The Revelation

 

This article is about the episode. For the rally itself, see The Revelation.

"[The spirits] have granted me a power that will make equality a reality: the power to take a person's bending away. Permanently."

— Amon to all his followers.

"The Revelation"
Information
Series	The Legend of Korra
Book	Air
Episode	3/52
Original air date	April 21, 2012
Written by	Michael Dante DiMartino Bryan Konietzko
Directed by	Joaquim Dos Santos Ki Hyun Ryu
Animation	Studio Mir
Guest stars	Kiernan Shipka (Jinora) Darcy Rose Byrnes (Ikki) Lance Henriksen (Lieutenant) Carlos Alazraqui (Protestor) Zach Callison (Skoochy) Kevin Michael Richardson (Butakha, Lightning Bolt Zolt, and doorman) Fisher Stevens (Shady Shin) Dee Bradley Baker (Naga and Pabu)
Production number	103
Episode guide
Previous	"A Leaf in the Wind"
Next	"The Voice in the Night"
Image gallery (51)

"The Revelation" is the third episode of Book One: Air of The Legend of Korra and the third of the overall series. It debuted on April 21, 2012, on Nickelodeon.

Overview

Mako and Bolin look for ways to attain the thirty thousand yuans they need in order to be eligible to compete in the Pro-bending Tournament. Bolin accepts work from the Triple Threat Triad and subsequently disappears. Korra and Mako go looking for Bolin and encounter the group of chi-blockers who had kidnapped him, but the Equalists flee. Korra and Mako later find out about an Equalist rally and decide to attend it. There, they learn many secrets about the Equalists and their leader, Amon, and rescue Bolin from his otherwise doomed fate.

Synopsis

The Fire Ferrets are practicing early in the morning in the arena's gym when Butakha, the owner of the pro-bending league, comes to pay them their winnings from their last match. However, because of debts that Mako and Bolin owe, such as Korra's equipment, apartment rent, gym equipment, and groceries, neither of them receive any of the money. He also tells them that they need to pay thirty thousand yuans in order to be eligible to participate in the tournament. After discovering that none of them, including Korra, have any spare cash on hand, Bolin suggests having Pabu do circus tricks on the street to raise the money. Mako dismisses his idea and says he will take care of the problem himself.

Bolin makes Pabu do some circus tricks for money.

Bolin takes Pabu to Central City Station anyway and puts him on show, but only manages to earn one yuan. A gangster whom Bolin recognizes as Shady Shin pulls up in his flashy Satomobile and offers him a job helping the Triple Threat Triad with "security". Though Bolin is initially reluctant, stating that Mako had told him to stay away from the Triads, Shin is able to easily bribe him with a large sum of yuans. Meanwhile, Mako has found a job at a power plant that requires him to generate lightning. When he gets home he finds that Bolin is absent, and assumes that he must have gone to visit Korra upon seeing Air Temple Island.

Mako asks Skoochy about Bolin's whereabouts.

On Air Temple Island, Korra is in the middle of a more successful airbending practice session than her earlier trials. Just as she finishes, Jinora and Ikki notice Mako approaching and start prodding Korra with questions about him, especially whether she has a crush on him. Embarrassed, Korra quickly earthbends them away before turning to face Mako. While the two girls land safely with their airbending, Mako asks Korra if she has seen Bolin, but Korra answers negatively. She insists and subsequently offers to help Mako find Bolin with Naga's tracking skills. Together, they go to Central City Station, where Bolin usually hangs out. Mako approaches one of the street kids, Skoochy, who only gives information for a price. After Mako gives him some yuans, Skoochy tells them that he saw Bolin leaving earlier with Shady Shin and mentions that other criminal gangs are preparing for a turf war. Fearing that Bolin will be caught in the middle, Mako, Korra, and Naga race to the Threat Triad's headquarters. On the way, they find Pabu, but upon arriving, they notice the building mysteriously deserted and the furniture broken. They hear a sound, exit through the back, and spot a group of masked individuals carrying off several triad members in a truck with Bolin in tow. Korra and Mako chase them on Naga, but are stopped when two thugs block their chi, leaving them motionless on the ground. Naga and Pabu scare off their attackers, and Mako explains to Korra that the assailants were Equalists, a group that wants to end all bending in order to create equality.

