And I hate to beat a dead horse, but where was Tarlock while all this was going down??
Most suspicious line in the movie: "So you'll take personal responsibility for the security?" Even if he's not Amon himself, Tarlock is most certainly in contact with him.
What I'm more interested in is how the equalists knew to arm those in the stands with those shock gloves (it was pretty obvious that they were prepared to deal with the metalbenders, which leads me to believe there may be an informant in the council).
Additionally, how the hell did they blow up the entire police armada and airforce without anybody knowing? And arm the field with explosives after it was pretty obvious that the metalbenders had checked everywhere pretty thoroughly. That struck me as rather strange.
It was nice to see Chief Bei Fang (sp?) be a badass in battle. As an aside I also get to privately congratulate myself on guessing Tenzin's former lover
Score! I love Tenzin
BTW, what are all you thinking of these flashbacks? I'm swearing I'm seeing Tarlock in this one, and he's not being showed flatteringly.
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Loved this last episode, shame that the Fire Ferrets couldn't win the tournament though. But seems Amon didn't want them to win obviously (he payed off the refs, I bet).
Since he had that whole thing planned, of stripping the winning team of their bending, as a public statement and war declaration, etc.
I loved the twist of them not winning because it was the outcome I least expected after last week's episode. After seeing the wolf-bats win in round one last episode, I thought it was going to be the generic "underdogs find way to somehow win and defy the odds" episode. Really, I would argue that it while possible that Amon was behind the blind refs, the immediate dirty play by the wolf-bats seemed to indicate that they knew they could get away with dirty tricks. As it was, I think that Amon may have simply known about their modus operand and planned to use it to further his point (celebration of the worst of benders), no interference needed.
Still loved the twist with the match (Korra's round two performance was pretty stellar too. I loled hard)
Quote from "Two-Face" »
Just had another look at Korra's flashbacks of older Aang, etc. And there certainly is a guy who does resemble Tarlock, but he looks much too old to be Tarlock himself. I'm currently thinking it is Yakone, the only other threat to Republic City, we have heard of.
Good call, hadn't actually remembered hearing Yakone mentioned (though my guess is that Tarlock mentioned him in his first appearance and I just missed it).
As an aside, wonder if Yakone has any connection to Amon. Pure bs crafting here, but if Aang took his bending away then that might explain a desire to strip bending from all benders (and Aang would certainly count as a firebender). It's more than likely getting a little too creative, but...
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It was openly stated that the wolf bats were paying off the refs...
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"In a world where money talks, silence is horrifying."
And I hate to beat a dead horse, but where was Tarlock while all this was going down??
You're not beating a dead horse. Tarrlock makes the most sense as Amon based on information we know about bending. I have my own theory on how he's stripping benders of their bending. There is some information I would need verified, such as was it a full moon when we first saw him perform this feat? Was it also a full moon the night of the pro bending tournament finals?
Thought process is along these lines: Chi-blocking is just another martial arts in the avatar universe. Anyone can learn to chi block, even benders. Benders tend to focus on the martial art that allows them to bend, as that's difficult already and thus they have no need to learn how to chi block. The need has simply never occurred.
Thus my thoughts are that Tarrlock is a gifted martial artist, one who has mastered water bending and chi blocking. Tarrlock also knows of the theories behind blood bending. Just as Uncle Iro applied philosophies and disciplines from other martial arts to his fire bending, so too has Tarrlock with water bending and chi blocking.
If Tarrlock did apply chi blocking to his water bending then he would know exactly where in the body key chi locations are located. Through blood bending Tarrlock could apply his 'unique' technique that requires a subtle hand motion followed by a touch near the temple to dam up a key chi site. This could result in a chain reaction that causes the energies within a bender to conflict with itself preventing bending as long as the 'dam' is in place.
