The Sting

"spirit"

- We've been double-crossed. We have to get off this ship.

"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 on board. 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 son's question aside and asks his children the Avatar's whereabouts. Eska concludes that the Avatar is dead, while Desna comments 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 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 leads to Bolin comment on the major chemistry between him and Ginger, who instead tells him that their chemistry existed only on screen, before walking away. Meanwhile, Zhu Li tells Varrick that a shipment was captured, before he leaves the scene.



At the police headquarters, Asami is 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. Inside the questioning room, Lu and Gang insist that the cargo theft was the work of the North, to Lin's agreement. When the captain of the ship 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 enters the room to console a worried Asami. Mako shows Lin and the captain the remote detonator and the bombing suspect, but the captain identifies 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 is, however, discouraged due to the lack of support from Beifong and states that he could be expelled if he were discovered to be 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 mentions requiring extra manpower, and Asami suggests Korra. Mako becomes uneasy at the suggestion and begins making excuses about how Korra was unavailable. He made the decision to find his brother, however the earthbender refused to help, recalling past instances where Mako refused to help him when he asked for it. 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.

On the ship, Mako and Asami have a conversation with a talkative Two Toed Ping. The conversation eventually turns 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 and saving a captured Ginger who is close to death. Instead of following the script, Bolin began to ad lib, instead kissing 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 state 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. To his shock, he discovers 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.



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

The next day, Mako threatens Ping, forcing him 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 him about Varrick, but is ignored until he calls Bolin Nuktuk. The earthbender tells his brother that he has a 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 realizes that Varrick has bought Future Industries' controlling interest, saving her company from bankruptcy once more. Asami asks him 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 washes ashore, waking up to find three Fire Sages surrounding her. Defensively, she throws them aside with airbending. When the head sage tells her 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, it is revealed that she has no memory of who she is or what has happened, before collapsing on the sand.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Joshua Hamilton


 * Directed by:
 * Ian Graham


 * Starring:
 * Janet Varney - Korra
 * David Faustino - Mako
 * P.J. Byrne - Bolin
 * 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

Goofs

 * When Mako received the remote from the pyrotechnics guy, the button on the remote is yellow instead of red.
 * When Ginger talks to Bolin after their kissing scene, her necklace changes color in the same scene.

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.
 * This episode is the first of The Legend of Korra to not focus on Korra, instead following Mako as the main protagonist.
 * The character of Evil Unalaq in Varrick's mover bears a resemblance to actor Ozai in The Boy in the Iceberg.
 * Tenzin and his family do not appear in this episode, making it the first time they do not appear in Book Two.
 * In the original storyboard for the scene with Bolin in the hot tub, he was shirtless.
 * The way Korra lies unconscious on the shore of Crescent Island mirrors how Aang lay unconscious in "The Awakening".
 * The episode's title refers to Mako's sting operation which in law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime.