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LOK: The Reunion Review
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Hey everyone. Here’s the review of the new Avatar episode. Enjoy!
Korra and Naga’s Reunion
Gotta admit, seeing Korra and Naga reunite like that was a small touching moment. They obviously haven’t seen each other in a while so it did show quite nicely the loving bond between them. Good stuff.
Bolin The Badass
Tell me, am I the only one who likes seeing Bolin be so fucking tough now? Seriously the guy for so long was just the comic relief character, but now he knows Lavabending he honestly feels like one of the shows tougher characters, possibly even tougher than Mako.
He can singlehandedly threaten a group of people to back down and he can go toe to toe with three Mecha Tanks at once. Sure Varrick was the one to stop them, but Bolin was able to hold his own against them for a while. Speaking of Varrick...
Varrick
No shocker here ladies and gentlemen, Varrick was awesome and hilarious. At the start he was – unsurprisingly – having Bolin do all the walking for him and we learn yet another little fact about some of his hilariously gross mistreatment of Zhu Li in the past. It’s becoming easier to believe she was genuine in betraying him with every episode.
What I liked though was that that wasn’t the only part he plays in the episode, and after Bolin and Varrick have made some genuinely funny banter about it Varrick immediately becomes an integral part of this episode. It is he who convinces the guard to let them all through the gate and it is Varrick who on the fly creates a device that can turn off the Mecha Tanks.
In short much like last episode Varrick is both hilarious to watch...and badass in how he outsmarts everyone around him. Has to be said that this season is more than making up for his few appearances in Book 3.
Oh, Hi Steve Blum
Nice to see you taking a break from fighting the Empire in Star Wars Rebels to come over. Of course we’re now going to have a thousand crack-pot theories that Baraz is some distant relative of Amon. Oi Vey.
He even looks like a bit like Noatak for Christ’s sakes...
The Mecha Tanks Fight Scene
God, I really enjoy every time the Mecha Tanks are used in this show. I’m being quite serious when I say that this show does Mecha fights better than most Anime out there.
Unlike the last fight involving them though this one was them set against Benders, and it does strongly highlight just how difficult these things are to beat. Again only Bolin was able to do anything against these things, but even he was eventually overwhelmed.
Love ‘em, hope to see more of them.
The Prison Camps
Suddenly this season got a little bit darker.
When I heard that Kuvira’s army was arresting and imprisoning anyone in her domain who wasn’t of Earth Kingdom origins, I kinda slapped my head for not even considering that this would happen. It makes total sense that Kuvira – who at this point is incredibly isolationistic – would single out and persecute non-Earth Kingdom people as threats.
That said though, damn. Prison Camps? It’s hard not to get chills at the thought of that. A slight criticism though is that we still haven’t seen any of these prison camps so it’s hard to really guess just how bad they are, but one does wonder if they’re borderline Death Camps, especially for the foreigners.
I think it’s safe to say that Kuvira suddenly got less sympathetic in our eyes.
Prince Wu
So despite the...painful display he gave us during ‘The Coronation’ and the speech from Mako thereafter...Prince Wu is pretty much the same annoying pest he was all those episodes ago.
*Sigh*
Some will say it’s unrealistic of me to have wanted him to change this quickly, and believe me I was happy to see his character grow gradually...but this episode honestly felt like it IGNORED what happened the last time he was here, and that’s disappointing. There’s no acknowledgement of anything resembling an attempt at maturing by the guy which made that whole...bit with Mako in the shopping mall even more pointless.
It’s making me doubt even more than Wu will go through some character arc this season, and that’s disappointing. It has to be said that in a season that has been great so far, Prince Wu has simply not contributed in any decent or meaningful way besides being the dude Kuvira has to turn on, and that’s just off to me.
Korra/Asami
So...not only do we find out that Korra has only been sending letters to Asami during the timeskip...but when Asami complimented Korra’s hair...Korra blushed...
......
Oh stop teasing us like this guys!
Oooooooh my...
