The Voice in the Night

"air"

- I've been scared this whole time. I've never felt like this before and I don't know what to do!

"The Voice in the Night" is the fourth episode of Book One: Air of The Legend of Korra and the fourth of the overall series. It debuted on April 28, 2012 on Nickelodeon.

Overview
''Avatar Korra is still mentally struggling with her encounter concerning Amon. Councilman Tarrlok creates a task force to eradicate the Equalists. Korra is pressured to join, and after participating in a successful raid, she challenges Amon to a midnight duel.''

Synopsis
As Korra is sleeping in her bed, a strange noise wakes her up. Moments later, an Equalist chi blocker jumps through her bedroom window followed soon after by his teammates. Avatar Korra, despite putting up a fierce fight, loses to the chi blockers. As she collapses, Amon appears out of the shadows, threatening to take her bending abilities. Korra, terrified of the loss of her powers, awakens, screaming, in her bedroom on Air Temple Island, realizing it was all a nightmare.

At City Hall later that morning, Councilman Tarrlok requests permission from the United Republic Council to form an anti-Equalist task force. In order to convince the other Council members, he uses Avatar Aang's defeat of Yakone as an example of the initiative that needs to be taken. Tenzin argues that such a task force would only further divide benders and non-benders, and that he is only making this proposal as an attempt to gain more power, but the rest of the Council votes in favor of Tarrlok's proposal.

As Korra is practicing her airbending technique while listening to a radio, the music is interrupted by a message from Amon. He uses the formation of the task force as further evidence of oppression from benders, and claims that the Equalist movement is gaining more members every day and cannot be stopped. He goes on to announce that non-benders no longer have to live in fear, and Korra stares frightfully at the radio when the message concludes that it is time for benders to experience fear.

Later, in the daytime, Mako tries to cross the boulevard after leaving the power plant to get to a trolley, but is hit by a pretty, young woman on a moped. He quickly forgives her after witnessing her beauty. She tells him that her name is Asami and, realizing who he is, admits that she is an avid fan of pro-bending, and invites him to dinner at Kuang's Cuisine.



That evening, Tarrlok visits Tenzin and his family during dinner on Air Temple Island; he interrupts Tenzin in the midst of a prayer, then points out that airbenders never send away a hungry guest, so Tenzin reluctantly lets him stay, much to Pema's irritation. Tarrlok introduces himself to Korra and flatters her before asking her to join his special task force. To his and Tenzin's surprise, she refuses. Tarrlok still tries to persuade Korra to accept his offer, however Tenzin states it is time for him to leave.

Mako arrives at Kuang's, only to be awaited by a man who greets him provides him with an upper-class outfit to wear for the dinner date, courtesy, presumably, of Asami. Mako, however, refuses to remove his scarf, and meets Asami. At her prompting, he tells her of his struggles with money and how the Fire Ferrets will not be able to play in the next Pro-bending Tournament. When the waiter mentions Asami's surname, Mako realizes that she is the daughter of Hiroshi Sato, inventor of the Satomobile and the most successful captain of industry in all of Republic City. Then, Asami asks if he would like to meet him, to which Mako agrees excitedly.



Over the next few days, Tarrlok sends a page to deliver Korra various extravagant gifts to persuade her to join his task force, including a large gift basket and a race type Satomobile that Ikki and Meelo pretend to "drive". Korra speaks with Bolin about his encounter with Amon and is reminded of her deep-seated fear. Tenzin also speaks to Korra, telling her that he is always there for her if she wishes to talk about her fear of the Equalists. Meanwhile, Asami Sato introduces Mako to her father. Mr. Sato is sympathetic to Mako's money troubles, having begun his career as a poor shoeshiner who received a loan from a wealthy banker, and he offers to sponsor the Fire Ferrets, much to Mako's happiness.

Finally Tarrlok, seeing that his gifts were not prevailing in persuading Korra to join the task force, organizes a gala in Korra's honor at City Hall. She and Tenzin's family attend, but Tenzin is very suspicious of Tarrlok's motives. Mako, Bolin, and the Satos attend as well, and Korra becomes slightly jealous of the new recipient of Mako's attentions. Mako and Bolin tell Korra that Mr. Sato is willing to sponsor the Fire Ferrets in the Pro-bending Tournament, though Korra does not seem to be ecstatic. Chief Lin Beifong is also there, still in her police uniform, and revealed to have no higher opinion of Korra than at their last meeting.



At the end of the gala, Tarrlok exposes Korra to a number of journalists and photographers who bombard her with questions and accusations about her refusal to join forces with Tarrlok and fight the Equalists. Unable to muster Tenzin's reasoning of trying to avoid worsening the division between benders and non-benders in the face of the paparazzi, Korra announces that she will join Tarrlok's task force, and that she was not afraid of Amon.

