The Legend of Korra: Harmonic Convergence Review

The second part of this week’s episode brought our main characters to the doorstep of cataclysm, with Harmonic Convergence just hours away, it was time to deal with Unalaq and Vaatu once and for all. And how does the team decide to go about fighting a superior army with literally only 10 or so people? Head on of course, because why not? Sure it was a weak battle plan. They could have tunneled underneath everyone and gotten right to the portal, I mean they have two earth benders, but that would have deprived us of one of the funniest episodes of the season.

Tenzin’s siblings have lived in his shadow for the entire season, and apparently life too if they are to be believed, but in this episode Bumi had his chance to shine. Since his introduction, Bumi has always seemed like he’s compensating. Maybe it’s because he’s older than his siblings and is starting to feel his age, or more likely it’s that he’s the only non-bender in a household that contained four, so he had to be loud and in your face to get some recognition. Regardless of the source of his inner feelings of inadequateness, Bumi is a cheerful spirit, much like Sokka and King Bumi before him. So when everyone else gets caught, only someone who can truly think outside the box could save the day.

Watching Bumi fumble his way past guards and evil spirits was truly enjoyable. He was funny, something the show, especially this season, has lacked to a certain degree. Sokka was always lightening up the mood in the previous series, and Bolin, before his ‘I’m an actor now’ shtick broke the tension more often than not. Varrick had his moments, but when he took a turn to the dark side, his funny antics were put on the back burner for a more sinister approach, so watching Bumi save the day Jack Sparrow style really stood out.

What was great about his rescue mission was how it was foreshadowed the entire episode without you really realizing it. He was constantly telling everyone of his crazy missions when in the army, and all the kind of kooky ways he would save the day. No one took him seriously, and to a certain degree, as the viewer, you couldn’t either. I mean some of the things he was implying were outlandish. But in the end, he saved the day with nothing but his flute, and a stolen mecha tank. It was hilarious to see him angering evil spirits, try to fight them one on one, and eventually lead them on a chase that brought down the entire enemy camp. He truly lived up to the namesake Bumi, and no doubt uncle Sokka taught him a thing or two about quick thinking.

With all free, everyone had a goal. Tenzin, Kia and Bumi were off the find Jinora’s spirit. Mako and Bolin were to hold off Unalaq. Korra was to close the portals and prevent Vaatu from becoming free and Unalaq from becoming the Dark Avatar. Unfortunately for Korra, she was too late. The planets aligned, and Harmonic Convergence commenced, freeing Vaatu. This is a fight 10,000 years in the making, and one I am very excited to see.

This episode was pure fun, and we needed that. It’s been a while since I genuinely laughed without the sense of tension in the background, and one more episode earlier in the season like this might have helped this season flow a little better. It was animated well and had a great soundtrack. I’m going to hold off on publishing my review for the two part finale until they air, even though it is on the Korra site. For the review of part I click here. 

The Legend of Korra: Peacekeepers Review

Korra this week returned the show to Republic city to deal with the fallout of the Water Tribe civil war. From the start, we are once again reminded just how little Bolin has developed. As the rest of Team Avatar leave to go complete an important task, Bolin is left to wonder what his fate should be. I really felt for him. It reminded me of when I graduated college, looked back at where I’d been, and realized I’ve spent most of my life thus far in school and not really sure how the real world works. And as I tried to figure it out, I spent the first couple of months in a daze caught between two very distinct lives, and not sure if I was ready to leave one for the other. It feels like Bolin too is trying to discover his groove now that his pro-bending days with Mako are essentially over and each member of Team Avatar doing their own thing. Lucky for him, the always great Varrick was at hand to accompany Bolin in his search for self-discovery.

Varrick has been great. Whether he’s giving another great quote ('being famous is like getting hit with a rock all the time'), or the fact that I’m becoming increasingly more convinced that the eccentric billionaire inventor persona he embodies is just a shtick he uses to throw everyone off the fact that he is not only very intelligent, but also very observant and cunning, but once again Varrick stole the show. Between propaganda movies and shoes for hands, Varrick is a treasure trove of endless possibilities, and I hope that he doesn’t have a turn to the sinister before the series end.

