| 1 | ----- |
| 2 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | !!TV Series |
| 5 | |
| 6 | [[folder:General]] |
| 7 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Has its own page.]] |
| 8 | * AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: The Nickelodeon executives were initially skeptical of the show because the main character was a [[GirlShowGhetto girl]]. However, while the shown did have its [[BrokenBase issues]], it was still considered a beloved sequel by the fans. |
| 9 | * BadassDecay: |
| 10 | ** In the original series, Katara was an ActionGirl who resented being sent to the healing huts. This time around, she never gets involved in fights and is a highly regarded healer with her combat skills never being mentioned. Some fans, especially those who watched ''Korra'' first, could not believe that the Katara in ''The Last Airbender'' was the same person in ''The Legend of Korra'' due to how different she became. |
| 11 | ** Toph also refuses to fight in battles because she doesn't care for it and is "too old;" this totally goes against her previously established love for fighting, and the age excuse comes off as flimsy when there have been many elderly fighters in the franchise before, most older than she is now. Zuko is several years older and continues to fight as he travels the world, and the Order of the White Lotus from the original series all continued to kick butt at very old ages -- Bumi was over 112 years old. Made even worse by the fact that Toph explicitly ''enjoys'' [[BloodKnight beating the crap out of]] [[spoiler: a recovering Korra]], lamenting that the [[spoiler: Swamp Benders]] can't take a punch. And then there's [[spoiler: Operation: Beifong.]] |
| 12 | ** To many fans, this also applies to bending in general, particularly in terms of lightning generation. In the original series, one had to be a master bender with considerable power and mental/emotional clarity in order to create lightning—only three benders were known to have the ability. But in ''[=LoK=]'', it's a widespread skill that your average firebender seems to be able to do. This received some heat from the fanbase, with the general complaint being "Everyone can do it, so it's not cool anymore." |
| 13 | ** The White Lotus. In the original series, they were a group of badasses who have single-handedly liberated Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation. Now, they are reduced to a RedshirtArmy whose sole purpose is to get their asses handed to them, whether it be from the Equalists or the Red Lotus. |
| 14 | ** The Avatar State, when compared to ''The Last Airbender''. Previous Avatars, including Aang, were shown harnessing what is implied to be the power of every past Avatar combined, able to achieve feats such as moving tectonic plates or creating fleet-destroying tsunami. Once she finally unlocks the Avatar State, Korra is still regularly defeated by the likes of Kuvira, Unalaq and Zaheer, all of whom are shown to be gifted benders but not generally implied to be prodigious talents, such as Toph or Azula were ''in their teens''. Arguably justified in Seasons Three and Four; with the Avatar State getting reset to zero at the end of Season Two, Korra no longer has access to any of the knowledge or power of the previous Avatars, leaving her much weaker in comparison to Aang. |
| 15 | * BaseBreakingCharacter: |
| 16 | ** Mako, during the first two seasons. He had a good number of fans, but many were soured on him by his LoveTriangle plotline, feeling it wasted time and made him into an insensitive jerk. The third season mostly managed to rescue him, by ending his romance plot and focusing on his other relationships and his status a SociallyAwkwardHero. |
| 17 | ** Korra is one of the most divisive characters: Some like her due to her take on the Avatar role of making humans and spirits coexist, but others dislike her due to finding her a "hero" who acts like a massive jerk toward everyone most of the time for no good reason, along with her rudeness, which feels like it's swept under the rug as if nothing happened afterward. Another salty point was her hero's journey; some found it fine and others felt that she simply developed her powers as the plot demanded it. |
| 18 | ** Asami. Her fans love her because of her [[NiceGirl kindness]], [[WrenchWench tech skills]], [[BadassNormal badassery without bending]], and {{Woobie}} traits, as well as that she's [[spoiler:bisexual without exhibiting any of the associated [[DepravedBisexual negative stereotypes]]]], and feel that she is complex and interesting in a more subtle way than the other main characters. Her detractors dislike her for two main reasons: Her presence in the first two seasons is largely tied up in the despised love triangle over more interesting plotlines like saving her company, feeling it made her come off as a lovestruck fool, and detractors believe that her lack of dedicated plot focus in the latter two seasons made her seem dull and uninteresting. |
| 19 | * BrokenBase: The "Westernization" of the Avatar world has been a highly divisive [[{{Pun}} element]] of the show from the very beginning. There are many fans who feel that the overall [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring 20s]] aesthetics, the massive leap forward in technology, and the GoodVsEvil cosmology introduced either clash heavily or go directly against the HighFantasy, East Asian style setting that made ''The Last Airbender'' so unique. On the other hand, many others feel that they give the show a more unique flavor that helps set it apart from its predecessor and provides ground for stories the first series could never do. |
| 20 | * ContestedSequel: Ignoring the rushed production schedules that plagued the entire series, which caused technical issues that its parent show never had to deal with, the storytelling of ''The Legend of Korra'' is regularly a topic for debate among ''Avatar'' fans. The show had a good first season (depending on whom you ask), but suffered from a second season that even many of the show's defenders dislike. The series is considered to have finally come into its own during the third season, with the second half of the series being unanimously considered better than the first half. But thanks to said first half, after the show ended, the fanbase was divided mostly in two -- those who consider it a worthy-but-flawed successor equal to its predecessor, and those who believe any redeeming qualities the latter half of the show had don't make up for earlier failings, such as the RomanticPlotTumor (or that the writing was just inferior overall). And as always, there exists a substantial subset of fans who believe ''The Legend of Korra'' to be the superior cartoon, with even the divisive first two seasons seen as fantastic in their own right. |
| 21 | * CriticalDissonance: Books 1 and 2 made the series a critical darling among professional reviewers, but there's been no shortage of fan criticism, especially towards the latter. Season 1 was mainly criticized for pacing issues, whereas Season 2 caught flack for frustrating story/characterization choices being particular points of contention, as well as seemingly {{Retcon}}ning the Avatar's backstory. That being said, Books 3 and 4 were almost universally well received by fans and critics. |
| 22 | * CrossoverShip: Korra being paired with [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Naruto]] is extremely popular thanks to the dislike of Mako or Bolin as Korra's LoveInterest, and Naruto fans' dislike of the LoveTriangle from its early chapters. |
| 23 | * DesignatedHero: The spirits. Book 2 goes in-depth on the history of the world and reveals that humanity was once confined to living in cities on the backs of lion-turtles after the spirits basically all but took over the mortal realm, and the spirits viciously hated them and would try to kill them if they so much as left ''to find food'' (and could possess their bodies and horribly mutate them). The spirits, including Raava, all talk about how HumansAreBastards and are selfish and violent, and show no regard for their well-being even if humans haven't directly done anything to them. Then in Book 4, when Korra asks the spirits to help her defend Republic City from Kuvira, they flat out refuse and don't care what happens to the city or the people living there. Characters constantly talk about how humanity needs to learn to respect the spirits and live in harmony with them, but no one ever brings attention to the problem that the ''spirits'' are the ones constantly practicing FantasticRacism towards humans even ''without'' Vaatu influencing them. |
| 24 | * FandomEnragingMisconception: Like its predecessor, you would do well to not call this show an anime. |
| 25 | * FandomRivalry: A small but enduring conflict with fans of James Cameron's ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', which is resented for monopolizing the word at the expense of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra's'' U.S. title. |
| 26 | * FriendlyFandoms: With ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. The fact that both series ended the same year plays a big role as well. |
| 27 | * GirlShowGhetto: Much attention was paid to {{avert|ed Trope}}ing this, with a creator [[http://www.npr.org/2012/04/13/150566153/airbender-creators-reclaim-their-world-in-korra interview]] noting that while Nickelodeon execs were gun shy at the prospect of Korra as a lead, a test-audience of boys "thought she was awesome." |
| 28 | * ItWasHisSled: The show's status as ''the'' first mainstream western animated series to feature an LGBT relationship and allowing shows like ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' the confidence to be so open about their own non-hetero content means a lot of people will now go into it knowing Korra and Asami hook up... which is the very last scene. |
| 29 | * JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Korra is a BaseBreakingCharacter due to how immature and temperamental [[NeverLiveItDown she was at first despite getting over it midway through Season 2]], especially compared to her predecessor Aang, in contrast to the often charismatic and well-intentioned villains. |
| 30 | * MemeticLoser: Mako will never live down the fact that he was such a bad boyfriend, his two exes decided to date each other. This, among other things like a perceived lack of character development, leads to many, many jokes about what a pathetic person he is. |
| 31 | * MemeticMutation: [[Memes/TheLegendOfKorra See the subpage.]] |
| 32 | * MemeticPersonalityChange: Mako tends to be portrayed as a {{Wangst}}y self-absorbed pretty boy [[SoBeautifulItsACurse tormented by his own beauty]], and the way it attracts girls. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181010224434/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfJ8XT1ynlg Girls with their breasts]]. [[MemeticMutation They torment him so]]. This [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap lessened somewhat]] after the first two seasons. |
| 33 | * MinorityShowGhetto: Like its predecessor, easily {{avert|ed Trope}}s this, proving extremely popular. |
| 34 | * {{Moe}}: |
| 35 | ** Opal with her big eyes, sweet demeanor, and awkward first impression toward Team Avatar (especially Bolin) makes her absolutely adorable. |
| 36 | ** Asami Sato, [[BadassNormal despite being able to fend for herself]], still tends to be perceived as this anyway due to consistently standing out as [[TheCutie one of the kindest, most caring, and most selfless people throughout the series.]] Her extremely attractive looks (and voice, courtesy of Creator/SeychelleGabriel) yet down-to-Earth personality add to this, as well as [[TheWoobie her seemingly never being able to catch a break]], between [[spoiler:her father betraying her, losing her company, Mako cheating on her and then breaking up with her, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath her father turning good and then dying right after that]], etc.]] And yet despite the amount of BeingGoodSucks she’s hit with, she never once falters from being a selfless individual. It’s no wonder the fandom grew a protective instinct over her. |
| 37 | ** Aang’s three grandchildren, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo, can be considered this as well. Jinora tends toward the more serious AdorablyPrecociousChild side of the trope, while Ikki and Meelo are more {{Keet}}. |
| 38 | * MoralEventHorizon: [[MoralEventHorizon/AvatarTheLastAirbender Has its own page.]] |
| 39 | * {{Narm}}: |
| 40 | ** One inherited from the first series -- the term ''"Bender"'' gets thrown around a lot in this franchise, and if you are familiar at all with British slang, then it becomes '''very''' narmful. It's a derogatory British term for gay men. Which is also the reason why ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' [[MarketBasedTitle was renamed]] ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in the UK. [[spoiler: Becomes a bit funny given the season four ending.]] |
| 41 | ** As an added plus, Book 1 features the Equalists decrying the Benders, with Amon often talking about "cleansing" Benders of their "impurity." This makes the Equalists sound like they're homophobes. |
| 42 | * OnceOriginalNowCommon: In regards to the show's official couple, Korra/Asami. While still rightfully hailed as a landmark in children's media for having the the main character in a LGBT romance at the end of the show, later cartoons have gone on to have much more explicit depictions of LGBT relationships, be it with the main character or otherwise. Coupled with the fact that Korra/Asami was only shown in the ''very last'' scene and was so subtle it needed WordOfGay to confirm it, to comes across as a lot less impressive in hindsight. |
| 43 | * SelfFanservice: While the show does emphasize the fact that Korra's very muscular, many fans seem to be under the impression that she has a bodybuilder physique. So much so, in fact, that the artist on ''[[ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraTurfWars Turf Wars]]'' [[http://prom-knight.tumblr.com/post/154535957888/ felt the need to make a post]] addressing complaints that Korra wasn't muscular enough, despite the artist giving her the exact same physique she had in the show. |
| 44 | ** Ironically, for a canonically busty character, Korra is frequently drawn both flatter and shorter to play up the contrast with Asami as a Butch/Femme dynamic. |
| 45 | ** During the summer of 2015, when the first preview pic of the comic was announced, [[FanNickname "MuscleSami"]] was a random fad where the normally-willowy Asami was drawn as a giant female bodybuilder dressed in her swimsuit from "The Aftermath" big enough to carry an also bodybuilder-style Korra in her arms like a baby. |
| 46 | * SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct: Janet Varney is largely known for acting in comedic roles; voicing Korra proved that her dramatic acting is nothing to sneeze at, either. |
| 47 | * TaintedByThePreview: When the series was initially announced, some were upset that it featured a TimeSkip, and thus wasn't an immediate continuation of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. |
| 48 | * TheyChangedItNowItSucks: |
| 49 | ** A number of people weren't happy that bending was taking influence from mixed MMA styles, complaining that it involved a lot of punches and kicks, although this complaint died down as the series progressed and the bending became less generic-looking. |
| 50 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: |
| 51 | ** A lot of fans were upset that the White Lotus hasn't been fleshed out enough, especially since it has a very important role in promoting peace. |
| 52 | ** Aang and the other past Avatars. Given that a major aspect of being the Avatar is the ability to communicate with your past lives, a lot of people were hoping for Korra to speak with Aang's spirit to get more insight on the time period between the two shows and what happened to Aang and his friends. However, Aang and his past lives show up for one single scene at the end of Book One, and [[spoiler: Book Two ends with Korra's connection to all of them being severed, making it impossible for any of them to ever show up again]]. |
| 53 | ** A common criticism of Asami Sato is that despite being a part of the main Krew, she doesn't receive prominent development or storylines of her own beyond Book One as Mako or Bolin do. Whatever potentially interesting subplots she ''does'' have [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot are usually relegated to the background]] while many of the qualities that would have allowed her to stand out are handled by others such as Varrick in a more proactive fashion, even though her personality, skills, and perspective would have made a nice contrast with Korra's. |
| 54 | ** Mako had some strong potential considering his history with the Triads and Lightning Bolt Zolt (who basically adopted Mako and Bolin after the boys' parents were murdered, and he personally taught Mako lightningbending). Unfortunately, with Republic City becoming OutOfFocus after season 1, and his character revolving around the RomanticPlotTumor and the aftermath, there was never an opportunity to capitalize on it. |
| 55 | ** General Iroh had a strong introduction near the end of the first season, but he makes very few appearances after that and doesn't appear at all in Season 3. His lack of screentime in the show is considered disappointing by some considering he's the grandson on a beloved ATLA character. |
| 56 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: |
| 57 | ** Fans generally agree that keeping the Fire Nation OutOfFocus in ''Korra'', after a whole [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender series]] of being the EvilEmpire, was a smart decision. Notably, none of the four main villains is a firebender[[note]]on-screen, at least; P'Li is only ever seen using combustion-bending rather than standard firebending[[/note]]. Otherwise, however, many fans argue that the OutOfFocus was so excessive it turned into a waste of potential. Korra sets foot on the Fire Nation only ''once'' during the entire series, that is at the island of the Fire Sages. Zuko is the former member of the Gaang still alive who gets the least screen time. His daughter Izumi is the new Fire Lord but talks only ''once'' to express her refusal to mobilize her armies in a preemptive attack. General Iroh II, Izumi's son, gets some screen time as leading TheCavalry on two occasions, but he isn't really fleshed out as a character. Even worse, none of them appears on screen at the same time (except a scene where Zuko and Izumi are sitting together as background characters and don't talk). It's ''implied'' that the Fire Nation reformed to a peaceful and isolationist country, or that Zuko overgrew his trauma caused by [[AbusiveParents Ozai]] and became a good father, but the series doesn't really ''show'' how exactly the CharacterDevelopment of the Fire Nation and its inhabitants went. |
| 58 | *** Incidentally, it's established that the parents of Mako and Bolin were killed by a firebender, as was Asami's mother, which caused [[spoiler:her father's hatred of benders]]. Amon tells his followers that his own family was killed by a firebender [[spoiler:as a lie to gain their support]]. These taken together makes one wonder if people from the Fire Nation are still feared and hated due to their ancestors' actions in the Hundred Year War, in much the same way than many RealLife ethnicities face prejudice and discrimination for the past or present actions of some of their members. This may have factored into Izumi's refusal to offer military aid in Book 4, perhaps out of fear of justifying her country's bad reputation. But since we're shown so little of the Fire Nation as a whole, this subject is never explored. |
| 59 | ** One interesting bit of lore that was never developed is the implication that as nations become more industrial and more distant from nature, the birth rate of benders drops. This was shown in the Original Series with the Fire Nation having the lowest ratio of benders of the Four Nations, while the deeply spiritual Air Nomads were all airbenders. This could've been a source of conflict for characters like Tenzin, the White Lotus, Unalaq, or even the Red Lotus that modernization and mechanization of the Physical World were robbing it of its connection to the Spirit World. |
| 60 | ** Some people have pointed out one idea that was underdeveloped was that Republic City is essentially the architectural equivalent of the Avatar--just as the Avatar is the Four Nations distilled into one person, the city performs the same function just on a larger scale. While there is division within the city as can be expected in any place where large groups of people live, the citizens of Republic City all chose to live there, and proudly continue to do so. Making the city a Melting Pot of cultures a proper plot point could've been used to make statements about multiculturalism and diaspora. It could've also been used to cast Korra as a kind of {{Superhero}} who must constantly protect Republic City--and what it stands for--from ever-constant calamities. |
| 61 | * UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic/TheLegendOfKorra Has its own page.]] |
| 62 | * WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This is a ''very'' violent series: MurderSuicide, ripping a spirit out of someone's eyes and throat, mercury poisoning, graphic suffocation, [[YourHeadASplode someone's head exploding]], [[HighVoltageDeath fatal electrocution]], [[AbusiveParents child abuse]], terrorism, social inequality, [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchy]], revolution, political assassination, totalitarianism, depression and '''severe''' PTSD! The show ''really'' stretches its TV-Y7 rating. |
| 63 | * WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: While the show leans heavily on WhiteAndGrayMorality as well as WellIntentionedExtremist for its villains, and more broadly its frequent use of RousseauWasRight and GoodCapitalismEvilCapitalism, the series is rather aggressively centrist in its politics, with a heavy bias towards liberal capitalism, portraying political radicalism in an unflattering light mostly by turning certain villains into StrawmanPolitical types; Amon's pseudo-communist rhetoric is ultimately portrayed as hypocrisy due to him being a bender himself; Unalaq's religious revivalism is just a ploy so he can become TheAntichrist; the Red Lotus are [[BombThrowingAnarchist Bomb-Throwing Anarchists]] who commit short-sighted terrorist acts with [[AnarchyIsChaos no further game-plan]], and Kuvira's nationalism just a cover for fascistic and revanchist tendencies. |
| 64 | * WinBackTheCrowd: ''The Legend of Korra'' is this for Nickelodeon itself as the network drew criticism after ''The Last Airbender'' ended and there were barely any other cartoons that were as good. Then ''Korra'' came along, and brought back many of the fans who had lost faith in the channel. |
| 65 | [[/folder]] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[folder:Book One: Air]] |
| 68 | * AbandonShipping: Often with a rapid turnaround time. |
| 69 | ** When a promotional [[http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/61387742.html poster]] distributed at [=ComicCon=] 2011 featured Korra with an Earthbender boy and a Firebender boy, HoYayShipping began immediately. Later, during the ''panel'' for the show, it was revealed that the boys were siblings, and everyone not into IncestYayShipping jumped ship. |
| 70 | ** When all that was known about Meelo was that there was a character with his name, people thought he might be Korra's LoveInterest. When he turned out to be a toddler, that thought died out completely. |
| 71 | ** Tenzin and Korra. They were the first two named characters and were paired up almost immediately in a MentorShip, until it was found out that Tenzin was a married man in his fifties with three kids. Not to mention Korra is the reincarnation of his father, adding a ParentalIncest vibe to the pairing. |
| 72 | ** This happened over the course to Mako and Asami. Though ironically it was because of the fandom's ever growing distaste for Mako. |
| 73 | ** And Amon/Tarrlok had a brief bit of FoeYayShipping popularity before the reveal that [[spoiler:they're brothers]] meaning that anyone who didn't like [[spoiler:shipping brother/brother incest]] jumped ship (again). |
| 74 | * AlternateAesopInterpretation: Some have argued that Amon and the Equalists make more sense as an analogue for Fascism, the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName German Nazi's]] in particular, rather than Communism. |
| 75 | -->'''u/Shahanshah[=Shami=] ''': [[https://www.reddit.com/r/legendofkorra/comments/kwbgxi/damn_korra/gj3wd72/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 Amon was a fascist, through and through: Demonizing a minority to create a common enemy to react against, maintaining a paramilitary force to exercise his will through, deification of the leader, collaborating with industry leaders, rapid development of the military-industrial complex above all else, co-opting leftist rhetoric, public acts of terror, [and] false flag attacks.]] |
| 76 | * AnticlimaxBoss: Just as the conflict between [[spoiler: Korra and Tarrlok]] breaks out into actual conflict to the point where [[spoiler: Tarrlok crosses the MoralEventHorizon, proves to be a bloodbender with superior skill to Korra, then attacks and kidnaps her, he is captured and de-bended by Amon.]] This event turns out to be foreshadowing as [[spoiler: Amon appears barely affected by Tarrlok's bloodbending. As it turns out, they've done this before.]] |
| 77 | %% |
| 78 | %% Don't add And The Fandom Rejoiced. It's supposed to only be in SugarWiki/SugarWiki, not main. |
| 79 | %% |
| 80 | * ArcFatigue: General consensus among fans is that dedicating so much time to side-story narratives - more specifically, probending and the Korra/Mako/Asami LoveTriangle - was not productive towards time management; in a 12-episode series, more time should have been spared for the main StoryArc, especially given how ''complex'' it really was, and the fact that the writers botched the LoveTriangle in particular didn't help matters (the opinion being that trying to have a self-contained romance arc in such a short time, even if they weren't sure about future seasons, was ''not'' a good idea). The irony is the [[WordOfGod Bryke were claiming that the tighter pacing helped matters as opposed to a 20-episode season]], something which a large contingent of the fanbase would beg to differ about... |
| 81 | * AssPull: |
| 82 | ** In the first season finale, Korra [[spoiler: learning energybending from Aang. While the series had been hinting at her making contact with Aang for some time, as well as showing Aang using the Avatar State to nullify the very blood-bending techniques seen by Amon, passing it onto her at the last minute with little explanation tends to ruffle a lot of feathers.]] |
