Transcript:Endgame (commentary)

Michael Dante DiMartino	Welcome to the finale episode of Book One, everybody! This is Mike DiMartino, co-executive producer and co-creator, or something. I forget my titles now. [Laughs.]
Bryan Konietzko	This is Bryan Konietzko, the other co-creator and co-exec. Or-well, no, we're execu-whatever.
Mike	We're-yeah. [Steve laughs.]
Joaquim Dos Santos	Executives.
Bryan	Joaquim is a co-exec, and we're...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Yeah, that's right. [Bryan affirms; Mike laughs.] You guys are actually executive produce-okay, got it. Uh, this is Joaquim Dos Santos, co-EP and co-director, along with Ki Hyun Ryu, who is not here.
Steve Blum	And this is Steve Blum, voice monkey for Amon. [Mike chuckles.]
Bryan	Voice monkey!
Steve	Voice monkey. [Makes some raspy creature noises.]
Mike	So, as usual, we had a ton of stuff to do in the last episode of the season, as usual. Multiple storylines with various characters around the world.
Bryan	Well, I remember very early in the writing, we said, "let's not have [Mike chuckles.] a giant battle". [Mike affirms.] I wanted this to be more like, you know, to me, like the first Lord of the Rings movie, it's like the big fight in the end is just two guys, and it's really cool and really exciting and, and uh, you're-you're on the edge of your seat; and then the second movie, it's like a bunch o' CG ants crawlin' around, fighting each other, and I didn't care at all. So, I just said, "it's obviously harder to do the big, [Laughs; Mike affirms.] huge battle with a ton of people, so let's make this one just Korra versus the bad guy," you know? And-and, obviously, it's-it-there's more to it than that, it wasn't just that simple. But...
Mike	[Interjects.] That's the heart of it.
Bryan	... it was all to try to get to that moment.
Mike	Yeah. Yeah, and it was also, I mean, all season, we had tried to figure out when was Korra gonna unlock her airbending? Like, we had episodes earlier on where it was like [Joaquim affirms.] she had unlocked it in episode eight, and then was fighting airbending because we're like, "well, we wanna see her airbend, it's the Book of Air". [Joaquim and Steve chuckle.] Uh, but, we, you know, we finally realize like, "well no, the moment that it needs to be unlocked is in the moment of, you know, the most darkest moment of her life, you know? That's the place-that's the place for it to happen."
Bryan	Yeah, and it was such a block for her that she needed, um, she needed it to be, wherein this person that she loved, and ag-again, I think I said in another interview, it was like it's not like romantic love or whatever, but just this person she cares about is in trouble. [Mike affirms.] That's what it was gonna take for her to get over her... herself, basically.
Joaquim	And was there any logic to, I mean, the fact...
Bryan	[Interjects.] No logic. [Mike and Steve laugh.]
Joaquim	Well, I mean, [Laughs.] was-was there a, a-a logical train of thought there that she could do the three elements, but she hadn't done airbending, so he was able to kinda block those three elements?
Bryan	Yeah, yeah. [Joaquim affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] that was-that was the idea was that the-the chi flowing through her body, which is how a bender in our world is able to manipulate the elements, 'cause there's like, there's the lifeforce energy flowing through these pathways in their body, and-and uh, you can use waterbending, you know, they have this skill li-that we see, where, you know, they make it glow and they-they are kind of a... clea-clearing out those pathways with the waterbending and they can open them up so the chi flows better, and so people can be healthier. Um, and what Amon did was he took that technique, and he used it to hurt people, and used it to block those pathways. Um, which I think is sort of a-a philosophy Mike and I believe in, which is like a-almost anything, or really anything, can be used for good or bad, you know? Like, any ideology, or any, you know, it's really in the-the person's intention and in their will how it manifests, you know? These things are just kinda, it's not good or bad, it's just there, and it's how you use it. So, that was the idea, and so since she hadn't opened up that particular chi path, and being the Avatar, she-we figured she's not a normal, you know, she's got crazy chi energy flowing, you know? So, he was able to close the ones he could detect, [Joaquim affirms.] and not the one that she hadn't even opened up yet. He didn't-he didn't feel it.
Joaquim	He wasn't feelin' it that day.
Bryan	Yeah. [Steve laughs; in a mock lazy tone.] "I'm just not feeling it, today." [Joaquim and Steve laugh.]
	A brief pause in commentary until Hiroshi angrily rebukes Asami for saying that her mother would have hated him for his support of the Equalists.
Bryan	Some nice... over the top, bear-overbearing father...
Steve	[In the background; refers to the spit globules flying from Hiroshi's mouth when he says he's avenging his wife's death.] There's some spit coming...
