Enemy at the Gates

"URN"

- Leave! Zaofu will never accept you as their leader!"  "Then you leave me no choice. You have twenty-four hours to agree to join the Empire, or we take the city by force.

"Enemy at the Gates" is the fifth episode of Book Four: Balance of The Legend of Korra and the 44th of the overall series. It was released online on Nick.com on October 31, 2014.

Overview
''Kuvira marches her entire army upon Zaofu in an attempt to coerce Suyin into surrendering the metal city to the Earth Empire, without having to take it by force. Suyin refuses, however, despite repeated warnings from both Kuvira and Korra, who went to Zaofu with Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Meanwhile, Varrick starts to get troubled by his conscience and refuses to further develop the spirit vine technology. When Kuvira threatens to kill him, however, he continues his work to weaponize the spirit energy. After a confrontation with the Beifong clan, Bolin questions Kuvira's methods and he ultimately decides to betray her, joining forces with Varrick and Zhu Li in an attempt to escape. Their attempt is foiled by Baatar Jr., however, and while Zhu Li pledges her loyalty to Kuvira, Bolin is sent to a reeducation camp while Varrick is forced to continue his experiments. Korra tries to talk to Kuvira, though she is only given the chance to talk Suyin into surrendering Zaofu. When she returns to talk to the matriarch, she learns from Baatar that Suyin and the twins have sneaked out to face Kuvira directly.''

Synopsis


Near Zaofu, Kuvira's army is making its approach to the city. The airships, mecha- and regular tanks all move in impeccable formations, and despite the early hour, one of the guards spots the army at the far side of the canyon stretching in front of the metal city. He radios for help, and Suyin, Baatar, and Wei and Wing get on a train to the front of the city. Baatar suggests contacting President Raiko, and that he will send the United Forces to come to their aid. Suyin dismisses the statement by saying that nobody can help them, since Kuvira has already arrived with her entire army.

On Kuvira's train, Baatar Jr. expresses his excitement over finally uniting the Earth Empire. Kuvira reminds him that although they are nearly done, Zaofu is going to be one of the harder cities to conquer. They cannot take it by force, since the whole world is watching them, so they must find a diplomatic solution. This will fall onto Bolin, one of the few people aboard Kuvira's train Suyin actually trusts.

Somewhere over the Earth Kingdom, Jinora has set Pepper on a course for Zaofu, but questions the Avatar's idea, saying that Tenzin wanted Korra back in Republic City. Korra dismisses the argument, saying that Kuvira and the entire world needs to know she's back in action. Meelo is very excited, saying it will be awesome to see Korra fight again, but she has to disappoint him, and says Kuvira had saved her dad and she would try to reason with her.

At Kuvira's train, Varrick and Zhu Li are filming their experiment. Varrick explains to the camera that machine was Spirit Vine Experiment 3-02. Zhu Li brings him a glass tube within a fragment of spirit vine. Varrick continues saying in that statis capsule was a preserved spirit vine sample and with that form of pure energy could transfer energy from the vine into a battery using electrical currents,reverse magnetic polarity and a phenomenon he liked to call: the Varri-efect. He returns to his machine and watches as the sample of vine crackles with energy, Varrick is happy and says it was working, but suddenly, the light bulbs break and the two partners fall down. Varrick orders Zhu Li to shut it down, while he is approaching to the camera. Zhu Li tries to pull the lever, but the battery explodes and releases a blast of pure energy through the back wall of the train, which is shakes the last wagons. Varrick and Zhu Li are thrown backward, toward the gaping hole in the train. Zhu Li screams, as she tumbles through the hole. She dangles over the tracks and asks Varrick for help. He tries to pull her, but he can't telling her she was heavy. Zhu Li says him to pull harder and Varrick manages to pull her back to the train and Zhu Li, off balance, falls onto Varrick. They look at each other and Zhu Li softly tells Varrick he had saved her, but Varrick answers he had saved her because he couldn't clean the place up by himself and orders her to grab a broom and Zhu Li looks him angrily.

The two of them are interrupted by Kuvira and Baatar Jr., who ask them what had happened and if they were attacked. Varrick answers them they had spirt-vined and announces them he was putting the kibosh on that project and he turns off the machines. Kuvira tells him not to do it and ask him if he knew what they could do with that kind of power. Varrick tells her he knew and that was the reason they had to put an end to it, because it could fall into the wrong hands. Baatar Jr. asks him since when he did that matter to him. Varrick answers he has changed. He explaines, usually when he's looking at a project thinks only the money he could make, but recently, he had been having strange feelings inside. He was concerned with others and there was a nagging voice in his head constantly telling him what was right from wrong. Zhu Li explains it was his conscience, but Kuvira tells him she was the other voice in his head and he would continue with that project, but Varrick answers negatively. Kuvira metalbends the metal plates, which make up the shoulders of his outfit, around his neck and floats him out of the train through the hole and tells him there was a voice in her head telling her to drop him on the tracks and asks him if she should listen. Varrick, begging for his life, tells her head voices were liars and he would work on the project. Kuvira smiles and pulls him back inside the train, tumbling him to the floor. She and Baatar Jr. leave, while Zhu Li rushes to Varrick's side and they both watch their superiors leave angrily.

Credits
Written by:
 * Joshua Hamilton

Directed by:
 * Ian Graham

Starring:
 * Janet Varney - Korra
 * P.J. Byrne - Bolin
 * J.K. Simmons - Tenzin
 * Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
 * Kiernan Shipka - Jinora
 * Logan Wells - Meelo
 * Jeff Bennett - Radio broadcaster

Also starring:
 * John Michael Higgins - Varrick
 * Stephanie Sheh - Zhu Li
 * Zelda Williams - Kuvira
 * Anne Heche - Su
 * Alyson Stoner - Opal
 * Todd Haberkorn - Baatar Jr
 * Jim Meskimen
 * Baatar Sr
 * Guard
 * Spencer Garrett
 * Raiko
 * Lookout
 * Daniel Dae Kim - Hiroshi
 * Dee Bradley Baker - Pepper

Series continuity

 * Suyin's flashback shows how she denied the offer to take provisional power over the Earth Kingdom, which was referenced in "The Coronation".
 * The energy extracted from the spirit vines produces a purple energy beam akin to Vaatu's, even with the same sound effect.
 * Zhu Li brings up in disgust the time when she scrubbed Varrick's calloused foot with pumice stone in "The Terror Within".

Character revelations

 * Varrick designed the modernized mecha tanks.
 * Zhu Li's unwavering loyalty to Varrick was because of his brilliant mind.
 * Hiroshi Sato has come to regret his actions while in jail.
 * Suyin took Kuvira in when the latter was eight years old.
 * Baatar Jr. joined Kuvira and left Zaofu because he did not want to live in his father's shadow.

Goofs

 * Kuvira's map of conquered Earth Kingdom states shows the southernmost land of the United Republic under her control as an Earth Kingdom state.
 * When Kuvira is threatening Suyin to take Zaofu by force, the line on her belt vanishes.

Trivia

 * Kuvira's desire to share Zaofu's advancements with the Earth Kingdom mirrors Fire Lord Sozin's desire to share the Fire Nation's wealth with the world in "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", though Kuvira's actions were initially backed up by the world leaders.
 * This is the first episode in which Bolin did appear, but Mako did not.

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