History Headscratchers / TheLegendOfKorraTeamAvatar

** Korra is a Dojo-trained fighter thrown into the UFC ring. She has literally missed out on the development of an entire new mixed-arts school while training in highly scholastic, traditionalist forms while ''isolated in a compound,'' under no real-world threat, while Katara and Toph experienced free-form no-holds barred threat-of-death combat in the real world. Despite this, after only one match she's an InstantExpert, and starting to beat three on one. This is weak?
** Korra's been playing in Training Mode all her life. Then she tries to fight a bunch of guys who are literally professionals. Of course she's going to lose.

** I don't think the issue is really that. Compare Mako's 3v1 victory to Korra's 2v1 assaults. Mako was able to hold his own because he was concentrating on evading attacks, whereas Korra was concentrating on blocking them. It goes back to the lesson of the episode; be the leaf. When Korra stopped trying to meet force with force she stopped getting owned. Also, I'm not so sure that Tenzin's qualm with pro-bending is merely it's lack of spirituality, it appears that pro-bending suffers from a lack of strategy that an airbending master might find repugnant. Think about it, waterbenders should be able to fulfill and amazing role as supporters to their team. Ensnaring opponents, shielding allies, creating veils of fog to mask ally attacks, but it seems they're only allowed to slap water at the enemy team. To be fair, we've only seen this sport in one episode and I'm sure we don't know all the rules to it, but the fact that we've seen four different waterbenders compete and none of them thought of any of these tactics makes me suspect it's in the rules, which really makes pro-bending seem like a hollow shell compared to the traditional styles of bending.

** It looks like there might be signs of a [[IncrediblyLamePun flame war]] on the horizon here. Can we some some MST3KMantra please?

*** No, it's not necessary, neither spirit requires the full 10, 000 years to be reborn, that was a misunderstanding made by the fans.

** Yeah, that makes sense, just came off as weird given her reaction in season one.

* Out of no disrespect to what an awesome of and momentous ship this is- does Korrasami feel a bit, um, ''unexpectedly rushed'' at the end? Perhaps the show was ending a bit too soon, but it seemed like Korra and Asami were romantic rivals for the same guy and then suddenly at the end were in a relationship. They didn't even have too many scenes in private together prior to season 3 before they became an obvious couple in 4. Were there other moments in the show that can explain their gradual that might have gone unnoticed/ can further explain their relationship in another context? Were the characters always Bi to begin with or did they gradually discover their feelings for each other over the course of the show? Or is it possible they were in denial and never felt any attraction to Mako at all and simply realized they were with the wrong person? Again, no disrespect.

** Also Bryan Konietzko (one of the writers) describes himself as the first Korrasami shipper, before they had released any character details to the public. So even way back in season 1, while there wasn't any actual ShipTease, there was enough friendliness between the girls to set things up for seasons 3 and 4.

