Tripping Over Books

Slight change of plans, friends: Lisa was unexpectedly drawn away to do some top-secret superhero work this weekend and isn’t able to recap for us. I’ll be taking care of this week’s Legend of Korra double header, where lots of important, awesome things went down. Check out my recaps of last week’s episodes to refresh!

Episode 4 • In Harm’s Way

We begin Episode 4 in the Northern Water Tribe lands, where we left off last week. The band of very powerful bending criminals, led by new airbender Zahir, are on their way to break his girlfriend out of jail. Pa-Li is a really powerful firebender, and when we join up with Lord Zuko, Tonraq, Desna, Eska, and the other Water tribesmen, Zahir and his benders are approaching. A pretty legit fight ensues between everyone, but it’s the waterbender, Ming-Hua, who makes it down to Pa-Li’s cell and breaks her free. (I still CANNOT with her water arms.)

Pa-Li. Look at that crazy, you guys. Source

Pa-Li has this weird eye-looking thing on her forehead that was covered while she was imprisoned, so methinks it is important to her gifts. When she is finally freed and goes to make her way to the escape truck thing, she is beset by Lord Zuko’s BAMF dragon. BUT OMG she is able to fend off  DRAGONFIRE and deals the dragon a blow. It looks like she can use her head, or at least that thing on it, to shoot what look like bullets at people. DAMN! But I swear, if she killed that dragon….

Bottom line, all the benders escape, their next stop unknown. At least Pa-Li and Zahir get some kissy-face on to make up for lost time.

Back in Ba Sing Se, Mako and Bolin’s family help them secure documents that will grant them passage back to the upper ring, where Korra is working out her frustrations with the Earth Queen by sparring with Asami. Korra knows that something is up with the Earth Queen’s denial of airbenders in Ba Sing Se. When Mako and Bolin show up–and after much huzzahing on their return–they boys tell the ladies that there are rumors that the Earth Queen is capturing airbenders and hiding them somewhere to create an airbender army.

The Earth Queen arrives and tells Team Avatar about some reports of airbenders in another town and basically kicks them out. Asami buys them some time so that they can try and locate the hidden airbender prisoners, but not much. They have only a day.

Jinora gets some time to shine, thanks to her knowledge of all kinds of secret places in Ba Sing Se as well as her spiritual gifts. She lets her spirit travel to a few different places to investigate, but she doesn’t find the airbenders. Korra then suggests that she use her connection to Kai to find him, assuming as they are that he is one of the kidnapped airbenders. Jinora does, and she finds Kai in a prison underneath the Earth Queen’s temple.

Things are NOT going super hot for Kai and the other prisoners. They are subjected to some hardore training, and when Kai tries to take it easy on a weaker prisoner, the guards give him crap and lock him in solitary confinement. He’s still there when Jinora’s spirit finds him, and when Team Avatar goes to break the prisoners out.

Awwwww, look at these two!! #ishipit. Source

While Team Avatar are making their plans to break the prisoners out, Beifong shows up. HAAAY GIRL! She says that Korra needs to be on the red-eye out of Ba Sing Se because her life is in danger from Zahir et al. And THIS is where we get some pretty important back story and FINALLY learn some of what’s going on with this season’s Big Bads.

Turns out that, right after Korra was born, Zahir, Pa-Li, Gazan, and Ming-Hua made a kidnapping attempt on the Avatar. Tenzin, Lord Zuko, Tonraq, and Sokka (miss you, buddy) stopped them and put them each in prison. But even after 13 years of jail time, none of them ever divulged any details about their motives. No one has any idea why they wanted Korra then, or why they want her now.

Korra, of course, refuses to leave until she rescues the airbenders. There’s another bending fight when the Earth Queen shows up just as everyone is getting ready to leave–I swear, I’ll never get tired of seeing these–but Tenzin, Korra, and the gang make off with all of the her airbenders. This is going to turn out badly FOR SURE. Tenzin takes the airbenders who want to go with him back to the Northern Air Temple to train, and Korra, Mako, Bolin, Asami, and Beifong head off to find more airbenders.

Episode 5 • The Metal Clan

NAGA!! Source

YAY!! First shot of Episode 5 is of NAGA!! My favorite pet!! She and Korra are playing fetch while taking a break from the search for more airbenders. Beifong doesn’t approve of the fun having and won’t play with Naga. CHILL, GIRL. While she’s brooding about Korra wasting time, Asami and Mako let everyone know that they’ve gotten another report of an airbender in Xaofu, the home of the Metal Clan. Since Beifong is a METAL bender, they ask her if she’s heard of it. She says no, but in a way that is obviously a lie that none of them pick up on. They head off to Xaofu despite Beifong’s protests.