Bryan	... from uh, Daniel Dae Kim, yeah. [Referring to and imitating Hiroshi gloating to Iroh that he knows where the rest of the United Forces are.] "That's right". [Brief pause; laughs.] When uh, so, Mike, you said we could uh, talk about... oh, I guess...
Mike	[In the background.] Oh. I re...
Bryan	... that woulda been the pr-an episode we haven't recorded yet. But anyways... [Steve chuckles.]
Mike	[Interjects.] Eh, we could talk about him now.
Bryan	Yeah, so, General Iroh.
Mike	Gener-Iroh. You know him.
Bryan	So, uh, uh...
Mike	[Interjects.] We wanted an homage to the Zuko lineage.
Bryan	I thought it'd be really hard to design and make it look like Zuko, but without the scar. And-and uh, but Il Kwang, this awesome designer in uh, in-at Studio Mir, did a great job right off the bat, and we're like, "oh...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] There it is. [Laughs.]
Bryan	... that looks great," and he looks like he's in the Twenties, [Mike affirms.] and uh, and uh, I remember seeing a fan post where they just took a screengrab of him, and they're like, "congratulations on your face". [Mike, Joaquim and Steve laugh; refers to Iroh's gelled hair.] I was like-I was like, I would say, "congratulations on your hair, sir," [Joaquim and Steve laugh.] 'cause I was really into Mad Men at uh, [Steve laughs.] at the time, and trying to get my hair to do that. [Joaquim and Steve laugh.]
Mike	Um, yeah, it seemed like some people were-were thrown by the fact that it was Dante's voice, who voiced Zuko. But uh, I don't know, I liked it. [Laughs.]
Bryan	It was just supposed to be like a family, [Mike affirms.] you know.
Joaquim	[Refers to Iroh commandeering one of the Equalist planes while it's in flight, throwing its pilot out of the cockpit.] He's throwin' dudes from planes. [Steve and Bryan laugh.]
Mike	Yeah, he was supposed to be k-kind of our more Indiana Jones...
Bryan	[Interjects.] S... swashbuckling.
Mike	... swashbuckling, [Joaquim and Steve affirm.] 1920s, you know, fighter kinda guy.
Bryan	[In a corny announcer voice.] I guess we shoulda had him talk like this! [Mike, Joaquim and Steve laugh.]
	A brief pause in commentary until Amon challenges Korra to try and free Tenzin and his children, bound by the Equalists for their rally in the Pro-bending Arena.
Mike	Yeah, I like too how-how we were able to kinda get the bending arena back in the mix for the finale. Um...
Bryan	[Interjects.] We spent so much uh, time and money [Mike affirms.] designing it, we might has well have.
Mike	Just thematically, for the whole [Bryan affirms.] season, it-it made sense that he had taken over this kind of symbol of bending as his anti-bending rally for the-for the finale.
Joaquim	Right. [Refers to Korra and Mako running along the arena wall to get to the rally stage, bending a continuous amount of fire downward to ground and balance themselves on the vertical surface.] I remember that-that running along the wall was something that I think we had to take a couple stabs at to get right, and the idea that they were using the fire to keep themselves pressed against the wall [Bryan affirms.] as they ran.
Bryan	And frankly, I don't think we ever got it right. [Mike and Bryan laugh.]
Steve	Oh.
Joaquim	Well, at one point, it literally looked like they were burning the crowd [Mike, Bryan and Steve laugh.] as they were running by, they were like toasting everybody. [Bryan affirms.]
Steve	Well, some sacrifices have to be made.
Joaquim	[Laughs.] That's right.
Bryan	[Refers to Meelo yelling "Prison break!" as Tenzin and the airbender kids leave Korra and Mako to go look for Pema and Rohan.] So, great uh, Meelo line here.
Mike	[Refers to when Amon got blown off the stage by Tenzin's airbending.] So, Steve, are you glad you don't have to do your own stunts in-in this-this?
Steve	Oh, thank God, [Bryan laughs.] yeah. I don't want cauliflower ear. [Mike and Steve laugh.]
Bryan	"Prison break". So, yeah, [Steve and Joaquim laugh.] there was a whole storyline, there's a whole storyline we don't see, which is Tenzin and his kids going to find Pema and Rohan, [Mike affirms.] and uh, and Beifong.
Mike	Yeah, and Beifong.
Bryan	Yeah, so...
Mike	[Interjects.] They're somewhere, in the city.
Bryan	... it's like...
Joaquim	[Interjects; refers to the slow motion shot of Amon jumping through the wall of fire Korra bent.] Ah, love that shot.
