| Michael Dante DiMartino | Hi, this is Mike DiMartino, co-creator, executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzko | This is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator, executive producer. |
| Joaquim Dos Santos | This is Joaquim Dos Santos, co-executive producer. |
| Jeremy Zuckerman | This is Jeremy Zuckerman, composer. |
| Mike | Awesome. So, these two, this episode and the next one, uh, I mean, I have a lot of favorite episodes in this season, and other seasons, but I-I really love this, the two-part uh, story of Lin, and-and meeting Su and her family, and everything, and the Metal Clan, and the whole look of it is awesome. You did guys did an awesome job, Bryan... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Thank you. |
| Mike | ... and the design team. |
| Bryan | Thank you, thank you. Yeah, it was nice, you know, we-we, uh, Lin Beifong didn't really fit into the story of Book Two very much, so it was nice in this season to really, really like give her a couple episodes. |
| Jeremy | [Refers to the theme, akin to the deep ring of a bell, that plays during the episode title card.] I kinda like how that-that title card, it sor-sort of sounds like a clock. [Bryan and Mike give affirming murmurs.] It's clangorous, so it's like Metal Clan, but it sounds like a clock and has all this like history... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Cool. |
| Jeremy | ... you know? [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] This past history, and it just-sort of one of those things that kinda worked out. |
| Mike | Sh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That was something we talked about, uh, you know, when we spotted this with Jeremy, was that it was gonna be this sort of utopia, Art Deco, city of the future, um, and we-we were like, "is there a way you can work in metal into the, [Jeremy affirms.] into the theme?" |
| Joaquim | And-and just to clarify for the fans, when you guys say "spotted it with Jeremy", it's not like you're literally spotting something with your eyes. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] Right. [Gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Spotting session, where we-we go through the raw footage, and we, with the-doesn't have any sound, and we talk about the music cues that we would like to hear, and wh-wha-the emotion behind the scenes, and-and the s-the sound design that we have in mind. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Naga whimpering as she nudges her ball, deflated and broken apart by a frustrated Lin, with her nose.] Aww. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Mike | Poor Naga. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the establishing shot of Zaofu, a city comprised of several metal domes interconnected via railway.] So, yeah, this-this was a huge design undertaking, uh, making this crazy Art Deco location, but it was fun. This-it's one of my favorite periods in art history, and LA actually, amidst a bunch of crummy strip malls, has a lot of uh, nice examples of this stuff. |
| Jeremy | [Refers to the theme that plays during the sequence where Lin's airship lands at Zaofu.] Musically, this is a little bit different, stylistically I think, than the rest of Korra. Um, it's new ideas, and it's, just the tone is a bit different, you know? |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the tender, wondrous timbre of the theme.] Sounds pretty hopeful. |
| Jeremy | And even the instrumentation, yeah. It's, yeah, the mood is a bit different, and then there's a sort of, like, these activated strings that are kind of like, remind me of glit-you know, glinting, glittering light [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] on, like on metal, or something. |
| Bryan | Cool. Yeah, it was meant to seem kind of like, yeah, the just... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] This, yeah, utopian... |
| Bryan | ... utopian, kinda hopeful. [Jeremy affirms; refers to the long shot of Team Avatar walking toward the Zaofu officials, the base of the large mountains Zaofu is located beneath dominating the background.] The scale; I like the scale. So, the lo-the-the geographical location, this was inspired by Lake Louise in Banff National Park in Canada. Um, Mike and I had gone there on a, just a little vacation, shooting some photos, and um, it's a beautiful lake. We went there in the winter, so we were actually standing on the lake, um, and I shot some photos, and then we used that mountainous, uh, area, that kind of valley, as Zaofu's location; we just took out the lake. So... we have a little uh, [Refers to when Zaheer arrives on Air Temple Island, now with a shaved face and head, passing himself off as a new airbender named Yorru.] so, there you-Mike, correct me if I'm wrong, we used to see Zaheer shaving his head. |
| Mike | Yeah, there was in the, I think it was the first draft of the script, we had a scene where we saw the-the bad guys in their hideout, which you do see in the... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] And it was story... |
| Mike | ... in the next episode. |
