The Legend of Korra Recap: Episode Five, “Peacekeepers”

WHEW! This season of The Legend of Korra is flying by! Story-wise, I mean. Lots happening ALREADY!

The Skinny

Korra discovered that her uncle is not the person he seems to be: He fixed the trial of the rebels and tried to send Korra’s father up north to serve out his sentence, THEN Korra found out that her father’s banishment from the North was Unalaq’s doing–he set him up for that too. Korra, Mako, Asami, Bolin, and Varrick stop the boat carrying the rebels and make off with them. Now, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are at war.

Also, Tenzin finds Ikki and has some realizations about what kind of father Aang really was, and what kind of father and brother he is because of it. AWWWW!

The Breakdown

Korra is back in Republic City to seek the assistance of the new President and OMG HELLO, BEIFONG!! She meets Korra and Mako on the docks and snarkily thanks Korra for starting a war, right before she puts Mako IMMEDIATELY back to work: There’s a Southern Water Tribe peace march, and he’s in charge of…umm…keeping the peace. Korra also volunteers to help him, but Mako thinks she needs to stay neutral. Korra disagrees wholeheartedly. There’s a meeting set up with the President for the next day.

Unalaq and one of his advisors are plotting their nastiness. They know where Tonraq and the rebels are, but don’t consider them a threat. His main priority is keeping the spirit portal safe. Turns out, last week, when Unalaq told Korra he didn’t need her to open the portal, he was lying (SO SHOCKED RIGHT NOW #sarcasm). He DOES need her, so he sends Desna and Eska after her. Desna calls Unalaq out for lying to Korra but he doesn’t really care. Eska thinks Korra stole Bolin (umm, her “husband”) so she’s all about capturing the Avatar.

Tenzin and fam are still at the Southern Air Temple. He’s trying to restrain jumping into Meelo’s little training shesh for his new pet. It’s kind of hilarious how he’s muttering to himself and trying not to butt in, but he eventually can’t hold back anymore so now he’s going to try and teach Meelo to train his pet lemur, Pokey. Ohhhh boy.

OOOH MAKO IN A COP UNIFORM I DIE. Courtesy of www.cap-that.com

Back in Republic City, Korra is leading the Southern Water Tribe during their peace march. Korra is getting heckled when we move to a side street where Mako is standing guard. HE LOOKS FIIIIIIINE. Ahem. Anyway, while Mako is observing the march, some shady people run past him and then a HUGE BOMB goes off in the Southern Water Tribe cultural center. Mako tries to fire bend and stop the mayhem but it doesn’t work. Everyone at the march is kind of stunned. The bad guys get away, but Mako finds the ignition device they used for the bomb. Korra tells Mako that the Northerners are cray, but Mako points out that the baddies were fire bending. He’s not sure the North was behind it, but Korra refuses to back down.

HAHA Bolin and Varrick are out on the town, high class-style. They go to the pro bending arena and Bolin does a hilarious interview that verges on being a bomb. He literally silences the crowd like three times with his awkward candor. Varrick has some PLANS for him, though. I’m officially scurred.

Next morning, Korra and Varrick show up at President Ryko’s. He asks them how he can help the Avatar and Korra asks for the United Forces’ help in the Southern Water Tribe’s war against the North. The President says he’s concerned, but he thinks it’s a Water Tribe thing and doesn’t want to get too involved. Korra kind of flips but the President is unmoved.

Korra is back at wherever she’s staying in Republic City, venting to Mako. Korra can’t believe the President doesn’t care, and Mako is trying to argue the President’s case. They wind up arguing about “sides” again, which is a THING with Korra this season, but Mako doesn’t back down. Korra belittles Mako being a cop and she storms out. I’m not liking her too much this season.

Korra and Asami show up at Varrick’s penthouse and he and Bolin are basically being playboys, lol. Asami says her company is about to go broke and Varrick goes into a huge thing about brainstorming that involves eating a blazing hot pepper and hanging upside down and letting the blood rush to his head. He spouts nonsense. And then he has an epiphany about the war: They don’t need the President’s approval, they just need the troops, so Korra is going to hit up General Iroh directly. Also, Asami is going to sell Meka tanks to the Southern Water Tribe for dough. Everyone is a winner.

