Awesome Mix: Volume 1 - Guardians of the Galaxy

This movie has two goals:  provide a rollickin' ride of an action/sci-fi movie, and explain how people go to wholly self-centered, with selfish goals of revenge and riches, to altruistic, self-sacrificing, still-eccentric Guardians of the Galaxy.  The first it does, and then some.  The first takes good special effects, good fight choreography, and snappy comebacks from the heroes to the villains.  The second goal it manages to complete; but only with a lot of dialogue that feels cartoonish at times, and with a villain that is completely over the top as genocidal maniacs go.

Our main squeeze character, Peter Quill, is shown in early childhood developing abandonment issues, then being kidnapped.  As the next scene unfolds with a swaggering treasure hunter blithely overcoming every snare to his booty, we already know it's the adult version of the same kid, by the so-ubiquitous-you-better-get-used-to-it Walkman at his belt.  After cheating his boss, Yondu, out of the the treasure that he acquires, he sets off a chase involving Yondu, who just happens to be his foster father as well as current boss, and Ronan The Accuser, a badass angry that his world has just signed a peace treaty with an Empire of worlds Peter just happens to be proceeding to.  When Peter's early attempt to get paid for the treasure backfire, we (or I should say, he) meets Gamora.

Gamora has volunteered, and manipulated Ronan into sending her, for the mission to retrieve the treasure Peter is trying to sell.  She's a good fighter, but Peter has obviously been through attempts to steal his goods before he sells them, because he unleashes his gadgets to get away from her and an new threat, a large, talking raccoon named Rocket, and Rocket's assistant, Groot.

Much has been made of Groot's only line, "I am Groot", mostly because he constantly repeats it throughout the movie, and in different tones of voice, which the other Guardians eventually learn to translate.  Groot is the movie's idiot savant, asleep for the danger, awake for the money, a study of innocence but loaded with lots of defensive measures and a little bit of magic.  He's powerful, and varies between passively taking Rocket's abuse and kicking ass against Ronan's minions.  The movie starts with Groot appearing to be Rocket's long-suffering sidekick; the movie ends with Rocket, as well as the other Guardians, nurturing Groot's offshoot with love and devotion, impressed with the original's power, and awed by Groot's courage.

When Rocket, Groot, Peter and Gamora all get caught by The Nova Empire's Police/Air Force, and thrown into the planet Xandar's loathsome and hopeless prison, the Kyln.  Gamora is a rock as the other prisoners describe the hellish revenge they plan for all she's killed in service to Ronan.  She's not so impassive later, when a group of them manage to kidnap her for summary execution.  Two people save her:  Drax, a blue humanoid with red markings, dressed like a pro wrestler, stops the original executioners, but only so he can kill her himself.  Peter, who snuck up on Gamora's kidnappers, intrigued that she tried to steal his treasure and maybe hoping he can learn what exactly it is from her. manages to convince Drax that keeping Gamora alive will eventually bring Ronan to Drax.

They succeed that night, but Gamora and Peter realize they better get out of prison before Drax gets impatient.  Rocket and Groot are willing to help, but only for money, which Gamora comes through with; she has another buyer for the treasure Peter acquired, and the money is astronomical.  Gamora's pretty sure it's legit, and that she can be free of Ronan with the money.  When their escape is rocky at first, Drax comes through to help them successfully break out, but he insists on staying with Gamora for his promised revenge against Ronan.  Peter agrees to let him and the others out on his ship.  They get away, with Peter in control of the treasure, and Gamora in charge of arranging the hand-off and payment.  Their escape features a sequence where Peter has to risk re-capture to recover his Walkman, and the Awesome Mix Tape Volume 1 inside.  Which would he consider more important?  A treasure worth enough that he can retire, or the music?

While Peter and his new friends have been in prison, Ronan's been conferring with Gamora's foster father:  Thanos, last seen at the end of the original Avenger's Movie.  Ronan is angry that Thanos' foster daughter is a traitor.  Thanos is angry because he needs Peter's treasure to destroy the world Ronan wants revenge on.  Thanos agrees she must be killed, but pines for her already.  Thanos' other foster daughter, Nebula, burning over the traitor being favored over her, faithful to Thanos and whoever he sends her to serve.  Thanos insists on the treasure Peter has, and Nebula will help Ronan recover it and kill Gamora.  Ronan and Nebula's forces invade the Kyln prison just after Peter, the treasure, and his new frenemies have left; all they can do is brutally torture people into giving answers, and kill everyone left.

The newly formed Team Peter reaches a mining colony named Knowhere.  Like the old mining towns of the Wild West, this place is an anything-goes spot, with plenty of drunken arguments and litter.  Peter unsuccessfully tries to woo Gamora with his Awesome Mix Tape and his sob story about his mom dying, and all he has of her is the tape.  Gamora's story is more traumatic; Thanos destroyed her world, her people, and her family, sparing her only so he could torture her into killing for him.  With the treasure they've recovered in the hands she's about to put it in, the treasure cannot be used to destroy another world.  Peter's a little more successful in stopping Rocket and Drax from whaling on each other while drinking and gambling.

Rocket, drunk and angry regales the entire establishment with a deep, shattering account of how every slight and humiliation over his obvious genetic mutations rips him apart inside, producing the sarcastic, selfish, quixotic creature he is.  Peter tells him that by not keeping his shit together, he plays into the hands of people who would use him.  They all do.  No wonder they creep from job to job, prison to prison.

While they banter, Yondu meets with the same buyer who turned Peter down.  Played by Michael Rooker, Yondu isn't some tortured good guy in a life of crime by bad circumstances.  He loves being a bounty hunter and the head of the Ravagers, which is basically like an interstellar motorcycle gang. He repeatedly likes to remind Peter that when he at first kidnapped Peter as a kid, the other Ravagers wanted to eat Peter.  He also loves whistling to control the magic arrow he keeps tucked in his belt.  We'll get to see just why so many people are frightened of this arrow, including the buyer who will now tell Yondu just who he wanted to sell Peter's treasure to.

The buyer turns out to be from another post-credits Marvel movie scene - The Collector, played by Benicio Del Toro, has been collecting numerous oddities of the galaxy for... well... quite a while.  It's a museum of artifacts as well as living things, including Cosmo, the Soviet space dog.  The Collector helps us all out by explaining just what Peter's been carrying around.

It's an infinity stone.  It was one of a few involved in the creation of the universe, and contains a ridiculous amount of energy, an infinite amount to be exact.  Ages ago, six incredible people tried holding hands while one touched the infinity stone, thinking they'd be able to contain and use the energy.  It fried them all.  If an infinity stone touches organic, carbon-based matter, it will destroy it.  It's been locked in a metal orb, so Peter and the gang have been safe from it, and the Collector will now keep it locked away forever.  And everyone, except Drax, who went missing and couldn't be bothered to follow them here, will now get paid.

The Collector's poor, unwilling servant decides that the movie needs to last a little longer, and makes a grab for the Infinity Stone, thinking she'll be powerful enough to escape The Collector with it.  When she touches it, the Stone demonstrates its power by basically electrocuting her and blowing up portions of The Collector's gallery.  Which is good for Cosmo, because his glass cage is destroyed, and he's last seen wandering out of the gallery.  It's bad for everyone else, even though they make it out without staying to see if they'll get paid.  Before they go, they manage to re-close the orb around the Stone.

Peter and Gamora are now convinced that the only safe place for the Infinity Stone is back on Xandar, where they met, where the government there will protect the stone from anyone who wants to misuse it.  Rocket is furious they didn't get paid.  Groot is Groot.  Just when they miss Drax, he appears, and behind him is the last group of people they want to see- Ronan, Nebula, and the Kree fighters backing them up.  Drax, tired of waiting for Ronan to find Gamora, called Ronan himself.  Horrified, Peter and Gamora head into mining ships, one-person craft with some minor equipment for cutting up rock, and not made to withstand going into space for any amount of time.  Rocket and Groot make it to Peter's ship.  

Drax, after plotting his revenge against Ronan for years for the death of his family, manages to get some face time with the guy, but it's totally unsuccessful.  Not only is Ronan fifty bazillion times stronger, he doesn't even remember killing Drax's family, and gloats that he'll forget killing Drax, too.  Drax ends up in the local fountain, lucky to be alive, even if he doesn't think so yet.

Peter and Gamora end the battle with their miner ships useless in space, Gamora's ship shot out, Gamora floating in space, Nebula racing off with the Infinity Stone, and Peter willingly leaving his ship to save Gamora, and get them both taken aboard the second-to-last place Peter wants to be:  Yondu's spaceship, full of angry Ravagers.

Ronan, now in video conference with Thanos, and having the upper hand as he has the Stone and all think Gamora is dead, decides to double-cross Thanos by keeping the Infinity Stone for himself, grasping it in his bare hand, surviving the ordeal, and then placing it in his giant stone club.  He's all ready to destroy Xandar himself, without Thanos.  Nebula promises to help him destroy anything if he'll now kill Thanos.  Someone has Daddy Issues.

