Well, I just got my LoK4 Bluray.  It’s time to finish this series!!!

Three years have passed since the second book finale, and the first episode is all about catching up with the world and the cast.  Again.

Republic City has grown to embrace the spirit world areas, now known as the “Spirit Wilds.”  People are also looking forward to the coronation of Prince Wu to the throne of the Earth Kingdom.

The Earth Kingdom is still in a chaotic state, with bandits still doing their thing… y’know, banditing…  and it seems the Air Nation is in the business of hero-for-hiring.

Meanwhile, most of the nation has been slowly vowing their loyalty to the “Great Uniter,” Kuvira.  AKA that woman that became relevant out of nowhere in the last episode of Book 3 and kinda maybe hit on Tonraq.

In the Earth Kingdom, factions seem to have formed with some supporting the coronation of Prince Wu, and others supporting Kuvira.  Mako has been hired as Prince Wu’s bodyguard (though he isn’t particularly fond of the prince) while Bolin is under Kuvira’s employ.  Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to be the cause of any conflict between the brothers.  Instead, the conflict is between Bolin and Opal.  Opal seems to have something against Kuvira’s systematic conquest of the Earth Kingdom, and she seems to hold it against Bolin.  My first reaction was shock that Opal suddenly gained some sort of character, and I liked it.  But now that I think about it… she’s a little out of line for no particular reason.  I assume the writers made Opal disagree because she’s one of the most likable characters in the series, and we didn’t have enough hints that Kuvira is secretly evil.

Back at Air Temple Island, everyone is looking forward to seeing Korra again, but when a ship from the Southern Water tribe appears, Tonraq comes out and says he thought Korra had been staying at Air Temple Island for months.

Turns out, she’s just taken up cage fighting.

It’s a total mystery why Korra is fighting in pit fights in disguise… but I don’t think anyone particularly cares.  It’s probably some lame thing like she thinks she doesn’t deserve to live up to the Avatar title or the world doesn’t need the Avatar anymore.  Some kind of predictable existential crisis bullshit like that.  I’m more interested in seeing how the Wu/Kuvira factions thing plays out.

Wu has been shown to be a pampered, spoiled kid that only cares about celebrity.  So, just a few notches down from the Earth Queen.  We’re given no particular reason to like him, but then again, Kuvira’s pretty blatantly evil and hyper-competent.  Either Wu is going to have to show some hidden depths to his character, or Earth Kingdom is royally fucked.

Before we move on, spoiler alert!

Next episode!

We start off with Korra looking at her own beat-up face before going into the streets, avoiding nearly getting run over by a Satomobile, and encountering a specter of her former self in what appears to be the same alley she encountered Hundun in from the Legend of Korra game.

It seems to be a hallucination because… well honestly, does anyone really think otherwise?  For some reason, we flash back to three years ago, when Korra left for the Southern Water Tribe for rehab with Katara.

Remember, Korra lost the function of her legs due to mercury poisoning, so her rehab is mostly about learning to walk again. This means SO many opportunities for close-ups on feet!

Korra shows some progress, but her mental barriers prove difficult to overcome.  She also isn’t particularly inspired by the letters her friends sent her.

Predictably, Korra reverts to her pissy entitled “Why can’t I have everything I want NOW?!” self.  Also, she claims to not be able to cook for herself or dress herself.  I’m pretty sure she doesn’t need legs for that.

Flash forward to the president, and Korra befriends a puppy.  A puppy who apparently can see Hallucination Korra.  Which kinda means Korra ISN’T hallucinating.  Either that, or the puppy is also a hallucination.

The puppy disperses the hallucination (I guess) and motions to Korra to follow.  Like some kind of spirit guide.

Flash back to Korra showing off her physical recovery, but she suffers from PTSD from her ordeal with Zaheer.

Also, we find out Korra sent a letter to only Asami.

Korra feels she hit a wall in her rehab, so she returns to Republic City, hoping to recover out in the field.  But then she fails to stop some run-of-the-mill thieves.

She gives herself new clothes and an important haircut, but that doesn’t fix things.