Xaofu is kind of GORGEOUS. Team Avatar is greeted on the ground by Aiwei, a servant slash. Beifong refuses to get off the ship and orders Korra to tell no one that she’s there. She is in a BAD mood right now.

Xaofu. Source

On their way to meet the new airbender, Team Avatar is kind of agog at Xaofu. They pass a statue of Toph Beifong, Lin’s mother, and everyone is appropriately awed. But as much as Team Avatar wants to MEET Toph, no one has seen or heard from her in years. I don’t know about you guys, but with the return of Zuko, I’m feeling a reunion coming on. (OMG DIESSSSSS.)

The leader of the Metal Clan is a woman named Su. Her house is GORGEOUSSSS and we get to see some absolutely beautiful metal bending dance. She knows all of Team Avatar before they are introduced and I LOVE HER IMMEDIATELY. Also, Aiwei has a surprise up his sleeve: he is a truth seer and knows Korra was lying about no one else traveling with her group to Xaofu. It comes out that the other passenger on their ship is Lin Beifong, and then Su drops a BOMB: She is Beifong’s sister. When Korra brings Su to the airship to confronts Beifong about it, Lin is irritable and nasty, and we find out that Toph’s daughters don’t have the same dad. Get some, Toph! Thirty years ago, Lin and Su had some EPIC falling out and no longer speak, even though Su seems to be open to it.

Aaaanyway, turns out that Su’s daughter, Opal, is the airbender Team Avatar came to see. They all spend some time in Xaofu, meeting Su’s family–she has five kids and an architect husband. Bolin and Opal have this REALLLY cute flirty thing going on and I am a BIG FAN of it. I ship it. Opal is adorable, but Lin is just not having it. Also, Su wants Opal to train in Xaofu, even though Korra’s plan was to take her to the air temple. And do you know who shows up for dinner? VARRICK. NO LIE. WOW. Turns out he’s trying to develop what basically sounds like a monorail. It involves magnets. Lin can’t take the small talk or the company and storms off. Korra brings Opal to her later to try and get her out of her funk, but no dice. Opal winds up crying, Korra yells at Lin for being bitter, and Lin gets upset. A conversation between Korra and Su doesn’t really shed too much light on what got between the two girls, but it did make me love Su even more.

I mean…. How adorable could Bolin and Opal be? INFINITY ADORABLE. Source

Meanwhile, at the Air Temple Island, the new airbenders are getting acquainted with their surroundings when a guy, Yuru, shows up. He seems nice and all, and tells everyone he’s a new airbender. Immediately don’t like him. Especially when he’s the only “new” airbender who can make it through those spinning screens that Korra destroyed when she first came to Air Temple Island to train with Tenzin. Yuru = Shadyus Maximus. His shadyness is TRIPLED AT LEAST when Kya says that Tenzin wants the new airbenders to go to the Northern Air Temple with him and Yuru asks if the Avatar is going to be there. Kya tells him no and he’s pretty bummed.

Yuru. THIS GUY. Source

Later, when the other airbenders are asleep, Ikki finds Yuru in Tenzin’s office reading a poem by an old airbender. She tells him that no one is allowed in her father’s study. Kya shows up and starts asking him questions. She’s obvs suspicious. It takes her a second to recognize Yuru as ZAHIR OMG. How Kya recognized him, I do not know, but they eventually get into a pretty legit bending fight where Kya does the same water arms thing that Ming-Hua does. I LOOOOVED that Kya got to show off her bending skills, which were legit! Alas, they are not enough to stop Zahir from escaping. He flies off on his air glider.

So what did you guys think? I LOOOVED getting to meet Su and Beifong’s family. I adore Beifong and cannot wait until next week when we get to really dive into it. This is some deep family business and I just want Beifong to be happy, you guys. I hope that all of this time with Beifong’s family in Xaofu means we get to see Toph. I’m also very intrigued–as I was last week–about why Zahir and his bender cronies want Korra. WHAT IS GOING ON?!? I have to agree with Kya when she remarked at how proficient “Yuru” seemed at airbending for someone who is supposedly new at it–How does Zahir seem so good at it already? 

I’ll try and update this post with the usual screencaps when the site where I grab them posts some. Until then, let’s chat it up in the comments! Lisa will have your recap next week!