Rebel Spirit

"Rebel Spirit" is the first episode of Book Two: Spirits of The Legend of Korra and the 13th episode of the overall series. It was aired on July 19, 2013, for attendees of the The Legend of Korra panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, and premiered on Nickelodeon on September 13, 2013, alongside "The Southern Lights".
== Overview ==
Team Avatar and Tenzin's family travel to the Southern Water Tribe to attend the Glacier Spirits Festival. While there, Korra's uncle, Unalaq, attempts to persuade Korra to let him advise her about the spirits, but both Korra's father and Tenzin assert that she needs to focus on her airbending. However, during the festival, Korra discovers that it was her father and Tenzin rather than Aang who kept her locked away, and after a dark spirit attacks, Korra breaks off her studies under Tenzin and takes up Unalaq as her instructor.
== Synopsis ==
The newsreel announces that it has been six months since the defeat of Amon and his Equalists. With the United Republic Council disbanded, Raiko has been elected the United Republic of Nations' first president. While Bumi retired from the United Forces and found a home on Air Temple Island, Korra and Mako continued their relationship, becoming the talk of Republic City.
Somewhere in Southern Water Tribe territory, two fishermen stand on their boat. The elder fisherman jokingly warns the other of dangerous spirits lurking in the waters, and walks off with an eerie smile. A squid-like spirit with tentacles suddenly attacks the ship, dragging both fishermen beneath the waves to their deaths.DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Dos Santos, Joaquim & Montgomery, Lauren (July 1, 2014). "Darkness Falls" commentary. Book Two: Spirits Blu-ray.
In Republic City, Bolin is encouraging the new Fire Ferrets that this match will be better than their previous ones, but does not seem very confident. The Fire Ferrets enter the Pro-bending Arena and assume their fighting stance, but as soon as the bell rings to signal the start of the match, all three Fire Ferrets are promptly knocked off the stage. Their swift defeat by the Rhino Lions broke the record for fastest defeat in the history of the sport. As Bolin climbs back out of the water, he wonders where Mako is when he needs him.
Meanwhile, Mako is driving a motorcycle in pursuit of some members of the Red Monsoon Triad in a truck. In an effort to fend off the incoming police officer, two waterbenders in the back throw water on the road which freezes it instantly. Mako, who had been temporarily blinded by the mist, rides his motorcycle over the ice and starts slipping. However, before he falls down, he melts the ice with his firebending, enabling himself to get his vehicle back under control. The maneuver made him swerve to the side, where a parked vehicle was blocking his path. As opposed to stopping, he uses it as a ramp and propels himself in the air, sailing over the triad's truck. He flips in midair and aims a fire blast at the hood of the truck, frying the motor and causing it to explode. He lands smoothly as the truck flips over and explodes. As the triad members crawl out, dizzied by the impact, he casually walks over to them and mocks them by saying that it "looks like [you] were having car trouble, good thing the police are here."
Asami Sato lands one of the biplanes her father had manufactured for the Equalists. As she jumps down from the plane, she happily announces to a Future Industries employee that the modifications she made to the planes have made them suitable for shipment. The man has less good news, as he tells her that, due to Hiroshi's participation in the Anti-bending Revolution, no one wants anything to do with Future Industries, putting the company on the verge of bankruptcy. Asami waves away the concern, stating she is aware of the problem and has a plan to fix it: she will go to the South Pole to meet someone who could revive their ailing company. However, as she walks away from the man, the confident look on her face falters and is replaced by one of worry.
At Air Temple Island, Korra is in the midst of an air scooter race with Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. The four carelessly make their way across the island, nearly running over Pema and Rohan. As they reach the finish line, Korra is in second place after Ikki, and subsequently enters the Avatar State to give her airbending an extra power boost, and she pulls ahead, winning the race before Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo, who finished last. Bumi, who now lives on Air Temple Island after retiring from the United Forces, declares Korra to be the winner, although Ikki complains that the use of the Avatar State to win a race is cheating. Korra smugly responds by giving her a raspberry.
