Legend of Korra 3.06 and 3.07 (plus a fic)

[lizbee]

LIN MY PRECIOUS BABY LET ME GIVE YOU LOTS OF CUDDLES

(First, can I say that while Korrasami shippers have been squeeing over the bit in the trailer where Asami brings an unconscious Korra out of something or other, I've been having Feelings for weeks about Korra catching Lin when she faints. SHUT UP.)

So I've been spoiled on a lot of this for quite a while, thanks to the Spanish leaks -- I knew that Su got involved with criminals, she was responsible for Lin's scars, and Toph covered it up -- but it's different SEEING it in its original language, with the English voice actors.

(I've also been having Tophzula Feelings about Grey DeLisle voicing the young Lin, and I'm just so impressed by how she doesn't sound a bit like Azula. Likewise, Ming-Hua has a gruff, hoarse voice. No disrespect to, say, Dante Basco or Janet Varney, who are great at the acting thing, but they basically just use their regular voices. All of Grey DeLisle's characters sound completely different, and as Lin, she managed to echo Mindy Sterling's inflections without sounding like a straight-up mimic.)

So basically I've been thinking for a few weeks about police corruption, and how you can't have the level of organised crime Republic City does without the police being complicit on some level, but having Toph conceal her daughter's record takes it to a whole new level. It's petty, and doesn't make a difference to anything except Toph's own family, except that now both Toph and Lin are implicated. I can't imagine that Lin had a good time after Toph retired.

Basically, I think that Toph made a selfish decision to protect her own reputation. I've seen a few people try and excuse it, but it's just really a classic case of a senior police officer breaking the law for personal reasons. No wonder Republic City is out of balance by the time Korra arrives. I can't imagine what Aang or Zuko said when they found out.

I mean, you know, it's good that Suyin has reformed, and that she and Toph have talked it out and are reconciled, but I actually feel like Lin's anger is somewhat justified. Not so much her rage at Su, but I'm pretty sure that's just the redirected anger she can't actually express to her mother. (It's probably significant that Lin has never once raised her mother in dialogue -- people tend to throw Toph back at her, but Lin never brings Toph up herself.)

(The first person to raise Toph is Korra, who has just broken the law and is demanding special treatment because she's the Avatar and has a connection with Lin's mother. Wow. And Tenzin thinks Lin resented Korra because of him. Bless.)

(This history also explains why Lin throws Mako in jail when it looks like he's been taking bribes from Triads, when a normal reaction would be suspension without pay pending investigation.)

(I charitably assume Mako was in jail pending investigation. Like how I charitably assume the Red Lotus's prisons weren't actually the epic human rights violations they resemble at first glance. Like, did Zuko outsource prison design to Azula? He did, didn't he.)

Anyway, there is fandom rage that Toph wasn't perfect, but I'm down with the well-intentioned but flawed parents and the long-term consequences of their mistakes.

OH HEY, that brings us to Tenzin. I LOVE HIM. But his complete inability to deal with people who aren't already in agreement with him on some level is hilarious. He must have been a terrible politician. All the stuff with Bumi was great, but I was mostly here for (a) Jinora and (b) Pema and Tenzin having a scene together that isn't about their kids. I'm so into that.

(Let's be real, I'm also here for Tenzin being all, "Really? Lin and her sister in the same place? Is that ... wise?" I would not be remotely shocked if Tenzin is also not a big fan of Suyin, she being the catalyst for a lot of both Lin and Republic City's problems.)

Things which are not okay: WEARING BISON FUR. EATING SKY BISON. (I'm fairly certain that bison milk is a big part of the traditional Air Nomad diet, but that's different.) I am, however, rather puzzled at all the people taking it as fact that the Earth Queen ate Bosco. Guys, bison rustlers are not reliable sources.