| 83 | ** Korra finally picking up airbending can be viewed as one as she isn't actually able to bend it in the way she was trained and uses it more like firebending. It's also the first time that we see someone bend an element due to pure duress when before, extra stress actually effects their focus. |
| 84 | * BadassDecay: The Lieutenant. In almost all of his appearances after his first episode, he has been the victim of many [[EpicFail Epic Fails]]. |
| 85 | * BaseBreakingCharacter: |
| 86 | ** Mako, independent of the love triangle arc. Fans tend to either love him and his development as a character, or hate him and the plotlines surrounding him. There is no middle ground. |
| 87 | ** Bolin has also gotten some of this. People don't exactly dislike him, but are frustrated that he never gets to be anything but comic relief, even when the situation would naturally call for a dramatic tone (like his catching Mako and Korra kissing after going on a date with her). This was largely fixed in subsequent seasons. |
| 88 | * BrokenBase: |
| 89 | ** The LoveTriangle story arc. By extension, Asami turned into a BaseBreakingCharacter as she was the initial complication to a Mako and Korra hookup, though this calmed down as the series progressed and it became far more clear that Asami wasn't going to turn out to be a villain for no reason. This led to Mako getting the brunt of hate due to his feelings for Korra while still in a relationship with Asami. [[spoiler: For some, the said relationship did not appear to be resolved by the end of the first season, though he and Korra still confessed to each other and kissed as the happy ending. Which only made the Mako/Korra flame wars even hotter.]] |
| 90 | ** Whether/how much the Equalists' terrorism was justifiable. |
| 91 | ** The return of [[spoiler: Spirit Bending, taught to Korra in the last five minutes of the last episode. Some think it's a logical progression, others think it's an AssPull.]] |
| 92 | ** There's a pretty even split between people who liked the twist to Amon's identity, and people who think it would have been better if he'd just been exactly who he claimed to be. |
| 93 | ** Korra starting off the show having mastered every element but Air. Supporters like it because it helps separate the show from it's predecessor by not rehashing the same story and giving Korra a different obstacle to over come that Aang never had (her spirituality), while detractors point out that the Avatar's journey to master the elements is stated to be a major factor in learning how to be the peacekeeper between the four nations, [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot and that it could've shown how the wider world had changed since the Hundred Years War]] (although the later seasons do eventually get around to that to a certain extent). |
| 94 | * CargoShip: |
| 95 | ** Mako/his scarf or Mako/money. And now Mako/Fashion. |
| 96 | ** [[FanNickname Sparkly Sparkly Bush Man]] (Gommu)/his beauteous bush. |
| 97 | %% ~MODERATOR NOTICE~ |
| 98 | %% Don't add CompleteMonster here. There is a thread for identifying complete monsters https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok&page=1 and Yakone has been disapproved. |
| 99 | %% |
| 100 | * CrackPairing: |
| 101 | ** [[http://X-Arielle.deviantart.com/art/With-the-Moon-201125930 Korra/Yue the Moon Spirit]] with a separation of [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight 70 years]] and a metaphysical plane proving no obstacle to the pairing's MemeticMutation on deviantArt. |
| 102 | ** There's Howrra: Korra x Howl (Hot Order of the White Lotus Guard). Said guard gets about two seconds of screen time, but the ship still has a pretty devoted following. |
| 103 | ** A growing number of fans ship Jinora having a one-sided PrecociousCrush on Mako or Bolin. |
| 104 | ** Jinora and Skoochy are this as well as a ToyShip. |
| 105 | ** Dokorra (Korra x The Doorman from "The Revelation") is notable for having been started by Bill Rinaldi, the show's production/martial arts coordinator and the inspiration for the Doorman's design. |
| 106 | ** On Website/LiveJournal and subsequently Dreamwidth, Yakone's wife and Bumi are a CrackPairing due to some role players on the sites. It's partially sympathy for her awful canon relationship, partially fans [[EnsembleDarkhorse wanting more Bumi in everything.]] |
| 107 | %%Context?* CrazyIsCool: Bumi gets ''one'' line of dialogue and has already cemented himself as this. |
| 108 | %%-->'''Bumi''': YYYAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO! |
| 109 | %% Mako is not a Creator's Pet. See the discussion page as to why not: YMMV.TheLegendOfKorraDiscussion |
| 110 | %%ZCE* CreepyAwesome: Amon, Tarrlok, and Yakone. |
| 111 | * CriticalDissonance: Season 1 is praised by critics for its dark tone towards inequality between benders and non-benders, Korra being an assertive and fight-ready young woman to contrast Aang, and [[EvilIsCool Amon]] in particular. Fan reception is more mixed, with fans arguing on whether or not the conflict was rushed due to the small timetable of only 12 episodes, Korra being a JerkJock or a naïve JerkWithAHeartOfGold, TheReveal of Amon [[spoiler:being a bloodbender]] as either a good twist that adds to his character or a AssPull that destroyed the mysticism he otherwise had, whether or not the universally-reviled LoveTriangle [[RomanticPlotTumor sub-plot ended up taking too much time away]] from the main conflict, and most importantly whether or not the season managed to [[ToughActToFollow live up to the standards]] of the final season of ''The Last Airbender.'' |
| 112 | * CrossesTheLineTwice: Right after Bolin loses his noodles in "The Spirit of Competition", Shiro Shinobi announces an advertisement for noodles. |
| 113 | * DieForOurShip: |
| 114 | ** Poor Asami initially got hate for getting in the way of Makorra, although as mentioned below it soon reversed itself to the point that the opposite is far more common nowadays. |
| 115 | ** Pema's gotten some heat because, apparently, one is a "homewrecking whore" for being married to and having children with a person who used to date another character in the past, ''in the backstory.'' Some fans have even accused her of performing some sort of massive moral wrong ''for confessing her feelings'' even though this, and changing relationships, happens in real life frequently. This actually started for a few people with blaming her for Korra forcing a kiss on Mako, even though this was ''Korra's'' own misinterpretation of her advice, badly worded or not, and still ultimately Korra's own responsibility. |
| 116 | ** Perhaps the biggest recipient, though, is Mako for folks who ship Korra with, well, anyone else. Given the psychotic shipping wars surrounding the series, the main character's primary ([[spoiler:and victorious]]) LoveInterest was never going to have a fun time of it, but after [[NoSocialSkills his insensitivity]] regarding the horribly messy LoveTriangle between him, Korra, and Asami, he became Shipfic Enemy No.1. |
| 117 | * DracoInLeatherPants: |
| 118 | ** The protestor at the start of the series. A number of fans seemed to not understand that Korra's failed retort of "You're oppressing yourself!" was a joke at her expense, and later felt bad for him when Korra actually did attack him during Episode 3 - ignoring that he was also shilling for someone that we learn is a violent and cruel person that was also holding people hostage. And this impression stays with them ''even when the guy is later shown to be okay with this.'' |
| 119 | ** While Tahno eventually became sympathetic, the fandom already got him a pair of leather pants when he was at his {{Jerkass}} prime. And then there's Amon. When the fandom isn't RootingForTheEmpire, they're swooning over him for [[EvilSoundsDeep other reasons]]. |
| 120 | ** The fact that [[spoiler:Amon/Noatak]] had a horrible childhood does ''not'' excuse how he and by extension, [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] treated others. The fandom promptly forgot horrible stuff like the attack on the ''whole'' Republic City, [[spoiler:his depowering of Lin (that looked like an execution), him being willing to de-bend children who had done nothing wrong, his willingness to de-bend every Airbender in existence to erase airbending entirely, effectively commiting genocide like the Fire Nation of old]], and [[spoiler:Tarrlok imposing indefinite detention upon the city's non-benders]], among others, to swoon and/or cry all over them. Because [[spoiler:Amon being beautiful all along]] and having a (admittedly ''real'' bad) backstory [[SarcasmMode excuses his actions]]. And [[spoiler:Tarrlok's heroic sacrifice does help alleviate things, but it doesn't erase it all either.]] |
| 121 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: |
| 122 | ** Shiro Shinobi, the Pro-Bending announcer, for his hilariously hammy delivery and his short display of true reporting dedication in episode 6. |
| 123 | ** Jinora for being a straight up BadassBookworm in the later episodes. She's even set to become a BreakoutCharacter in Book Two. |
| 124 | ** Meelo and to a lesser extent Ikki are considered the [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments funniest characters in the show]] by their fans. |
| 125 | ** Bumi got about two seconds of screen time in the Book One finale, which he spent screaming like a madman. He's already extremely popular. Thankfully, he became a supporting character in Books 2 and 3. |
| 126 | ** Hey, General Iroh, here. |
| 127 | ** Tarrlok as well, especially after his DarkAndTroubledPast is revealed in the Book One finale. |
| 128 | ** Tahno, much like Azula, was well-received by the fanbase despite taking plenty of cheap shots. The fact that he's a pretty boy with a surprisingly deep, sexy voice helped when it came to the fangirls (and probably more than a few fanboys). |
| 129 | ** The Lieutenant gets a lot of love, surprisingly, due to being a BadassNormal. |
| 130 | * EpilepticTrees: A dark theory is that Korra at the end of the season finale [[spoiler: was planning on committing suicide by jumping off the cliff she was crying on. The evidence for this theory is based on how she didn't consider herself the Avatar after losing her bending and killing herself would restart the cycle, and how she sent Mako away so she could be alone to do the deed, and Korra summoning Aang was actually Aang responding to her suicidal thoughts. Of course, all this evidence could just as easily be attributed to Korra grieving and wanting to be alone without wanting to kill herself.]] |
| 131 | * EvilIsCool: Amon. He's voiced by Steve Blum, makes dark threats, has a scary mask, and [[http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h417/Powerfullest/AmonBOSS.gif doesn't even bat an eye when a bunch of flames come flying into the zeppelin that he and his mooks are using to escape in "And The Winner Is..."]]. Only six episodes, and he only had a major part in three of them. On top of that, [[spoiler:he de-bended Tarrlok, proving that only Amon could be the big bad around here, and Amon proved to be ''resistant'' to Tarrlok's Bloodbending.]] He certainly is the solution. |
| 132 | * FanNickname: |
| 133 | ** ''Brolin'' for Bolin. Even more appropriate now that we know about his lady-killing ways. |
| 134 | ** ''Mama!Mako'' is becoming quite popular on account of Mako's doting and protective ways. |
| 135 | ** ''Sparkly Sparkly Bush Man'' for the park-dwelling vagabond Korra meets in the first episode (after Sokka's temporary name for Combustion Man of the original series). Secondary sources later revealed his real name as Gommu. |
| 136 | ** ''Korralition'' or ''Krew'' for the new iteration of Team Avatar, as their in-universe team name, the Fire Ferrets, wasn't known to the fandom until early March 2012. |
| 137 | ** ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spider-Lin]]'' for Lin Beifong after her actions in Episode 6. |
| 138 | *** Many of the characters have earned themselves superhero themed nicknames. Lin has also been dubbed "[[ComicBook/IronMan Iron Lin]]" for the way she puts on her armor, and "[[ComicBook/WonderWoman Wonder Lin]]" both for being amazing and the fan theory that Toph created her via earthbending. General Iroh has earned the nickname "Iroh Man" after the finale, and Mako has been dubbed "Batmako" for his similarities to Batman in episode 3. |
| 139 | ** [[VideoGame/BioShock Big Daddies]] for the [[spoiler: mecha tanks]] introduced in episode 7, especially due to the diving suit inspiration. |
| 140 | ** [[TropeMobile Korramobile]] for the Satomobile the Krew rides in when hunting Equalists in Episode 8 is somewhat popular given all the ComicBook/{{Batman}} undertones. |
| 141 | ** "Honora" for Zuko's daughter (the current firelord) before WordOfGod revealed her name is Izumi. These days the nickname has been passed down to her daughter whose existence has been confirmed via WordOfGod without any elaboration. |
| 142 | *** "Zutara" was also sometimes used too. |
| 143 | ** "Iroh II" for General Iroh, as is standard procedure for {{Legacy Character}}s. |
| 144 | ** "Airbabies" for Tenzin and Pema's children. |
| 145 | ** [[spoiler:"Amonoatak"]] for [[spoiler:Amon/Noatak]]. |
| 146 | ** Amonymous for Amon, given his similar appearance to Anonymous. |
| 147 | ** "Cloudbabies" for Aang and Katara's children. |
| 148 | ** The Bloodbending Brothers for [[spoiler: Amon/Noatak and Tarrlok.]] |
| 149 | ** [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Hinata]] for Eska (back before her name was revealed), due to her resemblance towards the previously mentioned character, along with a facial expression that looks very ShrinkingViolet-ish. |
| 150 | *** Another common fan nickname for her is "Kirima." |
| 151 | *** Some called her "Mai 2.0" due to her similarities with the character from the original series. |
| 152 | *** She ''looks'' like a cross between [[Anime/LastExile Dio and Delphine.]] Down to the eye markings! |
| 153 | ** The "Innocent Spirit" for the cute dark spirit that Bumi II manages to pacify using his flute in "Darkness Falls". |
| 154 | ** [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} Jafarvatar]] or Avatar Jafar for the [[http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Unnamed_fire_Avatar unnamed Fire Avatar ]]. ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi'' reveals his name is Szeto, and he's a very well-respected figure in the Fire Nation, honored with a yearly festival due to being a BadassBureaucrat who diligently and fairly led the country out of years of famine and natural disasters. |
| 155 | ** Kai has already acquired the rather unfortunate nickname of "Shitstain", on account of him being an arrogant little twerp. |
| 156 | ** Unalaq is often referred to as "The Diabolical but Incredibly Boring and Unpopular Sorcerer From the North". |
| 157 | ** Before her name was revealed, a common nickname for Ming-Hua was "Lady Crazy-eyes". |
| 158 | *** A better nickname for her now would be, "Ms. No-Limbs. |
| 159 | ** Suyin's artistic son, Huan, has gained the moniker "Music/{{Skrillex}}" from some fans, because they share some similiarities in appearance. |
| 160 | ** Before they were revealed as the Red Lotus, Zaheer, P'Li, Ming-Hua and Ghazan were known—on this wik—as the Irregular Benders. Other names included the "[[Film/TheExpendables Exbendables]]," the "Four-Nation Army," the "Doomsday Squad," and the "anti-Team Avatar." |
| 161 | *** P'Li in particular was called either the Combustion Woman or Sparky Sparky Boom Ma'am, as a reference to the man from the first series also capable of such a power. |
| 162 | ** An [[https://i.imgur.com/yi7ZIKr.jpg unnamed, rotund Air Nomad Avatar]] has come to be known as Avatar Boof-Poof, The Last Cakebender. |
| 163 | ** Opal is known as "adoropal" given her awkward and cute nature. |
| 164 | ** Prince Wu earned the nickname Prince Wuzko for his [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kuzco-like]] mannerisms and attitude. |
| 165 | ** Lin and Mako are referred to as Momboss and Detectiveson on account of their mother/son and work relationship. |
| 166 | ** "The Thing"[[note]](a reference to Varrick's CatchPhrase "Do the thing!", but not to be confused with [[WartimeWedding his and Zhu Li's "thing" in the same episode]])[[/note]] for the last scene in the GrandFinale episode of Book Four [[HoYay and]] [[JustFriends its]] [[TeasingCreator multiple]] [[OfficialCouple interpretations]]. |
| 167 | *** A few days after its release, [[WordOfGod the creators confirmed the last interpretation was the correct one]]. |
| 168 | ** [[BadassFamily The Baefongs]] for Toph Beifong's offspring. |
| 169 | ** Satobot for Asami. More specifically, what many FanFiction writers write as Korra's AffectionateNickname for Asami. |
| 170 | ** "The Bob Squad" for [[TheHero Korra]], [[BreakoutCharacter Jinora]], and [[TheCutie Opal]] in Book 4. |
| 171 | * {{Fanon}}: |
| 172 | ** Tahno's descended from the Swamp Tribes. |
| 173 | ** The Lieutenant's name is actually Lieu/Liu Tenent/Lu Ten Nant/etc. |
| 174 | * FanPreferredCouple: Tenzin/Lin Beifong (who actually were a couple prior to the show's events) get some of this as well, just not as much as the others. |
| 175 | * FoeYayShipping: |
| 176 | ** For a man who supposedly hates the Avatar, Amon certainly has a lot of interesting interactions with her. During their first mutual meeting, he caresses Korra's face and leans in ''reaaaallll'' close, speaking to her in a low, seductive voice. He later [[spoiler:performs a VillainousRescue, saving her from Tarrlok]], and as she runs there's a [[HeldGaze long slow-mo shot of their eyes meeting]]. He also seems to consider her a WorthyOpponent, warning his men not to underestimate her and setting out to [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty capture]] her himself. Finally, in the SeasonFinale, [[spoiler:after being unmasked, he throws one last look at Korra of debatable meaning before fleeing]]. |
| 177 | ** Tarrlok frequently pesters Korra to join his organization, even sending her very expensive gifts over and over "until you give in", and compliments her appearance at a dance. [[spoiler:Then he kidnaps her, and while there is a legitimate reason given, there are certainly [[CrazyJealousGuy many]] [[StalkerWithACrush other]] [[{{Yandere}} implications]]]]. In episode 9 he makes a comment about how Korra [[spoiler: ruined his plans and how now he's going to start a new life with Korra as his hostage]]. |
| 178 | ** You could also make a case for Mako and Tahno having some of this because of that sexy wink Mako sends Tahno during their Pro-Bending match. And whether it was intentional or not, the only other person who had gotten the sexy wink from Mako before Tahno was Mako's girlfriend Asami. |
| 179 | * GeniusBonus: |
| 180 | ** In The Revelation, [[spoiler:when Amon removes the bending of the members of the Triads, he does it differently than Aang did, first touching the back of the neck and then the forehead. What's one of the chakras on the back of the neck called? The amon.]] |
| 181 | ** Korra's odd-looking method of swimming underwater? It's the fastest and most energy-efficient method of underwater propulsion possible for a human. |
| 182 | ** Hiroshi Sato was [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based on]] Henry Ford, head of the Ford Automobile Manufacturing Company. Another fun fact about Ford was that [[spoiler: he was rumored to have supported the Nazis.]] Take this into account with Hiroshi's character. |
| 183 | * HarsherInHindsight: |
| 184 | ** Hiroshi Sato saying to Mako: "So, I understand you're dirt poor." The BrutalHonesty is played for laughs at first, but "The Aftermath" reveals that [[spoiler:Sato actually does hate Mako, and not for his social status. It's especially harsh considering that Mako is a Firebender, and Sato lost his wife to a Firebender.]] |
| 185 | ** When Bolin at first thought that Tarrlok was a possible suitor for Korra, this moment was played for laughs when he at first offered to protect Korra but then went "oh, I like that better!" after realizing that Tarrlok was just an adult trying to get Korra on his task force. [[spoiler:The rape-y overtones of Tarrlok bloodbending Korra, though, indicate that perhaps Bolin really did need to teach him a lesson.]] |
| 186 | ** One of the many puns with Amon's name made is [[spoiler:"[[Music/TheLonelyIsland Amon a boat]]". Now look at his fate.]] |
| 187 | ** The "Laughing Spongebob" meme isn't so funny anymore after Nickelodeon's treatment of the show in seasons 3 and 4 in favor of other shows that included ''Spongebob Squarepants''. |
| 188 | ** There were (and are) fans who believe Asami is associated with the Equalists. Then in Episode 8, [[spoiler: Tarrlok tragically exploits her Non-Bender status (and her father's Equalist status) to accuse and arrest her.]] |
| 189 | ** Due to Episodes 8 and 9, many saw Tarrlok as worse than Amon and cheered for Amon to PayEvilUnto and take Tarrlok's bending away. [[spoiler: Then in Episode 11 we learn that the two are brothers, and that Amon/Noatok is probably the worse of the two.]] |
| 190 | ** "And the Winner Is..." premiered in Canada on Saturday, July 21, the day after the Colorado Batman shootings. Watching a place of public entertainment for the masses getting assaulted, hearing people screaming in terror, becomes much more jarring than it simply happening on a Saturday morning cartoon in light of what just happened. It also feels uncomfortable to watch just after the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. |
| 191 | ** Remember back in "The Spirit of Competition", the love story that Jinora told Korra about ended with the main character committing suicide by jumping into a volcano. Now look at "Endgame", Korra is looking out at the edge of a tundra, dangerously close to jumping and committing suicide. Granted, she doesn't go through with it, but still. |
| 192 | ** Hiroshi Sato[[spoiler:'s FantasticRacism driven by a firebender's murder of his wife is a lot more cringing when in March 2021 Sato's voice actor Creator/DanielDaeKim's [[https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/actor-daniel-dae-kim-claims-man-ran-into-his-sister-car-because-asian-082336702.html sister was hit by a car due to racism against Asians]]]]. |
| 193 | * HesJustHiding: Despite being clearly shown to be in the middle of a large explosion, some fans are still convinced [[spoiler:Amon and Tarrlok]] managed to survive. WordOfGod confirmed the death at a Comic-con panel held the same day as the finale. |
| 194 | * HilariousInHindsight: |
| 195 | ** In "Welcome to Republic City" Chief Beifong's "EyeAmWatchingYou gesture" is already funny. But instead of using her index finger and middle finger as most people do, she makes the gesture with her index finger and pinkie finger extended, and her middle fingers pressed against her palm - they same hand position Spider-Man uses to activate his web-shooters. Guess whose line-swinging acrobatics Lin goes on to emulate in "And The Winner Is..."? |
| 196 | ** The popular fan idea that the family-killing firebender is actually a waterbender ''named'' A. Firebender. [[spoiler:Now think about the reveals in the Book One finale.]] |
| 197 | ** Another fan idea was that Bolin would learn metalbending and become a cop. [[spoiler: Mako is a cop in Book 2, and Bolin joins him in ''Turf Wars''. Bolin never did learn metalbending - he picked up lavabending instead in Book 3]] |
| 198 | ** All the "Korra is Batman" jokes became a bit funnier when ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' came out and [[spoiler: the obvious similarities with the plot of Korra season 1 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZIghIuoA9w became apparent]].]] |
| 199 | ** A really minor one. In "And The Winner Is", the sponsor on the radio says that they were provided by Cabbage Corp and called them "The most trusted technological company in Republic City". Once the next episode rolls around on [[spoiler: Sato's true alignment]] and the statement is true. |
| 200 | ** When Tarrlok demonstrates bloodbending to Amon in "Out of the Past", he says he's "never faced bending like mine". Well, [[spoiler:he has; in fact, he is one of those benders!]] |
| 201 | ** Back when nothing of this show was known outside of the single piece of promotion it was given, people on this very site speculated that the series was going to go back to the time of spirit-bending and feature the first Avatar. While not exactly correct on the spirit-bending part, it was revealed in San Diego Comic-con 2013 that Book 2: Spirits will feature a secondary story following a young man named Wan, the first Avatar, whose goal is to reconcile the world of the living and the world of the spirits. |
| 202 | ** Mako's various screw ups with Korra and Asami take on a whole new light when in Book 4, the two girls generated enough LesYay to power Republic City, and [[spoiler:the show's final couple minutes make it abundantly clear that the ''only'' reason they're not explicitly stated to be lovers is the network's content restrictions.]] |
| 203 | * IKnewIt: |
| 204 | ** "The Revelation": Amon can take away people's bending. [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil Admittedly, some of the trailers hinted at this]]. |
| 205 | ** "And The Winner Is...": Lin was the third person in Tenzin and Pema's LoveTriangle. |
| 206 | ** "The Aftermath": One of the Satos is working with the Equalists. It was a long time theory. Also, mechas. Super bonus points for those who saw the blueprints way back in episode 1. |
| 207 | ** "Out Of The Past": Tarrlok is Yakone's son, and Amon has a means of protecting himself from bloodbending. |
| 208 | ** "Skeletons In The Closet": Tarrlok is Amon's brother--his younger brother. Tumblr went on fire for that one. And Amon is a bender--and a bloodbender. |
| 209 | ** In fact, pretty much every major plot point was successfully predicted. The only one that wasn't was the joke prediction that the parent-murdering firebender is a waterbending SerialKiller named A. Firebender. |
| 210 | * IncestYayShipping: |
| 211 | ** The SDCC revelation that Mako and Bolin were siblings did not dissuade some fans from shipping them. |
| 212 | ** After the finale, [[spoiler: Tarrlok and Noatak]] started getting shipped as well. |
| 213 | * ItsShortSoItSucks: The most common criticism of Book One is how short it feels. The overall story is mostly well paced, but because the show was originally just a one-season show, the writers had to setup and wrap up all the plot points in 12 episodes, causing things like Korra's Airbending to be resolved very quickly with no time to explore it further. |
| 214 | * JerkassWoobie: |
| 215 | ** Tahno. He just looks so sad and hopeless in episode seven after [[spoiler:his bending was taken away in episode six and that there is nothing anyone can do about it. It almost makes up for his douchey behavior from before.]] |
