Transcript:Civil Wars, Part 2 (commentary)

Michael Dante DiMartino	Hello, welcome back to the Book Two commentary. This is Mike DiMartino.
Bryan Konietzko	This is Bryan Konietzko.
Joaquim Dos Santos	And this is Joaquim Dos Santos.
Mike	And uh, here we are. "Civil Wars, Part 2".
Bryan	[Refers to the opening sequence.] Did we ever talk about this title sequence?
Mike	Uh, I think in the Book One commentary...
Bryan	[In the background.] Did we?
Mike	... we did, oh yeah.
Joaquim	We did.
Bryan	Yeah. Josh Middleton uh, helped out on that, looked awesome. We were teasing his voice in the last episode, but I'd like to point out that he did some awesome stuff on that.
Joaquim	Yeah. [Refers to Korra's skirt and sash flapping in the wind.] And Lauren, I think, did the uh, animation cycle on [Bryan affirms.] her belt and-and uh...
Bryan	[Interjects; refers to the shot of Korra standing in the foreground, with Air Temple Island and Aang's statue in the background.] Uh, Fred did-that was all inspired by a painting of Fred Stewart's. [Brief pause; refers to Shiro Shinobi's narration for the "Previously On" newsreel.] I think uh...
Mike	[Interjects; refers to Shiro questioning if Korra will be able to save her parents prevent civil war between the Water Tribes.] No.
Bryan	... Jeff Bennett, who voices Shiro Shinobi, the announcer and the guy that does our recaps, I think he has more dialogue than any character [Joaquim laughs.] in the series.
Mike	Well, yeah, he has...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Like per word.
Mike	... he's uh, he's in every episode.
Bryan	Yeah. May-it's like, he and Korra might be neck and neck.
Mike	Yeah, it's funny 'cause those "Previously On's", like in the old series, we'd do like kind of the traditional like, you know, clips with dialogue and stuff, but for Book Two, it was like, "you guys have twenty seconds...
Bryan	[Interjects; laughs.] Yeah.
Mike	... for 'Previously On'," we're like, "what can we do in twenty seconds?". And then, yeah, but by then we had done stuff with Shiro Shinobi as the announcer, and it was like, "oh, let's do like...
Bryan	[In the background.] Newsreels.
Mike	... and it all kinda tied into like the Nuktuk stuff...
Joaquim	[Interjects; gives an affirming murmur.] That's true, it all kinda came together.
Mike	... with those old newsreels and stuff, like it's that kinda [Bryan affirms.] s-old...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Yeah, I remember, I...
Mike	... kinda style.
Bryan	... we-we were talking about it, and I said, "you know, actually, the-the-a lot of the anime shows will have one of the characters, in-character, [Mike affirms intermittently.] talking about what happened," uh, [Joaquim affirms.] so we had that id-you know, the idea, "oh, we'll just use that format". But then it made so much sense to have this announcer voiceover guy.
Joaquim	It's like a radio play.
Bryan	Yeah. Someone you're used to hearing, and not-not seeing anyway. [Refers to Varrick's room having pelt rugs and wall furnishings, mounted animal heads, and a taxidermized platypus bear.] So, I love [Joaquim chuckles.] Tim and Josh, uh, the-our-our writers that joined us for Book Two; love them, love their work, funny guys, good writers. But man, there are some things that they just think are hilarious; dead animals... [Joaquim chuckles.]
Mike	[Interjects.] Hey, I wrote this episode...
Bryan	... and-and cake.
Mike	... so, you gotta blame me.
Bryan	But no! [Mike laughs.] That they came up with this, that's a Tim thing, right? The...
Mike	[Interjects.] Uh...
Bryan	... the-the taxidermy? They think taxidermy is just...
Mike	[Interjects.] Well, the taxidermy thing, but I don't know; I think I...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] I gotta say, I remember in the...
Mike	[Interjects.] I'm not gonna totally take credit for the platypus bear, but I gotta take responsibility for it since I wrote this episode.
Joaquim	I do remember...
Mike	[Interjects.] It was one of the sillier things I've ever...
Bryan	[Interjects.] No uh, silly, I have no [Mike laughs.] problem with silly, but they-they just think, like, cakes and pies...
Mike	[In the background.] Oh, they love cakes and pies, sure.
Bryan	... and muffins; everything's always a cake or a pie. [Mike laughs.] Uh...
Mike	[In the background.] They're delicious.
Bryan	... or just eating tons of meat, or taxidermy. [Mike affirms.] Hilarity to them.
Mike	Although, I have...
