Republic City Dispatch

The entire design of Asami screams: “This girl is bad” to me. Fandom and shippers do what they do, but there are too many plot hints embedded in the show that suggest there are ulterior motives radiating off the Sato family.

“So you’re dirt poor” is not something a well-spoken, well-dressed, well-educated father of industry says, it’s something you say to debase a person and prime them to do what you want.

The Sato family has Mako and the Fire Ferrets by the balls and not because Mako or Bolin are epsecially important, but because The Avatar is on The Fire Ferrets.

There’s a tragic way this all could end with Bolin’s death (like Devindra has been predicting for weeks) at the hands of the Satos, then Korra is forever scarred knowing her immaturity alone caused…

You know what, I’m taking this too far.

I’ll step back: I really, really, really think Asami will turn out to be bad. If we were really dealing with a love quadrangle, Asami would have gotten her own storyline in last week’s love-heavy episode. She didn’t, because she doesn’t really like Mako (or does, but it’s irrelvant).

Oof. I feel like I might make someone angry with this one.

Oh well. BE THE LEAF!

-Da7e-

(art by daughterofthestars)

Hey Anonymous!

We plan to!

Though I, personally, am pretty good at using profanity. : ). 

The Republic City Dispatch sees no need to get rid of our “Clean” tag on iTunes and elsewhere.

If you expand your listening experience to include Devindra on the /Filmcast and myself and Patches on OpKino, those shows earn their “Explict” tags, just FYI. Sometimes I need to curse to describe how awesome The Hulk is. : )

Thank you for listening! We’ll keep it on the up-and-up over here.

-Da7e-

I hear you Libertarian Voter, however, I’m going to have to politely disagree with where you draw the “spoiler” line for discussion of The Legend Of Korra.

Really, only because of things like The Promise comic and the Welcome To Republic City interactive game on Nick.com exist that we’ve had to widen what we talk about to include official promotional material. In some cases, that’s really helped us out with things like Aang’s other son Bumi or the fact that Zuko is still alive.

So Amon attacking the Pro-Bending Finals? Probably going to happen, just from the few flashes we get on Nick’s officially released season-long teaser. Do I know it’s going to happen? No, but I’m pretty sure, because I’ve seen those brief clips. There is something in that teaser that actually spoils more for next week’s episode, I think, but we managed to not come right out and say it.

Point being, I think we’re out of the spoil-able territory anyway (as I mention on this week’s podcast, it seems promotional material has been held back beyond Chapter 6), but if it’s officially released by Nickelodeon, we’ll mention/link it here and it will be part of the discussion. This includes clips released by Korra Nation (or like last week, TV Guide).

I will apologize for throwing a plot point from Dark Knight Rises into the podcast with absolutely no warning. Yeah, a bit of it is in the trailer, but you guys deserve better than that. I’ll do better.

Otherwise, though, if it’s officially released, it’s on the table. 

ALSO: I feel like I should mention that Matt, Devindra and I have been pretty wrong about a bunch of stuff too. : )

-Da7e-

I’ve started tweeting out corrections from our Twitter account.

It might be a bad idea, but I hate to think that you all think that we’re somehow okay with being wrong. We’re not.

ANYWHO – if you’re asking me, Da7e, I think that we’ll see Korra in the Avatar state in one or both of the last two episodes of the season. Before that would be premature, in my opinion.

If you’re asking the fandom in general, they’d like to see it happen during Amon’s attack on the pro-bending arena and they’d like to see Mako calm her down much like the Katara/Aang relationship.

I just don’t think any of that is going to happen.

-Da7e-

The WolfBats ARE Vicious! And Tahno appears a bit evilish…

…wait a minute…

Legend of Zelda cross!

by jakface

Thanks!

I think we’re going to give it a try again this weekend, even though I will not be joining Matt and Devindra.

TearBend, not, my friends, I will be replaced by someone just as qualified and probably a woman, which could potentially make her more qualified.

And I want to take this moment to post this A:TLA/Star Wars fan art that is old, but I still enjoy it and really should have posted it on International Star Wars Day (May 4th).

Better late than never!

Yes.

There are large plans. Large-large-probably-in-book-2-large-large plans.

I trust in Bryke to surprise me, which is why I feel so comfortable getting really outlandish with theories. They’re good storytellers and show-runners which means they’ll only show us what’s narratively important and will skip over what isn’t. 

It’s great to have that level of trust in a Nickelodeon show. If Spongebob defies physics, no one cares because he’s silly. If something unexpected happens in Korra, the entire nature of the story changes.

That’s just amazing.

-Da7e-

Oh boy. Are we ready to talk about Love Potion #8?

