S04.E11: Kuvira's Gambit

[OnceSane]

No episode description yet.

[PinkRibbons]

From imdb:
 

Korra and Team Avatar try to stop Kuvira from moving against Republic City.

...So, is anyone aside from Bataar Jr. surprised that Kuvira did that? No? Didn't think so. I'll give the show kudos though, I thought they did play it well enough that you know Bataar Jr. was not just a worthless pawn to Kuvira. She seemed to really love him -- just not nearly as much as she loved the idea of being Supreme Ruler of the World. ('Cause yeah, where's she's planning on going next, do ya think? Fire Nation? One of the Water Tribes? Oh no, she'll just stop at Republic City. Right.)

 

More kudos to the show, that giant mech-suit scared the holy hell out of me. Great animation and sound design, especially when it could have come out looking really silly.

Edited December 12, 2014 by PinkRibbons

[VCRTracking]

I said aloud "Oh no they're early!" when Kuvira's army were marching toward Republic City and yelled "Oh shit!" when the giant mecha showed up. Somebody on Reddit pointed out that's probably why Kuvira dismantled the domes on Zaofu for, to build it and I slapped my forehead.

 

Loved Wu handling the evacuation better than Mako.

 

Hey Tahno's back and seems recovered.

 

Glad Zhu Li stood up for herself. Varrick should get a clue already.

 

Yeah, I knew Baatar Jr. was dead when it seemed he was way more in love with Kuvira than she was with him. When he called her saying she should leave so they could be together I thought "She's gonna sacrifice him."

 

I'm really scared about who won't survive the cliffhanger. Obviously Korra does but I really hope Tenzin and Suyin make it out.

Edited December 12, 2014 by VCRTracking

[rozen]

It was obvious what she was going to do the minute Korra made that threat...but holy mackerel. I mean, objectively, it makes sense to do it if you're trying to build an unbeatable empire. If Kuvira caves on this, Korra can just keep dangling Baatar Jr indefinitely, making her surrender all her gains so far. And every minute he's with his family, the chance of his defecting and giving up all her plans goes up. But still, heesh.

 

I did like she was clearly near tears when she was about to blow him away. I think Kuvira loves him as much as she possibly could, she just loves being the Great Uniter waaaay more.

 

Uhh, the mecha-suit controls are clearly made of metal, why isn't every metal bender out there trying to gum up the internals, like when Aang and co. broke Fire Nation's drill? Everyone was staring up at the thing like 'hurr, what do we do?" Earthbend its legs in place, metal bend the levers, heat it so hot the suit deforms, don't just gawp at it!

 

Wow, that spirit cannon doesn't have a whole lot of oomph to it, compared to the Dark Avatar, anyway. I'm not that impressed with Baatar Jr's engineering skills.

Edited December 12, 2014 by rozen

[steelyis]

Here's hoping Opal, Meelo, and Su don't make it next episode.

 

Kuvria is just perfect as the final big bad of the series. I like that she was conflicted for about five seconds before she blasted the fuck out of everybody. That's the kind of decisiveness I want all villain masterminds to display. Between Kuvira and Kai over on Vampire Diaries, television is not lacking great villains this year.

 

I said aloud "Oh no they're early!" when Kuvira's army were marching toward Republic City and yelled "Oh shit!" when the giant mecha showed up. Somebody on Reddit pointed out that's probably why Kuvira dismantled the domes on Zaofu for, to build it and I slapped my forehead.

 

Right? I was just sitting there with my jaw dropped when that behemoth showed. Kuvira does not think small, that's for sure, and takes no chances.

 

I wonder if even Korra's Avatar state can do anything at this point? I also wonder, assuming he survives, if Bolin's lava bending could be effective against Kuvira's Eva Unit. Or should I call it her Iron Giant? Actually, I think with proper support, Bolin should be a spoiler in every battle he fights, that's probably why his comedic traits are overemphasized.