Joaquim	[Interjects; refers to Varrick, inside the platypus bear with Zhu Li, opening up its bill and poking his head and arms out of the animal's mouth.] You were all over the board revisions, I remember, specifically for this Varrick-platypus scene, [Laughs.] remember that?
Mike	Oh, I did, yeah. I wrote this episode, and then when I saw [Laughs.] the boards, I was like, "aw, I gotta do this scene."
Joaquim	Yeah.
Mike	I never did-I rare-very rarely do storyboards anymore, but I was like, I had a very specific idea of how he had to be in the suit.
Joaquim	Incredible.
Mike	And uh, I had a good time.
Bryan	And uh, yeah.
Mike	[In the background.] Good time.
Bryan	It uh, despite-despite my uh, aversions, it all came our pretty funny. So...
Joaquim	[Refers to the shot panning from Varrick in the platypus bear's mouth, to the platypus bear's stomach, where Zhu Li's muffled voice can be heard.] This is like Felix's Magic Bag, where it's just like [Mike affirms.] it's infinite space inside the platypus bear.
	Joaquim laughs as Varrick badgers Zhu Li for not having any honey for the tea he just spat out, irritably pointing out the fact that the two of them are inside a bear.
Mike	The honey joke was definitely Tim's, I remember that.
Bryan	Yeah, that's a very...
Mike	[Interjects.] I'll give him full credit for that one.
Bryan	I-yeah. [Mike laughs.] I wasn't there when he came up with it...
Mike	[In the background.] Oh.
Joaquim	[Referring to and imitating the sound of the platypus bear "pooping" out a stack on yuan bills.] Bwoo!
Bryan	... I guess.
Mike	But I did draw that, [Everyone laughs.] a little moment. I recall...
Bryan	[In the background.] It's not about how much storyboarding you...
Mike	... it was even-it was a little more graphic before, too.
Bryan	Yeah.
Joaquim	It was, [Mike chuckles.] yeah.
Bryan	Yeah, I think you and I had a lotta discussions about that. [Mike chuckles.] Um... yeah, I think uh... it was worth it for some of these visual gags.
Joaquim	[Refers to Bolin, being told by Varrick to bribe someone related to the Southern rebels' trial, saying he catches "Varrick-bear's" insinuation.] "Varrick-bear".
Bryan	But I don't really think there's anything funny about taxidermy. [Brief pause.] And I also think it's weir-like, even if you have a pet that passes away of natural causes and then you go and have it taxidermied, I'm just gonna come out and say...
Mike	[In the background.] That might be a little...
Bryan	... I think that's weird.
Mike	... that might be weird.
Joaquim	It's a little creepy. There's this uh...
Mike	[Interjects.] I would ne-I wouldn't do that.
Bryan	I...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Creepy.
Bryan	... I love [Mike chuckles.] all the pets I've ever known and uh, had in my life, and uh, I-I don't believe in that.
Joaquim	[Refers to the two playing flying bison calves Ikki was yelling at, with one turning its heads toward her, and the other rolling off its back.] Look at these little, cute guys.
Mike	Now, we got cute uh, cute, little baby bison.
	A brief pause in commentary as Tenzin listens to Ikki's blessing for her breakfast with the bison, becoming dismayed once he hears her giving thanks for Meelo and Jinora not being with them.
Mike	So, this was kind of our chance to do a little Tenzin-Ikki, f-father-daughter little story.
Bryan	Mike, you had, when we were doing the um... we did those like interstitial commentaries, [Mike affirms intermittently.] on-on camera once, for Book Two, and you had pointed out that throughout these early episodes, Tenzin has his little moment with each kid, and I actually had never really put my finger on that. I didn't-and I was like, "whoa, [Mike chuckles.] you just blew my mind, man." [Joaquim chuckles.]
Mike	Yeah, it was like, 'cause they're going on this family-family vacation, and he was supposed to be spending quality time with the kids, the...
Bryan	[Interjects; refers to Ikki asking Tenzin if they have to go back to the temple, with Tenzin instead asking if he can join her and her new bison brothers and sisters.] See, kids? He's breaking the chain of Aang's poor parenting. [Mike chuckles.]
Joaquim	Boom.
Bryan	You can either just follow in the same mistakes that your parents made, or you can learn from them.
Mike	[Refers to when Tenzin says he can used to staying in the cave with Ikki and the bison given none of them think he's delusional.] Although, he was...
Joaquim	[In the background; refers to the establishing shot of the courtroom Tonraq and the rebels are standing trial in, the dark blues of the icy arches and reflective floor contrasting with the yellow light shining from the skylights onto the courtroom bench.] Whoa.
