#I didn’t put ashara though because I’m convinced she’s just a red herring for jons mom

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Note: in this case “favorite” means “most interesting/I would like to learn more about” rather than the stan definition where you think they’re personally awesome

[hollowaydivision-blog]

Lemongate: An F.A.Q.

What is Lemongate exactly?

Well, first of all, I'd like to thank you for not immediately dismissing the whole post as soon as you see the word 'lemon' separated from the word 'cakes'.

Oh. You don't have to thank me - how could I know whether I should dismiss it until I read the whole post? Speaking of which, can you get on with it? I still don't know what Lemongate is.

Lemongate is a fan term for the ongoing mystery of the House with the Red Door, Daenerys and Viserys' childhood home. Daenerys believes the Red Door is in Braavos, but the most prevalent aspect of her memory is the lemon tree outside her window - and we've been told multiple times, in multiple different ways, in multiple different books, that lemon trees don't grow in Braavos.

So what?

Well, on its own we might suspect author error. After all, the house with the red door memories were introduced in Daenerys I AGOT, and we didn't really get a thorough examination of how completely opposite Braavos is to the memories Dany has of her childhood until AFFC. Yet the lemon hints are present before that; in fact, lemons are the most prominent fruit in our story, having been focused on specifically from the beginning in Sansa and Arya's love of lemoncakes. And furthermore, nothing else about Dany's memories fit with the Braavos we know. She remembers sun, and grass, and hot, sweet smells - but the weather in Braavos is either rain, fog, or freezing rain.

You have the quotes to back all of this up, right? Because I get a sense of where you're going with this and I do not like it sir, not one bit.

Yes, I do, and you can find them elsewhere if you do some googling - but this is a quick FAQ about the lemon trees, not the resulting theories people have made concerning its meaning. To reiterate: this is not a thread debating parentage, or lineage, or major plot points likely to polarize a vast majority of the fan community. I simply want to clear up any misunderstanding regarding George's deliberate insertion of the lemon tree discrepancy.

But the tinfoilers believe that the lack of lemon trees in Braavos is proof Dany didn't grow up there, and thus isn't the son of Aerys and Rhaelle Targaryen - which is clearly true.

Is it? Because a frail woman who's physically abused and has had six miscarriages already seems unlikely to successfully bear a child in the middle of the "greatest storm in living memory." And there are a number of other odd things about a pregnant Rhaelle supposed flight to Dragonstone - for instance, Daenerys and Jaime's recollection of of Rhaelle's flight is wildly different - for instance, Dany believes that Viserys accompanied the pregnant Rhaelle, but we have no idea if this is true.

But as for Dany not being the child of Aerys and Rhaella, why is that such a tough pill to swallow? Our male lead has a secret heritage that will seemingly grant him access to powers and put him in positions to Save The World From The Others - why not our female lead?

Well I have nothing against that per se, but my understanding of the Lemongate theory is that it eventually results in the deeply unsatisfying B+A=J, R+L=D. Is this true?

I'm glad you asked! Absolutely not. This is not necessarily true. Sure, there is a case to be made for it with several convincing points of evidence - for instance, Dany seems to have Lyanna's natural ability to ride a horse, which is a big part of what helped her fit in with the Dothraki. But there are other ways to go with the idea that Dany's past is not all it seems and her parents may not be who she thinks than polluting our savior Jon Snow's Tower of Joy birth and Targaryen lineage. The point is, R=L=D can be reasonably called a "tinfoil" theory but Lemongate is fully confirmed fact.

Note the irony in the name - it's not just a reference to conspiracy theorists - it's a reference to Watergate, where Nixon managed to rule over the people using false and deceptive pretenses. If Dany is someone else and not actually the heir of House Targaryen, and the lemon trees point to her lack of true legitimacy, she would be an apt parallel to Nixon (and Jon and Euron, who also won "fair elections" through magical and political manipulation).

Wait, wait, back up. How is Dany not the true heir of House Targaryen? I thought you said Lemongate didn't necessarily mean R+L=D?

I did indeed. And while R+L=D would make Dany a bastard (even with a heart tree marriage, polygamy is not legitimate) and behind "Aegon" in the line of succession, we should remember why we always call him "Aegon" and not Aegon. Even a bastard inherits before a pretender.