 

I really want to find out how Korra and the gang overcome Kuvira. I don't think they'll use a Deus ex machina, no pun intended, like in the first two seasons, so I'm looking forward to seeing the good guys figure out how to win.

[Ravenya003]

Oh man, I REALLY hope they don't use a deus ex machina for this season. It's always been this show's biggest weakness (this AND the original Avatar show).

 

As soon as the giant mecha appeared, my mind immediately went to Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" where a similar monster was used (and I know Bryke are Miyazaki fans). At least now we know what Kuvira was using the giant metal plates of Zaofu for.

 

I saw her betrayal of Bataar coming a mile away, but it was still an effective scene, especially considering her moment of regret. Just not enough regret to forsake Republic City.

 

I hope they come up with a decent way to explain the survival (of which it's safe to assume) of Korra and her team. 

 

Anyone else wondering where Kya is? It's strange she's not a part of all this when the show has so far gone out of its way to give everyone a spot in the limelight.

[Stardancer Supreme]

 

I hope they come up with a decent way to explain the survival (of which it's safe to assume) of Korra and her team.

 

With an Earth/Lava bender, a Fire bender, a group of Air benders, 3 Earth/Metal benders, and an Avatar, the chances of survival should be pretty high.  I'd expect at least a few bumps and bruises among the non-benders, but nothing more than that.

 

Kuvira is a boss.  She was using Junior from the start and I really don't believe she ever loved him.  Why wait until after the conquest of nations to marry?  She was merely dangling a carrot in front of him to make him do her bidding.  I guess poor Junior has no choice but to go back to his family now.

[Slovenly Muse]

Hmmm. Yeah, I think Kuvira had some genuine affection for Junior, but ultimately, she's out for power. She has a very developed sense of just what to say and how to act to convince certain people to side with her, and also of what truths to conceal to prevent them from doubting her. I really like that about her. It shows that she knows what her own plans are, and she knows how they appear to others, and she works just enough lies and propaganda into the mix to keep her people loyal. She's not planning this on the fly, deciding while "helping people," that hey, maybe she should set her sights on a bigger target, and then deciding that hey! She should probably just rule the world! No, she's been calculating this from the beginning.

 

I've always wondered, when characters construct huge robots to crush and destroy entire cities, why they make them humanoid. Like, your giant metal monster can be any shape you want. Why go for the relative instability of the two-legged design? Why only two arms? (And one of them with the gun attached, so that if it's firing that super-weapon, it only has one arm free to defend itself)  Why not build something that is capable of moving in ways the human body is not? Our shapes are best for climbing and swinging, and for maximum dexterity. Is that what your robot will be doing? If not, why use that form? Why the ten short fingers? Does it need to manipulate tools, or IS it the tool? It's not hard to design something without our limitations. Is it because it's controlled by bending and needs to be basically familiar to the benders controlling it? I don't quite buy it. This always drives me nuts, and it makes it difficult to take giant humanoid robots seriously. It has two legs and it's top-heavy! Trip the damn thing and it's useless!

 

This is also what drove me up the wall about Pacific Rim. I mean, really! You design giant human-shaped robots to fight sea monsters IN THE WATER without any attempt to make them hydrodynamic? Put some fins on that thing and that's half the battle won already!

 

If Zhu Li had designed that robot, it would be freaking unstoppable. Zhu Li is the best!

[cambridgeguy]

Bataar Jr - the Percy Weasley of the avatar world.

 

 

I really want to find out how Korra and the gang overcome Kuvira. I don't think they'll use a Deus ex machina, no pun intended, like in the first two seasons, so I'm looking forward to seeing the good guys figure out how to win.

If Korra can get inside the robot then it's over - she'll just need to find a way to sneak up on it and metalbend her way in through a foot.  Since she can go into the avatar state without issue now she should be able to kick Kuvira's ass in a bending battle and/or boost her metalbending enough to wreck important parts of the robot.  She just has to hope there's no auto destruct involving the weapon.

