The Legend of Korra: Enemy at the Gates (4x05)

Eek! Things are getting intense! There were a number of really shocking and interesting things that happened in this episode. Korra didn't actually have a big part to play, but I can see that we're gearing up for something big in the coming weeks.

First of all, Kuvira and her army are marching towards Zaofu (the Metal City), which is the last stronghold holding out against Kuvira's Earth Empire. Kuvira and Baatar (Suyin's son) are all ready to take over, but first Kuvira says Bolin must have a chance to convince Suyin to submit peacefully. However, Suyin and the rest of her family are not willing to back down. Kuvira tries to convince them, but when it's clear that it won't work, she passes her judgment: they have until the end of the day to get out, or Kuvira will take Zaofu by force.

Korra shows up in Zaofu, and Suyin fills her in on what's been going on. She tells Korra about how Kuvira was like a daughter to her, and how she trained her. Then, three years ago, when everything went to chaos, the world's leaders asked Suyin to step in as a temporary uniting force for the Earth Kingdom. Kuvira wanted her to do it, but Suyin said no. She did not want to force anyone to live under her rule. Kuvira began plottinga against Suyin, turning Suyin's own son Baatar against her. Kuvira managed to sway a lot of Suyin's Metal Benders, and with them Kuvira went off to unite the Earth Kingdom. When President Raiko and the others saw her successes, they appointed her temporary ruler of the Earth Kingdom. Of course, as we saw, Kuvira wasn't ready to step down when the time came.

Bolin, who had been at the meeting as a peace keeper, is shocked to learn of Kuvira's plans for takeover. He asks Kuvira if she's just bluffing, but it turns out that she's not. Bolin starts to question all of the other places they've been to "help," and wonders what exactly happened to all these villages once they left. While Bolin comes to his realization of Kuvira's true nature, Varrick and Zhu Li are busy working on the Spirit Vine experiment. It looks like Varrick has found a way to harness energy from the vines - this sort of power could lead to catastrophic consequences, and Varrick immediately knows that he must destroy his findings, so that the power will not fall into the wrong hands. However, Kuvira won't let him. She says that he must continue the experiment, and she throws Varrick and Zhu Li into a holding cell. Bolin sneaks into the cell to talk to Varrick - they've both realized that Kuvira is crazy, and that they need to get out!

Korra goes to talk to Kuvira. She tries to convince Kuvira to back down. Kuvira tells Korra that the best thing she can do to help would be to go and convince Suyin to back down. Kuvira is doing what's best. Korra seems torn, and she agrees to go talk some more with Suyin.

Bolin, Varrick, and Zhu Li are all trying to escape from Kuvira's people. They fight against Kuvira's men in the metal suits that Varrick designed, and are doing alright for themselves for a little while. However, Varrick is captured, and they must surrender. Kuvira decides to send Bolin and Zhu Li to a forced labor camp, while Varrick will stay and be forced to continue working on the Spirit Vine project. At this point, Zhu Li begs Kuvira not to send her away - she says her only mistake was being loyal to the wrong person. She's ready to be loyal to Kuvira now, instead of Varrick.

As Korra goes back to Zaofu to talk to Suyin, she learns that Suyin and some of the others have already sneaked off to end things with Kuvira once and for all. Uh oh!

A small subplot deals with Asami, who visits her imprisoned father. She goes to see him simply to give him back the letters he had been writing her, unopened. However, after giving it some thought, she decides to go back and try to make amends. She's not sure if she can ever forgive her father, but she is going to try.

Okay. Complaints.

Not much of anything, except for the lack of Mako, Tenzin, etc. I was really looking forward to seeing Korra reunite with Tenzin, but no. And hey, by the way, where has Tonraq been? We saw him show up to Republic City and learn that his daughter was missing, and then what? I'm sure we'll get reunions a bit later on, but was anyone else upset to think about Korra and Bolin so close to seeing one another, and then not having it happen?

The only other complaint I have: Suyin's explanation for why she didn't want to rule the Earth Kingdom was fine, but what about Lin? Or What about the Air Benders' pledge that they were going to keep order? I haven't seen much evidence that Jinora and Tenzin even tried to keep that promise. I suppose I was just looking for a bit more of an explanation as to how Kuvira even got this much power to begin with. It seems a little silly that everyone would just let her take it.

The positive aspects far outweigh the negative, however.

First, we've got Bolin. I love how even when Kuvira announced the Earth Empire, Bolin was still on Kuvira's side. He had misgivings, but he still thought she was the best option. It took a while for him to see what was going on... what he's been complicit in all along. But once he realizes the truth, he knows what he has to do. At the same time, Varrick has been growing a conscience. He knows he can't help in the creation of a deadly weapon, and yet his instincts of self-preservation still kick in when Kuvira threatens him, and he says he'll keep working on it. Varrick has always been good for a laugh, but this is the first time I'm really drawn in to his character's complexities.

Korra and Kuvira's conversation was really great. It's pretty obvious that we'll be seeing a showdown between these two by the end of the season. In fact, Meelo predicted that for us at the start of the episode, as he got all excited at the prospect of the Avatar fighting someone. Korra tells Meelo - and us, the audience - that there won't be a fight. She thinks Kuvira can be reasoned with. It's not actually a bad thought. Kuvira doesn't seem to be totally crazy, but rather pseudo-reasonable. It's why Bolin and Varrick were pulled in for so long. It's why so many other people support her. And now even Korra is slightly confused... she's not sure that Kuvira's completely in the wrong!

Zhu Li! Yes! Now, I have a theory that Zhu Li is only pretending to betray Varrick in order to stick close to Kuvira. When the final showdown comes, she'll switch sides again and help the good guys to victory. But this moment was so awesome! Finally, after all the times we've seen Varrick use Zhu Li, with no thought for her feelings, she turns on him. She has her moment of independence. Whether or not this turns out to be a trick, it was still the first individualistic thing we've ever seen Zhu Li do. I was a big fan of this moment, and I certainly did not see it coming.

I loved Asami's subplot, too. It's been a while since her character has gotten any opportunity for her own story, and this one is really interesting. We'll have to see how it turns out. Maybe Asami's father can help them come up with a way to defeat Kuvira later?

Okay. I think that's all I have for this one. I think this episode was probably my least favorite of the season so far, which is not to say that it's at all bad. It's just that the previous episodes had such amazing moments and such cohesiveness, that this particular episode just doesn't shine as much as its predecessors. Still, I loved watching it!

8/10