She starts seeing Hallucination Korra during her wandering around the world, but she kinda ignores her whenever she shows up until one day she doesn’t.  She follows Hallucination Korra to the pit fighting arena, and… well we’re back to the present and she’s following Doggy.

…to THE SWAMP.

And then it turns out Doggy was a Spirit.

Spirit brings Korra face to face with Hallucination Korra again, but Hallucination Korra hits hard.  So we get this fight sequence between Korra and Hallucination Korra (which I’m just now realizing is in Avatar State, and doesn’t just have creepy ominous glowing evil eyes), and all I’m thinking throughout the whole thing is:

So Korra loses (par for the course for her) and wakes up in a cave, where she meets a wise(?) old lady who turns out to be Toph.  Proving once again that the only good thing to come out of The Swamp is Toph.

She has NOT aged as gracefully as Katara.

Next episode!

The preparations for the coronation are underway, and President Raiko has no qualms speaking openly about how Prince Wu is just a puppet to be surrounded by competent ministers.

Meanwhile, Toph is tired of Korra getting her ass beat all the time, so she agrees to train her.  Also she looks a LOT better with her hair done.

Meanwhile, we’re still working on that coronation.  Suyin’s been having some kind of grudge with Kuvira for… whatever reason.  I mean, back in the Book 3 finale, Kuvira seemed to be a trusted officer.  The important thing is that all the competent good guys don’t trust her, so we should assume Kuvira is up to no good.

Oh, and Prince Wu is acting like one of those Super Sweet 16 bitches because he won’t be getting the coronation he wanted.  Seriously, why are we siding with Wu again?  Well, to be fair, the royal crown is missing.  So he’ll instead be given a royal earring.  Or makeshift brooch.

Back in the Swamp… training!

Toph kicks Korra’s ass while also employing something I haven’t seen in a while: MUDBENDING!

Back in Republic City, Prince Wu is crowned… er, brooched Earth King.  He then awards Kuvira with the Medal of Kyoshi for her efforts in stabilizing the nation.  She accepts it humbly.

Oh, and then she goes and proclaims herself leader of the Earth Empire.

Kuvira won’t be convinced to abandon any of her plans, and Suyin kinda informs us that something terrible happens to the cities that refuse to swear loyalty to Kuvira.

Bolin and Mako finally have their falling out due to Bolin sticking with Kuvira, and Wu kinda becomes Mako’s rebound bro.

Back in the swamp, more foot shots.

Toph kinda offhandedly reveals that Korra still has mercury in her body.  Turns out Suyin did a shoddy job of getting all of it out.  So all those problems with Korra’s mental state and her PTSD?  Nah, just needed to get more poison out.

Back in the Earth Kingdom, Mako and Wu are hanging out, and Wu freaks out at… well, let’s just say everything because he’s a little bitch.

Unexpectedly, Mako lays down some truth and tells Wu that he did nothing to make life better for his people.  Even more unexpectedly, Wu agrees.

Meanwhile, at the Swamp… more foot shots!

I swear, it’s like Toph’s presence just willed all these foot shots into being.  We already have more foot shots in Book 4 than Books 1-3 combined!

Toph tries, but Korra seems to be resisting.  Toph kinda hits the nail on the head regarding Korra looking for a reason to not be the Avatar.

Back on Air Temple Island, Tenzin tells his kids to find Korra.

Meanwhile on some airship somewhere, I guess, Varrick is developing some kind of technology involving Spirit Vines.

Next episode!

Jinora constantly distracts me with her form-fitting Air Nomad uniform.  Oh, and the three kids go out to find Korra.  While Jinora meditates, Ikki and Meelo go to town and ask if anyone’s seen Korra.  Also, Meelo can draw.

So we pretty much go from scene to scene with the trio trying to hunt down clues while Korra spends time not getting things accomplished.  I think the most amusing scene is when I realize that Ikki has somehow become the responsible one.

While chasing after a flying squirrel-pig (I think…), Ikki gets captured by two Earthbenders loyal to Kuvira.

