Venom of the Red Lotus

Last updated
"Venom of the Red Lotus"
The Legend of Korra episode
Venom of the Red Lotus.jpg
The titular venom enters Korra's body.
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 13
Directed byMelchior Zwyer
Written by
  • Joshua Hamilton
  • Tim Hedrick
Featured music Jeremy Zuckerman
Production code213
Original air dateAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Enter the Void"
Next 
"After All These Years"
The Legend of Korra season 3
List of episodes

"Venom of the Red Lotus" is the thirteenth and final episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra , a spin-off to Avatar: The Last Airbender , and the 39th episode overall. The show follows Avatar Korra (Janet Varney), the only person capable of bending all four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), as she tries to maintain balance in the world, with this season focusing on her battle with The Red Lotus, led by Zaheer (Henry Rollins), as they intend to create an anarchist world free from government and the Avatar.

Contents

The episode was directed by Melchior Zwyer and written by Joshua Hamilton and Tim Hedrick, and follows the Red Lotus aiming to kill Korra while she is in the Avatar State so they can end the Avatar cycle. The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon's website on August 22, 2014, and received critical acclaim for its action sequences, animation and ending.

Plot

In caves near the Northern Air Temple, Zaheer and the Red Lotus administer mercury poison [1] [2] to Korra seeking to let her enter the Avatar State before killing her so that the Avatar reincarnation cycle will be broken. Jinora, using her spiritual projection abilities, overhears the plan and tells the rest of the airbenders who have been captured. The rest of Team Avatar follows Kai to a cave system where they find and rescue the airbenders. Korra's father Tonraq, Bolin and Mako go to search for Korra, who is resisting entering the Avatar State. As she resists, she sees her past enemies: Amon, Unalaq and Vaatu.

Eventually, Korra stops resisting and enters the Avatar State, however the Red Lotus find they have underrated Korra's power as she quickly escapes her chains. Zaheer flies from the caves and Korra chases after him, while Bolin fights Ghazan and Mako fights Ming-Hua. Korra uses her fire and earthbending to propel herself into a fight with Zaheer, while Tenzin reunites with his children and Tonraq begs the airbenders to help Korra. Inside the caves, Mako electrocutes Ming-Hua to death while Ghazan, refusing to go back to prison, uses lavabending to collapse the caves, killing himself. Bolin and Mako manage to escape the caves before they collapse.

As Korra's body becomes weak due to the poison, Zaheer gains the upper hand in the fight. As he is about to asphyxiate Korra, the airbenders create a giant tornado that pulls him the ground. Zaheer is arrested and Suyin Beifong metalbends the poision out of Korra. Two weeks later, Korra is in a wheelchair and is being helped around by Asami Sato. She attends a ceremony where Tenzin makes Jinora an airbending master and he tasks the new Air Nation with continuing Korra's legacy in helping keep balance to the world. Korra watches this and lets out a single tear.

Credits and production

The episode was directed by Melchior Zwyer and written by Joshua Hamilton and Tim Hedrick.

Main cast members

Guest stars

The idea of restraining the Avatar in X-shaped chains, as seen in this episode, was originally conceived for the scene of Aang being captured by the Fire Nation in the first season of Avatar , but was then vetoed by the network. It was allowed this time, according to Bryan Konietzko, after he complained about seeing a shot of SpongeBob SquarePants, another Nickelodeon character, similarly restrained. [2]

Reception

The episode received critical acclaim from critics and fans and is considered one of the best episodes of the series. [lower-alpha 1]

Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club stated that "The power on display in the final Korra/Zaheer fight is breathtaking, and director Mel Zwyer does phenomenal work capturing the full impact of the fight. The standout moment is an extended single shot following the two fighters as they exchange blows while navigating through the air, creating a disorienting sense of weightlessness as the camera gets swept up in their gravity-defying movement." [10] Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a score of 9.5 out of 10, writing that "The Legend of Korra's Book Three finale ended on a solemn note, following an action-packed and climactic showdown" and "The final confrontation between Korra and Zaheer, for example, was gorgeously animated and scored but also very raw and personal. Meanwhile, the Bending Brothers' fight against Ming-Hua and Ghazan brought its own thrills." [11]

Leo Noboru Lima of Slash Film wrote that "No other half-hour in the show's history packs so much gripping action, grand drama, character progression, visual splendor, and seismic narrative development into its running time; it's the kind of dizzying, mind-blowing, expletive-inspiring Great TV that shows like "Game of Thrones" and "Lost" offered at their best." [4] Michael Mammano of Den of Geek gave the episode a score of 5 stars out of 5, stating that "This finale succeeded in so many ways..." and praised the character arcs of the season that were further developed or concluded in the episode saying "Korra and Asami’s friendship, Lin and Su’s family history, the return of the Air Nation and Tenzin’s coping with how his culture will inevitably change, Jinora’s coming of age, Kai gaining a sense of community and responsibility, Bolin learning to be himself both in regards to how he approaches girls and how his bending will evolve… there was so much going on, and it was great!" [12]

Notelist

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toph Beifong</span> Fictional character in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Toph Beifong is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, voiced by Michaela Jill Murphy in the original series and Kate Higgins as an adult and Philece Sampler as an elder in the sequel series.

