to be rescued.
So even while watching “The Spirit Of Competition,” in which significant time is spent on the long-dreaded romantic-polygon plot, my inner 7-year-old was still dead jealous she missed out on being Korra. Even when it comes to the mushy stuff. This episode may not end up at the top of my rewatch list, but it handles its main plot, the Bolin-Korra-Mako crush triangle, in a way I really haven’t seen before. And I thought it was revolutionary enough to give the episode an A.
First, I can recall exactly zero compliments paid to female characters of my childhood (or, frankly, my adulthood) along the lines of “you’re the smartest, funniest, buffest, toughest, talentedest, incrediblest girl in the world!” Buffest? Buffest? Seriously? That is amazing. I also actually yelped an involuntary “Oh, shit!” when Korra just pounced on Mako; it was totally unexpected, and totally awesome. (Even Mulan had to wait for the dude make the first move.)
Even better, the attraction on the part of both boys is most evident after Korra does amazing things, not when she cleans up and wears a more feminine outfit for the ball in the previous episode, the usual point in a narrative where guys notice their female buddy for the first time. Unless I’m misremembering, in fact, not a single character so far has called Korra pretty, or not-pretty. Nor has anyone even hinted at “But she’s a girl!”
That’s why Korra is so great: She’s not an April. She’s not trying to be Michelangelo. She’s not even a Buffy, playing off the contrast between ultra-femme appearance and superhuman strength. Like Azula and Toph in the original show, she’s just presented as female without that patronizing “…but she kicks ass!” qualification. She just obviously kicks ass. Why wouldn’t she?
Clearly I am extremely enthusiastic about some things in this episode, but the description didn’t have me very excited about watching it beforehand. I could not be more bored by shipping, and taking time off from the Amon plot to focus on makeouts and sports didn’t sound fun. Some of it wasn’t fun-in particular, the pro-bending matches where the Fire Ferrets weren’t getting along felt like the bottom of the second act of every sports movie ever.
But other things more than made up for it, the second of which is melodramatic Bolin, who is hysterical. (I’ll leave it to you commenters to toss around the many, many great Bolin quotes.) The one-to-one substitution of noodle joint for bar was a pretty clever way to be on Nickelodeon and allow Bolin to go on a massive, self-pitying bender and then be hung over at the match.
As I mentioned in my review of the second episode, klaxons go off on the internet whenever a love triangle seems remotely possible. I think this may be because this particular path has been taken so many times that deep narrative wagon-wheel ruts have formed-once a story falls in, it’s hard not to end up following the trail to Abilene. And once two characters are competing for one love interest, the vast majority of the time it’ll result in another spinoff of the Catfight With A Thousand Faces, which is generally boring.
But the writers seem pretty careful about staying away from that path. At the end of the episode, things aren’t exactly resolved, but Mako and Bolin are back on good terms with a simple exchange of “Girls! Seriously!” And Korra finally acknowledges Asami’s generosity and starts treating her like a human being rather than an obstacle. Here’s hoping this means future Korra episodes will start scoring better on the Bechdel Test.
Stray observations:
IGN by Max Nicholson (Score: 9.5)
In this week's episode of The Legend of Korra, s*** got real with Amon and the Equalist revolution. After announcing his plan of attack on the pro-bending championship, the Council had to formulate a strategic response. Unfortunately for them, they weren't the only ones invested. As we might have guessed, the decision to shut down the tournament didn't exactly sit well with Korra, Mako and Bolin -- and naturally, the trio had their own two cents on the matter. But it was Chief Lin Bei Fong who stepped in with the curveball in support the Avatar.
This was really the first time we'd heard from Toph's hard-edged daughter since the pilot, and her history with Tenzin proved to be very interesting. Lin and Tenzin's banter was really great here, as was Korra's coy pestering of Tenzin. It was nice getting some background on Lin, especially since we'd already seen some obvious tension earlier on in the series. It was also neat how their romantic backstory tied into Pema's account from last week.
Following last week's humdrum pro-bending match, I was bracing myself for more of the same during the championship. But I couldn't have been more wrong. This episode had some of the most creative pro-bending yet. Between the Wolfbats' dirty fighting and Korra's epic save with Mako, there were plenty of spectacles on the arena to keep things interesting. I also got a good laugh from Pabu's little dance number with Bolin at the start of the tournament.
Even more awesome than the pro-bending, though, was the Equalists' surprise attack -- and it looks like the chi blockers have acquired a few new toys. (Anyone else think of Iron Man when they whipped out those repulsor gauntlets?) I've gotta say, it was really gratifying to see Amon's revolution and the pro-bending racket dovetailing in such a spectacular fashion. It's cool that these two storylines weren't completely separate after all. There were some great bits here as well. I got a big kick out of the pro-bending announcer narrating his own demise at the hands of a chi blocker.
