And with a pre-planned, three-season story arc, it got to deeply invest in both its world-building and its characters over time, allowing it to evolve organically to a deeply satisfying conclusion. When it was released in June , the finished product turned out to be a giant artistic embarrassment. Legend of Korra was an ambitious follow-up — much like its main character. Aang is a lovable all-powerful kid who grows steadily into his identity and powers; Korra has to learn to be the Avatar through a series of grievous mistakes and errors in judgment.
But Korra has things much harder than Aang. Her over-reliance on her physical strength remains an obstacle as she grapples with fear, vulnerability, and, later on, severe PTSD that leaves her largely having to rebuild her sense of self — and sidelined for most of the final season. Compared to Aang, who was happy-go-lucky and loved for it, many viewers considered Korra to be a terrible hero — despite her no-holds-barred physical prowess and aggressive fighting style.
It was only years later that I started to truly grasp how divisive the show and character were for people. Why Aang and Korra are incomparable a thread : pic. Much of that disdain for Korra is gendered.
Aang is a sweet, silly, brave year-old boy; Korra is a teenage girl who bucks traditional female gender roles in prioritizing independence over romance. And for all the show allows her to be abrasive, it also gives her lots of nuance and complexity — particularly when it comes to presenting her mental illness.
Half of the season was [Korra] just totally broken. I did not think that they would ever, ever in a million years do that. And I mean, [queer viewers] are starved. To being better. In all the ways. Not all of Korra was as meaningfully progressive as its controversial strong, queer, female lead. Many of its other lofty goals of reimagining the Airbender world received criticism, and rightfully so.
So they pushed its setting forward about two generations, time-stamping its alternate universe somewhere around and infusing it with a steampunk -fantasy vibe. Where Airbender had been set in a largely rural world with only minimal technological development, Korra mostly took place in urban settings.
In a recent Medium essay, writer Jeannette Ng criticized the way Korra leans into a heavily Americanized version of the future.
In the piece, she points out many ways in which the show jettisons authentic cultural traditions in favor of embracing white industrialized civilization, all while arguably failing to explore the lingering traces that colonialism has left on the world of Airbender. For instance, its focal city, Republic City, was drawn from an odd combination of Shanghai, Manhattan, and Vancouver, with its culturally Chinese signifiers largely thrust into the background or rarely acknowledged.
Ng also pointed out that many elements of the show, especially today, draw comparisons to the Hong Kong resistance movement. Even more damning for Ng is the bottom line: Korra fails to resonate with her and her other friends of Asian diaspora the way it does for Western viewers. Maybe if there were more Asian people in positions of power on the show, there would be more authenticity. Richard Riehle Bumi Guest Voice.
Aubrey Plaza Eska Guest Voice. Aaron Himelstein Desna Guest Voice. Jeff Bennett Shiro Shinobi Voice. Maria Bamford Pema Guest Voice. Colin Heck Director. Ian Graham Director. Michael Dante DiMartino Writer. Tim Hedrick Writer. Joshua Hamilton Writer. View All Critic Reviews 9. Oct 21, The character development you think Korra received in Season 1 is promptly thrown out the window and we begin from square one again.
This honestly felt more like a bad fan fiction than an actual continuation of the previous season. So much potential squandered. Jack M. Jul 24, The season, animation-wise is inconsistent during the first half of the season, but eventually rights the ship later on. I loved the change in animation style during the two episodes about Wan.
Jul 06, Very original! Facing the world of spirits is something that hadn't been seen before. Johann M. Apr 21, This season is the definition of mediocre. The characters aren't good, the first part of the season was okay, but the second half was bonkers. We shift from a civil war, to an "end of the world" plot where spirits have been corrupted by the evil Vaatu, the polar opposite to Raava.
Honestly, Vaatu isn't a bad villain, he's more of a necessary evil because of Raava, but Unalaq basically screams bad villain.
Though the best part of the season was when we get to the story of Avatar Wan and we saw how the first avatar was created. It's a pretty clunky season, but honestly, the Wan story was super good that It overshadows some of the bad stuff of this season. SuperKoopaBro s. Apr 19, There are darker things lurking this season more cunning and dangerous than Dark Avatar. Riley W. Apr 08, Although the weakest, book 2 was still great fun.