Bryan	... you know, at the end of the day, can't do everything. [Mike affirms.] If you fans would like to draw that, [Mike, Joaquim and Steve laugh.] we would welcome the effort in this interest. [Refers to Amon opening the door to the arena storage room, the diffused light from the door's window shifting to reflect the light of the open doorframe.] I remember just getting the light to open, like as the door opened, the light on the floor. [Joaquim affirms.] I mean, it looks better now, but it still didn't come out right. [Joaquim and Mike affirm; sighs.] Oh, it's all...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] But I think this is a great...
Bryan	... all I can see are all the mistakes.
Steve	So picky.
Joaquim	[Refers to Amon silently walking through the storage room Korra and Mako are hiding in, with each shot that cuts from Amon to Korra getting closer to her terrified expression as she hears and sees his approaching footsteps.] This is a great moment of Amon kind of at his creepiest.
Bryan	Yeah. [Steve affirms.] Yeah, this is what we wanted him, is almost this horror movie-esque... thing.
Mike	[Refers to Korra sighing in relief as Amon resumes moving past her hiding place.] You think she's gonna get away!
Bryan	Yeah. [Brief pause; refers to the theme that plays as Korra is suddenly dragged out of her hiding place by Amon's bloodbending.] Yeah, and Jeremy's score really helped that moment.
Joaquim	Oh, man.
Bryan	[Refers to Korra being levitated in the air by Amon, her body convulsing and contorting as it arches backward.] Really creepy uh, bloodbending animation here.
Steve	I'm...
Joaquim	[Interjects; refers to Mako trying to free Korra by bending multiple quick fire blasts at Amon.] Great animation on-on Mako, too...
Steve	... amazed.
Joaquim	... just throwin' those kinda [Bryan affirms.] haymakers out there.
Bryan	So, I know everybody, you know, a lot of-a lot of the fans, maybe not everybody, but they-they hate on Mako, but, to me, even if he had some-some transgressions, [Steve chuckles.] was a little confused in his love life, like I think what he does as a character in this episode for Korra is really heroic, and, [Mike affirms.] romance aside, is really selfless, and uh, and uh, I really love that. I lo-again, like Beifong, I just love characters giving their all and risking themselves and not thinking about their own safety to-to try to save the people they care about, and-and uh, you know, [Refers to when Mako picks up and holds a powerless Korra in his arms, and runs away from Amon.] him just trying to defend Korra, and like running-scooping her up and running away with her, and I-I just love that stuff. [Mike and Joaquim affirm.] Even if they weren't romantically tied in any way, I-I love that stuff.
Joaquim	[Refers to the sequence of Iroh destroying the Equalist airplanes flying over Republic City.] I gotta give big props to uh, Ian Graham for this sequence here, [Bryan affirms.] with the planes. He had-he had taken it, and really-really ran with it.
Bryan	He, [Laughs.] I remember he was just like, [In a trepidatious tone.] "okay," it was like, where it's like, "Ian, we want you to climb a mountain," [Joaquim and Steve laugh.] and man, he came back with a mountain of storyboards. [Steve chuckles.]
Mike	Yeah, I think it was twice as long at one point.
Joaquim	It was [Bryan affirms.] at one point, yeah.
Bryan	But he did a great job. [Refers to the aerial top-down shot of Iroh falling through the air above Republic City, with the general using his firebending to jet propel himself down toward the Equalist airplanes below.] I love that shot. This came out really cool.
Mike	So, Steve, when you found out about Amon's backstory and all that stuff, were you surprised? What-what, I'm trying to remember when-when you first uh, found out about that.
Steve	Yeah, I was very surprised. You guys told me nothing in the beginning.
Mike	I think we...
Joaquim	[In the background.] I mean, the intention there... [Steve affirms.]
Mike	... I think we hadn't all worked out yet. [Laughs.]
Steve	Yeah. No, that was-that was amazing, it was-it was amazing. It-and Dee and I, I remember Dee and I were uh, talking about it afterwards and how deeply we were affected by that. [Mike affirms.] And I can't remember ever working on a cartoon before where I-I had that aftereffect, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] and to the point where one of the other actors I was working with had to, we almost had to console each other. [Mike, Bryan and Steve laugh.] It was amazing.
Mike	I know.
Steve	Very-very powerful stuff.
Mike	[Refers to Amon and Tarrlok's deaths.] It was sad to see you guys go.
Steve	Yeah. [In a mock anguished tone.] Uh, does that mean we're, we're dead? [Bryan, Joaquim and Steve laugh.]
Mike	Oh, yeah.
Bryan	Yes!
Steve	[In the same anguished tone.] C'mon, flashbacks, something!
Joaquim	Yeah, could be. [Bryan affirms.]
