Book 4: Balance was another knockout season from Bryke (although I think Book 3: Change was, on the whole, more consistent). Here are some thoughts on why Balance was so good.
[FULL SPOILERS FOR BOOK 4 FOLLOW].
A Deeply Personal Story About Korra
Korra has faced accusations of being the "worst avatar ever" since the day her show deigned to be a sequel to Aang's. I myself found it somewhat difficult to connect with her at times (particularly at the beginning of Book 2), although I grew to love her as a character in the second half of Book 2. Well, Book 4 put the spotlight squarely on Korra and her struggles to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder, recover from her Red-Lotus-inflicted injuries, and find balance within herself. And that journey -- and Korra's personal growth --were
phenomenal to watch.
The season opened with a time skip, and a stunning reveal that Korra has been missing for six months. Then we got an entire episode focused on Korra's struggles. In the aptly named and amazing "Korra Alone," we watched our Avatar literally learn to walk again while facing her inner demon. I loved that Korra's recovery was not an easy one (and, in fact, took most of the season). Korra spent two episodes under the tutelage of the great Toph Beifong, who helped her remove the remnants of metal poison inside her body. Yet Korra was still not whole -- which was wonderful, from a storytelling perspective. Not until she accepted what happened to her with the help of an old foe in "Beyond the Wilds" did Korra return to tip-top fighting shape.
But this season was not just about Korra's physical recovery; Korra matured in leaps and bounds as well. In "Battle of Zaofu," we saw a markedly different Korra from Book 1 Korra; we saw a Korra who said, "
Fighting is something the old me would do. . . . Maybe I can talk with Kuvira." Only when pushed to did she fight -- and even then, she was unwilling to put an end to her opponent. Korra's story arc then completed in an incredibly satisfying way in "The Last Stand," where she fought Kuvira (without the avatar state), protected her enemy from the spirit weapon, and then ended the conflict by
talking.
What I love best is that Book 4 Korra did not come out of nowhere -- Korra had been maturing throughout the series. In the Book 2 finale, after she defeated UnaVaatu, she told him/it to "go in peace," and apologized to Eska and Desna that she could not save their father. And in Book 3, Korra was willing to risk her life to save the fledgling Air Nation. Korra's last line to Tenzin in "The Last Stand" thus perfectly summed up the growth that she had experienced over the course of the series (but especially in Book 4) and gave the series a wonderful sense of closure.
Kuvira as a Villain
I love villains -- especially good ones. And, overall, I think Kuvira was a fairly successful (but not entirely successful) one.
The writers and animators did a fantastic job with Kuvira's characterization: every intonation, line, and movement fed back into her characterization. For example, her uniform, hairstyle, and even her eyebrows are martial to a point. The way she fights is also extremely controlled: she is precise, cool, and reserved, and she moves only as much as necessary to dodge or deal a blow to her enemy. On top of that, Zelda Williams did a phenomenal voice acting job, infusing the character with confidence and charisma (particularly in lines like "I want you all to know that I would never ask you to do anything that I"m not willing to do myself.").
I really liked that Kuvira's intentions started out good -- and not just "fake" good like Fire Lord Sozin's I Want To Share Our Nation's Prosperity By Conquering the World bullshit. Korra genuinely wanted to stabilize a kingdom that was descending into chaos. She cared about her nation. So I was somewhat disappointed that the show tipped her a little too far over into the fascist camp with using slave labor, purging non-Earth Kingdom citizens, and sending dissenters off to "re-education" camps ("I thought that's where we send people to learn new trade skills!"). The audience needed to see Kuvira as a true dictator, sure, but in my view, the scenes with her twisting states into joining her served that purpose. I didn't need the other Nazi references, which went a little overboard and made her final scene in the spirit world with Korra a little hard to swallow from the perspective of Kuvira's character (though, as discussed above, I loved that scene from the perspective of Korra's character).
I would have enjoyed just a little more time with Kuvira's history as an orphan, or another scene or two back to happier times as Suyin's protege -- anything to humanize Kuvira a bit more before the finale. Alternatively, having Kuvira show just a bit more emotion when she had to fire on Baatar, Jr. in "Kuvira's Gambit" would have helped the audience connect to her as a villain.
Kuvira was not a perfect villain, and not the most compelling villain the LoK has given us. (That spot goes to Zaheer, in my book . . .) But she served her purpose as a foil for Korra. And, for the most part, she was human enough to make her last scene with Korra a compelling one.
Stunning Art & Animation
This season was beautiful. That goes without saying. There were so many amazing background pieces, including the stunning shot below from "Korra Alone."
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One of my favorite background art pieces.
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Overall
This season was, first and foremost, a deeply personal season focused on Korra. That's what made it so successful despite other characters being a bit short-changed.
