Rebirth

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- I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I'm not going with you. I might be able to airbend, but I'm no Air Nomad, I'm no monk.

"Rebirth" is the second episode of Book Three: Change of The Legend of Korra and the 28th of the overall series. It aired on Nickelodeon along with "A Breath of Fresh Air" and "The Earth Queen" on June 27, 2014.

Overview
''Korra, Tenzin, and Team Avatar search for new airbenders in an effort to recruit them and rebuild the Air Nation. Meanwhile, a band of sinister criminals are organizing to hunt down the Avatar themselves.''

Synopsis


Asami arrives to Air Temple Island with a fully-equipped Future Industries airship, to assist Team Avatar in their expedition to search for airbenders in Ba Sing Se. Kya assures Tenzin that she and Pema will take care of the island while they are gone and expresses excitement over the chance to spend time with Rohan, who ends up vomiting all over her. Kya is quick to wash off the vomit using waterbending and Mako arrives, bringing with him a map marked with reported sightings of airbenders in the Earth Kingdom.

Korra urges Mako join the trip as he is a part of Team Avatar but he refuses, before turning to leave for Republic City. Meanwhile, Tenzin bids Pema farewell and promises to let her know once airbenders have been recruited to train at the Northern Air Temple. Ikki and Meelo confront their father regarding why Jinora was the only one allowed to go to Ba Sing Se, but are promptly assuaged by Kya who insists that they are needed in Air Temple Island to assist any airbenders who may potentially come. Before he could leave the docks, Mako is stopped by Bolin. Mako insists that he is drifting apart from Team Avatar but is eventually convinced to join Korra in her mission to rebuild the Air Nation when Bolin points out that they will be visiting their father's birthplace in Ba Sing Se and he would not want to disappoint their paternal grandmother.

As the group sets off to leave for Ba Sing Se, the members discuss a plan to visit every settlement reported to have an airbender prior to landing in Ba Sing Se and excitedly consider the prospects of recreating the Air Nation.

In an isolated water prison in the middle of the ocean, two White Lotus sentries are relieved to find their shift change, but are alarmed to find Zaheer, who overpowers them with airbending. In the midst of the battle, he manages to throw a couple of rocks into Ghazan's wooden cell, allowing him to superheat them into lava and escape his confines. The two defeat the sentries and reunite, with Ghazan inquiring how Zaheer managed to get airbending. He attributes his newfound bending to Harmonic Convergence, which he interprets as a sign that their mission is righteous.

The Future Industries airship arrives in a small Earth Kingdom village and are invited to a special dinner with Kuon, who is delighted to share a meal with Tenzin and the Avatar. Tenzin informs Kuon that he is going to help him rebuild the Air Nation, frustrating Kuon who refuses to leave his family to learn about the Air Nomads. Infuriated, he reaffirms his position and urges Tenzin to leave his village.

The group visits other Earth Kingdom villages, but is ultimately unsuccessful at recruiting individuals who seem uninterested in learning about the Air Nomads. Realizing that Tenzin's way of recruitment did not work, Korra attempts to force a young airbender named Ryu to join their cause but is ultimately unable to convince him.

In a barren prison, Ming-Hua hears White Lotus sentries alerting each other that the prison is under attack. Zaheer and Ghazan overpower the guards and are eventually able to provide Ming-Hua with a barrel of water, which she uses to create tentacle-like arms to navigate out of her cell. With her waterbending, Ming-Hua takes out the remaining sentries before reuniting with Zaheer and Ghazan, who inform her that they will be breaking P'Li out of prison next.

Disheartened, the group considers whether heading straight to Ba Sing Se would be the best course of action, but ultimately decide to host an "airbending street performance" as suggested by Bolin and Bumi. With Bolin acting as the host, Tenzin, Korra, Bumi, and Jinora demonstrate their bending in an attempt to entice airbenders to join their group.

Following the show, a young airbender named Kai offers to join Team Avatar's mission to recruit airbenders. Requiring parental consent, Tenzin asks Kai what his parents think of him leaving to become an Air Nomad. Dejectedly, Kai tells Team Avatar that his parents died protecting their village from an outlaw raid. The group decides to admit Kai but before the airship can leave, a group of earthbenders arrive demanding custody of Kai. Identifying them as the outlaws, Kai urges the group to flee, but Korra decides to confront the men instead.

After a short fight, the men reveal that they are officers from the town seeking to arrest Kai for stealing his foster family's life savings. Kai ultimately admits that the sheriff's account is true, but insists that gaining bending changed him and pleads for Korra and Tenzin to take him along. Tenzin ultimately decides to recruit Kai and the group heads off to leave, but Mako stops Kai, warning him that he will be wary of Kai's action knowing very well the kind of person he is due to his past. Kai reiterates that he is planning to change, before turning to board the airship where he meets Jinora, who offers to teach him what she knows about airbending.

Back at the prison, a sentry informs Lord Zuko regarding Ming Hua's escape and Zaheer's acquirement of airbending, visibly alarming the firebender. Zuko stresses the power of each of the escape convicts and states that they have the power to "take down the entire world" as a unit. Knowing that they will come for P'Li, Zuko informs the sentry to send a message to the Chiefs of the Northern Water Tribe that an attack on their prison is imminent and to Chief Lin Beifong that safeguarding the Avatar should become a primary concern. After relaying his instructions, Zuko mounts his dragon and sets off to stop the convicts from releasing P'Li.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Tim Hedrick
 * Joshua Hamilton


 * Directed by:
 * Melchior Zwyer
 * Colin Heck

Series continuity

 * Specially designed prisons against benders were previously seen in "The Runaway", with a wooden cell in which Toph and Katara were held, and in "The Puppetmaster", with suspended cells in Hama's prison.

Character revelations

 * Mako and Bolin's father grew up in Ba Sing Se.
 * Lord Zuko has possession of a dragon, which he uses as his mount.

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