Tenzin overhears the conversation and berates Korra for using the Avatar State as a "booster rocket" and that she needs more training to master her spiritual depths. Korra argues with Tenzin, believing she knows best when it comes to the Avatar State since she is the Avatar. She also announces that she has mastered airbending, despite Tenzin's complaints, though Bumi is quick to support her. Turning his attention to his elder brother, Tenzin sighs and asks in annoyance if it is not too late for him to rejoin the United Forces. Bumi joyously tells him that his resignation papers have already been processed, making it "24/7 Bumi Time" from then on.
Tenzin refocuses on Korra and tells her that she needs to complete her classical airbending training and expresses his hope that a trip to all the air temples will help her do that. His children get excited, but Jinora and Ikki quickly get into a fight over what style of tattoos they are supposed to have. Tenzin quickly breaks up the fight and promises that they are going to have a good time on this trip. Since he is no longer a council member, following the disbanding of the council in the wake of the Anti-bending Revolution, Tenzin now has more time to teach Korra and to spend with his family. However, his more relaxed attitude prompts Bumi to start teasing him about being "vacation Tenzin", as the former commander cannot believe his younger brother can relax. Korra declares that they are all going to the Southern Water Tribe's Glacier Spirits Festival before going to the air temples, earning the joy of the airbender kids while Tenzin displays a defeated face. Bumi takes advantage of the moment to tease Tenzin some more, joyfully pointing out that the airbender cannot tell him not to come since their mother already invited him.
On the ship taking the entire party to the Southern Water Tribe, Mako recounts his capture of the triad criminals, and is particularly proud of his line "Looks like you were having car trouble, good thing the police are here." Korra laughs and asks if he wrote that himself, to which Mako proudly states that he did, before pulling out a list of different lines he wrote himself. Korra points out one she likes, and Mako says he will use it next time. He also proudly informs Korra that Chief Lin Beifong says he may be promoted to a detective soon. Korra expressed envy of him, informing Mako that Tenzin feels that she is growing irresponsible as the Avatar. Mako attempted to reason that Tenzin is only trying to help her, only for Korra to storm off. Frustrated, he asked Naga why it is easier to handle criminals than his girlfriend.
As the ship arrives at Wolf Cove, Avatar Aang's sons are reunited with their only sister, Kya, who happily embraces her nieces and nephew. The waterbender immediately starts to tease Tenzin for being scared that she will beat him up, to which Tenzin responds that he is not afraid of her anymore. Korra's parents are also at the docks, and introduce themselves to Mako. Bolin is excited about the large crowd that is present to greet them, though Korra points out that they are there for Unalaq and his children, the twins Desna and Eska, guiding the earthbender's attention to them. Bolin immediately expresses his infatuation over both twins until Korra mentions that Desna is male. Meanwhile, Tonraq maintains a tense attitude toward his brother, the chief of the Water Tribes, despite his wife's assurances that he will be gone soon.
As the two parties walk around the festival grounds, Unalaq is disappointed that the Glacier Spirits Festival is not as it used to be and describes the deep spiritual roots it once had, mentioning boats being attacked by spirits, much to Korra's intrigue. He asks Korra if she will have him as her spiritual guide and mentor, but Tonraq and Tenzin interject, insisting that the Avatar is busy with airbending training. Korra notices the tension between her father and uncle, which appears to be one of mutual distrust. When Korra learns about the attacks on sailors, she becomes more interested in fighting spirits than learning more advanced airbending techniques, adding to her already apparent disinterest in the training.
In a nearby house, Asami takes Bolin to accompany her when she meets Varrick, a rich businessman whom she believes can help her save Future Industries. She tells Bolin he is her assistant and that he should not speak at all. As they make their way through the large crowd surrounding Varrick, who is sitting down on a pillow, the businessman asks about his levitation. Despite Asami telling him not to speak, Bolin promptly tells him that he is not levitating at all. Varrick appears to be mad about this revelation, specifically that no one told him, and instead fires his levitation instructor, and tells Bolin that he likes his style. He proceeds to show Bolin what appears to be the first moving picture; it is of an ostrich horse. The businessman quickly loses interest, dismissing the moving picture as "old news", and shows off a showgirl named Ginger. Asami approaches Varrick and inquires about the deal, prompting a close proximity stare down between the two of them. It does not last long, as Varrick breaks the eye contact after a few seconds, saying that he agrees, promising to finalize the details later at the banquet, prompting a pleased Asami to hug Bolin, calling him a natural.