Reunion
So this was the big reunion episode between most of the main cast, and I have to admit I’m impressed that they portrayed the reunion as being a little tense. As mentioned above Korra only kept in touch with Asami which blatantly upset Mako, and you can understand why he’s mad. It does highlight how nervous and possibly hurt he and Bolin might’ve been by her lack of contact, but let’s be honest; can anyone really fault Korra for that considering her condition? In short I like that the episode subtly shows that no one is necessarily in the right or wrong this time.
This contention is with Asami as well, who as we all saw tried to get in touch with her father a few episodes ago and showed signs of reconciling. Korra showed suspicion at his change of character to which Asami reacts quite harshly to. This too shows the blatant hurt she must’ve felt being separated from Korra for so long, despite the letters they sent to each other. In short our main characters aggravation to each other stems from understandable grievances and I respect the show for not just delegating one character as being right and another as wrong.
...Kinda wish Prince Wu wasn’t in almost all of these scene though, because he’s just so out of place. I get that he’s there to give the characters something to save and to remind them of the good ol’ days, but that just reinforces my feelings towards Prince Wu.
I respect that some people like him, but to me he’s just a cliché, one dimensional personality whose sole existence so far is for other characters to react to him, whether it be Mako saving him or Kuvira denouncing his authority.
Okay, done with the Prince Wu mocking.
Korra Using The Spirit Vines
Oh yes, loved that the show pulled this out. That’s not only clever on Korra’s part but it sticks true to a theme present through the entire franchise; that we’re all connected to each other and the world we lived in.
It also shows Korra’s growth, and how despite still suffering from PTSD she has learnt some things, and using what Toph taught her was a great moment.
Oh Bloody Hell, Kuvira...
Once again this show does something that I should’ve seen coming, but to be honest I was convinced Kuvira would start an assault on Republic City. Partly to reclaim it as Earth Nation land, mostly for the Spirit Vines.
I totally should’ve seen coming that she’d start cutting down the Swamp.
Considering the locations history with the show, it’s quite an ‘Oh shit’ moment, wouldn’t you say? We’ve seen the life and power the area has so seeing it get cut down is both sad and horrifying. It’s also probably one of the shows more blatant environmental moments, though I’m confident this season won’t hit Ferngully level of preachiness.
Of course if she’s cutting down the Swamp...you all know what that means, right?
MORE TOPH BABY!! OOOOOOH YEA!!
Overall
Overall another great episode. Really, I might’ve harped on Prince Wu a lot this time, but rest assured the guy isn’t ‘ruining’ the series for me. How can it when almost everything else is so bloody great? Like always though I can’t wait for the next episode. Till then!
Korra and Naga’s Reunion
Gotta admit, seeing Korra and Naga reunite like that was a small touching moment. They obviously haven’t seen each other in a while so it did show quite nicely the loving bond between them. Good stuff.
Bolin The Badass
Tell me, am I the only one who likes seeing Bolin be so fucking tough now? Seriously the guy for so long was just the comic relief character, but now he knows Lavabending he honestly feels like one of the shows tougher characters, possibly even tougher than Mako.
He can singlehandedly threaten a group of people to back down and he can go toe to toe with three Mecha Tanks at once. Sure Varrick was the one to stop them, but Bolin was able to hold his own against them for a while. Speaking of Varrick...
Varrick
No shocker here ladies and gentlemen, Varrick was awesome and hilarious. At the start he was – unsurprisingly – having Bolin do all the walking for him and we learn yet another little fact about some of his hilariously gross mistreatment of Zhu Li in the past. It’s becoming easier to believe she was genuine in betraying him with every episode.
What I liked though was that that wasn’t the only part he plays in the episode, and after Bolin and Varrick have made some genuinely funny banter about it Varrick immediately becomes an integral part of this episode. It is he who convinces the guard to let them all through the gate and it is Varrick who on the fly creates a device that can turn off the Mecha Tanks.
In short much like last episode Varrick is both hilarious to watch...and badass in how he outsmarts everyone around him. Has to be said that this season is more than making up for his few appearances in Book 3.
Oh, Hi Steve Blum
Nice to see you taking a break from fighting the Empire in Star Wars Rebels to come over. Of course we’re now going to have a thousand crack-pot theories that Baraz is some distant relative of Amon. Oi Vey.
He even looks like a bit like Noatak for Christ’s sakes...
