Last week I talked about Legend of Korra's contrversial ending. This week I want to talk about the entirety of the series.
The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the entire series needed an extra season, or at least a half-season of more episodes. I could go into detail about it, but I think having season 4's villian show up in the last episode of season 3 just to get two lines of dialogue and a name says it best.
The second is that the entire series is contracting what I call the "DBZ effect": instead of adding more story, they add more powers and characters.
This is not unusual when it comes to action/adventure television programs. With so many characters running around with so many powers, the story becomes less about the conflict the characters face and overcome, and more about who has the secret power that makes them king of the hill. I mean, considering that iron is a metal, and iron is found in blood, does this mean that metalbenders could also be bloodbenders?
Third is that having Zaheer help Korra reconnect to her Avatar spirit was too convenient. I mean, aside from Zaheer's "I'm a highly intelligent and enigmatic dude, so yeah I'll help you" aura, what other reason did he have to help the Avatar? A bigger question than that, why is he and his compatriots still alive? I mean, several armies have fought each other, killing people and soldiers by the thousands, but they can't kill a group of four people, who have proven, twice, that they are highly competent and devoted to murdering the Avatar and world leaders? What's the point in making these special prisons and guarding them round the clock when you could execute them?
The fourth is that it had a plethora of strong female characters. Not only does it pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors, but it has women who are not just erotic villians or damsels in distress; the women have a range of colors, emotions, and characters, and makes a special nod to deal with women's issues besides "oh did I--did I--did I not get the guy?". George R. R. Martin said it best when he asked how he was able to write such rounded, well-written female characters: "Well, you know, I've always thought of women as people."
My fifth comment is on (of course) the show's ending. Having Korra and Assami pair up as a romantic couple... well, I won't say that it is impossible because the groundwork was in place for their relationship, but I will say that up to that point, I think their relationship wasn't warranted, just yet.
The reason why I say this is because neither Korra nor Assami expressed sexual interest in women at all. A simple "Kuvira, you're a beautiful, talented, and capable woman, but your methods are entirely too brutal and oppressive blah blah" from either one of them would be inocuous enough to not reveal the show's ending, but important enough to indicate their attraction to women. Personally, I think the majority of people who correctly predicted the show's ending did so out of wishful thinking rather than compiling logical and persuasive evidence.
What's more is that Korra was obviously pining away for Mako, and Bolin for Korra (and later Opal), yet we don't really get this sense for Korra and Assami. Yeah sure, they were close, and Korra did choose Assami over everyone else to speak to while recovering, but I feel like they didn't spend enough time together to truly make their affections and their intimacy legitimate. But that's just my opinion.
My last comment is the soundtrack is awesome. I should be getting it in the mail today. :)
Got any thoughts about the Legend of Korra? What were your favorite moments? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.
Have a lovely day!
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