| Bryan Konietzko | Welcome back, this is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator and executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Michael Dante DiMartino | And this is Mike DiMartino, the other co-creator and executive producer. |
| Colin Heck | And I'm Colin Heck, uh, director of this episode. |
| Katie Mattila | And I'm Katie Mattila, the writer of this episode. |
| Mike | Hello... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Hey, guys. |
| Mike | ... everybody. |
| Colin | Hello. Hello, everybody. |
| Mike | So, what is this episode about? |
| Bryan | About the airbender kids. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yes. |
| Bryan | We-we talked... |
| Mike | [In the background.] They're coming back. |
| Bryan | ... a lot about, like, the-these three were some of the first characters we came up with for Korra, and uh, we always thought it'd be fun to see them a little bit more grown up, and kinda out on their own, doing their own-on their own adventure. So, they're a little bit more grown up, here; we-we get to see that. [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently; refers to Ikki, out of focus in the background, chasing after Meelo on the temple courtyard after Meelo airbent one of their duffel bags at her while she was standing atop their flying bison, Pepper.] Funny little, like, sibling tiff in the background, there. I never actually noticed it 'til, like, I think 'til the mix, [Laughs.] or something. [Katie chuckles.] I didn't realize that they were, like, fighting; [Refers to Ikki and Meelo standing next to each other, smiling, as the former reassures their parents.] and then they-they're all happy. |
| Mike | Yeah. Katie, do you have any early memories of this episode? |
| Katie | Um, [Mike chuckles intermittently.] just a lot of funny jokes about Meelo, and sort of his outspokenness. |
| Bryan | We actually... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to the macaroons and sweet buns Pema packed for the airbender kids.] And the cookies. |
| Bryan | We toned it down a bit, uh, by the end. He was-he was-there-there, you know, there's a fine line between being, uh, like, "funny" jerky, and just being jerky, and he was kinda getting just jerky. [Bryan and Katie chuckle.] |
| Colin | [Refers to when Meelo tells Ikki that he threw their packed supply of food into the river.] I still bummed when he throws the food in the river. [Bryan chuckles; Katie affirms.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] He's a little cocky, you know? [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] He's-he's uh, trying to be his own man. [Colin chuckles; Bryan affirms.] Well, I think that was the thing for this episode; we were trying to find, like, what were the individual arcs for the kids, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] to kinda help make sense of, like, 'cause it wa-uh, at least the beginning of the episode's very, like, kind of episodic, the like, [Refers to the airbender kids visiting various locations in the Earth Kingdom in search of Korra.] "oh, we go to this town, and then the next town, and the next town," and it was, uh, we needed kinda the emotional through line for the characters. |
| Katie | [Gives an affirming murmur.] Yeah, and I feel like their sort of adventure reminds me a lot of the old series, um, but it also sort of, we-we see the struggles that a lotta kids have being, like, [Refers to when Ikki tells the outpost soldiers she feels left out by her siblings' efforts to find Korra.] the middle sister who's often ignored; the younger-the, you know, the youner-younger sibling, [Refers to when Jinora snaps at Ikki for questioning why her spirit powers haven't found Korra.] and then the older sister that kinda has a lotta pressure on her... [Colin affirms.] Jinora. |
| Bryan | Yeah, definitely. I'm the youngest of five, and, [Katie affirms intermittently.] yeah, I definitely have a very different relationship to my parents than my oldest sibling did, and the pressures, and all that stuff. So, by the time they get to the fifth one, they're like, "ah, whatever." |
| Katie | [Laughs.] It's sorta funny, even though Meelo is outspoken, he's super funny, but I think the girls are kinda just like, "ah, whatever, that's Meelo just..." |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] They-they tolerate... |
| Mike | [Brief pause; refers to the long shot of the airbender kids camped near a stupa, when a continuous looped animation for the lined up spirits sitting atop a small nearby tower behind the kids occurs, the one closest to the edge of the structure's roof wafting through the air before landing at the end of the line, shoving the others and knocking off the next one closest to the edge, starting the cycled animation over again.] There's a great little animation detail coming up in the next shot, those little spirits in the background. [Bryan chuckles.] Like, are... I don't-do you remember, Colin, if that was something you guys had planned out? Or that... |
| Colin | [In the background.] That was... |
| Mike | ... later just kinda, like, went with the... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] No, that was in the board, but... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Okay. |
