Legend of Korra with Jacob! Episodes 13 and 14

I watched the original Avatar: The Last Airbender some time ago and I remember the basics of the world, but not a lot of specifics.  However, I remember liking it very much, so I thought I’d watch the follow up series.  Please no spoilers for this show, but if I’m forgetting something from the original series, feel free to remind me.  I will be spoiling episodes as I go along, naturally, so consider yourself warned.

Episode 13 - Rebel Spirit
Episode 14 - The Southern Lights

And so we're back, with Book 2: Spirits.  They open with a big boat being attacked by a phosphorsent squid and I'm excited for the show again.  Even if the show just flounders on finales, if they keep the momentum going like they had in the first 10 episodes of season one, I'll be thrilled.  And the first two episodes of this new season get back on track.

So first off, I have to confess, I remember nothing about spirits in the first show.  A few seconds of Googling shows that Aang had plenty of dealings with them, but I simply don't remember.  I'm avoiding looking up more for fear of spoilers, but boy do these guys look like Miyazaki. They don't quite have that level of cute in a deeply unsettling way that spirits in Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away do, but I feel it has to be intentionally aping that style.  It certainly falls inline with the case that despite being an American production, the show qualifies as an anime.

Instead of going through the episodes chronologically, I want to hit what appear to be the main thrusts of the second season.  Starting with the obvious main plot of Korra's introduction to the spirit world.

The Avatar being the bridge to spirits is new to me, as I said earlier, after a full season where everything was pretty much Steampunk Shadowrun.  They even open with Mako in a really cool motorcycle chase (followed by him giving a super lame one-liner.  SUPER LAAAAME MAKO.  You used to be so cool.) to set up the distinction between the more industrial parts of Avatar-land and the more spiritual parts.  And it's cool, the festival we see is really creative, with cool games and prizes that fit the world so well.  The conflict between Korra's down to earth father, Tonraq, (who apparently has similar temper and lack of foresight issues as Korra) and the more spiritual uncle, Unalaq, is really highlighted well in a number of scenes.  Tonraq shows up for their quest on a snow mobile while Unalaq is on a whooly camel (or something).  It really highlights their differences without saying much.  And it's also nice to see that Tonraq really is a good dad, even if Korra is often too bratty to appreciate it.

Speaking of Korra being bratty, she obviously hasn't learned much from last season.  Her first line is "I'm the Avatar" when Tenzin is scolding her for using her Avatar powers to beat 6 year olds in a game.  Instead of learning humility or respect, I think her take away was "I am unstoppable."   You're too good for her Mako, even in your new, lame, bad one-liner spewing boyfriend role.

Unalaq is pretty obviously a villain from the get-go.  Between his creepy children and spirits attacking, I'm pretty sure he's arranging everything to look good.  Even so, I still didn't see him showing up with an army at the end to occupy the South Pole.  This cliff hanger left me really pumped for the next episode.

We also see a lot more of Aang's descendants.  The Tenzin story is really great and to me, the highlight of these episodes.  His oldest sibling is a sister, Kya, who I think is a water bender?  I haven't seen her bend, but she's definitely water tribe.  She also has a really sweet look going on.  I don't know what it is, but the character design for her is really cool and I hope we see more of her.  Tenzin's brother is fun and silly, but definitely seems to have his heart in the right place.  But it's Tenzin's oldest daughter, Jinora, that really intrigued me.  She starts having visions and weird dreams after seeing the statue room in an Air Bender temple and it's really cool and creepy.  To me, this was more "supernatural" than Korra's storyline with the spirits.  It sounds weird to say that in a setting with bending and spirits, but ultimately spirits are just like weird animals and bending is just a kind of physics.  Visions and prophecy are really much more mystical and I like that.

In another storyline, Asami is in business trouble and goes to a weird Howard Hughes type for help. Unfortunately this was pretty much the whole deal here, I wanted a lot more about her, as she is my favorite, but she didn't go on the journey with them in the second episode, so she's just hanging around South Watertown or whatever they call it.

Overall, these episodes did a great job of moving Korra into a more mystical show while still keeping some of the politics and maneuvering around.  Korra herself is pretty easy to manipulate, mostly because she's pretty young and immature, so that leaves a lot of room for dramatic tension.


Stray Observations;

• While Unalaq's creepy daughter hissing at Bolin is actually a legitimate response, Bolin, those kids are bad news.  I guess The Shining doesn't exist in Avatar-land, because you should be running.
• Speaking of Katara's family, what happened to Sokka?
• The Everstorm, that's such a good name for a thing.
• I know I'm critical of Korra, but she does learn.  After Naga's first freak out, she learns to trust the beardog's instincts.  
• This carnival is so great, the animators must have had a lot of fun coming up with prizes and games.
• "Avatar state is not to be used as a booster rocket" Tenzin, how do you know what a booster rocket is?  Is there a space program in Avatar-land?
• DANCING OTTER PENGUINS!  That is all.
• No Linn :(