Review: The Legend of Korra “Operation Beifong”

It takes an episode with minimal Korra to show the plot moving along. Who knew?

 

There was something that has been missing from the last few episodes of The Legend of Korra: action and plot. In 23 minutes, the plot caught up to where it should be, considering that it was lacking in the last few weeks. I am thoroughly convinced now, that whenever Toph graces our screens, shit is about to go down. And holy shit, shit went down this week.

Let’s start off with the obvious: Is there anyone who can stop Kuvira? She embarassed the Avatar, captured most of the Beifongs, and took time out of her schedule to fight some with Su. The fight itself was very short, with more time spent inside the prison under the factory getting all of the Beifongs out of prison. That didn’t work, because Baatar Sr. screamed like a child, and that alerted the guards. Here’s food for thought. It was great to see that Baatar Sr. has other emotions other than aloof genius of Zaofu. We can welcome characters that are more than one-dimensional. The same can be said for Zhu-Li, who has been trying to keep the spirit vine weapon from being functional. She got found out this week, and would have gotten blasted to shit if it weren’t for Opal and Bolin going head first into the abandoned town to get her.

Before we move on to the unnecessary cut aways with Korra, Let me touch on Zelda Williams a bit. The voice director did a fantastic job casting Zelda as Kuvira, especially when Kuvira was slated as a top villain for season four. The little touches the show takes to make Kuvira personal, like adding the little mole to Kuvira’s right eye, just like Zelda’s mother had. These little things go a very far way to prove that Bryan Konietzko actually cares about his show and characters. Then again, so does him continuing his show when his network treated it like a redheaded step-child in Wal-Mart. Kudos to Bryan, and thank you for the hard work. Moving on…

“Operation Beifong” had a very  useless subplot that could have very easily been told in a sentence. “Hey guys, the spirits want nothing to do with helping us, because they want nothing to do with our war. I have a feeling that I have no use in this world anymore.” How hard could that have been? Luckily, this took up all of three minutes screen time, so I can’t really complain too much. The focus layed squarely on the Beifong rescue mission, and rightfully so. Hell, we even got a taste of Toph’s ability to stop an army with one single maneuver, to assisting in the escape plan. I couldn’t be happier with the Beifongs taking this episode. The coming episodes is going to be Kuvira’s siege of Republic City, and I cannot wait.

There is so much to prepare for in the coming weeks leading up to the series finale. Kuvira has a working spirit weapon, as well as a vast army at her disposal. What the hell can Korra do so she is officially out of her funk? There is nothing that has happened to show that she can step up and go heads up with Kuvira. Korra may have gotten her groove back, but that won’t help at all if she’s ends up being the same timid little rabbit that she has been all season.

I’m not sold on Korra winning the day as much as her friends. Asami, Varrick, Bolin, Opal, Mako, Lin, and I will even go so far as to say Toph will be more of a force than her for most of the fight. One of them dies, Then Korra just unleashes hell. I just can’t see another option. Korra has been behind almost every week, and I don’t see her getting out of it right away. She has a greater support team than Aang ever could, and they will shine. This season was all about whether the Avatar has a place in the world, and so far, she doesn’t.

What else can I actually say about “Operation Beifong”? I think this was essential story telling. The plot skyrocketed this week, and we got action that actually meant something. Hell, we can even throw a prison break into the equation! The Beifongs are finally as whole as they were when the season started, and Baatar Jr. finally showed some sort of compassion when Opal helped get Zhu-Li out of danger. “Operation Beifong” has me believing that we will see a spectacular run to the finale. Hopefully, I won’t be disappointed.