The Legend of Korra/Nightmare Fuel

"I received your invitation, young Avatar".

General

• Amon. Let's run down the things that are creepy about him, shall we?
  • Steve Blum is using his creepiest possible voice for him.
  • He can Energybend, or at least do something that looks like it.
  • He managed to have Korra at his mercy as soon as the 4th episode... The only reason he didn't take her bending away (or outright kill her) is because he doesn't want her to become a martyr, so he's saving her for last. Korra is utterly helpless and frightened during the whole experience.
    • He is literally Nightmare Fuel for Korra. Of all people, Korra is scared of him!
  • According to him, a firebender killed his family.
  • Amon wears a mask because, in the same incident mentioned above, that same firebender took his face. Holy shit!
  • Amon's dull, dead eyes peeking out from behind the mask. They somehow make him look even creepier.
  • The worst part? He's got followers.
    • And we're not even sure if this guy is just evil, misguided but not evil, or EEEVILLL!
  • The reactions to Energybending and how they treated the benders looked a lot like a public execution.
  • He's so competent. After only three major appearances he's already nearly unanimously considered by fans to be a Magnificent Bastard. Every plan that he's made are so well thought out and executed it's stunning.
  • Someone reversed a certain part of his speech in "The Revelation" and found a hidden message. Sweet dreams!
    • For those of you who don't want Amon's creepy voice to haunt your dreams, here's a description of that story. Someone noticed a strange echoing during the part where Amon says, "I've been forced to hide behind a mask ever since." They played that particular part backwards to find a "hidden message" that sounds WAY too convincing to be a coincidence. Allegedly, Amon says in the backmasked message: "Servants, I am the night." It's clear as day, and only makes Amon creepier.
  • Amon's confrontation with Korra is treated a lot like a scene of attempted rape- especially with Tenzin worriedly asking Korra if he took away her bending. After she replies with "No," she bursts into tears.
  • Amon reaching out to grab Korra after she is captured. We THINK he's going to attempt to take her bending away... but instead, he grabs her chin and lifts up her head so she is facing him. He doesn't do this harshly, or in a creepily suggestive way. The suspense of that scene, and how nonchalant he is as he's holding Korra's head up... it's just so unsettling.
  • His nonchalance in his confrontations with Korra? Try the nonchalance with which he actually performs his de-bending ability. This guy is capable of raping your soul and treating it like it's Tuesday.
  • He can resist bloodbending.
• Amon's followers. The other Equalists wear bizarre, inhuman gas masks with bright green eye lenses. As if that wasn't enough, they're horrendously athletic and paralyze people by manipulating life energy. Basically, just imagine a bunch of lovecraftian cultists jumping after you and destroying your own soul.
  • And like Amon, they're also very competent. They do not obey Mook Chivalry in the slightest and use every advantage at their disposal to overpower and dominate their opponents. Imagine an entire organization of nothing but Elite Mooks and you've got the Equalists.
• Mako witnessed his parents being murdered by a Firebender at the age of eight. Now think about how that would have likely happened. Hint-burning alive is a nasty way to die. Even worse when you consider that every single time he uses his firebending, he could be reminded of what happened...
• The Lieutenant. Extremely fast, extremely powerful, he has proven to be a terrifyingly powerful combatant. Evil Sounds Deep applies to him as well, much like how it does with Amon. His remorseless electrocution of the Fire Ferrets while they were still in the water was... shocking, to say the least. You could really feel their pain and see it on their faces.
• Bloodbending's back ladies and gentlemen. This time the moon's not even necessary.

"The Revelation"

• Amon's speech. It brings to mind a certain figure from history who used his charisma to sway whole crowds of people. Also doubles as a moment of awesome.
• When Amon energybends Lightning Bolt Zolt, his lightning degrades to fire, then to nothing at all. Something about that is so unsettling. And how Amon threw Zolt off balance and cause destruction with the lightning just to remind the people how dangerous the bending arts were prior to that.
• The look that benders have on their faces when Amon is about to try and take their bending powers away. The situation is bad enough, but it's even worse when the benders have this look of absolute, pure terror on their faces that is just so unsettling. Even worse when Korra, of all people, has this terrified look as well. Knowing her character, it takes a lot to make her so visibly scared.
• Aside from Bolin, Shady Shin, and Lightning Bolt Zolt, there were two other benders there. Except for Bolin, they all had their bending powers taken away. Lightning Bolt Zolt may have been a bad guy and Shady Shin was, well, shady, but there is no evidence that those two other benders were anything other than innocent people. For all we know, they could have been trying to find an easy way to gain money to support their families.
• Bolin helplessly trying to explain his situation as Amon calmly walks over to him on the stage.
• Bolin being beat down by the Lieutenant. Bolin hardly stood a chance, while the Lieutenant cornered him and shocked him, putting Bolin in a pretty painful spot.
• While probably a coincidence, reversing Amon's speech gives off some rather eldritch results. Servants, I am the night.

