...
You're still here? What, you want more? Fine! Roll the title card...
Korra returns! After her apparently controversial defeat at the hands of Kuvira, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo, decide to bring Korra home as they should've done in the first place. That's why you don't get tattoos, Meelo, better luck next time.
As the title suggests, this episode is mostly about reuniting with old friends, at least as far as Korra is concerned. Bolin and Varrick, however, encounter some new 'friends' of their own. Let's talk about Korra's arc first.
After meeting with Naga, Pabu, Bumi, Pema, and Tenzin, Korra sadly informs the latter she was unable to stop Kuvira from taking Zaofu. Tenzin wisely replies they never intended her to save the world on her own so I expect he has something in the works that involves the other world leaders. I've made it clear I'm against the Avatar solving all of the world's problems and I hope Tenzin is of the same mind. Although why he sent for her then is anyone's guess.
What's her next, and by next I mean first, stop? Why, saying hi to Asami of course.
Well, I think we can say without a shred of doubt that the writers are aware of their fanbase. Korrasami confirmed or greatest troll moment ever? We shalt see...
Moving on, Mako has booked them all for lunch at a restaurant so it's not long before she reunites with him... and with Prince Wu. Yes, Mako's still on bodyguard duty so the four of them have an awkward conversation where Mako feels rather miffed he wasn't part of Korra and Asami's inner circle (a 'hello'
would have been nice though) while Asami berates the crap out of Korra for suggesting her father may be feigning his crisis of conscience. Was I the only one taken aback by Asami's rather harsh rebuke? I mean, it was a natural response coming from Korra who is about as tactful as Toph (she has her moments though).
As you can see, their reunion is not without some friction so it's not a surprise that Kuvira's agents manage to kidnap Wu during the one time Mako didn't accompany him to the loo. It was awfully convenient but as Mako acknowledges this later on I was reminded this is still a cartoon (a damn good one) that needs to tell its story within the span of 13 20-minute episodes. So it's a bit convenient, true, but I don't mind.
I do find somewhat puzzling that Kuvira would still want to kidnap Wu when he's clearly no threat to her. Unless, of course, there are a lot more people like Grandmama Mako back in the Earth Empire that would blindly accept Wu as their new leader (but I doubt it).
Anyway, Kuvira's agents storm off with their prize and Korra runs after them as Mako and Asami get the car. Let me repeat that so it sinks in, Korra
runs after the getaway vehicle. I was mightily disappointed, especially when she could've done this instead...
Heck, she could've used fire jets too! Instead we get a car chase where Korra reveals she met Toph before pulling an Anakin and dropping from the car onto the getaway vehicle. Surprise, surprise, Wu's no longer there! Kuvira's crew pulled a switch and it's up to Korra now to do the thing...
"Use the Force, Luke."
I like that it wasn't just a gimmick used and forgotten in episode four, that Korra has actually incorporated this ability and is now able to connect with her surroundings in order to locate people, even when no vines are involved like she does at the train station...
This was extremely useful in locating Prince Wu and I hope it's not the last we see of her using this ability. We can see that Korra is slowly, but surely, picking up a few tricks of her own.
The rest develops as expected. Team Avatar (-1) step aboard the train they think Wu's at, find him, but not before causing such a racket that everyone and their mother know who they're looking for. It's not like they would've gone unrecognized by Kuvira's agents anyway. Our gang is promptly attacked but for once Korra remains level-headed, in control of the situation, using airbending and metalbending to bail them out. Time for a group hug on a job well done!
Team Avatar isn't accepting new applicants at this time.
So what about Bolin? How's he faring? Well, after wandering through the forest, carrying Varrick for who knows how long, disheveled, and probably sleep-deprived, it's only reasonable that our newest duo would be captured by people fleeing from Kuvira's "re-education" camps. Since both Bolin and Varrick are still wearing their uniforms there are initially some trust issues to resolve but Bolin's got it covered...
After all, nothing says "I'm on your side" like showing your potential friends you could melt them at any time.
