[S3E11] The Ultimatum !LINK!

While Ba Sing Se erupts in chaos, Mako and Bolin commandeer an airship and set course for the Si Wong Desert to find Korra and Asami, and deliver Zaheer's ultimatum. While flying over the Lower Ring, they stop to take their family with them, saving them from the flames that are consuming the city. They eventually track their friends down to the Misty Palms Oasis, where they reunite and relay Zaheer's message: Korra gives herself to the Red Lotus in exchange for the survival of the Air Nation. In an attempt to warn Tenzin of the Red Lotus' approach of the Northern Air Temple, Team Avatar heads back to Zaofu to use their radio transmitter and prepare for takeoff toward the temple. The warning comes too late, however, and the Red Lotus manages to capture all the temple's inhabitants. Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi try to fight off Zaheer, Ming-Hua, and Ghazan respectively, but are eventually overpowered. Although Kai nearly sacrifices himself to help the airbenders reach the bison stables and escape, P'Li manages to corner them all.

[S3E11] The Ultimatum

Given the formula that Season 3 has been following, with each episode advancing the calendar by roughly a month each time, the due date on Hamaguchi's ultimatum is set for the series' next episode. Since Episode 12 of Season 3 is slated to be the season finale, this could potentially mean that the highly anticipated confession, which has been dangled in front of fans from the beginning, is just around the corner. If Nishikata has what it takes to muster up the necessary courage, this last episode of the season could be the one that finally seals the deal on their long-awaited romance.

Peter: I can understand not seeing a downside to this as you haven't exactly been alpha of the year, but think about what else you'll be losing.Derek: I don't care about power. Not any more.Peter: What about the power to fight back? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kali's ultimatum still stands and the full moon is tomorrow night. And if you couldn't beat her as an alpha, how to you think you're going to beat her as a beta?

\"Chuck vs. The Final Exam\"Mini-recap: Chuck and\n Casey both try to pass tests that will bring them to near points in\ntheir new careers. Plus, gratuitous use of product integration.Recap:\n \"I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you.\" - Chuck to SarahSo,\n the Internets have exploded again. You will remember when\n\"Chuck vs. The Mask\" aired in the final episode before the Olympics, a\nlarge section of the show's fan base got mad at the lack of Chuck-Sarah\nromance and the human obstacle that is Shaw. At the time, I did not get\nit.Now, following this week's episode, I sort of do. That is not\n to say it stirs up a lot of angst in me, but I understand it a bit\nmore.Indulge me in an example from Gilmore Girls. (Over\nthe past five months, I have been watching the entire series for the\nfirst time; please feel free to use the comment section to hurl insults\nat me, as long as they are not vulgar. They will really entertain me.)\nIn Season 6 of the show, Luke and Lorelai were finally together. The\ndiner and heroine never really did the will-they-won't-they dance, but\nLuke pretty much pined for her quietly for the first four seasons of the\n show. Finally, he made his feelings known, and by the end of the fifth\nseason, they were engaged.Everything was going swimmingly, when\nall of the sudden Luke found out he had a long-lost daughter. And then\nLuke kept that knowledge from Lorelai, and it eventually broke them up.\nThere were plenty of ways to break them up that would have felt genuine,\n but this just seemed as if the writers coming up with an answer to the\nquestion, \"These characters should not be happy together, so how can we\nbreak them up with the least subtlety possible?\"This week, the\nChuck-Sarah relationship (no, I will not call the relationship \"Charah\",\n but I will consider \"Shuck\") gets delayed again. That in itself does\nnot bother me much; it is how it happens.A quick summary: In\norder to become a solo spy, Chuck has to pass a test, bringing in a\ntraitorous CIA dude. At the same time, Casey is adapting to life at the\nBuy More full-time. With no outlet for violence, he is pretty much just\nknocking Jeff and Lester's skulls together to get his fix.Chuck\nsails along nicely, passing his test, and then heads to what he thinks\nis a date with Sarah while they will formalize their plan to go to Italy\n and be together. Instead, Sarah tells Chuck he is not done his mission,\n and must kill the agent to pass the test. She gives him an ultimatum:\nKill the guy and become an agent, or do not kill him and going back to\nlife as boring old Chuck, which as she said, isn't a bad thing.But\n instead of making one of those choices, we get an in-between scenario.\nCasey, who has followed Chuck, kills the agent when he is about to pull a\n gun on Chuck. He escapes into the night, having committed murder, and\nSarah et al is left to think Chuck did the dirty work. And as we've\nlearned this season, Sarah thinks Chuck becoming a killer is a bad, bad\nthing.So here is where we sit: Chuck has been presented with the\n opportunity to go to Washington to formalize his new life as a spy,\nSarah is left with Shaw, while she rues what she thinks she has turned\nChuck into, and Casey has murdered a guy, and sworn Chuck to secrecy\nabout that, while he tries to remain a civilian.Before a season\nof a serial television show begins, the writers map out plot points that\n are to be hit at certain stages of the season. Each episode's job is to\n get us from point A to point B gracefully. Make no mistake: that is how\n television works.However, it should not feel like that is how\nit works, if that makes sense. We should feel that we're going places\nthat the story and characters demand. Here, the Casey contrivance just\nfeels like a way to suspend the inevitable, and that is a bit\nfrustrating. Another secret to keep the characters from being in sync\nfeels like too much right now.Chuck and Sarah will get together,\n and that they are not together now does not upset me. However, let the\nthings that stand in the way be well earned.\nQuick Thoughts