Mike	Well, you never know, yeah. [Steve affirms.] Flashbacks are always possible.
Steve	Yeah, yeah. Well, that was traumatic, so thanks a lot for that. [Mike, Joaquim and Steve laugh.]
Bryan	[Refers to Bolin's grunts as he earthbends the airplane runways; laughs.] Again, I love P. J.'s uh, his ADR for like grunts and action sounds.
Mike	Yeah.
	Bryan imitates Bolin's grunts of exertion, much to Steve and Joaquim's amusement.
Mike	Yeah. [Refers to Naga grabbing the mecha tanks' launched cables in her mouth, pulling them and dragging the unbalanced tanks forward.] Yeah, Naga gets another cool moment here. [Steve affirms.]
Bryan	[Refers to one of the tanks stopping just in front of Bolin's expressionless face.] I love this. [Mike affirms.]
	A brief pause in commentary until Steve and Joaquim laugh at Bolin's delayed reaction of "whoa!" to the tank tread in front of his face.
Bryan	I remember-I rem-I remember arguing with our exec about that. [Steve laughs.] She just didn't understand the pause. [Mike, Steve and Joaquim laugh.] And the, like, no reaction, like delayed reaction. And I'm like, "that's what makes it so good!"
Steve	[Laughs.] That's what sells the whole thing.
Joaquim	[Laughs.] Yeah, is the timing of it.
Bryan	[Refers to Asami and Hiroshi fighting with their mecha tanks.] And Joaquim did a lot o' work on-he didn't originally storyboard this scene, but-but uh, punched it up a lot.
Joaquim	Yeah, there's some-some revisions. [Refers to the gauges in the mecha tank cockpits.] I-now that I see the interior of that...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Oh...
Joaquim	... cockpit view, I keep seeing a little smiley face on the uh, on one of the meters back there. [Bryan and Steve laugh.] It's still there. [Laughs.]
Bryan	That's highly possible.
Steve	I thought that was just me, I wasn't going to say [Joaquim laughs; Bryan affirms.] I saw that earlier.
Joaquim	But...
Bryan	[Interjects; refers to the interior of the airplane hangar Hiroshi and Asami are fighting in.] This is-this is one I, [Sighs.] as the-as the art director of the paintings and the color and the lighting, I-I feel like I failed [Mike chuckles.] on this location. This is one I would George Lucas the...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Oh, you would go Special Edition on this? [Mike laughs.]
Bryan	... the heck-oh, yeah, I would go Special Edition on this [Joaquim laughs.] like you wouldn't believe! Um...
Steve	[Interjects.] God, I don't see any of that. [Mike laughs.] Man, amazing.
Bryan	No, I mean, and that's always, eh, [Sighs.] it's nice that you're not like, in a way like, "oh, I'm glad no one noticed how bad I am at my job," [Mike chuckles.] but like, what I'm-it's nice to hear that at least the story and the-the important part...
Joaquim	[In the background; refers to the closeup shot of Asami looking down toward her father, his tank's cockpit torn open, her expression turning from rage to melancholy as she refrains from attacking him.] Stockholm syn-right.
Bryan	... was still delivered, and-and um, especially like on Avatar, it's nice that it's the cumulative effect of the narrative and the characters' arcs, and stuff. And when I, you know, talk to my friends in the industry, or-or, you know, people I know that watch the show, and I'll just start, [In a disappointed tone.] "oh," this kinda self-deprecating, "oh man, [Steve chuckles intermittently.] the-that one's-that episode looks terrible, I would redo that," or, "I'm not happy with that". But they were like, "what? Oh man, I cried," or whatev-you know, it's like that's-and I realize that's the important thing. I mean, we obviously try to do our best with the-the artwork; 'cause it's not just pretty pictures. I mean, that feeds into the psychology-the psychology of the shot [Mike affirms.] and the story. [Joaquim affirms.]
	A brief pause in commentary until the Lieutenant confronts Amon, having seen his leader bloodbend Korra and Mako.
Mike	This was one of my favorite little showdowns, [Steve sighs; Bryan affirms.] too. I just love that it's like...
Bryan	[Interjects.] More great...
Mike	... [Refers to the Lieutenant taking off his mask to expose his anguished face.] Lieutenant, who was so loyal to his...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] The most loyal. [Mike and Steve affirm.]
Bryan	[Refers to the Lieutenant's furious expression, the shot zooming out as he brandishes his kali sticks to rush Amon, calling his former leader a traitor.] More uh, great work from Ryu, here, [Mike affirms.] the storyboarding. Yeah...
Steve	[Interjects; refers to Amon throwing the Lieutenant into some wooden beams, thanking him for his service.] I feel bad about this. [Mike laughs.]
