Hey everyone. First of all, fuck Nickelodeon.

Their treatment of this series has been absolutely pathetic. This franchise is the best thing that’s ever happened to them – fuck Spongebob Squarepants - and yet when it comes to Korra they seem to want to take any chance they can get to screw them over.

Nick, these guys gave you The Last Airbender, arguably the greatest animated series ever made, you should let these guy do what they want on faith alone. Instead you seem to want to do anything in your power to fuck them over, and in this case blame them when ratings decline.

Nick, you’re Electronic Arts-ing your best ongoing show. For shame.

....with my rant finished, let us take a look at today’s new episode!

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What I Liked

The GLORIOUS Fight Scene

With my annual weekly salivating of the shows fight scenes, this episodes may just be the best one yet. The usual compliments are all here; it was beautifully animated and well choreographed, but this fight was noticeably different from previous fights this season. Unlike the previous fights this single fight took up almost half of the entire episode, so naturally it was a slower fight than before, but by no means worse.

The fight was less flying around and dodging and more about tactics and using everyone’s abilities strategically. With Zaheer and his group having captured Korra, they are eventually surrounded by her friends and Zao Fu’s guards and spend the majority of the fight holding their ground, trying to find a hole in their attackers offense. Meanwhile Suyin and Lin hatch a plan to get back Korra by dropping in directly above; a plan that needs Bolin to knock out P’Li to neutralise her combustion powers.

It was a true delight seeing these characters use each others abilities logically and forming a smart but by no means foolproof plan. Watching it I genuinely couldn’t tell who would win and lose, which I think is a great sign of tension. The fact that Zaheer and his group weren’t absolutely overpowering their enemies like they have before was a wise choice; seeing these two sides go at it equally, both on the edge of defeat, made this one of the most tense fights of the entire franchise.

Bolin

Last episode (set in Zao Fu at least) we saw Bolin ask Suyin to teach him Metalbending, and in this episode he...still can’t, whilst Korra is well on the way to mastering it.

Korra learning so quickly makes sense; she’s the Avatar and picking up the physical side of her training (Airbending aside) has always been her greatest talent, but I also like Bolin is still struggling to even DO it once. It shows that teaching can only go so far; most of learning is down to the learner and this is a barrier that Bolin alone must conquer.

My compliment aside, I do stand behind my observation of Bolin. The creators have pretty much just been throwing whatever they had at Bolin’s character in the hopes that it’ll work, so I must be honest and say that his character progression has been rather all over the place. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not the most consistent of character development. Still, him learning and mastering Metalbending is at least something I can get behind.

...Oh yea, he’s also got those woes regarding being away from Opal now, who still has the personality of a rubber duck.

Tight, Tight Pacing

As I said before, the big fight scene with Zaheer lasted around half the episode, but the second half was the group trying to find out exactly how they got into Zao Fu. A lot is thrown in during this part, and I was most impressed with the tight pacing at hand here.

We got just the right amount of each scene and moment to get the story going and the point across. Not a second was wasted and in this ten minutes the story was carried on significantly.

A far cry from season 2, that’s for sure.

The Investigation

Even though it was ultimately a red herring, I appreciate that the episode showed the deep investigation the heroes went through with questioning the guards. It was a smart way to start the investigation as it was a very possible answer as to who they snuck in.

Naturally though things became more and more complicated, and seeing Mako pick out the errors in blaming that one guard was a great throwback to his role in season 2. It’s also great to see Mako use the detective skills he’s picked up once again (it’s kinda nice to see Mako DO something again in general) and it shows that he’s still a valued member of the team.

Varrick (As Always)

Besides being hilarious once again (creating a device that picks up Airbenders...but only works by having the Airbender bend air into it, defeating the purpose of it...) this is the first time Varrick does contribute to the actual story. He agrees with Mako about the inconsistencies in the investigation and gives a helping hand in solving it. Wonderful to see!

I must admit though that seeing Varrick interactions with the group being so cordial can be a bit jarring. It reminds me even more that him becoming an antagonists  - well, the whole waste of space Republic City conspiracy subplot from Season 2 – wasn’t probably the best move.

And no, I’m not just saying that because I secretly wish Varrick was made President of the United Republic of Nations. Fuck President Raiko at this point.

Aiwei

In all honesty Aiwei being the double agent was probably  the wisest choice. After the episode revolving around Lin and Suyin, Suyin being revealed as a villain would’ve made that episode feel like a waste of time. No, Aiwei was a good choice because it’s believable; he’s old so he’s most likely met Zaheer and his group before, and with the position and respect he holds in Zao Fu people will believe everything he says. It’s a good twist; I didn’t see this coming several episodes ago and it works perfectly well here.

