What An Idiot / The Legend of Korra

Characters on The Legend of Korra occasionally make stupid decisions. You gotta deal with it.

Book One: Air

• Korra has never been in a romantic relationship; she has a crush on her teammate Mako, who is dating Asami. She asks Tenzin's family for advice, albeit in the hypothetical situation. The girls use their fantastic fiction as points of reference, which don't help. Pema empathizes with Korra's situation since she fell in love with Tenzin when he was dating Lin. One thing is Korra has No Social Skills due to being raised in the compound.
  You'd Expect: Pema would consider that actions have consequences, and be careful about how she phrases her advice. After all, when she confessed her love to Tenzin, Lin was really hurt by it and trashed Air Temple Island after the breakup. The experience scarred Lin, to the point where mentioning her failed relationship sets off her Berserk Button.
  Instead: Pema talks about how she confessed her love to Tenzin, and that it worked out for her. Korra decides to emulate Pema's example, without giving any consideration for how Asami may feel.
  The Result: At first Mako understandably tells Korra that such a confession is inappropriate because his relationship with Asami is serious. Then Korra angers both brothers when she kisses Mako after going on a date with Bolin, and nearly sabotages their teamwork in a Pro-Bending tournament. To top it all off, Asami is seriously hurt when she finds out about the kiss, and she finds out while seeking refuge on Air Temple Island. Pema gets a Heel Realization when she sees Asami's heartbreak, since Asami didn't deserve a boyfriend tempted by the Avatar.
  Even Worse: Tenzin reveals his perspective on what happened the next episode: he and Lin had drifted apart due to going different directions in life, and Pema just swooped in at the right time. Mako and Asami were doing fine until this moment
• The episode where the Mecha Tanks were introduced. Having established that metalbending doesn't work and they're too strong to use cables on.
  You'd Expect: Lin and her police would use earthbending (which is pretty much a prerequisite for metalbending) to at the very least upset the balance of the things and make it easier to pull them over.
  Instead: They continue to try and overpower the mechas with the cables and get their asses kicked because of it.
• Hiroshi Sato is unfortunate enough to have his wife murdered by a firebender a while before the events of the show.
  You'd Expect: That after a period of several years, Hiroshi would realise that a few benders abusing their power doesn't mean they all do. Hell, at one point his daughter dates a firebender who's gone through the exact same thing he has.
  Instead: Hiroshi decides that all benders are evil, and throws his lot in with the Equalists, ultimately destroying his relationship with his daughter. And after the anti-bending revolution fails, Hiroshi is imprisoned, the Sato name is badly tarnished from his ties to the Equalists and many investors refuse to do business with Sato Industries, forcing his daughter to try and pick up the pieces. Asami only mends ties with her father years later, while he's imprisoned and she's starting to realize that she has feelings for Korra.
• Councilman Tarrlok wants to rule Republic City, but the Equalists—an organization of Badass Normal revolutionaries seeking to get rid of bending—are causing a lot of trouble.
  You'd Expect: Tarrlok to put aside his personal ambitions for the time being and focus on ending the Equalist threat. To that end, he should work on mending his relationship with Korra, and avoid doing things that would antagonize the non-bender population of the city, since logically, they're the Equalists' main support base.
  Instead: Tarrlok acts like a Jerkass towards Korra, bitches at her and her friends when they stop an Equalist breakout attempt before he could, and introduces a mandatory curfew for non-benders as well as a law that makes it illegal to be associated with the Equalists. What it means to be "associated" is left vague, but at the very least it's shown to include being related by blood to an Equalist. You could argue that any retaliation he got from the Equalists was self-inflicted.
  Bonus Stupidity: During the episode in which Tarrlok does all of the above, he's shown to be in a very good position: The entire Republic City Council aside from Tenzin are practically his Yes-People, the new Chief of Police is loyal to him, Korra has no authority over him, and Tenzin lacks the charisma to present any serious opposition. He's practically already won by this point!
• Episode 10: Lin is fighting the Equalists using a combination of earth and metal bending. Cue the arrival of the Lieutenant, a guy she's met before and knows for a fact has an electric current running through his kali sticks.
  You'd Expect: She would use earthbending or grab his ankle with her cables to take him out then and there.
  Instead: She uses her cables to grab his sticks with metalbending, getting herself electrocuted in the process.
• Amon's supposed backstory is that a Firebender killed his parents and permanently scarred his face, so he always wears a mask.
  You'd Expect: He'd actually burn his face to commit to what he was going to have to deal with his whole life, or explain that a waterbender healed his scars, or not even bothered saying his face was scarred, or literally anything other than what he actually does.
  Or Better Yet: He could use an abridged version of his actual backstory, e.g. "I had an abusive waterbender for a father." It would demonize benders just as much as his other story, and he wouldn't have to worry about it being disproven.
  Instead: He applies fake scars with water-soluble makeup. If even the slightest bit of water gets on/near his face, he'd have to out himself as a waterbender to avoid it, and/or be outed as a fraud. All of these things happen.
• The Lieutenant walks in on Amon bloodbending Mako and Korra, proving he's been spouting lies to the Equalists.
  You'd Expect: The Lieutenant to alert the other Equalists of Amon's bloodbending status, or at the very least perform a sneak attack on him.
  Instead: He charges head on, and gets pathetically thrown into a wall.

Book Two: Spirits

• The distant past. Raava, a spirit of light and order, is destined to have a decisive battle with Vaatu, a spirit of darkness and chaos, once every ten thousand years, after which one of the spirits will be destroyed, and the victor will be free to do as they please until the other spirit is reborn. Shortly before the decisive battle, Wan sees Raava and Vaatu fighting, and Vaatu tells Wan that Raava has been bullying him and needs help.
  You'd Expect: Raava would immediately contradict him and tell Wan that Vaatu is evil and she's trying to stop him.
  Instead: She tells Wan not to interfere as it doesn't involve him.
  Result: Wan frees Vaatu thinking he's helping, allowing Vaatu to begin corrupting Raava's fellow spirits and building up his power in preparation for the upcoming battle, while at the same time drastically weakening Raava, forcing her to fuse with Wan in order to prevent the world being engulfed in darkness.
• The not-so distant past. Tonraq, then a general of the Northern Water Tribe, is pursuing a horde of barbarians across the tundra. He eventually manages to chase them into a forest sacred to the Northern tribe.
  You'd Expect: That Tonraq would try and come up with a way of catching the barbarians without destroying holy ground, lest it damage his reputation and prospects.
  Instead: He goes in guns blazing (metaphorically speaking), and pretty much destroys the area.
  As a Result: The spirits become enraged and attack the city in retaliation. Tonraq ends up banished.
• Another moment from the past. Korra has spent most of her life shut inside a White Lotus compound in the South Pole on the orders of her father and Tenzin, seemingly to keep her from running away from her future Avatar duties like Aang did. Book Three reveals that there's another reason they did so; the Red Lotus attempted to kidnap Korra soon after she was discovered to be the next incarnation of the Avatar, and no-one wanted to risk that happening again.
