Legend Of Korra: Will It Bend!

[Dr.Epic]

I don't get why Amon would let them go. Yes, let them go so they can warn other benders. We need out enemies to have all the warning and time to plan.

[AtlanteanTroll]

New episodes air 11 AM EST you guys, so yeah. You did.

[eyeofsaulot]

Not sure I like that. In the original series lightning was a very rare technique only the best firebenders could perform. We only ever saw the Fire Nation royals do it, and even then Zuko never managed it. For a bunch of random firebenders to be doing it to fuel power plant seems... quite the step down from that.

Zevox

So they figured out some new techniques that make lightning bending more easy to do. It acts as another good reason some non-benders are terrified by benders and turn to supporting the revolution.

[pffh]

Yeah it aired at 11:00, it just ended 15 minutes ago.

Ah. Well then I guess I'll have to stay clear of this thread until I get a chance to watch it.

[Reverent-One]

I don't get why Amon would let them go. Yes, let them go so they can warn other benders. We need out enemies to have all the warning and time to plan.

Because he sees their planning as pointless. He's going to win, they should know this now, let them comes to terms with it and give up.

[thubby]

I don't get why Amon would let them go. Yes, let them go so they can warn other benders. We need out enemies to have all the warning and time to plan.

it's going to get out anyway, the normals are going to see to that.
having the avatar be the one to be afraid of it and announce the threat is a good way to demoralize the enemy and legitimize their military strength.

[Dr.Epic]

Because he sees their planning as pointless. He's going to win, they should know this now, let them comes to terms with it and give up.

You just described the mindset of ever James Bond villain, and how do they all fair? Will Amon strap Korra to a giant drill, explain his master plan in detail, and walk away assuming she gets killed?

it's going to get out anyway, the normals are going to see to that.
having the avatar be the one to be afraid of it and announce the threat is a good way to demoralize the enemy and legitimize their military strength.

But at least they would have less time to plan a counter attack. He's just giving them time to form a strategy and defeat them.

[Fjolnir]

Didn't the lion-turtle state that energy bending predated the avatar ?

[Kobold-Bard]

Is there a legit way for non-Americans to watch it? Because if there is I'll happily do so in future.

But for now, For non-Americans & people who missed it. Skip to 1:47:00

Be warned: It's a recording of a stream so there are ad breaks.

[Dr.Epic]

Didn't the lion-turtle state that energy bending predated the avatar ?

Yep. People used to bender the energy that controlled the elements before the four nations.

[thubby]

But at least they would have less time to plan a counter attack. He's just giving them time to form a strategy and defeat them.

presumably the demonstration was to gather support for his cause. it would be counterproductive to keep a lid on it.

I also doubt he wanted to have a big fight drag out into the streets.

[Dr.Epic]

presumably the demonstration was to gather support for his cause. it would be counterproductive to keep a lid on it.

I also doubt he wanted to have a big fight drag out into the streets.

Big fight aside, why wouldn't they want to capture the avatar and remove her bending? If they didn't want to keep a lid on it, wouldn't that be the best strategy? "Hey, you know the avatar, the most powerful bender and only person who can bend all the elements? Yeah, we caught her and removed her bending. How do you other benders feel?"

[John Cribati]

Big fight aside, why wouldn't they want to capture the avatar and remove her bending? If they didn't want to keep a lid on it, wouldn't that be the best strategy? "Hey, you know the avatar, the most powerful bender and only person who can bend all the elements? Yeah, we tried to catch her and remove her bending. But then her eyes started glowing and everyone died. How do you other benders feel?"

Fixed that for you.

[thubby]

Big fight aside, why wouldn't they want to capture the avatar and remove her bending? If they didn't want to keep a lid on it, wouldn't that be the best strategy? "Hey, you know the avatar, the most powerful bender and only person who can bend all the elements? Yeah, we caught her and removed her bending. How do you other benders feel?"

if he were confident his troops could catch her (which he might not be) and doing it without bringing the wrath of a good chunk of the city down on them, that might work.

[Dr.Epic]

Fixed that for you.

Yeah, because not 24 hours ago some nameless henchman was able to chi-block her effortlessly. A group of namelessly henchmen surely couldn't do that.

if he were confident his troops could catch her (which he might not be) and doing it without bringing the wrath of a good chunk of the city down on them, that might work.

