Tumblr crosspost (12 November 2019)
Aug. 2nd, 2021 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
An anon said:
Sometimes, I think about the Lieutenant's reaction when Korra says "And his brother is Councilman Tarrlok!" That's when he starts to get suspicious, out of all the things she said. What do you think happened between Tarrlok's capture (if it wasn't just the capture itself) and the rally to make the Lieutenant react to that sentence?
I replied:
It’s been a long time since I watched that moment, but … my impression is that, in a more egalitarian(lol) organization, Amon’s behaviour wrt Tarrlok would have already raised questions.
He pretty much just lets him escalate while focusing his attention on other people, which might be tactical but could be a bit difficult to square with the ~we’re all brothers and sisters!!~ rhetoric. They only go after Tarrlok when he’s already in the process of removing himself from the situation anyway, and then Amon leaves the others to handle the Avatar while he deals with the unconscious ex-waterbender. And then Tarrlok is carefully sequestered from everyone else.
Just on the face of it, it’s pretty dodgy. And that’s only what we know about for sure. e.g., I think it’s probable that Noatak has been talking/ranting at Tarrlok given Tarrlok’s conviction that Noatak’s hatred of bending is real, so the Lieutenant may have noticed things like Amon spending more time interrogating Tarrlok than seems really warranted.
I don’t imagine the Lieutenant consciously thought “hm, that’s suspicious” at any point. Just the stray “well, that’s strange” or “I wonder why he’s doing that” thought that he’d dismiss. But when the explanation actually comes, Korra’s allegation fits those odd little things he’s wondered about.
Sometimes, I think about the Lieutenant's reaction when Korra says "And his brother is Councilman Tarrlok!" That's when he starts to get suspicious, out of all the things she said. What do you think happened between Tarrlok's capture (if it wasn't just the capture itself) and the rally to make the Lieutenant react to that sentence?
I replied:
It’s been a long time since I watched that moment, but … my impression is that, in a more egalitarian(lol) organization, Amon’s behaviour wrt Tarrlok would have already raised questions.
He pretty much just lets him escalate while focusing his attention on other people, which might be tactical but could be a bit difficult to square with the ~we’re all brothers and sisters!!~ rhetoric. They only go after Tarrlok when he’s already in the process of removing himself from the situation anyway, and then Amon leaves the others to handle the Avatar while he deals with the unconscious ex-waterbender. And then Tarrlok is carefully sequestered from everyone else.
Just on the face of it, it’s pretty dodgy. And that’s only what we know about for sure. e.g., I think it’s probable that Noatak has been talking/ranting at Tarrlok given Tarrlok’s conviction that Noatak’s hatred of bending is real, so the Lieutenant may have noticed things like Amon spending more time interrogating Tarrlok than seems really warranted.
I don’t imagine the Lieutenant consciously thought “hm, that’s suspicious” at any point. Just the stray “well, that’s strange” or “I wonder why he’s doing that” thought that he’d dismiss. But when the explanation actually comes, Korra’s allegation fits those odd little things he’s wondered about.