#legend of korra criticism

[starlight-bread-blog]

I don't hate TLoK, but I do wish Republic City would stick to being aisan inspired. Or at least, spend more time on establishing its good qualities. Not just because of the consistency, but because of it would turn the city into a character. Like the Titanic:

They do soo much to establish the boat as this great, beautiful, majestic thing. They even give it a voice towards the end, in Thomas Andrews: "I'm sorry I didn't build you a stronger ship, young Rose".

So it hits harder, and could have hit harder, when this happened:

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

“catra is a complex poc” fuck that. here are some ACTUAL poc animated characters who are just as, if not more complex than catra.

grace monroe (infinity train) • black american

connie maheshwaran (steven universe) • indian-american

katara (avatar the last airbender) • inuk

wolf (kipo and the age of wonderbeasts) • black american

suhara/shadowsan (carmen sandiego) • japanese

korra (the legend of korra) • inuk

jesse cosay (infinity train) • indigenous (apache)

lars barriga (steven universe) • filipino

azula (avatar the last airbender) • japanese

ryan akagi (infinity train) • japanese-canadian

luz noceda (the owl house) • afro-dominican american

(there are a lot more, so i'll be making a part 2!)

[prying-pandora666]

I bet you that if we had gotten Book 4: Air, and there had been a time skip, we wouldn’t be seeing so much Aang hate today.

No really. If the show had been able to continue and gave us an older, edgier, more attractive Aang?

He would have fans falling all over themselves for him.

The thing is that ATLA ended when Aang was barely turning 13. A goofy, bald, pacifist, vegetarian 12 year old isn’t attractive and so too many fans discount him. How can he possibly compete with openly tormented and outwardly angry Zuko? Or quietly insecure and naturally hilarious Sokka?

Zuko and Sokka who are 16 and 15 respectively (nearing 17 and 16 by the end), and therefor at an age where romance is more relevant to most, and so are the focus of so much love and affection and especially shipping?

If Aang had been able to grow anywhere between 15 - 18, he’d be right up there with the other two. You’d see metas about his tragic backstory, suddenly more of the fandom would care about the loss of his entire people, about the survivor’s guilt, the intense loneliness, the diaspora, the yearning for common everyday things that now no one else in the world understands.

But we didn’t get that. Instead we got LOK, with an old, bearded, post-bucal fat removal Aang. An Aang who has already had children and has a controversial score on “dad ratings”.

The poor kid never stood a chance.

@book4air

[marching-weirdo]

"zukos character arc is best-

"no aangs flirting skills are-"

"You forgot sokkas hair-"

YALL FORGOT KORRA

SHE WENT FROM THIS

TO THIS

AND STILL GIRLBOSSED HER WYA THROUGH EVERYTHING WHILE ALSO FINDING LOVE AND GAINING BACK THAT MUSCLE!

she also showed a lot of people, like me, that mental health recovery isn't linear. like, girl, that show has problems BUT DAMN IT IF IT ISNT BETTER THAN MoST THINGS YOU SEE

[polls-showdowns]

The most Chaotic Bisexual Finals are here

Caleb Widogast (Critical Role) V.S. Korra (The legend of Korra)

They have both defeated many other chaos bis to get here but only one can be the champion

[hotcupofdragons]

THE FACT THAT THEY GOT AVATAR KORRA (JANET VARNEY) TO VOICE VILYA AND IN THIS SCENE SHE'S USING ALL FOUR ELEMENTS AND TEACHING HER DAUGHTER THE IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE

[theweeklydiscourse]

Someone on twitter was expressing their disappointment about how Katara ended up becoming the healer she never wanted to become in Legend of Korra and got absolutely piled on for it.

“She decided to settle down!”

“Are you saying that being a healer is BAD? Why are you looking down on it?”

“She had other responsibilities to attend to, like her grandchildren and community! She would’ve been too busy to fight”

“She was too fragile! She already achieved world peace, what more do you want from her?!”

These are some of the comments I saw people making about that post. I even saw someone citing the comics as an example of Katara doing more than just healing in her old age. It was a scene of her training young Korra and I though it was really sweet but like…if only they actually included that scene in the show. I just feel like we should have to use the comics as supplementary material to cover the flaws in Legend of Korra and should be able to judge it on its own merit.

