Avatar: The Legend of Korra – 07

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“The Aftermath”

Bryke have always been able to mine their own mythology for humor with considerable skill, but “No – not my Cabbage Corp!” was probably my biggest laugh line of “Korra” so far.  You had to figure the Cabbage Merchant was going to make his appearance sooner or later, but this was a pretty cool way to tie him in – not only is he actually part of the main storyline, but he gets his own heroic pose cabbage statue.  Good on ya, C.M..

In terms of the episode, like most of them this season it had its strong points and weak points, while presenting an overall satisfying if not overwhelming package.  I’m still not quite feeling the passion with Korra, as much admirable stuff as there is in it – this is a show I’m enjoying more on an intellectual level than an emotional one, while the first series eventually became one that satisfied both requirements.  I still like the overarching plot and setting quite a bit here, but the details and the character dynamics haven’t measured up to them, at least so far. 

It’s certainly interesting to see this much CGI in an “Avatar” ep, not to mention actual mechs.  I think the notion of Sato-san being a secret supporter of Amon is a good one, though once again I have some issued with the way the big reveal was handled here.  It was way too convenient to have Korra simply overhear him blabbing about it on the phone while on a trip to the bathroom – that’s lazy writing, really.  I also didn’t think much of the way Chief Beifong handled the information once she had it – barging into his office and asking blunt questions, with Korra in tow?  I would have though Korra would be nowhere near that operation, and wouldn’t it have made sense to do a little investigating and try and uncover something first, rather than tipping your hand and letting Sato know exactly how weak the case against him was?  I like the notion of a political war going on between Beifong and Tarlok, but frankly I’m not convinced he’s wrong about her being incompetent in her job.

On the plus side, as expected the show put on its big-boy pants this week and jumped straight to the meaty main story – pro bending and romance (mostly) were set aside and we finally got some life-and-death drama.  I very much enjoyed the brief scene with the broken and beaten Tahno, who managed to conjure up just a hint of his former spitfire personality in the end.   If I’m to quibble, it seems as if all these years later Firebenders are still to blame for the ills of the world – they killed MaBo’s parents, they killed Hiroshi’s wife, they killed Amon’s family – really, it makes me sad for Zuko’s memory and it makes me wish Bryke had come up with something a little different this time around.  There may be a deeper reason as to why they’ve chosen to make Firebenders the heavy in so many cases, and they have at least made the main baddie a non-bender.  And once again, we have a firebender in the main cast, this time an ally from the beginning.  Still, based on current evidence it feels a little bit lazy.

The battle beneath Hiroshi’s mansion was the most interesting part of the episode.  Lin pulled out her metalbending, and we finally got to see Tenzin jump into action and bust some serious airbending moves.  Also very cool were Hiroshi’s steampunk mecha, looking something like a cross between a medieval suit of armor and something from an Otomo anime.  Still, in the end, the two of them and Korra were bested yet again by Amon’s lackeys – albeit this time sporting those brand-new mechs – and it was Mako, Bolin and ultimately Asami who had to save the day.  While the notion of luring them into the lab with a phony informer seems to follow classic Amon strategy, I’d be very interested in knowing whether or not Amon himself knew what Hiroshi was planning – it felt as if it might have been a rogue act by Sato-san, hungry for revenge.

The climax of the episode – Hiroshi urging Asami to “Join me!” in crushing the benders and creating a new world, was certainly a liberal tribute to Star Wars but I suppose that scene is so iconic that it’s all fair game now.  Asami’s decision felt quite rushed – I would have liked to have seen a little more buildup to that moment to give it a little more emotional potency – but so far Korra is all about fast and to the point.  Presumably Hiroshi is going to do some serious jail time, and the situation in Republic City is certainly going to be lively – we have MaBo living with Korra (and Asami, too) and we have Lin Beifong going rogue cop and trying to go Dirty Harry on Amon’s ass.  Wasn’t there supposed to be something about Avatar training in there somewhere?

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7 comments

  1. A

    I think that Amon and Asami may be one and the same.

    This may be an controversial theory to put forth, but hear me out before you judge; thus far there is more evidence in favor of Asami being Amon than there is for Amon not being Asami.

    Firstly, how do we know that Amon is in fact a man? He is covered from head to toe in a heavy leather tunic and armor, which could potentially conceal Asami's figure. Padding in the armor and lifts in the books could helf to change slight Asami into imposing Amon. No one has seen Amon's face, which he claims was taken from him by a firebender in his youth, but how do we know this is true? Close ups reveal enough of his eyes to see that he isn't scarred, at least in that area.

    …Asami's Eyes
    Amon's Eyes VS…
    While on the subject of Amon's eyes; they do look somewhat similar in shape to Asami's sharp, fox-like, eyes. This is only circumstantial evidence, though, as it's mostly a stylistic thing, and thus not really admissible…but it does drive speculation.

    As for Amon's deep, terrifying, voice VS Asami's sultry lilt, it's not out of the realm of possibility that her father, a genius inventor who has supplied advanced and miniturized weaponry to the Equalists (including some awesome steam-powered mecha suits!) could have built something to distort her voice; it's already been established that radios and other recording techonlogy is present in Republic City, so it is within the realm of possibility that Hiroshi Sato could have built such a device into Amon's ever-present mask to further conceal Asami's identity.