But the absolute best part of the episode was getting to see Lin and Korra fight side by side against the chi blockers. I loved watching Lin do her thing with those metal wrist-whips; when she first launched Korra through the arena ceiling, I literally got goosebumps. I honestly didn't think I would like her character as much as I did, but dammit, Lin had some killer moments. Not unlike her mother, I think Lin Bei Fong may soon become a fan favorite. Who knew she'd kick so much ass? (Now if only we had Tenzin there to lay down some airbending fury...)
Overall, I think this episode was one of the best yet. It had some fun interaction among the characters, a welcome infusion of comedy as well as some of the most jaw-dropping action we've seen on the show thus far. Plus, we even got a few more hints on Avatar Aang, and perhaps our first look at the mysterious Yakone -- although that's still up for debate. In any event, it's clear we're heading into some exciting territory. Where the first few episodes promised potential, "And the Winner Is..." delivered results.
AV Club by Emily Guendelsberger (Score: A-)
We’re halfway through the first season, and it looks like it’s going to be a turning point; as Tenzin says, “Republic City is at war.” Though the Equalist attack on the stadium is a big deal, the introduction of the electric gloves might be more significant, as they serve the same function as guns on a network that can’t show guns. And historically, the introduction of guns into a society is usually followed or accompanied by huge societal changes. Talking about the gloves, which can be hidden in a bag of popcorn and take out multiple cops, Amon says that “now, anyone can hold the power of a chi-blocker in their hand.” Affordable, concealable, multi-shot guns like the Colt .45 revolver were known as the “great equalizers” of the 19th-century American West, technology that evened out the advantages of those lucky enough to be born with physical strength. I’d bet that even the name “Equalists” is a reference to this by the writers.
The better the Equalists do, the longer Amon’s speeches get, and the more he talks, the less sympathetic he is. His demand that the city shut down the stadium echoed another flamboyant, melodramatic quasi-villain, the Phantom Of The Opera, to the point where I expected him to shriek “A disaster beyond your imagination will occur!” Amon’s earlier, vaguer points about benders treating non-benders as an underclass made sense, but “Cleanse them of their impurities” crosses into “that’s what a cult says” territory. While listening to him ramble at the stadium, I kept thinking of him as the anti-John Galt; they probably wouldn’t get along philosophically, but could bond over their love of long, droning, self-righteous radio speeches.
Another big change at the halfway mark is the end of pro-bending, at least for the first season-the tournament’s over and the court’s blown up. Mako and Bolin aren’t going to get that prize money, so they’re going to have to go find non-superstar jobs somewhere or other. Pro-bending was fun while it lasted; I enjoyed piecing together the rules and strategies, like in this episode as the Wolfbats demonstrated multiple types of fouls like hosing, ice, head shots, messing with opponents’ earthbending discs, and putting rock bits into water. (Speaking of fouls, who do you think paid off the ref? The Wolfbats would be the obvious choice, but Amon’s whole speech seemed predicated on the winning team looking like dicks.) I’ll miss pro-bending, but its absence will free up a lot of space for the main storyline.
Korra’s gleeful facial expressions as she put two and two together about Tenzin and Chief Beifong were practically trolling the audience-she’s just so pleased with herself! Still: everyone who called Tenzin-Lin last week, pat yourself on the back. Korra and Tenzin’s relationship remains one of the sweetest things on the show; he has to catch himself in the middle of a strings-scored gut-spilling about his breakup with Beifong, and Korra can tease him about being Mr. Heartbreaker.
It was nice to see more of Chief Beifong in this episode, from her gavel-smashing entrance to how fond she was of Tenzin’s “sweet-tempered father” to her badass demonstration of metalbending in the rooftop fight. It seemed like Tarrlok was deliberately setting her up to fail with that “you’ll take personal responsibility for the safety of the spectators?” thing, though, and he’s definitely not going to let that slide. I’d guess that the council is going to appoint someone to replace her next episode. (By the way, does Tarrlok have scandalous photos of the three elderly council members or what? What a bunch of pushovers.) Tarrlok’s still being animated and voiced in ways that suggest he is not to be trusted, but it’s unclear whether he was maneuvering to grab more executive power via getting control of the police force or whether there's something bigger going on.
