Varrick still the best 1973

It was great some rough edges but then Korra acting like a boss that nice. Aang spawn bonding and Varrick being awesome. Bolin is in it deep glacial troubles and I"m really enjoying that bit as well. Oh that poor poor bastard.

Unalaq revealed to be completely evil backstabbing asshole. So much for gray morality. It took 4 episodes and the judge character literally telling her about Unalaq's deceptions, but Korra finally knows who the big bad is. Her interrogation methods would make Batman proud.

>>114480
and he lets out that he no longer has a need for the avatar so that really piles on some questions as to what he's got cooking.

The animation is getting crappier and crappier.
Can't wait for Studio Mir to come back in all its glory.

>>114483
yeah even ikki suffered from a misplaced nose in a few shots

Zhu Li, do the thing!

>>114485
This episode was total bananas and I loved it, especially that bit! Varrick is totally becoming the fandom's new bro.
And I KNOW someone somewhere has a screenshot of Aang and Katara with the kids, cough it up!

>>114487

>>114480
I like to think his motivation might be a more complex because he doesn't exactly confirm nor deny the whole "you're just a jealous brother who wants power" accusation (at least to my recollection and i interpret it). Maybe he still believes in spirit unity or whatever, but does so in manipulative ways (The ends justify the means).

Also, i don't like how the judge reveal the whole "Unalaq paid the barbarians to screw over Tonraq" thing. I think it could have been revealed at a later point.

Verrick is still an awesome character.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who dug the hell out of this episode, a lot of people seemed to hate it. Namely, they hated Korra's interrogation of the judge... http://twitpic.com/dfb7zp

I dunno, I'm liking the idea of Kyoshi 2.0 Korra.

http://www.4shared.com/video/bCS9CWGm/TheLegendOfKorraS02E04CivilWar.html

Obligatory link.

>>114488
I love you forever, anon. Thank you.

>>114489
Is "Unalaq has been long since been possessed by an evil spirit" a theory yet? Because I'm putting it out there as one.
>>114491
Haters gonna hate. I thought the interrogation was pretty hardcore. Maybe not the best choice for an Avatar, but still damned impressive and scary! DO NOT fuck with the Southern Water Tribe!

>>114491

>#helplessjudge

>implying he was a real judge
>implying that was a real trial
>no evidence, only testimony from the Chief and 3 questions posed to the Avatar stripped of context and circumstance
>implying that asshole didn't deserve to get his head chomped off for intentionally destroying a family

>>114480
>So much for gray morality.
Let's be real, it was obvious from the get go the dude was a bad guy, Avatar really does not have a habit of having gray villains so much as a handful of them have pasts that explain why they turned out the way they did, but don't excuse their actions.

>>114491
For a fandom that lavishes love upon Kyoshi, they sure do seem to hate when Korra does what she would have done. Except Kyoshi probably would have killed the judge for making a mockery of justice...

>>114500
Kyoshi warriors told about Korra shenanigans in Republic City they come to investigator all Inquisitor style. Korra confronts them and then METEOR SWORD.

the boners this scene gave me...

>>114488
Kya is way too adorable!

>>114491
Now i am thinking of that comic strip where Korra consults Kiyoshi and she tells her to kill all her enemies and bathe in their blood.

>>114506
I'm accepting this as canon now.

WHY DO YOU THINK I BUILT THIS BOAT?

Varrick confirmed greatest character all years.

>>114488
Goddamn did Kya have a big noggin.

>>114504
Dude courted a Wednesday, he'd be lucky if he just ends up running for the rest of his life. Her chasing his tail across the land will be fun to watch/

>>114479
I bet Eska thinks Bolin is eloping with a platypus bear.

>>114531

The twins chasing Bolin all around the world.

Middle of the Desert and Bolin is going to ask "Did it just get cold for anyone else." and a Fuk Huge 'Berg just comes roaring across the sands. Her anguish and rage will reshape the landscape.

"Yep that mountaintop used to be taller, till some water benders came through and tore the top clean off and took it with them. From the look on the ladies face I knew better than to ask, never mess with a woman with a troubled heart."

