Korra Alone

"URN"

- For years, people have been saying they can help me get better. Nothing's worked. I need to figure this out on my own.

"Korra Alone" is the second episode of Book Four: Balance of The Legend of Korra and the 41st of the overall series. It was released online on Nick.com and through the Nick app on October 10, 2014, and aired on Nicktoons Network on November 28, 2014.

Overview
''While being haunted by a shadow of herself in the Avatar State, Korra reminisces about the hardships she went through in the course of three years. In 171 AG, she retreated to the Southern Water Tribe in an attempt to heal her body and her mind. With Katara's help, she was able to recover physically after two years, though continued to have visions about Zaheer and the attempt on her life. In 173 AG, she set out on a journey across the world in an attempt to reconnect with Raava, though to no avail. In 174 AG, while wandering through a small Earth Kingdom town, she decides to confront the vision of herself but loses. When a small dog begs her to follow it, she finds herself in the Foggy Swamp. After passing out following a new confrontation with her Avatar self, she wakes up in the home of Toph.''

Synopsis


A battered and bruised Avatar Korra donning Earth Kingdom clothing is looking at herself in a cracked mirror. Opening the faucet, she bends the water to her elbow to heal the wound she sustained there. An insistent knocking and a shout for her to hasten herself breaks her concentration, and she leaves the bathroom, allowing the man responsible for the noise to enter. Lost in thought, her eyes trained on the floor, she walks on the street and barely avoids being run over by a Satomobile, diving out of the way at the last second. Stumbling to a nearby ally where she steadies herself by holding on to the wall, breathing heavily while clutching her head, Korra sees herself in the Avatar State like she was when battling Zaheer. Calling out to the apparition, she is attacked with the chain attached to the apparition's right arm. Although she retaliates with a firebending blast, she ends up knocked down with the chain ensnaring her left wrist. As the apparition stalks closer, Korra yells at her to leave her alone and engulfs the ally in fire. However, as the fire clears up, it becomes apparent that she had been alone, prompting bystanders to offer help, though she brushes them off.



Walking away, Korra thinks back to the last time she saw her friends. After Jinora's anointment ceremony, Korra, having changed back into her normal attire, sits in her wheelchair at the dock on Air Temple Island. Bolin implores her not to take his statement the wrong way, though he announces that he cannot wait for her to leave. As Mako reprimands him, the earthbender clarifies that he looks forward to being pen pals with Korra and immediately gives her a first letter. When Asami asks if she is certain she does not want any company at the Southern Water Tribe, emphasizing that she would be happy to accompany her, Korra declines the offer, stating that a couple of weeks by herself to heal would do her good. Tenzin notes that she does not have to worry about anything but her recovery, reassuring her that he, Jinora, and the other airbenders have everything under control. Being waved off by her friends, Korra leaves on the steamship with her parents, Naga, and Kya.



Three weeks later, while staying at the Southern Water Tribe Royal Palace, Korra suffers a nightmare about Zaheer asphyxiating her. She wakes up, severely distressed and breathing heavily. Going out on the balcony for some fresh air and to look at the spirit lights, she is found by her mother, who asks her if she cannot sleep again. Worried about her daughter's well-being, Senna notes that while she and Tonraq have tried to give Korra all the space she needs, she urges her to seek help from Katara. As Korra agrees to visit the elderly healer, Senna gives her a hug and tells her daughter she loves her. Despite the reassurance of her mother that she will get through the hard times, Korra sheds a tear.

While healing the Avatar lying in a pool of water, Katara notes that the poison had caused considerable internal damage. When Korra asks if the elder can fix it, Katara admits that while she can help guide Korra's healing process, her recovery is dependent on her own efforts. However, empathizing with Korra's traumatic experience, Katara promises her that she will be able to recover stronger than ever if she dedicates herself to the process. As Korra expressed her desire to heal, Katara urges her to visualize her big toe moving, a feat she manages to accomplish, much to her delight.