  You'd Expect: That Tonraq and Tenzin would have told her about this as soon as they thought she was old enough to understand. Bear in mind that during the events of the show, Korra expresses displeasure about being secluded away from anyone, so you'd think she would have complained about this to someone over the last few years at least once. They don't even need to say that it was the Red Lotus, just say "Shortly after you were revealed to be the Avatar, there was an attempt to kidnap you, so we isolated you for your safety and for the safety of the world."
  Instead: No-one says anything to Korra until she's 18, and even then, it's nothing more than "we did what we thought was best for you".
  Result: Korra ends up developing massive trust issues towards both Tenzin and her father, enabling Unalaq to play her like a Tsungi Horn for the early part of the book.
  Note: This one came about because the show's production team started work on Book Three—which introduced the Red Lotus—when they were in the middle of producing Book Two, and hadn't thought that far ahead. In-universe however, there's no excuse.
• Unalaq's entire plan involves bonding with Korra in order to have her open both spirit portals, something only the Avatar can do. She's already accepted him as a trusted teacher, and has opened the Southern spirit portal on his advice. All he needs is to have her open the Northern Portal before the upcoming Harmonic Convergence, and Unalaq's plan is complete. At the same time, he now has to prevent her, or anyone else from the South, from finding out about Vaatu, the dark spirit he plans to release. Who happens to be imprisoned almost right next to the portal entrances in the spirit world.
  You'd Expect: Unalaq to bring in a group of soldiers to fortify the area around the portal, without disrupting life in the rest of the South.
  Or: If he wants to occupy the South, fair enough; just get Korra on a boat or airship to the North before he does so, so she doesn't find out.
  Or Even: Unalaq to just go through the portal with Korra right then and there. We see later on that you can unlock the portal from the Spirit side, and the area between the portals is maybe five minutes apart. The only complication to this is maybe Vaatu, who Unalaq can just go in first and say "Pretend to be nice for a few minutes while I trick the Avatar."
  Instead: He sends in a massive occupation force and practically takes over the Southern Water Tribe, all while Korra's around to see what's going on.
  Result: The only reason Korra doesn't immediately turn against him is because of her own idiot moment below. At the same time, a group of Southerners who are angry at the North's takeover rebel and try to kidnap Unalaq, and the only reason they don't succeed is Korra singlehandedly taking them down.
• Right after she opens the Southern Portal, Korra witnesses the arrival of Unalaq's occupation force, and asks him what it's doing here. He claims that he wants to protect the spirits from harm.
  You'd Expect: Korra would realize that taking over the South is more than overdoing in this regard, and perhaps ask Unalaq to tone it down a bit. At the very least, you'd think she would start to have doubts about Unalaq's intentions.
  Instead: She keeps on blindly following Unalaq and supporting everything he does, simply because he appeared more willing to show faith in her. It's not until much later—when another character flat-out tells her that Unalaq is a slimeball—that she finally turns against him.
• Following on from the earlier kidnap attempt, Unalaq is convinced by Korra to give the rebels a trial, but he also arrests Korra's parents for having the rebels over for a meeting prior to the kidnapping. However, he has no proof that they were involved in the kidnapping attempt, and he still needs Korra for his plan.
  You'd Expect: Unalaq to simply not press charges against Tonraq and Senna, if he plans on showing them leniency to keep Korra on his side. If he's worried that Tonraq might try something, just put him under house arrest or something while he "investigates" their role in the attempted kidnapping. This can hardly be seen as an unreasonable action, given the rebel meeting happened in Tonraq's house.
  Instead: He instructs his crooked judge to clear Senna and sentence Tonraq and the rebels to death, so that he can "convince" the judge to reduce the sentence to life imprisonment.
  Result: Korra, after seeing how badly Tonraq's arrest has affected her mom, attacks the judge and threatens to feed him to Naga if he doesn't let Tonraq go. The judge ends up blabbing about all of Unalaq's dirty secrets in order to save his neck, which utterly shatters any chance of Korra willingly working with Unalaq from that point on. Unalaq still manages to get Korra to open the Northern Portal, but only because he gets incredibly lucky.
• Varrick, the mastermind behind the kidnapping attempt, has gone into hiding following its failure. He anticipates that Unalaq will try to make the rebels' trial a Kangaroo Court, and gives some money to Bolin, intending to have the latter use bribery to get the rebels acquitted.
  You'd Expect: The bribe to go to the trial's judge.
  Instead: Bolin ends up giving the money to two completely random people, who turn out to be audience members at the trial. It's only when the judge takes his seat and the trial begins that he realizes his folly.
  Bolin: Man, I should have paid him!
  Asami: Yeah, you think?!
• As the trial plays out it becomes obvious that it's biased against Tonraq; Korra is only asked yes or no questions that implicate him when at the stand, and Tonraq isn't allowed to speak in his defense, as far as we can see. Eventually, Tonraq is declared guilty and sentenced to death.
  In Korra's Defense: The judge was blatantly corrupt and was being paid by Unalaq to convict Tonraq, so he would have been convicted regardless of what anyone said or did. Although Korra didn't know this at the time which still makes it a dumb moment for her.
  You'd Expect: Korra to yell "I was there! My father wasn't among the kidnappers! One of them flat-out admitted that he'd refused to join them!" or something along those lines. She has the right to be emotional given the circumstances, but there's no reason she can't remain rational as well. Alternatively, one of the characters more versed in legal affairs could point out how unfair the trial is.
  Instead: As soon as the sentence is handed down, Korra threatens to kill the judge, solely because he didn't give a verdict she agreed with. Because that would totally convince him to change his mind.
• Both Water Tribes are at each other's throats as a result of the above events, and after Korra discovers Unalaq's manipulations of her, it descends into civil war.
  You'd Expect: Tonraq to have Korra stay in the South with the rest of the rebels, and join the fight to kick Unalaq out. Bear in mind that Korra has access to the Avatar State now; she could probably just walk into the Southern Water Tribe Palace and literally throw Unalaq out through the front door, if she wanted.
  Instead: Tonraq sends Korra to the United Republic to try and gain support from them. Even if he doesn't know that diplomacy isn't one of Korra's strong points, he's still squandering her abilities.
  Result: Korra does her best, but she's unable to get President Raiko or the United Forces to intervene on the South's behalf. Without her, the rebellion is soon defeated, as detailed in one of the examples below.
• While Korra's in Republic City, the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center is bombed. Everyone assumes that the Northern Water Tribe was responsible, save for Mako, who notices that one of the bombers was a Firebender. He tries to tell Korra, Lin and the detectives assigned to the case about his suspicions.
  You'd Expect: It to occur to all of the above that Mako might be onto something. At the very least, they should hear him out and take his information into account, even if they just end up thinking that the North hired a firebender to throw suspicion off themselves.
