History NightmareFuel / TheLegendOfKorra

** Also a bit of FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that if he died in there, how did he die? We all know the library sunk so he was BuriedAlive, but the library itself didn't fill with sand so he probably died of dehydration. Or starvation. Or malnutrition. Or, Spirits forbid, he did something to enrage Wan Shi Tong or his presence enough was enough to set the owl spirit off.

* You thought Gyatso's skeleton was unsettling? Look at Professor Zei's.
** Also a bit of FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that if he died in there, how did he die? We all know the library sunk so he was BuriedAlive, but the library itself didn't fill with sand so he probably died of dehydration. Or starvation. Or Malnutrition. Or, Spirits forbid, he did something to enrage Wan Shi Tong.

* It must be terrifying enough to sit in a cell and hear that it's about to be electrocuted. To ramp up the creep-factor, the Lieutenant replies, "My pleasure." Then he proceeds to electrocute it for pretty much twice as long as usually.

* The Red Lotus are a terrifying group of villains, but just as disturbing is a look at their treatment. The U.N. [[https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/66/268 considers]] solitary confinement exceeding 15 days to be torture; the Red Lotus were held in solitary confinement for ''13 years''. Zaheer is entombed behind solid rock, forced to face the wall when his cell is opened to deny him even a glimpse of freedom. Ming-Hua is kept constantly dehydrated and suspended in a cage over an active volcano. P'li is kept chained like an animal, never allowed to get warm. Ghazan ''commits suicide on screen'' rather than be sent back to prison. Yet we the audience are told this is just. ''Zuko'' tells us this is just, because they are dangerous criminals that need to be stopped. But villains like Hama were dangerous criminals too, ''because'' of the the horrifying conditions of her prison. Along with seeing Ba Sing Se once again in the hands of the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]] and seeing the Red Lotus held in conditions on par with the worst of what the genocidal Fire Nation had to offer, Book 3 becomes a disturbing AccidentalAesop of MoralMyopia and HistoryRepeats, as leaders like Zuko, ''Zuko'', seem to have not only retained the worst aspects of their prisons, but perfected them.

** Worse, their brutal confinement only served to radicalize them further. Zaheer is first seen giving his guards a chilling HannibalLecture. Ghazan and Ming-Hua may very well have ''killed'' their guards during their escape. P'li is introduced as a SlasherSmile and a pair of [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] glittering in the gloom of her cell, taunting her captors with her impending freedom. A far cry from the optimistic young people seen [[https://i.redd.it/95eg4zeuj6j51.png here.]]

* The Red Lotus are a terrifying group of villains, but just as disturbing is a look at their treatment. The U.N. [[https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/66/268 considers]] solitary confinement exceeding 15 days to be torture; the Red Lotus were held in solitary confinement for ''13 years''. Zaheer is entombed behind solid rock, forced to face the wall when his cell is opened to deny him even a glimpse of freedom. Ming-Hua is kept constantly dehydrated and suspended in a cage over an active volcano. P'li is kept chained like an animal, never allowed to get warm. Ghazan ''commits suicide on screen'' rather than be sent back to prison. Yet we the audience are told this is just. ''Zuko'' tells us this is just, because they are dangerous criminals that need to be stopped. But villains like Hama were dangerous criminals too, ''because'' of the the horrifying conditions of her prison. Along with seeing Ba Sing Se once again in the hands of the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]] and seeing the Red Lotus held in conditions on par with the worst of what the genocidal Fire Nation had to offer, Book 3 becomes a disturbing AccidentalAesop of MoralMyopia and HistoryRepeats, as leaders like Zuko, ''Zuko'', seem to not only have retained the worst aspects of their prisons, but perfected them.

** Worse, their brutal confinement only served to radicalize them further. Zaheer is introduced giving a chilling HannibalLecture to his White Lotus guards. Ghazan and Ming-Hua may very well have ''killed'' their guards during their escape. P'li is first seen as a SlasherSmile and a pair of [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] glittering in the gloom of her cell, taunting her captors with her impending freedom. A far cry from the optimistic young people seen [[https://i.redd.it/95eg4zeuj6j51.png here.]]

