S04.E09: Beyond the Wilds

[OnceSane]

No episode description yet.

[rozen]

Ugh, like mother, like daughter. Opal is about to do the exact thing that got Suyin locked up in the first place. And now she's going to guilt trip Bolin into coming with her. Enemy of the state Bolin. Part of Kuvira's inner circle, turned traitor, Bolin. What treatment does Opal think he will get if Kuvira recaptures him? A thousand times worse than anything she'd dare do to a Beifong. That's on relationship I def hope gets Mako'd asap. 

 

I wonder if the vines are acting on their own, or are swamp benders just clearing out anyone near the vines indiscriminately?

 

Too bad their budget was slashed, seeing Korra in the spirit world for multiple episodes would have been great. Especially when it came time for her to energy bend, it came so easily whereas they've done such a great job showing her protracted mental struggles. How funny, Zaheer is now an airbending master and mentoring Korra, just like the Red Lotus had hoped when she was a child. He's surprisingly zen considering his mental break when his poisoning scheme failed. Spirit energy, best high ever. 

[Brn2bwild]

Yeah, I normally like Opal, but she was pretty nasty in this one.  Then again, from her perspective, anyone but Bolin would have wised up much sooner to Kuvira's true motives.

 

I was glad to see more of Lin in this episode.  Knew she wouldn't just sit back while her family was imprisoned.

[VCRTracking]

Oh Bolin. I couldn't help but think of this scene from The Royal Tenenbaums.

 

[cambridgeguy]

Let's see, two supposed members of Kuvira's inner-circle (one of whom tried to kidnap the president before, no less) are allowed to just burst into the room where major world leaders are meeting without an escort?  That's some top-notch security work right there.

 

On the plus side it looks like Korra has worked out her issues even if it's not entirely clear what her next move is.  Does she plan on going to the swamp without backup? 

[Eegah]

I definitely got the feeling that Korra getting over her issues had to be rushed when the budget was cut. Still, it works well enough and hopefully that means the story plan will go at its intended pace from now on.

[PinkRibbons]

My only issue is the freaky dark!Korra vision-thing, because I'm still not sure if it was related to the many issues she's come past now. It's such a specific eerie image, and they've hinted it's a spirit thingy. So I'd like to know what it is or was if it never shows up again.

 

Otherwise I thought the episode was pretty great!

[rozen]

Let's see, two supposed members of Kuvira's inner-circle (one of whom tried to kidnap the president before, no less) are allowed to just burst into the room where major world leaders are meeting without an escort?  That's some top-notch security work right there.

 

On the plus side it looks like Korra has worked out her issues even if it's not entirely clear what her next move is.  Does she plan on going to the swamp without backup? 

 

Yea, that too. I'm just going to pretend that Bolin knows all the shady alleyways of the city to avoid police officers and guards, then made a run for it when he got them to the door. It doesn't give me much hope for Republic City "defending itself" though. 

 

She probably needs to go find Toph. She and the swamp-benders are probably already wrecking havoc, I figure an avatar-powered swamp vine controller could clear things up pretty quickly. Or at least destroy so many mecha-tanks it makes it too expensive for Kuvira to continue.

 

My only issue is the freaky dark!Korra vision-thing, because I'm still not sure if it was related to the many issues she's come past now. It's such a specific eerie image, and they've hinted it's a spirit thingy. So I'd like to know what it is or was if it never shows up again.

 

Otherwise I thought the episode was pretty great!

 

I'm still hoping that is baby nu-Vaatu messing with her mind. Just because I want him to show up one more time to do his evil cackle. But probably not, because Ringu-Korra seems to actually have been helping Korra. It prevented her from meeting Tenzen, where she would be comfortably ensconced within the Air Nation and never face her issues. It led her to the earthbending ring to try to get her in shape. It beat her deep into the swamp when she was skeptical about what that chibi spirit was telling her to do. It freaked her out to prevent her from murdering Kuvira at Suyin's agitation, something she would have regretted for life.

[Donny Ketchum]

It's weird.  Due to their similar levels of maturity, I thought Bolin made an okay match with Opal.  Now I'm wondering if they're both just too immature for each other.

 

Surprised to see Zaheer actually mentor Korra and not expect anything in return.  I . . . kinda admired that.  In some ways, they redeemed him just a tiny bit.

 

Loved seeing the Napoleon Dynamite-like guy again.  "I feel all spirity."  Heh.

[Ravenya003]

My only issue is the freaky dark!Korra vision-thing, because I'm still not sure if it was related to the many issues she's come past now. It's such a specific eerie image, and they've hinted it's a spirit thingy. So I'd like to know what it is or was if it never shows up again.

