#not to mention all the political and thematic exploration korra moved to fast to cover but whatever ig

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

My issue with Korra isn’t that the characters were uninteresting tbh - it’s that they were the exact opposite of that. There was so much room for exploration. Avatar was such a good show (with flaws) because developed it’s characters fantastically (up until Aang’s S3 arc, which could have been handled a lot better imo) - they took the troupes it would’ve been easy to resort to - naggy mom friend, happy go lucky kid, badass girl, edgy guy - and showed the complexities behind them. Aang hides the loss of literally his entire life behind his cheerfulness, and it’s shown how he snaps, gets angry and runs away. Toph’s entire persona is carefully crafted to defy the helpless role she’s been cast in her whole life - she’s not just badass, but badass purposefully. Zuko has a desperation born of years of abuse behind his angst. Katara has survivor’s guilt and trauma, forced parentification, and rage behind her hot temper and mothering, and is allowed to explore those. Sokka is goofy, but he’s intelligent, cunning, and it’s shown how his goofy façade hides his insecurities over his own skills and masculinity.

Korra never gave it’s characters room to breathe. We never got the chance to see who they were past the love triangles, too-fast plots that were dropped after one season, and robots for some reason. Mako was introduced as the edgy love interest, and despite how interesting his backstory is and all the potential behind it (especially with his parallels to Katara - he has so many!!), that’s who he stayed. Bolin, same as the goofy comic relief. Asami, she just... has no real personality. She’s... strong willed. Sometimes she’s angry, I guess. There’s never anything even to hold onto with her - her feelings over her mother’s death are never really explored, nor are her relationships with really anyone sans her romantic bonds with Korra and Mako. Her scenes with her father in S4 showed hints to some potential, but it wasn’t enough to make me invested in a character I had spent three seasons up till now looking at as a blank slate - the Token Badass Nonbender, and that’s that. Jinora’s one of the more interesting characters on the show, but there was a lot more room to explore her insecurities surrounding if she can live up to her grandfather’s legacy, her spirit abilities, and Kai and their relationship especially.

Really, it’s just... Mako’s parents were killed in front of him when he was eight, and then he was forced to basically raise Bolin without a home. Bolin had no stability in his life for most of it, and his only real trusted figure was his two years older brother. Korra is an avatar who was never given a chance to develop any identity outside of that, seeing the world, one carved from the ashes of imperialism and genocide, for the first time. Asami has a father who manipulates her and works with terrorists, but unlike Ozai with Zuko and Azula, genuinely loves her. Even within just these four there are such interesting ways you could go. But Korra was really the only one allowed to develop at all, and even then, for some reason she has to be brutally tortured to... ‘humble’ her? Like, I did like that arc, but there’s also some... things going on there.

Maybe there could have been an episode like the Southern Raiders but for Mako, where he and idk Asami? anyone really, hunt down the firebender who killed his parents, and he’s forced to confront the source of his trauma that started it all. Maybe we could have a storyline about the Triple Threats, Mako and Bolin’s time with them, how bad their circumstances were and some of the things they were forced to do. Maybe something like The Beach but for Asami, letting her crack and break about her complex feelings towards her father. We could have seen more of Mako being an older brother to Kai, Kai’s development from selfish and flightly to kinder and more grounded with Jinora. Maybe we could have been shown more of Kai’s backstory - his parents? Idk.

Korra, of course, would still need to be the focus. Maybe something like Nightmares and Daydreams but darker, like, towards the end of every season to explore how the pressure and trauma from being the avatar is negatively affecting her. Idk.

Just... let the characters develop. Breathe. Be people and not just caricatures or placeholders, yk? This goes for Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, Kai, the Krew, the adults, everyone - Korra had four seasons. Maybe not time for everyone, but at least for more than they gave. At least time for the main four.