Peter and Gamora, once awake and realizing the Stone is now in Ronan's hands, manage to get Yondu to cooperate, on the condition that Yondu will get the Stone in the end to sell as originally planned.  When Peter and Gamora get back to Peter's ship, Rocket thinks it's a terrible deal and wants to bail.  Gamora and Peter are totally dedicated to getting the Stone to Xandar and the Nova government; the galaxy they all live in is at stake, and they're totally ready to die trying.

Rocket is just as totally unconvinced.  Drax, realizing he can't defeat Ronan on his own, and bitterly regretting not being a team player, is willing to die trying.  I get the feeling Drax will always be willing to die trying.  Played by Dave Bautista, Drax is a bundle of anger and honor.  He's not bright, but Peter always seems to know how to reason with him.  His species' inability to understand metaphors contributes a few jokes, but his job is to kick ass while simultaneously getting us to feel his inner pain, pain he can't avenge on his own and needs his new friends for.

The ensuing scene, where the rest of the group, including Groot, must convince Rocket that it's worth their lives to try to stop Ronan, is staged as the beginning of the Guardians.  Sure, they worked together to escape prison.  But now, they're so in tune with each other that everyone can translate for Groot now.   Gamora, after a life of being raised by her greatest enemy and his lackeys, is just thankful to be with people who she cares about at all.  Peter is desperate to save a galaxy he loves to traipse around.  Drax wants to help after screwing them all so royally before.  In the end Rocket realizes that he's not getting out of this, and that this crazy group of suicidal hero types might be his only chance at real friendship.  He's reluctant, but once he's in the pilot's seat of Peter's ship, he's fully committed to getting the job done, or at least die doing as much damage to Ronan as possible.

Peter sets up the last battle by notifying Xandar's Nova Force that Ronan is coming.  Nova Prime, played with the perfect amount of seriousness and good fun by Glenn Close, badgers Peter's contact in Nova Force, played to perfect bureaucrat perfection by John C. Reilly, into deciding that Peter is telling the truth, and they'd better take the warning seriously.   It's a scene that demonstrates how Nova doesn't fuck around, doesn't take forever to make decisions, and at least tries to make some sense when governing multiple planets.  In other words, they're the people who should really hold on to Infinity Stone.

The last battle involves over the top flying, both in space and atmosphere, a golden net formed by the Nova Force's Air Ships, pilots valiantly holding the line while The Guardians board Ronan's ship to deal with him personally.  In the fight, Gamora must personally defeat Nebula, Rocket has a blast directing the battle from Peter's ship, and Yondu crash lands on Xandar.  There, Yondu is confronted by multiple Kree fighters, only to demonstrate just how fast and deadly his whistle-controlled arrow is.

Nova Force, netted together, all goes down together, after buying the time the Guardians needed.  Ronan simply blows their glowing net and ships to pieces.  Fortunately, the Guardians are already confronting Ronan, and might have time to stop his genocide.

They bring Ronan's ship down, but the Guardians are all aboard at the time, and facing certain death.  That is when Groot comes in, and brings the awesomeness. He has the ability to regrow himself, but demonstrates that he can do even more, slowly surrounding them all with a globe of newly-grown branches and vines, strong enough to protect his friends.  Rocket is terrified, pointing out that Groot's move won't save Groot.  Groot's only response is to smile and set out little glowing particles, so they won't be in the dark in his protective globe.

As the Guardians, surviving the crash on Xandar look through the remains of Groot, they can already call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy.  They've already earned the title.  But we get an unpleasant surprise.  Ronan, who survives the crash of his ship on Xandar, strides out to the horror of the civilians who have gathered at the crash site.  With Ronan inches away from killing them all, Peter decides that he'll go out dancing.  Reliving his favorite movie, Footloose, he sets out to teach Ronan how awesome dancing is.  Gamora is just confused, but at least one other Guardian realized what was up.  Ronan turns around to find himself hit.  The Infinity Stone somehow gets out of Ronan's weapon, and Peter makes a grab for it before it can hit the surface of Xandar.  He grabs it, and despite the movie's warnings, even survives holding it.

But he won't contain it for long.  Mixed in with the scene where Peter's mother begs Peter to hold her hand seconds before dying, is Gamora's pleas for Peter to join hands with her before he dies.  Peter understands his actions now as his attempt to correct his deeply regretted choice to abandon his mother as she died; he and Gamora try to hold the Stone's power together.  Drax joins them, then Rocket.  And they hold it together, despite all evidence they ever could, long enough for Peter to re-direct it's energy at Ronan, killing Ronan, and then re-contain the Stone in its metal orb.

Whew.  The rest is just clean up.  For the citizens of Xandar, literally.  Their capital city is a fucking mess, but it's better than the shithole it would have been.  Yondu shows up to collect the Stone, and Peter holds it behind his back long enough, before handing an orb off to Yondu, so that we already know he switched the Stone on Yondu.  Yondu probably already suspects as well; when he discovers the deception, he's seems pleased, and can rest assured that Peter will be all right without him.  He and a pal reminisce about kidnapping Peter years ago, and Yondu off-handedly admits he was hired by Peter's father to bring him to Dad after his Mom died.

The mystery of Peter's dad deepens when Nova Force, in thanks for his help, reveals that Peter is not entirely human, explaining why he could grasp the Stone for so long.  He is partly an unknown creature, but strong and powerful enough to grasp the energy of the universe's beginning without dying.  Peter's intrigued, but has nothing else to go on, and doesn't seem especially curious enough to make it his next quest.  Instead, he suggests to his new crew, the rest of the Guardians, that they do something a little bit good, a little bit bad.  Gamora, finally calling him the name he's wanted to be known by since the beginning of the movie, tells him to lead.  After all, he started the party.

Finally called Star-Lord by someone who wasn't laughing at him, Peter feels he's finally earned the right to open a box.  It's a going-away present from his mother, given to him moments before she died, and the only thing besides the Walkman and the his Awesome Mix Tape he had when taken from Earth years ago.  And yes, it's a new Awesome Mix Tape.  Volume 2.  We float away to the sound of the Jackson 5, and Rocket holding onto a budding new Groot Jr., all of the Guardians already attached to their newest member.  Even Drax, who is going to catch him dancing one day.

Bastille Stormed! - Legend of Korra - Season 3, Episode 10

Distinct plot lines work through the episode.  Korra and Asami have to work through a series of obstacles just to get back to where they were a day ago.  Lin follows Korra's trail, and calls in the cavalry.  Bolin and Mako realize that Bolin will never be a metal bender.  And Zaheer gets tired of stalking Korra.

Korra and Asami start off being forced onto an Earth Kingdom Airship, with a very cynical crew led by Captain Salt of the Earth.   

McHale's Navy

Korra sounds crazy to me, ranting on about danger to the Earth Queen, and how Korra has to stop the Red Lotus, so it's not surprising that the Captain completely disregards her pleading to go free.  The crew is about three other guys, and the one actually chaining them up in the brig has to be cajoled by a whining Asami not to chain her to the floor, and to a rail in the wall instead.  He absolutely refuses to bring Korra any water, and only begrudgingly allows her to have air to breathe.

Zaheer and the rest of Red Lotus still in the truck they stole in Republic City, are on a deserted highway, speeding through the Earth Kingdom en route to Ba Sing Se.  Bolin and Mako are still their prisoners.  But neither seem very afraid; Mako asks pointed and pretty good questions, trying to deduce what Zaheer wants with Korra, and why he needs her alive; Bolin makes chitchat with Ghazan and Ming Hua in the back.  The King of Stream of Consciousness meets two people who've been alone with their thoughts for thirteen years.

Not really a metal bender, more like a people bender

Bolin gets Ghazan and Ming Hua to dish on how they amused themselves while imprisoned for so long; then he gets all semi-psychic on them, deducing personal details that don't always work out.  Ghazan and Ming Hua, though, are still impressed with him and it's not until Zaheer orders Mako and Bolin gagged that the party is over.  They're approaching Ba Sing Se anyway, where Zaheer supposedly has a plan for getting Korra from the Earth Queen.

He'll need to revise his plan, because Asami knows something about airships.  Namely, that her company builds the best ones, and that all others are cheaply made, with railings that won't hold her for long.  Sure enough, she manages to yank her chained hands free, knee tuck the rail under her feet so her hands are no longer behind her back, and pry up a metal panel from the floor.  Instructing Korra to call for help in five minutes, she disappears into the hole.

 We should escape on general principle

In Ba Sing Se, Earth Queen Hou-Ting is in fine form, bullying her assistant, Gun, and complaining that she has to meet with the people who actually captured Bolin and Mako for her.  She disdainfully sentences Bolin and Mako to jail with her political dissidents.  The Dai Li open the floor beneath them, and they literally fall through the floor into prison.  Hou-Ting then tells Zaheer that he can have his bounty, trying to dismiss him.  But Zaheer has shown that he's not to be dismissed.  Bolin and Mako aren't for payment- they're just Zaheer's bargaining chips, so he could get an audience in the first place.  Zaheer then makes Hou-Ting another offer; declaring that he knows Korra is already captured and being transported to Ba Sing Se, and throwing Hou-Ting off her guard, he tells Hou-Ting that he will tell The Earth Queen where her draft-dodging air benders are, in exchange for Korra herself.