* [[https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=441560382649863 This video]] sums up the scariest parts of the first three Books. Because you know, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids this is a kid's show]].

** Worse, their brutal confinement only served to radicalize them further. Zaheer is introduced giving a chilling HannibalLecture to his White Lotus guards. Ghazan and Ming-Hua may very well have ''killed'' their guards during their escape. P'li is first seen as a SlasherSmile and a pair of [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] glittering in the gloom of her cell, taunting her captors with her impending freedom. A far cry from the optimistic young people seen [[https://i.redd.it/95eg4zeuj6j51.png here]].

** The thought of a teenager, chained up and poisoned, staring down at the impassive faces of the adults waiting to kill her is disturbing in and of itself.

-->'''"Amon, Unalaq, and Vaatu":''' [[MadnessMantra Let go. Let go.]] '''[[MadnessMantra Let go.]]'''

* Korra is apprehended and chained up, and then Red Lotus members administer some poison to her. Her body contorts and twists in the most unsettling and unnatural manner, but then, it gets even more disturbing as she [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness starts hallucinating.]] Zaheer's face cracks off and the mask of Amon is underneath, Ghazan's head twists around and he becomes Unalaq, and Ming Hua suddenly becomes Vaatu, all previous {{Arc Villain}}s taunting Korra that she's too weak.
** [[http://i.imgur.com/bFOdeQ0.png Her facial expressions are pretty scary.]] That's why they now provide the page image. The animators did a good job at conveying her suffering, through the use of wide-angled views to make her look all bug-eyed. The angle of the shot and the overall style of the image comes straight out of the psychological horror genre.
--> ''[[VoiceOfTheLegion Let go...let go...]] [[MadnessMantra let go...let go!]]''
** The poison itself is scary and so is how it's administered. It's a liquid metal (presumably mercury), and it's administered by metalbending several pounds of it [[BodyHorror through the pores of her skin.]] This is shown to be exactly as painful as it sounds.
** Then to top it off we see her recovering from all of this. She is in a wheelchair and looking very weak. She has bags under her eyes and she barely speaks. Seeing this badass, boisterous Amazonian beauty look this sick and worn down is both frightening and utterly heartrending. It blows her previous breakdown at the end of Book One right out of the water. This is truly her lowest point.
** Here's another thing to consider. Later on it's shown Raava can come back....if that's true then wouldn't that mean Vaatu WASN'T just a hallucination?
* Just the thought of the Red Lotus wanting to kidnap young Korra, poisoning her, forcing her into the Avatar State, and killing her after she was no longer useful to them is a pretty frightening one.

Sometimes this series just [[NightmareFuel scares us to death.]]

* Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin try to hold off the Red Lotus, but by the end, they're all very visibly beaten up. Kya and Bumi in particular were completely outmatched during their battles, facing off against Ming Hua and Ghazan. However, Tenzin had it much worse. While he did fine against Zaheer on his own, eventually the other three all start ganging up on Tenzin, leaving Tenzin on the verge of death. The camera panning away from his beatdown is very unsettling, leaving the episode on a very chilling cliffhanger. It's eerily similar Gyatso's death; being surrounded by enemies and killed off.
* Ming Hua gets knocked off a cliff and comes back up with multiple water arms, [[http://i.imgur.com/tvka2id.png giving off another]] PsychoticSmirk. The cinematography in that scene is particularly effective, clearly showcasing her to be a comparable to an [[http://i.imgur.com/ShRcyi3.png inhuman monster]]. The look in her dark eyes when she holds Opal hostage is practically demonic.
* The Red Lotus doesn't mess around and threatens to wipe out an entire nation, a newly reborn one at that, just to get to Korra. They WouldHurtAChild, a newly born one at that, the child's mother, and other children.

