Legend of Korra: Book 4 - Balance - Starts October 3

[Shneak]

[IMG139]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Masthead_korra.png[/IMG139]​

Remember this show? You should! It was one of the best animated series of 2012. And it's coming back for the next season.

This thread is primarily a place to discuss Book One and the elements that make up the show, as well as speculation and information about Book Two. Here's what we know so far:

- Book 2 takes place 6 months after the end of Book One.
- It will have 14 episodes.
- The setting will expand beyond Republic City and will deal with the Spirit World as well as spirits.
- Many new characters will be introduced, Kya and Bumi from Tenzin's family and Korra's extended family.
- Korra, as we all know, is now a complete Avatar. Mako is now a cop. Asami is the CEO of a nearly-bankrupt Future Industries. Bolin is the only original member remaining on the Fire Ferrets.
- The first episode is called Rebel Spirit.

It's been over a year since the last season ended, and it's been on a longer hiatus than A:TLA ever was. Fortunately, it's been confirmed for Fall 2013 in Canada, and will likely be on Nickolodeon at the same time. A premiere date should be announced at the SDCC this month.

________

It was confirmed at Comic-Con that Book 2 will premiere in September. September 13th to be exact.

Watch the trailer here.

 

[deathseer]

Considering the sour taste that Book One left in my mouth, I can't say I'm too excited about this. I pretty much hated every character except Asami and Bolin towards the end.

 

[1rkhachatryan]

I can't wait!!! This show is amazing so I'm really excited. Just wish they would change the girls outfit lol.

 

[Cometstarlight]

Oh man! Super excited for this new 'book'! : D

 

[Alfred the Second]

Wait, I thought Legend of Korra was over. It was good, and I liked to have a female lead for a change. I wonder what they will have after the whole liberation thing.

 

[matt0044]

Here's something interesting: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fridge/TheLegendOfKorra It has a lot of thing many may've missed last season.

 

[Brownie]

I hope this season is a lot better than the first.

 

[Vernikova]

Mako and Korra pretty much killed this show for me. More Bolin, Asami, and Tenzin please.

 

[Cometstarlight]

Mako and Korra pretty much killed this show for me. More Bolin, Asami, and Tenzin please.

Just gotta remember that they planned this to be a mini series and they weren't planning on beating around the bush very long. They really intended to end it right after that last episode, but people loved it so much I've heard they may go with 4 seasons total. That gets me really excited, obviously, since I actually really enjoyed season 1. I thought it was a good change of pace, and now that there's more, I just can't wait to see what they do with it!

 

[Lorde]

Only 14 episodes? I thought this season would have at least 20. I guess I should expect another rushed season like the first one then. I almost forgot that this show existed though. I mean it's been more than a year since it went on hiatus. That's a really long time imo, longer than the hiatus between seasons two and three of the original Avatar.

 

[matt0044]

Many fans asked themselves how technology could have progressed so substantially between A:TLA and Korra. Well, considering that with the formation of the Republic and founding of Republic City benders of all stripes now live and work together, it'd stand to reason that they'd be able to manage together things that they would have never managed to when separate. Not only that, but with the discovery of a whole new Bending discipline (Metalbending), the widespread learning of an obscure one (Lightningbending), and the rediscovery of a lost one (Airbending), there were many new ways in which Bending could now benefit mankind that were not available before. And this is without even pointing out that if we parallel it with Real Life, the 1920's could not be more different to the 1850's, with a similarly immense leap in technology.

Also note that the fire nation was already fairly advanced compared to other nations (tanks, drills battleships...) During an era of peace the funding for military research would go towards more practical areas benefiting all the nations. I'd say going from advanced military battleships and enormous mechanized drills to cars and motorcycles isn't that big of a jump.

Note that some of the technology are directly based on ones seen in the previous series; the cars use an obviously scaled down, refined engine and frame of the Fire Nation Tanks, and the electric plant that Mako briefly worked at is shown to be using Benders with Lightning in a similar way as the Fire Nation's boiler engines used firebenders. And the police's Airships are a direct descendant of the Fire Nation Warships. Even the Cannons on the United Republic Warships are based on the fire catapults of the old Fire Nation navy while propulsion seems to be based around the Water Tribe's various methods. Much of this wouldn't even need research funding if you remember the amount of stuff Sokka and the Mechanist were able to come up (and refine) alone, let alone with the backing of the entire Fire Nation's best and brightest helping with the engineering.