Hou-Ting is indignant at this offer; why would she hand over a prisoner as important as the Avatar to some nobody just to get her air benders back?  And if she had a good intelligence division, she might already know that they're at the Northern Air Temple.  But she doesn't.  And Zaheer points out that Hou-Ting really can't hold Korra for long.  She's the Avatar, and the White Lotus will eventually come looking for her.  To say nothing of Lin Beifong.  The sooner Korra's out of Ba Sing Se, the better for Hou-Ting.  Hu Ting makes a big deal of mulling the offer, especially when Zaheer won't disclose what he wants Korra for.  But he assures Hou-Ting that Korra will never bother the Earth Queen again, and that seals the deal for her.

Shoulda' stayed in Republic City, guys

Back in the airship above the great desert of the Earth Kingdom, Korra's call for help is answered, but the poor guy doesn't expect Asami to knock him out with the railing he chained her to.  Asami is pretty smug as she twirls the keys from the guard on her fingers.

Guess we're not your prisoners, after all

She and Korra quickly take the airship's bridge, even as the Captain gets out a call for help.  Korra's air bending quickly damages the controls and then the radio, and the airship crashes into the dunes below, somehow not blowing up.  Asami gingerly walks out, just glad they survived and they're not still in a cell.  The crew is pissed at the ladies, who weren't willing guests and who point out that any further attempts to capture and transport them against their will are a bad idea.  When Asami suggests getting the ship ready to fly again, the Captain asserts, stupidly, that the ladies are still his prisoners, and that the crew is going to wait for another airship to come and pick them up.

A movement in the distant sand dunes diverts their attention, and they realize that they're not alone, and that help may not come in time.  The crew overrides their Captain, agreeing to help Asami and Korra fix the ship and fly again.

In Ba Sing Se, Mako and Bolin meet their neighbor, who's sad story bodes ill for them. Mako, desperate, gives Bolin a huge, compassionate pep talk to metal bend already.  Hearing Mako tell him it's his time, Bolin agrees to focus and really concentrate and just metal bend.  Well, he focuses and concentrates, but not a bit of metal moves anywhere.  The cell block is bummed, and someone asks if Bolin and Mako brought any toilet paper.  It's reminiscent of the guys' night in the Lower Ring, when Bolin reassures Mako that the district is their toilet.  Again, the toilet humor when they guys are roughing it.

Oh well, let's start pooping

Lin is the only character who actually does what she'd like to do this episode.  After storming away from Suyin, instead of waiting, she finds the abandoned Jeep.  Or rather, two abandoned Jeeps.  She's examining them when Naga finds her, roaring at first, which gives us our first look at Lin scared.  She's frozen, until Naga licks her.  And normal Lin is back, annoyed with Naga.  Pabu is also around, and just as happy to jump on people as usual, which Lin also loves.  She doesn't have time to play with the pets, so she gives them a snack while she hauls out her radio.  And calls Tonraq.  Finally, she's called in some reinforcements.

Get here now and bring a leash

The crew is happy to report that Korra blew all the sand out of the engine room.  And Asami's put her skills to work patching the ship's holes.  They start it up, jubilant when the airship rises into the air, and shocked out of their minds when their stalker shows up, a giant sand dragon/worm that bursts out of the desert under the airship, ripping the airship to bits, which fall back to the desert floor, including one really petrified pilot, still strapped in his seat.  But the fun's not over.  Their new pet realizes they're around, chasing them around until they can get a safe distance from the airship.  Captain Salt of the Earth says the time has come to just wait out the beast; Asami says let's build a sand sailor, like sand benders use, and get out of here.  Guess what the crew decides?

Back at Hou-Ting's palace in Ba Sing Se, Zaheer and the rest of the Red Lotus notice Dai Li scurrying, and one rushing to the throne room.  Zaheer air bends himself silently into the throne room after him and before the door can close.  He overhears a very worried Dai Li guard explain Korra's current situation to Hu Ting, who is furious that her capture of Korra isn't going swimmingly.  Zaheer reports back to the Red Lotus, who realize that Korra's not coming;  even if another airship gets out there, Korra will be long gone.  Ba Sing Se is a bust.  Which is too bad, because they've been enjoying Hou-Ting's wine and lounge.

Here's to anarchy!

Luxuries are nothing compared to confronting the Earth Queen with their new information, though.  She's imperious as she informs Zaheer that by learning about something without her permission, they've just committed a crime.  Zaheer isn't impressed, and the Red Lotus forms a defensive pattern, and engages with the Dai Li.  The Dai Li has lost to everyone else they've fought all season, so Zaheer, Ghazan, P'Li and Ming Hua make short work of them, and Gun makes off without a word, while Hou-Ting is horrified that she's been left alone to face her attackers.

The sand sailor is all ready and so is the crew.  With all aboard, Korra air bends air into the sail, and they're off.  An early outrunning of the sand dragon/worm gives them all false confidence, so when the thing leaps out from under them, and tries to swallow them whole, they're terrified.  But Korra's got that too, bending fire into the dragon/worm's throat so it just hurls them out and away, to speed back to Misty Palms Oasis in peace.

Quick, Artoo- my lightsaber!

Hou-Ting isn't faring so well.  Without her guards, and her beleaguered assistant Gun, she's actually completely powerless.  Thinking her imperious attitude will save her, she reminds Zaheer that she's a queen.  Zaheer, bending air to propel himself so he's standing on top of the ornamental work above her own throne, informs Hou-Ting that he doesn't go for the whole monarchy thing.

I only believe voluntary collective action

Bending the air around the Earth Queen, Zaheer literally sucks the air out of her lungs and throat, leaving her choking, surrounded by a vacuum bubble around her head, in which her eyes bulge with her impending death from lack of oxygen.  As Hou-Ting slowly chokes to death, Zaheer goes on about freedom, and how Hou-Ting thought it was something she could grant on a whim.  Actually, Hou-Ting thought she was free to do what she liked, and everyone else was free to obey her.  But that's not Zaheer's point.  His point, is that freedom is as essential to living things as the air Hou-Ting will never breathe again.

End of a dynasty, literally

Her death isn't shown, or even ever actually called a death, or a killing.  After all,the show's for kids.  But there's no doubt that she's dead when the Red Lotus takes over a radio station at the palace and Zaheer announces to all of Ba Sing Se, and maybe beyond, that the Earth Queen is "brought down".  He refuses to identify himself, saying he's not important.  This, from a guy who thought Harmonic Convergence giving him air bending powers was a sign from the universe that he's right.  Regardless, his announcement gives the entire Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se a smile, and then a shout of joy when Ghazan himself appears and lava bends under the wall that separates the poor of Ba Sing Se from the rest of the city.  The wall dissolves into lava as the poor of Ba Sing Se escape their tenements and slums, eager to see the rest of the city.  Chaos soon ensues.

Back at the palace, in the jail for dissidents, the news throws the entire cell block into party mode.  For Bolin and Mako, it can only mean that Zaheer succeeded, which they've learned isn't really good news.  Mako turns to Bolin again, saying that now is really Bolin's time.  What he means is that they may as well try metal bending again.  Bolin, in a tizzy by the news from above, and just as desperate to get out as Mako, looks like he's taking a really huge dump, then forcefully waves his arms in metal bending movements.  And suddenly, the metal gates of all the other cells open.  Bolin is at first ecstatic!  He metal bended, even if he didn't free himself! Mako realizes first what's happened when he sees Zaheer, who's now in control of the prison, and freed all the other prisoners.  Bolin and Mako try to assault him, but Zaheer simply bends air and throws them against the back wall, leaving them on the floor while he explains that he's going to free the brothers, but only so they can deliver a message to Korra.   I don't think it's a sales pitch to join the Red Lotus as Zaheer's partner, though.

Finally arriving back at Misty Palms Oasis, where they set out earlier that day, Korra, Asami and the crew set aside their differences and make up.  Korra's sorry she put the crew in danger; the Captain releases her from his custody, saying whatever problem Hou-Ting has with her isn't his problem.  His crew point out that a familiar, big red dragon is literally parked by a palm tree next to some extremely uncomfortable camels.  The Captain decides not to see it, leading his crew away for a drink.

When you see this, just get drunk

Which is when Naga does her second pounce of the day, this time on Korra, sending her to the ground, elated to see her friend and protector again.  Asami and Korra, proceeding to the nearest bar, find Lin, Tonraq, and Lord Zuko, he of the parked red dragon.  No one knows where Mako and Bolin are, but Korra now has some information on the Red Lotus.  They hear over the bar's radio the news from Ba Sing Se.  This time, "the Earth Queen's reign was brought to a violent end"- once again, this is a kid's show.  Korra realizes that she's too late to save Hou-Ting, or Ba Sing Se, and she tells everyone around her that this is just the beginning.