[[folder: Why didn't Korra give leadership of Team Avatar to Asami?]]
* I don't understand why Korra just didn't give leadership of Team Avatar to Asami while she recovered. To begin with, it became pretty clear the world needed a dream team of Team Avatar's unique skills to take on the world, especially more than ever due to the chaos in the Earth Kingdom, or the Red Lotus threat, considering that Team Avatar is the closest the Avatar World has to the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica or Franchise/TheAvengers. Besides that, it just seemed like a missed opportunity to test Asami's leadership skills, given that she's always sidelined and hardly accomplishing anything on her own onscreen. Asami could have brought Team Avatar in a new direction, she could have led them on missions to prove she is more than just Avatar Korra's "Second In Command" as well as showing she can be an accomplished hero without the Avatar. Doing so would have made a great AuthorsSavingThrow, especially given the reception Asami has for being sidelined and such. Plus, it just seemed like disbanding Team Avatar was done as an afterthought.
** Three reasons: 1. It's ''Team Avatar''. It's literally just the Avatar's close friends helping her out. It's centered around the Avatar -- it's not like the Justice League or the Avengers, it's more like Lois, Jimmy and Perry surrounding Superman. 2. Team Avatar didn't even really exist after season 1 anyway. 3. Korra isn't a military squad leader who's concerned with maintaining her unit. There's nothing official or formal about Team Avatar, and recovering from a crippling injury that left her depressed really doesn't put her in the "think tactically about everything" mindset.
** First of all, Korra used the name "Team Avatar" in Season 3 as if it were official by pushing Mako to come with her by telling him "he's part of Team Avatar" during one of the first episodes of that season. Bolin talked about it as if it were official in Book 2, and Asami talked about it as if it were official in Book 4. Also, wouldn't Korra being injured or depressed be her reason for giving Asami leadership? If a leader were in that same position as Korra, he'd give leadership to whoever he can trust, and thinking tactically is more Asami's thing. Korra, being injured, could just simply say the words "Asami...Team Avatar...is in your hands". Plus, knowing Asami and her loyalty, it's what she'd do to honor Korra. Don't members of Team Avatar fight, not ''for'' Korra, but rather because Korra gave them a sense of purpose and something to believe in? Mako said Korra inspired him to live and fight for others because it's the right thing to do, Bolin believes in [[WeHelpTheHelpless helping the helpless]], and wanted to continue doing that, and Asami has UndyingLoyalty to her cause. Wouldn't their beliefs and determination have been enough to make the group stronger than any individual that makes it, including the Avatar? There's a saying that the whole of a team is greater than the sum of its parts.
** It's four teenagers who tried to fight crime together, not an elite paramilitary group. Them calling it "Team Avatar" doesn't make it any official thing, any more than a bunch of kids calling themselves the Hole in the Chalk Gang makes them an official entity of any kind. After Season 1, they were all doing their own thing. Mako was a cop, Bolin stuck to the Probending then was a movie star, and Asami had her company to run. They weren't some cohesive unit that was absolutely essential. You're really making a bigger deal out of "Team Avatar" than it actually was. Team Avatar simply did not matter in the way you seem to think it did. At that point, "leadership" of an extremely loose group that didn't really exist anymore and was centered around a single person who wasn't around at all didn't matter.
** A group of teenagers fighting crime together? Sounds like ''Teen Titans'' to me. Then the better question is why didn't it matter? I mean Zuko stepped up and took leadership of Aang's Team Avatar, and they tried to fight the Fire Lord without Aang. Aang came back, but at least they were willing to try. In ''Legend of Korra'' after Book 2, Korra's Team Avatar still remained a team. From a writing perspective, why didn't Asami take leadership of Team Avatar and how would making Team Avatar staying together minus Korra look? Like I said earlier, didn't Korra give each of them something to believe in that they each reflected on in the final book?
** Aang's situation was completely different. There was a huge problem that needed to be solved right then and there whether the Avatar was around or not. When Korra's gone after Book 3, there isn't, and there's really nothing that Asami, Bolin, and Mako could have done as a "team" to solve the issues that are there. The two situations are just not comparable. From a writing perspective: The show is about the Avatar. Listen to anyone who isn't on the team -- they don't ask for "Team Avatar" to solve a problem, they call for the Avatar to solve it, and her friends tag along. "Team Avatar," if it has any importance as being a coherent unit, is pretty much just important to those four people -- and they're four ''adults'', with other responsibilities and lives that are moving apart from one another, which is exactly how the real world works. Asami has her company, which clearly demands a lot of her time and attention. Mako has his police work, a very demanding profession. Bolin is with Kuvira and doing the work he thinks is right. They can't be a "team" without each of them giving up things that are just plain more important than calling themselves "Team Avatar (minus the Avatar)."
** Actually, there were things Asami, Mako, and Bolin could have done as a team--hunt down the rest of the Red Lotus, or go to various villages to curb crime that resulted from the anarchy. In the series, things like the OneHourWorkWeek trope is almost always in effect, as it is in most fiction. I mean, just like Asami, Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark had companies to run yet they still have time to be with their respective teams. Plus, doesn't the structure of the story send a BrokenAesop about teamwork? It feels like they don't give others a chance to be heroes and let Korra hog the spotlight. A major lesson Korra's been trying to learn is that it's not always about her, and the fact that the writers don't make people call for "Team Avatar" kinda sends a negative implication that Korra's companions are nothing but mere sidekicks, and from what we've seen, they're more than that. Mako and Bolin don't just follow the Avatar, they follow her example, and they've both EXPLICITLY stated in Book 4 that they fight for others because it's the right thing to do. One of the messages the writers frequently give out is that you don't have to be the Avatar, or a bender, to be a hero. Doesn't not giving the other members a chance defeat that message?
** The Red Lotus apparently weren't a problem. Three people aren't going to do jack that the whole new nation of Airbenders isn't already doing. OneHourWorkWeek is clearly not in evidence in this series, as we're shown directly that Mako's time with the police keeps him busy -- to the point he's sleeping in his office at times and has to specifically get time off to go to the South Pole in Book 2 -- and Asami has to rebuild her company more or less by herself. A lot of Asami's screen time shows her directly doing that. And Mako and Bolin ''do'' fight for others -- as a cop and as one of Kuvira's people, albeit Bolin realizes he's misguided, he's trying. They had plenty of chance, and did, become their own people when Korra was away. Again, these are adults with lives and responsibilities other than being Korra's partners, especially when Korra isn't there. And that is really what "Team Avatar" is.\\\
''One of the messages the writers frequently give out is that you don't have to be the Avatar, or a bender, to be a hero. Doesn't not giving the other members a chance defeat that message?'' What makes you think they didn't have a chance? They had plenty of chances to be heroes, and they were. They just didn't need to hang onto the name of the Avatar to do it. They're doing their own things, bettering the world in their own way. The series is about change, moving on and growing up, which is exactly what all three of them did.
** First of all, Mako was never shown asking for time off. That's how the trope works. He only slept at his office because Vaatu destroyed his apartment. Plus, Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark have companies to run, and yet they still have plenty of time to be part of their respective teams, so why can't it be done the same way for Asami?\\\
But, let's go back one of the first points I made when I asked this question. What is known is that many people complained that Asami was sidelined to the point it made her look almost insignificant, and to the point she was kept out of most of the action. Wouldn't letting her step up as team leader be one way to rectify said complaints?
** Unless I'm mistaken, Mako mentions having time off, or the chief gives it to him, before they go to the South Pole. He's shown sleeping in his office in Season 2, before Vaatu even shows up. Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark have extremely big, established companies that were up and running more or less on their own before they ever took over, while Asami has to ''rebuild'' it after Hiroshi tarnished the company's name by associating with a terrorist, and Asami is directly shown doing just this. Remember the reason she went to Varrick? So he would invest in her company. Remember the reason she gets involved in the Water Tribe civil war? To make money for her company. Remember the reason that she teams up with Mako in Season 2? To try and save her company. Taking care of her company is a ''huge'' part of the character. Again, something more important to her than leading a gang of three people who, themselves, have other things to do.\\\
They don't write the whole series just to "rectify complaints." They write the series to tell their story, not to try and satisfy every individual viewpoint to do a plot point that does not make sense for the character.
** Actually, it might not be a stretch to say that leading a team of heroes is a part of Asami's character. If anything, one of Asami's strengths is leadership, and in Book 3 while Korra was meditating, Asami would assume leadership while protecting Korra. She also exhibited good leadership while preparing the hummingbird suits against Kuvira. Additionally, I've seen lots of stories and saw lots of shows with heroes and said stories/shows have all asserted that nothing is more important than fighting for truth and justice. The Avatar franchise has always been about fighting for truth and justice. It's pretty much the natural instinct and progression of taking up the sword--once heroes come together (without expecting it to be an ongoing thing), they become world renowned heroes. Once they earn that renown, it makes them realize they carry a huge responsibility they cannot turn back from. Why? Because it feels good. Sure, these people may have lives, but their renown means that "heroing" is a new obligation they have to adapt to their lives. To abandon heroing would be a shirk of your responsibility to truth and justice, and even Captain America or Superman know that.
[[/folder]]

