[TV Review] “The Battle of Zaofu” – Episode/Chapter 6, Season/Book 4 of The Legend of Korra

Suyin and her sons are caught infiltrating. ("Battle of Zaofu" - The Legend of Korra S04E06)
Suyin and her sons are caught infiltrating. (“Battle of Zaofu” – The Legend of Korra S04E06)

Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch it.

Suyin’s attempt to infiltrate Kuvira’s camp fails, leading to her capture and tense negotiations between Korra and Kuvira. Meanwhile, Varrick and Bolin ordered to weaponise Spirit energy, but manages to escape before they can do so. Can Korra defeat Kuvira, or is the world fated to fall to the Earth Empire?

Korra and her allies. ("Battle of Zaofu" - The Legend of Korra S04E06)
Korra and her allies. (“Battle of Zaofu” – The Legend of Korra S04E06)

“The Battle of Zaofu” is the sixth Chapter (episode) of Book Four: Balance (Season Four) of The Legend of Korra. It finally features the long-awaited battle between Korra and Kuvira, and also shows us the extent of Kuvira’s Earthbending prowess. She could possibly be on par with the previous series’ Fire Lord, given her mastery, but then Earthbending is quite as flashy.

There isn’t much in way of the supporting cast, since this episode firmly focuses on Korra and her adventures. We do see Varrick and Bolin, but their plot beats can be seen a mile away, so it doesn’t quite count. Anyway, their story is merely a set up for something much larger down the season, or so it feels.

Korra and Kuvira in battle. ("Battle of Zaofu" - The Legend of Korra S04E06)
Korra and Kuvira in battle. (“Battle of Zaofu” – The Legend of Korra S04E06)

Highlights

Korra vs Kuvira battle

Finally, the battle we’ve waited 5 episodes to see! Kuvira’s Earthbending and Metalbending aren’t visually impressive, but she wields it with deadly skill. This makes it unfortunate for Korra, who isn’t at her peak yet, and you can guess how the battle ends. But it makes for a good physical representation of their conflict, and the first real Bending we’ve seen in several episodes!

Varrick’s cunning

Varrick is typically portrayed as a clueless, naive oaf who just happens to stumble upon the greatest of discoveries. Here, he shows us just what he’s capable of, and the reason that he’s the successful inventor-businessman that he is. When he did go from supporting antagonist to a full time protagonist, by the way?

Airbenders to the rescue

This scene shows the sheer power of Airbending (something we rarely see since there have been so few Airbenders and they also don’t join forces all that often), and it’s pretty impressive how they manage to escape despite the odds. No Kai though, but then some Airbending action makes up for it!

Bolin cannot believe what Varrick has done. ("Battle of Zaofu" - The Legend of Korra S04E06)
Bolin cannot believe what Varrick has done. (“Battle of Zaofu” – The Legend of Korra S04E06)

Letdowns

Korra’s hallucinations

Didn’t we spend 5 episodes dealing with Korra’s issues? Hasn’t it been resolved already? It feels way too convenient, and a cop out to let Kuvira defeat Korra. Doesn’t Kuvira already know that Korra can enter the Avatar State anyway? Wouldn’t she have accounted for that? What is this beat and why is it recurring?

Bolin’s passiveness

Bolin does absolutely nothing useful here. It’s annoying when he’s made to look useless, especially since we’ve been seeing so much fine character development for him in the previous few episodes.

Korra's still seeing things. ("Battle of Zaofu" - The Legend of Korra S04E06)
Korra’s still seeing things. (“Battle of Zaofu” – The Legend of Korra S04E06)

“The Battle of Zaofu” doesn’t actually give us all-out war, but it does feature our main protagonist and antagonist in a conflict of Bending and ideals. It sets the scene for the next half of the season, and also sets up several plot threads that will surely have terrible consequences for our heroes.

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