So, was Hou-Ting's end just?  Was Zaheer right to kill her, and then start what he must know would be the riot end all riots?  I don't think anyone, not even Gun, will miss Hou-Ting.  The Earth Kingdom hasn't lost a leader so much as it lost the bureaucracy that kept order.   Zaheer is being totally true to his philosophy by throwing Ba Sing Se into violent chaos.  Let a new community, not even a nation or kingdom, come from Ba Sing Se's ashes, because to try to preserve the city as it was would just perpetuate the old cycle.

Unfortunately, a lot of Ba Sing Se is people's homes.  And businesses.  Zaheer may be perfectly fine with losing everything, but most people aren't.  And the less you have, the more you need what little you have.  And, exactly what new system is going to come from a riot where the violent can prey upon the meek?  When some local warlord arises who bullies people into serving him, will Zaheer cut him down, too?  Will Zaheer protect any of the people who he's now "freed"?  No, he'll tell them to join the free for all and get theirs.  He has no idea whether chaos will end, and a just government will be formed, because he doesn't care, and he doesn't particularly want any government formed, just or no.  In fact, he'll probably assassinate that government, too.

This is Zaheer; he claims to be humble, with simple clothes, a shaved head, and simple words.  But he's convinced that he knows what's best for the physical and spiritual worlds, and that the rest of the world is either deceived or deceiving.  He thinks Harmonic Convergence was all about him, without noticing that a bunch of other people, who don't have delusions of anarchy, also now can air bend.

 This is what's wrong with Zaheer, even though his arguments always seem complete and thorough. He wants a new world, but doesn't know anything about this new world he claims will come when the old is burned down.  He wants you to just trust him that it will be better than what he's demanding you lose.  He wants to do the destroying and leaving the rebuilding to anyone who can pick up a weapon.  He wants the good people of the world to clean up whatever mess he makes, and try to make a living in chaos.   And we all know how much people love to do that.  Zaheer could never win an election, so he's decided the whole process is "corrupt", and he'll just destroy people's governments, even if they're elected (remember when he planned on killing President Reiko?).  What will happen when Ba Sing Se burns down, and will Zaheer mourn for any of the dead from the rioting and fires?  Or will he tell people that since he's ready to kill for a new world, everyone else should be ready to die?

Ting Ting Always Finds His Man - Legend of Korra - Season 3, Episode 9

What a change when the episode focuses on one storyline.  Just as episode 7 almost entirely stayed at the Northern Air Temple and featured one group's travails, episode 9 stays with Korra, Asami, Mako and Bolin through thick.  And some more thick.

We pick up exactly where episode 8 left off... with Korra feverishly riding Naga along a dusty road, Mako, Asami and Bolin in the Jeep just behind her.  They speed through the night, not stopping until well into the next day.  It's not even a town, just a few huts clustered together, but it does boast a bar.  Not surprising, drinking is the number one leisure activity when there's no other.

Team Korra stops in, only to be totally unimpressed with the shady-looking clientele.  Bolin gets excited when he sees his face on a nearby poster, but before he can brag about being famous- again- Mako grabs him and reads what the poster actually says.  Bolin is a criminal wanted by the Earth Queen.  They all are, each with their own "Wanted" poster.

Why is only Bolin's picture smiling?

Their wanted posters all look dreadful, as if the Earth Queen took the worst picture in their Twitter feeds for her posters.  They stop complaining only when they realize that the rest of the bar has recognized them.  Swords, knives, and anything the patrons of the fine establishment could possibly use as weapons are being readied for some unspecified, but still known purpose.  Team Korra backs out, with an unintimidated Korra indicating that she's watching them.

Just for the record, we're not scared of you

Korra's morning surprise is about as much fun as the surprise Lin is about to get.  When she angrily asks Suyin where Team Korra is, Suyin goes into teenager-trying-to-minimize-her-guilt mode, using the same tactics to try to keep herself out of trouble she probably used on their mother, Toph.  Where's Korra?  Oh, well, I'm sure she'll be back just as soon as she finds Aiwei for me, Sis.  'Til then, don't lose your cool.  It doesn't work on Lin, who erupts.  When Suyin opts to try to convince Lin that controlling Korra isn't going to work, Lin storms off.  Lin isn't going to stick around Zao Fu waiting.

Team Korra, on the road again, stop when Naga does, and it turns out that she's stopped where Aiwei did.  Team Korra finds Aiwei's vehicle behind some well-placed bushes.  Naga is so proud of herself, until Korra explains to her that there will be no reward.  Naga takes out her frustration on Korra and stomps off.  Mako decides that he'll go into the nearby town, an oasis named Misty Palms (no mist, but some sad-looking, decrepit palm trees), assuming Aiwei is hidden there.

Asami and Korra want to come too, but Mako convinces them to stay by the vehicle in case Aiwei comes back, leaving Bolin to accompany Mako into town.  Before I launch into Bolin's latest comedy, notice how easily Mako's taken over decision-making.  He's spent most of the season bored, until now, when there's a groovy mystery to solve.  Someone get that guy an orange ascot and a green van.

Bolin contributes to the investigation by re-inventing himself.  After getting the green light to come into Misty Palms, Bolin insists that they go incognito, fishing around in a magically-appearing bag for two lemon-yellow raincoats and swim goggles.  Don't ask where the gear came from.

No, really, don't ask.  You don't want to know.

Bolin would just make up a story, anyway.  Mako, feeling ridiculous in his get-up, barely listens as Bolin gushes out his cover story- Bolin is really a secret agent named Ting Ting, with a chip on his shoulder just the size of Pabu.  Mako declines getting a cover story, only wanting himself to be known as a detective.  Bolin realizes that Mako's unnamed cover is even more mysterious than his, and coos his awe at Mako's minimalist storytelling.

Maybe the guys should stay by Aiwei's car instead...

 The boys have a brief interlude with a bar owner, who confirms that Aiwei's in town from Bolin's description of his nose/earring and Aiwei's lie detecting.  It includes watching the bar owner shoo some spirits out of his bar, and watching them hop away.  Those spirits do some wandering outside of town, just where Korra is fuming uselessly at Aiwei's hidden whereabouts while Asami finds some clues in Aiwei's Jeep.  She finds a map, and a note.  The note gives them a place and a time, Xaibao's Grove, sunset.  But the map has no Xaibao's Grove on it.  The spirits shooed away earlier appear again, dancing around in Asami's way, and she shoos them away, so you know they actually have something important to tell her that she won't listen to.

The spirits are a little less helpful to Bolin, as one bites him viciously.  This attracts the attention of some more shady-looking desert dwellers, these dressed for some kind of bow and arrow hunt.  Bolin realizes, from their pointed looks at him, that he's been made.  He and Mako flee the hunters, who run right past the alley Bolin and Mako hide in.  Mako is trying to come up with their next move when Bolin spots Aiwei, completely by accident, walking on a street on the other side of the alley.  And lucky them, Aiwei doesn't see them.  For once, Team Korra has the element of surprise.

Korra wants to immediately capture Aiwei and demand to know everything about Zaheer.  The suspense of not  knowing why Zaheer wants to kidnap her is getting to her.  Mako says that interrogating these guys didn't work for thirteen years, and it's time to be sneaky and spy on them.  Korra decides Mako's right, and it's nice to see what he can do when he abandons his awkwardness around his friends.

The innkeeper isn't nearly as impressed with Mako when he tries to get a room for them all.  She's suddenly the least of their problems when Bolin is finally cornered by the hunters.  Team Korra is ready, going into instant attack mode despite the innkeeper's warning, but fighting will be completely unnecessary.  Turns out, they're just really really devoted fans.  And Bolin finally gets his star treatment.  They've even got a Bolin bobblehead toy, which Bolin somehow ends up with as he autographs their movie poster.  Even he can't come up with anything witty to say as the woman gushes all over him, in Level 5 Clinger-mode.

We're even crazier than you!

The whole incident, does, however, help them win over the innkeeper, who's only concern is that the exact room Mako picked out for their surveillance is pretty small.  Despite Mako assuring the lady that it will be perfect, they literally all must jam into a bedroom not made for four adults, a fire ferret, and a polar bear dog.

Guess who gets the bed?

At least there's a Pai Sho game.  Mako and Korra remain focused on watching Aiwei's room across the courtyard, but Bolin entices Asami into playing with him.  Which he comes to regret.  After he and Asami disagree on the pace of the game, they consult the rules only to find the rules confuse them more.  Korra is totally unconvincing when she tells Bolin she'll get right on standardizing Pai Sho rules for everyone.  You never know, that might help achieve balance, Korra.  And Bolin could use a little help from the rules, as Asami wins every game.  Every game.  Over the course of hours, they play and play and play.  While Korra and Mako look through the same window, over the same courtyard, towards the same room.  This goes on.  Until sunset.

Bolin's luck changes just before the sun goes down, and even Asami agrees he'll win this game, totally not concerned that he'll win for a change, as she's won every game before.  But Pabu has other plans, hopping all over the board, scattering pieces and ruining Bolin's big chance.  As Bolin collapses in a distraught heap on the floor, Pabu proceeds to rip the Bolin doll his biggest fan just gave him, just to remind him that, yes, it is personal.

