| Bryan Konietzko | Hey, guys, this is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator and executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Michael Dante DiMartino | This is Mike DiMartino, co-creator, executive producer. |
| Joshua Hamilton | Hi, my name is Josh Hamilton, I'm one of the writers on Korra. |
| Tim Hedrick | And this is Tim Hedrick, also writer on Korra. |
| Mike | And you wrote this episode. |
| Tim | Oh! |
| Josh | Tim, say that. [Mike laughs.] |
| Tim | Well, must be a good one. [Mike laughs.] |
| Josh | Say that, Tim! |
| Bryan | You're like, "whoa, now I'm interested in talking." [Mike laughs.] |
| Tim | Oh, I can tell already. [Mike, Bryan, and Josh laugh; refers to Shiro Shinobi recapping Korra, Mako, and Bolin's stories during "After All These Years" and "Korra Alone".] This is kind of, uh, one of the interesting parts of writing Korra is writing the little recaps that happen, 'cause uh, [Bryan affirms.] we're trying to, like, condense everything down into thirty seconds. And Shiro Shinobi, man, he really makes it sing. |
| Bryan | Yeah, Je... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] He can cram a lotta stuff in there. |
| Mike | I know. |
| Bryan | Jeff... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Probably people don't know, like, 'cause I will do the temp record for these lines, and uh, before we do the ADR, 'cause I always record it at the end of production, and uh, I do my best Shiro, but, it's not very good. [Laughs.] |
| Josh | Yours got better and better and better. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it did get pretty good. |
| Josh | It got, I mean, towards the end, you could've done it. |
| Bryan | It's tough... [Josh laughs.] |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, well, I don't know. |
| Bryan | I actually, I might've mention this in an-in an earlier season's commentary, but I-I auditioned for the role of Shiro Shinobi; I-I thought I could-I thought I could do an old-timey voice, do, like, the-the announcer for the fights, and uh, 'cause I watch a lotta fighting, so I tho-I thought, "oh, that, you know, I-I could do that," and um, or at least a pretend version of it, and uh, man, much like a fight, you go up against-against Jeff Bennett in a voice acting contest, [Tim laughs.] you're gonna get knocked out. |
| Tim | You lose, son. |
| Bryan | I-I didn't-I didn't [Josh chuckles intermittently.] hire myself, I was like, "man, uh, that was terrible." [Tim chuckles.] But we-at that point, we-I don't think we had the idea to use him for the uh, the "Previously Ons", and, like, there, like you said, there are so many words packed into thirty seconds, and um, I seriously think that character has maybe the second-most, like, words in the series, [Bryan and Tim chuckle.] maybe next to Korra. |
| Mike | [Refers to when Wu complains to the metalbenders setting up his coronation ceremony that there will not be enough space for the Dance of the Badgermoles.] I just wanna point out that-I believe this is the-Wu's first mention of badgermoles, which uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; laughs.] He's obsessed with. [Tim affirms.] |
| Mike | Which-which comes into play, later. |
| Tim | Yeah, well... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's not just random mentioning of badgermoles. [Josh affirms.] |
| Bryan | The dude is... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Badgermoles are great. He like... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It has a-it has a plot point later in the series. |
| Josh | With all the setup. [Mike affirms; laughs.] |
| Bryan | He's not-he's not a uh, an earthbender, but he's a-he's a badgermole-bender. [Mike affirms.] |
| Tim | [Refers to when Kuvira usurps control of the Earth Kingdom from Wu during his coronation ceremony.] I gotta say that I am just as disappointed as Wu is that [Bryan laughs.] he doesn't get to have this coronation [Josh laughs.] that he describes. |
| Bryan | It was bu... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Dance of the Badgermoles. L... |
| Bryan | ... budgetary limitations. [Laughs.] |
| Tim | Would've loved to see that. [Refers to when Wu describes to Mako how "earthbender dames" would pop out of boulders and start banging the rocks like drums for his coronation.] And those earthbender dames banging on the rock drums, [Bryan affirms.] and, I mean, hours... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to when Wu asks Gun where his grandfather's taffeta pantaloons are.] There is a line he says later, like, taffet of pantaloons, or something? |
| Tim | [Gives an affirming murmur.] Yes. [Josh chuckles.] |
| Bryan | What-I don't even know what... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Taffeta? [Tim chuckles.] What uh, yeah, how... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's a type of material. |
| Josh | You need to find these words. |
| Tim | Yeah, it's a kinda material that-that uh, that you make your fancy pantaloons out of. [Josh and Bryan laugh.] What're you, animals? [Josh and Mike laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] What kinda-what are your pantaloons [Tim and Josh laugh.] made of? Oh man, mine are just normal denim. |