We're ditching the girl kid and going to have some great adventures!

On a lighter note, Korra and Mako make huge waves throughout the episode. Caught between being loyal to his girl or his job, Mako’s forced to make choices that are neither easy nor clear cut. Korra desperately wants to liberate her people from the invading forces, and is using all her influence and karma she’s built up to get the help she needs. But it would have been easier for her to get help by yelling at a brick wall. The newly elected President of the United Republic is unwilling to drag his nation into a war that doesn’t really involve them. Further complicating matters is Mako going against Korra and giving the president inside information of her movements. When she went to Gen II Iroh, the President nipped any ‘effort’ to assist in the bud.

This final shut door forced Korra to head to the Fire Nation to seek help from the Fire Lord. However, her journey there was thwarted by the wonder twins and an evil spirit. When Unalaq ordered his children to go retrieve the Avatar I was left a little surprised. Very few benders could hold their own against an Avatar. Both Yakone and Noatak were incredibly powerful benders, but were still unable to best the Avatars. So what makes these two so special? And why are they so confident in their abilities that there were initially going into this fight with the intent to kill! Clearly there is more to these two than meets the eye. However, they are unsuccessful in capturing Korra. That honor goes to the evil spirit who seemingly swallowed Korra, despite her Avatar Stating and trying to calm said spirit.

There is something seriously not right about these two.

Other main points to touch upon are Unalaq revealing that he needs Korra to open the spirit gate up north. I’m beginning to think that he’s getting his orders from someone else, but I could be wrong. An attack on the Southern Water Tribe cultural center looks to inflame a war. Mako is investigating the terrorist attack believing that it was not perpetrated by Northern Water Tribesmen. And at the air temple, Tenzin releases the inner monster within Meelo (his words, not mine!), as he continues his personal time with each of his kids. I assume Jinora is next. This was a very fun episode. The animation and music were once again great. Oh, and the BatLin returned! More BatLin please. 

Just give us the Lin Bei Fong show we deserve!

The Legend Of Korra: Civil Wars Part I Review

The first thing I thought once the episode was over is that I can’t fully judge it without its second part. As things stand, we've only gotten one side of a conversation, and now have to wait a whole week till the next. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but if I am to judge this episode on its own merits, I can’t judge it fairly. It was ok, moves the water tribe story line further along, but does little else.

Korra still struggles with her role as not only an Avatar, but a peace keeper, a member of the water tribes, and the fact that she’s from the currently occupied south. There is some interesting interplay between herself, her father, and her uncle, but no major revelations are made. She comes to terms with her father’s past just in time for Unalaq to stand between them. I’m still not fully convinced that he is a baddie for the season, but he has no doubt overreached far beyond any good intentions he may have had.

I could be wrong, he does suffer from a severe case of shifty eye syndrome!

Of course, the Southerners resistance to the occupation is justified. One minute they were living day to day as free men and women and the next they are told to go indoors and stay out of the military’s way. From their point of view, some spiritual zealot they see once a year has come to their town and forcibly taken control. And what are his justifications? From his point of view they were a hedonistic society that was leaving their spiritual past behind. It’s a nice message to send to the people you are trying to get cooperation out of.

So what of Unalaq’s plan? His desire to reopen both water tribe spirit portals to calm the angered spirits seems to be the right thing to do, but what of this travel portal it will open? Not sure how this fits into his plan, but I’m sure there is some ulterior motive behind it all. And how long have these portals been sealed, and why were they sealed in the first place? If Korra stopped to think for a minute, she should remember that just six months ago she was able to converse with Aang and gain her powers back. Maybe she could get some invaluable advice from him! But as seen before, she’s more of a doer than a thinker, but it does eventually come to her.

Seriously, this only happened six months ago. Remember?

