Our antagonist, Amon, gets a showcase and Korra now sees what she's up against.
First off, I'm not crazy about the new opening narration. I understand the first one was too long for every episode, but this one just seems so short. The shot of Korra with the Aang statue in the background is certainly epic, but there's just nothing about it that gives me chills like "I believe Aang can save the world." Maybe when the Equalists become a bigger threat, there can be more to it than that the avatar keeps balance. As if to make up for my disappointment with the new intro, the new 'previously on' is awesome. The probending announcer and the sepia colored newsreel look fits in perfectly with the 20's aesthetic the show is going for.
The first episode dealt somewhat with Korra's sheltered upbringing, and this one brings it up a little more, mostly to show the contrast between Korra and her new teammates. Korra makes an offhand comment about never needing anything because it's always been provided for her. It's a single line, but it tells you so much about her and why she has to try to not act entitled, because she grew up entitled. Now Korra's not a bad person so she at least realizes how that sounds after Mako points it out to her. The other line that stood out to me was Naga being her best friend. It seems innocent at first, a lot of people describe their pets as their best friends, but when you think about it, were there any other kids at that compound at the South Pole? Was her only human companionship her bending masters, White Lotus guards, and the occasional visit from the much younger airbending children? Not a particularly good environment to learn social skills. The Korra-Mako romance (Komako? Makorra?) gets a little more play this episode, too. I wonder that without a war that needs winning and the older ages, it may move along faster than the Aang-Katara romance.
Before I get to the actual revelation, there was one other throwaway thing that caught my eye and really got me thinking. Mako finds some work in a power plant where power is provided by firebenders bending lightning. Not only is this a very cool way to get power, but it's just a menial job now. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, only the best firebenders in the world could lightningbend, now workers do it for minimum wage. The same can be send for metalbending. At the end of the last series, the only known metalbender was Toph, and now there's an entire police force of metalbenders. It's a very true concept that things that were once extraordinary become mundane over time, and in this technological age, faster than ever before. I like seeing hints of that without them actual spelling it out as a theme.
Now on to Amon and his power to remove bending permanently. Very cool stuff. The shot of Lightning Bolt Zolt losing his bending was powerful, gave me chills. Amon makes some great points in his speech. I doubt a firebender actually burnt his face, but people using their bending powers for ill, I'm sure that happens all the time, it seems all the organized crime in the city is based around it. I especially liked the point about all past war being about bending, because we watched the last war in the last series, and it really was all about benders fighting each other. However, once Amon forcible removes bending from Zolt, you can't be on his side anymore. The people in attendance may be behind him, but what we witness was akin to rape and just feels wrong. Thankfully we get a nice bit of levity from Bolin at the end of the escape to lift our spirits.
As a final thought, the fights in this episode were just astounding. I especially loved the fight with Korra and Mako versus the chi blockers. Such great choreography, music, and imagery. Everything really came to together to make a beautiful picture during that scene. Then later the fight with Mako and Bolin vs the Liuetenant, while not as beautiful, was still very intense.
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