“The Sting” is without a doubt the best episode of the show by far because it eliminates many of the problems that have been plaguing it thus far by getting rid of Korra for most of the episode, focusing on the sole compelling character left in the A-plot Mako, character choices (finally) having some consequences, improving the animation and did I mention the fact Korra is absent through most of it?
It begins right where the last episode left off with Mako continuing his investigation of the bombing of the Southern Water Tribe cultural center with the help of Asami and Varrick. At the beginning of the episode we see one of Varricks ships being attacked by Northern Water Tribe forces and the crew just barely making it back to RepublicCity in one piece to inform Lin about it. We also get to see the first ever propaganda film in the Avatar universe with Bolin and Ginger battling the cheesy version of Unalaq and his forces.
The absence of Korra is without a doubt the best aspect of this episode, there was no juvenile behavior, no more groan inducing decision making (for the most part) and no lead character being a whiny little bitch to everyone. It was such a breath of fresh air to finally have an episode this season without these things constantly pissing me off and I hope to God we get more of these episodes if Korra is going to stay as poorly written as she is right now.
I will say her condition at the end of the episode might finally let us see her develop as a person if the writers actually capitalize on the potential it presents and don’t retcon it all an episode later like they did through most of Book 1.
Mako is quickly becoming my favorite character because I can really relate to his situation and his frustration with everything that’s going on around him. After the ship captain returns to RepublicCity, Mako again tries to convince Lin that the North wasn’t responsible for the bombing and actually presents evidence to prove his case, Lin being the complete moron that she is tells him to piss off forcing Mako to take matters into his own hands.
As the episode progresses, the whole mystery behind the bombing is slowly revealed and while it wasn’t entirely unexpected after what happened in “Peacekeepers” it was still kind of shocking once I realized who the evil master mind behind it all as. It was kind of like the Aizen reveal at the end of the Soul Society arc where a character we thought was really likable turned out to be a manipulating scum bag who’d probably sell his own mother into slavery just to further his own plans thus reaching the top of everyone’s shit list.
It was nice too see Mako and Asami finally interact after basically not speaking to one another since the break up in Book 1, she’s pretty much the only one willing to listen to him and is the only person left in the A-plot who doesn’t treat him like a sack of shit. Asami kissing him after the last of her mecha tanks was stolen caught me off guard and initially I groaned because this meant the return of the love triangle from Book 1 which I despise.
In retrospect I actually liked the Mako/Asami relationship because they actually had some chemistry and felt like a real couple in which both members genuinely cared about each other, that is until the writers decided to make Mako not care about her anymore but I’m not going into that fiasco again. I would actually like them to be together seeing as how the Mako/Korra relationship was about as enjoyable as getting chainsaw shoved up my ass and I want it to stay dead and gone.
Another nice touch was the re-introduction of the Triple Threats from Book 1 and their interaction with Mako was pretty interesting given the fact he used to work with them and actually knows a lot of them from the old days. This is where we meet Two Toed Ping, this guy is hilarious and awesome on so many levels. He’s this over the top gangster guy who has two extra toes on each foot and his interaction with Mako is just so entertaining I hope he becomes back later as a recurring character.
Then we have the animation which has gotten a noticeable upgrade in quality this time around, throughout the whole thing I felt like I was watching the amazing animation of Book 1 all over again with all of the flaws from the previous episodes this season being eliminated like bugs after extermination.
If there was any complaint I had about this episode it had to be the Bolin sub plot, sure I said it was interesting seeing how the first propaganda film in the Avatar universe was made but they felt too long and a bit too cheesy for my liking and in general Bolin just feels completely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. It feels like they genuinely had no clue what to do with him after Book 1 and are now trying to find something for him to do while everyone else is actually doing the stuff that matters.
If you were one of those people who thought “Peacekeepers” was an atrocious bag of cat piss, then “The Sting” is the anti-bag of cat piss. It eliminates most of the problems that have been plaguing this show since it began and the focus on the mystery behind the bombing allows the other characters a chance to be in the spot light which is a great idea seeing as most of them are better written than lead character herself.
THE GOOD
+ No Korra
+ The mystery behind the bombing is compelling and the reveal genuinely shocking
+ Mako continues to be become a much more compelling character
+ Asami gets something to do
+ The animation feels like its back to Book 1 levels of quality
THE BAD
– Bolin and his subplot feel unnecessary in the grand scheme of things.
– Lin is still an idiot
FINAL VERDICT: A-
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