*** That said, the follow-up comic, Turf Wars, has Korra and Asami repeatedly profess how important they are to each other, and Korra even seemingly backs out of a LoveConfession at one point. Given that the comic takes place immediately after the series, it would seem that Korra and Asami are supposed to be in love with each other by the end of the series, in spite of there having been next to nothing to build that up. If you watch the show without ShippingGoggles, it's difficult to find a single, genuine moment of ShipTease between them before the last episode of Season 3. And even then, it's not particularly romantic, and can just as easily be seen as Asami showing compassion for a friend who's just been horrifically traumatized. Then comes Season 4, and beyond a few moments of random ShipTease, there is, again, very little done to actually develop their relationship. Go through Season 4, and you can count the number of actual conversations they have on one hand. Yes, Korra writes only to Asami because she's the only one she can talk to. Except there's nothing to show why Asami is suddenly closer to Korra than anyone else. Yes, Korra blushes when Asami compliments her hair. She also blushes when Bolin sings her praises while asking her out in Season 1. Tiny moments like those do not a relationship make. It would have been nice to see a genuine same-sex relationship in a kid's show, even if it had to be understated. However, the show doesn't do a good job of establishing that Korra and Asami are particularly close, let alone that they have romantic feelings for each other. It just tells us that they are, and that they do. And that's unfortunate, because visibility of same-sex relationships in children's media is actually important. As in, important beyond making the FanPreferredCouple canon.

