AND THEN I SAW KORRA 1.02 AND HAD FEELINGS AND IT WAS GREAT

[lizbee]

SO MAKO, RIGHT? HE CLEARLY FEELS THINGS PRETTY DEEPLY, BUT THAT LEAVES HIM VULNERABLE, SO HE CONCEALS IT BEHIND A MASK OF INDIFFERENCE, SARCASM AND OUTRIGHT RUDENESS.

IN SHORT, HE'S BASICALLY DUDE!MAI WITH BONUS FIREBENDING. THIS APPEALS TO ME QUITE STRONGLY, ESPECIALLY AS KORRA IS HOT-HEADED, IMPATIENT AND PRONE TO NOT THINKING TOO FAR AHEAD, SO MAKORRA IS GENDERSWAPPED!MAIKO WITH BONUS AVATARYNESS.

BUT LET'S FACE IT, ALL THE FANGIRLS WHO HATED MAI FOR SEEMING APATHETIC AND INDIFFERENT ARE GOING TO LOVE MAKO FOR THE SAME REASONS.

MEANWHILE, TENZIN --

Look, reading through all this capslocking is giving me a headache, and I wrote it! So just pretend that I'm saying all of this quite loudly, with expansive hand gestures and occasional jumping up to emphasise points, and maybe some interpretive dance.

Meanwhile, Tenzin is pretty much the best character ever. Tenzin and Beifong. NEEDS MORE LIN BEIFONG. I may have written four pages of awkward Beifong/Korra.

In fact, I love Tenzin's whole entire family, and totally hope we see more of Pema (who is already being dismissed as being "surprisingly likable considering she's pregnant", which, no). Every time Jinora speaks, I picture an alternate Mad Men where Don Draper is a frustrated airbending master. (IT'S PRETTY GREAT.)

I'm also curious to know who all the other orange-clad people at Air Temple Island are, since it looks like Tenzin's family are the only airbenders. Are they descendants of Air Nomads who survived? That would be pretty cool, that they're rediscovering their heritage, and maybe some of their children will be airbenders, and the entire culture won't be dependent on one family.

And I'm really, really keen to learn why the White Lotus feel it's necessary to keep such close watch over Korra. Fear that Amon or his supporters will attack her while she's young and vulnerable? I mean, she grew up in a walled compound where the guards were reluctant to let her leave!

ALSO, I really like Bolin and Mako. There's not much more to say than that yet, except (again) Mako is dude!Mai. And pro-bending is much, much cooler than I expected, and I loved Tenzin's realisation that he, too, enjoys it.

Comments

[danel4d]

Yeah, that was all the awesomes.

There were just so many amusing little details - Korra wearing her airbending robes like they were her preferred sleeveless tops until Tenzin corrects it, Jinora refusing to make promises about her teenage years, Bolin's background introduction... I really am looking forward to this show a hell of a lot now.

[unjapanologist]

IKR? I half expected Mako to slouch and go "Whatever".

Bolin and Mako are fresh and juicy. I cannot get over that sentence. It keeps on circling through the brain and running over all other thoughts.

[musesfool]

Bolin and Mako are fresh and juicy.

I NEARLY DIED FROM LAUGHING WHEN THEY SAID THAT.

[unjapanologist]

It's like the writers all sat down and held a "most outrageously suggestive description" contest or something.

Bolin and Mako will quench you. They're the quenchiest.

[rj_anderson]

I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START.

The characters are so amazing already! Tenzin! Tenzin's WHOLE FAMILY! And Korra being the opposite of airbending, and Meelo siding with her in a hilarious and heartbreaking way, and Bolin surprising me by being super-confident and having tons of fangirls, instead of the slightly schlubby and self-deprecating guy who has to stand by and watch the girls all fall for his tall handsome brother, which completely destroyed my weird mental association of Korra->Sydney | Mako->Vaughn | Bolin->Weiss that had caused me to preemptively ship Korra/Bolin and NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DOOOOO. (Not that it matters. I love them ALL.)

And pro-bending is way cooler and more interesting than I'd expected as well. Love the idea that it requires different moves and discipline from ordinary bending. And oh, that glorious moment where Tenzin cuts loose and whoops at the win. Beautiful.

My two boys loved it too. We watched the first two eps back to back and they were all, "Awww!" when it was over.

[holyschist]

BUT LET'S FACE IT, ALL THE FANGIRLS WHO HATED MAI FOR SEEMING APATHETIC AND INDIFFERENT ARE GOING TO LOVE MAKO FOR THE SAME REASONS.

YEAH PROBABLY. BUT I WILL LOVE BOTH OF THEM YAY.

[stultiloquentia]

Where did you find episode two?!!

[alexseanchai]

SECONDED

[lizbee]

Streaming high quality version of eps 1 and 2. You can watch online, or right click this link and download.

[alexseanchai]

Shiny thank you!

[lizbee]

Streaming high quality version of eps 1 and 2. You can watch online, or right click this link and download.

[stultiloquentia]

*tackleglomp* Thank you! <3

[tellitslant]

OH MY GOD, I'm SO GLAD I'm not the only one shipping Korra/Beifong :D :D :D :D Because COME ON, Korra practices bending with a photo of Beifong to ~~inspire her. I bet Beifong is a secret pro-bending fan, too...

ALSO I LOVE KORRA LOTS

[lizbee]

And after Korra joins the team, Beifong starts going to matches.

Because she appreciates athleticism.

Really.

[biichan]

Tenzin is AMAZIN, I love him and I love Lin Beifong too and remain convinced forever of the Tophzula Sokka Baster Baby theory, at least until canon explicitly contradicts me. And I hadn't thought of Mako/Korra being the genderswapped Mai/Zuko, but yeah, that totally works.

Also, awkward Beifong/Korra? Yes. Good.

[melengro]

I'M STEADFASTLY CONVINCED OF THE BASTER BABY THEORY TOO

I if anything became more convinced of after that 'I can't hear what you're saying, so let's move on' answer to somebody asking who Lin's father was at a panel.

EVEN CANON WILL HAVE TO REALLY WIN ME OVER TO DISABUSE ME OF THIS NOTION

[glamaphonic]

SO MAKORRA IS GENDERSWAPPED!MAIKO WITH BONUS AVATARYNESS.

SO.

THIS IS THE TRUTH.

O____O

[lizbee]

They've already reached the stage of mutual non-hatred!

[(Anonymous)]

Me, I'm really interested to see more on probending, and I'm wondering if they'll explain how it diverged from traditional bending. I mean, they hired a martial artist or whatever for ATLA, to help develop bending so hopefully they asked around when they decided to change bending styles. I'm no martial arts expert, but I took taekwondo for a few years, and there is a significant difference between traditional taekwondo and the sports style taekwondo you see at competitions like the olympics. It's the same for many other martial arts these days. It's so weird, because probending seems to have a boxing sort of bent now, which is jarring for me since before bending was thoroughly rooted in chinese kungfu.

[holyschist]

IIRC, I think probending is supposed to be partially based on wushu? But I do recall reading something about what they based it on somewhere, and getting a consultant....

SQUEE

[green_animation]

I have intense feelings regarding Korra - show and person already. Seriously. I love how strong she is, even that she is brash sometimes because that suits her. Er. Not sure that makes sense. But I am loving this show so hard. The only problem is I can feel the ships knocking at the back of my head - I think non romantic Korra would be pretty cool in my brain but my feels are telling me: psst. Mako/Korra?No?Mako/Korra/Bolin? ...any of the above? YES. Considering I unironically ship Zutara (still) and the amount of Korra/Mako fanstuffs I have already found I think I'm suckered in. Already. Sigh.
But yes, love love love.

[nonelvis]

I finally had time to watch this today, and I have STARS IN MY EYES. The only downside to seeing this now is that it means we have to wait a month for new episodes, ARGH.

Every time Jinora speaks, I picture an alternate Mad Men where Don Draper is a frustrated airbending master.

Hee hee hee hee hee.

[lizbee]

I think red and yellow are really Don's colours, don't you?

[nonelvis]

I will not Photoshop Don Draper into monk's robes
I will not Photoshop Don Draper into monk's robes
I will not Photoshop Don Draper into monk's robes

*repeats until I actually believe it*

[lizbee]

And I am certainly not drawing it. Because Jon Hamm looks like a block, albeit a really handsome block.

[biichan]

Also, the new theory at my house is that the dude in the mask is a descendant of the Cabbage Merchant.

[crossedwires]

I really love that idea.

[melengro]

YES.

[anna_sinistra]

omg awkward Beifong/Korra. She was trying to airbend at a picture of her!

This show gives me so many feelings already. Needs moar Lin Beifong stat.

[melengro]

PRO-BENDING IS A SPORT I'D ACTUALLY WATCH, OH GOD (though I kind of understand and empathize with Tenzin's initial distaste and reasons for it, I too loved that he came to enjoy it).

LIN BEIFONG OH MY GOD
LIN!!!!

THIS WHOLE CAST, ALL THESE NEW CHARACTERS SO FAR I LOVE THEM ALL
EVA MARIE SAINT AS KATARA OH GOD

I KNOW SOME OF THIS PERTAINS TO EPISODE 1 BUT IT JUST KIND OF HAS TO BE IN ONE COMMENT BECAUSE IT IS VERY LATE (OR EARLY?) HERE AND ALSO IT JUST KIND OF
JUST KIND OF STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WAS AMAZING AND I NEED MORE.