| Michael Dante DiMartino | Hello once again for the five millionth time, everybody. [Bryan laughs.] This is Mike DiMartino, co-creator, executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzko | This is Bryan Konietzko, also co-creator, executive producer. |
| Janet Varney | This is Janet Varney, Korra. |
| Seychelle Gabriel | Seychelle Gabriel, Asami. |
| Mike | You guys were so good at that one. [Seychelle laughs.] |
| Bryan | So... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] Yeah, that one [Mike laughs.] I-I behaved for. |
| Bryan | ... this, correct me if I'm wrong, uh, but was this series the first voice acting gig for both of you? Like animated voice acting gig? |
| Seychelle | It was for me. |
| Janet | Yeah. I mean, I had recorded some stuff, like, I did a pilot for Nickelodeon that didn't get picked up; I'd done some stuff that didn't go forward, but this is the first... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So, like your first series? |
| Janet | ... real job, yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Janet | Oh, yeah. |
| Seychelle | Definitely. |
| Bryan | A-as voice-voice acting. |
| Janet | Yeah, I really, we struck gold. [Mike chuckles.] I won the lottery. |
| Seychelle | Just talk... definitely. |
| Janet | And any other metaphor I can think of. |
| Seychelle | I'm in... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] One in a million! [Mike laughs.] |
| Seychelle | [Laughs.] You know, for the audition, I schooled myself a little on voice actors, like the-I forgot what his name was, the Bugs Bunny guy. [Mike laughs.] I went way back! |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] You can hear a lot of um, Bugs Bunny in your Asami. |
| Bryan | Yes. [Mike and Bryan laugh.] |
| Seychelle | Thank you, thank you, I'm glad somebody noticed. [Janet laughs.] Nobody ever brought that up. |
| Mike | Your uh, your Mel Blanc is just amazing. [Janet affirms.] |
| Seychelle | Thank you, thank you. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | And um, I think people-I-I mentioned this I think in another comment-it's really hard to do, I think. [Mike affirms.] Not that I'm a, uh, an actor at all, but when Mike and I have done voices it's, it's incredibly challenging. Um, you will-you'll be doing it and you're like, "I know this sounds terrible, but I can't change it," [Laughs.] you know? It's, [Seychelle chuckles.] it's like having your voice under a microscope, it's crazy. |
| Mike | But it might be-must be nice that you don't have to like memorize lines and stuff. That's the part that alway-like when I think of people who-acting on live action shows, and they have these long [Bryan affirms.] things of dialogue. Like, how do they memorize all this stuff? |
| Seychelle | And then when it's fast and stuff, [Mike laughs.] and you really need to know your lines. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Mike | [Gives an affirming murmur.] Do you kind of memorize them like scene-by-scene, when you do that stuff? Like... |
| Seychelle | [In the background.] I do. |
| Mike | ... if you're just shooting like this one scene today, or something. |
| Janet | Yeah. |
| Seychelle | [Gives a thoughtful murmur.] Yeah, yeah. I mean, [Mike affirms.] it's like you're memorizing emotions and impulses, and... |
| Mike | [Interjects; laughs.] Yeah. |
| Seychelle | ... hopefully the words [Laughs.] match those, [Janet laughs.] it does... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And then casting is tough. And I know, like, for you guys on the actor side of things, like, it must seem so like cruel and like, "they didn't love me," or, "they don't like me," and-or, you know, [Mike chuckles.] but it's like, for Mike and I on-on the casting side of things, it's like, especially on a show where we're just trying to get something naturalistic, we-we're not trying to get like a put-on, kinda fake voice, or like cartoony voice. It's like, it's just-it's just random, it's like we're just looking for a certain quality that, in a way, you hear it in your head, um, and as I'm saying this, I feel like I said al-this in already [Mike laughs.] in another commentary. [Seychelle chuckles.] |
| Mike | We might have, we might have. |
| Bryan | But uh, yeah, it's just-it's nothing about, you know, I mean, sometimes it's like, oh, uh, maybe the acting isn't as strong as we'd like it, so that's why we're not choosing this person, but usually it's not the case. Usually, we get... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, e-everyone's usually a great actor, [Bryan affirms.] it's just like that's not the character I imagined, or whatev-yeah. |