*** That said, the follow-up comic, Turf Wars, has Korra and Asami repeatedly profess how important they are to each other, and Korra even seemingly backs out of a LoveConfession at one point. Given that the comic takes place immediately after the series, it would seem that Korra and Asami are supposed to be in love with each other by the end of the series, in spite of there having been next to nothing to build that up. If you watch the show without ShippingGoggles, it's difficult to find a single, genuine moment of ShipTease between them before the last episode of Season 3. And even then, it's not particularly romantic, and can just as easily be seen as Asami showing compassion for a friend who's just been horrifically traumatized. Then comes Season 4, and beyond a few moments of random ShipTease, there is, again, very little done to actually develop their relationship. Go through Season 4, and you can count the number of actual conversations they have on one hand. Yes, Korra writes only to Asami because she's the only one she can talk to. Except there's nothing to show why Asami is suddenly closer to Korra than anyone else. Yes, Korra blushes when Asami compliments her hair. She also blushes when Bolin sings her praises while asking her out in Season 1. Tiny moments like those do not a relationship make. It would have been nice to see a genuine same-sex relationship in a kid's show, even if it had to be understated. However, the show doesn't do a good job of establishing that Korra and Asami are particularly close, let alone a romantic relationship. It just tells us that they are. And that's unfortunate, because visibility of same-sex relationships in children's media is actually important. As in, important beyond making the FanPreferredCouple canon.