Later, during the Royal Feast, Unalaq expresses yet again his disappointment over the lack of spirituality at the Southern Water Tribe, saying he plans to change that in the future, much to Tonraq's displeasure. Meanwhile, Korra finds out that it was not Aang's last wish to have her locked away in the Southern Water Tribe compound to focus on her bending training but rather her father and Tenzin's. Upset about the revelation, she tells her father that who she trains with should be her decision.
Inside the dining room, Tenzin is eating with his siblings, both of whom are teasing him, particularly about "vacation Tenzin", much to his embarrassment. As Bumi and Kya continue to poke fun at Tenzin, while Katara watches on holding Rohan, a sombre look on her face.
After dinner, Bolin, Mako, and Korra attend the festival. Mako and Korra are feeding each other cotton candy, which causes Bolin to feel uncomfortable. He tells Korra he is going to make a move on her cousin Eska, to which Korra retorts that she has always found the two rather creepy.
Bolin begins talking to the twins, though Desna does not seem to like Bolin and notes to Eska that Bolin is trying to establish a bond with her. Eska, however, seems to not mind the attention she is receiving, interested in spending time with someone whom she labels to be "rough" and "uncultured". Upon noting that she will make him hers, Bolin wonders if she meant like a boyfriend or slave, which only prompted Elsa to say yes. She grabs him by his collar, telling him that he amuses her, and drags him away to win her something at the games.
Meanwhile, Korra and Mako play a water shooting game, where the goal is to squirt water from guns into a chibi Aang's mouth. During the game, the two start talking about Korra being locked away, prompting her to get upset, and she angrily but unintentionally bends a ton of water into Aang's mouth, causing her to win the game and a stuffed Appa toy. Mako says he supports her, and Korra asks if he really thinks so. When he answers that he does not know, but rather supposes he should support her no matter what he thinks or believes about the situation, convinced that is what she would want him to do, Korra gets mad and throws the stuffed animal at him. Mako calls after her, questioning if he should be supportive or tell her what he thinks.
During the night after the festival, Naga wakes up and begins howling outside of the tent Korra is in. Korra runs outside to calm the polar bear dog down, albeit with little success as Mako and Bolin are also awoken by the howling. However, Naga had meant to warn them, as Korra spots a Dark Spirit in the distance. The spirit quickly makes its way toward the Avatar and attacks her, prompting Mako and Bolin to run toward them. The spirit pins Korra against a wall, but is distracted by Mako and Bolin's attacks. Their bending only seems to further anger the spirit, however, who swiftly defeats them. Korra begins to attack the spirit, and is assisted in her endeavor by her father, who encases the spirit in ice. However, the spirit breaks free from the cage and launches both Tonraq and Korra away. Tenzin arrives and attempts to speak to the spirit, asking why it is angry, but to no avail as he is immediately batted away.
After Korra recovers, she enters the Avatar State, which catches the spirit's attention. The spirit makes its way toward Korra once more, who lifts herself into the air to dodge its attack, and firebends at it. Seemingly unaffected by the attack, the spirit grabs Korra with a tendril and brings her to the ground. As the spirit is about to deliver the final blow, it is suddenly put into a trance-like state when Unalaq encircles it with water. The spirit changes color and starts to glow, eventually disappearing.
Later on, Unalaq offers again to become Korra's spiritual adviser and, after an argument between him, Tonraq, and Tenzin, she accepts, saying she needs to learn how to fight spirits rather than focus on her airbending. She subsequently breaks off her ties with Tenzin, who is heartbroken by her actions, but retains a respectful attitude toward her and her decisions. At Katara's request, Kya and Bumi agree to accompany Tenzin in his mission to tend to the air temples. Meanwhile, Korra asks Mako if she made the right decision; however, he is unsure, but he says her heart is in the right place. Unalaq approaches and comforts Korra, stating that he has great plans for her.
