Kuvira's Gambit

"Kuvira's Gambit" is the three-part series finale of The Legend of Korra. It was released on Nick.com and through the Nick app on December 12, 2014, and aired on NickToons on December 19, 2014.
== Synopsis ==
==="Kuvira's Gambit"===
In Zaofu, Kuvira gives an speech to her soldiers, reminding them of their victories together over the past three years and emphasizing their power and apparent invincibility—not even the Avatar was able to stop them. She announces to the soldiers that their quest to truly reunite the Earth Empire is not yet complete, as the United Republic of Nations, which she believes was stolen from the Earth Empire by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko following the Hundred Year War, remains unconquered. The soldiers salute Kuvira, chanting "All hail the Great Uniter!". Out of the soldiers' view, she talks to Baatar Jr., asking him if he is prepared to show the world the true strength their army possesses. He replies that he is, and as they express their love and talk about their future wedding and empire, they take each other's hands and embrace.
At City Hall in Republic City, President Raiko, Korra, Wu, Mako, and Tenzin sit at a table, in the middle of a conference. Korra inquires about the status of the evacuation of the city, and Wu answers that only eighteen families have been evacuated — a tiny percentage of Republic City's millions of citizens. Mako explains that, due to the evacuation being voluntary, many citizens do not feel the threat to the city is serious enough, and have decided to stay. Bolin abruptly interrupts the meeting, bringing a newly freed Suyin and Lin with him, much to the Avatar's surprise; Korra apologizes for her failure at Zaofu and hugs Suyin, asking how she and the rest of her family escaped. Bolin explains that he, Opal, and Lin rescued them, having a "way too close" encounter with Kuvira's spirit energy cannon in the process. Tenzin asks if she is planning to use it against Republic City, and Zhu Li enters, answering that she knows Kuvira will attack the city in two weeks. Bolin explains to the group that Zhu Li never truly switched sides; Zhu Li herself adds that she was never loyal to Kuvira, regretting that her attempts to sabotage the weapon failed. Lin postulates that due to the spirit cannon's size, Kuvira will come by rail in order to transport the weapon, and Korra suggests cutting the rail lines leading into the city as a deterrent. Raiko agrees, ordering Mako to announce to the city over the radio that the evacuation order is now mandatory. Korra assures Raiko that they will not let Kuvira take the city.
At a factory in Republic City, in his typical fashion, Varrick addresses the workers assembling the hummingbird mecha suits he and Asami invented, noting that they have a timespan of two weeks to complete the work. Bolin enters the room and asks Varrick if he can talk to him for a moment. He informs Varrick that he went to Zaofu with Opal and saved the Beifong family; on cue, Zhu Li enters the room, to Varrick's shock. Going first, Zhu Li apologizes for her past actions and expresses her feelings toward him, as she only joined Kuvira to save him. Varrick forgives her, but instead of reciprocating her feelings, he orders Zhu Li to man the assembly line. Deeply angered by his callousness, she tells Varrick that she is no longer his assistant, and that he should treat her as his equal, before leaving.
In Republic City's communications room, Mako attempts to inform the city of the now-mandatory evacuation. However, his over-technical delivery sparks a panic, and the phone lines are overwhelmed by confused citizens' calls. Prince Wu quickly takes Mako's place and gives a speech of his own, saying he understands the fear the people are feeling, referring to his former fear of using the bathroom alone; he tells them that they will lose if they succumb to fear, asserting that the people of Republic City are "winners", and instructs them to gather their family members and neighbors and evacuate calmly. Upon finishing his speech, the citizens cease their calls; Lin and Mako are impressed by Wu's actions, with the former stating that Wu might be a good king after all.
At Air Temple Island, Tenzin informs his family that Rohan is leaving the island on a boat with the Air Acolytes, and asks why none of them have packed. Pema informs him that they have decided to stay and help him. Grateful, Tenzin asks Pema to aid Wu with the evacuation of the city, and asks his children to join the other airbenders, who are acting as lookouts to spot Kuvira's approaching army.
A series of montages show Wu and Pema directing people at the train station, along with the United Forces and the metalbending police force standing guard over Republic City. Back at Air Temple Island, Raiko is less than pleased, as he has been forced to abandon his office and take shelter in the Air Temple, but Lin insists that the location is ideal. At that moment, Team Avatar come up to the attic and announce their decision to try and stop Kuvira's super weapon; while Tenzin is worried by their decision. He notes that General Iroh is already on his way with his army to prevent an all-out war. Team Avatar wants to take out the weapon beforehand to even the playfield and Raiko agrees, wishing them luck.
At an outpost in the mountains outside the city, two soldiers hear a noise. Peering through binoculars in the fading light, they discover the noise is Kuvira's army, which has arrived a week earlier than predicted. Realizing this, one orders the other to alert the city, but they stop when they hear another, louder noise. They look again and are horrified to see the silhouette of a massive human-like figure in the distance; it aims the weapon, its long metal barrel mounted on the machine's right arm, directly at them and fires it, releasing a beam of raw purple energy. It directly impacts the outpost, killing everyone within and reducing it to a smoldering ruin.