[PinkRibbons]

Something keeps bugging me -- where does Kuvira get off demanding Korra be turned over to her? The United Nations army, yes, that's mostly understandable. But the Avatar is not simply a weapon or a soldier. She or He is a person who simply fights on the side they believe is in the right and/or will keep the world balanced. Arguably the Avatar belongs to no nation, and if Korra did it would be the Southern Water Tribe. She's not Raiko's to turn over.

 

So here we have Kuvira, who is so careful about making everything she does look above-board. She makes a show of giving chances and being "merciful". Demanding that the Avatar make a surrender along with Raiko, and pledge to no longer meddle in Kuvira's business; that's reasonable. But to demand her person to be turned over to Kuvira is going too far. The only thing she could do with Korra would be to force her to work as another spirit weapon or more likely to kill her so the next Avatar will be Earth Kingdom and easily controlled by Kuvira from a young age. But murdering The Avatar has got to be cause to declare world war again (hell, it might even be cause to declare war on Kuvira from the spirit world as well! Raava will pissed if Korra is murdered). At the very least I'd expect The Southern Water Tribe to move in response to Kuvira murdering not only one of their citizens, but the daughter of the tribe's leader to boot. Is this a sign that Kuvira has finally gotten too cocky?

[Kromm]

Something keeps bugging me -- where does Kuvira get off demanding Korra be turned over to her? The United Nations army, yes, that's mostly understandable. But the Avatar is not simply a weapon or a soldier. She or He is a person who simply fights on the side they believe is in the right and/or will keep the world balanced. Arguably the Avatar belongs to no nation, and if Korra did it would be the Southern Water Tribe. She's not Raiko's to turn over.

 

So here we have Kuvira, who is so careful about making everything she does look above-board. She makes a show of giving chances and being "merciful". Demanding that the Avatar make a surrender along with Raiko, and pledge to no longer meddle in Kuvira's business; that's reasonable. But to demand her person to be turned over to Kuvira is going too far. The only thing she could do with Korra would be to force her to work as another spirit weapon or more likely to kill her so the next Avatar will be Earth Kingdom and easily controlled by Kuvira from a young age. But murdering The Avatar has got to be cause to declare world war again (hell, it might even be cause to declare war on Kuvira from the spirit world as well! Raava will pissed if Korra is murdered). At the very least I'd expect The Southern Water Tribe to move in response to Kuvira murdering not only one of their citizens, but the daughter of the tribe's leader to boot. Is this a sign that Kuvira has finally gotten too cocky?

There's zero chance she wasn't going for the Water Tribes eventually anyway (the only thing that might have changed is the order--since I bet the Fire Nation would have been next in normal course, since they are the traditional enemies she could have most easiy sold a campaign against). Her speech about taking back what belonged to the Earth Kingdom would be succeeded by speeches about having to confront the aggressors against the Earth Kingdom in their strongholds, or something like that. Not that we get ANY of her motivation, but the show seems to be showing her as a wanna-be world Dictator, not a local one. I mean the slightly softened parallels to concentration camps (this version seems to be just forced labor camps) is no accident in the writing. Edited December 15, 2014 by Kromm

[Donny Ketchum]

Agreed with what's been said above.  I liked that Kuvira did hesitate for just a few seconds for Bataar, Jr.  But ultimately, she was out for her power and went through with even being willing to sack him, as well.

 

I liked Zhu Li standing up for herself with Varrick, too.  He really has taken her for granted.

 

Everything else has been covered.  Just can't wait for the finale!

[LilJen]

Uhh, the mecha-suit controls are clearly made of metal, why isn't every metal bender out there trying to gum up the internals, like when Aang and co. broke Fire Nation's drill? Everyone was staring up at the thing like 'hurr, what do we do?" Earthbend its legs in place, metal bend the levers, heat it so hot the suit deforms, don't just gawp at it!

Exactly! I was picturing something like those giant walking things in Star Wars--just wrap a ton of metal ropes around its legs and watch it tip over. Duh, people!!