>>114534
Eska chasing him around would be so hot, especially if she finally caught up to him and he's sniveling and scared and she's suddenly all calm and robotic again and says "That was certainly a fun game of tag, I will take my prize" and she pulls him away hhhhhhhh

I mean, I get they're building up to some arc where Bolin has to learn to stand up for himself and escape an abusive relationship, but I can dream, alright?

>>114535
Boy needs to become more worldly in general. I'd like to see some growth come out of Eska as well. Less domineering but with a protective streak intact.

>>114535
>>Bolin
>>Stand up for himself

Desna and Eska Laugh

Regarding Asami -- I'm getting the sense now that the writers don't really know what to do her. She's had a meager plot this season, and no real character interaction with anyone else. So far, Asami seems to exist only to introduce Varrick. She wasn't really needed in the jail break, and felt like she was only there to get some belated screentime.

And Bolin's schtick is starting to feel awfully creaky. Him being comic relief worked in Season 1, as that was intended as a self-contained mini-series. The focus of it was largely on Korra and Aang's legacy. In Season 2, he's starting to feel out of place in the universe he inhabits. I'm not saying he has to be superior angsty serious, but Sokka functioned as comic relief but still managed to shell out some pathos too. He's very cartoonish -- for lack of a better word -- amongst a cast that's generally doing some heavy lifting in S2. Bolin is coming off to me like he, not Pabu or Naga, is the show's cute mascot character.

Mako is also sort of a fly on the wall at the moment, and, while not as bad as the other two, he doesn't feel especially vital at the moment. The boyfriend thing is getting a lot less play than I expected.

Taken together, I wonder if the problem is just that the Republic City Krew is excess baggage to the story they want to tell about Korra, her family, and the dynastic struggle for the South. I hope "Peacekeepers" will strengthen Republic City's connection to the main story, in terms of plot and character, in a satisfying way, but so far I'm getting the vibe that TLoK has saddled itself with a supporting cast that doesn't jive with the epic family drama it wants to tell.

>>114500

Agreed with this about the morality of villains in Avatar. It very rarely dips into "grey" territory, and even then their greyness is from being not entirely bad people rather than their motives. Zuko was a sympathetic villain for most of AtLA, but his actions were never grey. He was a good person who did bad things. Azula was a screwed up person who did bad things, and rather enjoyed doing them. But... Long Feng? Ozai? Zhao? Combustion Man? Amon? They were all assholes. Even Amon's sympathy comes from whatever merit you see in his movement, or in his abusive childhood.

(Speaking only for myself, I found Tarrlok much grayer than Amon. He's still an asshole antagonist, but he often needled the heroes with valid critiques, and he had a heel realization by the end.)

I'm surprised so many fans grasped onto the notion that Unalaq would be much different. Sure, TLoK skews a wee bit older in its target audience, but not THAT much older for a Nick show.

>>114544
I honestly don't find anyone in the Korra group really likable or even that meaningful. I kinda wish the show just followed Tenzin and co. Ikki has already gotten more character development than Bolin in the show so far.

Also there should be baby bisons in every episode because fuck.

>>114544
I don't find Bolin all THAT cartoonish, like in the past episode that grin and thumbs up during the trial and him hugging Varrick in the suit were pretty damn funny without being all that 'wacky'. But I also think we need to stop comparing him to Sokka, even though they're both the 'funny guy' of their groups, they're also pretty different and I think it's unfair to keep comparing Bolin to him. I don't ever see Asami compared to anyone, same goes for Mako, everyone seems to have agreed it's unfair to compare each individual member of the Krew to someone in the Gaang except for Bolin.

That said, I think a problem LOK has compared to ATLA is, in the latter the gaang never stayed in one place for long (and if they did we never saw much of their time spent there, like in the NWT) so secondary characters never lasted beyond an episode. LOK mostly takes place in one place, so secondary characters stick around a lot longer. I can see what they're trying to do with the Krew, they're all nearly adults and are at a point where they're all going to start being tugged in different directions. Whether or not it's going to work, I'm waiting until the season is over to pass judgement on that. I think the writers DO know what to do with Asami, her problems have been laid out for her, but her plotline is just taking a backseat next to this whole civil war thing. I think we might get more focus on it in RC, especially since Varrick is going with them.