The next morning, Team Avatar takes off on a flying bison, planning to try sabotaging Kuvira's super weapon; when Bolin spots Kuvira's army marching through the mountains, along with the monstrous mecha, their hopes are shattered. The others, seized by panic and terror, demand to know if he knew about the creation of the mecha, and Bolin, sarcastic even while terrified, retorts that he did not. Meanwhile, Kuvira, in the cockpit of the massive machine, is alerted to the presence of the sky bison; realizing that the Avatar is nearby, she attempts to use the spirit cannon to obliterate her, and fires at the bison twice, missing both times by narrow margins. Team Avatar barely escapes, and Kuvira decides not to pursue them, believing that her forces are unstoppable and knowing she will reach Republic City soon.
When Korra returns to the city and meets with Tenzin and President Raiko, both ask her about her early return. Korra explains that their old plan is useless, as Kuvira has mounted the spirit cannon on a giant mechanical suit, begun the march a week early, and has nearly reached the city. Raiko orders Lin to inform General Iroh that attack is imminent, while Tenzin immediately orders his wife to find Wu and move the remaining citizens out of harm's way. Asami comes up with the plan to go to her factor in order to get some hummingbird suits. Meanwhile, Korra heads out to the front lines, intending to assist Iroh.
As Raiko's army stands watching Kuvira's army position on the battlefield, the giant mecha suit appears before them, shocking them all. Raiko radios Kuvira, ordering her to stand down, but Kuvira replies that Raiko is in no position to make orders, and is unaware of the power she possesses. To demonstrate, she uses her spirit cannon to destroy several warships before aiming the weapon at the United Forces infantry at the colossus' feet. Varrick notes that that is the reason that he did not want to build it. As General Iroh requests President Raiko's permission to engage, Kuvira gives him three seconds to decide between ordering full-scale attack, risking tremendous casualties on his army and city, or surrendering and saving the lives of hundreds of Iroh's men. Raiko chooses to surrender the city to Kuvira before his three seconds have elapsed.
Kuvira orders Raiko to turn his army and the Avatar over to her, and also orders him to give her his location, meaning to settle the terms of surrender with Baatar Jr. Meanwhile, Korra, refusing to surrender herself, escapes back to the warehouse, desperate to find a way to stop Kuvira's takeover. Korra informs the team of Raiko's surrender, and tells them stopping Kuvira's crusade has become their responsibility. Realizing the futility of trying to attack Kuvira's army and a giant mecha suit head-on, Asami suggests that they could cripple it instead, and asks Zhu Li if she knew any vital intel on Kuvira's giant mecha suit. Zhu Li, however, replies that she never knew Kuvira was building it in the first place. Korra realizes that Baatar Jr. is the one responsible for creating the giant mecha suit; she promptly resolves to capture him unnoticed. She recruits Tenzin's family and Kai to assist her, not telling Raiko of their plans. They succeed in capturing Baatar Jr. while he is taking an airship to meet Raiko at the Air Temple, completely unnoticed by the crew of the airship, and take him to a Future Industries' factory. Once there, Korra tries to force Baatar Jr. to give them information regarding any weaknesses the giant mecha suit may have; she goes into the Avatar State and hoists him into the air with one hand, but Baatar Jr. calmly refuses, confident that she does not truly intend to harm him.
Meanwhile, the airship with the Earth Empire delegation arrives at Air Temple Island, where they are awaited by Raiko and Lin, and it is only now that the soldiers discover, to their unpleasant surprise, that Baatar Jr. is missing. As the soldiers whisper among themselves, Lin and Raiko quickly lose their patience and demand to see Baatar Jr.; they are just as surprised as the soldiers to learn that Baatar Jr.'s men do not know where their leader is.
At the warehouse, Suyin talks to Baatar Jr. He lets her know that she is mistaken if she thinks he will spill any secrets to her. Suyin responds that she know he wanted to make the world a better place, but this is "madness". He claims that is is madness to let others take what you have and to accept it, calling the United Republic Earth Kingdom property. Suyin goes further, asking how many lives will it cost before Kuvira is satisfied and Baatar Jr. responds that no one needs to die if they all surrender. She apologizes for whatever she has done to make him feel rejected, and asks him to rejoin his family and stop the damage Kuvira is causing. Baatar Jr. resolutely refuses to concede, however, coldly responding that Kuvira is now his only family; Suyin is heartbroken by his rebuttal. Hearing Baatar Jr.'s words, however, Korra realizes their tactics have been aimed in the wrong direction. She approaches him again, admitting that he was right to believe she would not hurt him physically, but she asserts that there is something she can do that would be more painful: removing from him the one thing he cares for most, Kuvira. Surprised, Baatar Jr. asks for an explanation, and Korra declares that if they are forced to flee the city, she will take him with her wherever she goes, and dedicate the rest of her life to ensuring he never sees Kuvira again. Shocked and horrified, Baatar Jr. denies that her assertion is true, but Korra insists that she is not lying, and offers him a way to avoid that fate altogether: he must agree to convince Kuvira to leave Republic City. Further explaining, she assures him that they will be allowed to keep their Earth Empire territory, so long as the United Republic is left in peace.