That's just my view on the matter though. I like that view because that means Tarrlock//Amon is playing an emperor Palpatine type scenario. As a side note: Since I think this ability is tied to water bending combined with the practices of chi blocking, I believe the real reason Amon//Tarrlock has not attempted to take away Korra's bending is because he's afraid she will see through his ruse. (That and the fact that he's clearly running several schemes that require certain responses from other people which in turn requires the Avatar 'staying in play')
I strongly disagree with any notion that Amon can remove bending with anything that is "less epic" than spiritbending, such as chi-blocking. Suggesting that, I believe, shows a misunderstanding of the Last Airbending ending.
The entire point of the finale is Aang's conflict about following his beliefs and what needs to be done, i.e., killing Ozai. Remember that in order to spiritbend, your own spirit must unbendable, which is generally accepted to mean that your resolve and force of will are superior. If not, you risk corrupting yourself (unclear what it means, but sounds bad).
In the ending, Aang spiritbends Ozai. He risks death/corruption/whatever, despite the obvious easier solution of just killing him, because he strongly believes in his own moral code. He's successful, showing the true power of his belief even though he could've lost everything.
If Amon can just waltz some chi-blocking without any risk to himself in the same way as spiritbending did, then that completely undermines Aang's triumph. "LOL AANG WHY DID YOU RISK ALL THE GLOWY STUFF JUST PRESS HIS FOREHEAD LOL WHAT A NUB".
I'm not saying that Amon has to be able to spiritbend, just that, whatever he does, it needs to have the same level of gravitas that spiritbending had. Not cheesy and "easy" chi-blocking.
I strongly disagree with any notion that Amon can remove bending with anything that is "less epic" than spiritbending, such as chi-blocking. Suggesting that, I believe, shows a misunderstanding of the Last Airbending ending.
The entire point of the finale is Aang's conflict about following his beliefs and what needs to be done, i.e., killing Ozai. Remember that in order to spiritbend, your own spirit must unbendable, which is generally accepted to mean that your resolve and force of will are superior. If not, you risk corrupting yourself (unclear what it means, but sounds bad).
In the ending, Aang spiritbends Ozai. He risks death/corruption/whatever, despite the obvious easier solution of just killing him, because he strongly believes in his own moral code. He's successful, showing the true power of his belief even though he could've lost everything.
If Amon can just waltz some chi-blocking without any risk to himself in the same way as spiritbending did, then that completely undermines Aang's triumph. "LOL AANG WHY DID YOU RISK ALL THE GLOWY STUFF JUST PRESS HIS FOREHEAD LOL WHAT A NUB".
I'm not saying that Amon has to be able to spiritbend, just that, whatever he does, it needs to have the same level of gravitas that spiritbending had. Not cheesy and "easy" chi-blocking.
That's why I was wandering about the timing of the two times we see him remove their bending. Blood bending can only occur at full effect when there is a full moon out. Both times we've seen this occur at night. The implication from Amon's method should it be water bending using chi blocking discipline would be that the bending could be returned if that chi spot is unblocked.
My thought process is that their bending hasn't actually been taken away, rather that it's only been dammed in such a manner that they themselves cannot undo the process as they do not understand what has happened. Basically I think Amon's method could be undone by the avatar or any other water bender that knows what to look for.
The avatar's method is presumably irreversible (along with the implication that the Avatar can grant bending to anyone, but again that's another theory) unless the avatar returns the bending.
On a side note: Either starting with Korra or after Korra, all avatars should learn how to chi block in addition to the rest of their studies involving bending. I'd also like the avatars to start keeping records of their philosophies and observations that the white lotus can then preserve and present to future Avatars.
The first time we see Amon take bending way (episode 3), it is a full moon (you can see the moon just after Mako and Korra find Pabu).
The second time (episode 6), there's no moon visible during the battle on the roof of the arena. Maybe it was a full moon but it was just too cloudy, but I think if the moon was important, it would've been shown.
