Tarrlok

"water"

- That's what I admire about you, Korra. Your willingness to go to extremes in order to get what you want. It is a quality we both share.

Tarrlok was the former representative for the Northern Water Tribe on the United Republic Council and also served as its chairman. He was an ambitious politician, considered fair-minded and likable by the general public; however, in reality he was a manipulative man who held a long-standing rivalry with Councilman Tenzin. Tarrlok sought to fight the Anti-bending Revolution with brute force rather than peaceful negotiations. He was willing to go to extremes to win the conflict against the Equalists, even if it meant fanning the flames of aggression and risking the lives of innocent people. Tarrlok tried to keep hidden his identity as son of the infamous escaped crime boss Yakone, but the actions of Avatar Korra and Tarrlok's unique ability to bloodbend without a full moon exposed his ancestry to the public. After the Equalists took control of Republic City, Tarrlok revealed he was the younger brother of Amon, the revolutionary group's leader, and that together they shared a tragic past. After Amon's defeat at the hands of Avatar Korra, Tarrlok and his brother left Republic City on a speedboat, but the former Councilman committed a murder-suicide as atonement for their mistakes.

Background
Tarrlok was born in the Northern Tribe in 133 ASC to Yakone, who had escaped Republic City, and Yakone's wife, joining his older brother, Noatak. Together, they formed a peaceful family and enjoyed a joyous life. However, as they grew older, things took a turn for the worst when Tarrlok and his brother discovered they were waterbenders. Yakone secretly and brutally commenced their training, including lessons in the art of bloodbending in an attempt to have his sons carry out revenge on the Avatar in his name.



After years of harsh training sessions, mainly consisting of bloodbending animals under the full moon, Tarrlok and his brother learned how to use the illegal technique without a full moon. Finally, Yakone ordered Tarrlok and Noatak to bloodbend each other. Noatak obeyed, but Tarrlok refused, saying he despised the power and would never bloodbend again. His father called him a weakling and threatened to attack Tarrlok, but Noatak, who was more skilled in bloodbending, stood up for his younger brother and subdued Yakone. Noatak tried to persuade Tarrlok to run away with him and start a new life together, but the younger brother refused, unwilling to leave his mother. Noatak ran away and was never found, presumed to have died from exposure to the harsh weather. With Noatak gone, Yakone stopped seeking revenge against the Avatar, and stopped training Tarrlok to bloodbend, before passing away a few years later.

Learning from his criminal father's mistakes, Tarrlok rose up through the Republic City government, eventually becoming the Northern Water Tribe representative in the United Republic Council. All along, Tarrlok managed to keep the truth about his parentage secret and, through charismatic politics and a fierce stance against the Equalists, managed to put himself in the position to be Republic City's "savior".

The task force
After learning just how dangerous Amon really was, Tarrlok proposed a solution to the issue during a meeting of the United Republic Council: to create a task force whose sole mission was "to fight Amon and bring him to justice". Tenzin immediately dismissed this idea by saying that such an aggressive strategy would only make things worse between benders and non-benders, and he claimed it was merely a way to grant Tarrlok more power. However, after volunteering to command the force and saying that even their friends or families could be in danger because of the Equalists, Tarrlok succeeded in convincing the rest of the Council to approve his idea, much to the dismay of Tenzin.



Tarrlok later interrupted Korra, Tenzin, and his family's dinner time on Air Temple Island. The airbender highlighted the lack of respect shown by the Councilman, but Tarrlok countered by saying that airbenders never turn away a hungry guest, convincing Tenzin to let him stay. Tarrlok then saluted Korra, expressing his pleasure at meeting her. He introduced himself as the representative of the Northern Water Tribe in the Council. He then sat down and was interrogated by Ikki, who asked him why he had three ponytails and smelled like a lady, finally declaring him "weird", which he answered with a look of contempt and a reference to her precociousness. Tarrlok complimented Korra for her initiative during the Equalist rally and began explaining to her that Republic City was better after her arrival, but Tenzin interrupted him, asking Tarrlok to stop with the flattery, and reveal the real reason of his visit. To the surprise of Korra and her airbending master, he asked the Avatar to join his task force to stop Amon, as he needed someone "fearless in the face of danger" to be able to face Amon directly. However, Korra declined his offer, stating that she had come to Republic City to master airbending so she should focus on that. Tarrlok, surprised by her answer, tried to insist she reconsider, but Tenzin stopped him, saying that Korra had already made a decision, and he should leave. The Councilman did so, but added that he had not given up, before leaving the temple.

Over the following days, Tarrlok began sending a series of increasingly lavish gifts through a council page to Korra in order to convince her to accept his invitation, ranging from a basket of gifts to a luxurious Satomobile. However, the Avatar did not change her mind. The Councilman then decided to invite Korra to a gala he would throw in her honor. During the party, Tarrlok led the Avatar to some journalists, who began asking questions about Amon, the Equalist revolution, and her refusal to participate in the mission. Korra, upset at their accusations about her backing away and being afraid of Amon, finally announced she would participate in Tarrlok's plans.