Mike	... ready to hide out in the cave, all day.
Bryan	That's true.
Mike	[Laughs; refers to the man wearing a cap standing to the right of Korra and Mako.] I lo-who's that guy sitting there? Who's that guy? I don't know.
Joaquim	Dude, he is hat guy.
Mike	[Laughs.] Next to Ma-next to uh, Korra.
Joaquim	Gilligan, or something.
Mike	[Refers to the men Bolin bribed to "take care of it".] I love these guys, too.
Bryan	They are so funny.
Mike	I think Bolin gave them money, too.
Bryan	Yeah. [Refers to the two random grinning men in the courtroom counting the money Bolin gave them; Bryan and Joaquim laugh.] Totally, they look like Mi...
Mike	[In the background.] They're like, "big score!"
Bryan	... [Refers to the man on the left's widely pronounced mouth.] Miyazaki character on the left, [Mike affirms.] or something. [Refers to Asami facepalming after seeing Bolin give the thumbs up to his random confidants; laughs.] That's a-I think that's a quality uh, facepalm [Joaquim affirms.] by uh...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Was there some foley on that facepalm, right there?
Bryan	There was.
Joaquim	Nice.
Bryan	Yeah. [Refers to the two bribed men's smiles and Bolin's grimace consisting of one row of distinguishable teeth.] Lotta teeth, lot of [Joaquim affirms.] individual teeth in that sequence.
Joaquim	Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Do remember them being in the boards, too, so uh, we uh... we led that-that tooth brigade, right there. [Bryan and Joaquim chuckle.]
	A brief pause in commentary until Korra hesitantly confirms to Judge Hotah that the rebels on trial were present at a meeting where Varrick tried to instigate a war against the Northern Water Tribe.
Bryan	See, you know, we thought, "the kids are gonna be so sad that the council, [Joaquim and Mike chuckle.] the Republic City council is disbanded, that they're going to feel lost in Book Two. What am I-what..."
Mike	[Interjects.] We need a good, you know...
Bryan	[Interjects.] So, we thought "courtroom drama"; [Mike and Joaquim affirm.] that's the way to get the kids.
Mike	[Brief pause.] Yeah, not something you do-well, although we did do it in Book One, there was the Yakone trial.
Bryan	That's true.
Mike	So, now we got the Book Two trial.
Joaquim	[Refers to Bolin launching objections and mistrial accusations from the courtroom gallery.] Bolin is trying, though, man. [Mike snorts.] He's uh, he's giving it his best.
Bryan	[Brief pause; refers to the closeup profile shot of Korra when she furiously states to Judge Hotah that her parents are innocent after he tries to link her father with Varrick.] That was anoth-that last shot, that profile of Korra, was another one I-I threw up on online, and within minutes, it had been animated, [Mike snickers.] probably, I think, by the same... same fan retaker. [Refers to Eska forcibly betrothing Bolin.] I like this sequence. Who-who boarded this? Did-did Ryu do-he did revisions on this.
Joaquim	He did revisions on this, yeah. [Bryan affirms.]
Mike	I believe Studio Mir did the or-original boards, right? For this?
Joaquim	I think...
Mike	[Interjects.] Or at least part of it, or something?
Joaquim	... so, yeah.
Bryan	Oh, really?
Joaquim	Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Mike	Yeah.
Joaquim	[Refers to when Korra, Mako and Asami use Varrick's airplane to rescue Tonraq and the rebels.] This is the big uh, plane [Mike affirms.] episode.
Bryan	[Brief pause.] And not Pierrot? Pierrot didn't do those?
Joaquim	I don't believe so...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Mir-we've freelanced Mir?
Joaquim	... 'cause I think-I think, yeah, Mir was on this one. [Refers to Bolin's stupefied reaction as Eska collars him with a betrothal necklace, and drags him forwards by the neck.] Oh, buddy. [Bryan chuckles.] You are done, now.
Bryan	[Refers to the dramatic, scratchy violin theme that plays while Eska describes to Bolin their marriage plans.] Jeremy Zuckerman's score right there was hilarious, the uh...
Mike	[Interjects; refers to Eska's dark purple betrothal necklace, decorated with studs and a miniature human skull.] Yeah, I like she has her own [Joaquim chuckles.] betrothal necklace, the...
Joaquim	[Interjects; refers to Bolin stretching him arm out and grasping the air as Eska drags him away in tears.] He's reaching out for nothing!
Bryan	[Laughs.] He's grasping the air. [Joaquim affirms.]