Back in the Swamp, Korra has visions of her biggest failures.  Kinda like Luke’s battle with Fake Vader in Empire…  When are we going to see Korra try to levitate a large vehicle from the swamp water?

Back to Ikki, she seems to have charmed the guards into helping her find the Avatar when Meelo and Jinora show up and knock them out.  At least Ikki seems to have come up with looking for Korra in the Swamp.

Jinora kinda shuts Ikki down, but the swamp reels them back in at the same time Korra is learning… I dunno, something about roots and connections.  Jinora senses Korra, and they find her and tell her to help them stop Kuvira.  Although at this point I still fail to see how Kuvira is that big of a threat.  Aside from hinting that she might try to conquer the world.  The last Earth monarch to do that kinda got killed by Kyoshi, right?

Anyway, Korra conquers her past and bends the last remaining poison out of her body.  The Avatar is back, baybeh!

Next episode!

Kuvira begins her raid on Zaofu.  Huh.  A book later than I expected.

All signs point to a fight, and even Kuvira’s fiancee (one of Suyin’s sons, FYI) is willing to go all in on a full force invasion.  But Kuvira’s smart and knows the world won’t accept a dictator that uses forceful tactics, so she pins her hope on some plan involving Bolin.

Meanwhile, Varrick is still experimenting with Spirit Vines.

Also, Zhu Li is a unit of weight, and Varrick is a unit of energy.

The Spirit Vine seems to be capable of releasing a crazy amount of Varricks, capable of blasting a hole in Kuvira’s train (oh, that’s right… it’s a train, not an airship…)  Also, we randomly get a shipbait scene.

Meanwhile, Asami meets with her father, whose hair has turned completely white while in prison.

Asami wants nothing to do with him anymore, and Hiroshi says Asami is still the thing he’s most proud of.  We… could’ve had this scene two books ago.  Really brought nothing to the table at this moment.

The negotiations at Zaofu don’t go anywhere, and Opal is pissy at Bolin – this time, actually giving reasons for it instead of just assuming.

So yeah, Kuvira threatens war if Zaofu doesn’t become part of Kuvira’s empire, and Bolin was completely ineffective.  He also seems to have second thoughts about serving a dictator.  Korra arrives soon after, and Suyin explains how Kuvira got this way.

Three years ago, Tenzin and Raiko came to Zaofu, hoping Suyin would fill the power vacuum in the Earth Kingdom.  I guess Prince Wu was just their Plan B.

Suyin turned the plan down and argued that if she were to go along with it, she would be seen as a conqueror.  Kuvira disagreed and chose to bring order to the Earth Kingdom.  And hell, I have to agree with Kuvira.  This could have been avoided if Suyin weren’t so spineless and narrow-minded.  Fuck Suyin.

Bolin and Varrick figure out Kuvira is nutso, so they escape (along with Zhu Li).  What follows is a strange mech battle that ends when Varrick gets captured.  Kuvira orders Bolin and Zhu Li get shipped off to a re-education camp while Varrick is to be forced to work on the Spirit Vine project.

I don’t know what it is about this scene, but a switch flipped in my mind, and I finally realized who Varrick reminded me of.

This guy:

In what is probably the longest amount of time she spent talking, Zhu Li begs for mercy, cuts off her ties with Varrick, and swears loyalty to Kuvira.

I can’t stay mad at her though.  Her face is so cute when she’s in the midst of betrayal.

Korra came to Kuvira to talk some sense into her, but instead Kuvira convinces Korra that Su should give in.  Because I guess Korra is just easily swayed.  Or she was sent to delegate when she has know knowledge of the entire Earth Kingdom situation.  Either way it was a stupid move.  She comes back to talk to Su, but she’s already prepared an ambush attack on Kuvira’s HQ.

Next episode!

Remember when I said Su was preparing an ambush?

Turns out she meant assassination.

And she almost killed Zhu Li.  True, she was a decoy / bait, but still.

