Legend of Korra: I have lots of FEELINGS
Apr. 21st, 2012 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadedmusingsThree episodes in and Brian and Mike are pulling zero punches. I had heard them say Korra was going to be gritty and edgy, but I had no idea how far they were going to push. And I love, love, love that they are showing consequences from the actions of the previous Avatar (Aang, obviously) and his compatriots. Yes, it's children's television; however, there are so many levels here and so many lessons, relevant lessons to our own time. (I mean, it's entirely possible the creators aren't trying to draw parallels between the 99%/Occupy movement and are really just drawing on real-life historical events, but it's so hard not to see the similarities.)
Last week over in![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
white_lotus, I hypothesized that this big secret reveal was going to be that Amon was possibly a bender who hates other benders, or that he was a bender who had done some Very Bad Things (TM) and had his bending taken away. I admitted this was a huge stretch and could possibly cheapen what happened to Ozai, though I do have to wonder if, in the wake of a world war, Aang had to make such a hard choice again.
Well, I was completely wrong, but I was also eerily close. For those who aren't watching and don't care about spoilers (otherwise, why would you be reading), Amon can take bending away.
Let that sink in. Someone who is A) not a bender, and B) not the avatar can take away a person's bending. Tenzin, upon hearing this, says that only the Avatar has ever had this power, and were it not for the public demonstration at an Equalists rally at which the new gang were present, I bet even Korra would be dubious to Amon's claims.
According to Amon, he learned this skill from "the spirits" who he has been in touch with since he was a child. Amon, if the backstory he's given us is true, has every reason to hate bending and benders. His mask is to cover burn scars from a fire bender who also killed his father, a fire bender who was using his powers to extort non-benders, which is what is happening all over Republic City. He goes on to claim that after this, "the spirits" have told him many things, some of which includes saying the Avatar does not restore balance and that bending makes for imbalance. To correct this, "the spirits" revealed to Amon how to remove a person's bending.
Obviously, right now we only have Amon's word to go on. We do know anyone who works for him is adept at Chi blocking enough that even faceless mooks can handle the freaking avatar and Mako two-to-two, and it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that someone who studied long enough might uncover a way to permanently block chi using something similar to what Aang did to Ozai. Of course, Amon placed his hand and fingers on a bender's head the same away Aang did, so it sure looks like he's learned the secret Aang did. My point is that he could have learned it without "the spirits."
However, if there are spirits talking to Amon, who would know this secret and share it with him? Ozai, who we can assume died of old age a long time ago, would be a good candidate for an angry spirit who could easily manipulate a small child and exploit a natural fear/hatred of benders. He would have first hand knowledge of what Aang did. And how many other spirits who were justifiably put down by Aang and previous avatars might still be angry enough to stick around and try to figure out a way to end the cycle of the Avatar once and for all?
Here's what I love about this: Something Aang did seventy years ago is having current consequences. I'm sure the story of how Aang took Ozai's bending away (so he could let him live while still ending his reign) captured the attention of, oh, just about every person on the planet. Given how unbalanced the power is in Republic City favoring benders (though Mako and Bolin show us even benders can have it bad and be victims of corruption), it's not a stretch to imagine a non-bender or even another bender wanting to learn how this was possible and if anyone could learn how to do it.
This is just like Avatar Kyoshi creating the Dai Li. An act of good intentions on the part of the Avatar gets turned around and used for evil. It makes you wonder what other things we're going to see crop up. We've already met Toph's daughter, who doesn't come off as entirely sympathetic and whose police force has a strong militant vibe to it (and Lin seems to have a stick up her butt about Aang and Tenzin).
What happened in the last 70 years? After Zuko and Aang passed or even before that, who took over Republic City? Was Aang aware of benders becoming crime bosses? Has anything been done to try to address it, or is there a system in place that favors the rich and powerful (mostly benders) and ignores the plight of the poor and disenfranchised (non-benders)?
Last week over in
white_lotus, I hypothesized that this big secret reveal was going to be that Amon was possibly a bender who hates other benders, or that he was a bender who had done some Very Bad Things (TM) and had his bending taken away. I admitted this was a huge stretch and could possibly cheapen what happened to Ozai, though I do have to wonder if, in the wake of a world war, Aang had to make such a hard choice again.Well, I was completely wrong, but I was also eerily close. For those who aren't watching and don't care about spoilers (otherwise, why would you be reading), Amon can take bending away.
Let that sink in. Someone who is A) not a bender, and B) not the avatar can take away a person's bending. Tenzin, upon hearing this, says that only the Avatar has ever had this power, and were it not for the public demonstration at an Equalists rally at which the new gang were present, I bet even Korra would be dubious to Amon's claims.
According to Amon, he learned this skill from "the spirits" who he has been in touch with since he was a child. Amon, if the backstory he's given us is true, has every reason to hate bending and benders. His mask is to cover burn scars from a fire bender who also killed his father, a fire bender who was using his powers to extort non-benders, which is what is happening all over Republic City. He goes on to claim that after this, "the spirits" have told him many things, some of which includes saying the Avatar does not restore balance and that bending makes for imbalance. To correct this, "the spirits" revealed to Amon how to remove a person's bending.
Obviously, right now we only have Amon's word to go on. We do know anyone who works for him is adept at Chi blocking enough that even faceless mooks can handle the freaking avatar and Mako two-to-two, and it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that someone who studied long enough might uncover a way to permanently block chi using something similar to what Aang did to Ozai. Of course, Amon placed his hand and fingers on a bender's head the same away Aang did, so it sure looks like he's learned the secret Aang did. My point is that he could have learned it without "the spirits."
However, if there are spirits talking to Amon, who would know this secret and share it with him? Ozai, who we can assume died of old age a long time ago, would be a good candidate for an angry spirit who could easily manipulate a small child and exploit a natural fear/hatred of benders. He would have first hand knowledge of what Aang did. And how many other spirits who were justifiably put down by Aang and previous avatars might still be angry enough to stick around and try to figure out a way to end the cycle of the Avatar once and for all?
Here's what I love about this: Something Aang did seventy years ago is having current consequences. I'm sure the story of how Aang took Ozai's bending away (so he could let him live while still ending his reign) captured the attention of, oh, just about every person on the planet. Given how unbalanced the power is in Republic City favoring benders (though Mako and Bolin show us even benders can have it bad and be victims of corruption), it's not a stretch to imagine a non-bender or even another bender wanting to learn how this was possible and if anyone could learn how to do it.
This is just like Avatar Kyoshi creating the Dai Li. An act of good intentions on the part of the Avatar gets turned around and used for evil. It makes you wonder what other things we're going to see crop up. We've already met Toph's daughter, who doesn't come off as entirely sympathetic and whose police force has a strong militant vibe to it (and Lin seems to have a stick up her butt about Aang and Tenzin).
What happened in the last 70 years? After Zuko and Aang passed or even before that, who took over Republic City? Was Aang aware of benders becoming crime bosses? Has anything been done to try to address it, or is there a system in place that favors the rich and powerful (mostly benders) and ignores the plight of the poor and disenfranchised (non-benders)?
