The fourth episode of the final season of the Avatar universe is finally out! I’ll be doing a recap of the events and then give my full thoughts on where the episode did and did make an impact.
This episode is a bit different then the previous 3, and I’d go as far as to call it filler especially when you consider how much the previous episode mixed up the world. Regardless, we open with Tenzin seeing his kids off as they go to search for Korra. It becomes immediately obvious that the three are going to get into the typical arguments and hijinks and they don’t get far before it gets underway.
In a variety of Earth Kingdom towns, Meelo and Ikki run into some townsfolk, including a young girl named Tuyin who Meelo finds an attraction with. Its all light-hearted and humorous, but really slow in my opinion knowing what we know about the plot so far.
They eventually end up at the sea-side fish shack Korra was at where they see her picture that was taken months ago. The three argue, and more of nothing happens. 6 minutes in…
Next up, we get to Korra back at the swamp with Toph! Toph is being lazy so Korra tries to get some action stirring by asking about stories from the old days including how Toph taught Aang Earthbending and how the battle with the Firelord went down.
“What’s there to tell? I threw some rocks at the Avatar, he got all whiny, and Sokka fell in a hole!”
Hilarious if you ask me, that’s the episode where Sokka talks to a small animal for half of it pledging to give up meat. Great throwback.
Korra is still impatient, so Toph sends her out to collect dinner, knowing that the Swamp will get into Korra’s head along the way.
Back with the Air Kids, we find Meelo bragging about throwing the food they had packed down the river in order to lead a more adventurous life, despite them being vegetarians. A frustrated Ikki sets off on her own and ends up getting captured by some members of Kuvira’s Army. Its all very comical accented by her frequently slipping her hands out of the binds and putting them back in.
We go back to Korra where something worth recapping is happening. She is being forced to relive her previous battles because of the spirit energy of the Swamp.
And… back to the kids. We see Meelo’s less than stellar gathering skills and ultimately Ikki gets rescued and some other stuff happens. Did I mention how slow this is…
Boom, Korra time. Toph reveals her intentions and discusses how the Swamp can help Korra unlock her potential. Thanks to her teachings, Korra comes to appreciate her previous encounters and begins the path of “Balance” the entire season is predicated on. She is still worried about how to achieve this, so Toph decides to take her to the Banyan-Grove Tree. At this point, we get full confirmation that the swamp is indeed the same from Aang’s trip through and plays an equally significant yet minor part in their journey. Strange.
Meanwhile, the kids take their lead to the swamp, and when they get close enough actually get attacked by the swamp itself. They argue more. Hurray!
Korra makes it to the spectacular tree and it helps her and the kids reunite in a tear-jerking scene. Very powerful for an episode of silliness. Remember, its been 3 years since they have seen each other.
They tell her about Kuvira, and the inevitable happens. Its time for Korra to face her fears and move on.
Another incredibly powerful scene here, where Korra bends the Mercury out of her blood and conquers her past with Toph’s Guidance.
“That fight is over. Release the fear.”
The music and animation are superb, but the true strength is her slipping into the Avatar state at just the right moment. Its crazy how an episode clearly aimed for children can become so emotional out of no where. Breathtaking ending that all happens in 4 minutes.
What I did not like
– Kid’s show. Starting here this week, because this really ruined it for me. The whole thing was very reminiscent of the hijinks Aang and Sokka would bring to the group, but frankly I didn’t enjoy it then either. I know its a show made for children, but after watching a woman be asphyxiated I kind of don’t want to go back to fart jokes. I’ll pick this topic up again in the “Liked” section for a good reason though.
– Time mismanagement. Listen, I know this was an episode to build on the kids’ storyline, but it just is so unbearably slow. Its a 23 minute episode and literally nothing worth talking about happens until there are 4 minutes left. I really despise this, and its why I didn’t enjoy a lot of the first season of the Last Airbender. It makes re-watching the series a nightmare. Months from now I’ll forget about how breathtaking the ending was and I’ll have to drudge through the other 20 minutes just to see Korra do what we expected her to do.
– No major plot other then Korra. zzz Kuvira just declared war zzz.
What I liked
– Jinora’s coming of age. I don’t particularly care for this, but in general seeing the kids grow up is important. They have already played big parts in the show, and if we weren’t sure this was the last season I could EASILY believe the kids to be important adult roles in the next avatar cycle like Toph is now. They are around the same age as Toph was in the last show, so it makes complete sense. How nuts would it be?