+Cute homage to the original series (cabbage industries xD)
+Sato was an equalist supplier
+Epic Big Daddy mechs
+Interesting solution to metalbending (platinum=flawless metal? I'll buy it :D)
+Asami taking out both her father and the lieutenant in like a second. Did my heart good. Her turning out to not be an equalist, I'm neutral about but whatever.
+Chief Bei Fong using Toph's foot sensing thing, another nice homage.
My few beefs:
+Possibly the worst conceived police raid in history (We should look into Sato more closely...chief of police and Tenzin show up at his front door with Korra. Talk about subtle)
+So the Chief is going to go on a mission to rescue her fellow metal benders...If Amon hasn't stripped them all of their powers by then I'm an apple
+What did happen to that metalbender they left tied up. That seriously was bugging me.
I'm interested to see Tarlok again next episode. Should be fun to see what his changes to the police force include.
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I'm less and less convinced that Amon does chi-blocking, with or without blood bending. We got a scene only to have Thano mention that he lost his bending permanently and no healer could understand what happens.
About platinum being unbendable: it was already established in The Last Airbender that precious metals are unbendable. There's this episode in which Toph and Katara are locked up in a wooden prison cell and Toph doesn't metalbend their gold jewellery to escape. I'm guessing precious metals are really, really pure, thought Sato must ridiculously rich to have that much platinum.
Also, can we please stop with the "firebenders killed my father/mother/spouse" trope? I mean, seriously? Not counting The Last Airbender, we have Mako and Bolin, Asami and Sato, and Amon (assuming he's speaking the truth).
I'm less and less convinced that Amon does chi-blocking, with or without blood bending. We got a scene only to have Thano mention that he lost his bending permanently and no healer could understand what happens.
About platinum being unbendable: it was already established in The Last Airbender that precious metals are unbendable. There's this episode in which Toph and Katara are locked up in a wooden prison cell and Toph doesn't metalbend their gold jewellery to escape. I'm guessing precious metals are really, really pure, thought Sato must ridiculously rich to have that much platinum.
Also, can we please stop with the "firebenders killed my father/mother/spouse" trope? I mean, seriously? Not counting The Last Airbender, we have Mako and Bolin, Asami and Sato, and Amon (assuming he's speaking the truth).
CABBAGE VENDOR!!!
The more I think about it I am pretty sure earthbenders can only bend Iron, which makes sense since Iron is in most earth, is a relatively common metal, and can be found in a bunch of metal alloys.
As for the whole lot of platinum, for all we know platinum could be relatively common in Avatar world.
I wonder now if we're going to see the introduction of a 5th cast member later on in the series, like with zuko. Maybe if Amon is just the forshadowing of an even greater threat... ooh.
Ok, so, hear me out.
Amon is a herald of the spirit world, ergo his ability to remove bending. His coming, much like a herald of galactus or darkseid, is to sow chaos and disorder amongst the target population to soften them up before the real firepower shows up. His cause is legit, benders are, in fact, overbearing and non-benders are oppressed, which makes his job easier.
Then, after he "wins" or, more likely, see's the error of his ways, he joins the Kaang? No.. the Korraporals? Team Pabu? Anyway. Just a thought. It would be just like Mike and Brian to give us a crazy story about political oppression to act as a gateway to the invasion of the planet by a spirit world that wants equality for themselves, in the parlance of how Christian Fundamentals use that word in modern america.
Probably won't happen, but would that be cool? That the entire rebellion is just one cog in a much greater plot?
Probably won't happen, but would that be cool? That the entire rebellion is just one cog in a much greater plot?
Oh, it definitely is. There's going to be some major twists in the next couple of episodes.
First, Tarlock is taking over the security of the city. I have the gut feeling he's going to be a trigger happy overlord and a Water Bending bigot. Whether he hasties to Amon or not, his control of the police force is going to be substantially different to the metal benders. I mean, we've seen that he's able to manipulate Korra, the council of elders, and Toph's daughter (name escapes me). Just imagine how crazy he's gonna be now that his schemes paid off.