| Bryan | We storyboarded it, and... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Yeah, I remember she was... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, might've made it to the... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Was it Ming-Hua who was, like, shaving his head? |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah, with-with her ice, [Joaquim affirms.] like, a ice razor. It was cool scene, uh, just in the end, we decided it would be a little creepier for him to just show up, um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So... |
| Mike | ... on Air Temple Island. |
| Bryan | So, we weren't, in case anyone was wondering, we weren't, we didn't think we were pulling one over on the fans, we didn't think like, "oh, they won't know who this guy is," um, because we'd actually seen him shaving [Laughs.] his head. But um, but then we thought, well, it's still kinda cool; it's like, you might not recognize him right away, so there might be an added, um, little bit of surprise. |
| Mike | [Refers to Aiwei, a Zaofu official, giving a tour of the city, its culture, and relation to former resident Toph Beifong, to Team Avatar.] Yeah, so this part of the-writing the-the script was a l-the-these parts are always tricky 'cause it's like, "we're taking a tour of the city, now we're gonna meet some characters," [Bryan chuckles.] and it's like, there's not a lot of inherent conflict, uh, you know, and it can feel very, uh, it can be-it can-there's a danger of it becoming a little boring. But uh, I think because this is such a new, cool place, and the visuals are really cool, um, and the... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects; refers to the theme that plays during Team Avatar's tour.] And the music, and the music is great. |
| Mike | The music is just [Jeremy chuckles.] outstanding. |
| Bryan | Jeremy, no, but really, Jeremy, that little um, that little mode shift, that little accidental, or something, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] what is that, man? |
| Jeremy | Oh, with the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to theme shifting between keys to a lower pitch as the shot cuts from an aerial view of an estate to the courtyard outside a dance studio.] Right there. [Jeremy affirms.] I love that. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah, I'm going between two different modes; it's-it's called a modal interchange. |
| Bryan | Modal interchange, yeah. [Jeremy affirms.] Um, I love it. [Mike chuckles.] I love it. |
| Jeremy | Nice. |
| Joaquim | This definitely feels like a different, you know, a different episode. Like, it's-it's, [Mike affirms.] again, it's got-it's got that like kinda curious, hopeful vibe to it. |
| Bryan | So... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to eight dancers practicing a routine wherein half of them metalbend the malleable petals of a lotus flower to catch and launch the other dancers who fall from above, the latter half having revolved around a fixture in the ceiling they had affixed their metal cables to.] And this was, yeah, I mean, this was, I was like, "oh, maybe they could be dancing," so there's some kind of action going on that's not like a fight, or something, just to give it some more visual interest. And uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the dancer on the right, a long braid running down her back, posing with her counterpart on the left as the closed flower petals open up.] Just wanna point out that's Kuvira on the right. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] She is there. |
| Bryan | Um, so, [Laughs.] the idea was my wife was gonna do the reference for the dancing, 'cause my wife's a dancer, and um, she hurt her back and couldn't do it, and we kept waiting, and Sean was like, "we-we can, you know, we can wait a little bit to get it sent to the animation studio," and-and uh, unfortunately, she-she never was able to do it before the episode had to be animated. But it uh, it came out cool, [Mike affirms.] and uh, I was really worried about, dancing and animation usually [Laughs.] don't mix, [Mike chuckles; Joaquim affirms.] but uh, it was cool. The storyboard artist did a really creative job. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, I think this was uh, Natasha's sequence, and uh, Colin Heck obviously directed this episode, but uh, there was some time spent on making sure that that felt like, you know, something cool and fun to see, 'cause like you were saying, Mike, uh, you know, you know, the-the worry is that there's a lot of-lot of talking, and stuff, going on. [Mike affirms.] So, visually, keeping it interesting. |
| Mike | [Refers to Suyin, one of the dancers and matriarch of the Metal Clan, introducing herself to Team Avatar.] Well, and also, I liked introducing Su as, like, as this cultured lady; like, she-she does end up being an awesome fighter, but like she's also this dancer, and the-this idea that everyone has, like, multiple skills and multiple talents, and achieve... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] They embrace artistry. |