| Bryan | And that's nothing that-it's just the voice you're given, it's the instrument you're kinda given; and then obviously, as an actor, he or she has to uh, has to develop it. [Refers to Lin putting on her metal armor over her tank top, and then a grey trench coat over that.] There's Lin's other outfit, [Mike chuckles.] it's uh, [Janet laughs.] armor... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Big trench coat. |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to Lin metalbending off the badge on her armor.] no badge, and trench coat. [Janet and Seychelle laugh.] |
| Mike | [Refers to Lin jailbreaking Asami, Mako and Bolin.] I remember in the, uh, we had a whole-I think it made it to storyboarding, too; like, these are k-the kind of things that get cut in [Laughs.] an episode, like we had a whole scene of Beifong like going in the police station, and like [Bryan affirms.] confronting some officers, and... kinda stuff... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] They were like, gonna stop her, [Mike affirms.] 'cause she wasn't authorized. You know, she wa-she had resigned. |
| Mike | But she intimidated them too much, and they didn't stop her. |
| Bryan | 'Cause she was like, s-they, you know, that was their boss up until like a week ago, so they were like... [Refers to Mako horrified reaction at learning Korra is missing.] so, first signs of Mako's [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] true feelings. |
| Mike | [Refers to the shot dolly zooming in on Mako after Lin tells everyone the news about Korra.] Whenever you see those kind of truck ins, [Bryan laughs.] you know something's up. |
| Bryan | The truck in is that [Mike laughs.] kind of... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] The vertigo. |
| Seychelle | The backup... |
| Bryan | The vertigo, with the... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] Oh, okay. I didn't know what that was called. |
| Seychelle | The truck in. |
| Janet | Yeah. |
| Bryan | But that's like a specific kind where the background moves back but the character moves forward. It's like you... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Made famous in, by Martin Scorsese. |
| Bryan | Well, I think Hitchcock. |
| Mike | I mean, others have done it, yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah, yeah. But it's like you zoom out as you dolly in, or something like that. [Brief pause.] So, yeah, the idea was that um, you know, for everybody that-that hates on Mako's character, "oh, he's this or that," I mean, Mako didn't really know how he felt. Like, he, he and Korra got off to a really rocky start, they had a very antagonistic relationship. Um, but he had these kind of feelings he hadn't recognized yet for her, and they didn't really fully come to the surface until he, 'til she was like-he thought he might com-lose her, [Mike affirms.] you know, that-that he thought she was in grave danger. Sadly, it takes really traumatic things like that for some of us to realize it's-how much someone is valued to you, you know. Kinda cut through the petty, pettiness. [Janet and Seychelle affirm; refers to Korra's visions of Aang, Toph and Sokka dealing with Yakone.] So, this was uh, this was pretty challenging for Mike and me to do this like, seeing our-our old characters older, and uh, in-just in these little flashes. We just-we knew it'd be challenging for the voices that we chose, and the designs, and... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, I think those are probably the hardest types of characters to cast, is like when we have character-especially these guys who like are the adult versions of the characters we knew [Janet affirms.] in the old series. [Seychelle affirms.] Um, and that's a very subjective thing where it's just like, "no, that doesn't seem like Aang, [Laughs.] that doesn't see," you know, it's... [Seychelle gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, and-and-and we-we did have to kinda recast it a few times, and-and we al-we always feel terrible for the actors when we do that. It's-it's-it is nothing personal, it's-it's just a like, you know, when we've lived with those characters for so many years, like, [Gives an unfavorable murmur.] "just not-it's just this thing I'm not feeling it's like the right match." |
| Seychelle | [Brief pause.] No better two than you guys, the-to figure that out, though... [Mike chuckles.] |
| Janet | [Interjects.] That's true. |
| Seychelle | ... I think. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Lin theorizes to Tenzin that the Equalists should be holding Korra and the captured metalbending officers in the same location. | |
| Mike | She looks good in the trench coat. |
| Bryan | I know. |