Second, we have the sepia toned flashbacks that don't reveal much except what appears to be some sort of courtroom tribunal. This will need to be addressed and may explain why Katara is the only one still alive (even though Toph's was younger than her).
Third: escalation. The equalists have armed themselves with powerful weapons. So the benders are going to have to escalate their abilities too. Nobody is going to be safe in a city where two (or more) factions are vying for control. Metropolis, meet Gotham.
Finally, Korra (as the avatar) is destined to restore balance to the world. Amon has already stated that his aims are beyond Republic City. Amon could potentially have "sleeper cells" in other major cities waiting fo their codeword. Could you imagine a scenario where Korra kills Amon and that wakes up the sleeper cells in all the major cities around the World? This is going to be a Global conflict.
Second, we have the sepia toned flashbacks that don't reveal much except what appears to be some sort of courtroom tribunal. This will need to be addressed and may explain why Katara is the only one still alive (even though Toph's was younger than her).
Has this been confirmed? I thought the only two confirmed dead were Sokka and Aang.
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The "Welcome to Republic City" minigame said that Zuko was alive
Toph's likely dead. Katara said "many of my friends are gone". Assuming she's referring only to friends we saw, that's Toph, Zuko and Sukki. Zuko's alive, so for "many" of her friends to be dead, Toph and Sukki have to be dead as well.
I wonder now if we're going to see the introduction of a 5th cast member later on in the series, like with zuko. Maybe if Amon is just the forshadowing of an even greater threat... ooh.
Ok, so, hear me out.
Amon is a herald of the spirit world, ergo his ability to remove bending. His coming, much like a herald of galactus or darkseid, is to sow chaos and disorder amongst the target population to soften them up before the real firepower shows up. His cause is legit, benders are, in fact, overbearing and non-benders are oppressed, which makes his job easier.
Then, after he "wins" or, more likely, see's the error of his ways, he joins the Kaang? No.. the Korraporals? Team Pabu? Anyway. Just a thought. It would be just like Mike and Brian to give us a crazy story about political oppression to act as a gateway to the invasion of the planet by a spirit world that wants equality for themselves, in the parlance of how Christian Fundamentals use that word in modern america.
Probably won't happen, but would that be cool? That the entire rebellion is just one cog in a much greater plot?
The only character from the original that had any beef with the water based, looking at the wiki's name is Kuruk, Avatar prior to Aang was Koh the face stealing spirit. Gives a balance of credence to having Amok being "masked" and in league with Koh being deceptive and making Amok think he is doing the spirit world an actual favor meanwhile he's actually being lied to and Koh was waiting for a water bender to get revenge on in the avatar line.
This also connects into Korra's weakness with spirit, and gives a lending credence that with Anng in the spirit world may have an equal or larger role than Roku. Equally there's also Kuruk whose just a loose plot altogether. Which leads back into a "completion cycle" like Roku to Anng and in a smaller part Kyoshi's legacy in some of the smaller one off episodes.
The real key to fixing Amon will be Korra gaining access to her spirit powers and then being able to learn from Anng spirit bending probably. With a series of the throw backs like metal bending and some of the new technologies the role for soul bending has yet to been done as a "legacy passed down and used" and equally may very well be a sort of "fifth element" that is actually a major part of the "equalizer" by introducing "soul" as a unique element to the new area founded by Anng.
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Whoever called Tarlock being a blood bender gets +1.
Good episode. A little bit confused; but still things are moving at a rapid pace.
I think it pretty much solidified that he is Amon, as it explained he went pretty bat nuts when she said he "just like Amon" and they showed the little montage. Explains also how he stole their powers originally without spirit bending, just ended up taking chi blocking and combining it with blood bending but still lacks an explanation for how he did it without the moon. Which might tie back into the faceless spirit.
