>>104068
>specifically NOT being able to do it on the full moon

I'm sure they can do it during the full moon. Yakone just didn't because he it would be easier to prove he didn't, and Tarrlok didn't because it never happened to be a full moon when we saw him.

Hope we can go back to ignoring the romance subplots with the second season and the finale. The romance stuff was always the weakest point with the Avatar shows IMO.

>>104085
I've come to find that romance is always the weakest point with everything ever. It's near impossible to find a show that isn't worsened by the presence of romantic elements so I really wish other movies/shows/books would stop shoehorning them in to draw in the tweengirls crowd. The Spirit of Competition was fine because the romance was mostly a punchline, but when it gets more serious than that it usually turns into a chore and Korra's no exception.

>>104053
>He's basically a Ty Lee with electrified sticks, except her opponents were mostly taken by surprise or incompetent.

So... we should ship him with Amon?

>>104058
Yeah, no; you're still not getting that dick sucking. I specifically asked you to bring me the line where she talks about "even master waterbenders needing the moon." Where does she say that? Please bring me this line of dialogue that you apparently heard.

Like I just got done telling you, Hama puts a great deal of pride into the technique she claims to have come up with, but it's obvious she really knows jack shit. She got beaten by a teenage girl, after all.. so there go any claims of making Hama anything close to a master.

>"They were born with it for no reason" is a terrible way to explain where somebody got their power.

You do realize this would mean about 85% of every Avatar character ever would be poorly written.. right? Every Avatar is the strongest bender in the world, and they're literally "just born with it." Why do you want Yakone to have a tragic past to be able to be strong? Orphan from a dying alien planet? You want his parents to have been killed in front of him so he takes up bloodbending to save Republic City? He was an old man; one would have to naturally assume he's spent his whole life perfecting this technique -- which is the same thing everyone in this show has done with everything related to bending ever.

>>104099
... Yes.

>>104099
You should visit /coq/ more often. They’re already shipping Amon×Lieutenant.

Guys, guysguysguysguysguys. I've got it.

Okay, so whether or not someone is a bender is based on the spirituality of the individual, right?

You remember Guru Pathik, right? The guy who helped Aang open his chakras? How in the hell was he not a bender? He was arguably the most spiritual character shown in either series.

Well, I've figured it out. He was an energybender. Among the last or the absolute last of his kind. Either that or he started it by learning from lion turtles, like how the other bending disciplines were learned from the creatures that originally possessed them, and just never passed it on to anybody. Because of his extremely high spirituality, though, this is one of the only feasible explanations for why he doesn't have any visible elemental bending powers.

Guru Pathik seemed to have spent probably all of his time away from people, but he didn't mind company, as seen when he readily helped the Avatar unblock his chakras (even if they didn't actually succeed (until a conveniently placed rock accidentally Aang's back wound)). If a traveler chose to visit the Eastern Air Temple, or really any place where Pathik was present, he most likely would have offered them his knowledge. It's plausible that he knew of and/or was able to teach energybending, even if its power stretches far beyond any traditional elemental bending.

Now, there's an extremely high chance that at least someone would stumble upon him and be willing to learn about spiritual stuff. Depending on how responsible a person the traveler presented themselves to be, Pathik could have taught the traveler to energybend. If this is true, then it's possible that that energybender passed on the art to someone. Maybe they thought a close acquaintance could make good use of the power, or they had a child that inherited it. Whichever way, it's possible that it is known by someone who is alive during the events of LOK.

Who is this someone? Amon.

Amon's abilities are not some sort of hyper-chiblocking. Chiblocking is what the Equalists do with their gloves and what Ty Lee did with her fists. What Amon is doing is energybending. The exact same kind of energybending Aang used to take Ozai's and Yakone's bending away. Amon is a bender, but because he is not a bender of any division of the four elements, either he managed to convince everyone he is a nonbender or he himself is unaware that energybending is a valid bending discipline.

Alternatively, Pathik was an Air Nomad and Amon is Combustion Man.

Would earthbenders be able to bonebend? I think it would be much different from bloodbending, less "forced muscle movement" and more "ripping bones right out of the body".

