3x02 Rebirth

[8.7/10] Again, it’s great to be excited about the world of possibilities TLoK is unleashing in its third season. I love the notion of Team Avatar going on a balloon quest to recruit the new airbenders and finding that it’s harder than I thought. I find myself going back to “The Promise” -- the first Avatar comic book, and there’s a straight line between that and Season 3 of Korra in how both have something exciting happen -- the fall of Ozai and the rebirth of airbending respectively -- but in both instances, Team Avatar has to deal with the fact that folks aren’t exactly ready to have their lives disrupted by this grand new thing just yet.

To that end, I love the asymmetry between Tenzin and Kuon, the first new airbender Team Avatar meets along the way. Tenzin is myopic in his excitement to rebuild the airbending nation, and doesn’t really consider what he’s asking of people. Kuon, meanwhile, is glad to have his new power, but has lived a long and happy life where he is and has a family, and isn’t exactly ready to uproot and go become a monk. It makes sense that as excited as Tenzin and his family would be about this new development, everyone else is reluctant to sign up for the life of discipline and aestheticism that Tenzin’s way represents.

To that end, I laughed like hell at the montage of Tenzin trying to persuade people to join him by promising vegetarianism, lack of possessions, baldness, tattoos, and being best friends with a bison. It’s nice that the show has him deliberately choose not to try to force people to join him (though it makes me wonder what the point of Korra’s interaction with the basement-dweller was), but it wrings the comedy out of the difficulty of finding willing recruits.

To that end, I got a huge kick out of the street performance to try to recruit more airbenders. Putting on a show is such a T.V. solution, but it’s also tons of fun. Bolin makes for a natural barker, and circus-like demonstrations of the gang’s powers are an enjoyable pitch.

Heck, I’m even interested in Kai, the new airbending moppet who agrees to join the group. His “I’m an orphan and a thief!” incorrigible shtick is pretty cheesy, but I like the possibilities he introduces. Mako’s awkwardness around Korra isn’t much of a throughline for the character this season, but giving him a young version of himself to joust with and mentor is great. And the notion of Jinora having a crush on him, something her father seems poised not to approve of, is interesting territory to explore as well, since we don’t really know how dating fits in with the airbending lifestyle.

If that weren’t enough, the villains are getting their band back together too. It’s much more action for action sake, and establishing the baddies as badasses, but watching Zahir free Ghazan using just a pair of rocks (which Ghazan proceeds to turn into a lava-like circular saw blade) and free Ming-Hua using a barrel of water (which she immediately turns into tentacle power) was a complete thrill and makes the villains seem like a real challenge for the good guys.

Last season, I asked where the show could go in terms of antagonists after doing what basically amounted to an Evil Avatar, but I like the idea of an Evil Team Avatar being the next big threat. Sure, the original AtLA kind of already did that with Azula’s trio, but this feels different with the elemental mix-and-match, and the prospect of a firebender love interest joining their trio.

Plus, we get motherfucking Zuko! And he’s riding a dragon! And he may be the one who put all these people away! It’s nice to see that despite the seventy years that have passed, some of the original Team Avatar members are still around. It’s mostly a tease, but I’m excited to see what his role in this becomes, especially since he’s the one member of the group we haven’t gotten to see as an adult yet..

Overall, this season is off to a great start, and I’m excited by all the new and interesting directions it’s taking.