| 216 | ** [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]. Beneath his exterior of a manipulative jerk, [[spoiler:he was broken as the result of an abusive childhood, forced to bloodbend even though he didn't like inflicting pain on the animals who were on the receiving end, and witnessed his brother's start of darkness. He used to be a sweet kid.]] |
| 217 | ** [[spoiler: Amon, when you learn his start of darkness from his childhood when he went by his original name Noatak.]] |
| 218 | * LauncherOfAThousandShips: |
| 219 | ** Korra has been shipped with Mako, Bolin, Amon, Asami, Lin Beifong, Tarrlok, that one Order of the White Lotus guard at the beginning who only had ten seconds of screentime, and the ''Moon''. |
| 220 | ** General Iroh II as well both literally and in the [[http://jcords.deviantart.com/art/The-General-brought-ships-309380873 romantic sense]]. |
| 221 | ** Lin Beifong has been shipped with Tenzin, Saikhan, Pema, Tarrlok, Asami, Korra, Bolin, Mako, Bumi, and Kya. Even when we knew little about Bumi, and Kya hadn't even appeared yet. |
| 222 | ** Asami has been shipped with practically everyone. |
| 223 | * LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: |
| 224 | ** [[spoiler:Lin Beifong is depowered by Amon. That's practically screaming for a reset button of some kind. Similarly, Amon doing the same to Korra in the Book One finale. Both are fixed by the end of Book One.]] |
| 225 | ** [[spoiler:Amon catches and threatens to de-bend Tenzin and his kids. Because the airbenders are the last of their kind and because the airbending kids are, well, kids, it would have been more surprising if it actually happened.]] |
| 226 | * LoveToHate: Amon due to his mysteriousness, [[Creator/SteveBlum awesome voice]], and him being a total badass. |
| 227 | * MagnificentBastard: [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAmon Amon]], [[KnightTemplar master of the Equalists]], is one of the most skilled Benders and fighters in history. Born a Waterbender named Noatak, he later comes to see Bending as the root of evil, and adopts a mask with the name Amon. Swaying countless followers to his 'Equalists', Amon defeats avatar Korra, but [[PragmaticVillainy spares her to prevent her from being a martyr]], while initiating a series of gambits to depower Benders in public for maximum efficiency while also orchestrating a take over of Republic City. When Korra confronts him with his falsified backstory, Amon reveals he has ever used makeup to make himself appear hideously scarred in preparation for such an event. Hellbent on eradicating Bending and able to inspire countless non-benders to his side by sheer force of will, Amon showed himself as one of Korra's most dangerous and brilliant enemies. |
| 228 | * MemeticBadass: |
| 229 | ** Korra. And you've gotta [[http://memegenerator.net/Deal-With-It-Korra deal with it]]. |
| 230 | ** Shiro Shinobi has garnered this title by standing his ground during an Equalist attack, continuing to report what's going on in the exact same tone. He also used to report on bending criminals. |
| 231 | ** Lin Beifong. Like mother, like daughter. She was a fan favorite from the start. What really sealed the deal was when Amon attacked the stadium and, well, awesomeness ensued. [[spoiler:Her heroic sacrifice]] has only further fueled this and ironically has also fueled her mother's memetic badassery. |
| 232 | ** Amon. Way before the series began airing, he was already considered awesome, and the fact that he's shrugged off such major issues as lightning, explosions, and even [[spoiler:bloodbending powerful enough to cripple ''the Avatar'']] just shows how much balls he has. |
| 233 | ** Naga has proven herself to be the most capable TeamPet ever, [[TimmyInAWell frequently coming to the hero's rescue]] even when initially shoo'd away. |
| 234 | ** Iroh II, who because of his ability to partially fly with firebending has been called "[[ComicBook/IronMan Iroh Man]]" by the fanbase. |
| 235 | * MemeticBystander: |
| 236 | ** Howl (''H''ot ''O''rder of the ''W''hite ''L''otus guard) has had mere seconds of screen time and no lines, yet has gained quite the fan base. He's even been shipped with Korra. |
| 237 | ** "Mako's Only Fan," the man who tries to say hi to Mako in Episode 5 and gets ignored. "Hey, Makooo...." |
| 238 | * MemeticLoser: Due to a popular exploitable, [[BigBad Amon]] became a goofy stand-up comedian who can't make a good joke to save his life. He sometimes even ''weaponizes'' it. To some however, this also makes him a plucky {{Determinator}} for never giving up on his dream of making people laugh. Do not mix this up with [[BlackComedyRape his other fan portrayal, though]]. |
| 239 | * MemeticMolester: |
| 240 | ** Amon again. The events of "The Revelation" and "The Voice in the Night" have only emphasized the point. |
| 241 | ** Tarrlok is getting pretty popular too, what with the events at the end of "When Extremes Meet". [[spoiler: Appropriate considering they're brothers.]] |
| 242 | * MemeticPersonalityChange: Amon is depicted as a failed comedian with lame Dad Jokes aplenty. In fact, that's the ''real'' reason he wants to take away benders' abilities, so people can stop watching pro-bending and just [[AttentionWhore pay attention to his comedy act]]. |
| 243 | * MentorShip: As the first named characters, Korra and Tenzin were paired sight unseen. Though piecemeal revelations about Tenzin's age and family life caused many to [[AbandonShipping abandon]] the pairing, it still has it fans. |
| 244 | * {{Narm}}: |
| 245 | ** People's loved ones getting killed by firebenders in their backstories. The first time (Mako and Bolin's parents) was [[DramaticIrony irony]], the second time ([[UnreliableExpositor allegedly]] Amon's family) was [[FreudianExcuse tragedy]], and the ''third'' time ([[spoiler:Sato's wife]]) was [[{{Narm}} comedy]]. This gets a bit more tolerable when [[spoiler:it turns out Amon's story is a lie.]] Some fans even joked that they were all killed by the [[SerialKiller same guy]]. |
| 246 | ** Mako and Bolin's parents' death was {{Narm}} itself since it was done by a firebending mugger in the streets, right infront of eight-year old Mako. [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Now what does that remind you of?]] |
| 247 | ** [[spoiler: Amon bloodbending the wolves in his backstory ended up looking rather silly. At least until you look at their eyes.]] |
| 248 | * NarmCharm: Bolin's reaction to [[spoiler: Korra and Mako kissing]] is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious. |
| 249 | * NeverLiveItDown: Mako will ''never'' live down the love triangle. A rare example where the ''guy'' in the triangle is taking all of the heat. |
| 250 | * NotBadassEnoughForFans: |
| 251 | ** Korra has gotten heat, bashing and shaming for daring to angst and cry when she feels [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter she can't live up to]] [[TheAce Aang's awesome legacy]], and especially for crying [[spoiler: and maybe even ''considering suicide'' (for some)]] when [[spoiler: Katara couldn't restore her bending]] in the GrandFinale. |
| 252 | ** The fandom ''only'' started to lighten up in the Asami hate when she showed herself as an ActionGirl BadassNormal. And yet the moment she shows ''human'' reactions to the LoveTriangle business, some people are quick to accuse her of being "nothing but Mako's ClingyJealousGirl" (despite how she mostly ''[[DefiedTrope defies]]'' the CJG trope.) |
| 253 | * OneSceneWonder: |
| 254 | ** Bumi stands on the top of a ship and shouts: "Whoo-hoo!" It lasts approximately two seconds, but on the basis of this, he's an instant EnsembleDarkhorse. |
| 255 | ** The Cabbage Merchant 2.0 |
| 256 | ---> My Cabbage Corp.! |
| 257 | * OneTrueThreesome: |
| 258 | ** Korra/Mako/Bolin. No, the fact that the two boys are siblings didn't even slow them down. |
| 259 | ** After "The Aftermath" Mako/Korra/Asami started building steam. It even has it's own PortmanteauCoupleName: Makorrasami! |
| 260 | ** After the finale, Korra/Asami/Bolin is popular for those who want to leave Mako out. |
| 261 | ** Lin/Tenzin/Pema |
| 262 | ** Tahno/Korra/Bolin for those who can't decide if they love Borra or Tahnorra more. |
| 263 | ** Korra/Asami/Lin gained quite a bit of popularity on Tumblr. |
| 264 | ** Bolin/Asami/General Iroh, anyone? [[spoiler: Specially after the Book One finale, where the three ''do'' get to interact.]] |
| 265 | ** Tahno/Korra/Asami for people who can't decide whether Tahno or Asami is more fabulous. |
| 266 | ** Amon/Korra/Tarrlok started popping up after the finale [[spoiler: despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that Tarrlok and Amon are brothers.]] |
| 267 | * PanderingToTheBase: |
| 268 | ** Cabbage Corporation, an automobile company that was founded by [[FruitCart the fan-favorite Cabbage Merchant]] from the last series. As the owner is arrested and dragged away in one episode, he even yells "No! Not my Cabbage Corp!" much like his predecessor's "My cabbages!" whenever his cart was destroyed. They're even voiced by the same actor. |
| 269 | ** [[spoiler: General Iroh skirts this due to having Zuko's voice actor, being Zuko's grandson, and bearing the name of his great-great uncle, an extremely popular character from the previous series. However, he's actually ''far'' more important to the finale's plot progression than just the fanservicey side of it.]] |
| 270 | * ParanoiaFuel: Right before the terrorist attack in Episode 6, you see a bunch of random members of the arena's audience slowly and silently starting to reach into popcorn bags to pull out masks, bombs and/or electricity devices for the attack. |
| 271 | * PeripheryDemographic: Large and healthy. To put it in perspective, the 1-hour series premiere had a 1.01 ''million'' adults 18-49 rating out of its 4.5 million viewers, and another episode had almost 4.1 million total and a 1.13 adults 18-49 rating. One A18-49 ratings point is equal to about 1.28 million people, so "young" adults comprise about a third of the viewing audience. One interview with IGN had the creators state that they receive tons of emails of parents gleefully admitting they enjoy not only being able to watch a show with their children, but that they enjoy it themselves. |
| 272 | * PortmanteauCoupleName: It's Avatar. There are a million and one, and that's not even counting the crackships. |
| 273 | ** "Makorra" for [[UnresolvedSexualTension Mako]]/[[OppositesAttract Korra]] |
| 274 | ** "Borra" for [[LoveAtFirstSight Bolin]]/[[BirdsOfAFeather Korra]]. |
| 275 | ** "Makorralin" for the {{OT3}} Mako/Korra/Bolin. |
| 276 | ** "Linorrasami" for the {{OT3}} Lin Beifong/Korra/Asami |
| 277 | ** "Makorrasamilin" for the [[OT3 OT4]] of Mako/Korra/Bolin/Asami. |
| 278 | ** "Tahnorrasami" for the {{OT3}} Tahno/Korra/Asami |
| 279 | ** "Amorra" for [[FoeYayShipping Amon/Korra]]. |
| 280 | ** "Bosami" for [[PairTheSpares Bolin/Asami]]. |
| 281 | ** "Masami" for [[SickeninglySweethearts Mako/Asami]]. |
| 282 | ** "Korrasami" for [[LesYay Korra/Asami]]. |
| 283 | ** "Makorrasami" for the {{OT3}} Mako/Korra/Asami |
| 284 | ** "Pemzin" for [[HappilyMarried Pema/Tenzin]]. |
| 285 | ** "Korralin" or "Linorra" for [[LesYay Chief Beifong]]/[[FoeYayShipping Korra]]. |
| 286 | ** "Yorra" for [[CrackPairing Yue]]/[[LesYay Korra]] |
| 287 | ** "Tah(n)orra" for [[FoeYayShipping Tahno/Korra]] |
| 288 | ** "Amolin" for [[FoeYayShipping Amon]]/[[CrackPairing Bolin]] |
| 289 | ** "Korlok" for Korra/[[SleazyPolitician Tarrlok]] |
| 290 | ** "Howrra" for [[OCStandIn Howl]][[note]]'''H'''ot '''O'''rder of the '''W'''hite '''L'''otus guy[[/note]]/Korra |
| 291 | ** "Jinoochy" for [[ToyShip Jinora/Skoochy]] |
| 292 | ** "Skookki" for [[ToyShip Ikki/Skoochy]] |
| 293 | ** "Brocest" or "Makolin" or "Boko" for [[IncestYayShipping Mako/Bolin]] |
| 294 | ** "Linzin" or "Ten(z)lin" for [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Lin Beifong/Tenzin]] |
| 295 | ** "Amonant" or "Lieumon" for [[HoYay Amon/Lieutenant]] |
| 296 | ** "Tahko" for [[HoYay Tahno/Mako]] |
| 297 | ** "Bohno" for [[HoYay Tahno/Bolin]] |
| 298 | ** "Tahnok" for [[HoYay Tahno]]/[[SleazyPolitician Tarrlok]] |
| 299 | ** "Linlin" for [[MayDecemberRomance Lin]]/[[CrackPairing Bolin]]. Or, alternatively, [[{{Pun}} Bolin]] |
| 300 | ** "Irorra" or "Korroh" for [[CrackPairing Iroh]]/[[MayDecemberRomance Korra]] |
| 301 | ** "Irosami" for [[CrackPairing Asami/Iroh]] |
| 302 | ** "Boroh", "Irolin" or "Broh" for [[MayDecemberRomance Iroh]]/[[HoYay Bolin]] |
| 303 | ** "Honumi" for [[FanNickname Honora]][[note]]Zuko's daughter Izumi[[/note]]/[[SpinOffspring Bumi]] |
| 304 | ** "Tahmon" for [[FoeYayShipping Tahno/Amon]] |
| 305 | ** "Mashion" for [[CargoShip Mako/Fashion]] |
| 306 | ** "Eskabo" for Eska/Bolin |
| 307 | ** "Eskami" for Eska/Asami |
| 308 | ** "Makoperator" for Mako/a switchboard operator in the GrandFinale[[note]]although this one has WEIRD implications if you've watched ''Marble Hornets''[[/note]] |
| 309 | ** The creators themselves trolled the fanbase via [[http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/22481267398/you-guys-have-the-shipping-names-all-wrong-its Tumblr]] by suggesting the couple names were wrong, and it should instead be Koko, Kolin, and Mami for the first core couples. |
| 310 | * PreemptiveShipping: When early images of the show were released, the two guys shown (Mako and Bolin) alongside the titular protagonist were shipped for a while before it was revealed in further pre-release material that they were brothers which caused that to quickly fade away forever. |
| 311 | * RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: |
| 312 | ** For those who hated on Asami for creating conflict in the Makorra triangle, Asami's character growth in "The Aftermath" and in the finale skyrocketed her popularity. |
| 313 | ** The finale had a lot of fans pull a 180 on [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]. He went from one of the most despised characters in the show to a [[TheWoobie Woobie]] [[spoiler:once we learned his back-story. Taking Amon out in a tragic and shockingly dark murder-suicide only helped.]] |
| 314 | %%Stop adding RomanticPlotTumor. The romance subplots are not overtaking the main plot simply for existing. That trope requires that the romance becomes the show's main plot, which has NOT happened.%% |
| 315 | * RonTheDeathEater: |
| 316 | ** Or, more appropriately, "Asami the Equalist". Some fans kept this up even when episode 7 of the only 12-episode Equalists story arc proves the exact opposite and the final episode of Book 1 only reaffirmed this [[spoiler: as she openly defied the wishes of her father, who ''was'' an Equalist, to join him and attacked him instead. In the final episode, she beat the crap out of him and destroyed significant portions of his army.]]. She was even a popular suspect for Amon's identity for a while, though this was largely cleared up after events of "Out of the Past" made it impossible by showing them in two separate places. |
| 317 | ** Poor Pema just can't catch a break, what with "stealing" Tenzin from Lin. According to the fandom, she's an Equalist spy ''solely'' for this; never mind the fact that her '''own children''' are airbenders, and nothing suggests that she's such a monster. Some people have gone as far as saying she ''hates her children'', just because she expressed a desire of having a non-bender like her. |
| 318 | ** Mako, who according to some of the more extreme fan perceptions isn't just a cheating cheater who cheats with whatever girl crosses his field of vision, but is also a budding abusive boyfriend. |
| 319 | ** Even Korra is constantly demonized as a [[JerkJock sickeningly arrogant]], [[AlphaBitch unreasonable]], [[FetishizedAbuser and unfaithful man-stealer]]. |
| 320 | * RootingForTheEmpire: Some fans support [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Equalists]] stripping all [[ElementalPowers benders]] of their abilities as the only way to put [[TallPoppySyndrome all people on a level playing field]] and end the oppression of non-benders, even if the benders themselves don't consent to the procedure (related material like nick.com's [[http://www.nick.com/quizzes/legend-of-korra/korra-trivia-quiz.html Are You A Bender or an Equalist? quiz]] actively {{exploit|ed Trope}}s the phenomenon). Debates on whether or not bending is an intrinsic part of a person and the show's civilization/culture, and if what the Equalists are attempting is a fantastical form of mutilation or not, can get quite heated. |
| 321 | * ShipMates: |
| 322 | ** Some supporters of Korra/Mako also pair Bolin/Asami and vice versa. And those who ship Korra/Bolin are likely to ship Mako/Asami. If two of these four characters are being shipped together, then chances are the other two form a second pairing as well. |
| 323 | ** Bolin/Korra and Asami/Iroh II have become shipmates for people who want to keep Mako out of the pairings all together. |
| 324 | ** Fans who ship Korra/Tahno also usually keep Mako with Asami, and Bolin usually just keeps his status as TheCharmer. |
| 325 | * ShipToShipCombat: |
| 326 | ** Some Zutara shippers resumed where the previous series left off well in advance of airing, with new conflicts actually ''touched off'' by the ShipSinking above. After Nick.com revealed that Zuko is still alive, old!Zutara shipping was reinvigorated. |
| 327 | ** Mako/Korra and Bolin/Korra factions rapidly developed and began tearing into each other despite the lack of ''character descriptions.'' All the fandom needs are names and faces to launch a thousand battleships. And for worse, lots of shippers for both factions fall on creepy implications about either of the brothers "deserving" Korra's affections for this or that reason. |
| 328 | ** Mako/Korra found a new rival in Tahno/Korra, despite the fact that at the time Tahno had only spoken three words: "Go for it." That was all it took for some shippers to go crazy. |
| 329 | ** And of course, canon had to start in on it by introducing Asami and allowing Mako to have a relationship with her that got complicated. The level of combat is best illustrated by a fan of [[http://bill-rinaldi.tumblr.com/post/25449651028/heyyou3333-shipping-is-starting-to-scare-me-i Bill Rinaldi's tumblr.]] |
| 330 | ** After Episode 6, [[HappilyMarried Tenzin/Pema]] found a new rival in [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Tenzin/Lin]] |
| 331 | * ShipsThatPassInTheNight: |
| 332 | ** There's a surprising amount of [[ToyShip Jinora/Skoochy]] fic. One is Tenzin's CuteBookworm airbender daughter and the other's a street rat who trades information for money, and naturally they've never met; they just happen to be the only introduced characters in their age group. |
| 333 | ** Two lines into his character, before he even ''met'' any of the other major characters, General Iroh II/'insert character here' ships started picking up steam, and ''quickly''. |
| 334 | * ShockingMoments: Practically every episode since Episode 6. Episode 6 ended with a ''terrorist attack'', Episode 7 ended with the reveal of the platinum MiniMecha and the outing of [[spoiler:Hiroshi Sato]] as an Equalist, Episode 8 ended with the reveal of [[spoiler:bloodbending still in the series, and Tarrlok being able to bloodbend]]; Episode 9 ended with [[spoiler:Tarrlok getting his bloodbending removed]], but Episode 10 really takes the cake. It involved Equalists attacking the city, attacking Air Temple Island, [[spoiler:Lin Beifong getting her bending removed after saving Tenzin's family and taking down an airship by herself]], and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, [[spoiler:General ''Iroh'' II]] shows up at the end of the episode. [[SerialEscalation Just how much better could it get?]]. [[spoiler: Tarrlok's murder-suicide is the icing on the cake]] in the final episode. |
| 335 | * SignatureScene: Several. Korra's introductory scene in "A Leaf In The Wind", Amon's [[spoiler:terrorist attack on the pro-bending arena]] in "And The Winner Is...", the first appearance of the [[spoiler:''[=BioShock=]''-esque mechas]] in "The Aftermath", Amon's various de-bending scenes throughout the series, but none more so in "The Revelation" and [[spoiler:his de-bending attempt on Tenzin and his family as well as Lin's de-bending]] in "Out Of The Past, and [[spoiler:Amon and Tarrlok's suicide bombing]] in "Endgame". |
| 336 | * SpecialEffectsFailure: |
| 337 | ** In "Turning the Tides" the Mech suits move slowly and awkwardly. A stark contrast from their other appearances. |
| 338 | ** "The Aftermath" has a scene during the race where if you look closely, the CG models for the characters look atrociously OffModel (Asami especially) and the opposing driver isn't even touching the steering wheel. The fact the sequence is otherwise well-done makes it all the more jarring. |
| 339 | * StrangledByTheRedString: Mako and Korra's promotion to OfficialCouple in the Book 1 finale. Rabid shipping aside, the {{Love Triangle}}s between Mako, Korra, Bolin, and Asami felt rushed and underdeveloped to some, with complications resulting from and reasons for their attraction glossed over, told instead of shown, or quickly buried. The ambiguity of whether Mako and Asami broke up during Book One and whether or not Bolin was over Korra didn't help matters. |
| 340 | * TakeThatScrappy: Mike, Bryan, and even David Faustino himself spend a lot of time in the DVD commentary mentioning how they're aware that people hate Mako. |
| 341 | -->'''David F:''' And I play the [[SarcasmMode universally loved]] Mako. \ |
| 342 | '''*Everyone bursts out laughing*'''\ |
| 343 | '''Mike:''' Loved by ALL ages, genders, races... |
| 344 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: |
| 345 | ** The Equalists' key argument hinges on the supposed mistreatment of non-benders by benders but little of it is actually shown aside from offhand mentions of Mako and Asami's parents being killed by firebenders, making their stance an InformedAttribute. |
| 346 | ** One that could have carried over into the second season is the idea of Korra having only airbending unlocked at the end of Book One, which could have lead to her own Avatar journey in the second season, traveling to find ways to unlock or relearn her lost bending. Instead, her issue is resolved [[DeusExMachina very conveniently]] at the end of the season. |
| 347 | ** The main conflict of the setting is the hatred and mistrust between Benders and non-Benders, yet nobody even notices that a famous Bender (Fire Ferret Mako) and famous non-Bender (Asami, Hiroshi Sato's daughter) are dating -- nobody warns them it's dangerous, nobody calls them traitors, no Equalists express disgust, nobody even acts like it's rare or unusual despite the constant animosity between their respective groups. |
| 348 | ** There are fans who felt Suki should've been the Chief of Police in the flashbacks in which Aang confronts Yakone as they felt it made more sense for her than for Toph due to her being the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and would've been a good opportunity for the character instead of being unmentioned in the entire series outside her appearance in the mural from the first episode. |
| 349 | * ToughActToFollow: Book One was a massive ratings success, mostly well-received by fans and received critical acclaim. It's largely agreed that Book Two failed to live up to it's predecessor in a lot of ways, but Book Three actually managed to surpass it. |
| 350 | * UglyCute: |
| 351 | ** Meelo. A direct quote from SDCC: "Strangely though, the more ugly he was the cuter he became." In fact, Meelo was originally going to be a good-looking cute kid, but the team fell in love with Ryu Ki-Hyun's uglier designs. |
| 352 | ** Toddler Korra with her sagging beer belly hanging out over her pants may count for some. |
| 353 | * ViewerGenderConfusion: Many fans were surprised to learn that the Council page (the person that delivered all those gifts from Tarrlok and [[spoiler: outed Tarrlok as a bloodbender]]) is actually a man. |
| 354 | * WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Amon's political agenda (There are people with special abilities who control society, using their powers to abuse and oppress those who don't have them, so this ability should be removed from the world) lends itself well to a whole host of issues, and class warfare in particular. Maybe it's about Capitalism, or Ethnic Minorities, or Apartheid, or Civil Rights, or Disarmament ('Gun Control'). Or maybe it's just a SpaceWhaleAesop. |
| 355 | %% |
| 356 | %% Please see discussion before adding WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids. It probably doesn't mean what you think it means. |
| 357 | %% |
| 358 | * TheWoobie: |
| 359 | ** '''Bolin'''. He lost his parents when he was six, and had to live on streets with Mako. In the series proper, he gets kidnapped and nearly loses his bending powers while trying to help his brother with earning money, gets electrocuted during his rescue, and can't sleep well for a week afterwards. Then, in episode 5, he gets emotionally crushed by two of the people closest to him, after which, in the course of a single match, he gets hit in the stomach hard enough to make him vomit, gets (unintentionally) fire-blasted in the back by his brother before getting knocked out of the ring, and finally gets a pretty nasty injury to the shoulder before getting knocked out of the ring again. To top it off Nickelodeon's website reveals that he has an inferiority complex in regards to his brother Mako -- and it's justified in-series with Mako getting so much more serious screentime and attention with the ladies. |
| 360 | ** Asami Sato: |
| 361 | *** [[spoiler:Seriously, it ''has'' to suck to find out that your dad was working with Amon this whole time. Made even worse by Asami's adamant defense of her father throughout the episode. Plus, Hiroshi is the only family she has left. The poor lady collapses into Mako's arms in the final scene. Then, she finds out her boyfriend may have a crush on Korra, whom she ''does'' care for a lot and considers a great girl. Then she finds out about the kiss. Then when she confronts him about it, he's so not good with people that he can't even be honest with her without blaming his brother for telling her, and later his "tunnel vision" is in action as well as his (somewhat understandable) care for Korra means that he's neglecting her emotionally. In the series finale, she even has to confront her father again as he is so blinded with rage that he tries to kill her. Oh, and Mako confesses his true feelings for Korra while Asami is off-screen, so who knows how she'll be by next series.]] On the upside, if the Book One finale is anything to go by, [[IronWoobie Asami tends to respond to emotional stress with lightning fists]], so she's not really in danger of the emotional collapse most Woobies experience. |
