Heartwarming / The Legend of Korra - Book Three

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A Breath Of Fresh Air

• Harmonic Convergence is revealed to have unlocked airbending abilities in people all around the world, giving real hope to Aang's dream of restoring his people to a full society. Tenzin's joy and promise to work with his kids to rebuild is adorable.
  • The first person we see developing those abilities? Bumi, who has felt like a failure for not being an Airbender.
  • When Bumi is proven right, the second thing he says is "Just wait till I tell mom!"
• Korra and Asami happily chatting together, having moved on from the Love Triangle ordeal, with Asami trying to teach Korra some driving. Korra remarks how nice it is to have a female friend.
  • In light of the series finale, ALL of Korra and Asami's scenes together in this episode takes on a whole new meaning when you realize that this is the time when Korra and Asami started to show signs that they started to have romantic feelings for each other. Making Korra's line of "Never had a girlfriend to hang out with and talk to before," take on a whole new meaning in hindsight.
• The bridge scene where Korra coaxes the frightened new Airbender down in a pragmatic way, first by simply sitting near him and starting a rather casual talk to calm him. She has grown a great deal since her first time in the city.
• Bolin describing the extended air temple family. He's so happy to be part of a family.
• Even though it was futile, Bum-Ju tries to help Bumi when he's about to fall from the tree.

Rebirth

• Korra, and Tenzin with some encouragement, deciding to take new airbender, Kai, with them even after he deliberately lied to them.
• Kya holding Rohan and asking if he's ready to send some time with his "Auntie Kya".
• Kai hugs Korra, and Jinora and Bolin quickly turn it into a group hug. Then Bumi goes over and hugs Tenzin, for no real reason at all!
• Kai and Jinora greeting one another at the end of the episode, complete with Jinora's Crush Blush and Kai playing with his suspenders.

The Earth Queen

• Mako and Bolin meeting their extended family, with Mako giving his grandmother the scarf his father gave him.
  • Before this, at the start of the episode, it's the complete excitement Bolin has at the prospect of visiting the city their father grew up in.
• Kai complimenting Jinora on her teaching and Jinora blushing afterwards.
• Bolin constantly worrying over his "little brother" Kai. It's especially heartwarming given that fact that Kai was giving him and Mako a hard time, but Bolin isn't mad, only concerned.
• As an added bonus, the twins are co-ruling the Northern Water Tribe. This commentary just sums up how awesome and sweet this decision was.
• Tonraq finally gets to visit his homeland again since his banishment. The twins are very happy to see him, showing they’ve all reconciled since Unalaq’s death. Too bad it's not under the best of circumstances.
• In a way Eska sharing her own experiences of trying to kill the Avatar with Zuko in the elevator. In her own way, she's trying to lighten an uncomfortable moment.

In Harm's Way

• A silly moment, but Bolin's utter joy at meeting and leaving his newfound extended family.
• Kai getting some Character Development and looking out for one of his fellow conscripts.
• Even if they are villains, it is sweet to see that Zaheer and P'Li genuinely love one another.
  P'Li: I thought I'd never see you again.
  Zaheer: I never doubted it.
• Jinora kissing Kai on the cheek. Followed by Kai's goofy, blushing expression.
  • Then there's Kai's heroic rescue of Jinora when a Dai Li grabs her.
• The captive airbenders agree to become Air Nomads. Tenzin is finally seeing his dream come true.
  • The Manly Tears that Tenzin sheds during that scene is the icing on the cake.
  • The fact that Tenzin and Korra leave the choice to the airbenders is really sweet too. They say that the airbenders are no-one's property and if they decide against joining the Air Nomads, they'll simply relocate them somewhere safe.
• After dealing with the Earth Queen, Asami and Korra spar with Asami holding strike pads for Korra to aim at. In her frustration, Korra throws an airbending-enhanced kick at one of the pads that's so hard it knocks it off of Asami's arm. She'd be well-justified in getting angry about it, but instead Asami just backs off, calls for a break, and, without directly calling Korra out for it, points out that Korra's venting is starting to be painful. Korra, who seconds earlier was ranting, immediately calms down and apologizes.