So with Korra’s father in trouble, Unalaq gaining more ground, and a little side story of Bolin’s girl troubles, the only other story worth talking of is the infighting between Aang’s kids. It seems Aang was about as good a father as most other fathers. I’m sure he did his best, but it’s never good enough. With Kya and Bumi believing Aang played favorites with Tenzin (and it seems they might have a point), tension seeps its way from the Water Tribe to the Air Temple. Sure it’s sibling rivalry at its base, but there is a bite to it all. It seems that Tenzin’s siblings have always had a resentment to his preferential treatment from Aang, and could possibly explain why they picked on him. It seems to ultimately be a minor story, but it’s interesting to know that the little kid who saved the world and idolized by so many was fallible.

So that was it. Animation once again was very good, as was the sound. But without the second part, I'm not sure what to make of this episode. I’ll reserve judgment until next week when I have the full story.

The Legend of Korra: The Southern Lights Review

So after a probing part one, where was the season two premiere of Korra to take us? Of course, with tension already high, the journey to the South Pole was not going to be smooth. Sure Bolin, Maco, and Korra’s very weird cousins provided some laughs, but it’s obvious from the get go that the emotion bubbling to the surface was threatening to boil over. Korra’s father has little to no respect/care for the spirits. He’s a practical man, someone who works only with what he sees, and later we learn the cost of this line of thought. It would also help to explain not only Korra’s strong will, but her struggle with connecting with the spirits.

It is too late to call shotgun?

As Unalaq leads the group, spirits attack stealing all the camping gear and leaving most of the equipment useless. Forced to take shelter in a cave, it’s at this point where the animosity between Unalaq and his brother, Korra’s dad Tonraq, is revealed. Years ago the young General Tonraq, chasing a group of bandits out of the Northern Water Tribe, angered the spirits. In the end, it was Unalaq who saved the tribe, and Tonraq was banished. With Tonraq exiled to the Southern Water Tribe, Unalaq ascended to the throne. With all this revealed, a very upset Korra decides it’s time her father makes like Tenzin and leaves.

Angered spirits attach the Northern Water Tribe.

With all this information hitting her, Korra has every right to be upset. Her role in the world is to be the bridge between the spirit world and mankind. The fact that her father angered spirits in his youth should have been brought to her attention. If there is anything we've learnt about spirits from Aang it’s that they don’t forget their interactions with humans (see Koh the face Steeler and Wan Shi Tong). Both those spirits had poor interactions with humans and both didn't care too much for Aang’s role as the Avatar. They still held him accountable for mankind’s actions, and the fact that Korra’s dad angered them by destroying a holy site would cause some animosity between the spirits and the young Avatar.

As Oscar Wilde once said: 'Children begin by loving their parents, after some time they judge them, rarely if ever, do they forgive them.' Sorry Tonraq.

Meanwhile, a deflated Tenzin is taking his family, including his siblings Bumi and Kya, on a tour of the air temples. However, it seems that Jinora gets a chance to have her moment in the sun. Jinora has always seemed better in tune with not only air-bending but also the spiritual side of the air nomad life compared to her siblings. While in the temple room full of Avatar statues, mesmerized by Aang’s statue, she seems to have a connection with the spirit world. It’s a very brief moment, but it speaks to a larger arc for the character. We know from the original series that General Iroh, after the death of his son, somehow managed to connect with the spirit world. Could Jinora, at such a young age, be connecting with it too?

Books? Where you're going, you won't need books.

Back to Korra, we arrive at the source of spiritual turmoil at the South Pole, and Korra, alone, enters a frozen forest to calm the spirits. With some difficulties, including a spirit snake monster restraining her, Korra releases the forest and restores balance, for now, to the Southern Water Tribe. I say for now because we see at the end an ‘invasion’ force of the Northern army entering the Southern Tribe, and this aggressive act by Unalaq cannot bode well for both Water Tribes. But before I end, I want to touch on what I believe to be the most important part of the episode. While Korra is freeing the frozen forest, Jiniro is awoken, and seemingly drawn to the statue room where she ends up at a very old statue that begins to light up. It seems to be the statue of the first Avatar Wan.

Falcon Punch!