>>114546
Yea heading back to RC will put Mako and Asami plotlines to the front as that is their home territory. I can see a rift coming between Mako and Korra because she still wants to be forceful in getting shit done but Mako can't allow that since he's a Cop in his city and I suspect Cabbage Corp did some skullduggery in their absence and engineered a hostile takeover maybe even with the support of the new President.

Bad things about this episode:

The super obvious villain was just as villainous as we suspected, and has been all along.

Bolin refuses to grow a spine and get out of his "hilariously" abusive relationship.

Asami continues to only be a marginally significant member of the team. She used her stun glove on one guy and piloted an airplane for like one mile before it crashed. If this was ATLA, Sokka would have piloted the plan and thought of using firebending as propulsion. That's what he did as the "weakest" member of the team. He innovated, he strategized, and he made himself useful. What does Asami do? She lets the team borrow her car.

Good things about this episode:

Tenzin joining the adorable tea party was too cute.

Bumi talking to Aang's statue. Right in the feels.

Varrick, who up to this point I had only considered mildly amusing, is actually funny. "We're in a bear!"

Eska breaks. Finally. I was getting bored with the emotionless schtick like two episodes ago.

I think it would have been nice if Asami gave a reason for helping Korra bust her dad out. For instance, i wish someone said to Asami "You don't have a stake in this. If you get involved, you're reputation and the company's reputation might suffer more. Not to mention, you might get incarcerated if you got caught." Her response to that would develop her character a little bit.

>>114544
I guess i wanted Bryke to break away from that villain formula and do something different. Like i said earlier in the thread, i hope there's more to Unalaq than just wanting power but that's probably what's going to happen.

If there is anything to take away from Wakfu, it's that you can have a kid's show where the main bad guy is somewhat grey or at least sympathetic without them having daddy issues.

>>114549
>The super obvious villain was just as villainous as we suspected, and has been all along.
I'm still trying to figure out why this is bad when Avatar has never been subtle about who their villains are? I can understand HOPING for a more grey villain, but actually expecting it from a show with that doesn't have a habit of having them is kind of silly.

>>114550
Maybe that's true, but considering the producers on this series no one will ever fail to have significant daddy issues which impede upon the plot destructively.

>>114551
But that was one of the complaints from the original show. People simply expected improvement.

>>114551
It's bad because Korra was completely oblivious to it until someone who had no logical reason to have all of the information he did or to volunteer it was the one who explained it to her. That's horrible.

>>114554
Seriously, why the fuck would the judge know about Unalaq setting up Tonraq to be banished? There's really no reason why he would know that sort of shit. You'd think Unalaq would try to make sure as few people as possible knew about it.

>>114551
Granted, neither Ozai or Amon were at all subtle in their evilness. But that's what made them entertaining; Ozai was the super-sinister evil overlord, and Amon was the faceless man with unexplainable powers. Unalaq has none of that. Instead, what he had was a close relationship with the main character that could have built up to an eventual reveal that his intentions weren't as good as they appeared, or that the ends didn't justify his means. Instead, it looks like this all comes down to thinking he can do a better job than his older brother and him lying and scheming to get him out of the way so he can take over. How dull.

>>114553
>>114554
This. To add, the Korra villains certainly raises my eyebrow when i believe the producers said the show was going to be darker and more mature than ATLA.

Bolin has the problem of taking bad advice "lie big and run" and just being the protected one. Everyone else moved on with their lives yet he still wanted to keep at what he knew in the pro bending but he wasn't really cut for that as team leader. He's got potential he just has to figure it all out.

Asami suffers from Reinvention as she was redone and really she had no purpose at this point since she was supposed to be out by now. But that doesn't mean she's without possibility as I've read plenty of fiction where a latecomer had proven to more more interesting than the beginning primaries.