The comics don’t really matter to me, because the most visible and relevant parts of the story are depicted in the ACTUAL animated series. If we are critiquing the way LOK depicted Katara, we shouldn’t have to be weighed down by dozens of whataboutisms that don’t understand the difference between a watsonian and doylist critique.

Here’s one example:

These are real people, THESE ARE REAL-LIFE ACTORS! These examples are not animated characters that exist in a supernatural world, the characters in ATLA are not governed by reality in the way that these real-life actors are. Furthermore, aging seems to be such an insurmountable obstacle for Katara…but somehow the fact that Toph and Zuko were throwing down well into their 80s is totally plausible.

But these kinds of fans will freak out over the most basic criticism of the text. They can’t handle that questioning it leads to realizing the broader thematic implications of neglecting Katara’s character and ignoring her in the story.

They bring up the comics but I just don’t accept that as proof of coherent storytelling. Like thank you for the textual example! But what if I don’t accept the text? What if I think the text is wrong and has sexist undertones?

[sjbattleangel]

If people talked about ATLA the way they talk about Steven Universe, Star Vs. TLOK and She-Ra.

"So Aang just ran away and froze himself at the bottom of the ocean, leaving innocent people to be conquered by the Fire Nation? What a selfish coward! He has blood on hands!"

"Ugh! The stupid chauvinistic crap Sokka says! The creators are misogynists!."

"Man, Katara is such a Mary Sue! The way she grew into a waterbender was so unrealistic. Bad writing!"

"Toph is blind? But how can we tell? A blind person can never do THAT! Nope, sorry. Not good enough. Doesn't count as real representation."

"Zuko is an irredeemable, imperialist brat, too easily forgiven. He doesn't deserve a redemption arc. He should've been killed at the beginning. The creators clearly have a thing for "Draco In Leather Pants".

"The King of Omashu, Imprisoned, Jet, The Deserter, The Cave Of Two Lovers, Avatar Day, The Tales Of Ba Singh Se, ect. Pointless filler episodes with nothing to add. More examples of sunk-cost fallacy."

"Azula is a powerful young woman who slowly goes insane because Mommy and Daddy didn't love her enough? The creators hate women and want them back in the kitchens!"

"So we're shown that there're innocent people in the Fire Nation who don't support the war yet the Fire Nation are still the bad guys? Trying to earn woke brownie points much?

"Aang doesn't kill the Firelord but drains him of all his powers, ultimately sparing him!?! THE CREATORS ARE FASCIST SYMPATHIZERS!! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!"

[fossilizedhysterics]

guess who finished tlok tonight and immediately had this come to him in a vision!!!!

[thereifling]

Bad Days

[madeby-meru]

Every single time I get a tiktok on my tl of that TLOK scene where Bumi and Kya basically tell Tenzin that Aang was not a good father to them theres hundreds of comments of people trying to justify Aang's parenting in every way possible and every argument just seems so absurd and completely unncessary.

He didn't have to be a bad father to be a good airbending master to Tenzin and he didn't have to be a bad father to keep the Air Nomad culture alive. But he was. He was negletful and absent to 2/3 children and very clearly favorited Tenzin over Bumi and Kya. I don't think there's any possible way to justify his behaviour (I'm not gonna talk about Katara at all cause we all know she is completely mistreated as a character post ATLA) and honestly? It's ok. Characters don't have to be perfect, characters can and should have flaws, and Aang being a bad father fits pretty well with his character imo.

There's no need to do all these mental gymnastics to justify him and somehow portray him as a wonderful father, specially when you're being explicitly told by the show that he was not.

[azulas-daddy-kink]

Why are people incapable of being normal when they find out you ship Makorra, or even just that you like Mako as a character?