A radio operator on Baatar Jr.'s airship receives a message from Kuvira, who intends to talk to Baatar Jr., and takes the radio to where Lin and Raiko are waiting. When the soldiers are unsure what to do, Raiko, peeved by the unexpected delay, demands that they give him the radio. He asks Kuvira what game she is trying to play, assuring him Baatar Jr. would come with the terms of his surrender and telling her he was not on the airship she sent. Kuvira is surprised to learn that Baatar Jr. has disappeared, asking where he could be, if not on the airship. At that moment, a call from Baatar Jr. breaks into the transmission; he tells her of his capture by the Avatar, who is refusing to release him unless she backs down. Learning that Korra is with Baatar Jr., she briefly cuts off her microphone and orders one of her soldiers to trace the source of Baatar Jr.'s transmission. Baatar Jr. tries to convince Kuvira to abandon their conquest of Republic City, as they would never be allowed to see each other again. Adamant that he cannot live that way, he urges her to forget about the United Republic; he tells her they already have their empire and each other, and expresses his desire to return home and get married. At that moment, Kuvira's radio operator informs her that Baatar Jr's position has been pinpointed; Kuvira reopens the connection and, concurring that taking Republic City is not worth sacrificing their future together, she tells Baatar Jr. she loves him.
Korra unties Baatar Jr., telling him that, once the agreement is settled, he will be freed; at that moment, Mako, glancing out a window, sees Kuvira's giant mecha suit swivel its torso around and raise its arm, training its weapon on the warehouse. Beginning to panic, he yells a warning to the others; the news shocks Baatar Jr., unable to believe Kuvira would willingly kill him. As the spirit energy cannon begins to charge, Korra yells at them all to evacuate immediately; the weapon fires before they can escape, destroying the Future Industries building.
From Air Temple Island, a horrified Raiko watches the attack as it happens. Lin charges one of her guards with the President's safety and leaves immediately to check for survivors. Taking a deep breath and easing her mind about what she has done, Kuvira returns her attention to the conquering of Republic City.
==="Day of the Colossus"===
Kuvira's attempt to kill Team Avatar, their allies, and Baatar Jr. by destroying the Future Industries warehouse in which they were sheltering is foiled by Bolin, who has earthbent a heavy wall on top of all of them, protecting them from the blast. After the dust clears, he raises it long enough for the entire group to escape. Tenzin flies to a rooftop and sees that Kuvira's giant mecha suit is crossing a bridge toward their position, along with a platoon of smaller ones; he quickly flies back to inform the group. Bolin, telling the group that they lack the strength to match Kuvira, suggests allowing Kuvira to conquer the city for now, which would give the team time to develop a strategy for defeating her. Mako counters that other citizens have yet to be evacuated, and that, if Kuvira sees Wu among them, she might fire her spirit energy cannon at him, wiping out large numbers of civilians. Korra refuses to abandon the city, upset that she could not stop Kuvira from taking Zaofu and unwilling to allow it to happen again; she insists that Kuvira is a threat to the entire world, a statement supported by Lin, who promptly arrives on the scene. They decide to confront Kuvira head-on; although Varrick grimly points out that all the hummingbird mecha suits have been destroyed, Asami notes that a few of the prototypes are at her office, and capable of offering air support. Korra tells Suyin to take the wounded to Asami's office while she, Team Avatar, the Air Nation, Lin, Wei, and Wing try again to take down Kuvira's mecha.
At Central City Station, Pema encourages an unnerved crowd to remain calm, assuring them that new trains will be on their way. However, a conductor arrives and informs everyone that the tracks have been dismantled by Kuvira's forces, while Tu tells everyone that Kuvira's army is coming closer. The people start to panic, but Wu manages to ease the tension; he informs them that he has a strategy in mind and takes Tu with him to find help, leaving Pema to preside over the unruly crowd.
On the streets of Republic City, Team Avatar is racing to meet the giant mecha when Meelo, noticing a paint store, invents a strategy for stopping the machine using paint and balloons. Acting upon the idea, the airbenders, each armed with several paint-filled balloons, fly toward the mecha suit as it marches through the city. Kuvira promptly targets and fires her spirit weapon at them; however, most of the airbenders avoid the blast and continue their advance, save for Kai and Ryu, the former helping the latter recover from the blast. The remaining airbenders fly around the giant's head; Kuvira attempts to swat them with the mecha suit's arms as Meelo and the others throw the paint balloons at the mecha suit's target crosshairs and the windows of its control room, obstructing Kuvira's view. While Kuvira activates the machine's water jets to clear the paint, Lin tries to metalbend one of the mecha suit's feet and fails, discovering that the joints are made of platinum;. Bolin lavabends the earth beneath the foot, while Wei and Wing entangle the legs with metal cables. With the mecha becoming unbalanced, Korra and the airbenders attempt to topple the giant using a combined airbending attack, but Kuvira fires a blast at them, injuring several airbenders in the process and forcing Team Avatar to retreat and Lin to seek aid.
At Asami's office, Varrick, Zhu Li, and Asami try to fix and test the hummingbird mecha suits, with no success. Daw warns them about Kuvira's advancing troops, and Varrick comes up with an idea of his own on how to stop Kuvira's mecha suit. He orders Asami to disconnect the electricity and asks Zhu Li to come with him.
At the factory's upper floor, Baatar Jr. wakes up, confused by his unfamiliar surroundings. Suyin, who is with him, suggests that he rest, and Baatar Jr., apologizing for betraying his family, asks her why Kuvira fired her weapon at him as he gave his life to her. All Suyin can say to him is that Kuvira is "a complicated person." Baatar Jr. worries that Wei, Wing, and Opal will never forgive him, but Suyin assures him that time will mend their relationship, saying they will work through it as a family.