| Janet | [Refers to Lin wearing her trench coat over her armor.] You wouldn't know that there was a bunch of [Mike, Seychelle, and Bryan laugh.] unforgiving armor, right underneath. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Yeah, I always imagined if [Laughs intermittently.] this was like a real, in real life, like, she, they would be the noisiest police. [Mike laughs.] Like, I mean, we did do like foley of like metal boots, but, I mean, they would just be like, [Stamps feet repeatedly.] "klank, klank, klank, klank," [Janet and Seychelle laugh.] all over the place. |
| Seychelle | [Refers to Bolin sniffing the air of a Republic City street, saying it smells familiar to the one he was taken down when he was kidnapped by the Equalists.] I like when he sniffs his uh, that was funny. |
| Bryan | That was a line, I would like to give credit; Colin Heck, one of our uh, directors... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Oh yeah, think he threw that in. |
| Bryan | ... and a very good friend of ours, uh, he wrote that line. So, even though it says "Written by Mike [Mike chuckles.] and Bryan", Colin wrote that line, in the animatic stage. Sometime-sometimes uh... we have to add scenes or add dialogue; I mean, man, we do it all the way up through finished animation, we're always like trying, trying to make sure stuff makes sense. [Brief pause; refers to Mako harshly telling Asami that they'll go through as many of the underground tunnels as they have to in order to find Korra.] So, this is when... Mako's unravelling a little bit, [Mike gives an affirming murmur; Janet laughs.] getting a little snippy. [Seychelle gives an affirming murmur.] And uh, for all of you who-who condemned him for that moment, [Mike chuckles.] I say, oh? So, you've never, [Janet and Seychelle laugh.] you've, you know, never been snippy with someone that you care for? Uh, I mean, I know that if I just, like get hungry, I do that to my wife, [Janet and Seychelle laugh.] and I feel awful. [Mike and Janet affirm.] Uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Hunger will do that, for sure. |
| Bryan | That's all it takes. |
| Janet | Hunger or lack of sleep. [Bryan affirms.] Done. |
| Seychelle | [Gives an affirming murmur.] There you go. |
| Bryan | And the two of those together, I'm terrible. I'm a horrible person. [Mike laughs.] Basically, to work with me is to receive an apology, [Janet and Seychelle laugh.] every few months. "Hey..." |
| Mike | [Interjects.] So, every day, Bryan's just apologizing to me. It's... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It does! [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] I do have to, I'm-I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's-it's not true. |
| Bryan | ... it's been uh, said before, but I am the feistier of the, [Mike laughs.] the two in the "Bryke" partnership. |
| Seychelle | "Bryke". |
| Bryan | And uh, sometimes, my-my passion uh, it uh, what would you say? Gets a little outta hand, and I lose perspective, and [Mike chuckles.] take it out on those around me. I-I'm trying to be better. |
| Mike | And in your wise, old age, you're-you figured it out. |
| Bryan | I'm getting better, right? I'm getting better. |
| Mike | Yeah, you're fine. |
| Bryan | I'm just lazier with it. [Mike laughs.] I'm like, "eh." [Seychelle chuckles.] |
| Mike | "It's not worth it." [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | It's uh, [Seychelle laughs.] I'm a jerk. Ah, what're you going to do. |
| A brief pause in commentary until the rescue team comes to the Equalist's tram station, with two of the Equalist chi-blockers mentioning which of the different tracks go to the training camp and the prison. | |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] I love the way they go, [Imitates the first chi-blocker's cadence.] "that tram goes to the prison camp," [Janet, Seychelle and Bryan laugh.] it's like... |
| Mike | Yeah, that's-s-sometimes, scenes like that, it's just like, "well, we just need 'em to say it so they know where to go". [Mike, Bryan and Seychelle laugh.] It's not the [Laughs.] b-it's not the most... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Not the most smoothest. [Mike affirms intermittently.] But, you know, that happens in, even our favorite movies, [Seychelle gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] TV series. [Refers to the two Equalists inspecting the empty tram car sent over by the rescue team.] So, speaking of brilliant voice acting, this is uh, me and Mike, right here. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Mike, Janet and Seychelle laugh at the Equalist on the right, voiced by Mike, remarking the tram is empty, with the one on the left, voiced by Bryan, sarcastically saying he can see that. | |
| Mike | That was our... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I think that took us like twenty minutes, [Janet and Mike laugh.] like, I could not get that line. I was... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's alright. That's our big roles this season. |
