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swatkatI have a lot of feelings. This is tl;dr and image heavy, a vague attempt to ensure things aren't lost in the vast ocean of Tumblr.
*
Just a moment to appreciate the way Lin narrows her eyes while concentrating on what Tenzin is saying. It's adorable.
*
The last line of defence.
There's nothing I don't love about this - the shots with Lin in the foreground and the Airbenders in the background, reminding us what's at stake. After the creepy music starts and the chi blockers begin to pour in, there's one moment with Lin alone, standing all by herself. Her stance is almost relaxed. The legendary Earthbender patience: she's waiting. And then the camera pulls in closer, closer to her face, giving us a close look at her determination, hair blowing in the dramatic wind (I almost sang 'Yes Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the wind'. Sorry, Lin).
Also another lovely detail? The loose skin around her chin and her neck.
*
It's so great to see Lin use traditional earthbending to fight the chi blockers. What's really interesting is the way she seems to avoid massive earth movements here. We know it for a fact that master earthbenders are capable of causing wholescale destruction should the need arise (and for fun, if you're Toph Beifong and in an Earth Rumble competition), but look at the boulders Lin creates - they're precise in aim, but they don't take up a lot of space. It's as though she's trying not to disturb the foundation of the house, knowing what might happen if she does. Something tells me the Republic City Police are taught to bend in this manner - remember her first altercation with Korra about property damage?
*
This, however, is a slip-up, pure and simple. It's Lin's first instinct to reach for her metal cables, and we've seen her use them to great effect multiple times, but grabbing electric-powered rods with metal cables? Not a good idea by any stretch of the imagination, unless Lin was hoping she would be faster than the Lieutenant and snatch them out of his hands before it was too late.
Given how quick-thinking Lin is in combat, and how her metalbending seems to have evolved far from traditional earthbending into something more suited for policework in the city, incorporating moves from other bending forms (most evident in the famous Spiderlin fight scene in 'And the winner is…'), it's a curious block that Lin displays here, in spite of having gone up against the chi blockers and their electric-powered rods multiple times (albeit in a very short span of time). And she's not the only one - the entire metalbending police force displays the same inability to quickly come up with an alternative, which proves a costly mistake when faced with Hiroshi Sato's technological genius and Amon's long-term planning and foresight. It suggests, I think, a failure to truly treat non-benders as a serious threat (in episode six, Lin said that it's time the benders of the city showed some unity and strength - as though that alone can do away with the 'non-bender threat'), and come up with effective measures to counter them, thereby proving Amon's point.
This is why Lin's arc next season without bending has such potential, in my opinion. Walking a mile in their shoes. I also hope Asami, with her natural affinity for technology, plays a part in it.
*
All hail ickle Jinora, sweeping in to save the day! (I do wish she'd called Lin something other than 'my dad's ex-girlfriend', even it's just a child's way of relating to someone. Lin's larger arc is by no means 'about Tenzin', but here it feels as though they're framing her as 'Tenzin's ex' just for the sake of a zany oneliner.)
She's so much like Aang here. Did I mention she's my favourite baby Airbender?
*
The surest way to win Lin's trust and affection? Fighting side by side, preferably also showing exceptional skills and saving her behind. Look how quickly she went from "your children… sure… I'll protect them…I'm good at protecting" to almost-affectionate. She's quick to give credit where it's due, too - look at the awe in Jinora's face in the first cap (one of the many reasons why she's my favourite; I think she's a secret Lin fangirl who has always wished they got to hung out more). It was the same with Lin and Korra in 'And the Winner Is…', not to mention the way she loves her officers.
And there's nothing but warmth in her voice when she tells Tenzin, "Go be with your wife." It's called adulthood, and that's why I'm so very fond of their relationship.
Also this gives me many Korra/Lin ~comrades-in-arms feelings.
*
"But - "
"No arguments."
I imagine most of their relationship went like this, with a lot of ~communicating in bed (look, Tenzin has four children, abstinent monk he is not) and bull-headed arguments about whose way of going about things was better. With, of course, rare moments of Lin dropping her guard and being less than stoic.
Also note the range of facial expressions in this episode: when have we ever seen her show this many emotions?
