LibriumArcana.Games

Crossposted from SDN.

"Not my Cabbage Corp!"

An interesting change in the recap, with it being Tarlokk attacking Lin (not surprising), and then the results of Amon's attack and the apparent complicity of Cabbage Corp in the Equalist movement. The Pro Bending Arena is shut down, rendering Mako and Bolin homeless again... or at least would have if Asami hadn't wrangled them an invitation to her family mansion (trumping Korra's offer of living on Air Temple Island). This leads to Korra visiting, and then overhearing incriminating statements that indicate Hiroshi Sato is an Equalist and working with them. After some twists and incredible stress on her friendship with Mako, we find out it is true, shocking poor Asami to her very core... and resulting in a trap where we finally see the fruits of those schematics from the end of the first episode. Sato and the Equalists have discovered how to metalbend-proof metal constructs like doors and mecha, by casting them out of pure platinum with no minute traces of earth. The machines make fairly short work of Korra, Lin, and her metalbenders, though Tenzin put up an effective fight before succumbing. They all would've been taken off to Amon for chi-bending if not for Mako, Bolin, and Asami, the latter of whom refuses her father's pleas to join the Equalists and shocks him unconscious so they can get away.

So, the series status quo shifts. Mako, Bolin, and Asami will be living with Tenzin, Korra, and Tenzin's family. Lin is resigning as Chief of Police and going vigilante on the Equalists. Hiroshi Sato is revealed as the financier and designer for the Equalists, driven by the loss of his wife to the Firebending triad in a raid on his house, though he's apparently not Amon.

There seems to be a link now between the backgrounds of Amon, Mako and Bolin, and the Satos; all claim victimization by rogue and criminal firebenders. Curiouser and curiouser.

The Equalist Power Suits are clearly the means by which Amon intends to spread his power beyond Republic City. If he takes over Republic City successfully it will provide him with an industrial base for mass production; a mass production that would give him a fighting chance for winning a military confrontation with the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, whom I figure are the two biggest threats he faces. Infantry armed with electric gloves and other electrical-weaponry backed by the power armor, with elite units of chi-blockers for suppressing enemy bender leaders.

Bolin's excitement over the mansion is hilarious, as was his puppeteering of Pabu in talking Korra into visiting. He's certainly filling the need for comic relief, as the tensions ratchet up in the series.

Now... given prior speculation on the role of the spiritual side of bending, and how it's been missing... one wonders if we'll see Mako and Bolin joining Korra in feeling that spiritual side while living on Air Temple Island. It might also provide key to protecting them from Amon if it comes to that.

All in all, we've reached the mid-point of Book 1 and it looks like things will only get hotter from this point on.

The fact that this was suppose to be a very short mini-series is showing in the pacing I think, they could have easily drawn out the question of Saito being an equalist for several episodes. Not that this was badly done, it was all in all a good one. I'm honestly surprised that he managed to hide such bigotry (because frankly, that's what it is) from his daughter. He hates benders but keeps it such a secret that he manages to raise a girl who can go and fall in love in with one? Hey Dad, note for next time, be sure your only child knows what side she's suppose to be on and you won't get the dreaded I LOVE YOU DAD zap (Seriously I've never seen anyone pull something like that on their mother but it happen's to fathers quiet a bit, are evil mothers just better at convincing their kids not to play for the other team?). At this point I have to ask, besides Mako's charming girlfriend and Tenzo's wife is there gonna be any non-bending character that doesn't turn out to be a equalist?

Toph clearly taught her little girl alot, she knows metal bending and how to sense things through her feet. Additionally not only is she batman, she's wolverine to.

Does EVERYONE have a dead relative from firebenders? I'm starting to think they miss the old evil firebender bit. You know what this needs? More Zuko, someone get him in here. I want to hear old man Zuko snarl things like get off my air temple! and go ahead, make my day... PUNK! You know you want it.

Those suits seem fairly good at fighting metal benders and such but I can't help but think that Earth Benders from the war would have made swift work of them. Still I do love me some !SCIENCE! so no complaints.

Also it seems they've figured out some anti-Air bender equipment. This is not good.

I just wanna know where the hell they found that much Platinum to cast the parts. My god, the sheer tons just for the trap door!!

That.....was a impressive amount of platinum. Good gods, how much in mineral wealth is ON that planet?

Lin was being awesome, as ever. Now she's going rogue, which will be impressive since she's definitely her mother's daughter.

Tenzin was doing good, up until they brought out the Anti-Air Bender bolo thing.

Overall....this is gearing up to be a confrontation to really ring Republic City's bell.

My solution is that they are better at mining then we are. Between industrialization, badger moles and human earthbenders, they can perhaps go deeper and do it faster then we can thus grabbing more resources. I've been told that there are alot of mineral and other resources deeper in the crust that we just can't get to for various reasons.

If you could however protect your eathbenders from environmental hazards (say maybe via prototype power suits?) you could scoop up amazing amounts of stuff. This means however that Saito and Amon may have planning this for years if not decades.

Either their world is lousy with platinum (which is always a possibility, especially in a Fantasy setting), they're ludicrously better at mining than we are (also a possibility), or the Equalist movement massively predates the original series. That wall alone would, at modern day platinum mining levels, assuming a (highly conservative) 30x10x0.5m represent some 20 years of the entire planet's mined platinum.

Of course, we have only Saito's word that it is solid platinum. While I don't think he'd be that deceptive given he was acting mostly out of a desire for revenge and clearly expected to be able to take everybody to Amon, it theoretically may have been a ploy to keep them from finding out that the wall (and the Mecha) were actually mostly ordinary iron/steel with a coating of platinum to block metalbending
so they wouldn't just blast off that outer coating.

And since metalbending is essentially a subset of earthbending and we saw Lin earth/metalbend the factory floor shouldn't we have seen a lot more offensive bending out of her and her crew (or Korra, for that matter)?

The more I see of Lin, the more she reminds me of Commissioner Gordon from Batman Beyond for some reason.
Asami being on the side of the angels I didn't see coming, I had her pegged down as being in on the conspirary or at the very least the stereotypical manipulative self-centered spoiled rich teenage daughter.
I don't know beans about racing, so it may be simple unfamiliarity with the topic, but did the racetrack Asami took Korra to look odd to anybody else?