    Asami is noticably absent every time Amon is on-screen or delivering a message on the radio (though those could potentially also be pre-recorded), including during the Fire-Ferret's championship match, in which her boyfriend was particpating, and which her father was sponsoring. Also suspicious is the circumstances under which Mako came to meet Asami and then be introduced to Hiroshi Sato, who offered to sponser the Fire-Ferret's in the Pro-Bending Tournament, which was later revealed to be a large part of Amon's plot to embarrass the Avatar, perpetuate Anti-Bender propaganda (the Referee had been paid off to be biased against the Fire-Ferrets, but it was not revealed who paid him off…Asami has the means and opportunity to do so, and if my hypothesis proves right, also the motive), and spread terror. The Avatar HAD to be present at the Tourney for the terror attack to have maximum psychological impact. Asami also admitted to Mako during their first meeting that she had been to every match; this would provide her the opportunity to gather intelligence on the Arena, as well as the various teams, and predict and manipulate who would make it to the finales, which she did when she talked her father into sponsoring the Fire-Ferrets championship bid.

    The Equalists are shown as being technological advanced and it has already been revealed that Hiroshi Sato has been supplying them with technology; but who has been training them to use it? Amon's elite troops are shown riding motorcycles with great skill, and Asami has proved her driving abilitiy when she raced with Korra riding shotgun behind her. She demonstrated not just skill, but practised expertise…which makes her awkward run-in (literally) with Mako suspect; how can she have such control on a racing vehicle, but not her scooter?

  2. A

    There is also reason for speculation in some of the comments Asami has made. Asami has told Korra, Mako, and Bo-Lin that she has been trained in some form of self-defense since she was a child…we have thus far only seen one demonstration of her martial skills, which allowed her to overcome the Luitenant, who even Korra has thus far been unable to defeat, but it is too early to speculate if her abilities are on par with the expertise that Amon has demonstrated, which puts him on a level equal to any Bender he has encountered thus far. It is entire possible that Asami has trained in Chi-Blocking, especially given Hiroshi Sato's proven hatred for Benders following the death of his wife at the hands of a Fire Bender.

    Speaking of Fire Benders and personal tragedy…Asami and Amon's stories of having lost a loved one to a Fire Bender are very similar. Amon says that he lost his family and his face to a Fire Bender who extorted money from his father…the wording here is murky. He doesn't say that his father died, just that his family was taken. Asami says that she lost her mother to a Fire Bender who robbed their mansion when she was a child. This could be a coincidence or it could be a lie on Amon's part to help protect his identity.

    As for the disruption of Hiroshi Sato's plan to trap the Avatar…Amon has made it clear that he has specific plans for the defeat of the Avatar, and has already proven that he could either kill or take away the Avatar's bending at any time; he has had opportunity to do this on three occassions, and has actively stopped his subordinates from engaging Korra. Sato's trap was not part of Amon's plan, and his killing of the Avatar would have proven detremental to whatever Amon's endgame was. Not only that, but Amon has proven ruthless in his actions, and Asami demonstrated NO hesitation in subduing her father…her facial expression was especially cold moments before tasering him. If she was Amon, her motives here would be to get control of the situation, and to subdue an out of control asset. Also, there is nothing that says that Sato knows who Amon is…even if Amon is using a voice distorter designed by Sato, he could have been recruited and commissioned to build it at Amon's behalf, until the impression that it would be used to hide Amon's identity (which it would…even from him).

    What does Asami gain from that if she is Amon? First off, she is now above suspicion in the eyes of the authorities and Korra. Secondly, she defused the situation on both sides, allowing her to keep her identity hidden from not only Amon's followers, but Korra and her friends, while allowing the Equalists to escape with their assets intact, including Sato. Assuming that Asami is Amon, she gains a lot from coldy electrocuting her own father.

    Admittedly, this is a far off theory, and supported mostly by circumstantial evidence, but there is a LOT of it, and AVATAR has proven itself a show that isn't above the shocking reveal or the surprise twist. Whoever Amon is, whether I am proven right or wrong, I assure you that I cannot wait to find out!

  3. I've seen this theory put forth elsewhere (perhaps from you). It's interesting, but to me it sounds more like fanfiction than canon. I certainly can't disprove it but it lacks the ring of truth for me.

  4. A

    I liked this episode more than the rest.

    Although I envisioned last episode with amon's invasion, unexpectedly kidnaps chief beifong and following episodes the city put in high alert, with an acting chief flown from ba seng se and the police gridlock the city after amon announces of a display with beifong's execution/bendingremoval at high noon or a particular time. Meanwhile the acting chief interrogates amon's men left behind the scene as well his no. 2 who fell off from the dome.

    (I've noticed that amon never actually killed anyone, but took their bending away, maybe he is just a vigilante.)

    anyway amon offers a trade for beifong for all of his men unharmed. The twist is that nothing goes as plan, Korra is willing to do the trade, but the police will not negotiated with terrorists. The race is on. Korra's in high emotions. Montage happens, Later Beifong is revealed at a location unknowingly used as bait to lure the police, while amon frees his men from their holdings. beifong rescued by korra and it was easy. she asks did he do anything to you and she replies no….and I still have my bending. cliffhanger … black?

  5. A

    I completely agree that the writing comes off a bit lazy at times. And the fact that every grudge-inducing incident concerning benders seems to have been perpetrated by a firebender makes this vendetta against ALL benders seem misplaced. But then again, just uttering "your mother was killed by a waterbender…" sounds completely off.

    I will add that the romance subplots this time around seem especially heavy-handed and hackneyed, not that I thought they were handled well in the first series either. All that aside, I'm still completely hooked. Perhaps this is superficial, but the animation in every fight scene is just to die for. Loved watching Tenzin in action this week, and my heart was pounding last week from the water spout all the way to the end of the episode. If nothing else, I'll continue to watch for the action.

  6. J

    Let me add on that cheap writing part:

    Our heroes are sorrounded by 6~ mechas (cool-looking dudes dem tho), Oh No! But when they get into the fight…They only fight against two! Seriously, what's the point? Too many cons there.

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