 

 

I second this - and I don't think Korra's mental problems are over just yet. Korra specifically said she hadn't forgotten what Zaheer did to her, only that "I am able to accept it, and I think that's going to make me stronger." She's still got a ways to go yet, and I'm also hoping that the impending twist will be that Dark!Korra is actually trying to help her.

[patchwork]

I wont be surprised if Dark!Korra was the only way Reeva could connect to normal Korra. 

 

I'm glad Korra got a win in this episode, she needed one but ugh on the Opal/Lin team-up. There's only so much Lin's awesomeness can overcome and I fear Opal with a side of Bolin relationship woes is going to get way more focus than it deserves (any imo). 

 

If Izumi doesn't mean honour I'm going to be very disappointed. A less volatile Fire Lord is probably exactly what the country needed in order to sustain peace after many years of war but from a fan's perspective I wish she was a bit more...lively? I'm not sure what I wanted her to be like but she's too much Mai and not enough Zuko for me to really enjoy her presence.   

[magicdog]

I'm not sure what I wanted her to be like but she's too much Mai and not enough Zuko for me to really enjoy her presence.

 

 

 

Assuming Mai is her mother.    As far as attitude goes, it makes sense or her to not be in a hurry to go to war.  The world has been in relative peace for only 70 years and embroiled in war and subjugation for over a century before. I  wouldn't be surprised if Zuko stressed keeping the FN in the background while Republic City was growing.

[PinkRibbons]

According to wikipedia, Izumi means "source of water", or more poetically, "spring" or "fountain". At least it means that in Japanese. I have only a little knowledge of Japanese naming convention (years as a manga!nerd do pay off in unexpected ways!), but I suppose it's possible that her name is spelled with characters that are pronounced "Izumi" but mean something else. I hope someone with more knowledge than I can shed some more light on this!

 

The thing about Opal, to me, is that the things she's angry about, I totally agree with. She's got every right to be mad that her ex-ish boyfriend is trying to romance her after working with the woman that imprisoned her whole family. She even had a point earlier when she got all snippy to Bolin when he was refusing to listen to what she felt (and later knew) Kuvira was really up to. But good God, the girl has an annoying way of expressing herself. It's strange to watch a character and think, "you're right. SHUT UP!"

[90 Day Pinochet]

Surprised to see Zaheer actually mentor Korra and not expect anything in return.  I . . . kinda admired that.  In some ways, they redeemed him just a tiny bit.

 

It seemed true to Zaheer's character and also in his self interest. He still has the same political beliefs so, even though he is imprisoned, this is a way that he can help defeat an emerging totalitarian regime. Also, Kuvira is endangering his only escape from his current circumstances: the spirit world. His confinement would become much more intolerable if he didn't have the option of communing with floating bunnies whenever he feels like it.

[Apathy]

Surprised to see Zaheer actually mentor Korra and not expect anything in return.  I . . . kinda admired that.  In some ways, they redeemed him just a tiny bit.

 

I found it especially interesting because every other villain Korra's gone up against always threw her failures and insecurities in her face, but after giving her that jump scare Zaheer was oddly comforting and encouraging considering how we last saw him. It would have been so easy to keep him as a ranting lunatic, too. Instead he's as serene as ever and helps Korra because he believes in freedom for everyone that much. It's never suggested that Korra needed to forgive him either, she just needed to accept what happened and move on to heal spiritually. Ironically, the man who "broke" Korra was also the one to make her whole again. Someone on another forum said that if Zaheer wasn't crazy he'd be the second coming of Uncle Iroh, and I think that hits the nail on the head. If things had turned out differently Zaheer would have been an excellent spiritual advisor for Korra; he always seemed to respect her in a 'worthy opponent' sort of way, and I believe him when he says her power is limitless because he's seen it first hand. I just wish the confrontation scene was a little longer, because their whole dynamic is fascinating.

[weyrbunny]

Eh. This one was dull, outside of the Zaheer conversation. By the end, I was thinking of it as “The Everyone Gets Lectured Episode.” Objectively, it was necessary for moving every subplot forward and I suppose I should respect the honesty on display, but I just didn’t find the story or execution engaging.

 

When Korra confronted Zaheer, I did at least find it interesting that Korra not only spoke in short, defensive bursts—“I will no longer be scared of you…this was a mistake…you don’t know anything about me…my problem is you…you ruined me…I can’t trust you”—but also that she used “villain” phrasing, meaning that she speaks in a way that most hero archetypes don't.

 

...That's on[e] relationship I def hope gets Mako'd asap. 

Heh—for using Mako as a verb.

 

Izumi makes it official, I think: Every daughter of the Gaang is a badass.

 

Some of the musical cues in the prison or Spirit World scenes really reminded me of the score from A:TLA. Into the Inferno’s great Last Agni Kai, and possibly something from The Crossroads of Destiny, came to mind.

Edited December 2, 2014 by weyrbunny