>>104120
If Guru Pathik was a nonbender but learned chakras much later in life he would still be a nonbender, no matter how spiritual he was when Aang met him. Just like how Pema is deeply entrenched in the air acolyte lifestyle, along with a bunch of other people on the island, but none of them are airbenders.

The picture is from tumblr, the text is from /co/

>Asami Sato, Ladies and Gentlemen.

>Others may simply tumble to the ground when bloodbent.

>But Asami Sato gracefully keels over like an ironing board,

>planting her face square into the ground.

>>104101
So we're actually at the point where we look at Katara, quite possibly the most accomplished waterbender in the entire first series, and say, "Yeah, even though she wasn't that great." She was going toe-to-toe with Paku in the first season, and her skills only improved after that. She was a master waterbender.

Hama spent decades practicing waterbending, was strong enough to break out of prison after years of captivity, and continued to show great skill even in her old age. She was a master waterbender.

Neither Hama or Katara could bloodbend without the full moon. Ergo, master waterbenders need the full moon to bloodbend.

>You do realize this would mean about 85% of every Avatar character ever would be poorly written.. right?

Wrong. Bending is an established thing. It doesn't need to be explained any more than the existence of wizards needs to be explained in Harry Potter, or the existence of mutants in X-Men. The Avatars have an established reason for their powers: they're the spiritual incarnation of the world. Their ability to bend all four elements is because they represent the balance of the world.

All of these things can be explained. How a seemingly random man can be born with the inherent ability to bend the water inside another person's body with greater ease and strength than any character we've seen has not been explained.

>>104132
The inherent ability is the ability to bloodbend, the inherent ability is to bend really fucking well and even then they probably trained like fucking crazy.

And that's the case for pretty much all the benders with names in either series.

>>104132
The inherent ability is not the ability to bloodbend, the inherent ability is to bend really fucking well and even then they probably trained like fucking crazy.

And that's the case for pretty much all the benders with names in either series.

>>104132
>Wrong. Bending is an established thing. It doesn't need to be explained any more than the existence of wizards needs to be explained in Harry Potter, or the existence of mutants in X-Men.

Oh good, so we finally agree and you see my point.

Ergo, Yakone and Tarrlok were born good bloodbenders and mastered it over time. Ain't gotta explain shit cause it's an established thing. Good. Moving on.

>>104141
Hollow and retarded and smacks of the tv show Lost. Why all the crescent moon symbology? Why would Yakone worry about subterfuge and not bloodbend on full moons if he can subdue the entire city at will and escape any time he wants?

>>104144
I dunno. You should write him a letter and ask.

This is totally why they cast DB Sweeney as Aang, I'm sure of it.

>>103966
>>103964

"Most likely followed him" "well-connected" - Those are nothing more than rationalizations. Without any warning, Amon and his lackeys just SHOW UP in order for the story to shove Tarrlok out of the way and set the stage for Korra's freedom. Where was the setup scene for his arrival?

>>104164
Left on the storyboard wall?

>>104164
You're right. I was really looking forward to Amon getting in the car with his cronies and driving up to Tarrlok's shack. I think it would have given him a lot of fleshing out. They would get over little fights switching the radio station, having to stop for traffic, the goon's terribly driving making Amon almost throw up inside his mask. Ten minutes of this.

I tell ya, this show's just awful. No setups whatsoever.

>>104141
>Oh good, so we finally agree and you see my point.

NO. AS I SAID IN THAT VERY PARAGRAPH. BEING BORN A BENDER IS ESTABLISHED. BEING BORN A BENDER WITH AN ARBITRARY EXTREME TALENT FOR ONE SPECIFIC APPLICATION OF BENDING IS NOT.

Saying Yakone and Tarrlok were "born good bloodbenders" is like saying an airbender was born a good air-scooter rider and can ride an air-scooter better than any other aribender to the point where he defies established boundaries of air-scooter-riding ability. Bloodbenders don't bend blood, they bend water, just like every other waterbender. Until the show says otherwise, that's the canon. So unless Yakone and Tarrlok have some other unnamed reason for their abilities, the idea that they could be amazingly good at it while not being amazingly good at all other forms of waterbending is inconsistent.

