The stage is set with a daytime romp in the countryside, as Korra airbends a ball to maximum height and velocity to give Naga a good challenge as she catches each "throw". No one is especially rushed, except Lin, who doesn't want Korra dawdling outside. Korra reminds Lin that no one except the current crew even knows where she is: herself, Lin, Asami, Mako, and Bolin. When Mako and Asami bring news of a new air bender, Korra asks Lin if she's ever heard of the place. Lin claims to know nothing about their destination, a city named Zaofu. When everyone has happily re-boarded the airship for Zaofu, Lin is left with Naga, who expects Lin to play catch with her. Already in a foul mood, Lin simply snaps the ball apart with a metal line from her wrist. Naga is crushed.
Bad Lin!
Team Korra, all back on the airship and approaching Zaofu, all stare in astonishment at a city literally made of metal, by metal benders. Bolin, especially, is ecstatic. Everyone except Lin seems amped up to meet a new air bender, and even Mako has shaken off the malaise he showed when approaching Ba Sing Sei. Is it because he's finally at peace among the group, or is it because his boss is sitting ten feet behind him? Lin reclines in the back, and has no desire to even go into the city. Everyone is perplexed, with Bolin and Asami openly wondering how any metal bender wouldn't want to see the place. When Lin demands secrecy that she's even waiting behind in the Republic City Police Air Ship that supposedly won't give her away, Korra reluctantly agrees.
Like Disney World, without tourists and giant walking characters
Metal benders gracefully bend metal cables that bring in the airship, and a small group is waiting for Team Korra when they disembark. Ai Wei introduces himself, basically as an administrator of the city. He's polite and respectful, and Korra returns his manners, but finds she has to lie when Aiwei wants to know if her friends are the only visitors. When the lie is immediately accepted, all seems ready for a fantastic trip.
The ride through Zaofu's several massive pods, which are more like neighborhoods that can fold up at night, Bolin is still on his Zaofu-high, and even the rest are impressed with such a nice, orderly, well-designed city. Aiwei is very proud as he informs Team Korra that Zaofu is an environment where all can truly develop their potential. The tram continues past a monumental statue of Toph Beifong, earthbending teacher to Avatar Aang, former Republic City Police Chief, who is Lin's mother. Bolin geeks out completely, screeching a desire to see Toph, but Aiwei has to inform him that Toph has not visited in years, disappearing on a quest for enlightenment. The tram is in a tunnel, and darkens momentarily while Aiwei delivers this news. Foreshadowing?
No hero worship here at all...
Things are looking just as good at Air Temple Island. Dan, the air bender we met in the premier, is eating in the main cafeteria while Iki and Meelo show the place around to two new air benders, recently arrived from who knows where. Dan's happy to meet new air benders, and seems like he's happily adjusting to life in the Temple. Meelo and Iki are even more excited when a stranger approaches them inside the cafeteria, demonstrating that he can now gather a circle of whirling air in his palm. He's gotten a hair cut, but the voice is familiar....
Team Korra, still thrilled with Zaofu, finally reaches the home of the new air bender, and Aiwei insists that Korra meet the mother first. Team Korra is escorted into a vast hall, where a circle of metal benders gracefully, in unison, attach themselves to the ceiling via cables and float in a circle suspended in the air. Korra at first thinks it's combat training. Aiwei explains it's a dance rehearsal. When the number ends successfully, with a huge metal flower bud opening to reveal two dancers in perfect pose, the leader of the troupe finally notices Team Korra.
They're fighting... stagnation and ennui
Dismissing the dancers, she approaches, and Aiwei introduces her as Suyin, mother to the air bender. Also, she's the founder and matriarch (I guess, like a mayor) of Zaofu. Suyin doesn't just know of Korra, but greets each of her friends by name, impressing Korra. Korra's not so happy to know when Aiwei leans in to whisper to Suyin, and Suyin aks Korra why she lied about not having any other companions.
Thanks for giving me away, Bolin
Bolin is aghast- he's a terrible liar, mostly because he doesn't get the whole concept of secrets in the first place. Korra is embarassed, but Aiwei calmly explains that he detected Korra's increased heart rate and breathing in her quick lie, and Suyin just wants the truth. So, Korra has to explain who is left behind on the airship. Suyin is no longer annoyed at Korra, realizing that Lin Beifong doesn't even want to see her, and sad that Lin hasn't even told Team Korra who she is, and how she and Lin know each other.
