Legend Of Korra: Will It Bend!

[pffh]

This episode really showed that while the brothers might be good at pro bending in a real fight their techniques aren't so good.

[LordVader]

I was sad that the episodes don't air in Canada, but I saw them on the Nick website. Personally, I think the episode was a bit below average. It seemed as if they were trying to cram to much information into too little time. It's better in hindsight, though, because it was a necessary infodump.

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Amon's face stolen, you say?
Power granted by spirits, you say?
Probably evil spirits, you say?
Power he can use against an arrogant, waterbender avatar, you say?

Koh, you manipulative bastard, what have you been up to?

It's not that spirit. Here's why:

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Amon has eyes.

[Dr.Epic]

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Amon's face stolen, you say?

He directly stated a fire burnt his face, so no. There goes your theory.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I should probably just get the season pass. I still have about forty dollars of unspent iTunes money from Christmas. But I'm worried about the memory on my iPad, I have the entire first series on it and that took up a lot of memory, even with 32 gigabits of it. Plus I've got a couple dozen app games.

[Kobold-Bard]

He directly stated a fire burnt his face, so no. There goes your theory.

And obviously evil extremists never lie to gain support, do they?

Not that I think Koh took his face (he has eyes).

[LordVader]

He directly stated a fire burnt his face, so no. There goes your theory.

Yeah, but the dude's wearing a mask, and he's a villain. Taking everything he says at face value is maybe not the best idea.

That said, it's not the thing that was suggested, because Koh takes your whole face, and we saw Amon's eyes.

I should probably just get the season pass. I still have about forty dollars of unspent iTunes money from Christmas. But I'm worried about the memory on my iPad, I have the entire first series on it and that took up a lot of memory, even with 32 gigabits of it. Plus I've got a couple dozen app games.

Do it! The HD episodes look so good.

[tyckspoon]

Couple of ideas.

On mooks:

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Likewise, Bolin flung a single tile at the Lieutenant and then watched it sail away, instead of striking while the guy was in the air and helpless. It's pretty clear that the Fire Ferrets have a lot to learn about not being crap at fighting.

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Not surprising, is it? Mako and Bolin aren't fighters; they're athletes. When they have to bend quickly, the first thing they fall back on is the pro-bending style. Mako seems to adapt pretty quickly, which makes sense; he probably did most of the fighting for the brothers when they were on the streets, and his Firebending style in a bending match probably converts to real combat more easily. Bolin needs some real combat training if he's going to hang around Korra, tho. The clay target-discs he's comfortable with throwing around in the bending arena don't have too much relevance to actual fights.

As for Korra.. yeah, if she stopped to think she probably could have handled that, but as characterized so far? She likes close combat, and she doesn't have any experience sparring with people who have that kind of mobility- only Airbenders and Ty Lee's circus acrobatics move that fast, and she's had all her training sparring with Earth, Fire, and Waterbenders.. she'll handle the chi-blocker style better when she starts really getting Airbending, I'll wager, or maybe if she leans harder on the principles of Waterbending.

[Dr.Epic]

And obviously evil extremists never lie to gain support, do they?

Not that I think Koh took his face (he has eyes).

If he was a sneaky, underhanded villain, why would he let the benders fight him before he took their bending? We don't have any reason to believe he's the lying type.

[thubby]

i just realized. for a normal amon's fighting style is surprisingly slow, especially compared to his chi blocker troops. im guessing he's older.

for korra fighting. she's used to fighting benders. her preferred tactic seems to be getting in close and overwhelming other benders with physical strength. she's not used to someone who's more dangerous at point blank range.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Do it! The HD episodes look so good.

Aaaand it's not working. I deleted the first episode. Tried to get it again (I wanted to see what the SD looked like) and it didn't work. Bought the HD season pass, it says it's purchased (I can't click on it to try to get it again either, it's grayed out), the money's out of my account, and it doesn't say I have any downloads. Don't know if it's downloading or not. I'll check it again in an hour or so. On the upside, if I did purchase it, and it eventually decides it's not downloading, I can just try again for free.

[LordVader]

If he was a sneaky, underhanded villain, why would he let the benders fight him before he took their bending? We don't have any reason to believe he's the lying type.

To demonstrate his power, and reassure all of the citizens at the rally that he can indeed overthrow the benders. His supporters need to know that they're backing someone capable of taking on the best benders Republic City has to offer. QED.

We have reason to believe he's the lying type because it seems shockingly atypical for the spirit world to turn on the Avatar, and because we have no indication that spirits can grant Energybending or anything similar.

i just realized. for a normal amon's fighting style is surprisingly slow, especially compared to his chi blocker troops. im guessing he's older.

for korra fighting. she's used to fighting benders. her preferred tactic seems to be getting in close and overwhelming other benders with physical strength. she's not used to someone who's more dangerous at point blank range.

Excellent point! I really love the brute strength and physicality of Korra's fighting style; for example, she took down Wrench Man, a huge, muscly guy, without ever needing bending.

It's really an awesome change from Aang, who had to use bending most of the time in order to compensate for his small physical size. Korra's brute-force fighting is almost as dangerous as her bending.

