4x04 The Calling

[7.1/10] I appreciate the show wanting to use some time in its season to tell a story about the airbender kids who, outside of Jinora, don’t really get much flavor. Ikki’s running away back in Season 2 was a nice counterpoint to the sibling issues her dad was facing at the time. But there’s not really enough to grab onto here.

I like the idea of exploring Ikki as a middle child, but the show never rises above the usual sibling rivalry clichés here: seeing her older sister as supercilious and her little brother as inappropriate and rude, leaving her feeling overlooked. There’s some decent comedy between Ikki and the local Earth Empire guards (who have a real Bert and Ernie vibe to them), but the “my siblings don’t understand me, but I have contributions to make too” bit is a little too generic of a middle child story to make much impact.

Korra’s part of the episode is better. I like her being in the swamp where (presumably) Aang saw his first vision of Toph and finding her way toward healing. My worry when we started this mini-arc was that the show would have Korra get her groove back too fast out there, and that’s still a bit true. But I like that at least we get Toph (a.) telling Korra to learn from her enemies and even see the good in them and (b.) telling her not to keep re-fighting her old battles as a way to move on. Sure, it’s all broad strokes pop psychology, but given the *Star Wars*ian undertones of a wrinkle guide giving the chosen one life advice in a swamp, it totally work.

It is a nice moment where the two stories collide, the airbending kids meet one of their grandparents’ best friends, and there’s a happy reunion with Korra. The final Red Lotus Venom exorcism scene is well-done and well-animated, and heck, even the one handed hug and pat between Korra and Toph hits the right balance between sweet and “just barely tolerating this.”

Overall, the Ikki material is fairly rote and weak, but the Korra/Toph business is good, and the episode benefits greatly from it.