*The jump in technology from the first series to now actually makes a lot of sense; in Aang's time, both before and after his freezing, things were relatively the same, with only minor changes for the most part. The biggest jumps were from the Mechanist and, by assocation, the Fire Nation (huge navy, Zeppelins, the freezer prison). But remember that they were at war, so they wouldn't be sharing their technology at all. Also, they'd be more geared /for military aspects than more simple enjoyment/ease of living like radios and such. With the war over, it could all spread across the world, and people like the Mechanist and Sokka could create freely, which would lead to why Korra's time is so advanced in comparison.

*The jump also makes sense if you consider the technological differences between the real world 1920's and 1850's (or so).

*Every single war expands technology due to arm races, while during the subsequent peace times this would result in practical applications of said advancements. The most recent developments were during World War 2, where we were finally given Nuclear Power, Rocket Technology, assembly-line construction and several advancements in the medical field of science, all of which were researched for applications in war (and some by the nazis) that were found to have practical uses afterwards.

*At first glance, it can seem as though the father/daughter like bond that’s formed between Korra and Tenzin is happening a little fast. But then you have to consider that all the years that Korra’s been in that training camp, Katara’s been there with her. So every time Tenzin and his family has gone to see his mother, they’ve probably visited with Korra at the same time, watching her grow up, being part of her life and vice versa. Look at the way Tenzin’s children greet Korra at the dock near the end of the first episode, it’s a lot like how kids might welcome their favorite older cousin.

*Also Korra is the reincarnation of his father, their grandfather. This comes straight out of the original series. "Some friendships are so strong they transcend lifetimes."

*Lin Beifong's style of metalbending initially seems purely Rule Of Cool when they already have decent cars and trucks then you remember Toph's inability to sense things not on the ground. You suddenly imagine a mother-daughter team of "I'll go low, you go high" where no matter what level a criminal's on, he's screwed.

*At first glance, it seems the reason the Equalists primarily use nonfatal forms of attack like chi-blocking and taser-type weaponry is because a Nickelodeon show isn't supposed to show people getting killed onscreen. However, in this case, it also serves Amon's cause; his goons can incapacitate resistance without inviting the level of public outcry that might result if they actually killed, say, police officers and radio announcers.

*The chakra symbology is everywhere in this show, right from bending techniques, to Character Development, spiritual connections, gambits, politics, reveals and even Love Triangles. Look for it and you'll see there's much more to Korra's story than what meets the eye.

*This series is playing out the awakening of the chakras as it progresses. Korra has dealt with fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies and probably illusion with each successive episode apart from learning Freedom of spirit since her years at the South pole. Now she's almost ready to master the spiritual side of being the Avatar. Only one more chakra to go.

*It makes sense why she couldn't master the spiritual side easily. She was locked up in a cozy, cocooned world and had none of the life changing experiences or the kind of training that Aang received. But now it looks like all that might just be about to change.

*Especially since the whole point of the Avatar Cycle is giving the planet's spirit a chance to experience life from a mortal perspective. Locking it up in a compound was detrimental to what the Avatar spirit wanted/needed.

Why does Tenzin change his mind about Korra's pro-bending so quickly? He shows the wisdom of a master airbender, when he encounters strong resistance, he changes his approach.

*Why does Korra seem to grab the Idiot Ball when she challenges Amon to a one-on-one duel? Because in the previous episode she witnessed him giving Lightning Bolt Zolt and the other Triple Threats a chance to duel him and save their bending. Prior to his ambushing of her at the episode's climax, Korra has every reason to think of Amon as having a twisted sense of Honor Before Reason. It's only after the ambush that Korra learns, rather than being honorable, Amon gave those gangsters a chance to duel out of a sense of showmanship and PR savvy — the same reasons he doesn't take her bending away that night.

