Avatar: The Last Hairbender & Legend of Korra

[Woopate]

Spoiler:

I agree. The fight scene with the mech suits strained my suspension of disbelief. Not so much for the "bending-proof" platinum, because it was established in TLA that metalbending used the impurities in metal (guru mentions that metal is refined earth, when Toph uses foot-sonar, the visualization emphasized the impurities.)

It was more the lack of earth-bending on the floor. The floor they later earth-bend through to escape the room. From what we know of earth benders, it would be trivial for an earth bender to sink the robots neck deep in rock.

The chi-blockers magical dodging ability also irks me. There's a terrific opportunity here, that wouldn't require the battles to play out very differently. Insfead of chi blockers showing off their plot armor, they could visually represent Equalists as a movement, not a small terrorist sect. Each time a blocker is stuck to a wall with ice, or buried in earth, or blasted away, they could have another one jump the bender from behind, winning with guerilla tactics and large numbers.

Overall I'm liking the series, but it makes me sad that one of the weaker aspects is the storytelling-through-combat, as the level of attention to detail in TLA made this stronger than almost anywhere else. Bending in TLA was the cream of the crop, above even the old school lightsaber duels, for symbolic combat.

[cephalopod9]

Spoiler:

They entered a space and held their hands up, like guns, and spotted the corners of a room. Cops.

I had a good chuckle when I noticed that

Spoiler:

heh.

Spoiler:

Just saw the seventh episode, and need to ask: does anyone else think that the pacing of LoK is too fast? It seems to me that there's too much plot crammed in every episode, to the point that there's not enough time to flesh out the characters and to show awesome worldbuilding.

Episode seven was specially guilty of that. For example, I don't know if Sato being a equalist was in or out of character for him - there wasn't enough screentime before that to make a call: there's no him interacting with the fire ferrets, no clue as to how he deals with his daughter's new boyfriend (totally ok? Slightly uncomfortable? Doesn't seem to care, in what we later learn to have been an attempt to disguise his disgust?), no previous mention to what he thinks of benders: there was only enough characterization so that he could fill his (twisty!) plot role.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The episode goes (ULTRASPOILER): Korra tells Bolin and Mako that they can live at the wind temple, but Asami already invited them to live at her mansion. They all go to Asami's place, and the race scene is there to justify Asami not being useless. And Korra overhears Sato talking something ambiguous, she tells Lin and Tenzin, they investigate and find nothing, plot guy out from nowhere talks about Sato's secret factory, they go there and Sato's a equalist, fight, Asami picks a side, end. Ok. But what about what isn't there? Asami insulting Korra for being ungrateful, untrustworthy and arrogant, Mako being on Asami's side or expressing how he can't make a call, Bolin's take on all this mess, Lin explaining how her police operates, extra background information about Sato industries VS Cabbage industries, Tenzin remarking that Lin now trust Korra so much that she's willing to risk her reputation based Korra's hunch and shaky evidence, everyone pondering if random plot guy could actually working for the equalists... so many questions, so many opportunities for interesting character interaction... and it's not like they couldn't introduce some airbending related plot point to fit all that into two episodes.

The general feeling that I get is that stuff is introduced hastly so the plot can go on. We never leaned much about how the politics of Republic City work, what is exactly the impact of bending on the economy, how's the rich/poor disparity, how much advantage bender have over non-benders... even pro-bending could be fleshed out a lot more.

Not saying the plot is bad. Just that the series doesn't provide the amount of characterization and exposition to the setting that I expected. And it's a shame, since the character and world design appear to be brilliant.

Spoiler:

The episodes have been feeling way short. Seems like they might be rushing to set things up for the plot to unfold. I'm hoping now that everyone is on Air Temple Island, we can have some episodes that focus in on one or two characters instead trying to span the full group, and some of the history they keep teasing us with when ever Korra passes out.
Asami does get mad, and Mako did accuse Korra of making false accusations out of jealousy. I don't think that needed more explanation, nor did the reasons for two companies in the tech industry to be rivals.
They did leave some threads hanging, but I think it's mostly stuff they can easily revisit in upcoming episodes. What Cabbage Co. produces, and whether or not they were framed, for example. I don't mind that the police tactics and methods haven't been given a discussion, but I would like to see them reconsider the whole big, visible raids approach.
I think they're saving up details on the older characters for when they get into the historical flash backs.

