The Guide

"spirit"

- Aunt Kya is right. I can guide Korra into the Spirit World. I'll be alright.

"The Guide" is the ninth episode of Book Two: Spirits of The Legend of Korra and the 21st episode of the overall series. It aired on Nickelodeon on November 1, 2013.

Overview
Korra seeks Tenzin's help to enter the Spirit World for the first time.

Synopsis
At the Eastern Air Temple, Jinora plays with a number of dragonfly bunny spirits, before she is called by Tenzin, who tells her that everyone is waiting back at the courtyard. Unable to see the spirits, Tenzin inquires if Jinora was playing with someone, to which she responds that she was merely amusing herself with some imaginary friends. As Tenzin turns around, a dragonfly bunny spirit appears on top of his head, making Jinora laugh.

The two return to a courtyard where Bumi is convincing Kya about a time when he defeated an earthbender in a rock throwing contest, asserting that he had the trophy to prove it. Tenzin excitedly tells his children of the day ahead, noting that there are a lot of ancient sites for the family to visit, much to Ikki and Meelo's disinterest.

Just then, Korra arrives at the temple, much to everyone's surprise. Tenzin asks Korra why she was not in the Southern Water Tribe continuing her training, unaware of events occurring elsewhere due to his decision to stay out of touch with the outside world during the family's retreat. Korra outlines the events that have transpired since the family's departure from the South Pole, informing them of Unalaq's true nature, the outbreak of the Water Tribe Civil War, as well as her realization of the repercussions of opening the Southern spirit portal while unconscious at the Bhanti Village Temple.

Tenzin and Korra go to a nearby garden, where they discuss Avatar Wan's imprisonment of Vaatu in the Spirit World and Unalaq's ulterior motives in urging Korra to open the spirit portal in the South Pole. Tenzin states that he has always known about Unalaq's power-hungry nature, but expresses his disbelief at how far he was willing to go in order to achieve more. Korra blames herself for her part in furthering Unalaq's intentions, to which Tenzin disagrees, asserting that the events that occurred in the past week were all Unalaq's doing. He tells Korra that they must shift their focus to setting things right before Unalaq can inflict more damage. Aware that it would be difficult to close the portal in the South Pole due to Unalaq's army, Korra concludes that she must close the portal from within the Spirit World, and tells Tenzin that the she must find a way to enter the realm. Tenzin decides to help Korra enter the Spirit World.

Back in the South Pole, Desna and Eska enter the Spirit World through the Southern spirit portal along with their father, who tells them that they must help him open the Northern spirit portal, due to their failure to bring back Korra. Desna appears confused, stating that only the Avatar was capable of opening the portal. Unalaq tells his children that he believes there is another way, before beginning to make his way to the sealed portal.

In Republic City, Bolin hangs inverted for a scene in an upcoming mover. After a single take, the film crew heads out for a lunch break, leaving Bolin alone on set. Asami arrives, stating that Varrick invited her to watch some of the filming, and inquires if the mover was filming at the moment, confused over seeing the relatively empty set. Mako arrives, and tells both Asami and Bolin that it was Varrick who masterminded the raid on Future Industries' warehouses, convinced that the business mogul wanted Republic City to enter the war and have control over the business that would result from the nation's involvement. Asami and Bolin remain unconvinced, and Bolin asserts that his brother's claims were the exact reason he decided to move out of their apartment. Upon hearing this, Asami comforts Mako, prompting Bolin to conclude that the two had already rekindled their relationship, despite the fact that Mako broke up with Korra merely a week ago. The two deny this accusation, and Mako tries to convince Asami and Bolin once more that Varrick was responsible for the attack of his own ships and the raid on Future Industries. He tells the two that the explosives Varrick uses in his movers were identical to the ones described by the captain of one of the ships ambushed at sea, and that the detonators used were identical to the one he found outside the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center just after it was bombed by the Agni Kai Triad. Exasperated over Asami and Bolin's reluctance to accept the truth, Mako storms off, but is confronted by two of Varrick's guards before he can leave.

Back at the temple, Tenzin tells Korra that she is lucky, as the Eastern Air Temple was the most spiritual of all the air temples. He takes her to a garden near where Aang first met Guru Pathik. Tenzin and Korra make their first attempt to enter the Spirit World while the others watched. They are unsuccessful, which Tenzin attributes to Meelo's inability to ring the meditation bell at the proper intervals. Meelo is upset over ringing the bell wrong, until Korra assures him that his performance was more than adequate.

