"Out of the Past" is the ninth episode of
The Legend Of Korra, which aired on June 9, 2012.
Tarrlok arrives in the mountains and locks Korra in a metal box, then leaves her to herself.
The next morning, Tenzin is shocked to learn that Korra has been kidnapped. Tarrlok says that he and Korra were attacked by Equalists the night before. A flashback shows him leaving Equalist belongings at the scene and shocking himself with a glove to make his claim more believable.
Lin hears of the events and rescues Asami, Mako, and Bolin from jail, telling them about Korra's kidnapping. They meet Tenzin, who is initially upset that Lin left the hospital, but all decide to find Korra together. They don't even have Naga to help them, as she ran away earlier, but the group figure that the Equalists' hideout is underground, like Hiroshi's was.
Lin, Mako, Bolin, Tenzin, and Asami walk through a tunnel under the city. Asami is uncomfortable to see Mako so determined to find Korra and learns from Bolin that Mako and Korra kissed. The group find the prison that the former chief's policemen are being kept. In the hall, Mako interrogates an Equalist about Korra' whereabouts. The Equalist says they didn't attack City Hall, and Tenzin finally deduces that Tarrlok has Korra. The team escapes the hideout.
They go to City Hall and meet Chief Saikhan and the rest of the Council. Tarrlok arrives and Tenzin accuses him of kidnapping Korra. Tarrlok's secretary says that he witnessed the kidnapping and admits he was afraid to say so before because Tarrlok is a bloodbender. Tarrlok bloodbends the group and leaves. They later recover and search for him to find Korra's whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Korra meditates and has visions of Aang's past. In the vision, Avatar Aang and Toph Beifong are with Toph's police. She is certain she can handle Yakone without Aang, but Aang wants to see the trial for himself. Later, Yakone is arrested at a restaurant. The vision ends, and Korra is happy that she is finally able to connect with Aang.
Korra meditates again and witnesses Yakone's trial. Chairman Sokka and the rest of the United Republic Council hear out the accusations towards Yakone, that he's been bloodbending, something that's been illegal for decades. Yakone's lawyer dismisses those claims, saying it's impossible to bloodbend without a full moon. Sokka announces the verdict: Yakone is guilty of all charges. When Sokka was younger, he met people who had extraordinary abilities, so Yakone's isn't impossible. He sentences Yakone to lifetime imprisonment.
Yakone bloodbends Sokka. Toph and Aang try to intervene and are overpowered, and Yakone goes on to bloodbend everyone in the room to unconsciousness. Once freed, Yakone flees on an ostrich-horse-drawn cart. Aang's tattoo glows and he wakes up and pursues Yakone on his air scooter. He crashes the carriage, and Yakone jumps out, using bloodbending again, trying to break Aang's neck. Near death, Aang enters the Avatar State. He traps Yakone and removes Yakone's bending ability. Korra wakes up, realizing that Aang was trying to warn her about Tarrlok being a bloodbender.
Tarrlok finds Korra, who correctly infers that his bloodbending secret is out. Tarrlok admits that his father Yakone tried to rule Republic City from the criminal underworld and that Tarrlok was going to do so as a Councilman instead. He decides to escape and start a new life but meets Amon and and Equalists upstairs. Amon is unhappy to be accused of something he didn't do, yet. The Equalists succumb to bloodbending, but Amon powers through it, to Tarrlok's horror. He removes Tarrlok's bending and orders his men to electrocute the box and take Korra. Korra is able to avoid being shocked by hanging from the box's ceiling. She firebends and escapes, catching a glimpse of Amon putting Tarrlok's body in a truck. Korra successfully evades Amon but collides with a tree on the ride downhill. Naga finds an unconscious Korra, wakes her up, and takes her back to Republic City, where they rejoin with the group. Mako carries Korra to Oogi, assuring her that she's safe now.
Tropes in this episode:
