Noel Kirkpatrick
Updated
The Legend of Korra S04E04: "The Calling"
Given the rapid pace of Book 4 so far, I shouldn't be surprised that "The Calling" wrapped up the search for Korra as well as Korra's search for self-confidence. The Legend of Korra has a lot of things to do before it ends, and by golly, it's going to get them all done! But I'll get to Korra in a moment; first, I have to say that the real disappointment of this episode for me was that we didn't get to see more of Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo traveling the world and getting on each another's nerves.
Understandably, Jinora took a bit of a backseat in "The Calling," despite being the leader of the search and recovery mission. Far more than her other siblings, Jinora's been a real part of Korra's adventures since Book 2; while Meelo's had a chance or two to shine over the course of the series, Ikki's always been a bit of an afterthought—middle kids have it rough—for both her family and the narrative. As a result, this episode mostly belonged to Meelo and Ikki.
Meelo had the obviously funnier stuff, given his status as the self-styled military commander who was exasperated by having to work with girls. Of course, the real issue was having to work with his sisters, since he was perfectly happy to flirt with an Earth Kingdom flower girl. While I would've preferred to see Jinora or Ikki call him out for his macho and belittling attitude (where did he pick that up from?), Korra at least ensured that Meelo looked and acted his age, complete with being "dangerously adorable with those cheeks," picking poisoned berries, and asking Ikki not to tell anyone about his putting the moves on that flower girl. It helped that both Logan Wells' voice and the show's writing prevented Meelo from coming off as too obnoxious, a delicate tightrope walk with a kid Meelo's age (the Avatar wiki says he's nine, so everything we've seen seems about right).
But it was the Ikki stuff that I enjoyed most about "The Calling." She dominated the second act of the episode, not only giving voice to the aforementioned middle child syndrome as she made her way through the forest, but proving herself wonderfully capable after being "captured" by the Kuvira troops. While getting those Kuvira troops to open up about Kuvira's plans was likely inadvertent (not that it was all that necessary, since Kuvira announced her intentions on Zaofu last week), Ikki's experience really illustrated how much her personality allows people to underestimate her. Factor in the bit where she simply pulled her arms out of the ropes that were binding her, and it's clear that she's more than able to take care of herself.
More than anything, though, Ikki's compassion really came through in "The Calling," from chasing after the flying badger squirrel (or whatever it was) to return its breakfast to leaving two of the sweet buns for the knocked-out troops. There's a gentleness to Ikki that I don't see in Meelo (yet), one that's been tempered with pragmatism and battle in Jinora. We mostly identify Ikki as being fast-talking and energetic, so her more reflective moments in "The Calling" nicely filled out her personality.
That's why I was a little disappointed it was all over in one episode. The siblings' various conflicts recalled the the Book 2 story concerning Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi, easily the best part of that season, and while Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo face a different set of circ*mstances—there's no concern about living up to legacies here—they still have to figure out how to be their individual selves while also working together as a family and reconciling how all that fits into the rebuilding of the Air Nation.
Which brings us to Korra's recovery from the rest of the poison and her mental block. I do feel like it happened quickly and easily within the context of this episode, and maybe within the context of what we've seen of Book 4 as a whole. Even if I take the entire arc's larger context into consideration, remembering that Korra has been plagued with doubts and frustration for three years, it still felt a little anticlimactic. "The Calling" contained some big moments for Korra as she found a spiritual thread through the banyan-grove tree and then managed to remove the last bits of Zaheer's poison and enter the Avatar State—but they didn't feel like big moments.
Of course, they may not be the actual big moments in Korra's Book 4 journey, even if they should be at this point in time. Toph saying that each of Korra's enemies had something she could learn from—equality (Amon), the spirits (Unalaq), and freedom (Zaheer)—is a significant point for Korra to take to heart, especially as she seeks to remedy the Kuvira situation... if it even needs remedying.
Last week, I said that Kuvira reminded me most of Amon, but now that Korra has weighed in more explicitly on the matter, Kuvira can also be seen as a synthesis of all three of Korra's former foes: equality and freedom stemming from a corrupt monarchy and class system, and now use of the spirits in conjunction with technology. The question becomes whether Kuvira is taking her ideology too far—which is what brought down Korra's three previous enemies—or whether she's actually in balance with the world.
LEAVES ON THE WIND
– "It was hot. I was on a blimp. I think a giant turtle showed up. Wow. What a day." Come back soon, Toph!
– I like that the Air Nomads have constructed little way stations for themselves and their bisons to rest at.
What did you think of "The Calling"?
