The Legend of Korra/Fridge

Fridge Brilliance

General

• Just think about it: Zuko passed the position of Fire Lord along to his daughter, and is now traveling the world as an ambassador for peace... Zuko's been covering for Aang while Katara was training the new Avatar!
  • Makes perfect sense as he knows better than anyone how the century-long war originally began as soon as Roku was out of the way.
  • He ironically takes after his father; he has more important things to worry about than the Fire Nation. It could also be a deliberate callback and contrast with his father. He gives up his title as Fire Lord and passes it onto his daughter, but unlike Ozai, he does it the right way, for the right reasons. (As someone listed somewhere else, he similarly succeeds in sharing Fire Nation technology and prosperity with the world, just as Sozin claimed to have wanted to do, but again does it the right way and for the right reasons).
• While Korra's Establishing Character Moment set her up as born to be Badass, it's possible that her isolated years of learning have contributed to her very confrontational personality. Her forte is in fighting because all her life she has only been taught to fight and fight, unlike Aang who was trained to be peaceful and diplomatic. She grew up believing fighting to be the most effective way to face any threat. That's why she instinctively tries to use brute force to tackle just about any problem. It also explains part of her difficulties with air - her way of thinking is actually suited for Earthbending. Water and Fire also are not problems for her - water is her native element and she has a fiery personality. But it's also because Water and Fire take a combat oriented approach, allowing for some furious and destructive fighting. It's only air that goes against fighting and violence, and that's where her difficulty lies. Bending is as much a mind game as it is physical.
  • It's also clear why Tenzin wasn't a pro bending fan and it makes sense why he tells her "Bending isn't all about fighting."
• Even though Korra and her friends have been in EXTREME danger several times, she has never entered the Avatar state. Why? She has been described several times as having difficulty with the spiritual side of being the Avatar, and therefore has far more difficulty contacting or using knowledge from "past lives".
  • A few things: Aang went into the Avatar State a ton of times in the original series. Well he was from the spiritual nation. As his opposite, it makes sense that Korra has trouble with spirituality; it also fits into the magic vs. science theme of the show. Also, Korra's lack of spirituality may be a cause of her airbending difficulties.
  • That, or Amon's chi blocking and electric tasers are good enough to block the Avatar state from kicking in. As if Amon needed to be even more terrifying.
  • The past avatars probably have a plan of their own. Isn't it very interesting that Korra experiences her visions precisely at the point where you'd expect the Avatar state to kick in, when her defenses are gone.
  • Another reason may also be in her personality. Korra's a very tough fighter and so her Unstoppable Rage threshold would be much higher than Aang's.
  • And this. The Avatar state also kicked in very often for Aang in Season 1 because for most of the series Air was the only element he could handle and very often he was thrown in places where it wouldn't work. After he began to learn the other elements, the only instances where it reflexively kicked in was when he suffered a Heroic BSOD, and when his chi block was broken at a point where he was helpless against Ozai. As the Avatar masters the elements and becomes more powerful, their dependency on the Avatar state progressively reduces. Which would explain the avatar state doesn't trigger readily for Korra.
• Autumn, in the context of the Avatarverse, is the season of air. When does TLOK and thus Korra's airbending training begins? Look at the brown leaves in Republic City's park...
  • It also follows TLA: Book 1 took place in the winter, Book 2 in spring and Book 3 in summer, so starting TLOK in autumn kind of picks up where the previous series left off.
• Many fans asked themselves how technology could have progressed so substantially between A:TLA and Korra. Well, considering that with the formation of the Republic and founding of Republic City benders of all stripes now live and work together, it'd stand to reason that they'd be able to manage together things that they would have never managed to when separate. Not only that, but with the discovery of a whole new Bending discipline(Metalbending), the widespread learning of an obscure one(Lightningbending), and the rediscovery of a lost one(Airbending), there were many new ways in which Bending could now benefit mankind that were not available before. And this is without even pointing out that if we parallel it with Real Life, the 1920's could not be more different to the 1850's, with a similarly immense leap in technology.
  • Also note that the fire nation was already fairly advanced compared to other nations (tanks, drills battleships...) During an era of peace the funding for military research would go towards more practical areas benefiting all the nations. I'd say going from advanced military battleships and enormous mechanized drills to cars and motorcycles isn't that big of a jump.
• While it's immediately evident that they're trying to tell a story about Korra that's very different from Aang's, it seems almost as if the idea of the Avatar's job of "restoring balance" is getting lost. The elements are balanced, that isn't the real problem. But then you realize, the Avatar's job is to "maintain balance" in general, not "maintain balance between the elements." Korra's job isn't to restore balance between the four elements, its to restore balance between innovation and tradition as the old comes into conflict with the new, and beyond that to restore balance between bender and non-benders.
  • Korra's status as a Shadow Archetype of Aang becomes even clearer when one ponders the nature of the show's conflict. Everything that is awry in Republic City--all the political, social, and cultural problems--are things that cannot be fixed via her usual modus operandi of kicking people's teeth in. Just as Aang had to reconcile his pacifist views with the reality of facing Ozai, Korra's confrontational nature is something she's going to have to deal with in order to bring balance to the city.
• The advertising campaign is called "Korra Nation." As in Coronation.
• Why is the Order of the White Lotus going to such extremes to protect and keep an eye on Korra? Because Aang remembered what happened last time--it's mentioned repeatedly that keeping Korra in the compound is based on Aang's orders to keep his reincarnation safe.
• Why does Korra always seem to default to firebending out of the three elements she learned so far? Because she just wrapped up her training in that art, so it'd naturally be on her brain after the run-up to her final examination for certification as a master firebender.
  • In Book 2 of the original series, we see Aang Earthbending more often as he was learning it as opposed to the latter two elements he'd mastered, so Korra parallels this with Firebending.
  • On top of that, in the original series, Aang was reluctant, even afraid, to use firebending after he accidentally hurt Katara. Since Korra is supposed to be his opposite, it makes sense that she would be eager to firebend.
  • It seems more likely that Korra naturally gravitates toward firebending because of her personality.
  • Firebending seems the most convenient element to bend- waterbending and earthbending both require said element to be present, hence why Katara always carried water in her pouch and prisoner Earthbenders were held in metal compounds. Firebending just needs oxygen/energy, so Korra can use it in any situation.
  • Also, look at where all of the episodes of the series have taken place in so far; Republic City. This means that, ironically, firebending is the least collaterally destructive bending art that Korra has available to her. Using earthbending means tearing up streets, destablilisng foundations, causing sinkholes, damaging or collapsing buildings, and otherwise collapsing the city around her ears to provide the raw material for attacks. Using waterbending means ripping it out of pipes, which disrupts the flow of water to places that need it and causes more Collateral Damage. Firebending, in comparison, is precise, minimalistic, requires no external sources of fuel, and even if Korra misses, she can extinguish the flames with her bending as easily as she conjured them in the first place. In the first episode, we see just how much damage Korra can unwittingly cause by using earth- and waterbending in Republic City. It makes sense that after she gets arrested for blithely assuming she's got Hero Insurance, Korra figured it'd be better to switch to the least inadverdently destructive element she can bend.
• In addition, Amon represents exactly what Republic City desperately needs - a melding of ancient spirituality and modern technology. The Equalists use motorcycles, Satomobiles, and zeppelins; they practice the art of chiblocking while wearing gas masks and listen to the radio. If it wasn't for his Fantastic Racism against benders, Amon might have been able to bring harmony to the city.
  • In some respects, Amon is his own version of the Avatar. He has his own vision of what a balanced world should look like (ie a world without benders). How's that for the central theme of the old traditions in conflict with a new era?
• We can all tell that the Aang statue is a Shout-Out to the Statue of Liberty. But for Bonus points look at the symbol on his staff - the symbol of air. Air is the element of freedom.
• At first glance, it can seem as though the father/daughter like bond that’s formed between Korra and Tenzin is happening a little fast. But then you have to consider that all the years that Korra’s been in that training camp, Katara’s been there with her. So every time Tenzin and his family has gone to see his mother, they’ve probably visited with Korra at the same time, watching her grow up, being part of her life and vice versa. Look at the way Tenzin’s children greet Korra at the dock near the end of the first episode, it’s a lot like how kids might welcome their favorite older cousin.
  • Also Korra is the reincarnation of his father, their grandfather. This comes straight out of the original series. "Some friendships are so strong they transcend lifetimes."
• The first avatar series was aimed at kids around twelve, Aang's age, now in legend of Korra the avatar is a teenager thats because all the old avatar fans are teenagers now!
  • Also, the series is darker and seems to be made for a more mature audience.
• The first book of Legend of Korra is Air. Not only is this the element of the last Avatar, it's the next in the cycle after Fire. Furthermore, each previous season was named after the element Aang learns (Water, Earth, Fire). Korra's season deals with her learning Airbending.
• Airbending is all about freedom of movement. Korra's been forced to stay at the compound her entire life. No wonder she's terrible at it. She actually said something along those lines in "A leaf in the wind"

Korra: You're telling me to embrace freedom but you won't even let me listen to the radio? And forget about leaving this island.

• The jump in technology from the first series to now actually makes a lot of sense; in Aang's time, both before and after his freezing, things were relatively the same, with only minor changes for the most part. The biggest jumps were from the Mechanist and, by assocation, the Fire Nation (huge navy, zepplins, the freezer prison). But remember that they were at war, so they wouldn't be sharing their technology at all. Also, they'd be more geared /for military aspects than more simple enjoyment/ease of living like radios and such. With the war over, it could all spread across the world, and people like the Mechanist and Sokka could create freely, which would lead to why Korra's time is so advanced in comparison.
  • The jump also makes sense if you consider the technological differences between the real world 1920's and 1850's (or so).
• Aang was taught his first element by Gyatso, someone who had a close relationship with the previous Avatar, and his last element by Zuko, a direct descendant of the previous Avatar. Korra was taught her first element by Katara, and is being taught her last element by Tenzin.
• Amon. Just everything about him. The more you dig into his name and character, you find bulbs lighting up wherever you look. For starters, read all about the Egyptian god Amun and how he rose to deity status. In particular this - "...As the Egyptians considered themselves oppressed during the period of the Hyksos rule, the victory accomplished by pharaohs who worshipped Amun, brought him to be seen as a champion of the less fortunate. Consequently, Amun was viewed as upholding the rights of justice for the poor..." That's all.
  • Shout-Out: This is rather subtle. If you observe Episode 4 closely, Amon has yellow eyes. Now read about this particular character called Thoth-Amon. Not only is there is quite some influence of Lovecraft there, but Thoth-Amon as a villain has some unusual heroic characteristics. Now take a look at these lines in the description of his ring, "...Its eyes were yellow gems which glittered balefully...". No wonder Amon is such a creepy villain...his character takes some inspiration from Cosmic Horror.
  • Amon is also the name of one of 72 demons listed in ancient manuscripts, and occasionally viewed as a Prince of Hell. Of Wrath.
• Why doesn't pro bending conform to a traditional martial art the way standard bending does (i.e. waterbending = tai chi, earthbending = hung gar, etc.)? Because it's based on boxing.
  • Actually, it looks more like MMA to me. Why? Because it represents three forms of bending coming together to form a new style of combat.
• Why is Korra considerably older than Aang at the start of their respective series? Korra was in no rush with her training. Aang had until the eclipse, a predetermined event to master the other three elements. Korra trained in times of peace, and though she began training at a young age she still has plenty of time to complete her training. Amon's movement was developing at an indeterminate pace, and thus there was really no imminent pre-determined danger.
  • It's mentioned in the original series that normally, Avatars are either told they are avatars or go out into the world at age sixteen. Aang had some unusual circumstanced surrounding his Avatarhood. With Korra, the White Lotus probably wanted to at least try to go a little more traditional.
• A little something about the character of Shiro Shinobi. It says in his bio that he’s a non-bender who did in depth reporting on the Triads. Considering that background, he is probably extremely familiar with the dark side of bending, having spent years reporting on the worst that could happen. Yet what does he do when he retires from that? He becomes an announcer for a sport that, as Amon said “glorifies bending”. Think of what that says about his character that he would want to have anything to do with benders after some of the things he’s probably seen.
  • A sport with pretty strict safety and fairness rules where people must wear proper safety equipment in order to minimize harm. For the entertainment of everyone (bender and non-bender), with general consent from all involved, and participants just wanting to make a living. We saw one team cheat, but how many teams are there? Up to 128 based on the number of matches seen. He's probably ecstatic that it's not worse than it is!
    • The issue is not the rate of cheating its the fact that they go completely unpunished for it. And it isn't minor cheating either. This is a boxer putting rocks in his gloves.
      • And look how outraged Shiro was when he saw that happening. If he wasn't so dedicated to his job he probably would have been screaming for their heads. If it weren't for Amon's interruption, he probably would have gone back to his journalist roots and written up some nasty articles/investigations on them.
• The families of Mako/Bolin, Amon, and Asami/Hiroshi being killed by firebenders. Is it Fantastic Racism, as noted in the Fridge Horror section below? Possibly, but there's another thing to consider here: As the Hundred-Year-War ended 70 years ago, we learned that not everyone in the fire nation supported the war, and they did try to rebuild the world in the time afterward. However, there had to be at least some people who agreed with the war, for whatever reason. And when it ended, they couldn't have been happy. What if those people, or their descendents, tried to subtly change the new status quo, resulting in these deaths?
  • Look a little more closely at the stories: Mako and Bolin's parents, and Asami's mother, were killed in the course of robberies. More likely, lingering resentment from the whole "take over the world" thing meant that in the new world order, a lot of people weren't willing to give work to people from the Fire Nation, which is what drove them to crime and desperation.
• Lin Bei Fong's style of metalbending initially seems purely Rule of Cool when they already have decent cars and trucks then you remember Toph's inability to sense things not on the ground. You suddenly imagine a mother-daughter team of "I'll go low, you go high" where no matter what level a criminal's on, he's screwed.
• So Korra's Aang opposite right? It's totally justified if you look at the ways they were raised: Aang got a ton of freedom and had already traveled the world by the age of 12, but Korra didn't leave the compound until she was 17. Their radically different childhoods could be a factor in way they're so different.
• Why are the Equalist and metalbender mooks so much more effective than the average Fire Nation soldier from the original series? Because they're all volunteers. The Fire Nation was conducting a global war of conquest and had, by mid Season 3, grossly overextended itself to the point where they seriously considered deploying their Home Guard abroad in order to put down continent-wide rebellions. The Fire Nation was basically scrapping the bottom of the manpower barrel. In contrast, both the Equalists and the Republic City police force chose to join and stick with their respective causes even though they could easily hop on the next steamer out of the country, so the average mook quality is higher.
  • Add to that, Republic City is THE place to be for anybody who has skill. Any skilled bender has pro-bending, the metalbending academy, places that will teach you to lightning bend, everything you need to prosper. Non-benders have the advanced tech to improve their lives and plenty of non-bending related areas such as Sato industries to try to prosper. Both teams have the cream of the crop of the entire world to pick their mooks from.
• At first glance, it seems the reason the Equalists primarily use nonfatal forms of attack like chi-blocking and taser-type weaponry is because a Nickelodeon show isn't supposed to show people getting killed onscreen. However, in this case, it also serves Amon's cause; his goons can incapacitate resistance without inviting the level of public outcry that might result if they actually killed, say, police officers and radio announcers.
• Pro-bending is a major sport now. But take a look almost 70 years ago, to that day when the 3 students of Toph Bei Fong metal bent discs to knock out the 3 rival Firebending pupils. That's where it all began...

