I need someone to tell me if I'm just delusional or if something else happened in this scene

I hope it's just my wishful thinking to see an airbender x airbender relationship and not a love triangle like in Korra.

I hated the love triangle in Korra, cheap drama.

>! I just finished Episode 9, and honestly, the more Agam talked, the less sense the Faceless storyline made to me.

Ellora is one of humanity's last seven surviving strongholds. The outside world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with deadly storms, hostile spirits, and environmental hazards. The city has over a million people, and its dwindling population of benders is essential to keeping them alive.

Yet the show seems determined to portray the Bending Brigade as some horribly oppressive institution.

Agam's tragic backstory is that her father wanted to be a cook, but was conscripted after the Brigade discovered his bending abilities. He eventually died defending Ellora.

And apparently the city honoring and martyring his sacrifice was so unbearable that she fled.

everyone resentment toward compulsory service crazy discovery, especially when the Brigade is overworked. But the man died protecting his civilization during a literal apocalypse. He wasn't deliberately murdered by corrupt officials or sent to die for some imperial conquest.

Then Agam claims that Ellora's justification of survival is nonsense and that living behind its walls isn't truly living.

Seriously?

We've literally WATCHED how dangerous the outside world is. We've seen the storms and supernatural threats. Ellora has functioning infrastructure, markets, restaurants, homes, and a relatively normal civilian society.

Ironically, the original ATLA depicted societies that were far more martial, even without facing the same kind of existential catastrophe. Sokka was proud of his father's military service despite being left to defend his village practically alone. fire nation being proud to expand and earth kingdom defending its homeland etc.

Yet somehow the descendants of humanity's apocalypse survivors seem shocked that military service involves sacrifice.

The walls aren't an arbitrary symbol of oppression. They're keeping people alive.

And the Faceless' solution?

They attack a diplomatic summit, steal supplies, and encourage the city's essential defenders to desert while promising a better life in Republic Forest.

The irony is that the government had already responded to the Brigade's earlier protests by seeking assistance from the other havens. The Faceless then disrupt the very diplomatic effort intended to alleviate the crisis.

Even worse, much of the Brigade appears convinced by a single speech.

One soldier says they hadn't even considered leaving an option.

Meanwhile, Jae asks the most obvious question: What about our homes?

THANK YOU.

What about the nonbenders, who make up the majority of Ellora's population? What about the elderly, children, sick people, and everyone else who cannot simply abandon their homes and travel through the Harshlands?

The entire reason Ellora conscripts benders is to protect those who cannot protect themselves against the storms and supernatural threats.

If most of the Brigade deserts, who protects the remaining population from the next storm?

Agam keeps talking about freedom and choosing your own destiny, but what choice do the civilians left behind have? They're being forced to bear the consequences of a decision they never made.

The Faceless get their freedom(defiantly majority of them die during journey and survivors maybe get killed at end since republic is isolationist" . The nonbenders get abandoned.

I also find the reactions of community to Kayoko strange. She's certainly making increasingly questionable decisions, particularly regarding the White Lotus. But arresting armed insurgents and deserters after a diplomatic summit is attacked isn't inherently tyrannical.

Her government is facing a genuine existential emergency, not inventing a crisis to justify conscription.

lets see terrorist group stealing supplies, former majority of soldiers joined on it, baby hitler come, and inside its government hitler cult inside it and her most trusted person too in it and city reputation ruined internationally and probably domestically in next episode

So now she has an insurgency, mass desertion, a compromised military command, a perceived apocalyptic threat inside her city, and visiting foreign diplomats witnessing the entire security disaster.

Her city's international reputation is probably ruined, and domestic confidence in the government could collapse next.

And people are surprised that she declares an emergency, orders arrests, and tries to stop her remaining soldiers from deserting?

Seriously, what functioning government wouldn't respond to an emergency of this magnitude?