| Colin | ... that happened-I think... I think Hyun Joo did an early version of it, and I think Lauren, like, added the cycle part of it. [Mike affirms.] I don't... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's very cute. |
| Bryan | That was another one that I, it was in the board, but I didn't notice it until the animation came back, and so cute. They did such a good job with the cycle. |
| Mike | [Refers to Meelo displaying his realistic drawing of Korra.] We gotta talk about Meelo's artistic [Katie chuckles; Bryan affirms.] abilities. |
| Colin | I saw on Tumblr somebody, like, complaining, like, [In a mock aggrieved tone.] "Meelo's so much younger than me, [Mike and Katie laugh.] he already draws better than I do." |
| Bryan | That-that was drawn by Ryu. [Bryan, Mike, and Colin laugh.] |
| Katie | Oh. |
| Bryan | Don't feel bad. [Bryan and Colin laugh.] |
| Katie | He's definitely a better artist than Sokka was. [Colin chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Well, that was the-so, yeah, on the old series, whenever Sokka would do a drawing, we would have one of our writers, John O'Bryan, do it, because he draws like he's three-years old, [Mike chuckles; Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] and uh, so the, you know, I think that was kinda the original idea with Meelo's drawings, and then I think I was like, "it would be great if he just [Laughs.] was really good [Colin chuckles.] at draw-let's go the opposite direction." [Mike affirms.] So, we asked Ryu to do the drawing, and he did that drawing during a meeting. |
| Katie | Wow. |
| Bryan | And he's like, "something like this?" and I was like, "not like that, let's just use that," [Katie and Mike chuckle intermittently.] and he's like, "no, this is terrible." I was like, "Ryu, it's fine," and he had enough other work to do. So... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] I-I love this... [Refers to Meelo slowly freefalling through the air with his wingsuit from out of frame, the shot having moved down from the rooftops where he was surveying.] that. |
| Katie | Yeah. [Katie and Bryan laugh.] |
| Colin | [Laughs.] Hyun Joo did that in the animatic, [Katie chuckles.] and uh, and in-in the animatic, it just-he floated down, [Bryan affirms; refers to a man passing by in the foreground just as Meelo touched down on the ground beside Tuyen, a young florist.] and as the guy passed in front, he just popped to standing, and it was the funniest thing that she'd ever... [Mike and Katie chuckle.] I loved it. |
| Bryan | It's good. [Refers to Tuyen's wavy hair, and her long ponytail and bangs.] I like this girl; I really like her design. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] and Angie Mueller did her design. |
| Katie | It almost looks a little like Angie. |
| Bryan | For sure, yeah. |
| Colin | [Refers to when Meelo entrusts Tuyen with the knowledge of his secret mission to find the Avatar.] He trusts her alrea... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Her-her voice reminds me of Jessie Flower [Katie and Colin affirm.] when she was Meng-when she was Meng. [Mike affirms.] I know someone... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to when Meelo flirted with Tuyen while asking for her name.] I love Meelo's confidence in this scene. |
| Mike | He's... |
| In the background, Colin chuckles as Meelo indignantly tells Ikki to go away after she interrupts his conversation with Tuyen, his sister teasing him about having a girlfriend. | |
| Mike | ... he's got some-some moves. |
| Colin | I really like the read... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Ah... |
| Colin | ... on "go away, Ikki." [Katie and Mike chuckle.] |
| Bryan | It is great. |
| Katie | That's something funny, too, I feel like I definitely used to do that when I was a kid, like, try to embarrass my brother [Mike laughs.] when he's talking to girls. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Mike | You still do that. |
| Katie | Yeah! Yeah! [Everyone laughs.] |
| Bryan | I don't know, I-I don't think he-I think Meelo was pretty creepy in that scene; [Colin and Katie chuckle.] I don't think he had-I don't think he had any game, I think he was a creep. I think... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah, she was... |
| Bryan | ... that girl was, like, very... |
| Mike | [In the background.] She was... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] Okay. |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to Tuyen's affable demeanor while interacting with Meelo's flirtations and grandstanding.] she was very generous [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] to him. |
| Mike | [Refers to Tuyen giving Meelo a flower in farewell, tousling his hair as she leaves.] She was charmed by him. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | Which is a little weird; I think he was creepy. |
| A brief pause in commentary until the shot zooms in on the fishmonger's "Wall of Avatars", consisting of a photograph of Korra, her smile awkward and hesitant, and a photograph of an adult Aang, beaming while spinning about two seaweed rolls between his outstretched hands. | |