<i>The Legend of Korra</i> American animated television series

The Legend of Korra, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Korra, or more rarely simply as Korra, is an American animated fantasy action television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. A sequel to their previous series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which aired from 2005 to 2008, the series ran for 52 episodes ("chapters"), separated into four seasons ("books"), from April 14, 2012, to December 19, 2014. It has been continued as a comic book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korra</span> Title character of The Legend of Korra

Avatar Korra, commonly simply known as Korra, is the title lead character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, in which she is depicted as the current incarnation of Raava's Avatar—the spiritual embodiment of balance and change—responsible for maintaining peace and harmony in the world. She is the immediate reincarnation of Avatar Aang. The character was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and was voiced by Janet Varney, and by Cora Baker as a child.

Tenzin (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) Fictional character in The Legend of Korra

Tenzin is a major character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by J. K. Simmons. Tenzin's father, Aang, was the Avatar who preceded Korra and kept world peace by preventing the Fire Nation from taking over the world during the Hundred Year War, which occurred about seventy years before the beginning of The Legend of Korra. Tenzin's mother, Katara, greatly assisted Aang in his efforts to save the Earth Kingdom from destruction. Tenzin is the youngest of the three children of Aang and Katara.

<i>The Legend of Korra</i> season 1 First season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra

Book One: Air is the first season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Consisting of twelve episodes, it was initially intended to be a stand-alone epilogue miniseries sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender before the series was expanded to an order of four seasons ("books") of fifty-two episodes ("chapters") in total. Book One: Air aired from April 14 to June 23, 2012, on the Nickelodeon channel in the U.S., and is broadcast in other countries beginning in June 2012.

<i>The Legend of Korra</i> season 2 Season of television series

Book Two: Spirits is the second season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It consists of fourteen episodes ("chapters"). It focuses more on spiritual concepts and themes than the preceding season, Book One: Air. Ordered in early 2011, Book Two: Spirits began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on September 13, 2013.

Out of the Past (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) 9th episode of the 1st season of The Legend of Korra

"Out of the Past" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, which is a spin-off of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show follows Avatar Korra, the only person capable of bending all four elements, as she tries to maintain balance in the world, with this season focusing on her battle with Amon and his group of equalists as they intend to remove bending abilities from the world using Amon's ability to take bending away from an individual.

Mako (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) Character from The Legend of Korra

Mako is a major character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by David Faustino. Because he is a firebender, Mako is able to create and manipulate the classical element of fire. Mako also has the ability to both generate and redirect lightning. The character is named in honor of the late Mako Iwamatsu who voiced Iroh, a major supporting character, in the first two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Bolin (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) Character in The Legend of Korra

Bolin is a major fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by P. J. Byrne. Bolin is able to manipulate the classical element of earth, which is known as earthbending. It is revealed in the third season that he is also able to create and control lava, which is a very rare sub-ability called lavabending.

<i>The Legend of Korra</i> season 3 Season of television series

Book Three: Change is the third season of the animated television series The Legend of Korra, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and consists of thirteen episodes ("chapters"), all animated by Studio Mir. The season began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on June 27, 2014. After leaked episodes and following declining ratings, the series stopped airing on Nickelodeon after episode 8 on July 25, 2014. Episodes 9 to 13 of Book Three were subsequently made available on the Internet weekly through Nickelodeon's website and on digital download platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebel Spirit</span> 1st episode of the 2nd season of The Legend of Korra

"Rebel Spirit" is the second season premiere of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, and the 13rd episode overall. The episode's story was written by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, it was written by Tim Hedrick, while was directed by Colin Heck. The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 13, 2013, immediately followed by the second episode, "The Southern Lights".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Southern Lights</span> 2nd episode of the 2nd season of The Legend of Korra

"The Southern Lights" is the second episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, and the 14th episode overall. Like the previous episode, the story of this episode was written by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; meanwhile, the episode was written by Joshua Hamilton and directed by Ian Graham. The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 13, 2013, immediately after the season premiere, "Rebel Spirit".