Over time, Korra moves to the parallel bars in order to try walking. Despite leaning heavily on the bars and with considerable effort, she manages to keep herself standing, though before she can take a step, she is overwhelmed by the memory of herself being poisoned by the Red Lotus and falls down. Although Katara comforts her, emphasizing that she is safe there despite her body thinking it is still in danger, and urges her to use her mind to overcome the pain, Korra refuses to try again, declaring herself done for that day.

As her friends promised they would, they have written her letters and, sitting in bed, Korra is reading them. Asami's letter talks about how much she misses her, noting that Republic City is not the same without her. Hoping that everything is going well with Korra, she announces that Future Industries is doing well, as she landed a big contract to help redesign the city. Mako prefaces his letter by explaining that he is not very good at writing them, starting by jokingly describing the weather in the afternoon before stating that he hopes she is doing well. To give her an update on his life, he notes that he is back on the beat, staking out the Red Monsoon Triad's hideout. In contrast with the other letters, Bolin's is written with formal language though expresses the same message that she is missed. He further explains that he has begun working with Varrick and Kuvira to help stabilize the Earth Kingdom.



Although Korra keeps up her intensive physiotherapy training, nearly six months later, she loses her patience due to a lack of significant progress. Lamenting about her inability to take more than a few steps without collapsing, she snaps at Katara in her frustration over being dependent on others for everything. Yelling that while her friends are helping the world, she is stuck with the elderly woman who cannot even heal her, she immediately realizes that she should not have addressed Katara that way and apologizes. Katara empathizes with her and tells her to let go of the anger and frustration. When Korra admits that she is tired of her situation and the senselessness of it all, Katara tries to comfort her by sharing the sense of loss Aang felt over losing his entire culture and telling her he had tried to find meaning in the suffering and eventually even succeeded to find peace. Korra asks what she would find if she gets through her ordeal and is offered the response that whatever it is, it will be interesting to find out. Korra subsequently tries to walk again with the aid of the parallel bars and manages to walk the short distance toward Naga, falling happily against the polar bear dog's chest.

In the present, it nears twilight and Korra is walking along the streets. She is startled by something passing behind her, though finds the street to be deserted. When she turns back in the direction she was heading, she finds a white puppy in the middle of the road. She squats down to pet it, wondering where it has come from. When she finds her Avatar apparition blocking her path, she is surprised to learn that the dog can see it too, as it starts growling and barking at the apparition. Put at ease by the animal's actions, believing it means that she is not going crazy, Korra stands to face the apparition, though when it suddenly disappears, she turns to the puppy, asking it in disbelief how it has managed to drive off her Avatar self. As the dog runs off, barking at her, Korra decides to follow it.



In another flashback, Tenzin and Oogi arrive at the Southern Water Tribe compound. Descending the flying bison, Korra, now capable of running again, launches herself at the airbending master, embracing him warmly. Upon receiving the compliment that she looks great, she drags Tenzin off toward the training grounds, eager to show him how much she has improved. She spars against three White Lotus firebenders and although she starts strong, she is knocked down after she is once again overcome with a vision of Zaheer flying down upon her. Helped back to her feet by Tenzin, who declares the sparring match to be over, she angrily states that she believed she was ready. Tenzin tries to put her at ease by pointing out that there is no shame in taking the time needed to make a full recovery, adding that her duties as the Avatar can wait. Unconvinced, Korra asks about the Earth Kingdom, since she knows it is still in chaos. Hearing that the situation has been stabilized by Kuvira, she grows sad, stating that the metalbender is doing her job. Tenzin tries to lift her spirit by emphasizing that everything is under control. Before he that can tell her that she merely needs to be patient, however, Korra glares at him, threatening that if he voices the thought, she will "water-smack" him in the mouth. When Tenzin changes his sentence to saying that she does not need to worry about the future and be grateful for the progress she made, a frustrated Korra leaves the sparring ring.



For two years, Korra continues her training and recovery at the Southern Water Tribe, practicing her bending and meditation. At one point, she writes a letter back to Asami, in which she apologizes for not having written before, admitting that her previous attempts all failed due to her being uncertain about what to say. She reveals that the past couple of years have been the hardest of her life and even though she has recovered physically, she still cannot enter the Avatar State and is often plagued by memories of Zaheer and the Red Lotus attack. She confides in her friend that she worries that she may never fully recover, despite her best efforts. Korra implores Asami to not inform Mako and Bolin about the letter, as she does not want to hurt their feelings and feels like they would not understand her as opposed to Asami.

