Damn you, creators of “The Legend of Korra”. I had my review system all set out; four reviews of roughly six or seven episodes each, but you just had to mess it up with your announcement of 26 additional episodes. Sure, I get more Avatar, but what’s the point if you’re going to render my perfect system obsolete? But seriously, I jest. I am thrilled that “The Legend of Korra” will be getting a second season, consisting of two more books set in the Avatar universe, and if I have to reconstruct my system (Keep the current episode amount per review? Review each book? Review the second half of the first season, then the entire second? THE POSSIBILITIES) I am perfectly contented with more content. As for the second half of Book 1, Air, it makes a solid conclusion of an equally solid continuation of the series I grew to love during “The Last Airbender”, if not cursed with the lack of knowledge that Korra would be getting many more episodes than the originally planned twelve. Also, *cough* SPOILERS */cough*.
My Q2 review, or whatever I decide on naming it under my new system, starts off with a bang; the first two episodes fixing a problem I had with in my review of the first half of the book of antagonist development. We learn supposed good guy and Mako love interest Asami’s father, Hiroshi Sato, was the mastermind behind the weapons used by the Equalists, finally giving us a face to the movement and adding the additional emotional attachment with his betrayal of Asami. In addition, supposed good guy but all around douchebag Councilman Tarrlok turns out to be the son of criminal bloodbender Yakone and turns on Korra as well.
Sticking to Tarrlok’s betrayal, Korra finally is able to connect with Aang during her imprisonment to learn of the councilman’s less than respectable ancestry. It’s nice to see the gaang as adults, especially my beloved Toph, and adding a quick backstory to Tarrlok suddenly propels him to one of the more developed enemies of this new series. It also sets up the twist at the end of the book, which I will get to later. However, one thing irked me during Tarrlok’s interactions with the council; why are the other members so easily manipulated? The other three mainly faceless members seem to dislike Tenzin for some reason, as every rash and seemingly hurtful act Tarrlok proposes, while all are adamantly opposed by the obviously more poised Tenzin in this time of crisis, are unquestionably agreed upon. It does show that while benders are mainly portrayed as strong willed individuals, even those with these special powers can become idiotic puppets for others with a cleverer disposition.
In addition to these two new antagonists, we learn the full extent of Toph’s daughter Lin’s overall badassery, which, other than possibly Tenzin or Zuko if he does make an appearance, has propelled her to my favorite character of this new Avatar series. Being Toph’s daughter doesn’t hurt either. At one point, when they were searching for the supposed secret underground factory of Sato’s, I found myself yelling at the screen when Lin wasn’t using the technique of seeing with her earthbending, something Toph obviously would have taught her, when only minutes later I am given the sweet satisfaction of her nonchalantly utilizing it not just then, but multiple other times in the covered episodes. While Toph’s blindness was never a hindrance per say, I believe that Lin has become an even better earthbender than her mother with the addition of sight and learning the metalbending technique from the beginning of her training. She has a soft side as well, assisting Tenzin with protecting his family and later sacrificing herself in one of the more heart-tugging scenes of “The Legend of Korra”.
Continuing with what I observed in the first half of Book 1, the darker undertone in this series compared to “The Last Airbender” is shown even more extensively in the second half. I believe this is mainly in the fact that Amon’s mysterious power to take bending away is the closest thing we will ever get to on screen deaths in a show aired on Nickelodeon. While it is obviously not as dark as actual execution, the way bending becomes integrated in a person’s personality and way of life makes it’s sudden disappearance all the more jarring, and when Lin loses hers at a time where I was unsure if she would ever get it back forced me to let a subconscious sob escape from my throat. “The Legend of Korra” also has some even darker actions towards the end of the first book, including attempted public execution and murder/suicide, and while I still believe that “The Last Airbender” overall contained the larger number of darker elements (there was mass genocide, and I made an argument on Reddit that Azula’s descent into madness was equally as dark), in such a short span of episodes the overall tone of this series definitely surpasses the original.