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

another thing that bugs me about adora's/she-ra's character design is how inconsistent her muscles are. her arms look like this in some frames

which looks somewhat decently muscular. but then in other frames, they look like this

where there's basically no girth at all. besides, the crew's idea of muscles seem to be a bump and a line, which really doesn't communicate much.

for example, look at korra's character design.

the animators never, and i mean NEVER forget to make her look as ripped as possible, especially during fight scenes. because that was her charm, her muscles are an important part of who she is. and they look like actual biceps, not arms with a slight bump on it.

she only looks less muscular in s4, because she was disabled and inactive for several years and lost a lot of muscle mass due to that.

so yeah, it does confuse me when people say that adora or she-ra is muscular, because she's really not. and it's not a matter of the art style either, because characters like huntara and scorpia are drawn way more muscular. if the creators really wanted diverse body types and a strong female warrior, why didn't they make adora more muscular?

[itsmoonpeaches]

Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender: A show with its heart in the right place but questionable execution

[An objective spoiler review from a fan of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series who watched the live-action adaptation pretending to not know a thing about the original show.]

Episode scores

Episode 1: 7/10

Episode 2: 7.5/10

Episode 3: 6/10

Episode 4: 1.5/10

Episode 5: 7/10

Episode 6: 8/10

Episode 7: 5/10

Episode 8: 2.5/10

Overview

Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show with some heart. When there are highs, they are very high, but when there are lows they take away from the rest of the story. The visuals are overall stunning with an attention to detail. The set design in particular is done with love including incredible pieces, CGI design, and beautiful cultural references. The fighting is creative and fun to watch, though waterbending fights seem too slow. Surprisingly, the CGI animals work very well. A highlight is Momo who works in the same way Grogu from The Mandalorian works. However, the close-ups of calligraphy pieces should have warranted more research.

The costuming is detailed, but there are some instances when it would have been better to interpret certain characters more realistically rather than try to copy the original animated design.

The cast is not bad, especially considering the focus on younger, less experienced actors. Of the younger cast, Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko), and Maria Zhang (Suki) are the standouts. Gordon Cormier (Aang) also has good scenes but is not always consistent. The kid is cute and embodies Aang well. The most disappointing was Kiawentiio Tarbell (Katara) who I so desperately wanted to be good, but was either not given the direction needed, or was told to keep the same flat face.

The writing in the show could have been a lot stronger, and many actors suffered from poor writing choices including clunky lines. They acted their hearts out with these but suffered for them at the same time. The show overall felt like a first draft of something that could have been great but fell flat because of either outside sources or a lack of trust in the audience.

For my short and sweet tweets on each episode click here. For a long, detailed review on each episode and my final thoughts keep reading.

Episode 1: Aang - 7/10

This episode started out incredibly strong. Immediately, I was immersed in the world and intrigue. We had an earthbender running through the streets of the Fire Nation Capital City with an intercepted missive that Fire Lord Sozin would attack the Earth Kingdom. The action was very cool to watch and the earthbending stood out. When Sozin captured him and warned that this information was just a diversion and that he had his sights set higher, the tone was exciting and interesting.

Seeing the Air Nomads and what their life was like, then being introduced to the main character, Aang, was fun. I enjoyed seeing the interactions between Monk Gyatso and Aang. They felt like they had an incredible bond.

The violence starts soon after when Aang runs away during the Comet Festival and Sozin's plans are revealed when he uses its power to attack the temples and boy is it brutal to watch. This scene was tough, but in a way that made the audience really hope that the Fire Nation loses because what they did was so incredibly cruel that it can't be put into words.

Where this episode begins to fall off is when we hit the Water Tribe. The writing here becomes a bit clunky and stilted. Gran Gran in particular was a choice. By a choice, I mean that out of all the actors she was unfortunately the worst. Every line that came out of her mouth was grating and poorly delivered, which was sad because her scenes weren't written particularly badly.

Sokka is a stand-out as well as Zuko, though they gave Iroh a scene and lines with Aang that felt so out of place. It felt like a disservice to Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Iroh) who is an incredible actor to give him these awkward sentences to act around. Katara acts like (maybe?) she cares. It's hard to tell when she has no emotion and keeps telling me things that she supposedly cares about and I'm not seeing it.

Episode 2: Warriors - 7.5/10

It is here where things begin to pick up. I had a good time with this episode because to me it was so much fun, and it wasn't necessarily because of the main story going around. It was because the chemistry between Sokka and Suki was so unexpectedly good that I could not peel my eyes off the screen.

