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S02.E03: The Earth Queen

Stardancer Supreme

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McMarty

McMarty

ZUKO! DRAGONS! I feel like I am watching game of thrones but for kids. Evil earth queen and her new army. Man there are going to be a lot of people ganging up on poor Korra.

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tearbender

tearbender

I love that Zuko is still so awkward after all these years, casually mentioning that he once hired an assasain to kill Aang, just like he did in the original series.

 

Not sure how to feel about Kai.

 

Isn't it ironic that in AtlA we learned the Fire Nation propaganda that the Air Nomads had an army, with Meelo mentioning the idea in the preceeding episode only to learn that the Earth Queen is recruiting ain airbending army by force? Even though this storyline has the familiar beats of the original Ba Sing Se saga I'm really digging it and how little has changed. I always thought that Zuko and Aang would have the most trouble making any real progress with Ba Sing Se more than any other part of the world. The isolation, corrupt law enforcement and class structure and are hard things to topple in a few decades.

 

Did the Earth Queen mention that King Kuei was her father/grandfather? You'd think he'd have been overthrown after the war.. Also find it hard to believe that Korra's creepy cousins would be appointed leaders of the Northern Water Tribe. There comes a point when you have to realize that following the monarchy line just isn't going to cut it.

 

I wish Asami, Bolin and Mako were better developed so I could care a bit more about their presence.

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Stardancer Supreme

Stardancer Supreme

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Also find it hard to believe that Korra's creepy cousins would be appointed leaders of the Northern Water Tribe.

 

Korra's father is the chief of the both tribes, right?  And in regards to the twins, their father was the one plotting to take over.  Once he was out of the way, there was really no reason for the twins not to toe the line.  They would be the perfect wardens for the Northern tribe.

 

So nothing's really changed in Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li are rounding Air Benders and the Queen is corrupt.  Kai is annoying, but hopefully he'll rally the Air Benders to join with Tenzin once Team Avatar gets them out.

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Eegah

Eegah

Abruptly shove an in your face plucky little kid into the group, and then have him cause nothing but problems for the heroes? Who could have possibly predicted the fans wouldn't adore this character? At least Mike and Bryan seem to have taken some preemptive steps with that with Mako's never warming up to him.

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FAU

FAU

I love that Zuko is still so awkward after all these years, casually mentioning that he once hired an assasain to kill Aang, just like he did in the original series.

 

Not sure how to feel about Kai.

 

Isn't it ironic that in AtlA we learned the Fire Nation propaganda that the Air Nomads had an army, with Meelo mentioning the idea in the preceeding episode only to learn that the Earth Queen is recruiting ain airbending army by force? Even though this storyline has the familiar beats of the original Ba Sing Se saga I'm really digging it and how little has changed. I always thought that Zuko and Aang would have the most trouble making any real progress with Ba Sing Se more than any other part of the world. The isolation, corrupt law enforcement and class structure and are hard things to topple in a few decades.

 

Did the Earth Queen mention that King Kuei was her father/grandfather? You'd think he'd have been overthrown after the war.. Also find it hard to believe that Korra's creepy cousins would be appointed leaders of the Northern Water Tribe. There comes a point when you have to realize that following the monarchy line just isn't going to cut it.

 

I wish Asami, Bolin and Mako were better developed so I could care a bit more about their presence.

 

IA, maybe that scene with Mako/Bolin might've worked, but this Team Avatar thing just never clicked with me, they do have their moments, I did like Asami and Korra moments.

 

While I do like Book 3 so far better than the last 2 books, it feels like the series can only be interesting when it deals with ATLA related stuff.  So far it feels like they're trying to emulate elements from ATLA Book 2 (Ba Sing Se, Dai Li, etc.) and even parts of Book 3 (Zuko/the dragon and the descendant of Combustion Man).

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

I shed a tear when Mako and Bolin's grandma showed them the picture of them and their parents when they were little and Mako giving her his father's scarf.

 

I like this show and I liked Batman Beyond even though I recognize the earlier series were better and whenever they do a reference to them it's always great. 

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FAU

FAU

Abruptly shove an in your face plucky little kid into the group, and then have him cause nothing but problems for the heroes? Who could have possibly predicted the fans wouldn't adore this character? At least Mike and Bryan seem to have taken some preemptive steps with that with Mako's never warming up to him.

 

I honestly couldn't care less about him, he was just a walking cliche for Mako to chase because he was literally dragged along and had nothing else to do now that he wasn't the resident LI atm.

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magicdog

magicdog

 

Did the Earth Queen mention that King Kuei was her father/grandfather? You'd think he'd have been overthrown after the war..

 

 

 

He was her father.  The queen looks about 50-60 something in age.  I remember it was mentioned in passing on ATLA that the Earth King traveled the world in disguise for a while near the end of the war.  No other follow up had been made until now.  Interesting that the Queen is the polar opposite of her father.  Perhaps the Dai Li had something to do with that.

 

 

Korra's father is the chief of the both tribes, right?

 

 

No, just the SWT.  Although he was originally meant to rule NWT if it hadn't been for his brother's treachery.  I wasn't sure if Eska & Deska would have automatically taken over, but I guess it makes things easier.

 

I loved that Bolin and Mako are no longer alone in the world.  It was also touching seeing the boys sadly explain to their grandmother that their father (her son) was dead for many years.  I read elsewhere that Grandmother is the same girl Zuko had a date with in "Tales of Ba Sing Se". 

