In The Legend of Korra, a new avatar has arrived, avatar Korra, and she has a squad of friends who are ready to help her take on the forces of evil and maintain balance and peace in the world. She has not only Asami Sato and the suave Mako with her, but also the fun-loving, warm-hearted Earthbender named Bolin.
In some ways, Bolin is like the new Sokka, but he does more than talk about meat and make snide remarks. Bolin is an earnest hero who risks his life to overthrow the Equalists with Korra, and he's ready to travel the world with Korra and meet some new faces. But when did he have the right idea, and when did he make a mistake or get the wrong idea along the way?
10 Was Right: Welcoming Korra To The Team
When Mako and Bolin appeared, they were part of the pro-bending team called the Fire Ferrets, and they needed a new Waterbender right away. Korra, when she snuck to Republic City, watched a pro-bending game and was enthralled. She just had to meet the Fire Ferrets.
Unlike the cold Mako, Bolin warmly welcomed Korra to the squad, and that led Korra to actually joining the team and strengthening her bond with the brothers. Imagine if she had to face Amon the revolutionary without them.
9 Was Wrong: Trusting Shady Shin
Bolin grew up on the streets with his brother Mako, but alas, Bolin does not share his brother's savviness with gangster life. In fact, Bolin is oddly naive and trusting, and this gets him into trouble more than once. Early on, a gangster named Shady Shin offered Bolin an easy job, and Bolin signed up.
However, Bolin should not have wandered off to take a job without Mako being involved, and worse yet, Bolin and Shin got themselves captured by Equalists and dragged off to Amon. Bolin very nearly lost his bending due to this mistake.
8 Was Right: Wanting To Reunite The Earth Kingdom
Bolin would change his mind about joining forces with the "great uniter" Kuvira, but at first, Bolin's judgment was sound, and his heart was absolutely in the right place. The Earth Kingdom was in shambles, and the land was fractured and the people were in dire straits.
So, Bolin made something of himself and aided Kuvira in reuniting the fractured Earth Kingdom, seeking to provide as much humanitarian aid as possible. In the early stages, this paid off, and Bolin was doing some real good out there.
7 Was Wrong: Dating Korra
No one can blame Bolin for making friends with Korra, and he's not at fault for taking a romantic interest in her. After all, she's a friendly, tough and cool bender, and a loyal friend. But Mako warned Bolin about dating a teammate during the pro-bending tournament, and Bolin ignored him.
The situation turned on Bolin when Korra showed her true feelings for Mako, and Bolin was reduced to tears and couldn't focus while he was fighting in the arena. All three teammates had made mistakes here, but it all started with Bolin.
6 Was Right: Turning On Kuvira
Bolin was just trying to help people during his time with Kuvira, and then Kuvira showed her true colors. She was a power-hungry maniac who wanted to seize total control and force everything to be her way, and Bolin (and Varrick too) realized that he was working for a tyrant.
Bolin washed his hands of Kuvira, though he couldn't escape her all on his own. He was being taken to a reeducation camp before Varrick improvised an explosive aboard a train, freeing them both. They wandered the Earth Empire until they found their way back to friendly lines.
5 Was Wrong: Getting Involved With Eska
Bolin definitely had a few false starts with his love life. After the disaster of trying to date Korra, he moved on to princess Eska of the Northern Water Tribe, and she tried to put him on a very short leash for her own amusement. "Dysfunctional" wasn't even the half of it.
Bolin resolved to break up with her, but he struggled with it, and he likened it to trying to remove a very stubborn leech. Bolin was miserable the whole time, and so was Eska, by the time Bolin managed to escape from her aboard Varrick's yacht.
4 Was Right: Trying To Metalbend
Although Bolin never actually learned to bend metal the way Korra did, he was right to give it a try. After all, Zaofu was the city of innovation and reaching one's own potential, and Bolin was simply being shy when he declined Suyin Beifong's offer to teach him metalbending.
Bolin learned to face his own doubts and insecurities, and he took his first major steps in becoming a stronger bender and hero. He didn't actually learn to bend metal, but he inspired himself to have a can-do attitude that eventually led him to learn lavabending by watching Ghazan do it.
3 Was Wrong: Trusting Varrick
During the dreadful Water Tribe civil war, the scheming Varrick realized that he could make some serious cash with war profiteering, and he made sure to keep stoking the conflict so he could see weapons and supplies regularly.
He even launched a propaganda campaign and blew up the Water Tribe embassy in Republic City to fan the flames, and Bolin took part in Varrick's propaganda films while having no idea what he was really doing. He had sided with a villain and didn't even realize it.
2 Was Right: Making Up With Opal
Bolin made good friends with Opal, the daughter of Suyin, when they first met in Zaofu. But after a point, Opal was hostile to Kuvira's army, and Bolin defended Kuvira for quite some time. Eventually, Bolin broke away from the Earth Empire, and he found Opal again.
Opal was still upset about their last conversation, which had been more of an argument than anything. In his usual straightforward and charming ways, Bolin tried to make it up to Opal and make it clear that he valued her more than any Earth Empire, and Opal accepted his apology. Bolin isn't eloquent, but he has a way with words.
1 Was Wrong: Leading The Fire Ferrets
Bolin is a reliable and hardworking teammate, either when fighting villains or in the pro-bending arena. That much is clear. But the problem is when he tries to take charge himself, as he did between The Legend of Korra's first and second seasons.
Mako had left to join the police, and Bolin stepped into his brother's shoes... badly. He set new and unflattering records for quick knockouts in the arena, and before long, Bolin finally gave up and quit pro-bending for good. He's simply not team captain material.