Signo d. Mar 17, Badly drawn. Although less intense, less well-framed. Gregg G. Mar 07, A huge disappointment after the solid start that was season 1 and by far the worst season of Korra.
The biggest issue with season 2 is its structure and pacing. It starts off well with episodes exploring the conflict of the northern and southernnwater tribe and Korra learning spiritual training but after episode 4 it goes downhill. The conflict is not seen until episode 11 where it's just resolved in one fight scene. Everything in Republic City serves no purpose to the plot and unlike Avatar, it doesn't develop the characters at all and the worst part is we get 3 whole episodes dedicated to it in episodes 5, 8 and Then episode 7 and 8 randomly just throws us this new threat and we get a backstory on the first avatar but there's no build up to it and it's just an end of the world situation with no thematic depth.
Korra as well is so unlikeable this season. She yells at everyone and thinks she knows best and it doesn't resemble the more mature character at the end of season 1 and Unalaq is such a boring, generic villain and the show just forgets about him in episodes and 11 and the season ends in a generic end of the world situation with plot convenience and none of the characters learn anything. Despite that, the score and animation is just as good as ever, the action scenes are an improvement over season 1, Varrick is such a well-written character, the first 4 episodes set up an interesting conflict, it's creative, the story of Avatar Wan is really interesting and I love the idea of focusing on spirits as it wasn't explored much in the original series.
I also love Tenzin's character arc with his family as well as Jinora's bigger roe but this season is just a let down. Fortunately, season 3 is loads better. Mohammed A. Jan 26, Jan 12, It also emphasizes the corruptive tendencies of power and how one must maintain balance to prevent drifting too far into darkness. Eric W. Categories A to Z Real world.
Fan Feed 1 Zuko 2 Korra 3 Aang. Universal Conquest Wiki. We'll learn more about the Avatar State and the Spirit World. While there, Korra 's uncle, Unalaq , informs her of the spirits that have been attacking ships in around the Southern Water Tribe and offers to train her in the ways of the spirits. Tension between Korra and Tenzin and Tonraq reach a breaking point after a dark spirit attacks them and Unalaq is the only one who is able to subdue it; Korra breaks off her studies under Tenzin and takes up Unalaq as her instructor.
Korra begins her spiritual training under Unalaq, who leads her to the South Pole to open up the spirit portal residing deep within the frozen tundra. Mako , Bolin , Tonraq, Desna, and Eska come along as well. Tensions between Korra and her father grow as she discovers the truth about his banishment from the North after having destroyed a sacred spirit forest. After another spirit attack, Korra sends her father home and continues with her quest to open the portal, which she successfully completes.
However, Northern forces have arrived at the Southern Water Tribe. Written by: Michael Dante DiMartino. Korra tries to remain neutral as tensions flare between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. However, things are complicated when the Southerners talk about preparing for war and a group of rebels try to kidnap Unalaq , forcing Korra to intervene.
The rebels are arrested, as well as Tonraq and Senna. Meanwhile, at the Southern Air Temple , Tenzin, Bumi , and Kya all search for Ikki who has run away after being teased by her siblings.
During a trial, Senna is the only one released, while all the others are condemned to life imprisonment. In an attempt to get Judge Hotah to release Tonraq, Korra discovers that Unalaq had set up the trial and his brother's banishment, causing her to break away from him and his teachings.
With Varrick's help, she and Team Avatar free all the rebels. Meanwhile, at the Southern Air Temple, Tenzin finds Ikki and they reconcile with their respective siblings. Tensions rise when the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center is bombed, all evidence pointing toward the Northerns as the culprits.
Mako, now a cop, is the only one doubting the Northerners' responsibility. Rising tensions between Mako and Korra lead them to break up. While Bolin becomes the star in Varrick 's propaganda mover, Korra heads toward the Fire Nation to gather support there. Before she can reach the shores, however, she is swallowed by a dark spirit.
When criminal activity threatens to put Future Industries out of business, Mako sets up a sting operation in an attempt to arrest the culprits.
The plan backfires, however, as it drew them away from the company's warehouse when it was being robbed. Mako investigates further and discovers the true culprit when he notices Varrick's mover technicians use the same type of detonators as he found during the bombing of the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center.
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