The story of Avatar: The Last Airbender introduced us to classic characters such as the goofball monk Aang, the deadpanning strategist Sokka, the tough earth bender Toph Beifong, and the motherly water bender master Katara. Now, in The Legend of Korra, we meet a new team avatar, and it totally lives up to the previous generation.
Every show needs to sometimes take a break for some funny moments, and in The Legend of Korra, Bolin the earth bender is ready to deliver. He's a kind and brave bender, and his heart is always in the right place. But sometimes he blurts out total nonsense or gets himself into all kinds of trouble. But we love him for it. Here are 10 times Bolin was being, well, classic Bolin!
10 He dated Korra to cheer her up
This is Bolin during a cheerful group huddle among the Fire Ferrets: him, Korra, and Mako. At the time, a love triangle was brewing, and Korra had an eye for Mako. But Mako didn't return any interest, and Korra felt pretty bad about it.
Enter Bolin! He definitely had a thing for Korra, and took her on all kinds of fun dates across Republic City to take in the sights and the flavors of this incredible metropolis. What a great fellow, to work so hard to cheer Korra up. But we all know what came next, when Korra and Mako had a moment together...
9 He asked Pabu to free the Fire ferrets
Pabu is Bolin's adorable fire ferret pet, and this little guy is smarter than he looks. In fact, Pabu is like the new Momo, minus the wings. He can do tricks and understand Bolin's commands, which actually helped out a great deal once.
Remember when the Equalists crashed the pro bending final match? Bolin, Mako, and Korra were tied up and helpless... until Bolin lured Pabu over, imitated chewing, and watched as Pabu chewed them free. It looked goofy at first, but Bolin knew how to make use of his favorite friend. That's some resourceful thinking!
8 He cried his way out of ice
This is Eska, the princess of the Northern Water Tribe. Her brother, Desna, is the prince, and together, they are... well... pretty eccentric. Eska roped Bolin into an engagement, and she was furious when Bolin ran away from her.
Later, both Mako and Bolin were frozen up to their necks during season 2's finale, and Eska and Desna were confident in their victory. Until Bolin started crying! Whether he lied or told the truth, he explained that his breakup with Eska had devastated him, and he wanted her back. This inspired Eska to not only kiss him, but free him and Mako!
7 He became a big mover star
In season 2, Bolin felt like he couldn't do much help for team avatar or to fix the Water Tribe civil war, so Varrick offered him a new job: as a mover (movie) star!
Bolin had a great time with this, portraying Nuktuk, the hero of the south, in a series of propaganda movies favoring the Southern Water Tribe to further Varrick's aims. Bolin was living the high life, and for a time, he actually felt superior to Mako. Live it up, kid!
6 He fought during a movie premiere
For a time, Ginger (on right) couldn't stand Bolin, and Mako was getting frustrated with him too. But during a movie premiere in the pro bending stadium, assassins broke in and tried to kidnap president Raiko.
Bolin was on hand, and he actually fought the assassins in tandem with the movie's contents, blow for blow! It was not only a fine moment for Bolin's heroism, but it was absolutely hysterical.
5 He acted like a circus ringmaster
See all these air benders? During season 3's opening acts, Tenzin was really struggling to recruit new air benders to the Air Nation, and his sales pitches were falling short. But things turned around when team avatar arrived at a certain Earth Kingdom town.
There, Bolin helped put on a show, using his funny fake mustache and a megaphone to dramatically announce Tenzin's arrival. Bolin graciously did the team a favor to help promote the idea of air bending, and he even announced an "escaped fire bender prisoner" (Mako) for added effect. Bolin likes goofing off, and this time, it really lent everyone a hand.
4 His awkward but well-meaning flirting with Opal
Bolin never landed Korra as his girlfriend, and alas, it was not meant to be. Still, Bolin is tough and he can move on from any hardship with renewed optimism. When the team arrived in Zaofu, he got his second chance!
Bolin met Opal, Suyin's daughter, and took an instant liking to her. He was drawn to her bright personality and beauty, but he got tongue-tied when he tried to make a move. More than once, Bolin tried to act like some big tough guy, and Opal didn't like his insincerity. Bolin relented and opened up a bit, admitting how nervous he was. It's all right, Bolin. You're only human.
3 His meeting with Zuko
A surviving member of the original series, Zuko is an elderly man who is quite ready and willing to aid the new team avatar however he can. He also leaped into action once the news broke that Zaheer and his minions were emerging from imprisonment.
But we got a funny moment when Bolin met him face to face, and the earth bender boy was losing his mind with excitement and nervousness. Well, if you met a legendary figure like Zuko out of nowhere, you might get tongue-tied, too.
2 He invited Asami to a please-forgive-me picnic
Like several other major characters (such as Opal), Asami was troubled when Bolin sided with Kuvira's Earth Empire and worked hard to promote it. Bolin even clashed verbally with Mako, who tried to defend Prince Wu.
Once Bolin broke away from Kuvira, he had to convince the good guys that he was back on their side. He invited Asami to a rather cheap and silly picnic as a gesture of goodwill, but he was being sincere, at least. Fortunately, Bolin got even more chances to prove that was now hostile to Kuvira, such as when he helped take down Kuvira's colossus.
1 He put a sock in it
Zaheer proved himself a formidable enemy to not just team avatar, but the entire world! An anarchist and terrorist, he was determined to topple all kings and emperors, dissolve all nations, and restore what he considered the natural state of affairs.
He constantly yammered about it, and by the time he was defeated, he was still going on about it. Having had enough, Bolin actually stuffed a sock in this villain's mouth! It's just hilarious, and classic, as Opal put it. And let's be honest, we were more than ready for Zaheer to shut up anyway.