Welcome to Republic City

• Upon a closer look, it seems odd that Katara and Korra would be taken by surprise when Tenzin mentioned he was only staying for the night, considering that he'd brought his whole family. Then one recalls that his children are the only other airbenders in the world, so he would have taken them to join Korra in training.
  • On a related note, since Aang was the last airbender, and his son the only Airbending Master (after Aang's death), every Airbender in the entire Avatarverse is now related not only to Aang, but also to Katara, Sokka, Tenzin, Jinora, etc. (you get the idea.)
• How is it that Korra could already bend three elements as a child when previous Avatars never knew what they were until they were told? After the war of the last series, there has been concerted effort on the part of the nations to draw together. One's nation of origin is no longer the absolute identity marker that it once was. Why shouldn't a bending child think "Hey, what if I'm the new Avatar?" and try their hand at other elements? It was still a stroke of luck that she discovered correct techniques for bending them without formal training, but then Katara also started bending without formal training. And like tiny!Korra, she only evinced very rough ability to start with.
• Korra and Aang both started their adventures by running away from home, but where Aang was running away from his destiny as the Avatar, Korra was running towards it, leaving so she could learn the final element. Korra is supposed to be Aang's complete opposite, and this illustrates that wonderfully, especially as it's much more subtle than the obvious personality differences.
• Pema mentions that she wishes for her unborn child to be a non-bender like her, so that at least one other member of her family would be a non-bender, subtly and gently foreshadowing the bender/non-bender conflict that will drive the plot to come. It also serves on second viewing as a means of hinting at just how serious and ingrained the problem is likely to be. Even in a loving, harmonious family, all of whose members of solidly among the heroes of the story, there is still an undercurrent of this conflict.
• Katara understands very well what Korra really needs, because in personality they are very similar. Having taught Korra for many years, Katara's own character must have had a huge influence on Korra. Both of them also taught themselves quite a bit of bending before they found a teacher as well. Oh yeah, Korra's a chip off the old block all right.

A Leaf in the Wind

• Why was Korra so sloppy during her first Pro-Bending match even though Bolin had trained a bit with her? Besides not knowing any of the rules, Bolin taught her Earthbending techniques, not Waterbending (which she had to use).
• The scene where Korra reveals to Bolin she is the Avatar seems to be a commentary on people being quick to judge mixed-race people as belonging to one group instead of both. The irony here is that Bolin is himself mixed.
• Korra initially has trouble with moving like an airbender, as she tends to charge in headfirst and rely mostly on her strength to force things to dodge her. After she watches the match, and sees modern techniques for the first time, she is highly impressed, and gets help from Bolin. He teaches her how to be light on her feet, to not be so solid, and basically shows her the advantages of being able to react quickly and being able to dodge as opposed to planting herself to the ground and leaving herself open. Like Iroh figured out how to redirect lightning by watching waterbending, Korra figured out how to move like an airbender at least partially based on learning from an earthbender. The fact that both sets of elements are considered opposites probably helps, as it makes the benders look at things from a whole new perspective. Tenzin isn't the only one who "taught (Korra) those moves" when she starts moving like an airbender. As said in the episode, "Bolin's got some moves."
• Korra is strong, but lacks restraint. Pro-bending, with its rules and regulations, is all about restraint. Also, now that she's on a team, and it isn't just her training, she has all the more reason to learn and practice her control.
• Why does Tenzin change his mind about Korra's pro-bending so quickly? He shows the wisdom of a master airbender, when he encounters strong resistance, he changes his approach.

