Bolin Thoughts in Book 2

What I think would be interesting would be further exploration in how Bolin feels about he compares himself towards his brother, and by extension how other people would compare him to his brother. Now, I haven’t seen the clips from Comic-Con, and just knew these things from other people’s information that trickled down to mine, so whoever is reading this, please feel free to correct me or to add stuff if you’re so inclined.

It can happen in something basic, such as occupations. Bolin takes on the mantle as the Fire Ferrets’ team captain, while Mako would move on to be a police officer. Both are in positions of authority, but the difference lies in how it came to be and how it’s being utilized.

It’s conceivable that Mako could be inspired by his role in stopping the Equalist Revolution and wants to contribute in safeguarding society from violent people. He would move on from Pro-bending and go become a police officer which would match his protective personality and expand his desire for stability towards a larger purpose that contributes to everybody. Mako probably struck out on his own in that decision and made the conscious choice to leave the Fire Ferrets, which would symbolically mean that he’s leaving his childhood behind to go and be a responsible adult.

Bolin, however, inherited his role as a Fire Ferret team captain, and it appears that he’s the only one of the original Fire Ferrets to continue on the team trademark. And by no means would it be undeserved, because his skills as a player is nicely displayed in the base-splitting Book Air Episode 5 “The Spirit of Competition” where pre-heartbreak shows that he can be a very good Earthbender when driven to do so.

But how would it feel for Bolin for this to happen, who in his bio in the Avatar Wiki:

What gets under Bolin’s skin is that he is second to Mako in everything, such as age, fighting rank, and even getting girlfriends.

He would probably be compared even more to Mako because whatever he does as a Fire Ferrets captain would be measured against what Mako has done as a captain. The team is reputable enough by not only being the team Korra participated in and stopped Amon with her, but also as being the underdog team that started getting attention before she joined and was under Mako’s leadership. Bolin would be performing within Mako’s shadow, a shadow that has left to do other things. Also, in Book 2 Mako is probably still way more high profile than Bolin would be, since he can attach more titles that Bolin would: Mako the former captain of the Fire Ferrets; Mako, the Avatar’s boyfriend who helped her stopped Amon personally; Mako, the talented Firebender (by Amon’s estimation); and finally, Officer Mako. Bolin would still be “Pro-Bender Bolin:” Mako’s little brother; Korra’s friend (which is actually a pretty swag affiliation); and the “new” Fire Ferret captain.

And this isn’t criticism about Mako or Bolin, what I’m writing about is how it would feel to be Bolin and have a brother with those kind of descriptors attached to him, and maybe it would produces even more reasons to feel a little second best. Mako has symbolically matured by moving on and becoming a police officer so that he can be some sort of productive member of society that is respectable. It seemed as though Bolin has stayed the same, living not only in Mako’s former responsibilities but also witnessing the elder brother’s successes. 

So what I’m guessing is that Book 2 is going to set up Bolin to have these feelings, to confront them, and hopefully gain meaningful character development that shows someone gaining ownership in his self-worth, in becoming someone who can pass on a legacy, and in having his own social circle that doesn’t revolve around his brother (and potentially Korra) that would value him as Bolin and not just Mako’s little brother or Korra’s friend. 

The Howard Hughes type of guy that Bolin is going to be friends with is certainly a step in a good direction (because seriously, doesn’t these Fire Ferret brothers know other people and have their own friends to be with when they’re not around each other?)