| Mike | Yeah, [Joaquim affirms.] that she encourages everyone to reach their highest potential, that idea; like, you know, it's-it's-it's an idea I-I think we all uh, would-would agree with, and-and that you're not put into a box, you know? I think that's her... [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It's funny, I-I don't think these intro things are boring; I mean, we did it in um, 118 of Avatar, when they got to the Northern Water Tribe. [Refers to the distinctive architecture and fashion of Zaofu.] Yeah, so, I don't know if it's just being the art director, and I ne-you know, we put all of this effort into creating these huge, sprawling, complex locations, and all these new costumes, and stuff; um, I don't mind taking some time to kinda tour around, [Laughs.] you know, in the-in the show. [Mike affirms.] Uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] No, I think it's just like on the page, [Bryan affirms intermittently.] uh, it can sometimes seem like not a lot is happening, and-and we will sometimes even get notes from executives saying, "seems like there's a lotta talking in this [Laughs.] episode," and we always say, "it's-it's gonna li-you know, it's gonna be beautiful, there's a lot to look at, it's not gonna be boring". So... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I think people would be surprised, they-to know that most of the notes we would get from the network were like, "more-more fighting. More action." |
| Mike | Yeah. [Laughs; Joaquim affirms.] |
| Bryan | And I think, you know, Mike and I always were like, "we want more dialogue, [Laughs.] more-more emotional scenes," and, um, so, yeah, it was fun to do this city. [Refers to the various shots of Zaofu during Team Avatar's tour while on a tram, showcasing the city's shining metal architecture, uniformly robed citizenry, and a large statue dedicated to Toph.] I-I like that you get to see a bunch of the city and the culture before you meet Su, [Mike affirms intermittently.] so that you get an idea of, like, all this amazing stuff that she's responsible for before you meet her. |
| Mike | And uh, we should mention uh, Su is voiced by Anne Heche. |
| Bryan | Yes, wonderfully so. |
| Mike | And uh, that was another, like-like I said with the Jon Heder voice thing, like we didn't uh, actively scout anyone for-for Su, we just did auditions, as-as we do with a lot of characters, and we'll get a lis-you know, a selects from our casting director, Shannon Reed, and uh, and Anne Heche was one-one of the voices; we listened to it, and it was just, I don't know, she's got this kind of o-bit of an old-timey quality to her voice, which-which really... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, it's like Old Hollywood. |
| Mike | Yeah, it's really, it just fit perfectly. |
| Joaquim | It's totally perfect. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | It fit um, Mindy Sterling's take on um, on Lin really well. And then um... uh, I... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to when Su revealed to Team Avatar that she is Lin's sister.] Yeah, you could believe they're from the same [Bryan affirms.] family, kinda. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Opal, Su's daughter and a new airbender, introducing herself to Bolin.] Opal's great. I-I-I really enjoy this character. Um, who does the voice, Mike? I'm sorry, I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Uh, Alyson Stoner. |
| Bryan | She-Alyson does a great job. I'm [Mike affirms.] terrible with names; sorry, Alyson. [Refers to Opal's short, fringe hairstyle.] Um, and uh, one of my favorite designs, 'cause I thi-you know, I was researching the hairstyles. I got it from uh, Dolly Haas, was the uh, was an a-a German actress in like the Twenties, I think, Twenties and Thirties; and she was married to Al Hirschfeld, the really famous illustrator. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] Um, but she had this great hairstyle that really spoke to the era. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, I remember your first, you did this really first sort of, almost like a glamor shot of her. |
| Bryan | It was based [Joaquim affirms intermittently.] on a headshot, you know. So, uh... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] S-it was-was really, really beautiful. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Su telling Team Avatar that the dinner her chef is making will blow the taste buds right out of their mouths.] Yeah, that like, [Imitates Su's enunciated cadence.] "right out of your mouth!" [Joaquim chuckles.] that's like-like an old newsy speak. |
| Mike | [Refers to Su's other children, Baatar Jr. being an engineer working alongside his father, Huan being a metalbending sculptor, and Wei and Wing having invented a game centered around metalbending a disc.] Yeah, and Su's family, you know, we wanted to have kind of an e-eclectic mix of uh, kids in there. But-but the idea being that she has a, whereas Lin has no kids, she's got a husband, and five kids, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the courtyard where Korra does her airbending training with Opal, the mountains and the rocky landscape in the background colored in vibrant, saturated colors from the setting sun.] So, this location and the painting, um, this was all a tribute to, uh, Maxfield Parrish, an amazing turn of the century illustrator; um, very hard to replicate in TV animation, but we-we did our best. So, Angela Sung, uh, did the background designs, and uh, we looked at a lot of his illustrations, and then Emily Tetri, uh, and I worked out the-the paint-you know, she did the painting, we worked out this color scheme based on a lot of uh, all those-those famous prints. Um, and it came out cool, I li-I like it. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Korra complimenting Opal's abilities as they continue their graceful spiral movements.] The mood is just right, man. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Jeremy | [Refers the lone instrument playing during Korra and Opal's training.] That solo is uh, Hong Wang, performing on dizi. Beautiful. |