*Maybe its something different. As we see Korra take off to meet Amon, we hear Tarlokk tell Tenzin that he has officers ready to run and help Korra if anything goes wrong. Amon, being the Genre Savvy Manipulative Bastard he is, he probably knew that the council wouldn't keep their part of the deal. To sum it up, Amon didn't feel obligated to follow the one-on-one part of the challenge because the city didn't follow it either, even though Korra herself did.

*Possibly a bit of Fridge Horror: Note how it's possible that Amon had operatives throughout Republic City's communications that allowed him to cut down telephone wires almost instantaneously? He used those same connections to inform him of Tarlokk's dirty trick.

While Amon is making his escape, Korra creates a water twister that randomly collapses. Later, in Skeletons in the Closet, she is able to make another one no problem. Why? Because Amon is a waterbender- he messed up Korra's water twister to keep her from following him.

There's another potential explanation; look at the way the scene plays out. First we have a shot of Korra ascending to follow Amon, then she gets a look of doubt on her face, THEN her twister collapses. Why is that? Well, let's think about it: Korra's a headstrong, "look before you leap" kind of gal, we've seen that numerous times. When she jumps out into the water she almost immediately decides to chase after Amon rather than stopping to consider the ramifications: two episodes ago this was the man who had her on her knees, helpless, and told her that he was going to destroy her when the time was right. This encounter terrified and traumatized her so deeply that she breaks down sobbing in Tenzin's arms soon after. Her water twister breaking apart isn't Amon messing with her via waterbending: it's her own doubt eating away at her as she realizes "wait a minute, am I nuts?" Which makes Lin's save a moment later even more awesome when you consider the subtext: She's not just helping Korra reach Amon, she's giving her the backbone to face him. You can almost hear her saying "Quit wussing out and go knock that stupid mask off his stupid face."

In terms of sheer offensive/defensive power, the mechs seem laughably inferior to a coordinated group of benders. It's hard to believe that the mechs could stand up to any of the serious bending seen in ATLA, especially earth and water (tip them, impale them, bury them, or just plain crush them). The thing is, they don't have to. They will be fighting mainly in the city, where opposing benders have to restrain themselves, lest they cause collateral damage. Plus large-scale combat bending probably hasn't seen much use and is probably frowned upon in the aftermath of the 100-year war. The Mechs reflect Amon's penchant for creating win-win situations. As seen in the episode, they are excellent for subduing benders, even masters like Lin and Tenzin. They also look impressive and threatening, which is always good. But they also employ 'clean' weapons that cause little to no collateral damage. Last but not least, if benders go all-out against these machines, they probably will end up damagin the city / hurting civilians, which only fuels Amon's propaganda machine.

*Tarrlok's decision to put the non-benders in a curfew at first might be just a case of pure irrational paranoia and What the Hell (supposed to be a) Hero?, since it obviously will further attract Equalists sympathy and possibly more of the Equalists attacks. But Tarrlok was not shown to be an idiot, he obviously knew about what will transpire of his actions, the only explanation is that he wanted those to happen. Why? Because Tarrlok's a bloodbender, if Amon ever decided to face Tarrlok, then it will be a very short fight. Amon may be able to dodge lightning, but he can't dodge that. Tarrlok already have the full force of metalbenders and his own task force, and he calculated (wrongly) the Avatar will too since he has her friends. He might be a corrupt, arrogant, bribing, rude political extremist, but he still wants those Equalists taken out. Tarrlok already has a large influence on the council, if he just wanted more power he'd take Tenzin out.

*And the next episode, HE FACES AMON! too bad Amon actually can resist bloodbending, which would make it a good expample of a Batman Gambit gone wrong.

*In general, Tarrlok's fighting style seems custom-built to take out Equalists. He starts the fight by covering himself in a sphere of water that would stop chi-blockers and redirect electrical attacks, then shoots a stream of ice shards too closely spaced to dodge and too wide to sidestep. The blood bending is just the cherry on top.

