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by Kayla Kenney, Writing Intern
 |
| Nickelodeon Studios |
The
Legend of Korra shocked
and potentially upset fans, on Friday, with a recap episode. Embedding this
into the final season only slowed down the momentum.
Mako & Prince Wu: In the previous
episode, Kuvira’s followers captured Prince Wu. At the end, they decided to place him with Mako and Bolin’s family, in Asami’s house. This week, the episode
begins with Mako teaching Prince Wu some defense mechanisms. However, this soon
turns into Mako rehashing his old, love quarrels with Korra and Asami.
Korra & Asami: Korra confides to
Asami that she doesn't feel like she’s a good enough avatar to bring down
Kuvira’s army, and reinstall peace in the Earth Kingdom. Asami reassures her
with a recounting of her past villains. She reminds Korra what peace she’s
already brought as the avatar.
Bolin & Varrick: Last episode, the two
set sail to the north, with new alliances. This time, as they cruise the
waters, Varrick thinks of a new story to promote Bolin. He begins a telling of
Bolin’s tale throughout the seasons. The tale goes completely wacky and
untruthful to what really happened. Bolin tries to butt in. Varrick won’t have
it. He claims he’s thought of a story that'll sell. All the other passengers
aboard the boat agree with applause.
“Remembrances”
leaves the show at a standstill. Sure, it’s humorous at times. The recap
episodes are not needed, though. Especially in the middle of the final season!
The show’s moving at a slow pace as it is. It needs to pick up the action—not
stop and retell all the seasons in one episode. If you're watching, you're likely to know everything that already happened.
This episode would be skip-worthy if it weren't for the comedy. It’s
not your typical recap episode. It’s not just clip upon clip of old episodes to
show the audience the progression of the storyline.
This episode includes recaps from three point of views:
Mako, Korra, and Bolin. Mako tells his story to a new character. This seems
like something that would actually happen. The same goes for Korra, confessing
her self-doubts to Asami. Inserting the clips of previous episodes this way
seems clever and thought out.
Also new here, pop up animations appear of whoever
happens to be talking during the clip. They're nearly always hilarious. As Mako talks,
Prince Wu constantly interrupts him. His little, animated face will pop into
view as the clip pauses. The way it’s done in the show perfectly exemplifies a
person who is telling a story and constantly getting interrupted by that one
loud mouth. Prince Wu simply cannot keep his mouth shut. It’s also comical
because all the points he brings up were things that everyone thought during the
old episodes’ original airings. His grandma’s interjections of “Yep, just like
your grandfather,” when he discussed his mess of a love life with Korra and
Asami added even more humor. They were like the cherry on top of it all.
Bolin and Varrik may represent the show making fun of
itself. A scene with Varrick always leads to something obscene. Here, Varrik
makes up the most ridiculous story of Bolin’s plot line. He links it back to Bolin’s days
as a movie star. It’s funny when Bolin interjects as a pop-up animation to
claim that things didn't happen that way. Varrik just talks over him. As Varrik’s story wraps up, the rest of the people on the boat are immensely interested.
Bolin’s frustrated. It’s the kind of thing Varrik’s character would do. He
stays true to himself. The part also adds a lightness to the episode. It’s not
a strict recap episode. This part’s proof. The episode can play around. It
provides a certain sense of relief to the viewer, who might watch it for the sake
of watching it.
Humor aside, this episode gives the Korra audience
nothing. It’s
shoved, unnecessarily, into the final season. It’s a filler episode, where
fillers aren't needed. The show has the potential to do so much more. Oddly, it
meanders about with recap episodes, when the audience just wants some action.
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