The Legend of Korra “Skeletons in the Closet” and “Endgame” Double Review

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Wow! All I can say is wow! These two episodes made up one of the best season finales I have ever seen. This show has finally delivered on everything I was hoping it would. The story was great, the action was intense, and the emotion was heart stopping. “Skeletons in the Closet” and “Endgame” were some of the best written episodes of any cartoon to date. They both shed more light on our characters and opened the road for what to expect in the series’ future.  It makes me sad that I have to wait a while before the second season comes out because after watching these two episodes I was excited to see more. My inner fan boy was very happy after watching. First off “Skeletons in the Closet” was great. It opened up immediately where the last episode left off. We found our heroes  trapped in Republic City waiting for General Iroh to show up with his armada. Korra is tired of hiding and is ready to take the fight to Amon, but decides to wait when the armed forces show up. Amon was prepared for this and had the sea filled with mines that would detonate when the ships passed them. This caught Team Avatar off guard as well as the armed forces. What was more exciting is when the Equalists showed up in airplanes. This battle scene really shows us how much technology has advanced. Soon riding around on an air bison will become a thing of the past. This battle sequence was pretty intense as we finally got to see Iroh show off his skills. Honestly I expected a little more from the grandson of Zuko. He did show some skill by blocking an enemy rocket with his firebending and flying without Sozin’s Comet anywhere near. Since I am an optimist I hope he proves to be stronger in the second season. Still the highlight of this episode was the shocking revelation that Amon was actually Tarrlok’s older brother Noatak. As he told his backstory I started to feel more sympathy for him as well as Noatak (Amon). Their upbringing was hard as their father Yakone tried his best to mold them into bloodbending tools of revenge. Eventually this hardened  Noatak’s/Amon’s soft heart and he ran away. We also find out that his bloodbending is how he takes people’s bending away. This was a great way to end the episode as Korra and Mako went to reveal Amon’s secret to the Equalists. Now “Endgame” was even better. It just picks up with Korra and Mako going to reveal Noatak’s/Amon’s secret to the rest of the Equalists. Simultaneously we see Iroh, Bolin, and Asami attack her father’s airplane hangar. Asami’s relationship with her father is totally destroyed during this confrontation, adding on to her realizing Mako’s true feelings for Korra. Back at the rally we see Noatak/Amon was prepared, disproving their story by showing everyone his burnt face. Seeing that made me think “wow this guy is really crazy if he would burn his own face just to hide his identity”. As they try to escape he chases them and reveals Tarrlok’s story to be true and begins bloodbending them into submission. After taking them both out he takes away Korra’s bending. One of his generals sees him and becomes indifferent towards the cause. Finding it hard to believe that he had been lied to this entire time and was taking orders from a water bender. Noatak/Amon easily dispatches his general and attempts to take away Mako’s bending as well only to be electrocuted. As they both try to escape they are captured by Noatak/Amon and  as he is about to finish Mako off Korra unlocks her ability to airbend and knocks Noatak/Amon into the harbor. This is where we see that his “burn” was just makeup and he spouts out of the water showing everyone who and what he really is. He then uses his bending to swim away at high speeds.  This episode took a sad turn as we reached the climax as we see Korra is very sad that her bending was taken away and Noatak/Amon trying to rekindle his relationship with his brother Tarrlok. As they rode away into the sunset we see Tarrlok make the decision that they shouldn’t live and blows up the boat with one of the electricity gauntlets aboard, presumably killing them both. Also all seems lost when Katara, the world’s best healer and also a master bloodbender, cannot bring back the rest of Korra’s bending. She rides off to weep and is annoyed that Tenzin followed her out there. This is when the viewers are given the greatest treat of all as we see its actually Aang’s spirit finally coming to help Korra. I did say in my last review that I foresaw this coming. He gives her back her bending thus making her a fully realized Avatar. With her new powers she is now able to heal all who’s bending was taken away starting with Lin. Overall these episodes were fan-fucking-tastic. They were perfect in every way. Watching these episodes was like watching a movie. The story was promising, the action was great and the plot twists were unexpected. This first season ended right and surely has guaranteed the show an increased fan base for future seasons. I give “Skeletons in the Closet” and “Endgame” both a  Superb 5/5!!!!!

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