At a metal tower on the factory's rooftop, Zhu Li asks Varrick if he is sure of his plan, and Varrick, working on some wires, responds that he is; he reasons that, since he stopped a number of mecha suits with an electromagnetic pulse before, he can use a "giant" one to stop a "giant" suit. After a short pause, Varrick switches gears, telling Zhu Li that he has been thinking about something; when Zhu Li tells him that he is always thinking, Varrick clarifies that he has been thinking about her specifically, and that, given their current, hazardous situation, he feels he needs to tell her some things. He then begins telling her about an ostrich horse named "Mrs. Beaks", which he had for a pet when he was a child; she is somewhat disappointed by the turn in the conversation, but he continues, saying that, while he loved Mrs. Beaks, he never truly valued the animal as he should have. Before he can go any further, Zhu Li, interrupting him, informs him that Kuvira's troops are in range and activates the pulse; the energy field causes the platoon of smaller mecha suits to be disabled, but Kuvira's giant continues to advance untouched. Panicked, Varrick tells her to "do the thing" again, but Zhu Li sadly expresses that "there are no more things to do".
In the cockpit of the mecha giant, Kuvira demands to know what happened to her first two mecha platoons, prompting one of her soldiers to inform her of the electromagnetic pulse. She is informed that while the suit is still capable of movement, the energy weapon is temporarily down. Presuming that Varrick is behind the attack, she orders the soldier to locate the source of the pulse and commands the remaining mecha platoons to continue their sweep of the city and capture anyone they find.
Back at Future Industries Tower, Bolin inquires why the small mecha suits, rather than the big one, were disabled by Varrick's electromagnetic pulse. Baatar Jr. tells them that it is powered by spirit vine energy instead of regular electricity, and concludes that it is unstoppable. Much to everyone's surprise, his statement is contradicted by Hiroshi, who has entered the room with Lin. Seeing everyone's shock, Lin explains that she freed the genius engineer from prison, enlisting his help to find a way to stop Kuvira. Hiroshi tells the group that he understands the animosity they feel toward him, but insists that he loves Republic City and is willing to risk everything to protect it. A skeptical Korra asks him if he knows how to defeat the enormous mecha, and Hiroshi draws a comparison to a virus, stating that they must breach the skin of the mecha and shut it down from the inside. When Korra wonders how such a feat is possible, he muses that they could use the plasma saws Future Industries uses to cut platinum; when Asami notes that the saws, as they are, are too bulky to be carried by their small hummingbird suits, he adapts his plan, opting to add an electrical element to the suits' preexisting welding torches and convert them into plasma saws. Varrick warns that being the equivalent of a metal mosquito carries a high risk of being swatted, prompting Korra to decide that they should attack Kuvira's suit as a group, drawing her attention away from the hummingbird mecha suits, who would use the distraction to cut a hole in the platinum armor unnoticed.
At the train station, Pema sings an old airbender song in an attempt to amuse the evacuees, but she only manages to get them bored. As she suggests they play the button game, Wu and Tu arrive on the backs of two badgermoles; a stunned Pema asks them where they found the badgermoles, and Wu happily explains they found them at the zoo. He explains that they can use the large, digging animals to tunnel out of the city without Kuvira noticing, as they are powerful earthbenders and, unlike Mako, love Wu's singing. One of the refugees is skeptical about the idea but quickly calls to follow the badgermoles after another building near the station is obliterated by the spirit cannon. As Wu begins to sing, the badgermoles earthbend a hole in the floor between the rails.
Inside the giant mecha, Kuvira orders the mecha platoons to report their findings; the third platoon answers that they have found no one, and the fourth platoon answers that they are nearing the train station. One of the cockpit operators informs Kuvira they have pinpointed Future Industries Tower as the source of the electromagnetic pulse, and she turns, piloting the mecha in the tower's direction. Meanwhile, in Asami's office, Daw alerts the others to Kuvira's advance, and Korra asks Asami how much more time finishing the plasma saws will take. After Asami assures her that she is almost done, Baatar Jr. advises Korra to find the mecha's engine room, and reveals a way to defeat the machine: simultaneously shutting off the room's two emergency shutoff levers. Korra thanks him and tells the others to follow her, planning to stall for time by impeding the mecha's progress.
They confront the mecha on the streets nearby; Kuvira unleashes a spirit beam on Korra, who avoids the attack in midair and assaults the machine with earthbending. Her attacks continue as Kuvira tries to fire the weapon again, but the airbenders push the its barrel downward, directing the beam into the street below; the blast throws the mecha off balance, leaning it against a building. Kuvira, staggered, watches from the cockpit as, among the airbenders flying around the giant, Meelo slams against a window, looking through the glass at her. Kuvira tries to squash him with an arm of the mecha, but Meelo flies away, resulting in the mecha suit hitting itself. Kuvira fires on Meelo as he flies; while he avoids the attack, the beam comes close to striking Jinora. Tenzin intercepts Jinora in midair, saving her from a direct impact, but the blast knocks both of them unconscious. Ikki and Meelo dive to catch them as they fall; Ikki catches Jinora, and Meelo, struggling to break the fall of the much heavier Tenzin, manages to airbend with his feet, softening the impact with the hard ground. Bolin, Lin and Suyin slice a building and throw it against the mecha in an attempt to pin it down, but the mecha rights itself again, renewing the team's despair.