  Instead: Korra and the detectives continue to insist that the Northern Water Tribe's responsible, the former seemingly having no idea of the concept of "innocent until proven guilty", and the latter being lazy and borderline incompetent. Lin meanwhile refuses to even listen to Mako, on the basis that he's not an official detective. Yes, the fucking Chief of Police blatantly ignores witness testimony and input from someone she knows firsthand is trustworthy and capable, solely because he doesn't have a specific job.
  Result: With Mako the only one actively working against him, the criminal is able to operate quite freely, steal control of Future Industries and frame Mako when he gets too close to the truth. He's only stopped because Mako had had the sense to warn his brother that something might go down at President Raiko's next public appearance. One has to wonder how Lin managed to keep her position after the whole debacle was resolved.
• Mako learns from Bolin that Korra, after getting her request for reinforcements rejected by President Raiko, is planning on going directly to General Iroh to request reinforcements. Later on, President Raiko approaches Mako after a meeting with Lin, knowing that he's dating the Avatar, and tells him to inform him of anything he knows she might be planning under his nose.
  You'd Expect: Mako to just stay quiet. While not as passionate about it as Korra is, he's a firsthand witness to the North's invasion of the South and he knows about what a Manipulative Bastard Unalaq is from Korra, so he should realize that those reinforcements are needed to stop him regardless of whether or not the Northern tribe is being framed for terrorism. Not to mention, Korra never told Mako about her plan to speak to Iroh in the first place, meaning he could potentially avoid losing his job if Korra admits to going to Iroh but mentions that she never informed Mako about it. That, and it's pretty obvious that Korra would be really unhappy if he did it.
  Instead: He blabs about the whole thing.
  As A Result: The South loses the reinforcements it desperately needs when Raiko threatens to dishonorably discharge Iroh if any ships leave without his say-so, and Mako and Korra get into an argument that leads to them breaking up, which causes all sorts of drama when Asami catches wind of this and wants to get back together with him while Korra ends up forgetting about the break up after a spirit attack.
• "The Sting" has Asami working with Mako—her ex-boyfriend—to investigate the theft of Future Industries shipping, and learning that he broke up with Korra not too long ago. After the titular sting operation goes wrong and Asami discovers that her company warehouse has been picked clean, she loses all hope for Future Industries. Mako assures her that he's not giving up on her.
  You'd Expect: That if Asami wanted to get back together with Mako, she'd at least wait a while before doing so. After all, Mako might still have feelings for Korra.
  Instead: Her immediate response to the above line is to kiss him, and she later on tries to ask him out on a date, looking for all the world like she wants to be his girlfriend again, barely a week after he ended things with Korra.
  Result: When Korra returns to Republic City with no memory of the breakup, Mako plays along to avoid hurting Korra's feelings, meaning that Asami has her heart broken by Mako yet again.
• After her warehouse is robbed and Varrick saves her company by buying it's assets, Mako tells Asami that he thinks Varrick was the one who got the Triple Threats to distract them and organized the theft of her warehouses, and mentions that doing so allows him to rake in the most profit from the Water Tribe Civil War, since Asami is selling them weapons to beat back the North. He also mentions that the tools used in the attacks the North allegedly did, namely the explosives and detonators, came from Varrick's company, which would likely be difficult for Northerners to get their hands on considering his open opposition of them.
  You'd Expect: Asami to believe that Mako is onto something. Not only are the explosives something that Varrick, being the guy who produces them, has easy access to and Varrick has made it obvious that he's willing to use money to achieve his ends, as shown when he tries having Bolin bribe the judge in Unalaq's Kangaroo Court right in front of her, but Asami partnering Future Industries up with Varrick did involve her having to sell the company's assets to him, thereby basically granting ownership to him and allowing him to profit the most from their sales.
  Instead: She calls the whole thing "crazy" and doesn't believe him, and doesn't even appear to be suspicious when Mako is framed for the whole thing, just watching as he's arrested with no attempts to defend him.
• "Night of a Thousand Stars" Korra's returned to Republic City with partial amnesia and immediately kisses Mako under the impression that they're still together.
  You'd Expect: Mako, in turn, would immediately correct her. He has a history of lying and dithering that made things needlessly complicated before with the exact two women, and everyone else knows this as only Bolin and an oblivious Korra are the ones not giving him stink eyes (including Lu and Gang!). It would save everyone from the same problems of the last season, he's already back with Asami with whom he has a less volatile relationship anyway, and he'd be respected for his maturity, even from Korra herself.
  Instead: He lies again and continues his relationship with Korra under false pretenses, not wanting to upset her with the news that they broke up.
  Result: The crowd has a Disappointed in You reaction, his relationship with Asami's Deader than Dead this time, he walks on eggshells around Korra until she finds out the truth and ends up heartbroken anyway, with their relationship DOA, and he's left alone to live with his mistakes for the next couple of weeks.
• After waiting for a week or two and having received no word of Korra's reinforcements to help take back the Southern Water Tribe, Tonraq decides to fight back and retake their homeland.
  You'd Expect: Tonraq to remember that his side is outnumbered and outmatched, and use tactics suitable for such a force, such as sabotaging Unalaq's mecha tanks and ships, or stealing/spoiling their food rations.
  Instead: He charges the Northern Water Tribe army in broad daylight with the few soldiers that are loyal to him.
  Result: While they put up a good fight, many Southern Tribe soldiers are either killed or seriously injured, and Tonraq is captured by Unalaq.
• Team Avatar and their allies discover that Unalaq is trying to free Vaatu and fuse with him, in order to become a "Dark Avatar". Korra asks President Raiko for the aid of the Republic City military to help her fight past Unalaq's army and close the Southern Portal so that Vaatu can't escape.
  You'd Expect: President Raiko to recognize that the world will be royally screwed if Vaatu escapes, and that he should give Korra all the help she needs. Or, if he wants to hedge his bets, send some of the military along, and keep some to protect Republic City if the shit hits the fan.
  Instead: Raiko decides to give Korra no help whatsoever, figuring that if something bad happens, he'll need the whole military to protect the city. Because he can definitely defeat a world-destroying Eldritch Abomination with battleships.
  Result: Vaatu escapes. It turns out battleships are basically useless against an Eldritch Abomination, and both the military and the city get a thorough asskicking until Korra saves the day.
• Following an unsuccessful attempt to seal the Southern spirit portal from within the Spirit World, Jinora's spirit is lost somewhere in the Spirit World, and if it's not reuinited with her body, she will die. However, Harmonic Convergence is happening, Vaatu is about to be released from his prison, and he plans to usher in an era of darkness for the next ten thousand years with Unalaq as the Dark Avatar. Time is short and the heroes' numbers are small.
  You'd Expect: That Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi would help Korra, Mako, and Bolin deal with the more immediate and large-scale threat that Vaatu and Unalaq represent. Yes, Jinora needs help, but saving her only to have her live in an age of darkness isn't going to do her any favors, and when all is settled, they'll at least have more people around to help search the Spirit World with them.