As for the villain reveal yea it was pretty telegraphed to a high degree but wonder if it really is. He seems to be sticking to his story about saving them even though he's now told Korra her usefulness is at and end and he has some other method for opening the northern portal. He's not super well written but his drive and reveal that he has a plan B leaves me curious as to what he's got in his pocket.

I'm still not so sure Unalaq is the big bad. Given that its only the fourth episode, there's a good chance there's stll another protagonist we haven't met yet. Remember, there's still a character with a speaking role called "The Dark Spirit" being voiced by Grey DeLisle. My personal specultion is that this Dark Spirit has been manipulating Unalaq (I know Grey doesn't have a lot of experience voicing manipulative characters, but I'll give her a chance) into doing all th things he's done over the last 20 years. Maybe Unalaq even thinks its all for a greater purpose and even thinks opeing the portals is the right thing to do, when n reality its only benifiting this Dark Spirits goal.

>>114553
>People simply expected improvement.
And why? Bryke did say they were trying to be darker with LOK, but that doesn't necessarily mean more morally grey villains. Hell, I'd even agree with another poster and say Tarrlok was pretty close to grey.

>>114559
I don't think he's the big bad either, but he's definitely an antagonist.

>>114560
He's possibly the way Mara Jade talked of Palpatine in the EU books. In her mind he did what he did to strengthen the Galaxy against an possible invasion from outside the galaxy. Course he could also be bullshitting since Bonaparte till his dying day said he did what he did for the French Republic. They do appear morally Grey to the people but those that know better see through their masks last being literal this one metaphorical (that we know of)

>Civil Wars, Part 2 drew 2.381 million viewers, up about 0.2 from Civil Wars, Part 1. This is still less than Rebel Spirit/The Southern Lights, but it is still an improvement.

Keep in mind these are still good numbers for a cartoon on a Friday evening.

>>114595
And its got a panel and preview stuff coming at NYCC

So was Tenzin looking for Ikki all night (episode 3 ends at night and episode 4 begins during the day)? You'd think both of them would have gotten hungry or be very tired.

The judge telling Korra everything felt contrived. While I'm fine with him mentioning the trial was rigged he had no reason to ever mention Unalaq's scheme in the North Pole. I guess this was included to give Korra more reasons to oppose Unalaq and exonerate her father but it still felt out of place. Unless the judge is trying to manipulate Korra for some reason this scene could have been done better.

I also feel that Bolin and Eska will join forces with a fire bender and create the new Fire Ferrets.

>>114500
Remember when Kyoshi killed Chin the Conqueror for trying to invade her home or the Earth King who tried to order her around. Oh wait she didn't do either. She decided to ignore Chin and create a new island (Chin only died because he wouldn't step back from the edge of a cliff). She also agreed to help the Earth King create a new army to protect Ba Sing Se's cultural heritage.

No sure why people consider Kiyoshi to be violent when most of what she did didn't involve fighting.

>>114598
Jinora and Meelo must have said some pretty nasty things to have Ikki stay out that long.

>>114597

And a sweet looking poster for the panel to boot. It's kinda cool that Wan is a shortie, around Korra's height.

>>114598
Man, Eska and Desna being legit dynamic characters who actually go through meaningful development would be like awesome. That'd be like ATLA-level characterization. So I wouldn't count on it.

>>114598
It's mostly her willingness to exert her authority as the Avatar when she actually gets involved in a situation, and how she said she would have been more than willing to kill Chin if he hadn't had fallen. But yeah, the fandom REALLY overlooks the sort of implications her actions had (she seriously didn't do anything while an entire country was torn apart by a civil war?). Never mind that it seems to be implied that Kyoshi never acted unless they showed up on her doorstep or if she was asked for by name.

I wonder how the fandom would view her if Avatar Day had been about descendants of the people caught up in the civil war and felt an actual valid anger towards Kyoshi.

>>114601
So you're saying EVERY minor character in ATLA went through meaningful development?

We prime time now. I still won't get home in time to watch it though. Why not just put it back on Saturday morning?

Nick twitter is vehemently debunking the nicktoons shit in this same convo chain.

>>114604
that's better since it was really fucking up other time zones being on that early.

>>114602
I'm saying every character who had a significant role in the first four episodes had meaningful development.

