Ibrahim Noir

Legend of Korra

Book 1: Air, Chapter 5

We open on the Fire Ferrets having a grand ol’ time training…again. The group is back in harmony with one another and so they’re ready to take the championship home. Only Amon cuts in on the radio broadcast, commanding the United Republic Council to cancel the pro-bending match and threatening “severe consequences” if they don’t comply.

Uh oh.

Korra, Mako, and Bolin storm the council meeting (because Korra’s the Avatar and you gotta deal with it) just as they’re about to finalize the decision to close the arena. The group protests that the pro-bending arena is the only place in the city benders and non-benders gather in harmony, and closing it would be a victory for Amon. Tenzin and Tarrlok (who are on the same page for once) rightly shut this down as naive idealism. Amon and the Equalists present a clear danger to the public. It makes no sense to put innocent lives in danger for a game. Just shut the arena down for now and pick up the championship where it left off once the problem is dealt with, lads.

As Tarrlok is about to seal the deal, Lin intervenes and breaks his gavel with her metal cables. She, to everyone’s surprise and mine, is actually in agreement with Korra and basically says to keep the arena open as a show of “strength” and “backbone” in the face of the Equalists.

For God’s sake.

Tarrlok is now ready to hear her out so Lin promises to have her metalbenders provide extra security during the match since their armor is impervious to chi-blocking. Tarrlok changes his vote (because that’s allowed apparently) and so do the other non-Tenzin council members. Lin, nor Korra, nor Mako, nor Bolin face any consequences for disrupting a closed council meeting. My heart goes out to Tenzin, who simply shakes his head in frustration.

Tenzin scoots Lin aside for a private chat. He says Tarrlok is playing her and he doesn’t want to see her get hurt. He offers to stay by her side tonight and Lin coldly responds that she doesn’t need a babysitter. Tenzin insists it’s to watch out for Korra’s safety and so Lin walks off annoyed, saying “Do what you want! It’s not like I’ve ever been able to stop you before.”

Korra tries to thank Lin for backing her up in the council meeting but Lin just walks by without even acknowledging her. Korra finally asks Tenzin why Lin has such a problem with her, and Tenzin confesses that he’s known Lin since childhood and she’s always been “challenging.” Korra asks what her previous incarnation did to make her so predisposed against the Avatar (because her problem has to be with all Avatars, not just Korra) and Tenzin says Aang and Lin actually got along “famously.” You see, Lin’s real beef is with Tenzin. Korra then pieces together that Lin is the other woman from Pema’s story! Basically, Pema stole Tenzin from Lin and she’s still bitter about it. Granted, this doesn’t really answer why Lin doesn’t like Korra…but that’s a question we already have the answer to as far as I’m concerned so we can move right along.

Amon’s lieutenant informs Amon that the council has defied his order to close the arena, but Amon is satisfied, saying “everything is going according to plan.” It was easy for me to immediately wonder what his plan was if they had closed the arena, but I suppose if they did, it would prove to Amon that the government will capitulate to his demands.

Lin’s metalbenders sweep the arena and Tenzin arrives to make sure everything’s secure. They have a sweet moment where Tenzin says he simply wishes for the two to help each other out for one night.

[Lin] …Like old times?

[Tenzin] Like old times.

[Lin] Okay. I’ll try to be less abrasive than usual.

[Tenzin] I would appreciate that.

It’s time for the championship finals. The Fire Ferrets open with a neat lil’ performance by Bolin and Pabu. The Wolfbats open with furry cosplay complete with howling and fireworks.

The championship match then begins! It’s a tough match but there’s some obviously some illegal moves performed by the Wolfbats. Tahno uses ice and hoses water for longer than allowed, the firebender fires headshots, and the earthbender bends disks outside his half of the arena. However, the referee doesn’t call them on any of it. Our team gets knocked out and Shiro Shinobi is about to declare the Wolfbats winners of the championship despite the clear corruption at play and the fact that it’s still only the first round. Thankfully, Korra somehow still has a grip on the arena and is holding onto Mako. She throws him back up, and this apparently secures the Ferrets for round two.

Did I miss something in the rules of pro-bending? Why would winning the first round make the Wolfbats the winners of the match when every match so far has been best out of three? How is that the Ferrets “survive” to see round two by virtue of Mako simply making it back onto the arena? I’m getting lost.

Anyway, in a group huddle Mako deduces that the referee’s been paid off. Someone wants the Fire Ferrets to lose. Korra suggests playing dirty right back, but Mako shoots her down, saying if they want to win they have to do so fair and square, lest they lose their own shot at the championship.

Round two. More cheating from the Wolfbats but the Ferrets manage to tie. The Ferrets win the coin toss and so Korra volunteers to get a shot at Tahno. Korra wins with a diversion play with water so cool we reverse time to see it again from another angle. The team’s going to round three!

On the stands, Lin comments that Korra’s “as tough as nails.” Tenzin remarks that she and Lin aren’t so different and that they could get along if she gave her a chance. You might say seeds are being planted for Lin to start coming around to Korra.

Round three. The Wolfbats are up to more shenanigans with no opposition from the ref. It culminates in the earthbender filling Tahno’s water with rocks so he can secure an easy triple knockout. It looks like the Wolfbats win the fourth year in a row.

