The Legend of Korra

What is up with that response to Bryan's post. Did they watch the show?

That was an old post from back before book two aired. At that point we hadn't seen Hou-Ting or Izumi on the show.

GOT vs. LOK cagematch.

From the South Pole Iceberg to the Republic City Portal: A Critical Study of the Avatar Franchise: Part Eleven

Old Wounds recap.

I can confirm she is indeed, Lin fucking Beifong.◊

So what plan do you think Zaheer is going to be on by the end of the season?

edited 28th Aug '15 1:18:45 PM by Bocaj

So I've started to watch this, since I liked TLA quite a lot. Just finished Season 2.

First I like the choice of having the protagonist be a not-quite-adult girl. It allows for different problematics and charcater development compared to Aang, and really I like the character a lot overall. Well, I like most characters − except Mako for some reason… dunno, I find him kinda bland.

Now the series clearly has a few problems: first, the first season is just awfully paced, especially at the end. Episode 12 is a disaster, between the Anticlimax Boss, the half-baked resolution and the succession of Deus Ex Machinas. Amon had a lot of potential as an antagonist, which was completely wasted.

Season 2 is a lot better in that regard. It doesn't feel nearly as rushed (it is two episodes longer) and I liked that it delves deeper into the Avatar's origin and role, and develops that idea of "restoring balance" that was kind of vague in the first series. Sure, Korra's uncle being the villain is hardly a twist, but he did help her grow in a way, which is a nice touch. And I like Tenzin and his family's development immensely. Although the Deus ex Machina complaint still applies to an extent (And suddenly, Giant Blue Korra! She's losing? A wild Jinora appears and saves the day! …Wut?)

Now a weakness that both seasons share is that the writing feels somewhat less inspired than in TLA. It's not terrible overall, and there are still quite a few brilliant moments, but there are also quite a few "meh" moments, and occasionally some "was someone paid money to write this?" moments ("That's… the saddest story I've ever heard…" My god…) The voice acting is also a bit flat at times, but I think it's related to the above.

Also, something that I find annoying is… the romance… I don't mind a little romance here and there (there was some in TLA after all), but all this love triangle bullshit with Mako, Korra and Asami isn't really that interesting. The story has a enough compelling characters and complex thematics that it could do without so much soap opera drama I think.

Oh well, despite that I'm still enjoying the ride. And what did I forget… oh yeah THE MUSICS ARE FANTASTIC DAMNIT!

PS: …Is it me or the heroes kill an awful lot of people in this series?

No worries, season 3 and 4 are the best in the series. You've gotten through the worst parts.

The love triangle bullcrap goes away forever after the second season, so you don't need to worry about that.

Is it me or the heroes kill an awful lot of people in this series?

A lot is overstating it, but you haven't seen the last of it. Seasons 3 and 4 are more ATLA-like in several ways and 3 is almost unanimously considered the best (on par with 2 and 3 of ATLA), so you're in for a treat.

Did they kill antagonists a lot? The only example I can think of from the first two seasons is Unalaq and that was an unfortunate necessity.

Is it really unfortunate if nobody gives a shit about it?

Well I don't think she wanted to kill him. Until he went Kaiju she was probably trying to incapacitate him until a more permanent solution could be found.

I liked Amon's backstory just fine. And what I liked about Jinora was that, unlike Aang's sudden appearance, all Jinora did was help Korra - Korra still had to do all the work.

...why did you bring up Amon's backstory just now?

Somebody else was criticizing Amon's backstory.

Clearly they're one of the oppressive benders.

Kyoshi no.

Maybe it's for the best that she's not in the cycle anymore.

I fail to see the problem.

It beats the way it actually happened in the show.

Kyoshi YES.

edited 3rd Sep '15 7:22:15 AM by TobiasDrake

I see where the Dai Li got their inspiration from.

Kyoshi's philosophy is great for problems you can punch into submissions (noting that for her, "continents" was included in that category). Political subtleties, not so much.

The mentor that speaks to Korra's heart, not the one she needs

To be fair I don't see any of the past avatars being that helpful to Korra in retrospect considering the problems she had to face were completely different from their own. Aang would have been too laid back, Kyoshi too confrontational, Yangchen too calculating...I imagine them being severed from Korra was kind of a way to say "she will have to find out on her own".

Especially since all the advice they gave Aang in ATLA mostly served for him to realize that he had to find his own solution. They are more psychanalysts than advisors really.

Fart jokes.

But not from Meelo this time, so.

Original Airbenders recap.

Is the recap quoting How to Train Your Dragon 2 there?

I just got reminded of why I don't like Jinora.