Mostly because he feels responsible for what Kuvira's done to them, Bolin agrees to help them get across the border, even though there's the possibility Varrick and Bolin might be recognized as deserters. I welcomed the opportunity for Bolin trying to atone for his mistakes, or at least oversights, although I think it would've had a lot more impact if they had tried to break them out of one of Kuvira's concentration camps. With six episodes to go, and with most of the Beifong family serving time in one, odds are we'll get to see the true extent of Kuvira's empire.
Things don't go smoothly at the military checkpoint. Bolin tries to smuggle the escaped prisoners as, well, recaptured prisoners but it's Varrick who saves their necks when the guards ask for their orders. Naturally, it's only fair Varrick's also the one who gets them in trouble as well...
The subsequent fight is impressive enough but I have a few, minor, gripes with it. First, the mechas seem to be way OP, easily dodging and recovering from attacks, from rocks, through ice, to lava. It looks like Varrick might have done too good of a job, taking into account all possible bending attacks. Second, while Bolin does an adequate job he's still not very proficient with his lava bending, otherwise he could have done this...
... to cut through the mechas' armor. He could have even put his knowledge of pro-bending to good use and created some lava projectiles. I wouldn't mind this lack of proficiency right after the end of Book Three, but three years later? No, after three years I expect more. What, is Kuvira the only proficient bender in the world of Avatar?
Eventually, with the help of Varrick who pulls a MacGyver and improvs some device that fries the mechas' circuits, Bolin decides it's time to call it a day and emulates his mentor (sort of), Ghazan.
Okay, that's a start.
Bolin and Varrick hitch a ride with the refugees back to Republic City while Korra and company decide to stash Wu at Asami's place for a while. But wait, we need another foreshadowing scene about how Kuvira's still working on the superweapon! You know, because we didn't have one in last week's episode. If possible, it should also highlight Kuvira's evilness (that is an actual word, look it up).
Sorry, wrong franchise, let me look it up...
There we go. Nothing says, "I'm evil," like cutting down trees and it's even better if you need them to make a superweapon. At this point I just find it (tragically) funny how the writers have given up on trying to make us empathize with Kuvira. All we got was one episode, the season premiere, and even that one was suspect. Maybe if they had
shown us the state of the Earth Nation after the events of Book Three instead of
telling us about it later we could have been a bit more sympathetic of Kuvira.
Sure, I can do the math and draw as many parallels to post-Great War Germany as you like, but there's a reason why a picture is worth a thousand words. What did Kuvira have to go through to unite the Earth Nation? What perils/obstacles/crucibles did she face? What compromises did she have to make? We see none of that and, to my mind, even if we were to see some of it in flashbacks in upcoming episodes, it would be too little too late. You need to get us to sympathize with her
before she does terrible things not
after. Especially not now after she took down Korra and acted all smug about it.
'Reunion' was a welcome break from the overarching plot and a chance for Team Avatar (sans Bolin) to go on another mission for old times' sake. It also gave us our first taste of Bolin lava bending after Book Three and hopefully not the last.
We have now reached the mid-point of Book Four. Kuvira has taken complete control of the Earth Nation, though I suspect there are pockets of resistance much like there were during the Fire Nation's occupation. Korra is on her way to recovery but she still needs to address her mental/spiritual issues if she is to become the Avatar we all know she can be. With any luck, that'll develop naturally over the next episodes.
Things I'm looking forward to, in no particular order:
KORRASAMI!!!!- Asami and Varrick working together (with Hiroshi Sato) to develop some new technology to defend against Kuvira. How about that EMP-like weapon Varrick used to disable the mechas for starters?
- Bolin mastering lava bending.
- Toph kicking Kuvira's butt for forcing her out of retirement.
- Lin kicking Kuvira's butt for messing with her family.
- Korra reconnecting with her past lives, finally mastering the Avatar State, and kicking Kuvira's butt.
- The Fire Lord in action. I'll take whatever you're willing to give at this point.
- The return of General Iroh. There was never a better time for a general to make a comeback.
- The return of Commander Bumi?
I think that's it for now. Damn, that's still a pretty long list. What are you most looking forward to in the second half of Book Four?
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