Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do.
Anyways sorry for being gone for so long, I had quite a bit to do. Luckily I was able to keep up with these episodes and I will share my thoughts on them.
Pros:
I feel that showing Korra's reluctance to fight Kuvira at first was a great way to show how she is more willing to use more peaceful methods of trying to solve problems (Unlike Seasons 1 and 2)
Asami reconciling with her father was, I admit a bit unnecessary at this point, but its a nice thing to add into this episode
Zhu Li doing Kung Fu is, well I admit pretty cool. But again, unnecessary. (Still it makes sense since after all, she's watching Varrick all the time right?)
Showing some political tactics that Kuvira is using (towards the end of the episode) is rather smart. (The Zaofu government (or whatever those people are) plan to capture Kuvira when that's exactly what she wants. But you'd think they would know that.)
Cons:
Zhu Li switching sides. Honestly, it made sense in context but it was completely unnecessary especially after what it leads to in later episodes (*spoiler* Varrick constantly moping about Zhu Li leaving him when it was...well...honestly justified)
(Minor) I just realized that Kuvira was a minor character from Season 3. Like, extremely minor. I seriously do not understand why such a minor character gained such a key role in the next season. Why didn't the writers (subtly) build up to the conflict in Season 4 in Season 3?
Overall:
Another good episode. I'm really liking the improvements on writing this season, believe me.
I liked the way Korra decided to use peaceful methods instead of charging into everything. This shows how she has grown to realize how charging into battle blindly doesn't solve anything. Too bad it was far too late.
Another thing I really liked was Asami reconciling with her father, this could show how people could still be redeemed even after the atrocities they have done (I guess...?) and it really shows some great character growth for Asami. But once again, far too late Bryke.
Now for the cons worth mentioning, Zhu Li switching sides (while justified) should not really be used for dramatic effect. It doesn't really do anything for the plot and to be honest is unnecessary. All it does is contribute to the moping tirade that Varrick goes on in later episodes.
And this flaw does not apply to this episode, actually, it applies to most of Season 4. First of all, if you were going to make the main villain a minor character in Season 3, THEN GRADUALLY SHOW THEIR RISE TO VILLANY INSTEAD OF SOLVING EVERYTHING IN A BACKSTORY!!! I know its like what? Three years after Season 3, but there was honestly no reason to make this minor character a main antagonist, unless it was at least foreshadowed. And yes, something this huge should have some kind of foreshadowing to lead up to the current events in Season 4. Shoving in a backstory doesn't justify how unimportant this character was in Season 3 (She's in the second to last episode in Season 3. Around the time where Korra's father is being tended to by Kuvira. She's also in some previous episodes but there was nothing for us to really go "WTF?!!!" since there's nothing really noteworthy about her.)
But honestly, foreshadowing is just a problem with this series in general. At least they tried instead of just bringing a villain completely out of nowhere like the previous three seasons. Too bad it was such a (sorry guys.) rather pathetic attempt.
But overall, this episode on its own is pretty good if you ignore the bad build-up to Kuvira being a villain for this season and Zhu Li switching sides (though some of you may like that).
Plus the airbender kids don't get much screentime, good.
Now on to the next episode....