| 362 | *** IronWoobie: Asami's mother was killed by a Firebender when she was young, [[spoiler:she discovered her father was an Equalist after spending a whole day defending him, has to turn on her father because she wanted to do the right thing]] and has to leave the comfortable life she has always known, she finds out that Korra has a crush on her boyfriend and he might reciprocate, [[spoiler:she gets arrested because of her father,]] then has to see her well-intentioned-but-utterly-bad-with-people boyfriend go crazy trying to find Korra and neglect her; and when she confronts Mako about [[spoiler: him responding to Korra's forceful kiss while Asami and him were dating]], he doesn't really face her. Then, [[spoiler:after having to fight her own father and help save the day]], she and Mako are through. And despite all of this, she never lashes out or blames anyone except Mako (and when she does, she does NOT go the ClingyJealousGirl route and [[BrutalHonesty makes genuinely good points]]), and still remains friends with everyone. |
| 363 | *** Adding onto this, according to the creator's comments from The Making of LOK, Asami was slowly realizing that she and Mako just wouldn't work out, even if she never said anything about it. They made her realistically react to a relationship falling apart, right down to the internal thoughts humans have when this happens to us... and she gets flak for it, in addition to everything else. |
| 364 | ** The policemen that [[spoiler: were debended by Amon]]. |
| 365 | ** Really, anyone who gets [[{{Depower}} debended]] by Amon: [[spoiler: Tarrlok, Tahno and Lin in particular]], but every bender shown who comes out powerless appears absolutely ''[[DespairEventHorizon devastated]]'' at the loss. These people grew up with these natural abilities that have been part of them their entire lives...[[FridgeHorror Amon isn't just taking away their powers, he's taking away part of their identity.]] |
| 366 | ** Korra herself slides into major Woobie territory on several occasions, notably at the end of episode 4, near all of episodes 8 and 9, and [[spoiler: the finale when she temporarily loses all her bending save for airbending.]] It's ''really'' hard to watch her break down. |
| 367 | [[/folder]] |
| 368 | |
| 369 | [[folder:Book Two: Spirits]] |
| 370 | * AbandonShipping: |
| 371 | ** While people were able to brush off Eska's treatment of Bolin in the premiere as an IceQueen meeting an adorkable guy, by the third episode a lot of people started seeing major abusive undertones in the ship and started jumping overboard. It helps that Bolin is canonically looking for a way to break up with her without getting frozen solid. |
| 372 | ** [[spoiler:Makorra was sunk by this season's plotlines. The fact that they broke up TWICE and Mako and Asami started getting close again didn't help. And that's before we get into the normal BaseBreakingCharacter that Mako still is.]] |
| 373 | * AccidentalInnuendo: Wan says to Raava: "When you pass through me, I feel an incredible rush of power!" |
| 374 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Raava repeatedly claims that neither she nor Vaatu can truly destroy the other, and [[BalanceOfGoodAndEvil that even if one dies they will eventually reincarnate to begin the cycle anew]]. Yet Vaatu just as often claims he will destroy her "forever" and that their battle will be the final one. Is it just [[CardCarryingVillain Vaatu's]] [[{{Pride}} arrogance]] talking, or is there a way for one to permanently kill the other? Their previous battles where one was presumably destroyed are only ever mentioned and not actually shown, nor is it ever made clear if Vaatu has won a previous cycle and killed Raava [[spoiler:discounting the finale where she's almost immediately revived after being killed by Vaatu thanks to Korra channeling "[[AssPull the energy of the universe.]]"]] |
| 375 | * AssPull: |
| 376 | ** Jinora showing up [[spoiler: to save Korra with never before seen (or since mentioned) abilities right when Unavaatu was about to corrupt Korra, came entirely out of left field.]] Even Bryan Konietzko admitted that it was an AssPull. |
| 377 | ** The final AssPull is actually preceded by two earlier Ass Pulls in the same episode. First, the tree that held [[spoiler:Vaatu]] captive is revealed to be [[spoiler:the Tree of Time, a magical plant which connects the Spirit World and the physical world, and inside which Korra can connect with the energy of the universe]]. Prior to that, there was no implication that tree had any special significance beyond being [[spoiler:Vaatu's]] prison. Then, immediately after that, it's revealed that even though [[spoiler:Raava was killed by Vaatu, and Korra is now a normal human]], meditating inside the tree allows Korra to [[spoiler:use her inner power and connect with the energy of the universe to become a giant spirit capable of challenging Vaatu]]. |
| 378 | * BaseBreakingCharacter: |
| 379 | ** Avatar Wan. One group of the fanbase like him as the two episodes he's featured in are considered to be among the best the series has to offer, and find his characterization as a GuileHero likeable. The other group consider him to be a DesignatedHero whose actions caused the suffering of others, both intentionally and unintentionally. Furthermore, detractors also saw that his existence and origins contradict the lore established in the original series. |
| 380 | ** Eska. Some like that she's a DeadpanSnarker voiced by Creator/AubreyPlaza and find her [[{{Yandere}} toxic relationship]] with Bolin to be [[BlackComedy funny]]. However, others dislike and even find it uncomfortable that [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale her abuse of Bolin is played for laughs]] and find her EmotionlessGirl shtick (along with her brother Desna) to be boring. |
| 381 | ** Vaatu. While most agree that he's better than the other half of the BigBadDuumvirate, [[TheScrappy Unalaq]], fans are still divided on whether or not he actually makes for a good villain. Fans cite his [[EvilIsCool cool appearance and voice]], as well as being an ''actual'' EldritchAbomination instead of a human as a main antagonist as being in his favor, while detractors think of him as a [[FlatCharacter boring, one-dimensional]] SatanicArchetype who possesses none of the sympathetic or interesting traits that made previous Avatar villains so compelling, and find his appearance resembling a giant dark kite to be [[{{Narm}} too ridiculous to take seriously]]. |
| 382 | * BetterOnDVD: The season is easier to enjoy when you can watch multiple episodes at once and don't have to deal with months of more Triangle shenanigans and character development. |
| 383 | * BrokenBase: |
| 384 | ** Whether or not Eska and Bolin's relationship is being played for laughs, shouldn't be played for laughs, ''should'' be played for laughs, is abusive on Eska's side, is bad, is good, etc. |
| 385 | ** Studio Pierrot's animation. When fans noticed that the switch to Studio Pierrot meant a drastic change in the nature of the animation, fans were split over their opinions of the new animators: some welcomed the change, citing the SceneryPorn, lack of glaring CGI (Pierrot were a lot better at [[TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects blending hand-drawn animation and CGI]]) and the noticeably better flow in many of the fight scenes - but many more noted that the characters looked stiff and unnatural, moved very little but their mouths during conversation, and were frequently OffModel. However, it must be noted that all of the arguments about better animation essentially stopped after Mir returned for the later episodes. |
| 386 | ** ''Beginnings''. Either considered to be the series' best episodes that expands on the lore of the Avatar world that is combined with beautiful animation, or the start of Book Two's SeasonalRot that contradicts the lore, particularly the origin of bending and the Avatar, that had already been established in the original series and essentially retcons it entirely. Opinions are particularly split towards ''Beginnings''[='=] revelation of the Avatar Spirit as Raava, [[GodOfGood great spirit of light and peace]]. Some detractors feel that this revelation was a [[Film/ThePhantomMenace midi-chlorians]]-esque unnecessary reveal that removed the mystique of the Avatar. Others felt that it was a good piece of word building that expanded on the mythos in a unique way. A third part felt felt it was a needless explanation, but didn't really care either way. |
| 387 | ** The restarting of the Avatar Cycle. Some see it as a meaningful and thematically appropriate consequence of the events of the season and a great way to ratchet up the stakes without killing anyone off, while others see it as the writers stripping away one of the main things that made the Avatar special, and robbing future Avatars of their ability to contact their past lives for guidance. Unsurprisingly, this tends to go hand-in-hand with the above BrokenBase and wether or not the person liked the new lore surrounding the origins of the Avatar Cycle. |
| 388 | ** The revelation Aang [[ParentsAsPeople was a flawed father]] who [[ParentalFavoritism gave more attention to Tenzin]] to the point where Bumi and Kya are still hung up about it in adulthood. One side argues it makes sense Aang would be this way given he is TheLastOfHisKind so him favoring Tenzin is a believable flaw for him to have developed and is a good way to humanize him and remind the audience that even the great Avatar Aang wasn't a perfect being even after the end of the show. Another side found this very OutOfCharacter for Aang given that he was often depicted in the original show as a FriendToAllChildren who is often wanting to include everyone, also noting that the fact Bumi and Kya are still bitter about this ''in their fifties'' accidentally makes Aang look worse than intended and thus see it as character assassination that only exists to create cheap drama. A third group does not mind the idea of Aang being a flawed father prone to favoritism, but also feels the show could have executed it better. |
| 389 | *** While the focus of this broken base is primarily on Aang, many have also come to notice that this family situation unintentionally brings Katara's role into question and casts her skills as a mother in a poor light. This is especially true since she was the Team Mom whose skills were vital in maintaining the group dynamic whenever they were led astray. Yet, the series suddenly expects us to believe that she witnessed her husband neglecting two of their children and she just stood by and did absolutely nothing to stop it. Which just makes the entire storyline and family situation an even harder pill to swallow. |
| 390 | * CommonKnowledge: |
| 391 | ** Raava and Vaatu have been criticised for being God and Satan analogues in Avatar world. However, while Vaatu’s personality does fit Satanic Archetype, their roles and functions are completely different from traditional depictions of God and Satan. Most notably, they are equal in power and it is specifically stated that neither of them can be destroyed because they form a cosmic balance. Raava is never even hinted to be the creator of Avatar world, with her notably referring to Lion Turtle as “Ancient One”. If anything, they function more as [[{{UsefulNotes/Zoroastrianism}} Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu]] analogues. |
| 392 | ** Korra severed The Avatar's connection to their past lives. In reality, that was done by Vaatu and Unalaq. Korra never wanted to restart the Avatar Cycle, but she was forced to do so after losing a fight. Vaatu and Unalaq destroyed Raava, breaking the cycle of reincarnation and Korra was forced to start it anew after resurrecting Raava. Vaatu and Unalaq are the reason that future Avatars won't be able to contact any Avatar past Korra, while Korra is the reason that future Avatars will exist at all. |
| 393 | %% Unalaq has been approved by the CompleteMonster thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok. Please do not change or remove without discussing it there. |
| 394 | %% |
| 395 | * CompleteMonster: [[AmbitionIsEvil Unalaq]], [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAvatarKorra Korra]]'s EvilUncle, framed [[CainAndAbel his brother Tonraq]] for angering vicious spirits to force his exile. Also having attempted to kidnap Korra when she was a child, Unalaq later assists the returned Dark Spirits, using them to take control of the Water Tribe and trigger a war while disposing of any who oppose him. Threatening to destroy Jinora's soul to force Korra to open the spirit portal, Unalaq attempts to kill Korra once she does so anyways. Assaulting the Southern Water Tribe, Unalaq beats down Tonraq, [[CruelMercy leaving him alive to rub in his victory]]. Unalaq summons the spirit of darkness, Vaatu, to fuse with him and become the Dark Avatar, attacking Republic City to kill any who can stop him and force all of humanity through ten thousand years of darkness under his draconian rule. |
| 396 | %%%% Unalaq has been approved by the CompleteMonster thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok. Please do not change or remove without discussing it there. |
| 397 | %% |
| 398 | * CrackPairing: |
| 399 | ** A human and a spirit getting rather too friendly seems to spawn this an awful lot. |
| 400 | ** Waava (Wan/Raava) - the fact that their story plays an awful lot like a romance facilitates this, what with their initial BelligerentSexualTension, Raava coming across as {{Tsundere}} at times, and the final pronouncement that Wan and Raava will be together forever. Also, they [[UnusualEuphemism fuse]] a lot. |
| 401 | ** Unalaq/Wan Shi Tong. Following "A New Spiritual Age", fans joked that the slightly bird-like appearance of Eska and Desna, plus Wan Shi Tong's insistence that Unalaq is a friend to the spirits, made the identity of the twins' mother self-evident. |
| 402 | ** Unavaatu: Actually the name of the two once they fused with one another, but the obvious joke ([[DontExplainTheJoke that it sounds like a]] PortmanteauCoupleName) was too good an opportunity to miss. Also, [[http://i.imgur.com/LrvAdeO.png the way Unalaq looks at Vaatu...]] |
| 403 | * DesignatedVillain: |
| 404 | ** While they aren’t exactly nice, the Chous are presented as oppressors when they punish Wan for trying to steal their food (although it's implied that they're hoarding more than they actually need to put a leash on the populace). |
| 405 | ** Humanity in general during the Era of Raava. The spirits moved in on their turf (essentially an alien invasion), forcibly separated all of mankind and drove them to live on the backs of the lion turtles, and then killed and mutated them with capricious spite whenever they had to go into the Spirit Wilds to try and find food. How are they not justified in their anger? |
| 406 | ** President Raiko is given this treatment due to rejecting Korra’s and Iroh’s plan to launch an unauthorized attack on the Northern Water Tribe forces which would drag New Republic City into the conflict and massively escalate the war into the largest conflict since the 100 year war. While his stance of neutrality isn’t perfect, it’s hard not to see his point of not wanting to commit his forces to a conflict that his nation is either divided or apathetic towards. |
| 407 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: |
| 408 | ** The Carrot Spirit received a lot of love for his unique character design. Bryan Konietzko has even [[http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/65152482472/the-carrot-spirit-and-his-little-tea-serving posted pictures of himself on his Tumblr]] dressed as the spirit for Hallowe'en! |
| 409 | ** A dark spirit that Bumi pacifies with flute music has become rather popular with fans due to being utterly adorable. |
| 410 | ** Despite being a misanthropic {{Jerkass}}, Aye Aye Spirit is popular with fans for being a very funny character. Him naming Wan "Stinky" is considered one of the funniest moments in the series. |
| 411 | ** Varrick's assistant Zhu-Li is also rather popular with the fandom mainly for the fact she takes all of Varrick's craziness without even batting an eye. |
| 412 | * EvilIsCool: |
| 413 | ** [[spoiler: Varrick, surprisingly. The reveal that he was a villain ended up adding to the appeal of his character because of how diabolically intelligent it made him.]] |
| 414 | ** [[GreaterScopeVillain Vaatu]], one half of the BigBadDuumvirate, is an EldritchAbomination SmugSuper with a booming, [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]-esque voice and an interesting VillainousLegacy; the other half is… [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Unalaq]]. Who do you '''''think''''' the fandom prefers? (Book 4's "Remembrances" even mocks the contrast.) |
| 415 | * GrowingTheBeard: The ''Beginnings'' episodes are this for Book 2. Providing some brilliant ExpandedUniverse material, a brilliant new character in Avatar Wan, and setting up the Harmonic Convergence story arc (to say nothing of [[AnimationBump the return to Studio Mir and the especially stylised animation]]) meant that these episodes became by far the most warmly received episode of the entire franchise. The subsequent raising of the story's stakes, combined with some CharacterDevelopment for Korra, also silenced many of the complaints. |
| 416 | * HarsherInHindsight: |
| 417 | ** Bolin's comment in episode 3 that Korra had better watch out for "heart-breaker" Mako seems harsh [[spoiler:when they break up in episode 5]]. |
| 418 | ** Bolin giving Ginger an unscripted kiss during the Nuktuk scenes - against her will, mind you - became a lot harder to watch in late 2017, when the entertainment industry was rocked by a wave of sexual abuse and assault allegations. |
| 419 | ** The reveal that early humanity only survived the spirit invasion of the mortal realm due to being allowed to build cities on the backs of lion turtles makes the fact that humanity hunted lion turtles into near-extinction a ''lot'' harsher than it already was, making humanity one hell of a bunch of [[UngratefulBastard Ungrateful Bastards]]. |
| 420 | * HilariousInHindsight: |
| 421 | ** The festival shown in the first episode of season two used to be a day for fasting and meditation. This episode premiered on the eve of Yom Kippur. |
| 422 | ** A convergence involving portals and alignment of worlds was also the plot of ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', which premiered during the middle of the book. |
| 423 | ** Possibly overlapping with HarsherInHindsight. A good deal of Bolin's storyline has him trying to stop a plot by [[spoiler:Varrick]], the CorruptCorporateExecutive of the season. Not long after, Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet comes out, with P.J. Byrne (Bolin) featuring as Rugrat, who works for the sleazy protagonist. |
| 424 | ** Creator/JKSimmons would later voice [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls The Author]], who also directly opposes the [[GreaterScopeVillain true antagonist]] of his series and helps play a pivotal role in his defeat. He would later also voice [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3 Kai]], who is the antithesis of Tenzin: an evil master whose initial primary goal is to enter the ''mortal'', not spirit realm after years of trying. |
| 425 | ** The episode ''Rebel Spirit'' sounds an awful lot like ''Literature/{{Rebel Genius|es}},'' a novel that Michael Dante [=DiMartino=] would write after ''Legend of Korra.'' |
| 426 | * IKnewIt: |
| 427 | ** Combined with HilariousInHindsight is that ''Avatar''/''Naruto'' crossover fics were common due do the fact that the designs weren't horribly dissimilar. Cue Studio Pierrot, Naruto's animation studio, animating for Book 2 of ''Korra''. |
| 428 | ** "Civil Wars: Part 2": Did anyone tell you that Uncle Unalaq is evil? [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic No? Because they didn't have to!]] Yet, that was only the tip of the iceberg. |
| 429 | ** "The Sting": Many people were not the least bit surprised that Varrick turned out to be a CorruptCorporateExecutive who staged the attacks on his own vessels so he could buy out Future Industries. |
| 430 | ** "Harmonic Convergence": Unalaq reveals his master plan, to become the Dark Avatar by merging with Vaatu like Wan did with Raava. Lots of people saw that coming a mile off, but most dismissed it because it was so ridiculous. Joke's on them, eh? The giant battle between Korra and Unalaq was also unexpected. |
| 431 | * InformedWrongness: |
| 432 | ** In "Beginnings" the narrative tries to present HumansAreTheRealMonsters when, after leaving their settlements on the lion turtles, they began systematically attacking any spirit they come across. The problem is that it disregards the fact that humanity was only confined to the lion turtles when the spirits took over the world and isolated them there. Plus, as Jaya pointed out, the spirits have been doing the exact same thing to the humans and worse for centuries, so they can’t exactly claim the moral high ground or act surprised when the humans fight back. |
| 433 | ** Despite the FantasticRacism repeatedly displayed by the spirits, whenever maintaining balance is brought up, it's always the ''humans'' that need to respect the spirits. The spirits are never shown to respect the humans. |
| 434 | ** There is also the fact that Wan was stopping humans from hunting for food and when the hunters were angry with this and chased him, Wan lead the party to their deaths or mutilations in the process. If he hadn't left to explore the world, the people of Wan's former lion turtle city might have eventually starved. |
| 435 | * LoveToHate: Many fans noted that as much of a scumbag as he turned out to be, [[spoiler: Varrick]] was just too damned [[LaughablyEvil likeable]] and [[CrazyIsCool fun]] to really hate. |
| 436 | * MagnificentBastard: |
| 437 | ** Iknik Blackstone Varrick is a member of the Southern Water Tribe who built a multinational shipping corporation from a local delivery service in a single canoe. He becomes a business partner to [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAsamiSato Asami Sato]] and [[MegaCorp Future Industries]], then hires criminal gangs to sabotage their operations and drive Future Industries into bankruptcy so he can buy a controlling share of the company at a bargain price. He also heighten tensions in the brewing Water Tribe CivilWar and tries to get the United Republic involved, intending to use his control of the technology market to become a war profiteer. When his efforts to convince Republic President Raiko to enter the war fail, he begins making propaganda films to sway public opinion and arranges [[FalseFlagOperation to have crooks posing as Water Tribe members abduct Raiko]]. Through it all he evades detection by seemingly being [[ObfuscatingStupidity too silly and friendly to be an evil schemer]], and is only caught by sheer bad luck — [[CrazyPrepared but he even planned for this eventuality by having a prison he built include a luxury cell especially for him]]. Charismatic, kooky, sly, manipulative, and running multiple schemes for power at once, Varrick became a enemy of Team Avatar while they each considered him to be a helpful friend. |
| 438 | ** [[HyperCompetentSidekick Zhu Li Moon]] is Varrick's assistant, adept at anticipating his needs without being asked. Zhu Li readily helps Varrick in his plans to steal Future Industries and kidnap President Raiko before joining him in prison. Sometime after helping Varrick escape prison and moving to Zaofu, Zhu Li helps him develop a weapon using Spirit Vine energy. After a failed escape attempt, Zhu Li [[FakeDefector pretends]] to join Kuvira's side, even helping capture Suyin and her family, before sabotaging the Spirit canon twice. After being found out by Kuvira, Zhu Li later helps defeat her before becoming the President of Republic City. Always ready to "Do the thing" and being able to trick Kuvira herself for a while, Zhu Li repeatedly shows why Varrick never goes anywhere without her. |
| 439 | * MisBlamed: A large number of fans choose to blame [[spoiler:Korra for losing the previous incarnations of the Avatar, as opposed to Unalaq, the one who did the act. Reasoning often boils down to InsaneTrollLogic, such as suggesting Korra's incompetence was the reason, when in actuality she put up a good fight and was pretty evenly matched against Unalaq.]] |
| 440 | * {{Narm}}: |
| 441 | ** Korra's face at the end of "Harmonic Convergence". Meant to be utter horror at [[spoiler:Vaatu's escape]], but [[OffModel the gaping mouth and eyes that point in just slightly different directions]] are a bit difficult to take seriously. |
| 442 | ** In the same episode, Vaatu laughing. While Jonathan Adams otherwise provided an excellent performance, that laughter couldn't possibly be any more forced, almost to the level of [[Film/TheGarbagePailKidsMovie that other laughter]]. The fact that it happens imediately before Korra's face makes one wonder if the universe conspired to make that scene silly. |
| 443 | ** To finish it off, Vaatu bursting out of the tree and hammily proclaiming his freedom "at last after 10,000 years!" is...rather reminiscent of [[Franchise/PowerRangers Rita Repulsa]] after emerging from her Dumpster prison. |
| 444 | ** Unalaq's constant flip-flopping over whether he needs Korra to open the northern spirit portal. It's almost like we're watching a war in the writers' room over which way the story should go. |
| 445 | * NeverLiveItDown: Look up any video that detail the history of past Avatars. At least one in every ten comment would bemoan the fact that the next Avatar would only have Korra as a guide and/or Korra got the connections to her past lives destroyed with her losing the initial battle with Dark Avatar Unalaq. |
| 446 | * NightmareRetardant: Some people had a hard time to call Vaatu scary since his design reminds them of a giant kite with tentacles. |
| 447 | * NoYay: At the beginning of the season, Bolin and Asami started spending more time together, which made a lot of the audience worry that it would turn into a PairTheSpares relationship. Thankfully, the writers agreed that they should just remain friends, and Bolin even snapped at Varrick during season 4's recap episode for trying to sexualize their relationship. |
| 448 | -->'''Bolin:''' I wasn't singing, you weren't levitating, and Asami is just a friend, thank you very much. |
| 449 | * OneSceneWonder: [[spoiler:Zhao]] and the friendly "Innocent Spirit" that dances to Bumi's flute music. |
| 450 | * OneTrueThreesome: Eska/Bolin/Desna; it helps that Bolin already has a sizable amount of {{Yaoi}} fan-fics and that Desna is almost indistinguishable from Eska. |
| 451 | * RootingForTheEmpire: |
| 452 | ** The Northern Water Tribes got less of this than many other villains, perhaps mainly because of Unalaq's rushed development into a [[CardCarryingVillain Card-Carrying]] OmnicidalManiac. There are some who like them, however, either for Unalaq [[ManipulativeBastard the way he was]] in the first few episodes or just because their army had some of the [[BadassLongcoat coolest uniforms]] in ''Korra''. And some people also thought [[CoDragons Desna and Eska]] were cool (or just [[ComedicSociopathy funny]]) and wanted them to win. |
