Since I've already seen this episode, and so have the rest of you, and I'm too lazy/preoccupied with schoolwork to give you a full recap... I'll cut right to the chase, sparing you some amusing commentary, and share with you my reactions to various things, which will likely be of a more didactic nature. If I am so inclined, I may revisit this episode later.
But don't count on it.
The Revelation gives us our first good look at our antagonist; the masked man Amon, who leads the Equalists, also known as the antibending faction. Seeing as he's voiced by Steve Blum, he commands a decent presence already; some wonderful art, and lingering pans on his motionless mask, also add some undeniable menace. While it's hard to tell if what Amon is saying is actually true or not, the story he tells in this episode paints a rather vivid picture of what benders can and do get away with.
As for his power to take away bending? There's a lot of theories flying around about it. I don't know whether it's advanced chi-blocking, or energybending, or something, but in any case it's clear that there's a parallel being drawn between Amon and Aang; what's more, I think Amon is intentionally playing that angle up, to cast himself as the world's savior.
In spite of Amon being the villain, I can't really argue with his stated reasons for extremism; he and other non-benders are marginalized by the society around them, afforded no representation in the government
, and quite clearly suffer from the effects of institutionalized oppression. He clearly has his own ends in mind, but regardless of that, his assessment of the problem is right on the money. Plus, he neutralizes a dangerous gang as part of his Establishing Character Moment.
A parallel is drawn between Mako and Amon - where Mako saw his parents killed by a Firebender, and so were Amon's, we're meant to see Mako's response - i.e. not blaming all benders - as more reasonable than Amon's overreaction. At least, I'm relatively certain that's what they were aiming for with that comparison. This doesn't work for two reasons:
First, Mako, himself a Firebender of considerable skill, is endowed with the same power that was used against his family. In this society, regardless of living on the streets, he still has representation and recognition. He is still a part of the system that Amon most definitely wasn't or isn't - again, this is assuming Amon was actually telling the truth, which we have no certainty of at this early stage - and therefore, the idea that Amon is somehow lacking something falls flat.
Korra continues to employ rather questionable, straightforward means of solving her problems; this is contrasted by Mako's guile and city savvy. One thing I find rather unsettling is Korra's willingness to beat up one of the Equalist's public speakers for information, despite there being no certainty of him actually possessing the information she wants. It's an unnecessary show of violence on her part, and again, it reinforces what the Equalists are saying about the bending establishment.
All this said, I really like the themes that the show is exploring here, but I worry that they're doing too good a job of making the villains seem reasonable and justified; they're going to have to tread carefully to make the heroes look good by comparison, because right now, Korra still seems to be getting away with unprovoked violence and property damage - see also, kicking in a door in this episode. She has a long way to go before I can really respect her the same way I did Aang, especially with the way that this series has gone out of its way to emphasize consequences and responsibility.
Also, Amon's lieutenant is kind of cool. I like his electrified weapons and his goggles. It's also interesting how both Mako and Bolin ship Bolin/Korra, but everyone else is on the Mako/Korra ship. I'm not really a shipper, I could give less a damn, so I have no opinion. You ask me whether I'm team Bolin or team Mako? I'm on team polygamy.
Night, guys.
...oh, wait:
Amon's Crowning Moment Of Awesome: Assigned to the badass fucking reveal of his power. Come on, that was the creepiest kind of awesome. You can't lie.
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