Things which are okay: Jinora's path to adulthood being smoother and less traumatic than that of Sally Draper, Kiernan "tiny Meryl Streep" Shipka's other big role. Jinora is 11 now, so about the same age as Aang when he became the youngest airbending master. (I think he was about ten? Either way, it's close.) I'm here for Tiny Bald Jinora, is what I'm saying.

(Tumblr is all over Jinora/Kai, but no one has pointed out to them that at some point, Kai is going to have to shave his head. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.)

ANYWAY. I really hate fic that's just meta with dialogue, but I wrote this, which is about Lin and Su sort of addressing their issues with their mother. I'll do a proper post for it in a few days, but even the summary is spoilery, so.

Comments

[danel4d]

(The first person to raise Toph is Korra, who has just broken the law and is demanding special treatment because she's the Avatar and has a connection with Lin's mother. Wow. And Tenzin thinks Lin resented Korra because of him. Bless.)

Wow. I'd never put that together until now - it really does put a different spin on that scene, doesn't it?

Another thing it made me think of is how people were joking about how Toph seems so temperamentally unsuited to being Chief of Police... and yeah, it turns out she was probably temperamentally unsuited to being Chief of Police. The thing that hit me in that flashback is how exhausted she seems throughout - the last we see is of her slumping into her chair, which makes me think that by this point she'd really started to run into the aspects of the job that she found much harder to deal with. Which doesn't excuse what she does.

I do wonder if she's going to get an appearance to resolve this whole subplot or if, like the similar Aang subplot from last season, the point will end up being that certain things can't be so neatly resolved and all people can do is keep moving forward.

[lizbee]

The thing that hit me in that flashback is how exhausted she seems throughout - the last we see is of her slumping into her chair, which makes me think that by this point she'd really started to run into the aspects of the job that she found much harder to deal with.

Yes! Aside from the extra challenge of being a blind woman in a job that requires paperwork, Toph's been in that job for at least a decade by now -- if Yakone was 40-odd years ago and this is 30-odd years -- and the strain is really showing.

I do wonder if she's going to get an appearance to resolve this whole subplot or if, like the similar Aang subplot from last season, the point will end up being that certain things can't be so neatly resolved and all people can do is keep moving forward.

Or both? They've established that she's still alive, but I can't imagine there's an easy solution to this problem. Beyond, you know, apologies.

[inhiding]

Hi, the Bei Fong family dynamics have haunted me since seeing Old Wounds. It reminds somewhat of the story of the Prodigal Son with Lin being the good, dutiful son except that Su doesn't fall into hard times the way the Prodigal son did and instead was able to have this awesome family and city.

I also find myself comparing them to Mako and Bolin. Like Mako I think that Lin was trying to be a parental figure in the wake of parental absence. For Mako it meant trying to make sure they survived and sheltering Bolin from some of the harshness of the world,(as much as he was able to) while for Lin it meant trying to install some order and discipline but Su never needed her as much as Bolin needed Mako since Toph was around and providing for their physical needs.

Other fans want Toph to show and kick some butt; I want Toph to show so that Lin can clear some issues with her. I also wouldn't mind more flashbacka such as Lin's decision to refuse to talk with her mother and sister. Lin has this inability to let things go which leads to holding grudges but I can see how this could be a good quality in a cop.

I would also like to know how the Gaang and their kids reacted when Lin suddenly had these scars and Su was off to live with her grandparents. Plus as Lin said there were witnesses so I imagine there were attempts at blackmail and Toph might have been relieved to resign but it was still a big failure of hers both personally and professionally. Unfortunately this isn't the Legend of Bei Fong so I think the most I can hope for is some reminiscing between Zuko and Lin and that seems very unlikely too.

One thing I don't think the episode did well was the relationship with Opal and Su. I never quite understood why telling her parents that she wanted to leave was supposed to be so hard for her. For one thing she barely interacted with them plus Su and her city were repeatedly about developing your potential instead of actually showing Su being smothering or controlling. Well I guess it was more important to develope her as Bolin's love interest.

Sorry to just come out of nowhere to gush but I love your Bei Fong meta.