A few observations, not necessarily related to each other, but simply things I've been thinking about:
All of the members of the United Republic Council are benders. There are no members to specifically represent non-benders. During the first few episodes, I wondered if that was going to be brought up in the show itself. Now, with Tarrlok's actions, I'm still wondering, and hoping that it might come up at some point.
Despite the way the world's changed since Avatar, firebenders still seem to be bit problematic for everyone else. Mako and Bolins' parents were killed by one, Asami's mother was killed by one, Amon's family was killed by one (if his story is true), and the leader of the Triple Threat Triads was a firebender. The more things change, the more they stay the same?
I'm glad to see that the Equalists can match benders in combat (most of the time), are a genuine threat, and have a genuine cause.
Lastly, I love Bolin.