Rip

As they celebrate, certain members of the otherwise-distracted crowd slowly start slipping on masks and putting on Equalist gloves they smuggled in with their popcorn and such.

What we get is a scene so nice, I watched it twice! It’s an eerily realistic representation of terrorists infiltrating the public in disguise and immediately adds suspense to the scene.

Tenzin realizes too late that something is wrong, and an Equalist uses the glove to shock Lin and himself. Metalbenders drop like flies as the Equalists shock them right through their armor! Just as the Fire Ferrets see the commotion from the water below, the Lieutenant shows up and shocks the pool with them in it, knocking them all out.

In a bit I think manages to seamlessly blend comedy and tension, Shiro Shinobi continues giving commentary on all of this, even up to the point when an Equalist enters his booth! You gotta admire the guy’s dedication.

[Shiro] Folks, there is some sort of electrical disturbance in the stands. Metalbender cops are dropping like bumbleflies! There appear to be masked members of the audience wielding strange devices on their hands. One of them is in the booth with me right now, folks! He is leveling one of those glove devices at me now, and I believe he is about to electrocute me. I am currently wetting my pants.

On the ring, Amon and some chi-blockers rise on the center platform to face the Wolfbats.

Uh oh.

Amon approaches.

[Tahno] All right, you want a piece of the Wolfbats? Here it comes!

Amon’s chi-blockers tie up the Wolfbats nice an’ good. It’s time for the coup de grace. Tahno can only beg and bargain helplessly while Amon takes away all three Wolfbats’ bending and dumps them in the water.

Korra, unconscious and being dragged by the lieutenant, has more visions of Aang, Toph, and Yakone.

Amon takes the mic and says that it’s fitting that the city would celebrate a trio of “bullies” and “cheaters” because benders threaten and abuse their non-bending brethren every day. He announces that the Equalists now have the numbers and resources to officially come out of the shadows, saying thanks to modern technology any non-bender can hold the power of a chi-blocker in the palm of their hands, this being in reference to the shock gloves.

So, Amon planned to make this big announcement in front of the whole city at the arena tonight, yeah? Did he always plan to take the Wolfbats’ bending? Is he just lucky that they cheated their way to victory this time? Is he the one who had the ref paid off? That can’t be the case because he specifically condemns the Wolfbats for cheating. What would he have done had the Ferrets won in their place if he doesn’t want to take Korra’s bending right now? I’m a little shaky on this one but we can carry on.

Anywho, the revolution has begun comrades! Amon announces that the Equalists will not rest until Republic City, and then the world, has been equalized. Benders who aren’t on board will face consequences.

Down below, the trio are tied up together and Bolin has Pabu chew them out of the ropes for what takes quite a while…say, ain’t two of you firebenders?

Lin and Tenzin come to just as Amon makes his escape through the ceiling and bombs the arena! The implication is that the bombs were placed in the arena beforehand, meaning Lin’s police sweep earlier wasn’t worth a whole lot. How could they miss something like that?

Pabu chews the trio free, and what follows is, I can’t lie, a really cool action sequence.

Korra makes after Amon, creating a water vortex to make her way up. Then she…runs out of water(?) and falls. But then Lin uses her metal cables to catch her! Spider-Lin propels Korra up above the arena. A wide shot shows us the Equalists have taken out every police airship and boat.

How.

Korra fires at Amon just as makes his way inside the airship. He doesn’t even glance back at her while fire comes up behind him. He really is untouchable.

Lin makes her way up to the roof and she and Korra fight the chi-blockers and the Lieutenant, who I’ll say is really cool and intimidating as a sort of “miniboss” character. Fire, metal, and electricity fly as the women fight together. Korra actually wins against the Lieutenant with her bending and her own sheer physical force, but the glass dome cracks and breaks beneath her, forcing Lin to give up her own pursuit of Amon and save her by catching her in midair.

Korra thanks Lin and she sincerely returns it this time. Lin expresses disappointment and annoyance that she’s played right into Amon’s hands. As Tenzin puts it, Republic City is now at war.

We’re at the midpoint of the season and the Equalist plot-line basically takes center stage from here on out. The problem is, though, we still have yet to see the bending oppression Amon keeps talking about. There is indeed a wealth disparity between benders and non-benders in Republic City, but bizarrely, it seems to be in the non-benders’ favor. The only businesses we see are owned by non-benders, most notably Future Industries, which is the richest company in the city. Benders, on the other hand, are shown having to work blue-collar jobs just to make ends meet, and even pro-bending doesn’t seem to pay all that well. The closest thing we get to “oppression” so far are the Triad groups, but this implies benders are so low-income that they would be the demographic linked to criminal activity in the first place. We’re getting a weird sort of inverse of “show, don’t tell”, whereas instead of being told and not shown, we’re being told one thing, and being shown something completely different. This is damaging to the worldbuilding as well as the idea that the Equalists have a point and are merely being too extreme about it. The writers may make all the excuses for Amon that they want, but if non-benders are indeed being treated unfairly, you need to show it to us.

How much do you wanna bet they were smart enough to do that? I’ll catch you guys throughout the second half of the season, starting with “The Aftermath”!