| Janet | I love it, I didn't know that was you. |
| Seychelle | I didn't know that either. |
| Bryan | So, Mike and I-well, it was kind of a... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] All this stuff is so cool, by the way. |
| Seychelle | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Janet | It's really cool. |
| Bryan | And it's kind of a callback to, Mike and I were, in the finale of Avatar, we were these two idiotic, like, big... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Fire Nation guys, or something. |
| Bryan | ... yeah, big Fire Nation, like engineer guys on the airship who were like talking about having cake at a birthday, or something. [Bryan and Seychelle laugh; Mike affirms.] So, we tend to play the stupid uh, guards. |
| Mike | Yeah. Or where... quality acting is not necessarily required. [Everyone laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] I-I do aud-I've auditioned for a few roles, like I will actually audition for them and put 'em in the mix. And uh... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] Then you don't cast yourself? [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | I don't cast myself. [Janet and Seychelle laugh.] T-I have not gotten there. It's, it is really hard; I mean, I think it's like, you know, like singing a lot o' karaoke, like, "man, I'm pretty good. [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] You know, like, I-people say... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] Or singing in the shower? [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | ... people say I'm awesome," and then you go and like try to record, and you're like, "oh. [Mike chuckles.] I am terrible. [Bryan and Seychelle laugh.] Like, I have no pitch control, or like no volume control". [Brief pause; refers to Bolin urgently telling Mako, Tenzin, Lin and the metalbending officers to get on the tram.] I love P. J.'s read on that, [Imitating Bolin's urgent tone in a cartoonish pitch.] "let's go, people!". [Laughs.] It's like... [Refers to Mako lying on the tram's back railing, then staring back at the Equalist's tram that's gaining on them; laughs.] Mako's just chillin'. He's like, "yeah, we're gettin' away, but, [Janet laughs.] I'm just hangin' out." [Seychelle laughs.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Bolin collapses the tram tunnel behind him and the rest of the group, blocking the pursuing chi-blockers, and prompting Bolin to taunt them to chi-block his giant wall of earth, defiantly posing by crossing his arms and pointing out his index fingers. | |
| Bryan | Very Joaquim Dos Santos. [Mike affirms.] |
| Seychelle | [Refers to Bolin jovially calling the chi-blockers fools.] "Fools." |
| Bryan | Kinda calls back to some of Sokka's uh, gesturing. |
| Mike | So, when the show-when-when would you watch the shows, Seychelle? Like would you watch them when they aired? |
| Seychelle | Y-I, you know, I did for when it began, and then I just kept sleeping in, [Mike, Bryan and Janet laugh.] missing it, and I was like, "damn!" so then I just got it on iTunes, and had a marathon with myself. |
| Mike | Cool. With yourself. [Laughs.] |
| Seychelle | With myself. |
| Mike | And you're like, "man, I'm good on this." [Janet, Seychelle and Bryan laugh.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Korra flashes back to Aang's memories, this time centered around the prosecutor's opening remarks at Yakone's trial. | |
| Bryan | So, yes, on the list of things we really wanted to do with this new series: council meetings, press conferences... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] Love it. |
| Mike | And a trial. |
| Bryan | ... and trial, yes. Courtroom drama. |
| Mike | We have it all, man. |
| Bryan | I know. And there're a lot of other great... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to the trial being held in City Hall, with the judge and jury being Sokka and his fellow councillors.] This is kind of a trial/uh, council meeting, [Bryan affirms.] 'cause it's like the council... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yes, the way their government is set up. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yes. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Yakone's defense attorney.] I love-I actually-I really love this uh, defense attorney. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | Yeah. He seems like a sleazy, 1920s defense attorney. |