It also seems they're showing more advanced versions of bending, such as using lightning and Iroh's old dragon technique when she was tied up. They're kicking up the power level a bit faster than the original. While keeping her power level still limited without the Avatar state and such. Probably the beginning of the next arch will explain how she gains her spirit powers.
Overall seems to be building up rather quickly and not being slow and more drawn out like the original with each episode driving the plot forward.
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Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
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Most suspicious line in the movie: "So you'll take personal responsibility for the security?" Even if he's not Amon himself, Tarlock is most certainly in contact with him.
What I'm more interested in is how the equalists knew to arm those in the stands with those shock gloves (it was pretty obvious that they were prepared to deal with the metalbenders, which leads me to believe there may be an informant in the council).
Additionally, how the hell did they blow up the entire police armada and airforce without anybody knowing? And arm the field with explosives after it was pretty obvious that the metalbenders had checked everywhere pretty thoroughly. That struck me as rather strange.
It was nice to see Chief Bei Fang (sp?) be a badass in battle. As an aside I also get to privately congratulate myself on guessing Tenzin's former lover
Score! I love Tenzin
BTW, what are all you thinking of these flashbacks? I'm swearing I'm seeing Tarlock in this one, and he's not being showed flatteringly.
I loved the twist of them not winning because it was the outcome I least expected after last week's episode. After seeing the wolf-bats win in round one last episode, I thought it was going to be the generic "underdogs find way to somehow win and defy the odds" episode. Really, I would argue that it while possible that Amon was behind the blind refs, the immediate dirty play by the wolf-bats seemed to indicate that they knew they could get away with dirty tricks. As it was, I think that Amon may have simply known about their modus operand and planned to use it to further his point (celebration of the worst of benders), no interference needed.
Still loved the twist with the match (Korra's round two performance was pretty stellar too. I loled hard)
Good call, hadn't actually remembered hearing Yakone mentioned (though my guess is that Tarlock mentioned him in his first appearance and I just missed it).
As an aside, wonder if Yakone has any connection to Amon. Pure bs crafting here, but if Aang took his bending away then that might explain a desire to strip bending from all benders (and Aang would certainly count as a firebender). It's more than likely getting a little too creative, but...
"In a world where money talks, silence is horrifying."
Ashcoat Bear of Limited
You're not beating a dead horse. Tarrlock makes the most sense as Amon based on information we know about bending. I have my own theory on how he's stripping benders of their bending. There is some information I would need verified, such as was it a full moon when we first saw him perform this feat? Was it also a full moon the night of the pro bending tournament finals?
Thought process is along these lines: Chi-blocking is just another martial arts in the avatar universe. Anyone can learn to chi block, even benders. Benders tend to focus on the martial art that allows them to bend, as that's difficult already and thus they have no need to learn how to chi block. The need has simply never occurred.
Thus my thoughts are that Tarrlock is a gifted martial artist, one who has mastered water bending and chi blocking. Tarrlock also knows of the theories behind blood bending. Just as Uncle Iro applied philosophies and disciplines from other martial arts to his fire bending, so too has Tarrlock with water bending and chi blocking.
If Tarrlock did apply chi blocking to his water bending then he would know exactly where in the body key chi locations are located. Through blood bending Tarrlock could apply his 'unique' technique that requires a subtle hand motion followed by a touch near the temple to dam up a key chi site. This could result in a chain reaction that causes the energies within a bender to conflict with itself preventing bending as long as the 'dam' is in place.
That's just my view on the matter though. I like that view because that means Tarrlock//Amon is playing an emperor Palpatine type scenario. As a side note: Since I think this ability is tied to water bending combined with the practices of chi blocking, I believe the real reason Amon//Tarrlock has not attempted to take away Korra's bending is because he's afraid she will see through his ruse. (That and the fact that he's clearly running several schemes that require certain responses from other people which in turn requires the Avatar 'staying in play')
The entire point of the finale is Aang's conflict about following his beliefs and what needs to be done, i.e., killing Ozai. Remember that in order to spiritbend, your own spirit must unbendable, which is generally accepted to mean that your resolve and force of will are superior. If not, you risk corrupting yourself (unclear what it means, but sounds bad).