The Revelation

• Lighting Bending is more common now? Well, Iroh seems to have made great leaps in HIS lightning bending by taking inspiration from the other bending disciplines. And since Republic City is a melting pot of the four nations and their cultures, it's likely that this free exchange of information between the bending arts has aided the spread of more specific and unusual forms of bending. It's like an industrial revolution for bending!
  • Alternatively, if Zuko went on to teach what he learned about the original source of firebending, then perhaps modern firebenders have an easier time using lightning because they are able to get into the proper mindset more readily. In other words, lightningbending was not as quite hard as benders of the old series thought, but rather the perversion of firebending into a rage-fueled art prevented most firebenders from being able to bend while simultaneously freeing themselves of emotion, which lightning bending requires.
• If he really is lying for propaganda purposes, why does Amon claim that firebender killed his parents instead of a water- or earthbender? Because not only is the mental image of a fatal firebending attack that much more viscerally horrible than anything the other two can produce, but it plays on any lingering hatred people may still have toward the Fire Nation for the Hundred Years' War.
  • A man scarred by a Firebender who rebels against an oppressive authority. He's drawing parallels between himself and Zuko, who is easily the most successful and well-known "rebel" in the world's history. Along those lines, it wouldn't be surprising if by this point there are stories about Zuko's exploits as the Blue Spirit, and the mask could also be an homage to that.
• The Equalists have all been kicking bender ass rather easily. This makes sense as they are all trained specifically to take down benders, while the benders themselves, especially due to modernizing times, aren't all just focused on combat. This even makes sense for pro-Benders, pro-Benders fight at a distance and only focus on pushing back their opponents. Once a chi-blocker gets close...
  • On a related note, the only bender Ty Lee fought without chi-blocking was Aang, the last airbender. Korra, an airbending student, has to fight chi-blocking Mooks.
• Lightning Bolt Zolt runs the only pan-elemental Triad gang in the city, with other triads favoring specific elements and fighting turf wars against each other. So when Amon de-bends Zolt, he isn't just decapitating a major crime syndicate. He's depriving the criminal underworld of the only figure who has proven he can unite the various bending factions under one banner, leaving the Equalists to face a fractured underworld opposition.
• The brothers were rather easily taken out the Equalists lieutenant. Some have said this shows off their weakness in bending outside the ring, but if you think about it, they were hardly in top form. Mako, in addition to being worried about Bolin for a whole night and day, had been awake and searching for his brother all of the previous night, and had the fight with the chi-blockers, which probably led to a weakened state. Bolin had been kidnapped, presumably after a fight with the Equalists, and had been held captive for at least a night and a day. The conditions in which he was held are unknown, but we can assume that, at the very least, the Equalists kept their captives bound and chi-blocked. Both brothers would have been exausted, emotionally and physically, so it's really no wonder they were taken out so quickly.
  • The Lieutenant also had the advantage of the fight being in an alley. This makes it much harder for the brothers to dodge and easier for him to administer his finishing move by pinning them against the wall.
• It seems rather convenient that Bolin is the last one in the line up, until you realize the first one is a notorious criminal. As he's the first demonstration, the crowd is likely to give immediate support, and likely to get more supportive as the demonstration continues with the other criminals. By the time they get to Bolin, the crowd's probably so riled up that they don't have the sympathy that they would have had earlier for a poor, wide-eyed, and obviously frightened teenaged boy.
  • This could also explain why they skip the sobbing man in the line-up after Zolt. The guy is obviously terrified, and could garner some sympathy from the audience because he would seem more humanized by his fright, and fighting him would make Amon appear cowardly.
• When Korra sees Amon debend Lightning Bolt Zolt, she's terrified at the prospect of having the same done to her, and rightly so. But there's another subtle layer to her fear: Firebending is her natural/default choice of bending, and she'd just watched another firebender lose his ability right in front of her.
• Why did Mako and Bolin run numbers and do "stuff" for the Triple Threats out of all the triad outfits in the city? Because they're Republic City's only pan-elemental triad. Each brother bends a different element, meaning none of the other triads would employ both of them, and if they each worked for a different triad then they might find themselves on opposite sides of a turf war.
• Other than 'fairness', why did Amon give Lightning Bolt Zolt the chance to defend himself? Because he knew Zolt would demonstrate his bending before it got shut down, proving to the crowd that both Zolt and Amon's de-bending power were the real deal.

The Voice in the Night

• Why is Korra so terrified of Amon and his Mooks being able to circumvent her bending? Well, consider how Korra has been a bending prodigy since a very young age, having already attained mastery of three elements during childhood. This has caused and reinforced a pretty high level of confidence, hence her cocky attitude. Now here comes along a group who can take the source of her confidence away, with a leader who can apparently do it permanently. The very prospect of losing her bending would be absolutely mind-shattering. Remember that Korra was raised in an isolated arena by the White Lotus, with no friend of her age, no social life to talk about, nothing to do or learn other than bending arts, no money, no means to sustain herself. Just like Amon told her in her nightmare at the begining of episode four, if you take Korra's bending away, she has NOTHING left.
  • And she found out she was the Avatar when she was four years old. Bending has been her whole identity for as long as she can remember. Maybe there was a reason they used to keep the Avatar a secret until s/he was sixteen...
  • Remember how Tahno, one of Amon's victims, looked after he bumped into Korra in the next episode? It's highly possible that Korra would end up in just as bad or even worse a state if Amon ever took her bending.
• If Amon's power really is Energybending, then waging psychological warfare against Korra before having their decisive showdown makes perfect sense. Energybending is a contest of willpower, and a sufficiently spiritually strong target could turn it against Amon (something that nearly happened to Aang against Ozai when he used it). Which is already pretty bad for Korra since she is lacking in the spiritual aspect of being the Avatar. And the reason Amon is able to energybend modern benders' bending away so easily is because modern benders are turning away from the spiritual element of bending.
• In this episode Korra deals with fear. In "Spirit of the Competition," Korra deals with Love and Grief. Is she unlocking the chakras with these experiences? So maybe these seemingly filler episodes aren't fillers and all, and Korra is going though a character arc that will allow her to master the spiritual side of bending.
  • Yuans to noddles, that is probably one reason for the Avatar to travel the world to train, so he or she can feel these feelings and then better work on opening the chakras.
  • And considering how the moment she dealt with her first chakra and Amon knocked her unconscious, she had visions of her past life flashing before her eyes. This could be a sign that Korra is finally growing a link between herself and the spiritual side of bending.
• Why does Korra seem to grab the Idiot Ball when she challenges Amon to a one-on-one duel? Because in the previous episode she witnessed him giving Lightning Bolt Zolt and the other Triple Threats a chance to duel him and save their bending. Prior to his ambushing of her at the episode's climax, Korra has every reason to think of Amon as having a twisted sense of Honor Before Reason. It's only after the ambush that Korra learns, rather than being honorable, Amon gave those gangsters a chance to duel out of a sense of showmanship and PR savvy -- the same reasons he doesn't take her bending away that night.
  • Maybe its something different. As we see Korra take off to meet Amon, we hear Tarlokk tell Tenzin that he has officers ready to run and help Korra if anything goes wrong. Amon, being the Genre Savvy Manipulative Bastard he is, he probably knew that the council wouldn't keep their part of the deal. To sum it up, Amon didn't feel obligated to follow the one-on-one part of the challenge because the city didn't follow it either, even though Korra herself did.
• Why doesn't Amon take away Korra's bending? Sure, he says it's so she doesn't become a martyr to benders, but let's face it, Korra's hasn't exactly got everyone on her side. Why not just get rid of her now, so she can't cause anymore trouble for them? Think about the only other known energybender; the Avatar. Amon sees himself as a new type of Avatar. And in what cases did the Avatar end a war in which a group of people were bullying and opressing others, by making their hot-headed leader with an affinity for fire, powerless through energybending? Aang vs. Ozai. Leaving Korra for last is rife with symbolic meaning that fits perfectly into Equalist propaganda.

