The Legend of Korra continues to impress with Book 4: Balance. Following last week’s major political bent, “The Calling” took a more personal approach to the story. Jinora, Meelo and Ikki head off in search of Korra and their presence lends a distinctly Avatar: The Last Airbender tone to the show. We also finally see a resolution to the Phantom Korra subplot as the Avatar receives the last bit of advice from Toph.

J and I debate the finer points of this episode, particularly on how The Legend of Korra handles exposition: sometimes with nuance, and sometimes with the blunt end of a hammer. We also discuss the overall arc of the series and what Korra’s revelations about her enemies’ ideologies might mean for the finale. Finally, we speculate on next week’s episode, “Enemy at the Gates,” and how it should heavily feature Mako, Bolin, Suyin and Kuvira.

~ Søren

Note that this podcast contains spoilers up through “The Calling.” As always, you can subscribe to Ember Island Airwaves using iTunes. Alternatively, you can check out the episode online or download it here. Happy listening!

Before anyone cries foul on our inability to remember the banyan-grove tree from “The Swamp,” J was correct: with Huu’s help, Aang uses the tree to find Appa and Momo the same way Korra does to find Jinora and her siblings. You can also find Bolin’s history of complicity in this image, as mentioned in our discussion.

So are you excited for this week’s episode? Do you think Jinora, Meelo and Ikki will play a big role in the upcoming battle? How will Korra’s past adversaries factor in to the finale of Book 4?

Let us know in the comments below! And be sure to tune in next week as we discuss “Enemy at the Gates.”

This podcast uses clips from the songs Nanyang Journey and Erhu by Ivan Chew / CC BY 3.0.