| 453 | ** There's also [[spoiler: the self-serving industrialist, Varrick]], who many people liked better than the main evils Unalaq and Vaatu. [[spoiler:Fans found him to be a far more interesting villain because of how he executes a complex EvilPlan with such skill and craft, that he became such a {{Chessmaster}} who didn't need to be a god or have power to accomplish his goals, just his own intellect and cunning]]. |
| 454 | * RonTheDeathEater: |
| 455 | ** Korra gets a lot of flack from people this season. While some of it is justified at the start, Korra gets vilified a lot more than is strictly necessary in two major ways. |
| 456 | *** Firstly a lot of detractors for Korra often point to her {{Jerkass}} tendencies at the beginning of the series and use this to say that she is an unpleasant person who never evolves as a character. This ignores the fact that in the second half of the season Korra recognizes her flaws and becomes far kinder to her friends and allies again. Plus, implying that Korra is a jerk that never changes throughout the rest of the series is blatantly untrue considering the character growth she undergoes in Books 3 and 4. |
| 457 | *** Some people seem to think that Korra willingly [[spoiler:reset the Avatar Cycle, or was responsible in some way, making her the reason why past lives, including the beloved Aang, are now lost forever.]] This ignores the fact that it was [[spoiler:Unalaq]] who beat Korra while she was in the Avatar State, and subsequently [[spoiler:killed Raava thus severing the links with the past Avatar's.]]. Korra was not only the first victim of this tragedy, but was the one to [[spoiler:resurrect Raava]], saving all future Avatars. |
| 458 | ** Aang gets a lot of this in regards to his parenting. One can understand being upset with how he showed ParentalFavoritism towards Tenzin to the point of leaving Bumi and Kya feeling neglected, but some exaggerate it by depicting Aang as an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] whose favoritism is on par with ''Ozai'' from the parent show. |
| 459 | * RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Korra herself after "Beginnings", where she loses her HairTriggerTemper and ArrogantKungFuGuy tendencies. |
| 460 | * TheScrappy: In a series filled to the brim with [[EvilIsCool cool]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned]], charismatic and interesting [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] (many of whom get the [[DracoInLeatherPants leather pants treatment]]), Book 2's [[EvilUncle Unalaq]] has the dubious honor of being the most straightforward, dull, TakeOverTheWorld villain in the series. He lacks many of the [[EvilVirtues complex traits]] that make [[TragicBigot Amon]], [[EnlightenedAntagonist Zaheer]] and [[FallenHero Kuvira]] so interesting or any of the menace or power that made [[RankScalesWithAsskicking Fire Lord Ozai]] and [[MagnificentBastard Princess Azula]] from the previous series such severe and intimidating threats. The show tried to paint him as a WellIntentionedExtremist but dropped the ball severely to the point that it came off as an InformedAttribute, which mostly stems from the fact that his motive makes no sense considering what he does or that his entire endgame goes completely against it, and that was the only trait that could've remotely given Unalaq some depth. He wound up being [[OvershadowedByAwesome totally overshadowed]] by his boss Vaatu, who didn't have a lot of depth either but [[JustifiedTrope had good reason for it]] (he's the spirit of darkness and chaos, making him the closest thing to a GodOfEvil that this verse has) and was at least [[EvilIsCool cool enough]] to make up for it, unlike Unalaq. [[CreatorsPest Even the creators don't seem to like him]]; the RecapEpisode in season four spends an inordinate amount of time [[TakeThatScrappy mercilessly mocking Unalaq and calling him "incredibly boring and uninteresting" that the other villains don't even want to invite him in their plan to defeat Bolin.]] |
| 461 | * ShipToShipCombat: Asami/Bolin vs. Eska/Bolin. |
| 462 | * ShipsThatPassInTheNight: Since he was introduced at the Book Two preview at SDCC, Varrick has already started to be paired with Bolin, solely on the grounds that it was revealed that they had some sort of relationship. We didn't even know what his personality is yet, beyond that he's kind of a playboy. This all changes in the later seasons, where Varrick is still shipped with Bolin but has become a fan favorite. |
| 463 | * ShockingMoments: The last four episodes. Such highlights include... |
| 464 | ** Bolin stopping a plot against President Raiko by Varrick, putting his arc to a close and putting Bolin through some needed CharacterDevelopment. |
| 465 | ** Team Avatar being reunited and taking on Unalaq all by themselves. |
| 466 | ** More visits to the Spirit World and cameo appearances by past characters, including Iroh, Zhao, and Aang, while Tenzin goes through some CharacterDevelopment as well. |
| 467 | ** [[spoiler:Unalaq successfully releasing Vaatu from his prison and fusing with him to become a Dark Avatar, and then managing to rip apart Raava and destroy the spirit of every past Avatar. Vaatu is the greatest out of every enemy in both series, and his release heralded the end of the world!]] |
| 468 | ** [[spoiler:Unavaatu then growing to giant size then began laying waste to Republic City, until an equally sized Korra powered by the energy of the universe puts a stop to him with the help of Jinora's spirit to power her up.]] |
| 469 | ** In a more meta example, this hit the fandom all the harder since all four final episodes aired in the same night, with first two parter airing as normal on November 15th, 2013, while enough attention and demand allowed Nickelodeon to put up the last two episodes up on its website by the end of the night. |
| 470 | * SophomoreSlump: Due to ExecutiveMeddling, Season 2 is easily the least regarded season, with common complaints being the dull villain, unfocused plotting, the continuation of the [[RomanticPlotTumor Korra/Mako/Asami]] LoveTriangle, and even subpar animation thanks to largely being done by a different studio than the other seasons. Even Toph eventually calls it "nonsense." Though it should be said that of any season this one alone has produced the most fan favorite characters, and Beginnings part 1 and 2 is often considered to be the best episodes of the entire franchise. Others, however, consider Beginnings part 1 and 2 to be the turning point for season 2. Many fans disliked how Beginnings essentially [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] the mythos of the original series, and that the conflict between Raava and Vaatu quickly sidelined the potentially more interesting Civil War storyline with fan favourites like Varrick being taken out of the plot. |
| 471 | * SpiritualAdaptation: With the similar spiritual cosmology, the dynamic at play with humans and spirits, the often EldritchAbomination like portrayals of spiritual denizens and the spirit world itself, the harmonic convergence, certain villanous elements of both Unalaq and Varrik, and the big final battle, Book 2 comes off as being a fairly decent toned down and kid accessible version of certain arcs of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' |
| 472 | * StrawmanHasAPoint: In "Beginnings", when they meet up again Jaya tells Wan that he and his fellow villagers attack any spirit they see just as the spirits attack any human they meet, yet he is presented as bring in the wrong. |
| 473 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: |
| 474 | ** Katara is nowhere to be found as her home devolves into civil war, and she doesn't even get to say anything about the parenting issues that Tenzin and his siblings argue about. Some fans even suspect Mike and Bryan forgot she was still alive, hence Book 4 going a bit out of its way to explain at least the first issue. |
| 475 | ** Eska and Desna are Korra's cousins, Tonraq's niece and nephew and Unalaq's children, but their familial ties to Korra and Tonraq are inconsequential and the ones they have with Unalaq seems to exist primarily to explain why his top henchmen would be so loyal and unquestioning. Eska's obsession with Bolin is also handled very strangely and ultimately has no consequences for either of them. |
| 476 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: |
| 477 | ** There is very little to no exploration of any consequences the Equalist Rebellion might had on Republic City. This lack of examination is especially noteworthy because, while Amon himself might have been a sham, the movement as a whole ''did'' [[VillainHasAPoint have some vaild points about benders unfairly stacking society in their favor through their powers]]. |
| 478 | ** Unalaq mentoring Korra in the spiritual ways and spiritbending. It has been pointed out since Book 1 on how Korra lacks spirituality, and Unalaq's mentorship could contribute to Korra's CharacterDevelopment. Unfortunately, most of it was never shown and Korra learns spiritbending ''offscreen'' and Unalaq is revealed to be EvilAllAlong. |
| 479 | ** The Civil War plot, initially the center of the plot for the season's first half, becomes sidelined in favour of the conflict between Raava and Vaatu which some fans found to be a less compelling storyline. To make matters worse, [[spoiler:once Unavaatu was defeated, the civil war becomes resolved offscreen with North and South becoming allies again as if nothing happened.]] |
| 480 | ** In Wan Shi Tong's library, Jinora is shown reading a book [[spoiler: with a image of the Tree of Time. In hindsight it looks like that was to set up Jinora giving Korra the information about the Tree of Time, but it got dropped along the way when putting the last episodes together. This would have avoided the AssPull of Tenzin suddenly knowing about the Tree, since Wan Shi Tong's library would contain that sort of lost knowledge. ]] |
| 481 | ** The very concept of a [[spoiler:Dark Avatar]] sounds ''awesome'', who wouldn't want to see a fight like that? Unfortunately it doesn't work out the way you think: [[spoiler:Unalaq doesn't gain the other three elements upon fusing with Vaatu, so instead of a showdown between two benders of all four elements, we just get Korra facing a superpowered waterbender. Korra's spirit bending also handily destroys Unalaq's soul completely, removing any potential for future drama about a Dark Avatar cycle to potentially be a thorn in Korra or her sucessors side and do the concept more justice.]] |
| 482 | ** The storyline about Asami trying to save her company from insolvency had a lot of potential, but her screentime is largely subsumed by her involvement in the love triangle with Mako and Korra, forcing it and most of her agency into the background. |
| 483 | ** Mako's detective subplot also had a lot of opportunities to flesh out his character, especially given his past as a former triad. Secondly, [[DaChief Lin]], [[ThoseTwoGuys Lu and Gang]] could've had [[JerkAssHasAPoint valid]] reasons to be skeptical of a rookie, especially a former triad, aspiring to be a detective instead of the former holding the IdiotBall and the latter being [[HateSink trolls]]. |
| 484 | ** Some fans were left disappointed that other spirits like Yue (in her Moon Spirit form), the Painted Lady and Koh the Face Stealer didn't appear in the season as they could've worked well in this story focusing on spirits. |
| 485 | ** Korra still didn't fully recover her memory until the finale and all we learn that she still couldn't remember was her breakup with Mako...and nothing else. |
| 486 | * UnexpectedCharacter: |
| 487 | ** Oh, yes. Prior to his appearance, there were ''zero'' hints that the now over-a-hundred years old Iroh would show up. Both times after that, he just arbitrarily shows up to offer helpful advice, even lampshading it the third time. |
| 488 | ** The appearance of long-dead Zhao comes completely out of nowhere in the season 2 finale and lasts only a few seconds. |
| 489 | * UnintentionallySympathetic: The hunters in ''Beginnings'', two of whom were implied to have been [[NeverFoundTheBody killed]] and the third suffering [[BodyHorror mutilation]] at the hands of the Aye-Aye spirit. While they attacked Wan for stopping them from capturing the catdeer, it did not warrant the gruesome fates they had suffered since they were merely trying to find food to feed their city. |
| 490 | * TheUntwist: Many fans called Unalaq being a villain directly after the season premiere, though they were also relieved that it at least only took a couple more episodes to get to the reveal, rather than the whole season (though there were also plenty of folks who think the show ''still'' wasted too much time on it and doing so made Korra look like an idiot). |
| 491 | * TheWoobie: |
| 492 | ** This was not a good season for our heroine. Korra found out her Uncle was an [[CompleteMonster evil little bugger]] that only wanted her dad gone, had to leave her hometown behind during an occupation by a far more powerful force, been refused help at every turn, broken up with her boyfriend over him informing his superiors of an attempt to undermine them, and had to find a way to stop the [[EldritchAbomination Dark Spirits]] from flooding into the physical world and causing [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt a total imbalance.]] On top of that, due to both outside manipulation and growing frustration with her circumstances, she was also irritable and more likely to snap at people that could have helped her through it. |
| 493 | ** Asami Sato once again suffers very much, having her company bankrupt, having her supposed business partner screw her over, trying to rekindle her relationship with Mako only for him to end up in jail and for Korra being amensiac about their break up... |
| 494 | ** Wan himself, who started off in mistreated poverty, tried to do right for everyone, only to get kicked off into the [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Spirit Wilds]], where he suffers from hunger and lack of sleep (albeit [[BlackComedy hilariously]]). After he manages to win the spirits over and travels the world, he once again tries to treat everyone equally and fairly, only to free an abomination of darkness into the world and get verbally abused by [[FantasticRacism Raava]]. He then gets to see and feel the entire world collapse because of his mistake, and even after he locks away Vaatu, he never finds rest, being compelled to act as the force of harmony and peace for the rest of his days. He dies in the middle of a battle, weary, torn down and losing his faith in humanity. Overall, he only managed to enjoy a good and peaceful life for ''two years''. |
| 495 | ** Raava herself, too. Imagine having to be worried across ''your entire life'' that an abomination will emerge from your chest and kill everyone. Her two appearances weren't also very kind to her: first being burned by Wan's firebending, then diminishing in size and power because her counterpart got more powerful - all the while developing [[PlatonicLifePartners bromantic]] feelings and appreciation for the very man that caused that - then fusing with that man and saving the world, only to see him lose hope in humanity and eventually die, then being a silent voice to all of his reincarnations for the next 10,000 years, none of which are aware of their past life's bond with her, and then being violently ripped off from Korra and beaten into oblivion by a [[CompleteMonster deranged psychopath]], [[spoiler:resulting in Wan's [[DeaderThanDead absolute death]]]]. Probably the one [[EldritchAbomination lovecraftian horror]] that truly deserves a hug. |
| 496 | [[/folder]] |
| 497 | |
| 498 | [[folder:Book Three: Change]] |
| 499 | * AccidentalAesop: The Red Lotus proves that imprisoning criminals, no matter how dangerous they are, in inhumane conditions in the name of security is a very bad idea. Not only is it morally wrong, but said criminals are likely to become even more radicalized, and if and when they manage to break out, they'll be extremely unwilling to surrender. And in Ghazan's case, they may be more likely to commit suicide then be re-imprisoned. |
| 500 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Toph's decision to cover up the crimes of her daughter. Doing that and explaining that she can't have a daughter in jail as the chief of police could be implied as way to protect her, because Toph can be expected to have put away many dangerous criminals and sending Suyin to jail would mean that she would encounter those criminals and they would punish Suyin for the deeds of her mother. |
| 501 | * AwardSnub: Though Book 3 was the most acclaimed season by fans and critics, and though it did win many awards, this is the general reaction to the fact that not a single episode from the book won an Emmy. |
| 502 | * BaseBreakingCharacter: |
| 503 | ** Suyin Beifong: |
| 504 | *** A complex character, who's successfully made amends for the mistakes of her past, or a SmugSnake KarmaHoudini criminal who was far too EasilyForgiven? On top of that - was the whole sibling rivalry between her and Lin and their eventual reconciliation in ''Old Wounds'' actually good for Lin's character development, or just pointless filler vilifying and degrading Lin in order to build up Suyin and drive home an obnoxious moral? Adding to this is her contribution to the now recurring theme of the Gaang making mistakes in their parenting. [[spoiler:Then the fact that Lin couldn't even hit Suyin during their fight just pissed some fans off even more - granted Lin was weakened but some felt that she should have managed at least one hit. And also that, apparently, the only 'noteworthy' thing she does in their fight is to get up over and over again, despite how often Suyin hits her. Either way Lin doing so poorly did not endear Suyin to fans.]] |
| 505 | *** Plot revelations in Book 3's second half have split the fanbase on Suyin even further. Much like Asami in Book 1, there's big debate about whether she's secretly a villain, or at least tied to the Red Lotus. [[spoiler: And also like Asami, she's completely with the good guys.]] |
| 506 | ** Kai. While he was unlikable from the get-go, some feel that he's redeemed himself, others think that he's just favored by the writers. Similarly, some think his influence on Jinora is helpful, beckoning her to take charge and be proud of her accomplishments, while others think that he's pushing her into being a BrattyTeenageDaughter to the overworked Tenzin. |
| 507 | * BrokenBase: |
| 508 | ** Much like how it did after the reveal that Aang played favorites with his kids, even if accidentally, the fandom has exploded in argument after it was said that Toph had two daughters from two different men, both unknown even to Su and Lin. Some have become angry calling Toph a horrible role model for kids, a ''[[SlutShaming slut]]'' and even accuse the writers of trying to ruin everything good about the old series. Others don't really care and are quick to point out that the details of Toph's relationships are unknown. Others still are happy with the revelation, since it's not often that half-siblings appear in western animation, and some even calling it empowering. And let's not even get started on whether she was a good mother or not. |
| 509 | ** Do Zaheer's actual motivations makes him the complex, morally grey antagonist that Bryke has been meaning to use for the series, or does he follow in Unalaq's and Amon's footsteps, as being a childishly simplistic bad guy? [[labelnote:Note]]Although, it's worth to note that debates in the fanbase about Amon's moral ambiguity still continue even after his death.[[/labelnote]] However, as of "The Ultimatum", he and his group have definitely become divisive. After enjoying almost an entire season of praise for being complex villains, parts of the fanbase plunged the Red Lotus into the HateSink corner [[spoiler:after threatening genocide on the Northern Air Temple and beating the crap out of Tenzin ''[[CombatPragmatist unfairly]]'']]. The finale seems to leave it at a midway point: [[spoiler: they're definitely bad guys in how they go about their goal, but their goal is still reasonable from a certain point of view, they have some lines they don't cross (though they go back on the trade and try to kill Tenzin with the rest of Team Avatar, they keep the remaining airbenders alive even though it serves no further purpose, which ends up being Zaheer's downfall), and they retain humanizing qualities to the very end. And Zaheer in particular was not seeking any real power for himself- changing the world for everyone really WAS his desire.]] |
| 510 | ** The resurgence of Airbenders as a result of the Harmonic Convergence. A cool and interesting curveball that completely changes the status quo of of the world after everyone accepted it would take generations to rebuild the Air Nomads? A ridiculous AssPull that erases the scars left by the Hundred Year War and discredits all the effort Aang and Tenzin have put into preserving their people's culture and history? Or a bit of both, being a nonsensical plot device that nonetheless allows for the story of the Air Nomads/Air Nation to take new and unexpected turns? Even now fans remain divided on the matter. |
| 511 | * {{Creepy Awesome}}: [[BombThrowingAnarchists The Red Lotus quartet]]. |
| 512 | * DracoInLeatherPants: Zaheer's gang, but Ghazan especially. The White Lotus actually got demonized by portions of the fandom for having the gall to keep the violent and dangerous -- but damn sexy -- criminals locked up. |
| 513 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: |
| 514 | ** Ghazan and Ming-Hua, two of the Red Lotus members. The former is popular for his [[AffablyEvil likeable and funny personality]] despite being a bad guy, and having what is considered by many to be one of the coolest forms of bending in the franchise. The latter is also popular for being a HandicappedBadass DarkActionGirl. |
| 515 | ** [[TheCutie Opal]] is very popular. Her pleasant design, kind attitude, and her surprisingly powerful BeYourSelf conversations to Bolin made her very well liked by fans. |
| 516 | * EpilepticTrees: Kuvira (the Metalbender that saved Tonraq and introduced herself afterword) is theorized to be a ChekhovsGunman (with the common theory being that she's TheMole for the Red Lotus). This is based upon her random introduction late in the season, and the fact that it would seem odd that they called Zelda Williams in for only a few lines. [[spoiler:Turns out the ChekhovsGunman theory is right, as she succeeds Zaheer as BigBad come Book 4, but she's not a mole.]] |
| 517 | * EvilIsCool: Zaheer, Ghazan, Ming-Hua, and P'Li instantly got popularity surpassing Amon's thanks to their being introduced making [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1 Tai Lung-esque]] prison breaks. Zaheer in particular gets attention for being an evil airbender, a first for the series. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in-universe during their first encounter with the Krew: |
| 518 | -->'''Bolin:''' That guy's lava-bending! That's awesome... (notices everyone looking at him)... ly bad for us. |
| 519 | * FandomRivalry: Korra "lost" to ''Series/EveryWitchWay'' when it got yanked from the schedule and banished to online while ''Every Witch'', which is more representative of the typical Nick demographic, is still airing on TV. For similar reasons, a number of fans are now upset with ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarePants'' for being AdoredByTheNetwork years after its heyday whereas ''Korra'' is getting ScrewedByTheNetwork. Not helped at all by the last televised Korra episode being immediately followed by a ''Spongebob'' rerun. Still more fans are liable to bite your head off if you ask them their opinion about any other animated show on Nick (special mention going to ''WesternAnimation/SanjayAndCraig'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Breadwinners}}'' who they will say isn't "real" animated entertainment, and even TMNT isn't exempt from this) while fans of said animated shows just think they're butthurt crybabies. |
| 520 | * FanFicFuel: |
| 521 | ** The surge of new airbenders in the world means that people can make OriginalCharacter airbenders during a time when [[ThereIsAnother there are only 1-4 airbenders in canon.]] |
| 522 | ** The revelation of an evil secret society with an undisclosed number of unrevealed members. |
| 523 | ** The Red Lotus's original plans, as stated by Zaheer in "The Stakeout", raises the possibility of creating an alternate universe where they were [[spoiler: successful in kidnapping Korra and training her as their own.]] |
| 524 | ** How Ming-Hua lost her arms. (Canonically, she was born like that.) |
| 525 | * GrowingTheBeard: General opinion amongst fans is that Book 3 is a ''massive'' improvement over the previous two Books, which were highly divisive. Not just that, but several fans consider Book 3 to be the best book/season among both series. |
| 526 | * HarsherInHindsight: |
| 527 | ** Meelo's comments in the first two episodes [[spoiler: bout wanting the new airbenders to be his army and bow to him]] becomes less funny after the end of the third episode, where the Dai Li are kidnapping the new airbenders in order to force them to serve as the Earth Queen's new airbender army. |
| 528 | ** When Mako originally doesn't plan to join Team Avatar in rebuilding the Air Nation, Bolin attempts to convince him to come along by suggesting the possibility they may meet their long-lost grandmother, who would be so heartbroken by Mako's absence that she would weep big grandma tears [[BlackComedy and then die]]. [[spoiler:In episode three, they ''do'' meet their long-lost family, including their grandmother, who is heartbroken when she discovers Mako and Bolin's parents are dead.]] |
| 529 | ** The riots and the descent into chaos in Ba Sing Se became more jarring to watch after almost two weeks of violent clashes between heavily armed local police and protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, when Michael Brown was killed by police in August 2014. |
| 530 | ** The presence of both Henry Rollins and Zelda Williams (daughter of Robin) in the season was quite uncomfortable when the week of the finale saw Rollins write an editorial where he viciously attacks suicide, calling anyone who does it worthless in his eyes. |
| 531 | ** Frequent comparisons between Book 3 and ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', after the finale revealed that [[spoiler: Korra, much like Batman in said film, is heavily traumatised, depressed, and disabled after her last battle.]] Incidentally, LOK also shares this similarity with ''Film/IronMan3''. |
