Legend of Korra (Episodes 11-12)

(Catch up on previous episodes here)

The final two episodes of Legend of Korra are among the best in the season, and bring the story to a beautifully written conclusion. After the invasion, the eleventh episode opens with Amon in charge of Republic City. Team Avatar has been living in an underground shanty town with the homeless, and other refugees from the city above. However, Korra and Mako have been disguising themselves as equalist soldiers in order to keep track of what's happening in the city, which mainly consists of Amon "cleansing" benders of their ability. These are remarkably powerful scenes that capture an authentic feel to living under siege, and the injustice of ethnic conflict.

When the United Forces finally arrive to liberate the city, it turns out to be a trap. The equalists have placed ship mines in the harbor. As the fleet is grounded, they come under attack from another of Mr. Sato's deadly inventions, a squad of World War I style bi-wing air planes. Korra leaps into the battle, and she's on top of her game, giving her best showing so far as the avatar. Eventually the enemy is simply too overwhelming, and she is forced to retreat back to the shanty town, this time with General Iroh. They raido the 2nd Fleet, under the command of Tenzin's brother (another of Aang's sons), warning him of the danger. 

Iroh leads Bolin and Asami to the equalist airfield in order to take out the runways and give the 2nd Fleet an advantage. Meanwhile, Korra and Mako go to Air Temple Island to face Amon. There they discover Tarrlok and learn that he's really Amon's brother. In a lengthy flashback, we see how their father Yokone raised them to get revenge on the Avatar for removing his bending. He trains his young sons to become ruthless bloodbenders, but the two brothers end up on very different paths. Armed with this information, Korra plans to expose Amon as a bender at his upcoming rally and cripple the revolution.

Once she gets to the rally, things don't go as planned. The people don't believe her, and then Amon tells them a different tale about a firebender killing his family. When he removes his mask, his face is scarred, suggesting his story is true. Then unveils a terrible surprise, having Tenzin and his children brought on stage, promising to rid the world of airbending once and for all. The sight of the children in distress is enough to cause Mako and Korra to risk everything and attack. Together, they manage to free Tenzin and chase Amon through the back halls of the arena.

On the other side of Republic City, Iroh and the others have found the airfield, only to fall prey to an electric fence that surrounds it. Mr. Sato visits his daughter in the base's jail, explaining that he overheard their radio message and that the planes are going to destroy the 2nd Fleet. When things look hopeless, they are saved by Naga, the polar dog. Together, Bolin, Asami, and Iroh manage to destroy the planes and rip up the airfield. Then we get the final fight between Asami and her father, ending with Mr. Sato being brought to justice.

Back at the arena, Amon has been able to take both Mako and Korra under his bloodbending power. In a shocking scene, he removes Korra's bending. The unthinkable has happend, Amon has defeated the Avatar. But then, just as he's about take Mako's bending, Korra is able to airbend. She goes after him, and though he escapes, he is forced to expose himself as a waterbender, thus destroying his support among the people. In the end, it is Tarrlok who brings an end to Amon, sacrificing himself in the process.

Though the war has been won, there is still the devastating defeat to deal with. Returning to the Southern Water Tribe, they do everything to try and restore Korra's bending without success. Korra is crushed and completely distraught. When she is at her absolute lowest, the spiritual realm opens to her. She meets all the previous Avatars, and it is Aang who returns her powers. In the final scene, we get to see Korra in the Avatar state for the first time, and she's totally bad-ass. I feel sorry for her enemies in season two.

Legend of Korra (Episodes 9-10)

(Catch up on previous episodes here)

Episode 9 opens with Korra still in the clutches of the now-revealed bloodbender Tarrlok. Taken from Republic City, Korra is being held prisoner inside a metal box somewhere in the mountains. Meanwhile, Tarrlok stages the scene where he fought Korra in order to frame the equalists for her disappearance. Fearing this to be true, Beifong breaks Korra's friends out of prison and decides they'd better find her before Amon gets a hold of her. Along with Tenzin, they discover an underground equalist base and soon learn that the equalists had nothing to do with Korra's disappearance. When they confront Tarrlok, his secret is uncovered. He uses his powerful bloodbending to fight them off and flees before being captured.

