Then would it have been so horrible to state that fact? Maybe put in a scene where one of the benders tries and fails? All we get is the door, and besides why would he? It's not like he built that factory just to trap the Avatar.

 

Why would he?

If you were a multimillionaire who was involved with some VERY dangerous activities and were hated and paranoid about benders, would you not build the best hideout you could?

It also stated that they did want to trap the Avatar and Lin. Why would he try unless he thought he had a inescapable lair.

I would not need to see a earth bender fail for me to assume the walls and floors were platinum.

 

So this dude builds a platinum box underneath his house and nobody was a aware of this fact, and you know know what happens when you assume things.

 

Even if they did bend the earth, what's to say it'd do much good? We saw how well stabbing the mechs with high velocity shards of metal went - would throwing rocks really have been that much better? As masters of a rare and powerful talent, why would the metalbenders step back down to bending earth unless it gave them a clear advantage?

Hell, the floors could have been wood. I'm pretty sure that a single layer of the wrong material heavily interferes with a bender's ability to work with whatever lies past it.

 

Someone in another Korra discussion I observed suggested that Metalbenders might not be very good Earthbenders -- they're overspecialized and can't adapt well. I'm not sure how well it stands up, but I thought it was interesting.

 

I kinda doubt that. If all it took to stop an earth bender from bending was a wood floor then the Fire Nation would have conqured them a lot faster then they did in the 1st series.

That said Lindsey is probably right the floor probably was made of platinum. I just would have liked to see that established rather then just assumed. It makes the heroes come of as a little idiotic to not at least try the obvious.

 

Only if they did all their fighting indoors, in which case wooden floors would give firebenders another, much bigger advantage. :awesome

 

The floor wasn't made of platinum, peeps...

Bolin bends a tunnel to reach the secret room, then covers said tunnel with earth as they make their escape.

Cruentus is right. It was a logic fail.

 

Well if all it took to stop earth bending was a wooden floor, why put them on a metal coal plant in the ocean? Why not just a big wooden prison? that way if they riot you can just burn everything down.

 

That, and Lin used earthbending to jump on the mech. The metalbenders also used earth to make footholds when they tried to stop the mechs from moving.

 

It seems to me that they're used to using metal bending more than earthbending, since they prefer to use it in their police duties (earthbending is destructive to streets, metalbending not so much). So naturally they're going to go with what they're comfortable using.

That said, it does seem odd that they wouldn't try to tip the machines over with earthbending. That's the biggest weakness of two legged creatures/machines; it takes a while for us to get back up (Jackie Chan not included).

 

I just can't help the feeling that, Korra included, I'm watching a bunch of average benders trying to do the work of Master benders.

Season two had the gang taking on the entire royal guard of the Earth King, as well as Touph keeping an entire building from sinking into the sand, by willpower and bending alone.

So far I've been less then impressed.

Edit: It could be that living in the city has crippled their ability to open their mind to the possibilities.

Somewhere Bumi sr. is turning in his grave.

 

Unfortunately its been my experience that most fights in kids shows tend not to follow the combat pragmatist route. Re-watching that fight scene, I notice what was either steam or pressurized gas clouds escaping out the back of the mechs whenever they fired their grappling arms (probably steam, considering the era). Turn those internal reservoirs or the steam they fire into ice to significantly lock up the joints, or ice the floor to trip them. There is also the water tanks/steam engines among the factory walls as a source of water.

Use the metal beams to bind the mechs. Considering the sheer rarity and cost of the metal, I find it hard to believe that the entire factory was built from platinum (yes, I know the Avatar world may have a much greater amount than our own, but still). Or use the earth to bind the feet, then trip the mech and encapsulate it in earth. Or lock the grappling hooks to render them harmless. Earth spears could also be used to lock them down.

And those are just the non-lethal options for earth and water.

 

I know this might be a bit of a nit pick but since Korra is water tribe why doesn't she carry any water with her at all? I mean she is the Avatar, but you never know when you might need the water, and it's not like it would be that much of a pain to carry it around.

 

Pure. Awesome.

 

I think it's safe to assume that these difficult forms of bending from S1 (lightning and metal) are not particularly difficult in this time period because they have been taught. Lightning benders are used to create power. There is an entire police force for the largest city on earth made up of metal-benders. I highly doubt that every single one of them is a bending master.

The first thing the benders used were their primary tactics for what seem to be all of their fights. Target acquired? Bind it with big metal ropes. Big or powerful enemy? better use more ropes. Technology is rampant, but it's not like they should automatically assume that one of the machines would be able to overpower the combined strength and bending of 4 officers. Which it didn't, they were holding it nearly at a standstill.

Then it electrocuted them, removing the chance to really adapt their tactics. They aren't main characters, they are grunts. Tenzin likely has no combat experience, Korra hasn't had the hundreds of lowly fire grunts to fight in groups like Aang has, and Lin's technique was working pretty well until she got knocked the fuck out.

 

Then it was obviously not working very well at all. That's like saying a boxer was doing great until the other guy KO'ed him, and I don't know about you, but after the bad guy brags about his shiny platinum battle mechs I don't think it's much of a stretch, mentally, to sink one into the ground, or tip it over.

 

Nope. There were new episodes for other cartoons though, like Young Justice, so I'm a little confused and ticked as to why there was no new Korra.