| Josh | De... [Tim chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Denim pantaloons. |
| Tim | Gross. [Josh affirms.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Refers to Korra and Toph conversing in the latter's simply furnished dwelling, located underneath the exposed roots of a giant tree.] So, there [Laughs.] wa-one of the storyboard artists put in Toph's little Yoda cave, here, a-a-a little framed photo of Sokka [Bryan and Josh laugh.] with his-with his boomerang, [Tim laughs.] and obvious... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Photo, huh? |
| Bryan | Yeah, [Josh laughs.] exactly, and everybody's like, "that's hilarious," and I was like, "she's blind, why would [Laughs.] she have a photo?" |
| Tim | [Laughs.] Yeah. [Josh affirms.] |
| Bryan | Even if she, you know, had-had this-wanted to have a little, you know, memento of him, I don't think it would be a photo. |
| Tim | Maybe it was a small relief carving. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Unless, like, you could think it would be, like, a hilarious joke, like, he gave it to her, like as a joke that... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] I like that. |
| Bryan | ... you know? Like... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] I believe that. |
| Bryan | ... like, knowing, either as a joke, or he forgot again that she was blind, as he often did. |
| Tim | Yeah, meant a lot. It should be upside-down over the ground. |
| Bryan | Yeah, the... |
| Josh | [Brief pause.] Maybe she thinks it's her daughter's. [Bryan and Josh laugh.] |
| Tim | [Refers to Kuvira's entourage arriving at the Republic City Four Elements' lobby.] Back to the Four Elements. [Bryan affirms.] Sweet lobby at this place. |
| Mike | [Refers to the sequence at the Republic City Four Elements, where Bolin catches up with Eska and Mako, Varrick tells Zhu Li to steal some of the hotel's soaps, Baatar Jr. has a tense reunion with Su, and Wu attempts to impress Kuvira.] I remember, Tim, weren't you-didn't you-weren't you describing this little sequence, 'cause this is kind of a long sequence where we see a lotta people coming in and out, you were talking about The Love Boat, or something. [Josh and Bryan laugh.] |
| Tim | Yes, exactly. That is exactly what I was saying. |
| Bryan | That's perfect. |
| Tim | It's like the opening of Love Boat. All your guest stars are coming in, "oh, it's Charo, over there." [Josh chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] That's perfect. |
| Tim | This is where we learn... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It really is like that, yeah. |
| Tim | ... [Refers to Eska informing a hotel clerk, concerned that the siblings were booked for a one-bed apartment, that it is fine as Desna will sleep in the tub.] Desna sleeps in the tub. [Laughs; Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's, like, that's such a weird joke; like, you think it's going somewhere really weird, and then it-it gets even weirder [Tim chuckles.] but in a different way. [Tim and Josh chuckles.] Yeah, it was fun; I mean, I-I-I love all this kinda 1920s stuff, and we-we have some, you know, buried under the crust in Downtown Los Angeles, there's some-some cool old buildings, kinda look like this. [Mike affirms.] I mean, actually, I think this lobby was based on, I think, a hotel in New York, but um, Christine Bian switched over to doing background designs, uh, and she just did these incredible designs, and then Lauren Zurcher did great paintings for this. Kinda opulent, uh... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Yeah, it's a nice-looking spot. |
| Josh | I wanna go there. |
| Tim | You can't afford it, Josh. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Josh | [Sighs; brief pause.] Season four, this is the one season that uh, Tim and I worked on where we didn't have a big uh, month-lo-or we didn't have a break, for one thing, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] but we just sort of jumped into, like, writing, didn't we? |
| Mike | Yeah, there might have been, like, a couple week break, but yeah, we pretty much... went... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Yeah, turned it around pretty fast. |
| Mike | But we, I mean, we always try to take, like, a month, or so, of just, like, development, you know, try to figure out a bunch of stories upfront, and kinda plan out the arc of the season [Tim affirms intermittently.] so that we kinda know where we're headed, and-and we-we usually have, like, a, you know, first half really nailed down, like what episode-what's gonna happen in each episode, um, by the time we start writing the first one, uh, with the idea of, like, what's gonna happen in the second half the-half of the season. |