Bryan	Yeah, and I...
Steve	[Interjects.] I-I really felt bad about...
Bryan	... I think, when I think about the Lieutenant, like, "oh, he's cool, and he's scary, and-and uh, he's tough," but, oh, he gets kicked around so much; like did we not really, did we not like utilize him the best? But then I think, I feel it in his little, [Referring to and imitating when the Lieutenant lambasts his decision to dedicate himself to Amon.] "I dedicated my life," [Mike chuckles; Steve affirms.] he's basically like, "I got just [Laughs.] like...
Mike	[Interjects.] "My butt kicked for you, every day."
Bryan	... butt-butt kicked for you!". [Mike, Joaquim and Steve affirm.] And then uh, yeah, you really feel it.
	A brief pause in commentary until Mako, taking several ragged breaths while being held in Amon's bloodbending grip, manages to point out his index and middle fingers into position and generate a lightning strike to hit Amon.
Bryan	So, this was this...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] And this-I remember this being a big sort of concept moment at all the pitches and stuff, where it was, you know, he really took a big breath in, he wanted him to...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Yeah, and some from Kisu, you know. I was a student of his in-in kung fu, and-and um, and it, you know, his teachings, even though I don't practice nowadays, like they still come out in the, in-in the way I try to handle, you know, the-and direct the-the martial arts, and it's that it all begins with a breath, you know? [Steve gives an affirming murmur.] Um, even before there's a-a sh-a stance shift or something, you know, it-that lifeforce energy, you know, I guess chi translates in some contexts to breath. That lifeforce energy is breath, you know? [Joaquim affirms.] That's what keeps us going, and-and uh, the vitality in our bodies are s-from that. [Refers to when Mako was able to struggle and move around more while Amon was disposing of the Lieutenant.] So, he-he just basically, he broke his grip enough, 'cause Amon was distracted, to just get one big inhale in, [Steve gives an affirming murmur.] and that was enough.
Joaquim	[Refers to Korra, seeing Amon about to take Mako's bending away, bending a massive gust of air to blow the Equalist leader down the entire hallway.] There's the big air.
Mike	There's the big moment! [Steve and Bryan affirm.] That one definitely had a lot of-Joaquim worked on that one a-a bunch, I remember. [Laughs.]
Bryan	And Matt Gadbois; [Mike, Joaquim and Steve affirm.] this whole sequence, man. [Mike affirms.] He took-he took the final animation, and I went to his house on the weekend, and he was just working on this, uh, on his home computer.
Mike	Yeah, 'cause I think we were like finishing this up 'til about, couple days before it was supposed to [Bryan affirms.] come on TV.
Joaquim	But this is...
Bryan	[Interjects.] And then how the fans are always like, "oh, why-why-they're just sitting on it," or whatever. [Joaquim affirms.] Man, we are like [Joaquim sighs.] down to the wire.
Joaquim	It's also the stuff that I think, you know, I know I geek out on, and I-I've seen Matt geek out on where it's-it's sort of working out those-those mechanics. He loves the camera moves, he loves, [Bryan affirms.] you know, building all that stuff.
Bryan	And like the artwork, that stuff does influence the story, you know? [Mike affirms.] The way the camerawork is, and the lighting, and, you know, it really does feed into it. [Joaquim affirms.]
Steve	Makes it so much more immersive. [Joaquim affirms.]
Bryan	[Refers to Amon regaining consciousness while sinking in the ocean, having been knocked out of the arena by Korra's airbending, with his panicked reaction causing him to rise up to the surface on a giant water spout in front of his supporters.] So, this was a-a-a cool thing, it was, Mike and I, we had a hard time with this. But it was like how do we get Amon, how do we force him to waterbend? [Steve affirms.] You know?
Steve	[Refers to the closeup shot of Amon's true face.] Oh, whoops. [Mike and Steve laugh.]
Bryan	And we had a lot of-we had a lot of like bad ideas [Mike chuckles.] that-which anyone who's been in a writing room would understand, [Steve laughs.] you have to get all the bad ideas out of the way, and I think this one worked. But, just do-we had him do it as this kinda second nature, unconscious...
Mike	[Interjects.] Level, survival, yeah.
Bryan	... response to drowning, yeah. [Steve affirms; refers to Amon's supporters calling out that he is a fake.] And-and it was another great way to beat him, which was their plan was, "we have to beat him in f-we basically have to like tear down his lies, you know, like his fallacy in front of his supporters."
Joaquim	Right. [Brief pause; refers to when Amon's makeup washed off his face to expose his true features, the reddish paint from his scar visibly streaming away in the water and air.] And, it's silly, but showing makeup, scar makeup coming off an animated character...