| Bryan | So, yeah, Hong-tell-tell everybody about Hong. |
| Jeremy | Uh, Hong is an amazing, rare gem. He's this-he's this guy, he, like, s-spent, you know, he obviously went to all the-the Conservatory in um, in, I think in Shanghai. And in China, he, you know, he studied for a long time; and then he-the government, uh, paid him to travel for eight years, going around China, um, documenting all these different, and studying these different folk music styles. So, he's one of the very few people who really know these kind of dying styles. |
| Bryan | Wow, I did-I actually didn't know the extent [Jeremy affirms.] of-of that history. |
| Mike | Yeah, that's cool. |
| Bryan | I knew he was a... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] That was it with Hong. |
| Bryan | ... multi-instrumentalist. Um... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] And he's very respected in China, and I think he's kind of a rock star, there. |
| Joaquim | Wow. |
| Jeremy | Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We are very lucky to have him. [Jeremy affirms.] But he's also familiar with American jazz... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Right. |
| Bryan | ... right? Yeah. |
| Jeremy | Uh, somewhat, yes, he is, [Bryan affirms.] he was in a jazz-he was a-ah, he was in a jazz band, and he was in a rock band, um, I think this was probably in the Sixties or Seventies, and he had to, it was in secret. |
| Bryan | Wow. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Oh yeah. |
| Jeremy | He had to secretly get together with the musicians, and could be... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] He's the most interesting man in the world. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah. Oh-oh, he's got amazing history. |
| Mike | Him and Henry Rollins should [Bryan affirms.] get together. |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the establishing shot of Zaofu at twilight, the large, curved metal sections segmented along the periphery of each of Zaofu's domed cities folding up like a flower.] So, I just wanna talk about those domes, because we [Bryan and Mike laugh.] s-we spent a lot of time and energy on those domes. Uh, William Niu and uh, Christine Bian, uh, background designer and prop designer respectively at this time, uh, and I all worked on this idea; and we found this building, I can't remember where it is. You remember, Mike? We had-we uh, we... |
| Mike | [In the background.] I don't remember, sorry. |
| Bryan | ... we had this idea of, like, these domes that opened and closed, or being-looking like a lotus, and we-I just looked up, like, "lotus building" and there-there is a real amazing building that wa-is kinda shaped like a lotus flower. |
| Mike | It's like a temple, I think, right? Or so... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, but it-it obviously didn't open and close. Um, but man, getting that to [Mike chuckles.] work; worked with our CG department uh, very closely. But it came out pretty cool. |
| Mike | [Refers to the various plates of food in front of Opal and Bolin.] I'm-I'm impressed with the food, here. |
| Bryan | Yeah, that's... [Joaquim affirms.] |
| Mike | [Interjects.] This was like... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So, that's Christine Bian; she loves food, and she was designing our props. [Refers to the metal knives, chopsticks, cups, table mats, and bowls set on the dining table.] Not only that; look at the Art Deco... |
| Mike | [In the background.] The plates of it. |
| Bryan | ... cutlery, and the plates, and everything. Sh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, no, it's little details like that that are... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And then it's... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] I've actually received text messages [Mike laughs intermittently.] saying like, "hey, dude, the food in this new season is crazy!" |
| Bryan | That is all Christine. She-she's an-an am-an amazing artist, but she really takes care of that stuff. But yeah, those uh, salmon, or whatever. What is it? Elephant koi? |
| Mike | [Refers to when Su's chef introduced his main dish of seared wild Kyoshi elephant koi.] Seared uh, seared wild elephant koi. |
| Bryan | I, you know, not just 'cause I'm a vegan, but I take-I-I had words with Mike about this. Like, the elephant koi were very dear to Aang, and here they are, just like, "eat up." |
| Mike | I'm-hey, this is... |
| Bryan | That's a-quite a large fish [Jeremy chuckles.] to be killing. |
| Mike | It's uh, they use all parts of the fish, though. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, so... |
| Bryan | I-they kill these giant, beautiful, peaceful creatures. |
| Joaquim | Feeds the family for an entire year. |