With nowhere to go and nothing to do inside her metal box, Korra has decided to concentrate on her mediating and hope she can lean something from the visions that creep in from time-to-time. In her visions, we see characters from The Last Airbender as adults. Aang and Toph have successfully captured a criminal boss named Yakone, who terrorized the city with his bloodbending. Shortly after Councilman Sokka sentences him, Yakone breaks free. It is only in the Avatar state that Aang is able to stop him, and then permanently takes away his bending, in the same manner as Amon. As it turns out, Tarrlok is Yakone's son, trying to get back at the council for what they did to his father, and complete his father's dream of running Republic City. This dream dies with the arrival of Amon to the country cabin. Impervious to Tarrlock's bloodbending, Amon walks right up to him and takes away his bending. When Amon's henchman go to retrieve Korra, she barely manages to fight her way out, but does eventually escape.

During Korra's recovery back on Air Temple Island, the previously established love triangle gets a little more tangled. Asami knows that Mako has feelings for Korra, even before he realizes he does, no doubt setting up more complicated feelings in the future. But any time to dwell on relationships is quickly cut short as the equalists attack Republic City, bombing it from above with Sato's airships. 

Soon all of the council members are taken and only Tenzin remains. Heading for police headquarters, he manages to get a communication through to the General of the United Forces before the station is attacked. Team Avatar is back together, and comes to his rescue as they fight off a fleet of megatanks and manage to save Tenzin, just in time to see several ships headed straight for Air Temple Island.

Beifong does her best to hold off the equalist attack on the island as she protects Tenzin's family while Pema is having her baby. In one of the best scenes of the episode, Beifong is aided in battle by the Airbending children, who fight wonderfully, if not a tad unconventionally. The peace doesn't last long however. More airships are headed for the island. Tenzin makes the decision to abandon the island, taking his family to safety. In their flight, they are pursued by Amon's airships and Beifong sacrifices herself in order to save the family. She bravely leaps from one ship to the next, taking it down much the way Aang did in the final episode of The Last Airbender. 

Korra and her friends retreat to Republic City's underground tunnels, unsure of what lies ahead. But help is on the way. In the final shot, we meet General Iroh of the United Forces, a firebender that bears a striking resemblance to Zuko.

Legend of Korra (Episodes 7-8)

(Catch up on previous episodes here)

In the wake of Amon's surprise attack at the pro bending championships, the arena has been shut down, forcing Mako and Bolin to find a new home. They take Asami up on her invitation to move into her father's mansion. Meanwhile, Chief Beifong raids one of Republic City's largest corporations and discovers they have been manufacturing the electrified gloves for the equalists. 

While spending the day at the Sato mansion with her friends, Korra grows to like Asami during a great Speed Racer inspired scene where they are racing cars on her father's test track. Things seem to be going well, until Korra overhears Mr. Sato on the phone and suspects of him working with the equalists. It seems he may have framed his rival, and that he is the real manufacturer of the weapons.

Korra goes to Tenzin and Beifong with this information, and as it turns out, Mr. Sato has motivation for supporting the equalist cause. It is revealed that firebending triads were responsible for his wife's death. Still, Mr. Sato denies the allegations, and even allows the police to search all his warehouses. When no evidence turns up, the investigation seems to be a dead end, until an informant reveals that there is a secret factory under the Sato estate.

Despite the riff it causes between her and her friends, Korra pursues the lead, and along with Tenzin and Beifong discover that there is indeed a factory where Sato has been producing robotic suits for Amon, made of platinum and impervious to metal bending. The whole thing turns out to be a trap.  Korra and the others are only able to escape thanks to Asami, who chooses her friends over the wickedness of her father.

The fallout is swift in episode eight. Beifong resigns in order to pursue Amon on her own terms, and Tarrlok uses the entire situation to gain more power in the city. The political intrigue is extremely well done. Tarrlok institutes measures to curb the rights of non-benders with restrictive laws that mirror ones that have been enacted in our own society to fight terrorists; holding them indefinitely and without proof. His actions put him even further at odds with Korra.