| Seychelle | [Refers to the defense attorney's pompadour and hair bun.] I think he did his hair that morning. [Mike and Janet laugh.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Brief pause; refers to the defense attorney explaining in detail how it would be improper and impossible to convict Yakone for the crime of bloodbending given all the alleged incidents happened without there being a full moon present.] I actually really enjoyed writing this [Bryan and Mike laugh.] dialogue, this-this like courtroom stuff. I-I've-I've some lawyer friends, but, and our lawyer is a-a friend of ours, Mike's and my lawyer, but uh, I don't think I would survive a day in law school. I... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] Objection! [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] You might do better than you think. |
| Bryan | No. [Mike chuckles.] I can't read legalese. |
| Janet | [In a hushed tone.] You're supposed to say "overruled". [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] |
| Bryan | See? That's how bad I am [Janet laughs.] at-at-at law. Like, when Mike and I have to read contracts, [Laughs.] I-I'm just like, when I'm on those conference calls, I'm like, "ah, Mike's smarter than me. [Seychelle chuckles.] If he read it..." |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, I don't know, [Janet laughs.] oh, I don't always read 'em. |
| Bryan | They all read... [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] |
| Janet | [Laughs.] This is... |
| Mike | [In the background.] I-I... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] "What have we sign-Mike, what have we signed up for?" |
| Janet | You guys should talk! You guys should probably talk. |
| Mike | I uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Luckily, we have... |
| Mike | ... I try to get the gist. [Seychelle chuckles.] But yeah, there are some where it's like... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I can't get the gist, I just like gloss over and I start fading. [Seychelle affirms.] But luckily, we have a really good lawyer, and Mike's smart. |
| Seychelle | I feel like it's like written in a different time period, almost, when you read that-that stuff. |
| Mike | It-it is. Like the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I mean, they call it legalese. It's like a different language, [Mike affirms.] that-wi-and in that language, "run-on sentence" doesn't exist. [Seychelle laughs.] |
| Janet | Yeah. And it doesn't have to be written like that; so, it's a choice. [Bryan laughs.] It's an evil... |
| Mike | [In the background; laughs.] That's why... |
| Janet | ... choice by... |
| Seychelle | [Interjects.] Thank you... |
| Janet | ... by the lawyers, you know. [Mike affirms.] |
| Seychelle | ... guys. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the extreme closeup shot of Yakone as his eyes bulge into center frame, the shot cutting to Sokka crying out in pain as his limbs contort, Yakone bloodbending him and everyone in the room without moving his limbs.] So, this is some creepy... ps... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Psychic bloodbending! |
| Bryan | ... psychic bloodbending; [Refers to the long shot of Sokka with the rest of the council as his limbs continue to contort and spasm.] there's the little dance he does, you know. [Refers to the medium shot of Toph as she surges forward, trying to metalbend her cables out to bind Yakone.] I love that shot. |
| Mike | It is-yeah, it is tricky sometimes when bloodbending can look silly [Janet laughs intermittently.] if not handled in the proper way. |
| Bryan | Which I-I think when we introduced it in the old series in episode 308, we-we, I mean, we kinda played that up where Sokka and Aang were kinda having some funny... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, when she was throwin' them around. |
| Bryan | Yeah, Hama was [Mike affirms.] throwin' them around, like we kinda made it funny. |
| Seychelle | Hama. |
| Bryan | Hama! [Bryan and Janet laugh.] |
| Seychelle | She was the older woman. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Joaquim-Joaquim's favorite line from the old series is "Hama!" when, [Bryan, Janet and Seychelle laugh.] when Sokka re-realizes she's the-she was the bad guy. [Refers to Tarrlok's played up outrage at being accused of kidnapping Korra; laughs.] I love his little... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] He's still... |
| Bryan | ... thinly veiled... |
| Mike | ... schmoozin', even at the last moment. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Tarrlok refuting the council page's accusations, and insulting the page's voice.] And then we love this uh, "you're just a squeaky-voiced liar!" |
| Mike | [Refers to the page revealing to everyone that Tarrlok bloodbent and kidnapped Korra.] See, he became a pivotal [Janet and Brian affirm.] plot role in this, in this series. Without the council page, who knows what coulda happened. |
