>>114673
Pretty sure that's FireLo. Sounds a lot like them, anyway.

>>114673
>I'm pretty fine with Eska as is--for someone whose role has so far revolved around Bolin, she has a lot of character
I'll agree that she is very well-defined with a distinctive personality and behavior, but we haven't seen anything to suggest that she's a deep character. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing; some of the most entertaining characters in fiction are very shallow. But if she's going to be so close to the center of the plot, I'd much prefer if she had more layers to her or if she went through some character development over the course of the story. I don't want the Eska and Desna we see in the last episode to be the same Eska and Desna that we saw in the first.

So is the new episode tonight?

>>114679
Yeah, at 8:30 EST.

>>114680
Thanks.

...
So, we want to talk about what happened?
I think it's pretty obvious who staged the bombing btw

Gotta wait for my usual place to get it in HD

>>114683
Yeah, it's pretty obvious.

I liked the breakup, and not in the "haha Makorra sucks" kind of way (I don't know what satisfaction there is to be gleaned from them having realistic problems and Mako not just bending over backwards to please Korra, we know they're gonna get back together anyway), they both have legitimate points and holy SHIT Korra just kicked his desk over.

And damn, that bombing scene was INTENSE. Reminded me of the Boston bombing, though I know it was just a coincidence since book 2 was already nearly done when that happened.

It was nice for Bolin to have some focus just on him, though if you know who is behind all of this his movie star career might not go anywhere. Also, Ginger confirmed for dying her hair.

MEANWHILE IN THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE

>dat Sokka Memorial statue

>>114686
>Iceland
WAT

>>114687
I actually missed it.

>>114687
his other hand holding his space sword?

>>114683
>>114685
I'm a dumbass, who do you guys think did it?

>>114697
the triads

the guys who were making fun of mako were probably dirty cops

>>114697
Varrick. I hope they won't drag the mistery, but I get the feeling Mako/Asami will think Hiroshi is behind the detonator technology

>>114716
With the Equalist bombings, I would be surprised if it didn't occur to one of the two, and since Mako is the only one actually bothering to investigate rather than assuming that the NWT are responsible, I can see him talking to Asami next week about it whilst she's sorting out the mechs for the South.

>>114715
That's what I thought it was at first.

>>114716
Damn, I hope not, I like the guy way too much...but it'd make sense.

http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/the-legend-of-korra/upcoming-episodes/EP01547041?aid=zap2it
>The Sting
>When Triad activity threatens to put Future Industries out of business, Mako performs an investigation and uncovers a conspiracy.
>Didn't Varrick biography mention rumored ties with triads?

You know who's going to inherit the earth? Arms dealers. Because everyone else is too busy killing each other.

>>114741
I'm actually disappointed Asami was so willing to fuel a war. Oh well.

>>114743
I'm actually kinda thrilled that she got something to do.

And that means she's the only one actually supporting Korra, apart from Varrick at the moment.

Also gunrunners are cool.

>>114738
>Mako investigating Future Industries
So, who else is half-expecting some kind Masami ship teasing? Because right on the heels of the Makorra breakup, I will not be surprised if there at least a few scenes which the fandom will take to be trying to hook Mako and Asami up again.

>>114758
I'm expecting everyone expecting Asami to make some passive-aggressive remark towards Mako about the breakup.

>>114758

...I want KorrAsami.

It'll NEVER happen, but I want it.

>>114768
Yea but it can still be fun to talk about at places like here. Maybe if reg /co/ stabilizes then we could talk about any relationship with Korra without it turning into some kinda hatefest

>if reg /co/ stabilizes

>>114771
Regular /co/ stabilizes between episodes.

Hell, there's a lot less shit flinging anyway. Most people are resigned to their positions and everyone seems to agree on a few basic things.

a) Korra is too damn whiny. Seriously, shut up for like 5 minutes, hun.
b) Studio Pierrot should never work again
c) Varrick is a righteous dude, but it'd be totally cool if he were the villain

There are no flame wars or anything. Maybe it's because less people are watching. Or it's because, there's a regular consensus here.

Still won't find many people praising it to the heavens, but the last episode was regarded quite highly for moving the plot in interesting ways.

>>114775
maybe if the haters just hating start clearing out. Seen four threads over that was just today that have way too many samepost of their tired arguments and drivel. Korra talking with the first Avatar should spark some growth. They'll be screening that episode next weekend at the convention so its gonna be spoiler heavy period then.

>>114776
You mean the people dogpiling on Korra?
Yeah, that's a regular thing. It's basically a given at the moment.
And I have a hard time defending her, because they're not wrong at least.

Her character progression is kinda irritating. Hell, her arc is kinda crazy. And Mike's recent Breaking Bad comparison invited a load cynical responses.
Generally, I'd say that the characterization is a problem for me at the moment. Frankly, I'm not emphasizing with the hero and she's doing a lot of stuff which are clear Renegade Options and only the last episode really acknowledged that she might not be completely right or sound of mind at the moment.

But the idea of Darth Korra somehow being a thing for a Season, until she comes to self realization and redemption, would be pretty cool. I mean that'd be breaking into new grounds.

Even /co/ would give unanimous props for that.

Well I for one am enjoying Korra making these decisions. I mean, it's very much something we'd expect her to do, and it's perfectly understandable why she would as well- her family IS going to be killed, and no-one seems willing to help her (in her eyes), not even her own boyfriend! Because she's looking for the simple solution to end the conflict and can't see a better way of doing it. And currently it doesn't look like there is. (Though obviously there will be).

