Harmonic Convergence (episode)

:This article is about the episode. For the celestial event, see Harmonic Convergence.
"Harmonic Convergence" is the 12th episode of Book Two: Spirits of The Legend of Korra, and the 24th episode of the overall series. It aired alongside "Night of a Thousand Stars" on Nickelodeon on November 15, 2013.
== Overview ==
With Jinora's spiritless body in the care of Katara, Korra and her friends attempt to break through the Northern defenses surrounding the Southern spirit portal. Despite being captured by Unalaq's forces, they eventually manage to enter the Spirit World. Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin leave to find Jinora's spirit, while Mako and Bolin hold off Unalaq at the portal itself to give Korra the time to close the portal before Harmonic Convergence start. Their plan fails, however, and Vaatu manages to break free from his prison inside the Tree of Time.
== Synopsis ==
On Varrick's battleship, Kya has placed Jinora inside a healing tub in an attempt to stabilize her condition. Bumi is outside playing a flute for Oogi, Naga, and Pabu, and Korra practices her airbending on a training dummy while Tenzin and Mako look on. While they watch, Bolin joins them, wearing a coat and eating a pie. Astonished by the attributes, Mako asks his brother where he got them. Bolin amusedly points out that they are on Varrick's ship, so they could find anything. Recalling his discovery of the level filled with funhouse mirrors and the catgator deck, he muses that he misses Varrick, as the businessman knew how to make things interesting. He asks Mako if he has told Korra the truth about the severity of their argument and that he sort of began dating Asami in her absence. Mako tries to explain that he is "waiting for the right moment", but Bolin, quoting his brother, tells him to get it over with quickly, like "ripping off a bloodsucking leech". At that moment, Korra emphasizes her drive to close the spirit portals and defeat Unalaq and Vaatu by attacking the dummy with firebending, decapitating it; the head tumbles through the air and lands at Mako's feet. Mako, suddenly fearful, decides against telling Korra, to Bolin's amusement.
When Tenzin describes his plan of attack, which entails "blasting" their way through the blockade at the harbor to rendezvous with Tonraq's forces in order to "crash" through the Northern defenses around the spirit portal and enter the Spirit World, Kya and Bumi point out that his strategy is uncharacteristically violent for him. Tenzin promptly declares he will do anything to save Jinora. Intending to give a short talk about strategy, deeming Tenzin's plan to be overly aggressive, especially given their own limited resources, Bumi begins to tell them another one of his war stories, but Tenzin, not taking him seriously, cuts him off. As Asami joins the group on the deck, she alerts them of their imminent arrival, though also of the distress call she received from the South.
The group arrives at the White Lotus' compound, where Korra reunites with her mother, who tells her that her father has been captured and the entire southern resistance crushed. Tenzin, carrying the still unconscious Jinora, learns from Senna that Katara is inside the healing hut with so many injured. Making his way inside, along with Korra, Senna, Bumi, and Kya, Katara notices them and immediately comes over, asking them what happened to her granddaughter. Learning that Jinora's soul has been trapped inside the Spirit World for almost a week, Katara places Jinora in a healing tub and immediately starts to work on her. As Tenzin asks how much longer Jinora might last in her condition, Katara has no answer, but she tells her son that Jinora is strong to have stayed alive even for a week.
Back outside, the group confers about their plan of action. Korra shares her discovery from talking to the rebels that the spirit portal is heavily guarded, prompting Tenzin to declare they will simply have to break through the enemy lines on their own. Bumi again begins to recount one of his adventures, in which he used a catapult to drop in from above in order to reach a defended oasis in the desert. While Tenzin snaps at Bumi for his lack of seriousness and furiously orders him to stop making things up, Asami is inspired by Bumi's take and suggests she, Mako, and Bolin use the biplane on Varrick's ship to create a diversion to give Korra, Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya the opportunity to fly Oogi through the portal whenever they see an opening. As they set out accordingly, Naga and Pabu are left behind at the compound.
Meditating in one of the tents at his fortification, Unalaq is interrupted by Desna and Eska, who are unsure why they are still at the South Pole. Desna points out that the rebels have been subdued, effectively resulting in the unification of the two Water Tribes, and Eska adds that the two portals are open, restoring balance. They tell Unalaq that they would both like to go home, but Unalaq refuses their request, saying that there is a further goal they have not completed, one that will make all of their previous achievements "pale in comparison". As the twins look at each other in confusion, Unalaq describes to them a new world that he will rule, a unified world with no concept of separated nations. Not describing how he aims to accomplish this, he dismisses Desna and Eska, ordering them to prepare the army for Korra's arrival, which he believes to be imminent.
Approaching the base around the spirit portal, Asami signals the team riding Oogi that they are ready to begin, prompting the bison to hide in the clouds overhead. The team on the plane tries to ease their minds, taking comfort in the assumption that their opponents will be caught off guard. As they reach the base, however, they find the Northern Water Tribe army ready for them. Maneuvering through an onslaught of icicle spikes sent their way, Asami brings the plane close to the ground, allowing Mako to wreak havoc with his firebending. In a second attack, Asami swerves through the projectiles aimed at them by mecha tanks, giving Bolin the opportunity to bend explosive packs upon the machines and detonating them. Despite taking some hits as well, they manage to damage the defenses severely and scatter some troops, until Desna and Eska join in. With combined forces, the twins manage to sever the tail from the plane, forcing Asami to make a crash landing that renders them all unconscious.
Under the cover of the distraction, the team on Oogi reaches the base as well, though they fail to find an opening due to an abundance of spirits. Before they could circle around to find another way through, Oogi is attacked by dark spirits. Despite Korra, Kya, and Bumi's efforts to ward off the spirits, some attach themselves to Oogi, weighing him down and causing him to lose altitude. During the scuffle, Bumi engages with a floating spirit, resulting in the two of them falling in the snow blanket below. Unable to remain in flight any longer, Oogi crashes hard into the snow, rendering his passengers unconscious and easy targets to capture for the Northern soldiers.
Korra wakes up to find herself bound in a tent, along with Kya, Tenzin, and a heavily wounded Tonraq. As her father apologizes for failing her, she wills him to not give up yet, as Harmonic Convergence is not there yet. At that moment, Desna and Eska throw a bound Asami, Mako, and Bolin inside the tent. Entering as well, Unalaq mockingly congratulates them on gaining "front row seats to the beginning of the new world order". Korra pleads with him to reconsider, as freeing Vaatu will not make him powerful but rather a traitor to "everything good that has happened for the last ten thousand years". Unalaq denounces her belief in the rightness of Wan's decision to separate the Spirit World from the physical, labeling it to be chaos as opposed to balance. He rejects the Avatar's role as the bridge between the worlds, expressing the belief that spirits and humans should live together as one. Korra assures Unalaq that she will force Vaatu back into his prison if he is released, just like Wan did before her. Acknowledging that the fusion between Wan and Raava tipped the scales in Raava's favor, Unalaq reveals his ultimate goal: he plans to level the playing field by fusing himself with Vaatu during Harmonic Convergence and become the new Avatar, a Dark Avatar.
Tonraq weakly asks his brother to reconsider this plan to throw away his humanity and the lives of his children to become a monster, but Unalaq brushes it aside, stating his future form will be no different than that of Korra's, with the exception that he will be fully in tune with his spiritual side. He leaves and tasks Desna and Eska to make sure the captives do not escape, promising that he will be back for Korra once Harmonic Convergence is over. When Tenzin reflects that Jinora's spirit is lost for good, Kya reminds him that Bumi is still out there.
Bumi emerges from the snow and tries to fight the floating spirit that he pulled off Oogi. Attempts at physically attacking and stabbing fail to work against the spirit until he pulls out his flute. The spirit, puzzled, stops and gazes at him. Noticing this, Bumi begins to play and the spirit proceeds to calm down. Bumi continues playing, tames the spirit, and reunites with Naga and Pabu. He subsequently sneaks inside the camp around the portal and begins to play his flute once more to tame the other spirits. This time, though, the spirits attack him and he hides inside a mecha tank. The spirits get inside and proceed to take control. Bumi tries to fight them off from inside and is eventually able to escape. He is delighted to find that he was able to destroy the entire Northern camp around the portal during his struggle.
Back at the tent, Korra tries to reason with her cousins, but they refuse to help. She reminds them that Unalaq will not be their father anymore and that they will not be safe from his wrath. Desna firmly denies this and stands behind his father's beliefs that this is right. Suddenly Bumi flies through, proclaiming that help has arrived. The twins approach him but Naga knocks them out and Bumi frees his friends and family. Tenzin is amazed with what Bumi did and asks how he was able to do this; Bumi begins to answer but stops, claiming that they "would [not] believe [him] anyway".
Upon reaching the portal, Korra has Asami take Tonraq back to Katara. She splits up those remaining into separate groups: Tenzin, Bumi and Kya will go find Jinora while Bolin and Mako will engage Unalaq and Korra will go to close the portals. When asked if they might become trapped inside the portal if Korra fails, she hesitates to answer and tells them to move. They make it inside and Unalaq directs the spirits toward them. Korra sends Tenzin and his siblings off to find Jinora and enters the Avatar State. Mako and Bolin hold back Unalaq while Korra reaches the Southern portal. She tries to close it but is blown backward by a pulse of energy as Harmonic Convergence begins. Unalaq looks on with a crazed smile as a purple haze stretches across the poles, Republic City, and eventually the entire world. Vaatu uses the amplified spiritual energy to break free from his prison and laughs triumphantly as he approaches Korra.
== Credits ==
* Written by:
** Tim Hedrick
* Directed by:
** Ian Graham
* Starring:
** Janet Varney - Korra
** David Faustino - Mako
** P. J. Byrne - Bolin
** J. K. Simmons - Tenzin
** Adrian LaTourelle - Unalaq
** Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
** James Remar - Tonraq
** Jeff Bennett - Radio broadcaster
** Dee Bradley Baker:
*** Oogi
*** Naga
*** Pabu
** Richard Riehle - Bumi
* Also starring:
** Jonathan Adams:
*** Vaatu
*** Northern soldier
** Alex McKenna - Senna
** Aubrey Plaza - Eska
** Aaron Himelstein - Desna
** Lisa Edelstein - Kya
* Special guest star:
** Eva Marie Saint - Katara
== Production notes ==
=== Transcript ===
=== Series continuity ===
* Bolin gives Mako the same advice about relationships that the latter gave him in "Civil Wars, Part 1", namely to treat breakups like pulling off a "blood-sucking leech".
* Unalaq's wish to do away with the nations of the world is reflected in the philosophy of the Red Lotus, the organization of which he was revealed to be a member in "The Stakeout".
=== Trivia ===
* The siege of the South Pole bears many similarities to Team Avatar's attack of the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace in "The Earth King". Both groups approached their respective destinations by air, and despite expecting "smooth sailing", were both met with military resistance. In the case of Aang and his friends, their approach to the palace was hindered by the Royal Earthbender Guards.
* Naga and Pabu being left behind recalls a similar scene in "Endgame", where both animals were told to wait outside of Hiroshi's secret airfield. In both episodes, Naga and Pabu ignored the instructions and ended up saving the team from imprisonment.
* The sound effect for the spreading spirit lights in the physical world is the same used for Vaatu's beam attacks.
* This episode marks the first time Katara waterbends onscreen in The Legend of Korra.
* When Tonraq tries to convince Unalaq not to fuse with Vaatu, he says "you're still a man. You're still my brother"; however, in the previous episode, he angrily tells Unalaq "you're no brother of mine".
* Korra practicing her airbending on a ship under Tenzin's instruction is similar to how Zuko practiced firebending on his ship under Iroh's instruction in "The Boy in the Iceberg".
de:Die Harmonische Konvergenz
es:La Convergencia Armónica
fi:Harmonic Convergence
fr:La Convergence Harmonique
nl:Korra:Harmonic Convergence
pl:Harmonijne zrównanie (odcinek)
pt-br:Convergência Harmônica
ru:Гармоническое сближение (серия)
Category:A to Z
Category:Book Two: Spirits
Category:Episodes of The Legend of Korra
Category:Real world