The Sting

"The Sting" is the sixth episode of Book Two: Spirits of The Legend of Korra and the 18th episode of the overall series. It aired on Nickelodeon on October 11, 2013.

Overview
When triad activity threatens to put Future Industries out of business, Mako performs an investigation and uncovers a conspiracy.

Synopsis
A cargo ship is traveling south, when suddenly bombs are thrown onboard. When the captain alerts the crew of the attack, waterbenders ambush the ship. The crew manages to escape, defeating the waterbenders whilst commenting that "Varrick [will] not be happy".

Outside the Southern Spirit Portal, Desna and Eska wait for their father, Unalaq. He emerges from the spirit portal, prompting Desna to question whether he was in the Spirit World. He brushes his sone aside and asks his children the Avatar's whereabouts. Eska concludes that the Avatar is dead, while Desna commented that the dark spirits were out of control, leaving Unalaq disappointed.

In Republic City, Varrick is airing his propaganda film, The Adventures of Nuktuk: Hero of the South. The warm reception leads Varrick to declare Bolin as a star, and announce that the movers will allow them to garner support against the Northern Water Tribe and eventually persuade President Raiko to aid the South in the Water Tribe Civil War. The success led to Bolin comment on the major chemistry between him and Ginger, but the girl commented the chemistry existed only on screen before walking away. Meanwhile, Zhu Li told her boss that the shipment was captured, before Varrick left the scene.



At the police headquarters, Asami was distraught at the attacks and worried of her company's future. Mako consoles her by telling her that Chief Lin Beifong was questioning the ship's captain. Lu and Gang insist that it was the work of the North, to Lin's agreement. When the captain mentioned that the bombs had no fuses but were rather remotely detonated, Mako linked it to the bombing of the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center. Meanwhile, Varrick entered the room to console a worried Asami. Mako showed Lin and the captain the remote detonator and the bombing suspect, but the captain identified neither of them. Mako suggests an operation to arrest the people responsible, however his idea is shot down.

Outside the headquarters, Mako describes his operation to Asami: set up a bait ship and capture the perpetrators. He was, however, discouraged due to the lack of support from Beifong and that he could be expelled if he were to be discovered working behind her back. With Asami's insistence, Mako decides to carry out the operation, with Varrick providing the ship.



Outside Future Industries, empty crates are loaded onto the ship. Mako stated requiring extra manpower, with Asami suggesting Korra. Mako was uneasy with the suggestion and made excuses that Korra was unavailable to be of assistance. He decided to find his brother, but the earthbender refused to help, stating the past instances where Mako refused to help him when he asked for help. As a last resort, Mako decided to rope in the Triple Threat Triad, with the promise of Korra restoring Shady Shin's bending and Asami providing the triad brand new, top-of-the-line vehicles.

At the shipment at the area of attack, Mako and Asami were having a conversation with a talkative Two Toed Ping. The conversation eventually went to Mako dating the Avatar, which Mako uneasily brushed aside. When Ping could not stop talking, Mako mentioned that he broke up with Korra, to Asami's surprise and disbelief, and the Triple Threats' humor and mocking.



Meanwhile, Bolin is filming as Nuktuk saving a

captured Ginger close to death. Instead of following the script, Bolin decided to kiss Ginger, much to her disgust. Varrick criticized Bolin for not following the script, but soon changed his mind and followed Bolin's plan. Bolin flirted with Ginger, suggesting that she liked the kiss too, causing the disgusted girl to leave and that she loved Nuktuk and not Bolin, despite the earthbender's plea and insistence.

Back at the ship, Ping revealed to Mako and Asami that his nickname "Two Toed" was due him having two extra toes. Mako was wondering why the attack had not occurred and decided to check on the other members, only to discover that they were double-crossed: The Triple Threats were paid to keep Mako and Asami distracted. Mako told Asami of the triad's betrayal and both escaped on speedboats, with the Triple Threats pursuing them.

They eventually managed to shake of the triad and return to mainland Republic City. Mako told Asami of his discovery, causing Asami to be worried.



Both rush back to Future Industries, only to find the entire warehouse empty. Asami has given up, despite Mako's persistence. When Mako stated that he has not given up, Asami kisses Mako, only to snap out in shock and apologizes. Mako left to find evidence.

The next day, Mako threatened Ping to reveal the person who hired the triad. Ping confesses that they were only approached by a middleman, who claimed that his boss would pay them to keep the duo distracted. Mako later approaches Bolin, wanting to question Varrick, but was ignored until he was called Nuktuk. The earthbender told his brother that he had some pyrotechnics scene to act, before rushing off to scene. While filming, Mako noticed the explosions and asked the technician how the explosions were rigged. The technician replied that the explosions used a remote detonator, while showing Mako the remote, which was similar to the one used by the Agni Kai Triad during the bombing of the cultural center.



Back at Future Industries, Mako enters Asami's office, announcing that he discovered the person who set them up. However, he soon realized that Varrick has bought Future Industries' controlling interest, saving her company from bankruptcy once more. Varrick makes a completely unsubtle remark that helping out Asami will make him richer. Asami then asks Mako who the perpetrator was, which the firebender, knowing he would need more proof to accuse Varrick, replied that he was real close and he would fill her in later.

At a beach, Korra was washed ashore and woke up to find three Fire Sages around her. Defensively, she threw them aside with airbending. When the head sage told Korra they were there to help her, the Avatar has no idea of her stated identity. When further questioned on how she ended up in the island, she reveal that she had no memory before collapsing.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Joshua Hamilton


 * Directed by:
 * Ian Graham


 * Starring:
 * David Faustino - Mako (main character in this episode)
 * Janet Varney - Korra
 * P.J. Byrne - Bolin
 * J.K. Simmons - Tenzin
 * John Michael Higgins - Varrick
 * Adrian LaTourelle - Unalaq
 * Mindy Sterling - Beifong
 * Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
 * Aubrey Plaza - Eska
 * Aaron Himelstein - Desna
 * Jeff Bennett - Radio broadcaster
 * Dee Bradley Baker:
 * Pabu
 * Juji
 * Pyrotechnics guy


 * Also starring:
 * Fisher Stevens - Shady Shin
 * Jim Cummings
 * Voice narrator
 * Karu
 * Jason Harris
 * Evil Unalaq
 * Assistant director
 * Stephanie Sheh - Zhu Li
 * Amy Gross - Ginger
 * Rick Zieff - Gang
 * Mark Allan Stewart - Lu
 * Wade Williams - Captain
 * Michael Yurchak - Viper
 * S. Scott Bullock - Two Toed Ping
 * Tim Hedrick - Roh-Tan

Trivia

 * The scene where Bolin tells Mako to relax is similar to the scene in Avatar: The Last Airbender where Iroh was relaxing in a hot spring and telling Zuko to calm down and relax.
 * Mako is the main character in this episode while Korra is the minor character.

Goofs

 * When Mako receive the remote from the person - that makes explosion effect -, the button of the remote turns yellow.

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