Okay, now we can backtrack.
The thing that interested me about this episode was that it didn’t cut any corners. With a vital message from Zaheer to deliver to Korra, it would have been easy enough to finagle the situation so that Bolin and Mako found her instantly, but the story instead forces them to partake in a time-consuming search. After leaving the Earth Kingdom palace (now overrun by looters) and commandeering an air-ship, the brothers first rescue their extended family from the burning outer ring before heading to the desert to scour the sands for any sign of her.
By the time they finally reunite in Misty Palms Oasis, a great deal of time has passed. In hindsight, this was probably to allow the Red Lotus time enough to reach the Northern Air Temple, but it also works brilliantly well in raising the suspense – not only in the mystery surrounding what the message actually is, but in demonstrating the helplessness Korra feels over the delay.
What makes the success of this sequence even more surprising is that two narrative “cheats” were in place – the deliberate withholding of Zaheer’s message from the audience (even though there’s no reason for the boys not to have discussed it between themselves) and the fact that the audience was well-aware of where Korra was (thus removing any sense of mystery as to her location – instead we’re simply waiting for the boys to catch up to what we already know). Both risked the audience's patience, but each one was handled with enough elegance that it was pulled off.
I mean, arguably they could have revealed Zaheer's message right from the start, thus adding more tension to the search to find Korra (knowing the whole time that he was advancing on the Air Temple) but instead they kept it quiet, relying on the strain of not knowing than perhaps chancing the audience getting frustrated with how long it was taking to deliver the message.
Sorry if this seems an odd thing to focus on, but I'm always fascinated by these storytelling choices and what they add to the tone of any given tale.
The episode worked with a clear three-act structure, from the brothers’ search to Korra in the spirit world to the attack on the nomads at the Air Temple, and it worked brilliantly, each segment building upon the last until that final devastating fight between the Red Lotus and the Air Nomads. Argh, I’m just so happy about this season.
On returning to Zaofu, the show’s gentle pacing pays off big-time when it comes to Suyin and the Metal Clan. I was initially under the impression that this season would be more of a road trip, with Korra finding random air-benders and sending them northwards, but it’s clear by this stage that a much greater plan was at work. By spending so much time with the Metal Clan, we now have a vested interest in their safety (namely Pearl's), and are also aware of the resources that they can contribute when it comes to fighting the Red Lotus.
With Mako/Bolin's family safely installed in the city and Suyin off to rouse the rest of the Metal Clan to action, you can see the one subplot being laid to rest and another rising in anticipation of the season finale.
Korra attempts to find Zaheer in the spirit world only to run across Iroh instead, and we get another dose of continuity when Iroh advises her to ask Zuko for help – as she has no connection to her past lives, speaking to Aang's best friend in life is the next best option. Aww. And double-aww when Zuko responds to Korra’s news of his uncle. Plus a few tears as well.
And a final touch of genius before we get to the climactic finish was the transition between Korra and Tenzin on opposite ends of the radio. Though the audience is witness to all that happens at the Air Temple, the abrupt switch from one setting to the other really captures the immediacy of the situation – and the fact that Korra knows nothing of what follows.
It’s nearly impossible to describe or discuss fight scenes. The best you can do is a string together a list of adjectives – amazing, fantastic, brutal, incredible. So suffice to say that the final showdown between Tenzin/Kya/Bumi and Zaheer/Ming Hua/Ghazan, with P’Li circling overhead in the airship and shooting at the rest of the nomads was all that and more.
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Even throughout the battle there were moments of clever characterization – that newly-realized air-bender Zaheer is clearly no match for old master Tenzin, that Bumi eventually resorts to biting and hair-pulling, and that Tenzin makes a final defiant stand.
Meep. I’d like to think he makes it, but his words: “as long as I’m breathing, it’s not over,” don’t bode well. Neither does the discreet pan across until the Red Lotus’s onslaught is hidden from view.
Miscellaneous Observations:
In terms of how to manage an episode's time restrictions, this was right on target – from establishing that the airship’s transmission radio has been ripped out (justifying the trip to Zaofu) to skipping the challenge of landing an airship by having Bolin simply comment: “see I told you, landing is hard,” this was an exceptional way of making the setup cater to the story.
Grandma Yin is a gem! Pretty much everything she said and did was hilarious (her refusal to leave home, mistaking Asami for the Avatar, deciding to go take a nap), but I’ll have to go with her comment to Mako as a clear winner: “What lovely young women. Mako, why aren’t you dating any nice girls like them?”
Though it is interesting that they kept her devotion to the Earth Queen intact. It was a nice reminder that even depots have their fans. I wonder if the picture she takes from her home will come into play in the final two episodes.
Mako/Korra’s awkward hug. Aww. Just don’t put them back together.
That mini-iceberg at the Misty Palms Oasis intrigues me. I remember that in Aang’s day it was sadly not what it used to be, but here it would appear that it’s gone back to its former glory – perhaps because of the spirits? Who certainly seemed to be enjoying its coolness.
Is this our last glimpse of Zuko? Nooooo. And are we ever going to get to see his daughter?
But a definite fist-pump occurred when Korra referred to her as “the Fire Lord” instead of the Fire Lady.
Our final scene: Kai is rescued by a baby bison and rides away to the words: “yip yip.” If any two words were infused with hope and foreshadowing, it’s those ones.
So - what happens next? There are only two episodes left and we still don't know what the Red Lotus want from Korra, though given Zuko's words to her about Aang's love of the Air Nomads (and the Lotus's complete control of the Air Temple) it seems likely that she'll kowtow to their demands - at least to start with. But Kai is certainly a Chekhov's Gun just waiting to be fired, and I wouldn't discount the Metal Clan either. They were more than capable of holding the Red Lotus at bay during their infiltration of Zaofu.
And if Tenzin has in fact been killed, then all bets are off.
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