| Bryan | [In a discontent tone.] Ah... |
| Jeremy | I'm with you, Bryan. |
| Joaquim | Used for... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I take issue. It does look nice, though. [Joaquim and Jeremy chuckle.] |
| Mike | No actual elephant koi were killed [Joaquim laughs.] in the making of this animation. |
| Bryan | But some an-some animated ones were killed! [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] Some-some fake ones were killed. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Lin frustratedly turns away from Suyin, refusing to tell her sister what is causing her to be so argumentative. | |
| Bryan | It's funny to me when uh, uh, fans... |
| In the background, Joaquim chuckles as Varrick enters the dining room with Zhu Li, apologizing for being late. | |
| Bryan | ... are like-like, they don't-they don't, they get mad that, like, all the siblings don't get along perfectly, [Mike affirms.] and I'm like, I'm the youngest of five, and I'm like, I'm guessing you don't have any siblings. [Laughs.] I don't know. |
| Mike | So, we uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Or if you guys do get along, that's great. I love my family, but uh, our kind of default mode is just um, arguing. [Jeremy chuckles.] So... |
| Joaquim | What was the point... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] This is the first time we've uh, seen Varrick since the end of Book Two. So, the idea was that he was-he was on the lam for a while, [Bryan and Joaquim laugh.] and then uh, at some point... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Flying on that glider for a few months. |
| Mike | [Refers to Varrick telling Asami and Mako that, after "the universe" set him free from prison, he got back in business with Su.] Him and Zhu Li were living out in the wild, and then at some point, he uh, you know, showed up at Sulin's uh, doorstep, and uh, for a little-as a little... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Suyin. Suyin. |
| Mike | Yeah, and uh, and then uh... |
| Bryan and Jeremy chuckle as Varrick's gestures cause his grasped magnet to fly offscreen to the other side of the table. | |
| Mike | ... and then she took 'em in. |
| Jeremy | Magnet fly. |
| Joaquim | [Laughs.] Dude. We should've cut to like whoever was across... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Joaquim | ... the table with a magnet on their head. [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Bryan | It's like stuck to their chair. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. I was gonna say, whenever things get too heated between the family, you-everybody just needs a Varrick to show up and kinda cut the tension. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Huan sitting in the background as Su tries to calm Lin's disgust at Varrick being in Zaofu.] I like uh, Huan back there, [Laughs.] with that creepy stare. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until the scene fades in from a black screen to Mako scooping some hair gel out of a bowl. | |
| Bryan | [Refers to the distorted chiming sound that played when Lin stormed out of the dining room.] So, yeah, there was a-a sound, a really cool kind of like textural, music, um, reversed sound thing that uh, Jeremy, you call it a... |
| Jeremy | Mnemo-musical mnemonic. |
| Bryan | And we had-we-we talked about it at length. Um, uh, I had something in my head; I rea-we really wanted this al-kinda Lost, like a-a sound, music cue that will let you know you're slipping into a flashback. And we were teasing it, because we don't go into flashbacks in this episode, but we knew we were going to in the next one; we wanted to introduce that motif. And um, and did you end up using that-that instrument of mine, the Pegasus thing? |
| Jeremy | Um, I did. [Bryan affirms.] I did. There were... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] I had-I had... |
| Jeremy | ... a couple other things, but yeah, that was part of the texture. |
| Bryan | Whi-which is a me-a metallophone, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] and uh, it's kinda like a metal marimba, I guess; and-which seemed appropriate for Metal Clan, you know, pitched metal instrument. And uh, yeah, I think we hear it again at the end of the episode when-when Lin is crying. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the scene, with no background music playing, where Su tells Korra about her and Lin's respective experiences growing up together while vying for Toph's attention.] This is a cool-I love-this is a really cool scene, and I-I remember being a little worried; I'm always the one who's worried when we decide not to do music in a scene. I thought maybe there'd be too much talking and not enough music, but... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Th-that's always a constant um, back-and-forth with us, [Bryan affirms.] trying to find the-the balance for that. |
