Poll: A review and criticism of Avatar: The Legend of Korra (season 1): did it need more episodes?

[StreetPizza]

Spoilers ahead.

Stop reading if you haven't already watched all twelve episodes of the first season of Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

And if you haven't watched them, you should.

Like, right now.

Spoiler: The review itself

First of all, let me just say that the whole thing was fricking amazing. That's pretty much what every reviewer and critic's been saying, and it's the damn truth. That said, I don't think there's much I can add to that message by sitting here and figuratively fellating the collective Avatar world (by the way, screw James Cameron. His movies are great, but he's being a weenie about rights to the name "Avatar").

So I'm going to tell you guys what I didn't like about it.

As a foreword, this whole thing should be read with "StreetPizza loves this show" in mind.

Anyways, here goes. There's really just one thing I didn't like: pacing.

Around the last few episodes, pacing seems to get really messy. By that, I mean things start happening too fast, without proper buildup or motivation. Take, for example, when the Gaang (okay, that doesn't really work without Aang. Korral, maybe?) decides to take the offensive against the Equalists. The thing is, they're doing this right after the Equalists defeat Iroh Junior's fleet. Their shining knights were just defeated, so they immediately decide to attack? I think this would have been a great spot for the characters to contemplate the defeat and grow from it. But they completely passed it over, and we, the audience, are poorer for it.

The answer to the problem of pacing, I think, is filler episodes. Yes, I know, the creators said they were deliberately trying to avoid filler episodes because they wanted a more concise story (according to wikipedia) but I think they crossed a line here--the story has become too concise.

As it is, there isn't enough room for other characters to develop. Even the main characters can be a little underdeveloped too; what jumps to mind is Asami and her daddy issues. I think that would have been worth at least half a "day in the limelight" episode in itself.

I think "filler" episodes can sometimes drive characterization just as much as main story arc episodes. Take, for example, "Tales of Ba Sing Se" from the first series. It's filler, but some of that filler is pretty damn touching, especially the part where Iroh goes to see Lu Ten's grave. That was a great moment, and by not having filler episodes, we might not have as many of those moments.

Besides, from a purely masturbatory standpoint, what kind of fan wouldn't like to see more of the group? They're lovable and a ton of fun to watch, so why not let us see more of them?

Edit: By the way, here, "masturbatory" does not mean seeing more of them for the purpose of jerking off (you pervs). Here, it means "unproductive" because it won't drive character development forward as much as a "main story arc" episode.

So, thoughts? Comments? Hate mail? Feel free to discuss.

 

[Thespian]

I completely agree. Honestly I agree with 100% of what you said there. Asami's character absolutely needed an episode to herself. The pacing was 99% of the problem with the finale episodes. All of the characters needed way more time to breathe and grow in order to make the final events have maximum impact and emotional weight.

When I look back on my favorite episodes of Avatar: The Legend of Aang, the ones I think of are almost always filler episodes. In particular, I think my all-time favorite episode is, rather surprisingly, "The Beach" from season three (or Tales of Ba Sing Se). The Beach is an episode about Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty-Lee (I can't spell those last two names) just interacting and being teenagers. It was such a fantastic episode. Each character felt so wildly different from the other. I have never sympathized with a villain as fearsome as Azula as I did in that episode. The only way to show her weakness is to make her do the one thing she can't - Normal, every day kid stuff. Seeing Ty-Lee excel at something over Azula was undeniably weird, irrefutably funny and totally brilliant all at the same time. Seeing Zuko struggle to understand his path in life solidified my faith in the character who could sometimes appear as an overly dramatic, angsty kid.

Now, while "The Beach" was fantastic, it served a purpose. A few episodes later, Azula is betrayed by Mai and Ty-Lee as Zuko escapes her. The moment when Mai defied Azula had me glued to the screen. The moment when Ty-Lee paralyzes Azula knocked the wind out of me. After seeing these characters bond, it was so much more appealing seeing them crumble apart.

This paid off even more several episodes later, in the full series finale. Azula's mental breakdown was so much more believable after seeing her friends leave her, and after understanding how close she had gotten to those friends.

So you see, a simple filler episode can drastically effect how good a finale is. And the finale was, in my opinion, the worst part of Korra by far. All of the emotional scenes between Tarlokk and Amon fell completely flat for me because their relationship was so under-developed.
Asami's confrontation with her father was yawn-central, because I barely knew the guy! All I knew was that he was a bender-hating, car-making widower who was apparently willing to murder his own daughter.
And Korra and Mako's romance meant little, because... Well, because Mako was totally being a heartless bastard to Asami and blatantly cheating on her the whole time, but also because I had no investment in their romance.