| Bryan | Korra's photo's definitely not as uh, flattering as Aang's. [Katie chuckles; brief pause.] That was another one where, like, I think the original idea for Aang was-it was just kind of... stoic; just, you know, like the normal way we've seen him as an adult, and we thought it would be fun to show, li-like at that point, you know, up to this point, we'd only seen adult Aang being so serious, uh, so different than his old character, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] just 'cause that's what the story always called for when we would see him, either in flashbacks or as a spirit. So, we just thought, eh, it'd be fun to show a bit of that old spirit. |
| Katie | [Refers to Toph happily telling Korra to look at her, currently relaxed on a rock, to get an idea of what their plan for the day is.] Yay, Toph. |
| Colin | Now imagining him, like, sh-showing up as a spirit to Tenzin in the fog, and just, like, doing something super-goofy. [Everyone laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Toph giving Korra brief, vague descriptions of her past adventures, namely how she taught Aang earthbending, and how she helped stop Fire Lord Ozai during Sozin's Comet.] I love this stuff. |
| Katie | [Gives an affirming murmur; refers to Toph laying back on a rock, eyes closed, hands behind her head.] I love that Toph is just totally at peace in-in the swamp. Just... |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Yeah, I mean, we-I-I saw some-some of those, like, Avatar parallel things, where even her poses... |
| Mike | [In the background.] And uh, were... |
| Bryan | ... like, and the angle, like, she was, like, kicking back like this, with her hands behind her head. How mu-did you-Colin, do you know if, like... |
| Colin | [In the background.] I... |
| Bryan | ... artists were looking at the old show? |
| Colin | It's possible, but, [Bryan and Katie affirm.] like, it-I had nothing [Laughs.] to do with it. [Mike and Katie chuckle.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. You can take all the credit, [Colin and Katie laugh.] here. |
| Colin | Well, I-I-I think we, I mean, we did this stuff, but I don't, I think this was Natasha? |
| Bryan | Now, see, like, Natasha is a huge... |
| Colin | [In the background.] She's... |
| Bryan | ... fan, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] you know? And... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Huge fan, and she might've done something like that without, uh, us ever talking about it. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. Which is cool, like, [Colin affirms.] it's great; it's-we don't have to lord over everything. Everyone's doing great work, and [Mike affirms.] kinda thinking of that stuff. But yeah, I mean, I-maybe they were just looking to, like, capture the-the attitude. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Colin | [Imitating and referring to Ikki's panicked tone as she questions why Meelo threw away their food.] "Why did you throw the food in the river? [Mike and Bryan chuckle.] It looked delicious." |
| Bryan | "I know." |
| Mike | How else are they gonna learn survival skills, [Katie affirms intermittently.] Colin? [Colin and Katie laugh; refers to Meelo telling Ikki that they will hunt for their meals, despite the fact he and his siblings are vegetarians.] I mean, I like that he just doesn't think through... |
| Colin | [Interjects; laughs.] Yeah, yeah. |
| Mike | ... the consequences [Colin laughs.] of such a [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] ridiculous idea. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the small, near-barren hill looming over a river that the airbender kids are camped at.] I like this background. This is uh, I think Lauren Zurcher painted, yeah, she painted... |
| Katie | [In the background.] Beautiful. |
| Bryan | ... this stuff. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Colin chuckles at Ikki's caricaturized impressions of her siblings as she walks through a forest. | |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Ikki meets a sugar glider.] So, we're about to see another cute, little animal. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] Uh, again, Angie Mueller designed this little sugar glider. And there... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to Ikki angrily bending a blast of air at a bush after expressing her annoyance at her siblings.] She's expressing her... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Ikki befriending the sugar glider after terrifying it with her airbending.] I know, our idea was that this guy was gonna become, like, Ikki's new pal, but Ikki isn't in the show that much [Mike and Colin laugh.] after this episode. [Bryan and Katie laugh.] So, there's a-there's one shot in a later episode, [Laughs.] where uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, you see him fly. |
| Mike | ... we see-we see that the sugar glider makes it back to Air Temple Island; uh, I think it was another of your episodes, Colin, on episode seven. [Colin gives an affirming murmur.] So, if you're ever wondering what happened to this guy, he's chilling on Air Temple Island, [Colin chuckles.] later on. |
| Katie | Yay. |
| Bryan | Just got kidnapped from its natural habitat. [Mike affirms.] |
| Katie | Sipping piña coladas. |