No seriously, it was fun. In just one episode, they made me believe that this was the couple for the show. Suki is portrayed as a silent, yet awkward warrior whom the village admires. She's blindsided by Sokka who is definitely not as good a warrior as she is, but is interesting for her to watch.

What's so refreshing about this take is that it's Suki who makes the first move and Sokka awkwardly flirts back with clearly no experience in talking to girls he's interested in. Suki starts peacocking for him! That's hilarious and endearing. We never see that in most media. It's usually the guy who does it, so him being the bumbling fool while Suki also flirts with absolutely no understanding of how to do it was a joy to watch.

Katara exists I guess? Aang's story with Kyoshi honestly was good enough for me to give it a pass, but they also gave Kyoshi so many long lines with nearly nothing to say. They could've cut her lines into a more condensed, stronger thing but instead left them long-winded. However, watching Kyoshi make a tornado of bodies is an experience I'll never forget. Continue what you're doing, fight choreography department.

Episode 3: Omashu - 6/10

This episode is fine. I enjoyed the beginning with Jet being revealed as the guy on the cart who lets the main characters into Omashu. However, the writing really starts falling off here. It starts to feel like they're cramming storylines into one episode.

The set design in Omashu in particular is incredible. I cannot emphasize how beautiful the markets were from the food stalls to the costuming. South and Southeast Asian foods, dried herbs and chilis, gold!!! Just watching the background was fun.

Katara's acting, however? Not fun. She's given so many good emotional beats here and does nothing with them. They keep showing me her flashbacks and I think seeing less of it would've made it more impactful. This is the episode when I realized that she is the most useless character in the trio. Does she need to be there? Does she do anything for the story? No. Sokka feels like the glue of the group while Katara merely causes problems. It doesn't help that everyone acts in circles around her. I wouldn't feel anything if they wrote her out.

Episode 4: Into the Dark - 1.5/10

I don't want to talk about this episode, but if I must, know this: It was awful. It was some of the worst written TV I've ever seen. They took the feeling of cramming too much in the previous episode and multiplied it by 100.

There were too many plot threads and not enough time to let any of them breathe. It felt like watching a show that didn't know what it was doing with itself and in the end, I still don't know what this episode accomplished other than making me frustrated as a viewer.

Sokka and Katara being in the Cave of Two Lovers was an...interesting choice. It looks very strange and borderline incestual considering the out-of-place story right beforehand about two lovers meeting up in the same cave Sokka and Katara had to venture through. The fact that Oma and Shu are both women was something I didn't even notice because of how terribly presented it was. It did not need to be there and was a disservice to the representation they wanted to include.

Sokka and Katara are siblings, so that was something. In fact, using that storyline at all felt so weird. They used it as an excuse to build their relationship when all I felt was confused about it.

Aang and Bumi could have been interesting if they executed it better. Instead, they TOLD me they were best friends and that Bumi went through a lot during the war and that Aang knew Bumi well. I needed to SEE it. (Show don't tell is a very real thing, and this episode is rife with crimes against the rule.) Instead they showed us a brief flashback that wasn't nearly enough. They had one strong plot point with Bumi making Aang the same bison whistle he had from the first episode to call Appa, but it didn't work because the rest of it was executed so badly.

This episode felt unnecessarily preachy and in a bad way. They kept telling us the war was bad, that Iroh hurt people, that Aang hurt people by leaving, yet they showed us none of it. This would've been a really impactful message otherwise, but all it gave me was a load of nothing dipped in nothing sauce.

I loved the orchestral rendition of Leaves From the Vine, but the lines were so long and awkwardly written during Lu Ten's funeral that if it weren't for the music, I would've felt nothing. From the perspective of a viewer who doesn't know anything about Avatar: The Last Airbender, I would still feel confused because it didn't fit with the convoluted tone of the episode in the first place. Why was this here? Why was any of this here?

From a fan and story perspective, we could've had a strong episode just combining The King of Omashu and Jet. Using Jet to try and assassinate King Bumi was such a good intrigue plot, but again the writing was terrible. We didn't also need The Northern Air Temple plot lines here. Danny Pudi deserves better than that.

Episode 5: Spirited Away - 7/10

I don't know if this episode was elevated because the previous episode was vomit level, but I really, genuinely enjoyed this one. After stepping back for a while, I've deduced that yes I liked this episode. This was also the one that I actually felt something emotionally.