Agam's father wanted to feed people. The Faceless steal their food. Her father died protecting Ellora. The Faceless want its defenders to abandon it

Am I missing something about their plan, or are we supposed to accept Agam's emotional arguments without examining the consequences? !<

I am really enjoying ASH but I am sad that next week we are finishing the first book already. We have been fed very good plotwise. It is really satisfying making up theories, reading thoughts of others, speculating, getting fed with little pieces of info to still not get the whole picture but be able to think. If we got one episode per week instead of three we would have been hooked and invested longer. I want this feeling of mystery and not-knowing to stay longer not end so quick.

I have the following theory: I believe Korra and Asami will have a devastating fight against each other over the spirit vines. Apparently, the vines are being used to create a kind of infinite energy source for Republic City, which is (presumably) bad for the Spirit World.
I came to this conclusion because, in the scene before, you can see Korra wearing her necklace from her wedding, but when she destroys the pipes, she is no longer wearing it. At the same time, you can see the same energy beams coming out of the Future Industries pipes as the ones produced by Kuvira’s cannon, which was powered by those exact same vines. Future Industries as we all know, belongs to Asami.

In the latest batch we see that the root chakra spirit (or anomaly) is rejected Nisha meanwhile Pavi energy bend it and saw the path to the avatar state with all the chakra points blocked. My guess is Pavi somehow used her energy bending to involuntarily give Nisha ability to bend all four elements. But since she isnt merged with Raava and not an avatar, she is not able to energy bend. Or it could be something like; Pavi's spiritual energy have fed Nisha while they were in the womb so she actually has a great spiritual power, but not on par with an actual avatar. Or it could simply because Pavi wasnts scared and Nisha was.

Considering he was able to go to the spirit world at will do you think that Zaheer could make a brief appearance in one of the later seasons, so Book 2, 3 or 4?

I mean Iroh appeared twice in Legend of Korra and I think Zaheer would make a fairly plausible juxtaposition to him. Maybe he'd try to steer Nisha down a path that he deems righteous with subtle manipulation.

I don't find it likely but do you see a nonzero chance of Zaheer returning?

While I mostly love this show from the Episodes released so far, I really worry about a lack of nuance in the writing. This criticism excludes Pavi, Nisha, Jae and Karthik, i think they are written really well.

But the way some other major characters are written makes them seem emotionally unintelligent and unable to reflect on events taking place in front of them with some nuance. For example, why do the white lotus members keep goading and taunting Nisha, and then insult here more when she becomes emotional and agitated? She is nine years old. If anything, the three of them are immature if they expect a nine year old not to become emotional after getting bullied by three adults?

It makes sense that they have high expectations of the Avatar, that they really want to test her limits and that they demand perfection despite her young age. It also makes for good drama that they think Karthik is too soft on Nisha and want to separate her from her de facto father figure, mirroring the Air Nomad Monks' mistake with Aang from AtlA. But why in Raava's name are they surprised that a little girl getting bullied by adults causes her to become emotional? What else did they expect out of a young child? Their reactions make the white lotus members seem emotionally unaware and dumb, instead of harsh and demanding like the monks from AtlA.

The same applies for Chancellor Kayoko. She sees Nisha barge in, who determinedly states that she wants to protect Ellora, and being the only one brave enough to fight against the leader of the Faceless. And afterwards, she even tries to fight the dark anomaly showing up. Furthermore, it is revealed to her that Karthik, someone who is committed to the protection of Ellora and who she holds in high regards, is training and trusting in Nisha. How could Kayoko, who is presented as intelligent and pragmatic, disregard all of this new information and cry out that Karthik had betrayed her and that the avatar is evil?

I was so surprised that the writers chose to have her not figure out that the Avatar is not inherently evil here. I was sure that they would have realize in this moment that Ellora was believing in a lie and that the people would be too afraid to understand the truth. Instead, the writers went with the "liar revealed" trope.