Her martial ability is going to make her a hell of a threat once she learns Airbending, which will both help her keep chi-blockers away and turn her into a whirling dervish of ass-kicking thanks to the mobility it grants.

[Reverent-One]

Couple of ideas.

On mooks:

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Likewise, Bolin flung a single tile at the Lieutenant and then watched it sail away, instead of striking while the guy was in the air and helpless. It's pretty clear that the Fire Ferrets have a lot to learn about not being crap at fighting.

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You're assuming he had enough time to do so, but the guy was only in the air for a second. It took him about as long to pull up the second tile he threw (because he actually threw two) as it did for the Lieutenant to jump the first one. And then when then Lieutenant dodged that one he got scared and tried to put up the wall.

[Kobold-Bard]

If he was a sneaky, underhanded villain, why would he let the benders fight him before he took their bending? We don't have any reason to believe he's the lying type.

Because he's an *******? He knows full well he can beat them, he just wants to make a show of giving them a chance to keep their bending. It's not some display of honour, if that's what you're suggesting.

[LordVader]

Still, it'd be better to throw big, honking chunks of road than the equivalent of probending discs. The classic Toph stratagem of "pillar of rock" would also do much better, I think.

Just look at Korra's earthbending in combat; she uses big, solid eruptions of earth from the ground. That's a much better way of fighting with Earthbending than throwing thin, easily dodged discs.

[Reverent-One]

Still, it'd be better to throw big, honking chunks of road than the equivalent of probending discs. The classic Toph stratagem of "pillar of rock" would also do much better, I think.

Just look at Korra's earthbending in combat; she uses big, solid eruptions of earth from the ground. That's a much better way of fighting with Earthbending than throwing thin, easily dodged discs.

Eh, he was throwing some good sized chunks of rock there, it's debatable whether they're "easily dodged" or just that the Lieutenant was that good. It's not like nobody in the show can dodge the "eruption" type earthbending attacks.

[Randomguy]

It's not that spirit. Here's why:
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Amon has eyes.

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Oops...

I suppose it probably isn't Koh, then. While it's still technically possible that he set this up somehow without actually stealing Amon's face (or that Amon painted on fake eyes or something), but the stolen face was really the only thing that set Koh apart from other, avatar-hating spirits, so it could be anything.

[LordVader]

Eh, he was throwing some good sized chunks of rock there, it's debatable whether they're "easily dodged" or just that the Lieutenant was that good. It's not like nobody in the show can dodge the "eruption" type earthbending attacks.

It's simple logic. What's easier to dodge, an attack you see coming, or one you don't? People can dodge the giant pillars of rock, yes, but it's going to be harder to evade both due to its sheer size and the fact that it's harder to see where it's being aimed.

Also, the earthbender maintains control over the pillar while it's in movement, whereas with launched rocks once it's in the air you can't guide it midflight.

Throwing decent-sized rocks isn't a terrible way to fight with Earthbending, but it's definitely not as effective as the ground-based strategy Korra uses.

[Kobold-Bard]

So a few days ago I asked about Korra having no money and that was answered in this episode, privileged upbringing syndrome. So maybe this will be answered next week:

Given that Korra was trained in Waterbending by Katara, do we think she knows how to heal?

[Connington]

Re: Mako's day job:

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I think we have enough hints from this episode to say lightning-bending is still pretty rare. First, Mako says he makes 'good money' for a single day of channeling lightning into an..engine/turbine/whatever. If this were something almost any firebender off the street could do, it wouldn't be well-paid; it'd be as close to unskilled labor as you can get for a job that requires bending. The fact that Mako can make an appreciable amount of money in a single day indicates that lightning bending is still unusual enough to be highly-valued.

Second, the head of one of the crime gangs apparently takes his street name from his ability to lightning bend. He wouldn't do that if it weren't considered impressive and unusual; you don't make gang names out of things everybody can do. So, I am assuming: The ability to lightning bend is still unusual, found only in unusually powerful and/or skilled benders. The ability to do so with enough speed and power to be useful in combat is even rarer, to the point where it may be the reason 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt is in charge of his particular triad.

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First of all, we don't know what Mako considers good money, but considering his situation it's probably not much. Henry Ford was considered incredibly generous when he payed his factory workers $14 an hour in today's money, which was about twice as much as most of his competitors. Given the low percentage of benders in the population (only a fraction of which are firebenders), and what I'm presuming is a huge demand for electricity in Republic City, lightning bending doesn't have to be an incredibly rare technique to command considerable wages.

Granted, Lightning Bending probably isn't something that every firebender can pull off, but if say half or a third of them can, that's still a lot of lightning benders.

Lightning Bolt Zolt probably took his nickname from preferring and being good with lightning, not from being the only Triad member who could do it in combat. In the real world we have gangsters with names like Icepick. That implies that that they like to use an icepick, not that they're the only ones who can get their hands on one.

[Kobold-Bard]

...

Also, the earthbender maintains control over the pillar while it's in movement, whereas with launched rocks once it's in the air you can't guide it midflight.

...

Disagree. The Dai Li were able to manipulate their rock gloves mid-flight.

