The Legend of Korra/Recap/B1/E09 Out of the Past

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"Out of the Past" is the ninth episode of The Legend of Korra, which aired on June 9, 2012.

Tarrlok arrives in the mountains and locks Korra in a metal box, then leaves her to herself.

The next morning, Tenzin is shocked to learn that Korra has been kidnapped. Tarrlok says that he and Korra were attacked by Equalists the night before. A flashback shows him leaving Equalist belongings at the scene and shocking himself with a glove to make his claim more believable.

Lin hears of the events and rescues Asami, Mako, and Bolin from jail, telling them about Korra's kidnapping. They meet Tenzin, who is initially upset that Lin left the hospital, but all decide to find Korra together. They don't even have Naga to help them, as she ran away earlier, but the group figure that the Equalists' hideout is underground, like Hiroshi's was.

Lin, Mako, Bolin, Tenzin, and Asami walk through a tunnel under the city. Asami is uncomfortable to see Mako so determined to find Korra and learns from Bolin that Mako and Korra kissed. The group find the prison that the former chief's policemen are being kept. In the hall, Mako interrogates an Equalist about Korra' whereabouts. The Equalist says they didn't attack City Hall, and Tenzin finally deduces that Tarrlok has Korra. The team escapes the hideout.

They go to City Hall and meet Chief Saikhan and the rest of the Council. Tarrlok arrives and Tenzin accuses him of kidnapping Korra. Tarrlok's secretary says that he witnessed the kidnapping and admits he was afraid to say so before because Tarrlok is a bloodbender. Tarrlok bloodbends the group and leaves. They later recover and search for him to find Korra's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Korra meditates and has visions of Aang's past. In the vision, Avatar Aang and Toph Beifong are with Toph's police. She is certain she can handle Yakone without Aang, but Aang wants to see the trial for himself. Later, Yakone is arrested at a restaurant. The vision ends, and Korra is happy that she is finally able to connect with Aang.

Korra meditates again and witnesses Yakone's trial. Chairman Sokka and the rest of the United Republic Council hear out the accusations towards Yakone, that he's been bloodbending, something that's been illegal for decades. Yakone's lawyer dismisses those claims, saying it's impossible to bloodbend without a full moon. Sokka announces the verdict: Yakone is guilty of all charges. When Sokka was younger, he met people who had extraordinary abilities, so Yakone's isn't impossible. He sentences Yakone to lifetime imprisonment.

Yakone bloodbends Sokka. Toph and Aang try to intervene and are overpowered, and Yakone goes on to bloodbend everyone in the room to unconsciousness. Once freed, Yakone flees on a horse-drawn cart. Aang's tattoo glows and he wakes up and pursues Yakone on his air scooter. He crashes the carriage, and Yakone jumps out, using bloodbending again, trying to break Aang's neck. Near death, Aang enters the Avatar State. He traps Yakone and removes Yakone's bending ability. Korra wakes up, realizing that Aang was trying to warn her about Tarrlok being a bloodbender.

Tarrlok finds Korra, who correctly infers that his bloodbending secret is out. Tarrlok admits that his father Yakone tried to rule Republic City from the criminal underworld and that Tarrlok was going to do so as a Councilman instead. He decides to escape and start a new life but meets Amon and and Equalists upstairs. Amon is unhappy to be accused of something he didn't do, yet. The Equalists succumb to bloodbending, but Amon powers through it, to Tarrlok's horror. He removes Tarrlok's bending and orders his men to electrocute the box and take Korra. Korra is able to avoid being shocked by hanging from the box's ceiling. She firebends and escapes, catching a glimpse of Amon putting Tarrlok's body in a truck. Korra successfully evades Amon but collides with a tree on the ride downhill. Naga finds an unconscious Korra, wakes her up, and takes her back to Republic City, where they rejoin with the group. Mako cradles Korra and lays her on Oogi.

