Anyone who knows me knows that Avatar: The Last Airbender is my favorite show of all time, animated or otherwise. So needless to say, I had high expectations for The Legend of Korra, the next chapter in the Avatar universe -- one might even say my expectations were impossibly high.
Overall, I thought the first season of The Legend of Korra was good, but also unevenly paced. This show was better than the original series in more ways than one. And of course I loved the myriad connections between Korra's generation and Aang's. But the original series had also set a ridiculously high standard in terms of storytelling and character development. And in this department, as well as pacing, TLoK did not equal its predecessor -- though I fully recognize the inherent unfairness of comparing a one-season 12-episode intended-to-be-miniseries inaugural season to a 3-season, 61-episode full series.
STORY
TLoK's premise is both intriguing and sophisticated: Korra, the new Avatar after Aang of the original series, travels to Republic City to learn airbending and finds that inequality between benders and non-benders has fomented an urban revolution led by the mysterious masked figure Amon and the Equalists, whose goal is to rid the world of what they see as the oppressive bending establishment. The idea is fascinating in that good and bad are cloaked in gray -- at least initially. Early on, the show makes an effort to demonstrate that non-benders do, indeed, get the shaft and that there may be a legitimate reason for discontent. In doing so, the show tapped into timely Occupy-esque themes of social inequality.
With such an interesting, mature, and potentially nuanced premise, I was bitterly disappointed in the road that the writers ultimately took in resolving the story. In contrast to A:TLA, which moved from black/white Firebenders = Evil in Book One to a more nuanced view of the world by Book Three, this show seemed to do the opposite and move from shades of gray to black/white Equalists = Terrorists as it progressed.
But I did love that the show's premise tied neatly into the theme of tradition versus modernity, both through the updated urban setting (and attendant hints of income inequality: corporations vs. hobos in the park) and through the use of technology as an equalizer. I also enjoyed that the main story plot tied thematically into the inner journey that Korra had to take to connect with a more mystical, spiritual existence.
Unfortunately, the season one finale left much to be desired in the resolution of those interconnected themes. Much of the problem stemmed from problematic pacing: the breathless final two episodes felt too crammed to allow the story to breathe and come to a logical conclusion. Perhaps season two will address this, but considering that season one was meant to be a standalone miniseries, I would have expected Korra to actually bring balance to Republic City by season's end (you know, because she's the AVATAR) -- at least with respect to the bender v. non-bender issue. But the way that the writers ended the season did not address at all the underlying concerns of the Equalists. I'll note my more specific spoilery gripes in the "Spoilery Stuff" section below.
CHARACTERS
The original series took character development to incredible heights. TLoK visibly showed the constraints of its 12-episode miniseries format. There simply wasn't time for everyone to get his or her moment. Character development took a noticeable back seat to plot, which decreased my own personal enjoyment of the show.
That's not to say there was no character development at all. The show took the most time to develop Korra herself, if not entirely successfully: the episodes exploring Korra's fears, vulnerabilities, and insecurities as the avatar were much welcomed. She was also shown to be caring (one of my favorite Korra character moments may have been when she told Mako that Asami needed him) and willing to admit her mistakes (owning up to her misconceptions about Asami). I enjoyed her efforts to meditate and connect with the spirit world, as well as the ingenuity she showed both when fighting and when captured, which demonstrated that Korra is capable of more than her default fight-first physical mindset. But her behavior in the season one finale seemed to backtrack on some of the progress she'd made in being patient and opening herself to the spirit world and ultimately took some satisfaction out of the journey Korra had embarked on as a character.
That said, Korra's relationship with Tenzin was very Buffy-Giles and was one of the highlights of the show. ... As was everything to do with Lin Beifong (aka the definition of kickass), who developed from an uncompromising hardass to a self-sacrificing heroine with a heart of gold.
Many of the side characters were enjoyable in their own right, even without much development, so to speak. Bolin and Tenzin's children were an endless fount of amusement in an otherwise fairly dark cartoon. I would have appreciated if Bolin had developed into something more than comedic relief, much as Sokka did in the original series, but I acknowledge that the writers had a lot of plot to get through and a big slate of characters.