But let's say R+L=D isn't true. Then we have to look around for a new set of parents. There's an ample supply of Dead Ladies for potential moms - with the leading candidates being Lyanna, Ashara, and Wylla (not dead but I can't imagine anyone getting to interview her anytime soon), and the Fisherman's daughter (Godric Borrel's story about Mama Snow has Ned impregnating a fisherman's daughter and leaving her with a sack of silver and a bastard - a story I believe to be a complete falsification designed to trick Davos and through him eventually trick Jon). There's also an equally ample supply of randy gentlemen with important bloodlines - though Brandon, Ned, Aerys, and Rhaegar seem like the clear front-runners as potential fathers for our two leads.

You're losing me fast, Holloway. Daenerys is clearly a Targaryen. She hatched fucking dragons.

You're right, she did. And hatching dragons is something the Targaryens haven't been able to do for hundreds of years. Incredible luck that Dany was the first one to pull it off. Incredible luck - or the "blood of the dragon" had gone dormant in House Targaryen, but could exist in another house. Because Daenerys is not definitely a Targaryen. She's definitely a Valyrian. We know this ipso facto from her silver hair and purple eyes. But do you know what other house has silver hair and purple eyes? House Dayne, a house so ancient and revered that the legend of Starfall goes back to the Dawn of Days. If there is "blood of the dragon", as the nobles of the Freehold believed, House Dayne is one of only four ancient Westerosi families besides the Targaryens with Valyrian features consistently present in their bloodline.

Wait, so you're saying Dany is the daughter of Ashara?

Well, it offers an explanation of why Ned tried to hard to protect Daenerys in AGOT and felt so guilty when he thought he had failed - he was in love with Ashara at one point, and if he knows Ashara is Daenerys' true mother, he may have felt an obligation to protect her - even at the risk of the realm. I'm sure we can all think of an ex we're not really over and would do stupid, irrational things for. And furthermore, Brandon and Ashara were together in King's Landing approximately nine months before Jon Snow and Dany enter the story, and Ashara is said to have "lost" a daughter in childbirth. And there is a straight up statement that she looks like Ashara’s daughter.

Even after all these years, Ser Barristan could still recall... those haunting purple eyes. Daenerys has the same eyes. Sometimes when the queen looked at him, he felt as if he were looking at Ashara’s daughter ...

..But again, this thread is not to push any particular parentage theory. It's simply to point out that without a doubt, Lemongate - the Braavosi weather issue - is real.

You keep saying "Lemongate is real, Lemongate is real." I think it's time we saw some quotes.

Fine. We first hear all about Dany's Lemon Tree in the first two books - it even appears on-page in her temptation in the House of the Undying. I'll spare you those quotes, but books 1 and 2 establish the template in Dany's memory, the reliability of which books 3, 4, 5, and 6 promptly and enthusiastically undermine. Basically, we're hammered over the head with two facts: Lemons DON'T grow in Braavos, but Dorne is FAMOUS for them.

For instance, Sharna the innkeep is requested to roast a duck with lemons, as a Dornish girl once did.

"Lemons. And where would we get lemons? Does this look like Dorne to you, you freckled fool? Why don't you hop out back to the lemon trees and pick us a bushel, and some nice olives and pomegranates too." She shook a finger at him.

And on the opposite side of the spectrum, we visit Braavos, we see the climate is completely unsuitable. And just in case we didn't (or chose not to) recognize it, GRRM has two guards have a half-page conversation about it in a TWOW sample chapter.

"Seven hells, this place is damp," she heard her guard complain. "I'm chilled to the bones. Where are the bloody orange trees? I always heard there were orange trees in the Free Cities. Lemons and limes. Pomegranates. Hot peppers, warm nights, girls with bare bellies. Where are the bare-bellied girls, I ask you?"

"Down in Lys, and Myr, and Old Volantis," the other guard replied. He was an older man, big-bellied and grizzled. "I went to Lys with Lord Tywin once, when he was Hand to Aerys. Braavos is north of King's Landing, fool. Can't you read a bloody map?"

And just to double down because he can, GRRM includes another reference in another TWOW chapter, where Arya's sister and dramatic counterpart makes the opposite observation.