Bryan	[In the background; in a regretful tone.] Oh... [Steve gives an affirming murmur.]
Joaquim	... is a tough... [Mike chuckles.]
Bryan	... man. I'm sorry.
Joaquim	... is a tough thing to sell.
Steve	I can imagine, yeah. Like...
Bryan	[Interjects; refers to Amon freeing Tarrlok from his prison, with Amon apologizing for what he had to do to his brother.] This uh, this sequence between you and Dee, Steve, [Steve affirms.] came out really, really great.
Steve	[Brief pause; refers to Tarrlok expressing regret that he didn't join his brother when he left their family.] Dee and I do so many creature voices together, it's nice to have actually a real moment. [Bryan and Steve laugh.]
Mike	[Laughs.] You guys should overdub this as creatures. [Bryan, Steve and Mike laugh.]
Joaquim	That would be awesome!
Steve	Ah, don't think I haven't thought about that. [Laughs.]
Mike	[Laughs.] Little chitters and... it'd be great.
Steve	Little fandub. [Mike and Steve chuckle.]
Joaquim	Well, you-and-and at this point you're-you're rooting for these guys, too. [Steve and Bryan affirm.] You know, you're-you're...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Uh, there's-there's empathy there, for sure.
Steve	Gotta see some sorta redemption. [Joaquim affirms.]
Mike	You kinda want him to get away, right. [Joaquim affirms.]
Bryan	[Refers to the profile shot of Tarrlok's expression at hearing Amon say that the two of them can start a new life, together.] And you know that like, like, I just love that-that last shot of Tarrlok. It's like, even if he knows it's impossible and he knows he has to stop his brother, the other half of him wants to hear those words. Like, "you and me, together again," like, [Steve affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] because that's the little kid in him that only ever wanted to like... be Noatak's brother, you know? He just wanted to be with him, and-and uh...
Steve	[Interjects.] Just desperate for that connection.
Bryan	Yeah, an-and-and having it stolen away from him from an ab-you know, a-a horrible father, [Steve gives an affirming murmur.] and-and all that stuff. It's like that person's still alive in him. So...
Mike	[Interjects; refers to when Tenzin's brother, Bumi, atop one of the battleships reinforcing Republic City, gives an enthusiastic "wahoo".] That was our little intro to Bumi, [Bryan affirms.] who we will see in Book Two.
Bryan	[Refers to Tarrlok and Noatak traversing the open seas in a motorboat.] So, I story-I think I storyboarded this.
Mike	Yeah, you did this part, Bryan. [Bryan affirms; Steve gives an affirming murmur.] The tragic finale to [Bryan affirms.] Noatak and Tarrlok.
Bryan	[Refers to when Tarrlok kills himself and his brother by using an electric glove to ignite the boat's fuel tank.] And uh, incredibly, we got away with it. [Mike laughs.] Yeah, that's pretty much all we can say about that. [Mike and Joaquim laugh.] Um, there's...
Steve	[Interjects.] Sorry, have to say it, I'm on a boat. [Everyone laughs.]
Mike	[Refers to Tarrlok looking back and forth from the electric gloves stored on the boat to his brother driving the boat, oblivious and content after Tarrlok called him Noatak.] Had to be done. [Steve sighs; Bryan affirms.]
Joaquim	It's heavy, man.
Bryan	[Refers to the "Good Ol' Days" theme.] The music's...
Mike	[Interjects.] But I love that it's-it's Tarrlok who's the one who ends up [Bryan affirms.] doing him in. [Steve affirms; Joaquim sighs.] It wasn't Korra, at the end.
Bryan	And himself.
Mike	And himself, yeah. [Steve affirms.]
Bryan	Another sacrifice. You know, and this guy, who was just a total jerk [Mike chuckles.] the whole season, but then...
Joaquim	[In the background.] Redemption.
Bryan	... even he has, you know, a conscious. And he realizes the best thing for the world [Mike affirms.] and society is if...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Neither of them...
Bryan	... they are not part of it.
Mike	[Refers to the electric glove that Tarrlok puts on.] And also, I love how it's, yeah, it's the weapon that-that Amon used and invented with Hiroshi, is his ultimate demise.
Bryan	Demise.
Joaquim	That's true.
Steve	Karma. [Mike affirms.]
Bryan	[Refers to Noatak being oblivious in his content nostalgic after hearing his real name, crying as he remember the "good old days" with his brother.] And-I just-that moment of him being... you know, again, referred to as Noatak, I think [Steve gives an affirming murmur.] he did up in the attic, and then again; and it's just that idea that he tried to run away from who he was, [Joaquim affirms.] and uh, even though he had created this whole identity for himself, it still was buried down in there. And that is probably what gave him that vulnerable moment where he didn't realize what was going on, [Joaquim and Steve affirm.] he kinda let his guard down.
