Based on the events of “And the Winner Is…”, the new clip, and the TV Guide summary; as well as the six unexplained scenes left from the trailers and the Republic City game.

Given that the title of the episode is “The Aftermath”, it’s almost certain that the primary plot will concern the main characters reacting to Amon’s attack on the arena, in various ways.

Lin Bei Fong and the Police

In episode 6, during a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it exchange of words, Chief Bei Fong assured Tarrlok that she would take personal responsibility for the safety of the arena during the championship. And as we all know, that safety was extremely compromised. It was only on Lin’s assurance that the council decided to keep the arena open. As she deals with the investigation into Amon’s attack, Lin will also have to deal with the blow to her credibility, her personal record, and the performance of her force. Her authority as chief of police will start to crumble. And if I’m right about what Amon’s master plan is, a theory somewhat supported by the speech he gave during his attack, this will factor heavily into the takedown of the metalbending cops. There is other evidence that suggests the headquarters will be attacked, as well.

One of the most mysterious scenes seen in the trailers so far is this shot of Korra shooting fireblasts in a grey-colored room.

Though not identical, the walls bear similarities to the interrogation room we saw in episode one.

And notice the windows in the unseen shot!

Whether it’s in this episode or an upcoming one, Amon is taking down the cops next.

Tahno

I doubt we’re going to see Tahno again, unless he shows up in a finale at some point. Everything about his scene in the clip was set up as a heavy farewell, intended to show the viewer that Amon’s abilities really do have lasting consequences and that Korra now has a somewhat more personal stake in bringing him to justice. His final words to Korra - “see you around, Uhvatar” - call back to his first-ever appearance and highlight the distressing change in his demeanor. And that’s the last we’ll see of him.

Mako and Bolin

I’ve seen a lot of people assuming that the brothers’ loft was destroyed in the attack, and that they’ll now have to find somewhere else to live. However, this isn’t true! If you’ll look at the picture below, where the red circle is the center of destruction and the blue is where the brothers live, you can see that.

In addition, we have this mysterious scene that appears to take place in the loft, which we haven’t seen yet.

For comparison, here’s Mako in the loft. The windows are the same.

So the brothers’ living space is physically fine.

But.

How are they going to pay for it?

As we saw in episode three, Bolin and Mako are in a desperate situation financially. Even with the winnings from a successful match, they ended up with nothing thanks to their scheming boss. Doing chores around the arena and participating in matches was the only way they kept that loft. Bolin wasn’t very worried, but Mako was counting on that championship pot to sustain themselves. And now, they’ve lost the tournament. Hiroshi Sato’s 30,000 yuan investment went down the drain. And without pro-bending, the brothers will be turned out of their loft and left to fend for themselves. Their plotline in “The Aftermath” isn’t going to be about recovering from Amon’s attack, but recovering from the devastating blow of losing the prize.

And as for that frame with Bolin sticking out his arm… well, this is a long shot. But I think that scene is going to go like this: Korra will go visit the brothers and find them getting ready to move out, realizing suddenly what the loss meant for them. Bolin is going to laugh it off, sling his arm around Mako, and proclaim that it’s time for the Fabulous Bending Brothers to take on the world (or something to that effect). Mako’s just going to silently fret over what they’re going to do now… and Korra’s going to notice. Which leads into my next theory.

Mako and Asami/Asami and Korra

In this episode, we’ll start to see tension between Asami and Mako. And it’ll be for financial reasons.

Mako knows that Asami has been doing a lot for him, and he’ll feel guilty about losing the match and letting down her father, so he’ll try to hide his family’s dire situation from her as best as he can. At the same time, Asami knows he’s hiding something and she doesn’t know what.

Korra is going to witness Asami sneaking around and spying on Mako, or at least see her acting uncomfortable and suspicious around him. Normally, Korra wouldn’t think much of it. But her aftermath from the attack is guilt.

She advocated for the arena to remain open out of selfish desires; and because they kept it open, innocent people were hurt, three men guilty of nothing more then dirty tactics and bad attitudes were spiritually violated and forced to give up part of their essence, and a beautiful building was destroyed. As the Avatar, someone meant to help people, Korra will see it as all her fault. And so in this episode, she will resolve to be especially vigilant.

Cue Asami’s unusual behavior. Korra suspects her of being an Equalist, not least because of a prestanding bias towards her, but by the end of the episode it’s revealed that it was all a misunderstanding when Asami turns to Korra for help after a falling-out with Mako, or something similar. Korra is suddenly going to see Asami in a new light, for whatever reason, and the girls will be friends after episode 7. Even though Mako and Asami will still be an item.

Ack, I was going to add another section about Amon’s potential suppliers, but WOW am I tired. Besides, this post is already really long. Expect another one tomorrow!

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