Well, Episode 8 is in the books. Its not what we expected, but let’s go through it nonetheless and describe why we got a filler episode this late in a show’s history and what it means for the finale.
The episode opens with one of two meager pieces of content it offers, showing Mako and Wu work out the kinks after the whole kidnapping thing from the previous episode. Wu is the typical wimp we expect him to be, and Mako’s reintroduced grandma is giving him the attention a child would receive. After a few seconds, the show gets into what it actually is – a clip flip.
Now, before we even discuss what happens, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the facts here. Do so by checking out the latest post here.
Long story short, Nickelodeon apparently slashed the budget for the season after it was already in development, and in order to salvage the team, they needed to make one episode with nothing really happening.
As a reminder, this same ordeal happened with The Last Airbender, with an episode known as the Ember Island Players, however that became a cult hit because of its delivery.
Anyway, let’s talk about the actual episode, for the sake of consistency in the recap.
Mako and Wu travel through Season 1 and 2 as well as their events and how they relate to his specific character. This includes Pro Bending, his feelings for Korra, and how they manifest across the Amon and Unalaq story lines. It also takes time to tie in the complications Asami presented and ultimately concludes with the strength Mako’s character eludes regularly. This recap is 1/3 of the episode, and worth watching if only for Wu’s commentary and light-hearted look at some not so well received ideas that have came with the series.
The second third of the episode frames Korra’s struggle with insignificance while retelling the whole story to Asami as seemingly a vent for frustrations. This time around, she is essentially telling Asami how all the positive events are being viewed through her eyes as negative ones. She takes care to place each event in the negative light, only to have Asami try to refute them, going all the way from Amon to Zaheer, saying things like “Zaheer got airbending and almost killed me” while Asami says “Air bending was reintroduced to the world.” Tenzin comes in at the end and agrees, and has his own “remembrances” illustrating that even though there will always be struggles, Korra has improved over time. This scene ends on a magnificent vista – arguably the most impressive of the season, despite being used in such a dull episode.
The final third of the episode actually got me piqued for a second. After all the shenanigans, I had a feeling they were doing all the recapping to set up some big reveal with the Steve Blum voiced character – such as being Amon’s son or something like that. I made a similar prediction last week, and although its unlikely with such a waste of an 8th episode, I am sticking with the idea that this character is something more then just another brick in the wall.
Either way, this bit is totally far-fetched, and actually interesting. I’d recommend you checking it out yourself, as a recap does it no justice. Essentially, Varrick retells Bolin’s story, setting up the three main character’s stories leading into the same place. He doesn’t just go through the events though, he does a complete mash-up and spins it like its going to be his next big “Mover,” as a fantasy chronology of Bolin’s exploits as the real hero. Check it out, its actually pretty cool.
The episode ends on a REALLY poignant message, knowing what we know about how they are forced into making this filler content.
Varrick says “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, kid!”
And these words are as true as can be, and might as well have been voiced by the actual creators. They basically say “The truth is we were dealt lemons, but we made the best lemonade we could.” Its hard to argue when you look at it that way… but that won’t stop me from trying!
What I Did Not Like
– The entire episode, obviously. Last recap, I talked about how huge the set up with Toph was, and even that was overshadowed by how filler-esque the 22 minutes were. This… was not acceptable. I don’t really care what the reason was, this was a waste of my time. I appreciate the situation, and respect the grandeur of the show, but this should have just not been aired. Its one thing if you are being forced to cut an episode and that means less pay for you staff, but make something else that’s not going to eat up an entire week. I know its petty, but I tune in every week to watch this, and all I got this week was a recap of the first three seasons. But in reality, it wasn’t half bad…
What I Actually Liked
– Korra’s scene was really moving. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but it might as well been right off the main track. I think its the voice actor, but I am really emotionally attached to this story. I loved Aang, but Korra as a person is just wildly more enjoyable.
– Humor! Last week I brought it up, but this week was chock-full! There hasn’t been a lot of humor recently, and this episode did a lot of the right things. Even some unique voice work for Zaheer and Vaatu!
– The final five episodes incoming! On the tumblr blog post I linked, you see Brian say the same thing but… Something like this actually frames the final few episodes really well. And its not like there are only two. Five more is a lot, and I can not WAIT to see what happens!