Well, here we stand. At the crossroads of destiny. Just one Saturday morning left, and then we go into another extended break from the Avatar Universe.
I'll wait for next week (or maybe even the week after) to do an overview of the first season, with impressions about what was successful, what was not, and predictions as to the next season's contents.
But for now, I'll focus on what the creators dished out this week.
This was a pretty action-heavy episode. There were three distinct action setpieces that I can think of, with several minor ones scattered in between: Tenzin and Team Avatar against the equalists and mechs, Lin and Airbender Children against equalists, and Lin's final rampage against two airships. All three were incredibly exciting, but they didn't leave a lot of time for character advancement. The Avatar, apart from taking a mech tank down with her waterbending, barely has any part in this episode. Asami and Mako are catty to each other. Bolin makes a couple of quips, and that's it for Team Avatar.
In some ways, though, this episode gave me a glimpse into what could have been, if the series had decided to focus on Tenzin instead of Korra. Judging from "Turning the Tides," I think that would have been a much better series. Tenzin's concerns as a father, councilman, husband, and flag-bearer for an entire culture are so much more interesting than Korra's... anything, really. All of Korra's problems are very self-centered: She's not spiritual, she can't airbend, the guy she likes is kinda into somebody else but into her, too... None of these affects anyone but her. Who, outside of Tenzin, the White Lotus, and Korra cares about whether or not Korra learns to airbend? How is that going to make life better for anyone in Republic City?
Contrast that with Tenzin's problems: Trying to guide the city in such a way that neither benders nor non-benders are treated unfairly; taking care of a family; bearing the traditions of one of the four great nations on his back, as well as being the only living master of an endangered form of bending... These are problems that have greater ripples into the rest of the Avatar universe, and make him a more sympathetic character.
I'll wait for next week (or maybe even the week after) to do an overview of the first season, with impressions about what was successful, what was not, and predictions as to the next season's contents.
But for now, I'll focus on what the creators dished out this week.
This was a pretty action-heavy episode. There were three distinct action setpieces that I can think of, with several minor ones scattered in between: Tenzin and Team Avatar against the equalists and mechs, Lin and Airbender Children against equalists, and Lin's final rampage against two airships. All three were incredibly exciting, but they didn't leave a lot of time for character advancement. The Avatar, apart from taking a mech tank down with her waterbending, barely has any part in this episode. Asami and Mako are catty to each other. Bolin makes a couple of quips, and that's it for Team Avatar.
In some ways, though, this episode gave me a glimpse into what could have been, if the series had decided to focus on Tenzin instead of Korra. Judging from "Turning the Tides," I think that would have been a much better series. Tenzin's concerns as a father, councilman, husband, and flag-bearer for an entire culture are so much more interesting than Korra's... anything, really. All of Korra's problems are very self-centered: She's not spiritual, she can't airbend, the guy she likes is kinda into somebody else but into her, too... None of these affects anyone but her. Who, outside of Tenzin, the White Lotus, and Korra cares about whether or not Korra learns to airbend? How is that going to make life better for anyone in Republic City?
Contrast that with Tenzin's problems: Trying to guide the city in such a way that neither benders nor non-benders are treated unfairly; taking care of a family; bearing the traditions of one of the four great nations on his back, as well as being the only living master of an endangered form of bending... These are problems that have greater ripples into the rest of the Avatar universe, and make him a more sympathetic character.
To be honest, a series focused on the older people in the Avatar universe sounds (and looks, after this episode) immensely appealing. It would be a completely different vibe from Avatar: the Last Airbender, and yet, also more true to its characterizations. Aang and his crew usually acted in a manner that indicated that they were much more mature than they should have been, according to their age. They also act much more mature than the current Team Avatar that we've been given in The Legend of Korra.
To get back to the episode at hand, the action starts pretty quickly. We get some (frankly unnecessary and awkward-sounding) recap, and then we launch into Lt. Mustache Guy abducting the council representative from the Fire Nation, looking appropriately creepy. He looks like somebody, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it. If anybody figures it out, plunk it down in the comments section, will ya?
From there, the rest of the council falls, except for Tenzin. Being the only combat-trained bender left on the council after Tarrlok's "departure", he manages to handle the kidnappers with relative ease and makes his way over to the police station.
