Avatar Legend of Korra

[orion]

Originally Posted by Xagzan

Glad I'm not the only one who heard Steve Blum there.

Makorrans must be loathing Asami right now.

And holy crap, those flashbacks at the end. Can't wait to see if we get a full flashback episode to the adult Gaang.

It would be real funny if her dad is one of Amon's backers. Asami and dad were introduced for an overall reason and not as shipping fodder.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by orion

It would be real funny if her dad is one of Amon's backers. Asami and dad were introduced for an overall reason and not as shipping fodder.

Couldn't they be introduced as good "non-benders" we need those in the story too.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Couldn't they be introduced as good "non-benders" we need those in the story too.

If you don't have any powers, you're going to be "good" by default... or in jail, dead or injured by the benders. That's the problem Amon has with benders (ruling class). Suppression of chi blocking only adds fuel to the fire.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by orion

If you don't have any powers, you're going to be "good" by default... or in jail, dead or injured by the benders. That's the problem Amon has with benders (ruling class). Suppression of chi blocking only adds fuel to the fire.

I don't agree I think the story would be pretty shallow if it just benders VS non-benders.

Asami can be a non-bender who doesn't agree with the equalists. And there can be strong non-bender characters or are you forgetting Sokka, Mai, Suki, Jet, Ty Lee and so forth?

[orion]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I don't agree I think the story would be pretty shallow if it just benders VS non-benders.

Asami can be a non-bender who doesn't agree with the equalists. And there can be strong non-bender characters or are you forgetting Sokka, Mai, Suki, Jet, Ty Lee and so forth?

On the surface, that is the set up. Bender rule (status quo) vs non bender protests like the Communists of old in Russia prior to the revolution. And now Bender police action against (suppression of) Amon's group.

All those characters are dead. The new generation is obviously different and this is an action title so I expect more of a divide.

[Key Board]

well.. from what I've seen so far, benders have tremendous advantage over non-benders

metal benders can join the police
fire benders can work at electric factories
and needless to say, the pro bending league is only for benders

it seems to me that the city is prioritized for benders

it seems that your average non bender has much less chance to succeed unless you're really brilliant like Hiroshi Sato

Now, Republic City was created post the Fire Empire War still fresh in mind. This means it probably was created to promote cooperation among BENDERS in mind and really didn't take non-benders into consideration.

I'm not for or against this, but I do see why this is causing the social unrest and driving the equalist cause

This is a classic have vs have-nots situation

[Slayerx]

On another forum, someone noted a very interesting detail about Amon's energy bending

Spoiler:

Amon's technique, not only lacks the light show, but he only uses one pressure point... an incomplete technique perhaps?

Originally Posted by orion

Suppression of chi blocking only adds fuel to the fire.

Assuming that's whats going on... when it comes down to it, this was an underground training camp being used by equalists who are followers of Amon. We have yet to hear if their are legal avenues for teaching of chi blocking; frankly i would not be surprised if the republic would have a division of its own chi-blockers considering how useful they would be when dealing with criminal benders.

Originally Posted by Key Board

well.. from what I've seen so far, benders have tremendous advantage over non-benders

metal benders can join the police
fire benders can work at electric factories
and needless to say, the pro bending league is only for benders

it seems to me that the city is prioritized for benders

it seems that your average non bender has much less chance to succeed unless you're really brilliant like Hiroshi Sato

Now, Republic City was created post the Fire Empire War still fresh in mind. This means it probably was created to promote cooperation among BENDERS in mind and really didn't take non-benders into consideration.

I'm not for or against this, but I do see why this is causing the social unrest and driving the equalist cause

This is a classic have vs have-nots situation

Another thing worth noting is that it seems likely that the 5 members of the ruling council are all benders...
Though granted, this may not be really an affront to benders, so much as its a coincidence of the various societies. 4 of the 5 members seem to hail from the 4 major areas of the world; the fire nation, the earth kingdom, and the northern and southern water tribe... because they hail from those tribes its natural that they are benders, since bending is still important in their homes; sure its not used for fighting anymore, but you can bet that these people might be descended from families who came to power long ago when it mattered a whole lot more. The reason these 4 are on the council is likely because republic city was meant to represent all four nations and thus they represent their respective nations interests to maintain the balance.

