As we all know in the most resent episode Asami pulled a Korra and kissed Mako on an impulse. There will inevitable be a lot of comparison between this kiss and the infamies kiss between Korra and Mako in "THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION". I'm gonna get ahead of the game and do an official compare and contrast.

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Here are the to kisses side by side. On first glance they look very much alike the obvious difference is of course the situation.

Situation #1: KorraxMako

Mako is in a relationship with Asami. Korra confesses her feeling for him and he tells her that it isn't going to happen. However he later tells her that his feelings for her are complicated and he does like her but also likes Asami. Caught up in the moment she kisses him.

Situation #2: AsamixMako

Asami has just lost everything. First her family and now her business. She has all but given up but Mako tells her that there is still hope and that he will do whatever he can to help her. Earlier that day she had learned that he and Korra had broken up and in that venerable moment she kisses him.

To better see the nuances of the kiss itself we need to brake it up into three steps.



-----------------------------------------------------------------The Action----------------------------------------------------------------


As you can see the action itself is near identical. Both girls initiate the kiss and both times Mako is caught completely unaware.




---------------------------------------------------------------The Reaction---------------------------------------------------------------


Here is where things diverge. I almost feel sorry for Mako. He's the type of person that likes things to be neat and predictable. Yet every time he thinks he is getting the hang of this relationship thing something like this happens. The first time he gives in and kisses back and immediately regrets it.


The second time all you can see in his eyes is panic. However it is just as heartbreaking to see Asami open her eyes and realize that he isn't going to kiss her back.




--------------------------------------------------------------The Realization--------------------------------------------------------------


You can see that both girls are clearly embarrassed when they realize what they did. Korra is blushing and Asami is speechless. Both times Mako sees this and for the sake of both the girl and himself he chooses to essentially ignore the whole thing. Poor Mako not generally the best course of action.



-------------------------------------------------------What Were They Thinking?-------------------------------------------------------

I don't think either girl really though about it before they kissed him but if I had to guess at what point the flame was kindled it would be this moment...


For Korra it was when Mako said "I like you". I very much doubt she heard anything he said after that point.


For Asami it was when she heard that he and Korra had broken up and she realized that she still had feelings for him. That feeling continued to build though out the day as Mako reminded her how kind and loving he could be.