I had a bit of fridge logic watching this episode. why does Korra need a speedboat to get to the Fire Nation? why can't she just waterbend-ski all the way there like Desna and Eska can do? or just fly there with airbending. meh.
the animation was pretty crap at the start of the episode, it got better though. The air temple sub plot is a bit boring.
Shirtless Bolin. that is all.
I'm pretty sure water/fire/air bending all the way to another nation would be tiring as hell. Especially considering how far away the Fire Nation Capital is from Republic City. If Korra had a glider, then MAYBE I could see it happening, but without one I don't think it would be wise to attempt it. If they tire out, they die.
I think the Air Temple subplot was supposed to be the majority of the comic relief in this episode, although I found Varren more amusing by far.
Very happy that the next episode will actually have to do with the Spirit World.
That ending:
[video=youtube;kdhhQhqi_AE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdhhQhqi_AE[/video]
Spoiler
I figured Varrick was a few ornaments short of a Christmas tree but I didn't expect that. As soon as I saw the bombs, wow.
And watch the ending of season 2 be another deus ex machina, where Korra magically gets her memory back.
I saw Varrick's plot coming from the moment he showed up. Maybe I watch too much TV, maybe my high school history classes instilled in me a sense of intense distrust, hatred even, towards industrialist types, or maybe my outwardly trusting nature is just a facade, beneath which lies a jaded individual who expects betrayal from even his closest friends and family. Mind you, I didn't expect everything from the start, I just had a feeling he was bad news, I did however expect him to be behind the attacks when they started up. When he got Asami to send tanks to the South, and then when their shipments kept getting sabotaged, it was pretty clear that Varrick was behind it and that he meant to drive Asami out of business. It shocks me how much Team Avatar have put their trust into a him, especially since he initially attempted to incite a civil war, not because of southern pride or anything, but rather because it was bad for business and now he's making propaganda videos and indoctrinating children. Okay, honestly, I can't say I wouldn't be doing the exact same thing if I were him, but I'm not, so I can stand here and call his actions morally "wrong".
Is there no precedence for false flag operations in the world of Avatar? All these attacks are so obviously Northern Water Tribe or their sympathizers that they should at least consider the possibility that it's a set up. What would really surprise me is if it actually turned out to be the North, but it seems to already be established that it's Varrick's doing.
So far, this has just been so predictable (which in itself has me pre-emptively preparing for a shocking twist), and Team Avatar's actions have really disappointed me thus far. Korra's started a war, Mako's not really communicating well with Korra, but Korra's at fault on that too, though, Asami agreed to sell weapons to the South (I'll admit unsuccessfully, but still), I don't really have anything to say about Bolin, because his problems aren't nearly as bad as the others, but that's not to say I'm not disappointed. I guess their behaviors are all in character, and I can see why they'd think what they're doing is right, not that it's not or anything (and, again, I could totally see myself taking the same course of action if I were in their shoes, so I guess I find it believable), but, they're not looking at the long term consequences of their actions. And I realize it's silly for me to expect them to, they're still teens, yeah?, and teens aren't exactly known for their consideration of the consequences of their actions.
So far, the way I see it, Mako's the only reasonable one this season. This episode made me feel as if Asami was coming around, but then she was right back under Varrick's thumb. I think one of the biggest issues is that Team Avatar isn't really all that close, not like Aang's group, but that's to be expected, it's a different time, a different place. Yeah, they can all work together when it's necessary, but otherwise they're all just doing their own thing. Hoping for some kind of team building episode, maybe.
I'm afraid I've come across as if I don't like this season, or that I'm somehow angered by it =[
I'm not, really, I'm just disappointed so far, is all.
2013-10-13, 04:52 AM (This post was last modified: 2013-10-13, 01:18 PM by Polantaris.)
Spoiler
More than a little disappointed how Korra essentially getting eaten by a Spirit didn't send her to the Spirit World, but instead sparked an amnesia plotline. Those are always the worst, in my opinion. In TV, in movies, in games, no matter where they are they're usually pretty annoying and bad, at least in my experience.
I'm more surprised at the fact that I didn't catch on very quickly to Varrick than the part about him being in on the evil. I should have caught on, I'm usually decent at predicting that kind of stuff. Now I wouldn't be surprised if in the end he was actually working for the North, or at least attempting prolong the war as much as possible so he can make money off of his new acquisition (definitely intentionally sparked it, if nothing else).
We're now 6 episodes in and not much interesting has happened. The Water Tribe Civil War isn't really all that great. I'm really just waiting for the Spirit Journey/ies to begin. Wish it would happen sooner, but I won't be surprised if the amnesia plotline is solved through a journey to the Spirit World. Amnesia storylines typically suck, but if it gets us to the Spirit World I'm all for it this time, even if everything leading up to it sucks. The fact that Korra landed at what seems to be the Roku Fire Temple makes me think it will be.
I hope they plan to play the entire season and don't screw us half way through with a "mid-season" finale, considering if they do the first half of this half season is pretty awful.
- Awesome chase and fight scenes
- Some actual focus for Mako and Asami
- Good comedy
- Good twist, which I honestly didn't realize until Mako did. very cool.
Things this episode got wrong:
Spoiler
- Bringing back the Mako/Asami/Korra love triangle
- Bolin was boring and quite an assholish character in this episode.
- Fucking Amnesia storyline. Really?
That was breathtakingly beautiful, one of the best hour of TV I've ever watched. It was like Avatar meets Studio Ghibli. I guess this explains why the evil water-bender dude started the civil war and opened the portal, and why we saw him exiting the spirit realm in the last episode.
Considering how I hated the civil war plotline, the fact that they have managed to tie it all together, make it HELLA EPIC, AND give some amazing backstory to the Avatar universe. Just.. yes, oh my god yes.
)
![[Image: 34fo2f4.jpg]](http://i40.tinypic.com/34fo2f4.jpg)