Tenzen seems like he is probably the member of the council that is meant to represent republic City itself. He is an airbender, though his place on the council may not have so much to do with his bending as it may have to do with him coming from a famous father.

Still, in the end, this does mean that the council lacks a non-bender as a member.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by orion

On the surface, that is the set up. Bender rule (status quo) vs non bender protests like the Communists of old in Russia prior to the revolution. And now Bender police action against (suppression of) Amon's group.

All those characters are dead. The new generation is obviously different and this is an action title so I expect more of a divide.

Oh I do think that there is a serious issue and non-benders have legitimate concerns in the story. However, I also don't think it should be every bender vs every non-bender in the story either. I would be disappointed if Asami & Sato support Amon (that doesn't mean I think they can't have any misgivings about society & benders but that shouldn't automatically mean every non-bender supports Amon's methods either; just like every bender should not support Tarlock)

[ellifeedn]

I wonder what'll happen when someone events the gun.

[james0246]

What an interesting episode. Fear is such a powerful humanizing emotion in a story, and since Aang seldom showed any fear (confusion, worry, even some anger, and indecisiveness, but seldom, if ever, fear), Korra showcasing such a primal emotion, and the brief story arc surrounding it, was quite well done and very powerful (this fear will influence her for the rest of the series). From her horrific dream/nightmare at the beginning, to her tears at the end, Korra really showcased some primal emotions in this episode.

That being said, I love Tarrlok. Not only is it great to finally have a "bad" water-bender (the first series had a few "bad" Earthbenders (Dai Li?), but almost all villainy was left to the Firebenders), but I also loved his very unsubtle, almost overt, political maneuvering and machinations.

Additionally, it was fun to hear Daniel Dae Kim (of Lost fame; but he has also done voice acting previous to this show) as businessman Hiroshi Sato. Also, it was funny to hear Seychelle Gabriel (who played Yue in the Airbender live-action film) voice Asami.

All in all, very good episode, and of course the brief flashback was perfect icing on the rich cake.

Sadly, the next new episode will not be released until the 12th of May.

[DragoonKain3]

Dammit Avatar, why must you make shipping so hard? Here I was liking Makorra, but Asami is really, REALLY sweet. If Zutara was last season's Makorra, then that means Masami is this season's Maiko? What a long shot lol

Regardless, me like Korra when she saw them together. U jelly, Korra?

[ZODDGUTS]

It's understanable why Korra broke down at the end. For the first time in her life she has experience fear and weakness. Being the Avatar, she was stronger than most other benders as shown in the two episodes. But now finally she's met someone who's possibly stronger than her and also have the ability to take away what makes her powerful, her bender powers. I think this was a good lesson to make her realized that she's not "all that" as she always thought and make her humble, even it's just a little bit. She'll likely take her lessons more seriously from now on.

[Tom Bombadil]

Hilarious Avatar GIF-ads.


The Asami one is the best.

[Somnus]

So I've finally jumped into the fray, and what a fantastic fray it is. I'm loving this season. Korra's introduction was hilarious and awesome, not to mention she's the natural polar opposite of Aang. Before I go on, I also want to note how much I was drooling from the get-go when they used the previous 3 avatars and Korra for the intro instead of the masters like last season.

Anyways, I'm loving the new setting. Actually, I'm loving most things and every second is oozing with that old school Avatar flare. I'm finding all the characters to be likable for their roles, and it feels great watching all the bending again. We've been shown all the flavours of the bending rainbow and I cannot get enough of it. Surprisingly, I thought Mako would irk me before the season started (Since I wan't the biggest fan of Zuko until he became a permanent member of Team Avatar), but he's turned out to be my favourite. It's his level-headed nature that does it, also why the reason Tenzin is a very close second. Tenzin's family is pure joy (it was great seeing Kitara too), and you can definitely see Aang in those children. I can't wait to see Tenzin break out some serious master airbending later on.