Spoiler:

It was more the lack of earth-bending on the floor. The floor they later earth-bend through to escape the room. From what we know of earth benders, it would be trivial for an earth bender to sink the robots neck deep in rock.

Spoiler:

Their job is, in part, to minimize danger to civilians and property damage. Tipping over large structures and destabilizing building foundations is a bad way of doing that. Even if they don't care about destroying Sato mansion, it's reasonable enough for those to be moves that don't come naturally to them.
There's definitely an increase in specialized and utilitarian bending. We also haven't seen Mako use his lightning bending in combat, even though he uses it at the power plant.

[Izawwlgood]

Another thing to consider with Metal benders is that 'being a bender' is not necessarily a linear process. These metal benders may not be very good earth benders, because they went from being able to do the basics, to training with their little metal ropey things. Just because Toph was an outrageously powerful bender doesn't mean everyone who metal bends is.

Another way of thinking about it is the north pole water tribe healers; just because the women trained to use water bending to heal doesn't mean they would have had any aptitude for making tidal waves, and conversely, just because Paku could fling icespears with deadly accuracy, he almost certainly didn't know how to heal.

Woopate: Very well said, and I don't entirely disagree, but I think TLA had 3 seasons to draw on, while Korra has just had 7 episodes. There was plenty 'my bending is suddenly only as useful as plot' that happened in TLA.

[mercutio_stencil]

Another thing to consider with Metal benders is that 'being a bender' is not necessarily a linear process. These metal benders may not be very good earth benders, because they went from being able to do the basics, to training with their little metal ropey things. Just because Toph was an outrageously powerful bender doesn't mean everyone who metal bends is.

Another way of thinking about it is the north pole water tribe healers; just because the women trained to use water bending to heal doesn't mean they would have had any aptitude for making tidal waves, and conversely, just because Paku could fling icespears with deadly accuracy, he almost certainly didn't know how to heal.

Woopate: Very well said, and I don't entirely disagree, but I think TLA had 3 seasons to draw on, while Korra has just had 7 episodes. There was plenty 'my bending is suddenly only as useful as plot' that happened in TLA.

I'm pretty sure I caught Beifong using earth bending to jump, only to subsequently ignore the ground when it came to fighting. It does seem that the bending is being artificially limited to make the Equalists more of a threat.

As a whole, it seems like character development is being put off for cool looking fight scenes and strange technology. It's a shame, the depth of character was one of the real draws of TLA. Korra looks great, the scenery and world is gorgeous, but the characters just switch from one emotion to another, without much explanation.

Spoiler:

Asami's pause when her father handed her a glove, for instance. She had never before expressed any Equalist tendencies, nor had she given any indication that she even had sympathies, after all, she was dating a star bender. Why would I believe that when confronted with the fact that her father is a leader of a terrorist group for a cause she doesn't believe in, that her reaction should even approach understanding.

[Angua]

Spoiler:

I saw Asami's hesistation as her not wanting to go against her father. They were obviously pretty close, and she was having to weigh up what she believed versus what he believed, and what the fallout was going to be.

[Izawwlgood]

I'm pretty sure I caught Beifong using earth bending to jump, only to subsequently ignore the ground when it came to fighting. It does seem that the bending is being artificially limited to make the Equalists more of a threat.

Yes, but again, a lot of the 'were I there, I'd have done this!' logic isn't the point, because the storytellers have a story to tell. The 'my bending is as powerful as the plot needs it to be' is something that was found in TLA as well.

Re: your spoilered comment:

Spoiler:

What Angua said. I don't' think for a second Asami had hesitations about joining, but she distinctly did not want to harm her father. If my dad out of no where handed me a gun and said 'go ahead, shoot that person you care about because I am a fucking mass murderer mwa ha ha ha!' I would probably hesitate before pistol whipping him unconscious, not because I was considering shooting that person I care about, but because I don't want to hurt my father.

[Diadem]

Re: your spoilered comment:

Spoiler:

What Angua said. I don't' think for a second Asami had hesitations about joining, but she distinctly did not want to harm her father. If my dad out of no where handed me a gun and said 'go ahead, shoot that person you care about because I am a fucking mass murderer mwa ha ha ha!' I would probably hesitate before pistol whipping him unconscious, not because I was considering shooting that person I care about, but because I don't want to hurt my father.

Spoiler:

Even if you're not hesitating about that, you might want to fake hesitation. Your dad would probably become a tiny bit suspicious if you just answered "Hell, yeah, give me that gun! Finally I get to shoot the motherfucker!".

[Isaac Hill]

What I keep finding odd is; I don't really see any proof that the Benders are 'oppressing' anyone.

I got the impression that the council members are all benders. When pitching his plan in Ep 4, Tarlok warns of the threat to "all us benders. Our friends. Our familes." The words could mean just him, Tenzin and benders outside the room, but the delivery seems meant to make the council members feel personally threatened. If the council is all benders, that could make non-benders feel like second-class citizens.

On top of that, organized crime is run by benders. The SWAT team-type group meant to fight organized crime is run by benders. And, the dominant form of entertainment appears to be pro-bending. I doubt that non-benders are actively oppressed, but I could see them feeling like they don't have much say in how the city is run.

I can't be certain about that, though, since we haven't seen enough of the city to know what's going on. Every scene since the second half of the pilot has taken place in Republic City, but we've spent remarkably little time there. Since Ep 2, it's been mostly Air Temple Island, the arena, factories, and government buildings. There's been a few other locations, like the statue and the noodle bar, but those have just been backdrops for conversations.

I haven't even seen enough of Republic City to know if it would be good or bad for Amon to succeed in eliminating bending. It sounds like they'd lose water-bending healers and lightning-bending for the power grid. But, it might also hurt organized crime and open up the city leadership positions to a wider talent pool. Deciding who's right could be an interesting question, but the show is begging that question rather than investigating it.

That's not to say I don't like the show; I do. I just don't get sucked in to the fictional world the way I did when watching AtLA. I watch LoK like I watch Burn Notice. There's some humor, some over the top action (that somehow doesn't seem to actually kill anyone), and an overarching plot that I follow, but don't actually care about that much. It's still a good show, just not the epic tale I expected from the previous series.

[Sockmonkey]

I just wanna see Lin in a regular dress. I'd lay odds that she has the firmest hiney of any character in the show.

[Zohar]

And yet, even with all the complaints I have towards the series, I wish there were an episode this week. Hmmm... Perhaps I should rewatch TLA...

[Diadem]

There isn't one? Why isn't there?

What is it with tv shows and randomly not broadcasting episodes every now and then. The daily show is the worst offender. They randomly take weeks off, but they never announce this in advance, or even put it up on their website. But every tv show I know seems to take a perverse delight in annoying their costumers by randomly taking out episodes.

[Ryom]

I hadn't realized that Tenzin was also Cave Johnson and J Jonah Jameson or that Mako was Bud Bundy

[headprogrammingczar]

Welcome, gentlemen, to Aperture Science. Benders, chi blockers, captains of industry, you're here because you have scary powers and we want in on it. So: who is ready to venture into the spirit world? Now you already met one another on the cab ride over so let me introduce myself. I'm Cave Tenzin. I own the place.

[Ryom]

Pretty good episode this week, moved everything forward a good bit with new reveals and info.

Spoiler:

Tarlok can blood bend without a full moon? Was that Tarlok with Aang, Sokka, and Toph in the courtroom? Why hasn't he aged? Why did Tarlok react that way when Korra compared him to Amon?

[cephalopod9]

Spoiler:

I think his anger at the Equalist movement is genuine, even if it's wrapped up in his power grabbing schemes. He might even really believe he's doing good things there.

Like I've said, I don't think the Equalists feelings of resentment towards the establishment is fabricated. Even without much of a non-bender perspective, we've seen quite a bit for them to be discontent about. I also doubt that Tarlok's "send them all to prison" bigotry materialized this episode, and it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't alone in this.
Can I also say? Rights restricting legislation pushed forward with a pointed agenda in the name of public safety and social control? Police versus protestors injustices? Are we getting topical politics in our cartoon show for children set in alternate universe 1920's?
Amazing.

Batmobile!

Of course Mr. manipulative-internal torque is a blood bender.

Now that you mention it, I don't think they've shown exactly how long ago the flash backs are set. The Gaang looks to be about in their 50's, which would put it 20 or 30 years ago. If Tarlok is over 40, he could have been a young man at the time. Although, I don't think he could use bloodbending on them, then turn around and be a top government official. So it's possibly someone connected to him, and probably not Tarlok himself.