| 532 | * HeartwarmingInHindsight: The season opens with Asami and Korra shooting the breeze while the former is giving the latter a driving lesson, and [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments yelling at her to use the clutch]] as Korra stalls. They tease each other about what happened with Mako, with Korra admitting it's nice to have a "girl friend". It's one of the few times Korra doesn't have to be the Avatar and can be comfortable around someone who sees her as a friend and not a paragon or threat. [[spoiler:The series proper ends with Korra and Asami realizing they have feelings for each other, and they decide to take a proper vacation into the spirit world]]. |
| 533 | * HesJustHiding: |
| 534 | ** Unlike [[spoiler: P'Li, who is explicitly killed and stated to be dead, Ghazan and Ming-Hua's demise was vague enough to ask questions. However, WordOfGod confirms that both of them are in fact dead.]] |
| 535 | ** Also [[spoiler:Toph, who the fans believe is still out wandering the earth for enlightenment, since there is nobody to say otherwise in-universe. She is indeed still out there, as Book 4 reveals.]] |
| 536 | * HilariousInHindsight: |
| 537 | ** It was commonly predicted that Book Three would air in June. Come early June, four episodes from Nick's Mexican affiliate were leaked, and in what may or may not be a coincidence, Nick quickly threw out a preview trailer then announced a June 27 airdate a little more than a week after that. |
| 538 | ** Season one had a StreetUrchin by the name of Skoochy who was often [[ToyShip shipped]] with Jinora, though the two [[CrackPairing never]] [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight met]]. Come season three and now Jinora is getting actual ShipTease with a new StreetUrchin. |
| 539 | ** In the original show, Toph once suggested doing acupuncture on Aang to relieve his stress about facing the Firelord. Her own daughter ends up getting it done on her due to her own stress. |
| 540 | ** In their TV spots for Book 3, Nick went out of their way to emphasize that the episodes were only available on their channel and that you could ''not'' watch them online[[labelnote:Note]] Legally, anyways. [[/labelnote]] (no doubt a nod to the four leaked episodes). Then they abruptly pulled the show from the air and moved it to a weekly release on their website. |
| 541 | ** In the original series, Azula complained in a fit of paranoia that an assassin could have easily taken her out before her Dai Li agents could come to her aid. [[spoiler:Looks like she had legitimate concerns, after all, seeing what happened to the Earth Queen.]] |
| 542 | ** This season does not buck the trend of being compared to superhero movies, as Book 3, like Book 1, has drawn comparisons to ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. Come Episode 10, and you have parallels between Zaheer and Bane after Zaheer [[spoiler:announces to the entire city of Ba Sing Se for people to take it back, like how Bane did the same for Gotham.]] They also both happen to be BaldOfEvil anarchist revolutionaries. |
| 543 | ** The latter half of Book 3 could be compared to ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', featuring a splinter faction of a group originally dedicated to peace and order trying to throw the world into chaos (the "natural order"). The ends of both also point out that aside from the prior immediate threat, there are still operatives and cells around the world to continue posing a threat. |
| 544 | ** [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10471029/1/Zaheer-And-P-li-A-Loving-Star-That-Burns-In-The-Eternity-Of-The-Void This]] {{trollfic}} written way back in the Book 3 spoiler period shows [[spoiler:P'li's head exploding]]. Flash forward to "Enter The Void" and, well... Also features Zaheer [[spoiler:asphyxiating to death]], something that he ''does to other characters'' in the final episodes. |
| 545 | ** Turns out Toph wasn't being out of turn comparing Aang to a girl: his granddaughter Jinora ends up with a striking resemblance to Aang after she shaves her head and gets her Airbending Master tattoos. And, ''no'', not as a gender-bent version of Aang--''she actually does look exactly like Aang''. It's even funnier when you realize how much Aang complained about being played by a girl by the Ember Island Players. The universe just wouldn't let him live it down. |
| 546 | ** In the original series, a four-person group led by an airbender enters the Earth King's palace and offers its assistance. The EvilChancellor states that they're part of an anarchist cell that aims to destroy the Earth Kingdom government. 70 years later, another four-person group led by an airbender enters the Earth Queen's palace and offers its assistance. This time, they really are part of an anarchist cell. |
| 547 | ** The way people started to realize how the defining moments of the season 2 and 3 finales are paralleling the defining scenes from the original series finales. In ''The Last Airbender'', Book 1 has Aang become a large water creature that forces the Fire Nation to retreat. In the next Book, Ba Sing Se is taken over by Azula and Aang is badly wounded in the Avatar State when Azula shoots him in the back with lightning. In ''The Legend of Korra'', Book 2 ends with Korra pulling a similar trick to beat Unalaq. In Book 3, [[spoiler:the Red Lotus kills the Earth Queen late in the season, throwing Ba Sing Se into chaos, then nearly kill Korra in the Avatar State by poisoning her.]] At least if Book 4 plays out in the same pattern, Korra will finally get a happy ending. [[spoiler: She does - and in line with this, it directly parallels Aang and Katara's.]] |
| 548 | * IKnewIt: |
| 549 | ** "In Harm's Way": When P'Li mentioned she had been locked up for thirteen years, some fans did the math and theorized that the Red Lotus were imprisoned for attempting to attack/kidnap Korra when she had just been revealed as the Avatar. They were bang on the money. |
| 550 | ** "Long Live The Queen": As soon as Zaheer was introduced, the fandom just ''knew'' he'd get to show off what airbending could do if it weren't in the hands of a pacifist. The most horrifying possibility is that [[spoiler:they could suck the air out of somebody's lungs]]. Come episode 10, ''Zaheer proved them right.'' |
| 551 | ** "Enter The Void": After a season of failing to metalbend, many fans began to speculate that Bolin would [[spoiler:instead be revealed to be capable of lavabending.]] This got confirmed in this episode. |
| 552 | * JerkassWoobie: |
| 553 | ** Lin Beifong could be seen as being this. She always had some {{Jerkass}} tendencies, but when one learns about how her younger sister Suyin got away with breaking the law ''and'' scarring her face and then add that to the already known fact that Tenzin broke her heart years earlier when he chose the much younger Pema over her simply because she didn't want a family (and you really can't blame her after seeing what kind of home she grew up in, though honestly [[LastOfHisKind considering the responsibility Tenzin had]], you can't really blame ''him'' either), and now Lin has to watch them enjoy their happy endings while she's gotten nothing in return for all her hard work as a Metalbending Police Officer, it's hard not to feel a little bad for her. |
| 554 | ** To some extent, the Red Lotus gang. There is no denying that these are ruthless people, but they have spent 13 years in inhumane conditions. Particularly poignant for Ghazan, [[spoiler: who kills himself as so to avoid being imprisoned again.]] |
| 555 | ** P'Li after we learn her life story. She is one of the more ruthless members of the Red Lotus, but her whole life has been about being controlled and never even being given a chance to live a normal life. She was raised to be a warlord's killing machine until she was rescued by Zaheer who despite genuinely loving her, turned her into an anarchist. Unalaq then talked her into an act that got her locked up for 13 years in a prison cell that basically acted like a meat locker. Finally, she got the [[YourHeadAsplode most graphic death of the Red Lotus]]. |
| 556 | ** Zaheer gives himself a spot at the end of the season. Even though he spent a whole season as the main villain and almost kills Korra, he ends up failing, losing his friends and lover, and is probably going to be locked up in prison for the rest of his days, a FateWorseThanDeath for someone like him (no matter how richly deserved). |
| 557 | ** If you still have trouble feeling sympathy for the Red Lotus, [[http://iruka-2013.tumblr.com/post/108800557482/bryan-konietzko-as-one-of-the-primary seeing them in their younger years]] will help. |
| 558 | * LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: |
| 559 | ** Who honestly expected Kai would really [[spoiler: fall to his death?]] |
| 560 | ** "The Ultimatum" ends with [[spoiler: Tenzin getting a prison-style beat down from the Red Lotus. A GoryDiscretionShot seems to hint at his death - but Tenzin is the narrator of the intro. Dramatically appropriate as it would be, are they going to really kill someone so integral to the series, whose voice we have to hear at least two episodes more, without even ADayInTheLimelight?]] |
| 561 | * MagnificentBastard: [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraZaheer Zaheer]] is the leader of the Red Lotus, a secret society dedicated to bringing about chaos as the world's natural order. Imprisoned years ago for attempting kidnap Avatar Korra, Zaheer attains airbending after the events of Harmonic Convergence. With his newfound powers, he breaks himself and his fellow members out from prison, before resuming their goal to capture the Avatar. [[TheUnfettered Undeterred]] by any setback he comes across, Zaheer comes up with plans on the fly that allows him to stay one step ahead of the heroes. Once a deal with the Earth Queen Hou-Ting goes south, he murders her out of contempt for her tyranny, publicly declaring the liberation of the Earth Kingdom and throwing the land into his desired anarchy. After losing his lover P'Li in battle, Zaheer [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening awakens]] the power of {{Flight}} and manages to escape with his remaining comrades with a captured Korra. Zaheer plans to kill Korra in the Avatar state by poisoning her body with mercury and end the Avatar cycle for good, but was narrowly thwarted and imprisoned once again. Briefly returning in ''Book 4'', an imprisoned Zaheer helps Korra recover from her trauma so that she could help fix the mess he created and [[EnemyMine take down Kuvira]]. Always [[AffablyEvil polite to ally and enemy alike]], Zaheer has both guile and conviction on his side, through which he attains the power of flight, a feat no other airbender has achieved in 4000 years. |
| 562 | * MemeticPersonalityChange: Just like Amon before him, Zaheer gains a goofier personality in fan works, a Hipster who insists on expounding the wisdom of Guru Laghima (an ''[[InsistentTerminology airbender]]'') to all who will listen, and even those who won't. |
| 563 | * MisaimedFandom: Hou-Ting goes out in quite a CruelAndUnusualDeath; slowly suffocated to death by Zaheer. What seals the moment is how graphic this scene is, showing the just seconds before confident woman teary eyed and in sheer despair. This was meant to be seen as a KickTheDog KarmicDeath, but a portion of fans instead see it as a depressing AlasPoorVillain moment. |
| 564 | * {{Narm}}: The amount of times people refer to the Earth Queen being "taken down" or "brought down" can get a little silly and jarring, especially since the show depicts her rather graphic death and then immediately afterwards snaps right back into a strict policy of NeverSayDie. |
| 565 | * NeverLiveItDown: Suyin has a sizable hatedom for scarring Lin's face. Making this a bit weird is that it's far from the only misdeed in her past, and is the ''only'' one of them she's explicitly shown to regret. |
| 566 | * OneSceneWonder: |
| 567 | ** [[spoiler: Amon, Unalaq, and Vaatu in the season finale, even if they were just hallucinations.]] |
| 568 | ** [[spoiler: Uncle Iroh's brief appearance in the Spirit World.]] |
| 569 | ** Varrick and the water twins have very brief, but memorable, scenes that were borderline {{Filler}}; almost as if they were shoehorned in at the last minute due to their EnsembleDarkhorse status from the second season. |
| 570 | * ParanoiaFuel: The Red Lotus have introduced a new level of paranoia to ridiculous levels. The fact that they've got agents in Zaofu, that the Northern Water Tribe Chieftain was one of them, and that there's still more of them out there carries the implication that for the ''70 years'' they've existed, every government and institution is infested with agents. With that, they may as well have been influencing world events and plotting said institutions' downfalls under the justification of achieving true freedom. Even after those three years have passed, who's to say they weren't hiding and waiting until Kuvira was removed from the picture so that they can rise again? |
| 571 | * RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: |
| 572 | ** Kai's CharacterDevelopment in "In Harm's Way" goes a long way toward redeeming his outright {{Jerkass}} behavior from the previous two episodes, showing him trying his best to help the other captive airbenders, even at his own expense. It's rounded off in "Original Airbenders", where despite some less serious mischief, he demonstrates that he's a good person. While he still is reviled by some, upgraded him to BaseBreakingCharacter rather than widely hated. |
| 573 | ** After Lin suffered from being in a plot that many fans felt required her to hold the IdiotBall and being OutOfFocus during Book 2, she now gets more focus than ever before, bouncing back to being just as engaging as when we first met her, if not more so. |
| 574 | ** Though still not a fan favorite, it is worth mentioning that Mako did not anger the fans in this season, with some coming around to actually like him. The fact that the much-maligned LoveTriangle that plagued the first two seasons was quickly resolved helped matters. |
| 575 | * RootingForTheEmpire: The villains are particularly well-received, so much that the community in ImageBoards who hated Korra [[NeverLiveItDown for her]] [[SophomoreSlump Book 2 flaws]] even called themselves "the Zaheeroes". |
| 576 | * ShipToShipCombat: Bolin/Opal versus Bolin/Eska. |
| 577 | * ShockingMoments: |
| 578 | ** "Long Live The Queen" has [[spoiler:Queen Hou-Ting]]'s death, notably a pretty graphic death that happened on screen. And this was done by an airbender, who are usually thought to be peaceful and pacifist. Needless to say, it was pretty ''[[{{Pun}} breathtaking]]''. It is followed up by Ghazan managing to [[spoiler:tear down the inner wall of Ba Sing Se]] just on his own, sending all of Ba Sing Se into chaos. Finally, you have Korra and Asami getting chased by a monstrous sand shark. |
| 579 | ** "The Ultimatum" amps it up big time. First, the ''entirety'' of Ba Sing Se is in flames. The whole city has descended into absolute chaos. Second, it turns out that Zaheer and his gang are now [[spoiler:at the Northern Air Temple, threatening to wipe out the new Air Nation just to get to Korra]], and when [[spoiler:Tenzin rightfully defies them and fights them off, he suffers a great beatdown and is on the verge of '''death''']], ending on a chilling cliffhanger. |
| 580 | ** "Enter the Void" continues the intensity. You have [[spoiler:the death of P'Li]], Bolin learning how to [[spoiler:''lavabend'' in a true DieOrFly moment, and Zaheer unlocking the secret of weightlessness and learning ''how to fly''.]] |
| 581 | ** "Venom of the Red Lotus" finishes this Book off with [[spoiler:the deaths of Ghazan and Ming Hua]], Zaheer nearly [[spoiler:killing Korra in the Avatar State after poisoning her]], Jinora [[spoiler:thinks of a plan to save Korra: by getting the other airbenders to form a tornado to get Korra and Zaheer out of the sky, and by the end of the episode she earns her Airbending Tattoos, becoming the spitting image of a young Aang, her grandfather]], and it ends with [[spoiler:a devastated and incapacitated Korra]], and [[spoiler:the threat of the Red Lotus being very real, with agents all over the world still out there somewhere, and the Earth Kingdom having fallen]]. |
| 582 | * StrawmanHasAPoint: Lin does have a valid point regarding Varrick. Su is harboring a fugitive whose rap sheet consists of, at the least, grand larceny, destruction of property, terrorism, kidnapping and framing an innocent man for crimes he didn't commit. The only reason that Lin doesn't try to arrest him on sight is the fact that Varrick wasn't formally charged for his crimes and thus can't be extradited. Su was ''very'' lucky in avoiding an international incident but Lin is treated as being unreasonable for wanting to take a guilty man in for the crimes he has committed. |
| 583 | * TakeThatScrappy: Many fans were dissapointed at how the Order of the White Lotus had regressed to glorified bodyguards and bending teachers in season 1, compared to the mysterious network of [[CoolOldGuy wise old badasses in the original series]]. In season 3, [[spoiler: Zaheer calls them out on this and claims his [[BombThrowingAnarchist Red Lotus group]] is what the White Lotus should be.]] |
| 584 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: |
| 585 | ** Zuko makes his long awaited return, but he stays OutOfFocus for most the season and we do not learn much about him. It doesn't help that Zuko even being ''alive'' was never mentioned before he appears with very little fanfare or acknowledgement of his importance. |
| 586 | ** Zaheer's three prison cahoots; who many have felt were [[FlatCharacter immensely underdeveloped in the characterization department,]] despite their incredible abilities and character designs. |
| 587 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: |
| 588 | ** Lin getting to know her extended family never really gets explored despite both the potential humor and drama of watching her interact with relatives who are so very different from herself. |
| 589 | ** The Spirits getting sidelined for the season in favor of a plethora of other story arcs such as the new Airbenders, the Metalbending Clan, and the Red Lotus. |
| 590 | ** The Red Lotus itself as organization. Zuko at the end of the season clearly maintains that the remaining Red Lotus leaders and sentries had returned to hiding and still remain at large with no way of knowing how many are out there and they are still a threat to the world. None of these are even mentioned in the next season. |
| 591 | ** The first attempt to kidnap Korra as a child involved the four heavy-hitters of the Red Lotus going up against Tenzin, Tonraq, Zuko and Sokka; two master Benders and two beloved characters from TLA whose adult lives are barely ever shown. Would've been incredible to see how it went down...except the entire event just gets a brief mention in a single sentence. |
| 592 | ** In the first half, Korra and especially Tenzin want to recruit any airbender they can find to join their cause in their mission to rebuild Air Nation, whether those recruits like it or not. This could've set up a good parallel to the Earth Queen [[spoiler:forcibly consripting the airbenders to serve as her soldiers against their will]], which could have given Korra and Tenzin an important aesop that you shouldn't force someone to join your cause against their will. Instead, the whole 'recruiting new airbenders' subplot never gets properly resolved and it's all handwaved that the new airbenders at Tenzin's new Air Nation are suddenly okay with staying there without issues. |
| 593 | ** With the return of the Dai Li, some fans were pretty disappointed at the lack of the Kyoshi Warriors as it would've been a great opportunity for them to appear in this season that was primarily set in the Earth Kingdom. |
| 594 | * ToughActToFollow: Book 3 serves as this for Book 4, and while Book 4 does a really good job at concluding the series, it is (almost) universally agreed upon that it doesn't quite reach the same highs as Book 3. |
| 595 | * ToyShip: Jinora and Kai. |
| 596 | * UnexpectedCharacter: In the third season finale, three dead villains appear to Korra in a nightmarish hallucination with each of their voice actors getting a line in just to jolt the audience who had become accustomed with their absence. |
| 597 | ** [[spoiler: Iroh]], again. While he doesn't serve as big a role as the previous season, neither he or Korra expected to run into each other and he logically can't provide advice on current events though is still useful in pointing her to someone who can. |
| 598 | * WheelchairWoobie: [[spoiler:Korra ends up in a wheelchair at the end of the season finale. She just has not been having a good time at ''all'' in these past two episodes. Everyone keeps saying that she will get better, and just needs time to recuperate, but she does not seem to believe it. This finale also establishes a pattern of season finales having her face trauma of some kind, as well as an overall theme of the Avatar itself no longer being needed. No wonder she is kind of broken at this point]]. |
| 599 | * TheWoobie: Kai. Even if he started out as a bit of a JerkassWoobie, he easily made the transition to this over the course of Book 3. First, he was kidnapped by the Dai Li and forced to endure TrainingFromHell to be part of her army, gets kidnapped again along with Jinora by the bison poachers, nearly dies trying to give the rest of the airbenders an opening to [[spoiler:escape the Red Lotus]], and all of this while is experienced by a kid [[HarmfulToMinors no older than Jinora]]. |
| 600 | * WinBackTheCrowd: After the lackluster reception to Book 2 (except for "Beginnings", which was almost universally acclaimed, see above), many people either dropped the series or did not expect the series to be able to pull itself back up again. But Book 3 managed to do away with the problems that cluttered the previous season, created a tighter, focused storyline, and made most of the characters develop wonderfully. Because of this, many people who were no longer on board with the series started watching it again. |
| 601 | [[/folder]] |
| 602 | |
| 603 | [[folder:Book Four: Balance]] |
| 604 | * AccidentalInnuendo: |
| 605 | --> '''Varrick:''' Zhu Li! Do the thing!\ |
| 606 | '''Zhu Li:''' I'm afraid there are no more things to do. |
| 607 | ** And then there's [[spoiler:his marriage proposal]]: |
| 608 | --> '''Varrick:''' Zhu Li Moon... will you do the thing [[spoiler:with me for the rest of our lives?]] |
| 609 | ** Taken to its logical conclusion [[spoiler:at the wedding:]] |
| 610 | --> [[spoiler: '''Bolin:''' You may now...do the thing.]] |
| 611 | * ArcFatigue: Kuvira is a considerably less powerful antagonist than her predecessors who is a threat only because of her army and diplomatic reasons, and it's made very clear in "Battle of Zaofu" that she would be on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle in a straight fight with Korra if not for the latter's DramaPreservingHandicap. Because of this, it can become ''very'' frustrating to watch this season for some fans, who just keep wondering themselves ''when'' the protagonists will finally put themselves together and actively ''do'' something to stop her. The fact that she only got into position to become the chief antagonist because the protagonists' inaction in a crisis forced her to act in the first place, well…doesn't help. |
| 612 | * BaseBreakingCharacter: |
| 613 | ** Prince Wu. Some see him as a flat RoyalBrat, some feel he's got more depth than that, some think he's not a good foil for Kuvira because he's too much of an idiot, and some just object to how much screen time his subplot got in "The Coronation" while others feel it was necessary for CharacterDevelopment. And indeed his CharacterDevelopment in later episodes has alleviated this to a degree. |
| 614 | ** Toph's treatment of Korra in "The Coronation" has proven rather divisive. Some see it as wrong that Toph is essentially having fun at Korra's expense and ragging on her when she's both physically and mentally been through hell the past three years. Others have pointed out that, however mean-spirited it may seem, Korra actually seems to respond fairly well to it, and she helps Korra get closer to the root of her problem than any of her other mentors have managed. Toph is much better in the next episode, actually giving clear advice and telling Korra how to get over her problem. It certainly doesn't help that the events of the two-parter come up in following episodes just to show how they didn't work. Removing the poison doesn't help Korra fight any better against Kuvira in "The Battle of Zaofu", Tenzin has to reiterate her advice about learning from her enemies without the cynicism in "Remembrances", and the nightmares still plague Korra in "Beyond the Wilds" even though she supposedly got over it. |
| 615 | ** Varrick. There are fans who are split between finding him an incredibly entertaining character who makes for the best humor of this season with his dynamic with Bolin [[spoiler: and his CharacterDevelopment as an added plus]]; and then there are those who find him to be a SpotlightStealingSquad due to him having a very large amount of screen-time this season, to the point where he appears more than main characters such as Tenzin, Asami or Mako. Others dislike him and find him annoying and unfunny. |
| 616 | ** Meelo. While he still has his fans, he's hated by others who find his antics this season to be more obnoxious than funny. |
| 617 | ** Kuvira. As the final BigBad for the show she had a lot of big shoes to fill especially coming off from Zaheer. Many fans found her to be an excellent example of EvilIsCool that proved to be a great ContrastingSequelAntagonist who still managed to be sympathetic in spite of her actions. Other fans found her to be one of the weakest villains with the show struggling to reconcile her actions and her goals. Similarly there's her skill level with one side seeing her as a MagnificentBastard and competent fighter and the other feeling that her strength level was only what the plot needed it to be. |
| 618 | * BrokenBase: |
| 619 | ** Fans were quickly divided as to whether the next season being released barely a month after the last is a good thing or not. |
| 620 | ** Korra's new bob cut. On one hand, you have people who like it due to it fitting in with Korra's newfound maturity and seriousness. On the other hand, there are people who dislike it because [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks they liked Korra's previous hair style much better, as it is more iconic]]. |
