"Endgame" is the twelfth and final episode of the
first season of
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
's ''
The Legend of Korra
''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...
''. Production occurred under the code 1123 and the episode was directed by
Joaquim Dos Santos
Joaquim Dos Santos is a Portuguese-born American storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and designer. He is best known for his directing work on the television series ''Justice League Unlimited'', ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' G.I. Jo ...
and Ki Hyun Ryu and written by the
''Avatar'' franchise creators
Michael Dante DiMartino
Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...
and
Bryan Konietzko
Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and musician. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...
. "Endgame" aired on June 23, 2012, and was animated by
Studio Mir
Studio Mir Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean animation studio based in Seoul. Among other works, the studio animated most of the American TV series ''The Legend of Korra'', the fourth season of ''The Boondocks'', the Netflix series '' Voltron: Legen ...
.
Plot
Bolin, Asami, and Iroh are taken captive by the Equalists, led by Hiroshi Sato, but are rescued by Naga, who assists them in a fight between the mecha-tanks and the bombers, both of which end up destroyed, with Asami taking down her father.
Meanwhile, Mako and Korra attempt to expose Amon as a waterbender, however he removes his mask revealing burn scarring, claiming that it was from a firebender attack. This further hypes the Equalist crowd who now truly believe him. The situation makes a turn for the worst when Amon reveals he has captured Tenzin and his children, intent on removing their bending and finally making airbenders extinct. The two free the family, but Amon confronts them and removes Korra's connection to her water, earth, and firebending through bloodbending. Amon's lieutenant however witnesses this and tries to attack, but this proves useless as Amon merely casts him aside. This allows Mako to stun Amon in an attempt to escape with Korra, but just as Amon is about to remove his firebending Korra unlocks her airbending abilities and ejects Amon out a window and into the ocean. In his attempt to survive drowning, he reveals himself as a waterbender and that the scarring was make-up to the shock of the other Equalists. Amon flees the city on a small speedboat and brings Tarrlok with him, saying that they could start a new life as brothers, but Tarrlok redeems his previously vile actions by blowing up their boat with an Equalist glove to kill Amon and himself.
Korra returns to the South Pole where Katara attempts to return her abilities, to no avail. While crying on the edge of a cliff, Korra is visited by the previous Avatar,
Aang
Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng) is the title character and protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang ...
, telling her she has finally connected with her spiritual-self. With the appearance of all the previous Avatars, he then restores her lost bending abilities, after which Mako appears and the both of them admit their love for each other. Korra then restores Lin Beifong's earthbending to the amazement of the group and ends with Tenzin finally calling her, 'Avatar Korra'.
Production
Development
The episode was meant to be the last in a planned
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
entitled ''Avatar: Legend of Korra'' but the series was extended to 26, and then 52 episodes and "Endgame" became simply the season finale. The animation was done by
Studio Mir
Studio Mir Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean animation studio based in Seoul. Among other works, the studio animated most of the American TV series ''The Legend of Korra'', the fourth season of ''The Boondocks'', the Netflix series '' Voltron: Legen ...
via the most tradition method of frame-by-frame drawings, with each episode consisting of over 15,000 frames.
Release
The episode aired on June 23, 2012. Unlike its prequel series, ''The Legend of Korra'' was broadcast in high-definition. In August 2012, the episode was broadcast in countries outside of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In addition, as of August 2020, the entire series was made available for streaming on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, along with ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
''.
Reception
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
noted that the final scene with
Tarrlok and
Amon
Amon may refer to:
Mythology
* Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra
* Aamon, a Goetic demon
People Momonym
* Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah
Given name
* Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...
was in a way the most redeeming for Tarrlok, who has, in the past, been an antagonist of the season, as he sacrificed himself to kill his brother Amon, even though Amon wanted to start a better life with him. The
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
liked Amon taking
Korra
Avatar Korra is the Title character, title lead character in Nickelodeon's List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'' (a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''), in which she is depicted as the curre ...
's bending away, during the fateful scene where Amon is revealed for who he truly is: a waterbender.
References
External links
{{Avatar
2012 television episodes
The Legend of Korra episodes
Murder–suicide in television
Films directed by Joaquim Dos Santos