I'd Like my Legend of Korra, minus the Korra please

[SacremPyrobolum]

Though I will disagree with the assertion that Mako didn't do anything bad in season 2, considering he betrayed Korra by telling the president about her plan, which prevented her from liberating the south with Iroh's fleet and pretty much ending the plot right then and there.

You realize what Korra was planning with Iroh in utilizing his fleet without the authorization of the President would amount to a coup, right? If anything, Korra should have been banished or imprisoned and Iroh court marshaled.

How is Iroh sending his fleet south a coup on the president? Sure it's unauthorized and they might get in trouble, but wouldn't a coup involve them overthrowing the president instead of simply just thinking of a (actually pretty legitimate) way for Iroh to break the blockade since his fleet is doing absolutely nothing anyway? Had Mako not betrayed her, guaranteeing the South remained occupied and giving Unalaaq the time he needed to unleash Satan, Iroh would have officially been on a training exercise in the south where he would have been attacked by the Northern Water Tribe and been well within his right to destroy the enemy fleet.

Yeah, Raiko could have banished Korra and court marshalled Iroh, but he'd need an official reason to do so, and the happy coincidence of Iroh's training exercise helping Korra isn't enough for that.

If a fleet of the United States that was in dock suddenly shoved off without orders at the behest of a teenage while giving no account as to what they were doing you know their would be Hell to pay. Mako's actions were completely justified. Remember, military leaders going rouge and operating at their own prerogative is how the Roman Republic fell.

Though I will disagree with the assertion that Mako didn't do anything bad in season 2, considering he betrayed Korra by telling the president about her plan, which prevented her from liberating the south with Iroh's fleet and pretty much ending the plot right then and there.

You realize what Korra was planning with Iroh in utilizing his fleet without the authorization of the President would amount to a coup, right? If anything, Korra should have been banished or imprisoned and Iroh court marshaled.

you do know the Avatar technically has the right to remove the president any time he or she wants by virtue of them being the avatar? Honestly any of the past avatars would have just ***** slapped the man told him to do his job or they'd find someone who would.

I know that Aang founded Republic City but I do not recall their ever being mentioned a claus saying that any avatar could remove the current president from office. If such a claus did exist, I can imagine season 2 Korra using it almost immediately. Anyways, I'm sure Aang knew better than to tether the fait of the worlds first democracy to a person he will never even meet.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I like Korra. Korra feels way more real. She's not perfect, she doesn't have all the answers, she has short comings, and she has a unique appearance. Yeah, she's not getting super mature, but things might just get boring if she lost her inner spark. Heck, she might get boring if she calmed down, and wizened up.

 

[senordesol]

I can't really argue that she had barely any change at all through out one and a half seasons. However, it didn't become a problem for me until season 2. As you said she didn't learn anything from her experiences until half way through season 2 when she finally started acting like the avatar. I also agree that the last 10 minutes of the first season was bullshit. I don't know, she just doesn't bother me on the level she does some other people. Maybe it's because I've seen so many anime's where the charcters remian almost the same for over 100 episodes.

I suppose the reason it bothers me (and so many others so much) is that Avatar is -without qualification- one of my favorite shows of all time *because* of the masterful character drama. It wasn't perfect, but its story is truly worthwhile, and one I will gladly re-watch again and again.

When the credits rolled one that final episode, my one question was: why can't more shows be like this?

Then Korra came out, and I tried to like it -I honestly did- but it was a poor, poor imitation. For me, everything that made Avatar so rare, unique, and (I daresay) valuable was absent. Gone was the interesting interplay between characters, the complex and compelling villains, and the sense of grand adventure and discovery.

In its place was this vapid...young lady...who I wouldn't trust with the power of a shopping list, let alone all four elements.

One of the most frustrating things about the series was that in season 2, I got a glimpse of the old stuff I missed. When they were talking about the First Avatar, and dedicated a couple episodes to it; I actually wanted to watch THAT show! He had a personality, he made a decision, and ultimately seized his own destiny! Perfect! I love it! Can we get a 264m show about him?

 

[Ooga600]

As much as I agree with that bit of asspull with the Energybending, they did have a legitimate reason for it. Nickelodean has a rule against showing characters actually dying on screen, and I think also even heavily implying death by violence and stuff. That's why they mention...god what's his name? Jet! That's him, Jet, they leave what happened to him really vague. You can infer that he's mortally wounded, or you could infer that he was just permanently crippled or something. It's never made clear, they even point that out in the Ember Island Players episode.