But other characters were too under-developed relative to the side stories that they had to support: namely, Asami (to a lesser extent) and Mako (the biggest thorn in TLoK's side, in my opinion). I loved Mako when he was first introduced: devoted to family, tragic backstory, tough exterior, and gorgeous to boot. But after those quick character traits were established early on, Mako never developed beyond that. He never did anything outside of demonstrating formidable fighting skill to further flesh out who he was as a person. Similarly, Asami was a fascinating character that broke tropes in interesting ways, but her story also felt like it needed more fleshing out. Both characters had side plot arcs that rested on their shoulders, which is why I felt the need for character development more acutely than with, for example, Bolin.
Thus, although both characters impressed me and piqued my interest in many ways, each was also the perpetrator of some Unearned Character Moments: moments that would have had major payoff had more work been put in up front to develop the character, but ultimately felt like forced drama. I noticed this especially as the show raced toward its rushed ending, where the relative lack of substance behind these two characters became glaring, especially in Mako's case.
ANIMATION
The animation in this show was simply beautiful -- superior to the original. It's clear that the art team had improved on its craft. With the possible exception of "six-fingered Toph," the show's animation was a sight to behold. The backgrounds, the MMA-inspired action scenes, everything. The show was darker -- both tonally and in terms of color -- than its predecessor, but nonetheless gorgeous. I know some fans had issues with it, but I loved the new '20s-inspired steampunk urban backgrounds. A lot of sweat and tears went into animating this show, and the payoff was enormous.
MUSIC
The creators of the show brought back the Track Team that did the soundtrack for the original series, and they certainly lived up to the task of creating beautiful new East-inspired/Jazz-influenced music for Korra. Music, again, played a huge part in my enjoyment of this show, from the first time Korra's theme played when she and her polar bear dog, Naga, galloped across the snowy plain, to the contrasting traditional and jazz themes when Korra took her first stab at the swinging air gates, to the quiet music that played during an emotional scene with Lin Beifong. I also appreciated the musical callbacks to the original series, which underscores of course what an amazing soundtrack that series had as well.
OVERALL
As I said, overall TLoK was a good show, and I really enjoyed it (nay, obsessed about it every week). It was darker and more mature than its predecessor, while still retaining much of the humor and whimsy that I loved about the original show. It wrestled with interesting themes and pushed the boundaries of children's television. The animation surpassed that of the original series, and the music certainly held its own. There was much to like about the new series, including the new avatar.
But where TLoK felt wanting was in its storytelling and character building. The 12-episode miniseries format contributed in large part to the uneven pacing and lack of character development, which is understandable. Yet ultimately that was my one major gripe with what was otherwise a worthy successor to A:TLA. Of course, this was only the first season, and as a first season, it is equal to (and possibly better than) Book One of A:TLA.
** SPOILERY LOVES and GRIPES BELOW ** SPOILERS BEWARE **
Now I'll just mention some VERY SPOILERY loves and gripes:
LOVES
1) Asami upended TV tropes by: not being the bad guy, and not bitchfighting with Korra over a boy
2) The announced-style opening recaps for each episode
3) Callbacks to the old show: trolling the fans with Zuko's mom; Cabbage Corp.; statues of Aang, Zuko, and Toph; GENERAL IROH
4) Tenzin's voice actor, J.K. Simmons!
5) Tenzin's entire family, but minus the fartbending, which was a bit juvenile for the darker tone of the show
6) Probending
7) Just as Roku's actions had repercussions on Aang, events in Aang's life had repercussions on Korra.
GRIPES
1) Both the chi-blockers and the mecha tanks suffered from what I call "Turok-Han" problems (a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer): the first one our heroes faced was really, really tough and seemingly impossible to defeat. The later ones got easier and flimsier and went down without much improvement on the protagonists' end.
2) Occasionally really bad dialogue: e.g., "Stay away from my dad's ex-girlfriend." "You're the most brave, loyal, and selfless person I've ever known." "You really are a horrible father."
3) Just a visual gripe, but Korra's connections with Aang were not animated as they were in A:TLA (with the deceased Avatar being in spirit-like glowy blue).