* The horrifying death of P'Li. To save Lin, Suyin bends her armor over P'Li's head [[YourHeadASplode in mid-blast]]. If you know a little about physics, [[FridgeHorror it gets worse]]. The metal shell over her head would focus the force of the blast into a tiny area, while the opening around her neck would direct the force down like a shaped charge. It's very likely that her own skull fragments ripped the rest of her body apart. If it's any comfort, she probably died instantly.

* Korra is apprehended and chained up, and then Red Lotus members administer some poison to her. Her body contorts and twists in the most unsettling and unnatural manner, but then, it gets even more disturbing as she [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness starts hallucinating]]. Zaheer's face cracks off and the mask of Amon is underneath, Ghazan's head twists around and he becomes Unalaq, and Ming Hua suddenly becomes Vaatu, all previous {{Arc Villain}}s taunting Korra that she's too weak.
** [[http://i.imgur.com/bFOdeQ0.png Her facial expressions are pretty scary]]. That's why it now provide the page image. The animators did a good job at conveying her suffering, through the use of wide angled views to make her look all bug eyed. The angle of the shot and the overall style of the image comes straight out of the psychological horror genre of manga and anime.

** Then to top it off we see her recovering from all of this. She is in a wheelchair and looking very weak. She has bags under her eyes and she barely speaks. Seeing this badass, boisterous amazonian beauty look this sick and worn down is both frightening and utterly heartrending. It blows her previous breakdown at the end of Book One right out of the water. This is truly her lowest point.

* Just the thought of the Red Lotus wanting to kidnap young Korra, poisoning her, forcing her into the avatar state, and killing her after she was no longer useful to them is a pretty frightening one.

* Zaheer flat out laughing when it appears that Korra had died in Tonraq's arms, complete with the poor man grieving over his daughter's supposed death. In that small action, all traces of humanity that Zaheer might have had just disappeared for good while also showing the [[MaskOfSanity stoic anarchist was far more unhinged than believed.]]

** The Avatar Trope pages have covered the FridgeHorror behind the horrible things Airbenders could do to people if they were not pacifists focused on harmony and meditation. Zaheer is none of these things and has no self-restraint. He has no compulsions stopping him from making peoples lungs explode, slicing things with blades of wind or creating a typhoon. Few people know how to defend against airbending and Zaheer is the worst possible person to have received them.
** His entire introduction scene. The mystery of why someone would warrant such tight security, the almost philosophical conversation he has with the guards, the fact he was able to kick their butts with powers he had only had for at most two weeks, it all adds up to the thought of "Holy shit! Hannibal Lector has air bending!"

* Just how did Ming Hua eat and well use the bathroom while in that prison without her water arms? Did a guard need to help her out? How much water was she given at a time to drink? Was she partially dehydrated for 13 years considering that she was in a cage above a volcano and would need water quite frequently?

* P'Li is Combustion Man's DistaffCounterpart. She also resembles [[TheSociopath Azula]], for whatever that's worth.
* The Dai Li are back. [[SecretPolice 'Nuff]] [[HeroKiller said]]. And they're trying to turn the new airbenders into an army.

** Granted, they ''could'' [[BlackComedy be joking]], but their deadpan natures make it hard to tell. And being unable to tell arguably makes it worse.

* The fact that the Queen and the Dai Li are perfectly willing to subject the airbenders, some of them probably [[WouldHurtAChild children]], to TrainingFromHell.
** Some of them are ''definitely'' children; we ''see'' Kai being forced to participate in this, and he's probably around 12 or so, tops. And [[FridgeHorror considering they had a uniform in his size]], he can't be the only kid there...

* Zaheer and his cohorts have vowed to destroy the Avatar, and tried to kidnap Korra when she was revealed to be the Avatar. Keep in mind that Korra was just four years old when the White Lotus found her. Not to mention they probably planned to force her into the Avatar State using mercury poison before killing her like they did later on if she proved incompatible with their initial brainwashing plan, all while she's still just a little girl!