  Instead: They go on a wild goose chase looking for her spirit, having not the foggiest idea where to even start, and leaving Korra, Mako, and Bolin to fend for themselves.
  Result: They find Jinora, but Team Avatar is overpowered, Vaatu is freed and merges with Unalaq, Raava is taken out of Korra and killed, her connection with all the previous Avatars is lost forever (which includes Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi's father), and the Dark Avatar launches an attack on Republic City.
• The season finale has Mako, Tenzin, Kya, Bolin and Bumi making a last stand against a huge horde of hostile spirits. Despite holding their own and later being backed up by two waterbenders (former foes Desna and Eska), they're slowly forced to retreat towards a giant tree with a large hollow space inside.
  You'd Expect: Bolin and the three waterbenders, the people whose bending abilities are the most limited by their immediate environment, to move away from the tree and attack the spirit horde on its flanks, from terrain they can bend on.
  Instead: The four of them retreat into the tree, where there's no earth or water for them to use!
  As a Result: Mako and Tenzin are the only ones fighting from that point on, with the other five (Bumi is a Badass Normal) unable to help them.
• Korra returns to Republic City with a plea to the President that his army is desperately needed to aid in preventing Unalaq from merging with, and freeing Vaatu onto the world, plunging it into millenia of darkness.
  You'd Expect: The President to realize that he's currently being asked to fight against human enemies, and not the unknown horrors of an immensely powerful dark spirit. A dark spirit who is capable of (and already had in the past) defeating the avatar spirit, and therefore is, at the very least, far more threatening to human forces and habitations than whatever Unalaq alone is.
  Instead: The President apparently throws logic out the window and decides it's a much better plan to keep his entire army in Republic City to try and fend off Vaatu and Unalaq after they've merged into the dark Avatar, rather than just stopping Unalaq from freeing and merging with Vaatu in the first place.
  As a Result: The President refuses aid to Korra yet again, which results in Korra ( being unable to stop Unalaq from merging with Vaatu, and Team Avatar only barely manage to prevent Vaatu and Unalaq from defeating Raava, ending the Avatar cycle, and plunging the world into milennia of darkness.)

Book Three: Change

• The Krew, along with Tenzin, Jinora and Bumi, are travelling through the Earth Kingdom looking for the new airbenders. During their travels, they recruit an orphan kid called Kai, and learn that he was previously a thief. While travelling, Kai steals Bumi's wallet, seemingly as a way of playing around, but he initially refuses to give it back.
  You'd Expect: That after this incident, the Krew would figure out that Kai has not abandoned his old habits, and that someone would take him aside to warn him, in no uncertain terms, that he will be severely punished if he ever steals again. It also wouldn't hurt to keep a very close eye on the kid.
  Instead: They do absolutely none of the above. Kai subsequently abandons the group, goes on a robbing spree in Ba Sing Se, strands Mako and Bolin in the Lower Ring, and ultimately gets himself captured by the local Secret Police.
• The past. After the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Toph went on to have two children, Lin and Suyin Beifong. Not wanting to be like her own overprotective parents, she gives the two quite a lot of freedom while they're growing up. Unfortunately, this has the side effect of leaving Suyin attention-starved, resulting in her turning into a delinquent. This doesn't do Lin any favors either and results in Lin trying to earn Toph's respect by becoming a Metal Bending Police Officer herself.
  You'd Expect: That as soon as it became clear Suyin was going onto the wrong path—the first time she skipped school, for example—Toph would try and do something to get her off it. If she's not sure what to do, she could talk to the other old members of the Gaang—three of whom have also become parents at this point—for advice. And while she's at it, maybe ask for advice about how to approach Lin and her feelings.
  Instead: From what we see and hear, Toph seemingly takes no action to sort her wayward daughter out and never gives her other daughter the approval she seeks^note Maybe she did but failed to make a point because her daughters were just taking after two different aspects of her youth. She just expects everything to somehow work out in her favor.
  End result: Suyin becomes a getaway driver for a gang of criminals and gets arrested, forcing Toph to kick Suyin out of the city and cover up the crime, lest it compromise her position as Republic City's police chief. This also completely destroys Toph and Suyin's relationships with Lin, who got scarred breaking up the robbery and becomes completely alienated and estranged from both of them for over 30 years.
• Also, Suyin doesn't behave well when Lin breaks up the robbery. As Lin stops the getaway vehicle and makes the arrests, Suyin gets out and tries to defend her "friends". Lin yells at her because this is beyond skipping school. Suyin is actively committing a crime.
  You'd Expect: Suyin would stand down. This isn't trouble that their mother will ignore, because she was caught in the act. Lin she knows is a stickler for rules.
  Instead: Suyin mocks Lin for daring to arrest her, and breaks her metal cables when Lin shoots them out at her sister to take her down with minimal force. The whiplash injures Lin, who falls to the ground screaming.
  The Result: Lin gets a scar that never heals, and Suyin is arrested both for committing a crime, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer. This also marks the beginning of the end of the Beifong family, with each going their separate ways in a matter of years.
• Toph is angry at both of the girls for the arrest. Suyin is in Never My Fault mode despite the fact that she was a getaway driver and assaulted an officer of the law. Lin gets annoyed because she still is wounded from her sister attacking her and because, as she points out, she was just doing her job. Toph is worried because as chief of police she can't have a delinquent daughter.
  You'd Expect: Toph would put no one above the law, not even her daughter, but keep the arrest out of the news and minimize the scandal. Suyin is only a teenager after all, and when Toph was younger than Suyin she was breaking the rules on a regular basis. A night in jail might curb Suyin's rebellious tendencies, and pacify an irate but Reasonable Authority Figure Lin.
  Instead: Toph tears up Suyin's arrest warrant and exiles her to the girls' grandparents, in the Earth Kingdom. Lin scathingly points out that this makes Suyin a Karma Houdini in that while Su will be with her strict grandparents, she's avoiding the legal consequences. Toph's coverup ends up being All for Nothing anyway since she retires after getting burned out from failing to end crime in Republic City, and Lin continually feels embittered that she threw her life away trying to please her mother as a police officer, and her mother wasn't worth pleasing.
• Years after the above events, Suyin matures considerably and tries to reconcile with Lin, but her older sister refuses to communicate with her, still blaming her for the Beifong family being torn apart. In the present day, Lin coincidentally ends up in Suyin's city of Zaofu, finally providing Suyin with the opportunity to talk to her sister face to face. Lin still refuses to speak to her sister.
  You'd Expect: That Suyin's first course of action would be to apologise to Lin for her past actions, and perhaps offer to discuss how their relationship went so badly wrong.
  Instead: Suyin tries to pretend that the events of the past never happened, and actually gets shirty at Lin for not getting back in contact with her and Toph, because how dare Lin be reluctant to talk to a spoilt brat who permanently scarred her face and the mother who enabled her. She also seems to think that being the founder of a prosperous city and the matriarch of a big happy family will make Lin see her as a changed person, rather than as a Karma Houdini. This also indirectly leads to Lin taking her anger out on Opal who had ZERO to do with the situation concerning her mother, aunt and grandmother and was only trying to be nice.
