History Recap / TheLegendOfKorraS4E5EnemyAtTheGates

* TheAtoner: Hiroshi Sato says he would ''like'' make up for what he did but doesn't expect Asami to ever forgive him.

* GunboatDiplomacy: Kuvira gives this tactic a try: Show up with her huge army parked at the gates and then try diplomacy. This would in turn force Suyin into deciding whether or not she surrenders through peace or gives Kuvira the go ahead and declare war...with her entire army at the ready while Zaofu would need the time to prepare.

* HeldGaze: Varrick and Zhu Li, after some impressive heroics from the former.It Looks like it's going to [[AlmostKiss go somewhere]], only for Varrick to [[MomentKiller comment on the state of the room]].

* TheMillstone: Varrick's attempts to fight during the escape attempt only hampered Zhu Li's, and Bolin was forced to surrender once Baatar Jr. grabbed and threatened Varrick. Which is all the more remarkable given that Varrick designed the mechs himself.

* NotSoStoic: Ever-stoic Zhu Li gets a lot more emotive when she Varrick saves her, and when she pledges her loyalty to Kuvira, she calls Varrick out on never appreciating her help.

* LittleNo: Korra's reaction to Baatar telling her of Su's plan at the end.

* WhamLine: "Su and the twins went to sneak into Kuvira's camp. They're going to end this tonight." The implications here are pretty obvious.

* AbsenteeActor: Mako doesn't appear in this episode.

* AlwaysSecondBest: Baatar Jr. to his father. He doesn't want to return to Zaofu because it would mean being in his father's shadow once again.
* TheAtoner: Hiroshi Sato (or so he claims).
* AudienceSurrogate: Korra insists she's going to try to talk Kuvira down, rather than just fight her right off the bat. Meelo reacts just like the audience, not believing we went through four episodes of building up her return just for that.

** Also Korra and Su's different views on how to deal with Kuvira. Korra wishes to avoid simply charging in because of how badly that has gone in the past, and believes Kuvira might listen to reason because she was a good person before. Su, on the other hand, is biased but still knows Kuvira better than Korra does, and is well aware Kuvira is not going to back down when she's already taken the trouble of parking her army at Zaofu's doorstep.
* TheBusCameBack: Asami visits Hiroshi in prison. His time there has not been kind to him.

** Korra mentions the time Kuvira saved her father.
** Kuvira taking her good intentions too far, to the point that she's causing more harm than good, calls back to Toph and Korra's talk.
** Kuvira mentions in the flashback that Zaofu's security force is one of the best in the world. This recalls their performance in "The Terror Within", where they stood ground versus the Red Lotus (who have up to that point wiped the floor with anyone).

** Korra refuses to default to violence. Three seasons of that hasn't done her any favors.
** Hiroshi Sato seems to have become TheAtoner.

* ConvectionSchmonvection: Bolin's lavabending again. Hot enough to melt the mecha-tanks. Not hot enough to so much as inconvenience its pilots when they climb out.
* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: Kuvira appeared to have good intentions at first. By now, it appears she's just after power for herself.

** Kuvira's is cemented and described as we see her turn her back on Suyin and see the extent of her villainy.

* HeelFaceTurn: Hiroshi seems to have one. Varrick undergoes one too.

** Varrick decides that the spirit vine project is too dangerous and tries to shut it down (though Kuvira stops him)
** Bolin realizes that Kuvira isn't quite as nice as he thought.

* HeldGaze: Varrick and Zhu Li, after some impressive heroics from the former. Looks like it's going to [[UnresolvedSexualTension go]] [[AlmostKiss somewhere]], only for Varrick to [[MomentKiller comment on the state of the room]].

* IronicEcho: "Do the thing." Uttered by Zhu Li in contempt.

* LetsGetDangerous: Zhu Li during the mecha fight. There's a reason Varrick named his battleship after her.
* LivingBattery: This is the intent of the spirit vine technology. That the harvested energy can also be turned into Vaatu-style death rays was an unexpected bonus for Kuvira.

* TheMillstone: Varrick during the escape. His attempts to fight only hampered Zhu Li's, and Bolin was forced to surrender once Baatar Jr. grabbed and threatened Varrick. Which is all the more remarkable given that Varrick designed the mechs himself.