** During their escape, Ghazan liquifies the road into lava behind them, which two trucks skid helplessly into during an attempt to stop. We never see if the drivers got out at all, much less if they got out safely or unharmed, if they did.

* In Lin's flashback, when she tries apprehending Suyin and seizes her arm with a metal cable. Suyin's brief expression of pure rage is disturbing. Then she reveals a BladeBelowTheShoulder from her arm band and cuts the cable, which then rebounds on Lin's face and causes her scars. From the length and direction, that could have been [[EyeScream her eye]]. However bad Suyin might have been as a delinquent teenager, she clearly could have become a lot worse.
* When Lin and Suyin brawl it out, Suyin blocks Lin's earth stairs attack with a metal sheet then proceeds to toss it at Lin '''from the edge'''. That could have sliced Lin, or at least cut her if Lin had not aerial dodged the metal sheet.

*** It gets even worse. The cloak is [[FridgeHorror sized for a baby bison, not an adult]].

** FridgeHorror: The Red Lotus hates leaving evidence behind, so they probably had a plan of how to deal with the body. A plan that very likely involves [[MagmaMan Ghazan]] to do the dirty work.

** Bolin looked close to drowning and then Ming Hua fishing him out. He had to poke his head out on his own.
* Korra wakes up and she's in a straight jacket strapped to a dolly. [[Film/SilenceOfTheLambs Remind you of anything?]] Asami is chained up next to her. No, they haven't been captured by the Red Lotus, but being captured by the Earth Queen's forces.

* You know all the theorizing of what airbenders could do to people if they weren't such adamant pacifists? Zaheer finally puts that to full use and flat out suffocates the Earth Queen. [[AssholeVictim No matter how tyrannical and detestable she was]], it is still very gruesome.

** It's not quick, either. He leaves a ball of air to keep her on the brink of death while he gives another [[CreepyMonotone speech]] before finishing the job. On the other hand this also counts as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome given how twisted and horrible she is.

* Zaheer announces the Earth Queen's death to Ba Sing Se, has the walls of the inner city collapsed and instructs the people to do as they wish. Naturally, the ''first'' thing that a lot of peasants do is raid the upper levels to loot and get revenge for all the oppression of so many years. Who wants to bet on how many people - whether raiding, defending their homes, just trying to escape from the horror that's been unleashed - are injured, raped or killed?
** [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Ever see the overthrowing of the Tsars in Russia in 1917? It Looks exactly like it.]] [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything The fall of China's last imperial dynasty and the chaos that followed are also brought to mind.]]

** Fun fact, [[https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8282212864/h566E29D3/ it's a real animal!]][[note]]For those that don't know, it's a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcastic_fringehead sarcastic fringehead]], a fish that, while terrifying, is thankfully harmless to humans.[[/note]]

* Asami nearly gets hit by an arrow when Varrick decided to practice archery (while blindfolded) near a set of stairs.

* The world Wan lived in was a horrible CrapsackWorld where EverythingTryingToKillYou, from the grass to the fruits to your fellow humans.
** Once upon a time, the human world was normal and mundane. No spirits. Then spirits start flooding in through a Vaatu-shaped hole in reality, are unbeatable by human means, and rage at humans for disrespecting them and nature. The only humans that survive are the ones that flee to the top of lion-turtles and make cities on their shells. This becomes HarsherInHindsight when it's earlier [[https://atla-lore-archive.tumblr.com/search/lion%20turtle revealed]] the lion-turtles went extinct after humans decided to hunt them over the thousands of years following the start of the Avatar Cycle until only one remained. The same one that would go on to give Avatar Aang the help he needed to defeat Ozai. All this despite selflessly keeping humanity alive and even granting them the power of bending. HumansAreBastards indeed.