The two attempt to enter the Spirit World for a second time, this time on top of a cliff carved with the face of an Air Nomad. They are unsuccessful, which Tenzin attributes to too much smoke coming from the incenses that Kya was burning. He tells his sister that she was burning them incorrectly, before storming off to find another location. Jinora sees a number of dragonfly bunny spirits floating around Korra's head, before flying off deep into the wilderness, away from temple grounds. Jinora urges the spirits to come back, prompting Kya to ask her what she was chasing. The young airbender assures her aunt that it was nothing, before running off to catch up to Korra and her father.

Tenzin takes Korra to a hall of statues, and the two begin to meditate underneath a large sculpture of Avatar Yangchen. Tenzin urges Korra to focus and feel the energy of the universe, and blames Korra for interrupting his meditation, despite having been the one to initiate the conversation. Puzzled by her mentor's unusual behavior, Korra asks Tenzin what is wrong, to which he responds that nothing was feeling right. Korra reminds Tenzin that there was little time to waste, and asks Tenzin to do what he had done back when he first entered the Spirit World. Tenzin reluctantly reveals that he has never successfully entered the Spirit World, much to everyone's surprise. Pema expresses her disbelief, recalling the days her husband spent meditating in the temple. Tenzin reveals that those were his failed attempts, and states that his inability to enter the Spirit World was his greatest shortcoming as an airbender, spiritual leader, and Aang's son. Bumi laughs, welcoming his brother to the "I Disappoint Dad Club".

Despite his shortcomings, Tenzin resolves to find a way to guide Korra into the Spirit World. The young Avatar is reluctant on wasting any more time, due to Harmonic Convergence being only several weeks away. Kya brings up the possibility that there might be another option, and urges Jinora to tell Korra about her strong connection to the spirits. Tenzin refuses to believe this, claiming that his daughter was too young to be knowledgeable over spiritual affairs. She tells her father that she might know where Korra needed to go, and calls upon her spirit friends to reveal themselves. Just then, a number of dragonfly bunny spirits appear, much to everyone's amazement. The spirits begin to fly away from the temple grounds, with Korra resolving to follow them despite Tenzin's reluctance.

Back in the Spirit World, Desna and Eska express the futility of attempting to open the Northern spirit portals, asserting that the spirits had already tried to do so for ten thousand years. Unalaq reasons that by entering the Spirit World through the portal, they had brought along with them the ability to bend. The three begin to use waterbending to try and open the portal, which eventually unleashes several bolts of energy in response. The resulting discharge wounds Desna, much to Eska's concern. Unalaq asserts that opening the portal was more important than tending to Desna's injuries, prompting Eska to leave to escort her brother to a healer without her father's help. Nevertheless, Unalaq continues to assault the portal with a torrent of water, much to no avail.

In Republic City, Mako is taken to Varrick. The business magnate tells Mako that he has heard of the young officer's investigations regarding the ambush of ships headed to the South. He tells Mako that the world can be a dangerous place, and offers the firebender a place on his security escort, suggesting to Mako that he needed him on his side to "protect" Asami and Bolin. Despite Varrick's subtle threats, Mako declines the offer and leaves.

Tenzin and his family make their way down into the wilderness surrounding the mountains near the Eastern Air Temple on Oogi. Bumi names one of the dragonfly bunny spirits "Bum-jun" as a shortened name for "Bumi Junior", much to Tenzin's indifference. Jinora suggests that her father was angry at her, which Kya dismisses, reassuring her niece that Tenzin's pride was "simply bruised", as he was incapable of seeing spirits. Korra adds that Jinora's ability is a real gift, and tells her that she is lucky. Jinora replies by saying that Korra is luckier, as she was able to meet the first Avatar. Korra expresses how amazing it was to see how the Avatar came into existence, recalling how Wan fused with Raava to create the Avatar Spirit. Jinora concludes that the Avatar is partially a spirit, and comes to understand that the wooden carving she saw in the Southern Air Temple sanctuary was a depiction of Wan and Raava. She reveals that she was drawn to the statue during the winter solstice, the day when Korra opened the Southern spirit portal.

After landing, the dragonfly bunny spirits lead Korra, Tenzin, Bumi, Kya, and Jinora to an ancient airbender meditation circle, which had remained unused and covered in overgrowth for the past century. Jinora immediately senses unusually strong spiritual energy within the circle. Tenzin resolves to perform a spiritual cleansing, which would help strengthen the site's connection to the Spirit World. He bends smoke from an incense around the site, which immediately causes the dragonfly bunny spirits to leave. Suddenly, a colony of dark spirits in the likeness of bats appear from underground, and begin to attack the group.

Korra and Tenzin initially attempt to ward them off with bending, but are unsuccessful. Despite not having been capable of successfully performing the technique, Korra reattempts to calm the spirits using Unalaq's pacification technique. She successfully performs the technique, and the spirits begin to disappear in a flash of bright light. As the light dissipates, the vines and overgrowth covering the meditation circle begin to disappear.