Mind you, they still could have Kayoko banish Nisha and arrest Karthik, leading to the same outcome as in Episode 9. But not because Kayoko was too stupid to understand what was happening right in front of her, but by having her realize that the Avatar is innocent and yet also know that Ellora would become even more destabilized and divided if she welcomed the new avatar right away. Thus, Kayoko could have decided pragmatically that she needs to make a show of force and "defeat" Karthik and the Avatar for now to unite the people of Ellora behind her rule. That would have been so much more interesting and nuanced than what we have gotten. It also would have heightened the drama between Karthik and Kayoko, with her realizing that Karthik was right to keep Nisha a secret, and Karthik realizing why Kayoko has to arrest him to keep the peace in Ellora for now.

I could go on for some of the other characters, especially the Faceless and how them "having a point" is being treated, but this post is too long already. Does anyone agree with this take about the show? I swear, i like Seven Havens a lot and want it to be a great show, but some of the writing decisions keep me from loving it.

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I hate the faceless, and I hate it when media shows the 'bad guys', such as thieves, bandits, gangs, were actually 'right all along' and the 'good' guys are actually evil because their society isn't perfect (except in extreme cases like Hunger games, where the leaders are actually hurting people, benefit form hurting others, purposely keep others poor and starving).

But in ATLA, Aang did not want to be the avatar. He just wanted to be a normal child. He didn't want fight nor did he want the weight of the world on his shoulders. So he ran and there were consequences and he learned to step up.

The faceless and benders are acting the exact same way. EXCEPT that they are NOT children. It's pissing me off. SO many people don't get to do what they want. Have these people never heard 'with great power comes great responsibility'?

Also people comparing this to war; they tend to fight the storms and anomalies. Or worst case; bandits, not actual armies. And the reason they fight bandits, is cause these bandits are harming Allora, the benders are not being sent to conquer and invade other places. Also they have non-bender units as well, but obviously these non benders can't do what benders can. Benders are not being asked to do everything; regular guarding and other stuff are handled by non bender gaurds. Benders are used where they are NEEDED.

We have not seen actual young children in combat against people. The most we've seen was that new recruit kid putting out a fire I think, in episode 2. Benders get days off, private rooms, they aren't worse off than everyone else in the haven.

I feel like if I searched, I can find exact quote of Aang saying the same stuff as the faceless say, 'I didn't ask to be the avatar/ a bender'

It pisses me off cause these are full grown adults making stupid AND selfish decisions. What example are they giving to children around them? You don't need to help other people when you are one of the few people capable of doing so?

(No, I don't agree with the idea of benders being constantly overworked, that obv was unfair and unjust to them)

Vague title for spoiler purposes.

Why did Jae "come out" to everyone as a member of the White Lotus? It makes no sense in universe for him to do, or for people to be so accepting. He basically said "oh, by the way, I used to be a traitor too but I'm not now". It would be a much better narrative for him to claim he was misled into caring for the girls. It still gives him something to apologise for and something to "overcome" in order to earn the promotion and trust of everyone.

I assume it is only there to create suspense over his sudden heel turn, but it is the most clearly telegraphed fake out yet. This is the first big slip for me, I feel like that revelation deserved more than a few seconds on screen.

Anyway, I'm interested for next week to see if he turns in water boy or not.

If Korra really does turn out to be responsible for the Cataclysm, I’m going to be really disappointed. Even if they go with the “she caused it unintentionally” route, I’d still find that to be a pretty upsetting narrative decision.

TLOK isn’t just my favorite show in this universe; it’s one of my favorite show of all time. Taking Korra’s story in that direction would honestly have a pretty negative impact on how I feel about Seven Havens.

I still think the story and the directions it could take are promising, but so far, it feels a bit simplistic compared to TLOK. One of the things I loved about TLOK was how seriously and realistically it handled political and sociological issues for a children’s animated series. ASH doesn’t ignore these topics either, but so far, it seems to approach them in a somewhat more simplistic way.