| Bryan | They woulda all been like, "well... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Korra never... |
| Bryan | ... sorry, Tarrlok. [Seychelle and Mike laugh.] That sounds like a very plausible explanation." [Mike, Janet and Seychelle laugh.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until the scene comes back to the present after flashing back to the council page's recollection of Korra's kidnapping. | |
| Bryan | Janet, are you tweeting? [Mike laughs.] |
| Janet | Yep. [Bryan laughs.] Someone said something genius [Mike laughs.] about legalese! |
| Bryan | Janet's live... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] And that person was me. [Seychelle laughs.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, she's live tweeting this commentary, which will... |
| Janet | [Interjects; laughs.] Something that no one, yeah, will care about or know. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | ... which will come out nine months later, [Bryan and Seychelle laugh.] or something like that. |
| Janet | I'm very of the moment. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | I-actually, I think it's not that long of a delay, but... and so... |
| Seychelle | [Interjects; refers to the long shot of Tenzin and Lin readying their stances to take down Tarrlok.] His feet don't look that small there. |
| Janet | I was just about to say. [Mike laughs.] |
| Seychelle | Were-were you going to say that? Okay. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Tenzin being bloodbent into unconsciousness by Tarrlok in the council chambers.] Like father, like son, the-wi-this was this uh, history repeating itself, this bloodbending in the council chambers. [Mike affirms; refers to Tarrlok fleeing the council chambers.] Runnin' away, and he's like, "oh, man." |
| Mike | And he's like, yeah, [Laughs.] he, "I'm like..." |
| Janet | [Interjects.] "I should uh... bye!" |
| Mike | That wa-that was... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] He's like... |
| Mike | ... probably not the best thing to do. |
| Bryan | ... he's like, "I guess I will need a new campaign manager [Mike affirms; Janet and Seychelle laugh.] this year." |
| Seychelle | And a new page. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Laughs.] And a new council page. [Refers to Lin slapping an unconscious Tenzin awake.] So, that was really fun, uh, doing the slap. [Laughs.] We just thought, that's another one where it's fun, like knowing that they had dated; she's like waking up her ex-boyfriend, "slap!" [Seychelle chuckles.] right across the face. [Brief pause.] So, uh... this is... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Adult... what, [Gives a querying murmur.] what? |
| Bryan | Is this where we were? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, anyways. [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] Little uh, momentary lapse of reason. [Mike affirms; refers to Toph being dragged through the air toward Yakone.] Um, so, we had talked about casting the adult versions; I really liked uh, Kate Higgins, um... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] She is adult Toph. |
| Bryan | ... turn as adult Toph. |
| Mike | Yes. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I thought it was really cool. Um... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to when Toph calling Aang "Twinkle Toes".] Yeah, 'cause she still seems like Toph, but an adult. |
| Bryan | That's... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Which... [Janet laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... basically, and that was the goal! |
| Mike | ... I guess that [Seychelle laughs.] s-sounded really silly, right? [Mike and Janet laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] And... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] She's got that youthful quality, I think, whatever. |
| Bryan | Yes. [Refers to Yakone telling Aang he'll be back to claim Republic City one day.] And this was fun to bring back uh, our, one of our favorite actors, to play the role of Yakone. |
| Mike | Clancy Brown. |
| Bryan | Clancy Brown. |
| Janet | Oh, I was so excited when Clancy was in that day. |
| Bryan | Yeah, who, um, as a Highlander fan; Highlander, [Mike chuckles.] uh, great Eighties, kind of... |
| Janet | [In the background.] Love it. |
| Bryan | ... fantasy, sci-fi action movie, Clancy [Laughs.] is, hands down, one of the scariest bad guys, ever, in that film. So, uh, when we met him back on Avatar, 'cause he played um, Long Feng, who's one of my favorite villains that we've ever had... I was genuinely terrified of him. I mean, for one thing, the dude is huge. |
| Janet | He is! |
