The Legend of Korra: Long Live the Queen
August 8, 2014 6:49 AM - Season 3, Episode 10 - Subscribe

Korra and Asami find themselves captured by Earth Kingdom forces and placed on an airship to take them back to Ba Sing Se. Asami quickly hatches an escape plan which leads to an even dire situation for herself, Korra and the crew of the airship. Our other captives, Bolin and Mako, are also being transported to Ba Sing Se by the Red Lotus, pawns in the Red Lotus' plan to gain an audience with the Earth Queen. Meanwhile, unwilling to accept her sister's word on the safety of Korra, Lin strikes out into the desert to hunt down the Avatar.

"I haven't seen my wife and five kids in four years..." - Prisoner
"Four years?!" - Bolin
"The first few months were great, I could finally get some sleep...but now I really miss them!" -Prisoner
posted by Atreides (20 comments total)
 
As an FYI, the episode is at least available today in the United States via Nick.com and Amazon Instant Video. Of note, Nick.com doesn't have the new episode up, yet, that's likely slated for 12:00 noon EST. Amazon does have the video available for purchase.
posted by Atreides at 7:06 AM on August 8, 2014


>Assassination by asphyxiation
>Smiling dancing popsicles

Nickelodeon really isn't the place for The Legend of Korra, is it?
posted by Small Dollar at 11:59 AM on August 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


>Assassination by asphyxiation

Holy shit, that was fucking dark. It is really neat to see the more gruesome applications of airbending, though. Maybe that's just me.
posted by supermassive at 1:05 PM on August 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


A lot happened in this episode, but not so much that requires any real indepth analysis. In short, this episode pretty much was the snowball being pushed over the hillside to form the season finale of an avalanche.

>Assassination by asphyxiation

I know weston mentioned the rumor that this would happen yesterday, and I'm also sure someone mentioned it even earlier. It's not surprising that when an air bender wants to kill someone, they simply take the breath from their lungs. Hard freakin' core. Dang.

I enjoyed Bolin's attempt at being friends with Ming-Hua and Ghazan, and including, "Two out of three," answer to his guesses. (Shippers already on it?) It was also interesting how they decided to offer more characterization to these two members of the Red Lotus. These are supposed to be the bad guys, but Ming-Hua is off admitting she was giving the guards fake lives and problems (One wanted to be a pastry chef), while Ghazan reflected on how he gazed at the stars so much he began renaming the constellations. Of course, Ming-Hua's comment, "I would have killed for some rain..." also had a far more lethal, darker inflection.

The title, "Long Live the Queen" essentially gave away the fact that the Earth Queen was going to be deposed at the least, if not killed. For the latter, I was very curious how the show would handle animating/revealing her death, and the answer was, "We're going to show her last gasps then cut away from the obvious." Not to get ahead of my self, I also want to add that the Dai Li are seriously having a bad month or two, everyone is kicking their butt. Ghazan didn't even feel the need to turn their stone to lava. The power of Zaheer's air attack was also made incredibly apparent when the Dai Li agent he threw against one of the columns took a chunk out of it (nice animated touch!). When Zaheer murdered the Queen, there was definitely symbolism to the moment. The Queen is no longer on her throne, instead, Zaheer has leapt up onto it, and in that manner, dethroned her. She's no longer in the position of power and I admit, I grew a little uncomfortable watching the horrid baby bison eating woman gasp for air. "Without freedom, there is only darkness..."

Did anyone notice in the radio scene that Mako's and Bolin's grandmother wasn't wearing Mako's scarf? Boo.

I loved the scene with Ghazan bringing down the wall in Ba Sing Se as Zaheer spoke to the masses and the response by the people in the slums of the city rushing into the second ring (and as we learned, into the final ring, too). Truly, the actions of the Red Lotus were not entirely unsympathetic in this episode, here is the side of them that makes everyone think, "These aren't necessarily bad people...." but it's the "but" that follows, and I'm curious what type of chaotic anarchy is going to set in in Ba Sing Se with the peoples' coup, so to speak.