| Bryan | Yeah, to continue what I was saying in the-the first episode of the season's commentary, um, you know, when we-we thought of, like, the Metal Clan, and, you know, using it in Book Three, and then the idea of it turning into this military dictatorship, it was kinda like, at that point, you know, we liked Su, and even though she had a checkered past, it didn't really make sense to make her, like, really bad, you know, to have her turn bad. But it did make sense to have someone who kinda come up in that, or at least we liked that idea, that kinda someone coming up in that-in that city and that culture, and being like, [Giving a thoughtful murmur.] "with all this technology, and-and uh, you know, money, there's a lotta rich benefactors in-in Zaofu, like, we could-we could uh, really-we could change the Earth Kingdom." Uh... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Yeah, it's also [Tim affirms.] s-yeah, like, I think li-how we explained it in one of the episodes, it's, like, why not spread that to the rest of the world? [Bryan affirms.] |
| Tim | [Brief pause.] So, was really excited to get Varrick back in this season, and his-spreading his technology all over the Earth Kingdom, which has been so backwards up 'til now, [Bryan chuckles.] kind of just a... this-they've been so sequestered, and to have these, like, high-speed trains going everywhere, and all the-his new maglev technology, the robot suits. I love that stuff, and then I just love to see Varrick, just out there, spreading his knowledge. |
| Bryan | You're sorta the-you're sort of the uh, godfather of Varrick, [Tim affirms; Josh chuckles.] 'cause, I mean, I-I-I wasn't in the room when you guys came up with that-that character, but uh, but uh, we, you know, Tim is sorta known as-as the-the voice of Varrick. [Josh affirms.] He's-he's very good at the Varrick dialogue. |
| Tim | I always wanted to have kind of a crazy billionaire [Josh affirms; Bryan chuckles intermittently.] who's out there just, you know, I-I like any billionaires who wanna go to space, or into sea. [Josh laughs.] Uh, I'm-I'm really behind that a hundred percent. |
| Josh | Maybe the center of Earth? |
| Tim | Yeah, anything like that. That's what you should be doing if you have billions of dollars. |
| Bryan | And you should get some taffeta pantaloons. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Tim | [Laughs.] Absolu-well, you already have those, I assume. [Bryan laughs; refers to Korra and Toph sparring in the swamp, where Toph easily avoids Korra's attacks while keeping her hands behind her back, repeatedly knocking the Avatar back with minimal physical effort.] This is a really fun scene, just to see Toph just own Korra. [Tim and Mike laugh.] This really makes me laugh. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Toph earthbending the mud beneath her feet, surging forth on it as a wave around and into Korra.] We get some cool, like, mudbending, which-which uh, you don't see too much of. [Tim and Mike affirm.] It seems, whenever people earthbend, it's u-not even dirt, they just-the artists just tend to draw, like, straight-up granite coming out [Josh gives an affirming murmur.] and smashing into people, and uh, I think, ho-honestly, in-in, like, a live-action version, earthbending would be a lot more earth, it'd be a lot more dirt, and uh, and some-and some mud, if you-if you got the technique. |
| Tim | Yeah. [Mike chuckles.] And I love that Toph is just really enjoying beating up the Avatar; like, you feel like she really missed this. [Mike affirms.] She didn't realize how much [Mike chuckles.] until she got to do it again. |
| Bryan | It's funny, when you-we get to episode ten, and-and she admits that this... this whole thing, like, really hurt her back, [Bryan, Josh, and Tim laugh.] when she's-even by episode ten, she's still, like, hurting. So, you-it's funny to go back and watch this, and know that she's like, she's like, [Refers to Toph sitting cross-legged on top of a giant tree root.] right here, when she's sitting, she's probably like, "oh man, I gotta take... |
| Tim | [In the background.] "Straighten up." |
| Bryan | ... I gotta take a break." [Laughs.] |
| Mike | Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the darker color palette on Korra's clothes, and the sheen on her hair and skin after having been sent flying by one of Toph's attacks and landing in a shallow pool of water.] This is a rare, we did a-actually a wet color model for-for Korra. It always bothers me when characters get in water, and then they step out and then they just look the same, so we darkened her... her hair and clothes, and gave her little wet highlights. [Mike affirms.] |
| Tim | [Refers to the shot of a drenched Korra as she stealthily readies some water to whip at a seemingly unsuspecting Toph.] She looks wet. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | Shoulda done it. Should've done it for every other time someone got wet, but... oh well. It's alright-ish. |
| Tim | I've often said that your attention to detail is pretty lax, Bryan. [Josh and Mike laugh.] |
| Bryan | It's terrible! It's terrible. |
| Josh | People say that all the time. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Tim | [Refers to Gun pinning the "royal brooch" on Wu for his coronation; laughs.] It's a brooch. Oh boy. |
| Mike | [Refers to Fire Lord Izumi sitting with the other world leaders during Wu's coronation.] So, we see the Fire Lord, there, Fire Lord Izumi, we later find out her name. [Bryan affirms.] Uh, doesn't play a huge role this season, but we wanted to include her, with the... |
| Tim | [In the background.] Yeah, we had... |