Mike	[Brief pause; refers to Judge Hotah looking down at his notes when he delivers Senna's innocent verdict.] I like that he has to read that off the card, I don't why. [Bryan and Mike laugh.] He's like, "oh, what-what did I decide? Oh, right, right." [Joaquim and Mike laugh.]
Bryan	It's like the Academy Awards, he's gotta be sure he gets it right. [Joaquim affirms.] Even though he...
Mike	[Interjects; refers to when Hotah reveals to Korra that Unalaq ordered him before the trial to find Senna innocent and Tonraq guilty.] He's all-well, it's all a sca-you know, it's all a sham...
Bryan	... he-yeah.
Mike	... so, he's-he's putting on a good show, I guess.
Bryan	Even though he's the one who made the decision, [Mike affirms.] it's not like the jury deliberated. [Refers to the closeup shot of Tonraq as he hears his sentence, his shocked expression turning to one of resignation as he closes his eyes and bows his head.] I really like this drawing of Tonraq, that was really nice [Joaquim affirms.] animation.
Mike	[Refers to the establishing shot of the Southern Water Tribe Royal Palace, the warm yellow light of the sun reflecting off the palace's white towers and spires, in contrast to the descending greyish-blue hues of the building's lower quarters and ice foundations.] I always like that painting of the uh, palace. [Joaquim affirms.] Looks very nice and icy.
Bryan	Yeah, it was one of the first ones Fred Stewart did for Book Two, and uh, we had-did-we have it in different times of day. It's a good establishing shot.
Joaquim	It's, you know, it's-it's amazing 'cause it's a really cool area, and to my, like, super simple color-styling mind, when I think of cool areas, I'm like, "oh, it's blues and [Bryan chuckles.] purples," and then you get this s-s-with these really warm colors cutting across the building, and I'm like, "oh, it still looks cool, though."
Bryan	[Laughs.] Yeah, Fred and Emily and I definitely talked about that a lot at the beginning of Book Two with the background paintings 'cause we knew we were gonna have a lotta these locations in the South Pole, and I-I-I, [Refers to the dark blue and white colors of the ice block walls and pillars behind Korra's family.] although I do like this-like these backgrounds, I do like nice cool, blue stuff. Um, we-we always pull a lotta res-you know, a lotta reference, and uh, we looked at a lot of Antarctic photography, stuff that my friend, uh, Ben Wynn actually, the sound designer, had taken. He-he got to go to Antarctica, and um, different times of day, different times of year, and we just-we just analyzed the-the-all the amazing colors that show up, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] and you do get a lotta these beautiful warm tones because the sun is often very low. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] Um, some, you know, there's even a time o' year where it just skirts around the horizon all-all day long and never really dips. So, uh, yeah, that's where that came from.
Joaquim	It's cool.
Bryan	[Brief pause; refers to Ikki saying to Tenzin that being part of a family is hard after they discuss the positives and negative attributes of their respective siblings.] "Being part of a family is hard". [Mike chuckles.] That was the message, kids.
Mike	There you go.
Bryan	But it's worth it. [Brief pause; refers to when two of the flying bison calves start playing with each other in the air, with one of them nibbling the other's ear.] This always reminds me of uh, Mike's dog and my dog are-are uh, they're brothers, and they-when they're like tugging on each other's ears.
Mike	That's right.
Bryan	[Brief pause; refers to the zoomed in shot of the two bison calves.] Right there. [Joaquim chuckles.] That's...
Mike	[In the background.] They're like when-when they were puppies, yeah.
Bryan	... pretty much my dog chewing your-Mike's... dog. [Brief pause.] Though they take...
	A brief pause in commentary until Ikki and Tenzin leave the cave and head back to the temple, with Ikki reassuring Tenzin that they can come back and visit Blueberry Spicehead.
Mike	[Refers to Ikki naming the bison calves Blueberry Spicehead, Twinkle Starchild, Princess Rainbow, and Juniper Lightning Bug.] I think all the-the "Blueberry Spicehead" and "Twinkle Starchild", [Bryan chuckles.] I think Josh came up with a lotta those names, [Bryan laughs.] 'cause he has a-he has a daughter who's very into princesses. So...
Bryan	[In the background.] Oh, wow.
Mike	... [Laughs.] when we were trying to pi-when we were pitching on, with the...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Lauren Montgomery was really happy with those names, [Mike affirms.] I think.
Bryan	[Laughs.] Also, into princesses...
Mike	[Interjects; laughs.] Yes.
Joaquim	Yes.
Bryan	... Lauren Montgomery.