| 621 | ** The current Fire Lord, Izumi, got a lot of initial flak from some for looking very "plain", "bookish", and generally unimposing when we finally saw her, although this reaction was quickly beaten down by others pointing out how there is no good reason for a woman who’s probably about sixty (General Iroh, her son, is older than Korra who’s 21 in the finale) to be a bombshell, and that we should all wait to see more than a half-second snap-shot of her attending Prince Wu's coronation before anyone can rightfully call her "boring". Her supporters are further divided, in which some wish to see Izumi as a ruthless tactician to face off against Kuvira, and others want to see her as someone who is intelligent and politically savvy, as the series's previous female leaders have all been physically strong benders rather then owing to any diplomatic skill, and think the contrast would be appealing. The former complaints seems to have subsided as we got a closer look at her in "Beyond the Wilds". |
| 622 | ** "The Battle of Zaofu" got this in spades for Korra and Kuvira's battle, which is painfully one-sided in the latter's favor. On one hand, some think it's a good thing Korra didn't go from poor fighter to normal just from removing a little poison, and her reluctance to fight is further evidence that she wasn't ready for it. On the other hand, some expected that she would at least put up a decent fight, the end result being that removing the poison has done functionally nothing for her fighting ability, and she's just as terrible now as she was before it was removed. The fact that her attempt to use the Avatar State was foiled by Dark Avatar Korra is salt in the wound, as it's seen as a decent setback in itself which renders Korra's embarrassing beatdown unnecessary. |
| 623 | ** Toph's explanation for why she and Katara are staying out of the fight. Was it a realistic explanation or a weak excuse in light of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', where Bumi liberated Omashu by himself and later Ba Sing Se with the rest of the White Lotus while over 100 years-old? |
| 624 | ** [[spoiler: The Colossus]]. Some fans think it's awesome incarnate due to being an impressive progression of technology, while others think it's {{Narm}} since it's so outlandish and impractical seeming. |
| 625 | ** Korra's speech at the end of "The Last Stand" stating that her trauma from her fight with Zaheer and the long, painful recovery from it was "necessary" in order for her to grow and improve as a person has also proved to be divisive; though it's worth noting that coming to know compassion through suffering is one of the core tenets of Buddhism, and the series has always been centered around Eastern philosophy, to its detractors claiming that it expresses an implication that female characters can only grow from physical and emotional suffering (specifically that the female characters in Korra suffered much more than their male counterparts, or at least that their suffering was focused on much more). |
| 626 | ** Korra and Asami [[spoiler:becoming an OfficialCouple]] is either seen as one of the most progressive moments in the history of children's television, or seen as a [[ButNotTooGay weak attempt]] at being progressive. |
| 627 | * CatharsisFactor: |
| 628 | ** Suyin suffering some LaserGuidedKarma when [[spoiler:her son and adoptive daughter undermine her authority and destroy everything she worked for by invading and conquering Zaofu, all because she decided to break the temporary truce that Korra set up with Kuvira. Mind that Suyin undermined her mother's authority as a child and only got a slap on the wrist, and she tried to claim that she had changed due to her success in founding Zaofu]]. |
| 629 | ** The new TailorMadePrison ups the imprisonment ante for Zaheer. [[spoiler:He's not only wrapped in chains that restrict his movement, including flying, but they're also too thick for airbending to break. On top of that, he's locked deep within a mountain, with prison doors that require several Earthbenders to open. On the off-chance he learns another bending ability, water requires fluids and movement, while fire will be too visible and earth could bury him alive, as Toph once explained. They also apparently don't allow him a razor, since his scruff has grown back]]. |
| 630 | ** Korra confronting Zaheer for everything that happened in Season 3, though not in the way she intended. [[spoiler:She finally is forced to admit that she's broken but not destroyed, since Zaheer honestly tells her that she's stronger than she thinks because the poison ''should'' have killed her. He helps her overcome her block, which forces her to confront her NearDeathExperience and accept that it happened]]. |
| 631 | ** After her [[CurbStompBattle humiliating defeat]] in their last duel in [[TheBadGuyWins ''The Battle of Zaofu'']], [[spoiler:Korra decisively defeats Kuvira - one of the greatest metal-benders in the world while fighting in a room FULL of metal - in a one-on-one battle without even using the Avatar State. [[CurbStompCushion It's not a totally one-side fight, but Korra clearly is the superior fighter of the two]], and it's immensely satisfying to watch after Kuvira's been fairly smug all season.]] |
| 632 | * CrazyIsCool: Prince Wu definitely earns this status in "Day of the Colossus". Put simply, when you [[spoiler:can save a bunch of evacuees by convincing a pair of badgermoles to dig a tunnel out of the city with just your terrible singing alone, you ''are'' this trope.]] |
| 633 | * DracoInLeatherPants: Kuvira. Even after the reveal of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName labor camps and re-education camps]] that she'll throw people into just for having non-Earth Kingdom blood, she still has defenders insisting she's the good guy just trying to fix the Earth Kingdom. [[spoiler:The fact that the series finale portrays her as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds and gives her a FreudianExcuse only reinforced this sentiment.]] It also doesn't help that even the protagonists begrudgingly admits that the VillainHasAPoint. |
| 634 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: |
| 635 | ** The frog-squirrel from "The Coronation" is a perfect mix of weird and cute that fans really enjoyed. |
| 636 | ** Fire Lord Izumi is shockingly popular given that she only had one scene with dialogue. Part of this is a result of the fact that we waited three and a half seasons to hear her speak, and the rest is because she used her two minutes of screen time to establish that she has [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure learned from the Fire Nation's mistakes]]. |
| 637 | * EsotericHappyEnding: Baatar Jr being EasilyForgiven would not be a good thing in the universe not only was he fully complicit in Kuvira's actions, but there was a lot of [[ContrivedCoincidence Contrived Coincidences]] in his survival when Kuvira tried to kill him along with most of the main cast. Not only was he the only one injured but his injuries were relatively minor. It’s highly unlikely that the masses would accept him going free. In fact, ''Ruins of the Empire'', this is explored how he feels really guilty for what he did, works to atone for it, and refuses to forgive Kuvira, understandably. While his mother thinks he's been punished enough, he certainly doesn't. |
| 638 | * EvilIsCool: Kuvira; last season, she was just a MauveShirt with an odd moment of focus. This season, she's built up to be BigBad and fans are really appreciating her new demeanor. |
| 639 | * FanficFuel: The final scene of "The Last Stand" has led to a lot of fanart and fanfiction of Korra and Asami enjoying their vacation in the Spirit World, [[spoiler: coming out to all their friends and loved ones,]] or just [[spoiler: being a happy couple]]. |
| 640 | * FanPreferredCouple: Despite Kuvira being in a relationship with Baatar Jr. for most of Book 4, it is more popular to ship her with [[FoeYayShipping Korra]], due to their similarities in terms of personality. This was already happening as far back as the trailers for the season. The fact that Korra is the one who brings about Kuvira's HeelFaceTurn also led to many shipping them as well. Many also felt that Baatar was less enjoyable of an option for Kuvira than Korra and that the two's voice actresses had better chemistry. Fanfics and fan art for this pairing also outnumber those about Kuvira/Baatar Jr. Though, this only counts for Kuvira, because Korra's most popular ship is with her canon LoveInterest, [[spoiler:Asami]]. |
| 641 | * FoeYayShipping: |
| 642 | ** After the trailer was released, some fans started shipping Korra and Kuvira together. This is made even better by the fact that the creators describe them as being similar. |
| 643 | ** Bolin and Kuvira are also getting shipped, on account of Bolin being in her army. |
| 644 | * HarsherInHindsight: Baatar Jr. realises he made a terrible mistake in choosing Kuvira over his family when the former tries blowing him up rather than negotiating for his freedom in a hostage situation. He apologizes to his mother while recuperating from his injuries, and says that no one in his family will forgive him. (Baatar Jr. forgets Huan while summarizing.) Suyin admits it will be hard but they're a family and will pull through. ''Ruins of the Empire'' confirms that while Suyin had enough sway to change the sentence Baatar Jr.'s charges of treason, sedition, war crimes, and terrorism to house arrest in Zaofu, he ended up being right. ''No one'' beside his own mother has forgiven him, with Opal having turned into a DeadpanSnarker and his father being continually disappointed in him. They all have long memories of the wooden cage in the pit and Baatar Jr. nearly firing on his little sister by accident. Oh, and Korra tells him he has to work with Kuvira to break General Guan's brainwashing methods, with Kuvira being oblivious as to why Baatar Jr. doesn't want to accept her apologies or attempts at reconciliation. This ends up turning what would be a KarmaHoudini into KarmaHoudiniWarranty. (It is somewhat satisfying that he doesn't get a slap on the wrist for his actions, and Baatar Jr. seems to accept this is a fair punishment for all the terrible things he did.) |
| 645 | * HeartwarmingInHindsight: With the finale [[spoiler:making Korra and Asami the OfficialCouple]], rewatching the show now makes their slow-burn relationship and its development quite heartwarming to watch. It is even more heartwarming that six months after [[spoiler:Korra and Asami became canon]] that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex marriage was legal nationwide. |
| 646 | * HilariousInHindsight: |
| 647 | ** The three year TimeSkip is made even more jarring by having just two months between seasons. |
| 648 | ** At the height of Mako's hatedom during the gap between Books 1 and 2, some jokingly wished that there would be a "Mako Alone" episode in order to get him as far away from Team Avatar as possible. Come episode 2, and there was [[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS4E2KorraAlone such an episode]], just with a different member of the Krew! |
| 649 | ** Many fans predicted that Aang would still be proudly doing his marble trick as an adult. Then in "Korra Alone", a proud seafood-seller shows off his photo of Aang [[IKnewIt performing this trick with two sushi rolls]], with the same manic smile that he had when he was 12, looking even goofier doing it with an adult face. |
| 650 | ** In the previous season there were many fan theories on Suyin being secretly evil and either in league with the Red Lotus or secretly plotting to seize power herself, many of said theories usually with the intent to paint her as RonTheDeathEater and claiming that there were many hints making it "obvious." This season has Kuvira claiming that one of the reasons that spurred her takeover was Suyin's refusal to take control of the fractured Earth Kingdom after the Earth Queen's fall, making the claimed "obvious" hints of Suyin being a dictator in waiting amusing in hindsight. |
| 651 | ** In Season 1, Steve Blum played a guy who lied about having his family killed by a firebender. In this season, he ''is'' a firebender. |
| 652 | ** Kuvira and Bataar Jr. [[spoiler:planning to harvest a vital energy source clean off from the big tree of an all-natural territory, which will no doubt '''piss off''' its badass population. [[Film/{{Avatar}} Sound]] [[FandomRivalry familiar]]?]] |
| 653 | ** Back in Books 1 and 2, [[PortmanteauCoupleName Korrasami]] was a [[SlashFic Slash Pairing]], if not a borderline CrackPairing, with many a fan deriding it as "never gonna happen". By the time Book 4 rolled around the majority of fans were practically DEMANDING that it be official. |
| 654 | *** Before the series was aired Korra was often shipped with Yue from the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender last series]]. What makes this HilariousInHindsight is that Asami is voiced by Creator/SeychelleGabriel who played Yue in M. Night Shyamalan's Film/TheLastAirbender. So in a meta way Korra is still being shipped with Yue. |
| 655 | *** Speaking about the Shyamalan movie, Seychelle Gabriel originally auditioned for the role of the movie's Katara, who is Korra's previous reincarnation love interest. |
| 656 | *** And now as of the GrandFinale [[spoiler:Korrasami is canon, what with the very unambiguous amounts of LesYay flying around from the final scene, and [[WordOfGod Bryke explicitly confirmed Korrasami is true on their social media accounts.]] [[ThrowTheDogABone Bryke sure threw the shippers a bone with this one]].]] |
| 657 | *** Rewatching first season episodes can be quite hilarious once you find out [[spoiler: Korrasami is canon, since Korra is at first cold but then ultimately falls for "the prissy rich girl" Asami.]] |
| 658 | *** In many ways the recap in "Spirit of Competition" is hilarious in hindsight. Korra has only eyes for one fellow? Still technically true. Out of context it might sound as though Korra has a crush on the girl Mako brought in. |
| 659 | *** Similarly, the scene in "Turning the Tides" back in season one when Asami says "I like Korra" which is why she wasn't mad at Korra for liking Mako. [[spoiler: She must have really liked Korra.]] |
| 660 | *** When Korra told Asami [[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS3E1ABreathOfFreshAir at the start of Book 3]] that she had "never had a girlfriend" to just talk with before (besides [[BondCreatures Naga]]), the term's platonic context was obvious but it felt like [[TrollingCreator characteristic Bryke shipper trolling]]. [[spoiler:It turned out to be the first step on the ShipTease trail ending well beyond platonic territory.]] |
| 661 | *** Back in the first series, Roku's line that being the Avatar "doesn't hurt your chances with the ladies" is funnier when at the end of ''Legend of Korra'' [[spoiler:Korrasami ends up being canon.]] The problems the term "bender" caused in the UK become unintentionally funny for the same reason. |
| 662 | *** Korra's actress Janet Varney had previously played [[spoiler: a lesbian]] who ends up rejecting a man [[spoiler: and hooking up with a woman]] in the web series ''WebVideo/BurningLove''. Not only that, but in an interview/commentary for Book 1, Varney made several suggestive comments about how pretty [[spoiler: Asami]] is. [[http://vanny-more.tumblr.com/post/108348866872/korra-discovers-her-sexuality-and-finds-she-has-a Fanvids have]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg1RnAGncBQ taken advantage of this.]] |
| 663 | *** Similarly, Seychelle Gabriel played [[spoiler:a lesbian StalkerWithACrush]] on ''Series/{{Revenge}}''. |
| 664 | *** A [[MemeticMutation memetic]] Tumblr post declared "We popping the biggest bottles when Makorra happens tomorrow" on the day before the series finale. |
| 665 | ** Asami's desire to see the spirit world becomes pretty funny when one realizes she is one of the few main characters, and the only member of Team Avatar to not have entered the spirit world at some point. |
| 666 | ** After Mako and Asami's extremely subtle breakup in Book 1, several fans mocked it using an exchange from The Ember Island Players: "Did Mako and Asami just break up?" "You know, it really wasn't clear." The show's own self-parody recap gives it exactly this treatment. |
| 667 | ** Prince Wu's suggestion that they take down Kuvira with a team of highly-trained badgermoles seems less stupid come "Day of the Colossus". It may not be ''feasible'' due to a lack of available highly-trained badgermoles on such short notice, but definitely not stupid. |
| 668 | ** It's revealed in the GrandFinale that Zhu Li's last name is Moon. Zhu Li is voiced by Creator/StephanieSheh, who also voices a character with [[Manga/SailorMoon a moon themed name]], at least in the Creator/VIZMedia dub. |
| 669 | * IKnewIt: |
| 670 | ** "Korra Alone": Numerous predictions abounded about the nature of [[spoiler: Toph's reappearance]] - those that were proved right were [[spoiler: 1) she would be a CliffHanger right at the end of her first episode 2) Korra would meet her in the Foggy Swamp, where Aang first "met" her 3) Toph would make a joke about her blindness - "It's good to ''see'' you again." 4) Toph would call Korra "Twinkle-Toes".]] |
| 671 | ** Likewise, many fans believed that Aang would still be doing his "marble trick" as an adult. Then in this episode, a proud seafood-seller shows off his picture of Aang performing the same trick with two sushi rolls! |
| 672 | ** A few months before Book 4 aired, Jeremy Zuckerman posted [[https://soundcloud.com/jeremy-zuckerman/legend-of-korra-a-cue-from-a-scene-from-an-episode-from-a-season "a cue from a scene from an episode from a season."]] Some fans managed to correctly predict that this was from the scene [[spoiler: where Korra gets her ImportantHaircut.]] |
| 673 | ** "Operation Beifong": many fans guessed that [[spoiler: Zhu Li was faking her loyalty to Kuvira in order to sabotage her plans]]. |
| 674 | ** In the first episode this season, astute viewers caught onto [[spoiler: Kuvira's mostly filled in map having slots occupied by the location of the United Republic, and guessed that she would try to conquer it as well as the Earth Empire.]] The ending to "Operation Beifong" confirms it. |
| 675 | ** When fans saw the title "Kuvira's Gambit", many of them reasoned that she would, as the title implies, sacrifice something willingly for her victory. [[spoiler: Many fans guessed she would sacrifice her fiancé, Baatar Jr. And they were right.]] |
| 676 | ** Many viewers had [[spoiler: Hiroshi Sato]] pegged as dead as soon as his first appearance this season [[spoiler: since his capture and defeat at the end of Book 1]]. |
| 677 | * ItWasHisSled: The coverage by some major news sites, plus fans talking about it nonstop, means that the final shot of Korra and Asami as a couple was pretty well known within about three days of the episode dropping online. It may be a record for how quickly something reached this status. |
| 678 | * JerkassWoobie: |
| 679 | ** Prince Wu becomes one toward the end of "The Coronation". First, after planning and preparing for his coronation, he finds that all the palace riches were stolen from the fall of Ba Sing Se. Then, Kuvira usurps the throne from him at his own coronation. Later, he has a massive FreakOut at an amusement park where Mako chews him out and tells him that while Kuvira is no saint, he's just as unfit for the throne. Wu finally breaks down and admits he isn't. |
| 680 | ** Varrick's a Jerkass for all his sleazy, crooked behavior, but he shifts straight into Woobie territory when he [[spoiler: tries to stop production on the spirit vines]]. Later when [[spoiler: he, Bolin, and Zhu Li try to escape and are caught by Baatar, Zhu Li betrays him when they are brought towards Kuvira.]] He's pretty much a jackass to his assistant [[spoiler: which is what she says when she turns on him, and his shock and heartbreak at the betrayal is genuine.]] |
| 681 | --->'''Zhu Li:''' [[IronicEcho Guards! Do the thing!]] |
| 682 | --->'''Varrick:''' [[BigNo No!]] [[ThisCannotBe Not the thing!]] [[EtTuBrute Zhu Li...!]] |
| 683 | ** Zaheer continues to be one. Not only is he once again imprisoned (with the added irony of being able to fly, and being chained for it), but he has to live up with the fact that his WellIntentionedExtremist shenanigans only caused the exact opposite of what he wanted and that his best friends and his lover all perished for nothing. |
| 684 | ** As of "Kuvira's Gambit", we can now add Bataar Jr to the list. Like Bolin, he joined up with Kuvira because he wanted to make the Earth Kingdom a better place and sincerely believed that she was doing the right thing. He even fell in love with her and they planned to marry soon. [[spoiler: In the episode itself, he is kidnapped by Korra and the gang and coerced into convincing her to leave Republic City under the threat of never being able to see her again. But valuing the Earth Empire over her love, Kuvira's response is to open fire on the factory where he was in an attempt to kill the Avatar, much to his disbelief.]] |
| 685 | ** And finally, [[spoiler:Kuvira herself, who's been struggling with abandonment issues all this time. Making matters worse, not only will she most likely be imprisoned for her crimes, but she now has to live with the fact that she all but destroyed her relationship with both her surrogate mother Suyin, and her former fiance Bataar Jr.]] |
| 686 | * LauncherOfAThousandShips: Unsurprisingly, Kuvira. The Great Uniter has been shipped, to greater or lesser degrees, with Bataar Jr., Suyin, Korra, Asami, Opal, Bolin, Lin and Zhu Li. |
| 687 | * LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: |
| 688 | ** The ending of "Kuvira's Gambit" has the entire main cast and most of the secondary cast trapped in an exploding warehouse, totaling over a dozen characters. With so much PlotArmor in one place right before the two-part finale, the fandom accurately predicted that [[spoiler:Baatar Jr.]] would likely be the only person to even get injured. Nick's first-minute preview the next day gave away that twist. |
| 689 | ** Similarly, Mako's big BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu scene in "The Last Stand" is set up suspiciously like it would become a HeroicSacrifice. [[spoiler:He survives.]] |
| 690 | ** Surprisingly subverted with [[spoiler:Korra and Asami.]] Despite two seasons of [[spoiler:LesYay ShipTease between the two]], it was generally assumed that [[spoiler:Korra would either end up with Mako again or stay single.]] When [[spoiler:Korrasami]] was all but made explicitly canon, it's safe to say pretty much no one saw that one coming. Likewise, the fact that the creators confirmed that was the intent a few days later was unexpected. |
| 691 | * MagnificentBitch: [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraKuvira Kuvira]], the final BigBad of the series, decides to reunify the fractured Earth Kingdom with herself as its ruler. Kuvira begins to win over the loyalty or obedience of the provinces and towns by offering protection against bandits and distributing food with the caveat that they must pledge loyalty to her and her alone. Kuvira then proceeds to launch a bloodless coup by dissolving the position of Earth King and proclaiming the birth of the Earth Empire before attempting to conquer her former home of Zaofu. Setting up a duel and allowing Airbenders to interfere to "break the agreement" against her, Kuvira proceeds to take it as [[PretextForWar justification to conquer Zaofu]], before moving on to Republic City itself where her strategic prowess nearly secures the city's fall with the full intention of forging order out of chaos in what Kuvira [[WellIntentionedExtremist truly feels is best for her homelands]]. |
| 692 | * MemeticBadass: In-universe example, Prince Wu was absolutely convinced that Mako is awesome because he was brought up by a pack of cops in the woods. |
| 693 | * {{Narm}}: |
| 694 | ** "Can't you see she's brainwashed you?" The line comes a bit out of nowhere already, and Anne Heche's utter lack of emotion doesn't help. |
| 695 | ** Kuvira's title of "The Great Uniter", rather than being [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast imposing]], can sound rather silly when said out loud. "Uniter" just isn't a noun that sounds cool or impressive. |
| 696 | ** When she rescues the heroes from Kuvira, Toph [[GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger points at her]] and declares "you give metalbenders a bad name!" Though it's probably intended to sound badass, it might come off as a petty insult... though this is Toph we're talking about here. |
| 697 | ** [[spoiler:The Colossus]]. Not only is it impractically huge, there is next to no foreshadowing of its existence (Kuvira stripped down Zaofu's domes for metal) and the FridgeLogic behind how the thing must run is overwhelming. It also seems like it should be AwesomeButImpractical, and yet its ludicrous precision manages to break the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief for many. |
| 698 | * NarmCharm: |
| 699 | ** "Guards! Do the thing!" In any other context it would sound ridiculous. ''In'' context it's a TearJerker. |
| 700 | ** Similarly is [[spoiler:"Will you do the thing for the rest of our lives?"]] Should be stupid, but most saw it as incredibly romantic. |
| 701 | ** Again with "Do the Thing!" |
| 702 | --->'''Bolin:''' You may now... Do The Thing.\ |
| 703 | ''[Varrick and Zhu Li kiss, and thus are married]'' |
| 704 | * NoYay: [=Wu/Mako=] shippers might ([[IncestYayShipping or might not]]) be deterred since it's made pretty clear in "The Coronation" that Wu is essentially Mako's ReplacementGoldfish for his brother, Bolin. |
| 705 | * OneSceneWonder: |
| 706 | ** Aang's appearance in a hilarious photo in "Korra Alone" is very memorable. |
| 707 | ** Cute young flower seller Tuyen in "The Calling", on whom Meelo develops a practically instant crush. |
| 708 | ** The phone call between Amon, Unalaq, Vaatu, and Zaheer in "Remembrances". |
| 709 | ** Zaheer in "Beyond the Wilds". |
| 710 | ** Fire Lord Izumi only ever got one scene with dialogue and a few crowd-fillers, but that scene itself cemented her as ''the'' ReasonableAuthorityFigure of the Avatar 'verse. |
| 711 | ** The Wolf Bat team in "Kuvira's Gambit". |
| 712 | * OneTruePairing: |
| 713 | ** Out of all of the ShipToShipCombat scenarios we've seen in the show since its very inception, there is one pairing that all the fans are unanimously behind, and ''really'' want to see happen. To quote? |
| 714 | -->"[[ObliviousToLove Damn it]], Varrick, Zhu Li wants you to [[MemeticMutation DO THE THING]]!" |
| 715 | ** And as of the finale, [[spoiler:[[RelationshipUpgrade everyone who shipped these two has won]]]]. |
| 716 | ** Korrasami skyrocketed to be the most popular pairing, and by the end of Book 3 became many fans' OTP. [[spoiler: They also won in the finale.]] |
| 717 | * OT3: In "The Reunion" Korra meets Asami and Mako for the first time in years, bringing back the Makorrasami ship as Korra's interactions with both have some romantic undertones. |
| 718 | * PanderingToTheBase: |
| 719 | ** "Rememberances" has this trope in spades: In the first part, Prince Wu, Cousin Tu, and Grandma Yin bring up every single complaint the fans had about Mako in the first two Books, until he gives up defending himself and admits he was kind of a jerk back then. Later, Unalaq is mocked relentlessly by Varrick in a similar fashion. However, despite being blatant pandering, they're both agreed to be some of the best bits from an otherwise unremarkable ClipShow. |