Korra is slowly beginning to understand her role as the Avatar, learning to listen to her visions and realizing her job is to stick up for those who can't stick up for themselves. This leads to a showdown with Tarrlok after he arrests her friends. Fueled by her new confidence, she nearly defeats him. Cornered, Tarrlok is forced to reveal himself as a devious blood bender. In flashbacks, we learn Aang had to face similar struggle, but it isn't yet clear what the connection is. What is clear by the end of the episode is that the new Avatar is in a lot of danger as she is now Tarrlok's prisoner.

(Sidenote: Episode 7 included two of the funniest Airbender Kids moments)

Legend of Korra (Episodes 5-6)

(catch up on previous episodes here)

After her showdown with Amon at the end of episode four, a shaken Korra has decided to take a leave of absence from Tarrlok's task force. Instead, she decides to distract herself by focusing on training for the pro bending championships with her Fire Ferret teammates, Mako and Bolin. 

The fifth episode centers around two love triangles that have been developing over the course of the season. The first concerns the three teammates. Korra obviously has feelings for Mako, while Bolin is head-over-heels for Korra. Meanwhile, Mako is conflicted between his feelings for Korra, and Asami, the daughter of the wealthy entrepreneur who is sponsoring the team. 

After their first tournament match, which the Ferrets win easily, Korra confesses her feelings to Mako. He tells her that he doesn't feel the same way, and then when she sees him kiss Asami, she realizes she's wasting her time. So when Bolin comes into the picture to ask her out, she agrees. And though they have a great time together, she clearly views him as a friend. Things become more strained when Mako accuses her of going out with Bolin only to get back at him. These strained emotions carry over into their second match. The two of them are obviously distracted, and it's only because of Bolin that they are able to win the match.

Afterwards, the situation becomes more messy when Mako eventually confesses that he does have feelings for Korra and they kiss. Naturally, this is observed by Bolin and he's heartbroken. In the third match, the two brothers are at odds, and Korra single handedly wins it for them, advancing them into the finals. The victory is enough to bring the three friends together again, setting up the dramatic turn of events in the sixth episode.

As the team is training, a radio broadcast is interrupted by Amon. He demands that the pro bending championship be cancelled, calling for an end to the worship of benders. If it is allowed to go on, he promises retaliation. Spooked by fears of escalating violence between benders and equalists, Republic City's council initially votes to cancel the tournament. That is until Lin Beifong, the metal bending chief of police and Toph's daughter, tells them it would be a danger to give in to Amon's threats and assures them that her team can provide security. I loved the way this storyline was handled, and how it directly relates to terrorism and security concerns in our own world. 

The match between the Fire Ferrets and the Wolf Bats is allowed to go on as scheduled. As it turns out, the Wolf Bats, three time champions, have bribed the refs and cheat their way to victory. Just as they are crowned, the equalists strike. Using electricity weapons, they are able to quickly neutralize the metal benders and Korra. Then Amon takes to the platform to make an example of the Wolf Bats, claiming that, like all benders, they are bullies who cheat and steal their way to glory. Then he takes away their bending, and declares that the equalist revolution has now begun. 

Korra and Beifong recover and try their best to stop Amon from escaping. They put up a valiant fight, but there are just too many of the armed soldiers and eventually Amon escapes into a waiting blimp. As the episode ends, it is clear that Republic City is now at war!

Legend of Korra (Episodes 3-4)

(Catch up on previous episodes here)

When I last left off the saga of the new Avatar, Korra had experienced her first boost of confidence stemming from her success with the professional bending team The Fire Ferrets. But in the world of Avatars, adversity is never far away. For Korra, the third episode of the show reveals just how sinister a threat she faces, and hints at how trying her journey will become.

The episode opens with some bad news for The Fire Ferrets. Having made the championships, the organizer of the league informs them that they must come up with a share of the prize money. Mako and Bolin have no way of coming up with it, and neither does Korra, who has never had need for money. In order to help the team, Bolin ends up taking a job with The Triple Threats, one of the many triad gang of benders that roam Republic City, using their bending gifts to extort others. These gangs, and the pro-bending promoter, are great examples of how Republic City is based on New York during the 1930's and 1940's. These are the kind of nuanced touches that the show, and its predecessor, have always done so well, and which transcend it far beyond being just a children's cartoon.