*
Part II
Just a moment to appreciate the way Lin narrows her eyes while concentrating on what Tenzin is saying. It's adorable.
The last line of defence.
There's nothing I don't love about this - the shots with Lin in the foreground and the Airbenders in the background, reminding us what's at stake. After the creepy music starts and the chi blockers begin to pour in, there's one moment with Lin alone, standing all by herself. Her stance is almost relaxed. The legendary Earthbender patience: she's waiting. And then the camera pulls in closer, closer to her face, giving us a close look at her determination, hair blowing in the dramatic wind (I almost sang 'Yes Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the wind'. Sorry, Lin).
Also another lovely detail? The loose skin around her chin and her neck.
It's so great to see Lin use traditional earthbending to fight the chi blockers. What's really interesting is the way she seems to avoid massive earth movements here. We know it for a fact that master earthbenders are capable of causing wholescale destruction should the need arise (and for fun, if you're Toph Beifong and in an Earth Rumble competition), but look at the boulders Lin creates - they're precise in aim, but they don't take up a lot of space. It's as though she's trying not to disturb the foundation of the house, knowing what might happen if she does. Something tells me the Republic City Police are taught to bend in this manner - remember her first altercation with Korra about property damage?
This, however, is a slip-up, pure and simple. It's Lin's first instinct to reach for her metal cables, and we've seen her use them to great effect multiple times, but grabbing electric-powered rods with metal cables? Not a good idea by any stretch of the imagination, unless Lin was hoping she would be faster than the Lieutenant and snatch them out of his hands before it was too late.
Given how quick-thinking Lin is in combat, and how her metalbending seems to have evolved far from traditional earthbending into something more suited for policework in the city, incorporating moves from other bending forms (most evident in the famous Spiderlin fight scene in 'And the winner is…'), it's a curious block that Lin displays here, in spite of having gone up against the chi blockers and their electric-powered rods multiple times (albeit in a very short span of time). And she's not the only one - the entire metalbending police force displays the same inability to quickly come up with an alternative, which proves a costly mistake when faced with Hiroshi Sato's technological genius and Amon's long-term planning and foresight. It suggests, I think, a failure to truly treat non-benders as a serious threat (in episode six, Lin said that it's time the benders of the city showed some unity and strength - as though that alone can do away with the 'non-bender threat'), and come up with effective measures to counter them, thereby proving Amon's point.
This is why Lin's arc next season without bending has such potential, in my opinion. Walking a mile in their shoes. I also hope Asami, with her natural affinity for technology, plays a part in it.
All hail ickle Jinora, sweeping in to save the day! (I do wish she'd called Lin something other than 'my dad's ex-girlfriend', even it's just a child's way of relating to someone. Lin's larger arc is by no means 'about Tenzin', but here it feels as though they're framing her as 'Tenzin's ex' just for the sake of a zany oneliner.)
She's so much like Aang here. Did I mention she's my favourite baby Airbender?
The surest way to win Lin's trust and affection? Fighting side by side, preferably also showing exceptional skills and saving her behind. Look how quickly she went from "your children… sure… I'll protect them…I'm good at protecting" to almost-affectionate. She's quick to give credit where it's due, too - look at the awe in Jinora's face in the first cap (one of the many reasons why she's my favourite; I think she's a secret Lin fangirl who has always wished they got to hung out more). It was the same with Lin and Korra in 'And the Winner Is…', not to mention the way she loves her officers.
And there's nothing but warmth in her voice when she tells Tenzin, "Go be with your wife." It's called adulthood, and that's why I'm so very fond of their relationship.
Also this gives me many Korra/Lin ~comrades-in-arms feelings.
"But - "
"No arguments."
I imagine most of their relationship went like this, with a lot of ~communicating in bed (look, Tenzin has four children, abstinent monk he is not) and bull-headed arguments about whose way of going about things was better. With, of course, rare moments of Lin dropping her guard and being less than stoic.
Also note the range of facial expressions in this episode: when have we ever seen her show this many emotions?
Part II
no subject
Date: 2012-06-20 10:25 pm (UTC)I saw someone on Tumblr insisting that Lin and Tenzin never had sex. I had to assume that was another case of abstinence-only education striking again, because I'm fairly certain Lin and Tenzin did very little but.