** Especially in the case of [[PlantPerson Crazy Yao]]. Scary appearance, stiff limbs, and a large part of him is very flammable. And all his friends end up becoming firebenders.
** Watching the hunter get mutilated by the Aye-Aye spirit ''on screen'' is pretty horrifying. It looks extremely painful, and his reaction afterwards really drives it in. And it was all because [[DisproportionateRetribution he was trying to get food for his city]].
* Everything about Vaatu, from his spirit monstrous appearance, to his TheCorrupter ability and his more mundane manipulation.
* What happens when Vaatu turns the spirits into Dark Spirits. It's particularly unsettling to see Wan's spirit friends go from cute and cuddly to downright [[OneWingedAngel eldritch abominations]].

* The [[ParanoiaFuel corruption of the friendly spirits]]. One moment Jinora's dragonfly bunny friend's a fuzzy warm ball of green light, the next he's eldritch-like and controlled by Vaatu. Same with Korra's mountain dog helpers, which were corrupted only after following Korra to try and help.

* The thought of [[AdultFear a younger Korra, with no bending, wandering the spirit world by herself]]. Luckily, Iroh finds her.
** And that every time she loses control of her emotions or just throws a temper tantrum, the Spirit World around her falls apart into darkness.
* Tenzin's fear when Jinora didn't return from the Spirit World, and remains imprisoned by Unalaq and the Dark Spirits certainly counts as this.

* Vaatu is free. Repeat, [[GodOfEvil Vaatu]] [[OmnicidalManiac is]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt free]].

* The most disturbing part of the Spirit World and perhaps the most disturbing part of the entire series, the Fog of Lost Souls. It is a fog that slowly ends up corrupting the mind of whoever is lost in there, driving them to hysterics. [[TheBusCameBack Admiral Zhao]] returns and proves this, having lost his sanity entirely and is still set on capturing the Avatar. Upon seeing Tenzin, who resembles an older Aang, he goes berserk.
** The worst part? We see that humans are not normally immortal in the Spirit World, as shown with Professor Zei. Zhao should be dead by now, but he isn't. In fact, despite his insanity, he's still healthy enough to walk around. This means the Fog of Lost Souls makes you [[AndIMustScream immortal and insane]]. [[FateWorseThanDeath Forever]]. Alternatively, the Ocean Spirit killed him then stole his soul to further torment him.
** Not helping is how Tenzin is visibly shaken by Zhao grabbing and screaming at him. ''[[TeamDad Ten]][[TheStoic zin]]''. It's extremely creepy on its own, but seeing Tenzin's reaction makes it [[FromBadToWorse even worse]]. Considering Tenzin's own "actual" breakdown a few minutes later, one has to wonder if being mistaken for an older Aang effected that at all.

*** And considering that everyone else was turned into a raving lunatic due to imagining their greatest failures...one really has to wonder what poor Jinora was imagining there. Considering some earlier scenes with Kya implied that Jinora was insecure about her spiritual powers, she was probably being tormented with thoughts that she wasn't good enough, [[LikeFatherLikeSon just like Tenzin]].

* Vaatu manages to merge with Unalaq and rip Raava right out of Korra and destroy her. Even more, with every strike Unalaq laid onto Raava, all of the preceding Avatars begin to disintegrate, the last one of them being Wan.

* Korra's link to the past Avatars and all their experience is gone. Even though Korra recovered Raava, they're never coming back, Aang included. She's now the first link in a new chain and she finds this terrifying

* Though Amon was defeated, Tarrlok inadvertently [[ConsolationPrize helped him score just one victory against the Avatar]]; Korra only saw his boat escaping, and no-one witnessed Tarrlok blowing up the boat. Korra and the rest of the world still think he's at large. Amon will be haunting Korra's nightmares probably for the rest of her days, and she'll be constantly looking over her shoulder for him.

* Asami's fight with Sato. Did we seriously see a man get so [[AxCrazy furious that he tried to kill his own daughter]]?
** Asami herself even displayed a heavy amount of rage during the fight, and for a moment looked like she was even about to kill her father after he'd tried to kill her, but she ultimately can't bring herself to do it.

