The Legend of Korra is a great series, and to its credit has done a lot to set itself apart from its predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender, especially in the first season. But it is not the 'legend' the original was.
Unlike Avatar, Korra has clear weaknesses as a series that go beyond nitpicking individual episodes or details. It has tremendous strengths as well, but the near-perfect balance that Avatar achieved is missing. Some of the problems with the series are due to behind the scenes issues that limited the length of the seasons and left the creators not knowing if they would have more seasons. But it is the final product that must be reviewed, and the final product did suffer because of these factors beyond the creators control.
The primary issue caused by the behind the scenes drama was a problem with rushed pacing, an issue that has plagued both seasons so far. The other standout issue has much less to do with external factors. The new team Avatar just isn't compelling as a group and as individuals only Korra and Asami are truly interesting. Korra herself is much less likeable than Aang, though she is not a bad character by any means. She is insufferable in a way that makes it fun to see her fail.
Korra has some truly fantastic characters, Tenzin and his family, Lin, and Varrick. But that only serves to make me wish the series was focused on them instead of on Korra and her team. Doug Walker hit the nail on the head when he said that there was something wrong when a child training a lemur was the most interesting thing happening.
Korra's biggest strength has been its plot, despite the pacing issues. The plot of the first season, while not explored as well as it should have been, was incredible, and the plot of the second season would have been great if they had more time.
Post-finale update. Seasons 3 and 4 were vast improvements over the first 2 seasons. The plot finally settled in, Korra became a much more likable character, and there was more focus on those characters that were more likable to begin with. The return of the airbenders turned out to be a standout case of Growing the Beard.
The giant shadow
The Legend of Korra is a great series, and to its credit has done a lot to set itself apart from its predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender, especially in the first season. But it is not the 'legend' the original was.
Unlike Avatar, Korra has clear weaknesses as a series that go beyond nitpicking individual episodes or details. It has tremendous strengths as well, but the near-perfect balance that Avatar achieved is missing. Some of the problems with the series are due to behind the scenes issues that limited the length of the seasons and left the creators not knowing if they would have more seasons. But it is the final product that must be reviewed, and the final product did suffer because of these factors beyond the creators control.
The primary issue caused by the behind the scenes drama was a problem with rushed pacing, an issue that has plagued both seasons so far. The other standout issue has much less to do with external factors. The new team Avatar just isn't compelling as a group and as individuals only Korra and Asami are truly interesting. Korra herself is much less likeable than Aang, though she is not a bad character by any means. She is insufferable in a way that makes it fun to see her fail.
Korra has some truly fantastic characters, Tenzin and his family, Lin, and Varrick. But that only serves to make me wish the series was focused on them instead of on Korra and her team. Doug Walker hit the nail on the head when he said that there was something wrong when a child training a lemur was the most interesting thing happening.
Korra's biggest strength has been its plot, despite the pacing issues. The plot of the first season, while not explored as well as it should have been, was incredible, and the plot of the second season would have been great if they had more time.
Post-finale update. Seasons 3 and 4 were vast improvements over the first 2 seasons. The plot finally settled in, Korra became a much more likable character, and there was more focus on those characters that were more likable to begin with. The return of the airbenders turned out to be a standout case of Growing the Beard.