| Mike | [Refers to Ikki encountering two Earth Empire soldiers in a cleared out section of the forest, multiple tree stumps marking the ripped up ground.] And this was another tiny, little nod to the fact that, like, there's a lotta deforestation going on. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until the scene fades in from black to an establishing shot of the Earth Empire soldiers' small outpost, the dwelling residing within the forest. | |
| Mike | Yeah, so, the i-the idea with these guys was that there-the-there's this very remote outpost, Earth King-Ear-Earth Empire outpost, and these guys are... I don't know, like, the guards, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] out there, the-they oversee some logging operations of some kind. [Colin and Mike laugh.] |
| Bryan | Oh! [Bryan and Mike chuckle.] |
| Katie | [Refers to the outpost soldiers reacting with excitement after they realize they have captured Tenzin's daughter.] And sort of excited that they actually have some action going on. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, I don't think these... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] It's kind of boring. |
| Bryan | ... they didn't score too high on, like, the aptitude tests [Katie affirms.] for Kuvira's placement. |
| Colin | [Refers to the earthbender soldier constantly offering macaroons to his fellow soldier and Ikki.] I really love the m-the macaroon obsessed Bing Crosby guy. [Katie laughs intermittently.] "Ooh, have-have some macaroon." |
| Bryan | [Refers to the other soldier's handlebar moustache.] I kinda regret this guy's moustache. [Mike laughs.] |
| Katie | No, I love it. |
| Colin | I think... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It's, like, not-it just [Katie laughs.] really does not fit in the Avatar world. [Colin laughs.] |
| Katie | It should be on a pizza box. |
| Bryan | And it, like, I think he just was one of those things; like, we didn't really have a design yet. |
| Colin | I think you went off Natasha's, like, design in the board. |
| Bryan | Yeah, and it was in the board, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] and, like, it was just one of those things, like... |
| Katie | [In the background.] I like it. |
| Bryan | ... it just-some things just kinda gain their own, like, footing, like, "oh, this moustache, we've seen it a lot." |
| Colin | Oh. |
| Bryan | "Guess it's what we need." And like... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] He kinda looks like Bill, with the moustache. [Katie laughs.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until the earthbender soldier places a plate of macaroons in front of Ikki, telling the airbender he wants to share them with her and her siblings, at which Colin and Katie chuckle. | |
| Mike | So, the voi-the voice actors in this scene, the-the macaroon guy is Jeff Bennett, who, I mean, does a tonna stuff for us, but he-most famous as Shiro Shinobi. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] And then the other guy is uh, uh, the guy who does, uh, Uncle Iroh, actually. |
| Bryan | Oh, yeah. |
| Mike | Yeah, the actor who plays him. He's quite-quite talented voice range. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Ikki's bindings being wrapped around her and a chair, her small frame, and the amount of rope used relative to the size of the chair allowing her to lean off of her seat.] Another funny storyboarding thing is that, if you notice, like, Ikki's never really securely fastened [Laughs.] to this chair. |
| Katie | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Ikki moving one of her arms up and out of her bindings, wiping the tears from her eyes while the soldiers are not looking.] Like, she can move her arms out, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] and, like, lean forward just fine. |
| Colin | That's why these guards are on the outpost, man. [Katie chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Refers to Korra experiencing visions while walking through the swamp.] So, I remember working with you, Katie, on the idea for this little sequence; [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] like, uh, in my mind, uh, uh, it k-uh, I wanted to try to make it sorta like the... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] Two-thousand... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, 2001: Space Odyssey, [Katie affirms.] one of my favorite films... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] I love that scene. |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to Korra seeing a vision of Amon stripping her bending away, turning to flee, only to behold a hallucination of Unalaq and Vaatu forcibly extracting Raava from her body during Harmonic Convergence.] where you just kinda-the character just turns, and the-you just end up in a different situation, you know? It's like... I mean, it's not exactly the same setup, where we-that-in that movie, you're changing points of view. [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently; refers to Korra yelling in fear as she sees herself being poisoned by the Red Lotus, with Zaheer and the two sentries turning back toward her.] Now, I love that, that kinda creepy dream thing, where, like, the-the figures in the vision are suddenly aware of her presence. |