I think they can justify "they died due to age cause that's just the natural cycle thing" but "Aang kills the Fire Lord" is a strict No No. So, they had to come up with some way to eliminate the Fire Lord without straight up death. And again, like with season 2 of Korra, I'll give them a bit of slack from the fact that the problems seem to stem from the administrative and business side of things. But yeah, the Energybending thing sort of irked me too.

As to Korra being flawed, I don't have a problem with a flawed character, far from it. Aang wasn't perfect, none of the characters were. My gripe is that she doesn't actually seem to learn from her flaws, even when they make she arc of the episodes frequently revolve around her getting over her baggage. And she just doesn't do a good job of it IMO.

You forgetting the end of season 1 when tarlok blows himself up along with amon? Also you can blame nickelodeon for Korras development since they decided they wanted three more seasons after the writers wrote themselves in a corner.

In the original series, Roku, Chin the Conqueror, Zhao (sort of), Kya, and Monk Gyatso are all clearly depicted as being killed (even though we never witness the actual moment of death), but not Jet because he's a kid. My assumption is that Nickelodeon is okay with portraying the deaths of adults but not children, and in my mind, it follows that they also wouldn't want to depict a child killing someone. However, being a kid's show, it seems to me that the lion turtle deus ex machina was more of a way to end the show with a more positive message than something they were "forced" into. Sure there might've been some pressure from Nick, but I think having Aang be forced to compromise his morals and kill the Fire Lord is just a little too dark for a children's show, even one as mature as Avatar.

In terms of Korra, the extra seasons being called for after the writers basically ended Korra's story in the season 1 finale was a massive roadblock for season 2, and it made season 2 feel completely separate from season 1 in that the whole bender vs. non-bender conflict just vanished and it became all about spirits. Hopefully season 3 can actually continue the whole spirit thing and start to give this show an actual arc that lasts for more than one season.

 

[Ooga600]

double post

 

[ecoho]

Though I will disagree with the assertion that Mako didn't do anything bad in season 2, considering he betrayed Korra by telling the president about her plan, which prevented her from liberating the south with Iroh's fleet and pretty much ending the plot right then and there.

You realize what Korra was planning with Iroh in utilizing his fleet without the authorization of the President would amount to a coup, right? If anything, Korra should have been banished or imprisoned and Iroh court marshaled.

How is Iroh sending his fleet south a coup on the president? Sure it's unauthorized and they might get in trouble, but wouldn't a coup involve them overthrowing the president instead of simply just thinking of a (actually pretty legitimate) way for Iroh to break the blockade since his fleet is doing absolutely nothing anyway? Had Mako not betrayed her, guaranteeing the South remained occupied and giving Unalaaq the time he needed to unleash Satan, Iroh would have officially been on a training exercise in the south where he would have been attacked by the Northern Water Tribe and been well within his right to destroy the enemy fleet.

Yeah, Raiko could have banished Korra and court marshalled Iroh, but he'd need an official reason to do so, and the happy coincidence of Iroh's training exercise helping Korra isn't enough for that.

If a fleet of the United States that was in dock suddenly shoved off without orders at the behest of a teenage while giving no account as to what they were doing you know their would be Hell to pay. Mako's actions were completely justified. Remember, military leaders going rouge and operating at their own prerogative is how the Roman Republic fell.

Though I will disagree with the assertion that Mako didn't do anything bad in season 2, considering he betrayed Korra by telling the president about her plan, which prevented her from liberating the south with Iroh's fleet and pretty much ending the plot right then and there.

You realize what Korra was planning with Iroh in utilizing his fleet without the authorization of the President would amount to a coup, right? If anything, Korra should have been banished or imprisoned and Iroh court marshaled.

you do know the Avatar technically has the right to remove the president any time he or she wants by virtue of them being the avatar? Honestly any of the past avatars would have just ***** slapped the man told him to do his job or they'd find someone who would.

I know that Aang founded Republic City but I do not recall their ever being mentioned a claus saying that any avatar could remove the current president from office. If such a claus did exist, I can imagine season 2 Korra using it almost immediately. Anyways, I'm sure Aang knew better than to tether the fait of the worlds first democracy to a person he will never even meet.