Mike	So, with the-the-the baby bison will be popular with the princess crowd, I hope. [Bryan laughs.]
	A brief pause in commentary until Korra promises to her now imprisoned father that she won't do anything rash, Tonraq having convinced her that jailbreaking him would reignite the tensions between the Water Tribes.
Joaquim	She was all prepared to do something rash, man.
Mike	I know. [Refers to Korra seeing Senna crying over the sink, comforting her and saying that she understands her feeling of helplessness.] I always think the hardest think to get across, like... sometimes I write these scenes where I don't wanna have there be dialogue, but then you kinda need it sometimes, [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] to help explain what's...
Bryan	[Interjects.] But I think...
Mike	... goin' on.
Bryan	... because we're-we're also artists, [Mike affirms.] and-and have all been board artists and/or directors, it's, you know that you can, you know, rely on the visuals and the music and the camera work to convey emotion. [Refers to Korra, spurred to action after comforting her grieving mother, chasing down Judge Hotah on Naga; laughs.] Yeah, I love that Korra's dad talked her down for uh, the equivalent of like ten minutes. [Mike affirms; laughs.] All it took was seeing her mom cry to [Mike affirms.] rile her back up. [Brief pause; refers to Korra having Naga hit Hotah's Satomobile, causing it to lose control and crash into a snow drift.] See, this is what I love about Korra; not something Aang probably would have done.
Joaquim	No!
Bryan	[Refers to when Korra pulls Hotah out of his wrecked vehicle, slams him against the wall, and demands he release her father, using the threat of Naga to make him comply.] She's uh, she's our Jack Bauer. [Mike chuckles.]
Joaquim	That's right.
Mike	[Laughs.] This...
Bryan	[In the background.] She's...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] She's totally Jack Bauer.
Bryan	... kid-friendly Jack Bauer.
Mike	I-I do admit that this scene was a bit s-inspired by 24. [Bryan and Mike chuckle.] I was like, "what's the version of that we can actually do?"
Bryan	Yeah.
Mike	And it involved Naga.
	A brief pause in commentary until Korra, having just heard Hotah accidentally reveal that Unalaq was responsible for her father's verdict, holds the judge's head inside Naga's open mouth.
Mike	I remember, I think you drew that one, right, Joaquim? In the storyboard? I remember you drawing the...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Yeah.
Mike	... [Laughs.] with Naga.
Joaquim	I think I...
Bryan	[Interjects; refers to both rows of Naga's teeth being exposed.] And I-and I had to redraw the teeth... [Mike chuckles.]
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Yeah, I...
Bryan	... 'cause they drew 'em like a shark. [Mike affirms.]
Joaquim	Yeah, that would be me, I d-I drew 'em like a shark, I'm... [Mike chuckles.]
Bryan	[Interjects.] Well, that's alright, it's... dog teeth are complicated; [Joaquim affirms.] they have all these spaces and different shapes. The little mountains, [Refers to Naga's large molar teeth.] the one in the back look like mountains.
Joaquim	They do, the-those little...
Bryan	[Brief pause; refers to shot panning down the spiraling rows of Avatar statues.] Oh, man.
Mike	Back in the statue room! [Joaquim chuckles.]
Bryan	[In an exasperated tone.] More statue room. [Mike vocalizes an excited tune; refers to the darkened sanctuary, with only Aang's statue and Bumi being illuminated by a pale sliver of light as they stand at the center of the room.] So, my-my, we had to redo all these scenes in-house, too, and I was just like... "let's make them as dark as possible," [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] but I-I-were-I actually...
Mike	[In the background.] Nice job.
Bryan	... really wanted to go for like a kinda film noir vibe where we're just highlighting one thing, and there was just a little bit o' ambient light.
Mike	[Refers to Bumi talking at his father's statue, hoping that, despite the fact he was never an airbender, that Aang was at least proud of him for helping keep the world he built safe.] So, I uh, I mispronounced the actor who plays Bumi's name earlier; it's Richard [Pronounces it "riley".] Riehle. This is...
Bryan	[Interjects.] But I've been saying [Pronounces it "real".] Riehle, [Mike chuckles.] 'cause it's like "R-H-I-E-L" or something like that; [Mike affirms.] I've been saying that in about ten interviews, I've been saying that wrong.
Mike	Yeah, well, we learned, you know. [Refers to when Kya tells Bumi that Aang would have been proud of him.] And uh, also shoutout to uh, Lisa Edelstein, who plays Kya, [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] who we...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Big fans.
Mike	... came-came to know on House. Uh...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Yeah, we were all big...