The end of Bolin's Pai Sho hopes coincides with the end of Korra's patience.  Mako notes that Aiwei is definitely in there, holding up his notebook as proof that Aiwei couldn't have gotten away.  So, they know Aiwei's in there.  Is he already onto them?  Korra decides that spying isn't working out.

Time to ruin the plan!

Storming out there room, she can't be stopped from crossing the courtyard, and flinging open Aiwei's door, only to find him sitting on his bed, eyes closed, and unresponsive.  Zaheer or his gang are nowhere to be found.  Has Aiwei led them here to trap them?

Korra figures it out first.  Aiwei is meditating.  The spirits from earlier, by the Jeep, were trying to help Asami realize that Xaibao's Grove was in the Spirit World.  And Aiwei has already proceeded to his rendezvous point, leaving his body behind at the Misty Palms Inn.  Korra decides to join him, with the rest of the Team staying nearby to guard her body while it's spiritless.

Korra, now more advanced at finding the Spirit World now, is instantly there, and not far from where Zaheer suddenly appears.  Aiwei emerges, and Zaheer instantly barrages him with questions, demanding to know how their kidnapping failed.  He's clearly a horrible boss.  Aiwei tries to calm him down, insisting that no one knows where he is, but telling Zaheer where his body is.  Zaheer, now that he knows where Aiwei's body can be found, and that nobody will find him anytime soon, quickly knocks Aiwei's spirit 'out' and takes it over his own shoulder.  Korra is shocked at Zaheer's betrayal, and screams out for his attention, which she gets right before Zaheer disappears to a cliff, which he throws Aiwei's spirit over.  

He reappears to Korra, who angrily demands to know what he did with Aiwei.  Zaheer is a little smug as he informs Korra that Aiwei won't be bothering anyone, as his spirit has been thrown into the Fog of Lost Souls, the 'prison' that Jinora, Tenzin, Kya and Bumi almost didn't re-emerge from last season.  Aiwei is instantly forgotten, though, when Korra realizes that she can now just demand that Zaheer tell her directly what he wants.  Zaheer is now all gentle helpfulness, telling Korra that she's entitled to know what he wants.  He and Korra sit together in Xaibao's Grove.

Back in the Earth Kingdom, Zaheer's body is inert while the gang sits around a fire.  Zaheer, however, suddenly mutters to his friends the location that Aiwei gave him before.  So, Zaheer has assumed that Korra is there, and sends his gang to capture her while he keeps her detained long enough for them to arrive.  Bastard!

That gets forgotten soon enough though, when Zaheer tries to claim Korra's lifelong Avatar Mission as his own:  balance.  It's a long story, involving Korra's defeated uncle, Unilaq.  After Aang defeated Fire Lord Zuko 70 years ago, the Order of the White Lotus came out of hiding, and became the defense force for the Avatar, acting as bodyguards.  Zaheer and his gang are members of the Order of the Red Lotus, formed sometime afterward, and convinced that they are what the White Lotus should be.  An organization not devoted to protecting authority figures, but getting rid of the existing order of the world, paving the way for "true" balance.  Unilaq, according to Zaheer, was once part of the Red Lotus, and part of the original kidnapping plot.  Unilaq, unlike Zaheer and his gang, did not get caught in the kidnapping attempt.  Unilaq buried his Red Lotus connections (probably literally), and went on to formulate his own plan for achieving world domination, which Korra only foiled by tapping into her own spirit power.

Zaheer and his gang spent years in prison, and Zaheer wondered if his mission was right.  Until Harmonic Convergence, when he was one of the lucky few who gained air bending power.  Despite some absolute clods gaining air bending, negating any special universal message, Zaheer convinced himself that his new power was a sign from the universe that he is doing the right thing.  Which means that there's nothing Korra can say to convince him otherwise.  Even when he reveals that the Red Lotus' plan for 'balance' is to remove the world's leaders from power, giving everyone "true" freedom.  Korra says that sounds like chaos, and demands to know why Zaheer wanted to kidnap her years ago.  Zaheer tells her it was to raise her with his "ideals", but Korra tells Zaheer it sounds more like an attempt to brainwash her.  Zaheer, possibly realizing that Korra will never willingly help him, brushes all of Korra's criticisms of the Red Lotus aside.  True freedom means no leaders.  Period.  It's like freedom is the only thing Zaheer believes in.  It never occurs to him that people might want something else, like fairness.  Or protection from exploitation, or protection from theft.  For Zaheer, only when anyone can do whatever he or she wants, will the universe be in balance.  Even John Galt thinks Zaheer is off his rocker.

While keeping Korra occupied, Mako, Bolin and Asami realize that Ghazan, the lava bender, and Ming Hua, the water bender have arrived.  With Korra still in meditation and not waking up, Mako sends Asami away with Korra on Naga, and they ride out just as Ghazan and Ming Hua see them leave Aiwei's room.  Mako and Bolin stay behind for a duel.  

Bring it

Once again, Mako takes on Ming Hua and Bolin tries to take on Ghazan.  Mako gets in some shots, with his fire drying her water a few times, but Ming Hua quickly figures out that she can use ice to trap Mako and immobilize him, then knock him out.  Bolin barely holds up against Ghazan's lava, since any rocks he throws at Ghazan get turned right into lava that he can only dodge.  Doesn't take long for Ming Hua and Ghazan to team up against Bolin.  He tries to dodge them by jumping in the pool, and it does save him from a lava attack. 

Ooooh... pretty colors!

But Ming Hua uses the pool water to trap Bolin in a ball of water he barely manages to get his head out of.  Asami has gotten away, but Bolin and Mako look like they're situation is only going to get worse.  Ming Hua sends Ghazan away to find Asami and Korra.

We find the ladies, galloping (do polar bear dogs gallop?) away on Naga, Korra still out cold, when Naga is suddenly stopped by folding panels of rock, lifting up to form a pyramid that imprisons them.

So... where am I going?

Still in Xaibao's Grove with Zaheer, Korra's not convinced of any of Zaheer's ideas, and growing impatient.  She demands to know why exactly Zaheer wants to kidnap her now.  Confident that Korra's his by now, he tells her she'll find out when she wakes up in his custody, and tells her his trap is sprung.  Korra, immediately realizing she needs to wake up, does, but doesn't like where she is.  Or how she's completely immobilized on a rack, with arms strapped to herself, and half her face covered.

Remind you of anybody?

Ugh.

Korra turns to see that Asami is chained to the wall adjacent, and they're in some sort of prison cell.  She can speak through the mask, and starts barking questions about the Red Lotus and Zaheer.  Asami, not knowing who the Red Lotus is, can only tell Korra that they've been captured by the Earth Queen's forces, and being taken to Ba Sing Sei.

And can you believe it? There's no Wifi

Which is what Ghazan and Ming Hua also tell Zaheer, back at the cave they've been hiding in.  Despite not having the Avatar, they have the next best thing- two of her close friends, hands tied behind their backs.  They throw Mako and Bolin on the ground.  Zaheer, despite losing Korra again, s pleased to announce that they'll be taking the guys to Ba Sing Sei.

First class for us, steerage for you!

Playtime Is Over - Legend of Korra - Season 3, Episode 8

The season has spent some time going from place to place, world leader to world leader, group to group.  Now the show is starting to focus.  One senses that the context is set, and now we can go to one consistent story.  We start with light-hearted sparring and comedy, wake up to an unsuccessful kidnapping, then get right to the crime-solving drama.  Throughout the episode, the seriousness is upped bit by bit until the conflict between Zaheer and his gang and Team Korra becomes the main driver of the show.

Team Korra starts the show off by sparring with Suyin's twins, Wei and Wing.  I'll be honest, I don't know which one is which.  And that information will never really matter.  Suyin insists that sparring is the way to develop skills, so Korra and Bolin are facing off against the Wonder Twins.  Korra gets a slow start, but her opponent celebrates too early.  While Bolin hems and haws about how metal bending takes time to develop, Korra comes back from her opponent's successful hit, and bends metal cables to totally wrap him up in a few graceful twirls.

Avatar Playtime

When Bolin's opponent starts becoming bored with Bolin, he retaliates by slinging a pebble at the kid's face, hitting him right between the eyes to the crowd's amusement. Bolin's only other bright spot of the day is dinner with Opal.  It's bittersweet, though, as Opal is bound for the Northern Air Temple after dinner.  Bolin is already moping about whether the future sucks because Opal won't be there, or it's wonderful, because he'll see her again eventually.  Varrick offers well-refused relationship advice; one presumes it is to find one's own Zhu Li.  Varrick's not done at dinner though.  He offers up his latest invention, a device that detects air benders.  Korra and Asami are excited at first, until it does nothing.  Varrick is indignant- you have to air bend into it!  How can something detect an air bender without any air bending!

Non-tech people are so dense

Every one's having a good dinner, even Lin, who is seated next to Suyin and her husband, who's attending a family function for a change.  Only Mako is angry, seated far away from his friends, complaining that he hates sitting there to an Aiwei who knows Mako means he doesn't want to sit next to Aiwei.  To remind us that Aiwei is a lie detector.  There are kind words for Opal, and a sad farewell after dinner, with Opal riding what I assume is one of Zao Fu's airships off into the sunset.  Suyin orders the city's pods closed for the night.  Safe as peas in a pod, right?