This doesn't excuse her in going behind the president's back to get Iroh to get them involved in the conflict, but if anything there was MORE fault in Iroh actually going along with it rather than shooting the idea down, or agreeing to put pressure on the president on her behalf. He's a military man, he should know the chain of command better than anyone.

>>114778
I think Iroh doesn't really care because there isn't much the President can really do to him. He's the son of the Fire Lord, after all, which limits exactly what the Republic can do that doesn't possibly insult the Fire Nation.

Though, the new series has completely thrown my perception of how Republic City works out of hack. Is the office of president a new one, designed to try and prevent another disaster like the Equalist Revolution by giving the Republic's people more representation? Does the Council still exist in some form, or has it been utterly abolished now? If the Republic is an independent state, then why does it's military contain one of the heirs for another nation?

Admittedly, that last one has always bugged me, but it does so even more now.

I honestly never noticed the difference in Pierrot's animation until Iroh came on screen.

>>114781
You didn't notice Pierrot's special blend of "quality"?

>>114783
I really didn't.

Also if you've got more of those I'd love to see them. I'm a sucker for quality comparisons.

There should probably be a thread for this.

>>114781
Can't unsee.

>>114779
Depends on what Iroh Jr is. He might be a FN royal but if he's a general in the UR army... navy.. military then he has citizenship. The president could still strip him of his rank and privileges.

>>114806
Does the Fire Nation still have a Navy or Defense Force or was that all made part of the United Republic Force?

Why did they switch studios?! How? Did they want to "uplift" another studio? What did Mir do in the meanwhile? WHAAAAAAAAT?!

>>114809
Mir was busy with Boondocks (a worthwhile endeavor) and someone at Nick probably thought "hey studio is a studio and if we get an actual Anime one even better". Then it starting coming out and Mir was like "Oh hell naw, we aren't having our name associated with this level of crap, we'll take it from here."

>>114806
Well if the FN and the URN are allies (and I see no reason why they wouldn't be) then it's possible that Iroh Jr started out in the FN military but was poached by the United Forces because he was an exceptional officer. Such a scenario would also explain why he's a general at such a young age (yes, I realise that we saw teenagers commanding armies in ATLA, but military rank hierarchies were much less formal back then and Iroh isn't in the FN military, so it can't be some honorary rank they've they've given him because he's royalty) since obviously they would have offered him a generous signing bonus to jump ship like that, a promotion to general could have easily been part of that.

>>114806
And then he swans off back to the Fire Nation, where his rank and associated privileges are (as a prince) presumably greater? The President can't do much to make Iroh's life particularly difficult.

>>114807
Well, the NWT still seems to have a military of their own, so I'm going to guess that the Fire Nation does as well. Even with his desire for peace, Zuko doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would hand over or destroy his military power, so I can't even see any reason for them to ahve lost it in the first place.

>>114812
It still doesn't explain why you have the son of a another nation's ruler as a general, even if they're an ally - it causes a conflict of interest, and is one massive security risk. If the United Forces were a collaborative thing along the lines of NATO or the UN Peacekeepers, then it would be understandable - but as it appears now, the United Forces are governed by the United Republic, which is an independent entity. Having the son of a different nation's head of state is one hell of a security breach, even if they are an ally, since it allows for the possibility of said head of state to have an unsolicited say in how your military runs.

Iroh Jr is just a problematic badly-conceived character in general.

And giving him Zuko's voice was still so very dumb.

>>114818
Iroh is just pure fanservice, yes, but god damn it I still want his placement in the series to make sense.

>>114819
I could see him butting heads with the Republic President if things actually start to boil over in the south with Asami's tech tipping the balance and the North starts encroaching into Fire Nation territory to regroup.

>>114818
>>114819
I think him taking up so much team in the s1 finale was fanservice, how he was handled in ep 5 was pretty good, though. You know, not upstaging the main characters in their own show.

>>114779
>If the Republic is an independent state, then why does it's military contain one of the heirs for another nation?

Best I can figure, the URN is currently shifting from "vaguely internationalized open door colony" to "actual country". The Council was presumably democratically elected, otherwise having a Prez be that for the first time would've been more notable. Only the Council was still representing the classic world order. Having a unitary President seems like a perspective shift.

Meanwhile, the URN's military is still internationalized. It doesn't quite have its own domestic forces, as Iroh's commission shows. I could see that being a realpolitik compromise between the FN and EK back at its founding -- both had strong claims to the land, and so both cooperated by founding a joint military to avoid the URN's forces potentially becoming a puppet of either government. The Water Tribes joined in at some point as part of the URN's international spirit.

Iroh II working as an officer in the UF has some benefits: he makes contacts with people from other nations, shows that the FN still has faith in the URN, and gets extra military experience working alongside foreigners rather than merely studying with the Fire Army/Navy.

>>114818

Agreed on this. Iroh II is my least favorite part of Season 1, given how he takes the spotlight away from Bolin and Asami in the finale.

>>114822
Actually, you know who should have helped them in the season finale? Bumi. How much better would his characterization be if we actually saw him being a commander instead of just hearing about it and then seeing him retired? Everything we know about his leadership skills comes exclusively from hear-say.

>>114824
Bumi will be brought into this soon enough either being recalled to active status or enlisting in the SWT forces once the family air vacation comes to a close.

>>114825
I'm sure he has a role in the coming conflict, but how much better would his characterization be if we actually got to know him before season 2 started?