| Katie | Yeah, I feel like them making eye contact just makes it more spookier. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Mike | And the idea of, like, the swa-going back to the swamp and having Toph come back was actually some stuff we had talked about for potential Book Three things, but it just never really fit in. Uh... |
| In the background, Katie chuckles as Meelo struggles to hold up a purple stained bag filled with poisonous berries, haltingly but enthusiastically telling Jinora that he hopes she is hungry. | |
| Mike | ... there was-there was a version where we talked about, like, Bolin was gonna meet Toph at some point in the swamp, or something, but... |
| Katie chuckles again as Poki heaves and gags for a moment before throwing up some equally purple mush. | |
| Mike | ... never-never made sense with Book Three, but then when we got to Book Four, it just-and Korra having to heal herself, and, you know, kinda the mental trauma that she was going through, too. Like, it just made sense that the swamp was a good place for her to have to go to recoup. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Colin | I still can't believe we showed him, like, him, uh, uh, Poki barfing. [Mike and Katie laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Poki licked the regurgitated berries.] And then eating it again. [Colin affirms.] |
| Mike | And then eat, yeah. [Bryan affirms.] It's, I mean, it's just, like, what animals do. |
| Colin | I know, it's just... [Mike laughs.] |
| Katie | [Brief pause; refers to when a grinning, tearing-up Meelo, having also thrown up the berries, told his sister the reason he threw up was because he ate too many of the "delicious" berries.] I love Meelo just trying to be tough, and not admitting [Mike chuckles.] he made a mistake. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Meelo, struggling to not throw his recent foraged meal up, told Jinora he found some berries.] I love Logan's read on [Imitates Meelo drawling the word "berries".] "berries". [Bryan and Katie laugh.] |
| Colin | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | "We got some berries." [Katie chuckles.] |
| Mike | Yeah, the good thing with-that-that Book uh, Four jumped ahead three years was that we didn't have to change any of the voice actors, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] 'cause usually [Colin affirms.] kids' voices change quite... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] Yeah, I feel like... |
| Mike | ... dramatically; so if they're the same age, they would sound too old, but they were supposed to sound older, now. So, it all-all worked out. |
| Katie | I feel like Logan had a lotta great reads in this, where just-even some simple lines, he kinda had his own twist on it; just feel like made it much more interesting. |
| Mike | Yeah, you... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I like his uh, [Imitating and referring to Meelo's boastful tone when he iterated to his sisters that his discovery of Korra's photo was a lead.] "good-old-fashion lead." [Katie chuckles.] Like uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, he was great. This was, like, the most lines he's ever had in an episode, [Katie and Colin chuckle.] 'cause normally, Meelo, you know, [Katie affirms intermittently.] might have a couple lines; so, he comes in for five minutes, does his lines, and leaves, but this one, he-he did some-some-a lotta preparation for this role. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the map of the south-western Earth Empire that the soldiers show Ikki, displaying interconnected routes and geographical locations like mountains, the Foggy Swamp, and the Si Wong Desert.] I worked on that map a really long time. [Mike, Katie, and Colin laugh.] I don't know if it shows... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's a beautiful map. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | ... I just wanna say. Lotta effort into that. |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] Like uh... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to when Ikki told the soldiers how her siblings are constantly leaving her out of the search effort for Korra.] I like that Ikki, earlier, also uses this opportunity to sorta vent about her siblings, and is excited that someone will listen. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Ikki leaning off of her chair, her arms on the map and table as the soldiers reassure her about her personal value.] Yeah, there she is, just completely leaning forward while being tied up [Katie and Bryan laugh.] with her arms out, and they don't seem to notice. [Mike and Katie chuckle.] |
| Colin chuckles as Jinora and Meelo blow back the outpost soldiers, knocking them unconscious. A brief pause in commentary ensues until Meelo, unprompted, tells Ikki that she is welcome. | |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Ikki cheerfully apologizes to the soldiers, saying it was nice chatting with them as she leaves some macaroons on their unconscious bodies.] I remember we had to work on this, Ikki saying goodbye to these passed out guys, a few times, [Colin and Katie affirm.] 'cause, like, it was, like, just [Laughs.] coming across really weird. [Katie laughs.] |