So yes. More filler dammit. Filler out the wazoo. I want an episode where Bo-Lin takes dance classes and meets a maternal figure who he substitutes for his mother. I want an episode where Naga finds a baby Platypus-Bear and raises it as her own. I want an episode where Korra somehow allows Aang to appear to Tenzin and the two have one last tearful father-son reunion. I want an episode where Lin Bei-Fong and Pema have a long chat about life, and how they were both set on such radically different paths. I want them all, dammit!

*ahem* Anywho yeah, I agree with you OP.

 

[StreetPizza]

Wow, how did I forget "The Beach"? That one was excellent.

I personally also really like the "filler" episodes in the third season right before the final showdown with Fire Lord Ozai--y'know, the episodes where everyone gets a "bonding" moment with Zuko.

If you wanted a "concise" story, those could be taken out or condensed, sure. But then where would great, tender moments like "Zuko trying to console Sokka with a half-baked Iroh-esque wise saying" or "Katara sparing the man who killed her mother" be?

 

[ColdBlooded]

Asami's confrontation with her father was yawn-central, because I barely knew the guy! All I knew was that he was a bender-hating, car-making widower who was apparently willing to murder his own daughter.

What else do you think that asami and her father needed to make their conflict more meaningful?

 

[Thespian]

What else do you think that asami and her father needed to make their conflict more meaningful?

I just mean that I thought it was really weird how her father was willing to straight-up murder her. All I know about him is that he is trying to do right by his dead wife - Would she be happy to see him kill their daughter? I found that whole scene really hard to believe. An episode developing their relationship would not have gone amiss. Maybe one where Asami sneaks out to try and persuade her father to join them and turn good, or a more direct betrayal so that he really hated her.

 

[Mathak]

I agree that there just weren't enough episodes for proper characterization of every character. I felt there was one other major problem though; Korra's arc.

She begins as stubborn and headstrong, really good at the physical side of bending but having no contact with the spiritual aside at all. So, you expect her to get in touch with her spiritual side during the series, so she can learn airbending and master the avatar state and such right? Nop. She just sorta unlocks her airbending by wanting to kick Amon's ass really bad, and then Aang pops her into the avatar state because she's really sad about no longer being able to kick people's ass with bending. She learns nothing from the whole thing. At the end, she's still basically the same person, but now way more awesome and kick-ass. Which is disappointing, since we know the Avatar guys (Mike & Brian, I think?) can do way better.

 

[StreetPizza]

Now that I think about it, Korra learning Airbending really does seem underdeveloped, especially compared to Aang's struggle with Earthbending, which involved a lot more character development. And it was fun too. Sokka stuck in the ground, for instance, was hilarious, but that seems to me like something that would get culled as "filler" if they were going for "concise" in the first series.

Moreover, I completely agree your statement of Mike and Brian being able to do better. In fact, it's because of this, the fact that they are so damn talented, that I want them to make more "filler" in the first place--with their talent, I just know that they can crank out all sorts of memorable scenes even if they're just writing what's not "important." As a (much less talented) writer myself, this process of "writing off the subject and getting great material out of it" has been good to me.

 

[Snippy the Shoe]

Personally i would have prefered it if they had waited a few more episodes (possibly a whole series) before giving Korra her bending back. That way she could have had some major character development by overcoming her fear of being "normal" and realising that there was more to her as a person than just being the avatar.

This pretty much sums up my feelings about the character development in the latter half of the series:

 

[StreetPizza]

I agree, I think the premise of an "Avatar who can't bend" is already really interesting, and by giving Korra her bending back (and the process by which they did it felt too Deus Ex Machina-y), now they have to drum up a new reason to send her on an adventure in the next season.

 

[pspman45]

okay wait, was I the only person who was kind of pissed off by the end?
I mean, that was a complete and total Cop-Out! oh yea, you can just get your powers back a few minutes later, and everyone else can get them back too! yaaay
I mean seriously, what the fuck? It made the threat that Amon posed seem totally pointless!
And the first few episodes of the show seemed to give the impression that it was going to focus on the position of non-benders. what is their spot in society? How will they mix with the Benders? I mean, the professional sports they focus on is bender only, the city's leadership was all benders, the military was all benders, and the idea that they replicate modern technology with elemental bending (such as using firebending to make power). So what do the non-benders do? I'd be pretty pissed off if my ability to advance in society was limited from birth!
the whole "equalist" regime seemed like the logical thing to occur, and I think it would have been interesting if Korra was forced into this non-bending state for a while longer, maybe it would give some insight on her behalf as to whether the equalist's motives were out of jealousy or a drive for balance.
unless they intend to focus more on this later, I will be thoroughly disappointed in Legend of Korra

 

[StreetPizza]

That's why I'm happy that a second season's been greenlit--hopefully, they can learn from the mistakes of the first and maybe try to fix them. I'd really like to see a better Mako (y'know, who actually learns to face the consequences of his actions instead of sleeping around with everyone and being a dick in general) for instance.

