Okay, okay, so this was a clip show. I've actually never had to review a clip show before, so this is a bit new to me. I'll start off by saying: the reason for this is all about the budget. They needed to fill the number of episodes and a quick way to make a cheap episode is to do a recap. Is it annoying? Yes. But I actually thought they did a good thing here. For one, I was actually in need of a reminder about some of the stuff from Seasons One and Two. For another, they didn't just have a few little intro scenes and then bombard us with old images. They actually sustained a new narrative with new dialogue over these images, which is frankly more effort than I would have expected. And, they managed to get a lot of humor in! I'm gonna mention some of my favorite things.
The first of the three narratives was Mako talking to Wu about his past with Korra and Asami. This was probably the weakest of the three, and that's mostly because the love triangle was always a weak point in the show for me. However, I did love Wu's constant interruptions. I also found Mako's conclusion to be really satisfying. He admits that it won't work out between him and Korra, but that Korra taught him so many amazing things about himself, and he's happy to fight by her side and be her friend. That's lovely!
The second narrative shows Asami comforting Korra, who has been wondering if she's completely useless as the Avatar, because even when she defeats a bad guy, another one just takes over. Asami reminds Korra of all the good that has come out of each of her fights with evil. Because of Amon, Non-Benders have finally gotten a voice in the world, in a way that they hadn't for a long time. Because of Unalaq, the Spirit World has been reunited with the physical world. Because of Zaheer, Korra learned to be stronger than ever. In the end, Tenzin and Asami convince her that she is an important part of the world.
First of all, I just adore the focus this season on Asami and Korra's friendship (incidentally, I totally ship it). I also like how Tenzin pointed out Korra's character development. She is a different person than the one who came to Republic City years ago to learn Air Bending. Also, addressing the complexity of the villains is always nice. Each one of these villains has contributed something positive to the world in a roundabout way.
The third narrative follows Bolin and Varrick and they travel to Republic City by ship with the refugees from Kuvira's camps. Varrick tells everybody a ridiculous story that he has planned for his next "mover," which involves the "real" story of Bolin, the hero of the world. Basically, Varrick weaves a story in which Bolin is the one responsible for all of Korra's heroic actions over the years. Bolin thinks it's ridiculous, but everyone else is entertained.
Okay, so this was funny. Especially the phone call between the villains. I love how the show wasn't afraid to poke fun at itself - in that sense, I was reminded of "The Ember Island Players" from ATLA. For example, Varrick refers to Vaatu as "the biggest, meanest, scariest kite that ever flew!" and Unalaq as an "incredibly boring and unpopular sorcerer." I also liked the exploration of Bolin's character, as he lamented how he let down Opal, and his family, by siding with Kuvira.
I'll stop there. Yeah, I'm annoyed that it was a clip show, but as I think I just demonstrated, there were still a lot of creative things going on here, and I admire the effort that was clearly put in to this episode. It would have been really easy to just put in minimal effort and move on.
6/10
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