From there, it's basically one fight after another. My favorite in the episode is probably the Lin/Airbending Children battle on Air Temple Island. Lots of Bei Fong coolness (especially the shot of her waiting for the Equalists to attack), and Tenzin's children acquit themselves admirably in battle. It's basically just a really well-choreographed sequence, and it grows Lin's character without any exhausting exposition.
Pema has her baby while this particular battle is going on. I don't know why the show chose to do that just then, but there it is. I really hate that Pema's scenes are limited to "clearing the table while the men-folk and Lin talk," and "spitting out babies while everybody else fights." I don't even need her to be a superhero like a lot of these other characters are. She had a nice moment back in "The Spirit of Competition" where she talked to Korra like a mother. I wouldn't mind seeing her in more of a confidant capacity, and maybe see her interacting with her children once in a while (which doesn't even need to be its own scene. That can be shown in the background while other things are going on on Air Temple Island).
But I should get back to Lin, because she is really the heart of this episode. Tenzin is strong and well-fleshed-out, but Lin's arc seemingly comes to a close this week, and it's been perhaps the most interesting arc that the show has provided so far. Tarrlok was written out of the show (more or less) just when he was getting interesting, and I don't know that anyone else has shown the character growth that Lin has. She went from being grouchy in the first episode to being a warm, human character who is willing to sacrifice herself for the people she cares about. I still don't know why Korra fights, but I know why Lin Bei Fong does.
And what a sacrifice it is, too. Someone on the A.V. Club's discussion board for the episode lambasted the creators' decision to 'off' Lin Bei Fong, calling her the most well-rounded, three-dimensional character in the entire series. While I could name Tenzin as the exception to that statement, he was right. And that's why she had to be the one to lose her bending. What kind of emotional value would that moment have if it had happened to Mako, Bolin, or Korra? The first two would have been shocking, but not really sad. Korra, we could be pretty sure, would regain her ability to bend at some point, and that would have robbed the moment of some of its poignancy (setting aside for the moment that Korra losing her bending would not have been that sad to me). So that left two choices: either Tenzin had to lose his bending, or Lin had to lose hers. Tenzin is the last airbending master in the world, and de-bending him would have made Amon into a far too unsympathetic character. But Lin only represents herself. And it was pretty devastating when I saw her leap into the air, knowing full-well that the two outcomes of her actions were capture and death.
And I've been treating the removal of Lin's bending as a death for her character. Not only because the show's on Nickelodeon, and that's probably the closest the creators can come to showing an execution, but also because bending is a formidable part of her identity. As an earthbender, it is in her personality to meet problems head-on. Using her bending allowed her to jump to the front of any conflict, trusting in her skills to carry the day. Her bending allowed her to be brave. Without her bending, how must her personality change? Another reason I read this as a death for the character is that, aside from Tahno's minor part in "The Aftermath," benders who have been de-bent have not been heard from again in the series.
Housecleaning (why don't we make Pema do it???):
- Some awesome little details in this episode, but this one is my favorite: Tenzin knows that he is about to be attacked by Equalists because his beard fuzzes up, due to the static electricity that the bolo-things are putting off. So creative.
- Amon's rhetoric is starting to change. Someone brought up a good point about the non-logic of Amon just randomly bombing Republic City--why is he attacking the non-benders that he claims to be fighting for? Why is he taking down an infrastructure that he's going to need to use after he takes control of the city? In his conversation with Hiroshi Sato, the phrasing he uses is "it is time for the Equalists to take control of Republic City." He does not say "non-benders," but instead specifies that his group is going to take control of the city. Not so populist anymore, eh Amon?
- I'm not thrilled about the General Iroh reveal. Not only is it too fan-servicey, but Dante Basco's voice does not sound like it should be coming out of that body.
- On the topic of the Fire-oh-wait-I-mean-'United Forces' Navy, those are the gaudiest ships I've ever seen. It's like they took their design cues from the Grandview China Wok.
- At least we didn't have to deal with Afro Circus Zebra this week.
Crackpot-theory-of-the-week: All right, since the show is all but over for this season, I have to reach deep down to come up with this little number: Tarrlok is assisting Amon in exchange for a place of power after the revolution is over. He's come up with a new way to take control of the city.
Let me leave you with this, as it will stay with me this entire week. Lin raises her head, as though to say "Get it over with," and breaks my heart.
All images are the property of Nickelodeon, Inc., Bryan Konietzko, and Mike DiMartino. All rights reserved.
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