So where are we at the halfway point of the first season? I’ve been kind of baffled by comments complaining that the characters of Korra aren’t as well-developed as the ones in the original series, so I decided to revisit the first half-dozen episodes of A:TLA. (Hey, remember Haru?) Most of my favorite episodes of the original are in the second and third seasons, and I hadn’t really revisited the first aside from “The Blue Spirit” and “The Siege Of The North.” So when I went back, it was almost jarring how juvenile those early episodes feel in comparison to later ones, and to Korra. The characters are eerily reminiscent of their caricatures in the Ember Island Players: Sokka is hungry, Katara is naïve, Aang is an incurable prankster who does that goofy laugh a lot (like, a lot), Zuko shouts at his uncle and has a doofus ponytail. Objectively, the first half-season of Korra is much farther along than the original series was at this point in terms of production value, story, character development, and other things grown-ups value in their Saturday morning cartoons.
Stray observations:
still can't believe it's the half of the season. forever in denial.
also mods, did reviews stay like this from now on or it's one by one? i can make them per episode, with more graphics and fun filled comments lol
forewarning: i will not add the reviews from The Movie Pool this time. they didn't review the episodes weekly and I'm currently searching for the site who did. leave a comment if you found one. thanks.
IGN by Max Nicholson (Score: 8.5)
After Amon's energybending revelation in last week's episode, it was obvious that Korra had her work cut out for her. With this new looming threat endangering the benders of Republic City, it was time for an intervention from the United Republic Council, Zuko and Aang's version of our own United Nations. Personally, I've gotta say, this was badass. I loved the whole "Jedi Council" vibe. What's even cooler is that Tenzin was a part of it. I particularly enjoyed his dynamic with Tarrlok (Dee Bradley Baker), the Northern Water Tribe representative. This guy reeks of trouble, but his plan to assemble a task force against the Equalists was actually a neat idea. Even though it probably wasn't the smartest choice for Korra -- after all, she still lacks the proper training -- the notion of the Avatar leading a team of covert bending operatives was just plain rad.
And, as expected, the training camp raid was prime. I still love that this show started with an Avatar that can bend three elements from the get-go. Korra had some very creative uses for both her water- and earthbending this time around. In general, I've been really impressed with the show's elemental combat thus far, even the little throwaways like each team member collecting their own water from a giant barrel or Korra freezing those smoke bombs in midair. The only question now is, how long can they keep it up without airbending support? I feel like Tarrlok's team will be hitting a brick wall soon without Tenzin's help.
But while Korra was off being all Sydney Bristow, Mako had his own thing going on with the lovely Asami Sato (coincidentally voiced by The Last Airbender's Princess Yue, Seychelle Gabriel). After getting to know each other over a fancy dinner, the pair met up with Asami's father Hiroshi (Daniel Dae Kim), a wealthy industrialist who agreed to front the tournament money for the Fire Ferrets. I enjoyed getting some background on the "Satomobile" -- that was a nice touch, and it's nice to see we're slowly peeling back the layers on some of the show's advanced tech. But perhaps even more interesting is the potential of adding a non-bender to the Korra crew ("Krew?"). With Mako's googly eyes for Asami, it looks like our love triangle might soon be turning into a love square -- and I'm already digging the rivalry between Asami and Korra. Perhaps the writers will play up a discord similar to how they handled Toph and Katara in the original series.
Speaking of whom, this brings us to the climax: the would-be showdown between Korra and Amon on Memorial Island. And as a side note, Steve Blum is killing it with this guy's voice. His cautionary speech to Korra was super menacing. I was worried about the show finding a voice actor on par with Mark Hamill as Fire Lord Ozai, but Blum has been doing an excellent job. His final scene here was deliciously evil, and I'm glad we got to see both Amon and Korra meet face to face, if only for a minute.
Of course the showstopper this week was Korra's vision, featuring flashes of not only a fully grown Avatar Aang (with chinstrap!), but an older Toph and Sokka as well. I'm not really sure if these shots were supposed to be from a specific event in Aang's life or just a series of random images, but this was way awesome. It's also possible that these were glimpses of the same conflict Tarrlok was referencing at the beginning of the episode during the Council meeting. In any case, this has definitely whet my appetite for more Gaang history. I suspect we'll be getting more answers on this front once Korra makes her first journey into the Spirit World.
AV Club by Emily Guendelsberger (Score: B+)
“After I take your bending away, you will be nothing.” In the opening of “The Voice In The Night,” Korra dreams of being attacked by Amon and the chi-blockers and wakes up screaming. But the voice that has the Avatar so terrified in this episode isn’t Amon’s, though he’s the character in her dream who says it-Korra’s own subconscious came up with that nasty line. Though her cloistered upbringing has made her physically powerful, it’s clearly left her with no idea who she is if not “The Avatar.”