Now we come to the ending, which brought up many questions and complaints during my initial viewing of it. This review has taken a longer time to write because I wanted to re-watch the episodes and properly develop my opinion on the ending, and I believe I have come to a satisfying conclusion. Before I begin, however, I must lament on the fact that the creators thought they would only have the twelve episode miniseries to work with for this storyline, for that reason in my opinion is what hindered the context of the ending. It was very powerful; the reveal of Amon as a waterbender and Tarrlok’s brother was excellent, and Korra’s short but emotional battle with losing three of her four bending abilities (she gains control of airbending after Amon takes the others away) was tear-jerking, however the entire turnaround of these events happened in too little amount of time for me to be completely content.
It would have been nice for the creators to allow for a few more episodes for this story arc, even the twenty used in the first series would have worked, and it’s even more depressing now that we know there will be forty more episodes. I have always admired how the creators were able to stuff as much intriguing content in each episode of “The Last Airbender” as possible, and they continued this trend in “The Legend of Korra”. However this is one instance where the content being distributed over a greater number of episodes would have made the experience better, in my opinion. Many things happen in the final minutes of the last episode; Korra battles with the loss of her bending, then she suddenly gains control of both her spiritual connection with the past Avatars as well as the Avatar state. Tarrlok and Amon escape, seemingly off into the sunset, but Tarrlok kills them both in a gripping scene of retribution. Korra gains the ability to give bending back, which she does for Lin in another great scene. It just seems so rushed, which is consistent with how I felt earlier on in the series, and I would have liked to have been integrated into such a rich storyline a little more slowly, to savor the moments all the better.
Another thing that I didn’t quite enjoy about the ending was the aspect of teenage love between Korra and Mako. Sure, Aang and Katara were younger when they realized they were in love, but they experienced much more together than the other two, and in defense Aang was in love with Katara at first sight. Mako just suddenly professes his love for Korra, pushing aside both Asami and Bolin’s feelings in three short words, and Korra magically accepts his love in a sappy ending fit for most of the crappy romantic movies HBO loves to show three times a day. Once again, I feel it was rushed and doesn’t seem very genuine.
One other thing I initially was skeptical about but have come to terms with was Korra’s sudden control over the Avatar state when she finally gains access to it. Aang had to go through many trials in order to be able to control it, and having Korra initially have complete control confused, and in relation, angered me. I was waiting the entire book to have the struggle with the state be involved in the story, yet the Avatar state is never mentioned before she automatically gains control of it. However after taking some time to think about it, it makes sense. Aang, being an airbender, was already connected with the spirit world, which allows for initial access to the Avatar state. However, he had yet to master all four elements. So, if mastering the elements was necessary for control of the Avatar state, then that shows why Korra was able to use it so easily, for she was always very proficient with the other three elements, just not the one necessary for connectivity with the spirit world. So I was content, if not a little disappointed that there was little mention of it beforehand.
In conclusion, while I am very happy to hear about the extension of “The Legend of Korra”, I am slightly irritated that the creators didn’t just announce all the episodes from the beginning so they would be able to distribute and evolve this storyline in the way they so masterfully did in “The Last Airbender”. It’s nice to have the addition of new storylines now that there are many more episodes planned, but it kind of leaves the whole Amon and Equalist movement partially unfulfilled with its accelerated conclusion. Many of the characters in this new series have yet to be fully developed, especially Bolin, and hopefully the creators are able to accomplish that in the forty additional episodes, as character development is one of the main reasons both series have been appealing to me. In addition, I need more General Iroh and in relation, Zuko and his daughter. BRING ME ZUKO. The knowledge for both me and the creators now of these next three books hopefully will allow for both story and character development to match and even exceed that which was in “The Last Airbender”, and I will be able one day say that this series is the perfect addition to the already fantastic Avatar universe. But not quite yet.
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