"Voices in the Night"

• Korra's confrontation with Amon and his group.
  • Made worse by how Korra called for one-on-one combat, held herself to the terms, and believed that Amon would do the same. But he brought dozens of chi-blockers, and the only reason Tenzin got there so quickly was because he'd been watching without Korra's knowledge.
  • The cinematography is especially effective in this regard; first, Korra is dragged into the darkness, where the only light is supplied by her Firebending attacks. Then the last thing we see before everything goes black is Korra getting struck in the back by seemingly dozens of hands... And the light reflecting off the chi-blocker's masks. Their eyes look demonic.
  • When Amon finally walks out of the shadows, made even more effective by his inhumanly creepy Leitmotif.

Amon: I received your invitation, young Avatar.

• • Amon revealing his intentions for Korra. While it would be so easy to crush her right then and there, he won't do it because he knows that would only make her a martyr. Countless benders from about the Four Nations would be up in arms at her death. He makes it clear to her that their showdown will come, but not today. He is going to break her down, he is going to tear everything around her that she holds dear to her away, take everything from her. He's saving her for last.

"And The Winner Is..."

• The Equalists attack the Pro Bending Stadium in a blatant terrorist attack. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a terrorist attack in this show. And what an attack! Every cop is taken out by being electrocuted unconscious, Chief Beifong and Tenzin first, the Avatar and her friends are tied under the stage after also being electrocuted unconscious, the Wolfbats all have their bending taken, Amon blows up the stage (with Korra, Mako, and Bolin barely escaping), and gets away with the building all-but destroyed, and what's left is hanging with Equalist tapestries. They went there, folks.
  • From a directorial standpoint, we have this shot. Picture it: a pro-bending champion is crowned. The crowd goes wild— everyone is either standing and cheering or flailing and cursing the refs. And then the sound drops out, and everything slows down. The camera focuses on an audience member with a decidedly grim expression slowly pulling a mask over their nose and mouth. Then it goes across the arena, where another audience member does the same thing. It does this again. And again. And again. One of the masked men reaches into his popcorn and pulls out a weapon. The audience around them is completely oblivious. As are the heavily armed and armored police officers providing security. Everyone is oblivious until the Equalists begin using those weapons to neutralize the security detail and take out anyone who resists. That's right ladies and gentlemen; you've just witnessed the beginnings of a terrorist attack, on Nickelodeon.

Amon: THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN!

• The Lieutenant electrocuting the Fire Ferrets in the water! You can see the pain in their faces.
• As funny as Shiro Shinobi's announcing was right when he is about to be electrocuted, the fact he is a defenseless non-bender and look of fear on his face, pretty much confirms that the Equalists are not against attacking non-benders who support bending. However, in a strange way it proves just how awesome he is as well. Even under attack, unlike other members of the Pro Bending Organization. Shiro not only kept his cool and stayed at his post, even while he was frightened enough to wet his pants he didn't beg or plead with the Equalist attacking him. He just kept doing his job in the face of a Nightmare Fuel situation.
• Tahno's face right before he's stripped of his bending...the perfectly-drawn details around his terrified eyes!
  • Tahno's appearance afterwards. He's pale, he has dark circles under his exhausted, weary eyes, his normally well-kempt hair is a mess, and he walks with a slumping, utterly hopeless gate. He's exhausted himself trying to find a cure, to no avail, and is talking to the police so they can get information. Even though he was an asshole, one can't help but be worried sick about the poor guy's psychological well-being after the incident.
• And Amon played everyone like fools. He knew where every guard would be, so he knew how Beifong was going to do security. The security checks weren't off-screen, we see them—they were everywhere, and yet somehow there were bombs on the stage, and Equalists snuck in with their masks and shock-gloves under their clothes or in their popcorn...
• Aside from the obvious references to modern terrorism, the episode also shows Amon and the Equalists displaying unnerving similarities to a "certain other group" as Amon is now explicitly talking about "purging the impurities" of benders, and then promising to expand his purge to the rest of the world once he had finished in Republic City. His appearance at the stadium also had more than a few parallels with the Beer Hall Putch.

"The Aftermath"