For me, Alayne thought, as they wheeled it out. Sweetrobin loved lemon cakes too, but only after she told him that they were her favorites. The cake had required every lemon in the Vale, but Petyr had promised that he would send to Dorne for more.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was following /westerosmeteorology.tumblr.com

You're the one who asked for quotes. But yes, let's move on. I won't bombard you with all the other asynchronous Essentially what we have are two mysterious Valyrian mothers (Rhaelle and Ashara), two mysterious Valyrian fathers (Aerys and Rhaegar) and two mysterious "half-a-horse" Starks (Brandon and Ashara).

But wait! What about the courts and the gardens-

-of the mighty, yes yes. Here's the quote:

"There's no more wood." Dareon had paid the innkeep double for a room with a hearth, but none of them had realized that wood would be so costly here. Trees did not grow on Braavos, save in the courts and gardens of the mighty.

The contention of Lemongate deniers is that of course Dany could've been raised in Braavos - in one of those courts or gardens of the mighty. Hence, the lemon tree. There are two problems with this. First of all, let's address the Sealord's Palace and why it doesn't fit: Daenerys associates the House with the Red Door with a peaceful, isolated, happy life. In other words, the last Targaryens were trying to keep a very low profile. Being kept as a political capital by the Sealord in a magnificent palace with hundreds of rooms and a friggin' zoo is something Dany would remember. Second, just because the "mighty" can afford trees doesn't mean they can magically create a climate in which citrus trees can grow. After all, I think Dany would also remember if her treasured house of childhood innocence was encased in a giant Myrish greenhouse.

Okay, admittedly the difference in climates and the association of lemons with Dorne is pretty glaring. But I can't help but feel whatever this is leading to is inextricably linked to parentage, and I'm afraid the result might infringe on the one absolute certainty about the books to come: Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon. After all, it has been literally confirmed by the show.

As GRRM would say, "the show is not the books." Yet I do feel that some discussion of the show is relevant here. Let's compare to another big book-only twist. In the books, Mance is swapped out for Rattleshirt, who burns in his place. The Rattleshirt we meet later is Mance in disguise. In the show, Mance is burned, plain and simple - but seemingly just to poke fun/clarify for book readers, the showrunners went to the effort of recasting and reintroducing Rattleshirt just so Tormund could beat him to death moments after running into him.

In other words, that's Dan and Dave saying "We're not doing this plot, guys."

Now compare to this scene in the show, where Arya, chased through Braavos by the Waif, literally slams into hundreds of citrus fruit being peddled by Braavosi merchants, scattering them all over the screen.

There's even a gratuitous closeup of an orange - a reference to the Godfather, a traditional symbol of impending death in cinema and literature, a way to add color - but maybe also a way of saying, "We're not doing this plot, guys."

Okay, okay, okay. Talk about weather and ambigious shots of lemons and random mentions of the lack of trees in Braavos all you want - it doesn't come close to confirming that Dany's red door memories are significant. Short of author confirmation, I'm sticking with Occam's Razor.

Once again - NOT arguing R+L does or does not equal J or D. I personally hate arguing about secret lineage. I am just pleading with the community to accept that George has included the lemon tree discrepancy on purpose and it is significant.

Fortunately, you don't have to take my word for that. I do actually have author confirmation. GRRM was asked this on Livejournal:

Dany remembers a lemon tree outside the house with the red door in Braavos, but citrus trees shouldn't really grow in Braavos's cold, foggy climate. Is this discrepancy significant? Does it point to future revelations about Dany's past? Thank you so much.

And in a very uncharacteristic fashion, he responded not with "keep reading," but with an outright confirmation of its importance. I hope you'll forgive me for putting this in big bold letters.

“Very perceptive of you.

Yes, it does point to . . . well, that would be telling.”

Source from Livejournal

Instead of acknowledging author error - which he does when applicable - or give his usual cryptic response, he straight up said "Yes, it is important" and implied that the questioner was perceptive for questioning Dany's past.

He really said that?

Yes. He did.

Wow... but why would Viserys agree to protect to Dany? Especially if her claim to the throne is better than his own?