The Metal Clan

• Suyin's family in general. It's clear that she loves her kids dearly.
  • The fact that, in spite of their past, Suyin still wants her sister in her life, and has told Opal so many good things about her that she very much looked forward to meeting Lin.
• Bolin and Opal hitting it off - about time the poor kid got a break.
  • Initially, he tries his whole 'smooth' way of talking; she's turned off by this. Then he goes to apologize, saying he's uncertain when he knows a girl likes him, he gets self-conscious and doesn't really know how to act... she initially teases him about if she likes him or not (she does), but she likes the real him rather than the 'trying too hard' version.
• As creepy as it was, Zaheer's interactions with Meelo and Ikki were somewhat sweet.
• Ikki upon meeting "Yoru" (Zaheer): "Mom! Aunt Kya! We got another one!"
• How bending is shown to be used for something else besides fighting or sports as demonstrated by Suyin and her son, Huan: Bending can used either for dancing and/or sculpture respectively.
  • This extends to the idea behind Zaofu in general, which also doubles as a CMOA as well. A city of innovators, artists, inventors, and scholars, where freedom of expression is encouraged, ideas are fostered, the citizens are urged to reach their highest potential and positions are based on merit rather than wealth or tradition, and people are allowed a second-chance and a fresh start, which was why Suyin created the city in the first place.
    • On a related note, the mention that Su's head chef used to be a pirate is pretty sweet. It proves that Suyin really believes that anyone can turn their lives around.
  • The statue of Toph in the downtown core of Zaofu definitely counts as one, and helps cement the assertions as listed above. While the statue outside RCPD HQ does a good job of showing how great a leader and force for good Toph was for the city and the world, the statue in Zaofu serves as a reminder that she was more than just a fighter and a hero associated with raw strength and wartime exploits. She was the first metalbender, and "expanded the possibilities of what benders are capable of," proving that she was just as much a great innovator and woman of intellect as she was a strong warrior. It reminds people that, without Toph's desire to be more, to reach her full potential, many of the technologies and feats that helped forge the current world, and places such as Republic City and Zaofu, may not have been possible. Toph really did change the world.
• There's a moment when Opal tries to reach out to her aunt, and mentions Toph used to tell her "great things" about Lin. Hardly the action of someone who wasn't impressed, as Suyin put it.
  • The implication that Toph liked spending time with her grandkids is a subtle but nice moment.
• A subtle one, but the game Suyin's sons invented is very similar to Airball from the original series. It's very sweet seeing the Air Nation's culture being spread to other nations despite the airbenders being gone for nearly 2 centuries.

Old Wounds

• Lin and Suyin finally burying the hatchet.
  • Then there's Lin's preceding apology to Opal, which ends with her hugging her aunt. Lin even returns it. Aww.
• Bolin and Opal bonding over their insecurities, then hugging.
  • This commentary that details on the Bopal moment is equally as heartwarming.
• Suyin being completely willing to teach Bolin Metalbending. Shame the lesson was interrupted before it began.
• Metalbending acupuncture. Once again, bending displays yet another form of healing instead of fighting.
• Toph's decision to send Suyin away to live with Lao and Poppy (who would be Lin and Suyin's maternal grandparents) indicates that she eventually reconciled with her parents (or at least patched things up enough to be able to trust to look after one of her daughters).