Later on, Tarrlok's task force invades a secret chi blocking training facility and capture multiple Equalists and chi blockers-in-training. The raid is successful, and in front of a large group of press, Korra publicly challenge Amon to a one-on-one duel at midnight on Aang Memorial Island.

That night, Mako and Asami ride in a carriage together through the park. After she asks him why he is not wearing the new scarf she bought him, Mako explains to Asami that his scarf used to belong to his father, and is the only remaining part of him Mako has. In return, Asami tells him that she lost her mother when she was very young as well.



Tenzin attempts to persuade Korra not to go through with her rash decision, and Tarrlok claims that he also tried to talk her out of it, but she goes to meet Amon on Aang Memorial Island despite his warning. There, after Korra's anxious waiting, Amon ambushes Korra with many chi blockers and decides not to take her bending away, explaining that doing so now would only serve to make her a martyr. Therefore, she will be the last bender to fall as part of a mysterious plan. She is then struck unconscious and sees visions of an adult Sokka, Toph, Yakone, and Aang.

Tenzin arrives to see what has happened, but the young Avatar believes that he is the older Aang. Korra, terribly shaken by her frightening experience, embraces Tenzin and starts sobbing, admitting that she had never felt so terrified before, because she had never felt so helpless. Tenzin tells her that admitting her fears was the first and most difficult step in overcoming them.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Michael Dante DiMartino
 * Bryan Konietzko


 * Directed by:
 * Joaquim Dos Santos
 * Ki Hyun Ryu


 * Starring:
 * Janet Varney - Korra
 * David Faustino - Mako
 * P. J. Byrne - Bolin
 * J.K. Simmons - Tenzin
 * Steve Blum - Amon
 * Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
 * Dee Bradley Baker:
 * Tarrlok
 * Naga
 * Pabu


 * Also starring:
 * Darcy Rose Byrnes - Ikki
 * Logan Wells - Meelo
 * Mindy Sterling:
 * Lin Beifong
 * Fire Nation councilwoman
 * Daniel Dae Kim - Hiroshi
 * AJ Gentile - Council page
 * Jeff Bennett:
 * Radio broadcaster
 * Reporter #2


 * Additional voices:
 * Dee Bradley Baker
 * Steve Blum
 * Clyde Kusatsu
 * Alex McKenna

Series continuity

 * The Fire Ferrets' financial issues are solved by Hiroshi Sato.
 * Korra joins Tarrlok's task force to oppose the Equalist revolution.
 * Korra gets ambushed and released by Amon, giving her a vision of Aang, Sokka, and Toph.

Character revelations

 * Asami Sato lost her mother when she was young.
 * Mako's scarf belonged to his father prior to his death.

Goofs

 * After Korra declines Tarrlok's offer to join his task force at dinner, an above view of the room is seen with a window or panel to Tarrlok's left. When the camera views Korra and Tarrlok directly right after that, the window or panel is gone.
 * When Meelo runs off to use the "toilet", Tenzin's arrows are missing from his left hand.
 * When Tenzin asked Korra to take a break from her airbending training and invited her to sit with him, Korra's armband was missing when she sat.
 * When Asami and Mako go on their date, in the first shot of them sitting at the table, Asami doesn't have a tea-cup. In the next shot, she has one.
 * When Tenzin puts his arms around Korra to comfort her, his hands are noticeably apart from each other on her back. In the next frame, his hands are right next to each other.

Trivia

 * Councilman Tarrlok references Avatar Aang's defeat of Yakone forty-two years prior to present day. This means that Republic City was, to some extent, up and running in 128 ASC, a mere twenty-eight years after the end of the Hundred Year War.
 * Jinora and Ikki can be seen playing Pai Sho in the background during this episode when Korra gets her invitation to Tarrlok's party.
 * Korra challenging Amon is reminiscent of her teacher, Katara, challenging the North Pole's waterbending master, Pakku, with both Katara and Korra ending their impulsive and bold challenge with a question of their opponent's masculinity.
 * The image on the banners seen in Tarrlok's party was a piece of Korra's concept art.
 * Tenzin is shown using a traditional Air Nomad glider in this episode.
 * The title of this episode bares a close name to a song from the Metal Gear series.
 * The Voice in the Night is also the title of a book published in 1907 by William Hope Hodgson.
 * In this episode, when Mako gets dressed up for his date with Asami, his appearance is very similar to Roger Smith from the anime, Big-O.
 * Korra's belief of Tenzin as Aang later resembles her belief of Aang as Tenzin in "Endgame"
 * When Mako is getting ready for his date with Asami, when he puts his scarf around his neck before the attendant of the restaraunt tries to remove it, it is notably longer, going down to his pants. This is fixed next scene where it is up at the center of his chest.

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