| Bryan | And... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] He's a commanding presence. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Very commanding. But then I didn't realize he was a voice on Spongebob. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | And uh... |
| Seychelle | [Interjects.] Really? |
| Mike | Yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah, and-and they're like, like, "yeah, you can get Clancy Brown, he-he [Laughs.] is in the studio all the time". We're like, "what?" and they're like, "yeah, he's Mr. Krabs," and we're like, "what?" [Mike and Janet laugh.] |
| Seychelle | He's Mr. Krabs, [Mike laughs.] that's so cool. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I had no idea. And I'm like, the Kurgan, who I believe was his character in uh, Highlander, is Mr. Krabs, [Mike chuckles.] that's just, [Seychelle laughs.] that's some... |
| Janet | [In the background.] That's an amazing turn, yeah. |
| Bryan | ... range, right there, yeah. |
| Seychelle | That's awesome. |
| Janet | And some of you guys might know him uh, from Shawshank Redemption, [Mike and Bryan affirm.] very famous, right; he's the... |
| Seychelle | [Interjects.] What'd he play in that? |
| Janet | The guard in Shawshank Redemption. |
| Bryan | Yeah, he's awesome. So, you know, once I got over being absolutely terrified of him, um, [Seychelle chuckles.] he's actually an incredibly sweet guy, and-and we're very lucky to have him as a big fan of the big fan show, too. He-I mean, we thought we were just like some peons that he did a favor for, but he really wanted to be part of Korra; um, he really enjoyed being on-on Avatar, so, we were trying to find the right role for him, and uh, Yakone was just a great, um, creepy, evil, pure evil character [Mike affirms.] for him. We rarely have like pure evil characters, but [Laughs.] every once in a while. |
| Mike | Sometimes you need 'em. |
| Bryan | Yeah. He's a jerk. |
| Mike | Just pure badness. |
| Bryan | Sadly, there are those people out there, you know. [Mike and Seychelle laugh.] I mean, he might be like a brilliant cook, you know? [Janet laughs.] Like, I might like... |
| Seychelle | [Interjects.] I don't know. |
| Mike | Well, he... |
| Bryan | Like, he might just whip up like some awesome Italian food, or something. |
| Mike | [Interjects.] I'm sure he has some good quality to him. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Other than that. |
| Seychelle | It's a mean lasagna. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Refers to Tarrlok being ambushed by Amon in the former's mountainside prison.] So, this was a fun one, especially knowing that these guys were brothers. [Mike affirms.] Like we knew that at the time. [Refers to Amon telling Tarrlok he will be "equalized".] So, it kinda shows how dehumanized Amon had [Janet affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] made himself by this point, 'cause he had to like just detach here. [Refers to Amon's sluggish initial advance toward Tarrlok after the latter was bloodbending him.] So, this was trying to show that, you know, he actually did bloodbend him a bit, [Refers to Amon closing in on Tarrlok, now completely unaffected by the latter's bloodbending.] but his bloodbending was more powerful, and he was able to overpower it. |
| Janet | Plus, maybe he was still attached to his human side, knowing that that was his brother. Maybe, he like-his bloodbending wasn't as powerful. [Seychelle gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | Yep, think he let him in a bit. [Mike gives an affirming murmur; refers to Amon carrying a now powerless and collapsed Tarrlok, telling his men to take Korra while he takes care of the now former bloodbender.] But this, you s-get a little sense of it that he says, "I'll take care of him," he actually is scared that, 'cause Tarrlok's not dead. I mean, he's-he's just kinda out of it; he's scared that, in a way, there's a chance they could find out. [Mike and Seychelle affirm.] So, and there's a bit of like, a protective thing; he's like, he just did this horrible thing to his brother, but he's like, "I'll take care of it". [Refers to Korra escaping her confinement and Equalists assailants while Amon loads Tarrlok into a truck.] But that was the flaw, that was kinda his weakness, that's why Korra ends up getting away. [Refers to Korra wrapping one of her armbands around the roof bars of her metal box prison, avoiding the conducted electricity from the Lieutenant's kali sticks.] So, uh, I love this little trick she comes up with for uh... |
| Seychelle | [Interjects.] Me too. |
| Bryan | ... protec-insulating herself. |