Original Airbenders

• Tenzin telling Bumi how proud he is of him.
• Pema's advice on how to deal with his students. They may be airbender volunteers, but they're also people away from their homes and lives (something she experienced when becoming an Air Acolyte); it'll take awhile to adjust, and he just needs to be patient with them. Tenzin briefly mentions that he knows how Korra must feel when she listens to him, but thanks her, even giving her a little kiss.
• Baby air bison - even Kai is won over by their cuteness.
  • Here are all the scenes with these cuties!
  • Their expressions and the way they wriggle their legs in the air◊ once they realize they're flying is adorable. It simply screams "Holy shit, I'm flying. I'M FLYING!!"
• Bolin bragging about Opal to Tenzin in a genuine love-struck fashion.
• Also doubles as a Moment of Awesome: after Kai frees himself, he goes to free Jinora, but this selfless child tells Kai to free the baby bison first.
• Otaku used to be an air acolyte, so you can imagine that becoming an airbender really must have meant a lot to him.
  • Despite his Punny Name and the fact that Tenzin's a bit frustrated that no one else is answering the questions, it's both sweet and a bit awesome to see just how much research into the Air Nomad's culture that this guy has done.
• When the poacher leader surrenders, Kai, still angry with him, tries to finish him off. Tenzin intervenes and scolds Kai for attacking a defenseless opponent, but he compliments Kai on his technique.

The Terror Within

• Opal's farewell party.
  • Wei and Wing both tear up at Suyin's speech. They're going to miss their sister! Awwww....
• Varrick helping the Krew figure things out. It validates Suyin's position on rehabilitating criminals.
• Bolin mumbling Opal's name in his sleep, along with kale. The latter is reminiscent of Opal's comment to Bolin that they'll "always have kale." Romantic feeding.
• Lin comforting Su after the discovery of Aiwei's betrayal.

The Stakeout

• P'Li not going with Ghazan and Ming-Hua so she can protect Zaheer's body while he's in the spiritual world.
  • Zaheer calling them his friends when he talks to Korra about how Unalaq betrayed them all. Goes to show that he indeed is genuine about their friendship.
• In the Misty Palms Oasis, at least some of the humans and spirits seem to be coexisting peacefully, neither appearing to have any issues with the other side.
• When Mako passes on playing with Pai-Sho with Bolin, Asami happily tells the latter she'll play with him.
  • While the sheer number of rounds Bolin tries to do is also kind of funny, it's also sweet of Asami to keep playing for that long. It's nice to see these kids just get to relax and do something fun for once.
• In a way, Asami's comment about her father being a diabolical genius who taught her to play Pai Sho. She seems to have gotten over her father's betrayal enough to be able to make jokes about it.
• There's something heartwarming about Zaheer and Korra sitting and chatting with each other calmly and peacefully.

Long Live The Queen

• The Red Lotus keeps up their Affably Evil tendencies. Ghazan happily chats with Bolin when he asks them personal questions, namely about how they spent their time in prison, which gets them to open up a little. When Bolin suggests that he and Ming-Hua have an unspoken attraction to each other, they share an awkward look.
  Ghazan: I must've renamed the constellations about a thousand times. When it rained, that was a big event.
  Ming-Hua: Ugh, I would've killed for some rain. Mostly I just made up stories about the guards.
• The Earth Kingdom forces eagerly team up with Korra to save themselves from the sandshark. After they get back to the Misty Palms Oasis, the commander states that, whatever Korra's beef with the Earth Queen, it is above his paygrade, and he lets her and Asami go.
• Korra reunites with her father at the end of the episode.
• As brutal as Zaheer slaying the Earth Queen was, he shows he is genuine about his desire to free the people. He chastises Ming-Hua for threatening a radio operator, and gladly tells the people that they're free to make their own path. He also sets free the people she imprisoned, even Mako and Bolin, provided they bring a message to Korra.
• Mako (and the rest of the prisoners) encouraging Bolin to metalbend. In the end, Zaheer releases them, but Bolin is overjoyed in that split-second he thinks he metalbent.
• Naga excitedly licking Lin's face and later Lin giving some treats to both Naga and Pabu.
• Naga affectionately greeting Korra, ending with a "nose kiss".
• Zuko greeting Korra at the end, noting that he met her when she was a young girl, which Korra, who does not remember the meeting (or at least barely does), returns. Becomes especially touching because with the reincarnation cycle of the Avatar, Zuko is greeting his old friend Aang after a very long time.

