Legend of Korra Recap: “In Harm’s Way” and “The Metal Clan”

Earlier this week, I was half paying attention to a PBS documentary about superheroes while I worked. I was in the middle of inking when I had to stop and pay attention. The documentary was talking about Wonder Woman, and how at the time she was something very new and different. A feminine hero who stood on her own, not a Miss Mister like so many of her predecessors. She was a heroine that defined women in the comic media for quite some time, changing the face and role of what women could do in a comic medium. Wonder Woman was a sea change.

This got me thinking of the hopes I have for my own project which features a female hero lead. It also got me thinking about Korra. While I do have my issues with Korra as a series, I can’t help but love Korra herself and the women that surround her. They are flawed characters who have legit problems, dreams, and goals. They’re people, and while that may seem like a given, when you study media like I have it’s rare to find a something that shows women might have other problems than what to wear, or who to date. It’s a trend I’m beginning to see more of, and one I hope to continue with my own work.

While the next few episodes have leaked, this area will continue to be a leaked episode spoiler free zone!

 

The first episode begins with Zuko mistaking Zaheer & Company for a snowstorm, but we forgive him because of his badass dragon. While Tonraq, Zuko and the twins do their best to hold off the convicts, they’re easily out matched by Ming Wa (EVEN THE DRAGON IS NO MATCH YA’LL) and a ballin’ snowmobile. P’li is freed and immediately gets warmer with Zaheer’s help.

Back in Ba Sing Se, Mako and Bolin say goodbye to their new-found family and head back to the Upper Ring. Asami is helping Korra train when the boys finally return and tell them about the airbender kidnapping scheme. Not FIVE SECONDS later, Queen Bitch of the Earth Kingdom rolls up, and feeds them a lame airbender lead which any five year old could see through. Honestly, this lady may have a lot of power but if teenagers are seeing through your BS, it’s time to reevaluate your abilities – I’m just sayin’. Thankfully, Asami buys them time by playing the “Airship Needs Repairs” card.

At a Team Avatar meeting, they agree the purloined airbenders need a jailbreak pronto. Mako has a surprisingly good suggestion that they look into Lake Laogai.

Outside of some cool astral projection on Jinora’s part, there’s not much of the old Dai Li hang out left. So instead, Jinora looks for Kai’s spirit energy, much like she did with Korra at the Harmonic Convergence.

As a new recruit into the Earth Queen’s Airbender Army, Kai and his fellow enslaved soldiers are undergoing some pretty intense training from the Dai Li. It’s showing a bit of uncharacteristic compassion that lands Kai in solitary confinement…were lo and behold Ghost!Jinora finds him! With a bit of clever spirit work, Jinora finds the airbenders are being kept under the Earth Queen’s new temple.

Jinora quickly reports back to Team Avatar, but the jailbreak plans are nearly busted when an unexpected knock comes to the door.

Lin steps into the episode with a simple message: Korra, gurl, we gotta scram. Things get more complicated when she explains that Zaheer & Co are back in business. We learn that when Korra was a baby Avatar these convicts nearly kidnapped her, which is why Korra spent the majority of her life living in a compound with barely any human contact. Bummer. 13 years later and no one knows why Zaheer & Co are so hell bent on getting their hands on Korra. Apparently totally handling Kaiju Una-Vatu and literally saving the world from 10,000 years dungeon of darkness is nothing compared to these four convicts, because Lin appoints herself Korra’s bodyguard. But Korra isn’t going anywhere without her airbenders!

Team Avatar breaks into the the prison compound, busting out all the Airbenders, including Kai. The prison break is short-lived when the Dai Li and the Earth Queen show up. The Earth Queen threatens war on anyone who takes her airbender army. Korra’s okay with that, because she’s the Avatar and even Queen bitches gotta deal with it! The airbenders wind blast their way out, and  everyone makes a fairly clean escape with Lin and Asami as getaway drivers.

Once safely away, the new airbenders are offered the chance to help rebuild the air nomad nation, and with it, revive the culture. Many choose to study under Tenzin.

The episode ends with Tenzin and Korra parting ways, Tenzin to train his new airbenders, and Korra to find more of them.

The Metal Clan is an episode that can basically be summed up in four words: Who did Toph bang? It’s like the new “What happened to Zuko’s mom?”

A new airbender has been found in the city of ZauFu, home of the Metal Clan. It’s a city made entirely of metal. It’s like the Mecca of metal bending, with lotus flower architecture and a big statue of Toph and METAL BENDING DANCERS, so of course Lin is totally stoked to be there right?

Turns out Lin would love to be anywhere else in the world, so instead of going out with the person she’s supposed to protect, Lin stays in the airship to sulk. Team Avatar heads out to find the new airbender. On the way, they learn that Toph left the city a while ago to wander the world in search of enlightenment to become a GIANT POTENTIAL PLOT TEASE.