  Also: She decides to press Lin's Berserk Button by implying that her attitude is the reason her relationship with Tenzin failed, which directly leads to a brawl breaking out between the two sisters. Lin faints afterward, as Opal of all people has to stop the fight and call them out for hurting each other. After this, Suyin FINALLY decides to apologize to Lin for her behavior. fortunately, karma hits her in season 4.
• Zaheer and company have a mole within Zaofu who helps smuggle them into the city so that they can try and kidnap Korra. They fail, and an investigation into how they got in is launched, prompting the mole to try and cover things up by framing someone else within Zaofu.
  You'd Expect: That the mole would make sure to frame someone who theoretically could have been working with the Red Lotus.
  Instead: The mole picks a guard who's too young to have been in contact with Zaheer before his 13-year imprisonment.
  As a Result: The Krew soon figure out what's going on, and ultimately expose the mole.
• Queen Hou-Ting lacks a lot on the brains department and makes up for it with power. She makes a bad first impression on Korra by treating her as an errand-girl for taxes, and lying that there are no airbenders in Ba Sing Se. Team Avatar eventually busts her on their lie when their only recruit Kai is kidnapped, and they track him down to an underground prison. Hou-Ting decides to issue a warrant for arrest for Korra after the resulting jailbreak; Bumi even admits that she has the authority to conscript Earthbender civilians.
  You'd Expect: Someone in the Dai Li or the government hierarchy would get the message out to the other nations to demand compensation for the "lost" airbenders in exchange for not arresting Korra, using this rule of conscription. The queen is nuts, but that doesn't mean her subordinates have to be stupid. Even if Hou-Ting doesn't get her army, she at least has the resources to make another one. The Dai Li also in the previous series were able to dismantle Kuei's ruling so some of the predecessors have experience with working being rulers' backs. If Hou-Ting is planning to invade and reclaim traditional Earth Kingdom territory, she may have to figure out other means to achieve the same goal.
  Instead: Everyone in Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li included, lets Hou-Ting work directly with Zaheer, the Red Lotus leader, anarchist and fugitive. Zaheer of all people points out that Hou-Ting made an enemy out of the Nations with the arrest warrant because even if Korra is exiled from Republic City, she's still somewhat beloved and an authority figure. They make a deal that Hou-Ting will hand over Korra to him and in exchange, he will tell her where the new airbenders are.
  Predictably: None of the Nation armies arrive in time to save Hou-Ting when Zaheer gets mad at her for reneging on their deal and demanding he should give her the location of the airbenders despite Korra escaping from her custody. They at least seek to avert this mistake by supplying Prince Wu with various advisors so he can run the Earth Kingdom better. Then that goes pear-shaped when Kuvira usurps him.
• Ba Sing Se is in the middle of a riot after the Earth Queen's death. Entire buildings are being put to flame. Mako and Bolin's extensive family wants to leave but dear old granny doesn't want to leave the home she raised her family in, even as it burns to the ground.
  You'd Think: They would get the hell outta there, forcing her to come with them (which is what Bolin ends up doing).
  Instead: They just sit there, waiting to die because some senile old bag doesn't want to leave.
• The Earth Queen and the Dai Li are abducting Airbenders to conscript into her army.
  You'd Also Expect: That given that—with the exception of Aang, Tenzin, his children and Korra—there have been no Airbenders for nearly 200 years and so no one really knows how to effectively combat Airbending, the Dai Li would train 'against' the Airbenders and develop tactics to fight them, if not in case of rebellion then in case their enemies had the same plan.
  Instead: They only have the Airbenders train against each other.
  As a Result: The moment the Krew show up to free them, the Airbenders turn on the Dai Li and are able to escape with the Dai Li virtually powerless to stop them.

Book Four: Balance

• Season four starts with Kuvira and Suyin at odds. Kuvira left Zaofu when Suyin refused to become an Earth queen or leader, fearing that the power would make her a tyrant as bad as the previous Earth Queen Hou-Ting. (She may have been right given her past as a Spoiled Brat and Delinquent.) Instead, her adopted daughter is launching campaigns to protect Earth Kingdom civilians and recruit them as part of her growing empire.
  You'd Expect: That Kuvira would not try to directly antagonize Suyin or maybe suggest a compromise. Instead of ruling over the Earth Kingdom, they could come up with a democracy that allows for people's voices to be heard, something that Prince Wu eventually agrees to implement, while creating a protective military that puts the commoners first. Suyin believes that they are still family and is willing to hear her out; plus, she took in Kuvira when the latter's parents abandoned her.
  Instead: Kuvira takes it personally that Suyin's beliefs of noninterference are indirectly causing collateral damage. Suyin in the meantime maintains that Kuvira is acting entitled and has betrayed her, with the worst crime being "convincing" Baatar Jr. to sever ties with his family. After her forces storm Wu's coronation, she hints to Suyin that Zaofu is next, and proceeds to turn the city into the arms factory as well as a Beifong prison camp.
  The Result: Both women suffer from the emotional fallout of this decision, as the end of season 4 and Ruins of the Empire detail. The Beifong adults and children alike are traumatized after seeing their home corrupted and being locked in a dangling wooden cage for months on end, with Opal being the only one to avoid imprisonment. Baatar Jr. becomes a pariah while under house arrest; Suyin forgives him because she felt he has been punished enough. Suyin refuses to forgive Kuvira for her crimes, telling her off in Ruins for thinking that she is entitled to forgiveness.
• "Korra Alone": Korra after being poisoned by the Red Lotus has become partially paralyzed, traumatized, and depowered; she can't access the Avatar State. It takes months alone for her to regain use of her limbs, and she's not up to her usual strength in battle. Katara is trying her best, but her gentle teachings aren't enough to help break Korra's PTSD and depression.
  You'd Expect: That her parents and Katara would try to seek alternate therapies to coincide with the physical therapy, such as getting a metal-bending acupuncturist since they helped Lin in season three. Real-world therapies often work best by trying out many combinations, and surely multiple bending discplines have other remedies.
  You'd Also Expect: Someone would realize that Korra is feeling useless and unwanted with how the world doesn't seem to need an Avatar, and tell her that the people who love her still need her. Asami does, at least, but she can only do so much with letters.
  Instead: Korra's parents are left with Katara, who once again is trying her best but cannot provide Korra what she needs. Tenzin fails to realize that Korra needs to regain her purpose and sense of belonging.
  The Result: Two years of recovering, failing to spar, and battling her head takes its toll. Korra lies to her parents that she's returning to Air Temple Island, cuts her hair, and vanishes into the Earth Kingdom to try and recover what she's lost. She manages to find Toph, who helps her recover partway, but her parents and Tenzin's family are worried sick about her going missing, especially since she is like a daughter to Tenzin. Zaheer, while in prison, has to pave the rest of the way for recovery. Mako only calls out Korra for deciding to disappear long after the fact; she might have appreciated hearing how she was needed when she was recovering.
• "Enemy at the Gates":
  • Kuvira has just threatened to take Zaofu by force, in response to the city refusing to join the Earth Empire. Shortly after the scene in question, Bolin, now a member of her inner circle, asks Kuvira why she insists on adding Zaofu to the Earth Empire, since the former Earth Kingdom would still be united without it.
    You'd Expect: Kuvira to give the same reason she'll give Korra in the next episode: she wants to use Zaofu's vast material wealth and superior technology in ways that benefit the Earth Empire as a whole. Even if Bolin doesn't buy it, she'll have at least provided a somewhat reasonable motive.
    Instead: She immediately gets aggressive with Bolin, angrily questioning his loyalty and threatening to send him to a re-education camp, which she and Baatar Jr make clear are not used to teach people new trade skills.
    Result: Bolin finally sees Kuvira's true colors, and teams up with Varrick - another member of Kuvira's inner circle who's now having second thoughts - to escape the Earth Empire. He later prevents Varrick from sacrificing himself to keep Kuvira from weaponizing spirit vines through him, and the two of them help each other to get back to Republic City, where Varrick's technical know-how proves instrumental in stopping Kuvira during the final battle.
  • Later on, Suyin asks Korra to destroy Kuvira's army, but Korra insists on trying to be diplomatic first, remembering that whenever she resorted to violent measures in the past, it generally made the situation worse.
    You'd Expect: If nothing else, Su would at least humor Korra. She knows Korra's going to fail, no harm in letting her.
    Or: Su would at least inform Korra of the crimes Kuvira and the Earth Empire have committed; namely enslaving and conscripting people, and imprisoning those who speak out against her.
    Instead: Su just warns that "Kuvira doesn't listen to reason", and doesn't even wait for Korra to come back before taking off on a mission to assassinate her former protege, which Kuvira knew would happen and is well-prepared for.
    Result: Kuvira is able to take advantage of Korra's ignorance regarding the Earth Empire's darker deeds to sway the Avatar to her side, simply by claiming that she "had to make some tough decisions", a sentiment that reminds Korra of her own Hero with Bad Publicity past. She then persuades Korra to go back to Su and convince her to join the Earth Empire, i.e. the exact opposite of what Su intended. Su then gets herself and her sons captured that night, ignorantly violating a temporary truce Korra negotiated with Kuvira, giving Kuvira a Pretext for War and maintaining her Villain with Good Publicity status.
    The End Result: Korra ends up dueling Kuvira and losing badly, Su's entire family save Opal is arrested, and Zaofu is taken over by Kuvira who promptly orders the domes dismantled.
• In "The Battle Of Zaofu", Kuvira faces off against Korra in a one-on-one duel for the fate of Zaofu and the fight is going most decidedly in her favor as Korra is not up to full strength.
  You'd Expect: Kuvira to keep her mouth shut and simply focus on the fight she is obviously going to win, and this is important, not deliberately taunt someone whose past life once literally ripped a continent apart to protect a settlement.
  Instead: Kuvira's ego takes control of her common sense and she actually goads Korra into using the Avatar State.
  Result: Korra eventually does just that and the only thing that prevented Kuvira from quite literally being a stain on the ground was a vision of Dark Korra. Thus Kuvira only won by sheer dumb luck.
  For Added Points: Had Kuvira lost the fight, not only would she be forced to give up all claim to Zaofu, but would have been humiliated in front of her troops.
• "Beyond the Wilds": All the world leaders are having a meeting about what to do with Kuvira's invasions, and the Spirit Vines kidnapping people. Korra wants to be involved, since it's her job and she wants to make up for losing against Kuvira.
  You'd Expect: Tenzin would make sure Korra is invited, even if she lost in her fight with Kuvira. Regardless of her victories or losses, the Avatar is the representation of bending harmony, and it's a good way for Korra to know what the agreed strategy is. She's not the same Leeroy Jenkins she was before who was defying authority figures.
  Instead: Tenzin reveals that Korra wasn't invited, but Prince Wu was, and cites Korra's recent losses and trauma as the reason why. Korra is very annoyed, and worried that no one will take her seriously anymore.
  The Result: Korra becomes so desperate that while the meeting is going on that she goes to see Zaheer in prison, to prove she's no longer scared of him. You know, the same man that poisoned her and tried to kill her via slow airbending suffocation. And a man who has broken out of prison before to attempt to murder the Avatar. Korra was traumatized by him, still is scared, and should not have to make that decision to face a man that destroyed her.
  Fortunately: Zaheer has mellowed in the three years that have passed. He manages to pinpoint all of Korra's problems tells her that blaming him for her issues isn't going to help, and helps her re-enter the Spirit World.
• In "Remembrances", Mako retells the Love Triangle and how he's grown from the experience.
  You'd Expect: As part of his newfound maturity, he'd be 100% honest about even his worst actions during it to prove it.
  Instead: He not only lies, but he lies about his lying such as denying he was dating Asami, admitting she was right calling him out on lying in the past about cheating on her then lies again about rebounding to her and ditching her to re-date an amnesiac Korra.
  Result: Tu, Wu and Yin call him out on all of it and his claim of maturity comes off spottier than he intended because he was too possum-chicken to take his own advice (again).
• In "Operation Beifong", Bolin has been duped into believing that Kuvira's cause is what's right for the world, and joined her inner circle, driving a rift between him and his friends and family, particularly his girlfriend, Opal. Only after catching wind of Kuvira's labor camps does he realize that she is more of a tyrant than she let on, and he, Varrick, and several prisoners of war make an escape. While Team Avatar is glad to have him back, Opal is not so warm, considering her family has been imprisoned.
  You'd Expect: Given what he's experienced beforehand, Bolin would apologize for not listening to her and offer everything he has to fight against Kuvira and set things right.
  Instead: He thinks all it takes to get back in Opal's good graces is a goofy picnic date as if nothing happened, which offends Opal even further. Only after that dumb display does he vow to help fix things.
• Lin and Toph team up to rescue Suyin and her family from Kuvira. They've been estranged for a number of reasons, one being that Toph is a really brusque person.
  You'd Expect: Toph to remember why her eldest daughter didn't speak to her, and tone back on her brusque attitude.
  Instead: Toph doesn't. Lin hits her Rage Breaking Point while trying to find out more about her father, and tells her mother that after they rescue Suyin they are done. Fortunately they manage to part on good terms, but Toph came pretty close to repeating her past mistakes.

Graphic Novels

• Turf Wars:
  • Korra has just come out as bisexual to Tonraq. He's accepting of this news, but he's less than happy when she indicates she plans on going public about her relationship with Asami. Whether this is because of a fear of biphobic reactions towards Korra, or a belief that personal lives should be kept private is never explained, though Kya implies it's at least the latter due to Water Tribe culture.