Aang would have convinced the president to back down to his authority but every other one? Nope they would have burnt him to a crisp and taken over the armies. Remember the avatar is the most powerful person on the planet everyone respects their authority except kings with no sense, so if the avatar came in and took down the president and said it was to stop a war no one would care.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Aang would have convinced the president to back down to his authority but every other one? Nope they would have burnt him to a crisp and taken over the armies. Remember the avatar is the most powerful person on the planet everyone respects their authority except kings with no sense, so if the avatar came in and took down the president and said it was to stop a war no one would care.

People would mind. People would mind A LOT if someone, spiritual beacon or no, marched up to their democratically elected leader BLAMMED him Commissar-style for the sole purpose of assuming control of their nations armies. I could see that one Earth Nation Avatar doing it (she was a hard ass) but I can't see it being anything close to a good idea.

How about if a fleet of the United States shoved off under the orders of a commander with the authority to stage training exercises? You keep pretending that they're just going to openly announce that this is totally a plan to help the Avatar (the mythical chosen one who had recently saved the city, not just some teenager) instead of, you know, go with the plan they Iroh came up with immediately of having a completely valid excuse for his actions. Had Mako not betrayed her, Unalaaq would have been stopped well before Harmonic Convergence, Raava wouldn't have been destroyed, and Korra would still be connected to her past lives.

And the funny thing about the Roman Republic is that it was a corrupted group of aristocratic filth that would rather fight each other than their enemies. Rome's golden age didn't start until after the Republic fell to rogue military leaders after all.

Even if Iroh was leaving on the excuse that he was training he fleet, he would still be deceiving his superior and leaving his country virtually defenseless by sea ( a big deal, considering Republic City is also a coastal one). Remember, he is not commander of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Republic fleet, he is commander of THE Republic fleet, as in the whole naval force. Not only is e endangering his fleet and risking war with the North by trying to break the blockade in the South , but he is also endangering his entire nation by leaving it defenseless without a navy while he goes to piss off a major nation made up of WATER-BENDERS!

That being said, I thin it's important to say that I actually liked Korra as a character (not necessarily as a person) in season 1 and so far in season 3.

I think I should stop know. Arguing about a cartoon like I would a

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

One of the most frustrating things about the series was that in season 2, I got a glimpse of the old stuff I missed. When they were talking about the First Avatar, and dedicated a couple episodes to it; I actually wanted to watch THAT show! He had a personality, he made a decision, and ultimately seized his own destiny! Perfect! I love it! Can we get a 264m show about him?

Wan for president. Seriously. I've never been more enchanted by an avatar ministory and "side character". Id watch wan forever.

I get that you wouldnt trust Korra with the elements but isnt that the point?

The avatar system is inherently flawed, and the equalists serve to point it out. Bending, and to some degree the avatar title, are not chosen by merit or virtue. It's a random and monstrously unequal distribution of power. Korra struggles to trust Korra with that power. But she has to. And so does everyone else. Short of killing her theres nothing that can be done about it. Korra is a headstrong, confused and angsty teenager. And you know what i dont even mind that. Thats realistic. Either they could perfect and create a faux "Ive got it all together" teenager to please audiences or be honest about what being a teenager is like. Its more like that for most people. And this person, by no choice, merit or discovery of their own has gained almost infinite power. Thats insane. The first ep of season 3 was good in my opinion simply because it hints that these issues will be discussed:

Korra has to solve problems literally no one else can with no say in the matter at all. She has to work things out, alone, with no one to help her or else society as a whole will turn on her violently. Thats a lot of pressure considering the choice to fill this role was never voluntary. The pressure to perform, the responsibility, these are hard things when chosen willingly. I can understand her being angsty when these are thrust upon on her and her option is solve or be despised and possibly even deposed.

The vines are the core example. How do you fix this? I dunno youre the avatar you should know. Thats a horrifically frustrating situation for anyone. I want this explored, this idea that the avatar system is sorta unfair on everyone. Season 1 and 2 sorta partially successfully explored how its unfair on everyone else but they didnt take it to the end of that reasoning. Season 3 could explore how its strange for the avatar to be thrust into power. Rava never helps in such an active way like Vatuu seemed to, feeding advice to Unalaq. Rava is also not selective with hosts other than by element. Why?

Pet peeve though, why doesnt Korra just ask as many spirits as possible for advice on what to do. If any lesson was to be learned from Wan its that spirits know stuff. Befriend them. Thats the closest to the old avatars as she is going to get.