** Then the mob boss lost his bending and his identity and retired, settling down to have a family. That is, until he discovered his sons were waterbenders... He planned to raise them and enact revenge on Aang and Republic City since he no longer could. Tarrlok grew up to be a SleazyPolitician and tried to control the city through law, realizing his father's dream without him knowing it at the time, while Noatak grew up to be Amon, the leader of an anti-bending revolution and tried to control the city through fear, also inadvertently realizing his father's dream and nearly destroyed the city as a result. They used to be such good kids, too, and they grew corrupted and used their bloodbending to get to where they were. Their deaths were also both tragic and unpleasant to think about, exploding on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

** You have the Spirits themselves, who can either be cool looking or scary looking. [[CreepyAwesome Or both.]] But for the most part, Korra fights the dark Spirits, and they're just very... [[EldritchAbomination alien looking.]] [[http://benditlikekorra.tumblr.com/post/68218599356 However, they could have looked much worse.]] They move in unnatural, creepy manners, and worst of all is when they are [[TheCorruption corrupted]] from peaceful, friendly spirits to these hostile monsters, all because of either of the following two.
** [[GodOfEvil Vaatu]] is in charge of all of the dark Spirits, and while he resembles a giant flatworm, something just looks... [[EldritchAbomination very wrong]] about him, nothing natural. He [[TheCorruption corrupts spirits]] and as the [[ChaosIsEvil god of chaos]], he is essentially the GreaterScopeVillain of the whole series, and the BigBad of this Book. He has existed before man was born and will exist forever. He also makes a [[OneSceneWonder surprise reappearance]] at the end of Book 3, being another one of Korra's deepest ingrained fears, hallucinating him. Ming Hua dissolves and morphs into Vaatu, flying up to Korra, taunting and tormenting her. It's even speculated that it could have actually been him...
** Then you have Unalaq, one of the most vile human beings in either series, right up there with Ozai. Incidentally, both are [[AbusiveParents awful parents]], too. Unalaq's crimes include manipulating a [[KangarooCourt courtroom trial]] to attempt to get anyone who opposes him removed, setting up a scheme for dark Spirits to attack the Northern Water Tribe just to frame his own brother, [[CurbstompBattle nearly killing]] said brother and sparing him just so he can watch him conquer the world, [[ParentalNeglect not giving a damn]] about his own son being injured, [[WouldHurtAChild destroying a little girl's soul]], freeing the aforementioned GodOfEvil and fusing with him to achieve entire world conquest, destroying the link to the past Avatars of many generations... suffice to say, Unalaq is a terrifying person to cross. Actually, another one of his crimes include being part of an anarchist group only to betray them all and manipulate them for his own end. He also makes a [[OneSceneWonder surprise reappearance]] in the final episode of Book 3 as one of Korra's hallucinations. Ghazan's neck snaps and twists around, then his face is changed to Unalaq's face, in yet another very disturbing moment.

** The cinematography is especially effective in this regard; first, Korra is dragged into the darkness, where the only light is supplied by her Firebending attacks. Then the last thing we see before everything goes black is Korra getting struck in the back by seemingly dozens of hands... And the light reflecting off the chi-blocker's masks. Their [[RedEyesTakeWarning eyes]] look demonic.

* Crossing over with FridgeHorror: the arena announcer, Shiro Shinobi, narrates the PreviouslyOn segments for every episode... until the one immediately after he's attacked by Equalists. He's nowhere to be seen all episode. And it is implied that Shiro must have been badly injured in addition to being [[PottyFailure traumatized]].

-->'''Tarrlok:''' "What... [[WhatTheHellAreYou what are you?]]"