    You'd Expect: Whatever Tonraq's reasoning is, he would remember that his daughter's an adult capable of making her own choices in such matters, and let her decide for herself whether she wants to be open with her sexuality. At the same time, he could gently warn her that some people might be intolerant, and/or ask who exactly she plans to tell.
    Instead: Tonraq says "It's best that you keep your personal life private." Korra quickly takes offence at this, and Senna has to clarify for Tonraq. To which Korra replies that she'll tell anyone she wants, and that she doesn't care what other people say.
    So Now You'd Expect: Tonraq to assure Korra that he's not saying she shouldn't tell anyone, just that—as Senna said—not everyone will be as accepting as him.
    Instead: He just starts telling Korra not to get ahead of herself, and that she sometimes get too excited.
    Result: Korra considers Tonraq to be narrow-minded, and angrily storms off.
  • This also goes both ways for Korra in behaving like her Book 1 self.
    You'd Expect: Korra—who has found out multiple times over the last three years that being quick to anger and jump into a fight typically doesn't end well—would rein in her temper a bit and tell her parents that, while she accepts they mean well, it's her decision alone whether or not to stay in the closet.
    Alternatively: Korra could reiterate Tenzin's words from "A Breath of Fresh Air" and point out that she's always going to be subject to criticism over her actions as the Avatar, so opening herself up to the possibility of biphobia won't make much of a difference to her life.
    Instead: As mentioned above, she gets angry at Tonraq and leaves. She later "apologizes for her parents' narrow-mindedness" on the way back with Asami, who more tactfully makes their point for them along with her two cents about why she wasn't so keen about meeting her parents so soon as a couple and wanting more time together before they return to Republic City.
    You'd Expect: Asami to have said all of the above before suggesting to Korra that they leave the Southern Water Tribe palace.
    Instead: The couple simply promise to be there for each other and return to Republic City, not even thinking about Korra's parents until talking with Kya about their reaction.
  • Wonyong Keum, the owner of the land surrounding the new spirit portal, plans to turn it into an amusement park and offer tours of the Spirit World. In addition to this scheme being opposed by Korra, Asami and the Air Nation, Keum is implicitly threatened by one of the spirits, who is very clear about not giving a damn for human property laws.
    You'd Expect: Keum to look for another way to make money off the land, if only to avoid being attacked by an angry spirit. Hell, at one point Korra's willing to buy the land off of him in order to turn it into a spirit sanctuary.
    Or Even: He just leaves. He's lived in Republic City for a while, and spirits have been living with humans for the last few years. He should know what spirits can do to humans, and that humans have very little in the ways of fighting back. Cutting your losses and running is not a bad thing here.
    Instead: Keum hires Tokuga and the Triple Threat Triad to drive the Air Nomads away from the portal.
    As a Result: The spirits show up to attack the triad, Tokuga gets mutated by the same spirit who tried to warn Keum off building on the spirits' land, and he responds by kidnapping Keum and seizing control of all of his assets, which he then uses as part of a plan to take control of Republic City.
    Bonus Idiocy: Despite him ultimately ceding the land around the spirit portal to the Air Nation, Avatar Legends indicates that Keum's company is still going strong compared to the other major corporations in Republic City. So there was really no excuse for his actions besides simple Greed.
  • Part 3 reveals the deal with Future Industries that Keum walked out on years ago; Hiroshi wanted Keum's help in creating mountable gas sprayers for the Equalist cause, even going so far as to give him the schematics for them, but Keum wanted no part in creating such weapons.
    You'd Expect: Given how incriminating such documents would be, Keum would either turn them over to the authorities or destroy them as soon as possible.
    Instead: Keum keeps hold of the schematics right up until the present day.
    Result: It would have been bad enough for Keum if Lin or the police had discovered those documents, but instead they're found by Tokuga, who uses them to try and commit an act of terror.
  • As a result of his decision to surrender the United Republic to Kuvira, President Raiko has become very unpopular among the populace of Republic City, which isn't good considering that he'll be up for re-election soon. The one bit of good luck he has is that for now, no-one else is running against him.
    You'd Expect: Raiko to put his re-election plans to the side for the time being, find funding to rehome all the people who were left homeless as a result of the destruction caused by the Colossus, and pay a visit to the evacuee camp. Even if all the above doesn't improve his standing with the public, it'll at least prove to Korra and Tenzin that he's looking out for the people, and perhaps make them more willing to support him.
    Instead: He puts all his focus on getting re-elected, with the result that he doesn't even visit the evacuees, only agrees to fund new housing when his campaign manager points out that it'll get him more votes, and neglects to get foreign aid for the evacuees moved through customs. All in all, he comes off as only caring for himself and his position.
    Result: Zhu Li gets fed up with Raiko's selfishness and decides to run against him in the election. She ends up winning by a landslide.
  • Following on from the above, Raiko and his campaign manager Wenyan discover that Zhu Li is a lot more popular than Raiko, due to both her role in taking care of Republic City's evacuees after Kuvira's invasion, and her part in taking down Kuvira's colossus during the battle.
    You'd Expect: Raiko and Wenyan to point out that Zhu Li was arguably complicit in her husband Varrick's attempt to kidnap Raiko and manipulate the United Republic into joining the Water Tribe Civil War. Considering how much trouble Hillary Clinton got in for using a private email server for government emails, you'd think the possibility of Zhu Li being involved in a high profile false flag operation would shatter her chances of getting votes, especially among those people who didn't lose their homes in Kuvira's invasion. Failing that, he could point out that she aided and abetted in the escape of a lawfully incarcerated prisoner, Varrick, during the Dark Avatar crisis, helping him to flee the country and outside of Republic City Jurisdiction.
    Instead: Wenyan smooth-talks Raiko into letting him try and put a negative spin on all of Zhu Li's good actions, thereby missing a good opportunity to besmirch the name of their rival.
• Ruins of the Empire:
  • As a child, Kuvira was taken in by Suyin after her birth parents had enough of her bratty attitude. For this reason, Kuvira lashes out at Opal, who is young enough to be her sister, because her mother actually wanted her. At one point she destroys a dollhouse that she and Opal were sharing out of spite when the other girl pointed out it was still her turn. Opal tells on her to Suyin, who demands an explanation. Kuvira has none.
    You'd Expect: Suyin would put a mild punishment on Kuvira that satisfies Opal. Such as saying that she can no longer play with Opal's things until she learns to be responsible with them.
    Instead: She lets Kuvira off the hook due to her terrible upbringing and tells Opal they need to be patient with her.
    The Result: Opal calls out Suyin for enabling Kuvira's worst tendencies and saying Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse because a few people at Zaofu are orphans and none of them are delinquents. Come to think of it, that's exactly what Lin told Toph about tearing up Suyin's arrest warrant. She's later proven right; Kuvira becomes a Spoiled Brat even as her Metalbending skills improve due to Suyin coddling her, and eventually sees herself as the only person who can stabilize the Earth Kingdom. Suyin refusing to go along with this venture and saying "no" for the first time led to Kuvira not only disowning her but also invading Zaofu. For the rest of ''Ruins of the Empire',' Opal refuses to forgive Kuvira for everything that happened, including imprisoning her family and turning her home into a war camp, until Kuvira helps take down Guan and pleads guilty for her crimes.