*Tarrlok choosing attempt to put Korra on a bus instead of just killing her seems silly, and perhaps Executive Meddling due to it being nominally a kid's show. However, it actually makes sense: Kill her, and she'll reincarnate in some random earthbender anywhere in the world. Imprisoning her somewhere isn't perfect, but at least she'll be a known variable in a known location. This also implies Tarrlok is playing the long game, if the ten to sixteen years it would take for the next Avatar to grow up isn't enough time for his plans to come to fruition.

*In fact, the reincarnation issue is exactly why Ozai wanted Aang captured alive in the original series; if he had died he would have been reincarnated as a waterbender and they would have had to start the search all over again.

*Mako's intense caring about Korra, while sweet, is a bit jarring considering Asami is right there beside him at all of these moments. Why is he this oblivious to her feelings now? Then you think about it: when Hiroshi offered to sponsor the Fire Ferrets, Mako was glad about this, and probably stayed with Asami partially to please her father (or so he thought). In other words, Mako's relationship with Asami might merely be Friends with Benefits in a way, even if it's untentional or unknown on his part.

*Doesn't help that this is a matter where Korra could be dead or badly harmed for all they know.

*Also remember, Mako is an orphan and only has one family member, his brother. Bolin has probably had many close calls himself. Mako is more emotional about Korra's disappearance because he can't bear to lose anyone close to him. Bolin was likely young when their parents died and probably doesn't remember the event much. Part of it was also guilt. Mako said that they'd support her with helping Republic City, they end up in jail and she's been taken by Tarrlok. He probably felt that if he'd been there Korra would still be safe.

*Further food for thought: since Mako had to take care of his brother since they were young, he had to be tough and strong... so in other words, not very good with emotions, and leds to easily being a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. And because he's so awkward with normal emotions, the workings of a relationship are even worse for him... and even worse, as part of that, he's unaware of the side-effects of his actions, including in "Turning the Tides".

*Also, the fact that he's a Promoted To Parent to Bolin, he may not act like that because he has feelings for her, it may probably because seeing her hurt activates his Bolin-raising Mama Bear instincts.

*He is also more cynical and pessimistic than most of the Krew. He might have thought of the worst-case scenario immediately, and then Korra showed up barely conscious on Naga, half-frozen and covered in cuts. Without the experience and maturity of Lin, he couldn't keep his emotions in check.

Words of wisdom from TV Tropes.

 

[pokekid1]

Wait, I thought Legend of Korra was over. It was good, and I liked to have a female lead for a change. I wonder what they will have after the whole liberation thing.

I was starting to think the same thing too. It has been almost forever since I heard news about another season. I hope the second season would be better because the first definitely felt rushed. I recall A: TLA not being so good in the first season. The good thing is that it got gradually better with new episodes and exploration.

 

[matt0044]

I recall A: TLA not being so good in the first season. The good thing is that it got gradually better with new episodes and exploration.

I believe the trope is called Growing the Beard.

And speaking of TV Tropes, more Fridge Brilliance...

*Why was Korra able to air-bend, even after Amon had taken away her bending? Amon takes his victims bending away by physical means (bloodbending). As air is the most spiritual of all the bending elements, Korra's airbending potential was not affected by Amon's block.

*Or it was a case where she turned to her spiritual side in another moment of helplessness. While she was not as realized as Aang that she could energybend her connections to all 4 elements, it was still enough to restore her connection to air, which was the most spiritual of the elements and which was spiritually the "nearest" within reach. Had Korra been a fully realized Avatar, she could have undone Amon's bloodbending completely with the Avatar State.

*The most plausible reason is the chakras. She was able to airbend when Mako was in danger of losing his bending. Which is the chakra that is opened by love? THE AIR CHAKRA, located in the heart. The first 3 chakras deal with Earth, Water and Fire respectively. When this chakra opened, it gave Korra her spiritual connection to the air element, and that did the trick.

*How did Aang get the grip of Earthbending? He was forced to hold his ground and force the moose-lion head on to save Sokka, who would have been killed if he had dodged on that run. Now that he's got the attitude, he has no more issues with it. How did Korra get the grip over Airbending? When Mako was in danger. It really doesn't take that long to get the hang of it. Seeing a loved one in danger is one of the most powerful triggers that removes all physical and psychological limits that the brain imposes on the body for its safety.