| Janet | [Refers to Korra faux screaming as she pretends to get electrocuted.] I feel like when we recorded it too, you were like, "okay, you've done the one where she really is getting shocked, but now you can do one where she's not really getting shocked, [Bryan and Mike laugh.] but they think she's getting shocked. Is that different for you?". [Mike and Seychelle laugh intermittently.] I was like, "I don't know! I'll probably just make it sound like I'm getting shocked." |
| Bryan | That is how detailed it gets with the grunts, and the-all that [Mike affirms.] kinda stuff on... [Refers to the slow motion sequence after Korra barges out of the house, transitioning to a closeup shot of her as she sees Amon outside, before reversing to an extreme closeup shot of Amon looking toward her.] I love this sequence, this kinda eye contact between adversaries. [Refers to Korra desperately waterbending several ice spears at Amon, who dodges them and rushes at her.] I love that Korra strikes first, you know, 'cause he can't reveal that he is a bender. |
| Mike | Right. |
| Bryan | And she... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, he still can't... |
| Seychelle | [In the background.] Oh, yeah. |
| Mike | ... bloodbend anybody. |
| Bryan | And she was a bit outta range, you know? She was like kinda just out of his range. |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] Yeah, it's good, 'cause it gave him a, his secret gives him a fighting handicap. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the Lieutenant straightening up his posture after Amon chastises him for underestimating Korra.] And uh, Lieutenant, right there, is like, "I'm not gettin' [Mike laughs.] a bonus this year, am I?". [Janet, Seychelle and Bryan laugh; refers to Korra sliding down the mountain, wiping out after getting tripped up, and lying collapsed and exhausted underneath a tree as the fallen snow covers her.] And so, I just went on a really crazy run, yesterday, and I totally uh, relate to this like, where you're just so depleted [Mike chuckles.] that you're about [Laughs.] to pass out. I-I ran up this mountain, and uh, I can totally relate to Korra just like, "I think I'll just take a nap [Seychelle laughs; Janet affirms.] in uh, this snowbank". I was getting hailed on at the top of this mountain, just like, "yeah, [Laughs.] this is a good place to go asleep." [Bryan and Seychelle laugh.] |
| Mike | I wonder if she... she probably has hypothermia too, but [Bryan affirms.] I guess she got fixed up after this episode. [Seychelle affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Naga finding Korra and taking her back to Republic City.] And, Naga, you know, most awesome dog bear ever. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Janet | [In a loving tone.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | Again, as a huge lover of dogs, I just really love that like... |
| Janet | [Interjects.] I love Naga. |
| Seychelle | Me too. |
| Janet | It's been-I've said it before, but Naga kind of looks like my dog, so. |
| Bryan | Aww. Naga looks exactly like our dogs, so, [Mike affirms.] yeah. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Mako pushes past Tenzin and Lin, telling the two of them to stop asking Korra questions and give her some space, as he carries her over to Oogi. | |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Mako. [Mike, Seychelle and Janet laugh.] "Get out! Give her some space!". Like, what're you talking about? You just like totally crowded her. [Laughs; refers to Asami's disheartened expression at seeing Mako's overt concern for Korra.] Oh, we're sorry, Seychelle. |
| Janet | [Elongates "so".] So. |
| Seychelle | Sadness. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | Seychelle's character... |
| Seychelle | We're in this corner, right now. |
| Bryan | So, you know, he's just... his concern is uh, look, we've all done this [Seychelle laughs.] where we sort of bulldoze over people's uh, feelings, not trying to be mean, but uh, it happens. I'd swear-I'd say, what, twenty-five percent of the commentary for this whole Book was dedicated to us defending Mako's honor, right? |
| Mike | Yes... yes. |
| Bryan | At least. |
| Mike | Mako's okay, people. |
| Seychelle | Well, somebody needs to. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Mike | He's not a bad guy. [Seychelle affirms.] |
| Bryan | He's just confused! |
| Seychelle | He's a confused dude! |
| Janet | He's got two amazing two women on his left and right side! [Mike laughs.] What're you going to do... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] I just... |
| Janet | ... it's confusing times. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | All-when all of those people that are just rippin', you know, hey, when you're in college and this is happening to you, you let me know how that's going! [Mike, Janet and Seychelle laugh.] Thanks, guys. |
| Mike | Bye, everybody. |