And Korra’s now very anxious to get fully accredited. Even before she gets boxed into being on the Equalist-hunting task force, she’s blowing off Fire Ferret practice to work on the last element she needs to get down. Pretty much every time we see her this episode outside of eating, sleeping, or attending an official function, she’s running through airbending forms. Amon interrupts her practices via a radio monologue about it being time for benders to be afraid, but Korra clearly is already there. Even Bolin’s goofy impression of Amon gets a scary music cue.
Korra’s insecurity makes her easy to manipulate: Because she doesn’t know what to do, she’ll do whatever anyone tells her the Avatar should be doing, which apparently is taking on the Equalists directly like a good superhero, even though she’s not done with her training and still can’t pull an Avatar state. (Tenzin, who’s similarly without a map as the head of a culture he never experienced, is susceptible to this as well-Councilman Tarrlok manages to get face time with Korra by pointing out that real Airbenders never turn away a hungry person.)
There’s a lot of questions about why Aang would tell the White Lotus to find and protect (and, as a side effect, isolate) his successor when standard procedure is to let the new Avatar grow up normally. This episode’s flashbacks and references to some past event involving the middle-aged Aang Gang imply that he may have had his reasons for making sure Korra was hidden away on the compound-and that Korra isn’t going to be as separate from the original show as recent episodes have implied.
A few new characters were introduced: first, Councilman Tarrlok, who is both a sleaze and a dandy fop. (The airbending kids haven’t had much to do lately, but Ikki’s “Why do you smell like a lady?” and protracted glaring were funny.) Even though he’s got a weaselface, doesn’t know how to take no for an answer, and tricks her into joining him, Korra’s so naïve and afraid of the chi-blockers that she seems to trust him more after he rescues her from one. Tarrlok also drops the first hint that we’re going to get some stuff from the past: “Forty-two years ago, Republic City was threatened by another dangerous man-” Yako? Yakko? Yakov? The character’s name isn’t up online yet. Tenzin’s of the opinion that this is just another power grab, but it’s unclear what Tarrlok’s motivations are for kicking the hornet’s nest.
I kept thinking “Dude! Clearly evil!” about the other prominent new character, Asami Sato, despite no good textual reason; I realized about halfway through that that button was being pushed by how much she looks like Lust from Full Metal Alchemist. (Well, neck up, anyway-one thing I really appreciate about the design in A:TLA and Korra is how none of the female characters are saddled with huge, physically improbable racks.) Asami’s by far the most femme character to get a prominent role in this universe, with makeup, fancy clothes, and slo-mo hair out of a Pantene commercial. When she flusters Mako by offering to buy him dinner, the fraternal resemblance between him and Bolin is evident, and pretty adorable. The Asami-Mako couplehood progresses superfast, to the point where cheeseball lines like “I feel so safe with you” are being spoken. The implication that Asami, a non-bender, doesn’t feel safe most of the time isn’t explored here, but I’d guess it will be.
Speaking of love interests, it’s funny how pointedly oblivious both brothers are to the fervent Internet shipping around Mako and Korra. Both of them have the understanding that Bolin’s the one who’s into the Avatar-when Bolin went missing, Mako’s first thought was “Ugh, he’s definitely on Air Temple Island trying to make out,” Bolin’s thanks-for-rescuing-me present to Korra is the utterly platonic rose-and-a-cupcake combo, and when Asami shows up, it’s clear that Korra isn’t even on Mako’s radar. We’ll see how that goes, but as of now the writers are dedicating very little energy to complicated love polygons.
But: Let’s talk about that flashback. After making her incredibly teenage challenge to Amon and getting schooled, spared, and knocked out, Korra has what appears to be her first connection with past Avatar incarnations. She flashes back to grown-up Sokka, grown-up Toph, and grown-up Aang (if this is the event from 42 years ago, the Aang Gang would be in their 40s) in what looks like a courtroom, with a saggy-eyed guy-Yako?-on the stand. Everybody looks very serious, then Bearded Aang looks really pissed and flies at the camera. It’s guaranteed that the brief flashes will get expanded, probably as the root of Amon’s Big Plan and why Korra was hidden away at the South Pole.
Looks like we’re going to see more of the Aang Gang after all, and I’m looking forward it. I've been enjoying the show as a standalone, but I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t awesome to see that Sokka grew up to look just like his dad.
Stray observations:
- One of the reporters at the press conference is definitely the same guy who narrates the opening newsreel, which is some fun continuity.
- That scarf is looking surprisingly good for Mako wearing it nonstop for ten years.
- The violence in Korra sure is a lot more… violent. Particularly in the raid on the chi-blocker gym, where a woman gets slammed into the wall with a giant slab of rock.
- It may just be coincidence, but the theme playing at the chi-blocker gym (I’m pretty sure it’s a leitmotif for the Equalists, I’ve heard it before) is the first five notes of the theme from the ’90s-era X-Men cartoon.