EDIT: also I liked the air bending scene. Korra was stripped of all other bending, when she was desperate she dug deep for something, anything, and since no other bending was there to find she was forced to go deeper to find air bending where it had been hiding all along. Bending seems to work on the basis that once you get it its like a bike. Remember Aang totally failed constantly at earth bending even with lessons until it mattered and he got it on a primal level. Then the rest was technique even though his core personality of "airy graceful dancer" doesnt change to a significant degree.

 

[senordesol]

One of the most frustrating things about the series was that in season 2, I got a glimpse of the old stuff I missed. When they were talking about the First Avatar, and dedicated a couple episodes to it; I actually wanted to watch THAT show! He had a personality, he made a decision, and ultimately seized his own destiny! Perfect! I love it! Can we get a 264m show about him?

Wan for president. Seriously. I've never been more enchanted by an avatar ministory and "side character". Id watch wan forever.

I get that you wouldnt trust Korra with the elements but isnt that the point?

The avatar system is inherently flawed, and the equalists serve to point it out. Bending, and to some degree the avatar title, are not chosen by merit or virtue. It's a random and monstrously unequal distribution of power. Korra struggles to trust Korra with that power. But she has to. And so does everyone else. Short of killing her theres nothing that can be done about it. Korra is a headstrong, confused and angsty teenager. And you know what i dont even mind that. Thats realistic. Either they could perfect and create a faux "Ive got it all together" teenager to please audiences or be honest about what being a teenager is like. Its more like that for most people. And this person, by no choice, merit or discovery of their own has gained almost infinite power. Thats insane. The first ep of season 3 was good in my opinion simply because it hints that these issues will be discussed:

Korra has to solve problems literally no one else can with no say in the matter at all. She has to work things out, alone, with no one to help her or else society as a whole will turn on her violently. Thats a lot of pressure considering the choice to fill this role was never voluntary. The pressure to perform, the responsibility, these are hard things when chosen willingly. I can understand her being angsty when these are thrust upon on her and her option is solve or be despised and possibly even deposed.

The vines are the core example. How do you fix this? I dunno youre the avatar you should know. Thats a horrifically frustrating situation for anyone. I want this explored, this idea that the avatar system is sorta unfair on everyone. Season 1 and 2 sorta partially successfully explored how its unfair on everyone else but they didnt take it to the end of that reasoning. Season 3 could explore how its strange for the avatar to be thrust into power. Rava never helps in such an active way like Vatuu seemed to, feeding advice to Unalaq. Rava is also not selective with hosts other than by element. Why?

Pet peeve though, why doesnt Korra just ask as many spirits as possible for advice on what to do. If any lesson was to be learned from Wan its that spirits know stuff. Befriend them. Thats the closest to the old avatars as she is going to get.

EDIT: also I liked the air bending scene. Korra was stripped of all other bending, when she was desperate she dug deep for something, anything, and since no other bending was there to find she was forced to go deeper to find air bending where it had been hiding all along. Bending seems to work on the basis that once you get it its like a bike. Remember Aang totally failed constantly at earth bending even with lessons until it mattered and he got it on a primal level. Then the rest was technique even though his core personality of "airy graceful dancer" doesnt change to a significant degree.

The germs of what you mentioned exist, but are not explored. There's no self-awareness to them.

Again, it's not so much that Korra is flawed, Azula is one of my favorite characters and she's flawed six was to Sunday, it's that she never budges from her default setting (bitchy, mopey and/or over-reactionary).

I could live with the idea of an Avatar more unprepared for the slings and arrows of the real world, if the world (by that I mean the narrative direction of the plot) would just acknowledge that's the case.

She's unprepared for a threat as big as Amon and loses all her bending but for air bending. PERFECT! A fantastic premise but for one thing: she never had to live with it! Aang had to live with losing Appa, he had to live with losing the Avatar state, and he had to live with losing his people. He had to digest his loss and deficiencies and MAKE DO with what he had.

But all of Korra's problems seem to go away as fast as they come whether she does anything about them or not. She loses her bending, then gets it back through no action or effort of her own. The Equalists rise, then fall without having to deal with the messy issue of whether or not they might actually have a legitimate grievance.

She just keeps running headfirst into brick walls no matter how many times that technique fails her, yet everything seems to work out anyway.

In any other show, she'd be a villain (or at least an antagonist): imbued with all this praise and power despite no respect or ability for it, yet embraces it anyway.