>>114614
Well we've seen that one part of them water surfing I'd guess to Republic City so maybe having some more interaction will do something. Since Eska is still wearing her "I'm really pissed" running makeup.

>>114614
Suki? Iroh? Gran-gran?

>>114601
Feel free to stop being a bitch any time now.

>>114617
I'd say Iroh had some meaningful development, but it was subtle.

>>114622
Never.

>>114617
Okay, let me be explicit so you can't distract my argument by poking inconsequential holes in it: I seriously doubt that Eska and/or Desna will receive anywhere near the same level of development that Mai and Ty Lee got. Not totally discounting the possibility, but I don't have a lot of confidence.

I still want the story on where Aang found this subspecies of flying bison.

>>114631
It was in the republic city flash game. They were just floating around some island somewhere and you need to deal with it.

Not surprising but kind of cool.

>>114634
she's come to take Mako

I didn't like the first four episodes, I hope the RC episodes are good.

>>114639

I thoroughly enjoyed them.

>>114639
>>114640
Personally, i wasn't a terrible fan of the premiere (Episode 1 and 2). It was alright but a few things got on my nerves. I really enjoyed episode 3, but i was a little disappointed with episode 4.

>>114641
The premiere was pretty good, all the characters got set up for an arc and the plot seemed pretty promising with Unalaq being ambiguous with his moral standing and intentions.

Third and fourth episodes, characters seem to be stuck on one-note personalities and the plot is disgustingly simplistic, convenient and predictable.

>>114642
>>all the characters got set up for an arc

That was, basically, my main problem with the premiere. While everybody gets set up for an arc, Bolin, Mako, and Asami's get frozen until (possibly) Episode 5. The bigger issue is that none of the arcs thematically buttress one another. Echoing each other would strengthen them, because 5 different arcs in a half-hour show? It doesn't work. Season 2 isn't an ensemble. It's pretty much been the Korra & Tenzin show so far.

The most charitable reading of it is that the writers are pacing the show for DVD.

>>114634
Hell yeah! Lin is win.

>>114640
>>114641
I enjoyed the first two episodes more, since they actually involved spirits and Korra's uncle wasn't so obviously evil. I still like the other two, though, and people really need to cut this series some fucking slack, it's just barely starting and yet the fandumb still feels the need to bash it because it isn't a flawless masterpiece right from the very beginning.

>>114648
>yet the fandumb still feels the need to bash it because it isn't a flawless masterpiece right from the very beginning.

From what I've seen thus far, it's mostly people complaining because they feel that the same mistakes from Season 1 are being carried over into Season 2. Which, to be frank, is a pretty major complaint, and more than just people being bitchy because it isn't living up to expectations, since it's a problem whcih doesn't do much to engender trust in the the writers' abilities to turn things around.

>>114650
The only flaw I see carrying over to book 2 is the pacing, but I doubt that's ever going to go away because the seasons are WAY too short, so I've made peace with it.

>>114651
not much shorter they just trimmed the filler that people endlessly bitched about with Avatar.

>>114650
Or the people complaining just aren't done complaining about Season 1 yet, so they're seeing things that aren't there in Season 2.

>>114653
>having psychosis this severe
Better see the doctor.

Something i found on /co/. Generally agree for the most part, but this may change post episode four.

>>114653
You would think that people would actively ignore things they don't like.

>>114657
Some of these gripes seem more like things that would be complaints going into the season after a characters introduction and not three to four episodes in.

>>114657
Eska's still got a leg up on Desna

He's like the satellite character to a satellite character

>>114657
Given that Eska is, at this point an antagonist for a secondary character, I don't think that her lacking 'agency' is particularly important. Her role in the story so far is being creepy and clingy with Bolin, but given that Bolin is fairly peripheral over the episodes so far, it kind of makes sense that glimpses of Eska being a terrible person is all we've gotten so far.

And I think the core of this person's argument seems to actually be that Esna shouldn't be a terrible person, because...

>>114657

>taking anything on tumblr seriously

>>114659
While there is a possibility that they will do something with desna, i do question why he exists. Eska acting the way she does would make more sense if she was an only child imho.