| Bryan | But uh, I love this scene. Great writing, it's really cool. This... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, I just-I-I-it's great, 'cause you finally-you ca-you get a little mo-uh, more of a peek into Su's past, [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] and what kinda brought her to this point in her life. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the photo of a younger Su when she joined a traveling circus, the matriarch waving while sitting on the shoulders of a tall man.] Which you can see her-that's her circus photo; she's on top, [Mike chuckles.] there. [Refers to Su's family photo with Wei, Wing, herself, Baatar, Baatar Jr., Opal, and Huan.] And then the family photo. [Refers to the photo of a baby, whose hairstyle resembles a mohawk.] And then that baby photo on the right is based on writer Josh Hamilton and designer Angela Mueller's, uh, son, who's named Kai. [Mike affirms.] And his hair, she's like, she-she designed it, and she's like, [Imitates Angela.] "no lie, this-Kai looked exactly like this". And uh, so, I always-we were thinking it was Huan. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah. [Bryan affirms.] That's who I always thought it was. |
| Bryan | For some reason, [Mike laughs.] of all of her kids, she has a baby photo [Joaquim affirms.] of Huan. Maybe because... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] He was the cutest, [Bryan affirms.] by far. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Huan irritably corrected Bolin's interpretation of what his metal sculpture was when Su introduced him to Team Avatar.] And then the sourest. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Huan's long, draping hair, with half his scalp being shaved.] He kept his, like, kinda punk rock ways with the uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; laughs.] That's the thing, [Joaquim laughs.] his hair was always doing that. |
| Mike | [Refers to Bolin's exaggerated posing and expressions as he imitates Opal's bending while attempting to flirt with her.] I remember, you did this acting for Bolin, right, Joaquim? |
| Joaquim | I did. [Mike laughs.] I had-I think I had, like, way more magical aspirations for it, but... |
| Mike | [In the background.] It's pretty funny. |
| Joaquim | ... I think, uh, P. J.'s uh, acting really pulls that one. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] "Magical aspiration". |
| Joaquim | [Laughs.] I did. I thought it was gonna be amazing. |
| Mike | They're very funny expressions. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. Thank you. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Bolin starts panicking after Opal teasingly questions why he would think she liked him, annoyed at his previous abrasive attempts at flirting and conversing with her. | |
| Mike | Yeah, I like that she's-she's sweet, but she's got a little-little attitude. Little-she'll mess with you a little bit. |
| Bryan | Bolin needed to be called out [Mike affirms intermittently.] on his lame, creepy, uh, ways, and uh, I think she could've gone even a [Mike chuckles.] little further, but uh, at least someone finally called him out. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the closeup shot of Opal, smiling and staring back at Bolin.] That's a very, very nice drawing. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Brief pause.] Yeah, I-I mean, I guess to varying degrees, but back to Avatar and-and-and with this show, like after a while, a lotta these characters, they just become real to me, [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] you know? I mean, I-I'm not delusional, I know they're [Mike chuckles.] fictional, uh, creations, but-but they kinda occupy a space in my brain where, you know, like Sokka, he's just a real dude, [Joaquim affirms.] real guy to me. And um, and Opal, like, really-they-they-they drew her so nicely, and I really like voice acting, and I-I feel like the voice matched the design really well. [Mike affirms.] Um, you guys did a good job casting her; I think-I think you and the writers picked her, and I was just like, "yep, sounds good-sounds good to me." |
| Mike | Yeah, she audi-auditioned for the part. But... [Bryan affirms.] |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Zaheer, caught going through Tenzin's study by Ikki, telling her about Guru Laghima.] This is a really sort of eerie scene. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah, I really like the way this scene works. |
| Mike | Yeah, it was meant to, yeah, give you little sense of... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] And you can feel it building, man. |
| Mike | ... threat. |
| Jeremy | Yeah. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the tense string instrument that plays just before Kya tells Ikki to go to bed.] You got it building in there. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, there's some nice tension in this scene. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Kya, upon realizing Zaheer's true identity, fighting the renegade airbender.] And this is good 'ca-you know, Kya, um, we really hadn't seen her do any major bending, [Mike affirms.] uh, before this. We'd seen her do a little bit of waterbending here and there, but um, we'd, you know, set her up as more of a kinda hippie and um, free spirit, but it was nice to see, like, and she still is Katara's daughter, [Laughs; Mike affirms.] and she is... [Refers to Kya bending the water out from Tenzin's fountain, simultaneously streaming it toward Zaheer while moving it around her waist in a ring.] this, oh man, I really love this action scene. So, this was uh, Will Ruzicka, right? |