Civil Wars (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) 3rd and 4th episodes of the 2nd season of The Legend of Korra

"Civil Wars" is the third and fourth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, and the 15th and the 16th episode overall. Part 1 first aired on September 20, 2013, and Part 2 aired on September 27, 2013, on Nickelodeon in the United States. The episodes were written by series co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino. "Civil Wars, Part 1" was directed by Colin Heck and "Civil Wars, Part 2" was directed by Ian Graham. The two-part episode received generally positive reviews from critics, praising the storyline and the subplot involving Tenzin, Kya and Bumi but criticizing the subplot involving Bolin and Eska's troubled relationship.

Light in the Dark (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) 14th episode of the 2nd season of The Legend of Korra

"Light in the Dark" is the fourteenth and final episode of the second season of The Legend of Korra, and the 26th episode overall. It was directed by Ian Graham and written by the Avatar franchise co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino. The episode aired on November 22, 2013 on Nickelodeon and received positive reviews by critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asami Sato</span> Fictional character in The Legend of Korra

Asami Sato is a major character in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra (2012–2014). The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008), were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. She is voiced by Seychelle Gabriel. The series' final scene, indicating the beginning of a romantic relationship between Asami and the female lead character, Korra, was unprecedented in its representation of LGBT persons in western children's television, with the characters' relationship fully explored in the comic continuations Turf Wars (2017–2018), Ruins of the Empire (2019–2020), and Patterns in Time (2022–2023).

Zaheer (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) Character from "The Legend of Korra"

Zaheer is a recurring character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra. He serves as the main antagonist of Book Three: Change, and his actions have lingering effects on Avatar Korra and the series' plot in the following book. The character was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is voiced by Henry Rollins. The character was well received by critics as a complex and intimidating villain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lin Beifong</span> Character in The Legend of Korra

Lin Beifong is a fictional major character, voiced by Mindy Sterling, in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Lin's mother, Toph Beifong, greatly aided the previous avatar, Aang, in his efforts to save the Earth Kingdom from destruction. Lin is the older of Toph's two daughters.

Kuvira, also known as The Great Uniter, is a fictional major character in the 2014 third and fourth seasons of the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Introduced in a minor capacity in the third season of the series, she becomes the main antagonist of the fourth season, and a supporting protagonist of the 2019–2020 Ruins of the Empire comics. Kuvira was created with similar characteristics to the portrayal of protagonist Korra in prior seasons to highlight the changes she had made over the course of the series. Kuvira's character has been mostly met with positive reception. Critics note her motives as being understandable, while her actions are given political analogues.

Endgame (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) 12th episode of the 1st season of The Legend of Korra

"Endgame" is the twelfth and final episode of the first season of the American animated televisipn series The Legend of Korra. Production occurred under the code 1123 and the episode was directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and Ki Hyun Ryu and written by the Avatar franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. "Endgame" originally aired on Nickelodeon on June 23, 2012, and was animated by Studio Mir.

References

  1. "William Ruzicka on the Red Lotus Poison". Tumblr. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Joaquim Dos Santos, Jeremy Zuckerman: The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change, audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 13
  3. Campbell, Kambole (February 21, 2024). "20 Essential Episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra". Vulture . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Lima, Leo Noboru (February 1, 2023). "The 15 Best The Legend Of Korra Episodes, Ranked". Slash Film. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  5. Graham, Jack (November 3, 2021). "Avatar: The Legend Of Korra - 10 Best Korra Episodes". Screen Rant . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  6. Knight, Rich (August 22, 2020). "The 10 Best Legend Of Korra Episodes, Ranked". Cinema Blend. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  7. Stevenson, Rick (February 16, 2022). "The Best Episodes Of The Legend Of Korra Ranked". Looper . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  8. Anderson, C. K. (August 13, 2020). "Every Episode of The Legend of Korra Ranked from Worst to Best". Loud and Clear Reviews. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  9. Nicholson, Max (December 27, 2014). "The Top 10 The Legend of Korra Episodes". IGN . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  10. Sava, Oliver (August 22, 2014). "The Legend Of Korra: "Into The Void"/"Venom Of The Red Lotus"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  11. Nicholson, Max (August 22, 2014). "The Legend of Korra: "Venom of the Red Lotus" Review". IGN . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  12. Mammano, Michael (August 24, 2014). "The Legend of Korra Season 3 Finale Review: Venom of the Red Lotus". Den of Geek . Retrieved April 30, 2024.