The Mecha Tanks Fight Scene
God, I really enjoy every time the Mecha Tanks are used in this show. I’m being quite serious when I say that this show does Mecha fights better than most Anime out there.
Unlike the last fight involving them though this one was them set against Benders, and it does strongly highlight just how difficult these things are to beat. Again only Bolin was able to do anything against these things, but even he was eventually overwhelmed.
Love ‘em, hope to see more of them.
The Prison Camps
Suddenly this season got a little bit darker.
When I heard that Kuvira’s army was arresting and imprisoning anyone in her domain who wasn’t of Earth Kingdom origins, I kinda slapped my head for not even considering that this would happen. It makes total sense that Kuvira – who at this point is incredibly isolationistic – would single out and persecute non-Earth Kingdom people as threats.
That said though, damn. Prison Camps? It’s hard not to get chills at the thought of that. A slight criticism though is that we still haven’t seen any of these prison camps so it’s hard to really guess just how bad they are, but one does wonder if they’re borderline Death Camps, especially for the foreigners.
I think it’s safe to say that Kuvira suddenly got less sympathetic in our eyes.
Prince Wu
So despite the...painful display he gave us during ‘The Coronation’ and the speech from Mako thereafter...Prince Wu is pretty much the same annoying pest he was all those episodes ago.
*Sigh*
Some will say it’s unrealistic of me to have wanted him to change this quickly, and believe me I was happy to see his character grow gradually...but this episode honestly felt like it IGNORED what happened the last time he was here, and that’s disappointing. There’s no acknowledgement of anything resembling an attempt at maturing by the guy which made that whole...bit with Mako in the shopping mall even more pointless.
It’s making me doubt even more than Wu will go through some character arc this season, and that’s disappointing. It has to be said that in a season that has been great so far, Prince Wu has simply not contributed in any decent or meaningful way besides being the dude Kuvira has to turn on, and that’s just off to me.
Korra/Asami
So...not only do we find out that Korra has only been sending letters to Asami during the timeskip...but when Asami complimented Korra’s hair...Korra blushed...
......
Oh stop teasing us like this guys!
Oooooooh my...
Reunion
So this was the big reunion episode between most of the main cast, and I have to admit I’m impressed that they portrayed the reunion as being a little tense. As mentioned above Korra only kept in touch with Asami which blatantly upset Mako, and you can understand why he’s mad. It does highlight how nervous and possibly hurt he and Bolin might’ve been by her lack of contact, but let’s be honest; can anyone really fault Korra for that considering her condition? In short I like that the episode subtly shows that no one is necessarily in the right or wrong this time.
This contention is with Asami as well, who as we all saw tried to get in touch with her father a few episodes ago and showed signs of reconciling. Korra showed suspicion at his change of character to which Asami reacts quite harshly to. This too shows the blatant hurt she must’ve felt being separated from Korra for so long, despite the letters they sent to each other. In short our main characters aggravation to each other stems from understandable grievances and I respect the show for not just delegating one character as being right and another as wrong.
...Kinda wish Prince Wu wasn’t in almost all of these scene though, because he’s just so out of place. I get that he’s there to give the characters something to save and to remind them of the good ol’ days, but that just reinforces my feelings towards Prince Wu.
I respect that some people like him, but to me he’s just a cliché, one dimensional personality whose sole existence so far is for other characters to react to him, whether it be Mako saving him or Kuvira denouncing his authority.
Okay, done with the Prince Wu mocking.
Korra Using The Spirit Vines
Oh yes, loved that the show pulled this out. That’s not only clever on Korra’s part but it sticks true to a theme present through the entire franchise; that we’re all connected to each other and the world we lived in.
It also shows Korra’s growth, and how despite still suffering from PTSD she has learnt some things, and using what Toph taught her was a great moment.
Oh Bloody Hell, Kuvira...
Once again this show does something that I should’ve seen coming, but to be honest I was convinced Kuvira would start an assault on Republic City. Partly to reclaim it as Earth Nation land, mostly for the Spirit Vines.
I totally should’ve seen coming that she’d start cutting down the Swamp.
