The first episode of the one-hour season finale, first aired along with "Endgame" June 23, 2012.
The new Team Avatar (Korra, Mako, Bolin and Asami) are holed up underground in Republic City, doing recon of Amon's forces and preparing for the arrival of General Iroh, Fire Lord Zuko's grandson at the head of a liberation fleet. Unfortunately, Hiroshi Sato has managed to create biplanes, and the fleet is sunk, although Korra manages to save the general. Iroh pinpoints the Equalists' airfield as their next objective, and leads a commando raid to destroy it. However, Korra insists on staying behind to confront Amon directly, and Mako backs her up.
The two sneak onto Air Temple Island with the intent of ambushing Amon. The place is practically deserted, though, save for the depowered Tarrlok in a prison cell. He provides a whole-act flashback after he reveals that he is actually Amon's brother. Tarrlok says that after Yakone was stripped of his bending by Avatar Aang, he had plastic surgery and went to live in the Northern Water Tribe under a new identity. His two sons, Noatak and Tarrlok, were both waterbenders, and Yakone taught them his bloodbending skills, shaping them to seek revenge on the Avatar. As a final test, the brothers have to bloodbend each other. Tarrlok refuses to bloodbend his brother, and Noatak bloodbends his father, then asks Tarrlok to run away with him. Tarrlok refuses and Noatak leaves, and Tarrlok and his parents assumed Noatak died in the storm. Since then, Amon (that is, Noatak) has somehow figured out how to use bloodbending to revoke people's bending ability. Tarrlok says he thinks Amon truly believes that bending is the source of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself.
Korra and Mako discuss their options. A direct attack is suicidal. Amon, an impossibly powerful bloodbender, would hold all the cards. Instead Korra decides to tries to expose Amon as a bender in front of his Equalist followers, in hopes that the support for him will dissolve on the spot. Korra and Mako sally forth to try this new angle with Tarrlok's blessing.
Tropes:
- 11th-Hour Ranger: After she saves him from the destroyed Republic Forces Fleet, General Iroh teams up with Korra and the rest of Team Avatar for the rest of the season.
- All There in the Manual: The fact that Gommu, the hobo, is a telegraph operator comes from the official Nick game Welcome to Republic City.
- The Atoner: Tarrlok after having his bending taken away has become far more humble and begs Korra to end the sad story of himself and his brother for good.
- Back for the Finale: Gommu makes a return, hiding Team Avatar in his underground hobo settlement.
- Buffy Speak: Courtesy of Korra:Korra: I hate this being patient stuff.
- Calling the Old Man Out: A more horrifying example when Noatak bloodbends Yakone, rubbing in his face that for all he says about power he doesn't have a lot anymore.
- Continuity Nod: The scene of Hiroshi unleashing his new biplanes to bomb the Republic Forces resembles the moment the Fire Nation unleashed their Zeppelins on the invasion force.
- Cool Plane: The Equalist biplanes.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Korra and Mako dress in chi-blocker garb for reconnaissance.
- Flashback: In which we find out that Amon/Noatak and Tarrlok are brothers, and that Amon is a bloodbender like his father and brother.
- Gone Horribly Right: You taught your son well, Yakone... too well.
- Held Gaze: One happens between Korra and Mako that nearly becomes an Almost Kiss, but Korra draws away at the last minute.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Asami finds out Gommu's gruel that she was apprehensive about eating was actually culled from the "finest dumpsters", so she has a sick-color face for a second, spits out the one mouthful she hadn't swallowed yet, and puts it aside. Pabu then laps it up. On the other hand, Bolin, as a former Street Urchin, declares it the finest street gruel he's ever had.
- Incoming Ham: Gommu's cameo... makes an impression.
- Irony: Hiroshi Sato begins the episode talking about how the Equalists have overthrown the "tyrannical" Bending government... as he's shadowed by Equalist goons, and hundreds of mecha-tanks prowl the streets, talking about how bending has been made illegal. Not to mention Amon dragging benders to be de-bent, mass-execution style.
- Kneel Before Zod: Amon/Noatak forces a pack of wolves to do this in a flashback.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: Team Avatar splits off into two teams to take on the Equalists. Korra and Mako head off to Air Temple Island to take Amon down personally, while the rest of Team Avatar (plus General Iroh) head to Hiroshi's air field in order to ground the biplanes before they can destroy the Republic Forces backup fleet.
- Manly Tears: Gommu gets these when Team Avatar splits up.
- Motive Misidentification: Aang wasn't just trying to warn Korra about Tarrlok with his visions in earlier episodes; he was also trying to warn her about Amon.
- The Reveal: Amon is Noatak, Tarrlok's older brother and Yakone's firstborn son. Like his father and brother, Noatak is a bloodbender, which is how he was able to resist Tarrlok's bloodbending and is the source of his ability to remove others' bending. The title "Skeletons in the Closet" is very accurate.
- The Bloodbending's also revealed to be why Amon's been confident about challenging any Benders and why nobody's managed to land a direct hit on him in close-quarters combat. Amon's been using Bloodbending to subtly redirect any attacks made against him.
- Reverse Telescopic Vision: Bolin holds a telescope backwards before quickly correcting himself.
- Rushmore Refacement: A giant version of Amon's mask is placed over Aang's statue when the Equalists take over Republic City.
- Ship Tease: Between Mako and Korra again, par for the course for the last few episodes.
- Signature Style: This is how Tarrlok realized Amon was actually his long-dead brother. When Amon used his Bloodbending during "Out of the Past", Tarrlok realized something about the sensation was familiar. It wasn't until later that he finally realized he'd recognized it as Noatak's Bloodbending grip.
- Sympathy for the Devil: After hearing the backstory of Amon/Noatak and Tarrlok, Korra comments that it is one of the saddest stories she's ever heard. She offers to release Tarrlok before she goes but he tells her to focus on stopping his brother.
- Tell Me How You Fight: Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending.
- Training from Hell: Imposed by Yakone to his sons, to make them master bloodbenders, like he was.
- Tyke-Bomb: Amon's father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he did turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway (to make Republic City suffer).
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Tarrlok, and even Amon before the bloodbending lessons.
- Villainous Legacy:
- After realizing that his sons were waterbenders, Yakone secretly trained them to become bloodbenders in order to get his revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. As Tarrlok bitterly realizes, despite hating their father and rebelling from him, both sons ended up growing up and doing exactly what Yakone wanted anyway.
- Hama's legacy is also touched on, albeit indirectly (and without the Bloodbending inventor explicitly being named or mentioned). Yakone states in the flashback that Katara had lobbied the United Republic to outlaw Bloodbending. Since the Waterbending sub-skill is now public knowledge, it means either word got out what Hama had been up to during the Hundred-Year War (likely given her attacks on Fire Nation citizens and subsequent arrest) and/or Hama passed on the skills to others before meeting Katara. Either way, her discovery and development of the technique opened Pandora's Box and is still having repercussions decades after her death.
- Walk, Don't Swim: Korra uses an air bubble to sneak herself and Mako onto Air Temple Island.
- Wham Line:Tarrlok: I'm Amon's brother.
- Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Lampshaded. Bolin points out how Hiroshi seems to be able to find the time to invent all kinds of new war machines.