| Mike | ... we know-we know she's out there. |
| Tim | ... we had plans for her, [Bryan affirms.] but we just couldn't... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Right, she was almost in. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | It was-we had... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Too many. |
| Bryan | ... too many characters, and it was hard to, like, get the Fire Nation in in any, like, really meaningful way. [Mike and Tim affirm.] |
| Josh | If I'm not mistaken, we were pitching... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh, you're gonna-you're gonna set the world on fire... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Uh... |
| Bryan | ... with this information, [Mike and Tim chuckle.] Josh. Go for it. |
| Josh | I believe it's-was it Mako... |
| Tim | Yes. |
| Bryan | Yes. |
| Josh | ... and Izumi? Yes. |
| Tim | Yes. |
| Bryan | No. |
| Mike | No, Iz... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] No. |
| Mike | ... Izumi's daughter. |
| Bryan | Izumi's daughter. |
| Josh | Izumi's daughter. [Mike affirms.] Sorry, Izumi's daughter, yeah. |
| Bryan | It was gonna be General Iroh's sister. [Josh and Mike affirm.] Mako was gonna-was gonna have a-a... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, pretty... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Yeah, that was a hot path. What happened? |
| Tim | Yeah. |
| Bryan | It-we just said... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It was too much. |
| Josh | Gotta redo it. |
| Mike | There was too much. [Josh laughs.] |
| Tim | We were-just didn't... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] No, I-I remember, we-we decided this season was gonna be more about friendships, [Mike and Josh affirm.] and it was, like, the-Mako and-and Wu were gonna have this, like, Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, like, Midnight Run, kinda, like, they hate each other in the, or, you know, [Tim affirms; refers to Mako's annoyance and unimpressed impression of Wu.] Mako hates him, [Tim laughs.] and-and, like, [Josh gives an affirming murmur; refers to Wu treating Mako as a friend.] the other guy's oblivious, but he's gonna wear on him, [Laughs.] you know, and it was gonna be im-we-we-I think bromance... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Bro-bromance, yeah. |
| Bryan | ... was the word. Mike showed up in my office, he goes, "eh, so we couldn't-we couldn't figure out the-the Fire Nation romance, but uh, he's gonna have a bromance," so, there you go. |
| Mike | Sometimes, you gotta cut some stuff out. [Tim affirms.] Could be good, but... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] But hey, the... |
| Mike | ... doesn't all fit. |
| Bryan | Those of you who like to write the fanfiction... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] There you go. [Josh laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... li-like to draw f-fanart. |
| Tim | Yeah, there you go, that's... |
| Josh | Make it happen! |
| Mike | It's, yeah, we can say it's canon that Izumi has a daughter. |
| Bryan | She looks a lot like... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] And... |
| Bryan | ... uh, you know that picture that Nickelodeon tweeted with uh, Izumi without glasses? She probably looks like that. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Josh | Wow, you guys are, like, sort of giving [Tim laughs.] instructions, going... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Oh yeah. |
| Bryan | N-no, we're just, like, [Josh laughs intermittently.] we're just trying to help. We're just trying to... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] There should be, like, a writing contest. |
| Mike | It's always good, 'cause then, like, you know, when the DVD comes out, then you check Tumblr and they're, like, they quote ya. And they... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Well... |
| Mike | ... and then they do drawings, you're like, "oh yeah, I did ask them to do that, [Josh laughs.] that's cool." [Tim laughs.] |
| Bryan | Well, and people [Josh gives an affirming murmur.] always say, "what is her name? What does she look like? What does this person look," you know? So, it's like... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Oh, you're talking about fans? |
| Bryan | ... we're-so I'm just trying to help; I'm just trying to help. That's what she looks like. Go for it. |
| Mike | She and Mako can cross paths somewhere, Republic City, during uh... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Absolutely. |
| Josh | Maybe late at night. |
| Tim | Maybe at a super-council meeting. [Mike and Josh laugh.] |
| Bryan | You know, like... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Another thing we never got in the show. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | While we're talking about shipping, um, I, you know, m-we-we, all four of us in this room, we're-we're too old for that; like, not like we're better than it, but we missed it. It just doesn't relate to us; like, people have to explain it to us, and then, [Mike affirms.] and-and, like, when I watch TV shows, I don't-I just-that's not how I interact with them. I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just not how I-I don't think about these characters getting together if-if the story's not going that way. But, I ship Mako with that uh, the-the, like, uh, I found myself shipping him with the little operator, uh, per-not little, but this, [Mike chuckles.] this operator woman that he's sitting next to during the evacuation [Laughs.] later in the season. [Josh and Tim laugh.] I'm always like, I'm always like, like, he's, like, totally bombing, but, like, I kinda think, like, she's like, "oh, that's kinda cute," you know? Like, he's-he's, like, totally oblivious; he doesn't realize... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Maybe after-after uh, stuff goes down, he's... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I'm telling, [Josh gives an affirming murmur.] he probably went back there, he just called the operator [Mike affirms.] at the police station. [Tim laughs.] |
| Mike | He's always make-pretending he needs to be patched through [Bryan affirms; Josh laughs.] town as the... |
| Bryan | Yeah. Because they bo-you know, he was a cop. [Tim affirms.] |
| Mike | Man, now we're writing our own fanfiction, right now. [Tim chuckles.] |
| Bryan | He was a cop. Well, that's why I'm telling you guys. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Tim | Hey, man. |
| Bryan | I found myself actually, like, "oh, I don't know, I kinda see them together," [Mike chuckles.] and it was, like, this side character that we never even named. So, I guess I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] So you understand now? |
| Bryan | ... after [Mike affirms.] twelve years of being exposed to this, it finally-finally wore on me. [Tim gives an affirming murmur.] So, it's time to get out. |
| Tim | Book Five. |
| Bryan | Time to get out. Or... |
| Mike | Yeah, speaking of super-council meetings, which we always [Mike and Tim laugh.] have these ideas of, like, "we want every world leader at the room for [Tim affirms.] this crazy sorta..." |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Wait, wait, we did kinda do it, though. |
| Mike | [Refers to Su, having conferred with the other nations' leaders, telling Kuvira she has to step down as a ruler.] Well, we had a scene prior to this where they had the super-council meeting with all the... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Worl-world leaders... |
| Mike | ... world leaders, and they're like, "Su, you gotta go talk to, [Tim affirms.] to uh, Kuvira," and she's like, "okay, I'll do it," and then the script was too long, or the animatic was too uh, I don't think it ever got boarded, but we were just like, "ah, you know what, [Tim affirms.] you don't need [Laughs.] that. She can just show up... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] She just says it. |
| Tim | Figure it out. |
| Mike | ... and say... [Tim affirms.] |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Is... |
| Mike | ... 'hey, I talked to the world leaders, [Bryan affirms.] I'm here [Josh laughs.] as their representative.'" |
| Bryan | Guys, editing, very important part [Mike affirms.] of writing, [Tim affirms.] yeah. |
| Josh | There was another one. Isn't there, late-later on, Bolin... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] There is one, yeah, yeah. |
| Mike | Well, there's, like, a mini... |
| Josh | [In the background.] It's uh... |
| Mike | ... there's the one where Wu and Raiko and Tenzin are... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Korra shows up... |
| Mike | [In the background.] And Izumi. |
| Bryan | ... then they fight her, [Josh affirms.] yeah. |
| Mike | Yeah. But it's... |
| Josh | [In the background.] You get that council meeting. |
| Mike | ... it's uh, it's a mini-super-council. |
| Josh | Not a very big council. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the low-angle shot of Kuvira as she tells Su the Earth Empire will not accept a puppet ruler like Wu, and the high-angle shot of Su as she lists Kuvira's dictatorial actions.] Notice all the shots of Su are down shots, and all the shots of Kuvira are up shots. [Tim gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Josh | What... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] More powerful. |
| Tim | Tell us why. |
| Bryan | [Gives an thoughtful murmur.] Gives her more authority. |
| Mike | [Brief pause; refers to Wu sitting in junior suite hotel room while Mako packs the prince's clothes.] And now he's stuck in the junior suite. |
| Tim | The junior suite. |
| Mike | [Refers to when Wu and Mako visit the Little Ba Sing Se Fashion Mall.] So, this, [Tim gives a mock disgruntled sigh.] I remember when we talked about this idea of the Little Ba Sing Se Fashion Mall. [Bryan laughs.] It seemed... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Oh my gosh. |
| Bryan | Best idea. |
| Josh | I do, too. [Tim gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | It seemed so silly at first, [Tim laughs.] and then... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] No. No! |
