The Legend of Korra: Korra Alone (4x02)

Okay, wow. They are really not pulling any punches here, are they? I'm impressed by how dark this episode was. Korra is really messed up. And they are not afraid to show it.

 

In this episode, we see flashbacks to Korra leaving Republic City to head for the South Pole. She says goodbye to Asami, Mako, Bolin, and Tenzin and his family. In the South Pole, she continues to have nightmares and flashbacks to her fight with Zaheer. Her mother encourages her to see Katara, who might be able to help her.

 

Korra's time with Katara proves frustrating, as it seems she is making very little progress. However, after Katara reminds her that past Avatars have gone through hard times as well, Korra gets the burst of energy she needs to start making progress. By the time Tenzin comes for a visit, she feels much better. However, when trying to hold off three Fire Benders in a sparring match, she has a flashback of Zaheer and she falls back.

Discouraged, Korra writes to Asami to tell her that even though she's gotten much better, she's still cut off from the Avatar State, which makes her feel useless. Korra finally tells her parents that she wants to go back to Republic City. She feels that she has hit a road block, and being back among her friends will help her get better. She takes off on her own, but as we know, she does not go to Republic City. She cuts her hair and changes her clothes, and heads to the Tree of Time, hoping this will help her reconnect with Raava. She meets some Spirits there, who offer to help her, but Korra says no.
 As Korra continues her wandering, she continually confronts a ghastly image of herself, back when she fought with Zaheer. The image is in the Avatar State, hunched over and with shackles still dangling from her arm. Korra tries to fight this scary alternate version of herself, but to no avail. We have now caught up to where we saw her in the last episode, fighting in an Earth Bending cage match, all in an effort to fight creepy alternate Korra. After a while of being unable to defeat this memory of her past, she comes across a cute puppy. The puppy leads her into a swamp, and reveals itself to be one of the Spirits she met at the Tree of Time. Korra confronts evil-creepy-Korra again, and ends up losing consciousness.

 

When she wakes up, she's in some sort of underground home, and she meets with an elderly Toph Beifong, who is happy to encounter her old friend again, albeit in a new body.

 

I honestly have nothing to complain about. There was one small detour in the plot, where Korra meets someone who's a huge fan of the Avatar, and then of course there are thieves, and Korra can't stop them in her weakened state, and so the townspeople are disappointed and wonder if she's really the Avatar. Given the amazing subtlety and power of the rest of the episode, this scene felt a bit lackluster. But this is a nitpick - there was nothing wrong with the scene, per say, it just suffered in comparison to the sheer amazing-ness of the scenes surrounding it.
 

To begin discussing the amazing-ness, let's talk about Asami and Korra's friendship. Obviously, they didn't get a ton of screen time together, but I thought it was really sweet that Asami offered to go with Korra and keep her company in the South Pole. And then there are the letters - we heard voice-overs as Asami, Bolin, and Mako all send letters to Korra, but Korra only responds to Asami. She says that it's easier to share her fears and insecurities with Asami than with the boys. How adorable! I want more of their friendship.

Bolin and Mako's letters deserve a mention - they were really funny, especially Bolin, who waxes poetic about the strength of his friendship with Korra, and the nobility of his new job with Kuvira.
 

It was great to see Katara again, and to have her mention Aang. She's so wise and old now, it makes my heart hurt for the young Katara. She's helpful to Korra, but also reasonable. She knows she can't heal Korra if Korra won't help to heal herself.
 

The best part of this episode is Korra herself. She seems to be utterly broken when we see her at the start of the episode, and even as she starts to walk again, and even as she starts to be able to Bend a little bit, she still seems weak, and defeated, and not at all like the Korra we've known these past three seasons. It's tough to watch her go through this. This episode seems to be a really great representation of PTSD, as Korra suffers from nightmares, and paralyzing flashbacks to the trauma of her near-death experience. The most obvious manifestation, of course, is the alternate Korra.
 

Can we talk about how creepy that thing is? It's always a little unsettling to see Korra (or Aang for that matter) in the Avatar State, because suddenly their eyes aren't expressive anymore. But this goes beyond that - this version of Korra is hunched over, with her hair straggling around her face. She seems utterly monstrous - without fear or any higher reasoning. The animation on the two Korras in these scenes is fantastic. I was legitimately frightened.
 

And then there's Toph! I seriously thought I was going to cry when Toph called Korra "Twinkle Toes." It brings back so many memories. I hope we get some good answers as to why Toph has been AWOL all of these years. And is anyone else dying for a reunion between Toph, Zuko, and Katara?
 

So, I'll leave it there. This was extremely enjoyable. I'm surprised by how dark we're going, but I'm not complaining!
 

9/10