Now it's Korra's turn to be annoyed. While Lin avoids studying the view, out of some unexplained dislike of the place, Korra and Suyin appear behind Lin, demanding to know why Lin had no desire to see her sister. Korra has what she thinks is even better news: the new air bender is Suyin's daughter, and Lin's niece! Isn't Lin happy and proud? No. Lin accuses Suyin of tearing the family apart; Suyin accuses Lin of keeping it torn apart.
After their fighting leads nowhere, Suyin gives the whole group a tour of her home, introducing her four younger children (she has five) along the way. Twins Wei and Wing are playing a life-size pinball game called Power Disc. It's interesting because neither player can see their goal, and the metal disc is basically metal bent into the goal by bouncing it off thick metal columns in a pattern on the court. Huan is busy in a garden of abstract metal sculptures, oblivious to the newcomers until Bolin tells him one of his pieces is a really great banana. This gets an angry outburst from Huan, who insists that it's a representation of the new age brought about by Harmonic Convergence. Bolin basically does verbal jujitsu to talk Huan down. The group walks away, with Bolin quietly insisting that it's really a banana.
Don't take Bolin to MOMA
Suyin's only daughter is reading a book in a sunny garden. Turns out, she's the air bender. Does this mean that she couldn't bend anything before? Opal is a gentle, lovable young woman, thrilled to meet Korra, already in love with Bolin, and instantly welcoming of her aunt Lin, who insists on taking Opal and leaving immediately. Opal is game, but Suyin thinks Opal should be getting private air bending lessons from Korra, instead of learning with other air benders from Master Tenzin. Korra agrees to stay for now. When Lin objects, Suyin informs them that her home is totally safe. Korra's willing to make it work, and is looking forward to staying somewhere nice with a supportive leader; Lin stalks off.
Back at Air Temple Island, the new recruits are working on the old swinging panel exercise we saw in Season 1. Remember, it took Korra a whole episode to master? The new recruits are getting just as beat up as she was. Meelo is trying the drill sargaent approach, not realizing that screaming at people to be a leaf might not be effective. When Dan gets tossed out of the maze, the newest recruit, he of the shaved head, gives it a whirl. And he nails it on the first try. Meelo is speechless at first, but Shaved Head simply bows to him with a compliment, and Meelo shows his own respect. The exercise is broken up by Kya, who arrives to announce that Tenzin has arrived at the Northern Air Temple, and that they'll all by traveling there to meet Tenzin and their fellow students and continue their training. Shaved Head politely asks if Avatar Korra will be there. Kya, weirded out by his interest, has to disappoint him.
Back in Zaofu, Korra and Opal begin. It's a simple circle walking exercise, with the two benders creating two interlocking circles of air, whirring around them. Korra's has more power, but Opal's is consistent and she can control it, so Korra is impressed.
Hula Hoops!
Night comes to Zaofu, and the pods that make up the city fold up like rose buds. Inside it's merriment as Suyin hosts Team Korra to dinner. Lin, despite her bad attitude is given a place of honor at Suyin's side. Their chef describes tonight's courses, and it looks like everyone will be enjoying themselves. Except.... Suyin's husband Bataar, and their oldest son, Bataar Jr., who will be up for a while designing and engineering a train station remodeling. Suyin doesn't bat an eye, telling them to go forth and create. It seems like everyone had a great talent except Opal, at least until recently when she could air bend. Wonder if that created any problems?
Opal seems fine, seated next to Bolin. The two share a relaxed, happy conversation, Bolin cheerily giving her the one-minute version of his life, from the streets of Republic City to mover stardom. Bolin mentions that they've just sent a bunch of air benders to the Northern Temple, and Korra complains of how they had to be rescued from the Earth Queen. Suyin can't agree that Hou-Ting sucks enough. She instantly launches an anti-monarchy tirade, insisting that the Queen needs to get out of the way of progress.
Suyin's not entirely wrong; we saw from last episode that Hou-Ting is a tyrant, a mix of Marie Antoinette and Robespierre. But Suyin seems more opposed to her in principle, instead of giving specific reasons why she's a terrible ruler. Does Suyin rule democratically? Who decides what the next public project will be? Who decides what the next dance recital will be? Earlier, Suyin outright bragged that with Aiwei, there are no secrets in Zaofu. Is she just as controlling as Hou-Ting? Is that okay just because Zaofu is so modern and egalitarian-looking?
Lin tries to mock Suyin for her political opinions, and Suyin's escalating taunt is cut short when the empty chair at the end, next to Asami, is suddenly filled by.... Varrick!!!
HE'S BACK!!!