Here’s the deal: it’s a book for children that was released while Team Avatar was wandering the Fire Nation in Book 3. It’s not written well (but if pretty well illustrated) and introduces a…

You know what, an anonymous commenter on the Avatar Wiki has this covered:

So the gang is walking, and they meet the nomads. Now, instead of five, they grew in size, so now there’s like, what, fifteen hippies. The hippies are having a Love Feast, and offer everyone a love potion called Love Potion #8, because the first seven “didn’t turn out to well.” So, they all drink the potion, and go all crazy with love and whatnot. Katara and Aang slip away somewhere, and Toph meets this nomad boy Ohev, and Sokka is just by himself, thinking about Suki and Yue. Toph and Ohev talk, and it is discovered that Ohev was a servant to the Bei Fong family before he ran away. They fall in love, Katara and Aang fall in love, and Sokka is Sokka. Soon they have to leave, and Ohev kisses Toph on the cheek. Right before they leave on Appa, the nomads reveal Love Potion #8 wasn’t a potion, but just “water, berries, and sugar,” so all the potion stuff was just mumbo-jumbo, but the love was real. So the gang flies away, and Ohev is never seen again throughout the Avatar world, at least for now.

I’m not sure that this is cannonical.

I’m going to guess “no” because it seems like a huge tribe of Earth Nomads wandering around the Fire Nation around the time period of Book Three seems imporbable in that greater universe.

That and nothing that originates in Love Potion #8 ever shows up in the series (Ohev – Herbrew for “love” – never is mentioned).

Until someone mentions Ohev (or that this event actually happened), I’m inclined to think that this isn’t going to be brought up.

But that’s just my critical opinion, I wouldn’t be pissed. Not nearly as I was spending money on Love Potion #8

I’m bringing this all up because IT’S NATIONAL CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK! I’m thinking I need some new books. I want a new copy of The Invention Of Hugo Cabret and I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for Classic Goosebumps books. I like to get them signed by actors that were in the TV versions.

-Da7e-

Yes, I believe that’s what I think.

And also a few of you, it appears.

Here’s another Anonymous:

There’s been discussion that Aang may have killed Yakone in the past. I think many found this interesting because he was so against it in the original series. I contend, however, that Aang has actually been a killer since Book 2, specifically in the episode “Avatar Day.” He airbends a man over a cliff, the same cliff Shin the Conqueror fell off of to his death

And fantasticdinos says:

I know on last week’s podcast you all described the flash back to adult Aang, Sokka and Toph and some “regretful eyes”, right? This may just be a coincidence of the characters being drawn in the same style, but if you check out Tahno’s eyes when Korra gets up in his face in ep. 5 his eyes look very similar to this mystery man’s in the flash back. What do you all think? is Tahno’s Great-Grandaddy the supreme court judge? Maybe that’s why Tahno acts like a complete ass.

And another Anonymous that referenced the flashback scene (our answer is “hair, we think?”):

This is totally irrelevant and not a big question, but I’m still wondering: In the flashback, is Toph wearing an army beret like the guy next to her, or is that just her hair? I know it’s not really that important, but it does say something about her status. If that’s a hat, she’s probably just a regular soldier/police officer person. If it’s her hair… she’s probably a ranking officer. Just puttin’ that out there. Peace out.

-Da7e-

via sarahveee

I mean, “when fans fight, nobody wins” IS the motto, but in this case, I think the key would be to find things you can both enjoy together.

Like this maybe?

(I hope I didn’t, like, ruin a bet with my non-answer, but Bolin is not mine to give!)

-Da7e-

ADDITION!

rainingsugar says: “my bf is like a real life replica of Bolin. personality wise and physically <3”

BOLIN LIVES! (but is dating rainingsugar)

Ok. Yes. I should have said “cel style” animation, which still isolates the character from it’s background rather than allowing both to exist in a digital world together. It’s still called “cel style” animation.

I tend to enjoy actually owning old cels. My favorite is a close up shot I have of Scrooge McDuck from the first season of Ducktails. It’s amazing how thick layers of paint can be for something like close-ups, but another cel – like my Real Ghostbusters cel of Winston, Egon, Ray and Slimer running through the streets – has only 3 or 4 colors and isn’t quite as thick.

Cels are super cheap on eBay if you’re in to owning little pieces of animation, by the way. Not everything is available all the time (for instance, as I’m writing this, someone is dumping a bunch of old Rugrats cels, when usually it’s something more obscure like Lonestar).

Check them out

-Da7e-

Win!

Thank you!

Pardon the aside, but the fan reaction has been great and has only grown week to week. We got some 50+ Tumblr messages in the past few hours and I swear I’m getting to them, we’d just like to keep the podcast on the main page going into the work week.