| Colin | She leave them a note, originally? |
| Katie | Yeah. [Colin gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, she... |
| Katie | [In the background.] To make sure they don't... |
| Bryan | ... I think she used to write them a whole note, [Mike affirms.] or something. |
| Katie | Oh yeah, it just kinda [Bryan affirms.] took too long. |
| Bryan | Yeah, and it was just-just something kinda morbid about it; like, these guys were injured, and she was just like, [Katie affirms.] "thanks, guys!" [Bryan and Katie laugh.] |
| Mike | She knows they're gonna be okay. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when the unconscious earthbender soldier muttered "macaroons" after Ikki gave him one.] I think it helps that the guy's just mumbling [Mike affirms.] "macaroons". It softens it. |
| Mike | [Brief pause; refers to when Toph tells Korra that she needs to deal with the fear and trauma her past enemies caused her in order to move forward.] So, yeah, Toph being Korra's mentor this season was a good, different type of mentor [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] than we've had before, 'cause usually it's... we've had stoic Tenzin, and Zuk-and then Zuko was a little bit her mentor, but he was also kinda serious, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And Unalaq, before that. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah, and I like her-her sty-her no-nonsense [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] style. Um... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to when Korra called Toph a twisted old lady for making her experience the swamp's visions, which Toph stated was necessary for her recovery.] It's interesting that you can see Korra getting frustrated, and not knowing that Toph knows what she needs, and knows what she's going through, and... |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Yeah, it's not, like... you know, the whole thing of, like, "tell me about all your awesome old adventures," and, like, you're expecting Toph to have a certain, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] like, just because she was a part of that old legacy, like, "oh, you know, she must be so stoked on all that stuff," and then it's like, "oh wait, I forgot, she's Toph." |
| Katie | She's still Toph, [Bryan laughs.] yeah. I love that. |
| Bryan | Yeah, and if you-if you're not famil-I mean, I'm imagining if you're listening to the commentary, you're probably familiar with the old series, but uh... |
| Colin | [Interjects; in a mock quizzical tone.] Who's Korra? [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] The ol-in the old show, [Katie laughs.] when they were in the swamp, they all had these visions of, like, kinda... |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] People they lost, and, [Bryan and Katie affirm.] yeah. It was-it's a place that can mess with your-your head. |
| Katie | Korra needs a little tough love. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah. I feel like Toph was the perfect mentor for Korra, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] 'cause Korra doesn't wanna be coddled, you know? I think she-she can take it. I don't think Toph would be the best mentor for everybody. [Katie and Mike chuckle.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Toph has a lot of, like... |
| Katie | [In the background.] I'd probably cry. |
| Bryan | ... leech-leeches, and dirt, and... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to when Toph picked her ear as she commented that Avatars needed a lot of handholding after Korra asked what she was supposed to move on from her trauma.] Yeah, I think-I feel like Colin and the storyboard artists really went to town with the-the nose picking, [Bryan, Katie, and Colin laugh.] and the ear picking, and-and the toe picking. |
| Colin | I was just listening to the, like, the sound effects preview [Mike chuckles.] bef-uh, earlier, and the-they did some really great stuff for the nose picking... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Colin | ... ear picking. |
| Mike | Yeah, really gross... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Like, rea-really, like, little, like... [Makes a popping sound.] |
| Katie | [In a perturbed tone.] Ugh. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Colin | Like, little tiny pops that were really good. |
| Katie | Didn't Ethan do that a lot on the old series? Like, in some of the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] You mean him personally? Or just-or like... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] Oh no. [Everyone laughs.] I thought he was kinda notorious. |
| Mike | He probably... |
| Katie | [In the background.] Bigger than Toph, yeah. |
| Mike | ... yeah, he probably did. |
| Colin | I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Ethan Spaulding, [Katie affirms.] yeah. |
| Colin | I think I actually took some instances out, maybe not in this episode, but definitely during the season. [Mike affirms.] Like, "alright, man. We-he's been picking his nose the whole..." [Mike chuckles; Katie affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, it-it-I think everybody, like, adds it in their section, but when you add it all up... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Right. |
