Korra 1×10: Turning the Tides

Legend of Korra 1 x 10: Turning the Tides
Full episode available at Nick.com

Episode summary (from the Avatar Wiki): “Korra works to recover from her time spent imprisoned by Tarrlok, but when she is interrupted by Republic City coming under attack from Equalists, she is forced to take action against the evil group and their mysterious leader Amon.”

My Initial Thoughts: So much love for Meelo and combat fartbending and “Not now, baby!”

Even more love for Lin Beifong’s quiet determination to help Tenzin and his family, her reaction and facial expressions when she gets stuck taking care of the kids, and her heroism and sacrifice at the end of the episode. “That lady is my hero.” (She even inspired me to make a LiveJournal icon.)

I love this part of a story, the do or die turning point when everything is coming together, the stakes are reaching their apex, and everyone is fully invested.

Oh look, Amon captured most of the council. Will anyone notice? All they did was sit around and agree with Tarrlok.

Loved seeing Tenzin thwart that initial attack, and the rest of Team Avatar coming along to kick butt. It was nice to see Mako turn electricity back against the Equalist mech, and Asami taking out another one with the car. Asami struck me as the most badass in that conflict. I imagine she’s working off a lot of anger.

The battle on the island was great too. I really enjoyed seeing the kids come to Beifong’s aid, even if it was predictable. And those poor benders who stayed behind … you know they faced the same fate as Lin Beifong 🙁

Still not invested in the love triangle. Also, getting more annoyed with Mako. I get that this is pretty realistic for a lot of teenage romance, but … I dunno. Maybe I’m just too old and cynical and lived through too much of this drama.

In the end, we’re left with Tenzin and his family safely away in one direction, and Team Avatar hiding near the city: a breather before the hour-long finale.

Thoughts from the Seven-Year-Old: “I liked the scene where the boy was like, ‘Not now, baby!’ I think the council getting captured and Tenzin being the only one left wasn’t right, because his wife was having a baby and he had to focus on two things at once! In the next episode, I think that Korra should learn airbending right when she’s fighting Amon and then use it against him. I felt sad at the end because [Lin Beifong] lost her bending, and all of the other things.”

Confused Newbie Says Huh: I poked around to find out who the General at the end was supposed to be. Iroh is the grandson of Zuko, the villain from the first series? (We’ve started watching Avatar, so I’ve met Zuko now.) This bumped me out of the story, because it was obviously supposed to be a big dramatic reveal, and it meant absolutely nothing when I saw it.

“That explains how he can bloodbend without a full moon.” Huh? How did being Yakone’s son give Tarrlok that ability? I get that bending seems to be an inherited power, but unless I’m missing it, I don’t remember an explanation as to how or why Yakone could break that rule in the first place.

Predictions: When Lin Beifong lost her bending, I started to suspect Korra would find a way to reverse it. We’ve sees a scene in the preview where Amon appears to be taking Korra’s bending away. I’m guessing that’s what will finally push her into the Avatar state, at which point she’ll be able to counter/unblock whatever Amon has done. At least, I hope so. Lin Beifong is too awesome to lose her powers permanently. Damn you, writers!!!

Regardless of whether they restore her bending, and I’m not sure they will, I fully expect Beifong to bust out and play a part in kicking Equalist ass from within their stronghold during the final battle, because that’s how she rolls.

The show seems to be pushing Mako and Korra together, which makes me wonder what they have planned for Asami, who’s looking more like a fourth wheel by the end of the episode. I hope and trust they’ll do better than the “woman scorned” routine where she rejoins her father as a bad guy.

Beyond that, I’m just gonna steal a bit from Mythbusters: “My prediction? Mayhem.”