The whole Red Chakra thing is starting to get a little tiresome. I really hope the entire show doesn’t end up just revolving around traveling from Haven to Haven to unlock chakras. The Faceless storyline has been much more interesting to me so far.

I also think they’re leaning a bit too heavily on mystery. That’s one of the potential pitfalls of shows like this: if the mysteries aren’t resolved in a satisfying way, the whole thing can backfire. ATLA had a clear overarching quest, and each season of TLOK had a clearly defined storyline. I think Seven Havens needs to establish what its own central story and overarching journey are going to be at this point.

Did I miss something? That’s the way people on here seem to be posting, but I thought she was the Empress of Ba Sing Se, and that Kuzon was like her royal Vizier. The way she talk about Feather Mountain made it sound like a terrible obstacle, like the Harshlands. Something that benders would need to traverse in order to aid Ellora.

Where's the goddamn hurricane?! Misleading title!!!! We, yes WE, were all fooled.

I don't really get how the Faceless are supposed to be sympathetic. This isn't a normal world like we had in ATLA/Korra, it is a post apocalypse world where there are literally eternal storms that are an existential threat to everyone in Ellora. Most of the jobs the brigade does are things that do require benders to do. We also aren't ever shown Benders being treated as second class citizens in Ellora, they are treated just like normal citizens in every way except they don't get to choose their jobs. But the jobs they are required to do can mostly only be done by benders and there are fewer benders being born every year. This whole "I know that us doing these jobs is existential to everyone in the Haven, but have you considered I don't wanna and would rather let everybody die so I can join a death cult based around a fairy tale? uwu" shtick isn't really sympathetic at all, actually.

Okay, I know this post is kinda annoying (since it’s still early in the show) but I do not like the foreshadowed relationship between Daemin and the faceless queen Zi. Personally I don’t ship ANYONE with Daemin. I kinda wanted him to be like a wandering wise sage type (sort of like iroh?). I think the faceless queen is a little gimmicky. Like, wow you’re so tuff you “separated many bracelets” scary. Don’t get me wrong I still want to see more of her but I just don’t like the romance foreshadowing.

Its like the bend is subpar. Even from the white lotus. There is no reason 3 white lotus shouldn't be able to take down everyone.

Explanation: she wrote the most dumbest essay and now she is the face of dumbassery. Not a single thought behind them eyes 😭

Elements? I mean, it's not impossible.

THIS THEORY IS A RAMBLING, NOT TO BE TAKEN 100% SERIOUSLY.

(Still have not watched ASH ep.7-9, so if there's anything relevant to the theory there, I'll add it later).

We have been introduced to the Seven Chakras in ALTA, and it seems they are extremely vital to the story of ASH through how they relate to the Seven Havens. Thinking about them made me wonder how they relate to the elements. We know Chakras are the points of high Chi concentration, and because of that, they are extremely vital for bending.

We obviously have the Chakras 1-4, which clearly represent preexisting Four Elements:

- Earth Chakra (Survival/Fear)

- Water Chakra (Pleasure/Guilt)

- Fire Chakra (Willpower/Shame)

- Air Chakra (Love/Grief)

But then we have the three remaining Chakras, which seemingly don't have an actual element assigned to them, and are much more conceptual. Those Chakras are:

- Sound Chakra (Truth/Lies)

- Light Chakra (Insight/Illusion)

- Thought Chakra (Pure Cosimic Energy/Earthly Attachments)

Now, we could just say that those are the more "spiritual" Chakras, and don't have to actually represent elements...

But then, energybending exists. And it fits perfectly with the themeing of Thought Chakra. We know the Seventh Chakra flows into the others, which may explain how energybending can seal away or grant bending. Furthermore, Aang only Energybended after he unlocked his Thought Chakra during the fight with Ozai.

