The Legend of Korra: The Earth Queen (3x03)

Our gang arrives in Ba Sing Se! Yay!

Korra goes to meet the Earth Queen Hou-Ting. The Queen tells her that she'll help Korra find Air Benders in the city, only if Korra does her a favor first. Korra and Asami must go across the city to collect some tax money. The money is almost stolen by bandits, who declare that this money should be used for the people. Korra, uneasy, realizes she might agree, but nevertheless takes the money back to the Queen. The Queen informs her that there are no Air Benders in Ba Sing Se.

Kai, upon seeing the abundance in the city, wanders off to continue his pick-pocketing ways. Bolin and Mako go after him. While searching, they meet their family - their uncle, cousin, grandmother, etc. Both of them are thrilled to be welcomed in by the family, but are saddened to have to tell everyone that their parents are dead. Turns out, Bolin and Mako's dad, San, had a falling out with his family years ago and moved away. The family only ever received one letter from San, saying that he had married and had kids. Bolin and Mako share a hug with their grandmother, and Mako gives her his red scarf, which had belonged to their father.

Zuko arrives at the North Pole. Along with Desna and Eska, who are now ruling, and Tonraq, they go to see the final prisoner that Zaheer plans to free, his girlfriend P'Li, who has great skill as a Fire Bender.

We see Kai get arrested and taken away, to join with the Earth Queen's secret army full of all the new Air Benders, thus proving that Queen Hou-Ting is lying to Korra.

I have nothing bad to say about anything!!

The good stuff is endless. These three episodes are just... great. The first one was a bit of a warm-up, the second one got things going, and this one was so full of awesome I don't even know where to start.

First of all, the political situation is getting more interesting and complex. The Earth Queen is obviously evil and selfish, as she takes hoards of money from the people and leaves them in poverty. But she did make a good point when she said that Aang and Zuko had taken land from the Earth Kingdom to create the United Republic. There are more complexities to Aang's reforms than might first meet the eye.

I also love the way the stakes keep getting higher. The new army of Air Benders is interesting, because it's so far from anything we've seen in the past. To see Zaheer, our new villain, use Air Bending for harm is something we've never seen before on this show. Aang was the only Air Bender in the old show, and Tenzin and his family are also obviously good guys. Now we're seeing some new ways for Air Bending to be used. It's so interesting!

Mako and Bolin's plot thread really warmed my heart, too. We got a lot of really depressing reminders in this episode that Mako and Bolin used to be homeless, and that they grew up orphans. In particular, my heart broke a little bit when Bolin said that it had "been a while since we spent a night on a trash pile." Ouch. Also, the fact that their dad was estranged from his family adds another dynamic to their story, as well, making them both instantly more likable characters. That hug with their grandma was really sweet. I never thought much of Mako in the early parts of this show, but he's come a long way, and this episode really helped with that.

Kai's adventures really reminded me of Aladdin, and the whole thing made me smile. At the same time, his pick-pocketing is proof that this character is actually complex. Even though he's traveling with very important and influential people right now, and he should be thinking about how to start a life with them, he's already slipped back into old habits. Now that he's been captured, it will be interesting to see how they continue to develop him.

The humor continues to impress, especially in the small plot thread in the North Pole. The twins are an absolute riot. I like how offended they are that nobody told them about the secret prison. They could have been throwing people in there this whole time! Desna says he would have thrown his tailor in prison: "He never gets my cuffs right. They're so crease-y." Too funny.

Then there's the moment where Zuko talks about P'Li, and the guard watching over her. He says "Ironically, I hired someone with a similar ability to kill the Avatar once." There's a very long silence, and then he says "Didn't work." Eska's response? "Don't feel bad. I tried to kill Korra after she ruined my wedding. It happens." Tonraq just gets this horrified look on his face.

So... yeah. This show is seriously stepping up its game. I'm thrilled, and I can't wait for more!

9/10