In the ending, Aang spiritbends Ozai. He risks death/corruption/whatever, despite the obvious easier solution of just killing him, because he strongly believes in his own moral code. He's successful, showing the true power of his belief even though he could've lost everything.
If Amon can just waltz some chi-blocking without any risk to himself in the same way as spiritbending did, then that completely undermines Aang's triumph. "LOL AANG WHY DID YOU RISK ALL THE GLOWY STUFF JUST PRESS HIS FOREHEAD LOL WHAT A NUB".
I'm not saying that Amon has to be able to spiritbend, just that, whatever he does, it needs to have the same level of gravitas that spiritbending had. Not cheesy and "easy" chi-blocking.
That's why I was wandering about the timing of the two times we see him remove their bending. Blood bending can only occur at full effect when there is a full moon out. Both times we've seen this occur at night. The implication from Amon's method should it be water bending using chi blocking discipline would be that the bending could be returned if that chi spot is unblocked.
My thought process is that their bending hasn't actually been taken away, rather that it's only been dammed in such a manner that they themselves cannot undo the process as they do not understand what has happened. Basically I think Amon's method could be undone by the avatar or any other water bender that knows what to look for.
The avatar's method is presumably irreversible (along with the implication that the Avatar can grant bending to anyone, but again that's another theory) unless the avatar returns the bending.
On a side note: Either starting with Korra or after Korra, all avatars should learn how to chi block in addition to the rest of their studies involving bending. I'd also like the avatars to start keeping records of their philosophies and observations that the white lotus can then preserve and present to future Avatars.
The second time (episode 6), there's no moon visible during the battle on the roof of the arena. Maybe it was a full moon but it was just too cloudy, but I think if the moon was important, it would've been shown.
*Spoiler alert*
That was pretty good episode. Some positives:
+Cute homage to the original series (cabbage industries xD)
+Sato was an equalist supplier
+Epic Big Daddy mechs
+Interesting solution to metalbending (platinum=flawless metal? I'll buy it :D)
+Asami taking out both her father and the lieutenant in like a second. Did my heart good. Her turning out to not be an equalist, I'm neutral about but whatever.
+Chief Bei Fong using Toph's foot sensing thing, another nice homage.
+Possibly the worst conceived police raid in history (We should look into Sato more closely...chief of police and Tenzin show up at his front door with Korra. Talk about subtle)
+So the Chief is going to go on a mission to rescue her fellow metal benders...If Amon hasn't stripped them all of their powers by then I'm an apple
+What did happen to that metalbender they left tied up. That seriously was bugging me.
I'm less and less convinced that Amon does chi-blocking, with or without blood bending. We got a scene only to have Thano mention that he lost his bending permanently and no healer could understand what happens.
About platinum being unbendable: it was already established in The Last Airbender that precious metals are unbendable. There's this episode in which Toph and Katara are locked up in a wooden prison cell and Toph doesn't metalbend their gold jewellery to escape. I'm guessing precious metals are really, really pure, thought Sato must ridiculously rich to have that much platinum.
Also, can we please stop with the "firebenders killed my father/mother/spouse" trope? I mean, seriously? Not counting The Last Airbender, we have Mako and Bolin, Asami and Sato, and Amon (assuming he's speaking the truth).
RBGU Dredge RBGU
RG Ponza RG
UR Thing in the Ice Ascension UR
[EDH/CMDR]
G Titania, Protector of Argoth G
UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born UB
UWR Zedruu, the Greathearted UWR
CABBAGE VENDOR!!!
The more I think about it I am pretty sure earthbenders can only bend Iron, which makes sense since Iron is in most earth, is a relatively common metal, and can be found in a bunch of metal alloys.