  • In the present day, Kuvira is put on trial for her crimes before a tribunal. The charges, which are all true, are read against her. Kuvira resents that she's being scapegoated and how this spectacle is going on despite her surrendering. She apologizes for the harm she caused.
    You'd Expect: She would stop there. Beg forgiveness, and maybe they'll go easy on her. Or do a plea bargain because she's obviously guilty.
    Instead: She goes Wants a Prize for Basic Decency and points out they're ignoring the good she did by reuniting the Earth Kingdom, and ignoring how trial proceedings work. The point of listing the charges is not to tarnish a name but to set a case for the prosecution and defense. Then Kuvira enters a plea of "not guilty," which is Blatant Lies. After this, she tells an angry Suyin that the Beifongs turned their back on her a long time ago. Then she begs for forgiveness since she apologized for invading Zaofu and nearly murdering Baatar Jr.
    Predictably: Suyin tells her off for expecting that she'll just get forgiveness for spending a few months in prison and apologizing. No one is happy, and Kuvira is set to lose her case.
  • Kuvira may be in jail, but Guan—one of her former generals—refused to surrender and has since not given up the ideals she enabled for him. He plans to use the Earth Kingdom's new fragile democratic systems to reform the Earth Empire as she wished it, by nominating himself as a gubernatorial candidate for the state of Gaoling and brainwashing people into voting for him.
    You'd Expect: Guan to try and conceal his ties to the Earth Empire while executing his plan, in case the other nations cotton onto the activities of him and his rebels.
    Instead: Guan openly plays the part of an Earth Empire officer, going so far as to show up with at least a company's worth of troops and tanks when the time comes to announce his candidacy.
    Result: It's Guan's presence within the rebels that clues the heroes in to the fact that he's up to something in the first place, especially when Korra learns from Kuvira that Guan wouldn't have refused to surrender otherwise. It's Guan approaching Gaoling with a small army that convinces the heroes to directly intervene, out of fear that Guan intends to disrupt the election. Had Guan exercised subtlety, he likely could have executed his plan with everyone else none the wiser.
  • Korra reluctantly suggests that they allow Kuvira to try to talk Guan down. Asami creates some Betrayal Insurance because she doesn't trust Kuvira, who killed her father and tried to kill Korra several times.
    You'd Expect: Kuvira, even though she doesn't know about the Betrayal Insurance, would try to behave herself, especially when Asami asserts that she will do anything to protect her girlfriend and has not forgiven Kuvira for Hiroshi's death.
    Instead: When they try to have Kuvira negotiate a truce with Guan, Kuvira fails diplomatically and attacks Guan when he calls her a coward, ignoring Korra's demands for her to stand down. This is despite the fact that Guan has bought a small army with him, and Kuvira only has herself, Korra, Asami, Naga and King Wu's bodyguards on hand to try and fight it off. It's not like he's wrong either; she did try some cheap shots in the fourth season finale.
    Predictably: Asami incapacitates Kuvira, and the negotiations break down. Kuvira is locked up as a result of being a loose cannon, which leaves her unable to do anything when Guan and his men attack the group's airship and capture her, Asami, Mako and Bolin.
  • Following the failed negotiations, Guan reveals his plan minus the brainwashing part to Wu and Korra, and that he intends to do the same across the whole Earth Kingdom until all of its states are ruled by Earth Empire supporters and sympathizers, effectively making the Earth Empire a legitimate nation.
    You'd Expect: That at some point prior to the election next week, Wu would give Korra permission to arrest Guan on his behalf, disqualify him from the election, or do what Mako suggests and suspend the whole thing. A candidate disagreeing politically with the head of state is one thing, but Guan has openly admitted to conspiring to restore an illegitimate authoritarian regime, which locked people up in concentration camps and invaded the United Republic with a WMD, among other crimes.
    Instead: Wu and the others decide to let the election go on as planned, Wu not wanting to do anything that might reduce his people's faith in democracy, and they persuade a reluctant Toph Beifong to run against Guan, giving the former commander plenty of time and opportunity to put his plans into motion.
    Additionally: Wu does decide to cancel the election once he learns that Guan is getting support through brainwashing, thus proving that he was willing to intervene once he had proof of criminal intent to interfere. But if that was the case, there was nothing stopping him from doing so earlier.
  • After capturing Kuvira, Guan reveals that he plans to brainwash her into supporting the Earth Empire once again. She's currently locked up in a portable platinum cell that neutralizes her bending.
    You'd Expect: Guan would make sure Kuvira is in no state to fight back while being prepped for her brainwashing. Perhaps by having the brainwashed Asami electrocute her into unconsciousness?
    Or Even: Just hook her up to the brainwashing machinery while keeping her in the platinum cell.
    Instead: He has Kuvira, a woman he knows is a highly skilled metalbender and fighter, released from the platinum cell without taking any precautions besides having two people grab her arms and a third try to slip some platinum cuffs on her.
    Result: Kuvira fights her way out of Guan's base before they can get the cuffs on her, and becomes a Spanner in the Works for Guan's plan to capture and brainwash Korra.
  • After Kuvira returns to Team Avatar and agrees to help with the deprogramming, she runs into Baatar Jr. Her ex has been under house arrest in Zaofu, with most of his family refusing to forgive him for betraying them and locking them up in a wooden cage for months on end. He also is surrounded with reminders of his betrayal. Things have been awkward, and he's had time to ruminate on his crimes and mistakes with Opal being a Deadpan Snarker. Kuvira apologizes for trying to kill Baatar Jr. when he was held as a hostage; she hints she wants to renew their romance. He says he doesn't accept her apology. Kuvira is shocked by this.
    You'd Expect: The genius leader would maybe think that murder is murder regardless of your intentions and she was going to blow Baatar Jr. up so that Team Avatar wouldn't have any leverage over her. No normal person would ignore those implications.
    Instead: She admits she still loves him and tries to say that if the roles were reversed, Baatar Jr. would have sacrificed her for the greater good.
    Predictably: Baatar Jr. mid-reform gives her a blunt "no" about that; he says that he loved her and wouldn't have bargained with her life in a big to conquer Republic City. He also aptly points out for someone who claims to love him, she was willing to sacrifice him for her greater ambitions. Thus it proves that she loves no one and he betrayed his family for her. To rub salt in the wound, Korra has to talk his ear off to have Kuvira help with the deprogramming experiments because he refuses to work with his ex initially.
    Fortunately: This conversation, plus Kuvira agreeing to be a test subject for the deprogramming machine, causes her to have a Heel Realization. She flashbacks to when she pettily destroyed a dollhouse she and Opal liked, with Opal saying no one wants Kuvira because she is mean.