- Speaking of giant slabs of rock, it has to be really inconvenient to be an earthbender in a city if you care about property damage. Pull enough bricks and buildings are going to come down like Jenga towers, and yanking earth up from underground would undoubtedly screw up the sewage system. Maybe this is why all the cops metalbend.
- If Asami’s voice sounds familiar, actress Seychelle Gabriel played Princess Yue (subject of A:TLA’s greatest joke) in the tragic Shyamalan adaptation.
- Loving the sweet Buffy/Giles vibe between Korra and Tenzin. J.K. Simmons is great at doing warm, worried, and paternal.
- “MEELO, NO! THAT IS NOT A TOILET! Oh dear.”
- It would take a really long time to depower every bender in Republic City one by one.
- Discuss: Is Amon waiting to take Korra out until she’s finished her training? If Amon had taken Korra’s bending away, would a new Avatar be born, or would the world be stuck with a dud until she died?
IGN by Max Nicholson (Score: 7.5)
Coming off of last week's plot-centric episode, "The Spirit of Competition" reeled The Legend of Korra back into more humorous territory. And where there's humor, there's a lot more Bolin -- and, of course, Tenzin's kids are sure to follow. But most of all, this week's installment decided to play all of its relationship cards at once. Basically every potential romance that's been discussed was laid out on the table in one, big hormone-fueled episode.
As we already know, there's been a bit of a love triangle stirring for the last few episodes among Korra, Mako and Bolin. And judging from the start of the episode, Mako and his new gal pal Asami appear to be full-on dating, amping up the tension even further. But it wasn't until after the Fire Ferrets' first tournament win that Korra decided to reveal her true feelings for Mako. Unfortunately, it was around this same time that Bolin worked up the courage to ask Korra out on a date... You can see where this would all become a recipe for disaster.
Despite getting a little ham-fisted with the romances, it was interesting to see exactly where things are relationship-wise with all the characters. If nothing else, we got solid confirmation of who likes who, and I suppose that's a reasonable step to take considering the show's target demographic. (Sometimes those blushing cheeks just don't quite cut it, am I right?) Nevertheless, I feel like a few of these reveals were seriously rushed. In just one single episode we had Korra spill her guts to Mako, Korra and Bolin go on a date, Korra and Mako share a kiss and a rivalry spark between Mako and Bolin. That's a lot of teen angst to pack into one episode.
I do appreciate that these scenes were handled without taking themselves too seriously though. In the spirit of Avatar, almost every flirtatious gesture was thrown in with a side of funny. Even when Bolin witnessed Korra and Mako's tender embrace, the characters didn't burn any bridges in doing so. In fact, for the most part, it seemed like every aspect of the romantic development was more or less erased by the end of the episode. Instead of playing it coy throughout the series, it looks like the writers took a different approach and used the romantic tension as a vehicle for the characters to learn a lesson in teamwork.
Speaking of which, I think interspersing the pro-bending matches with the relationship drama made things a little more visually interesting (if only just). There wasn't too much here to get excited about in terms of action sequences. Most of what we saw was all stuff we'd seen before. However, I did really like Bolin's one-on-one tiebreaker with the Boarcupines. In general, I think Bolin had some of the better scenes this time around -- his mental breakdown and subsequent tantrum were pretty hilarious. Likewise, Jinora and Ikki had some cute moments while they were offering their love advice to Korra.
Overall, it's nice to see that The Legend of Korra isn't afraid to embrace its lighthearted side for an episode. After all, Avatar's sense of humor is one of the things that made the original series so great. It'd be nice if we could see more of this integrated into some of the action scenes later on, something similar to the banter in "The Revelation." That being said, I think I'd prefer it if they laid low on the shipper stuff for a while, especially since we got such a saturated dose of it this week.
AV Club by Emily Guendelsberger (Score: A)
When I was a kid, I insisted on being an extra Michelangelo at recess instead of April. (Believe that I had a costume.) The lone female character who hung out with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles probably wasn’t as heinous as I remember-she was probably full of girl power or whatever, and I guess she was a journalist. But 7-year-olds at recess have a way of boiling down characters to their defining characteristics, and April’s was passiveness. The job of the designated April was to hang out on the jungle gym until she was rescued, which was boring. An April couldn’t lead the gang. I could sometimes lead the gang, but only as Michelangelo.
This was the case with most of the TV shows, movies, and to a degree books I loved when I was a kid. Even female characters obviously set up to be girl role models didn’t feel as great as being Michelangelo did. Mulan and Wonder Woman operated in the same system as April and Ariel-just as anti-princesses instead of princesses. They were the weirdos, the exceptions to the rule; and without fail some character would point this out by saying, “But she’s a girl!” All the other, normal girls, this seemed to imply, were still sitting on the jungle gym waiting to be rescued.