At City Hall, Tarrlok explained the first mission to a group of assembled waterbenders and earthbenders, and Korra: a raid on an underground chi blocker training camp located in the cellar of a bookstore in the Dragon Flats borough. Led by the Councilman, the group broke into the store and started fighting. Tarrlok saved Korra when she was being attacked by two Equalists, freezing one of them against the wall. After defeating all the chi blockers, the task force arrested them in the presence of journalists.

At a conference, Tarrlok announced the success of the raid, and said that Republic City had nothing to fear with himself and the Avatar leading the charge. At the question of a reporter about their leader still being free, the Avatar publicly challenged Amon to a duel that night on Aang Memorial Island. Later, when Korra was about to set out to the location they agreed upon, Tarrlok, at Tenzin's accusation to have caused this, claimed to have talked to Korra about her decision, but she had already made up her mind. After the Avatar left, the Councilman informed Tenzin he was going to be watching the island closely, and that if something went wrong, he had a fleet of police airships ready to swoop down and help accordingly.

The Pro-bending Tournament


When Amon threatened the Council with "severe consequences" if the Pro-bending Tournament was not canceled, Tarrlok and the rest of the Council unanimously agreed to shut down the Pro-bending Arena, much to the disappointment of the Fire Ferrets. However, as he was about to declare the decision as final, Chief Lin Beifong of the Metalbending Police Force entered the meeting, and demanded the Council show backbone. She offered to provide extra security during the match, if the Council agreed to keep the arena open. Tarrlok and the rest of the Council, except Tenzin, accepted this agreement, thus the match continued on as planned.

Following the Equalists' successful attack on the Pro-bending Arena, Tarrlok was quick to call a press conference during which he put the blame for the arena's destruction in Lin Beifong's hands. Pointing out that she had failed to protect the city, he stated that the police force needed new leadership in order to survive the dire times coming their way.

Increasing influence and betrayal
Chief Beifong's resignation allowed Tarrlok to increase his influence through Saikhan's institution as the new chief of police. Since the Pro-bending Tournament was over, Tarrlok offered Korra the chance to rejoin his task force, manipulatively reminding her that she had not yet mastered the art of airbending. Korra adamantly refused, suspicious about him and his burgeoning influence over Republic City. Tarrlok warned her that if she did not change her mind, she should stay out of his way.

During a prison breakout instigated by the Equalists, Team Avatar successfully prevented the convicts from escaping. Tarrlok and his task force arrived just after the Equalists and the escapees were taken into custody by Korra. He reprimanded the Avatar and her friends about their seemingly illegal actions and warned them to stop interfering.

At the next Council meeting, Tarrlok proposed a law that would establish a curfew on all non-benders, that also outlawed any association with the Equalists. The law went into effect with relative ease as Tenzin was the only dissenting vote.



Tarrlok then formulated a plan that cut off the power to many non-benders, which only angered them, sparking a protest against him and the police in the Dragon Flats borough. Upon Korra's arrival, the non-benders pleaded with her to stop Tarrlok's actions, reminding her that she was their Avatar as well. Korra asked Tarrlok to stop oppressing the non-benders, but he refused, arresting Asami for being a non-bender out past curfew and the daughter of a renowned Equalist. Tarrlok then arrested Mako and Bolin as well and warned Korra that if she attacked, she would join her friends in prison.

Korra visited Tarrlok's office that same night to see if there was a way to intimidate him into releasing her friends. Tarrlok reminded her that what she was doing was similar to what the Equalists claimed that benders were doing; using their powers to oppress others. He also pointed out that he and Korra were similar in that they both went to extreme measures in order to get what they wanted. Korra denied their similarity. Tarrlok made Korra an offer that if she "fell in line" and "did what [he] said", he would release her friends. Realizing that was why he arrested them, Korra refused and pointed out that Tarrlok was "just as bad as Amon". Upon hearing this, Tarrlok lashed out at Korra using his waterbending, starting a duel. The battle was relatively evenly fought, until Tarrlok appeared to have been defeated when Korra used the earthen wall behind his desk to slam him down to the Council's meeting room, leaving him without a source of water.



As Korra prepared to finish off the duel with two fire blasts, Tarrlok revealed himself to be a bloodbender, using the art on Korra to prevent his defeat at her hands. He used the skill without the aid of a full moon, much to Korra's surprise. Tarrlok replied by saying that there were many more things she did not know about him, and afterwards threw Korra into the back of a police car and told her that she would be taken to a place where she would never be found.