Tropes used in The Legend of Korra/Recap/B1/E09 Out of the Past include:
  • Big Damn Heroes: Lin, Bolin, Mako, Asami, and Tenzin when they infiltrate an Equalist secret base.
  • Big Damn Villains: Amon and his Equalists show up to bail Korra out. Subverted in that they plan to capture her for themselves. It doesn't work, though.
  • Call Back: After he's been revealed as a bloodbender, Tarrlok bloodbends everyone in the courtroom into unconsciousness, then runs away - exactly what his father did in the flashback. Tarrlok also meets a similar fate to that of his father: he's intercepted by Amon, who resists his bloodbending and debends him.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Or in this case Chekhov's polar bear-dog. We're told that Naga is missing at the beginning of the episode. She appears at the end to pick up Korra from the snow.
    • Also Tarrlok's secretary.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • Lin removes the police force logo from her metal armor as she's no longer with the force.
    • Toph still calls Aang "Twinkletoes," despite his being 40 years old.
    • Sokka recalls Toph's invention of metalbending and defeating Combustion Man with his boomerang.
      • His speeches are still kind of rambling and aimless, although he's gotten much better since his teenaged years.
    • Before Aang spiritbends Yakone, he encases him in earth just like he did with Ozai. He also says "it's over" afterwards.
  • Courtroom Antic: Yakone responds to his conviction by bloodbending everyone in the entire courtroom, then running off.
  • De-Power: The metalbending cops captured in "The Aftermath," Tarrlok.
  • Evil Versus Evil: Tarrlok and Amon face off directly.
  • Flash Back: How Korra learns about the incident with Yakone and deduces that Tarrlok is his son.
  • Frame-Up: Tarrlok tries to pin Korra's disappearance on the Equalists, throwing a rope around one of the pillars, dropping a mask on the floor, and injuring himself with a taser glove (also left on-scene) to make the supposed attack more convincing.
  • Great Escape: Lin uses Metalbending to bust Bolin, Asami, and Mako out of prison. Later, the group free the metalbending cops from the prison in the Equalists' hideout.
  • Irony: So much irony when you compare Yakone and Tarrlok. Especially how they are both beaten.
  • Kick the Son of a Bitch: Admit it, you were cheering when Amon took Tarrlok's bending and when Aang took Yakone's.
  • Like Father, Like Son: Tarrlok and Yakone. They're both bloodbenders, they both wanted to take over Republic City, they both even get their bending taken away, ultimately meeting the same fate.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Tarrlok is Yakone's son.
  • Lock and Load Montage: We see Lin Beifong dressing in her police armor with some Badass metalbending.
  • A Mother To Her Men: Lin's very direct with Tenzin and the members of Team Avatar, but when she rescues her metalbending cops and states that their bending must have been taken away already her voice and expression are gentler than we've ever seen her before.
  • The Nicknamer: Toph still calls Aang Twinkletoes even after 28 years.
  • Won't Work On Me: Amon is almost unaffected by Tarrlok's bloodbending. Let that sink in. Even Aang had trouble fighting against bloodbending (even resorting to the Avatar State) and yet here Amon is making it look easy.
  • Off-Model: Toph has six fingers again.
  • Oh Crap:
    • Tarrlok has such an expression when bloodbending does not stop Amon.
    • Yakone too, when Aang went into the Avatar State.
  • Scream Discretion Shot: Korra hears Tarrlok screaming as he gets stripped of his bending power.
  • Spanner in the Works: Tarrlok's secretary stayed around long enough to catch what he was doing and warn everyone of his abilities.
  • This Cannot Be!: Tarrlok when Amon powers through his bloodbending.
  • Unreliable Voiceover: As Tarrlok relates his false story to Tenzin, a flashback shows him doctoring the crime scene.
  • Wham! Episode: Not only is Korra captured and imprisoned but Lin breaks out Team Avatar from prison, the Team infiltrates an Equalist base, rescues Lin's soldiers (who have already been de-bended), Korra contacts Aang and learns about Yakone and Tarrlok, while Amon resists bloodbending, de-bends Tarrlok, and inadvertently allows Korra to escape. And, to top it all off, there's significant Makorra Ship Tease.
  • What the Hell Are You?: Tarrlok's reaction to Amon's ability to shrug off the effects of bloodbending.

Tarrlok: What are you?!
Amon: I am the solution.

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