So even while watching “The Spirit Of Competition,” in which significant time is spent on the long-dreaded romantic-polygon plot, my inner 7-year-old was still dead jealous she missed out on being Korra. Even when it comes to the mushy stuff. This episode may not end up at the top of my rewatch list, but it handles its main plot, the Bolin-Korra-Mako crush triangle, in a way I really haven’t seen before. And I thought it was revolutionary enough to give the episode an A.
First, I can recall exactly zero compliments paid to female characters of my childhood (or, frankly, my adulthood) along the lines of “you’re the smartest, funniest, buffest, toughest, talentedest, incrediblest girl in the world!” Buffest? Buffest? Seriously? That is amazing. I also actually yelped an involuntary “Oh, shit!” when Korra just pounced on Mako; it was totally unexpected, and totally awesome. (Even Mulan had to wait for the dude make the first move.)
Even better, the attraction on the part of both boys is most evident after Korra does amazing things, not when she cleans up and wears a more feminine outfit for the ball in the previous episode, the usual point in a narrative where guys notice their female buddy for the first time. Unless I’m misremembering, in fact, not a single character so far has called Korra pretty, or not-pretty. Nor has anyone even hinted at “But she’s a girl!”
That’s why Korra is so great: She’s not an April. She’s not trying to be Michelangelo. She’s not even a Buffy, playing off the contrast between ultra-femme appearance and superhuman strength. Like Azula and Toph in the original show, she’s just presented as female without that patronizing “…but she kicks ass!” qualification. She just obviously kicks ass. Why wouldn’t she?
Clearly I am extremely enthusiastic about some things in this episode, but the description didn’t have me very excited about watching it beforehand. I could not be more bored by shipping, and taking time off from the Amon plot to focus on makeouts and sports didn’t sound fun. Some of it wasn’t fun-in particular, the pro-bending matches where the Fire Ferrets weren’t getting along felt like the bottom of the second act of every sports movie ever.
But other things more than made up for it, the second of which is melodramatic Bolin, who is hysterical. (I’ll leave it to you commenters to toss around the many, many great Bolin quotes.) The one-to-one substitution of noodle joint for bar was a pretty clever way to be on Nickelodeon and allow Bolin to go on a massive, self-pitying bender and then be hung over at the match.
As I mentioned in my review of the second episode, klaxons go off on the internet whenever a love triangle seems remotely possible. I think this may be because this particular path has been taken so many times that deep narrative wagon-wheel ruts have formed-once a story falls in, it’s hard not to end up following the trail to Abilene. And once two characters are competing for one love interest, the vast majority of the time it’ll result in another spinoff of the Catfight With A Thousand Faces, which is generally boring.
But the writers seem pretty careful about staying away from that path. At the end of the episode, things aren’t exactly resolved, but Mako and Bolin are back on good terms with a simple exchange of “Girls! Seriously!” And Korra finally acknowledges Asami’s generosity and starts treating her like a human being rather than an obstacle. Here’s hoping this means future Korra episodes will start scoring better on the Bechdel Test.
Stray observations:
- This review is brought to you by Flame-O Instant Noodles: Noodliest noodles in the United Republic!
- Best Bolin line: “There they go, here we are... all alone in the gym. Just you and me... two alone people. Together. Alone.” The delivery just keeps getting funnier the longer it stretches on.
- The shot from underneath the huddle is a nice wordless recap of the relationships between the three Fire Ferrets. Plus, their eyes match their elements!
- “Hey, Makoooooooo… oh.”
- Tahno’s delightfully fey. He’s also a waterbender, judging from his uniform, so I’d imagine he and Korra are going to tie-break it up soon.
- Korra’s compliment that the restaurant is “totally authentic” suggests crappy Water Tribe takeout joints on every corner of Republic City.
- Whoa, Pema’s a homewrecker!
- Loved the pan over to the horrified people seated next to Korra and Bolin after their burping competition.
- Glad that Korra being socially awkward enough to consider taking romantic advice from Jinora and Ikki didn’t end up in Jerry Maguire precocious-kid-fixes-relationships territory: Jinora supports riding a dragon into battle, burning down the entire country and then jumping into a volcano; Ikki’s more into making a love potion out of rainbows and sunsets.
- Speaking of, stories involving dragon battles apparently qualify as historical romance in the Avatar universe.
- Korra seems to be getting even better at airbending forms-she seems to use a lot of them to dodge and pull off the triple knockout in that last game.
- Second-best Bolin line: “GAH, haven’t you hurt me enough, woman?!”
