I totally agree on a lot of what you bring, Carrie, but I also have to say that this episode was uncharacteristically easy to predict what would happen.  Everyone knows somebody has to die, for the good of the show if nothing else.  But the way everything went down tonight, there just wasn't a whole lot of tension.…

I haven't seen this so far, but after law school finals I usually don't want to think, so my list would have to be mostly mindless action movies:  Any of the Transformers movies, any of the Transporter movies, any of the Crank movies (or really anything with Jason Statham) and Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking…

Princess Bride is amazing (book too).  I must have seen that movie like 50 times, largely because at the end of every school year, my English teacher would let it play for the last two days of class (which I've recently learned does not happen at every school in the US of A).

I have never seen that before but that is impressive (note, I am nearly computer illiterate).

I was always under the impression that that was the joke.  The idea being that lots of non-white people like those things too.  There's also the whole "wrong kind of white people" bit that is frequently inserted as well (like nascar fans).  It was a decent, light skewering of a certain kind of privilege while also…

Oh man, irony. I learned about that once.  Something about spoons and knives, right?

I totally agree on that last part, that growing up with bending power will influence the way you might see yourself and the way you ultimately act (i.e. like a violent dick).  But I think it's important to acknowledge the fact that benders are just like everyone else plus the ability to bend.  To label it as "BENDERS…

@avclub-bc011d00bcc91da3b8b3cb43ca0bcd73:disqus Nice catch.

You're right, the criminal was a poor analogy.

@avclub-fd1764f21ce533cc362d9938d39b5d6e:disqus That's the point, though.  Mako & Bolin's story undermine's Amon's story because, even though my flaming liberal heart hates to make this comparison, bending doesn't kill people, bad people kill people (or accidents etc) and thus the victim can be anybody, including…

@avclub-951d3e731b6b2ac1e93cbba6e1b68e80:disqus Ah, I didn't google him, I just thought you were referring to all those MMA guys who pretty much constantly kick the shit out of dudes robbing hotels, assaulting women in the street, etc.  I should probably just concede this point since 99 out of 100 times its going to…

There was that guy with the shotgun guarding the trailer.  If he had just stayed in place, everything would have been fine.  I think the real flaw in that scene is the obscenely long chain Quarles was given.  Just tie him to the bed like he tied his victims!

@avclub-951d3e731b6b2ac1e93cbba6e1b68e80:disqus @avclub-808aaae062d3225e95f76a16916c159b:disqus I totally get what your saying about Jason Delucia, in that there have been a number of MMA guys who've won streetfights, thwarted bad guys, and what not.  Mako & Bolin (and MMA fighters/boxers/etc) are much better prepared…

Sooooo magic?

But Amon doesn't really address those issues (as addressed by others).  I also think its interesting that part of his appeal to the public is a personal, emotional story about his parents getting cut down by a firebending.  The idea of course is to demonstrate why benders are bad, but you cannot separate Amon's story…

Ditto.  I have to say that when I was watching the episode I got distracted with how gorgeous the backgrounds were.  I would love to get a look at those backgrounds without the animation.  Truly amazing stuff.

Love the development of that theme.  Bending has gone from this spiritual thing to a sport.  I also think that bending is clearly less seen as a way to fight than just any other skill.  I think the inability of Mako and Bolin to really fight well using their bending, especially when compared to the benders of ATLA,…

I'm with @avclub-91546109eaf110327d50b0955865712a:disqus  on this one. Looking at the way that Amon held the benders when he took away their bending, especially the way he held his thumb over the third eye, seems to indicate that this is not energybending but a very powerful form of chi-blocking.

Concerning Rebekah:  is she dead now?  I really hope not.  I really like her character (and all of her melodramatic tragicness) and literally the first thing I thought was whether she was still in there or if Mama Original swapped them out.  Plot/logic-hole:  if Esther is alone in Rebekah, it makes sense for her to be…

But you don't have to pay interns anymore!