The second episode of the final season sheds light on where and what Korra has been up to in all these years.
The spoilers ahead
In the first scene, healing herself from her underground loss, Korra is looking at herself in a cracked mirror. This is going to be a statement of the entire episode, and it isn't moments later a seemingly physical manifestation of Korra is staring her right in the face. Korra throws the first punch, but to no avail. She soon finds herself flat on her tush in an alley, with on-lookers wondering what happened. This "Phantom Korra" is gone.
Korra Alone is a great examination of physche, and I love that through her PTSD, she can get the same sort of character study that Zuko got in the first series' excellent Book 2 episode, Zuko Alone. Whereas that ep was about running from/hiding his identity, this one is about finding hers. It should also be noted Korra's bruised eye visually evokes the scar over Zuko's in The Last Airbender.
Under healer Katara's physical therapy, Korra eventually regains her strength. Her mental state is another issue. In Book 1, Korra had nightmares about facing Amon. An enemy that threatened to take her bending away. Her essence. In Book 3, Zaheer threatened to take her life. The poison took it's toll physically, but her pain goes beyond that, and it was great to see the breakdown and rebuilding of Korra in such an emotional way.
The story of this episode is told non-linearly, which is a cool way to lay out information as we watch. Team Avatar writes while Korra is away (Bolin's crayon letters undisputedly steal the episode!) Interestingly, Korra only writes back to Asami, who she is clearly the closest to, despite having known the boys longer. Nothing like a girl's bff! Later there is a great callback to the first episode of LoK, when she spars with firebenders again, but unfortunately, she's still not strong enough. This is further highlighted when she can't even take down some common thieves at a fishing village.
Fractured.
As Korra continues to travel, her phantom continues to haunt her on her journey. A puppy seemed to see it, so perhaps it's not just in her head. After a haircut and new duds, she goes to the Tree of Knowledge to see if she can reconnect with her Avatar spirit, which she was separated from due to the venom of the Red Lotus. So far, Book 4 is making great use of tying in the previous seasons very neatly as we come to the end. But it is also letting the characters grow. I like Korra's new look, which reminds me of when Aang got a bit of a makeover at the beginning of TLA's final season too.
Set Piece of the Week:
And that puppy I mentioned that could see the other Korra? It is actually a sweet little spirit, that leads Korra to a (familiar-looking) swamp. The setpiece of the week takes place here, as Korra fights herself...literally. This is a common trope of the Hero's Journey- most popular in Star Wars (this episode has heavy undertones of Luke's time on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back), but it reminded me even more of the "mirror fight" in Superman 3 with Clark vs. a Dark version of himself.
Question/Fan Theory of the Week:
Who or what is up that spirit?! This "Negative Korra" seems to project fear to Korra, which would indicate it is malicious. But perhaps she's a guide of some sort, sense it leads her to the underground fight ring, and later, fighting at the swamp, Korra discovers Old Lady Toph! Could this destination have been on purpose? Nega-Korra's eyes are a constant glow, as if she were in the Avatar State. Could she be the severed piece of Raava that Korra needs to reconnect with?
In a Nutshell:
Korra Alone is filled with pathos and layered meanings, which continue to showcase how deep this show can get.
The Good- Korra is appropriately traumatized, covered a lot of ground in a short time
The Bad- The build up to Korra's first steps isn't so effective when we know she's in fighting condition already. (Loved the hug with Naga, though!)
The Wall- That photo of Avatar Aang, lol. Glad to see he can still be playful
The Score- 8.7