Tenzin tells Korra how far she has come in her training. She states that although Unalaq had misguided intentions, he was more than knowledgeable in spiritual affairs. Tenzin expresses inadequacy as a spiritual guide, as he has been unable to guide Korra into the Spirit World while Unalaq had already taught her how to transform dark spirits. Korra tells Tenzin that all of Unalaq's guidance has been for his own benefit, whereas Tenzin has always looked out for her wellbeing. She apologizes to Tenzin for dismissing him as her mentor, and tells him that she needs him now more than ever. The two reconcile, and Tenzin begins another attempt to enter the Spirit World.

In Republic City, Asami goes to Mako's apartment to make sure that he was fine, due to the fact that he was extremely agitated earlier in the day. Asami convinces Mako to take a night off and have dinner at Kwong's Cuisine, where they had their first date, and the two exchange in a brief kiss before being interrupted by Chief Lin Beifong, Lu, and Gang. After the two detectives tell Mako that members of the Triple Threat Triad identified him as an accomplice, he admits to hiring the triad to help conduct a sting operation.

Lin tells Mako that the Triple Threats told the police that he helped in the raid of Future Industries' warehouses, and that she must follow up on the lead despite the triad's lack of credibility. After searching his apartment, the two detectives find a pile of yuans and explosives hidden in Mako's closet, and proceed to arrest him. Asami tells the detectives that the ordeal was a misunderstanding, and they tell her that Mako is nothing more than a "crooked cop" who used her for his benefit. Mako denies the accusations, and once again tries to convince Asami that it was Varrick who was responsible for the theft of her production line.

Back in the Eastern Air Temple, Tenzin becomes increasingly frustrated over his inability to enter the Spirit World. Kya tells Tenzin that it is not his destiny to guide the Avatar, and urges him to allow Jinora to try. He refuses, asserting that Jinora is not ready for the dangers of the Spirit World. Korra tells him once again that they are running out of time, and Jinora reassures her dad that she could guide the Avatar into the Spirit World and remain out of harm. Tenzin concedes, and accepts that he might never have the connection to spirits like he always wanted. He tells Korra to go with Jinora into the Spirit World, and states that he will remain to watch over their bodies alongside Bumi and Kya. Soon after meditating, Korra briefly enters the Avatar State, before entering the Spirit World with Jinora.

In the place where the two realms meet, Unalaq apologizes to an imprisoned Vaatu for failing him, believing the Avatar to be dead. The spirit tells him that he has not failed him yet, as the Avatar still lives. When inquired as to how he knows, Vaatu reveals that although his connection to Raava had been severed, he can still feel her presence. With this knowledge, Unalaq resolves to find the Avatar, to which Vaatu replies that she will find him instead. He reveals that Korra has just entered the Spirit World.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Joshua Hamilton


 * Directed by:
 * Colin Heck


 * Starring:
 * Janet Varney - Korra
 * David Faustino - Mako
 * J.K. Simmons - Bolin
 * Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
 * John Michael Higgins - Varrick
 * Kiernan Shipka - Jinora
 * Richard Riehle - Bumi
 * Lisa Edelstein - Kya
 * Adrian LaTourelle - Unalaq
 * Aubrey Plaza - Eska
 * Aaron Himelstein - Desna


 * Also starring:
 * Darcy Rose Byrnes - Ikki
 * Logan Wells - Meelo
 * Mindy Sterling - Beifong
 * Jeff Bennett - Radio broadcaster
 * Dee Bradley Baker:
 * Poki
 * Oogi
 * Maria Bamford - Pema
 * Jonathan Adams:
 * Vaatu
 * Security guard
 * Rick Zieff - Gang
 * Mark Allan Stewart - Lu

Series continuity

 * The garden in the Eastern Air Temple where Tenzin and Korra attempt to enter the Spirit World was near the place where Aang first met Pathik in "The Guru".
 * To aid Korra in entering the Spirit World, Tenzin took her to meditate beneath the statue of Avatar Yangchen in the Eastern Air Temple, where Pathik also took Aang to unlock his sound chakra.
 * In "The Southern Lights", Jinora comes across a wooden carving among the statues of previous Avatars in the Southern Air Temple sanctuary. She realizes this to be a depiction of Wan and Raava.
 * Korra successfully pacifies numerous dark spirits using the waterbending technique that her uncle developed.

Character revelations

 * Jinora has the ability to see spirits in the mortal realm.
 * Tenzin has never successfully entered the Spirit World.
 * Despite being a formidable waterbender in combat, Eska is not capable of healing.
 * Unalaq has been working to free Vaatu from his imprisonment in the Spirit World.

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