 

[ecoho]

Aang would have convinced the president to back down to his authority but every other one? Nope they would have burnt him to a crisp and taken over the armies. Remember the avatar is the most powerful person on the planet everyone respects their authority except kings with no sense, so if the avatar came in and took down the president and said it was to stop a war no one would care.

People would mind. People would mind A LOT if someone, spiritual beacon or no, marched up to their democratically elected leader BLAMMED him Commissar-style for the sole purpose of assuming control of their nations armies. I could see that one Earth Nation Avatar doing it (she was a hard ass) but I can't see it being anything close to a good idea.

How about if a fleet of the United States shoved off under the orders of a commander with the authority to stage training exercises? You keep pretending that they're just going to openly announce that this is totally a plan to help the Avatar (the mythical chosen one who had recently saved the city, not just some teenager) instead of, you know, go with the plan they Iroh came up with immediately of having a completely valid excuse for his actions. Had Mako not betrayed her, Unalaaq would have been stopped well before Harmonic Convergence, Raava wouldn't have been destroyed, and Korra would still be connected to her past lives.

And the funny thing about the Roman Republic is that it was a corrupted group of aristocratic filth that would rather fight each other than their enemies. Rome's golden age didn't start until after the Republic fell to rogue military leaders after all.

Even if Iroh was leaving on the excuse that he was training he fleet, he would still be deceiving his superior and leaving his country virtually defenseless by sea ( a big deal, considering Republic City is also a coastal one). Remember, he is not commander of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Republic fleet, he is commander of THE Republic fleet, as in the whole naval force. Not only is e endangering his fleet and risking war with the North by trying to break the blockade in the South , but he is also endangering his entire nation by leaving it defenseless without a navy while he goes to piss off a major nation made up of WATER-BENDERS!

That being said, I thin it's important to say that I actually liked Korra as a character (not necessarily as a person) in season 1 and so far in season 3.

I think I should stop know. Arguing about a cartoon like I would a

you seem to be thinking of them always having a president, they didn't. In season one it was a council which in turn would fall under the avatar when said avatar had reached the point of leadership. It was only after the first seasons events that a president was elected due to the natural problems with the council just running things.(they were ether incompetent or power hungry, well except tensin) This would be more like Italy back some thousand years ago were the king of Italy had power over the country but the Pope had the authority to overrule him. Honestly this could have realy happened to the US if Washington hadn't been as good a president as he was and kept us all together.

 

[happyninja42]

You forgetting the end of season 1 when tarlok blows himself up along with amon? Also you can blame nickelodeon for Korras development since they decided they wanted three more seasons after the writers wrote themselves in a corner.[/quote]

No, I'm not forgetting that ending. All we actually see is the boat blew up. We don't actually see either of them die, or ever confirmed to have been found dead. We had 2 water benders of immense power, out in the middle of the ocean, I personally seriously doubt they're dead, and I fully expect them to show back up in a later season as a plot twist.

However I will acknowledge that the implication was that they died, this is true. But I'm basing my statement off the commentaries from the first show, with the developers, and they flat out said "We had to come up with something because Nickelodeon doesn't allow death on their shows." The "and no implied death either" thing is purely speculation on my part, for other elements of the show that seemed to sidestep around the whole "mortally wounded" issue. It could be that implication of death is fine with Nick, but apparently "you show someone flat out killing someone else on screen" isn't.

As to Korra's development, I did state in my post that you quoted that I do put some of the blame on Nick for it, and do give the creators at least some slack for Korra's development in Season 2, but my issues with her aren't just season 2, it's also with Season 1 by itself. She never overcame her fear and aggression and hot headedness, which was said to be the main reason she couldn't airbend. She had to learn how to "let go" to "be free" and all that, and she never stopped being pig headed and stubborn. She didn't have a moving personal growth and understanding moment like Aang did when he was trying to overcome his problems learning Earth and Firebending. She just threw a punch one day, after losing the other element bendings, and poof, now she's airbending. Well whoopty doo, glad to see she learned to overcome her flaws to grasp the core concept of airbending...oh wait, she didn't!! She just learned airbending because the plot needed her to at that moment.

Yes, season 2 had problems outside of their control, and it led to a sort of choppy plot, and a basic reboot of her personality, but even with a choppy plot, it seems like they would consider some of the things she should have learned in season 1, that she apparently didn't based on her actions in season 2. And that's where it grates on my nerves. The fact that she's repeating these same things in season 3 is what's really chaffing my butt.