So catching the avatar would bring down the wrath of the city, but spreading anti-bending propaganda and revealing they can permanently remove bending wouldn't? And as for catching her, she was chi-blocked quite easily like I said.

[Reverent-One]

But at least they would have less time to plan a counter attack. He's just giving them time to form a strategy and defeat them.

He's also giving them time to (depending on the faction) A) be overconfident and think they can take him without working together since now they know what to expect, B) get scared and try to work out a deal, C) spread the word, which from the Avatar makes it even more legitimate, which will boost his ranks.

[Kobold-Bard]

Spoiler

Show

I can't believe I picked the right theory about Amon.

- Mooks that are actually competent,.
-The PCs aren't as powerful as their predecessors.
- Amon is legitimately dangerous with this Bending removal, unlike the Fire Nation of old who's main threat was main character death (which we know a cartoon is unlikely to follow through with).
- The BBEG's not hidden away in a palace miles from the story.

The Equalists genuinely concern me as enemies, which is good.

That said, I'm so glad we have a little animal companion again as well as Naga.

[Dr.Epic]

He's also giving them time to (depending on the faction) A) be overconfident and think they can take him without working together since now they know what to expect

Wouldn't it make more sense and be more effective to give them no time to prepare or think thus ensuring them no time to do anything?

B) get scared and try to work out a deal

They'd get more scared if they didn't have the warning: they find out about this when Amon is too far along to fair rather than them knowing this in the beginning stages of his plan.

C) spread the word, which from the Avatar makes it even more legitimate, which will boost his ranks.

You know what would make this seem even more legit? Capturing the avatar and ridding her of her bending. That way, you still get the word out (which you think is a good idea) and remove your biggest obstacle.

[LordVader]

No, it is not the same. Kyoshi had control over the Avatar state, and knew full well that breaking up a continent would be dangerous to anyone near the edge. She is the primary creator of the gouge. Aang could not know that the Avatar and the Ocean spirit would go on a rampage, and had no ability to control their actions. Since both Avatar and Ocean are presumably self-aware, they and no-one else, is responsible for the deaths. Even if Aang brought them forth of his own volition (and I agree with Zimmerwald that it is unlikely), he bears no more responsibility for their actions than, say, Kyoshi's mother, who also unleashed her of her own volition.

Grey Wolf

Hmmm, that's a fair point; I think I misremembered the dialogue order in Siege of the North.


In any case, I really enjoyed the new episodes. Korra continues to be hilariously unsubtle in the best possible way as well as totally badass, and Amon and the Equalists have some really good points.

It's great to see that Korra is consistently portrayed as a far more competent warrior than Mako or Bolin; she's been trained to fight for her entire life, and should be by far the best fighter in the group as a result. Pro-bending may be good training, but it ain't combat training.

Also, do we think Amon is actually Energybending, or is that a red herring? Someone on the AV Club suggested that it's just an advanced form of chi-blocking, which makes sense to me; there was none of the lightshow of Energybending present in that light show.


Can we all agree that Bolin is now officially Sokka reincarnated?

[Dr.Epic]

One thing I forgot about once the plot kicked in, was the awesome moment when Korra earth bended Tenzin's children. That had me laughing for a full minute: "Hey Korra! Is that the guy that makes you feel funny? Like funny funny or good funny?" *BOOM* *Earthbends* That reminded me so much of a scene from episode 2 of DBZ Abridged: "We the creators of Legend of Korra do not condone child violence. We do however find it hilarious."

[dehro]

you guys... if an episode has aired 15 minutes ago... please.. use spoilers or at least warn a brother!

[Reverent-One]

Wouldn't it make more sense and be more effective to give them no time to prepare or think thus ensuring them no time to do anything?

If overconfidence makes them make more mistakes, then no.

They'd get more scared if they didn't have the warning: they find out about this when Amon is too far along to fair rather than them knowing this in the beginning stages of his plan.

Which requires him to beat them first, scaring them now means they turn over now, reducing the obstacles to get his plan to the point where it's too far along to fail.