Considering the locations history with the show, it’s quite an ‘Oh shit’ moment, wouldn’t you say? We’ve seen the life and power the area has so seeing it get cut down is both sad and horrifying. It’s also probably one of the shows more blatant environmental moments, though I’m confident this season won’t hit Ferngully level of preachiness.
Of course if she’s cutting down the Swamp...you all know what that means, right?
MORE TOPH BABY!! OOOOOOH YEA!!
Overall
Overall another great episode. Really, I might’ve harped on Prince Wu a lot this time, but rest assured the guy isn’t ‘ruining’ the series for me. How can it when almost everything else is so bloody great? Like always though I can’t wait for the next episode. Till then!
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This ep was sooo great! Bolin is slowly becoming my fav character again. His fighting, his logic, his maturity, his leadership (?) with Varrick. Wow! I can't wait to see how things are going to be between him, his friends and Opal.
My guess is it will be bit uncomfortable for him to be back with the rest of Team Avatar again. It says on AvatarWikia that the one thing that get under his skin is his feeling of inferiority with his brother, Mako. And the fact that the other 3 members of Team Avatar are all older, smarter, more mature, and maybe better better fighters than him, he may feel like he's at the bottom of the barrel again. Even though he has enhanced his lavabending which helps put him at a similar level of skill with Korra, Mako and Asami, I think it would be cool to have these feelings brought up and addressed since we saw that there was some tension when these three met up after all those years.
This may not happen since the plot for Bolin right now focuses on him an Varrick warning the world leaders about Kuvira's Superweapon as well as what she's been doing to people who aren't of Earth Kingdom origin. And the while the plot is showing more character development which I LOVE (really wish this had been there in the FIRST book of Korra), the character arc I would like to see maybe out of place or too much for this last book.
On Opal and Bolin, she was worried that they were growing apart so she does still have feelings for him and still wants him. But he will have to prove his loyalties to her, and maybe convince her that he really didn't know the oppressive half of Kuvira's work. She will know his character (or will have to be reminded/ lightly convinced) that he is a very kind, caring, and compassionate person, and that if he really did know, he would have left already. Like Asami with her father, I don't expect Opal to open her arms to Bolin and welcome him back with a kiss. He has to prove himself to her that he will be there for her when she, and her family, needs him. I expect, if Varrick doesn't take him aside to help him stop/dismantle the weapon, that Bolin will help Opal save her family from Kuvira's clutches. Btw, is it bad to expect Bolin to lay down his life for his loved ones and get injured from it, and thus have a moment similar to Zuko saving Katara from Azula's lightning during the Last Agni Kai?
My guess is it will be bit uncomfortable for him to be back with the rest of Team Avatar again. It says on AvatarWikia that the one thing that get under his skin is his feeling of inferiority with his brother, Mako. And the fact that the other 3 members of Team Avatar are all older, smarter, more mature, and maybe better better fighters than him, he may feel like he's at the bottom of the barrel again. Even though he has enhanced his lavabending which helps put him at a similar level of skill with Korra, Mako and Asami, I think it would be cool to have these feelings brought up and addressed since we saw that there was some tension when these three met up after all those years.
This may not happen since the plot for Bolin right now focuses on him an Varrick warning the world leaders about Kuvira's Superweapon as well as what she's been doing to people who aren't of Earth Kingdom origin. And the while the plot is showing more character development which I LOVE (really wish this had been there in the FIRST book of Korra), the character arc I would like to see maybe out of place or too much for this last book.
On Opal and Bolin, she was worried that they were growing apart so she does still have feelings for him and still wants him. But he will have to prove his loyalties to her, and maybe convince her that he really didn't know the oppressive half of Kuvira's work. She will know his character (or will have to be reminded/ lightly convinced) that he is a very kind, caring, and compassionate person, and that if he really did know, he would have left already. Like Asami with her father, I don't expect Opal to open her arms to Bolin and welcome him back with a kiss. He has to prove himself to her that he will be there for her when she, and her family, needs him. I expect, if Varrick doesn't take him aside to help him stop/dismantle the weapon, that Bolin will help Opal save her family from Kuvira's clutches. Btw, is it bad to expect Bolin to lay down his life for his loved ones and get injured from it, and thus have a moment similar to Zuko saving Katara from Azula's lightning during the Last Agni Kai?