Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Avatar: Seven Havens Season 1, Episodes 7-9!
Whoa, doggy (and we can say that because non-hybrid dogs exist in the world of Avatar)1 After last week’s episodes of Seven Havens seemed to settle into a nice, comfortable rhythm, this week’s trio literally and figuratively tossed the table with some huge story moves and big additions to the mythology while somehow also managing to be the most effortlessly funny episodes thus far. At least a portion of that is due to the show’s first two-part episode, which you know has to be big — and it is — but thanks to the continued impressive balance of ongoing mysteries and emotional storytelling, Episodes 7-9 are a thrilling roller-coaster ride from start to finish.
Oh, and also we get to see Korra and Asami again, so commence freaking out, everyone!
The Long View
To talk broad strokes before we get into the specifics of the episodes: As we’ve stated in previous recaps, the metaphor Seven Havens seems to be going for is how in our own world, countries are closing borders and refusing to work with each other to fix larger problems — i.e. the environment — while also amping up fear of the other. In this case, that “other” are the Havens other than Ellora, which is the main one we’re spending time in this season. But it also extends to the ostensible villains — raiders known as the Faceless, and more specifically the Avatar, as for hundreds of years people have believed Korra caused the Cataclysm that wrecked the world.
This week, with Envoys visiting from other Havens (more on that below), we get to see this distrust in action. It’s enormously simplified for the child’s cartoon we’re watching (no shade there) to the other Havens needing food and Ellora wanting benders to protect them from the red diamond Anomaly that has been growing and attacking Ellora at a regular rate. We’re not talking complicated, multi-faceted trade deals here, and that’s fine. But the thrust is clear for the viewer: These Havens, of course, would be stronger together, but it’s easier to give in to fear, the real theme of this season, than join up. Alone, the Havens are in survival mode; together, they might have something greater, but through pride, tradition, or whatever excuse they want to give, it doesn’t happen.
And for any viewers frustrated about these moves, there’s a key moment late in Episode 9, “The Envoys: Part Two,” when Commander Karthik (Akshay Khanna) talks about how they were raised to hate the Avatar. While it’s been a decade or so in our time since we’ve last seen the Avatar, and we know that Pavi (Saheli Khan) and Nisha (Aishu Devan), our twin Avatars, are good, It’s been 225 years since Avatar: The Legend of Korra. That’s over two centuries, and every character we’re watching on TV was born and raised in a world that doesn’t just hate and fear the Avatar, but has also been taught to distrust each other. Heck, their parents, grandparents, and probably even great-grandparents were born and raised the same. They don’t know any other life, and society has developed solely based around these precepts. It’s less about breaking programming than completely reconceptualizing history and learning. That’s hard, folks!
And speaking of Karthik, let’s take a small but related side-trip to talk about what happens towards the end of Episode 9. Pretty much since he first popped up, fans have pointed at Karthik as likely turning evil, getting corrupted, or perhaps being the head of the evil (or at least morally grey) Red Lotus instead of the Order of the White Lotus, which turns out to be 100% totally not true. In fact, in a shocker, it’s Jae (Major Curda) who betrays Karthik and the Avatars. We’ve watched Jae struggle with what we mentioned above, being raised in a society where the Avatar is seen as the ultimate evil. In Episode 9, he does turn against them, tells everyone about the White Lotus, gets Karthik arrested, and becomes Commander of the Bending Brigade himself. While it’s possible this might be revealed as a long range plan to do the right thing, at least at the end of this week, it’s a punch in the gut, and a real emotional surprise to see a character we’ve been following and believed in stick to the status quo instead of growing, changing, and learning.
It’s also, to be clear, very smartly done and more realistic: In real life, people rarely break out of their programming; they may be challenged, and they could even flirt with changing their minds, but sadly, more often than not they stay with what’s comfortable rather than truly evolve. So, boo to Jae! Hooray to the writers of Seven Havens. Also, boo to the writers — how dare you do this to Jae?! Life is complicated.
The Episodes Close Up
Anyway, there’s lots more to get into, so let’s do some brief recap. First up is Episode 7, “What Lies Beneath,” which does not include appearances by either Harrison Ford* or Michelle Pfeiffer. Instead, when Pavi decides to try and connect with the Anomaly to try and chase down more memories of her missing parents, she blasts a hole in the massive red crystal, revealing tunnels under Ellora. It turns out there’s a lot under the city, including a factory that was built by none other than Asami Sato. Thanks to a “mover,” we get to see both Korra and Asami, older, happier, and not in the Spirit World (where we last left them at the end of Legend of Korra).
(*What kind of bender do you think Ford would be? Is there cranky old man bending? Is that a thing?)
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