You know what would make this seem even more legit? Capturing the avatar and ridding her of her bending. That way, you still get the word out (which you think is a good idea) and remove your biggest obstacle.

Maybe, if they could catch her on foot in the first place. And he has no further plans for her, which is an assumption we can't make right now. Besides, you're arguing that he should keep it a secret.

[LordVader]

One thing I forgot about once the plot kicked in, was the awesome moment when Korra earth bended Tenzin's children. That had me laughing for a full minute: "Hey Korra! Is that the guy that makes you feel funny? Like funny funny or good funny?" *BOOM* *Earthbends* That reminded me so much of a scene from episode 2 of DBZ Abridged: "We the creators of Legend of Korra do not condone child violence. We do however find it hilarious."

Yeah, that was so great. Korra is awesome. It's so rare for a chief protagonist to be my favorite character, too.

RE: why Amon might want to capture Korra-
I saw a great fan theory online which is brilliant and absolutely chilling at the same time.

We know Amon wanted the Avatar at Republic City. What if his plan is to take her, force her into the Avatar State, and kill her, thus ending the line of Avatars permanently and dealing an irreparable blow to bender power? It'd be an incredibly powerful symbol.

[Zevox]

One thing I forgot about once the plot kicked in, was the awesome moment when Korra earth bended Tenzin's children. That had me laughing for a full minute: "Hey Korra! Is that the guy that makes you feel funny? Like funny funny or good funny?" *BOOM* *Earthbends* That reminded me so much of a scene from episode 2 of DBZ Abridged: "We the creators of Legend of Korra do not condone child violence. We do however find it hilarious."

And the best part was them just floating gently down behind her afterward with big smiles on their faces. Because, you know, airbenders.

Zevox

[Dr.Epic]

If overconfidence makes them make more mistakes, then no.

How would they get overconfident? I think they would handle the situation with extreme care. Even with an early warning, I'd still be terrified. We just learned someone can take away bending. That's a chilling thought you DON'T overlook.

Which requires him to beat them first, scaring them now means they turn over now, reducing the obstacles to get his plan to the point where it's too far along to fail.

Without this warning he has a better chance. They either turn over or they don't:

-They don't turn over they just have more time to plan in which case you want to keep this secret.

-They turn over they can turn over at any point so why let this out know. You wait until later to reveal this when their plans are farther along, they will feel more compelled to turn over because you've given them less time to plan and they will feel victory is impossible for them.

Maybe, if they could catch her on foot in the first place.

Um, cars or bikes. The things they evaded them with the first time.

And he has no further plans for her, which is an assumption we can't make right now.

No further plans? What about removing her bending? The thing you're trying to do? I think that's enough.

Besides, you're arguing that he should keep it a secret.

Which he should. Letting this information get out will give your enemy time to plan. Besides, if he wanted this information to get out, why did he hold a super secret meeting to reveal this?

[Absol197]

RE: why Amon might want to capture Korra-
I saw a great fan theory online which is brilliant and absolutely chilling at the same time.

We know Amon wanted the Avatar at Republic City. What if his plan is to take her, force her into the Avatar State, and kill her, thus ending the line of Avatars permanently and dealing an irreparable blow to bender power? It'd be an incredibly powerful symbol.

Yeah, I actually had the same idea, too. The one flaw I can see is that the knowledge that the Avatar can be permanently killed in the Avatar State might not be widely known. But then, Amon does seem to have a spiritual source of knowledge, so that might not be as big a problem.

It's a scary thought, to be sure. I also find the bending removal to be really frightening, because the concept of removing such an integral part of a person really doesn't sit well with me. But I guess that's why Amon makes a great bad guy!

I guess Korra really needs to speed up that psiritual learning, so that she can go tot he spirit world and ask the spirits, "Hey, what's up with giving this Amon guy this ability?"

EDIT: Dr. Epic, the super-secret meeting was so that benders couldn't crash it unknowingly. If a bunch of benders showed up just to see what it was about, I'm pretty sure they would have tried to take Amon down. And while he's good at fighting, as we saw, there's not much he could do against a gang of twenty benders surprise-attacked him.

Just imagine if, instead of Korra letting all that steam go, it was a different waterbender bent on killing Amon? The guy is surrounded by steam, then that gets frozen. Congratulations, you're not in a giant block of ice. Let's hope your friends can melt it before you suffocate!