Some things that I want to see really bad

Spoiler:

A full episode of the baby-benders.
Lin's backstory! How did she get those scars? (was it Pema?) What kind of mom was Toph? Who's her dad?
Combat training.
-Mako and Asami coordinate for electricity attacks
-everyone does Air bender training
-Korra learns metal bending from Lin
Bring back Tahno.
The flash backs they keep teasing us with.

Ooh, are we going to see Korra by herself, and she is going to learn to meditate, avatar-spiritual stuff, and connect with Aang?

[Isaac Hill]

flashbacks

Spoiler:

I'm pretty sure the sideburns guy in the flashbacks is Yakone, the guy Tarlok cited as an example of Aang being decisive a few episodes back. Tarlok said it was 42 years ago, making flashback Aang 40, which looks about right. The nick website lists Tenzin as 51, and the Gaang looks younger than him.

Episode 8

Spoiler:

I got the impression at the end that Tarlok was going to hide Korra himself, but I'm not sure why. Many people saw Korra threaten him with boulders, the secretary saw Korra show up in the middle of the night, and everyone will see the torn up earth (and possibly scorch marks) left from the fight. It should be easy for Tarlok to just get Korra thrown in jail for assault, so why not call his buddy the worst police chief (ever) and have her hauled away? Maybe bloodbending is banned, so he has to keep his ability secret.

Are we getting topical politics in our cartoon show for children set in alternate universe 1920's?

Tune in next week, when Lin Beifong begins gathering signatures for a petition to force Councilman Tarlok to face a recall election.

[Woopate]

Spoiler:

I think we saw a definite improvement in the bending this episode. I loved the chase scene. Felt extremely like batman cartoons (ramp and lightning ftw!), and showed off The Brothers Ferret's skill outside of the arena. I wasn't expecting Tarlok to go all crazy on Korra, and they emphasized that it wasn't bending to disable, that was shoot to kill stuff{though that's what you'd have to use against the avatar if you wanted any chance at all}. I definitely think the simplicity of Korra's bending is supposed to be in character for Korra(ripping down walls, blasting a massive crater, etc.). I can see why they rushed the Sato episode, this plot feels to me like it will take a while to sort out. I think the Sato episode was just to set him up as a villain later. I'm hoping that the first few episodes were just to get a LOT of backstory in, and felt rushed because they had to. I think that this episode will mark the beginning of a pace that does not gloss over too much too quickly, and I'm hoping holds the plot for the rest of the season, or a few episodes.

Also another vote for "present day issues in a kids show? AWESOME" boat.

Major improvement this episode for me.

[Zohar]

I agree, this episode was pretty great. I hope this trend will continue.

[Izawwlgood]

I find the political climate to be a little frustrating though. The council is entirely too lame to be anything other than a bunch of hollow characters.
And most annoyingly;

Spoiler:

Korra was given an opportunity to exert her purpose as Avatar, that is, defender of balance to all people and nations, and she did nothing but flung empty threats. I was absolutely hoping to see her rage out and actually fight for people. Or for Lin to show up and help out. Or anything really, other than 'Arresting my friends for no reason after illegally detaining these innocent non-benders? Sadface ok.'

[ArgonV]

I find the political climate to be a little frustrating though. The council is entirely too lame to be anything other than a bunch of hollow characters.
And most annoyingly;

Spoiler:

Korra was given an opportunity to exert her purpose as Avatar, that is, defender of balance to all people and nations, and she did nothing but flung empty threats. I was absolutely hoping to see her rage out and actually fight for people. Or for Lin to show up and help out. Or anything really, other than 'Arresting my friends for no reason after illegally detaining these innocent non-benders? Sadface ok.'

Spoiler:

She was threatening to crush them with rocks..?

[Zohar]

Spoiler:

Korra was given an opportunity to exert her purpose as Avatar, that is, defender of balance to all people and nations, and she did nothing but flung empty threats. I was absolutely hoping to see her rage out and actually fight for people. Or for Lin to show up and help out. Or anything really, other than 'Arresting my friends for no reason after illegally detaining these innocent non-benders? Sadface ok.'