Mike	... nice-nice enough to come do a voice for us.
Bryan	... big fans of House, and speaking of our dogs, Mike had run into her at the dog park.
Mike	Oh yeah, years ago, that's right.
Bryan	With your dog, and then we ended up working together. They had had a nice chat about their dogs. [Brief pause.] That is kind of the weird think about living in LA [Joaquim chuckles.] is... [Mike affirms.] run into people; and the funny thing about like voice work is it c-it can be really a short engagement, you know? Uh, I mean...
Mike	[In the background.] Yeah, I know.
Bryan	... Lisa played a-a regular character this season, but sometimes people come in and just do one voice, or, you know, pretty short session; and then we'll run into 'em on a movie lot or something, and we're like, "hey!" and they're like, "who are you?". [Everyone laughs; refers to Bolin and Pabu being dressed in the same coats Desna and Eska wear, with Bolin's hair being gelled into a bowl cut aside from a hair spike that pops up, and Pabu's ears being tufted.] So, this was fun to design these-this gothed out version of uh, Bolin and Pabu.
Joaquim	He's got-he's got the Vulcan bowl cut, right there.
Bryan	Yeah, definitely Vulcan. [Refers to the aerial establishing shot of the Southern Water Tribe prison.] That's another cool painting. Uh, Fred did those prison establishing shots.
Joaquim	[Refers to a patrolling Northern guard falling through the floor and screaming as electrical sparks fly out, Korra having earthbent a hole from underneath the floor, while Asami knocked him out with her electric glove.] That always cracks me up, [Mike chuckles.] just the idea that [Bryan chuckles.] they have this whole situation planned.
Bryan	Poor guy.
Joaquim	[Imitating Asami.] "He's gonna fall in, and then I'm gonna electrocute him."
Bryan	[Refers to the shot of the prison hallways, the musty lights interspersed between the solid metal cell doors and the deteriorating brick walls.] That was a cool painting by uh, a guy named Seung, uh, Seung Min, I think is his name. [Refers to the shot of Unalaq looking down the prison hallway at a distant Korra, Mako and Asami.] That one right there, that painting. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] Really cool guy, works at Studio Mir; um... yeah, Seung Min, uh, we were-we needed some help on background paintings, and he does-he does background paintings uh, for the, you know, the production, like the ones that you actually see in the show, um, but we needed some help on some keys. So, he stepped up, did some awesome paintings.
Mike	[Gives an affirming murmur; refers to when Korra tells Unalaq to bring her father back and leave the South with his troops, or she'll take both of them out.] So, this was the "long time coming" scene. [Refers to when Korra tells Unalaq that she's done being manipulated by him, using the fact that she hasn't opened the spirit portal in the North Pole yet as leverage.] We al-you know, we always knew that... one of the like little tentpole moments we knew was like that it had to be Korra who kinda like triggered the-the whole civil war thing by striking out in some way. [Refers to when Korra attacks Unalaq after he says he doesn't need her to open the portal anymore.] Um, so this, you know, she ends up kind of throwing the first punch, here.
Bryan	And I like...
Mike	[Interjects.] Egged on by Unalaq.
Bryan	[Refers to Unalaq coating his hands in water and rolling his arms back as he precisely hits and extinguishes Korra's multiple fire blasts, then counterattacking by sending an arc of water at Korra that covers his follow-up ice blade, nearly hitting Korra's head as she dodges.] Yeah, and I like Unalaq's uh, fighting style because, but unlike Tonraq who's the kinda big bruiser, you know, Unalaq's a bit more like a fencer or a really good swordfighter; really nasty precision strikes, he doesn't have to...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] And efficient, he's like really efficient.
Bryan	Yeah, super-efficient, and... [Refers to Korra and Mako fighting Unalaq.] so, Joaquim, I-I remember you did a lot of revisions on this action.
Joaquim	Yeah, this-this was boarded by uh, by Studio Mir, and-and we had kinda gotten in and-and revised it to sort of play up his-his shorter, more efficient movements.
Bryan	Yeah. [Refers to Unalaq bending a quick stream of water at Mako's head, knocking the firebender back.] I like how he just [Laughs.] takes Mako out, like...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Done-zo.
Bryan	... one flick of the wrist.
	A brief pause in commentary until Unalaq, blown down the hall and against a wall by Korra's airbending, gets up to see the hallway, shot at a Dutch angle, empty.
Bryan	I always like that shot, it was cool.