The flyer for The Revelation features Amon.

The two continue looking all night until Korra decides to seek out the Equalist protester she saw in the park when she first arrived in Republic City. While they wait for him to arrive, Korra asks Mako about what happened to his parents, to which he answers that they were mugged by a firebender when he was eight, and now Bolin is the only family he has left. The two later fall asleep against each other. They are abruptly awakened in the morning by the protester's usual Equalist propaganda. Korra interrogates him and learns that Amon, the leader of the Equalists, is holding a rally known as "The Revelation". When a policeman comes by to investigate the commotion, the protester claims that the Avatar is oppressing him, so she and Mako flee with a few leaflets. At a trolley stop, they try figuring out where the Equalists are holding the rally, but there is no location listed. Mako quickly realizes that there is a clue on the back of the leaflets matching the map of the city, pinpointing the rally's location.

Korra and Mako infiltrate The Revelation rally.

That night, Korra and Mako go to the rally disguised as a couple so as not to draw attention. They show the leaflet to the doorman, who allows them inside the building. The rally begins as Amon and his followers reveal themselves on the stage. Amon begins by sharing his life story with the audience, saying that he and his nonbending family lived normal lives on a small farm until they were harassed by a firebender. His father tried standing up to him and was cut down, along with the rest of his family. The firebender subsequently burned Amon's face, forcing him to wear a mask for the rest of his life. Amon also tells the crowd that the spirits have granted him the ability to take away a person's bending permanently. Amon demonstrates this ability on the leader of the Triple Threat Triad, Lightning Bolt Zolt, causing his lightning to slowly degrade into fire, and finally stopping it completely. With this, he declares that the era of bending has come to an end and that a revolution has begun.

Amon removes Lightning Bolt Zolt's firebending.

Unwilling to let this happen to Bolin, Mako comes up with a plan to save him. He tells Korra to create a distraction using the steam from the nearby boilers while he rescues his brother. Just as Korra works her sabotage, she is spotted by the doorman and, when questioned about what she was doing, weakly claims she was looking for the bathroom. Seeing as her opponent does not believe her, Korra quickly subdues the doorman by hand-to-hand combat, ending the fight by slamming him against the boiler, which consequently releases steam. She quickly waterbends the steam toward the stage, creating a cover which catches the Equalists off guard, just before Amon can use his technique on Bolin.

As the two brothers make their escape, they are attacked by Amon's second-in-command, the Lieutenant, who subdues them with his electrified kali sticks. As he declares that there is no place in the world for benders anymore, Korra earthbends him into a wall. Naga promptly runs by to scoop up the trio. The Equalists try giving chase, but Amon calls them off, ordering them to let the trio go, stating that the Avatar is the best person to spread word of his power.

Korra informs Tenzin of her experiences with Amon.

Korra later returns to Air Temple Island. Tenzin tells her he was worried and was about to send the Order of the White Lotus to find her. He also asks if she had found Bolin. Korra replies yes, but tells him what she saw at the Equalists' assembly. Though at first Tenzin finds the thought of Amon possessing such an ability impossible, as only the Avatar had mastered it, he quickly believes Korra and becomes clearly concerned, ominously stating that "the revolution is now more dangerous than ever. No bender is safe."