Spoiler:

I think part of the conflict in the show may be about what's the Avatar's role when there's, supposedly, law and order. I don't think Korra has that much resolve and confidence as she lets on. She (rightfully) believes she's a competent fighter, but the more spiritual side of the Avatar, the part that's not just a soldier, is where her true weakness lies - not simply in not being able to airbend. I'm guessing as she becomes more attached with her spiritual side she'll act smarter and more in the capacity of her role.

Any ideas where Tarloq learned to bloodbend, and how he can do it without a full moon? Could he be harnessing the power of the ocean somehow, and not just the moon? Maybe he's related to Hama?

[cephalopod9]

Oh, and there's some awesome historical politics too. I forget if we talked about it.

[Izawwlgood]

Spoiler:

She was threatening to crush Tarlok with rocks, and she didn't. I.e., she let some dude violate the rights of the innocent and disturb the balance of the land. Aang would have never allowed someone to get away with exploiting others like that; Korra should have fought Tarlok and the metal benders right there and then and loudly and repeatedly proclaimed that Team Avatar was there to protect those people, even telling those people to join in and fight to protect themselves.

[Woopate]

Spoiler:

But then Tarlok gets to throw her in jail for sympathizing with Equalists. While there would probably be public outrage, Tarlok doesn't give two shits about public outrage.

[Isaac Hill]

Zohar:

Spoiler:

Any ideas where Tarloq learned to bloodbend, and how he can do it without a full moon? Could he be harnessing the power of the ocean somehow, and not just the moon? Maybe he's related to Hama?

Water benders in general get a boost from the full moon, so it could be that Hama was just powerful enough to bloodbend with that boost. A more powerful water bender could bloodbend any time. A less powerful water bender couldn't bloodbend at all. Hama could have assumed that her conditions were universal, and Katara was afraid/ashamed of her power enough that she probably wouldn't have investigated on her own.

Writing that made me think of something. In AtLA Book 1, Jeong Jeong was depressed about how his fire bending was destructive, and Katara tried to cheer him up by admiring his power. Then, in Book 3, she learned the hard way about having power she wishes she didn't.

Izawwlgood:

Spoiler:

She was threatening to crush Tarlok with rocks, and she didn't. I.e., she let some dude violate the rights of the innocent and disturb the balance of the land. Aang would have never allowed someone to get away with exploiting others like that; Korra should have fought Tarlok and the metal benders right there and then and loudly and repeatedly proclaimed that Team Avatar was there to protect those people, even telling those people to join in and fight to protect themselves.

I think some of the Gaang's willingness to get involved was due to Katara (Haru's villiage, the Painted Lady). Another part was story structure. Since Aang was in a different village every week, he didn't have the option of waiting to help someone. He had to act before he left forever. Korra can take more time to plan.

Leading a group of likely untrained non-benders against a metal bending SWAT team is likely to result in failure and those innocent people getting hurt. Calling your politically connected friend to get those people released is a better idea. Confronting the head violator one-on-one, without his allies to help him or innocent people around to get hurt, isn't bad either. If Tarlok weren't a bloodbender, Korra could have killed him or, more likely for a Nick show, made him quit the council.

I find the political climate to be a little frustrating though. The council is entirely too lame to be anything other than a bunch of hollow characters.

At this point, I just wish Tenzin could lose by a 3-2 vote for a change. Give him one ally for once.

[cephalopod9]

Izawwlgood:

Spoiler:

She was threatening to crush Tarlok with rocks, and she didn't. I.e., she let some dude violate the rights of the innocent and disturb the balance of the land. Aang would have never allowed someone to get away with exploiting others like that; Korra should have fought Tarlok and the metal benders right there and then and loudly and repeatedly proclaimed that Team Avatar was there to protect those people, even telling those people to join in and fight to protect themselves.

I think some of the Gaang's willingness to get involved was due to Katara (Haru's villiage, the Painted Lady). Another part was story structure. Since Aang was in a different village every week, he didn't have the option of waiting to help someone. He had to act before he left forever. Korra can take more time to plan.

Leading a group of likely untrained non-benders against a metal bending SWAT team is likely to result in failure and those innocent people getting hurt. Calling your politically connected friend to get those people released is a better idea. Confronting the head violator one-on-one, without his allies to help him or innocent people around to get hurt, isn't bad either. If Tarlok weren't a bloodbender, Korra could have killed him or, more likely for a Nick show, made him quit the council.

