Avatar Seven Havens S1 Eps 4-6 Quick Thoughts

So the masked people at the end are the Faceless, just some bandits and not some cult following of a bigger bad. They do offer some narrative thrust however after taking the only Bending Brigade member that could shed some light on Pavi & Nisha's parents.
Got some moments that weren't all about the plot which, honestly, I'm so happy to see. Moments not devoted to the plot of the series or episode are used to more define the characters, ATLA's strength. So long as they don't weaken other moments that could have been strengthened with explanations, this bodes well for the series overall, as I had a fear that having only 13 eps to work with instead of the 20 that ATLA had (Korra made do with 12-13 eps) could make the plot feel rushed, characters weaker or crucial moments not given the time they need.
That flash of red in the guardsman's eyes at the mention & fear of the Avatar at the end all but confirms my suspicions from last week about the chakras.

Jae should have put together Datu painted that graffiti almost immediately. Even if he has feelings for him, blue ink on hands + blue message of propaganda on walls = he did it instantly.
Bit of a continuity error; when Pavi is looking through records in Karthik's office the pot that opens his secret room is misaligned in the middle. When we get to the close-up shot with Nisha before she leans on the top, not only does it have a different design, but the middle is aligned properly.
Kinda surprised Karthik used the same technique Zaheer used to kill the Earth Queen in LOK S3 to suffocate Molin (the fear-induced guardsman). I know Air Nomad culture is basically erased (even though Karthik might know of their customs given how he collects pre-Cataclysm relics & info), and his explanation to Jae near the episode's end is justified, but I was just startled to see a killing bending technique before realizing it was used to just silence & subdue.
This secret room is a 'member berries delight. Toys used by the Air Nomads to determine an Air Nomad-born Avatar. Sokka's Club! The Old World map (that some people have tried to overlay with the Havens' location in the opening). A Blue Spirit mask. An Air Nomad medallion & LOK technology. And is that the umbrella from ATLA S1E14? That's esoteric.
Bit of a confusing moment here; the message Nisha reads says "She's a young girl here is Ellora." However, in Karthik's explanation, we see him outside Ellora's walls. That, to me, means not in Ellora, however he goes on to mention the "Eastern Ourskirts", which I guess are part of Ellora despite being outside the walls. I thought, by saying the the pickup spot was in the outskirts but the message saying Nisha was in Ellora, he was telling a blatant lie.
I still think he's hiding something and not because of that last scene with him on the radio (it makes sense that the White Lotus, secret group that they are, would keep in contact with the other Havens, especially to contact White Lotus in those other Havens). I don't think Pavi & Nisha's parents would write something as heartless & cold as "We have the Avatar". That flashback when Pavi & Nisha remembered the lullaby showed they were both loved (I'd expect something more like "Our daughter is the Avatar"). Either something happened to make them abandon their love for their daughters (maybe like those flashbacks that diamond entity from Ep 2 revealed to them) or Karthik's not telling the whole story.

Nice to see metalbending & lightning generation are still a thing (we'll get to see more interesting fight scenes with more than just 4 elements) and I guess it's possible knowledge of these sub-bending techniques survived the Cataclysm.
Since I scouted this in my 1st post on eps 1-3, not much new info to talk about the anomaly causing & stoking fear. The major things to take note of are Bountan saying "The Spirit World has unleashed its wrath", the new flashback of the girls' parents planning to cross the Harshlands & the energybending. If the Spirit World is involved with the anomaly, then my "world's spiritual energy" idea from my quick thoughts of eps 1-3 is becoming more possible (The material & spirit worlds are linked & the Avatar was the bridge keeping balance between  the two. Maybe Korra opening easier access to the spirit world, along with The Cataclysm & a 200-year absence of an Avatar massively unbalanced the two and allowed the negative effects on the Spirit World to more easily enter the material world.)
The new flashback sets up the parent's journey through the Harshlands that we saw in Ep 2's flashbacks, but it also reveals something greater; the girl in those Ep 2 flashbacks traveling with them was Pavi & Nisha was the one left behind (because they told Karthik where he'd find her via that message we saw last ep). If the scenes in the flashbacks happen in the same journey, then does that mean Pavi is the Avatar occupied by Vaatu? That last flashback shot in Ep 2 of the girl in the diamond anomaly CONVIENTLY hides the left leg. It would also be easier to have the one that was afraid the 1st 3 episodes (which I pointed out) be tied to the spirit that would more likely draw the negative aspect of the chakra. I LOVE that Bryke (portmanteau of the Avatar creators, BRYan Konietzko & MiKE Dante DiMartino) are back at the helm making these twists & decisions!
Finally, the girls energybending is on somewhat shaky ground. First off, it might not be energybending; Karthik just spouted out the term. Second, what energybending IS approached a grey area from ATLA to LOK. In ATLA, it was strictly bending the energy within a person. In LOK, it was that for the 1st 3 seasons, then at the end of Season 4, it was also bending the spirit energy to create the 3rd spirit portal in Republic City.
Thirdly, and to the show's benefit, the girls can't  willingly energybend and seemingly can't do it alone, so it's not as much of a retcon or a Mary Sue (or Sue's because there's two of them?) moment that some people are making it out to be. Hopefully, we get to learn about energybending in tandem with Pavi & Nisha.