>>104180
WHY COULD KING BUMI TURN SOLID EARTH INTO CLAY AND DIVE IN IT?! THAT CHEAP MOTHERFUCKER IS HAX! Did you see any other earthbenders doing that? It's BULLSHIT and DEFIES ESTABLISHED BOUNDARIES! I am seething with rage!

WHY COULD AZULA SHOOT OUT BLUE FIRE AND LIGHTNING WHEN SHE'S CLEARLY A CHILD?! THAT CHEAP MOTHERFUCKER IS HAX! Did you see any other firebenders doing that? It's BULLSHIT and DEFIES ESTABLISHED BOUNDARIES! I am seething with rage!

Oh and Toph didn't invent metal bending, since Bumi clearly knew how to do it long before her. Was he trained by badger moles? Hax.

>>104164

>Extensive network of underground bases.
>Connections and close ties to cutting edge tech, industrial machines, vehicles and high explosives.
>Able to stage an outright assault on a sports stadium in the face of elevated security during a finals match of the most popular sport in the city/country and the leaders, along with most of the members manage to escape.
>"Most likely followed him" "well-connected" - Those are nothing more than rationalizations.

Cool story, bro.

Fuck you for making me resort to greentext.

>>104180

Tarrlok was kicking Korra's ass before she started destroying the building with Earthbending, and we saw a preview of his abilities in the raid on the Equalist training camp, he seems to be pretty damn good at Waterbending. The only thing we never saw him do was heal, which is kinda like being a Waterbender among Waterbenders in that it's something only a fraction of them can do at all.

>>104183
We do see other earthbenders dive into the ground (one of the fighters at Earth Rumble Six did this), and Azula's fire being blue doesn't break any established rules for what color flames have to be. Bumi and Azula are highly skilled in all areas of their respective elements. Neither one does anything unbelievable. Surprisingly powerful perhaps, but nothing that defied what we know about the discipline.

And Bumi didn't ever bend metal, just the rocks around his cage.

>>104184
He's a good bender, yes, but nothing near the caliber of being powerful enough to bloodbend through raw strength alone.

>>104188
I love how you keep going on and on about what blood benders can and can't do when jack shit has been established about them. You even know less than jack shit when it comes to Yakone or Tarrlok or what they did to get to that level of strength. This whole argument is just going around in circles; I don't see what your hangup with this is. Just let it go, dude.

>>103811

Even more to the point: how did Amon know Korra was in a box in the basement?

>>104192

They just had to follow him to the shack, really. They knew he was lying about Amon/The Equalists kidnapping Korra, we don't know if the city put out anything like a notice saying Tarrlok was on the run, but the Equalists had to figure he was up to something. Getting Korra was probably just a bonus.

>>104193

Sorry, let me be more specific.

How did Amon know that Korra was in a metal box in the basement of the building before he had never set foot in said basement?

>>104189
>I love how you keep going on and on about what blood benders can and can't do when jack shit has been established about them. You even know less than jack shit when it comes to Yakone or Tarrlok or what they did to get to that level of strength.
You know, I'll agree with this. The only explanation given for their power is that they just have it. But this does not distract from my original point: this is horrible writing.

Giving someone amazing powers that defy established rules in ridiculous ways for no reason is not good story telling. If they gave some sort of a reason (interactions with a spirit, something off about their physiology, something), I wouldn't be complaining. The same goes for if there's something we don't know about bloodbending. Unless it's supposed to be a mystery to which we learn the answer later (doesn't seem that way), it's bad writing to expect your viewers to assume ignorance just because something doesn't match up. That's not a mystery, that's a plot hole.

They're relying on fans filling in the gaps with fanwankery on a lot of shit.

>>104206
Or common sense if you've paid any attention. But whatever.

I forgot audiences now a days need everything spoon-fed to them otherwise they're plot holes.
See
>>104179

You people are complaining even about that. That!

>>104210

>>104179 was being sarcastic.

>>104211
Yeah, I know that was sarcasm.. It was me.

>>104206

>Look at me I fail to connect the dots in a clearly defined setting with the villain holding a lot of the cards everyone pay attention to me!

Do you eat nuts and gum at the same time, too?

