Legend of Korra Book 1 rewrite

Hey guys welcome to the season break down of Legend of Korra, last time I went over Book 2. I’m doing it in order of what I thought was the best to worst seasons. Spoilers ahead.

Bad:

Won’t go over too much here since I did touch upon the details in the last article. I know this was the first season so they couldn’t cram much but I really wanted more characters especially from Lin. I mean we do get more in the other seasons but remember this could have been it for Korra. According to info from the writers Nickelodeon actually didn’t think the show would do great nor tell them that they would be renewed.

Amon while a compelling character it just feels weird that he has powers at all. It’s a little hypocritical that his followers didn’t question his powers when he showed them. Like he wanted everyone to be equal footing but it seems like he had the most power out of them all. It seems like he was the very problem he was trying to solve. Also how did he get those powers? Was it blood bending? We get a back story but it’s missing pages to where he learned this. The show doesn’t even hint at any reason, heck I would have liked a throw away scene where aliens gave it to him or something.

Asami’s story and her dad Sato seemed out of place. Sato gets a redemption arc at the very end of Book 4. But it felt forced since they don’t even interact for two whole seasons after book 1. Asami being in the love triangle also was pretty rushed.

And Mako who doesn’t really have an arc in this whole series. I think the writers didn’t know what to do with him. Pretty much like the rest of the fire nation Mako is important but more passive and does things when the plot wants him to.

Also how does the gang know that Amon died? How do they know he won’t come back for revenge or something? Killing him off with his brother seemed lazy. How does Aang restore Korra’s powers? How does Korra learn that power?

An aside:

I know that the writers aren’t all to blame for theses errors but I would like to think they could have wrote a better story to compensate for the lack of time. I mean they still set up a few b and c plots for future seasons. I don’t see why they couldn’t just structure the main plot better. It seemed like the show could have left a cliff hanger so book 2 could heal Korra in the spirit world.

Good:

I know this sounds harsh but I did enjoy book 1 that’s why it’s my 2nd favorite season. Pro bending was a great idea, I just wish it could have been around longer.

Amon’s henchmen were the main highlight for me. The fight scenes were some of the best. And bending vs non bending should have been highlighted more through this book and future books.

Asami’s tech feels underused in this season and other seasons. While I get that they wanted bending to be used more frequently I think having tech solutions would make the story richer.

Changes:

I think Amon and his brother shouldn’t have died. The show had way too many death scenes to make any of them feel important. It gets worst in the next book where the writers get really trigger happy.

Change Tarriok’s plan, it feels sort of like Unalaq’s plan. Actually they feel like they could have been the same character. And don’t make the main villain a water bender. It just makes Amon a phony after all the speeches and schemes.

The love triangle felt too quick and forced. I don’t think the writers know how young adults feel. At times the gang seemed too mature or too childish for those situations.

Like I said in the previous article I think that the main villains of book 1 and 2 should have been the same person. It felt like their plan could have been a two part-er. This also allows the writers to keep Amon a water bender.

Conclusions:

Now that I’m thinking about it book 1 can stay mostly the same but just make Amon and Unalaq the same person. It makes more sense why Korra goes back to the water tribe in Book 2. And it gives the villain a connection to Korra. And maybe the spirits gave the power to take away bending or something. Amon’s abilities just seem too perfect for his story line. Also I know once Amon was outed in being a phony his group should still be around. Legend of Korra has a bad habit of just ignoring groups that they establish. Once the bad guy is defeated his minions are still around. I feel like there was lost writing potential in having call backs to those groups.

Also the triple threats seemed to be disbanded after book 2. It seemed like they were going to play a bigger role in the first book but they were sidelined for Amon.