Suddenly I’m reminded why I disliked Suyin in the first place.  In Book 3 I was only mildly annoyed by her stubbornness, but now… seems like every scene I see her in just makes me hate her more and more.  But hey, at least she gave birth to Opal.

Speaking of…

Rather than charge in and save Suyin, Korra is really pushing this “brand new Korra” initiative and refuses to fight.  The other Air Nomads adhere to non-aggression (despite Opal’s objections).  So… the plan is to give the mad dictator what she wants.  Kinda sounding like what Europe did for Hitler before he went all Hitler on them.

Fortunately, the final round of negotiations fail with no option left but physical force.  Since this is only the sixth episode and we know Kuvira is a badass and we know Korra is Korra… well, you can guess how this fight ends.

Mid-fight, we switch over to Varrick, who’s being forced to work on the Spirit Vine weapon against his will.  He originally wanted to create a new form of clean energy, but, well… lasers happened.

So, it’s pretty much the Arc Reactor, right?

Varrick gives Bolin a wink to let him in on a plan, but Bolin is not psychic like Zhu Li.

Back to the fight… Korra gets Korra’d.

Back to Varrick.  He turns the Spirit Vine reactor into a bomb and threatens to blow the entire train.

Back to the fight… Korra goes into Avatar State and turns the tables on Kuvira… until that PTSD thing kicks in and knocks her out of it.

Korra needs to be bailed out, so the Air Nomads come to the rescue and leave Zaofu to the fate that was inevitable for it since it was introduced.  Kuvira conquers Zaofu, officially putting all of the Earth Kingdom under her rule.

Whats-his-face, Suyin’s son, claims he can replicate Varrick’s work with the Spirit Vines, as long as he has Zhu Li to assist.

I feel like I need to point out that she now has control over all of the Earth Kingdom AND beat the Avatar and STILL wants some kind of Spirit Vine-powered superweapon.  I assume she wants to build a Death Star.

Next episode!

Whoo, this is the last one on the disc!

Korra meets with Asami and Mako for dinner.  And Wu is there too.  He leaves for the bathroom while Korra and Asami are having a lovers’ spat, then gets gassed and I assume taken advantage of.  Or kidnapped.  The kinky stuff can come later.

Bolin and Varrick get caught up in a net trap set by dissidents.

Mako checks up on Wu, and Korra finds Wu’s captors just in time to job horribly like she has been this entire book.

Korra uses her spirit vine sensory technique (whatever you call it) to locate the kidnappers.

Meanwhile, Korra and Varrick join up with the dissenters and try to escape through a checkpoint.  While Bolin and the former prisoners fight off the guards, Varrick MacGyvers himself an EM pulse generator to deactivate the mechs.  Varrick wants to escape right away, but Bolin comes back to save the prisoners.

Between Varrick (re-)mentioning that Bolin has a way with words and the prisoners recognizing his deeds, it seems to me that Bolin is being set up for a leadership role in the new Earth Kingdom once Kuvira’s out of the way.  I mean, Wu still hasn’t showed any of those hidden depths.

Speaking of Wu, Makorrasami rescue him and take him to Asami’s place (where Mako’s family is staying) for his safety.  And considering it’s a huge estate inhabited by at least one person that loves royalty, it’s a perfect fit.

Finally, it seems the Spirit Vines at The Swamp have more energy than the ones at Republic City, so Kuvira risks enraging Toph and Captain Planet by cutting the place down.

Oh, to think I’m just one disc away from being done with this franchise.  Well, except for the comics.  Le sigh.

So far, I really like Kuvira as a villain.  She has believable origins and is a credible threat in every aspect.  She has all the best aspects of all the prior villains (well-meaning extremist motivations, maximum charisma, popular support, nation-scale army backing her, personal connection to the heroes) all wrapped in a sexy female package.

I’m also looking forward to seeing Korra resolve her mental barriers because I WANT IT TO BE OVER AND DONE WITH.  I’ve seen this a million times and at least once per Korra book.  It’s NEVER going to be interesting, so just get it over with.

Looking forward to the last disc, but I REALLY need to get some sleep right now.