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Guest

Guest

(edited)

1. I thought this was an excellent start to LoK. In the 3 seasons it's been on, I've never felt that it had been able to capture the spirit of ATLA, until now. The whole episode had exactly that same blend of emotional, relational plotlines along with criminal/ poltical angst faced by the Avatar and travelling from city to city with a mission. 

 

2. From the start of the show Bolin and Mako were the weakest dynamic in the cast. Bolin was too goofy, Mako too broody. The show told me they were brothers but I never really cared much. The sibling bond of Katara and Saka was so palpable in the first show, what with their complex family backstory, and to this episode helped start seeing these characters in a similar relationship. Although, the scene where Mako and Bolin break the news to grandma was hilarious - your grandsons just told you your son is dead. I expected more tears. The brother related the backstory with a little too much verve considering that his long-lost brother died. And cos I'm a nitpicker - the family members apparently  have exactly two default stances. Smile and blink and shock/fear of Evil Queen. 

 

3. Korra and Asami - I like the direction this is taking too. We were so dangerously close to  'you stole my boyfriend' angst I almost cringe very time Asami is on screen. But this episode it genuinely feels like two young female adults can deal with problems in an adult way! I enjoyed the gang scene - I think the audience sided with the gang members immediately , and the scene felt so organic: the fighting was cool, and it was nice to see that Asami can hold her own. Lookng forward to Korra getting out there and bringing justice to the citizens of Ba-Sing-Se!

 

4.The whole Air-benders are back arching theme is interesting but I foresee it falling flat soon. There's only so many times you can say 'rebuilding of a lost civilisation!' before I start seeing that that basically translates to the gang doing weird circus acts with the supposedly oh-so-important air bending. 

 

5. Prisoners escaping looked cool as hell (pun intended) and I am really curious to see this new gang rising up again. The whole prison-break theme reminded me slightly of Kung Fu Panda's villain being in that high security prison. One thing that bugged me though. That water bender kept in that fiery pit: wouldn't she be sweating like a pig, thus producing water? I know Katara used this technique once and all the had to do was jog a little. 

6. And finally, Zuko is back!!! The dragon, the awkward head turn, the scar, the protecting the avatar, the realisation that we MIGHT get an old!Zuko and old!Katara reunion.... it was all working. More of Zuko please - especially, what happened to his mother. I really want them to focus on his relationship with young Iroh. (is he coming back?) because I think he was so vastly underused last season.

ETA: Are the creators purposely giving a nod to Scar from The Lion King with that "I'm surrounded by idiots" line? I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Edited by lovedwallflower
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FAU

FAU

 

2. From the start of the show Bolin and Mako were the weakest dynamic in the cast. Bolin was too goofy, Mako too broody. The show told me they were brothers but I never really cared much. The sibling bond of Katara and Saka was so palpable in the first show, what with their complex family backstory, and to this episode helped start seeing these characters in a similar relationship. Although, the scene where Mako and Bolin break the news to grandma was hilarious - your grandsons just told you your son is dead. I expected more tears. The brother related the backstory with a little too much verve considering that his long-lost brother died. And cos I'm a nitpicker - the family members apparently  have exactly two default stances. Smile and blink and shock/fear of Evil Queen.

 

IA, I think this is the problem with Team Avatar/the main characters and here, the issue rears itself because the previous 2 books didn't fully go into their relationship, in Book 1 Bolin was mostly sidelined and Mako was stuck into a love triangle as Korra's LI and Book 2 was mostly them doing their own thing with Bolin being a movie star and Mako being a cop and even more relationship problems.

 

With Sokka/Katara, we actually do get a sense of their relationship, how they interact with each other in the very first scene, how they are in their village, their respective roles, etc.

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Guest

Guest

In Book 1 Bolin was mostly sidelined and Mako was stuck into a love triangle as Korra's LI and Book 2 was mostly them doing their own thing with Bolin being a movie star and Mako being a cop and even more relationship problems.

 

 

True. This episode almost made me believe that I could  be persuaded to suspend my disbelief regarding all that though. I hope this won't be a 'too little too late' situation because I think that they are barely bearable as characters when they are apart. Bolin the movie-star and Mako, caught in a love triange. Ugh.

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FAU

FAU

True. This episode almost made me believe that I could  be persuaded to suspend my disbelief regarding all that though. I hope this won't be a 'too little too late' situation because I think that they are barely bearable as characters when they are apart. Bolin the movie-star and Mako, caught in a love triange. Ugh.

 

Exactly, it's a problem because this emotional scene needed build up that was lacking.

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Stardancer Supreme

Stardancer Supreme

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Prisoners escaping looked cool as hell (pun intended) and I am really curious to see this new gang rising up again. The whole prison-break theme reminded me slightly of Kung Fu Panda's villain being in that high security prison. One thing that bugged me though. That water bender kept in that fiery pit: wouldn't she be sweating like a pig, thus producing water? I know Katara used this technique once and all the had to do was jog a little.

 

The high heat would have been enough to make sweat evaporate.  Plus it seemed like she would need a good bit of water to form her arms.

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Guest

Guest

She could bend the sweat before evaporative cooling happened. Perhaps made it into a tiny shard of ice and swirl it at the cage to try and weaken the structure.

 

Other relevant questions would be: how is she still alive if she wasn't allowed near water? Can't she bloodbend the guards?

 

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