Granted, it's early in the season, maybe she's going to have some moments where she's like "wait...no, I've done this route already, it ended badly, it's stupid to do it this way, I'll try something else" And i really, really hope this is the case, but so far, she's acting pretty much exactly like Season 1/2 Korra, which just gets tiresome. I want to like Korra and cheer her on in her struggles, but so far I've got more emotional investment in pretty much every other character in the cast than her. And that's a shame, because I love the work this team does, I think they tell some incredible stories with the Avatar-verse they've created, I just wish I liked their protagonist more.

 

[happyninja42]

You forgetting the end of season 1 when tarlok blows himself up along with amon? Also you can blame nickelodeon for Korras development since they decided they wanted three more seasons after the writers wrote themselves in a corner.

No, I'm not forgetting that ending. All we actually see is the boat blew up. We don't actually see either of them die, or ever confirmed to have been found dead. We had 2 water benders of immense power, out in the middle of the ocean, I personally seriously doubt they're dead, and I fully expect them to show back up in a later season as a plot twist.

However I will acknowledge that the implication was that they died, this is true. But I'm basing my statement off the commentaries from the first show, with the developers, and they flat out said "We had to come up with something because Nickelodeon doesn't allow death on their shows." The "and no implied death either" thing is purely speculation on my part, for other elements of the show that seemed to sidestep around the whole "mortally wounded" issue. It could be that implication of death is fine with Nick, but apparently "you show someone flat out killing someone else on screen" isn't.

As to Korra's development, I did state in my post that you quoted that I do put some of the blame on Nick for it, and do give the creators at least some slack for Korra's development in Season 2, but my issues with her aren't just season 2, it's also with Season 1 by itself. She never overcame her fear and aggression and hot headedness, which was said to be the main reason she couldn't airbend. She had to learn how to "let go" to "be free" and all that, and she never stopped being pig headed and stubborn. She didn't have a moving personal growth and understanding moment like Aang did when he was trying to overcome his problems learning Earth and Firebending. She just threw a punch one day, after losing the other element bendings, and poof, now she's airbending. Well whoopty doo, glad to see she learned to overcome her flaws to grasp the core concept of airbending...oh wait, she didn't!! She just learned airbending because the plot needed her to at that moment.

Yes, season 2 had problems outside of their control, and it led to a sort of choppy plot, and a basic reboot of her personality, but even with a choppy plot, it seems like they would consider some of the things she should have learned in season 1, that she apparently didn't based on her actions in season 2. And that's where it grates on my nerves. The fact that she's repeating these same things in season 3 is what's really chaffing my butt.

Granted, it's early in the season, maybe she's going to have some moments where she's like "wait...no, I've done this route already, it ended badly, it's stupid to do it this way, I'll try something else" And i really, really hope this is the case, but so far, she's acting pretty much exactly like Season 1/2 Korra, which just gets tiresome. I want to like Korra and cheer her on in her struggles, but so far I've got more emotional investment in pretty much every other character in the cast than her. And that's a shame, because I love the work this team does, I think they tell some incredible stories with the Avatar-verse they've created, I just wish I liked their protagonist more.

 

[Tono Makt]

So, just watched the episodes of Season 3 of Legend of Korra....and I'm seriously wondering if they're ever going to let her actually grow as a character.

Seriously, 3 seasons and she's still just as angry, headstrong, belligerent, and also mopey? Seriously guys? I'm all for female characters as strong characters, but come on, 3 seasons and she's had no growth. She still solves (or tries to) everything by smashing it or burning it. She's as gullible as a 4 year old...actually no, I take that back, one of the young air bender children, the girl with the yellow poof balls in her hair is about that age, and she's shown more skepticism and cunning than the Avatar.

Once again, it's a season where so far, I openly cringe in any scene that involves the main character. The rest of the cast is great (with some minor annoying bits), but good grief Korra!! She's just so....gaaaah!! *pulls out hair*

My biggest problem with Korra is that she was born as a Water Bender... but everything about her just screams "FIRE!". When she isn't screaming FIRE!, she's quite a bit like Toph and other Earth Benders, with some of the more aggressive Water benders tossed in for good measure. It seems like her first instinct in almost every matter is to throw Fire at it, and if that doesn't work, throw rocks at it. Heck, I think the only reason she used Waterbending in any noticeable amount in Season 1 was because she was the "water bender" of the Fire Ferrets; without the pro bending, she probably wouldn't have used any Water bending at all. If you modify her character just a teeny bit - put her in clothing that isn't obviously Water Tribe - and ignore having an animal companion, and most people would be hard pressed to guess that she's from the Water Tribe. It's like nothing definitive of the Water Tribe really sunk into her personality.