Wrong.  After seeming to know from nowhere that Korra is in Zao Fu, guess who shows up?  Zaheer and the gang mysteriously appear in Zao Fu, slinking around in the darkness, aptly avoiding the guards.  They face no trouble as they creep through Zao Fu's gardens to Korra's room, Pabu the only witness to their trespass.  Pabu tries to wake Bolin, who tells Pabu that it's not playtime.  Stupid fire ferret.

Can I play with you?

Ming Hua turns one of her water arms into an icy saw, cutting into Korra's window so they can open it.  Naga, sleeping in front of Korra's bed, rears up to attack, just as they shoot tranquilizer darts into her; it takes a few, but she's down for the count.  Korra awakes, and they take her down with one.  She's awake, but paralyzed.

This time, Pabu's ready, mobilizing Bolin by biting him.  Bolin's protests die as he realizes he's seeing Zaheer's gang carrying Korra through Zao Fu.

Ah!!!  Why can't I find my shoes???

Mako, who no doubt obviously loves sharing a room with his brother, wakes up too, and they both instantly go into professional bender mode, launching out of their room into the garden, bending and shouting for help.  Bolin, in what will be standard for the rest of the season, takes on earth/lava bender Ghazan, while Mako takes on water bender Ming Hua.  P'Li takes on everybody, one awkward face blast at a time.  

Awesome fight graphic

Zaheer and his gang are quickly surrounded, and not just guards.  Just when they might escape, the heavy metal plates inlaid into the garden move and surround the gang.  Suyin, Lin and the metal bending kids have joined the fracas.  Zaheer and his gang prove adept, though.  Zaheer air bends himself high and out, to distract guards while Ghazan lava bends the ground below, melting down the plate prison they were trapped in.  Team Korra is quickly bogged down.  They strategize quickly that Suyin and Lin will drop from cables above the gang to rescue Korra.  Bolin will stun P'Li, temporarily keeping her from blowing up Korra's rescuers.  An old-time battle radio materializes to help them coordinate the rescue.  They succeed, with Bolin getting a tiny rock into P'Li's forehead just in time for Lin to snatch Korra away and rise back up.  Zaheer tries to take her back, but Suyin hurls rocks as darts into his glider.  He hits the ground back with his gang, and decides the mission is a failure.   Zaheer then summons a huge cyclone around his gang, from which they disappear.  

Later in the morning, Aiwei treats Korra so she's up and and running.  Lin angrily demands to know from Suyin how this could have happened.  Suyin is furious her security was breached.  The entered so easily, Aiwei assumes it was an inside job.  Aiwei, who can detect lies from increased heart rate and temperature, offers to question all the guards.  Remember, it's he who makes the suggestion.  Suyin angrily demands he does so.

Suyin, Lin, Mako and Korra spend a boring day interviewing guard after guard.  Aiwei detects no lies, so no traitors.  Lin, getting frustrated, demands that Suyin be questioned.  Korra feels embarrassed, but Suyin agrees right away, sitting for Aiwei's questions, and declaring that she had nothing to do with the attack.  Sure, but do you have anything to do with Zaheer in general?  Have she and Aiwei decided to work together, so he'll tell the others that she's being honest?

Do you think my nose ring is distracting?

Hong Li, a young guard, 18 years old, is next.  He answers all of Aiwei's questions, and seems fine, but Aiwei signals to the crowd that this is the guy!  Hong Li insists on his innocence, but Suyin all but leaps on him to tear him limb from limb.  Aiwei declares that they should search his quarters.  Once again, he's suggested it.  And they find a letter, supposedly written by Zaheer, that they're coming, and a ledger of guard duties.  Case closed.  Mako wants to go re-question Hong Li, because the sooner you do the sooner you wrap up the case.  Aiwei decides they'll let Hong Li hang a while.  No hurry.  Everyone can just relax, right?

Korra, Asami, Bolin and Mako are perplexed at Aiwei's actions.  While trying to figure them out in a courtyard, who should come to give his thoughts than good ol' Varrick.  Who just happened to overhear everything while looking for cooled lava stones to use as foot exfoliants.  Zhu Li demonstrates, to a horrified Team Korra.  

Zhu Li's favorite part of the job!

Besides foot hygiene, Varrick also has some crime-fighting advice- if the evidence is there but feels wrong, chances are it's a cover up.  Mako, remembering that Varrick would know all about cover ups from his own experience, then realizes that Hong Li is only 18.  He was a five year old when Zaheer tried kidnapping Korra before; how would he even know about Zaheer, if this isn't public information?  And nobody's figured out how he got connected to Zaheer in the first place.  But who would frame Hong Li?  Suyin told them that there are no secrets in her city.  Mako reminds Team Korra that there's one person who could get away with lying.  The lie detector himself.  How would anyone ever know Aiwei is lying?

Bolin scopes out the place, noting that Aiwei's house looks empty, but trying to wheedle out of going inside anyway.  Mako's having nothing of it- they need to check out his house without him knowing they were there, so he and Team Korra proceed inside, where Bolin quickly misplaces a vase.  While Mako is replacing it, he notices some scuff marks on the floor underneath.  Bookcases aren't really supposed to move.  Unless, as Mako discovers, they slide away to reveal a secret stairway and door.

Maybe he's just brewing beer down there

Aiwei comes back, and they barely have time to put the bookcase back and assemble by the front door. An offended Aiwei demands to know what they're doing in his house, and Bolin goes for it, trying to come up with a story until he realizes that Aiwei totally knows he's lying.  Defeated, he lets Korra be partly honest with Aiwei.  Ha! When you can't lie, just tell a little bit of the truth.  She admits that they feel like the evidence against Hong Li doesn't add up, and Aiwei won't question Hong Li to clear up their confusion.  Aiwei dismisses their doubts.  As he does so, he quietly moves his stupid vase back where it's supposed to be.  The room is instantly tense.  The kids know they're caught, but no one says anything.  Until Aiwei sees that his bookcase hasn't been closed all the way.  Team Korra is busy scrambling for an explanation when Aiwei, facing his secret exit, nonchalantly tells Korra that she has no idea what's coming for her.

I'd tell you what's coming for you, but no one likes spoilers

That's when a massive metal sheet comes down, blocking Aiwei from Team Korra.  Korra needs a few tries to break it open, and Team Korra gets a little impatient, so much so that when they're through, they don't stop or even slow down as they scramble to the secrete basement, where they discover a humongous bomb waiting for them.  It rocks Zao Fu, and Korra makes her team an air bubble for a bomb shelter just in time.  Lin, Suyin, and Zao Fu's totally ineffectual guards are on the scene in moments, with Lin and Suyin now angry at each other.  There's a tunnel at the edge of the earthen basement, but it will take time to clear of rubble and discover just what's in it.  Suyin is now so shocked that her perfect city has been the scene of two crimes, that veteran officer Lin orders the guards to find the end of the tunnel, and hopefully Aiwei, too.  They're not very good at preventing Zaheer and his followers from attacking Zao Fu, but they're dutiful guards who launch into action once they get an order.

So, Aiwei was the gang's inside man.  But how did he get word to Zaheer that Korra was in Zao Fu?  They'll only find out if they find Aiwei.

Lin and Suyin continue their fight later in the evening, as the guards have found the end of the tunnel, but their are only tire tracks leading away.  Aiwei has gotten away.  Suyin is totally blown away that Aiwei betrayed her trust.  Lin insists that Korra must return to Republic City for her protection.  Korra hates the idea; Republic City is no safer than Zao Fu, and she's tired of hiding.  Best to flush Zaheer out and take him down, herself if necessary.  Lin and Korra work each other into a flurry of shouting before Suyin breaks it up.  She's calm as she tells Korra that Lin's right, but gives her the night to rest before traveling back to Republic City.  

Korra decides she'll spend the night fuming that she's being sent back to a home she's been banned from.  But before we can fantasize about the scene where Lin tells President Reiko that his stupid exiling means nothing to her, Suyin interrupts the fun.  She was just playing Lin.  In a move she'll no doubt pay for tomorrow, she gives Korra keys to her car, an old version of a Jeep.  Between the WW2 like radio, trucks, and now a full-fledged Jeep, I'm beginning to wonder just what era's technology Korra's story is using.  But I digress.  This season isn't about the ancient traditions of the Avatar in a rapidly evolving modern world.  It's about Korra, riding Naga off from night-time Zao Fu, with Mako, Bolin, Asami and Pabu taking the Jeep on the road, following Aiwei's trail by tire tracks and scent wherever it goes.  Hopefully to Zaheer.

Leave No Air Bender Behind! - Legend of Korra - Season 3, Episode 7

What's Tenzin been up to?  How is he as a teacher?  Are the newest air benders enjoying the air bending lifestyle?  We need an update. Good thing this episode catches up with Tenzin, his crazy family, and all the new air benders at the Northern Air Temple.

