Here is a closer look at Avatar Korra's family history.
First, we have to travel up to the Northern Water Tribe
where we can find Tonraq and Unalaq.
These waterbending brothers come from a long line of Water Tribe chiefdom.
Ever since they were kids, they've had a tense relationship.
- Tonraq. - Brother.
As the older brother, Tonraq was next in line
to be chief of the Northern Tribe with Unalaq behind him.
Tonraq's responsibility was to defend the North
by becoming a military general.
He became a powerful warrior and a waterbending master.
His younger brother, Unalaq, was a master in his own right,
but he spent his life studying the spiritual side of bending.
Unalaq developed an advanced form of waterbending
that allowed him to bend dark energy out of spirits.
He became obsessed with the spirits
after learning about the portals in the North and South Poles.
At the South Pole there is a portal
that connects our world to the Spirit World.
But it has long been closed.
Unalaq knew if he wanted them to reopen, he needed to control the North,
and so he began to conspire against his brother.
Brother, we're being attacked!
He secretly recruited a group of barbarians
to attack the Northern Tribe.
Unalaq knew his brother would fight and drive them out of the city.
In fact, he counted on it.
We've captured the barbarians,
but in the process we destroyed the forest.
By destroying the forest, I unknowingly let loose angry spirits.
For being the cause of so much devastation,
my father banished me from the Northern Water Tribe in shame.
So you were supposed to be chief, then he became chief.
No wonder you guys don't like each other!
Ow! What?
Shortly after arriving at the South Pole,
Tonraq met Senna, a fellow waterbender who he'd marry.
Together, they planned to live a quiet life in the south
with their daughter Korra.
But quiet went out the window when Korra turned four years old.
Welcome.
What makes you so sure your daughter is the one?
Korra! Please come in here.
I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!
Meanwhile, back in the north, Chief Unalaq was still working on his plan
to reach the Spirit World.
He learned about Avatar Wan,
the man who closed the portals in the first place.
Wan did this to ensure no one could release Vaatu,
a dark spirit who wanted to unleash his power on the whole world.
This is your prison now, and I will close the portal so no human
will ever be able to physically enter the Spirit World and release you.
Only the Avatar has the power to open and close the spirit portals.
Once Unalaq learned his niece was the Avatar,
he knew this was his chance to do just that.
This is my opportunity to change the world.
Unbeknownst to Tonraq and Senna, Unalaq was a member of a secret society
called the Red Lotus, an elite group of anarchist benders.
That's where Unalaq met Zaheer.
The two of them organized a mission to kidnap the young Korra,
but the night of the attempted kidnapping, Unalaq was nowhere to be found.
Luckily, your father, Lord Zuko, Chief Sokka and I were there to stop them.
We apprehended the criminals and locked them away in prisons
designed to impair their abilities.
Zaheer and his followers never broke during their interrogations
so Unalaq's involvement was never revealed.
He allowed me and my friends to remain imprisoned
while he pursued his own selfish goals.
With some Red Lotus members still at large,
Tonraq and Senna kept their daughter in the South Pole during her training,
where she would grow up to be an extremely powerful Avatar.
Whoo-hoo!
Let's fast-forward to when Korra was 18.
Tonraq and Unalaq reunited at the South Pole
for the Glacier Spirits Festival...
and things between them hadn't changed much.
The great Chief of the Northern Water Tribe
comes to grace us with his presence.
Hooray.
Just relax, Tonraq.
He'll be gone soon enough.
Unalaq was accompanied by his twin children, Desna and Eska.
Try not to mix them up.
I wasn't hiding. Hey, h-hey, hey.
I'm not on the hunt for you... currently.
Like their father and uncle, Desna and Eska
were extremely powerful waterbenders who specialized in ice and agility.
Uh... Could someone please deflate me?
Thank you.
He didn't show enthusiasm for most things
and most people didn't relay any back towards them,
unless you're Bolin.
So, you are from the north, right?
Cool, that's, like you know, that's my favorite direction.
I think he is trying to establish some kind of bond with you
based on your geographic point of origin.
Perhaps it would be interesting to spend time with the person
whose words are so rough and uncultured.
You amuse me, I will make you mine.
He became infatuated with Eska and the two of them started, uh...
let's just call it a complicated relationship.
But you will be coming with me to the north.
There, we will live the rest of our lives together in icy bliss.
She threatens to freeze me in a block of ice and feed me to dolphin piranhas!
Why didn't you warn me your cousin had the power to reach into my heart
and crush my soul with her bare hands?!
Uh, 'cause I thought it was pretty obvious?
Let's shift things back to Korra.
Even though Unalaq's kidnap attempt failed all of those years ago,
he was still determined to use Korra as a tool to release Vaatu.
Luckily for Unalaq, he was as good at manipulation as he was at waterbending.
Since the Avatar is the bridge between the material world and the spirits.
That is why I want so badly to teach you to help you fulfill your destiny.
I thought I had made it clear that Tenzin is teaching her.
He offered to teach her everything he knew about spiritbending.
In the process, he managed to turn Korra against her father.
You are a distraction to Korra and a hindrance to what needs to be done.
My daughter is not going without me. She needs someone to watch after her.
Dad, why do you always think you know what's best for me?
Because he's misguided.
The sad truth is it's men like your father
who have put the Spirit World out of balance.
He's ignored my warnings in the past and hasn't learned since.
After convincing Korra to open the southern spirit portal,
Unalaq's true intentions came to light.
His army from the Northern Tribe began to invade the South Pole.
Korra unknowingly started a civil war.
If Unalaq doesn't pull his forces out, then we have no choice
but to fight for our freedom!
Tensions between the North and South have never been higher,
and Korra was stuck right in the middle.
You don't want unity, you want power.
You've always been jealous of my father, haven't you?
You got him banished so you could become chief
and I bet it just killed you to learn he was the Avatar's father.
No wonder you kept trying to take me away from him.
I'm done being manipulated by you.
You are going to bring my father back,
then you and your troops will return to the north.
But the war was merely a distraction,
as Unalaq was gearing up to complete his master plan.
Unalaq fused with Vaatu upon his release, turning him into the Dark Avatar.
Now a new era for spirits and humans will begin
and I will lead them all as the new Avatar.
Well, I'm the old Avatar and my era is not over yet.
Realizing their father was evil, Desna and Eska joined Team Avatar
in the final battle to save the world.
Leave my Bolin alone!
I am so done with spirits.
Eska! I love you!
Let's face the end of the world together!
You're so romantic.
I'm sorry about your father,
but he was already fused with Vaatu.
I couldn't save him.
It seems cousin Korra is under the impression
we are saddened by our father's demise.
But I will not miss him at all.
In the end, he became a deplorable man.
Agreed.
With Unalaq gone, Korra declared the Southern Tribe
as an independent state.
And Tonraq was appointed the new chief.
As for Desna and Eska,
they both became chiefs of the Northern Water Tribe.
Lord Zuko. Uncle.
This is a surprise.
Finally something interesting happens.
Ruling the Tribe is so tedious.
Eventually, the Red Lotus would return to finish what Unalaq had started.
I put you away once, Zaheer, and I'm going to do it again.
That wraps up this Avatar family tree.
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You will always hold a special place in the organ that pumps my blood.
I will remember you fondly, my turtle duck.