When I first heard of Wan, I assumed that it would be Korra who connects and learns from him. But after this episode, I get the impression that not only is Wan going to teach Jinora a thing of two about the spirits, but she is the one who will be teaching Korra all she learns from the first Avatar. I could be wrong, but Korra herself has stated how the Avatar used to travel and learn from different masters. Maybe Tenzin isn't the right teacher for her. He’s a good steadying hand, but Jinora seems to be at a whole different level that even Tenzin might not comprehend, and with Korra’s time with Unalaq seemingly coming to an end, it’s possible that Jinora will teach the Avatar all she needs to know.

Spirits continue their onslaught on Korra.

This was another great episode. The animation was beautifully fluid, the music and sound effects spot on, and it opened the door perfectly for the second season. There are plenty of questions asked, and hopefully we’ll get some answers, but for now I eagerly await the next episode. And with the next two episodes called ‘Civil Wars’, I guess we are going to see just how far Unalaq and Korra’s journey goes. And how long till Avatar Wan enters the picture and just how far is Jinora’s development going to go? A great season opener. I only wish this were a Netflix show so I don’t have to wait for more!

Review of part 1 here. My first ever (and poorly written) Korra review here. Some reflections on Korra season 1 here. And finally, some fun guess work about season 1 that turned out to be wrong here.

The Legend of Korra: Rebel Spirit Review

Korra’s finally back! After a quick recap, we get right into it. It’s been six months since Amon, and Korra’s still rebellious while Tenzin is struggling to keep up with the all-powerful teenager. Mako’s become a member of the law, while little bro Bolin has yet to make much progress in life. Finally Asami is working hard to undo the damage her father brought upon the family company and stay afloat. There has been a little splintering of team Avatar, and once again I can’t help but notice that Asami seems all alone.

Team Avatar, in all their season 1 glory.

However, after a quick relocation to the Southern Water Tribe, things swiftly change. ‘Dark’ Spirits attack without hesitation, and until Korra’s uncle’s (Unalaq) intervention, there isn't much anyone can do. Unalaq, the leader of the Northern Water Tribe, seems to be an incredibly powerful bender. With ease he calmed the angered spirit and seemed to draw out an inner peace from within and channel it into the spirit. His respect for the spiritual world is apparent, wanting even to impart his knowledge upon the young Avatar, however, I’m more concerned about his motives for the Southern Tribe as he seems hell-bent on reform (even with military force!).

A spirit overwhelming the Avatar.

With this show of power, Korra decides it’s time to part ways with Tenzin and train under Unalaq, so, bye bye Tenzin. I can understand Korra’s tension with continued training with Tenzin. She’s never exactly seen eye to eye with her air-bending master, questioning him almost every chance she’s gotten. Further, he would be a constant reminder of Republic City, a place where she was truly beaten and humiliated for the first time by Tarrlok and Amon. It’s very possible that all these factors were in play when she decided to part ways with Tenzin, but I might be reading too much into it.

Unalaq calming spirits.

So with her father against it, Unalaq takes her under his tutelage, and their journey beings to the South Pole to repair spiritual damage. Once again, I can’t help but feel that Unalaq truly believes in balance with the spirits, while Korra’s father is more than happy to leave them alone, but there is more to Unalaq than meets the eye. He’s clearly calculating (like Amon), and has ulterior motives that involve the Southern Water Tribe, Korra, and possibly the spiritual world.

Journey to Santa's back yard.

So as the first part of the premiere comes to a close, there’s a lot to digest. Why are the spirits suddenly attacking people and places? What is Korra’s and Unalaq’s role in repairing the damage, and just what is Unalaq up to? Later in the second part, even more questions arise, such as what’s up with the Northern invasion force, and is Jinora about to embark on a spiritual journey with the first Avatar, and if so, is this what old General Iroh went through in the original series? Time will tell, and I’ll write my review of part two of the premiere later tomorrow, but I’m very glad the show is back, and I can’t wait for more.

There's more to Jinora than just book smarts and powerful air-bending.