Legend of Korra, anyone?

[21%]

Anyone watches this? I'm a huge fan of Avatar: The Last Air Bender and I've only recently started watching Korra.

I knew going into Season 1 that it was not going to be another Avatar, but I didn't mind that. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it was totally different in both look and feel and tone -- different world, dimmer colors, grayer morals. Not sure I'm a fan of pro-bending, but that's all right. They managed to make it pretty interesting to watch nonetheless.

More thoughts on Season 1:

I liked Amon as a villain. He's pretty scary. The end felt a little rushed and a lot of things go unexplained, e.g. shouldn't Korra have to get in touch with her spiritual side or something to finally air bend? But overall it was still pretty decent and promising.

Then I started Season 2... I'm only three episodes in, but i'm just not feeling it:

It seems the spirit portal was opened by... brute force? Shouldn't Korra have to mediate or something?
It's fun to watch children bicker, but watching three old people bickering is pretty cringe-worthy.
Didn't Korra learn anything at all from the last season?
The best thing so far I've seen is the Appa stuffed toy

Please, please tell me it gets better...

I think the main problem is that in the original Avatar, it seems like the kids really are the driving force behind important changes in the world. They discuss and make plans, they go and do things, and things happen in the world. That's part of why I love it so much. Unlike most stories, the original series doesn't feel like it's an adult-led world, and I find that very empowering for kids.

In Korra, so far, the whole crew, while being older, aren't given much to do at all. They are not discovering new things, they are not deciding on anything important. They seem like just tools. Even adults feel like tools. Everything feels rather plot-driven. I understand if that is more like how the real world is, but it is really taking quite a lot away from the show. But, well, I'll see what unfolds in episode 4 and so on.

 

[Riva]

http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/popular-culture-type/56099-legend-korra.html

You could summon the people that have participated in the above linked thread if you wish.

Please, please tell me it gets better...

It gets better but it's not as good as the season 1.

I believer - although I liked the original series better than this series - that the season 1 of Korra is the best season out of both the serieses.

It touches social issues we could relate too: Some are benders, some are not, the social pressure mounting on the non-bender children to be gifted, feelings of jealousy felt by non-benders, certain non-benders assuming that all world issues are caused by benders and non-benders rebelling against the benders which makes the benders look like the minority and the powerless.

Amon's anger with his father and his exploitation of the feeling of insecurities experienced by the non-benders to vanquish bending so that he can get back at his father is classic high school literature I felt and I loved it.

 

[Tellenbach]

Some of the best episodes are coming up; try to avoid all online discussions until you get to episode 10 or so.

The problem with the whole series is Korra; she's not a very likable character and there is little of the team chemistry that we enjoyed in the first series.

 

[Redbone]

The problem with the whole series is Korra; she's not a very likable character and there is little of the team chemistry that we enjoyed in the first series.

^this.

[MENTION=6971]21%[/MENTION] quit while you're ahead to spare yourself the crushing disappointment that awaits!

 

[Rail Tracer]

It's ok, not the awesomeness of TLAB, but watchable.

I think they initially make Korra to be a 1 season deal.... but because people wanted more, they decided to add more.

Let's just say the story gets bigger, for better or worse.

 

[21%]

Thank you everyone! Now that my expectations are basically destroyed, I think I'm going to be ok with watching the rest of the series.

I'll do a marathon tonight and get through a few more episodes before reporting back

 

[21%]

It touches social issues we could relate too: Some are benders, some are not, the social pressure mounting on the non-bender children to be gifted, feelings of jealousy felt by non-benders, certain non-benders assuming that all world issues are caused by benders and non-benders rebelling against the benders which makes the benders look like the minority and the powerless.

Amon's anger with his father and his exploitation of the feeling of insecurities experienced by the non-benders to vanquish bending so that he can get back at his father is classic high school literature I felt and I loved it.

I liked that too. I liked the subject matter. It's pretty relevant, and it's a brave take on a tough topic. The whole thing needs more episodes though, I think. There wasn't enough time in Season 1 to have the team bond properly. The final few episodes felt like it could have spanned out a bit more.

I think the city should learn something from the experience. Maybe double their efforts in cracking down benders' abuse of power, or something. You know, push for real equality.

The problem with the whole series is Korra; she's not a very likable character and there is little of the team chemistry that we enjoyed in the first series.

I agree. She's not very likable, but she's not as bad as I thought. She doesn't seem very bright and I feel that she messes up more things than she helps. At least we have 2 more seasons coming. Maybe they are trying to leave room for her to grow (?)

quit while you're ahead to spare yourself the crushing disappointment that awaits!

Oh no! I have to see how it ends, but I'll try my best to keep my expectations very low.

I think they initially make Korra to be a 1 season deal.... but because people wanted more, they decided to add more.

Let's just say the story gets bigger, for better or worse.

Fingers crossed!




---






Ok, just got a few more episodes in. I'm up to episode 5 right now. It does seem to be going somewhere...

Everything is a bit pointless, but at least Tenzin and siblings stopped bickering and he got to play with his kids for a little. Not sure what purpose that serves, but at least we get to see some fake baby Appas and fake Momos, so I guess that's ok.

I'm glad Mako and Korra broke up, because it's hardly a convincing relationship. It's not very well done, but oh well. The mid-ocean fight with Korra, the creepy twins, and some random spirit monster directly after that seems to just came out of nowhere. How the heck did the twins find Korra so fast? And, seriously, does Korra think she's just going to ride a speedboat straight to the Fire Nation?

And, Bolin should be given more to do. Not sure if his movie-making is supposed to be comic relief or what...

 

[21%]

I finally finished the whole season! It really gets better like you all said, but not great.

I really enjoyed Wan's story. Can we have more of that instead of Korra's story please?

But then again, Korra isn't without good points in the later episodes:
- Tenzin's brief conversation with Aang's spirit: that was really touching. Finally! I hope this will solve whatever it is that bothers me about Tenzin's character so much.
- The whole spirit world was rather entertaining, especially baby Korra and General Iroh Seriously, I wouldn't mind watching the adventures of a 5-year-old Korra.
- Suddenly Bolin and Eska became very cute together. Now I'm interested. I doubt we will ever see Eska again though.

The 'wha-'?
- What's up with all the giant scale fighting in the ocean at the end? Some subtlety would have been nice. The problem near the end is that it seems like Korra fights bad guy and loses but then hope is not lost! Korra fights bad guy again and loses, but again hope is not lost, and she fights him again, and again. I know it's supposed to make the situation seem very dire -- but there's only so much repetition you can handle.
- Jinora does what? Why? How?

I realized that the only reason it got better at the end was that suddenly, there seemed to be joy again in such a joyless series. The original series (Avatar: The Last Air Bender) was full of joy and little thoughtful, fun and touching moments. The story doesn't always make sense, but it's free and liberating. The kids get to make decisions and go places. They even make a decision to take a break and go on a vacation! Everything is looser, more carefree, more hopeful.

I feel that the Legend of Korra suffers because it's trying to 'outdo' the original series. There is pressure to do something bigger, badder, so in the process there's a lot of over-thinking that eventually suffocates the series.

Maybe...

now that the link to past avatars is broken, they will have less pressure, and Korra can grow into its own series. I would like her to get the link back at the end of Series 4 once she finally becomes a full-fledged avatar. That would be sweet.

I still have hope for Series 3 though.