Joaquim	[Refers to Korra, Mako and Asami disengaging from the fight to go rescue Korra's father.] I think they had a-a good-a good mind for the fact that had they stuck around too, they probably would've been on the short end of uh...
Bryan	[Interjects; laughs.] Yeah.
Joaquim	... that one.
Bryan	[Refers to the profile long shot of Bolin and the platypus bear, moved internally by Varrick and Zhu Li, walking up to the Northern soldiers guarding the harbor.] I remember I fought to keep [Mike chuckles.] that scene, 'cause...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] The profile walking scene?
Bryan	Yeah, [Joaquim chuckles.] yeah, we-we had to cut some stuff and... I think Matt got in there and-and fancied up the animation, [Joaquim and Mike affirm.] somehow. [Refers to the platypus bear lifting up its tail and "pooping" money to cause a distraction.] But that was gonna stay.
Mike	[Laughs; refers to the yuans dispensing haphazardly.] I believe the ins-the direction was it's gotta be like an ATM.
Bryan	[Laughs.] That's right.
Joaquim	[Laughs.] Right. [Mike chuckles.]
Bryan	[Laughs.] That's right.
Joaquim	Poop ATM.
Bryan	Yeah, and it-it-the way it came out at first, it wasn't uh, emanating from [Mike chuckles intermittently.] one s-uh, localized source. It was sort of a, like when they do the fake vomit, and you can tell like it's, [Joaquim affirms.] it's not quite coming out of the mouth, in profile. But yeah, that-yeah, that-the note was "A-ATM".
Joaquim	[Refers to Varrick piloting his yacht while inside the platypus bear, putting a sailor's cap on the animal's head.] There is a uh, platypus bear driving a boat. [Bryan chuckles.]
Mike	Yeah, it's...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] It's amazing.
Mike	... it's absurd. Somehow, 'cause it's Varrick, I believe it.
Joaquim	I love it. [Mike chuckles; refers to when a Northern helmsman hones in on Bolin hugging the platypus bear captain through a spyglass.] I mean, I-the-the scene where-where the guy's looking through the-the telescope, later; you'll see. I mean, he's just as [Mike affirms.] shocked as anybody.
Bryan	I would've loved it more if this platypus bear were alive, [Joaquim and Mike chortle.] he was just riding...
Mike	[In the background.] He had a good life, though, I would-I would imagine.
Bryan	... he and Zhu Li were riding piggyback, you know.
Joaquim	[Laughs.] They were actu-like, the live platypus bear, they were-he was just a really good pilot.
Bryan	Alright, I'm just gonna go on record and say, Varrick uh, no-not some big-game hunter; he would just find ones that had [Mike affirms.] peacefully [Laughs.] passed away in nature.
Joaquim	Right, on their own.
Bryan	Then he would have 'em...
Mike	[Interjects.] I think that mighta been his pet, I'm not sure. [Refers to Varrick calling the stuffed platypus bear "Ping Ping".] He did have a name for it, so I'm not sure if he named it pre...
Bryan	[Interjects.] "Ting Ting"? Was it Ting Ting?
Mike	Uh, Ping Ping.
Bryan	Ping Ping. [Mike laughs.]
Joaquim	Alright, so...
Mike	[Interjects.] Uh... but he mighta named it after he got the taxidermied version, I don't know.
Joaquim	... [Refers to Korra, currently with Mako, hanging onto the wings of a plane piloted by Asami, going into the Avatar State and bending a massive wave that pushes the Northern ships out of their blockade formation, allowing Varrick's yacht to pass through unimpeded.] should we say here, at the-at this point, that, at one point, this entire sequence was like two times as long?
Bryan	Yeah, sometimes, we just, it's just too much action, [Mike chuckles.] and it uh, it's hard on the animators, it's hard for them to pull off. And, and uh, we had to make some edits.
	Mike chuckles as the helmsman spies Bolin hugging "Ping Ping", the seemingly sentient platypus bear piloting the yacht with its massive arms.
Bryan	Wow, Ping Ping's looking pretty muscular [Joaquim chuckles.] in that shot. Uh...
Mike	[Interjects.] But in the end, it made more sense anyway that she just did a big move to get 'em through there.
Joaquim	It did. [Bryan affirms.] But there was an entire...
Mike	[In the background.] It was more of-yeah.
Joaquim	... battle with the fleet of ships, there, [Bryan affirms.] where Mako was, at one point, hanging upside-down from the plane and firing at them.
Mike	[Refers to when Korra, Mako and Asami board the ship Tonraq are the rebels are being held in.] No, that was this part, I think; there was some-oh, no, yeah, I guess it was earlier.
