So, what about this episode?
The kataang granbabies were so cute in their pajamas. :3
I doubted that Meelo was truly the one who drew that Korra picture in episode 404 (“Would a rambunctious loudmouth have the patience and dexterity to create such realistic drawings?”) but apparently he did!
I like that he has this talent. Makes me think of
Riley of the Boondocks. Exact same age, same talent, same “loud and annoying little brother” attitude. Meelo’s just a less ghetto version.
Where was Kai? He used to be with Opal and now we have Opal and not him.
It would have been nice for Kai and Jinora to give us a glimpse of what they are like as a more grown up couple and how they balance their time together and their duty towards the world by fighting against Kuvira together in this episode.
I expected that Bolin would have a Boiling Rock type of episode where he infiltrates a re-education camp and manages a clumsy escape, but the writers found a very satisfactory way to get him to join Varrick and deflect towards a more original and interesting plot.
And what a plot! Varrick COMMITS SUICIDE now that Zhu Li is gone? It was played for laughs, but it was actually a crying your eyes out level of sad... Or so it would have been if it wasn’t for Bolin saving him!
Or had he planned Bolin’s escape all along? Because at the end he was all like “you did the thing!” as if he had planned it all along, but at the same time, he didn’t ask Bolin to get them out even after Bataar Jr left so…? That was a little confusing.
“He Varricked himself because some girl Zhu Lied him.”I loved this.

I loved Varrick this episode. In fact, I love him in general. He is a mentally unstable genius, like many other fictional characters in other works, but with a unique, super entertaining spin to him.
And um I wonder if it’s just me, but when he said that Zhu Li’s name would be synonymous with BITC-rayal, I had a “Wow easy there O.O” moment because I thought for a sec that he was going to say... something else. But Nick is a good boy, he doesn’t do the bad words thing, I should have known better.

Anywho, it's a little worrisome that Zhu Li wasn’t shown to have even a slight reaction of sadness or discomfort when hearing that Varrick had blown himself up. She's good at looking impassive, but you'd expect such a big news to crack the pokerface a little.
Old Korra and her “let’s punch this conflict to rest” attitude would have ended this issue ASAP. I was so frustrated when she postponed the use of the avatar state even though she was being beaten up like a punching bag! And so delighted when she finally entered the AS… until she got punched out of the way like a punching bag again! ><
I expected Kuvira and Korra to be closer to being on equal footage, but instead, Korra was defeated as if getting the metal out made no difference at all. She didn’t even have ONE moment of swift keenness where she managed to hit Kuvira, she got buttkicked from beginning to end.
People are like “the metal wasn’t everything, she has to deal with psychological issues too”, but the fact that she got the metal out was already a sign of her having progressed psychologically too, so it should have made a difference, but it didn’t look like she made that much progress there.
I wonder: what is it that will
finally make her surpass her trauma? She can't keep being weak for the rest of the season, can she? And her being beaten into a pulp all the time is getting a little tiresome to watch to be honest.
I liked Kuvira’s confidence during the fight, the way she laughed, moving around, after hitting Korra for the first time. It made her look really cool.
And her fighting Korra because she'd never let her army do something she wouldn't do herself was honorable too. She's evil, but I get why people follow her. Nothing works as good as a leader who battles alongside her subordinates.
Bataar and Huan, just bow to Kuvira now and find a way to overthrow her later! Pride will get you nowhere! ><
I wonder how and why Bataar Jr and Kuvira got together. Bataar is so in your face he comes across as petulant, whereas Kuvira doesn’t feel the need to be all “look at me, I’m king” because her actions say it loudly enough. Idk he seems a little childish for her...
It would have been nice to have some intimate Kuvirataar (or what’s their ship called?) moments to make their ship deeper and more believable. Right now they give more of a leader-sidekick, Amon-lieutenant, vibe than the vibe a soon to be
husband and wife give off. Romance humanizes villains and makes them more interesting. It was done so well with P’Li and Zaheer. It’s too bad that we aren’t getting much of that with these two.
I I hope that in the next episode, all the world leaders will finally get thrust back into the foreground. Kuvira’s interesting and everything, but I want to see what’s happening to other characters and the people in the EK towns who allegedly become slaves once she leaves. It’s an interesting political conflict with so much potential. We should see more of the repercussions it can have all over the world.
That was a good episode. Lookin' forwards to seeing the next one!