WHAT THE FUCKSHIT.

That was my Korra reaction, by the way.

I was just thinking with this episode that I love that this series is darker and more complex and adult than A:TLA, but there's no way it will, as I hoped it would, be BETTER than A:TLA. Its focus is simply too narrow. It is telling this story about the Equalists (really well), but that's mostly it. There's a little bit about a new Team Avatar and some about Korra's learning airbending, but it's not as sprawling and epic as A:TLA.

It's weird because I don't spend the whole week waiting for each episode, but when I'm watching, I love it to hell and scream when it's over because I want more.

So, I'm watching Outcasts to entertain me while I slowly clean. Did it go past the first season? I seem to recall it didn't. Do they leave a lot hanging at the end?

I'm with you on Korra, P-C.

Who called Lin stepping down as police chief ending poorly? That didn't take too long.

And wow, Tarlock stepped completely over from power-hungry asshat to full-on black hat in this one.

I kept expecting someone to come in on their duel and for Korra to be arrested for assualting a council member (plus you know, serious property damage.) Actually hauling her out of the city himself seems a little too hands-on for him.

As much as I'm loving the hell out of this show, one thing that bugs me is the constant one-up-manship of things that went on in A:TLA.

• Lightning used to be something only the best firebenders could do. Now any Joe Schmoe firebender can get a job at the local power plant generating lightning.
• Aang was the only one in ages to learn how to spirit bend, but now Amon can apparently do it.
• Blood-bending was incredibly rare and could only be accomplished during a full moon, but now Tarlock can blood bend under a crescent moon.

The metal-bending police I'm okay with because Toph actually created them. The rest of it feels too much like a DBZ-esque "Pitiful fools, my power level is 1 million!" thing.

Who called Lin stepping down as police chief ending poorly? That didn't take too long.

But really, he is the worst. Ever.

I kept expecting someone to come in on their duel and for Korra to be arrested for assualting a council member (plus you know, serious property damage.)

I was really afraid Korra would kill Tarrlok.

I kept expecting someone to come in on their duel and for Korra to be arrested for assualting a council member (plus you know, serious property damage.)

Me too.

Did she do any genre work? I think I've only seen her in West Wing.

She (Kathryrn Joosten) has a huge string of credits, appearing here and there, although most of them aren't sci-fi related, but she did appear in an episode of Buffy ("Where the Wild Things Are" as the fanatical head of the orphanage that spawned all the ghosts at the frat house), so I guess that buys her inclusion here.

Aang was the only one in ages to learn how to spirit bend, but now Amon can apparently do it.

I'm still not convinced that's what Amon is doing, since I think you need a special connection to the spirit realm to spirit-bend. OTOH, it doesn't appear to be chi-blocking because he's only touching their heads, right? I dunno.

I read some post on Tumblr about a really complicated theory involving Aang and Sokka and Toph at a trial 40 years ago, of a guy who was a bloodbender, and how Tarrlock is that guy's son. However the post didn't really give any evidence, so I'm still a bit dubious.

I wonder: waterbending has its bad side, with bloodbending. Do other forms have evil sides? Like could an airbender bend the air out of your lungs? Could a firebender stop the tiny little combustions going on in your cells? Could an earthbender bend the minerals out of your body?

I read some post on Tumblr about a really complicated theory involving Aang and Sokka and Toph at a trial 40 years ago, of a guy who was a bloodbender, and how Tarrlock is that guy's son.

Yeah, people are suggesting Tarrlok is Yakone's son, given that the general assumption is that the flashbacks are to Yakone's trial and we just saw bloodbending going on there.

Like could an airbender bend the air out of your lungs?

Fanon is that that's what Monk Gyatso did, why his skeleton is surrounded by dead Fire Nation soldiers.

Could a firebender stop the tiny little combustions going on in your cells? Could an earthbender bend the minerals out of your body?

I think it's not "bad" sides but enhanced sides, so firebending has lightning and earthbending has metalbending.

I'm still not convinced that's what Amon is doing, since I think you need a special connection to the spirit realm to spirit-bend. OTOH, it doesn't appear to be chi-blocking because he's only touching their heads, right? I dunno.

There is a theory that he's just doing really heavy-duty chi blocking. (He touches their head and--undoubtedly-not-a-coincidence--the back of the neck where a pressure point called the "amon" is located.) We'll have to see if that's actually the case. I'm certainly willing to accept it may be.

Still, the "previously rare abilities becoming common" on Korra seems a bit much. But I could be jumping to conclusions and it will be explained satisfactorily.