Lastly, let the shipping wars begin. If there's a series that's notorious for it, it's Avatar. That being said, it was fun seeing Mako x Korra for the first couple of episodes, and I was all for it....but then Asami got introduced. Call me shallow, call me typical, but I am ALL about Asami. Heck, she could turn out to be the big bad at the end of it all and I'll still be on her side. Pure. Freaking. Win. She can hit me with her moped any day.

[Linkark07]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Dammit Avatar, why must you make shipping so hard? Here I was liking Makorra, but Asami is really, REALLY sweet. If Zutara was last season's Makorra, then that means Masami is this season's Maiko? What a long shot lol

Regardless, me like Korra when she saw them together. U jelly, Korra?

Somehow I suspected shippers would appear when the two brothers and Korra met. Wonder if the shipping wars will come at the same level like when it was Zutara vs Kataang.

What can I say, I like Korra as a protagonist. The show seems interesting and I wonder how Amon learned to take away the bending powers.

Now, I want Korra to meet Aang. When it will happen?; come on Nickelodeon, make that happen soon.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by Linkark07

Now, I want Korra to meet Aang. When it will happen?; come on Nickelodeon, make that happen soon.

Since the season is only 12 episodes, we can expect a meeting far sooner rather than later.

[Linkark07]

Originally Posted by james0246

Since the season is only 12 episodes, we can expect a meeting far sooner rather than later.

I would kill Nickelodeon if Aang appeared on the finale of the first season.

[sayde]

Originally Posted by kitten320

The main trio isn't that interesting either and power wise they suck, two brothers got totally dominated.

Everytime I see these chi blockers fight Korra, I keep having a hard time envisioning how these close-range hand to hand fighters would stand any chance against benders with the ability to effortlessly prevent them from closing in--in other words, how could these guys *plausibly* stand up to air bender's? I'll give them credit for proving acrobatic enough to avoid flying rocks, fire, and water, but I just don't see it being as believable for these guys to dodge something like a huge gust of wind in the same acrobatic manner. Granted, writers can always come up with creative ways and circumstances for an air bender to lose at a convenient time if the plot requires it, but in a fair a one-on-one fight featuring Tenzin & Amon (for instance), what exactly would stop someone like Tenzin from just blowing this guy off his feat everytime he tries to close-in?

Its from that logic where I typically end up thinking of how convenient it is that we haven't seen an air bender face a chi blocker yet (from what I can recall), or how air bending just happens to be the only element Korra sucks at by default.

[monster]

Originally Posted by sayde

Everytime I see these chi blockers fight Korra, I keep having a hard time envisioning how these close-range hand to hand fighters would stand any chance against benders with the ability to effortlessly prevent them from closing in--in other words, how could these guys *plausibly* stand up to air bender's? I'll give them credit for proving acrobatic enough to avoid flying rocks, fire, and water, but I just don't see it being as believable for these guys to dodge something like a huge gust of wind in the same acrobatic manner. Granted, writers can always come up with creative ways and circumstances for an air bender to lose at a convenient time if the plot requires it, but in a fair a one-on-one fight featuring Tenzin & Amon (for instance), what exactly would stop someone like Tenzin from just blowing this guy off his feat everytime he tries to close-in?

Its from that logic where I typically end up thinking of how convenient it is that we haven't seen an air bender face a chi blocker yet (from what I can recall), or how air bending just happens to be the only element Korra sucks at by default.

Even if they can't avoid a gust of wind, they're probably able to land safely unless the wind is powerful enough to break their bones, if not kill them. And with numbers on their side, an airbender would sooner or later just escape rather than continue blowing them away.

The other way would be if airbending can suck the air out of someone's lungs long enough to make them unconscious. Then again, there's still the number issue. Sooner or later, at least one of them could get close enough.

[ellifeedn]

I think chi-blockers work like ninjas: they sneak around, ambush people, disable them, hide in the dark...