Fall from power
Tarrlok drove Korra to a cabin in the mountains outside of Republic City and locked her in a metal cage within the basement. He quickly returned to City Hall and wrapped an Equalist bola around a column and laid out other "evidence" to make it appear that the Equalists had attacked the building and captured the Avatar. He also used an electrified glove to shock himself to strengthen this charade. After the arrival of Councilman Tenzin, Tarrlok told him about the "Equalist attack" and ordered Saikhan to deploy the entire Metalbending Police Force to search for Korra.



After a raid on a secret Equalist facility, Lin Beifong, Tenzin, and the rest of Team Avatar discovered that Tarrlok had lied about Korra's abduction by the terrorist organization, so they proceeded to confront the Councilman at City Hall. After denying allegations of kidnapping Korra, his page revealed to the group that he had witnessed Tarrlok capturing the Avatar and locking her in the back of a Satomobile. Tarrlok feverishly denied this and scolded him, but the page revealed that the Councilman was a bloodbender. Tenzin and Lin took up fighting stances and told him to give up; having no other options, Tarrlok incapacitated all of his accusers with bloodbending and fled the scene.

He then returned to his hideout and grumbled that his plans were ruined. Korra guessed that his bloodbending secret was out and told him she had realized that he was Yakone's son. Tarrlok did not deny it and stated that he wanted to win Republic City by becoming its "savior", rather than through its criminal underbelly like his father. After blaming Korra for his downfall, he planned on starting up somewhere else and assuming a new identity like his father, using her as his hostage. Before Tarrlok could leave, he was confronted by Amon, the Lieutenant, and some chi blockers. The Councilman attempted to bloodbend them all, successfully subduing all but Amon himself. He was shocked to see Amon was only slightly affected by his powerful bending. Subsequently, the Equalist leader removed Tarrlok's bending and threw him into the back of a truck.

Revealing the past


Korra and Mako entered an attic on Air Temple Island, planning to hide there until they could confront Amon, but instead found an incarcerated Tarrlok. He explained that he was the only prisoner on the island because he was Amon's brother. Korra inquired at how he knew this, and he explained that he recognized the sensation when the revolutionary leader had removed his bending, later realizing that it was his sibling's bloodbending grip. After explaining his childhood in great detail, Tarrlok urged Korra and Mako to "put an end to this sad story" and also offered a sincere apology to the Avatar for having bloodbent her. Korra felt compelled to release Tarrlok, but the former Councilman decided against it, affirming that Amon could not know that they spoke with each other.

Death


After his defeat, Amon freed Tarrlok, and the brothers escaped on a speedboat through the Mo Ce Sea. Together again, Amon proclaimed joyfully that with the two of them reunited, there was nothing that they could not accomplish. When Tarrlok referred to Amon by his true name, Noatak, the older brother admitted that he had almost forgotten the sound of it. As Amon navigated, Tarrlok sat at the back of the boat, noticing that the watercraft was filled with Equalist gear and weapons. He proceeded to pick up one of the electrified gloves, leveling it over the motorboat's fuel tank. He then reiterated a statement made earlier by his brother, that "it [would] be just like the good old days". Looking ahead, Amon shed a single tear before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank behind him, killing them both in the resulting explosion.

Personality
As a young child, Tarrlok was a kindhearted and generous person who cared deeply for others. Despite his father and older brother's love for bloodbending, Tarrlok displayed no enjoyment over its use, stating that he never wanted to apply the technique upon anyone.



Ironically, in his desire to prove himself better than his father, Tarrlok became much like Yakone in his later years, obsessed with power and willing to do whatever it took to acquire it. Although a majority of the public perceived him as a fair-minded, decent man with the best of intentions for Republic City, Tarrlok was shown to be an ambitious and manipulative elitist behind closed doors.

Cold and ruthless when it came to achieving his goals, he was not above utilizing underhanded tactics such as aggression and bribery to get what he wanted. Furthermore, Tenzin and Tarrlok held long-standing rivalry, rarely agreeing on what was best for Republic City due to their diverging outlooks. In fact, Tarrlok seemed to favor outright subjugation to deal with the Anti-bending Revolution, something to which Tenzin vehemently objected. Due to the fostered belief that his father's failure was caused by his obsession with ruling the criminal underbelly, the councilman was obsessed with ruling from the top of power. His obsession to become the city's "savior" led him to commit immoral, if not illegal, actions, such as arresting innocent people under false accusations and kidnapping Avatar Korra.

Following the loss of his bending and the realization that it was his brother who had taken it away, while imprisoned, Tarrlok began to reflect upon the choices he had made and realized the errors of the path he had taken. When Korra and Mako discovered him locked in the attic of the temple on Air Temple Island, the former council member sincerely apologized to Korra for everything that he had done to her, having discovered that he had become the very vengeful monster he had been horrified of becoming from his father's training. In a final act of atonement, Tarrlok decided to take both his own life and that of his brother, Noatak.