"Chuck vs. The Final Exam"Mini-recap: Chuck and Casey both try to pass tests that will bring them to near points in their new careers. Plus, gratuitous use of product integration.Recap: "I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you." - Chuck to SarahSo, the Internets have exploded again. You will remember when "Chuck vs. The Mask" aired in the final episode before the Olympics, a large section of the show's fan base got mad at the lack of Chuck-Sarah romance and the human obstacle that is Shaw. At the time, I did not get it.Now, following this week's episode, I sort of do. That is not to say it stirs up a lot of angst in me, but I understand it a bit more.Indulge me in an example from Gilmore Girls. (Over the past five months, I have been watching the entire series for the first time; please feel free to use the comment section to hurl insults at me, as long as they are not vulgar. They will really entertain me.) In Season 6 of the show, Luke and Lorelai were finally together. The diner and heroine never really did the will-they-won't-they dance, but Luke pretty much pined for her quietly for the first four seasons of the show. Finally, he made his feelings known, and by the end of the fifth season, they were engaged.Everything was going swimmingly, when all of the sudden Luke found out he had a long-lost daughter. And then Luke kept that knowledge from Lorelai, and it eventually broke them up. There were plenty of ways to break them up that would have felt genuine, but this just seemed as if the writers coming up with an answer to the question, "These characters should not be happy together, so how can we break them up with the least subtlety possible?"This week, the Chuck-Sarah relationship (no, I will not call the relationship "Charah", but I will consider "Shuck") gets delayed again. That in itself does not bother me much; it is how it happens.A quick summary: In order to become a solo spy, Chuck has to pass a test, bringing in a traitorous CIA dude. At the same time, Casey is adapting to life at the Buy More full-time. With no outlet for violence, he is pretty much just knocking Jeff and Lester's skulls together to get his fix.Chuck sails along nicely, passing his test, and then heads to what he thinks is a date with Sarah while they will formalize their plan to go to Italy and be together. Instead, Sarah tells Chuck he is not done his mission, and must kill the agent to pass the test. She gives him an ultimatum: Kill the guy and become an agent, or do not kill him and going back to life as boring old Chuck, which as she said, isn't a bad thing.But instead of making one of those choices, we get an in-between scenario. Casey, who has followed Chuck, kills the agent when he is about to pull a gun on Chuck. He escapes into the night, having committed murder, and Sarah et al is left to think Chuck did the dirty work. And as we've learned this season, Sarah thinks Chuck becoming a killer is a bad, bad thing.So here is where we sit: Chuck has been presented with the opportunity to go to Washington to formalize his new life as a spy, Sarah is left with Shaw, while she rues what she thinks she has turned Chuck into, and Casey has murdered a guy, and sworn Chuck to secrecy about that, while he tries to remain a civilian.Before a season of a serial television show begins, the writers map out plot points that are to be hit at certain stages of the season. Each episode's job is to get us from point A to point B gracefully. Make no mistake: that is how television works.However, it should not feel like that is how it works, if that makes sense. We should feel that we're going places that the story and characters demand. Here, the Casey contrivance just feels like a way to suspend the inevitable, and that is a bit frustrating. Another secret to keep the characters from being in sync feels like too much right now.Chuck and Sarah will get together, and that they are not together now does not upset me. However, let the things that stand in the way be well earned. Quick Thoughts 041b061a72