The Ultimatum

• Bolin and Mako stop on their way to find Korra to get their family out of Ba Sing Se as it's going up in flames.
• Bolin's speech to his grandmother that home isn't a place, but the people you share it with. Despite the Mood Whiplash that immediately follows, it's genuinely touching.
• Team Avatar reunites at the Misty Palms Oasis. Mako and Bolin grab Korra and Asami, respectively, in a huge bear hug.
  • Naga knocking Mako down and licking his face is hilarious, but also very heartwarming. So far, she reserved that kind of enthusiastic, "so happy to see you" greeting only for Korra. Also, when Mako sees Korra, his eyes go wide and he rushes to hug her. It takes her a moment to register what has happened and return the hug; then it crosses right back to funny as he realizes what he has done.
• Zuko discovering from Korra that Iroh is in the Spirit World. The look on his face...
  • Iroh also said that Zuko and Aang were very close friends until the latter's death. Now Zuko is helping Korra. Some friendships really can transcend lifetimes.
• A small one, but still quite relevant. Before Korra got a hold of him, Zuko was just about to return to the Fire Nation so he could protect his daughter from any Red Lotus agents that might have infiltrated the palace. To say the least, this might be a sign that Zuko turned out to be a complete 180 from Ozai when it came to being a father. Korra also gets a moment when she is completely understanding about Zuko's desire to protect his daughter.
• Tenzin fighting defiantly against the Red Lotus in order to protect both his family and the new Air Nation is both this and a Moment of Awesome. He just keeps going on, even when the Red Lotus starts beating down on him at the end.
  Zaheer: Give up. It's over.
  Tenzin: As long as I am breathing, it's not over.
• Remember how Lin stormed off from Su declaring she'd "stabbed her in the back" when she let Korra and her friends go to find Aiwei? Now she's back, she sees how anxious and worried Su is over Opal's well-being, and she's right back to physically and emotionally showing her support to her sister.
• Kai going from trying to use joining Tenzin as an excuse to get away from the police, to being willing to do whatever he can to protect the others at the temple. P'li could - and did - easily shoot him out of the air, but he survives by pure chance, and is awoken by licking from one of the baby bison he rescued earlier. Followed shortly by these simple words that shine a light of hope at the end, "Hey there, buddy. Yip, yip!"
• When Ghazan knocks Bumi and Kya off of the cliff, Bumi airbends in order to slow himself down enough to catch Kya from falling to her death.
• A minor one, but Kya is seen holding onto Opal when the Air Nation is being threatened by the Red Lotus.
• A subtle one, but Asami volunteering herself to watch over Korra while she meditates. They're in the (relative) safety of Zaofu, surrounded by a small army of allies, she probably could be doing something tech-related instead, could only call for help if something goes wrong in the Spirit World and just sits there quietly yet diligently watching a meditating Korra, but it just shows she's just that dedicated to her best friend.