In the tunnel created by the badgermoles, Wu, still singing, is on a song thanking Yin for her help and kindness; while she looks on in admiration, the other refugees sport expressions of confusion and disbelief, several of them even covering their ears in an attempt to block out the royal's singing. The song is interrupted, however, when three mecha suits suddenly ambush their group. The Earth Empire sergeant orders them to surrender, as they are now Earth Kingdom prisoners, and adds that Wu needs to stop singing. Wu, in turn, tells him not to harm the innocent civilians with him, asking them to take him to Kuvira, with whom he has business to discuss. Tu tries to change his mind, but Wu insists and begins singing a song to Kuvira's soldiers, relaying to them his trust in his badgermoles, which promptly disappear into the darkness. As the Earth Empire sergeant starts to mock him, claiming his badgermoles have deserted him due to his "terrible singing", the badgermoles reappear and crush their mecha suits; a delighted Wu sings them a song to thank them.
At Asami's office, as Hiroshi cuts a piece of platinum using a plasma saw, Asami tells him that, if they stop the mecha suit, it will be because of his efforts. Hiroshi reminds her that she designed the suits, and that he has enjoyed working with his daughter, and the two finally reconcile with each other. Meanwhile, as they prepare to climb into the suits, Varrick tells Zhu Li he needs to attach something before they go; removing a ring from his pocket, he asks her if she will "do the thing" for the rest of their lives, and Zhu Li, thrilled, answers with a wholehearted yes. An ecstatic Varrick kisses Zhu Li, declaring that the time has come to "attach [their] barely functional rust buckets to a giant killer smashing machine".
The hummingbird suits, one piloted by Varrick and Zhu Li and the other by Asami and Hiroshi, join the fray around the mecha as the Beifongs and the airbenders try in vain to slow it down. As the hummingbird suits approach, Kuvira fires the cannon at them, but they avoid its attack easily; Varrick and Zhu Li land on its back, thinking it to be the mecha's blind spot, but it swivels around and nearly smashes them. Korra intervenes, bending water from a nearby river to freeze the mecha suit's body and left hand; with its free hand, Kuvira fires a spirit beam against Varrick and Zhu Li's hummingbird suit, damaging one of its wings and forcing them to eject as it plummets downward. Korra freezes its right hand, immobilizing the cannon, which gives Asami and Hiroshi the chance to approach it. They attack the suit to the mecha, and Hiroshi starts to cut a hole with a plasma saw; Kuvira, yelling at her cockpit crew, demands that they increase the power output to the mecha suit in order to free it. Asami notices the mecha's hand slowly cracking the ice around it, but when she tries to tell Hiroshi they should leave, he refuses, insisting he is close to finishing. Kuvira quickly frees the suit's hand; she brings it down on the hummingbird suit with crushing force, killing Hiroshi, but not before he ejects her from the suit, telling his daughter he loves her. As Asami, dangling from her parachute, watches, the mangled remains of the suit fall away, revealing the result of Hiroshi's sacrifice: a perfect breach in the skin of the towering mecha.
Korra, Mako, Bolin, Lin, and Suyin immediately dash toward the breach. Kuvira tries to crush them as well, but Korra blocks the arm's swing with a massive block of ice. Kuvira's final, desperate attempt to defend against them crashes down onto the breach too late: Team Avatar has successfully infiltrated the mecha.
==="The Last Stand"===
Kuvira's mecha suit struggles to free itself from the ice Korra has bent around it to immobilize it. Freeing one of its arms, it leverages itself on buildings and smashes the remaining ice until it once again returns to a standing position. As it moves down the street, an alarm sounds in the cockpit, notifying Kuvira and one of the mecha pilots that the hull of the mecha has been breached; Kuvira gives the order for her soldiers to apprehend the Avatar and her group. Down in the breach, Korra gives out her own orders: Suyin and Lin are to go to the arm and disable the weapon, and Mako and Bolin are to try to shut down the engine, while Korra will go after Kuvira herself. When Suyin expresses worried skepticism, based on Korra's last fight with Kuvira, Korra states firmly that that fight's end result will not repeat itself. The five depart to attend to their objectives.
In the engine room, two operators tend to a massive ball of spirit vines as purple bolts of energy jump out of it onto receptors on the ceiling. From under a hatch, Bolin lavabends a thin piece of earth into a molten saw-like blade, cutting through the hatch and allowing them to enter. They take on one soldier each, and begin to do battle with the metalbenders. During Mako's fight, his arm, caught by a flying metal shackle, firebends directly into the surface of the ball of glowing vines, causing a small explosion which throws both Mako and his opponent off their feet.
Meanwhile, Suyin and Lin have made their way to the arm; they only have enough time to gaze at its inner workings for a moment before they are accosted by a metalbender. Lin tells Suyin to disable the weapon while she deals with the metalbender below. As Lin fights, Suyin destroys the reloading mechanism of the weapon, causing the spirit-vine canisters to tumble downwards into the bottom of the arm, where they explode violently upon impact; Suyin barely dives out of the way as the blast screams upward. Lin returns to Suyin, having dealt with her opponent, and congratulates her on destroying the ammunition belt. Suyin remarks that while the outside may be platinum, the inside is not, and the two sisters proceed to cause as much damage as possible.
