The more things change, the more they stay the same. Ba Sing Se, the great ringed capital of the Earth Kingdom, is still a city of high social stratification. The kind of place that it doesn’t matter what your name is or who you’re with, but if you have the coin. On the upside the city is at least connected with electric trains now instead of the gravity/earth bending train from A:TLA, getting riders back to their slum of a home just that much quicker.
In my last post I mentioned how the idea of what’s next following Harmonic Convergence would never top that in terms of scale (and misguidedly drama). With the introduction of the Earth Queen Hou-Ting, daughter to Earth King Kuei from A:TLA, I’m wondering how often we have narratives that feature a “good” ruler (nebulous as the term is). Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martins answer to what he saw as the fallacy in Tolkien literature where a good king simply ensured good things happened, is filled to the gills with terrible despots and unfit rulers. Hou-Ting’s father wasn’t great and that was in the much more clear cut Last Airbender, no matter how well he intended, he was utterly blind to the squalor his subjects lived in the outer ring and controlled by the Dai Li. Hou-Ting isn’t blind like her father, she just rules with a tight fist and high standards—for example throwing her gardener in the dungeons after being less than pleased with his topiary work.
Not willing to play ball or begin to think about handing over Earth Kingdom citizens (feinged fears I’m sure), the Queen sends Korra on a fetch quest. The expression on Korra’s face as she realized what is being asked of her makes the moment play with a meta quality. As if she realizes she’s being asked to do a lame fetch quest for no good reason beyond the power dynamic at play. Actress Jayne Taini gives the indication that Hou-Ting takes great joy in ordering the Avatar beyond just giving orders in general.
As lames as the quest for tax money is, it is at least realized in a setting out of Monument Valley. A sparse run down town beset on all sides by plateaus hundreds of feet high. Best of all the bandits who have been stealing the tax money show up intent on another raid, and they appear to be heavily influenced by Mad Max. I don’t know how much longer we’ll get Korra-Asami power hour but it’s just been fun watching to bad ass characters do what they do. Particularly Asami who was relegated to the background for the majority of Book 2, no matter how much I enjoy an exploration of war profiteering getting to see her kick butt with the shock glove is nice.
The section of A:TLA that was set within Ba Sing Se is probably among the stronger arcs of that entire series. Partially due to the novelty of actually being stuck in one place as oppsed to constantly running but mostly due to the scale physically and socially found within the walls. For a few episodes everyone was in the same place just no one actually realized it, allowing the series to explore the various levels of social strata and characters with relative ease. The cities sheer size allows for episode scribe Tim Hedrick to split everyone up but keep everyone close, sending Mako and Bolin on a hunt for Kai, having returned to pick pocketing form in the gold laden inner ring.
Mako and Bolin’s chase after Kai is short yet thrilling, highlighted by Mako bounding over a car in pursuit of the street rat. Similarities they may have, the two brothers have grown soft as they moved up the socio-economic ladder. Easily outwitted and played by the younger Kai and left stranded in the outer ring. The outer ring of Ba Sing Se is realized in several beautiful background images that are very painterly, almost melding everything together in single mass neon colored slums. After sleeping on a pile of trash things appear that they may have to thieve their way to a full belly only to discover that the would be booty is rotten fruit. Rotten fruit guarded by the bro-tastic Tu (TMNT’sGreg Cipes). On first watch the whole fruit stand scene felt like it went on a tad too long. On rewatch Tu is a well timed lampoon of bro characteristics.
As it turns out, Tu is Mako and Bolin’s cousin, discovering their fathers entire family in Ba Sing Se’s outer ring, grandma tears and all. So much of A:TLA and Korra has been about dealing with the fact you are likely from a dysfunctional family and discovering a surrogate one. Cynically, much of the family scenes are primed for maximum “feels” potential but my cynicisim is over come by the earnest quality to them. Finally after hints at their past, these two brothers discover something real and tangible, a letter and family portrait. The discovery of blood relatives serves to further complicate the fact that these are characters with lives. Now they’re just expected to leave them in this trash heap?
Kai for his part loves Ba Sing Se, having pick pocketed his way to the good life the city allows. His luck run out and he is captured by the Dai Li, who continue to be one of the scariest villains in the series. Impressing Kai into the new Earth Kingdom, airbender army, 1st regiment. The single shaft of light that closes on his face as he is thrown in the cell is a beautifully executed moment.
This idea of impressments was something I’d toyed with exploring in relation to Tenzin’s “recruitment” but it works far better here. These new airbenders aren’t Air Nomads they are Earth, Fire, or Water citizens first making them a potentially powerful tool in the balance of power between the three landed nations. The Earth Queen’s subjugation of this new minority sect of the populace will hopefully further bring up explore and question ideas of national and cultural identity.
No sign of Zaheer and the terrible trio this episode. With Korra and Asami taking out the bandits the necessary big action set piece for the episode is fulfilled. Instead we just get further proof that Zuko sucks at small talk, mentioning about the one time he sent Combustion Man to kill the Avatar…it didn’t work. Eska is no better consoling the former Fire Lord about that one time she tried to kill Korra after ruining her wedding…sometimes these things happen. There’s normally a micro series that accompanies the seasons hopefully this one is just awkward moments with Old Man Zuko. We do get the first appearance of Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Girl aka P’Li who sounds delightfully unhinged.
I am Michael Mazzacane and you can find on Twitter @MaZZMand at weekntv.com or comicweek.com
You can read thoughts on the first two episodes here.
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