While having a meal with her parents, an absent-minded Korra is playing with her food until Senna's inquiry about her well-being snaps her out of her thoughts. She expresses her desire to return to Republic City, hoping that it can speed up her recovery due to it being a place of action and where her friends are. As Tonraq announces that he will have the White Lotus prepare a boat for her, Korra declines the offer and insists on going alone, as it would give her the chance to clear her head. As such, she leaves the South in a small, single-person catamaran, sailing out of the dock while waving to her parents and Naga.

En route, Korra briefly stops at a beachside village to purchase supplies. Upon requesting the local fishmonger for two lobster crabs, she is recognized as the Avatar and asked to pose for a picture, just like Avatar Aang has done decades before. Despite noting that she is in a hurry, the man rambles on about Aang having been a fan of his seaweed wraps while searching for his camera. After taking her picture, the fishmonger admits that it he would have loved to meet Avatar Kyoshi, as she is rumored to have taken down a shark squid with one hand. When another vendor shouts about a robbery in progress, the fishmonger pushes Korra to intervene. Although she intercepts the thieves, the two men easily defeat her, leaving Korra lying on the beach in shame as the vendors question her identity as the Avatar.



Korra eventually makes it to Republic City, though when she sails into Yue Bay, she see herself in the Avatar State standing atop one of the rocks near Air Temple Island, glaring menacingly at her. Realizing she is not ready to return, she turns her boat and leaves, docking somewhere in a deserted area, where she obtains Earth Kingdom clothes, sheds all her Water Tribe identifiers, and cuts her hair.

Korra travels to the North Pole to enter the Spirit World via the northern spirit portal. She makes her way to the Tree of Time to meditate in its hollow. Her presence is discovered by spirits, who start debating among themselves whether or not she is the Avatar as they cannot sense Raava's energy around her. Her concentration broken, Korra verifies her identity as the Avatar, noting that she is merely wearing different clothes and has cut her hair. When a light spirit ask where she has been, she admits to having lost touch with her Avatar Spirit due to sustaining severe injuries in her last big battle. She explains that she is meditating in the Tree of Time in hopes of being shown a myriad of images like last time, figuring it could help her to reconnect with Raava and access the Avatar State. Despite it proving to be unsuccessful, she declines the spirits' help, deciding that she needs to figure it all out on her own since the help of others has not borne any fruit so far.

In order to keep people from worrying about her, Korra writes letters to her parents, telling them she is pleased to have returned to Air Temple Island and reunited with her friends. In reality, however, Korra is roaming the physical world by herself, crossing icy seas, hiking up volcanoes, and traversing the desert, all the while seeing an apparition of herself in the Avatar State. While she is wandering the desert, she sees Raava atop a nearby dune, though by the time she has scampered to the top, the Light Spirit is gone, having been only a mirage.



Six months after having left the South Pole, Korra makes her way to a small Earth Kingdom town at night, where she once again sees her Avatar apparition. When the apparition turns away into an ally, Korra follows her, determined to end the haunting. Chasing the vision, she finds herself in a warehouse where earthbending cage fights are being held. Seeing the apparition standing in the fighting ring, Korra asks the organizer how to enter the ring and is subsequently permitted to fight. She spars with a female earthbender, though Korra envisions the woman as her Avatar self. She is barraged with several rocks and pushed around with an earth pillar. Panting heavily, Korra challenges her apparition, which spurs on her opponent to intensify her attacks. Although Korra tries to retaliate, she is knocked down by a direct hit and collapses on the ground while staring at herself in the Avatar State.