Bryan	[Refers to the rack focus shot of Korra on the airplane's wing, when she looks around on the open water for the ship holding her father, turning to her left and seeing it far in the distance on the horizon, the focus shifting away from her and her surroundings and onto the ship.] I really like that shot where she spots the ship in the distance; that was one that Matt, uh, had fixed in-house. It really feels-I-I'm-I'm... really into watching World War II footage, um, and it really feels like a lot of this stuff we see; the destroyers in the distance. [Refers to the closeup shot of the Northern soldier Korra freezes against a wall, his strained face squirming in fear after Korra demands to know where the prisoners are.] This guy's face cracks me up. [Mike chuckles; refers to the soldier's bared, discernable gums and teeth, as his lips wax up and down.] There's the teeth, again. [Joaquim and Bryan laugh.] It's a bad day at the office for that guy.
	A brief pause in commentary until Varrick's yacht speeds away from the Northern prison ship, Team Avatar having safely extracted Tonraq and the rebels.
Joaquim	Bye-bye.
Bryan	[Brief pause; refers to when Ikki accepts Jinora and Meelo's apology, asking if they want to go play some airball.] Look, everybody [Mike chuckles.] gets along in the end; and you know what? Their bond is stronger f-for the difficulties they endured. [Mike affirms.]
Joaquim	Yeah. [Refers to when Kya shows Bumi and Tenzin a family photo of their content, youthful selves with a smiling Aang and Katara.] And I'd say any controversies is quickly sorta swept under the rug as soon as you uh, you know, see this-this beautiful [Bryan chuckles.] photo, and...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Oh yeah. That's why we take photos, you know? It-it-it helps to uh, [Joaquim chuckles.] gloss over the [Everyone laughs.] problems you had, you just remember...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] The good times.
Bryan	... the good times. [Brief pause.] Yeah, I mean, I think the point you made, maybe in the previous episode, Mike, is it's-we're-we're looking at the whole arc; the whole story arc, the character arc, the dynamics of where the characters are gonna end up. Um, and, you know, it's-it-for just a-the transformation of a character for their journey; again, not just to like throw in... problems just to, you know, make the show-I don't know, I mean, that is part of it, but... you know, like manufacture conflicts, or whatever. Um, I think we really wanna see the characters go through some emotional...
Mike	[Interjects.] Yeah, totally.
Bryan	... journeys; I mean, that-that's how we are all formed, and that's how... we're tested daily.
Mike	[Refers to Korra saying she'll be proud to fight alongside Tonraq, now the leader of the Southern rebels, against the Northern Water Tribe.] Yeah, like, I liked seeing Korra have her f-frustrations with her dad, but now they're like, you know, totally on the same side, [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] ready to help each other out.
Bryan	[Brief pause.] Yeah, I don't know; again, I'm f-coming from a family, we're all, you know, we all love each other, but we all-our form of communication is to fight. [Laughs.] This is all pretty normal to me. [Everyone laughs; brief pause.] We don't always fight, but I think to some outside people, they're like, "whoa, [Mike chuckles.] your family's intense."
Mike	[Gives an affirming murmur.] Every f-family's got their own style with...
Bryan	[Interjects; refers to Eska in the distance, her makeup smudged and still in her wedding dress, rushing toward the yacht on a massive wave.] Yeah, although, I don't have anything quite as intense as uh, Eska, here.
Mike	No.
	Bryan and Joaquim snicker as, through Bolin's point of view through a spyglass, the shot hones in on Eska, the tension of the theme building throughout.
Mike	Exaggerated music.
Bryan	I do have-I...
Joaquim	[Interjects; in a mock scream of horror as Eska's enraged face becomes visible through the spyglass.] Ah! [Mike chuckles.]
Bryan	... I do have, I think uh, I do have some twin cousins, but they're cool. [Mike chuckles.] Actually, I have a co-I have a couple sets, and uh, think I have forty-seven cousins, or something like that. [Brief pause.] So, Mike, you wrote both of those episodes; you wrote that whole two-parter.
Mike	I did, and then I took a break. [Bryan chuckles.] Uh, yeah, I don't know; I guess 'cause they were g-they went together, I-I just felt like [Bryan affirms.] I wanted to tackle 'em both. [Joaquim affirms.] Um...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Well, they-good job.
Mike	Join us next time...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Good job, buddy.
Mike	... for episode five. See you then.

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Article · More transcripts
Episode transcript

• Michael Dante DiMartino
• Joaquim Dos Santos
• Bryan Konietzko

See also

• "Civil Wars, Part 2"