In the cockpit, an operator reports the loss of functionality in the firing mechanism. When Kuvira, stating that it is not a malfunction but a deliberate incident, attempts to take control of the arm once again, she finds it utterly unresponsive. Knowing that she has lost the connection and the weapon has been rendered useless, she uses the good arm to tear the weapon arm from the mecha; as Suyin and Lin bend themselves to the inside of the arm, Kuvira flings it from her, and it crashes into a nearby building; the weapon barrel itself breaks off from the arm and spirals into the spirit wilds. Suyin and Lin, kept safe by their restraints, are rendered unconscious by the impact.
As Kuvira stares out the front window, a loud metallic thud sounds from behind her; she turns to see the cockpit hatch crumpling and distorting under repeated blows, and as it flies off its hinges into the cabin, Korra shoots through after it, firebending and airbending simultaneously and rendering the pilots unconscious by slamming them into the walls. Kuvira dodges out of the way of the blast and as Korra lands, they begin to duel; the cockpit becomes more and more damaged as the battle progresses.
In the engine room, Mako manages to defeat his opponent; yelling to Bolin that he is ready to pull his shutdown lever, Bolin yells back that he is not ready, still dueling his own soldier. Blinding the soldier by cutting a steam line and rushing him, Bolin finally defeats his soldier. The brothers pull their levers at the same time, but the ball of vines shows no sign of shutting down; Bolin, panicked, speculates that Kuvira installed an override device on the engine. When Bolin is unable to find a way to override the system and mentions that all he knows about the vines is that they are highly unstable, Mako, after a moment's hesitation, decides to manually destroy the ball of vines by shooting lightning at it. Bolin realizes that the odds of Mako surviving the attempt are not good, and he objects to Mako's idea; Mako, however, is set on his plan, and Bolin relents, making Mako promise to get himself out as quickly as possible. The brothers hug and express their love for each other. As Bolin carries the unconscious engineers out of the engine room, Mako blasts the vines with electricity, and the room begins to systematically detonate around him; even as his body is thrown against the wall of the room and his attacking arm is terribly burned by a surge from the vines which burns the sleeve off his arm, he continues his own assault on the vines, only giving up when the mass becomes critically unstable and strikes him directly in the chest with a purplish arc of energy. Mako falls unconscious on the floor, half-leaning over the hatch, as the mass nears its explosive demise.
In the cockpit, Korra and Kuvira continue dueling; neither of them seems to be able to gain the upper hand, as both of them are at their peak. They continue fighting as Korra uses her bending and physicality to gain the upper hand. As Korra jumps into the air to land a crushing blow, she uses an air blast on Kuvira, as she uses a metal plate on Korra, hitting each other at the same time mid-air. Back in the failing engine room, Bolin goes back for Mako, taking his body down the hatch and to relative safety as the ball of vines begins to flare with raw, uncontrolled energy. The mecha shudders, throwing Korra and Kuvira off their feet in the cockpit; beams of energy begin to shoot outwards from the heart of the mecha as the core dies. There is a bright flash of light and a brief, dim pause before the mecha is torn in two by a massive explosion; the top half flies through the air and tumbles into a building as the lower half collapses to the ground. As Korra and Kuvira hold on desperately, the cockpit follows the lower half, free falling to the street. A massive cloud of dust rises before clearing out to reveal the wreck of the mecha. In the wreckage lie Mako and Bolin, unconscious. Korra blasts the window out of the cockpit and helps an injured Kuvira from the rubble; when she tells Kuvira, seemingly stunned, that the battle is over and that she must surrender to Raiko, the metalbender catches her off-guard and strikes her in the face with a chunk of rock. Momentarily stunned, Korra turns over to see Kuvira fleeing into the spirit wilds. Korra gives chase.
Stumbling through the overgrown space, Kuvira responds to Korra's yelled demand to give up with a mumbled "never". She soon stumbles through a curtain of vines and looks up in wonder at something before her. Korra demands once again that Kuvira surrender, to which Kuvira yells back defiantly that Korra will have to take her herself if she wants a surrender. Following the sound of Kuvira's voice, Korra stumbles right into Kuvira, who, to Korra's horror, has found the spirit weapon entangled and ostensibly powered by the surrounding spirit vines; the barrel is aimed right at Korra. With a confident "Now it's over", Kuvira fires the only round left in the weapon. Korra tumbles out of the way of the beam as it fires; the blast lasts an unusually long time, and the vines from which the weapon hangs begin to glow purple as well. As they snap, the barrel swings upward, slashing through buildings and trees in its path as Kuvira holds tightly to its side. Korra, on her feet again, yells at Kuvira to shut the weapon down; when Kuvira tries to do so, the weapon does not respond. Suddenly losing her grip on the side of the weapon, she falls to the ground, tumbling for a considerable distance before coming to a stop. Raising her head, she watches in terror as the beam swings around toward her.