They first meet Su Yin, mother to the new airbender. She turns out to run a metalbending dancing program, is mom of the year to five children, plus wife of the century, business tycoon, and the Metal Clan Leader. Oh, and she’s totally Lin’s half sister BY ANOTHER DAD. When she finds out that Lin’s in town, Su Yin uses the sweet-family-reunion card, but it’s not very effective. In fact, Lin is anything but pleased to see her sister. They haven’t spoken in some 30 years and Lin wants to keep it that way. Ouch. Anyway, Korra and company manage to drag Lin from the airship and to meet the new airbender, Opal.

Opal is Su Yin’s daughter, making her Lin’s niece. She’s also cute as a button, and upon meeting Bolin, the SS Bopal sets sail. Korra’s ready to help Opal pack her bags, but Su Yin’s having none of that. So, at least for the night, Team Avatar is staying put. Lin isn’t okay with this. Familial disputes aside, Zaheer & Co are out there and Team Avatar has to keep moving to keep the Avatar safe. Su Yin assures them that Zau Fu is the safest city in the world. That’s what they said about Ba Sing Se, and we all know how that went down.

We’re then treated to a wonderful Dragon Dance airbending lesson with Korra and Opal which is quite beautiful.

So Dinner is on with the Bei Fongs, and it succeeds as well as a otter-penguin flies, meaning not at all. After a few choice words about children being blessings and their mother saying that but never meaning it, Lin stomps out before dessert is even served.

After a fairly awkward scene with Mako and Bolin primping and talking about Opal, we finally get to the good stuff with the Bei Fong Family Drama. Korra has a sit down with Su Yin trying to get to the bottom of all this familial tension. Su Yin explains that she and Lin never knew their fathers. Toph was a busy woman with running the police, Avatar business, and tending a new bending form. She felt freedom was the best approach to parenting her children – perhaps giving them a bit too much freedom. Attention was desperately wanted, but rarely received and both girls apparently suffered for it. Su Yin admits she’d really like Lin to be part of her family, but it doesn’t look like Lin wants the same thing. Just a quick side note here – Su Yin calls her mother “Toph,” not “mom,” like Lin does. I think that says a lot about both women’s relationship with their mother.

Meanwhile at Air Temple Island, Zaheer has shown himself freshly bald, as a new airbender. With the tutelage of the babybenders, Bald!Zaheer is showing himself to be quite adept at being the leaf. At night, he barges into Tenzin’s study, finding a pendant with his favorite airbender poem inscribed on it. After being caught by Ikki, Kya approaches, sending her to bed and calling out Zaheer for who he is.

Kya and Zaheer have an EPIC bending battle, and it’s easy to see that Kya is just as talented a bender as Katara. Despite Zaheer only being an airbender for maybe three weeks, this dude can hold his own against Kya, and taking a glider he escapes into the night (possibly with the pendant?).

Back in Zau Fu, Korra walks in on a moment between Bolin and Opal (look at that ship sail!), and steals Opal away to talk to Lin. Opal pleads with Lin, asking her to become part of the family. Lin bluntly refuses her. Frustrated at Lin’s stubborn and brutal rebuttal to Opal’s pleas, Korra lays a harsh verbal smack down.

Korra stomps away, leaving Lin alone…and the rest of us tearbending.

This week’s episodes have packed a lot of story into a very short time, leaving us with more questions than answers. Honestly, at this point that’s how it should be.

I loved this week’s episodes, not just for the adorable moments and awesome bending that I love the series for, but because they both showed the span of what it means to be a female lead in animation. In these two episodes, Korra shows us that she can swoop in to save the day for kidnapped innocents, and be the intermediary trying to save a family that needs healing. She can be both active and passive in her action, and she still remains a hero. In these episodes, we get to soar through walls with Jinora’s spiritual skills, feel the thrill of the fight with Ming Wa and Kya, understand the pain that can drive sisters apart and the respect that brings a student and master into friendship. These are not aspects of women we get to see that often in media of any type, much less children’s animation. So forgive me while I savor the sisterhood for a few moments.

So what did you think of this week’s episodes? Share your theories, your favorite moments, and your bets on who the dads are in the comments! It’s another week before we see the next two episodes, which will air on July 18th. Until then, my fellow Korra fans!

 

By day, Carrie is the co-creator, artist and production coordinator of Kamikaze. By night a writer, budding comic nerd and passionate feminist. Occasionally she takes pretty photos. A devoted scholar to film, animation and storytelling Carrie is feared wherever books are sold, and enjoys the company of animals, geeks and artists equally. Feel free to follow her on Twitter.

Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, & Google +?

---