| A brief pause in commentary until the scene fades in from black to the spirit vines dragging down the airbender kids and Pepper into the swamp. | |
| Bryan | That's another kind of parallel to the old series [Katie affirming murmurs intermittently.] through the uh, Aang and company were-they were kinda pulled down into the... into the swamp. But it was-was it, like... |
| Mike | [In the background.] It was a... |
| Bryan | ... a tornado? |
| Mike | Yeah, it was a tornado thing, but [Katie and Bryan affirm.] yeah, I guess the idea is... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Uh... |
| Mike | ... swamp is a sentient, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] kind of re-m-spiritual... Earth, creature place. I don't know. |
| Bryan | Maybe it-it's just reflecting your own... id [Mike affirms.] back at you, [Katie chuckles.] and you know what you want, [Mike chuckles.] so you're pulling yourself into the swamp. [Katie affirms intermittently.] I'd be angry at that tornado. |
| Mike | But the vines pulling 'em down kind of, like, is a little uh, set up for a later episode, where the-the vines in Republic City start [Bryan affirms.] kinda going crazy, and having a mind of their own. |
| Bryan | Vine mind. [Colin chuckles; refers to the shots of the banyan-grove tree as the sun lowers beneath the tree's canopy.] Cool paintings by Emily Tetri. |
| Katie | Beautiful. |
| Mike | Yeah, it's another iconic location from the old series. The old swampbender guy took Aang here. |
| Bryan | What-what was that dude's name? Hoo? |
| Mike | Uh, Huu. |
| Bryan | Huu. |
| Katie | Oh yeah. |
| Bryan | I thought it was-it was... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] The man with no pants. [Katie laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Yeah, he just had some leaves... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Uh... |
| Bryan | ... or something. |
| Mike | I know. |
| Katie | It's all you need. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Colin | [Refers to the point of view shot when Korra's energy travels through and within the shifting, rolling vines.] Oh, right. I forgot about this. |
| Bryan | Always tough to visualize [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] in 2D animation; you know, swamp vine POV. |
| Mike | [Refers to when Korra placed her hand on one of the banyan-grove tree's roots, causing a stream of energy to course through the tree as she tries to connect to her loved ones.] Yeah, and the idea was, like, it wa-was hard to kinda, like, visualize it, but, like, that Korra-there is this, especially since she's the Avatar, she has this kinda, like, spiritual connection with the-with the energy there, and [Katie affirmingly mumurs intermittently.] kind of, like, instinctually knows what to do. |
| Bryan | We saw Aang do something [Mike affirms.] similar. |
| Katie | Yeah, he touched the vines, the roots. [Refers to Korra tearing up as she sees Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo flying toward her.] Aww. |
| Bryan | I always thought it's real sweet. [Katie affirms intermittently; refers to Korra wiping her tears away with her arm, her hair flowing in the wind.] Nice, nice storyboarding and animation on that. |
| Mike | Yeah, and I like that it is the-the kids who [Katie affirms intermittently.] find Korra; it wasn't, like, a-a big, like, military rescue mission, or something. Like, it's just more emotional and satisfying. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's really sweet. Meelo's gonna join the nose picking club [Mike and Katie affirmingly murmur.] in a minute, here. |
| Colin | The countdown. |
| Katie | I want a series just with Toph and Meelo; [Bryan laughs.] that'd be great. [Laughs.] Living in the swamp... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] That sounds good. |
| Katie | ... adventures. |
| Bryan | Picking at themselves. [Colin, Mike, and Katie chuckle; refers to Meelo picking his nose just as Korra introduces him to Toph.] Right there. [Mike affirms.] He just starts... |
| Katie | [In the background; in a sympathetic tone.] Oh. |
| Bryan | ... going for it... [Katie laughs.] |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Wasn't it... |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to Meelo continuing to pick his nose as Toph complains that Aang used to be a "real pain in her butt".] and he keeps going. [Colin chuckles.] |
| Mike | But wasn't the idea-wa-who did this part, Colin? |
| Colin | Eugene. |
| Mike | Eugene? Yeah, it was like, he had this whole rationale that, like, when he gets around people, that he's, like, ne... |
| Colin | [In the background.] He gets nervous. |
| Mike | ... he gets really nervous... |
| Katie | [In the background; in a sympathetic tone.] Aww. |
| Mike | ... and that's, like, his nervous tic, [Colin affirms; laughs.] is, like... |
| Katie | [In the background; in a sympathetic tone.] Aww. |
| Mike | ... to pick his nose. [Colin affirms.] |
| Bryan | Maybe that's why he's such a jerk... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Which I kind of... |
| Bryan | ... he was just nervous. [Katie chuckles.] |
| Mike | I kinda like that there was a-there's a whole [Katie affirms.] reason behind it. |