| Joaquim | Yep. |
| Bryan | And um, some re-revisions by you guys. [Refers to Zaheer using a pilfered airbending staff to shatter Kya's ice projectiles, dodging and rolling through the room as he spins the staff around.] That! |
| Joaquim | Amazing. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zaheer jumping backwards through the window in Tenzin's study, bending a gust of air through his staff to launch himself.] And the way he jumps through is-I love it. It's so Jackie Chan, [Joaquim affirms.] or like uh, Tony Jaa. [Refers to Kya whipping her water cloaked arms about as she streams one of them forward to catch Zaheer.] Love that animation, right there. |
| Joaquim | And that staff work, you can see that's a really example of, like, it was staged, but then the martial arts choreography really made that sing. |
| Bryan | Yeah, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] the reference. |
| Joaquim | The reference for it, [Bryan affirms.] yeah. |
| Mike | Yeah, and if you see the, like, we-we've gotten some of these, in the art book, you'll see s-uh, when it comes out, uh, the-the animation drawings of some of those uh, Korr-uh, sorry, Kya scenes, and uh, the drawings are just incredible. [Bryan affirms.] Like, they go by so fast, so it's hard to s-see 'em, but like you see the originals, and it's uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, we showed these pencil... |
| Mike | ... astounding. |
| Bryan | ... these pencil tests at Comic-Con. It was-people were-the actors were just like, "wow!" [Mike and Joaquim chuckle.] like, um, because, you know, they're-the actors are a huge part of what we do, but they come in for very short periods, and they-they're usually seeing the finished animation. So, they don't get... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Or nothing at all. [Laughs; Bryan affirms.] 'Cause they come in before, and then maybe at the tail end for some ADR. |
| Bryan | Totally. But yeah, when they do see animation, it's-it's already finished, so they-they're not really privy to the whole process. Um... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects; refers to reverberating whistling sound that plays as Zaheer flies away from Air Temple Island.] That sound at the end, it's pretty cool. It was a, you know the um, it's like a kids toy, when you-that thing you whip around your head. |
| Bryan | Oh. |
| Mike | Oh, yeah. |
| Bryan | I always wondered... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Had this... |
| Bryan | ... what that is, [Jeremy whistles a tune.] 'cause we used that in the trailer. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, so, [Bryan affirms.] right, and so, wha-that's uh, it's time stretched, so you get this... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Oh. |
| Jeremy | ... this sort of pad of these harmonics, and so you get that, you know, it's sort of a-not-the idea came-comes from air, using air, making music. You know, he's-he's an airbender. |
| Joaquim | Wow. |
| Jeremy | And uh, I like to do those things that, like, no one's gonna notice but me. But... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] It's awesome. |
| Bryan | Awesome. [Jeremy laughs.] No, I've always... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] It's really awesome. |
| Bryan | ... loved that... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Story to it. |
| Bryan | ... I've always loved that sound, I never knew what it was. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur; refers to the photo of a female Zaofu security officer positioned in an article of a newspaper that Lin was reading the other side of.] Um, I just want to point out, I saw some people speculating online about the face on the newspaper, and that is Kuvira; and uh, it says something about like "Security Force" uh, for Zaofu. So, it's like... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, she's like the head of uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] The head of security. |
| Mike | ... security, yeah. [Refers to Lin furiously ordering Opal to get out of her room, her niece having asked her to be a part of her family in Zaofu.] So, yeah, I wanted to play this scene where it's like, you think it's gonna have that, "oh," the typical... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Wrap-up. |
| Mike | Yeah, wra-like, "oh, I-I express some feelings to you," and, "oh, let's re-reunite," but uh, sorry, guys. It uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] But we have another episode. |
| Mike | ... took, yeah. That's why, we knew this was a two-parter, so obviously, it had to end on a bit of a dramatic moment. |
| Joaquim | She went full, like, Amityville Horror. [Imitating Lin in a deep, harsh voice.] "Get out!" [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Bryan | "Get out!". So, I think-I think we hear that mnemonic again, right here, Jeremy... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | ... right? So, I-I love this reverse sound. |
| Jeremy | It's coming up in a second. [Refers to the distorted chiming sound that plays as the shot pans to a full view of Lin, silently breaking down in tears.] There. |
| Mike | Well done. |
| Bryan | It's like a flood of memories. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |