Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this!
Bolin and the Beifongs return with news of Kuvira’s attack plans, prompting the others to fortify Republic City against the impending attack. However, Kuvira arrives unexpectedly and with not one, but two superweapons in tow – her Spirit Cannon and a giant mecha. Team Avatar finds out that she’s willing to sacrifice anything to achieve her goals.
“Kuvira’s Gambit” is the eleventh Chapter (episode) of Book Four: Balance (Season Four) of The Legend of Korra, and it’s a good one! With Kuvira’s army at the doorstep of Republic City, the entire cast of Legend of Korra is caught unawares, and they’re forced to think out of the box and make difficult decisions to counteract this new hiccup in their plans.
Although the stakes here are Republic City (rather than the whole continent, as with the Legend of Aang finale), the consequences are no smaller. The revelation of Kuvira’s Spirit Cannon gives her as much of a military and tactical advantage as did Sozin’s Comet for Fire Lord Ozai, except that her Spirit Cannon can be used at will. This makes Kuvira the more deadly opponent, even if she isn’t threatening an entire nation.
Highlights
Giant mecha
I’m a fan of giant robots and it’s not going to be a surprise that I found this an exciting, but logical extreme of Kuvira’s mecha! What makes it cooler is that it’s animated better than the regular mecha (but of course), and it’s controlled entirely through Kuvira’s Metalbending. The giant mecha is, in effect, an extension of Kuvira’s will. Add the mounted Spirit Cannon to the mix, and suddenly Kuvira could very well be the most powerful opponent Korra has every faced.
Kuvira’s cold-blooded ruthlessness
In addition to the sheer power that she now wields, Kuvira also displays a cold disregard for any obstacles to her goal. The depths she’s willing to go to and the sacrifices she’s willing to make left my jaw hanging – it’s not a level I had expected her to sink to. This degradation of her moral fibre is in stark contrast to her increase in power, making her unpredictability as much of a danger as her newfound strength.
Ensemble episode
It’s really a team effort in this episode, as every featured character achieves something awesome here. It’s not just Korra working in isolation anymore, but the entire cast. It all comes together as you realise that what they’ve achieved wouldn’t be possible if even a single character was missing, giving the ensemble episode greater weight and impact.
Prince Wu’s character development
After being a bumbling idiot the whole season, Prince Wu steps up to the plate and performs admirably in the most unlikely of circumstances. When you stop to think about it, this is what he can achieve if he puts his talents to it, meaning that when Prince Wu inevitably becomes the next ruler of the Earth Kingdom, it will be a well-deserved title.
Varrick and Zhu Li
I’m a bit surprised at the romance that has blossomed, but it’s a cute thing to throw in so late in the season. Here’s hoping that it all works out in the next two episodes – Zhu Li really should get her man by the end given all that she’s been through!
Letdowns
Korra doesn’t go into the Avatar State to demolish the giant mecha
It’s more of a plot hole than anything else, because you could really solve anything with the Avatar State. But knowing that she has full control over it and seeing the danger that Kuvira’s mecha poses, why doesn’t Korra just Avatar State the entire thing into oblivion?
“Kuvira’s Gambit” builds upon the motivations of the Big Bad, giving us a villainess that we love to hate. With her power and morality now firmly established, it’s up to Korra, the only one who can equal her prowess and also diametrically opposite in terms of ethics, to stop this implacable villainess.
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