The Spirit of Competition

• Korra is somewhat reconnecting with her Water Tribe roots. The Water tribe cuisine reminds her of home, she continues waterbending at tournaments as always, and even shows that she is a healer. This is in contrast to her usual hot-tempered firebending and illustrate her Character Development as a less heated person.
• There is a double meaning behind the episode's title. It not only begins the Tournament Arc for Pro-Bending, but it also centres around the Love Dodecahedron between Korra, Mako, Asami, and Bolin.
• A minor, blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing: The Buzzard Wasp's firebender wears a topknot.

And the Winner Is...

• The Wolfbats won the championship three times in a row. After winning the fourth, their bending is taken away and cannot compete anymore. It was practically foreshadowing.
• Shiro Shinobi's continued narrating. He was on live radio to the whole city. They likely heard him being attacked, after hearing his terror and him summing up the devastation. If Shiro is a non-bender, then that could have been a calculated move, to show that the Equalists will attack non-benders too and that they're not the Well-Intentioned Extremist types, but make them out as a Complete Monster organization to the public.
  • Perhaps that explains why part of his name means "ninja". He supports the art of bending and dislikes the Equalists methods to the point where he'll take being electrocuted to deliver a message about their questionable methods.
  • Even better, he used to be a reporter who covered the Triads before becoming an announcer. Intense action is something he's used to, so he wouldn't be phased when Amon attacked.
• Look at Amon's first victim during The Revelation, Now look at who he goes after first in this episode. Notice what they have in common? They're both firebenders.
• The way Amon is creating A God Am I aura in Magnificent Bastard fashion, he's clearly the Avatar Universe's version of the Antichrist, directly opposing the Avatar. And both characters were inspired from Gods in different cultures. Enough said.
• The Satos were briefly shown attending the match in a private box. The next episode casts this in an interesting light. Maybe Hiroshi took that as an opportunity to help supply the attack. More importantly and more likely, he knew Asami would be attending the match and would fight back, especially if the Fire Ferrets had won and her boyfriend was being purified in front of her. An Equalist locking the Satos in was probably one of the first things to happen during the attack.
• Tenzin says that Lin and Aang "got along famously". Notice that most of Lin's moves involve being in the air.

The Aftermath

• There are a couple of stealth Call Backs in this episode dealing with metal-bending. Remember that Toph invented metal-bending by bending impurities left after refining the metal of her time. She was able to do this by 'seeing' the impurities. Lin finds the tunnel by using the exact same 'sense', because you have to be able to use that sense to metal-bend in the first place! At the same time, the reason Lin couldn't metal-bend the hidden factory gate or the anti-bending tanks is because the metal is pure - there are no impurities to bend (or at least so little even she can't spot it) because technology has made refining so good! Sato says that they can't bend it because it is platinum and platinum is especially pure. This is a neat little metallurgical reference since it is possible to find chunks of absolutely pure platinum in nature. Excellent use of Magic A Is Magic A.
  • And since the Avatar world is so dependent on bending, rather than science, they probably have no clue about platinum's greatest weakness- it is a metal and a powerful catalyst, making it vulnerable to electricity and intense temperatures (the suit won't melt, but the pilot has no protection against the heat), and it will catalyze the combustion of volatile fuels and nitrogen oxides. You throw gasoline on that thing and it bursts into flames, and firebending can re-direct the flames to do more damage.
• Asami says that her father had her take martial arts so she could protect herself. Makes sense given what happened to his wife.
  • Further, depending on how far back his alliances go, he may have been preparing her to become an equalist chi blocker.
• The Chakras, my word, the Chakras! This series is playing out the awakening of the chakras as it progresses. Korra has dealt with fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies and probably illusion with each successive episode apart from learning Freedom of spirit since her years at the South pole. Now she's almost ready to master the spiritual side of being the Avatar. Only one more chakra to go.
  • It makes sense why she couldn't master the spiritual side easily. She was locked up in a cozy, cocooned world and had none of the life changing experiences or the kind of training that Aang received. But now it looks like all that might just be about to change.
  • Especially since the whole point of the Avatar Cycle is giving the planet's spirit a chance to experience life from a mortal perspective. Locking it up in a compound was detrimental to what the Avatar spirit wanted/needed.
• The Lieutenant wiped the floor with Bolin and Mako and is evenly matched with Korra, but Asami manages to take him out in a matter of seconds. Why? Because she's been trained in hand-to-hand combat almost her entire life. Benders usually fight from a distance, which is why the Equalists have quite an advantage over them once they get in their personal space.
  • Also regular kung fu was very effective against the Chi Blockers' close quarters combat in the previous series itself - observe how Sokka and Suki manged to dodge or block Ty Lee's attacks.
• Notice the way that the metalbender cops move into the room when investigating Sato's secret lair? Notice how they sweep the room visually, covering each other's blind spots with their stance ready to metalbend at an instants notice? They're basically using SWAT tactics, except with bending.
• Notice how Lin Bei Fong turns her steel cables into a type of wrist daggers to tear through the cockpit of one of the mecha? That weapon is very similar to an Indian dagger known as the Katara.
• In terms of sheer offensive/defensive power, the mechs seem laughably inferior to a coordinated group of benders. It's hard to believe that the mechs could stand up to any of the serious bending seen in ATLA, especially earth and water (tip them, impale them, bury them, or just plain crush them). The thing is, they don't have to. They will be fighting mainly in the city, where opposing benders have to restrain themselves, lest they cause collateral damage. Plus large-scale combat bending probably hasn't seen much use and is probably frowned upon in the aftermath of the 100-year war. The Mechs reflect Amon's penchant for creating win-win situations. As seen in the episode, they are excellent for subduing benders, even masters like Lin and Tenzin. They also look impressive and threatening, which is always good. But they also employ 'clean' weapons that cause little to no collateral damage. Last but not least, if benders go all-out against these machines, they probably will end up damagin the city / hurting civilians, which only fuels Amon's propaganda machine.
• Asami goes against her father to protect her friends and do what's right. In other words, she's believing in her beliefs as much as her father believes in his.
• The Mecha Tanks being Human shaped is beneficial as a PR move. If it were a regular tank it would just look like more violence and aggression, while a human-shaped tank would more resemble someone defending themself.
  • More importantly, tanks are not new technology in the Avatar--who was the last one to use them, after all?