Meanwhile, Bolin and Mako in prison. I loved the old prisoner. "You know Zaheer? He's my hero!" "Shut up!" I give total creds to the writers. I completely expected that their imprisonment would be the setup for Bolin to finally have his break through with metal bending. The fact they went against this, awesome. I now assume it will be held back to an even more crucial moment, which in a way, will make it more special when it does happen. Or, well, maybe Bolin isn't gifted with it (which would be a crazy story for the show "Just because you try real hard....doesn't mean you get what you want."). I am curious as to what Zaheer's message will be for Korra.

I thought about Henry Rollins' casting as Zaheer and I realized it takes a voice like the one he's using to make Zaheer work. If he had a more grizzled or deeper voice, I don't think his zealousness would come across as sincere. He would appear much more just a villain mouthing the words than an actual alternative to the status quo.

So in Ba Sing Se, the Red Lotus await the Avatar.

Of which, it was fantastic to see Asami given a chance to show off her bending powers, MIND BENDING, or rather, just being a smart, intelligent and mechanically gifted person. There's not one point in the episode where Korra contributed anything other than brute force, for good or bad. Everything boiled down to Asami's skills. And yes, the poor craftsmanship of Cabbage Corp air ships. Apparently the Earth Queen wanted extra money for topiary. "You're not going to get water, or earth or fire....!" The way the air man immediately responded to a request for water as a request for any of the other elements was amusing. I felt that the show didn't have to bother with the crew of the airship after they made their escape, but the fact that they did, and generally tried to give them all personalities is a trait of the Avatar universe shows. They care about everything. Even Captain Hook. Heh.

Basically, once Korra causes the airship to crash into the sand (which probably should have killed everyone in the front half at least), our Asami/Korra B-Story (or are they A-story?) turns into the Flight of the Phoenix. Instead of building a new airship/airplane out of the old, they built a sand sailer thingy whatever its called. Again, Asami's idea.

They make it back to the Misty Palms Oasis to find Lin, Zuko and Tonraq, waiting for them. Any time anyone parks a dragon outside a bar is a win, even more so when the horse/birds or whatever, are pulling at their tethers to be as far away from said dragon as possible. I did find it incredibly wild that Tonraq, Korra's father, had no clue who the Red Lotus were. Was Korra that removed from her parents that when a group of rebellious White Lotus members attempted to kidnap her, her parents never found out? Allegedly, it's the reason Korra was secluded in the first place, so one would have thought at the time of the attempt she was much more in the care of her parents. It's probably the one thing that really stood out to me in the episode.

The Earth Kingdom's capital in anarchy, the avatar united with Zuko (who had only met her once before? I guess once Aang passed away, he decided that he'd had enough Avatar in his life), her father and Lin, the beginnings of a final show down are congealing in Ba Sing Se. The only thing left open are the air nomads, Tenzin and everyone else, up at the Northern Air Temple. How they will play a role in it, I'm not sure, outside of assisting in the take down of the Red Lotus.

As an aside, we have, to my knowledge, finally exhausted every bit of footage from the original Book 3 trailer. We have no more clips or instances to foreshadow the future of the season. Exciting, no?

Given the subject of the season, change, it's probably safe to say that once things have been upended somewhere, such as in Ba Sing Se, we are not going to see anything like what had come before returned.
posted by Atreides at 1:08 PM on August 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I did find it incredibly wild that Tonraq, Korra's father, had no clue who the Red Lotus were. Was Korra that removed from her parents that when a group of rebellious White Lotus members attempted to kidnap her, her parents never found out?

I assumed this meant that he didn't know their name. He knew about the kidnapping, I'm sure. But the RL never cracked, even about their name.

I'm not sure what they are going to do with Bolin. If not all earthbenders can become metalbenders (is that true?), then maybe he really can't. I would suspect, in that case, that his shining moment (and true skill) would be related to the connection he made with Ming-Hua and Ghazan, because his compassion and ability to connect might actually be his most important skill (as in the animated shorts about he and Mako as kids). He's never been shown to be anything but an average earthbender; even as a mover star, he wasn't earthbending.