* NotSoStoic: Ever-stoic Zhu Li gets a lot more emotive when she Varrick saves her, and when she pledges her loyalty to Kuvira, calling Varrick out on never appreciating her help.
* OhCrap: Korra's reaction when she learns that Suyin is sneaking into Kuvira's camp.
** Varrick at "the thing" being ordered on him for once. Note that this is the guy who even took being exposed and arrested in Book 2 in complete stride.

** Lampshaded by Varrick when even ''he'' feels that the spirit vine technology is too dangerous to use, instead of thinking about the money he could make off it, and tries to shut the project down in fear of it falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, Kuvira ''is'' the wrong hands...

* PhlebotinumOverload: Varrick tries to tap the energy of the spirit vines. It works... then breaks free of containment and blasts a [[WaveMotionGun Vaatu ray]] out the back of the train.
* POWCamp: Kuvira is revealed to have a few. She calls them "re-education camps".

* PsychicStrangle: Kuvira does a variation using the metal shoulder pads on Varrick's uniform, clasping them around his neck then threatening to drop him from the moving train.
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Kuvira was revealed to once have been like a surrogate daughter for Su, who took her in when she was eight and trained her to reach her full potential.

** Opal gives a scathing one to Bolin about how he never went back to check on any of the towns forced to join the empire, claiming that many have turned into labor camps so Kuvira can get their resources.
** Zhu Li tells Kuvira [[ImStandingRightHere in Varrick's presence]] about how much he treats her like crap and that, beneath his goofy exterior, he really ''isn't'' as brilliant as people think he is.
* ShipTease: An extremely brief one between Varrick and Zhu Li. It doesn't last.

* StartOfDarkness: We see Kuvira's and her supporters' one.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Kuvira inducts Bolin into her "inner circle" on the basis that he would do a better job of reaching common ground with Suyin. Suyin realizes this clear as day and doesn't buy it.
** Also deconstructed somewhat in that the very qualities that made Kuvira promote him, his niceness and ability to get along with people, are the same things that make him want to back out when he realizes what she's doing.

* VillainBall: Kuvira ruins her own attempt to peacefully integrate Zaofu by parking her army at their doorstep and then joining Bolin for the negotiations, both of which only serve to antagonize Su and make Bolin's attempt to calm things down useless. It's not as if she's just looking for an excuse to attack, either; she specifically tells Baatar Jr. that she intends to use Bolin to convince Su.
* WaveMotionGun: Varrick's attempt to use the spirit vines as a power source instead produces a Vaatu-like laser beam that blows out the back of the train and takes out a hill behind the train, complete with the same sound effect.

* WrestlerInAllOfUs: From the last show you'd expect it but Zhu Li has some noticeable wrestling technique in how she fights with a mech suit.

* HeelFaceTurn: Hiroshi seems to have one.

* ChekhovsGun: Zhu Li attempts to shut down the spirit vine device once it starts going haywire, to no avail. In the finale, [[spoiler:Kuvira tries to shut down the Spirit Cannon once it goes out of control, and fails then as well.]]

** The energy discharge from the spirit vine not only looks like Vaatu's blast, the same ''[[DroneOfDread sound]]'' can be heard as well.

** Bataar Jr. seems to have embraced Kuvira's methods to the point that he is the one that suggests taking Zaofu by force as a first response. Kuvira has to point out that they can't just brute force this one.

* LittleNo: Korra's reaction to Bataar telling her of Su's plan at the end.

* NeverMyFault: During their escape and their subsequent fight against Bataar Jr., Varrick is nothing but a hindrance. When he's caught, he pins all the blame on Zhu Li.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Bataar Jr threatens to [[YourHeadAsplode crush an unarmed man's head]]. He's also the one who wants to take Zaofu by force with no prior negotiations.

* HeldGaze: Varrick and Zhu-Li, after some impressive heroics from the former. Looks like it's going to [[UnresolvedSexualTension go]] [[AlmostKiss somewhere]], only for Varrick to [[MomentKiller comment on the state of the room]].

* IOweYouMyLife: Never actually ''said'' by Zhu-Li after Varrick saved her from falling off the train, but it's there.
* IronicEcho: "Do the thing." Uttered by Zhu-Li in contempt.

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Zhu-Li, after going through the crap she's been through, switched sides.

** Zhu-Li tells Kuvira [[ImStandingRightHere in Varrick's presence]] about how much he treats her like crap and that, beneath his goofy exterior, he really ''isn't'' as brilliant as people think he is.