| Bryan | He didn't look nervous to me. [Mike chuckles.] He just looked like he was... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Oh, kids are scared of old people. [Mike chuckles; Katie affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to the lighting caused by the fire in Toph's tree dwelling, illuminating Korra, Toph, and the airbender kids as they begin the former's healing process at night.] The-something happened with the-when they went to put, like, lighting effects on this in compositing, it got, like, really contrast-y. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] But it was the-on the whole sequence, and it was just too much. I didn't wanna call retakes on the whole thing, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] so... it would... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Turned out good, though. |
| Colin | I like it. [Katie affirms.] |
| Bryan | It's kinda cool. |
| Katie | Yeah, I think it's great. |
| Bryan | But it was-I wouldn't normally for, like, a campfire, be like such a high con, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] uh, setup. But we-we had to fix a couple shots; like, Jinora's tattoos just vanished. [Bryan, Colin, and Katie chuckle.] They were just, like, blown out. |
| Katie | [Refers to when Toph curtly told Korra not to freak out like she did the last time someone tried to extract the metal from her body.] I like that, even in this moment, To-Toph is still joking, like, "don't freak out like last time!" [Colin affirms.] |
| Bryan | They did a really nice job... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to Korra attempting to metalbend the poison out of her body.] This is beautiful. |
| Bryan | Uh, great storyboarding, but the uh, [Refers to the droplets of metal poison that emerge from Korra's body, beading and streaming along her arms.] the animation on the mercury, I thought, was really cool. [Refers to the camera zooming out from Korra into a wide angle shot during her metalbending form, capturing more of the surrounding tree hollow while keeping Korra in focus.] And the compositing; like, the foca-focal effects, and stuff. Really cool. |
| Mike | [Refers to the "To Heal" theme that plays as Korra removes the poison and reconnects with her Avatar Spirit.] Yeah, if uh, Jeremy's music in this section was one of my favorite moments; just really nice and emotional, and helps... [Refers to Korra taking in and letting out deep breaths as she goes through her metalbending form.] 'cause there's not a lotta dialogue, or anything, in this scene. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] So, really-really moves you through it quite nicely. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Korra's bare toned muscled arms.] Also, Korra's arms are appropriately buff. [Mike and Katie chuckle.] 'Cause a lotta-I-people [Katie affirms.] hear me complain a lot; a lotta times, they're... the artists just draw them too skinny. Drives me crazy, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] and I-I try to fix the shots I can, but, um, this whole sequence, they did a good job with it. [Refers to Korra's metalbending form involving rolling her arms and thrusting them out.] Especially, like, the physicality of-of her muscles as she's moving. |
| Katie | It's beautiful. [Refers to Meelo enthusiastically saying the Avatar is back after seeing Korra's eyes glow; laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Jinora's face being lit by the fire's bright orange light, her arrow tattoo becoming less distinguishable.] Still pretty hard to see that tattoo. [Bryan and Colin laugh; refers to when Korra was able to metalbend the poison out after she released her fears and anxieties over her near-death experience with Zaheer.] I love that i-I just like that whole concept, that, like... that she's holding in, [Katie affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] you know, she was holding in this stuff; like, not all of it, but a little bit. I mean, I know that, [Mike affirms.] you know, my wife works with uh, kinda rehabbing peop-like, people therapy-type stuff, and a lotta people kinda hold in their own, like... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] And Toph knew exactly what she needed. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Like, their injuries, and stuff. They sort of-a lot of its [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] kinda created by your own psyche. Thanks again to Katie and Colin for joining us. |
| Colin | Yeah! |
| Katie | Thanks for having us. |
| Bryan | Thanks for your... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] This was fun. |
| Bryan | Thanks for your great work on this episode... |
| Katie | [In the background.] Thank... |
| Bryan | ... and the whole series. |
| Katie | Thank... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] E... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Thanks, guys. |
| Katie | Thank you. |
| Colin | You, too. |
| Bryan | Even the episodes... |
| Katie | [In the background.] You, too, Colin. |
| Bryan | ... you didn't work on; thanks for those. [Colin laughs.] |
| Katie | Thank you! Thank you. |
| Mike | See ya next time. |
| Colin | [In a mock downcast tone.] I won't. [Bryan chuckles.] |