As for the whole lot of platinum, for all we know platinum could be relatively common in Avatar world.
Ok, so, hear me out.
Amon is a herald of the spirit world, ergo his ability to remove bending. His coming, much like a herald of galactus or darkseid, is to sow chaos and disorder amongst the target population to soften them up before the real firepower shows up. His cause is legit, benders are, in fact, overbearing and non-benders are oppressed, which makes his job easier.
Then, after he "wins" or, more likely, see's the error of his ways, he joins the Kaang? No.. the Korraporals? Team Pabu? Anyway. Just a thought. It would be just like Mike and Brian to give us a crazy story about political oppression to act as a gateway to the invasion of the planet by a spirit world that wants equality for themselves, in the parlance of how Christian Fundamentals use that word in modern america.
Probably won't happen, but would that be cool? That the entire rebellion is just one cog in a much greater plot?
Oh, it definitely is. There's going to be some major twists in the next couple of episodes.
First, Tarlock is taking over the security of the city. I have the gut feeling he's going to be a trigger happy overlord and a Water Bending bigot. Whether he hasties to Amon or not, his control of the police force is going to be substantially different to the metal benders. I mean, we've seen that he's able to manipulate Korra, the council of elders, and Toph's daughter (name escapes me). Just imagine how crazy he's gonna be now that his schemes paid off.
Second, we have the sepia toned flashbacks that don't reveal much except what appears to be some sort of courtroom tribunal. This will need to be addressed and may explain why Katara is the only one still alive (even though Toph's was younger than her).
Third: escalation. The equalists have armed themselves with powerful weapons. So the benders are going to have to escalate their abilities too. Nobody is going to be safe in a city where two (or more) factions are vying for control. Metropolis, meet Gotham.
Finally, Korra (as the avatar) is destined to restore balance to the world. Amon has already stated that his aims are beyond Republic City. Amon could potentially have "sleeper cells" in other major cities waiting fo their codeword. Could you imagine a scenario where Korra kills Amon and that wakes up the sleeper cells in all the major cities around the World? This is going to be a Global conflict.
Has this been confirmed? I thought the only two confirmed dead were Sokka and Aang.
Toph's likely dead. Katara said "many of my friends are gone". Assuming she's referring only to friends we saw, that's Toph, Zuko and Sukki. Zuko's alive, so for "many" of her friends to be dead, Toph and Sukki have to be dead as well.
The only character from the original that had any beef with the water based, looking at the wiki's name is Kuruk, Avatar prior to Aang was Koh the face stealing spirit. Gives a balance of credence to having Amok being "masked" and in league with Koh being deceptive and making Amok think he is doing the spirit world an actual favor meanwhile he's actually being lied to and Koh was waiting for a water bender to get revenge on in the avatar line.
This also connects into Korra's weakness with spirit, and gives a lending credence that with Anng in the spirit world may have an equal or larger role than Roku. Equally there's also Kuruk whose just a loose plot altogether. Which leads back into a "completion cycle" like Roku to Anng and in a smaller part Kyoshi's legacy in some of the smaller one off episodes.
The real key to fixing Amon will be Korra gaining access to her spirit powers and then being able to learn from Anng spirit bending probably. With a series of the throw backs like metal bending and some of the new technologies the role for soul bending has yet to been done as a "legacy passed down and used" and equally may very well be a sort of "fifth element" that is actually a major part of the "equalizer" by introducing "soul" as a unique element to the new area founded by Anng.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
Good episode. A little bit confused; but still things are moving at a rapid pace.
It also seems they're showing more advanced versions of bending, such as using lightning and Iroh's old dragon technique when she was tied up. They're kicking up the power level a bit faster than the original. While keeping her power level still limited without the Avatar state and such. Probably the beginning of the next arch will explain how she gains her spirit powers.
Overall seems to be building up rather quickly and not being slow and more drawn out like the original with each episode driving the plot forward.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.