He's been at Zaofu for a while, after pitching some new tech development ideas to Suyin, who has put him in charge of doing crazy stuff. Varrick is about to wax poetically about magnets, until Asami asks what he's doing in Zaofu????? Well, Varrick says, what are any of us doing here? After using metaphysics to dodge her question, he asks Asami how their company is. Asami gives us some background I wish we'd gotten before by telling Varrick that Future Industries reverted back to her ownership because he is a criminal. Varrick retorts by pointing out he was never convicted. Mako reminds him that that's because Varrick broke out of prison. Varrick refutes this, saying his escape was the universe wanting him free. Lin almost wants to arrest him on the spot, but Suyin points out that her chef used to be a pirate, and she's been giving people second chances here at Zaofu. Lin storms off instead of listening to Suyin tell her anything more. The only one excited to see him is his mover star, Bolin. And all of us watching, of course.
Bolin and Mako are grooming after dinner for some incomprehensible reason. Mako points out that Bolin an Opal seem to be into each other. Bolin thinks Opal is nice, but he's still only into women completely not into him. Mako reminds him that this strategy hasn't gone well for him, and Bolin realizes that a pretty, awesome girl who likes him might be better than an actress who snubs him.
Korra and Suyin relax together after dinner, and Korra can't help being curious about Lin's anger at Suyin. Suyin gives Korra what is probably a white-washed version. She and Lin were Toph Beifong's daughters, by different fathers. They never knew these fathers, and Toph was busy working, so the girls were pretty much on their own, a stark and intentional contrast with Toph's own childhood, which was behind her over-protective parents' walls. Lin followed her mother into the police; Suyin took a different turn that involved rebelling in some unspecified way. She then left home, traveling the world in various ways, including a pirate ship and a traveling circus. It looks like a fun life, but she eventually became bored with it, and decided it was time to get herself a home. So, she bought the land that is now Zaofu with money that came from somewhere, who knows, and started building with an architect who became her husband. She's been a ridiculously busy mother of five, and matriarch of Potential City since. All she was lacking was her sister. Notice, she doesn't say she misses her mother.
Rules? What are those?
Opal is practicing air bending, when Bolin decides to interrupt so he can apply the totally-unsuccessful-non-charm trick. Opal is instantly repulsed, and tells Bolin he's acting weird from the get go, so Bolin admits to being nervous. Opal tells him to just be himself, not some weird version trying to be cool. They're about to take it to a new level when Korra interrupts them.
It's night at Air Temple Island (wouldn't it be day when it's night in Zaofu? Aren't there time zones on this world?). And the newest Shaved Head recruit with the familiar voice is in Tenzin's empty, dark study. He finds a engraved pendant belong to Air Guru Laghima, who Zaheer quoted in the first episode. "Let go of the earthly tether/ Enter the void empty/ Become Wind", reads the pendant. Iki finds Shaved Head, and cheekily informs him that he's breaking the rules. Aunt Kya appears behind her, gravely informing Iki she's up past her bedtime. Kya's tone indicates that she's starting to get suspicious of the newest recruit, who hasn't changed into an air bender's uniform, and is now holding one of her brother's antiquities in his study.
Hey, mind if I keep this?
Kya figures it out two seconds later. Zaheer! At Air Temple Island! She instantly fights him with water bending, and they have a duel of air and water. Kya calls for help, and when Zaheer briefly stuns her, two White Lotus guards try to detain Zaheer, with the results we've come to expect: he knocks them out completely. Kya stands up, ready to attack again after summoning overlapping circles of water. She throws them at Zaheer as a double helix, which he dodges, blasting Kya out with one last blast of air, before taking off.
Like Dodgeball, but with water
Things are quieter in Zaofu, though no less upsetting. Lin is reading the paper, as angry in solitude as she is in company. A knock on the door brings Opal, who timidly enters. Opal's so sorry that Lin doesn't like being in Zaofu. She has no idea why the two sisters don't get along, but she desperately wishes Lin would like to be closer to the kids, specifically her. Did Opal get lost in the hustle and bustle of raising five kids? The two Bataars bonded over building projects, and Suyin's always been so proud of her metal bending sons. How has Opal fit into this family? Lin is absolutely horrible the entire time, behaving like a sulking child and then a grumpy old man. Opal is devastated and runs away in humiliation. Korra enters as she leaves, angrily telling Lin that Opal's outreach was Korra's idea. But it seems nothing will disrupt Lin's desire to stay a bitter, lonely woman. Korra leaves Lin alone, and we see Lin struggling not to cry.
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