Also, if you're interested in the issue of Korra defeating the Equalists unsatisfactorily because it was basically a physical defeat and we never see if she wins their hearts and spirits--and getting in touch with her spiritual side seems to be a big thing in the first season that never comes to a head--I'd recommend checking out this [http://chirart.tumblr.com/post/25991175534/how-you-can-have-a-bunch-of-great-ideas-but-still-fuck] essay. Careful, though. It's a bit of a long one.

 

[wottabout]

I agree with pretty much everything that has been said so far. I was especially disappointed with the ending, when she got the power to restore bending. I was actually totally looking forward to seeing Korra trying to get through season two with only airbending. I was thinking that either:
a) Korra would no longer be the Avatar, and she would just be a regular bender; there could even be a jump several years into the future, where she meets and trains the new Avatar; or
b) Korra would stay the Avatar, but she would only be able to access the other elements in the Avatar state; over the course of season two, she would grow as a person and get in touch with her spiritual side, finally regaining her bending.
Also, I was kind of hoping that Lin invent the gun and be a badass non-bender. "Hey punk, I don't need my bending to kill you." Of course, that would be unlikely in a kid's show, but I can dream.

 

[StreetPizza]

Good news, folks! Avatar: The Legend of Korra (and I will never stop referring to it without the "Avatar." Sue me, James Cameron.) just got an order from Nickelodeon for 26 more episodes!

Read the news article here [http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/07/11/legend-of-korra-second-season/].

That's in addition to the 26 (12 from Book 1, another 14 slated for Book 2) we already have, for a grand total of 52 episodes! That's just nine short of the original series.

I'm happy with this arrangement, since it means more room for the characters to develop. Maybe Mako will stop being a scumbag. Maybe Korra will learn something important about herself. Maybe Lin will find a sexy old man to satisfy her sexy old lady needs.

Interestingly, the news article refers to Books 1 and 2 as "Season 1" now, and Books 3 and 4 as "Season 2," in standard Japanese 13/26-episodes-per-season anime format.

On to other issues:

I, personally, am glad that Books 3 and 4 were ordered this early, unlike Book 2, which (or so I hear) was ordered fairly late during Book 1's production, meaning Mike and Bryan had to change the ending of Book 1 from "closure" to "open for sequel." Now, maybe they won't rush the ending to Book 2 like they seem to have with Book 1.

Also, considering how many episodes there are now, do you guys think they'll be bringing back the entire writing team from the first series? Forty episodes seems like a lot for just Mike and Bryan to handle.

 

[Moderated]

Why did they make Amon a waterbender?
It made no sense at all. Why couldn't he just be an energy bender? There was nothing stopping that from being true, and how the hell can you block bending permanently with blood bending?

 

[CJMacM]

I definitely think the pacing was pretty messed up at the end. And the Korra/Mako/Asami love triangle was pretty awful and made Mako look kinda like a tool.

I also don't understand how Amon got his hands on Tenzin and his family, which was especially annoying because it made the ending of the previous episode kinda pointless. "Thanks for the sacrifice, Lin, but they still caught us somehow." (and then that was pointless, too, because she doesn't show up in the last episode until the very end and then gets her bending back.)

I still really enjoyed the show and it had some amazing moments. I just hope that the next Book spends some more time with characters then they did for this one.

Why did they make Amon a waterbender?
It made no sense at all. Why couldn't he just be an energy bender? There was nothing stopping that from being true, and how the hell can you block bending permanently with blood bending?

I'm pretty sure Amon's ability to take bending away had more to do with chakras, similar to what Ty Lee did.
And the only reason I'm alright with Amon's backstory is the scene with him and Tarrlok on the boat.

 

[Overusedname]

Personally i would have prefered it if they had waited a few more episodes (possibly a whole series) before giving Korra her bending back. That way she could have had some major character development by overcoming her fear of being "normal" and realising that there was more to her as a person than just being the avatar.

This pretty much sums up my feelings about the character development in the latter half of the series:

That picture is perfect.


I actually love Korra, but man oh man, WAY to rushed. The old series was great because of the time it took out to make each character feel important and interesting. It didn't waste a single episode, in my opinion, which is quite an accomplishment.

There may be some budget/marketing issues making the series shorter. Who knows?

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Personally i would have prefered it if they had waited a few more episodes (possibly a whole series) before giving Korra her bending back. That way she could have had some major character development by overcoming her fear of being "normal" and realising that there was more to her as a person than just being the avatar.

This pretty much sums up my feelings about the character development in the latter half of the series:

Wow, that's almost all completely inaccurate. Mako doesn't become a hated firebender douchebag, Asami never gets sidelined, and while Korra is shaken BY THE LOSS OF HER BENDING she does not become unsure or weak. Also, while Bolin is the clown of Team Korra, he's hardly -just- a clown.