Just before the beam washes over her, Korra steps between Kuvira and the beam; entering the Avatar State, she extends her hands and bends, blocking the beam and causing it to balloon into a purple orb around them. After a few seconds, the orb begins to expand explosively, extending itself to a massive size that covers a small area at the heart of Republic City's central peninsula. Larger and larger it grows, a wave of blinding purple energy expanding through the streets as Tenzin and his kids take refuge in a nearby building. Asami as well narrowly avoids the expanding dome by ducking into a railway tunnel; by now, the massive orb has enveloped a large majority of the central peninsula. The blast of energy coursing through the streets suddenly arrests its motion; the cloud of dust hangs in the air for a brief moment before returning to its source, compacting itself into a tiny ball where Korra and Kuvira are, now surrounded by a vast expanse of spirit vines created by the expansion of the energy. Compacting beyond its threshold, the tiny ball of energy flares yellow and shoots a final, permanent beam of energy into the sky, its core occupied by two spiraling bands of green and yellow; at its base sits a rotating orb of focused greenish-yellow energy. The beam rises into the sky as mecha pilots nearby watch and Bolin, now awake, pulls Mako, semiconscious, out of the wreckage, which is nearly covered in spirit vines. Together, they gaze in amazement at the wondrous sight before them. Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo gaze on it as well as Tenzin acknowledges the creation of a new spirit portal.
Both sides arrive at the site of the portal and begins searching for Korra and Kuvira; however, they are nowhere to be found. Korra awakes to find herself as a spirit; her glowing blue form stares back at a reddish-purple copy of herself. As she looks at it, it morphs into an unconscious Kuvira. Their colors fade as they descend toward the ground in the Spirit World. Kuvira crumples as soon as her feet hit the ground, and Korra catches her before she falls. Coming to in Korra's arms, Kuvira panics and, pushing Korra over, stumbles through the field of purple-pink spirit flowers in which they are sitting. She asks if they are dead, and Korra tells her where they are and explains that the energy from her weapon created a new portal and sent them there. Kuvira expresses bewilderment as to why Korra would save her life after the things she has done. Korra replies that she thinks she saw a bit of herself in Kuvira; Kuvira rejects the presumption angrily, and Korra explains the similarities in their personalities, their determination and occasional thoughtlessness. Kuvira, falling to her knees in the flowers, tells Korra that this is her fault, that if she had surrendered, this would not have happened. Korra retorts that Kuvira brought her downfall on herself, having had full knowledge of the wrongness of her actions while doing them.
An angry and distraught Kuvira accuses Korra of being absent, thereby forcing her to do something, as Suyin had chosen not to step in and take over the Earth Kingdom while it was in chaos, "abandoning" her people. She expresses the opinion that she had no other choice, that since no one else would act to save the country, she had to act herself. Korra, after a short pause, tells Kuvira that she thinks she understands her; Kuvira had been an orphan, and the feeling of abandonment tormented her. As a result, when she saw the Earth Kingdom thrown into chaos, she refused to abandon it to the same fate as herself. Her goal was to create a country sufficiently strong to ensure that it would never be threatened by any opposing force in the future. Korra claims that she understands her predicament and knows of Kuvira's origins as an orphan adopted by Suyin. Kuvira said that Korra could not possibly understand, as the Avatar is adored by millions, while she was rejected by her own parents, as if she meant nothing to her. Crying, she says that she could not allow the same thing to happen to her nation when it needed someone to guide it. Korra sits down with Kuvira in the flowers, telling her that she can relate to Kuvira, as she would have given anything to regain some semblance of control after being poisoned by Zaheer.
On the city side of the portal, spirits pour out of it, filling the area. As Tenzin announces the return of the spirits, Asami notices two figures emerging through the portal. Korra and Kuvira walk out of the portal, the former supporting the latter, and as Bolin yells in happiness, mecha suits surround them and order that Korra release Kuvira. Walking free of Korra, Kuvira orders them to stand down, declaring the battle officially over and hailing the Avatar as the one who saved her life. Acknowledging that her power is too great to be contested with, she accepts any punishment that the city may inflict upon her and surrenders herself. As Lin and Suyin escort Kuvira away in handcuffs, she apologizes, though Lin tells her that she will have to answer for everything she has done. the gang gives Korra a group hug.
Sometime in the very near future, Bolin presides over the marriage of Varrick and Zhu Li. Varrick, in his typical manner, tells the cameraman to focus on him, as it is "[his] big day!" Bolin gives a short discourse on the sometimes-fickle nature of love and the bond between the two before Pabu climbs onto his shoulder with the vows tied in a ribbon around his neck. When Bolin finds a section in the vows written by Varrick stating that Zhu Li will have to scrub the calluses off his feet twice a week, he refuses to read any further, but Zhu Li tells Varrick that she does not mind any of that, so long as she has him. Bolin concludes the ceremony with "You may now do the thing", and Zhu Li happily kisses her new husband as the crowd applauds; Varrick breaks down into tears, telling Zhu Li that the reason is "You just make me so dang happy!"
Later in the evening, the dinner party is in full swing; Tahno, the former pro-bender, plays trombone as the people, including the new couple, dance. Mako compliments Wu on his newly developed leadership abilities; stating that this does not mean that he will try to make him and Korra a couple, Wu responds that "sometimes a good evacuation is its own reward." Korra walks up to him, addressing him as King Wu and asking if he is ready to return to Ba Sing Se; Wu, somewhat nervously and to their astonishment, tells them that he is actually considering abdicating the throne and abolishing the monarchy in the Earth Kingdom. Mako asks if Wu is joking, and Wu responds that, for once, he is not, stating his vision for independent states with democratically elected leaders, as per the United Republic. Korra and Mako express their approval for the idea, and Wu leaves for the dance floor. After a short exchange about Mako's arm, which is in a cast and sling, Mako tells Korra that he is completely loyal to her, and that he would follow her into battle anywhere if she asked; he promises her that no matter what, "I will always have your back." Korra is touched by the gesture.