This becomes one of the basis for my dislike of the character. Already she feels wrong, like the writers found themselves backed into a corner by their own mythology (the next Avatar has to come from the Water Tribe, then Earth then Fire again), they wanted to have the antithesis of Aang. They saw that as "Aggressive, Violent, Stubborn and Impulsive" but didn't really have that with the Water Tribe... so they just decided to write her that way anyway, make her Water Tribe but not really make it matter. Even in Season 2 where her Uncle and Father were at odds it wasn't important that she was Water Tribe, just that she had a connection to both men. It could have just as easily been made into a "Mentor" situation, where she was mentored by one of the Water Tribe (the bender) but fostered by the other (the non-bender), growing close to that family for her time there. Or something similar - the way it was written it didn't really need her to be literally related to them all. It felt more like audience manipulation. "That's Korra's DAD - she loves her DAD, so you love her DAD too, and you want her DAD to succeed! Oh no! Her UNCLE is EVIL! Her COUSINS are WEIRD! SO... MUCH... ANGST... from FAMILY... DYSFUNCTION! Oh, the Humanity! *faints*".

Now, as for the first three episodes of Season 3? I'm okay with it so far, but I'm wary of some of the secondary characters. I don't see Korra progressing as a character and it's not something that bothers me. Mostly because I don't really think she's all that important to the story in Season 3. It really looks like it's going to be about the entire group, not just Korra and fixing problems. Sure, she'll have her storyline in each episode, but there will be others that aren't directly connected that are more interesting. Mako and Bolin meeting their Earth Nation family, for instance. Tenzin coming to realize that there will never be an Air Nomad people again - he's going to have to adjust to something brand new.

Spoiler: Little Thief becoming a Good Guy

I seriously hope the writers are setting us up for him being a bad guy, and throwing the audience for a loop. Right now he looks like Wan reincarnated and it looks like he's going to learn the error of his past ways, turning into a hero and a Good Guy in the future, like Wan did when he became the first Avatar. Yawn, blah, here's the rug under my feet. Please, please, please pull it out from under me.

And Henry Rollins voices the main bad guy! I'm going to give it the entire season just for that.

 

[Gone Rampant]

You know, I heard about Korra complaints before I started, and before I finished The Last Airbender.

Now having caught up and having watched all the episodes of season 3 so far, I'm convinced people are just butthurt that Korra isn't Aang.

I like her.

I mostly hear about Korra hate from JesuOtaku, who I respect about as much as an ingrown toenail. I haven't seen any of Korra outside of SFDebris' review of Season 1, which looked pretty dang good.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

I don't think she is the weakest character in the series. She has had an interesting character arc thus far (even if the last season ended with Dues Ex Bullshit).

The award for least interesting characters in this entire series goes to Bolin and umm... Mako is his name, right?

Anyway, I do wish this series was about ASAMI. She has had a lot more interesting struggles, the betrayal of her father, of her boyfriend, TWICE, being tricked into selling everything she has.

Poor Asami.

 

[happyninja42]

So, just watched the episodes of Season 3 of Legend of Korra....and I'm seriously wondering if they're ever going to let her actually grow as a character.

Seriously, 3 seasons and she's still just as angry, headstrong, belligerent, and also mopey? Seriously guys? I'm all for female characters as strong characters, but come on, 3 seasons and she's had no growth. She still solves (or tries to) everything by smashing it or burning it. She's as gullible as a 4 year old...actually no, I take that back, one of the young air bender children, the girl with the yellow poof balls in her hair is about that age, and she's shown more skepticism and cunning than the Avatar.

Once again, it's a season where so far, I openly cringe in any scene that involves the main character. The rest of the cast is great (with some minor annoying bits), but good grief Korra!! She's just so....gaaaah!! *pulls out hair*

My biggest problem with Korra is that she was born as a Water Bender... but everything about her just screams "FIRE!". When she isn't screaming FIRE!, she's quite a bit like Toph and other Earth Benders, with some of the more aggressive Water benders tossed in for good measure. It seems like her first instinct in almost every matter is to throw Fire at it, and if that doesn't work, throw rocks at it. Heck, I think the only reason she used Waterbending in any noticeable amount in Season 1 was because she was the "water bender" of the Fire Ferrets; without the pro bending, she probably wouldn't have used any Water bending at all. If you modify her character just a teeny bit - put her in clothing that isn't obviously Water Tribe - and ignore having an animal companion, and most people would be hard pressed to guess that she's from the Water Tribe. It's like nothing definitive of the Water Tribe really sunk into her personality.