Surprisingly, the Earth Queen doesn't appear to have any metalbending Dai Li, or in her army, which seems like a huge oversight.

(Also it bothered me that their prison appeared to have cement/earth walls, which maybe he could have bent; you would expect Earth Kingdom prisoners to be kept in by metal at least).
posted by emjaybee at 3:01 PM on August 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


I enjoyed Bolin's attempt at being friends with Ming-Hua and Ghazan, and including, "Two out of three," answer to his guesses.

This was my favorite part of the whole thing too. Avatar is at its best when each person interacting in a scene is a three dimensional person. And Bolin's super power should be friend-bending.


I admit, I grew a little uncomfortable watching the horrid baby bison eating woman gasp for air.

If the queen were merely an ideological target I think I'd have been more uncomfortable. As it is, she was not only being her capricious obnoxious narcissistic baby-bison-eating utterly unsympathetic self, she had also determined Zaheer and co were enemies and had directly threatened them -- and as we've seen, such a threat isn't idle from that monarch, even if you're the Avatar. Responding with force (potentially even lethal force) is defensible.

I think if there's anything extra dark about that use of bending it's that it's not "potentially" lethal force, which we're accustomed to seeing regularly deployed in this relatively martial world. It's an inherently killing move. From an airbender.

Still, for me this is small potatoes compared to Zaheer's treatment of Aiwei, which I mentioned earlier. It's one thing to kill someone who's not only an ideological enemy but also actively hostile and with resources enough to pose a formidable threat. It is quite another thing to kill (and consign to hell) a *compatriot* who poses no threat to you at all, simply because you're upset about plans going awry.

And then he turns around and is all nice to the announcement room guy. Is he just playing good cop, doing the zen airbender thing of not applying force where it subtlety or even gentleness will do (as he did to stall Korra in the spirit world)? Or is he really out to help people like that?

Or is he just Gotham's Ba Sing Se's reckoning?
posted by weston at 3:07 PM on August 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


Also, I forgot to mention the nice bit with Lin and the animals. She is as un-enamoured of them as she is of children. But she did at least feed Naga.

I still feel like this whole series is going too fast. I really don't like the self-contained season arcs. A:TLA really got to build on its characters and interactions in a way this setup does not, and the story really suffers from it.
posted by emjaybee at 3:36 PM on August 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


I still feel like this whole series is going too fast.

I certainly feel this way about the first two seasons, but I think that season three is the strongest thus far. Fast paced, yes, but I feel like there's a lot more/better characterization this time around.

At least no one's stuck holding the idiot ball this season.
posted by supermassive at 5:50 PM on August 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Next week's preview clip is up. (using a Tumblr link instead of nick.com because of stupid ads).

Bolin: the best.
posted by emjaybee at 11:49 AM on August 9, 2014


I'm not posting much because I feel a little like I'm harshing the squee. I continue to love individual moments, but the entire structure of the show is still really not working for me - if there were more episodes, the pace would work. And also, at some point is Korra going to actually learn to not immediately respond to things by hitting them really hard? Either that, or they just need to officially hook her up with Asami so that she can be the permanent brain to Korra's brawn. That worked well this episode.

On the other hand, it continues to be a gorgeous show and I enjoy watching each episode, I'm just frustrated that things seem to tread water for almost half the season, throwing out small tidbits that are interesting but never built on, and then the show concludes in a big hurry.
posted by PussKillian at 2:05 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


The relatively short seasons (compared to American shows) is definitely a negative aspect of the entire Legend of Korra show, be it Book 1 or Book 3. I absolutely agree that I think the show could have explored so much more in every season, the ramifications of events to characters, and develop them and the stories better if they had three 20+ episode seasons, instead of four 13+ episode seasons.