Oh, and I deleted the anonymous “why can’t you just pronounce it right?” comments. I don’t know why we can’t, and I’m very sorry it is bugging you more than butterfly kisses.

While I’m capping off the Sunday, makenzie-rush asks:

Soooo any guess as to when the new podcast will be out? It felt weird yesterday to see the new episode and not listen to a new podcast afterward.

Good news! It is up now on Soundcloud, here on RepublicCityDispatch.com, on the Korra Nation Tumblr and is LIVE on iTunes (links to all this at the very top of the blog).

Sunday worked really well for us because it allowed us to interact with you all a bit more, gave me some time to double check my names (I – no joke – said “Pema” some 30 times before recording because I kept wanting to say it “Peeee-ma” instead of “Peh-ma”) and finally read Emily’s AV Club re-cap seconds before starting so I knew what was and what wasn’t already being covered. Hopefully that came off in the wide spectrum of topics covered this week.

-Da7e-

Word, we posted that after we heard about it existing around the first podcast.

But, yes, you are correct. HOWEVER – most shows that use traditional cel animation these days are animated overseas. I don’t think it’s the pro-bending alone, but the entire show that’s done with Korean Animators (so is other stuff everyone thinks of as traditionally American, like Venture Bros or The Simpsons).

Either way, that video is awesome, even if it doesn’t mention some of the other rules that we saw on display (Yellow Fan! Tie-Breaker!)

-Da7e-

Aw man, this episode was awesome for all the little Pro-Bending goodies. Yellow Fan, Tie-breaker, VOMITING! : )

I think the spirit of the “liquid state” rule is what’s important. 

This one time in high school I got kicked off the Larcrosse team because I shot the goalie with a BB Gun. “What?” I asked, “Technically there’s nothing in the rules PROHIBITING BB Guns!”

Ok, that’s not true, but that’s the spirit of what I’m saying.

Although I think you pointed out an interesting technicality: couldn’t the waterbender throw a water stream into a poweful firebender blast to CREATE steam? Or is that still technically against the rules?

Oh man, I love pro-bending.

Thanks for geeking out over the rules, Lord knows I am.

-Da7e-

Thanks everyone!

We’re rendering out this week’s podcast in which I suggest we table Bloodbending until the series actually mentions it. I can’t help but feel like we’re going in a direction that might just lead to tons of unanswered questions.
 

-Da7e-

Matt and I asked The Track Team if there was going to be any lyrical songs in The Legend of Korra and they said “no,” but had not finished the first season yet. Suffice to say, officially, there’s no plan.

BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT! Seriously, “Leaves From The Vine” is beautiful in it’s own right and “Secret Tunnel” is the bomb, but any song about your girlfriend turning into the moon – I mean, come on, it’d be great.

In case you missed it, here is Patches and I talking to The Track Team about their Korra work. 

I really hope to touch base with them again after the season has aired to talk this, if there will be an official soundtrack and general awesomeness. We’ll see.

-Da7e-

We talk about this a bit in Episode 3 of the podcast. But – there’s something fishy about her. If she was supposed to be only a romantic character, she would have had more to do this episode.

Don’t trust rich girls who are supposed to be expert drivers but crash into you “on accident” on a Moped then are talking about how “safe” they feel with you three days later. 

That’s just good life advice.

If Assami isn’t bad, I owe you a bowl of Narook’s Seaweed Noodles. 

-Da7e-

Ahh! No comment! I fear for my life if I take a shipping stance!

But I will say this – I wish my romances started this way:

That’s talkin’ ‘but real love, Pabu.

OOOH! I like “AVATAR!”

We talked about this a bit in Episode 1 of the podcast.

I like the idea that it’s “Soul” or “Spirit,” but something that’s bigger than the four elements. The progression seems to be going in that direction.

Then again, it could be “Chi” or “Life” or something even HUGER!

Gah! Too early to get excited, but – yeah – good thoughts! I doubt we’ll get a second book of “Water” I think Korra Book 2 has to be something new.

-Da7e-

We don’t really ship. But, that particular combo has some basis for maybe showing up. What with those flashback/forwards.

Hmmm. Trying to link to -everdeen is http://catbender.in/?

I’m super sensitive to sourcing fan art, and try to re-blog/add to keep the Tumblr chain going. That being said, I can’t drive myself crazy tracking down where each GIF originated and I found -everdeen’s on a post that did not mention where it was from.

I totally accept watermarks on your GIFs, though, and if you feel like whatever you are contributing to the fandom is proprietary, please take it upon yourself to source yourself. 

-Da7e-