IGN by Max Nicholson (Score: 9.5)
In this week's episode of The Legend of Korra, s*** got real with Amon and the Equalist revolution. After announcing his plan of attack on the pro-bending championship, the Council had to formulate a strategic response. Unfortunately for them, they weren't the only ones invested. As we might have guessed, the decision to shut down the tournament didn't exactly sit well with Korra, Mako and Bolin -- and naturally, the trio had their own two cents on the matter. But it was Chief Lin Bei Fong who stepped in with the curveball in support the Avatar.
This was really the first time we'd heard from Toph's hard-edged daughter since the pilot, and her history with Tenzin proved to be very interesting. Lin and Tenzin's banter was really great here, as was Korra's coy pestering of Tenzin. It was nice getting some background on Lin, especially since we'd already seen some obvious tension earlier on in the series. It was also neat how their romantic backstory tied into Pema's account from last week.
Following last week's humdrum pro-bending match, I was bracing myself for more of the same during the championship. But I couldn't have been more wrong. This episode had some of the most creative pro-bending yet. Between the Wolfbats' dirty fighting and Korra's epic save with Mako, there were plenty of spectacles on the arena to keep things interesting. I also got a good laugh from Pabu's little dance number with Bolin at the start of the tournament.
Even more awesome than the pro-bending, though, was the Equalists' surprise attack -- and it looks like the chi blockers have acquired a few new toys. (Anyone else think of Iron Man when they whipped out those repulsor gauntlets?) I've gotta say, it was really gratifying to see Amon's revolution and the pro-bending racket dovetailing in such a spectacular fashion. It's cool that these two storylines weren't completely separate after all. There were some great bits here as well. I got a big kick out of the pro-bending announcer narrating his own demise at the hands of a chi blocker.
But the absolute best part of the episode was getting to see Lin and Korra fight side by side against the chi blockers. I loved watching Lin do her thing with those metal wrist-whips; when she first launched Korra through the arena ceiling, I literally got goosebumps. I honestly didn't think I would like her character as much as I did, but dammit, Lin had some killer moments. Not unlike her mother, I think Lin Bei Fong may soon become a fan favorite. Who knew she'd kick so much ass? (Now if only we had Tenzin there to lay down some airbending fury...)
Overall, I think this episode was one of the best yet. It had some fun interaction among the characters, a welcome infusion of comedy as well as some of the most jaw-dropping action we've seen on the show thus far. Plus, we even got a few more hints on Avatar Aang, and perhaps our first look at the mysterious Yakone -- although that's still up for debate. In any event, it's clear we're heading into some exciting territory. Where the first few episodes promised potential, "And the Winner Is..." delivered results.
AV Club by Emily Guendelsberger (Score: A-)
We’re halfway through the first season, and it looks like it’s going to be a turning point; as Tenzin says, “Republic City is at war.” Though the Equalist attack on the stadium is a big deal, the introduction of the electric gloves might be more significant, as they serve the same function as guns on a network that can’t show guns. And historically, the introduction of guns into a society is usually followed or accompanied by huge societal changes. Talking about the gloves, which can be hidden in a bag of popcorn and take out multiple cops, Amon says that “now, anyone can hold the power of a chi-blocker in their hand.” Affordable, concealable, multi-shot guns like the Colt .45 revolver were known as the “great equalizers” of the 19th-century American West, technology that evened out the advantages of those lucky enough to be born with physical strength. I’d bet that even the name “Equalists” is a reference to this by the writers.
The better the Equalists do, the longer Amon’s speeches get, and the more he talks, the less sympathetic he is. His demand that the city shut down the stadium echoed another flamboyant, melodramatic quasi-villain, the Phantom Of The Opera, to the point where I expected him to shriek “A disaster beyond your imagination will occur!” Amon’s earlier, vaguer points about benders treating non-benders as an underclass made sense, but “Cleanse them of their impurities” crosses into “that’s what a cult says” territory. While listening to him ramble at the stadium, I kept thinking of him as the anti-John Galt; they probably wouldn’t get along philosophically, but could bond over their love of long, droning, self-righteous radio speeches.
Another big change at the halfway mark is the end of pro-bending, at least for the first season-the tournament’s over and the court’s blown up. Mako and Bolin aren’t going to get that prize money, so they’re going to have to go find non-superstar jobs somewhere or other. Pro-bending was fun while it lasted; I enjoyed piecing together the rules and strategies, like in this episode as the Wolfbats demonstrated multiple types of fouls like hosing, ice, head shots, messing with opponents’ earthbending discs, and putting rock bits into water. (Speaking of fouls, who do you think paid off the ref? The Wolfbats would be the obvious choice, but Amon’s whole speech seemed predicated on the winning team looking like dicks.) I’ll miss pro-bending, but its absence will free up a lot of space for the main storyline.