The number one reason is he needed a relative to marry off for alliances - how else to secure any sort of decent army? But let's not forget that Aerys made Viserys his heir, disinheriting Rhaegar and all his kids. So whoever Dany was, Viserys was undeniably the true king. But yes, if Viserys has spent his life lying to Dany, it's possible Viserys had a lot of resentment over this, and that contributed to his eventual pattern of sadism toward Dany. He was a very complicated character with relatively little impact on the story. Then again, Viserys was six at the time they fled, and we don't know if he even accompanied Rhaelle to Dragonstone. If she had a stillbirth and Daenerys Doe was swapped in, perhaps Viserys never knew. Then again again, he's old enough to know they definitely didn't grow in Braavos.

I really don't like abandoning my preconceptions for the series, especially on such fundamental points as Jon Snow's parentage.

Again, I am not arguing for you to do that. Yes it is a coincidence that Dany seems to have been born in Dorne and born toward the end of the war, just like Jon. But there are many ways that R+L=J is compatible with Lemongate. I just wanted to get the facts of the Lemongate situation straight so we can jump into what it may really mean - because it is there for a reason.

Is this just you and some other crazy fans? Or is there anyone in the story who actually brings this up, and tells Dany that the House with the Red Door is anything more than a pleasant memory?

Yes. Quaithe. Quaithe all the time. Quaithe tries to get Dany to “remember who she is” and “go back” every chance she gets.

Well, if Lemongate not in there for some lame parentage reveal, then what?

Well, in my opinion Jon is Ned's son through his upbringing, through and through, and I don't know how not-lame any parentage reveal would be, R+L=J included. But beyond that, I don't know what Lemongate really means. Here's some thoughts:

Why did Oberyn try to raise Dorne for Viserys? Did he and Doran have Viserys in his possession - perhaps in Lemonwood?

Why has GRRM written the Sealord of Braavos as a man on his deathbed, so he will never be able to confirm the supposed marriage pact or any sheltering of Daenerys?

Why did Leyton Hightower freak out the same year Dany and Viserys were kicked out of the House with the Red Door? Was that the year he learned about Aegon, and suddenly realized he'd been sheltering the wrong Targaryen the entire time?

Anyway, these are obviously all frequently asked questions whenever this subject comes up, but the instant rejection it’s met with (even more than Tyrion Targaryen) usually prevents clarifications being made for people. I really, really would appreciate it if we could just accept the Lemongate/Braavosi climate contradiction, and extrapolate from there. All theories, and any other questions you may have, are welcome! I hope this post was at the very least informative, and hopefully minimally offensive. Thank you for reading!

TL;DR: Lemongate is the simple, irrefutable fact that Dany's House with the Red Door was not in Braavos. This does NOT mean R+L=D, and it does NOT disqualify R+L=J. However, it IS a clue of some importance, as confirmed by George himself. Let's start by accepting that, and work from there. What other twists could Dany's false childhood be leading up to?

[lokgifsandmusings]

Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #4/13

4. 4x05 Enemy at the Gates

Spirit weapon experiment. Kuvira marches an entire army to Zaofu’s gates and yet somehow manages to convince Korra that Suyin’s the one who needs to be reasoned with. Asami looks for a good Pai Sho partner. “Hard truths, Bolin.” Zhu Li becomes an inside man.

OH MY GOD these remaining episodes are all so good, guys.

What’s funny is that almost all the driving tension in “Enemy at the Gates” are the plotlines that fell on their face. Heck, even the logistics of the battle that this setup earned criticism from me. The Beifong Family Drama starring Kuvira was certainly the central focus, and I’ve already talked about how that was a plotline that fizzled. Kuvira and Suyin faced off against one another in “Operation Beifong,” she had that moment of blowing up Baatar in “Kuvira’s Gambit,” and then she was just scripted as an antagonist for Korra, with her abandonment from her biological parents being her driving motivation, rather than the obvious personal beef with Su.

So then why do I love an episode that was all about these two women facing off against each other? Because the tension is damn-near perfect.

I want to back up and say that similar to “The Coronation”, this is one of those episodes that has an unbelievable amount of stuff crammed into it. Let’s review:

Kuvira/Baatar strategize and invite Bolin into her inner circle

Varrick introduces the Manhattan Project properly, full experiment, explosion, Kuvira comes in and threatens him

Meeting with Kuvira and the Beifongs

Kuvira threatens Bolin

Meeting with Korra and the Beifongs

Korra and Suyin talk and we get flashbacks

Meeting with Korra and Kuvira

Bolin and Varrick team up, grab mecha suits to escape, have a full fight, Zhu Li “betrays” Varrick

Meeting with Korra and Baatar Sr.