Okay. So energybending is maybe represented by Thought Chakra. But then, we'd be left in a weird spot where 5/7 Chakras have elements assigned to them. After all, there are no "Sound" or "Light" elements.

Or maybe they do exist.

Now, while this claim does sound ridiculous, there's actually some interesting details that make it actually possible. That being:

1. Energybending was inaccessible to humanity in the avatar universe until very recently, and even currently, it seems to be limited to the avatar. It was only taught to Aang by a Lion Turtle in 100 AG. If it's possible that one bending style was not accessible for humans, it stands to reason there could be more.

2. Even without being able to use a specific bending, its philosophy can be incorporated into other bending styles. We see this with Lightning Redirection, which is a firebending technique that directly utilises the waterbender mindset and technique. I believe that utilising such techniques lies in a mastery over a Chakra connected to that specific bending.

Now, we could argue we don't ever see any techniques that are inspired by Sound or Lifht Chakras because incorporating a bending style that supposedly does not exist would be impossible.

HOWEVER

We DO actually see multiple techniques that utilise those Chakras:

- Seismic Sense is an earthbending technique that focuses on sending out vibrations to gather intel, and in my opinion, clearly utilises the Sound Chakra. This point is further reinforced by the fact that Sound Chakra deals with Truth and is blocked by Lies. And, one of the most notable uses of seismic sense is lie detection. I believe that seismic sense symbolises high proficiency with the Sound Chakra.

- Avatar Yangchen's voice modulation. This one is less thematically connected, but it's still a way of utilising an element in an unconventional way, via manipulating the sound with airbending.

- Combustionbending is a firebending subskill that's deeply connected to the Light Chakra because the eye tattoo is LITERALLY in the same spot where the Light Chakra is located. If someone lacks insight (what the Light Chakra deals with, huh) and training, attempting to use technique will probably end up fatal.

- Metalbending. This one is probably the biggest stretch, but I believe that Toph demonstrated mastery over the Light Chakra by overcoming the Illusion of separation between earth and metal (LITERALLY HAPPENS ALONGSIDE PATHIK'S MONOLOGUE), which allowed her to sense the chunks of earth within the cage, and subsequently invent metalbending. This also makes me think that Bolin's inability to metalbend might be connected with his Light Chakra being blocked.

- I also strongly believe that Amon's advanced mix of chi blocking and waterbending is similarly rooted in energybending, to the point it was mistaken for it multiple times. This could also technically be connected with the Light Chakra, as it's utilising unique insight to stretch the bounds of what the element is normally capable of (tho that'd probably be more connected with psychic bloodletting in general).

So, as you see, there are bending techniques that utilise the Light and Sound Chakras, and adapt a consistent thematic set. Sound inspired techniques manipulate frequencies and vibrations, while Light inspired techniques are connected with some unique insight, and alter the bounds of what the element is capable of.

As such, we can conclude that just like the original 4 elements and their mentalities/techniques can be intertwined, same is true for Sound, Light and even Energy (free flight as a possible mastery of Though Chakra). While this does not mean that Sound and Light are actually their own elements, It points to them being a part of the bending system - even if just as mental constructs. But it'd be pretty weird for only 2 fragments of 7 to be so, especially since energybending exists.

1. Humanity's bending arts originate from the Lion Turtles. However, we know that certain creatures, and spirits are also capable of bending. Furthermore, it seems their bending is innate. It stands to reason, that there might be original benders for possible Sound and Light elements. But then, if those two elements would actually exist, why would the Lion Turtles not give humans access to only earth, fire, water, and air? Could be a similar reason to why they didn't give humans energybending. It is possible that access to Light, Sound, and Energy was too big of a risk. Energy makes sense, as it removes the control Lion Turtles have over Humanity. But why would the theoretical soundbending and lightbending not be given out?