We start with a history lesson.  Tenzin, who can fly, decides to start his new students, not raised by air benders and not used to wearing a uniform and abstaining from meat, with the sad story of a long-deceased Air Bending Guru who fasted.  And fasted.  And fasted some more.  The story is, literally, about every single day that his students begged him to eat, but he didn't need it, because he sustained himself with the energy of the universe.

Is there a special technique to make air bender stories not suck?

No one is really listening.  The class looks and sounds like fifth-graders on a field trip, waiting for the chance to go see the dinosaurs, and getting a boring talk instead.  Only one student, an acolyte who actually gained air bending at Harmonic Convergence, even wants to answer Tenzin's questions.  Bumi is outright eating boogers, which will be theme of this episode.  And when he's done feasting on phlegm, he sticks spirit bunny pal Bumju on his head, jacks his shirt collar up, and pretends to be the Air Guru, with the head of a bunny spirit.  Even Jinora, raised on this stuff, gives out a giggle. Tenzin is less than amused, but his students seem to perk up.

Come on Tenzin, this is funny!

The students practically riot later in the day, after watching Tenzin do crazy loop-de-loops with a sky bison over the Air Temple.  They want to do that!  Tenzin knocks that idea down, telling them it takes years of practice to ride a sky bison.  And besides, they don't have that many.  Kai, ever helpful little urchin, points out a herd floating through the valley the Air Temple towers over.  Tenzin, after getting all grammar nerd on Kai, tells his students that those are wild bison, and would take years to train for riding.  As they look out wistfully on a new generation of Air Bender Rides, they spot two sky bison approaching.

Like a furry, open top mini van

It's the family!  They've brought the vomiting baby, the original new air bender Dan, and the few others who had found Air Temple Island after Harmonic Convergence.  Tenzin is happy with the new students, and even happier to see Pema, though she and Kya have disturbing news for Tenzin.  They play it down, but note that Zaheer's gotten away and stole a pendant from Tenzin's study.  Kya, trying to identify it, butchers the name of the Air Bender Guru it belonged to.  Tenzin notes that it's Air Guru Laghima, which sends Kya into a rehash of the Air Guru story she hated most of all.  Tenzin is horrified to find out it's the one he was just teaching.

This season has shown Tenzin reacting, usually with shock and sadness, at how little is known about his culture and history, and how little anyone even cares about it.  Even other air benders seem bored with stories of gurus who discovered enlightenment.  Like a Renaissance Fair goer in a room of Star Wars fans.  Will he ever learn how to connect with people whose ancestor wasn't the most famous Air Bender ever?

Tenzin has to cut the talk with his wife and sister short- he's got a call on the Temple Radio.  What would Guru Laghima say about a radio at an Air Temple?  I think I know, although Tenzin seems content to communicating over radio waves and not the energy of the universe.  He sits down for an update from Korra.  He's incredulous that Lin willingly took Korra to Zaofu to see Suyin, so Korra kind of has to downplay the recent squabbling so she can give Tenzin the even more interesting news:  Suyin's daughter Opal is an air bender, and soon will be at the Northern Air Temple to train with Tenzin.  Korra's praise of Opal as an air bender isn't enough for Bolin, who was lurking behind.  He forcibly takes the radio mic from Korra to recite an ode of lover's praise for Opal.  After grossing out Korra and Tenzin with TMI, Bolin shrinks away, presumably to go worship Opal up close for as long as he can.

Korra asks Tenzin for an update on training the new air benders, but Tenzin doesn't have good news for her.  His students just don't seem interested in the wisdom of Air Gurus, and aren't used to the hard work that real air bending requires.  Personally, I think the benders see Tenzin's three kids bending and playing like crazy.  When they can't do what they see kids doing, they assume they never will.  They never saw the kids learning all day, every day.

Korra doesn't tell Tenzin this, but does suggest that Jinora and Bumi be given some teaching responsibilities.  Sure, Tenzin could give Bumi extra work- but how to get him to actually do it?  Korra suggests giving Bumi the "opportunity" to give Tenzin some advice on motivating his students, and then "let" Bumi implement his own advice.  Tenzin is thrilled at the thought of tricking his brother into taking more responsibility, and he's excited that he and Korra can problem solve together.  Korra declares conflict resolution her special strength.  Although, I have yet to see her resolve a conflict.  Mostly just defeat bad guys, or let them blow themselves up in motorboats, or escape from a tyrannical queen.

Let's just say I know how to end a fight.

Kai is restless, and wants to infect Jinora with his inability to seriously concentrate.  He's determined to check out the sky bison in the green, peaceful valley dotted with ponds.   Jinora reluctantly goes, and is enjoying herself, flying her little glider next to Kai, who's also gotten himself a glider, and a couple of friendly spirits out with them today.  Note:  Kai, a kid, seems to have developed his air bending faster and more creatively than the adults, even the former acolyte.

Joyride!

Kai is ecstatic when he spots some sky bison calves, about the size of large dogs, playing by the water below.  He asks Jinora why they're not flying with the grown-ups, and Jinora tells him that calves can't fly, so the adult herd will stay close by, ready to defend them.  Kai, totally ignoring the caution in Jinora's voice, immediately flies down to start playing with them.

They're too cute, and I'm too impulsive

Jinora doesn't like this, especially when she sees what Kai does not:  an adult bison has spotted Kai, and decided he's a problem.  Jinora manages to swoop down and rescue Kai from the bison's charge.  Jinora's still spooked at their close call, but all Kai can think of is what a good air bender Jinora is, and how she must be ready to be an Air Bending Master now.  Jinora complains that her dad thinks she's too young.  Kai dismisses her dad's opinion.  Didn't she just save him?  Isn't she just as good as her dad?  And doesn't she have abilities with the spirits that he doesn't?  Jinora can't help thinking he's right.  Maybe she is ready.  Maybe her dad is wrong.

Bumi, just as Korra predicted, is a hit with the other air bending students.  He's killing with a couple of other students, reciting a probably fake pirate story, when Tenzin decides to have brother to brother talk with him.  When Tenzin admits he's having trouble leading, Bumi declares that leadership is about breaking the old people they were down and building back up new air benders.  Bumi tells Tenzin to show them just who the Master around here is.  Does he know what bad advice this is?  To a guy who can't come up with a Plan B, ever, trying to act like a boss is a terrible mistake.  But Tenzin is entranced with the idea.  Why not come up with an air bender boot camp?

It starts at dawn the next morning.  Or rather, before dawn.  Tenzin storms into the air benders' barracks (literally, they're in a barracks), blowing furiously on an oversized horn.  He's yelling for them to wake up, as everyone, even Bumi, who should know a drill sergeant when he sees one, has no idea what's going on.  A ten-mile hike up plateaus surrounding the valley is what's going on.  Tenzin easily completes it, with Jinora only a few seconds behind.  The others stagger up, already tired.  And freezing cold from the winds this high before the sun has risen.  Oh, are you cold?  Well, air benders can warm themselves by meditation!  Tenzin gets right to it, exhorting the students to start right away.  One student makes the mistake of wondering if they could wear some sky bison fur.  Tenzin is outraged!  Tenzin sits facing the Air Temple in the distance ten miles away, as Bumi, already done for the day, crawls up behind him, already regretting his advice yesterday.  Tenzin reminds him that it's quiet time.

There's no getting out of your own bad ideas, Bumi

And that's the easiest thing they do all day.  Instead of letting them rest after hiking back, Tenzin proceeds directly to a new exercise of balancing on narrow poles.  On one foot.  With the other bent into the crotch.  On top of all this (pun intended), an air bender needs to concentrate on spinning a feather over the palm of one of their hands.

Totally easy, people

No one, except the kids, can do it.  Instead of giving them insight on how one achieves this, and encouraging modest successes so students will persevere, Tenzin simply tells them that this is a really easy exercise, and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do it right away.  He's especially harsh on Bumi's failures.  And he doesn't seem to care about lemurs chewing on his students, as he tells the students to just ignore the lemurs.  Poor acolytes!  At this point, Jinora starts objecting to her father's methods.  Tenzin brushes aside her concern.   He's got breaking down of recruits to do.

The lemurs are just trying to make it interesting

The students get a rest, of sorts, watching Tenzin explain the merits of head shaving while demonstrating on Dan, who looks absolutely miserable at losing his hair just so he can feel every breeze.  The other students look on in pure dread.  When Tenzin informs them brusquely that it's a personal choice anyway, Dan practically grabs his hair to try to re-attach it to his head.  Jinora, once again, asks if maybe they don't just need a break.  No, they don't.  What they need is an obstacle course.

It's mostly fruit and cactus based, with lots of moving parts, and Iki and Meelo shooting watermelons at air bending students.  While the others struggle and plod through it, Kai hops, skips and jumps his way easily through the obstacles.  Just as you think he's going to make it through, while hopping on pole tops through a field of cacti, Kai has an unfortunately collision with another air bender, and both topple into the cactus.

Tenzin is only slowly joined by muddy, cactus poked, watermelon soaked air benders.  Bumi is eventually left, after getting through the maze, clinging to the rock face he has to leap up to join the others.  He's gripped in fear, and only Tenzin's relentless harangue gets him to try to move.  But he fails spectacularly, falling in the mud at the bottom of the rock.  Tenzin is unconcerned, simply yelling at Bumi to start over.  But Bumi's had it.  He abruptly quits the training, stomping his feet as he rants at how much he hates this training regimen.  Tenzin takes Bumi's quitting like any older brother would, simply yelling back that they're better off without him.

