Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this, but if you don’t have time you can wait for the recap.
Tenzin seeks Bumi’s help after repeated failures to train the new Airbenders – resulting in military style boot camp training for the unhappy new Airbenders. Meanwhile, Jinora’s desire for Airbender tattoos puts her at odds with Tenzin. But when a group of flying bison rustlers attack, can the Airbenders unite to drive them off?
“Original Airbenders” is the 1st Chapter (episode) of Book 3 (Season 3) of The Legend of Korra. The title refers to the flying bison, who are the original Airbenders, just as the original Firebenders are dragons, the original Earthbenders are badger moles, and the original Waterbender is the Moon – oh wait, scratch that last one.
It’s a bit of a filler episode, in that it shows Tenzin training the Airbenders, and Korra only appears for a minute in this episode. This storyline could have been broken up across several episodes (since nothing really happens), while Zaheer’s escapades could have been cut into one episode by itself! Sadly, this story isn’t strong enough to hold enough interest as an arc, so I suppose in the grand scheme of things, stretching Zaheer’s plot out makes more sense.
So on to the highlights of this episode!
Highlights
Tenzin the crazy drill sergeant
After seeking advice from Korra, Tenzin goes to Bumi and asks for his help in training the Air Nomads. Bumi draws on his military experience in speaking to Tenzin, which prompts Tenzin to act like a crazy military leader. It’s funny for the first minute or so. Unfortunately, it gets overplayed and repetitive after that.
Still, seeing Tenzin in that silly regimental military mode is a bit of a laugh.
Daw’s level up
Daw can use his Airbending abilities to actually fight in this episode, and he has his moment of cool where he dodges a net and repels his attacker. It’s good to see that he hasn’t been forgotten, and he went from near suicidal victim in the first episode to fairly competent Airbender here!
Bumi’s rally
Bumi rallies the Airbenders in the climax, reminding us that he does have a certain level of skill when it comes to military command and tactics. He’s not a complete goofball despite his lack of Airbending savvy, and even as a normal person he’s fairly useful.
Theme of change and family
Tenzin has to cope with his children coming of age, especially Jinora, and this is mirrored in the maturing of the sky bison calves at the end of the episode. It’s subtle, but it highlights this season’s theme of change, and to a smaller extent, family.
Letdowns
No Korra
Again, Korra only appears in one scene. What happened to the title of the show! This has happened two episodes in a row already. If Korra doesn’t return in the next episode, it will be very disappointing.
No series arc
Nothing happens. We don’t even see Zaheer. This is the first episode that he doesn’t appear in. It feels even more like filler because of this.
“Original Airbenders” is a filler episode, but one that supports the season thematically with its story. Hopefully there’s a reason for this filler, and we’ve learnt something critical without knowing it (in true Avatar style). Otherwise, well, there’s flying bison to see.
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