When Extremes Meet

• How is Tarrlok able to bloodbend even though it isn't a full moon? He has a very cruel personality and bloodbending is implied to require an aggressive behavior.
  • This easily applies to Hama and Katara as well: Hama clearly had both traits, whereas Katara only did so twice (one under a full moon, and one when she was not in the best mood)
  • Also, while it is not a full moon, Tarrlok still does have a power boost since it is winter.
• Tarrlok's ability to bloodbend suits his personality very well.
• Tarrlok's decision to put the non-benders in a curfew at first might be just a case of pure irrational paranoia and What the Hell (supposed to be a) Hero?, since it obviously will further attract Equalists sympathy and possibly more of the Equalists attacks. But Tarrlok was not shown to be an idiot, he obviously knew about what will transpire of his actions, the only explanation is that he wanted those to happen. Why? Because Tarrlok's a bloodbender, if Amon ever decided to face Tarrlok, then it will be a very short fight. Amon may be able to dodge lightning, but he can't dodge that. Tarrlok already have the full force of metalbenders and his own task force, and he calculated (wrongly) the Avatar will too since he has her friends. He might be a corrupt, arrogant, bribing, rude political extremist, but he still wants those Equalists taken out. Tarrlok already has a large influence on the council, if he just wanted more power he'd take Tenzin out.
  • In general, Tarrlok's fighting style seems custom-built to take out Equalists. He starts the fight by covering himself in a sphere of water that would stop chi-blockers and redirect electrical attacks, then shoots a stream of ice shards too closely spaced to dodge and too wide to sidestep. The blood bending is just the cherry on top.
• Yakone's neck clasp/button/thingie is a crescent Moon, one the exact same shape as the Moon seen over Republic City in the episode's closing shot. That symbol ties together Yakone and Tarrlok because they are both bloodbenders who can bend at times besides a full Moon.
• Tarrlock choosing attempt to put Korra on a bus instead of just killing her seems silly, and perhaps Executive Meddling due to it being nominally a kid's show. However, it actually makes sense: Kill her, and she'll reincarnate in some random earthbender anywhere in the world. Imprisoning her somewhere isn't perfect, but at least she'll be a known variable in a known location. This also implies Tarrlock is playing the long game (possibly tying in with some of the "Tarrlock is Yakone" WMG's), if the ten to sixteen years it would take for the next Avatar to grow up isn't enough time for his plans to come to fruition.
  • In fact, the reincarnation issue is exactly why Ozai wanted Aang captured alive in the original series; if he had died he would have been reincarnated as a waterbender and they would have had to start the search all over again.
• Did anyone see how Korra was very much like Avatar Kyoshi when it comes to raw power and cracking the whip to extreme levels? No wonder air is her opposite.
  • If that were be the case, then it gives another Fridge Brilliance to the original series. Kyoshi has fans as her special weapon (instead something more of earthbending), to give a tribute to airbending as her greatest obstacle in training. Another thing is while she said that she did not stand down from Chin the Conqueror, she moved away her home from Chin's army instead of just destroying them. While she did killed Chin in the process, she technically ran away from battle. The airbending, with her fans, while moving the island is a nice visual touch.
  • They also share the same temperament as Choleric too. All Korra needs to do is mature more in personality and Kyoshi would approve of her as a fitting Avatar.
• In the chase of the Equalists, the chi-blockers easily defeat Bolin and almost got Mako. So why didn't they improve much in fighting unlike Korra? Unlike her, they haven't been joining in much of the Equalist investigations and they are more skilled in pro-bending style of bending while Korra has been involved since the attack, even getting some dodging skills thanks to airbending practice (even with no air produced yet). If they weren't imprisoned with Asami, they should seriously do some level-grinding.

Fridge Horror

General

• Some of the Equalists probably have very good reasons for hating benders. Burglars, serial killers, and even regular schoolyard bullies are bad enough. Now toss in elemental powers. Imagine how powerless non-badass normals would be against such people. Look into our own history from an anthropological point of view. The technological advancement of the Avatar world within the span of 70 years is oft likened by many fans to be like that of our own Industrial Revolution. While we're talking about a world where people can bend the elements with their own hands, mass production may not be so difficult. But then look at the first part of the Promise comic and how, in a Fire Nation colony, the non-benders serve the benders. Now look at the historical recaps of modern day anthropology, where articles state that the Industrial Revolution was built on the backs of slave labour and colonialism. Think about that for a moment.
  • The first episode features some criminals trying to extort innocent citizens. Bending criminals. It's also revealed that Mako and Bolin's parents were murdered by a firebending mugger.
  • The "Welcome to Republic City" Interactive Tour adds another layer of reasoning behind the Equalists' motivations: Republic City's Council consists of five representatives, each one for the Air Nation, the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom and Both of the Water Tribes. There's no real political representation for people living in Republic City who doesn't have a cultural attachment for any of those nations, with said group consisting in its majority by non-benders...
• Tenzin has a life of Fridge...Sadness? Growing up, he was one of only two Airbenders in the world. Then, for a few years, he was the only Airbender in the world. The age difference between Korra and Jinora is exactly how long Tenzin had his father's title of "Last Airbender". He was even more alone because Aang could at least summon the spirits of past Airbending Avatars.
• Look at the weapons the Equalists have. Look at the utter Nightmare Fuel-inducing Magnificent Bastard that is Amon. Look at the political grandstanding, insecurity, and power playing that's taken hold within the Republic City government, with Tarrlok being particularly untrustworthy. Look at the sheer emotional immaturity of Korra and the Ferret brothers (largely due to being teenagers as well as their upbringings [Korra's being unhealthily sheltered and Mako and Bolin's lack thereof]) as well as the general unpreparedness of the Krew as a whole, teen and adult, to do anything about Amon's strikes and plans through the majority of Equalist appearances in the first seven episodes. The overall picture at this point is actually very clear: until more non-benders like Shiro Shinobi and Asami Sato take initiative to help stand up against the Equalists, the benders do not stand a chance.
• The three other members on Republic City's council alongside Tenzin and Tarrlok. We don't know much about them, but the three times we've seen it come down to a vote, all three side with Tarrlok, though notably with some hesitation. Considering Tarrlok's track record, and his newly-revealed bloodbending powers, what's to say he isn't threatening/blackmailing them so he gets what he wants?
• From what we saw in the last series, Katara hardly seemed likely to even want to talk about Bloodbending existing. And yet, we know now that not only does Tarrlok know bloodbending, but he's implied to have learned it from Yakone. This means that either Katara either chose or was forced to teach what she knows about bloodbending and may well have taught the very man who is implied to have murdered her brother and Toph, or else Hama somehow managed to pass on her knowledge after the war.
  • If the latter... then just how many bloodbenders are still roaming the world?
  • Another scary thought: Yakone may have developed the technique independently (or was taught by someone who did), which may explain how it's usable off-moon.

Welcome to Republic City

• Korra only said goodbye to her parents after she escaped the compound. They lived in their old house, outside of the compound. Naga had a stable, and Korra was trained by masters traveling to live in the compound, so in all likelihood, Korra lived there, too. A 16 year old girl hadn't lived with her parents since she'd started training to learn each element, which must have taken years.