Tenzin's not done venting his anger at how little success he's had.  When the students start asking when they can visit their families, or even eat something, Tenzin decides that they need to be yelled at too.  Someone mentions that they at least got rest time and meals when they were drafted by the Earth Queen, and now Tenzin's done with his own training regimen.  He angrily gives the class to Jinora.  Jinora picks the absolutely worst time ever to decide that she must be a Master now.  She tries to wheedle Master's tattoos from her dad, but the idea is so new to him, and he's so wound up with anger at Bumi and the recruits, that he angrily demands to know why she's asking for such a thing.

Jinora makes the mistake of mentioning Kai's praise of her.  Kai smartly disappears when Tenzin reacts angrily to his name, but Tenzin isn't going to take his frustration out on Kai.  He's going to take it out on Jinora.  When Jinora plays the I-can-do-more-spirit-stuff-than-you-ever-will card, Tenzin is aghast.  When Jinora quits too, even though she wasn't really a recruit, and storms out,Tenzin turns to Iki and Meelo to lead the class.  Now, it's Tenzin's turn to storm out.  Once he's gone, Meelo shows he's going to be every bit as tough as Tenzin.  Look amongst yourselves, he tells them.  One of you won't make it out alive.

Future CrossFit Instructor?

Jinora and Kai meet up at a balcony terrace somewhere in the Temple, and Kai says he's sorry for getting Jinora in so much trouble.  Jinora is less concerned about following Kai's advice and more pissy that her dad doesn't realize she's growing up.  She's still mad, so Kai takes this opportunity to suggest going to see the baby bison again.  Jinora's happy to go right away this time, and they happily proceed to the valley.  Which they find deserted.  No spirits have accompanied them.  No bison are anywhere.  They start to wonder at it, when Jinora is pinned by a net flying from nowhere.  Kai is netted too, before he can even find out what's going on.

They find out soon enough.  They've been captured by poachers, who have also put the baby bison calves in cages mounted on trucks.  Their leader is wearing a bison pelt, which is like people who have rugs of endangered animals.  Not only is he completely tacky, but he decides to kidnap Jinora and Kai and take them to Ba Sing Sei.  For who knows what reason.

Meanwhile, Tenzin is ruminating on the many ways Bumi ruins everything, when he's joined by Pema, who kneels down next to him and brings a sympathetic ear with her.  Tenzin is at a stopping point.  Pema reminds Tenzin of her early days at Air Temple Island at Republic City.  Years ago, a naive young woman came to be an acolyte.  She was happy to come, leave her old life behind, and life the new simple life of tending to the air benders and their home, and sharing in the enlightenment formerly reserved for air benders.  But, even she was homesick and culture shocked.  Tenzin tries to get in an aside about hard beds being better for your back, but Pema won't be undermined.  Everyone coming is someone not raised in the lifestyle.  Tenzin should already have known this, from his failure to entice anyone who already had a life to join him.  These people want to learn how to air bend, but the lifestyle takes getting used to.  That is the journey Tenzin must lead them on.

Tenzin, realizing he's just been schooled, gives Pema a tender, kind peck on the forehead, and muses that he feels like Korra when he's trying to tell her something important.  And then he goes out to the terrace, where he finds Bumi and immediately apologizes for his harshness.  Bumi, classic brother that he is, is very snotty as he refuses to forgive, and he saunters off with Bumju following.  Tenzin is momentarily frustrated, but decides instead to ask the others where Jinora is.  They inform her that she left a while ago with her boyfriend.

Boyfriend?  First she wants air bending Master tattoos, and now she has a boyfriend????  What is Tenzin's world coming to?  Tenzin is back in pissy mode as he stalks off to find a sky bison.

Jinora and Kai are having no fun whatsoever locked in the cages mounted on the truck, both locked in with a sky bison calf.  Jinora tries playing the endangered species card on the leader, but he informs them that the endangered part is what makes their meat so valuable to someone like the Earth Queen, who both Jinora and Kai just escaped from.  The poacher figures he can get a bounty on them, too.  When the poacher leaves, Kai advises Jinora to use her spirit projection to summon help, but Jinora's too cramped to properly meditate and separate her body and spirit.  She does get another idea, and summons a spirit to her, asking it to find help.

Oh, and would you bring me some potato chips?

The spirit, a fluff ball with spindly legs, finds Bumju instead.  The blue, winged rabbit is working on Bumi, who still doesn't want to forgive Tenzin, or restart training.  He's just too old to start taking orders again.  He'd much rather just sit around and tell heavily embellished war stories, since he already knows he's good at that.

The spirits have other plans for Bumi.  They play a short game of telephone, with Bumju figuring out that the spirit is a distress call from Jinora, and they'd better find her.  Bumi doesn't wait for Tenzin, but goes right to the air bending students, in a balancing exercise with Meelo.  He quickly explains the situation to the others, who are impressed that he can understand the spirits.  They're not so happy about his message, and would prefer to let Master Tenzin deal with danger.  Bumi dismisses their fears.  Master Tenzin isn't here.  Bumi sends the kids for the sky bison, and insists that they're going to find the kids and save them.  Now.

You can take orders from Meelo, or have a crazy adventure with me!

They find the poachers easily enough, huddled behind large rocks by the camp.  Now the other air benders are even more scared.  Struggling through an obstacle course is bad enough;  but now, Bumi wants them to get their asses kicked by mean-looking criminals.  Bumi digs deep into himself for a speech that will rouse them.  They remind him that he's actually quit the training after failing spectacularly.  Bumi decides that the events of the day don't matter now. What matters is that Jinora and Kai are two of them.  They may not be master air benders, but they are all each other has.  They can't lose anyone, and they can't afford to splinter now from fear.  Meelo seconds this, by deciding they're all really like the Marines.  And Marines never leave their own behind.

Semper Fi!!!

Kai is already starting the party by hauling out some slender piece of metal, which he uses to pick the lock on the cage.  Free, he is about to unlock Jinora's cage when he's caught, and scrambles to his own defense.  Bumi and the others use that moment to strike, leaping out and air bending themselves quickly into position.  The poachers are earth benders, and use bending to lift rock from the earth that acts like a barrier between them.  But Kai is already on their side, and Meelo and Iki already know how to get around and over the barriers.  The others blast air around the barriers as best they can.  When a poacher tries to capture Dan with a flying net, he has a moment when he realizes he's is feeling the wind behind him, just like Master Tenzin said he would.  Knowing from his own scalp where the net is, he turns, lowers himself, and emerges from under the net to whip his attacker off his feet.

There's something behind me, isn't there?

The poachers are defeated quickly, so their leader, he of the messy hair and bison fur, decides to drive away with Jinora and the remaining bison calves.  Kai follows on his glider.  Tenzin is already in the air, high above, when he's jostled by adult sky bison wanting to get somewhere in a hurry.  Tenzin, curious, sees they're headed for the truck speeding away below.  He realizes this is bad right away.  When he sees Kai following the truck, he decides to go down and help.  The sky bison adults play bumper cars with the truck as Kai tries to leap into the truck cab.  He has to make a quick exit, though, and he's saved by Tenzin, leaping onto the bison with the Master.  When the bison finally hit the truck hard enough to stop it, and Tenzin lands in front to block the truck, Kai leaps off the bison.  He furiously attacks the leader, angrily spewing the leader's own selfish, destructive greed right back at him.  The leader surrenders, but Kai isn't listening, and Tenzin has to grab Kai to stop him.  He admonishes Kai against hitting the unarmed who have surrendered.  But Tenzin admits to Kai that he did an excellent job of stopping the bad guys.

The poachers are now locked in the cages while the sky bison, calves and adults, relax.  When Kai doesn't understand why the adults are so nice now, Tenzin tells him that they've earned the bison's trust.   The bison, he tells Kai, were the original air benders.  And the newest Air Nation has shown that they, too, are air benders.  Dan is outright bragging about his shaved head, and how it saved him, and plugging it for the others.

Bumi finally has a brotherly talk with Tenzin.  Bumi never felt a part of his dad's culture, but Tenzin tells him he's immersed in it now.  Maybe there will be a new Air Nation Culture, that makes room for the past of fasting and meditating, but also the fact that these new air benders have to adjust to a completely different way of living.  Tenzin's last make-up is with Jinora, who hugs her dad.  Jinora's not done bringing up getting her Master's tattoos.  This time, Tenzin is a little more accepting that his daughter is growing up.  Maybe not today, but the day is coming when he won't be the only Air Bending Master.

I'll still find a way to put it off, honey

He's not the only one who has to adjust to the kids growing up.  Kai shrieks in delight;  the sky bison calves are finally airborne.  A little confused at first, they take to flying right away, already seeing how high they can go.  The adult bison watch in wonder and a little sadness.  Their kids are growing up too fast too.

Everyone's an air bender now!