>>104217
Fuck the Mets.
What I'm talking about is things like the provenance of Tarrlok's abilities, or why Bolin is supposed to be a stud, or why Mako isn't an asshole right now.

>>104224

...as opposed to? I'm not even sure what kind of boiled fucking nonsense you're spouting (seriously, "fuck the Mets?") but speculation is part and parcel of plenty of stuff, leaving aside your shitty examples. Tarrlok/Yakone's unnatural abilities are up in the air, all we have is "he seems to be a uniquely powered bender," but we've seen bits of Bolin's fangirls, heard their cheers pretty early on, even if he fell for Korra harder than anybody else did, and what does whether or not Mako's fucking up have to do with anything at all?

>>104227
Speculation is only a good part of something when it looks like there will be an answer given at some point. The show gave every indication that "Yakone and Tarrlok were born with the ability to bloodbend at all times period" is all the answer we're going to get. Nothing was given to hint that there's something we don't yet know, either about bloodbending or Yakone's ability.

>Been waiting for Nick.com to upload episode 9
>AUGH WHERE IS IT
>blah blaugh
>Manually type in the url for episode 9
>it works

Well, that's good then.

>>104238
And why couldn't they be born with the ability to blood bend? Why is them being born with a little extra boost such a shocker? Didn't they say only certain waterbenders are able to heal? As in, some are born with the ability and some aren't? Why aren't you going off on Katara for being able to heal like it's nothing? Is that also bad writing?

>>104243
Being able to heal, shoot lighting, and bend metal are all established branches of their respective elements. Sayint that some people are able to do them while others cannot is a reasonable claim to make. But everything we know about bloodbending says that it's just applied waterbending: you're bending the water in another body to control it. Saying that some people can be born with the extraordinary ability to bend the water in another person's body extremely well is not the same. As I've said before, it's like saying that someone could be born with the extraordinary ability to ride an air-scooter really well.

>>104296
Bloodbending is technically a branch of waterbending, bro. Just cause you say it isn't doesn't make it true. Same way "plantbending" works: controlling the water in another's body.

>>104300
Nothing that we know about either of those applications of waterbending tells us that a bender needs a special gift to be able to perform it. Again: air-scooter.

>>104302

Well, Hama was able to just up and teach it to Katara. It's not like healing where it seems only a few people can do it at all, it seems more like a question of power.

I remember once making some headcanon that having the full moon allows you to overcome the natural chi in a person's body/bloodflow but nothing in either series said a word about how Bloodbending works. I know there was a dude in the card-games that would bend the water in people's stomachs. No word on how that was supposed to work vis-a-vis the moon.

Possible interpretation of what might happen in the following episodes, considering what we know so far.

- the Fire Nation navy comes to Republic City to help quell the uprising, but they come into conflict with the Equalists' planes, which can outfly their slow moving ships and lighter-than-air-craft.

- Zuko shows up, and explains what Amon's deal is, maybe. Kind of getting the impression that they're connected somehow, especially as the episode Zuko reappears in is called Skeletons in the Cupboard.

- The Equalists attempt to make a statement of invading Air Temple Island and equalising the inhabitants, as their island could also serve as a official base of operations as it's surrounded by water on all sides etc.

- It's during the mass debendings on Air Temple Island (kind of weird if this is the case, as there can't really be that many benders on the island beside Korra, Tenzin and his brood and the rest of Team Avatar), Korra is captured.

- Somehow it turns out that through attempting to debend her, Amon instead causes a deep enough sense of fear and desperation that he instead causes her to entire the Avatar State for the first time. Or something. She goes all glowly either way.

I have to say I saw the whole amon showing up thing coming but I was expect a bit more of a fight between he and tarrlok almost the whole episode felt pushy. i also think they over did it a bit on the whole mako b.s. it felt more like he was worried about a baby sister than a secret crush. and wtf were those arm bands made of to support her like that? I promise you can't buy that quality at wm.

bumping another episode discussion thread for future use

>>112531
Um... Why?

>>112532

I'm guessing these threads were on page 8, about to be bumped off the board? The Maiko and Korra shipping thread is there, too.

>>112532

What >>112533 said.