This becomes one of the basis for my dislike of the character. Already she feels wrong, like the writers found themselves backed into a corner by their own mythology (the next Avatar has to come from the Water Tribe, then Earth then Fire again), they wanted to have the antithesis of Aang. They saw that as "Aggressive, Violent, Stubborn and Impulsive" but didn't really have that with the Water Tribe... so they just decided to write her that way anyway, make her Water Tribe but not really make it matter. Even in Season 2 where her Uncle and Father were at odds it wasn't important that she was Water Tribe, just that she had a connection to both men. It could have just as easily been made into a "Mentor" situation, where she was mentored by one of the Water Tribe (the bender) but fostered by the other (the non-bender), growing close to that family for her time there. Or something similar - the way it was written it didn't really need her to be literally related to them all. It felt more like audience manipulation. "That's Korra's DAD - she loves her DAD, so you love her DAD too, and you want her DAD to succeed! Oh no! Her UNCLE is EVIL! Her COUSINS are WEIRD! SO... MUCH... ANGST... from FAMILY... DYSFUNCTION! Oh, the Humanity! *faints*".

Now, as for the first three episodes of Season 3? I'm okay with it so far, but I'm wary of some of the secondary characters. I don't see Korra progressing as a character and it's not something that bothers me. Mostly because I don't really think she's all that important to the story in Season 3. It really looks like it's going to be about the entire group, not just Korra and fixing problems. Sure, she'll have her storyline in each episode, but there will be others that aren't directly connected that are more interesting. Mako and Bolin meeting their Earth Nation family, for instance. Tenzin coming to realize that there will never be an Air Nomad people again - he's going to have to adjust to something brand new.

Spoiler: Little Thief becoming a Good Guy

I seriously hope the writers are setting us up for him being a bad guy, and throwing the audience for a loop. Right now he looks like Wan reincarnated and it looks like he's going to learn the error of his past ways, turning into a hero and a Good Guy in the future, like Wan did when he became the first Avatar. Yawn, blah, here's the rug under my feet. Please, please, please pull it out from under me.

And Henry Rollins voices the main bad guy! I'm going to give it the entire season just for that.

Eh, I actually don't have a problem with the idea of a Water Bender who is angry. That basic concept is perfectly fine to me. The sea can be violent, the sea can be merciless, the sea can crush and destroy ships and planes and islands in it's fury. So the fact that she's Water Bender + Angry isn't that big of a beef for me. I do agree that she is WAAAY more comfortable with Fire than Water, but I was mostly just hoping to see her learn to tame her emotions, which is what the Airbending training was supposed to do. But she never did, and she's still not trying to resolve anything without violence. She tries to smash it or blow it up first, and then if it doesn't work, she gets mad at someone, yells, and then maybe tries to possibly do something without violence......and then she does shit like verbally and physically assault the Hipster-Bender to make him join them. Because you know, violence solves all her problems. *facepalm*

 

[7904589501]

"Post Removed"

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Pretty much this. I like that Korra isn't just Aang 2.0 with a vagina. She's actually a person.

I liked Aang, but he was basically Jesus. Korra's actually human and her character flaws make sense. She knew she was the Avatar from a young age, but was forced to be locked away by the White Lotus. She couldn't ever go out, meet new people, or enjoy life. She was cut off from the world, but also told how awesome her power and responsibility is. And despite that, she actually WANTS to help people. And that's what makes her likeable to me.

Is that comment about Aang fair? Aang was told he was the Avatar a full four years before he was supposed to learn (told at 12 instead of 16), and that year he was ostracized by his friends and coddled by his Masters with really not understanding way. He did a typical kid thing and ran away when he didn't understand life, but thought it was unfair.

To me, he spent the first season just trying to be a kid around two people who learned about his fate but still accepted him. He messed up enough that first season that he tried to take things seriously. But then boom, here comes puberty. In full "Hey, Katara is a girl. That's Relevant to my interests" mode, he fucks up a lot but still clutches a few things out.

Aang is so human it hurts. He's a kid who was raised a holy monk, but still realizes he's a kid and focuses on that aspect a hell of a lot more than just he's new shiny Wind Jesus.