Everything with Hiroshi/Asami

This is a TWENTY MINUTE episode. Fine, 23ish. But still, you get my point.

Perhaps this is why it’s so favorable to me, since we really don’t have the time to deeply ruminate on any of it. But it’s also heavily based around family drama, even if it ends up being secondary to the plot in favor of Korra’s spiritual journey (which is the most important thing, of course, but it does seem odd that these personal stakes for Suyin and Kuvira were put in such sharp focus only to totally fizzle. This is old ground for me though).

So, let’s talk about Korra’s spiritual journey and how this fits in. We see it more in “Battle of Zaofu,” but this sets up how Korra is trying to push against her old tendencies, with her literally saying “Fighting is something the old me would do. That always made things worse.”

We are seeing an unconfident Korra here, and given the trauma she went through, of course she’s damn shaken. “That always made things worse.” Did it Korra, did it? Because I’m fairly certain fighting your uncle saved the entire world. And it’s not as if she was going over-and-beyond with the Red Lotus. She had spent the season fairly restrained, even willingly turning herself in, and only fought back when they’d approach her.

Yeah Korra, the “old you” sucked so badly.

But that’s the point. She’s out of balance (the season really bashes you over the head with this; frankly the series does). Her extreme reticence is maybe uh...better(?) than like, crashing the Water Tribe judge’s car and sticking his head in Naga’s mouth, but from what we see here, it comes at a cost as well. Kuvira is easily able to manipulate Korra, both with her reluctance to snap into action and with her guilt for having “disappeared”:

Korra: I can't let you take Zaofu.

Kuvira: Look, I was tasked with bringing stability to the Earth Kingdom. Zaofu is the last holdout. Why should I treat it differently than any other state?

Korra: What you're doing isn't right!

Kuvira: I understand you're just trying to do Su a favor, but you can't come to me as I am on the verge of reuniting my nation and tell me to stop. The world was descending into chaos while you were gone. In order to fix it, I had to make some tough decisions.

Kuvira is clearly overstepping (she brought her dang army), and there seems to be some sort of right to self-determination for the stats, or else they wouldn’t have to voluntarily sign-on. Korra’s also definitely not “doing Su a favor”; she’s trying to prevent the very literal army from attacking. She could easily be like, “well wait, if they don’t want to join you, you can’t force them.” Or also point out the whole “hey remember that time you flipped off the world leaders and declared yourself Emperor? Because I’m pretty sure what you were ‘tasked with’ doesn’t really apply anymore since they want you to step down.”

But it’s so perfectly reasonable why Korra doesn’t do this. I could see why this episode seems frustrating, as if she’s just easily influenced by whoever she talks to last, but she does push against Suyin’s more extreme tactics even after hearing the tragic backstory, and her motivation seems more to be avoiding a confrontation (probably because she doesn’t trust herself in that situation) than anything else. She doesn’t find that balance until her mindful meditation session with Zaheer, and we know the results from there, with her decidedly springing into action when the situation calls for it.

So, even though we all hate to see Korra “off her game,” it’s contextualized in this larger healing arc, and one with truly fantastic take-aways. This episode brilliantly bridged her solitude and hiding with what was to come, showing both her guilt for disappearing, her determination to be “back”, and her fear to actually embrace that role.

However, for all Korra’s arc was the focus of the season, there’s not even a question that in this episode it takes a backseat to Kuvira/Suyin. Heck, even Korra’s conversations with everyone was more about the game of ping-pong between those two women than Korra herself.

What’s amazing to me is how...transparent Kuvira lets herself be. If anyone’s read A Song of Ice and Fire, she more or less flies off the handle when met with the slightest resistance as quickly as Cersei Lannister (GoT not applicable here). That’s saying something. For instance, take Cersei trying to persuade Ned not to turn her and her children in for the twincest:

“Must?” She put her hand on his good leg, just above the knee. “A true man does what he will, not what he must.” Her fingers brushed lightly against his thigh, the gentlest of promises. “The realm needs a strong Hand. Joff will not come of age for years. No one wants war again, least of all me.” Her hand touched his face, his hair. “If friends can turn to enemies, enemies can become friends. Your wife is a thousand leagues away, and my brother has fled. Be kind to me, Ned. I swear to you, you shall never regret it.”