A Leaf in the Wind

• The Fire Ferrets are almost forced to give up on the championship title when their waterbender, Hasook, fails to show up for their next meet after a lackluster performance in their last. One more act of ineptitude by a kid that just didn't click with his team... right? Unless the antibending activists roaming the city took him out. Hasook didn't just quit - he inexplicably vanished, and is never seen again after he leaves his last match in anger.

The Revelation

• Remember the second trailer, where Amon reaches out to grab Korra's face? Rewatch it now that we know he is a energybender. Brr.
• Mako witnessed his parents murdered by a Firebender. A FIREBENDER. Just think about that for a minute. Mako must resent his firebending a lot if that is what happened. Note that it's possible to set fire to stun in the Avatarverse. This criminal chose not to.
  • Even worse when you consider what kid Mako must of thinking about his firebending and that every single time he uses his firebending, he could be reminded of what happened...
  • Even worse when you realize Mako never went into detail beyond stating that his parents were "cut down" right in front of him. We know the one responsible is a firebender. What we don't know is if that firebender used fire or lightning, especially seeing how common bending lightning is by that time. That's right, Mako may have been saved from seeing his parents burn to death, but getting shocked full of lightning is just as bad (as Azula would like to remind you in the book 2 finale of the previous series).
• When Bolin was kidnapped, he was missing for at least part of the night and an entire day. In the hands of the equalists. Who hate benders. Who believe him to be part of a well known and much hated bender gang. That much is fact. Now think on this. Would they have been fed during that time? How much did they have to interact with their captors? Were they bound the whole time? Did the chi-blockers constantly block their bending abilities until showtime? Were they informed ahead of time what was planned for them, giving them time to contemplate just what was going to happen, and how that would impact their lives? "Interest of fairness" indeed.
• Bolin is kidnapped while doing work for the Triple Threat Triad, who Mako mentions they had worked for in the past. The other individuals taken, at least Shady Shin and Lightning Bolt Zolt, are members. Obviously Bolin knows Shady Shin, but it's likely he was at least partially aquainted with the others, having been with them at the headquaters. These weren't just some random strangers he met on the street, they were people he knew, who he had spent a night and day with as a fellow captive. Mako likely knew them as well. And both have to watch them get their bending stripped away.

The Voice in the Night

• Based on the dialogue between Mako and Asami in this episode, at least a week's gone by in-universe. Imagine the Equalists' actions off-screen capturing more benders to de-power. Picture the amount of stress on the authorities getting increasing reports of this happening.
  • At the moment, the Equalists are likely sticking to criminals like the Triple Threat Triads, since they want to build up support by having themselves viewed as heroes, the same reason why Amon didn't depower Korra in episode 4. Also Tarrlok's line (paraphrased) "they'll come for the rest of us eventually" suggests that they haven't attacked regular benders yet. Key word: yet.
• Along with not wanting to turn her into a martyr, one possible reason that Amon might be waiting to de-bend and kill Korra is the possibility of him wanting to do it when she's in the Avatar state in order to destroy the Avatar spirit along with her. As he said, he has a plan.
• The scene in where Amon captures Korra is depicted as disturbingly similar to rape. Consider: young attractive woman strolling past a monument at night is grabbed and dragged into the darkness. She is set upon by multiple attackers who overpower her and hold her down. Their leader, a powerful male, taunts her impotence before knocking her out. She wakes up later, alone, and is found by her mentor/father figure. He asks if she's all right and tries to reassure her that the "nightmare is over." She breaks down crying, telling him how terrified and helpless she felt. Just replace the word "bending" with "virginity" and the scene becomes that much more horrifying. This is supposed to be a kid's show?!

The Spirit of Competition

• After the wolfbats short match we see one of their opponents on a strecher, and he has a hole in the visor of his helmet. Only water benders are allowed headshots so that had to be Tahno's handiwork. People underestimate how powerful compressed water can really be, in addition to the possibility of using rocks or ice. How much damage did the Wolfbats intend to do their opponents and how many times has this happened? We see in the following episode that they have no problems bribing the ref but we don't know how often thats the case and Shiro made it sound like that was unusual, so the previous attack may have been LEGAL. Also if they do stunts like that often what does that say about their fanbase?

And the Winner Is...

• You know all those clips where Amon takes over and destroys the pro-bending arena? Mako and Bolin's home is above the arena.
• One of the opposing players that the Wolf-Bats beat in "The Spirit of Competition" had a hole in his visor and was being carried out on a stretcher. In this episode the Wolf-Bats use a dirty trick where they fill Tahno's water blasts with crushed rock that he threw at the Fire Ferrets' face... the guy with broken visor could have (and may have) lost his eye.
  • Worse is that it can explain the hole because everyone else thinks water can't do that much damage to where they let them aim in the face. They aren't above sending fire in the face either. Since they won three championships prior, picture how many of their victories involved such tactics.
• One of the Equalists electrocute Shiro Shinobi, the announcer for the pro bending challenges. The game "Welcome To Republic City" confirms he's a non-bender, which means the Equalists are not against harming non-benders! And that means non-benders who support bending are not safe like the Satos (Well, at least one of them supports bending...) and Pema. We also know that some non-benders have bender relatives. If that's true, it means the Equalist are fine with attacking people just for being related to benders and not hating them for bending. Imagine what that must be like for non-benders with bender children...Either they'd abuse their sons and daughters for being "unnatural", or try (and possibly fail) to hide them from the Equalists. They're ideological revolutionaries. Non-benders opposing the Equalists would be the equivalent of class traitors. Now the class traitor is what is making things more bad for Pema, who is not only married to Tenzin, an airbender, he is also part of the Council in charge of Republic City. And she already has three airbending children, with a fourth child which may or not be a bender. This would potentially put a target on her for the Equalists.
• Another big horror is Tahno and his team's encounter with Amon and the Equalists when the arena gets stormed. The supposedly best team in the pro-bending world is taken down like novices by chi blockers, and Tahno is begging in vain for Amon to not take his bending away. If that is enough Nightmare Fuel for you, the fact that Tahno knows what's about to happen to him, and pleading for Amon not to do it, means that his message to the city's benders has gotten around. And, if Amon can do that to "the best pro-benders" (cheaters as they may have been), then any other pro-benders won't stand even a snowball's chance in hell.
  • Also, look at the actual fight. Amon sure shows that he's fast, but the chi-blockers ganged up on them, tossing their bolas at their feet and immobilizing them while Amon had them distracted. That's the thing about these guys; they play dirty.
• We see a lot of Equalists being thrown down hundreds of feet from their zeppelins. We see few of them land. We don't see most of them getting up again.
• Here's a big one. Amon says that he will basically de-bend the world. There are likely millions of benders in the world, and as far as we know Amon is the only person able to permanently strip someone of their bending. Realistically he cannot do this to everyone. One guess at what the other option is.
  • In the same vein, Amon's chi-blocking/Energybending presumably doesn't prevent the genetic heritability of bending. So what would be done about the children of de-powered benders in Amon's world? Energybending them as infants? Internment and observation? Sterilization? Ethnic purge?
• When the Equalists in the crowd began arming themselves, many of them pulled out electrical gloves from their popcorn. Because the Metalbenders must have searched them prior to entering, that must mean that they were likely smuggled in through the confections stand at the arena by the employees, likely communicating with signals of some sort.
  • And Amon says that anyone can have the power of a chi-blocker with those gloves. What's to stop people from going out and stealing from, torturing, or even murdering Benders? It's even worse because we know not all Benders are rich and corrupted - street urchins and the like will probably be targeted first, just because they're easier to get at.
• Because of Amon's de-bending, Tahno's chances of employment are screwed. Not only has his career felt down the drain, he lost his sponsors, has no experience in anything else due to devoting time bending, and is likely treated badly because he is essentially the poster boy for Amon's uprising. More like Fridge Sadness, but it's rather gruesome how one can have issues getting a job when the only thing you were skilled at is gone. Now scale that up to where both non-benders and ex-benders are both competitively seeking work in the same fields, making it even more hell for the group Amon promised to make life better.
• When Korra's riding up to Amon's zeppelin, we get a clear shot of the arena, and the surrounding area. Look at the police forces' airships and normal ships. Think about what likely happened to the officers on them...