Korra’s gleeful facial expressions as she put two and two together about Tenzin and Chief Beifong were practically trolling the audience-she’s just so pleased with herself! Still: everyone who called Tenzin-Lin last week, pat yourself on the back. Korra and Tenzin’s relationship remains one of the sweetest things on the show; he has to catch himself in the middle of a strings-scored gut-spilling about his breakup with Beifong, and Korra can tease him about being Mr. Heartbreaker.
It was nice to see more of Chief Beifong in this episode, from her gavel-smashing entrance to how fond she was of Tenzin’s “sweet-tempered father” to her badass demonstration of metalbending in the rooftop fight. It seemed like Tarrlok was deliberately setting her up to fail with that “you’ll take personal responsibility for the safety of the spectators?” thing, though, and he’s definitely not going to let that slide. I’d guess that the council is going to appoint someone to replace her next episode. (By the way, does Tarrlok have scandalous photos of the three elderly council members or what? What a bunch of pushovers.) Tarrlok’s still being animated and voiced in ways that suggest he is not to be trusted, but it’s unclear whether he was maneuvering to grab more executive power via getting control of the police force or whether there's something bigger going on.
So where are we at the halfway point of the first season? I’ve been kind of baffled by comments complaining that the characters of Korra aren’t as well-developed as the ones in the original series, so I decided to revisit the first half-dozen episodes of A:TLA. (Hey, remember Haru?) Most of my favorite episodes of the original are in the second and third seasons, and I hadn’t really revisited the first aside from “The Blue Spirit” and “The Siege Of The North.” So when I went back, it was almost jarring how juvenile those early episodes feel in comparison to later ones, and to Korra. The characters are eerily reminiscent of their caricatures in the Ember Island Players: Sokka is hungry, Katara is naïve, Aang is an incurable prankster who does that goofy laugh a lot (like, a lot), Zuko shouts at his uncle and has a doofus ponytail. Objectively, the first half-season of Korra is much farther along than the original series was at this point in terms of production value, story, character development, and other things grown-ups value in their Saturday morning cartoons.
Stray observations:
- This review is brought to you by Cabbage Corp., Republic City’s trusted name in technology for over 50 years.
- One thing I’m not a fan of is how poorly some of the 3D computer-animated models mesh with the hand-done backgrounds and animation-they stick out like they’re from a different dimension. The Satomobiles have been the culprits in previous episodes; here, it was some of the shots of the pro-bending arena.
- Amon doesn’t wear electrogloves, and has really pale hands.
- The only reference to the previous episode’s romantic drama is Korra’s disgust at Mako and Asami blowing each other kisses. Which is, objectively, pretty disgusting.
- The tiebreaker between Tahno and Korra was excellent, from the brusque delivery on “Let’s go-you and me, pretty boy” to the instant replay of Korra’s jab-uppercut move.
- The slo-mo shot of Equalist agents in the crowd pulling up their masks was so nice I watched it twice. Ditto Amon rising up behind the Wolfbats as they’re watching electricity crackling out in the stands. (Half-wanted Amon and Tahno to start sharing tips on making a high-drama entrance. Have you considered a wolfbat cape? Have you considered rising up from below on a platform?)
- The announcer’s play-by-play of getting electrocuted was great! Poor announcer!
- The Wolfbats were dicks, but it was pretty cold how they got dumped into the water semi-conscious.
- I loved the inventive fight choreography on the roof. We get metalbending, a demonstration of how much Korra’s improved against chi-blockers, the factor of the slowly breaking glass, and the utterly awesome POV shot of the lieutenant getting straight elbowed in the face. (As in Korra’s fight with the big guy at the rally in “The Revelation,” the turning point was a physical move.) Plus, it’s made very clear how much of a natural advantage Aang had in being able to fly.
- Did nobody notice a giant dirigible rolling up to the stadium?
- In the second flashback, we see a bit more of the courtroom scene-there’s a new sideburns-wearing, lawyer-looking guy with a weaselface, and we see grown-up Aang pulling an Avatar state in the middle of the city. That last flash, where you see the light in his eyes and arrow turning off, seems significant.
- Last, if anyone wants to hear what my voice sounds like, I’m going to be guesting on podcast Republic City Dispatch this Sunday - I’m not going to say I was convinced entirely by their animated gif illustration of a throwaway joke in my first review, but it didn’t hurt.
still can't believe it's the half of the season. forever in denial.
also mods, did reviews stay like this from now on or it's one by one? i can make them per episode, with more graphics and fun filled comments lol