reasons Mako is really really great and should be appreciated so much for how he raised Bolin coming from just watching Republic City Hustle:
He made robbing people fun. It was a necessity, and clearly a dangerous way to live but their only choice, so he not only clearly picks a target that isnāt a threat but turns it into a game where Bolin can play the Good Guy and fool around, be a hero, and have fun.
In that same vein, with almost every chance he gets he compliments Bolin (ānice grab little brotherā etc. a trait he continues until adulthood with people he cares about, itās stilted and awkward later but clearly Makoās trying) this is probably why Bolinās confidence is basically through the roof.
Bolin recognized Toza and calls him his āheroā indicating he has been to pro-bending matches before, later we see them both working at the match while Mako has to remind Bolin he is working too. Mako also doesnt recognize Toza on sight. I think itās safe to imply Bolin working with Mako is new (some evidence for that later as well) and Mako would normally work while letting Bolin have a fun night watching the matches.
Bolin is sad to see his hero lose, Mako tries to reiterate a lesson that basically boils down to āthey wouldnt help us, why should we care?ā Itās a lesson that rings true for Mako, the caretaker, but doesnāt for Bolin because Bolin always had Mako and knows what itās like to be cared for.
When Shady Shin threatens to send them back to the streets Makoās first instinct is to give Bolin a reassuring pat on the back and tell him not to worry.
While Bolin is doing his antics we always see Mako just behind him, watching and keeping an eye out. The only time he isnāt is when it is implied Mako was doing some work on his own (after Bolin got mad) and Bolin snuck away, after which Mako immediately finds Bolin the moment heās in danger to save him.
Bolin wants an adorable pet, Mako immediately tells him āNo. The last thing we need is one more mouth to feed.ā Again, Mako as the parent having to juggle being the good guy and the bad guy, taking all the responsibility of caring for them on his own shoulders. And he has a point. Mako is clearly struggling just to keep Bolin and himself fed (āWe didnāt eat anything yesterday.ā) and the last thing they need is a pet.
Bolin begs Mako (typical kid stuff wanting a pet āaw heās so cute!ā āPle-ease??ā) and is suprised it doesnāt work and sad when Mako tells him to toughen up. Bolin begging is interesting because it tells us it often probably works, Mako giving Bolin what he asks for; and in this instance Bolin is very much acting like any normal child while once again Mako is the (reasonable) parent.
From what I inferred earlier where Bolin helping with the work being new, Mako has just started to get Bolin into this criminal world with the Triple Threats and is clearly worried Bolin is too soft for it, while at the same time interestingly never brings up how Bolin is five years older than Mako was when Mako started taking care of them. I think one of the arcs of this series was Mako realizing Bolin, because of who he was and how sheltered heād been, couldnāt survive in the same environment Mako was. Mako has earned the respect of Shady Shin, meanwhile Bolin canāt even handle this one job. (Mako, a pragmatist, realizes by the end that if Bolin stayed in this work heād have to become more like Mako, and so Mako takes the out Toza offers.)
Bolin. Is. An. Optimist. Bolin grew up living on the streets, hungry and poor, and heās an optimist. Why? Just jump back to the scene with Shady Shin where the moment things seems scary Mako immediately reassures Bolin. Mako is hypersensitive to Bolinās emotions, even when chastizing him he falls back to a kind voice and explains why, so itās no small leap to say Bolin always thinks things are going to turn out okay because thatās what Mako has told him his whole life.
āMaybe Iām not as mean as you! Maybe I just canāt turn my back on people when theyāre down!ā Bolin calls Mako mean and uncaring, and Mako.... sighs. He doesnāt respond, just takes it in, lets Bolin have his emotions and even say cruel things to him and just internalizes it and leaves it alone.
Mako weirdly knows exactly how to handle a dangerous snake. I donāt know what this means. Either he has experience or itās pure Mom Instinct where he sees Bolin in trouble and just wrangles a dangerous snake and flings it back into its cage in seconds.
Mako relents on the Pabu business right after Bolin puts himself in danger to save the animal and Bolin gives him puppy dog eyes (also after Bolin called him mean). Maybe he thinks having a pet can teach Bolin responsibility, or maybe he doesnāt want Bolin to think heās mean, either way, Mako knows itās not a great idea to have a pet but still gives up, apparently not able to say no to Bolin twice.
Bolin never apologizes or is asked to apologize for calling Mako mean and uncaring. In fact, considering the sequence of events, Mako is the one who apologizes by letting Bolin keep Pabu even though by all accounts Mako was right not to want a pet. When Mako does admonish Bolin itās only in ways Bolin needs to act in order to survive, otherwise Mako seems unwilling to defend himself or make Bolin change in any way. (Mako models this type of forgiveness despite being the wronged party which interestingly, Bolin shows later throughout LoK and it is something people love about him, but the origins are here, coming from Mako.)
āYou really have a habit of getting in stupid situationsā Mako tells Bolin, indicating this type of behavior, Bolin getting in trouble and Mako coming to save him, happens a lot. (Even in the end, Mako finds out Bolin bet all their money on a fixed match, like cāmon Bolin.) Bolin just says āI knowā and Mako leaves the conversation at that without rubbing it in. A surprising amount of maturity for a fifteen year old.
Bolin canāt keep his mouth shut and gets them in trouble, shouting and excited during the match; as Mako looks embarrassed and worried, another indication that this, Bolin being present with the Triads, is a recent development and a clear indicator Mako was right telling Bolin to toughen up or he wouldnāt survive, as they instantly find themselves running and fighting for their lives.
āCan we, Mako? Mako, can we? Mako, please!ā Mako is so explicitly the parent to Bolin itās sad. He is fifteen, heās been on his own with Bolin since he was eight and literally witnessed his parents die, and throughout the series we see him comforting Bolin, suppressing his own emotions, and being a parent over and over again. Meanwhile Bolin acts like a child, who had a normalish childhood, who plays games and laughs and is optimistic and confident and wants a pet, so despite everything they went through, and how hard it was, Mako was clearly a very good parent to Bolin.
Shady Shin miscalculates in the end by telling Mako ādonāt go soft on meā, the same thing Mako was telling Bolin; which goes all the way back to my earlier point that Mako knows Bolin wonāt last as a Triad and needs something else. āI do have to take care of my brother, and I think this is whatās best for him.ā There, explicitly, the only reason they become pro-benders is because Mako thinks itās right for Bolin, āwhat is right for Bolinā is the basis of all his choices, what is right for Mako isnāt considered because what Mako wants is for Bolin to be happy.
In conclusion, if you hate Mako and love Bolin, I think you need to take a step back and remember who raised Bolin.
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