*Or even simpler than that, Amon never took away her airbending in the first place. Why? Because he couldn't! He had never debent an airbender before; He never got the chance to take away Tenzin and his family's. and probably assumed that it was no different from the other elements. He was wrong.

*Amon/Noatak's single tear just 2 seconds before the boat blew up and Tarrlok's statement that "It will be just like the good old days...". He probably knew his brother was lying because there was no way that they could go back to the way they were before, and it makes you wonder if he knew what was coming.

*Also, Noatak might have been able to sense Tarrlok's arm moving, being a bloodbender and all.

*Stay with me here, because this is a long one and it deserves quite a bit of thought. The ending seems overly rushed. Aang almost becomes the Deus ex Machina when he suddenly appears and claims that Korra has connected to her spiritual side out of the blue, before restoring Korra's bending and making her a fully realized Avatar by completing the connection with all her past lives and activating the Avatar State. But when you think of it, there's a LOT that's happened in Korra's spiritual development leading up to this point. Korra's been trying to train spiritually for years and was trained by Tenzin for quite a while, and it was beginning to work very well. Her abilities at the end of Episode 9 was already on par with Aang in season 3 of ATLA. Also Korra's style and personality are like that of Earth, stubborn and unyielding. It's only when she's totally put into a situation where her current approach cannot work, does she suddenly get the hold of airbending and is able to connect with Aang's visions. That is saying a lot about chakras at work in her spiritual and airbending blocks. That's the key to explaining how the ending turned out the way it did. Korra's hitting the absolute low was the final turning point, but there was a lot of spiritual development that had happened up to that point.

*The Earth Chakra was opened when Korra learnt to face her fear of dealing with Amon. The Water Chakra was opened when she was able to overcome her guilt when she got over the love triangle by forgiveness and got them through into the final, though it might have even happened before that when she got the knack of the airbending movements. The Fire Chakra was opened up when she reconciled with Tenzin over her shame of not being able to airbend or being spiritually weak, and when she finally connected with Aang. The Air Chakra was obviously opened by love, and I mean Mako. The Sound Chakra was opened when she understood Tarrlok and Amon's true identities, and Amon building his whole movement on lying over his backstory. The Hiroshi Sato reveal also definitely had something to do with it. The light Chakra was probably opened somewhere between Korra realizing that she could still airbend and Amon's makeup job and waterbending powers exposed. The air chakra was probably fully open in that moment where Mako was about to lose his bending, which is why she could Airbend. Finally the last chakra was unblocked when she was planning to leave everyone and told Mako to leave her for good, despite the fact that both truly loved each other by this point - probably she was contemplating suicide, now that she could no longer do her job as the Avatar and called Aang, likely with the intention of taking her away to the spirit world, which is when she gave up attachment. That's when all her chakras were open and her spiritual connection became truly complete. While it's difficult to often pinpoint the incident as the cause of opening her chakras, it's clear that following Character Development Korra already very spiritual by the end and had successfully opened all her chakras allowed her to master the Avatar state. All that was now needed was a little help from Aang to energybend her broken connections.

*This also makes sense why Korra never went into the Avatar State despite being in danger so often. She had already begun to open her chakras, and until all the chakras were opened, she couldn't enter it.

*This also suggests that Korra's restrained and cocooned upbringing in that South Pole fortress also caused the spiritual block in her owing to insufficient Character Development. Katara knew this, the White Lotus didn't. Tenzin figured it out after Korra's first pro-bending match that her spirit really needs freedom to grow.

*Aang's statement that in her lowest moments, she was open to the greatest change, was just summing up the way she had unknowingly more and more spiritual by life experience. Aang's energybending was the last piece of the puzzle. Now Korra having lost her connection to 3 elements is totally helpless to solve things by her usual badassery and so has had to let go of her pride, the reason for her spiritual block. All this time she had been feeling that she never needed the spiritual side because she had been so Badass, but now she had been humbled and her spirit was malleable to Aang's energybending. All that was left for Aang to do was to energybend Korra to restore her bending.