Enter the Void

• Zaheer and P'Li share one last intimate moment together, and we find out about P'Li's backstory. She was supposed to be raised as some unnamed warlord's killing machine due to her combustion bending ability, until Zaheer saved her. The two talk about how they couldn't stop thinking about each other in prison and about how Zaheer truly believes that the world will change. They express their love to each other one more time and share a kiss... and it's the last moment they ever share, as P'Li dies later in the episode. Zaheer looks particularly devastated when it happens.
• While fighting P'Li, Lin volunteers to distract her to give Suyin an opportunity to attack. Suyin protests but ultimately relents, but not before Lin telling her sister that she loves her, showing that they've well and truly buried the hatchet.
  • Lin is shielding Su from the flying debris caused by P'Li's blasts. Big sister instinct indeed.
• When a badly injured Tenzin is reunited with his air bison, Oogie. Oogie seems genuinely concerned for his master, and Tenzin looks so happy to see that Oogie made it out alive and unharmed.
• Mako finally puts aside his trust issues and forgives Kai after being saved from the collapsing Northern Air Temple.
  • Kai admitting that he'd screwed up back when he first met the Krew is some pretty nice Character Development out of him. Mako ribbing him over it is both funny and sweet, too, since it sounds like an exchange that actual siblings could have.
• Before giving herself up to the Red Lotus, Korra gives hugs to Asami and Mako, which the latter accepts without any awkwardness. Bolin then surprises Korra with a Glomp from behind, to which Korra reciprocates by smiling and resting her head on his.
  • Korra's willingness to give herself up in the first place.
• Tonraq thanking his savior, Kuvira. In spite of the foreshadowing of her later antagonist role, she speaks very warmly to him.
  Tonraq: I owe you my life... Thank you captain.
  Kuvira: You can call me, Kuvira.

Venom of the Red Lotus

• Asami is the one to help Korra get ready and wheel her over to Jinora's ceremony, showing how close the two have grown over the season. In particular, Asami places her hand on Korra's and tells her that she's there for her no matter what.
  • In light of the Grand Finale, this is likely Bryke hinting that Asami is in love with Korra as, one fan pointed out, the close of two character holding hands is often a sign that there romance building between the two.
  • It's heavily implied Asami's been Korra's personal caretaker for the last two weeks and consider all that comes with such an intense job. That means helping with food, dressing, bathing, helping to the bathroom, in and out of her wheelchair, comforting her after the constant nightmares and anything else Korra might need and as 'Korra Alone' proved, she would've happily continued to do all this in the South Pole for another two weeks and more than likely even longer if she knew how truly broken Korra was.
• Jinora finally earns her airbending tattoos, and a ceremony is held for her. She has shaved her head and resembles her grandfather Aang, as a child. Just look...
  • Her hugging Tenzin after removing her hood is also really adorable to see.
  • Fridge heartwarming from the ceremony itself; the number of airbenders performing during it hasn't been possible since the genocide, making this the first one of its kind for more than a hundred years, and another reminder of what has been regained.
• We see Ryu in the background at Jinora's ceremony, indicating that he's come around to being part of the new Air Nation.
• Tenzin promising that the new Air Nation will fight against evil and tyranny wherever they find it.
• The Krew's rescue of the airbenders, in particular Bolin and Suyin reuniting with Opal, and Jinora hugging Kai after presuming him to be dead.
• Despite the fact that Korra can barely force herself out of her funk at the end of the episode, she genuinely smiles at Ikki and Meelo's antics.
  • Look at how Korra lightens up when Asami mentions that she should try have a good time for Jinora's sake. Korra decides to. It should be reiterated: Korra has went through the most traumatic moment in her life. She has nightmares and is bound to a wheelchair. It's not surprising if she doesn't feel like celebrating. But, the moment Asami said "for Jinora's sake", Korra's eyes widen. She immediately decides to try to have a good time for Jinora and her anointment as an airbending master. It doesn't matter what kind of hardships Korra's been through; she would do anything for the airbabies, who she sees as siblings.
  • It's also really cute to see Meelo sit up on Korra's lap, and she just lets him stay there.
• Kai naming his sky bison Lefty, signifying that they have formed a permanent bond.
• Kai partaking in Jinora's anointment as an airbending master.
• Lin forming an "escalator" made of stone for Korra and telling her to "hang in there".
• Raiko welcoming Korra back to Republic City, as thanks for taking down the Red Lotus.
• Daw's development. He went from a man absolutely terrified by an involuntary manifestation of airbending and contemplating suicide to make it stop to someone who fully embraces his new identity resulting from it. He's glad to be there at the founding ceremony, cueball head and all. He's an Air Nomad now.