“Did you make the same offer to Jon Arryn?”

She slapped him. “I shall wear that as a badge of honor,” Ned said dryly.

“Honor, “ she spat. “How dare you play the noble lord with me! What do you take me for? You’ve a bastard of your own, I’ve seen him. Who was the mother, I wonder? Some Dornish peasant you raped while her holdfast burned? A whore? Or was it the grieving sister, the Lady Ashara? She threw herself into the sea, I’m told. Why was that? For the brother you slew, or the child you stole?

The seduction element is much less important than how QUICKLY she goes from zero to nuclear. Now compare it to Kuvira:

Bolin: So, uh ... what does happen to all those towns and villages after we leave? I just realized I'd never really ... gone back and ... checked on them.

Kuvira: Those people are my loyal subjects, and they contribute to the Empire however I see fit. Now that you're in the inner circle, you're going to have to accept some hard truths.

Bolin: Maybe ... I'm not really an "inner circle" kind of guy. Or--or maybe, we don't take over Zaofu! Maybe we can just--let them be on their own, and then, "Yay! The Empire's united! Congratulations to us!"

Kuvira: I didn't know your personal feelings for Opal were stronger than your loyalty to me. Zaofu will join us. The only thing I'm second-guessing is my decision to bring you along. Maybe you need to spend some time in a reeducation camp.

Like good god, woman! And the thing is, this type of “reasonable/nice approach>hesitation by other person>SNAP” happens three times in this episode. Three. There’s the scene with Varrick when he doesn’t want to work on the Manhattan Project anymore, there’s the scene above, and there’s the fact that she has one brief conversation with Suyin and gives them a 24-hour ultimatum before invading with her entire army. What cracks me up about that one in particular is that this is less than 10 on-screen minutes after she was telling Baatar how they “have to do this right” because “the eyes of the world are on them.”

She unravels so quickly. And frankly, so does Suyin. Kuvira was designed as a foil to Korra, sure, but it was more about her superficial qualities and place in life. She helped Korra (ultimately) be able to wrap her arms around her own inner struggles, and externalize them through empathy in the Spirit World. But if we want to talk about the characters with remarkable similarities, it’s Kuvira and Suyin. They are the foiliest foils that ever foiled, and the very personal and deeply-felt nature of their conflict that makes it fly off the screen.

Those similarities are more or less the star of the episode. We see both Kuvira and Su being utterly unreasonable, while accusing the other party of being to blame. Su hurls charges at Kuvira of “brainwashing” Baatar (no he’s a grown-ass man who also happens to be the worst), while advocating that Korra fucking murder her (that was the implication, right?). Kuvira, meanwhile, is just hellbent on getting Zaofu to be “hers” so that she can stick it to Su once at for all, and fulfill the “When I choose to return, it'll be on my own terms” piece of her past argument with her. Even better is that they both put up this facade of being super reasonable and just and open-minded, while they’re really filling their own self-serving aims. Kuvira’s just “spreading the resources” guys! This totally justifies her takeover and refusal to step-down. Suyin, meanwhile, couldn’t bear to impose her ideas on her nation, while she basically ran Zaofu as a police state, and anyone who wants to leave is met with horrible animosity. That whole “my kids are free to follow their own paths, as long as it’s the paths I want!” thing is really the core of her existence.

The “rift” between them was because Kuvira was feeling stifled and realized that Suyin’s goals were too narrow and insular? But then we see how quickly it became Kuvira wanting people to be bowing to her, because maybe she and Su are cut from the same cloth.

You see now why the whole “this was all about my birth parents ditching me!” thing is super out of place in the context of the storyline we were given for Kuvira? Almost everything she did seemed to be in response to Su.

Kuvira: We're doing what you don't have the guts to do: We're going to Ba Sing Se to help bring order back to the Earth Kingdom.

Suyin: No! You will stay here!

Kuvira: And who's going to stop me? Your security force was more than happy to join my cause. They're some of the best fighters in the world, and they are tired of being treated like exotic birds in your cage.

Um. Can I address a slight elephant in the room?