*It makes more Fridge Brilliance. Becoming a fully realized Avatar involves mastering both the physical and spiritual sides of bending. The two of them are related and influence each other. Aang could bend with his chakras closed. He was wounded by lightning, and while he could still bend all the elements, he had lost his spiritual connection to all but 4 of his past lives and the Avatar State. He regained it by a purely physical means of having his blocked chi paths opened up by a sharp rock, which spiritually unblocked him. Throughout the series there has been quite a connection between Energybending and the Avatar State, with Aang using the Avatar State to debend Ozai and Yakhone. He was shown to have mastered the Avatar State after he had successfully energybended Ozai. Korra on the other hand, as the opposite of Aang, lost her connection to the physical side of bending, but by that point her chakras were open, she had completely mastered the spiritual side and connected with the spirits of the past Avatars, thus allowing her to master the Avatar State. Aang then uses the Avatar State to energybend Korra at a spiritual level, restoring her physical connection to her elements, making Korra a fully realized Avatar.

*Ah, if only some of this had been explained or at least pointed out in the dialgoue, the ending would have been much better appreciated

*It's already been noted by a lot of fans before that the plot is symbolic of how the chakras are opened, by dealing with fear, guilt, shame, grief (and love), truth and lies, illusion and attachment. Aang's chakras were blocked by all his experiences and the fact that he had responded in the manner that would lock them up. Korra on the other hand face similar situations but responded in the way that would open them. Maybe the writers know that ATLA fans aren't morons and don't feel the need to spell out the beautiful symbolism behind the plot, which would cheapen the effect.

*Now the Equalists have their own airships, and in the finale they have biplanes with bombs. It seems rather impossible that they should have a small nation's worth of firepower at their disposal, but if Sato's wealthy enough to process platinum like steel and built the police airships, it's not so surprising, especially when you consider that he might be spending his entire fortune only to avenge his wife.

*But then comes the question of how do they build things as big as an airship in a city without it being noticed? Answer: They don't. The most likely solution is that they have a base up in the mountains far away from the city where they build all the stuff and launch from the high ground. The airships back in ATLA could cross continents, so they can be built very far away indeed. It also might explain how the Equalists found Tarrlok so fast. More than one villain sees the advantage of the the mountains. As for shipping parts, etc...we can easily see how many non-benders are on Amon's side - there are insiders practically everywhere in the city's industry. And it's certain that raw materials are shipped in from outside for manufacturing within the city. So put up a plant far away from the city and the cops and there you are. They've had the time between Aang's death and Korra's arrival to establish themselves and it's all the time they need.

*The simplest explanation is often the correct one. It's likely that Republic City had those vehicles for their own defense force or some such thing, and when Amon took control of the city he gained access to those weapons. Republic City is home to Future Industries, after all, they could have been working on a new type of sleek and fast airship.

*Doesn't explain the Equalist paint job though, the airships are specifically designed for the Equalist tactics and no one is able to track something as utterly conspicuous as an entire airship fleet ready for take off and landing in a crowded city? So they must be attacking from a far away base, and their new models outrun and out-range the police airships. Something the size of an airship manufacturing plant with testing facilities is too huge to put inside a crowded city. Sato's industrial empire certainly isn't just confined to the city, but possibly extends all over the United Republic and maybe even the other nations. The mountains would be the best place to put them, since they can be accessed more easily by air.

*Not that there's even need for anything that complex: no-one would question Sato's directions in building the airships, since there's nothing overtly subversive about them, unlike with the mecha tanks, and Equalists would only have to slap on a new paint job and attach few weapons to turn completely innocuous blimps into weapons of war.

*Which is exactly what the Germans did to civilian luxury Zeppelins prior to and during World War One. Leave the improvement of the designs to the civil market forces, and then poach the resultant airships, load them up with machine guns and bombs, then paint some iron crosses on them... And hey presto! Instant aerial armada.