Spoiler:

She's also a citizen of a city, unlike Aang who jumped from place to place, and she isn't a political authority.
She could declare herself more important than the laws and police force, but she'd be effectively overturning the government of Republic City. That's really not a position she wants to have, and that kind of abrupt power shift would probably mean a lot of turmoil and grief for everyone.
She does have some clout as far as the running of the government, and does need to take action, but jumping in at street level with brute force is not the way to do that.

[Sockmonkey]

Spoiler:

I'm thinking Tarlok found a loophole in the bending rules or found a way to augment his power externally.
In the courtroom flashback we see him bloodbending at least a half dozen people at once, one of whom is a fully powered avatar.
If he were just exceptionally skilled I might accept him being able to bloodbend one person without a full moon or a buch of people with one but not both.
Something be fishy here and it's not Tui and La.
He is water tribe so maybe he snuck into the spirit oasis and stole some of it from them.
Maybe he's a relative of Yue and can therefore can access her energy...

[mr-mitch]

I think there is a definite McCarthy/McCarthyistic feeling to the series now, which is a bit shocking.

I am wondering if

Spoiler:

he has abused his blood bending in other areas, such as puppeteering the council members or the new chief of police.

[maybeagnostic]

I find the political climate to be a little frustrating though. The council is entirely too lame to be anything other than a bunch of hollow characters.

At this point, I just wish Tenzin could lose by a 3-2 vote for a change. Give him one ally for once.

But that would require one of the background nameless people actually think and possibly develop a personality. Instead, they seem to represent 'the masses' that are swayed by emotion rather than reason.

The new episode started out kind of slow with too much of the unfunny humor that used to be a lot more toned down in A:TLA. They also seem to be using much more of the silly anime effects instead of actual humor which is rather disappointing. So far Bolin hasn't made a single joke that I found funny and he doesn't seem to have much of a personality either. He just strikes me as a poor replacement for Sokka although I didn't like Sokka until well into A:TLA.

Once the episode turned serious it got a lot better though.

Spoiler:

I used to think Tarlok is an Equalist sympathizer- his actions always seemed specifically designed to exacerbate the conflict and drive as many people to choose a side. Now I am thinking there is a lot more of a 1984 dynamic going on- they know and hate each other but they are also using the conflict to swell their power bases so they can get more power.

When did we see Tarlok blood-bending multiple people?

[Izawwlgood]

Re: Tarlok;

Spoiler:

The scenes from the courtroom, where everyone looks like they're contorted and struggling and someone who looks like Tarlok (his dad le shock?)... And then how Aang goes all Avatar on his ass? Yeah.

As for Korra's actions in episode 8:

Spoiler:

Her using any semblance of restraint here just seems so horribly timed. She's perpetually been hotheaded and used the more dakka strategy to just about everything, it seemed incredibly lame to me that when it actually would have benefited some people for her to rage out and Avatarized the shit out of some corrupt cops and a douchbag Councilman, she watches her closest friends and a bunch of innocent people get rounded up and arrested, and goes "ok, I'll get get an adult to save the day".

[maybeagnostic]

Re: Tarlok;

Spoiler:

The scenes from the courtroom, where everyone looks like they're contorted and struggling and someone who looks like Tarlok (his dad le shock?)... And then how Aang goes all Avatar on his ass? Yeah.

As for Korra's actions in episode 8:

Spoiler:

Her using any semblance of restraint here just seems so horribly timed. She's perpetually been hotheaded and used the more dakka strategy to just about everything, it seemed incredibly lame to me that when it actually would have benefited some people for her to rage out and Avatarized the shit out of some corrupt cops and a douchbag Councilman, she watches her closest friends and a bunch of innocent people get rounded up and arrested, and goes "ok, I'll get get an adult to save the day".

About Tarlok: I guess I need to re-watch the flashbacks. I couldn't tell exactly what was happening in them the first time around.
About Korra's actions:

Spoiler:

Korra might prefer fighting but she is never shown as a bully. Her first reaction was to try to pick a fight with the police but they didn't fight back. I think the scene with her holding the boulders up was played pretty well- Tarlok refused to be drawn into it and if she just squished a duly appointed official following the law... well, she clearly wouldn't be in the right. It wasn't a situation that could be solved by violence especially since 3-4 ironbenders would probably easily restrain her.

