On Tarrlok: possibly that, or he's just a political opportunist who's using the situation to discredit rivals and consolidate power. Either way, I strongly suspect that Tarrlok is just working his own angle rather than being in cahoots with Amon, as some are suggesting.

@avclub-e14267dedd4e1d0cc0093bc13643fd59:disqus being responsive to fans is one thing, but catering to an extremely specific subset of the fandom by pulling a big narrative reversal is completely different. Like @avclub-20d4c2d722de8dd0f1ec4e055d9b639e:disqus says, the narrative momentum appears to be moving in a…

I happens when she's knocked out in specific ways. I have a theory that electric shock and chi-blocking operate in similar ways. Amon pretty much suggests that this is a fact when he says that the tazer gloves give anyone the power of a chi-blocker, and we saw that Azula's attack on Aang seriously fucked up his…

I think all the commenter meant is that Western entertainment is dominated by white people, and here we have a show in which everyone is explicitly non-white, despite the racial ambiguity that tends to dominate the anime style. That Lin is a) a woman, and b) an OLDER woman is a bonus and an improvement on the original…

I should have been more careful with my use of the word "debt." The Satos sponsorship seems uncomfortably bound up in their personal relationships with the Fire Ferrets, Mako specifically. They probably do have a straightforward sponsorship deal, but the Fire Ferrets need Hiroshi more than Hiroshi needs the Fire…

That's essentially how I've been reading it as well.

@avclub-7cbaf9384cf3835106bf2f444c0bcf65:disqus @avclub-e65076d21d4b718526e684473c359d55:disqus I'm a tiny bit uncomfortable with the "poor Lin, growing up with a blind mom" sentiment, since Toph's blindness was refreshingly never treated as a tragedy within the show.
Besides, Toph basically had 360 degree vision that…

@Murc:disqus sure, but only if you smile when you say it.

Firebending has always been my favorite, so I don't mind that it's Korra's go-to element. I could never get enough of watching Azula fight.

I think you're both right. Also, from a storytelling perspective, it just makes sense to hold it back. In my opinion, they messed up just a tiny bit by introducing Aang's god mode in the very first episode and then using it again 3 times in the first book. They did an excellent job of explaining the rules surrounding…

@avclub-7cbaf9384cf3835106bf2f444c0bcf65:disqus I completely agree. Harry Potter had a similar problem (though at least the central cast made out with other people). Don't get me wrong, it's not enough to spoil either franchise for me, but it's a minor quibble I have with a lot of kids/young adult fare. And it's part…

And now it's a meme: 
http://www.tumblr.com/tagge…

@avclub-78b6e39336f2cc0745a2944f919541a4:disqus well said. And by drawing all that extra security to the arena in order to demonstrate how easily they could be neutralized with his new weapons, Amon's effectively announced that he can do whatever he wants.

@avclub-91546109eaf110327d50b0955865712a:disqus yeah, I get that. I'm interested in seeing how these relationships develop in their platonic dimensions for now. And in that respect, I think Mako and Korra have an interesting "team" dynamic when they actually do work together productively ("The Revelation," the…

Yes, permanent bending removal probably does have its place. We saw it in the last series, but who gets to wield that kind of power and what systems need to be put in place to ensure that it's used justly? Amon has declared himself a divinely sanctioned authority sent to cleanse benders of their "impurities." That is…

The idea of Hiroshi supporting the brothers is interesting, though its puts them even more uncomfortably in debt to the Satos, and I can't see that going anywhere good, especially if Asami gets wind of the fact that Mako sort-of-kind-of carries a torch for Korra.

That's how I read it. Unless we have some OTHER player out there rigging the matches in favor of the Wolfbats, I thought it was set up to make the entire bout nasty in order to discredit the sport and benders in the process. And if that was Amon's plan, then it also makes sense that he might have had someone tip off…

I'm agnostic about ships at the moment, but I think there's more chemistry between Mako and Korra than you do. And while I adore Bolin, I'm not sure that it's entirely healthy from a romantic standpoint that he apparently continues to worship the ground she walks on even after last week. Mutual antagonism doesn't…

I agree with you that there are good reasons to expect this show to be stronger coming out of the gate, but I think the comparison is mostly being made by people claiming the reverse: that the character development on A:TLA was better in its first 6 episodes than LoK. A couple of those people are on these comments.…

Thanks. I should have re-read it before posting. Fixed now.