[Dr.Epic]

And the best part was them just floating gently down behind her afterward with big smiles on their faces. Because, you know, airbenders.

Zevox

It actually took me awhile to realize they floated down slowly. My initial thought was Korra just blasted them away. There goes half the airbender population.

[AmberVael]

I don't get why Amon would let them go. Yes, let them go so they can warn other benders. We need out enemies to have all the warning and time to plan.

I think you're too set on perceiving this in terms of physical conflict. Looking at it from a social front, I think Amon's actions make more sense.

Now you could argue that Amon would be better served to capture Korra and get rid of her bending, but I think that would actually be a poor move on the social front.

See, Amon is going for the theme of equality, attempting to appeal to the masses. He may have support, but currently the Avatar has plenty of support too. If he captured her and removed her bending at this point, the nature of that act could be easily questioned- as many people might see him as a tyrant as they would a hero. Why do you think he picked gang members to demonstrate on? He picked out criminals and villains, putting himself on the heroic side in the eyes of his followers- even people outside of his group might consider that a good deed.

He clearly had no intention of ever hiding what occurred, else he would not have made it so easily accessible. The word spreads, demonstrating that he is acting out against the tyranny of benders (underscored by who he demonstrated on, a criminal gang who enforced their will over others through bending), and capable of following through on that act. Heck, even the Avatar struck out against the gang he targeted, so people will be inclined to think of his act as something good. Destroying the avatar, on the other hand, would not have such an effect.

Tactically speaking, letting her go could also be a decent plan. While the Equalists showed their effectiveness in fighting benders, I think Korra's would have an advantage in attempting to run away, and fight at range. Bending is capable of altering the terrain to a significant extent, after all. Now, they might have caught her... or his unprepared subordinates might have chased her into more active metalbending police territory, and gotten caught.

Letting her go was the more tactically safe move as well, as it protects his own secrecy, allowing him to remove his influence and his followers while she takes the time to inform others. He gets away unscathed, his primary goal completed as he intended, while the Avatar gets... what? To warn someone a few hours sooner about what was going to be made public? Escaping with a friend who most people won't even notice got away? Amon won, and he had plenty of reason to simply take the safe route and be satisfied with that rather than potentially overreaching himself.

[Dr.Epic]

It's good to know even 70 years in the future the firebenders are still the jerkiest benders:

Amon: "Firebenders burnt my farm and scarred my face."

Mako: "A firebender mugged and killed my parents."

Why is it always firebenders? Why can't for once it be a waterbender that burns down someone's farm?

[Reverent-One]

How would they get overconfident? I think they would handle the situation with extreme care. Even with an early warning, I'd still be terrified. We just learned someone can take away bending. That's a chilling thought you DON'T overlook.

Because people are people, someone (like one of the other gangs) could write up the triple threats destruction as being their own fault for being chumps, and think that even with his fancy spirit bending, they can still take him.

Without this warning he has a better chance. They either turn over or they don't:

-They don't turn over they just have more time to plan in which case you want to keep this secret.

-They turn over they can turn over at any point so why let this out know. You wait until later to reveal this when their plans are farther along, they will feel more compelled to turn over because you've given them less time to plan and they will feel victory is impossible for them.

Or they cause problems for you anyway before your plan is to the point where it can't fail. The Equalitists aren't unknown, they have people publicly talking about them on street corners even. It's not like they're building a doomsday device that will ensure victory once it's complete, so all they have to do is keep quiet in a cave somewhere and wait for it to finish. To win, they have to go out and do things. Things that others could get in the way of.

Um, cars or bikes. The things they evaded them with the first time.

None of which were in that alleyway, the guys were starting to just straight up run after her.

No further plans? What about removing her bending? The thing you're trying to do? I think that's enough.

Or destroy the Avatar state as Vader suggested. Or simply defeat her in a more public venue. Or use her to further his goals in some other way we're not aware of because he hasn't detailed his plans yet.

Which he should. Letting this information get out will give your enemy time to plan. Besides, if he wanted this information to get out, why did he hold a super secret meeting to reveal this?

So that he could show off to his people without anyone causing problems with his demonstration.