Better yet, that reaction from Suyin says it all. Up until now Zao Fu has been a place of paradise and perfection, but with this betrayal Suyin’s perfect city has finally had its first crack. With one of its leaders turning out to being corrupted, Zao Fu will no longer feel completely safe of as pristine as it once did.

Lin and Suyin

With the last episode set in Zao Fu it seemed like Lin and Suyin were finally on the road to recovery and becoming better people, and much of this shows here. The trust and concern they share when saving Korra is genuine and the tension in their conversations is largely gone, but I was impressed by the fact that old habits still exists.

Lin may have forgiven her sister for the robbery, but she doesn’t not consider her sister being the culprit, and when Korra wants to go after Zaheer she immediately takes control of everyone and treats Korra like a child again. Suyin on the other hand lies in agreeing with her sister and then helps Korra and co. Sneak out, showing that her rebellious nature from her youth is certainly far from gone too.

I do like this because it shows that a handshake and a few words won’t suddenly make somebody better. The two clearly came out of their fight better people, but they’re still gonna have some of those bad habits that will either leave them eventually or not at all.

“The Red Lotus”

Reception to Zaheer and his group has been very positive, something I find much deserved, but why is that exactly? Why are these villains working where villains like Amon, Unalaq and Vaatu largely failed? They each have cool Bending powers, but after Vaatu they shouldn’t seem like such a threat, so why have they created such tension? We don’t even know their motivations for wanting to kidnap Korra and destroy the White Lotus.

And then it hit me; so far they’ve been such effective villains because we don’t know.

For both the heroes and us viewers, we are completely in the dark about their motivations. No amount of interrogation or years of imprisonment has let a single thread of evidence out, which only tells us that whatever they are planning, they are wholly dedicated to their cause. That single minded determination, mixed with their incredible Bending prowess, makes them an incredibly formidable threat.

Today’s episode was actually the first time our protagonist and antagonist first met, and even then we know almost nothing else, save for the fact that they have secret agents all around the world, and even after today’s episode where they failed to capture the Avatar they are still a dangerous threat because of it. That knowledge that they could very well succeed has not been lost one bit.

The bit that makes it most arduous not knowing is that so far the Red Lotus have yet to do anything outright evil thus far. Yes they’ve attacked dozens of guards, yes they threatened that one driver, and yes they tried to kidnap Korra, but if their motivation is revealed to be actually quite honourable and just, then these actions make them less villains and more good guys who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. I love that this possibility is still very much that, and frankly wanting to learn more about Zaheer and his teams motivations is the biggest reason I’m tuning in each week to watch it.

Interestingly, if Zaheer and his team do turn out to have good intentions......well when you think about it, them being talented Bending fugitives would make them an interesting variation of the Gaang, wouldn’t it? Food for thought at least.

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Not gonna lie, this is probably my favourite episode of Korra thus far. It was genuinely damn near flawless in my eyes; everything just worked so tightly and wonderfully. So much so that my one complaint is a recurring one that isn’t just about this episode.

What I Didn’t Like

So No Mention Of The Earth Queen Again...

I know some of you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill here, but the almost complete halt to that part of the story is worrisome. Last week my worries here were reduced somewhat, but now it is back in full. I don’t like that we’ve heard little back about The Earth Queen’s reaction to Korra saving the Airbenders, and the complete lack of focus on it after episode 4 is genuinely quite worrisome.

I’m not asking for loads, but just something to give us an idea as to how The Earth Queen has responded to what was technically a breach of her own rights as a leader (however justified said breach was). She threatened war with the Republic after all, it seems such a weird thing to just completely drop and it worries me that the whole part of the story will be finished unsatisfactory.

Please understand that if this seasons story does span into Book 4, consider this point moot. It will then have many more episodes to potentially address this, but until we know for certain my point stands. Again, not asking for loads, just a bit of insight as to how Ba Sing Se has been effected or how The Earth Queen has responded to what was practically a declaration of war on Korra’s part.

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So...wow, one complaint, and so many great things about this episode! Indeed, this was my favourite episode of the entire series, or at the very least this season. It makes it even more annoying that Nick is pulling all this shit on Korra. Just when the series was finally becoming great!

In any case, with the series going digital I have no idea when the future reviews will come out, but I endeavour to get them as soon as possible to the episodes release. Until next time folks!