Shortly afterward, Korra stands at the gate to the island, staring out across the water at the brilliant beam of the new spirit portal rising into the sky. Tenzin walks up next to her and tells her about a plan by Raiko to expand the city rather than attempt to fix the very damaged downtown area. Korra remarks that Aang could never have imagined that one day, there would be a spirit portal in the middle of Republic City. Tenzin tells her that she has done more to change the world in a few years than most Avatars had in their lifetimes; Korra responds that she feels like her work has only just begun, and that there is much she wants to learn and do. She and Tenzin both agree that life is one big, bumpy ride. After a short, contemplative pause, Korra tells Tenzin that she understands why she was poisoned; she had to learn what true suffering was in order to become compassionate to people like Kuvira. Tenzin puts a hand on Korra's shoulder and she place hers atop his.
Asami soon walks up, telling Tenzin that Varrick wanted to borrow a glider suit to jump off the tower, and Tenzin races off in a panic to stop him. As they watch Tenzin run off, Korra asks Asami to sit with her for a few moments. After Asami sits, Korra apologizes for being gone for so long, but Asami tells her there is no need to apologize for anything; she is just glad to have her here now. She tears up and turns away as she tells Korra that she is not sure she could handle losing her father and Korra in the same day. Korra offers her condolences, and they hug as Asami muses that she is glad she had been able to at least forgive her father for his mistakes.
When Korra suggests that they make their way back to the dance floor, Asami tells her that she is "all danced out" and notes that she could really use a vacation. Korra, jumping at the chance, tells her that a vacation is a great idea and offers to take her anywhere she wants, just the two of them. After a pause for thought, Asami picks the Spirit World, which Korra deems to be perfect. Later, Korra and Asami walk alone across the vine waste toward the new portal. As they approach it, they glance contently at each other and smile. They hold hands and walk into the brilliant golden light of the portal, where they turn and lovingly look into each other's eyes, signifying the start of their romantic relationship. The golden glow envelops them and they cross over into the Spirit World.
==Cast==
*Janet Varney as Korra
*David Faustino as Mako
*P.J. Byrne as Bolin
*Seychelle Gabriel as Asami
*J.K. Simmons as Tenzin
*Mindy Sterling as Beifong
*Logan Wells as Meelo
*Jeff Bennett as Shiro Shinobi, Pilot, Helmsman
*Jennifer Veals as Girl Female #1
*Tara Fitzgerald as Girl Female #2, Old Grandma
*John Michael Higgins as Varrick
*Stephanie Sheh as Zhu Li
*Kelly Hu as General Captain
*Anne Heche as Su
*Maria Bamford as Pema, Radio, operator
*Zelda Williams as Kuvira
*Todd Haberkorn as Baatar Jr.
*Spencer Garrett as Raiko, Soldier
*Sunil Malhotra as Wu, Guard
*Dante Basco as General, Iroh
*Greg Cipes as Tu
*Dee Bradley Baker as Helmsman, Concerned evacuee
*Jim Meskimen as Daw, Conductor, Mecha suit
*Susanne Blakeslee as Old Lady
*Daniel Dae Kim as Hiroshi
==Trivia==
*The episode's title is misspelled for "Beginning of the Last Stand", also a reference to Welcome to Republic City.
* The scene where Baatar Jr. is captured was originally written to be much longer, but later cut down by Michael Dante DiMartino and Tim Hedrick.Joshua Hamilton on the DVD commentary for "Kuvira's Gambit".
* The liquid metal orbs inside the giant mecha suit are from Suyin's meteorite collection.Bryan Konietzko on the DVD commentary for "Kuvira's Gambit".
* Bryan Konietzko stated that Kuvira did love Baatar Jr. despite her actions.
* Bryan Konietzko ships Mako with the female radio operator from Republic City's communications room.
* Korra a reference to the battle against Amon in "Endgame".
* The building on which the airbenders perch to overbalance the mecha suit with their airbending bears similarities to the Flatiron Building in New York City.
* This is Meelo's last speaking role in the series.
* "The Last Stand" and "Day of the Colossus" were the only two episodes to be released together in Book Four.
* The waiters at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding are dressed like Nuktuk in The Adventures of Nuktuk: Hero of the South.
* The necklace Korra wears during Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding is similar to the one Aang wore at Zuko's coronation in "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang", being circular in shape with three tassels hanging from it.
* Although it was not explicitly mentioned during the series, the final shot of Korra and Asami holding hands while entering the spirit portal was meant to depict the evolution of their friendship into a romantic relationship.
** The way in which Korra and Asami turned toward each other with their hands clasped together parallels Varrick and Zhu Li's nuptial pose from the wedding scene shown earlier in the episode.
** The score that played during the final scene with Korra and Asami contained similar elements to "The Avatar's Love", a song that was played several times in the first series during romantic scenes between Aang and Katara.
==Reference==
==External links==
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Category:The Legend of Korra episodes
Category:Multi-part episodes
Category:Series finales