It feels like Kuvira and Suyin are former lovers. I don’t know if it’s me going nuts with shipping goggles or what, but it just. It feels like it. Maybe it’s the fact that they take everything so damn personally, and instantly jump to blaming the other? I know this wasn’t the intent. I’m just saying this was the result, at least for me, and I’m not complaining. But there’s really nothing remotely maternal in the way Suyin talks to her (or even about her, despite what she claims), and Kuvira doesn’t exactly act like a daughter. Baatar? He totally is Percy Weasleying everywhere, and you can just see him dripping with his “I’m a big boy now” attitude.

Baatar: Son, you belong here.

Baatar Jr.: Why? So that I could go on living in your shadow?

I guess in terms of the words said, it’s not that different than Kuvira’s “exotic birds” remark, but there’s just something in the delivery and the way it’s tossed out there that feels different. I think. It’s different. Yeah.

Really, the only negative that can be said about this subplot is once again, the muddied politics surrounding Kuvira. She has no mandate anymore, since she basically told the world leaders to fuck off in 4x03. She is a conqueror to an unwilling state, and really there was no need to even “do this right,” since we learn in “Reunion” that the leaders do fuck nothing about it. Just an Emperor being and Emperor, and one who is surprisingly thin-skinned and impatient. I have to appreciate that Zhu Li played her like a fiddle, though.

And yeah, Zhu Li. Varrick. The WMD.

Let’s tackle their relationship first. I’ve held off on writing fully about Zhurrick, because I still don’t know, dudes. I promise it will be a piece in the pipeline, something like “to ship or not to ship?” Here, we’re seeing the uncomfortable dynamic, though it’s at least recognized as problematic within the episode. Zhu Li calls out Varrick on being weak, but other than that it’s him taking her for granted, their one “tender” moment being ended when he demands she clean up his shit. Then in the mecha suit fight she does all the heavy lifting yet again, showing mild annoyance with him, while he blames her. Frankly, that her “betrayal” was fake is actually a wonder. But it sets Zhu Li on the path to assert more of her agency, while also placing her on the side of the good guys in a very decisive way. I’m glad that they set this up to be addressed, though I certainly question the success of the follow-through.

Am I alone in thinking that they’ve been fucking this whole time too? God, why does this keep happening to me.

The Manhattan Project itself was brilliant. There’s just something so pleasing to my stupid engineering heart in that beginning where Varrick is documenting his procedure and measuring things in Zhu Lis. The tone was funny, while the seriousness of the subject matter was never glossed over. I did think Varrick’s conveniently acquired conscious was a bit out of the blue, but a near-death experience can sometimes push people in that direction. His full “redemption” takes place over the season, and it mostly involves Bolin screaming at him, so it’s good that this wasn’t a dropped thread either.

Oh and Bolin, poor Bolin. Opal is telling him to his face what she has seen, and he’s just stuck in that “we’re helping people” mindset, to the point where it’s a little weird.

Opal: They might have been happy when you first arrived, but I've seen what happens after you leave. Citizens are forced to work as slave labor, dissenters are sent off to who-knows-where!

Bolin: You're wrong, Opal! Now, I don't know what you think you've seen, but I am giving you the one-hundred-percent Bolin guarantee that we're making the Earth Empire a better place to live!

Like, he asks Kuvira about this later, so why would he just argue with Opal to her face instead of asking there? I know sometimes he needs to sit with ideas for a bit, but it did feel just a little like a contrivance to get Bolin to defect with Varrick, rather than showing hesitation there. I do have to be so appreciative that Suyin was completely unconvinced by anything Bolin was saying though, to the point where she just yelled at Kuvira for putting him in that position. No one really takes him that seriously, and the way he’s so dismissive of Opal is incredibly off-putting. No wonder he was in the polar bear dog house.

The last thing Zaofu did was firmly establish the prison camp system that Kuvira had set-up and demonstrate just how completely over-the-line her actions were. “Hard truths, Bolin.” Charming.

But this wouldn’t be a proper Kylie-meta if I didn’t talk about our favorite engineer who decided to firmly tell her father to fuck-off, only to feel bad and want to try and get over her anger towards him because her life is filled with nothing but loss and deep down she loves him and hates that she loves him and...

I can keep going. You’ve seen me keep going. And now Griffin and I are teaming up to bring you the complete saga of Asami’s life, with her relationship to Hiroshi serving as the focal point.