I can tell why this one would be controversial from a fan perspective, but looking at it as a story that works within this universe and this version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this really works. It finally felt like an adventure with stakes and characters I could feel for.

From a fan perspective, I enjoyed what this did with the Spirit World here, combining lore from different books in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. It felt fun and creative and worked for me.

From a new viewer perspective, it was the first episode that ended that I actually said, "Wait no, it can't end there!" The visuals of the spirits were so fun, the flashbacks emotional. Katara acted finally! Plus, her younger child actress was phenomenal. Gran Gran was...hm. Sokka stood out immensely. He melted down and I really felt for him. Aang's meeting with Gyatso was gut-wrenching. I teared up.

It was here I discovered the show really shines when they're not trying to copy the original show, and when they try to do their own thing with lore that exists as long as it fits with what they're trying to tell. It works, and it's enjoyable, and gives characters more depth. The kicker? This episode was so strong in comparison because they did a lot of showing us things, not telling us. But it's not without its flaws. There was some weird dialogue here and there. Really, I enjoyed Sokka's and Aang's scenes the most.

June of course, was such a perfect casting choice, and her scenes with Zuko and Iroh were fun. Though once again, they wrote Iroh's lines in a way I don't understand. Why make him this one-note wise man? Sometimes less is more.

Episode 6: Masks - 8/10

This is hands down the best episode of this show. I hardly have any complaints about it. Even Iroh's wisdom lines were doable. Zhao was such a fun ride. They made him this whiny officer with too much to prove and a cocky attitude, and I enjoyed every minute of it. He's like a grown man who is a child, but it works. Oh goodness it works. Give me more of him nitpicking the heck out of the way his speech is written. It was such a refreshing take on a villain.

The rest of the episode? BRILLIANT. Absolutely. Zuko as the Blue Spirit will never get old, but the live action presentation was so good I have no complaints about it at all. The fighting and choreography really worked, and boy was it a fun thing to watch come to life. I don't normally love when things are copied one-to-one from animated shows to live action because it doesn't always work, but this was one of those instances that I'm glad it did work. It was iconic of them to bring back the bamboo pole fight and what's crazy is that it ended up being some of the coolest fight choreography I've seen. They must've had a blast with it!

Zuko and Aang were so good in this. They have a lot of chemistry as actors, and I could believe they want to be friends but circumstances don't allow them. It makes their extended interaction trapped together and hiding from the Fire Nation in a shack that much more impactful. Adding in the fact that Aang stole Zuko's Avatar journal paid off from episode 1 because now they talked about it, bonded over calligraphy and brushes, and I wanted them to be friends with all my heart. Their inevitable separation hurt me.

But oh no, you thought that was all? They made Zuko's backstory better. They showed us more of the scene where Zuko speaks against his father, and it's actually worse than the original show. Worse, as in better story-wise but worse for Zuko. Ozai asks for Zuko's opinion in the war room, Zuko gives it, Ozai disapproves. Then, when the plan is made to sacrifice the 41st Division, Zuko speaks out and says it's a terrible plan.

I could unpack that scene forever. This makes Ozai seem more manipulative, and I love it. He tests Zuko, disapproves, yet punishes him for saying his opinion later when Ozai had asked him before.

They show us the Agni Kai. I enjoyed the choreography. It helps that Daniel Dae Kim (Ozai) is a sight to behold. His cloak was a good choice, and I'll leave it at that. He is also a perfect Ozai. He has the aura of a man who doesn't play around, and he is menacing. It's also his line delivery and voice.

But the thing that I could also obsess about forever? The fact that Ozai punished Zuko not just by banishing him, but by making his crew the same 41st Division he saved. Zuko and Iroh never told them either, not until Iroh decided he should by the end.

So when Zuko comes back injured from freeing the Avatar, it is a great earned scene when his crew bows to him and calls him their prince.

Episode 7: The North - 5/10

After the previous episode, this was such a let down. Not much stood out here, but the Northern Water Tribe was a great set design. I loved looking it at. Unexpectedly, Kuruk was in this, but it worked so well. So unbelievably well.

