Avatar: Korra

[KingofMadCows]

Actually they have, at least they best they can for a fantastical power. Like with firebending they draw on power from the sun and ingrate the air with their own chi. But all of them are some form of a fantastical kinetic ability.

They never said that.

Also, that doesn't really explain how bending works, especially with respect to the spiritual and biological elements.

[JayBee]

They never said that.

Also, that doesn't really explain how bending works, especially with respect to the spiritual and biological elements.

I actually do remember Iroh saying something about using their chi to create fire.

[Theozilla]

They never said that.

Also, that doesn't really explain how bending works, especially with respect to the spiritual and biological elements.

Yeah they did, both Iroh and the Sun Warriors talked about the importance of the sun and one's inner energy (or "the breath" or "inner sun", etc.) for Firebending. I think what you might be looking for is a "sciencey" explanation of bending, but the series is just never going to get that specific or technical with bending. It is always going to be very vague and simple in its discussions about bending.

[Omegastorm]

Not really. Enegrybending is a mental battle where both sides fight it out til one overcomes the other in an awesome lightshow. On the otherhand, what Amon is doing is instantly paralyzing a person without any fighting back and cancelling their bending.

When the Lion Turtle and Aang used energybending, they touched two specific spots in addition to creating light. Amon is touching a different spot then they did in addition to no light show. And the mental battle is an important part of it. No reason to ignore it, especially when that would be a way to counter and defeat it.

To be fair we saw the light show because we were watching Aang's battle from Aang's perspective. We haven't seen anything from Amon's perspective. It's been from the audience. We don't know if the other's saw it. As a matter of fact none of them asked about the light show they just asked about Ozai. That's why I think something other than the Lion Turtle taught Amon how to energy bend.

o

[Theozilla]

To be fair we saw the light show because we were watching Aang's battle from Aang's perspective. We haven't seen anything from Amon's perspective. It's been from the audience. We don't know if the other's saw it. As a matter of fact none of them asked about the light show they just asked about Ozai. That's why I think something other than the Lion Turtle taught Amon how to energy bend.

o

No, the light show did physical happen, and it was not from Aang's perspective it was the standard third-person view. RonnieThunderbolts put it better than me.

Why? Why was it necessary to show with Aang and Ozai but not Amon? If it were the same thing, why wouldn't it be represented the same way?

There is literally no reason to interpret what happened in the series finale of Avatar: the Last Airbender as just representational, and not actually happening. The "lightshow" wasn't all that happened when Aang took Ozai's bending away. The Earth shook around them and as it ended the pillar of "light" or energy, or whatever, punctured a hole through the clouds above them, demonstrating a physical effect on their surrounding environment beyond solely artistic representation.

I really don't think Amon is doing the same thing, and if he were I think it would resemble what Aang did a lot more closely.

[Peter F.]

To be fair when Aang used energybending on Ozai there were a number of special circumstances. It was the very first time Aang ever used energybending, so maybe in his inexperience he couldn't help but make the light show. And Aang was the Avatar, things tended to glow when he was doing high level bending. Also it was during Sozin's Comet so Ozai's bending was supposedly like a hundred times stronger than normal.

I don't necessarily believe that Amon is actually using Energybending, but it could be and it wouldn't necessarily contradict anything.

[Omegastorm]

No, the light show did physical happen, and it was not from Aang's perspective it was the standard third-person view. RonnieThunderbolts put it better than me.

I am not saying it did not happen, just not everyone could see it. I think people literally did see the light at the end but everything else was to show Aang's struggle to conquer Ozai's spirit.

o

[Theozilla]

I am not saying it did not happen, just not everyone could see it. I think people literally did see the light at the end but everything else was to show Aang's struggle to conquer Ozai's spirit.

o

But the earth was literally shaking during it and if only Aang could see his and Ozai's aura's what is the point of seeing the light come out of their mouths and eyes and then slowly cover their bodies? And the camera constantly pans away from close up shots to faraway shots, that indicates that what is happening on the screen is not simply in one the characters mind.

[Alex L]

I wonder if we are now officially overthinking this.

*hides*

[Omegastorm]

But the earth was literally shaking during it and if only Aang could see his and Ozai's aura's what is the point of seeing the light come out of their mouths and eyes and then slowly cover their bodies? And the camera constantly pans away from close up shots to faraway shots, that indicates that what is happening on the screen is not simply in one the characters mind.

He was spirit bending, there are some deeper stuff going on in that scene. He was seeing through Ozai's soul and spiritually speaking through his mouth shutting Ozai's down. The earth quaked, so what, that neither supports your view or adds to mine. That's just to show how epic that scene was.

o

[Theozilla]

New information about future episodes; according to the Avatar Wiki the ninth episode will be called "Out of the Past" and debut on June 9. Their source is Xfinity.

[Theozilla]

This is so funny in light of the previous episode:

[Omegastorm]

This is so funny in light of the previous episode:

That was awesome.

o

[KingofMadCows]

I actually do remember Iroh saying something about using their chi to create fire.

Iroh talked about all four elements when he was teaching Zuko about lightning bending.

Yeah they did, both Iroh and the Sun Warriors talked about the importance of the sun and one's inner energy (or "the breath" or "inner sun", etc.) for Firebending. I think what you might be looking for is a "sciencey" explanation of bending, but the series is just never going to get that specific or technical with bending. It is always going to be very vague and simple in its discussions about bending.

I don't expect a sciency explanation. I expect an explanation as to why benders are born with that ability and how humans were able to learn it in the first place. If bending is all about the mind or the spirit then there's really no reason why nonbenders can't learn to be benders and why benders of one element can't learn to bend another element. The fact that they said humans learned bending suggests that it has not always been dependent on biology. The writers introduced the idea that bending is governed, at least partially, by biology so in order to have a satisfactory explanation, that has to be taken into account.

[Saturius]

I don't expect a sciency explanation. I expect an explanation as to why benders are born with that ability and how humans were able to learn it in the first place. If bending is all about the mind or the spirit then there's really no reason why nonbenders can't learn to be benders and why benders of one element can't learn to bend another element. The fact that they said humans learned bending suggests that it has not always been dependent on biology. The writers introduced the idea that bending is governed, at least partially, by biology so in order to have a satisfactory explanation, that has to be taken into account.

You're going to be disappointed then cause the creators have gone on record as saying that they're never going to be more specific about how and why people can bend one type of element. They've said Biology and spirituality play a role, but beyond that, they intend to keep it mysterious. Your questions are one of the many reasons why they don't intend to be more detailed, cause they've already contradicted themselves several times when it comes to bending. It's best just to let it go since they wont say anything more on the matter anyway.