The Legend of Korra: Enemy at the Gates Recap

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewCogoxTKXs]

The Legend of Korra: Enemy at the Gates (4×05)

Synopsis: Korra arrives at ZaoFu to find Kuvira ready to attack the city. Varrick and Bolin realize the error of their ways. Asami reconnects with her father.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Korra is finally back. But it’s not the same Korra any more.

Arriving at ZaoFu with the kids, she finds Kuvira planted firmly at the gates of ZaoFu ready to attack if they don’t cede to her. We learn from SuYin how Kuvira obtained the power that she got. After rejecting Raiko and Tenzin’s offer to rule the Earth Kingdom, SuYin gets into an argument with Kuvira over how the nation should be ruled. Kuvira took Bataar Jr., Varrick, a few wealthy families, and the guards with her and basically declared her separation from Su.

It wasn’t long after that that she settled the issues within Bai Sing Sei, and afterwards was given the power to basically be a steward to the kingdom. Unlike most of the people in the kingdom, SuYin and her family don’t seem fooled by Kuvira.

Knowing this, Kuvira brings in Bolin to her “inner circle” and uses Su’s relationship with Bolin as a way to soften her up. Bolin, bless his heart, gets a dose of reality in this episode, and comes to the same conclusion as Varrick does, that Kuvira’s insane. After a caustic meeting with the rest of the Beifong family, Opal opens Bolin’s eyes to what happens to those villages that don’t kowtow to Kuvira.

Varrick, who we saw take pieces of the spirit vine back to the train, has been trying to harness the power of the spirit vine, which he believes to just be pure energy. Obviously he’s doing this at the behest of Kuvira, and after a piece of the vine overloads and nearly stops the train, he realizes that the vine is too strong and should not be tampered with. Well, well Varrick. It seems like you do have a conscience.

Kuvira, however, doesn’t. She threatens Varrick into continuing his research, and locks him within the train. Bolin finds Varrick and they both escape along with Zhu Li in the metal suits. Despite their moxie, Zhu Li’s artful fighting skills, and Bolin’s lava bending, they get recaptured. We all know Zhu Li is treated pretty horribly by Varrick, but still, it’s a pretty big shock to see her turn on him and offer up her loyalty to Kuvira. My hope is that this is all a cover in order to get them out of here. Though, who knows.

Varrick is sent back to do research under armed guards, while Bolin is sent to a “re-education camp”. Yeah, I don’t like the sound of that at all.

Korra tries to reason with Kuvira, after telling Su that she wants to resolve the problem peacefully instead of using force like the “old Korra” might have done. It’s noble, but it’s obvious to us that Kuvira is not someone to be reasoned with at this point. Her conversation with Korra is as manipulative as ever, using Korra’s absence against her and her comparing herself to Korra.

Kuvira calls a temporary truce with Su until Korra can talk to her, but whether or not she holds up her end of the bargin is another thing. Unfortunately it’s something we might never get to find out as Korra returns to ZaoFu to learn that Su has taken her two sons with her to take out Kuvira.

The episode in all was actually pretty good. A good way to ease Korra right back into the action without turning her into the old Korra again. It felt a little disjointed with Asami’s scenes with her father back in Republic City. I know that it’s important to address that point of the story, but it felt severely out of place. What you need to know is basically that Asami is starting to warm up to the idea of trusting her father again, coming to visit him to play Paisho. We’ll see how long this all lasts.

 [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULMrz8Wts4]