The Spirit of Competition

"The Spirit of Competition" is the fifth episode of season one of The Legend of Korra and the fifth of the overall series. It debuted on May 5, 2012 on Nickelodeon.

Overview
''The Pro-bending Tournament is about to start, and due to Hiroshi Sato's financial aid, the Fire Ferrets are competing. However, Korra and her teammates struggle to work together after romantic rivalries shake their foundation and threaten to end their championship bid.''

Synopsis
The Fire Ferrets practice together before the tournament in the arena's gym. Asami shows up after a group huddle to show them the new uniforms with the logo of Future Industries. She kisses Mako before they both leave for a lunch date. Bolin tries to get close to Korra, but she leaves with an excuse of airbending practice with Tenzin, much to his disappointment. That night, while giving Pabu a bath, Bolin asks Mako what he thinks of Korra as a girlfriend. He responds that she is great, but tells Bolin that he doesn't consider her as girlfriend material. Bolin tries to convince Mako that he should date Korra as they were perfect for each other, but Mako tells him that dating a teammate would cause instability within the group so he wouldn't adivse him to do so. Meanwhile, Korra, in Air Temple Island, gets advice from Jinora, Ikki, and Pema on how to deal with her relationship problems and how to approach Mako.

After defeating the Red Sand Rabiroos with ease, Korra and the Fire Ferrets move on to the championship tournament. At the end of the game, Korra confesses her true feeling to Mako. However, the firebender says that he doesn't see her the same way and that he is with Asami. After this, Bolin invites Korra for a date, which she accepts in order to have some fun, much to Mako's annoyance. The two go to have dinner at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery, however, Tahno, the Wolfbats' waterbender stares at them from another table. Even though Bolin tells Korra to ignore Tahno's provocation, since fighting out of the arena would disqualify the the team from the tournament. Korra calls on Naga instead, who growls at Tahno, intimitading him. Bolin and the Avatar then continue their date, having a drink in a bar and going to a tower where they could overlook several places of Republic City. When the date ends, Korra finds Mako awaiting for her in the pro-bending arena entrance. He asks her what what kind of game she was playing with Bolin to get back at him, which makes Korra call his reaction jealousy, to which he says he is just concerned about his brother. This argumenthas an effect in their next match against the Boarcupines as the team doesn't seem to connect well between each other. Noticing this, Bolin, tries to step up his attacks, letting the team win the second round after a first-round defeat. After the thir round ends in a tie, Bolin, seeing Mako wasn't focused, volunteers to be the fighter in the tiebreak, choosing earth as the element with which to fight. He successfully defeats Chung, the Boarcupines' earthbender, clinching the match for the Fire Ferrets.

In the roof of the pro-bending arena, Mako and Korra converse and confront each other on their conflicted feelings. Mako confesses his feelings towards Korra, but says that he likes Asami too, so it is complicated. Korra takes this opportunity and kisses the firebender. Mako, at first, seems quite pleased, but then he realizes that Bolin was seeing them with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Bolin runs off sobbing, causing Mako to become very unhappy with Korra and then run off after his brother.

Mako goes to pick up his little brother from the noodle restaurant. When he arrives, he finds Bolin slumped over on a table. When Mako tries to comfort him, his brother exclaims that he is a traitor and is no longer his brother or his friend, stating that Pabu is his only friend. Mako tells him straight up that the upcoming match is one of the most important matches in their career. He picks up Bolin, carrying him over his shoulder and walks back to the Pro-bending Arena.

Later that night, the Fire Ferrets have another game against the Buzzard Wasps, a team that, according to Shiro Shinobi, could match them in both muscle and youth. After losing the first two rounds because they aren't working as a team, Mako and Bolin give up hope. After Bolin's arm is injured, they are both knocked out of the ring. Korra, however, does not give up. She dodges all of the attacks by the Buzzard Wasps, and hits one of them in line with the other two, then unleashes a waterbending strike that earns her a hat trick, winning the match.

The team then forgives each others' mistakes, and Korra heals Bolin's injured arm. During that time, the White Falls Wolfbats win their match a triple-knockout in round one. Their opposing team is shown to be seriously injured. The episode ends with Korra looking worried, and Mako and Bolin sharing a glance behind her.

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
 * Seychelle Gabriel - Asami
 * Dee Bradley Baker:
 * Naga
 * Pabu
 * Lemurs
 * J.K. Simmons is credited despite Tenzin not appearing in the episode.


 * Also starring:
 * Darcy Rose Byrnes - Ikki
 * Kiernan Shipka - Jinora
 * Maria Bamford - Pema
 * Jeff Bennett - Radio broadcaster
 * Tom Kenny - Referee
 * Jason Harris - Ring announcer
 * Rami Malek - Tahno


 * Additional voices:
 * Dee Bradley Baker
 * Janet Varney
 * Jeff Bennett
 * Maria Bamford
 * Tom Kenny

Series continuity

 * This marks the first appearance of healing in The Legend of Korra, and its first overall appearance since the final episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, when Katara healed Zuko following the Comet-Enhanced Agni Kai.
 * Korra takes a leave of absence from Tarrlok's anti-Equalist task force after her encounter with Amon in "The Voice in the Night".
 * This is the first time a sudden death pro-bending round has been seen in the series.
 * Korra's hat trick is the second known time the pro-bending feat has occurred; the first such accomplishment was by Mako against the Golden Temple Tigerdillos in "A Leaf in the Wind".
 * This episode marks the first yellow fan issued, against Korra for unnecessary roughness and then for bending at the referee.
 * This marks the first full lips kiss shown in The Legend of Korra, with Korra and Mako kissing. Incidentally, the first full lips kiss shown in Avatar: The Last Airbender was in the third season.

Character revelations

 * Korra was taught healing by Katara.
 * Mako is infatuated with Korra and is trying to hide it from his brother, Bolin. He's also keeping it a secret from his girlfriend, Asami.
 * Bolin frequents in Narook's Seaweed Noodlery which is evident because Mako looks for his brother at this place after Bolin ran away heartbroken. Narook seemed to treat Bolin and Mako as regulars.

Goofs

 * According to the official rules of pro-bending, the match between the Fire Ferrets and Buzzard Wasps should have been stopped temporarily in round three when Bolin injured his shoulder.
 * In the third round of the match against the Buzzard Wasps, the shot facing the Fire Ferrets shows Mako and Bolin on either side of Korra as they walk towards the center circle. When the camera switches to their right side just after that, Korra is closest to the camera.

Trivia

 * The waterbending move Korra uses to score a hat trick against the Buzzard Wasps is similar to the waterbending move she does in the opening sequence.