On top of that, Tarlok plays off her uncertainties every chance he gets and is doing a pretty good job of convincing her she is a brute with no understanding or control of the situation.

[Avin]

Regarding the courtroom scenes:

http://birdbrainblue.tumblr.com/post/24 ... flashbacks

That analysis sounds so correct I think it's pretty much a spoiler for the next episode or so.

[Izawwlgood]

Regarding that 'analysis';

Spoiler:

I really dislike it when people make assumptions to prove their point. Katara shows up to bloodbend Yakone? Out of curiosity, when do we even hear the name Yakone? Everything else is more or less fine, but the whole "Katara shows up and it's a dramatic reveal" is a total handwave

[Zohar]

Re: Korra's actions

Spoiler:

I agree with maybeanagnostic that she's become insecure, Tarlok is pretty good at playing with her head. And when she doubts herself, she doesn't strike immediately.

[Isaac Hill]

flashback/name/analysis

Spoiler:

We heard the name Yakone in Ep 4 (A Voice in the Night). Tarlok says Yakone threatened Republic City 42 years ago and that Aang dealt with him directly, saying the council needs to do the same with Amon. This prompts Tenzin to ask Tarlok how dare he compare himself to Avatar Aang. Korra's first flashback is later that episode, with Aang, Toph and Sokka looking 40ish, the age they's be 42 years ago, attending what looks like the trial of Sepia McMuttonchops. That doesn't prove that Yakone and the defendant are the same person, but I'd be pretty surprised if they weren't.

Katara being involved seems more like a prediction than an assumption. I don't think it works, though. If Katara's bloodbended (bloodbent?) during the day, why would Korra think bloodbending required a full moon? The full moon requirement came from what Hama told Katara. If Katara knows it's not true, why tell Korra about it?

Come to think of it, though, that's an issue even if Katara wasn't involved. Her husband and brother, who've both been victims of bloodbending before, would probably recognize what happened and figure Katara should know. "Honey, I'm home!" "How was your day?" "Remember when we were kids fighting the war and that crazy old lady almost made me and your brother kill each other? Funny thing..."

Back to birdbrainblue: As for why else would Tarlok cite something that happened 42 years ago? For the same reason real politicians cite events from the past: So no one involved can step up to contradict you.

[Sockmonkey]

Spoiler:

Waterbending has been around for thousands of years so I doubt Hama is the first one to discover bloodbending allthough it would be kept secret among those who know. That gives another possible source for that knowledge. Also, the fire nation citizens who were kidnapped might have spilled the beans as well.

[Diadem]

Interesting episode.

Spoiler:

Looks like Tarlok was just put in to make Amon a more credible threat. And they succeeded pretty well in that. Amon just ignoring bending like that was pretty scary.

And the flashback was really Yakone bloodbending multiple people at once, no outside help as some speculated. Bloodbending a hundred people at once, including the avatar and some of the most powerful benders around, that's pretty impressive. I hope there will be some explanation about how he did it.

[cephalopod9]

Spoiler:

I was kinda hoping we would get a spirit world episode next.
How long are they going to make us wait for the next season(book)?
Dialog seemed a little flat this episode.
Sokka was a council member. Who was the guy in airbender clothes?
Toph! It's weird hearing their voices. I don't know what I was expecting.

Dude, dude, Amon, he's

Spoiler:

He's a blood bender.
I was gonna say earlier, but it seems like they're making it obvious now.
He's using blood bending or healing powers to chi-block permanently.

[moiraemachy]

About the episode:

Spoiler:

Hah, my bet was on Tarlok being the big bad, and Amon and Korra joining forces later on. But Amon being completely awesome will do.

Crazy predictions about the end of the series:

Spoiler:

There's something that has been bothering me for a while... have we ever seen a bender use chi blocking? I am starting to consider the idea that spirit bending and chi blocking are the same thing, and maybe it'll be revealed that every non bender is a spirit bender. (except for the avatar, who can bend whatever)

Maybe it'll even be used as a device to end the conflict: if chi blocking becomes as effective as the other bending arts when properly studied and developed (remember how Katara only became awesome after being taught by a waterbending master?), this could lead to some kind of equality being achieved. And it wouldn't be the first time spirit bending is used to wrap the plot without the need to address some complicated issue...

[Ryom]

Well, that's one way to get dressed...