| Mike | ... and then, [Josh laughs intermittently.] and then I loved it, 'cause it-it just summed up Wu's, like, struggle, and, like, made him, like, super pathetic, [Refers to when Wu runs into the mall's restaurant, its exterior and interior designed to look like the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace.] and just the whole thing of having the, like, the-the royal palace restaurant, [Refers to when Wu sits on the restaurant's mock-up throne, tearing the crown, sceptre, and cape away from the little boy sitting on it.] and that he would sit on the throne at the restaurant. I loved it all. |
| Josh | I love... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] I-I think it's amazing. [Mike affirms.] |
| Josh | ... [Refers to the mall being comprised of three walled rings with shops and stalls built into them at different levels.] the-the tiers of the mall, you know, where, like... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] It's such a great idea for a mall, [Mike affirms.] first of all. I mean, it just works that way. [Josh laughs.] |
| Bryan | "The Tears of the Mall" should've been the name of this episode. [Josh and Tim laugh.] |
| Mike | But T-E-A-R. [Tim and Josh affirm.] |
| Bryan | Oh, man. |
| Tim | Oh, boy. |
| Bryan | I loved it. Yeah, I-it is pretty ridiculous, but, like, that's what, like, modernizing the Avatar world a little bit, like, afforded us those-those opportunities that we really didn't have before. |
| Mike | Well, if you go to, yeah, you know, Tokyo or Seoul, or something, there's malls, not exactly like that, but, like, that are kinda over the top, like, you know, theme malls and theme parks, and all that stuff, that I-I could believe they would've made this. |
| Bryan | Heck, just go to Mall of America, [Mike and Tim affirm.] where the Avatar roller coaster is. [Mike affirms; laughs.] But yeah, it was a-it was a cool-it was a fun location. [Refers to Mako and Bolin arguing over their respective opinions of Wu and Kuvira.] I love this scene; this-something about this scene feels like a real TV show to me. [Bryan and Tim laugh.] |
| Josh | [Laughs.] Not a real thing [Tim affirms.] that could happen. |
| Tim | This could be, like, on Scandal. [Josh and Mike laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Oh, man. |
| Mike | It's a good... |
| Tim | [Interjects; refers to Mako telling Bolin he does not want to work for a dictator like Kuvira, while Bolin angrily tells Mako to enjoy licking his king's boots.] Well, this scene-it's a good breakup scene between... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah, it's a good... |
| Tim | ... our boys. |
| Bryan | Wha-what does he say? [Refers to Bolin calling Wu a "snotty rich bozo".] "Snotty rich bozo". I love that. That's some... Tim has a very, like, musical quality to some of his dialogue. [Josh chuckles.] It-it rolls off the tongue nicely, like taffeta pantaloons, you-you know... |
| Tim | Yeah, it just... |
| Josh | [In the background.] It... |
| Tim | ... it's all about the sound. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Mako's tired tone as he accepts Wu's offer to go the mall; laughs.] I love that Mako's like, [Tim laughs.] "yeah." [Laughs.] |
| Tim | [In a mock downcast tone.] "Yeah." |
| Josh | Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] "That sounds great." |
| Tim | That's how you know Mako's traumatized, [Bryan laughs; Mike affirms.] he just goes... along with it. |
| Josh | [In the background.] Um... |
| Bryan | [Imitating and referring to when Mako has a smoothie at the mall.] "Ready for a smoothie." [Tim laughs.] |
| Josh | [Refers to Toph commenting to Korra how much she missed tormenting the Avatar.] Back in the swamp. |
| Tim | Oh, happy Toph. |
| Josh | So, Toph, the very first time we ever saw her, ever, in the Avatar world was in the swamp, right? |
| Bryan | Yep, yep. |
| Josh | So... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, Aang had a vision of her, running through the swamp, [Tim affirms.] running around in the swamp. But yeah... [Bryan affirms.] |
| Josh | [In the background.] Was this always... |
| Mike | ... we always thought it made sense that, [Josh affirms.] yeah, she would be tied to the swamp, and the swamp is technically s-somewhat close to where she grew up in uh... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Yeah, not too far. [Bryan and Josh affirm.] It was the next... |
| Mike | ... her s-her town, there. |
| Tim | ... next stop. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Mike | So, we always thought like, "oh yeah, as a kid, she probably, like, ran away, you know, when she would have a-when she would run away from home. She-sometimes, she went to the swamp." |
| Bryan | She-she would... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Hang out. |
| Bryan | ... hang out with the badgermoles, right? |
| Tim | Right. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | So, they kinda-they probably-they probably went on a few, cool field trip. Hey, there's another little-you wanna draw a cool comic? [Mike chuckles.] Little fanfiction? |
| Tim | Ooh, yeah, badgermoles in the swamp. |
| Bryan | Baby Toph, badgermole swamp field trip. |
| Mike | Love it. [Josh chuckles.] |
| Bryan | I'm not instructing people, I'm just-I'm just throwing these things out. |
| Tim | Yeah, just a-it's a great idea. |
| Josh | No, I-I know, can't wait to see 'em. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Tim | Get some catgators in there. |
