This week, Korra barely shows up so everyone else had to pick up her slack. This episode was really well done. It had the slow methodical pace of
a detective serial of old while bringing in the inter policing rivalries of more
modern shows. Throughout the episode, Maco gathered and examined clues
to seemingly uncover the mystery behind all the terrorist attacks that have
been going on. Finally, Mako had something to do besides getting yelled at by
Korra and Lin.
Starting off with a raid on one
of Asami’s shipments to the South, things quickly escalate to espionage, betrayal,
a full on Bond style water chase between ships, ending with the ‘bad guy’
seemingly getting the upper hand. Throughout the episode Mako tried hard to
stay ahead of all the sleight of hand and trickery afoot, but with no one on
his side, he remained a step behind. It didn’t help that Chief Be Fong was so
unwilling to listen to him. I get it that he’s a rookie, but
come on, has she never seen… read, any of the numerous stories where the rookie
cop is proven right at the end? Come on BatLin, I hold you to a higher standard
than this.
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| Good work officer. One day you'll make detective. |
Through and through, Mako did as
a good job as he could. He followed, clues, believed his gut, and was not
motivated by trying to prove Korra wrong or win Asami back. He was doing it all
for the truth, and because of that he put the clues together leading him right
to Varrick. Not Varrick!
Like I said last week, there is
far more to this eccentric man than meets the eyes, and I’m sure his ultimate
goal is not just gaining a controlling share in a competitors company. I’m sure
money is a huge motivator for him, but I’m beginning to get the feeling that he
might be in cahoots with Unalaq. Like he said, ‘if you can’t make money during
a war, you can’t make money period’. He may be a source of endlessly great
quotes, but the man is sly as a fox, and has wiggled his way into a very
powerful position. And it doesn’t hurt that he likes to play both sides. At least
Mako’s on to him.
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| There's no way it can be me, right? |
On the B side of this episode,
Bolin has found the celebrity side of life to his liking. With a lot of money
now at his disposal he gets to buy frivolous items. He’s also doing a good job
of playing the vain celeb, ignoring Mako in his time of need (and eye for and
eye leaves all but one blind). Meanwhile, Unalaq seems to be getting some sort
of direction for his actions from some unseen force. He is openly entering and
leaving the spirit portal at will while his children wait for him. I’m sure
some evil entity is pulling the strings here, and ultimately he’s going to be
as powerless as cabbage man. But for now, his plan has a set back as he
believes the Avatar is dead.
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| Just Bolin, doing his Nuktuk thing. |
Speaking of which, it was nice of
Korra to show up at the end. Or was it her? She certainly no longer knows, but
at least she’s with people who know who she is. She’s had a tough season thus
far, especially seeing how she just came off her biggest challenge last season;
I guess no one ever said being the Avatar would be easy. So as Korra tries to remember
who she is (at least she knows she can bend, and for some reason chose to air
bend over water bend!) the shot panned out and lingered over the water which
seemed to be hiding something beneath the surface. Possibly one of these so
called ‘evil spirits’ which might not be as evil as they have been purported to
be (all speculation here).
This was not only a very well
done episode, but one I believe will ultimately prove vastly important to the
series. It was different from what’s come before on the show. It was both
slower and more intelligent, and didn’t feel the need to hit the view over the
head with the obvious. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t wait for the two
parter next week.
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