Book 4's fourth episode is a travelogue that focuses on the Airbending kids, and bringing Korra home.
Spoilers ahead
About six seconds in, and already Meelo is being difficult. That was the type of episode I was in for with "The Calling" a kid-centric episode that should have been a showcase for what they can do on their own. Eager to see how Jinora will be as a leader, I was disappointed to see that she didn't really do anything but ignore her siblings and meditate the whole time. Ikki's pestering was kinda cute and Meelo being able to draw was a neat thing to learn, but that's about the extent of the charm of the episode, as the kid's antics with each other quickly wore thin.
One of the more interesting things about the journey, was Meelo meeting a girl, but sadly it amounts to nothing. And that kind gets to the crux of my problem with this episode: Too many missed opportunites, and events that went nowhere. The kids are on heir own for the first time, and they don't actually run into any danger. What a waste. Granted, this was more about down time, and the dynamic between the siblings is on point, but there should still be a story to tell.
Some semblance of excitement finally occurs when Ikki is captured by some Earth Empire soldiers. Unfortunately, this encounter is only played for laughs, and doesn't amount to anything besides Ikki moaning over the same 'middle-child' character beats she whined about in Book 2. Plot-wise, the guards reveal that Kuvira is on her way to Zaoufu, but we already knew it because Kuvira told Suyin that to her face last week. So all we get out of this section, is a map clue for Ikki on where to look for Korra. It's nice to see her be useful, at least.
Korra's training during this time is winding down. Toph's non-stories were pretty funny when Korra was in the mood for entertainment, but when she ventures out to find food for dinner, Korra is in store for her real final lesson....
Her 'Star Wars' arc rounds out with some scary visions of her past enemies, and with Toph's insight, Korra learns an epiphany about how these men took their ideologies too far. We've already known this, but its interesting to see the series acknowledge it outright. The fact that these foes were out of "balance" was on the nose, but for the sake of younger audiences making the connection, it works for the theme of this season. Toph truly has been a treasure this year, and if we don't see her again (I hope we do!) I was satisfied with her final line about finally getting some peace and quiet.
We still have one of those?
It's a beautiful moment seeing the kids reunite with Korra, but I was immediately vexed when they tried to spin all their dysfunction as 'working together.' What? No. Them finding Korra was based on nothing but dumb luck! Jinora's meditation wasn't even working (effectively rendering her useless). So if Korra hadn't tapped that root and reached out to them, she'd still be scratching her head, looking for her- and this is after she straight up didn't even want to bother checking in the swamp! The least they could do. And she didn't want to. For no reason! She even said it had the most spiritual energy.
It would have been nice to see some semblance of the kids working as a legitimate team, since their dynamic was what this episode was all about. Putting their heads together to solve a problem? Didn't happen. Running into trouble on their first mission by themselves? Didn't happen. Fighting side by side? Nope. Nothing. The kids' journey was almost entirely just bickering and completely danger-free, and this disappointed me immensely. Down time is great, but as short as these books are, it can't be afforded, if nothing will happen that's worthwhile. The Calling's best (and only highlight) was Korra's moment letting go, and finally removing the last bits of metal from her body.
Questions/Fan Theory of the Week:
-If Korra has her Avatar state again, where does that leave Nega-Korra? Is that over?
Now that Korra has learned what she has about her past foes, will her confrontation with Kuvira play out in a different way? Perhaps instead of fighting each other, they somehow find common ground. Maybe she even helps her...
In a Nutshell:
"The Calling" is the type of filler reminiscent of classic The Last Airbender episodes, but not as clever or graceful in integrating a story with the proceedings.
The Good- mostly funny; Korra gets her mojo back
The Bad- No real conflict; missed opportunities; Nothing learned we didn't already know
The Ugly- Meelo puking, Meelo farting...just Meelo
The Score- 6.5