So I know that he’s an established character because of his appearance last season, but why is Napoleon Dynamite here? It would be fine if they just got Jon Heder to play a random Air Nomad, but they literally cast him as an airbending Napoleon. Even his dad acts like Kip. It’s like going to a Buddhist temple and hearing the monks quote Ferris Bueller. The writers probably thought it would be funny to have a Napoleon Dynamite reference (in…
I thought this season would be 12 episodes. I remember it saying so on a few preview guides. Turns out, it may as well have. I’d hope that a lapse in an episode’s budget would just allow the creators to make something like the last two Evangelion episodes instead of what we’ve got here. Some of the best-animated works happened because the studio didn’t have enough money to do what they originally wanted, so they were forced to adapt to…
So this episode’s one about the heroes getting back on their feet. Korra and friends try to act like they did in the old days, while Bolin and Varrick recuperate from betraying Kuvira. After the last outing with Kuvira taking Zaofu to complete the Earth empire, Korra’s situation now carries too much of a calm air to it. Yes, they have to save the prince from kidnappers, but that doesn’t have the decisiveness that should come after a dictator consolidating…
I’m struck by how shiny and clean the Earth Empire tanks look, not like the black iron of the Fire Nation vehicles. They would be horrible in camouflage situations and the like, and it’s probably another propaganda tool for Kuvira to use, but there’s something endearing about someone who cleans their tanks so they can see their face on it before going to war. A bit egotistic, sure, but it shows there’s care to that personality cult. A shame they…
Anyone else notice how besides Zaheer, almost all of the Avatar villains have had family drama taking over their plot at some point or another? Zuko wanted to appease his father. Azula wanted to kill Zuko for her father. Their father wanted to conquer the world because of his grandfather. Amon started the Equalists because of his father. Unalaq was a bad father (and the whole evil uncle thing). And now, we have the deal between Kuvira and her surrogate…
Since the main cast grew up during the time skip, someone had to fill the “annoying kids on adventures” part of the show. Even the best parts of Avatar must go through something akin to Avatar Day or The Painted Lady, where hijinks are going in the middle of something important. They don’t even give you the luxury of skipping this episode, since there’s still a thread of the main arc that keeps you ignoring everything. It’s like the creators…
This week presents betrayal and hypocrisy within the politics of restoring the Earth Kingdom. The promise of a spiritual world has run empty, letting the fury of fascism run amok. Yes, these tyrants have the excuse of cleaning up from the messes of previous despots, but they are too blind to recognize how their predecessors went wrong. The wheel keeps turning, and those who fought evil in the past have become villains themselves. While the Avatar cycle was hampered, the…
I see what you did there with the Kill Bill reference, Bryke. I remember that toe-wiggling scene almost as vividly as Tarantino can, so on to Korra and how she starts her rampage plot to kill all her former friends to avenge her dead baby. Like that part in the movie, it represents Korra trying to get back to speed after being hurt by people claiming to help her. Zaheer was like the keeper trying to slay the wild dog,…
Looking at the usual opening where Tenzin gives his speech about how Korra needs to master the elements, I notice how this clashes with this episode’s tone. Three years since last episode, and most of her friends have moved on. They might not be comfortable in their new roles, and issues such as the Earth Kingdom’s collapse still ring, but the episode establishes that a world can function with an Avatar. The question remains how long it can function without…
The Great Curry High Trip… that title explains it all, doesn’t it? I was prepared to go all smarmy lit critic and discuss how the episode’s a discussion on duality between the roles women are given, but then they flew Nanami to Africa and the whole episode became stupid. It’s a fun kind of stupid, with some parts that make the episode almost worth the experience of a naked Saionji eating a banana, but this outing feels hollow compared to…