The thing is, there’s a lot about their on-screen relationship that’s weird as hell. I talked in my “Colossus” write-up about how Asami kind of has this background narrative, and obviously it’s one that I think is engaging to fill in. But if we just sit back and think about these scenes...the guy tried to fucking kill her. That’s not hyperbole; her father tried to murder her.

It’s not that it wasn’t effective. It takes minimal thinking to get why Asami would want to end the relationship on her terms, and why what Hiroshi said in response was overwhelming. We then get a shot of her processing everything, which I can’t believe they gave us, to be honest. However, I do HATE that it’s framed like, “oh look a happy father/daughter. There were some good times.” The trouble with Asami is that she is utterly ill-suited for a visual medium, because she’s a character that’s in her head so much. It’s why even in the hands of good adapters, Sansa Stark was going to be a difficult character to get right on-screen, but why she’s so damn amazing on-page.

And like, yes, I’m probably a little out-of-balance given how I write Asami. Here’s a brief part of her internal monologue after receiving his first letter:

Why now? Could he have heard about the plan for the wilds? It had been over a month since the initial press conference that immediately followed the Business Council meeting where the plan was unveiled, and almost three full weeks since the follow-up conference, where Tenzin attended to confirm the role of the airbenders. A picture of her and the airbending master had been on the front page of the paper the following day. Just wait until I finish the wingsuits, Dad. Even still, Asami knew it wouldn’t have taken her father that long to send the letter if it was only in reaction to the press.

The longer she stared at the envelope, the more upset she became. What right does he have to contact me after everything? Yet as much as she was angry with her father, she was even angrier with herself for caring. Asami opened the smallest drawer of her desk and removed the few sheets of paper from within. In their place, she threw Hiroshi’s letter and slammed the drawer shut. I should buy a lock for it. She pushed herself out of her chair and walked over to the door leading down to her workshop.

After descending the flight of stairs, Asami instinctively walked over to the table where she had left the steering gear she was in the middle of examining. She sat down and picked up her pencil, determined to finish her sketches. Unbidden, her mind wandered back to the letter. There is nothing he can say to me. The hurt was too deep for an apology to heal her wounds. Not that Asami was sure it even was an apology. For all she knew, it was a letter chastising her for the error of her ways.

(Yikes I need to re-write this stupid fic)

My point is, no character would just get over almost being murdered by a parent because pai sho times were really fun. It works as a scene to give us a window into where her headspace might be, but the take-away is a little odd. Asami could have looked up and seen anything else there (like a Satomobile), or nothing, and still come to that conclusion. The wistful smile...idk. I’m aware this is a nitpick, yes.

“Awww, maybe he’ll try to fucking murder her in 12 years”

However, I think they mostly stuck the landing in the final scene. Asking to play pai sho like the olden times was a good starting point, and I could see that reasonably being the only thing someone in Asami’s position would think they could emotionally handle. But what’s more is this line:

Asami: But when I saw you, it wasn't anger I felt. It was sadness. You tainted our past and destroyed our future together.

It’s just so...laid out there beautifully, and delivered where you can feel her pain. I never have a word against Seychelle Gabriel.

I will complain that Hiroshi’s own prejudices were never addressed. He was sad he harmed the “Sato” reputation, and wanted Asami specifically to be in his life, but we don’t know if he actually came around on the “I hate benders” thing. We can assume, sure. We can also blame Daniel Dae Kim’s schedule, or the money to get him in a booth, or something. It’s just never not gonna frustrate me that so many things in Book 4 were put in the foreground over more central characters (where the fuck is Tenzin ever?) and plots.

God, I was such a Jin fangirl. Well once he stopped being terrible.

Ya know, maybe that’s the best way to think of this episode, too. It was truly Varrick, Kuvira, and Suyin who were the stars of it. It’s not that what we saw was bad in any way (quite the contrary), but it was a bit of a cannibalization of our screen-time for tensions that ultimately fizzled or mattered less in the scope of things. Two more episodes worth of time and this might have been the perfect season. Yet how the hell am I supposed to complain about “Enemy at the Gates” where the stakes were both personal and engaging, and the action kept it moving? It won’t get a top spot, but it’s quite worthy of this high of a ranking.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here