Varrick spends this entire episode in a bear, and nothing else matters.
Jumping right into things after “Civil Wars, Part 1,” we start with Korra’s parents being loaded into a van and taken away to stand what Unalaq assures his protégé will be a completely fair and honorable trial. Varrick, assuming Unalaq will rig the trial against the Southerners (YA THINK, KORRA?), gives Bolin a stack o’ cash to bribe the judge with, only he gives it to a couple of randos instead.
Oh, and Varrick tells Bolin to ghost Esna. From inside a giant platypus bear. Later, Bolin tries to break up with Esna but accidentally ends up engaged. Whoops.
Oh, and Asami’s back! She advises Bolin to be honest with his girlfriend while Mako, Mr. Look It’s Totally OK To Start a New Relationship Even Though I Teeeechnically Haven’t Ended My Current One Yet, is standing RIGHT THERE NEXT TO HER, and I LOVE IT.
When the trial happens, it lasts all of five minutes and ends with Tonraq being sentenced to death for the heinous crime of hosting a meeting. Unalaq gets his manipulation on when he begs the judge to commute the sentence to life in prison, thus keeping his brother out of the way while also making himself look like a *tips fedora* nice guy.
(Side note: You know Asami’s on this shit, right? Like, she sees a kangaroo court lock up Korra’s dad for treason and thinks, “Okay … that sounds fake, but okay.”)
Korra and her mom Senna visit Tonraq in prison, where the following exchange takes place:
After being run off the road by a pissed-off teenager and her giant polar bear dog, the judge admits that he was on the take from Unalaq. Further, Unalaq’s the one who got his older brother banished in the first place; he hired the bandits who attacked the Northern Water Tribe, knowing that Tonraq would follow them into the sacred forest. With his brother out of the way, he was free to take the crown.
Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami—with Varrick’s help (he’s still in the platypus bear!)—plan to break Tonraq and his fellow Southerners out of prison. Only when they get there, they’re confronted by Unalaq, who tells them that Tonraq is already on a ship bound for the Northern Water Tribe. Unalaq still tries to play the “you’re the Avatar and you’re supposed to be neutral” card, but Korra’s having none of it. She tries her hand at blackmail, telling him that he needs her to open the Northern Spirit Portal, but he responds that nuh-uh, no he doesn’t! They fight, Unalaq gets briefly knocked out, and the good guys skedaddle after Unalaq’s boat.
With the help of a platypus bear costume that poops money (what escape plan doesn’t need one?), the New Gaang plus Varrick get to Varrick’s yacht, only to run into one more problem: Unalaq’s barricade. Turns out Varrick has a plane on his boat (naturally), which makes it pretty easy for Asami, Korra, and Mako to take care of that particular hurdle. They rescue Tonraq and his buds pretty quickly and speed off into the sunset.
Meanwhile, in this episode’s b-plot: Tenzin finds Ikki having tea party with baby sku bisons in a cave. The phrase “blueberry spicehead” is uttered by one J.K. Simmons. Father and daughter have a bonding session before going back to the temple, where they each make up with their respective siblings.
As a decidedly boring civil war comes to an end, another one kicks off. Korra tries to convince her dad to let her fight with him against Unalaq and the Northern Water Tribe, but he tells her that, as the Avatar, it’s her job to be the diplomat and get the President of the United Republic on their side. Even with Unalaq’s evil deeds now kindasorta out in the open, the South is still grossly outnumbered, and without assistance from the United Forces (ohey, Iroh!), they’re screwed.
Are we leaving the Water Tribe? ARE WE GOING TO GET MORE LIN BEIFONG?!
More importantly, yes, even though they have escaped, Varrick is still in the bear:
MVP screencap:
Rebecca has newbie recapped Avatar and Battlestar Galactica for The Mary Sue before. She photoshopped The Rock’s head on a dolphin once. You can find her at Film Journal International, Pajiba, or on Twitter.
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