Joaquim	What...
Mike	[Interjects; refers to Korra's parents, Tonraq and Senna, being among her friends as they all hear Katara's prognosis on Korra's bending.] I like seeing uh, Korra and Korra's parents in this scene, [Bryan affirms.] 'cause like, to me, they're real people 'cause we've written all these scenes with them for later-later Books. And uh, but they really didn't say much in this [Laughs.] se-in the-in Book One. [Joaquim and Bryan affirm.] But they're there! [Bryan affirms.]
Joaquim	[Refers to Korra's friends and family trying to comfort her after Katara's attempts at healing her.] I think this was the first storyboard that, maybe Lauren had done for us?
Mike	Lauren did that section, and then I started, I think, after this scene, yeah.
Joaquim	[Refers to Korra walking outside of the healing hut after somberly rejecting Tenzin's claim that everything would be alright.] Yeah, when she walks outside.
Bryan	Yeah, we were lucky enough to get Lauren Montgomery, who was, uh, did awesome storyboards on Avatar. We-and then she went and directed a bunch of, uh, animated movies, like direct-to-videos and stuff. So, we were lucky enough to get her back as a supervising, uh, producer, along with-alongside Ryu. So, she-she came on for Book Two, but she was there in time to help out on a lot of Book One stuff.
Mike	Another wrap-up scene that got cut was uh, remember when Asami was gonna join the United Forces?
Joaquim	That's right.
Mike	[Laughs.] We had... [Steve gives an affirming murmur.]
Bryan	[Interjects.] Uh, Joaquim just reminded me about that the other day. [Joaquim and Steve laugh.]
Mike	So, yeah, [Bryan affirms.] we had a whole scene. I think when we originally wrote it too, it was 'cause we-we weren't sure if there was gonna be a Book Two or not. And...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Yeah, this was the end.
Mike	... Iroh was here, at, you know, in this, at the end here, and we had a whole scene where [Joaquim affirms.] A-Asami was like, "alright, gonna join the United Forces, see you guys later." [Bryan and Steve laugh.]
Joaquim	And Lauren-Lauren had boarded that, real quick.
Mike	Yeah, like, it was all boarded and stuff.
Steve	Wow.
Mike	But then we said, "you know what? We wanna keep her around."
Bryan	We... so, we had this other [Mike chuckles.] sc-I wanted to, in that scene, uh...
Mike	[In the background.] Oh, right. [Laughs.]
Bryan	... it was a joke pitch, but I wanted her to go, you know, like, she was running off with General Iroh, and Mako's like, "hey, what the heck? Like, that guy's like thirty-six," and she's like, "so? I'm twenty-nine," and he's like, "what?". [Steve and Joaquim laugh.] She's like-she's like, "wait a minute, how old are you?" and he's like, "I'm nineteen!" and she's like, "oh my!". [Bryan, Steve and Joaquim laugh.] Like, oh man, I wanted to do that scene. [Steve chuckles.]
Mike	[Refers to Korra breaking down near the edge of a cliff, the next shot cutting to one of her tears falling down, in slow motion, to the solid ice below.] Yeah, so I boarded a lot o' this end stuff, [Steve sighs; Joaquim affirms.] which I-I loved doin'...
Steve	[In the background.] Beautiful.
Mike	... all the emotional stuff.
Bryan	Did a great job! [Refers to Korra trying to get the man in Air Nomad robes behind her to leave her alone, thinking that it is just Tenzin, only for his voice and the camera panning up to reveal it is Aang's spirit.] And when Mike wrote this idea, he sent it to me on the weekend, I think, and uh, like it gave me chills when I read it, even like in an outline form, that this misdirect that you think it's...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Tenzin.
Bryan	... Tenzin, and then that was Aang. I love it, instead of some like, you know, magical glow of light and he appears, or something, [Mike affirms.] it was-it was very cool.
Mike	[Refers to Aang using energybending to restore Korra's connection to her water, earth and firebending.] Yeah, so for me, this was moment was like, you know, there was some criticism, I think, that it was like, "oh, it was just like a magic button got switched, and Korra got all her powers back," but, to me, it's way, way more than that. Like, it was a, she had to reach this point of like total despair to even be open up-opened up to the idea of connecting to these other spirits and her spiritual side, and stuff. So...
Steve	[Interjects.] That's where transformation comes from in life, too. [Mike affirms.] I mean, a lot of people are-are taken down to the bare minimum.