== Credits ==
* Written by:
** Tim Hedrick
* Directed by:
** Colin Heck
* Starring:
** Janet Varney - Korra
** David Faustino - Mako
** P. J. Byrne - Bolin
** Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
** J. K. Simmons - Tenzin
** James Remar - Tonraq
** Adrian LaTourelle - Unalaq
** Dee Bradley Baker:
*** Naga
*** Pabu
*** Oogi
* Also starring:
** John Michael Higgins - Varrick
** Kiernan Shipka - Jinora
** Darcy Rose Byrnes - Ikki
** Logan Wells - Meelo
** Alex McKenna - Senna
** Lisa Edelstein - Kya
** Richard Riehle - Bumi
** Aubrey Plaza - Eska
** Aaron Himelstein - Desna
** Jeff Bennett:
*** Radio broadcaster
*** Carnival barker
*** Engineer
** Kevin Michael Richardson - Old salt
** Sean Gantka - Greenhorn
* Additional voices:
** Jeff Bennett
** Dee Bradley Baker
** Kevin Michael Richardson
** J. K. Simmons
** Sean Gantka
* Special guest star:
** Eva Marie Saint - Katara
== Production notes ==
=== Transcript ===
=== Character revelations ===
* Tonraq and Tenzin are revealed as the individuals who decided to isolate Korra in the Southern Water Tribe compound, as opposed to Aang.
=== Goofs ===
* When Asami talks to her engineer, she is holding her helmet in her left hand, though when the shot switches to a closer one and she tells her engineer not to worry, the helmet is gone.
* On the exterior shot of the passenger ship to the Southern Water Tribe, the paddles on the side of the ship are not moving.
* In the booth where Korra wins a plush Appa, there are six players with water guns, but only five targets.
=== Trivia ===
* The new members of the Fire Ferrets resemble Mako and Korra, although the elements they bend are opposite to those of the players they replaced.
** The new firebender of the Fire Ferrets also resembles the fan who cosplayed as Korra during the Pro-Bending Championship finals in 170 AG.
* One of the network's notes on the episode involved expanding the gag of Pema throwing and catching her groceries in the air, wanting it to occur throughout Book Two with her fumbling around with other items like laundry. The recommendation did not pan out, as the creators felt the "1950s scenario" didn't fit with their style of humor.DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Dos Santos, Joaquim & Hedrick, Tim (July 1, 2014). "Rebel Spirit" commentary. Book Two: Spirits Blu-ray.
* The moving picture Varrick showed to Asami and Bolin is similar to Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, a sequence of photographs depicting a galloping horse considered as the first film.
* Tonraq's description of Unalaq's visit to the Southern Water Tribe is similar to Ozai's welcome to Zuko after the former's imprisonment at the end of the Hundred Year War.
* The water shooting booth features targets with the same chibi design of Aang that was used in the Super Deformed Shorts.
** In the episode's DVD commentary, Bryan Konietzko stated that Aang's chibi design being part of an in-universe attraction was a fun and organic way to include the design in the show.
* The carnival barker for the water shooting booth had more lines of dialogue in the original script, including a helpful jingle on how to play the game.
* Tenzin's attempt to reason with the dark spirits is a nod to how his father, Aang, tried to talk to hostile spirits in the original series.
* "Rebel Spirit" is the first episode in the Avatar series to play a scene between the intro and the title card.
* This is the first episode of The Legend of Korra not to be written by either Michael Dante DiMartino or Konietzko, and the first not to be directed by Joaquim Dos Santos or Ki Hyun Ryu.
== References ==
de:Ein rebellischer Geist
es:Espíritu Rebelde
fi:Rebel Spirit
fr:Esprits Rebelles
nl:Korra:Rebel Spirit
pl:Zbuntowany duch
pt-br:Espírito Rebelde
ru:Мятежный Дух
Category:A to Z
Category:Book Two: Spirits
Category:Episodes of The Legend of Korra
Category:Real world