| Bryan | Everyone's like, "but, like, you guys need to keep working on the show, and make this," which is cool. That's neat that people want that, but I'm like, "or you guys could draw it." [Mike affirms; Tim chuckles.] |
| Josh | "Your turn." |
| Bryan | "And I won't have to do any work." [Laughs.] |
| Mike | You got all the material to work with, yeah. |
| Tim | They do a great job. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Refers to the shops and stalls of the Little Ba Sing Se Fashion Mall framed at ground level.] So, yeah, William Niu did this... |
| In the background, Josh chuckles as Wu scrambles out of his table past Mako, whom he just spat most of his smoothie onto. | |
| Bryan | ... these crazy designs of this, uh, this mall. [Refers to the two female fans wearing Kuvira shirts that Wu accosts at the mall, with the one on the left calling Kuvira her hero.] Oh, and the-the-we should point out, on the left, there, is a character of Angie... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Josh, isn't that your wife? [Josh gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | That's your wife. |
| Josh | I believe. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | And uh, Christine Bian; they-they wanted to put themselves in the show. |
| Josh | Okay, I believe that they're known as "Chrangie". [Mike and Tim chuckle.] |
| Bryan | Yes. They are-they... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Christine and Angie. |
| Bryan | ... they became fast friends on the show. They met on the show, and-and uh, became besties. [Mike gives an affirming murmur; refers to the fan labeling the quality of her Kuvira shirt as "aces".] And then, I love that she says "aces", 'cause my friend uh, Samantha Robertson, says "aces" a lot, and she's the one-the whole reason we have Avatar art books, uh, not been Samantha. She got those happening. So, uh, it's-it's, like, it's like all these people we know kind of embedded in the show. [Refers to Mako pulling Wu through the alley and away from their pursuers, the spot on the wall Wu was hiding against having a graffitied poster of his head in the same position.] This is a funny little side gag. [Tim affirms.] Did that just come from the storyboard? |
| Mike | I think so, yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah, was a great idea. [Refers to Wu and Mako entering the mall's replica Royal Earth Kingdom Palace.] This, I love this. |
| Mike | Here we are. [Tim chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Wu's buoyant tone when he says it must be destiny, telling Mako to look at where they were.] Sunil's read on this is so good. [Imitates Wu's awed tone.] "Mako, look!" |
| Tim | He's, like, and it opens like a dream, or what's happening. |
| Bryan | "It's destiny." |
| Tim | [Refers to the scale model of Bosco near the restaurant's entrance.] There's little Bosco. [Josh laughs.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] So, I don't think that's the real Bosco, just to people aren't too freaked out. I think it's, like, just a... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] No, no, they have one of those in every one of these restaurants. |
| Mike | ... it's just a fake bear, yeah, totally. [Josh chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Now... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] He's like Ronald McDonald. [Josh chuckles; Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | And it's something about uh, like... |
| Tim, Josh, and Mike chuckle as Wu frantically breaks down, telling the young boy sitting on the restaurant's throne that it's his coronation day, which unlike the boy's birthday, he will never have again. | |
| Bryan | ... I feel like with Ti-Tim, you're always gonna have taxidermy, like, there's... |
| Tim | [In the background; laughs.] It's-it's true. |
| Bryan | ... something about Tim, and obviously I'm this vegan guy, and it's, like, just-I'm working on, you know, this show that I created... |
| Mike | But that's what I'm saying; I don't think that's, like, a real bear, at all. |
| Bryan | But that one's just fake. |
| Mike | I think that's a fake. |
| Tim | Yeah, that's, like, a plastic bear. |
| Bryan | Alright. |
| Josh | You sure? [Mike and Josh laugh.] |
| Tim | And 'cause the real... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I actually drew... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Oh, I know. |
| Bryan | I drew that bear into these shots, those... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] The queen ate the real one. [Josh laughs.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Well, that's... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] She even ate the fur. [Tim affirms.] |
| Mike | Yeah, well... [Bryan and Josh laugh; refers to Wu, having been told by Mako of his lacking leadership qualities, admitting to himself that he deserved his negative treatment.] alright, so here's, yeah, I like this, Wu, pathetic. |
| Josh | His throne. |
| Mike | I mean, I always thought like, "eh," you end up kinda feeling... |
| Tim | [Interjects.] Yeah, you know... |
| Mike | ... a little bit bad for the guy. |