Bryan	And, she's not your uh, she's not your average bear. She's the Avatar, folks.
Steve	Yeah, it's true. [Steve and Bryan laugh.]
Mike	[Laughs.] Yeah. [Bryan gives an affirming murmur; refers to a fully-realized Avatar Korra using the Avatar State to bend rings of air and fire, multiple columns of earth, and a massive wave that surges and sprays past the cliff, all while riding an air spout.] But I think Joaquim helped me out on some o' that stuff there. [Steve laughs.]
Joaquim	I think just...
Mike	[Interjects.] The action stuff.
Joaquim	... one-one pose. [Mike and Steve laugh.]
Bryan	We just had to...
Mike	[Interjects.] Fancied it up.
Bryan	Yeah. And Joaquim, those effects were not wispy. I just wanna... [Mike and Steve laugh.]
Joaquim	[Interjects.] Whoa! Yeah, that's true. I-I am-I am regularly taken to the uh, wispy court for [Steve and Joaquim laugh.] drawing-drawing my effects a little too...
Bryan	[Interjects.] Joaquim is a big guy. [Joaquim and Steve laugh.] I know he's a big guy, he's very athletic, but he draws very delicate uh, thin effects.
Joaquim	Effects. [Steve laughs.]
Bryan	And uh, I just-I am a very thin, wispy guy, [Steve and Joaquim laugh.] and I'm always asking for them to-to be more...
Joaquim	[Interjects.] That's-that's the balance of the universe, right there. [Steve and Mike affirm.]
Bryan	[Refers to the section of the "Greatest Change" theme that plays as Korra restores Lin's bending.] Music here.
Joaquim	Oh, it's gorgeous.
Bryan	C'mon, folks.
Mike	Love it!
Bryan	I know I say it a lot, but Jeremy just keeps coming with the hits! [Joaquim affirms; Mike chuckles.]
Steve	I listen to this all the time. [Mike chuckles; refers to Lin opening her eyes after Korra removes her hands.] Yeah.
Joaquim	And it's a legitimate happy ending that like [Steve affirms.] makes sense. [Steve gives an affirming murmur.] It doesn't-it doesn't just feel like, "eh, everybody...
Bryan	[Interjects.] "Everything..."
Joaquim	... gets their powers back." [Steve affirms.]
Bryan	"Yeah, everybody's okay!"
Joaquim	[Refers to Naga wagging her tail.] Aw, the tail wag. [Steve laughs.]
Bryan	[Refers to Pabu's trill; laughs.] Dee...
Steve	[Interjects.] How does a human do that? [Mike laughs.]
Joaquim	It's just amazing.
Steve	Amazing.
Bryan	Well...
Mike	[In the background.] Don't know.
Bryan	... that's the secret; Dee is not a human. [Joaquim laughs.]
Steve	[Laughs; brief pause.] Well... wasn't he credited as "Additional voices"? He wasn't credited for those?
Mike	Who, Dee?
Steve	Dee, yeah.
Mike	No, he gets Naga, Pabu.
Steve	He gets the-oh, he does? Oh, okay, that's good.
Mike	I think if they're just random animals, sometimes they...
Steve	[Interjects.] Oh.
Bryan	It's just that Dee does a lot of additional voices also, yeah.
Mike	[Laughs.] He does.
Steve	Yeah, he does, he does, yeah.
Bryan	He's, like, [Imitating Dee sighing.] "I play...
Mike	[Interjects.] Yeah, you'll see him in like...
Steve	[Interjects.] Aw, I just wanted to hear his-D-Dee...
Bryan	... I play the human, I play all the animals, [Steve affirms.] and I play a bunch of other people."
Steve	A lot of people don't know that about him, though. [Bryan and Mike affirm.] He's-he's just astonishingly talented.
Joaquim	Got me all nostalgic, that episode. [Steve laughs.]
Mike	Yeah. I think, it went by really fast, but it was a... [Laughs.]
Bryan	[Interjects; laughs.] Yeah, they all go by really fast. [Mike and Steve laugh.] Yeah, well, that was Book One.
Mike	Yes!
Bryan	Thanks so much, everyone, for-for...
Mike	[Interjects.] Thanks for the journey.
Steve	Thanks for having me on board, guys.
Bryan	Yeah.
Mike	Oh, absolutely.
Bryan	Thanks for the amazing response from all the-the fans; the new ones that we got, and the old ones who stuck with us. And uh...
Mike	[Interjects.] Stay tuned for Book Two!
Joaquim	More's comin'.

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Article · More transcripts
Episode transcript

• Steve Blum
• Michael Dante DiMartino
• Joaquim Dos Santos
• Bryan Konietzko

See also

• "Endgame"