Credits

• Written by:
  • Michael Dante DiMartino
  • Bryan Konietzko

• Directed by:
  • Joaquim Dos Santos
  • Ki Hyun Ryu

• Starring:
  • Janet Varney - Korra
  • David Faustino - Mako
  • P. J. Byrne - Bolin
  • J. K. Simmons - Tenzin
  • Steve Blum - Amon

• Also starring:
  • Kiernan Shipka - Jinora
  • Darcy Rose Byrnes - Ikki
  • Lance Henriksen - Lieutenant
  • Carlos Alazraqui - Protestor
  • Zach Callison - Skoochy
  • Kevin Michael Richardson:
    • Butakha
    • Lightning Bolt Zolt
    • Doorman
  • Fisher Stevens - Shady Shin
  • Dee Bradley Baker:
    • Naga
    • Pabu

• Additional voices:
  • Maurice LaMarche
  • Jeff Bennett (Shiro Shinobi)
  • Darcy Rose Byrnes

Production notes

Transcript

Main article: The Revelation

Main article: Transcript:The Revelation (commentary)

Translations

Main article: Writing in the World of Avatar

Series continuity

• Lightning Bolt Zolt's reaction to Amon removing his firebending mirrors Ozai's reaction when Aang removed his firebending in "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". Not only did Zolt say the same line, but he also unsuccessfully tried to firebend before falling over, completely exhausted.
• Chi-blocking has evolved from a unique trait to Ty Lee to a well known art used by the Equalists.
• Korra uses the "I'm looking for the bathroom"-excuse for a second time after being caught trespassing; the first time was in "A Leaf in the Wind".

Character revelations

• Mako and Bolin's parents were murdered by a firebender in 160 AG.
• Mako is able to generate lightning.
• Mako and Bolin had a previous affiliation with the Triple Threat Triad, having done work for them after their parents were killed.
• Amon can take away an individual's bending.

Goofs

• When Mako goes to see if Korra had seen Bolin, he is wearing a full glove, without his fingers showing. In the next shot, however, he is wearing his normal fingerless glove.
• When Amon is talking on stage, his voice is always amplified, regardless of whether or not he is speaking through the microphone.
• The bola that ensnares Naga has black ropes, but in the next shot, before she tumbles, the color of the ropes changes. Later, when Naga gnaws on the ropes, they are black again. Also, the number of coils changes exponentially in those scenes.
• When Korra and Mako are thrown from Naga, Mako lands in a direction perpendicular to Korra, despite both of them being thrown into the air from the same direction.
• When Mako and Korra rise in time to fight the Equalists, Mako's gloves momentarily disappear.
• For most of the episode, the "mouth" on Amon's mask is flat. However, when the camera zooms in on his face as he says the word "permanently" in his preamble, the center area of the mouth portion on his mask is turned downward.
• When Amon was removing the bending of the captives, the one in red seemingly disappears. Based on the scenes shown it is unlikely that he was dealt with before the attempt on Bolin, and he is not visible in the instant before the steam engulfs them all.
• When the doorman finds Korra in the boiler room, her eyes are green rather than their normal blue.
• When the Lieutenant shocks the ladder Mako and Bolin are on, Mako hits the ground first despite being higher up on the ladder and letting go of it after Bolin.

Trivia

• The image on the invitation to the rally bears a similarity to real-life Communist propaganda posters from Stalinist Russia, with Amon in place of Joseph Stalin.
• Amon's evasive maneuvers when battling Lightning Bolt Zolt resemble the weaving patterns present in the Camelephant Strut, which Aang performed in "The Headband".
• The Revelation flyers containing the secret location of the rally itself was inspired by Bryan Konietzko's participation in rave culture while at university.
• The episode originally had another scene in Republic City Park after Korra, Mako, and Bolin had escaped from the Equalists, with Korra being happy on seeing the brothers reunited. The scene was later cut to maintain the emotional consistency of Korra's final scene with Tenzin and her stress and worry over Amon.
• There were originally plans to have a "foaming mouth girl" at the rally, but this plan was scrapped as the creators felt it undermined the creepiness of the event. The character is still present, but does not act unusually.
• Originally, Hasook was to be captured by Amon's henchmen, and Korra, Mako, and Bolin were going to go after him. However, he was later replaced in the story by Bolin.
• Korra and Mako's bickering and tension throughout the episode deliberately harkened back to the romantic relationships depicted in 1940s era era films, namely the ones starring actors Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.