Korra is still fretting over why people aren’t supporting the South though, but Varrick has some propaganda up his sleeve: a movie showing the Northern invasion of the South, which he’s going to intercut with scenes of Bolin playing a hero, Nuktuk. LULZ.

Back at his apartment, Mako is flipping through a book of mug shots, looking for the guys who set off the bomb. Bolin comes in and explains the plans Varrick and Korra just came up with, and Mako thinks they suck. He still doesn’t think the Northern Tribe attacked the cultural center. Then he sees a mug shot of one of the guys! He runs off to show BEIFONG. (If you’re new around these parts, her name is always in CAPSLOCK in an attempt to convey her overabundance of AWESOME.)

Quick pit stop at the Southern Air Temple: Tenzin and Meelo are having a training session. It’s not super successful. Tenzin is preaching not rewarding bad behavior and Meelo is not liking being “alpha lemur.”

President Ryko is laying into BEIFONG about not catching the bad guys and threatening her position when Mako comes in to ID one of the baddies. Two of the other cops fool Mako into interrupting BEIFONG, who yells at him. Mako explains what he found to the other cops, who blow him off, even though Mako says the guy is a member of a gang and that they need to find who hired them. Basically EVERYONE thinks it was the Northern Water Tribe and so they aren’t looking elsewhere. I am going to FIST PUMP SO HARD when Mako is right.

Anyway, the President walks out of BEIFONG’s office and tells Mako that he’s heard good things about him. He also mentions that Mako is dating the Avatar, and asks Mako if she’s plotting anything (sometimes this show is the very opposite of subtle). The President reminds Mako that he’s sworn an oath and is a man of the law, and then Mako breaks. RUH ROH.

Korra is visiting General Iroh, pleading her case. The General seems to be into it, but then the President shows up and reminds Iroh that he can’t take any of the ships out of the harbor without a direct order from him or else he’ll be court martialed. The President then gives Korra a stern talking to about the Avatar not being the commander of the armed forces and reprimands her for going behind his back. She looks more pissed than chastened. Plan = foiled. UNTIL! Iroh tells Korra to go talk to the Fire Lord.

OMG BOLIN/NUKTUK. He’s getting ready to shoot some scenes for his hero movie when Korra arrives to leave Naga under his care while she goes to the Fire Nation. She also needs a boat. Korra says she can’t figure out how the President found out about their plans since no one knew about it aside from her, Varrick, Asami, and Bolin. But then, of course, Bolin pipes up and tells her that he told Mako. GULP. Trouble in paradise.

Meanwhile, Meelo has trained Pokey, but it turns out he’s trained ALL THE LEMURS. It’s kind of REALLY AWESOME. I’m not sure of the big point of these sequences, but Meelo and Pokey are ADORBS.

Back in Republic City, Korra literally kicks down the door to the police department where Mako is and yells at him for betraying her. He says he couldn’t lie to the President. She’s freaking out. Then Mako has finally had enough: he yells at Korra for being tired of trying to keep her from making huge mistakes all the time and that he has a job to do. Korra says she has a job too but Mako keeps getting in the way. Mako breaks up with her. She runs out.

Korra, meanwhile, is speeding to the Fire Nation when Desna and Eska catch up to her. Eska is furious at Korra for ruining her wedding to Bolin. They water bend/fight until a HUMUNGOUS dark spirit shows up and beats Korra around a little bit. She goes into the Avatar state and spirit bends it away. EXCEPT OMG IT DOESN’T WORK and the spirit DEVOURS KORRA. Desna and Eska look on and then leave. OMG.

The Last Word

So, WOW. Lots going on here, but OMG KORRA! Why didn’t the spirit bending work?! It looked like it worked and then it didn’t. Is it just because Korra is new at it? Or is this some kind of immune spirit? EEEP! But I like this idea of Korra heading to the Fire Nation. As long as she isn’t spirit grub.

Also, WAH! Mako and Korra!

The Lines

“Being famous is like being hit with a rock all the time”–Varrick

So what did you think, friends?