After a day of work, Mako grows concerned that Bolin has not returned and seeks out Korra's help to find him. They discover Bolin has been taken by Amon's equalist soldiers. As they engage them, we discover the true terror behind Amon. His soldiers have been trained in a technique known as "chi blocking" which can temporarily nuetralize bending. However, this is nothing compared to the real threat that is to be revealed when Korra and Mako infiltrate an equalist rally being billed as The Revelation. It is there that viewers first learn Amon's terrifying secret--his ability to take away a bender's power permenantly.

Though Korra succeeds in rescuing Bolin before it's too late, she is obviously traumatized by what she's seen. As episode four opens, she is haunted by the fear of losing her bending. This fear is strong enough to prevent her from joining Councilmen Tarrlok's task force established to put an end to Amon's reign of terror. Tarrlok eventually bullies her into joining, using the press to ambush her into making a decision. After a successful raid on a chi blocker training camp, Korra publically challenges Amon to a duel. Foolishly trusting his honor, she is ambushed by a squad of his henchman. Once her bending is disabled, Amon threatens to take away her bending, but lets her ago, claiming to have a more devious fate in store for her. 

Legend of Korra (Episodes 1-2)

With the second season of Avatar: The Legend of Korra set to premiere next month, I've been re-watching the entire first season in order to gear up for one of the most anticipated returns of the year. It's been a while since I'd seen any episodes, so it's definitely been exciting to see them again. I figured perhaps there are some of you out there like me who may have let the story slip your mind for a bit, so I decided to do a viewing guide for those of you who don't have time to catch up on watching, or just want to hear my personal thoughts on the subject.

In the first episode, the show had the tall order of connecting the characters we'd grown to love over three seasons with those who were to become the stars of the story taking place three quarters of a century later. This was handled masterfully, connecting the past with the new by having Katara being a mentor to the new avatar as she trains. It was also wise to introduce Korra in one scene as a small rambunctious child, endearing her to the viewer before we ever see her as the conflicted teen she will be throughout the series. Even more than The Last Airbender, this show is about coming of age, featuring characters slightly older than the first series. 

The show wastes no time getting Korra to Republic City, the modern metropolis founded by Aang and the other characters we know from the first show. The city is far more modern than anything seen in The Last Airbender, but keeping with the style of the show, it still remains a mixture of contemporary and old world that makes it feel unique. We see the city through Korra's eyes, complete with all the wonder and disillusionment there is to find there. It doesn't take long for the viewer to piece together that a new set of conflicts is going to trouble the new avatar. The peaceful balance has been disrupted, and a riff has been growing between benders and non-benders who feel oppressed by the rule of benders. 

As for Korra's training, she is the opposite of Aang. Whereas he had yet to learn water, fire, or earth bending, Korra has mastered three of the four elements, struggling only with air. In the second episode she goes to live with Aang's grown son, Tenzin, an airbending master who is charged with instructing her in the final element. We also meet Aang's grandchildren, younger children who add an element of fun in every scene they are in. But living on the secluded island in the shadow of Republic City, with all its excitement and danger within sight, is not easy for a young avatar eager to prove her worth and set things right.

During her training, Korra is quickly frustrated by her inability to bend air. Growing impatient, she sneaks away to Republic City where she meets Mako and Bolin, professional benders competing in popular tournaments. It's clear that these brothers are soon to become her companions. Mako, the brooding one, and Bolin, the fun-loving one, make a good pairing with Korra. And when they need a water bender for their team, Korra fills in, despite being forbidden to attend such matches by Tenzin. However, as it turns out, the match is exactly what Korra needed for her first air bending lessons to sink in. The success of this encourages her to give training a more serious effort. And she's going to need it...at the end of the episode we get a glimpse of the sinister Amon, and one look at that fearful mask and we know he's up to no good.