4) In contrast to when she meditated to connect with Aang when locked away in Tarrlok's box, the way Korra connected with Aang in the finale -- hitting her lowest point? -- did not make thematic sense. If Korra's block -- both in airbending and in communicating with previous avatars -- was her own lack of spirituality, what did her crying about losing her bending (and arguably contemplating suicide, according to some fan interpretations) have to do with removing those mental obstacles? It seemed like a step back for Korra as a character. Korra's journey this season was an internal one, about moving past the physical aspect of bending and learning how to connect with her spiritual side. It would have fit in with her journey and with the themes of the show, had the writers framed the restoration of her bending as Korra realizing that she was the AVATAR -- realizing that the past avatars would always be a part of her, that she would always be a bender of all four elements, spiritually speaking, regardless of whether she was physically able to bend all four elements. Instead, the writers made it look like Aang only appeared because she was in complete despair because she thought she was nothing without her bending. Rather than character growth, we kind of got a step backward. It just didn't fit with the internal journey that Korra had embarked on as a character. And while I was as happy as the next fangirl to see Korra finally go into the avatar state, it felt unearned because of that step backwards. A lost opportunity, in my opinion.
5) Korra was shown to be learning to be more patient throughout the show. Indeed, Tenzin recognized this in Korra before he fled on Oogi with his family. But then in the finale, she decided willy nilly -- because the finale/end was at hand -- that it was "time" to face Amon because her "gut" was telling her it was time to end it. Nothing really indicated that it was a good time to strike from a strategic standpoint, so it really made it seem like she was just becoming impatient again.
6) Tarrlok and Amon's backstory, and the resolution of that whole relationship, was too rushed. It was not clear to me what Amon's motivations for the Equalist movement were: was is that he sought power, and recognized that the power to remove a person's bending was the ultimate power? Was it that he viewed bending as the source of his miserable childhood at the hands of Yakone? What happened between his running away and his taking on the mantle of Amon? How did he use bloodbending to take away bending? Everything just felt a little too rushed: from Tarrlok's under-explained redemption (he seemed so contrite after being batshit crazy an episode or two before) to Amon's apology to and boat escape with lil' bro' Tarrlok. The boat scene itself was a beautiful ending, but I wish there had been one more episode to let the Big Reveal of Amon's identity sink in and play out.
7) The finale left unresolved the inequality at the root of the Equalist revolution. The movement was too easily upended by the unmasking of their bender leader: I had perceived the movement as more grassroots-based. The show had gone through all this trouble of showing that the Equalists had legitimate complaints about benders, and then did not resolve any of the inequality. Although Equalists like the Lieutenant were right to feel betrayed, it seemed unrealistic that showing Amon to be a liar would a) quell the revolution and, more importantly, b) restore any semblance of balance to the world. Perhaps this will be addressed in the second season of LoK, but it didn't seem like Korra brought balance -- she just cut the head off the chicken.
8) MAKORRA. Talk about unearned character moments. I liked the two together in the beginning: their initial physical attraction showed instant chemistry, and their self-denial had classic "will-they-won't-they" potential. They clearly had crushes on each other, which deepened into something slightly more substantive when Korra helped Mako rescue Bolin. But after Mako took his Asami detour, the show never again established anything between Mako and Korra beyond that initial physical attraction. There was nothing to substantiate why Mako all of a sudden "loved" Korra after her life was put in danger, and *especially* vice versa. As a result, the "I realized I love you, Korra" and "I love you, too" exchange in the finale felt both forced and completely unearned.
I know some fans felt that the relationship between Aang and Katara was similarly forced at the end of A:TLA, came out of nowhere, and that some thought Katara should have hooked up with Zuko. I can see what some would say there was not "chemistry" between Aang and Katara, but those two characters had been through an incredible journey together, had grown together as warriors and as people. Their stories were completely intertwined, and they knew and understood so much about one another. In other words, they were great friends. Their relationship was forged gradually through many episodes, many character moments, and much development. The emotional base of that relationship was there, even if the physical may not have been apparent.
By contrast, "Makorra" had all the markings of an empty teenage fling: main character falls for hot brooding guy, who starts dating the gorgeous cheerleader, and then realizes he wants the girl next door. Mako and Korra lacked that same emotional/substantive/historical base that Aang and Katara shared. This was all right at the beginning of the series, but at the series end, the forced relationship really brought the quality of the show down a notch.
MY HOPES FOR SEASON TWO:
1) Asami takes Korra to task and makes her realize that even though the violent methods the Equalists employed were wrong, the inequalities that drove the Equalist movement were real and are still present. Korra realizes that balance still needs to be restored to the world. Korra reforms Republic City government to include non-bender representation.
2) Bolin gets his own story arc.
3) Mako gets more character development that doesn't include romance.
4) Korra connects with Aang again -- on her own terms.
