K107 The Aftermath

Ah Episode 7, starting the second half of Book 1 Air. I have to say it was a very good start, it kept the tension in play from the last episode with the Arena being closed which forces Mako and Bolin to find somewhere to live, which is what drives the story forward in this episode. In that way this episode was cleverly written. We all thought they would go to live on Air Temple Island, and that comes up, but we see Asami has beaten Korra to the punch and they are going to live in the Sato mansion. Which is where the plot really starts with Korra overhearing Hiroshi, small thing, but I loved how this episode was constructed, it all flowed well, but perhaps was a bit rushed as their was a lot to do. I will cover this episode by talking about the characters.

I will begin with Asami, like Lin in the last episode, she really comes into her own as a character in this episode. We saw her first in episode 4 and have not learned that much about her as a character since, until now. I loved the character interaction between herself and Korra, Asami did not do anything with the purpose of proving to Korra that she was not just a girly girl, she was just herself. She got in that Sato Mobile with Korra and showed her that she can really mix it up on the race track, it was great to see how impressed Korra was and a nice moment for her character for her to admit to Asami that she had her completely wrong all this time, that the two are not just opposites and the beginnings of a friendship. A side note on the Racing now that I have brought it up, I thought it was very well done, the CG animation fit in well and for a show that focuses mainly on bending fights to do something completely different in a Car racing scene was a credit to the crew working on the show. I hope we see more racing or at least Asami’s driving skills to come into play in the future.

Now back to Asami, we then see how close she and her father are when she defends him from the accusations and lies. This was some nice set up and really made the moment of Shock for her when the secret Tunnel ( through the mountain SECRET SECRET TUNNEL,YES) was found so powerful, her one remaining parent has been lying to her for who knows how long someone she had just been defending. Then another moment I liked was when Mako asked her to stay in the workshop, she did not argue that she could handle herself, she was aware that she had just been hit hard by the shocking news and did not know how she would handle what was below. Then came the big moment of the episode where she is given a decision by her father, he asks her to join him in plotting revenge against benders because of her mother being killed by Fire Benders, she chooses the right thing to do over family in an unbelievably hard decision. I liked Asami before this episode, but after this one she is really growing into a great character, just to see a non bender side with the benders and be aware that what the Equalists are doing is over the top, an interesting comparison I would make is the way Asami handled things here and the way Sokka handled things in 316, both lost their mothers to Firebenders and family members expected them to want revenge, but both realise that the actions of one person do not reflect benders on the whole. It was a very mature decision she made here, I am very excited to see what role she will play in the future. Will she join the fight against Amon, will she be the voice of the non benders on the good side who knows both sides of the issue.

Now on to Hiroshi, I really enjoyed the way that up until this episode we really had no reason to suspect Hiroshi, he had not been in the show much until now and from what we saw he seemed like a very nice man. So the change here was a huge shock, but in my opinion done pretty well. The suspicious phone conversation sparking it all off. He proved to be a pretty cunning villain with the way he then lured all of the equalists most dangerous enemies into a trap and nearly pulled it off, but for his own daughter going against him. I was just very impressed with the lengths he went to to get them off his trail, framing Cabbage Corp, sponsoring a probending team that had The Avatar as a member, being Ok with his daughter dating a Firebender it meant that no one would think he was against bending at all, until he became a suspect. In the big fight scene in the underground factory, Hiroshi had some of the best facial animation of the whole show, you could so clearly see how intent he was on beating these benders and just how much anger he has against the benders, the intensity that he piloted the Mecha Tank with was amazing. It showed when he offered Asami the Glove how much his anger and rage had affected his mindset, that he thought for sure that she would join him, not once thinking about the lies he told her. The contrast between the two Sato’s was one of the best parts of this episode. His role in the future will be interesting now that he has to deal with his daughter being on the opposite side in the war. What is going to be more important to him: His daughter or his quest for revenge. Should be fascinating.

Korra also had some really nice character moments in this episode. As I mentioned above her an Asami becoming more friendly and learning more about each other, nice to see Korra not antagonistic towards her over Mako. Then seeing how strongly she feels about her suspicion of Hiroshi, she was so confident that her instincts were correct and it showed the confidence of her character that despite nearly everyone not believing her and even Mako threatening to end their friendship she went with her gut because she knew. Then when she was proven to be correct, she did not shove it in everyone’s face it was just an unfortunate truth. Finally the moment at the end of the episode where she effectively tells Mako to go and comfort Asami, it showed so much maturity from Korra to say that and get past her romantic feelings because Asami just went through something much more important and she needs someone.

Mako did not come out the best from this episode based on many fans reactions to him. His unwillingness to even for a second believe Korra despite being her friend was one of those “Ohh Mako, Bad move” moments, understandable that he would defend his girlfriends father and the man who sponsored the team, just a bit disrespectful to Korra. I liked that he did apologise to her and especially the thanks and him realising how mature Korra was being when she said Asami could stay on Air Temple Island too. A great character moment. Bolin was funny as ever this episode and was useful when he covered the final escape with Earthbending, I just hope we get more development the “Loss Of Innocence” storyline we have been hearing about for him.

Lin continued her development from the last episode here. Mainly by displaying her fighting skills and abilities. Seeing her use the “Toph Seismic Sense” was probably the best ATLA reference we have seen in Korra so far, I was screaming “YEEEESSS” when she did that, she also in this episode further proved that she is most definitely Toph’s daughter with the way she just went for those Mech Tanks with the metal blades on her arms, the aggression was clear to see. But the big moment for her is definitely at the end, when she reveals she is going to resign as Chief and go after her lost men “Outside of the law”. It shows just how important “Her Men” are to her, she trained Captain Saikhan and probably trained most of the metalbenders, so now after losing a few men to Amon it is super personal for her and she is going to get them back no matter the cost. It will be fascinating to see just how rogue she goes.

Tenzin in this episode finally showcased to us all what we were waiting to see, Airbending, him going all out against the mech tanks was amazing to see. His advancement upon Aang’s Air scooter with the Air Wheel was a clever move and must have been the move he created to earn him his Tattoos. I cannot wait to see Korra and Tenzin do Airbending together.

Some final points. The Cabbage Merchant has a statue, that was a great reference. Metalbenders cannot bend Platinum as it is too pure a metal, great continuity between Korra and ATLA there in that Metalbenders can bend metal because of Earth impurities in metal, platinum is so pure it has little to no impurities.

Overall a very nice start to the second half of Book 1 Air, Things are now set up perfectly for “The War” we pretty much have our two teams: Equalists with Amon, The Lieutenant and Hiroshi with the Chi Blockers and supporters vs Team Avatar: Korra, Tenzin, Lin, Mako, Bolin and Asami. Will Mako and Bolin join in the fight against the equalists, will Asami do the same, is Lin going to become more of a lone wolf now that it is personal add to this Tarrlok positioning himself for something and we have a lot to look forward to. Oh I cannot wait for the character interaction on Air Temple Island now that we have: Mako, Bolin, Asami, Korra, Ikki, Jinora, Meelo, Pema, Tenzin and possibly Lin all living on the island.

Only negative is that with the show more plot focused it does not leave much time for our characters to have the moments where we can take a break from things and get some great characterisation. Korra seems to be missing a bit episodes like “The Great Divide” where the focus is more on characters. Now that we have many of the main characters in one place I suspect that we will get more of these moments that myself and many fans want

K209 The Guide up on Nick.com