From a fan perspective, I've always loved Kuruk and when his backstory was revealed in the Kyoshi novels I felt validated. He has a tragic and interesting back story, and they delivered here. Meegwun Fairbrother (Kuruk) has such a commanding presence. I cannot state this enough. He is the Avatar. He is Kuruk. I genuinely want more of him and I want to know more about him. I wouldn't mind if there was a whole live action show about Kuruk with him as the star.

The rest of this episode though? I mean. It was fine I guess? It wasn't episode 4 level of terrible, and definitely had more that elevated it, but the writing started downgrading immensely from here. Also, Yue, girl, what was that wig? And it's so obviously a wig that it was distracting. Why?

Katara felt like she should've had a presence here but she barely did. She had a fight with Master Pakku that felt unearned. It was also the first fight I've seen in this show that I didn't enjoy watching. The choreography wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It was also slow-paced for some reason. It was like I watched two people decide they need to make a move with each move. Everything Katara did felt unearned this episode.

Episode 8: Legends - 2.5/10

Why. What was this finale and why was this the finale? Ignoring the fact the Yue is apparently a spirit trekking lady which could've been cool if they executed it better, this was a whole mess. I'm going to ignore this plot because apparently she was the three-tailed fox in episode 5, and I like episode 5 and don't want to bring that one down so I'll pretend this doesn't exist.

I wouldn't mind if this was the route they went with Yue, but it was so rushed. Her being a waterbender was new, but I also didn't mind it. It was just...shallow. Seeing Yue's romance with Sokka after Suki left a sour taste in my mouth because it was badly done. The actors had no chemistry, and Sokka seemed like a playboy.

The writing was so terrible. Everything was mashed together last minute, Kuruk was there for a cool second, and then my expectations fell past the floor of an outhouse.

Momo, the cute CGI animal, died for some reason saving a person from a falling ice block. Then Yue had to go revive him for some reason. My first reaction was "NO!! MOMO!" Then it was confusion, and then I started laughing because none of it felt right and none of it felt earned, and I was laughing so hard I started crying.

I forgot Aang never started waterbending.

Oh yeah, Katara called herself a master I guess? I don't know how that happened because she's been crap the whole season and never got Pakku to teach her, so I guess she's self-taught now and proved herself by fighting Pakku and convincing him to let the women fight even though they showed no indication of wanting to...so yay feminism? Katara has only been looking at a scroll and failing badly the whole season and learned from no master so I don't know where she got this "master" idea from.

What saved this episode from being episode 4 was that the fight choreography was the coolest I've seen. As a fan, I was scared about how they were going to interpret the black-and-white lunar eclipse scenes but they delivered well! The blasts, the bursts of fire and color, holy heck it worked so incredibly well. I was impressed. Genuinely. I loved watching all those scenes. The Fire Nation blasting through the walls was so cool.

Oh yeah I guess Aang not learning waterbending explains why him being a giant Ocean Spirit fish didn't allow him to waterbend the waves to beat the Fire Nation, but instead he crashed into them.

Katara, Sokka, and Aang were finally together most of the time. I still hardly know anything about them though. Are they friends?

The ending scene with Zuko and Iroh was heartfelt, but could've been stronger. Azula took over Omashu I guess? Sozin's Comet is coming "soon" I guess? None of it felt earned.

Final thoughts

Honestly, if this show ended on episode 6 maybe I'd want a season 2, but after that I don't feel any interest in seeing this iteration of the show. Half of it doesn't work and the writing is questionable. If I were a new fan, I don't think I'd like it just from the weird writing alone. I'd stop after episode 4.

I genuinely wish the cast and crew well, and I love many of them from previous works, but they do not need to be in more of this. They deserve better projects.

It was telling that once I finished the series and saw who wrote what, the original creators were the ones who had a hand in writing episodes 1 and 6, which are episodes on the stronger side. Especially 6, which is the best one. If anyone tells me that I am crazy to be skeptical over an adaptation of any kind without the original creator(s) involved, I'll point to this fact.

My advice? Watch Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko's original Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender which you can also stream on Netflix.

[twilight-skies]

Percy: Some folks just do not have respect for other peoples’ property. NOW LETS STEAL THIS AIRSHIP!

[zal-cryptid]