>>114662
Desna exists because, like Eska, he is the human host to one of Unalaq's dark spirit allies.

>>114657

We're 4 episodes in.

...Also, I stopped reading as soon as I read 'also the problem with Mako'. Any opinion after that is automatically void of sense.

>>114665
>also the problem with Mako

Okay, maybe I've lost the ability to read, but I'm not seeing that phrase op up anywhere in that post. I'm seeing someone complain that Eska revolves around Bolin like Mako does Korra, which is a rather valid complaint, since Mako lost whatever independence and agency he had as a character halfway through season one. Which, it should be noted is a critique of the Makorra relationship, not of Mako.

>>114666
He's denying that Mako's character revolves around something other than being Korra's boyfriend, because he's an autistic fucking moron who can't accept reality and that this is the shittiest god damn series in the history of western animation.

>>114650
>From what I've seen thus far, it's mostly people complaining because they feel that the same mistakes from Season 1 are being carried over into Season 2. Which, to be frank, is a pretty major complaint, and more than just people being bitchy because it isn't living up to expectations, since it's a problem whcih doesn't do much to engender trust in the the writers' abilities to turn things around.

Here's a list of examples of bitchiness right from our very own board.

>>113923
>Not over impressed so far. Korra was REALLY getting on my nerves... I expect some hardcore growth from this immature little douche-nozzle in the season. I found her behavior just REALLY hard to believe...

>>113978
>tenzin being stupid
>bolin being stupid
>korra being stupid
>everyone stupid
>mako boring

>>114007
>Why would you trust an imbecile like Korra?

>>114023
>There is nothing wrong with having a character being arrogant or even being stupid, but arrogant AND stupid with no positive qualities to back it up is a really irritating combination.

>>114170
>This show would be a lot more entertaining if Korra wasn't dumber than a sack of hammers.

>>114254
>>114251
>martial arts coordinator

>There was martial arts in TLOK? All I saw was punches and Vader force grips.

>>114601
>>114598
>Man, Eska and Desna being legit dynamic characters who actually go through meaningful development would be like awesome. That'd be like ATLA-level characterization. So I wouldn't count on it.

None of this is valid criticism, it's just the fandumb being whiny brats again because the first four episodes of the season aren't living up to their expectations right away.

>>114667
We're glad you think so. Now kindly stop watching it and get the fuck off this board, you whiney shithead.
>>114668
You're right, but just what the flying fuck are they expecting here?! The only problem I've had so far was with noticing that the animation was a bit wonky in places. Everything else is fine by me, after all we are just four goddamn episodes in!

>>114669
Animation chalks up to it being Japanese (Pierrot) vs Korea (Mir) and they have different emphasis. I'm interested to see how they animate Metal Bending.

Add this fucker >>114667 to my list here >>114668

GTFO if you hate it so much. Seriously. I'm tired of repeating myself and watching you repeat yourself too.

>>114670
I think I like Mir better than Pierrot, but it's not as bad as some people have said. There have been a lot of beautiful scenes, especially from the first two episodes.

>>114668
>None of this is valid criticism
I've written a few posts that cover my thoughts on the episodes in more detail.

I've also written a few posts that are just snide remarks.

It's an anonymous board, not the goddamn NY Times. Not every post is going to be an article.

>>114657
Seconding all the "but we're only 4 episodes in." Then again, I'm pretty fine with Eska as is--for someone whose role has so far revolved around Bolin, she has a lot of character. Far more than Asami did before her role became something other than Mako's love interest.

>>114667
>because he's an autistic

Why does this word keep getting thrown around in nerd circles?

>>114668
Wow, a whole list of complaints which I saw being thrown around since Season 1 was airing - which was the exact point I was making (parts of the fandom thought Bryke fucked up before, and still thinks they're fucking up in the same way).

I'm sure you had an actual point beyond that, which would be "people are just bitching now", but I'm willing to pin that on people have just gown tired of rehashing the same points over and over, and have just started making snide comments because it's more amusing/productive than yet another argument where neither side are willing to budge in their position.

>>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