Okay, new episode is up at nick.com. Direct link is here. Sometimes it comes through as a pseudo-HD stream, sometimes it does not. I can't explain it. Spoilers ahead.
On Saturday morning, I got done watching this episode and instantly thought it was one of the greats. Easily one of the best of the series so far. But after I tamped down the raging 14 year-old that still lurks somewhere inside of me, I tried to articulate why. What makes this episode so much better than, say, "The Revelation" (which was a decent episode in its own right)?
Well, first off, this was a very lean, action-packed 22 minutes. We've mostly left all the Korra/Mako nonsense in the past, and I'm grateful. Instead, we got a little insight into Lin Beifong, who is a vastly more interesting character than Mako, and also some pretty sweet fight sequences. I get a feeling that this will be about all the backstory we will be getting for the chief, and since this is pretty much the first sustained screentime she's gotten since the series began, I don't have a problem calling this Lin's episode.
It turns out that Lin and Tenzin had a relationship long in the past. A sexy relationship. The sequence where this comes to light between Tenzin and Korra is precious, and gives the audience a sense of just how close the two have become. Korra feels comfortable teasing Tenzin about his romantic past, and Tenzin starts rambling about how he and Lin drifted apart, had different goals, etc. before he catches himself and turns away from her, embarrassed.
The rest of the episode shows the chief's professionalism and pride, but also humanizes her, giving Beifong a more kind, friendly approach to the Avatar by the end. Tenzin certainly had something to do with that (and it is a bit suspicious that she warms up to him again when she suggests that it be "just like old times," leading me to wonder what exactly she means by that), telling her that perhaps she was not very different from Korra when she was the same age.
And, of course, the chief goes balls-out when it comes time for her to fight against the Equalists. The choreography of her cablebending fight scenes is breathtaking, and almost manages to upstage Korra's own impressive showing. At any rate, the two certainly make for a dynamic pair. Korra takes out at least three Equalists, including Amon's chief lieutenant, who had gotten the better of Mako and Bolin in the past. But when considering that Chief Beifong was at a natural disadvantage (having no earth to bend on top of a glass dome), she acquitted herself quite nicely. It is unclear how the chief would have made out without Korra, since Korra saved her bacon a couple of times, but she did have to break off her pursuit of Amon to save Korra from plummeting into the arena's playing surface. In summary, I'm looking forward to seeing more of Lin Beifong in action.
The title of this week's episode, "And The Winner Is...," ostensibly refers to the championship match of the Pro Bending Tournament. Although the Wolfbats win the tournament, they can hardly be called "the winners" by the end of the episode. But then, who are the winners? Certainly not the Fire Ferrets, who lost out on the prize money and got electrocuted in the pool. Not Chief Lin Beifong, whose reputation took a major hit after she failed to secure the Pro Bending Arena. Not even Amon, who lost several of his "royal guard," so to speak, including his electric baton-wielding lieutenant (although I suspect we'll see Lt. Lance Henrikson again in future episodes). Tenzin? Well, Tenzin was proven correct in his assertion that the city should not antagonize the Equalists, but his somber tone at the end of the episode suggests that he does not take any pride in that fact. While it appears on the surface that no one was a clear-cut winner in this episode, I would like to suggest another possibility: Tarrlok.
Originally, when Amon first issues his demand that the council shut down the Pro Bending Arena, Tarrlok agrees with Tenzin and the rest of the council (such as they are) that the arena should be closed. Public safety, he claims, is more important than playing a game. But when Chief Beifong enters the council room, offering her metalbending officers as security for the match, Tarrlok gets an idea. His eyes shift one way then the other while the chief is still talking, indicating that he is focusing on something that is going on in his head.
After this motion, Tarrlok elicits a guarantee from Chief Beifong that she will take personal responsibility for the safety of the spectators in the audience. He then changes his vote in favor of keeping the arena open and the council members that he controls follow suit. What does Tarrlok have to gain by this maneuver? Is it a move to cover his own tail politically? If something had gone down and the council had been responsible for keeping the arena open, Tarrlok would be to blame. However, if Chief Beifong takes responsibility, Tarrlok gets to crow about not-caving to terrorists' demands (although he does not do this in the episode, it would certainly be in character) and has someone to blame in case something goes wrong.
But is it more than that? I don't believe that Tarrlok is tied up with Amon. Amon clearly wanted the Pro Bending Championship to take place, despite his warning on the radio. It's pretty obvious that Tarrlok controls the council. If Amon held influence over Tarrlok, Tarrlok would not have taken a chance that the Pro Bending Arena would be closed. What has happened is that Tarrlok has seen an opportunity to seize power in some way. We'll have to wait and see how that opportunity manifests itself; I think it will be in trying to create an army of benders under his command.
Other Stuff:
- People have been commenting that Korra needs to learn airbending quickly, so that she can fly after Amon the next time something like this happens. Also, that Mako and Bolin could not have assisted her, because they had no means to reach Amon's zeppelin. Whatever happened to that firebending trick that Ozai and Azula employed where they used flames shooting out of their feet to fly? Why can't Korra or Mako do that?
- More flashbacks. This one has Toph standing next to Avatar Aang, pointing at something (or someone) off screen, some shots of a sleazy-looking guy, then Avatar Aang coming down from Avatar State in the middle of a street. Looks pretty intense. There's still a question of what's triggering these flashbacks at these particular points in time. I personally think that Aang is trying to communicate with Korra in these times when she is both unconscious and in close proximity to Amon. It's kind of like when Roku sent his dragon to fetch Aang while he was in the spirit world. I would probably go nuts if Aang sent Appa to bring Korra around.
- Korra's motivations are still not clearly defined for me. She's just drifting through life, without much purpose to what she's doing. The only things about which I am certain that she cares are pro bending and Mako. She needs some greater stake in the world around her.
- Korra Nation just posted a new video from next week's episode. Looks like I was wrong about the bending block being non-permanent (for now, at least). Also, this clip has me more optimistic for the future of this series than any of these flashy action sequences they've shown to date. Finally, dramatic events are going to have consequences. Tahno's beaten-down expression and Korra's believable sympathy make me very excited to see the next installment. This is the kind of breathing space I have been looking for--space to believably show emotions.
Crackpot-Theory-of-the-Week: The reveal of Mako and Bolin's profiles on the Republic City game states that each brother would be willing to die for the other. So Bolin's going to die, and Mako will join up with Amon (possibly even becoming his new lieutenant?) for revenge. Since Mako's one of the only things/people that Korra values, his defection will give her an emotional stake in the war between Equalists and benders.
(I don't know if that's actually how it's going to play out, but somehow, Mako's going to turn bad. He has too much of a 'Sasuke-from-Naruto' vibe to have things play out any other way.)
All images are the property of Nickelodeon, Inc., Bryan Konietzko, and Mike DiMartino. All rights reserved.
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