| Bryan | Dude, Sunil's read when he's yelling at that kid was just incredible. [Mike affirms.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Tim chuckles at Wu innocently pleading for Mako to carry him as they ready to flee from the approaching Kuvira supporters. | |
| Mike | But then... |
| Bryan | [Imitates Wu.] "You'll have another birthday [Tim affirms; laughs.] next year!" |
| Tim | [Brief pause.] It's true, kids are coddled. That's just off-off the show topic; [Mike and Bryan laugh.] just-just dropping it off. |
| Josh | Thanks, Tim. Kno... [Tim and Josh laugh.] dropping knowledge. |
| Tim | You mind if I just... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Kids in general. |
| Tim | ... turn this into, like, a conservative talk show, real quick? [Josh and Mike laugh.] |
| Bryan | Tim, not a parent, [Tim and Josh laugh.] is telling you how to raise your children. |
| Tim | That's right. [Bryan chuckles.] |
| Josh | Probably a child. [Bryan and Josh chuckle.] |
| Mike | [Refers to Korra jolting up and yelling in pain as Toph tries to remove the metal poison still inside her body.] I always imagine that that would hurt. [Tim affirms intermittently.] You got metal in there, and just... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I... |
| Mike | ... just trying to pull it out through your skin. Man... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I keep thinking about Wolverine, and he's got, like, the adamantium on-on his skeleton; every time she does that, [Josh affirms intermittently.] I imagine the mercury is, like, wrapped around her skeleton. |
| Tim | Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Toph refusing to continue her efforts in removing the poison after Korra has another panic attack; laughs.] Toph just gives up, [Tim laughs.] right away. [Josh affirms; imitates Toph.] "alright, I tried." |
| Tim | Toph is so great, I mean... |
| Bryan | "I'm gonna go pick my nose, [Tim affirms.] or something." |
| Tim | [Imitating and referring to Toph telling Korra she'll have to metalbend the poison out herself.] "Do it yourself." |
| Bryan | [Refers to Korra being offended at Toph's notion that she wants to keep the poison inside her body.] I love Korra's reaction, here, to-'cause I think this-what Toph says here is really astute. [Refers to Toph saying that Korra doesn't want the poison removed so she won't have to go back to her Avatar duties, and run the risk of being hurt again.] She's like, "maybe you want to hold this in, you know, and you don't," you know, uh, [Josh affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] this-this, we talk about it in another commentary, but, like, this idea of, like, people holding in their own-kind of, like, keeping themselves from being healed, to a degree; not that they consciously want to, [Tim affirms.] um, but they're sort of scared of letting go, and... and uh, [Refers to Korra's miserable expression as she turns away from Toph, casting her head down in silence as Toph tells her the swamp is the best place to hide away from others.] Korra, the acting on-like, the visual acting on Korra, like, you really get that she-Toph kinda hit a nerve, you know? She's like, "wait. Maybe I am." She hasn't admitted that to herself, but maybe she is uh... keeping herself from healing. |
| Tim | [Brief pause; refers to Tenzin charging Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo with the mission of finding Korra.] Oh, boy. |
| Mike | It's a little setup for the next episode. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Meelo saying that Tenzin can count on him, while noting his uncertainty regarding the readiness of his sisters.] Another great read, Logan. |
| Tim | [Laughs.] Logan, you've done it again. |
| Josh | [Refers to Jinora giving a baffled side glance at Meelo.] Jinora's look was [Laughs.] so funny. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the mountainous background, the formations vividly colored and shadowed by the low-hanging sun, as Kuvira's train passes by on the tracks.] That background was painted by, uh, Lane Garrison; really, really cool guy, awesome artist. He was uh, on the Artist Fellowship Program, and we gave him some m-paintings to do, and that was one of the ones he did. He also did the junior suite. |
| Mike | [Refers to when Varrick and Zhu Li hooked up a contained spirit vine to a machine in Kuvira's train.] And here we see the first spirit vine experiment. |
| Tim | [Refers to Varrick's goggles, with multiple brightly colored lenses attached to them.] Those are some great goggles. |
| Bryan | Good job, Tim. |
| Tim | Thanks. |
| Josh | Tim, awesome episode. |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] So, what's Varrick gonna do with those spirit vines? |
| Tim | [Gives a thoughtful murmur.] I think he's gonna eat 'em. [Mike and Josh chuckle.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Soylent Green is... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Flavor... |
| Bryan | ... made of spirit vines! |
| Tim | [Laughs.] I'm glad they-we found a use for those vines, [Josh affirms intermittently.] they were all over the place. [Bryan chuckles; refers to the end credits.] We're almost there. |
| Josh | Just a couple more people to go. |