• Korra, Tenzin, and the Metalbending force being utterly helpless against the Platinum mechas being used by the Equalists. If Mako and Bolin didn't go down and help them, they would've lost their bending. What was worse is how the rest of the metalbenders are still in their clutches and they know what their fate is.
  • Pretty sure only Tenzin and Bei Fong would have had been Brought Down to Normal, Korra's a completely different story considering Amon's whole "I'll save you for last." Still doesn't take away from the sheer shock of it all though.
    • Especially considering that Tenzin is one of the Last of His Kind. Sure, he still has his children, but who is to say that they wouldn't be chased after next?
  • In fact, it's arguably even worse because it's pretty likely that she would have to watch them be de-bended.
• As awesome as it was, imagine Beifong's hack-and-slash attacks from the mecha controller's POV...
• Hiroshi Sato going from this to this.
  • Hiroshi Sato in the episode as whole. Unlike the average Equalist, he's not in it for a greater cause, but just to get revenge for his dead wife. If Amon is already implying genocidal purges, imagine what Hiroshi would do...
  • That terrifying man at the top of the page? Imagine that your dad is his arms dealer. Imagine that your dad's just as dedicated as him to thinking your boyfriend and friends are scum who deserve to be literally wiped off the face of the Earth just for having the same innate skill as your mom's killers. Imagine that everything good you've done for your friends has actually been your dad using you like a puppet to divert suspicion away about how much he thinks they should die. Imagine that while you defended him and thought he was one of the good guys, your dad was out causing harm to other human beings without any remorse. That's basically the last five minutes of "The Aftermath" for poor Asami Sato.
• Crossing over with Fridge Horror: the arena announcer, Shiro Shinobi, narrates the "Previously On..." segments for every episode...until the one immediately after he's attacked by Equalists. He's nowhere to be seen all episode. And it is implied that Shiro must have been traumatized or harmed really bad.
  • Traumatized? He outright admits just before being tased that he's wetting his pants.
    • Luckily, he seems to have recovered by episode 8.

"When Extremes Meet"

• Tarrlok can bloodbend, and he's taken Korra away we know not where, but he made it clear she'd never see Republic City again.
  • Worse, he can do it without the full moon, something its inventor didn't think was possible.
  • As in "The Voice in the Night", what makes the scene ... "special" is it's amazing cinematography. The moment Tarrlok's bloodbending is revealed, you definitely get a sense of wrongness short only of the rising of an Eldritch Abomination.
  • Also note that he was good enough to levitate and fling Korra off into a wall. Even master waterbenders like Katara and Hama, under the full moon, could only subdue and move them around, and the latter was sadistic.
  • Not to mention the disturbing sound effects in that scene. As Tarrlok is bloodbending Korra, you can actually hear the fluids inside her swishing around.
  • Korra has to be given some credit here. She is downright scary after she's got Tarrlok on the ropes. There wasn't any good reason to blow up the floor. She was just that pissed. She also fully intended to roast him. Aang was only ever that scary in the Avatar State, and even that was arguably tame to just how far Korra seemed willing to go.
    • Also, when Korra breathes fire for the first time, she looks feral and enraged, like a freaking dragon on the loose.
• As the non-benders of Republic City are rounded up like cattle and have their rights taken from them, there are too many disturbing parallels that can be drawn to history. The Red Scare, for one- as well as the American internment of the Japanese, and Hitler imposing curfew upon the Jews.
  • The implication that all the non-benders live in one area is also somewhat horrific, because it shows that there really is a large amount of discrimination going on in Republic City. Slowly, but surely, we're being shown that, despite their own prejudice and extremist methods, the Equalists may actually have a point.
• Tarrlok in general. He goes from being a merely egomanial douche to a racist, heartless maniac. He doesn't want Republic City to be equal- he wants to persecute non-benders based on suspicion alone.
  • Worst is how he comes off in the episode. Previously, he was an asshole, but was depicted as a calm, if slightly belligerent, manipulator. By the end of this episode? He's a psychotic wreck.
  • In a clip of the following episode, he goes as far as to electrocute himself to frame the Equalists in the kidnapping of Korra. His manner of electrocuting himself with an Equalist glove is almost casual.
• It's very brief, but in Korra's flashback, Yakone can be seen bloodbending Toph, Sokka, and Aang, with Aang seeming powerless to stop him.
• Korra's reaction to Ikki blowing her crush on Mako to Asami is "I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" levels of both funny and terrifying.

"Out of the Past"

• Tarrlok bloodbending Korra down the stairs. Just the grotesque way she's twisted- it doesn't look natural at all.
  • Also Yakone bloodbending everyone in the courtroom, then when Aang chases him he says, "I'm going to put you down for good," and starts twisting Aang's body around. Ugh.
    • It's even worse when you notice the other body-twisting Yakone is doing, such as bending bones ways they can't go. Yakone is torturing Aang before going for the kill.
    • It's blatantly clear Yakone was going for a neck-snap by the animation.
• The preview of the finale. The Equalists have planes that drop bombs and Amon seems to have set up mass-bending-removals, where benders are rounded up and brought before him like they're going to be executed.
  • "Prepare to be cleansed of your impurity..."
  • And in one shot, Aang's statue had Amon's mask over his face, his airbending symbol on top of his staff replaced with an Equalist flag... it had Uncanny Valley all over it.
  • And it shows he is about to take away Korra's bending in the promo while on Air Temple Island. Given he mentioned saving her for last, that must have meant he rounded up Tenzin and the children.
  • The fact people sound like they are in physical pain when he strips them of them bending just spreads goosebumps.
• When Amon and Tarrlok face off, Tarrlok uses bloodbending on Amon to try and slow him down. Amon shrugs it off and keeps coming. Tarrlok's expressions say it all.
• Not to mention the scene where Tarrlok takes Korra down to a steel cell in a dimly lit basement under a cabin in the middle of nowhere looks to have been ripped straight from a typical horror film.