Mere paas EQUALITY hain

[swatkat]

Non-spoilery moral of the episode, and every other episode of Legend of Korra: Lin goes away for one day and EVERYONE is in trouble.

To say I loved this episode is an understatement, but I want to talk about one particular element of it: that moment when the non-bender woman comes up to Korra and says, 'You're our Avatar too.' That, that is a moment of epiphany - Korra suddenly learning who she's meant to protect; the enormity of her task. We've been talking about the Siddhartha parallels (well, zorana, tanndell and I have, in our many Korra conversations) for a while now, and never did it feel so relevant as in this episode. Korra, sequestered from most of the world and trained inside a bubble where money does not matter, where everything she asks for is provided for, is Siddhartha on his journey here, learning about the world. She has been told all her life that she's the Avatar, that it's her duty to protect 'the people' - and I'm curious about this sort of upbringing, because AtLA tells us that Avatars were only told on their sixteenth birthday (Aang being a special case because of the war) - she has been brought up as a weapon by the White Lotus. For the first time, with the non-bending masses - the truly oppressed - stand in front of her and tell her that she's their Avatar too, and that's when 'the people' become real. It's an enormous step in her journey towards becoming the Avatar.

♥♥♥

Other things:

+ ASAMI, how so awesome bb?

+ Saikhan! Lin trusted you! What are you doing?

+ BLOODBENDING. CAN KATARA COME NOW AND SAVE THE DAY?

+ TARRLOK NOOOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY GIRL


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Those on Tumblr have probably already seen this beautifully put together fan theory that suggest Yakone is Tarrlok's father. It makes perfect sense. Of course, shortly after reading the post zorana, tanndell and I decided that one of the many reasons we love this theory (along with my old Amon is Yakone's son theory) is because it's so Bollywood. I can't resist quoting the conversation in all its glory for the people who do understand Hindi (please scroll down if you care for a translated version, though I suppose the pop-cultural references won't make sense), because really, Amon and Tarrlok as LONG LOST BROTHERS? UTTERLY BRILLIANT, I SAY.


Z: HMMMMM THE SON-THEORY I HAVE SEEN AND MAKES SENSE BUT PPL ARE ALSO SAYING TARLOK AND AMON MAY BE BROS! WHICH ALSO MIGHT EXPLAIN THE BERSERKER BUTTON
S: Amon has Yakone's eyes according to my sister
T: the bro concept would be interesting. Though so Bollywood. Ek bhai bender ek non bender
S: oo i love it. father/son makes sense because yakone could convincingly be a water tribe name.
S: maybe tarlok has a tattoo that reads mera baap criminal hain
T: I do want a triad link tho. It would explain so much
T: lol matching tattoos. BHAAAIII
Z: its totally bollywood and I love itt! and the triad angle would make all the sense!
S: i heart this theory <3333 imagine tarlok's 'nahiiiiiiin' on learning that amon is his bichhra hua bhai
T: mere paas council hai, police hai, blood bending hai. Tumhare paas kya hai? Mere paas maa hai
S: mere paas EQUALITY hain


T: it must have been one hella kumbh ka mela
Z: kumbh mela + benders X water benders + toph's temper = THIS SITUATION RIGHT HERE



[Z: HMMMMM THE SON-THEORY I HAVE SEEN AND MAKES SENSE BUT PPL ARE ALSO SAYING TARLOK AND AMON MAY BE BROS! WHICH ALSO MIGHT EXPLAIN THE BERSERKER BUTTON
S: Amon has Yakone's eyes according to my sister
T: the bro concept would be interesting. Though so Bollywood. One brother bender one non bender
S: oo i love it. father/son makes sense because yakone could convincingly be a water tribe name.
S: maybe tarlok has a tattoo that reads my father is a criminal*
T: I do want a triad link tho. It would explain so much
T: lol matching tattoos. BROTHERRRR
Z: its totally bollywood and I love itt! and the triad angle would make all the sense!
S: i heart this theory <3333 imagine tarlok's 'nooooooo' on learning that amon is his long lost brother
T: "I have the council, I have the police, I have bloodbending. What do YOU have?" "I have my mother."**
S: "I have EQUALITY."


*Ref. Amitabh Bachchan classic Deewar (The Wall): our hero is the son of a persecuted idealist; his enemies brand 'my father is a thief' on his hand when he's very young. It's magnificent. *wipes tears*

** Famous dialogue from the same film, in which our hero, now a rich but shady businessman, tells his idealist brother, a police officer, 'Today I have a big houses, a car, bank balance, what do YOU have?' And the brother (played by Shashi Kapoor) responds, 'I have my mother.' It is a legendary scene, akin to 'Luke, I am your father' in status. ]


What can I say? I love my family melodramas.

Also, Amon may have EQUALITY, but you know what our badass former Chief of Police has? JUSTICE. MUHAHAHAHA!

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Via Tumblr: The secret of Lin's parentage, NOW REVEALED.

Comments

[dhobikikutti]

Bwah, I approve of the Kumbh Mela scenarios, though I feel all left out of your chats. ::sulks::

[swatkat]

It's mostly on Twitter! We should totally do a face-to-face one soonish though.

Also, their mother is alive and is played by Nirupa Roy/Rakhee (NO ONE ELSE WILL DO).