“The Aftermath”

• How did Sato secretly build a massive cavern deep underground without anyone noticing? Just about the only probable explanation is that he employed some Earthbenders in secret. Now, what do you imagine happened to them when the work was done?
  • And the way he uses Platinum as though it were steel. Considering the difficulties of mining platinum ore and extracting the metal, what to speak of working with it, it's quite likely he used Earthbenders to help him accelerate things. And Amon doesn't mind. Now about the fate of those earthbenders...
• The fact that firebenders are responsible for the deaths of several family members of several characters might be funny, but it stops being when you consider that firebenders are probably the most hated group of people in the Avatarverse, being blamed for the 100 year war. It's clear Fantastic Racism is well present.
• While Tenzin was knocked out in "And the Winner is...", it was arguably for reasons of necessity. Now that Hiroshi Sato was willing to send Tenzin to Amon, we can see that the equalists have absolutely no respect for the airbenders. (To elaborate, the airbenders are the survivors of a mass genocide and currently reduced to a single family, and Tenzin himself appears to be the one member of the council who is most considerate of nonbenders.)
  • It's also a strategic move to put the Avatar out of the picture. Even if they shipped Korra to him, he would send her back for reason back in episode 4. With Tenzin though, Hiroshi would figure Korra would lack an airbending teacher and not be able to pose a threat because she has to be a fully-realized Avatar to damage the mechs. Of course, this is from Sato's viewpoint and not Amon's, who is less crazy and more level-headed on which people should be debended first for the correct political move.
• Seeing Asami shocking her own father with an electric gauntlet was awesome, but it's also a visual reminder that benders aren't the only ones vulnerable to it. All Hiroshi Sato has done is invent new and dangerous weapons. It may only be a matter of time before triads wielding lightning gauntlets and other advanced weapons replace bending gangs.
• This is the first episode where the "Previously On..." segment is not narrated by Shiro Shinobi. Considering he was attacked on-air at the end of the previous episode...
  • This was a good move on the writers 'part to replace Shiro Shinobi's segment with a "news report" since it saves time between recalling previous events and exposing the aftermath of the attack with Tarrlok's ongoing climb in political power and use of the media.

When Extremes Meet

• When Tarrlok enacted laws to force a curfew on non-benders and restrict their rights, this has horrific implications in 2 ways: 1) The Air Acolytes and non-bending White Lotus guards are likely under them and 2) This makes it much, much easier for chi-blockers to pick targets since most the people out at night are going to be benders, meaning they don't have to think if the person walking around is one of them or not. And since the bending triads are benders, the curfew gives them more free reign because a non-bender citizen can't leave the house and inform others their neighbors are being abused.
• In Korra's vision, we see Toph, Aang, and Sokka being bloodbended by an unknown man. Katara mentioned in the first episode that many of her friends are dead (She and Zuko are the only ones confirmed alive). This heavily implies that Toph and Sokka were murdered by bloodbending.
  • We know that at least Aang survived that attack. Not only with the vision of him standing over what one presumes to be Yakone, but the fact that this incident happened 42 years ago and Aang died at 66, 17 years ago.
  • Even worse, the official website specifically says that Bloodbending can be used to crush internal organs. Why would they get that specific unless they planned to do something with it?
    • Because it would have been figured out easily enough. The instances of bloodbending from last season showed limbs being twisted - why not organs which also have blood through them? And then the cells which are water, so even 'non-blood bloodbending' (because it seems to be more the concept that determines the name) could be used to either crush or explode organs. High school biology students (hint: 17-year-olds) could figure it out. But barring the obviousness of it, it could be that some mook could have his organs crushed and it surprises the main characters such that Korra and Amon work together to defeat the madman or something. Or it could just be a red herring.
• When Tarrlok began enacting his new laws, he started with putting the power out in one of the areas. Given the amount of people being arrested in the affected area, it's possible there are districts solely for non-benders and benders to live in. If it isn't then it is possible he is likely considering the idea of area segregation to make it easier to enforce his laws.
  • Considering that there is no bending done other than by Korra and the cops there were almost certainly no benders in the crowd. What is less obvious but would probably be just as impactful is that it drives home how dependent on benders they are. Not only to firebenders apparently produce most or all of their electricity but a council of benders with its will enforced by a group of combat benders decides if they get any or not.
• When Korra walks into Tarrlok's office, the first thing he asks is if all the other council members have left and then orders his secretary to do the same. And there's a waterfall behind him, which is obviously for more purposes than just office style. He expected Korra would come all along and he knew that she would fight if necessary. But it doesn't end there. Looking at his actions and the fact that he started the fight, he'd already made up his mind to take extreme measures against her long before Korra had even entered his office and planned to fight her all along. He even has a police car waiting in his office so he can drive her to wherever he's planned. His actions against the non-benders was actually a cover up - his real intention was to lay a well planned trap for Korra and put her out of action when she walked into his office, and she fell for it.
• Bloodbending can make you go insane. Tarrlok has practiced bloodbending and is powerful enough to bloodbending even without the moon. And it appears Yakhone is so skilled he can bloodbend multiple people with his arms tied, probably using his face. It explains Tarrlok's power hungry and Ax Crazy extremist tendencies and his actions against innocent people as well - he's hiding under a mask of a shrewd politician, but he's a psychopath underneath.
  • Adding to this, the fact Yakone was implied to be a Complete Monster, or at least very far over the Moral Event Horizon, and we've seen what a nut job Tarrlok is. The fact these two maniacs are capable of bloodbending any time they want and just what it's capable of, and you've got a lot of Fridge Horror.