Bolin specifically may not be able to control them mid-flight (he looked like he was having to put some serious effort into everything he did in the fight, which was a little off-putting, being used to Toph & Aang), but Earthbenders can.

[dehro]

Given that Korra was trained in Waterbending by Katara, do we think she knows how to heal?

I seem to remember that Katara herself was surprised to learn she could heal. if I get this right, it's not a power every waterbender has, and can't be taught if it isn't there. but I might be wrong on this

on mooks:

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Tay Lee was up against some of the best and most experienced benders of her day, and managed to close in on them, reducing the distances in a heartbeat. these guys seem to have learned the same tricks, and are up against relatively green opponents. mako and bolin may have a bit of streetfighting experience, but have been "athletes" for some time now, in other words, they learned to bend on the streets, and later bending tricks revolve mainly around pro-bending, with it's limitations and rules. proof of this is that Bolin's main attacks were pretty much pro-bending style instead of just bending 2 walls in his opponents' faces.
Korra has had the best of teachers and training, but virtually no real combat experience in a life and death situation. plus she's never seen chi blockers before. the thugs had it easy.

[Kobold-Bard]

I seem to remember that Katara herself was surprised to learn she could heal. if I get this right, it's not a power every waterbender has, and can't be taught if it isn't there. but I might be wrong on this

...

She was surprised that she specifically could heal. But it seemed that the Northern Tribe taught all female Waterbenders healing.

[pffh]

Disagree. The Dai Li were able to manipulate their rock gloves mid-flight.

Bolin specifically may not be able to control them mid-flight (he looked like he was having to put some serious effort into everything he did in the fight, which was a little off-putting, being used to Toph & Aang), but Earthbenders can.

Bolin probably hasn't really earthbent at all outside of the pro bending discs for while so it would stand to reason that having to use earth that he cuts and shapes himself is straining.

[tyckspoon]

I seem to remember that Katara herself was surprised to learn she could heal. if I get this right, it's not a power every waterbender has, and can't be taught if it isn't there. but I might be wrong on this

I'd be willing to put money on Korra having the *potential* to heal- if nothing else, there's almost certainly a Water-nation Avatar somewhere in the past who had the ability to heal, so the Avatar State gestalt could do it. And she had access to Katara as a master, so she'd have every opportunity to learn it if she can do it.. but I would also guess that healing requires a style of bending and application of energy that is almost entirely opposed to Korra's personality, and so she finds it impossible to do in much the same way she is having trouble understanding Airbending. It's not that she is incapable of doing it, it just doesn't fit her understanding. (And having your healer throw a tantrum of uncontrolled energy in the middle of a healing exercise because it's too hard is.. probably bad.)

[Reverent-One]

Disagree. The Dai Li were able to manipulate their rock gloves mid-flight.

Bolin specifically may not be able to control them mid-flight (he looked like he was having to put some serious effort into everything he did in the fight, which was a little off-putting, being used to Toph & Aang), but Earthbenders can.

This. Especially the bolded part. Though I will point out the rocks he was throwing did seem to curve, so he seems to have some mid-flight control. But combined with how much (or more accurately, how not so much) of a wall he had had up by the time the guy crossed the distance between them, I'm thinking he's just not as powerful a bender as Toph (who was basically a master when we met her) or Aang (avatar) at the moment.

[Madara]

So how long before the equalists go against the metalbending police?

It seems like the police are quite good benders and have some serious agility, they might be able to put up a good fight.

[Kobold-Bard]

So how long before the equalists go against the metalbending police?

It seems like the police are quite good benders and have some serious agility, they might be able to put up a good fight.

IIRC in the season trailer we saw the arena on fire and Korra swinging away on a rope with Lin. So I'm guessing it'll happen sooner rather than later.

[Reverent-One]

So how long before the equalists go against the metalbending police?

It seems like the police are quite good benders and have some serious agility, they might be able to put up a good fight.

Thinking about it, they seem to have an advantage towards some of the mooks, as I'd guess the Chi-blockers would have trouble hitting the points through their armor, but a distinct disadvantage versus some of the other ones, since metal + shock sticks = ow. How many guys with shock sticks the equalists have in any given fight will probably be important.

[pffh]

Thinking about it, they seem to have an advantage towards some of the mooks, as I'd guess the Chi-blockers would have trouble hitting the points through their armor, but a distinct disadvantage versus some of the other ones, since metal + shock sticks = ow. How many guys with shock sticks the equalists have in any given fight will probably be important.

They are still earthbenders so putting up walls and earth armor shouldn't be to hard against the shock stick guys.

[Dienekes]

Thinking about it, they seem to have an advantage towards some of the mooks, as I'd guess the Chi-blockers would have trouble hitting the points through their armor, but a distinct disadvantage versus some of the other ones, since metal + shock sticks = ow. How many guys with shock sticks the equalists have in any given fight will probably be important.

Or they armor themselves completely in metal like Toph did in the end of last season and suddenly become completely immune to everything that the equalists can throw at them. Chi-blocking: stopped by armor. Electricity: armor becomes a ground that makes the guy inside immune.