The memories start to blur together, jumping from Korra in the public bathroom, to her nearly being run over by a car, to eventually meeting the dog, which she is now following down a sandy path out of the town. By the time the sun is well into the sky, they arrive at the Foggy Swamp. Inside, the puppy transforms into the light spirit whom Korra recognizes as the one she had met at the Tree of Time. Although she is not pleased by having been deceived, she acknowledges the spirit's reasoning that she would not have followed it if she had known who it was. When Korra asks what she is supposed to find in the swamp, the spirit replies they are there for a "who", not a "what". As it flies off into the thicket, Korra gives chase, though as she bursts out of the vegetation, she finds herself falling into a shallow pond where her Avatar specter is awaiting her as opposed to the spirit. She fearfully backs up, telling herself that the apparition is merely a figment of her imagination, though she is subsequently flung against a tree by a powerful firebending attack. Barraged with water, fire, and earth attacks, Korra is forced to run. Trying to escape up a tree, the apparition hooks its chain around her leg and pulls her down, both of them disappearing in a hallucinatory pool of mercury.



Korra later awakens in a cave where someone asks if she is feeling better. Discovering an old woman stirring a pot, her back to Korra, Korra wonders where she is and what happened to her. Without turning around, the woman deflects the question back to her, stating that she does not know anything beyond the fact that she found Korra lying unconscious in the mud. As Korra asks how the woman had known she was there, the elder admits to being knowledgeable of her surroundings and asks in turn what Korra is doing in the swamp. She tells the woman that a spirit urged her to find someone there and wonders if it may be the elder. Although unsure about that, the woman urges Korra to listen to her Avatar senses if they called her there. Surprised to be recognized as the Avatar, Korra wonders how the woman had known that. As Korra approaches her, now illuminating the cave with her firebending, the woman admits to having been good friends with her predecessor. When she finally turns around, Korra recognizes her as Toph Beifong, who, in turn, addresses her as "Twinkle Toes".

Credits
Written by:
 * Michael Dante DiMartino

Directed by:
 * Ian Graham

Starring:
 * Janet Varney - Korra
 * David Faustino - Mako
 * Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
 * P. J. Byrne - Bolin
 * J. K. Simmons - Tenzin
 * James Remar - Tonraq
 * Jeff Bennett
 * Radio broadcaster
 * Fishmonger
 * Ring announcer

Also starring:
 * Eva Marie Saint - Katara
 * Alex McKenna - Senna
 * Philece Sampler
 * Toph
 * Woman
 * Vendor
 * Morgan Gingerich - Light spirit
 * Max Charles - Skeptical spirit

Series continuity

 * Aang's pose in the picture is similar to the one he assumed for his air marbles trick in "The Warriors of Kyoshi".
 * Toph refers to Korra as "Twinkle Toes", a nickname she gave to Aang when they first met.
 * Korra has a sparring match against firebenders, much like she did in "Welcome to Republic City".

Character revelations

 * Toph has been living in the Foggy Swamp in her search for enlightenment.

Goofs

 * There are several inconsistencies between this episode and the end of "After All These Years".
 * In "After All These Years", Korra was jumping up and down when she said "Is that all you got?", while in this episode, she is standing still.
 * In this episode, the line "We have a winner!" is said before Korra collapses, whereas in "After All These Years", it was heard after she collapsed.
 * The bag Korra carries around is a green backpack instead of the gray duffel bag she had in "After All These Years".
 * At the end of "After All These Years", Korra removes her wristbands, but at the beginning of this episode, which is set directly after Korra made her way out of the arena and into a public bathroom, she is wearing them again.
 * When Korra makes the little flame in her hand to see Toph, the wrapping reaches to the palm of her hand. In the next shot, it only reaches to her wrist.

Trivia

 * "Korra Alone" was named after the Avatar: The Last Airbender episode, "Zuko Alone".
 * Korra cutting her ponytails is reminiscent of Zuko and Iroh cutting their hair when they became fugitives from the Fire Nation.
 * While there are several animal noises, such as the barking dog and Pabu and Naga making noises, Dee Bradley Baker is not credited.
 * A scene of Tonraq pushing Korra in her wheelchair into the Southern Water Tribe Royal Palace was cut from the final storyboard.
 * This episode was Janet Varney's favorite episode, as well as one of Michael Dante DiMartino's favorites to write. It was also the People's Choice Winner for "Best Television Episode" in IGN's Best of 2014 for television.