And then he turns around and is all nice to the announcement room guy. Is he just playing good cop, doing the zen airbender thing of not applying force where it subtlety or even gentleness will do (as he did to stall Korra in the spirit world)? Or is he really out to help people like that?


I think he's a true believer, but he's ruthless in what he believes is required to achieve his goals. He believed that Aiwei was a detriment to their further success, so he removed him from the equation in a horrifying manner. While his body is presumably brain dead, one thing I wondered about was that generally, most of the people in the Valley of the Lost (or whatever its called) were there in person. Theoretically, they could be rescued. Aiwei? His body will die eventually and then what? He's a spirit ever after or something something.

(Also it bothered me that their prison appeared to have cement/earth walls, which maybe he could have bent; you would expect Earth Kingdom prisoners to be kept in by metal at least).

This was my first reaction, but I think it was just not very well painted backgrounds. I think if it had been cement/earth walls, Bolin would have obviously bended them an exit out the back of the complex. It's just small metal plates put together.

Surprisingly, the Earth Queen doesn't appear to have any metalbending Dai Li, or in her army, which seems like a huge oversight.

Seriously, but we're looking at a woman who definitely has had a conservative perspective on the world. She probably thought metal benders were gimmicky or something equally ridiculous.
posted by Atreides at 2:22 PM on August 9, 2014


Also, if most of the metal benders in existence are part of Suyin's city, there may not be many around to be recruited, forcibly or not.
posted by PussKillian at 2:34 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Interesting point When Zaheer is killing the Earth Queen, he states, "I don't believe in queens." Suyin states in Metal Clan, "I mean, the idea of having a queen is so outdated." Shared point of belief, but that may not mean much.
posted by Atreides at 3:37 PM on August 9, 2014


I have wondered about Suyin poaching all the metalbenders. Do people who develop that skill get a visit from someone telling them about the Zaofu Initiative? There's a lot of folks in her little city; if they are all metalbenders, and metalbending is a rare skill, then that could be the case.

(other than the Republic City cops, I guess)
posted by emjaybee at 4:01 PM on August 9, 2014


Perhaps its a matter of where the teachers are? Republic City had Toph who established the metal bending tradition in the police force and presumably, established a teaching academy for the earth benders with the talent. Likewise, while we know Toph created a school in the Earth Kingdom after the events of ATLA, was that the origin for Zhaofu? If so, then the Metal Clan would be the only other place to learn metal bending. Given living anywhere other than Zhao Fu and Republic City, perhaps those who then learned metal bending decided to stay in those two places.
posted by Atreides at 4:05 PM on August 9, 2014


[Zaheer sits down behind the microphone.]

"People of Ba Sing Se, I have an important announcement."

[The needle drops on a phonograph, and Black Flag's Damaged is played throughout the city. By the end of "Rise Above," everyone in the outer ring has gone completely mental and is fucking shit up.]
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:47 AM on August 10, 2014 [3 favorites]


It's funny that they can show a woman being choked to death on screen, cutting away only seconds before she expires, but they can't actually say that she died afterwards and have to rely on euphemisms like "her reign is over." With Zuko being in the last scene, I was really hoping for this:

Tonraq: Korra have you heard? Zaheer took out the Earth Queen.
Zuko: Do you mean the Earth Queen just...died?
Bolin: Y'know, it's very unclear.
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:41 PM on August 10, 2014 [2 favorites]


I finally got to see all of this episode today, and aside from what everyone is saying, can I just say this?

My last name is Bolin.

Hearing all of the prisoners chanting "BO-LIN"?

Totally wants to be my ringtone.
posted by Katemonkey at 5:14 AM on August 11, 2014 [3 favorites]




He's never been shown to be anything but an average earthbender;

He was a member of what would have been a champion pro-bending team, but for some corrupt referees. (OK, the Avatar was also a member of the team, but still). And in "Night of a Thousand Stars" he single-handedly defeated three waterbenders.

(Yeah, I'm a Bolin fan, can you tell?)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:57 AM on July 29, 2017


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