*** That said, the follow-up comic, Turf Wars, has Korra and Asami repeatedly profess how important they are to each other, and Korra even seemingly backs out of a LoveConfession at one point. Given that the comic takes place immediately after the series, it would seem that Korra and Asami are supposed to be in love with each other by the end of the series, in spite of there having been next to nothing to build that up. If you watch the show without ShippingGoggles, it's difficult to find a single, genuine moment of ShipTease between them before the last episode of Season 3. And even then, it's just Asami putting her hand on Korra's and telling her that she's there for her. While that can be construed as romantic, it can just as easily be seen as showing a basic level of compassion for a friend who's just been horrifically traumatized. Then comes Season 4, and beyond a few moments of random ShipTease, there is, again, very little done to actually develop their relationship. Yes, Korra writes to Asami and tells her that she's the only one she can talk to. Not that there's any actual emotional bonding between them before that, or anything to justify Asami understanding Korra better than literally anyone else. Yes, Korra blushes when Asami compliments her hair. She also blushes when Bolin sings her praises while asking her out in Season 1. Tiny moments like those do not a relationship make, especially when they are shoved in with no actual build-up or explanation, no matter how much you ship the characters involved. Unfortunately, the show doesn't do a particularly good of developing an especially close friendship between Korra and Asami, let alone a romantic tension. Seriously, go through Season 4 (ostensibly the season which establishes their relationship, since there's nothing in the previous three seasons) and you can count the number of actual, one-on-one conversations they have on one hand. Unfortunately, without the assistance of ShippingGoggles, the show doesn't do a very good job of developing a particularly close friendship between Korra and Asami, let alone a romantic relationship. I have no problem with the Korrasami ship, but they really needed to have done a better job with it. Visibility of same-sex relationships in children's media is actually important - it's not just about making the FanPreferredCouple canon.

** I read that as Bolin lying ''up until'' the point where Eska kissed him. Because the idea that he was always fine with the way she treated him is pretty ludicrous and blatantly contradicts his behavious in the beginning of the season.

[[folder: Mako and Bolin's bending]]
* If Mako and Bolin are siblings, how are they able to bend different elements from each other? Why haven't we ever seen this before?

** I'm talking more like the same kind of fear of [[BewareTheSuperman Superman turning against the people]]. Like, say going KnightTemplar, or going mad for power.

** Actually, it might not be a stretch to say that leading a team of heroes is a part of Asami's character. If anything, one of Asami's strengths is leadership, and in Book 3 while Korra was meditating, Asami would assume leadership while protecting Korra. She also exhibited good leadership while preparing the hummingbird suits against Kuvira. Additionally, I've seen lots of stories and saw lots of shows with heroes and said stories/shows have all asserted that nothing is more important than fighting for truth and justice. The Avatar franchise has always been about fighting for truth and justice. It's pretty much the natural instinct and progression of taking up the sword--once heroes come together (without expecting it to be an ongoing thing), they become world renowned heroes. Once they earn that renown, it makes them realize they carry a huge responsibility they cannot turn back from. Why? Because it feels good. Sure, these people may have lives, but their renown means that "heroing" is a new obligation they have to adapt to their lives.

** Actually, it might not be a stretch to say that leading a team of heroes is a part of Asami's character. If anything, one of Asami's strengths is leadership, and in Book 3 while Korra was meditating, Asami would assume leadership while protecting Korra. She also exhibited good leadership while preparing the hummingbird suits against Kuvira. Additionally, I've seen lots of stories with heroes and said stories have all asserted that nothing can be more important than fighting for truth and justice. The Avatar franchise has always been about fighting for truth and justice.

** Looking at another series entirely might help this make sense: magic in ''TheDresdenFiles''. In that series, most wizards use foci (wands, staffs, etc.), incantations, and magic words not because they're ''necessary'', but because they help the wizard visualize and give shape to the magic. For the main character, throwing a gout of flame at someone seems easier and more natural if he can visualize the flame coming from the end of his rod while he shouts 'Fuego'. He can and has cast magic without any of those accoutrements, but it's a lot harder.\\\

** Maybe the writers just know that their viewers aren't [[ViewersAreMorons idiots]] and don't feel the need to spell out the beautiful symbolism behind the plot, which would cheapen the effect.

** Part of Bolin's personality is that he's always looking for an authority figure to tell him what to do. Having grown up as an orphan on the streets, it makes sense he would seek the feeling of security that one gets from following authorities. For a long time his primary authority figure was Mako, then later on he latches onto dictatorial leaders like Varrick and Kuvira. Perhaps this also explains why he's attracted to strong, forceful girls like Korra and Esna? He may protest it, but maybe he still subconsciously enjoys being ordered around by Eska? It's only during season 4, when Bolin goes through some character growth and realizes he can be his own person and not a follower, that he's able to form a healthier, more reciprocal relationship with Opal.