Live Blogs Ryochi watches The Legend Of Korra Book 4

RyochiMayeabara2014-10-18 18:54:56

Pros:

Giving the idea that Korra may want to keep the metal inside of her because she may not want to be the Avatar anymore is an interesting development.

Giving Kuvira and the Earth Prince brat (forgot his name) a contrast in the way they treat everyone politically is a smart idea (even though I find the Prince irritating yet insteresting)

Toph seems to have some sort of impact on Korra. I also like how her being in this Season doesn't feel too forced at all (unlike Zuko...sort of)

Bolin seems to have finally found more purpose than being comic relief and I like his conflict with Mako

Cons:

The Earth Prince. Ugh. I really hope they do not waste potential with this guy. He is ripe for Character Development but this show seems to not be going that way at all.

(Personal Con) Saying that Korra had just abit of metal left inside of her and is making her sluggish almost made me scream "COP OUT!!!". So glad they weaved Korra's psychological state into this though but at least foreshadow this instead of making it come out of nowhere.

(Just for Fun) What's with the Doomsday device? This isn't metropolis guys.

Overall:

While this episode was slightly weaker than the ones that came before it, it gets major points for all of the Pros that it has. The Politics continue to be really great in this season and I do like the contrast between the Earth Prince and Kuvira and how they treat common people, I just don't like how they aren't doing much with the Prince. Most of the time, he's going around trying to be funny and continues to be a one-dimensional character from what I've seen through the season. And considering that the Earth Kingdom and its politics is going to be a major focus for this season and that he's getting a lot of screentime, this is entirely unacceptable.

I also like the conflict between Mako and Bolin. Bolin believes that what he is doing is paving the way to peace but Mako sees all of the pillaging going on and completely disagrees and that what he is doing is the equivalent of a tyrant. I feel that this is a pretty good conflict with a pretty decent use of politics.

I also like how Toph seems to be having some sort of impact with Korra and gives her the suggestion that she may not want the metal out of her because she doesn't want to be the Avatar anymore. Interesting psychology to bring into something that came completely out of nowhere. The metal being inside of her was not even foreshadowed (besides a few fight scenes maybe....) and you want me to buy that the metal is still inside Korra even though we clearly saw it come out in the final episode of Season 3? Yeah no.

So yeah, some pretty deep cons but overall I feel that if they fix their garbage with the Earth Prince and stop bringing up things that weren't even foreshadowed in previous season then this will be the best season of the LOK. It really has the potential to be a great season and I hope it doesn't come crashing down.

Now......to episode 4....

Comments

WilliamsonK Since: Dec, 1969

Oct 19th 2014 at 5:39:52 PM

I'm glad that Toph was at least acting in character, but all she did the entire time was rough up Korra, call her the worst Avatar ever and give up (all of which I enjoyed, but she could've helped out a little). So, she's no Yoda, but her comeback is at least more interesting than Zuko's and I'll enjoy seeing how it pans out (if it does).

I actually thought this was the first time we got to see some character development with the prince (him facing the fact he's a dolt and all). I don't know, he may actually prove to be a relevant character (but his antics are still a frustrating waste of plot time).

And the politics...again it seems to show more than tell. We never get to see Kuvira's alleged tyranny besides her harsh retaliations in the first episode, we have to rely on word of mouth. This may be for a purpose, maybe withholding information for shock value, but we could use some visuals at this point. Episode IV of Star Wars didn't have a very broad scope in terms of characters, focusing mainly on the leads, but it let us know that the Imperials were bad news through it's imagery (opening scene) and showing us at least one of their tyrannical deeds (blowing up a planet as a demonstration of power). I'm not seeing any of that here, just a bunch of yapping.

And why did we need to see Desna and Eska again?

Overall, a pretty good episode, and I'm interested to see where they're going with the spirit root thing (I pray to god they don't just turn it into a nuke, though it may provide an interesting conflict). I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the spirits will become relevant again.

RyochiMayeabara Since: Dec, 1969

Oct 25th 2014 at 1:47:12 PM

Yeah Toph at least acting in character is a plus for me but I feel that she did help out. Especially in episode 4.

The Prince did get SOME character development but he was barely fleshed out.

And yeah the politics do need more visuals and of course it has a bunch of yapping. But it was better than how Season 1 handled it in my opinion.

I hope the Spirits become relevant too but I have a feeling that the damage was already done.