** Almost slow motion? Something that size, it may not appear to be moving that quickly, but it was crashing at least at highway speeds. The lift rotors on top were in flames... It had no control. This was definite nightmare fuel for me. A hybrid airship that size weighs at least 20 tons, crashing at around 80 mph among skyscrapers in a heavily populated city... It's at least reminiscent of the bomber that crashed into the Empire State Building, if not 9/11 itself.

--->'''Korra:''' That's... one of the saddest stories I've ever heard.

** [[FridgeHorror Imagine the aftermath of the explosion. Burning oil and dismembered bits of limbs and viscera spread across the water, slowly sinking along with the boat debris.]] On second thought… [[NauseaFuel don't.]]

** His grin after the ChairReveal is... [[SurpriseCreepy surprisingly creepy.]]

*** And considering that everyone else was turned into a raving lunatic due to imagining their greatest failures... one really has to wonder what poor Jinora was imagining there. Considering some earlier scenes with Kya implied that Jinora was insecure about her spiritual powers, she was probably being tormented with thoughts that she wasn't good enough, [[LikeFatherLikeSon just like Tenzin]].

* The things that Unavaatu does. Destroying ships and buildings, ripping off Aang's statue and throwing it in the ocean... and Pema let her young children watch it. Not to mention that the statue is of their grandfather.

** To make things worse, because he's now fused with a human soul, when he's eventually freed he ''will'' create a new Dark Avatar. If he refuses to go into the avatar state when he dies, he would be free to reincarnate and begin his work again. Picture the Avatar and how much good it's done over the centuries, then imagine if that same immortal omni-bending being was devoted to chaos and destruction. Due to the nature of the spirits, this isn't a matter of if but when.
* Just the image of Vaatu reaching [[OrificeInvasion inside]] Korra, [[AndIMustScream blinding her and blocking her airways]], and indelicately ripping out Raava, coupled with Unalaq's SlasherSmile throughout the whole scene as he [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath viciously whips Raava to death]] - [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids onscreen]], no less!
** Korra can feel every single strike, but not the physical pain, oh no; she feels every single connection to the past Avatars being severed from her!

--> ''[[VoiceOfTheLegion Let go... let go...]] [[MadnessMantra let go... let go!]]''
** The poison itself is scary and how it's administered. It's a liquid metal (presumably mercury), and it's administered by metalbending several pounds of it [[BodyHorror through the pores of her skin]]. This is shown to be exactly as painful as it sounds.

** Here's another thing to consider. Later on it's shown Raava can come back.... if that's true then wouldn't that mean Vaatu WASN'T just a hallucination?

* In general, seeing anyone get electrified looks very painful, much more so than the first series, even if it's apparently a lower voltage and never did more than knock anyone out. The worst example is when Lin is electrified on the Equalist airship and her head is rattling, her eyes wide open, her mouth gaping, as if she were being killed on the electric chair.

* The Equalists attack the Pro Bending Stadium in a blatant terrorist attack. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a terrorist attack in this show. And what an attack! Every cop is taken out by being electrified unconscious, Chief Lin Beifong and Tenzin first, the Avatar and her friends are tied under the stage after also being electrified unconscious, the Wolfbats all have their bending taken, Amon blows up the stage (with Korra, Mako, and Bolin barely escaping), and gets away with the building all-but destroyed, and what's left is hanging with Equalist tapestries. They went there, folks.

* As funny as Shiro Shinobi's announcing was right when he is about to be electrified, the fact he is a defenseless non-bender and look of fear on his face, pretty much confirms that the Equalists are not against attacking non-benders who support bending. However, in a strange way it proves just how awesome he is as well. Even under attack, unlike other members of the Pro Bending Organization. Shiro not only kept his cool and stayed at his post, even while he was frightened enough to wet his pants he didn't beg or plead with the Equalist attacking him. He just kept doing his job in the face of a scary situation.

** In a clip of the following episode, he goes as far as to electrify himself to frame the Equalists in the kidnapping of Korra. His manner of electrifying himself with an Equalist glove is almost casual.