| 720 | ** [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by Bryan and Mike in regards [[spoiler: to Korrasami becoming canon]]. As explained by Bryan [[http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace at his Tumblr account]] [[spoiler: it would have been considered just as much pandering to one side of the fandom if Mako had ended up with Korra in the end]] and that they didn't make [[spoiler: Korrasami canon because it was the most popular ship]] but because [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments it was the one that they felt was the right decision.]] |
| 721 | ** Although he does admit that [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Tahno playing the trombone at]] [[spoiler: Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding]] was definitely pandering to the fans. |
| 722 | * RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: |
| 723 | ** Hiroshi Sato is completely broken after years in prison, and genuinely repentant in a stark contrast to the last time we saw him. It also helps that Asami doesn't explicitly forgive him for anything [[spoiler:until the finale]], so it doesn't feel like the audience is being asked to. In the first part of the finale, he even [[spoiler:sacrifices his life to ensure Korra's team can enter the Colossus to destroy it, but not before saying [[SoProudOfYou how much he loves Asami]] and ejecting her to safety]]. |
| 724 | ** Even Prince Wu gets some redemption, going from a plain Jerkass to a JerkassWoobie, and it's clear he does genuinely appreciate Mako for his service. The biggest turning point came in "Reunion". [[spoiler:After his kidnapping, he wasn't [[UngratefulBastard upset at Mako for letting him get kidnapped]] (which would actually not be unreasonable to some extent, since that was Mako's job), but rather thankful for Mako and Korra for rescuing him.]] His TakeThatScrappy moment with Mako in the next episode and his CharacterDevelopment in subsequent ones definitely helped win over fans, as did his awesome evacuation of the train station [[spoiler:and decision to abolish the Earth Kingdom monarchy.]] |
| 725 | ** Mako made even greater strides in his CharacterDevelopment than in Book 3. While still ultimately remaining a heroic example of a character that fans LoveToHate, he at least regained a good deal of respect for admitting how he was a jerk for pulling an ComicBook/{{Archie|Comics}} on both Asami and Korra, as well as coming just seconds shy of making what would have been ''the'' biggest HeroicSacrifice in the entire franchise. To top it off, his last scene with Korra affirms that he is happy to follow her as a friend, and is heavily coded to suggest that [[spoiler:he acknowledges and is supportive of her developing relationship with Asami.]] |
| 726 | * ReplacementScrappy: Prince Wu started off as this as many fans saw him as a less funny replacement for Bolin who was off on his own adventure. Though Bolin reuniting with the gang as well as Prince Wu's CharacterDevelopment in later episodes has helped some fans warm up to him. See above. |
| 727 | * RonTheDeathEater: As a corollary to Kuvira's DILP status, Suyin is essentially blamed for the whole mess because she refused to take charge of the Earth Kingdom despite all her rhetoric in the third season of how the Earth Kingdom should be like Zaofu, with some going so far as to say she deserved [[spoiler:Zaofu being conquered by Kuvira]] for her inaction. It certainly doesn't help matters that betrayal is not something Suyin handles well, so she comes across as uncharacteristically abrasive. Her treatment of [[spoiler:an emotionally broken and genuinely repentant Kuvira as opposed to her [[EasilyForgiven instantly forgiving]] Bataar Jr.]] only gave her hatedom more fuel. |
| 728 | * RootingForTheEmpire: Because Kuvira has such a vastly different approach to her design compared to the previous antagonist. For awhile many viewers were hoping the writers were preparing a BaitAndSwitch. |
| 729 | * ShipMates: Some [[LesYay Korrasami]] shippers ship Mako with [[BodyguardCrush Prince Wu]] because Wu acts [[HoYay rather chummy towards Mako]], and some Makorra shippers also ship Wu with Asami due to the prince's interest in her. Bolin/Opal fits well with all of these ships too. |
| 730 | * ShipToShipCombat: |
| 731 | ** Korrasami and Makorra seem to be the two biggest contenders right now. Bolin/Opal also has a new competitor in the form of Bolin/Varrick. Some have even starting shipping Wei/Bolin after the face pat in "Operation: Beifong". |
| 732 | ** With the series now wrapped up, the shipping wars will still continue on in the fandom, but certain ships are going to fair better than others. [[spoiler:As Korrasami is now confirmed to be canon - while Mako is more of a very close friend to both of them. Bopal is also confirmed in canon and Varrick married Zhu Li in a ceremony on Air Temple Island.]] |
| 733 | * ShockingMoments: |
| 734 | ** The trailer has already reduced a majority of the fandom to a nervous wreck due to the three year time skip, the airbender wingsuits, Korra and the Krew aged up, Kuvira being a badass, [[spoiler: and Toph being teased at the end]]. |
| 735 | ** "Enemy at the Gates". [[spoiler:Kuvira prepares to invade Zaofu, Varrick [[HeelFaceTurn develops a conscience]], both he and Bolin [[DefectorFromDecadence try to leave]], only to be caught again, with Varrick now forced to work on the spirit weapons while Bolin is sent to a re-education camp and Zhu-Li apparently betrays Varrick to Kuvira. And after Bolin's failed attempt at a peaceful resolution, Kuvira declares she'll take the city by force. Suyin doesn't even wait for Korra to try to convince Kuvira to stand down and goes with Wei and Wing to just end the situation by dealing with Kuvira personally]]. |
| 736 | ** "Operation Beifong". [[spoiler:Zhu Li is discovered to be a traitor towards Kuvira, Kuvira tries to kill Zhu Li by test-firing a WaveMotionGun at a target town down-range that Zhu-Li is tied up in, Lin's father is revealed to be a man named Kanto, Baatar Jr. tries to stop a nuke cannon from hitting his sister after he turned on his entire family, Su and Kuvira finally have a proper metalbending throw-down, Toph singlehandedly blindsides Kuvira's army, Zhu Li reveals Kuvira will attack RC in two weeks, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Wu comes up with a smart idea]].]] |
| 737 | ** "Kuvira's Gambit". [[spoiler: Kuvira's army has arrived at Republic City one week early, and that nuke cannon from the last episode is mounted on the wrist of a mile-high mecha suit. Kuvira then decided to turn it on the factory where Korra was, knowing full well Baatar Jr, her finacee, was inside it as well. The scene where she blows up the outpost as well since she used to let them attack first, now nothing holds her back.]] |
| 738 | ** The GrandFinale, "Day of the Colossus" and "The Last Stand": [[spoiler:Our heroes stall for time trying to take down the Colossus while Asami, Varrick, and Zhu Li prepare the backup hummingbird mecha suits. Hiroshi returns to help them break into the Colossus by using a plasma cutter to cut through the unbendable platinum, and dies in a HeroicSacrifice after helping them break through -- saving his daughter's life. Bolin puts his lavabending to good use, first in an attempting to melt the ground beneath the Colossus to slow it down, then again when he brings a disc made of earth on board and uses lavabending to have it cut through things, not unlike Ghazan's magma shuriken. To say nothing of his, as well as the Beifongs, great feats in earthbending an entire building right on top of the Colossus to slow it down! Mako then bravely takes on the spirit vine core of the machine himself, nearly getting killed in the process, by using his lightning to cause it to overload. Suyin and Lin take down the cannon itself and deplete its ammunition. Since it can no longer fire, Kuvira rips the arm off and throws it away, taking Lin and Su with it. Korra and Kuvira have a heated fight, no holds barred, in the cockpit of the mech, Korra fully in shape this time. After the mech explodes, Korra chases Kuvira into the Spirit Wilds, where the cannon fell into, and she fires one last shot. But it overloads due to being surrounded by more spirit vines, leading to Korra having to ''bend the spirit vine blast itself'' to save her and Kuvira, while the gigantic explosion had enough energy to create ''another spirit portal''. Kuvira ultimately surrenders and is defeated. Meanwhile, in the middle of all this, Prince Wu proves he is not so incompetent and gets a pair of badgermoles to help evacuate the remaining citizens, even outsmarting some Earth Empire mooks. And, Varrick and Zhu Li ''finally'' get to do the thing as he proposes to her, leaving them HappilyMarried! To finally end it all, Korra and Asami walk into the Spirit World through the newly created portal, hand in hand, looking longingly at each other while the camera pans up to reveal "The End", creating a pretty unambiguous romantic ending for the two of them.]] |
| 739 | * SignatureScene: The very last scene in the series where [[spoiler:Korra and Asami hold hands and share a HeldGaze as they disappear into the new spirit portal]] became iconic almost immediately after airing. |
| 740 | * {{Squick}}: |
| 741 | ** Poki the lemur lapping up his own vomit in "The Calling". Bonus points for residual vomit on Meelo's teeth after he lets fly. At least he doesn't eat it again, and gets a VomitDiscretionShot (unlike [[VomitIndiscretionShot Poki]]). |
| 742 | ** Opal's sky bison Juicy suffers from a constant runny nose, and likes to lick people just as much as the rest of his kind. |
| 743 | * StrangledByTheRedString: Sort of. While [[spoiler:Korra and Asami]] were a popular ship and many people were happy that they became a couple, nevertheless many felt the actual manner in which it happened felt sudden and unearned (see TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot). |
| 744 | * StrawmanHasAPoint: We're supposed to agree with Suyin when she refuses to accept the responsibility of re-uniting the Earth Kingdom, and see Kuvira and Baatar Jr's acceptance of the task as a sign of their power hungry desires, but the Earth Kingdom IS in an immediate and dire crisis with thousands of lives and livelihoods at stake, the avatar is out of commission, and Suyin offers exactly ZERO constructive alternatives to Tenzan and Raiko's request. She may have JumpedOffTheSlipperySlope eventually, but Kuvira at least tried to do something. |
| 745 | * TakeThatScrappy: |
| 746 | ** In the show's equivalent of "The Ember Island Players", Wu and even Mako's own family constantly chastise him for the mess he made of his LoveTriangle. Quoth cousin Tu, "It seems like you're so afraid of disappointing anyone that you end up disappointing everyone." As for the antagonists, the other {{Big Bad}}s don't want Unalaq in their LegionOfDoom, with Varrick calling him "incredibly boring and unpopular." |
| 747 | ** Toph refers to Book 2's civil war as "nonsense." |
| 748 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: |
| 749 | ** Much like her father in the previous season, many fans feel that Fire Lord Izumi was largely wasted as character with great potential. What's worse is the fact that there's not so much of a glimpse of the Fire Nation itself, which is seen as a lost opportunity to show how it progressed. |
| 750 | ** Zuko himself only appears in one non-speaking cameo in this season. |
| 751 | ** The fact that General Iroh (Izumi's son and Zuko's grandson) doesn't get any scenes with his mother and grandfather doesn't help either (and after some suspected that Zuko had been given a different actor so the inevitable scene between him and Iroh wouldn't sound weird with them both having the same voice). |
| 752 | ** Bataar Jr.'s defection fails to elevate him from being a mostly FlatCharacter even though his choices could have been used to critique and even deconstruct the image of his family that Suyin liked to project. |
| 753 | ** Kai and the other characters in Season 3 were DemotedToExtra. Kai especially was wasted, since he has experience with capricious Earth Kingdom monarchs (twice, if you include the Bison Rustlers who were working for the Earth Queen) and has a lower-class perspective on the Earth Kingdom that we haven't really seen represented in a main character. With all of this, his perspective on the conflict would have been unique and interesting, grounded in his character development and history, not to mention his relationship with Jinora, which was set up in the last season and only mentioned off-handedly in this one. |
| 754 | ** In a sense, Asami, ''again.'' She's spent the TimeSkip rebuilding Republic City, dealing with her father and comes up with the hummingbirds against Kuvira in addition to her dynamic with Korra ''yet'' the season ''still'' spent more time focusing on Mako in a less important sub-plot of babysitting Prince Wu just because it was more comedic, which brings back bad memories of how Asami was wasted in the first couple seasons. |
| 755 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: |
| 756 | ** When one of the first previews for Book 4 was shown, it would look like Team Avatar would still stay together after Book 3, but come the premiere of Book 4, it's revealed they disbanded, almost as an afterthought. |
| 757 | ** Among many of those who support the idea behind the controversial ending, but don't like how it was executed. Kind of... [[spoiler:Although they're glad it happened, they wished they didn't have to downplay it, since as it stands, perhaps it's a bit too ambiguous for its own good (Mike and Bryan ''did'' have to go out of their way to confirm that, yes, it was what it looked like, and promised to build onto it [[ConclusionInAnotherMedium on future comics]]), and the whole relationship was not as developed as it could be (the ShipTease starts a bit out of nowhere in Season 3 after two seasons of them being stuck in a LoveTriangle with Mako, which is kind of a big leap, all things considered, and it still doesn't deliver anything that could be considered a definitive declaration of love up until the ''very last scene of the whole series'').]] |
| 758 | ** Some fans felt Book 4 would've been a lot more interesting if Katara, Toph and Zuko had a heartwarming reunion, let alone the possibility of them teaming up with their successors, which could've allowed the former two to move away from their BadassDecay status and fighting against Kuvira's forces in the finale, which would've bookended both series. |
| 759 | * TheUntwist: |
| 760 | ** Kuvira being the antagonist of Book 4 was obvious from her short appearance in "Enter the Void" that pretty much everyone saw it coming. She didn't ''do'' anything villainous -- to the contrary, she saved Tonraq's life -- but her ominous music and odd introduction were quite unsubtle. |
| 761 | ** Subverted with her hostile take over of the Earth Kingdom. Few were surprised that she usurped Prince Wu, but not many expected her to [[spoiler: literally walk on stage of his coronation and declare herself ruler of the Earth Empire without using any subterfuge or violence of any kind.]] |
| 762 | ** Zhu Li being [[spoiler:a FakeDefector. It split the viewers into those that said IKnewIt and those were tricked because it was too obvious a twist]]. |
| 763 | ** With all the teasing going on over this (and the previous) season, the endgame ship borders on this as well. Above all else, the reason it was a surprise is that no one thought [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt they would actually go there]]. |
| 764 | * TheWoobie: |
| 765 | ** Korra starts the season as one. [[spoiler:She still hasn't completely recovered, is haunted by nightmares and hallucinations, and every attempt she makes to get back to normal always seems to leave her just out of reach of it.]] |
| 766 | ** Bolin becomes one in "Enemy at the Gates". He joined with Kuvira's army because he wanted to help the Earth Kingdom and genuinely believed Kuvira was doing the right thing. This puts him at odds with Mako and Opal, particularly the latter as she sees his decision as a betrayal to her and her family. In the episode, Bolin tries, and fails, to negotiate a peace deal between Suyin and Kuvira. During which, he finds out [[BrokenPedestal Kuvira has been placing people in labor camps and sending dissenters into re-education camps]]. When he confronts Kuvira about it and questions her actions, she threatens to send him to a re-education camp as well. [[spoiler:This ultimately leads him to defect from her army with Varrick.]] |
| 767 | ** While the season was mostly kind to Asami, it nevertheless delivered one final blow to her. [[spoiler:Her father performs a HeroicSacrifice not long after he reconnected with his daughter and they were on their way to rebuilding their relationship.]] Not to mention her factories and offices and products and whatnot have been destroyed for the umpteenth time. |
| 768 | [[/folder]] |
| 769 | |
| 770 | !!Video games |
| 771 | |
| 772 | [[folder:The Legend of Korra]] |
| 773 | * BreatherLevel: Chapter 6: Spirits Rising is definitely this. After fighting waves of chi blockers with ranged electricity and cuffs that make you wrestle the L-stick, you instead fight spirits which only utilize melee attacks and are easier to deal with now that you have all four bending. |
| 774 | * CriticalDissonance: The video game's dissonance is the opposite of Book One. Some reviewers despise it, consumers love it. |
| 775 | * DemonicSpiders: The red chi blockers have short-range, wide area electric attacks that are hard to dodge without running, and they can turn on a dime to track you if you're close enough. It's not so bad in wider spaces, but in closed spaces they're a nightmare. At longer ranges, they shoot unblockable balls of lightning that you need to keep an eye out for, and the game occasionally places them on high objects and sets them to use nothing but this attack. |
| 776 | * GameBreaker: |
| 777 | ** The Chi Crystal talisman makes your chi full constantly, boosting all your attacks. Pair this with the attack boost talisman and you'll slaughter enemies so effortlessly that it can actually negatively impact your score, simply because they die too fast. Even then, you can balance the crystal with attack reducers to get the damage output you want while retaining the boost, letting you get the medals with not too much difficulty. The game recommends you use it for Extreme mode. |
| 778 | ** The counterattack ability, which requires you to time your guard button on the enemy's attack. Not only does the counterattack result in you avoid taking damage, but also allows you to deal massive damage. This will remain as the best strategy for Chapters 2 and 3, which are [[EarlyGameHell very hard because you have no bending.]] |
| 779 | ** '''Airbending''', the final bending that you unlock, is the strongest out of the four. Not only do your attacks cast waves that can hit multiple enemies, but you can cast tornados that hit everything around you if you charge it up with chi. |
| 780 | * GoddamnBats: |
| 781 | ** Blue chi blockers love to pitch restraining bolas at you constantly, and unlike red chi blockers and their highly visible electric bolts, the bolas are nearly impossible to see if there's mooks in the way. If they hit you, you have to struggle free via wrestling the L-stick while any other attack the enemies were going to use is now guaranteed to hit. The only saving grace is that most enemies won't attack once you're restrained. |
| 782 | ** The bat-like spirits float above the ground and spit attacks at you, knocking your combo out, and they're easy to lose in the melee. |
| 783 | * ItsHardSoItSucks: The harshest reviews lamented the difficulty, along with the fact that you don't keep items you used upon death, making it even harder. You do keep collected spirit points, though, balancing the "losing items" thing out. |
| 784 | * SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The video game [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} was]] [[VideoGame/{{Vanquish}} made]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance by]] Creator/PlatinumGames. Despite the mixed reactions regarding other various aspects of the game, the combat system in particular has received a great deal of praise even from critical reviewers. |
| 785 | * PortingDisaster: The PC version. The game is optimized for a controller and says as much when it loads, but it's still a fairly barebones console port. You have to cycle through each screen resolution to get what you want rather than selecting from a list, there's no control mapping (the "Controller" option only allows you to toggle vibration for controllers), and a grand total of two graphics options (Normal and Smooth). |
| 786 | * ScrappyMechanic: There's an ability that is not explained in any part of the game except for the Continue Screen; taunting. Taunting requires you to hold down the Circle/B button to have Korra taunt the enemies causing them to TurnRed. All this does is make the enemies even more frustrating to fight by increasing your damage taken. While this concept is based on Bayonetta's taunting system[[note]] Basically how taunts work is that enemies will deal more damage but take more damage[[/note]], it doesn't work with this type of game where enemies can attack you off-screen and kill you easily on Extreme. |
| 787 | * ScrappyWeapon: |
| 788 | ** Firebending is considered to be the worst out of the four bending styles, due to its weak range and how it barely stands out compared to the other three. It's basically supposed to be the melee-focused style out of the four, but it ends up being outclassed by the insanely broken Airbending, Earthbending which is slower but deals more damage with more distance, and Waterbending, which is useful for ranged enemies. |
| 789 | ** The Charge Boost Talisman is pretty much pointless once you have the superior Full Charge Talisman. What it does is basically make you charge your chi faster, and is unlocked for free upon completing all stages on Normal difficulty. While charging your chi faster is helpful to constantly keep your bending up, it's made obsolete by the Full Charge Talisman, which maxes out your chi permanently in exchange for halving your health, a trivial trade-off for such a powerful effect. |
| 790 | ** The Counter Dodge Talisman that you unlock from clearing Pro-Bending on [[HarderThanHard Ace]] difficulty has a gimmick which is basically unreliable; upon dodging at the right time you jump from behind your enemy. Given how bad dodging is outside of combat especially with all of the ranged attacks and the fact that enemies can attack you off-screen, it's pretty much worthless. |
| 791 | * SelfImposedChallenge: With the exception of medals, progress is retained if you switch difficulty levels. This allows you to max out all your skills and obtain every item in Easy mode, then beat Normal and Extreme with an extremely unbalanced loadout. Alternatively, start an entirely new game on Extreme and have fun being shot at by a mecha tank when you have no bending at all. |
| 792 | * SoOkayItsAverage: While it's not considered to be as good as Platinum's action games, it's still viewed as a solid but highly flawed game. Many consumers agree with that it averts TheProblemWithLicensedGames, even if just barely. Critics... [[CriticalDissonance tend to disagree]]. |
| 793 | * ThatOneAchievement: The "Good Girl!" achievement requires you to go through a Naga running sequence without taking any damage. Even on the very first one, this is a lot more difficult than it sounds. [[DifficultyByAcceleration Naga's speed increases the longer you avoid taking damage]], and the obstacles get thicker the further you go. It requires split second timing even if you softball it by deliberately choosing the path of least resistance and not bothering to earn a medal. |
| 794 | * ThatOneBoss: The Triads battle on Chapter 3 can be this, as you have only waterbending. It doesn't help that the Triads can attack you off-screen and chop off your health quickly if you don't know how to counterattack. |
| 795 | * ThatOneLevel: |
| 796 | ** The Naga running sections. Not only is your healthbar replaced with a hit counter, you have to dodge obstacles that either do 1 point of damage or [[OneHitKill instantly kill you.]] Plus, you get faster and faster, and you have to make 90 degree turns. If that isn't frustrating enough, there are times where the insta-kill obstacles are placed ''right after'' the turns, which makes it impossible to dodge in time. In Chapter 5, you have to fight against three mecha tanks at the same time, increasing the difficulty. |
| 797 | ** If you're going for all Platinum medals, the giant spirit Korra battle in Chapter 7 is the definite choke point of the game. Giant Spirit Korra moves like a snail and is a massive target. With the tiny Equalists running around the field that can still cause damage and the mecha-tanks constantly spamming their electric cord attack, getting a high enough combo and beating them fast enough is far and away more difficult than every other battle in the game. |
| 798 | ** The Extreme Avatar achievement (beat the game on Extreme) is hard enough, since your health is severely reduced, but the Naga fight sequence with the three tanks in chapter five is just awful. You can withstand only [[OneHitPointWonder one hit]], the tanks have a lot of HP (individually, not as a group), they attack much faster, and they throw out obstacles in random patterns so you can't just memorize the sequence like in a Naga running level. The water shield won't even help you, because the tanks will immediately swing again if the shield blocks an attack, assuming it's not one that the shield can't block. |
| 799 | [[/folder]] |
| 800 | |
| 801 | [[folder:A New Era Begins]] |
| 802 | * GameBreaker: |
| 803 | ** Tenzin can easily defeat his opponents faster than everyone else due to his attacks allowing a farther range and damage increase. Pair Kya by his side and Hundun can be quickly defeated within a few minutes. |
| 804 | ** Korra herself may also count, once she has gotten her bending abilities back and can purify spirits, which can turn a long level into a two-minute one. |
| 805 | * GoddamnBats: The spirits in the can become this. Without Korra's ability to purify spirits all the way until the near end of the game, they are only knocked out for three turns. They eventually come back, and some missions require you beat all of them knocked out together, which can take longer than expected due to this process. |
| 806 | [[/folder]] |
| 807 | |
| 808 | !!Comics |
| 809 | * YMMV/TheLegendOfKorraTurfWars |
| 810 | * YMMV/TheLegendOfKorraRuinsOfTheEmpire |
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