It might seem strange at first that Noatak and Tarrlok are given so much character development in this episode only to die by Murder Suicide in the next episode. If you think about it, though, their development is just as much a part of Korra's story as it is theirs — they weren't created as separate individuals, but variations on a theme. All three have unique bending abilities that they're raised to believe gives them purpose, and each attempts to define themselves as a savior figure — Korra as the Avatar, Tarrlok as a Councilman, and Noatak as Amon. All three attempt to become Republic City's savior using force, all three grow desperate and reckless when that identity is threatened, and all three are forced into drastic changes when those identities are stripped from them. Unfortunately for Tarrlok and Noatak, those changes lead only to suicide and death, whereas Korra is able to cope with her despair and finally understand what her Avatar identity means.

*If he really is lying for propaganda purposes, why does Amon claim that firebender killed his parents instead of a water- or earthbender? Because not only is the mental image of a fatal firebending attack that much more viscerally horrible than anything the other two can produce, but it plays on any lingering hatred people may still have toward the Fire Nation for the Hundred Years' War.

*A man scarred by a Firebender who rebels against an oppressive authority. He's drawing parallels between himself and Zuko, who is easily the most successful and well-known "rebel" in the world's history. Along those lines, it wouldn't be surprising if by this point there are stories about Zuko's exploits as the Blue Spirit, and the mask could also be an homage to that.

*It seems rather convenient that Bolin is the last one in the line up, until you realize the first one is a notorious criminal. As he's the first demonstration, the crowd is likely to give immediate support, and likely to get more supportive as the demonstration continues with the other criminals. By the time they get to Bolin, the crowd's probably so riled up that they don't have the sympathy that they would have had earlier for a poor, wide-eyed, and obviously frightened teenaged boy.

*This could also explain why they skip the sobbing man in the line-up after Zolt. The guy is obviously terrified, and could garner some sympathy from the audience because he would seem more humanized by his fright, and fighting him would make Amon appear cowardly.

*Why is Korra so terrified of Amon and his Mooks being able to circumvent her bending? Well, consider how Korra has been a bending prodigy since a very young age, having already attained mastery of three elements during childhood. This has caused and reinforced a pretty high level of confidence, hence her cocky attitude. Now here comes along a group who can take the source of her confidence away, with a leader who can apparently do it permanently. The very prospect of losing her bending would be absolutely mind-shattering. Remember that Korra was raised in an isolated arena by the White Lotus, with no friend of her age, no social life to talk about, nothing to do or learn other than bending arts, no money, no means to sustain herself. Just like Amon told her in her nightmare at the begining of episode four, if you take Korra's bending away, she has NOTHING left.

*And she found out she was the Avatar when she was four years old. Bending has been her whole identity for as long as she can remember. Maybe there was a reason they used to keep the Avatar a secret until s/he was sixteen...

*Remember how Tahno, one of Amon's victims, looked after he bumped into Korra in the next episode? It's highly possible that Korra would end up in just as bad or even worse a state if Amon ever took her bending.

 

[WastingLight]

The start of the first season was pretty slow and I struggled to get into, however it eventually got better as it progressed. Hopefully the second season doesn't suffer from the same fate.

 

[Platinum fan.]

Truth be told, I forgot about the Legend of Korra. I thought about it sometime last year but it's been under my radar for awhile. I don't know what to expect but I hope it's good. Since Book 2 is going to be about spirits hmm...I've actually never been that crazy about the spirits in the Avatar world but we'll see. I'll tune in.

 

[fenniken]

i hope korra and mako kiss again

 

[matt0044]

i hope korra and mako kiss again

SHHHHHHHH! *eyes shift* Do you WANT the shippers to tear you to shred? DO YOU? jk

 

[Shadow XD001]

I was hoping we would get Book 2 sooner. I haven't really watched Korra since Book 1 ended over a year ago nut at least we are getting Book 2 this year. I hope it's worth the wait.

 

[Cometstarlight]

I hope we get some more back story on Ko

But yes, I would also like to see a little more depth into Mako and Korra's relationship. I know saying that will make people irritated. :/

 

[PokemonNation2000]

Looking forward to this. Book One was solid. Not my favorite series, like ATLA, but still solid.

Hoping Book Two improves further on Legend of Korra.