* It must be terrifying enough to sit in a cell and hear that it's about to be electrified. To ramp up the creep-factor, the Lieutenant replies, "My pleasure." Then he proceeds to electrify it for pretty much twice as long as usually.

* Imagine leaving for work and getting electrified right at your doorstep.

* When Lin is electrified on the Equalist airship, she's on the ground, her head is rattling from side to side in an unnatural way, her mouth is gaping and her eyes are wide open.

* In general, seeing anyone get electrocuted looks very painful, much more so than the first series, even if it's apparently a lower voltage and never did more than knock anyone out. The worst example is when Lin is electrocuted on the Equalist airship and her head is rattling, her eyes wide open, her mouth gaping, as if she were being killed on the electric chair.

* The Equalists attack the Pro Bending Stadium in a blatant terrorist attack. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a terrorist attack in this show. And what an attack! Every cop is taken out by being electrocuted unconscious, Chief Lin Beifong and Tenzin first, the Avatar and her friends are tied under the stage after also being electrocuted unconscious, the Wolfbats all have their bending taken, Amon blows up the stage (with Korra, Mako, and Bolin barely escaping), and gets away with the building all-but destroyed, and what's left is hanging with Equalist tapestries. They went there, folks.

* As funny as Shiro Shinobi's announcing was right when he is about to be electrocuted, the fact he is a defenseless non-bender and look of fear on his face, pretty much confirms that the Equalists are not against attacking non-benders who support bending. However, in a strange way it proves just how awesome he is as well. Even under attack, unlike other members of the Pro Bending Organization. Shiro not only kept his cool and stayed at his post, even while he was frightened enough to wet his pants he didn't beg or plead with the Equalist attacking him. He just kept doing his job in the face of a scary situation.

** In a clip of the following episode, he goes as far as to electrocute himself to frame the Equalists in the kidnapping of Korra. His manner of electrocuting himself with an Equalist glove is almost casual.

* It must be terrifying enough to sit in a cell and hear that it's about to be electrocuted. To ramp up the creep-factor, the Lieutenant replies, "My pleasure." Then he proceeds to electrocute it for pretty much twice as long as usually.

* Imagine leaving for work and getting electrocuted right at your doorstep.

* When Lin is electrocuted on the Equalist airship, she's on the ground, her head is rattling from side to side in an unnatural way, her mouth is gaping and her eyes are wide open.

* When Amon depowers Lightning Bolt Zolt, his lightning degrades to fire, then to nothing at all. Something about that is so unsettling. And how Amon threw Zolt off balance and cause destruction with the lightning just to remind the people how dangerous the bending arts were prior to that.

** He's extremely competent, planning every step ahead of our heroes, only losing when he was put into a position where had to improvise. Plus, his level of [[AntiVillain villainy]] is [[AmbiguouslyEvil questionable]], even if he's ruthless, cold, and calculating. His preached ideals [[VillainHasAPoint bring up a good point]] in that the rift between benders and non benders is definitely there, something which Tarrlok also proves with his laws. With the power to remove bending, and with his great charisma, he's even convinced a lot of people to join his side, as he [[VillainWithGoodPublicity has a large following]]. Naturally, they're as creepy as he is.

** His dull, dead eyes peeking out from behind his mask just makes him look even creepier. And worse, he wears the mask because he claims to have been scarred by a firebender who killed his parents. When he's unmasked, the scar looks impressively horrific, even if it is fake.

** The poison itself is scary and how it's administered. It's a liquid metal, and it's administered by metalbending several pounds of it [[BodyHorror through the pores of her skin]]. This is shown to be exactly as painful as it sounds.

* You know all the theorizing of what airbenders could do to people if they weren't such adamant pacifists? Zaheer finally puts that to full use and flat out suffocates the Earth Queen.

** Kya, on the other hand, screams, demands to know who they are, calls Tenzin "vision", states that she has no family, and shouts that they "can't tie her down" before running away screaming. What happened to her?