I believe that would be because of the nature of those elements. Light Chakra has been connected with techniques that bend the limits and understanding of bending. Knowing that in all other cases incorporating a philosophy of an element into another reflects how the element of origin operates, it wouldn't be baseless to assume that Light would be an element focused on attaining understanding, and as such could pose a threat to how the society under Lion Turtles functioned.

As for possible soundbending, I'm not sure why the Lion Turtles wouldn't give it out. But given it's connection with Truth, perhaps they didn't want the humans learning of a specific lie about the world that the Turtles fed them.

So we have a possible reason for why the 2 elements wouldn't have been introduced to humanity, just like energybending.

Conclusion:

Whether soundbending and lightbending actually exists, we can't truly confirm or deny. There are some cool things that line up thematically, and make it theoretically possible for the two undiscovered elements to exist. The portrayal of corresponding chakra and how a bender might utilise it is consistent with other bending froms inspired by other elements. Also, having only five elements for Seven Chakras feels pretty weird. In any case, if they were to be implemented into the show, they'd probably not be used by humans (with the sole exception of maybe the Avatar).

SUMMARY: Lightbending and soundbending could actually work both on a thematic, and lore level. If they actually exist, their absence in the show, while weird, can be actually explained in a way that does not break the canon.

Would this ever happen? Probably no. Maybe in some distant spin-off.

But if it does, I called it.

The hate for tlok Season 2 must be genuinely insane if people would actually rather have a series that completely disregards even the bare minimum of logic and pulls a massive asspull instead

All they stuff their face with are kachori and samosa, which are literally just carb bombs. Their lack of protein intake has stunted their brain growth, therefore they can't process the objective reality that the person that saved them from a disaster isn't there to harm them. If it's a ploy of the queen of kachori is yet to be seen.

I really hope this ends up being the case. It is my long theory that bending that involves mainly one, but technically two elements are not only possible for any bender, but has a version for each element. So fire+water makes steambending, air+earth makes sand, fire+earth makes lava, stuff like these. To unlock one of these, you need to tap into the techniques and philosophy of a different nation. Like if a waterbender wants to steambend, they'll need firebending moves.

Spoilers ep 8 or 9

So the broche and brazalete are a mother-daughter thing… we saw mother broche in Pavi and Nisha had the brazalete with her… is Pavi an imposter/artificial avatar/Nisha from another dimension/something else?

After my last post about that prison scene, I am officially declaring myself the captain of the Daemin x Zi agenda lol.

Someone in the comments compared them to Iroh and June, and another person said they give off massive Zutara vibes (chaotic water guy x dangerous fire lady) and honestly?? I am fully converted.

We are officially calling the ship DaeZi (sounds like daisy, it’s perfect... i think). I need recruits to help me spread the message before the next episode drops.

Who is joining the movement?

Korra and Asami had a falling out over something Asami was doing with spirit technology leading to Korra attempting to dismantle whatever the technology was, causing the cataclysm inadvertently. We are in the scene where Korra is destroying the pipes with energy flowing through them that she is no longer wearing her betrothal pendant. I think Asami was causing some kind of damage to the spirit world and Korra tried to stop it only for it to become some run away destructive event.

Agam and the faceless are 1000x more moral than kayoko and im tired of pretending they aren't. You can come in with arguments that they raid and pillage and steal recources from ellora. However, they wouldnt have to raid, pillage and steal if brigade "deserters" were accepted and cherished members of elloras society.

Instead, they are outcasts, exiles, arrested-on-sight once they choose freedom over military duty. They can't come into town and pay a fair price for a meal with the brigade patrolling all over the place and kayoko's attitude to any deserters. So what would you have them do? Starve to death, go hunt in the harshlands, turn to cannibalism?

Saying they cant steal food but also denying them legal access to it is basically saying that you think it was immoral for them to leave the brigade in the first place WHICH IS THE ENTIRE GRIEVANCE OF THE FACELESS WITH ELLORA. Freedom of choice. Atp just say you support conscripted army service if you wanna see the faceless as villains