Waterbending


Drilled relentlessly by his father in waterbending, Tarrlok exhibited great proficiency in the art. He demonstrated this skill numerous times, such as in his skillful utilization of large streams of water to defeat several chi blockers at an Equalist hideout, and his confident bending ability when challenging Korra. His style of waterbending allowed him to strike quickly, leaving little time for his opponents to react, allowing him to overpower them with ease. His abilities were portrayed most notably in his fight with the Avatar, when Tarrlok skillfully bent the large waterfall in his office to various effects, such as enveloping himself within a large sphere of water as a shield from Korra's fire blasts, while propelling multiple ice projectiles at an exceedingly rapid pace. This offensive was powerful enough to even briefly overwhelm the Avatar. However, his waterbending prowess by itself was not enough to match Korra's multiple bending skills, and in the end, he was forced to resort to bloodbending.

Bloodbending


In addition to his proficiency as a waterbender, Tarrlok was an even more powerful bloodbender. As the son of the infamous bloodbending criminal Yakone, Tarrlok could perform such feats as body manipulation and control by bending the water present in a person's body. He could achieve this even without the aid of the full moon, usually necessary for this type of waterbending. He was also capable of bending the blood of multiple opponents simultaneously, and with a sinister degree of control, as shown by his capacity to levitate them, throw them around, subdue them, and even knock them unconscious. He utilized these abilities on Korra, Team Avatar, several metalbending officers, a group of Equalists, and Amon, although the latter was able to use his own bloodbending to quickly resist Tarrlok's control.

Other skills
Aside from his former bending proficiency, Tarrlok was a highly intelligent individual. For years, he was able to conceal his bloodbending abilities and his connection to his father, Yakone, a high-profile criminal and bloodbender, all the while fabricating a new identity for himself and rising to the prominent, public, and equally high-profile position of councilman. He exhibited great knowledge of both the Equalists maneuvers and of historic events. Tarrlok was also a very persuasive individual, regularly swaying the other Council members' decisions to his point of view and appearing as a popular, soft-spoken, and caring politician to the public of Republic City. Tarrlok also demonstrated great skill in manipulating others to do his own bidding, succeeding in aligning Korra to his task force even after she refused multiple times.

Trivia

 * While serving as a councilman, Tarrlok was the youngest member of the United Republic Council.
 * Tarrlok has used an electrified glove twice, and both times were used to harm himself, albeit for different reasons.
 * Tarrlok's actions in keeping the Equalist threat at bay were almost identical to those of Alexander Palmer and Joseph McCarthy, two powerful men in the United States government during the late 1920s and the early 1950s, respectively. Both men were instigators of the "Red Scares", periods in American history where anti-Communist sentiments were high. Between the two Scares, a law was enacted, making it illegal for anyone to be even affiliated in the most remote context with the Communist party.
 * Palmer was famous for the "Palmer raids", nighttime surprise attacks conducted on alleged Communist cells, a parallel to Tarrlok's midnight raid on the Equalist bunker in the Dragon Flats district.
 * McCarthy was suspected of having ties with high-level security officers, just like Tarrlok and the Chief of Police.
 * Tarrlok's rise from politician to tyrant mirrors that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, two immensely powerful dictators of the World War II era.
 * Mussolini persuaded - often illegally - governmental offices to give him more and more power to combat the Communists, just as Tarrlok sought to increase his own power to combat the Equalists.
 * Hitler took over Germany's then nominal democratic republic with fear-mongering and manipulation, later using his resulting power to imprison innocent people, just as Tarrlok wrongly imprisoned innocent non-benders.
 * Tarrlok was the fifth known bloodbender to exist and the third seen capable of using his abilities without the aid of a full moon, after his father and brother.
 * Tarrlok shares many similarities with Fire Lord Ozai, the former primary antagonist of the first Avatar series. Both of them were the younger, less favored sibling of two brothers by their respective fathers, both had their bending stripped, and both were subsequently imprisoned by a family member.
 * Tarrlok was the first person seen bloodbending in The Legend of Korra.
 * Tarrlok was the fifteenth known person to lose his bending in the Avatar universe and the thirteenth in The Legend of Korra.
 * A picture of Tarrlok was later present on the front page of a newspaper the Fire Nation councilwoman's husband was reading.
 * Tarrlok and Amon were the first people to die in The Legend of Korra. Tarrlok was also the first character to implicitly commit a murder-suicide.
 * Tarrlok shared his father's three ponytail hairstyle, having used a two ponytail style in his childhood.
 * According to the creators in the Korra: Making of a Legend marathon, Tarrlok is a hybrid of Azula, because of her manipulative abilities and being able to use fear and desires to get what she wanted, and Long Feng for his use of political power for self desires and vanity.