Legend of Korra series review
Now that Netflix finally got the complete series I can legally watch the entire thing. I mean the rights were all over the place ever since it was release years ago. Amazon prime had half and never released the other half/put it behind a pay wall. I mean what was the point of prime if I had to pay again to just rent to finish the series? And as someone who watched The Last Airbender when it aired Legend of Korra really knows how to hit you with that nostalgia.
Book 1: Compared to the other seasons I think this one was the best for me. Yeah a lot of plot holes and I’ve read the reviews when this was airing on Kotaku. Great hook but kind of fell flat at the end.
Book 2: Waterbenders again. I’m not sure if the showrunners were over correcting from ATLA to balance out showing other evil elements but two in a row and having them be brothers seem lazy.
Book 3: Kind of a 180 and cliche. It’s a cool concept but doesn’t really tie into the other parts. And giving random people Air bending seems kind of out of place. Good thing Amon died in book 1 or his followers would lose it.
Book 4: I guess the writers saw X-men and figured it was time for their version of Magneto. And I guess Korra being with Asami works? Felt a little forced since they never really hinted at it.
Overall I did like the show, but the seasons feel like they didn’t really connect in a meaning way. Characters are introduced and quickly moved away and forgotten. Unless your the main cast you won’t be seen unless you need to move the plot. Meeting the old cast felt good but it feels like a cheap thrill for nostalgia.
The show has a weird obsession with siblings There seems to be a good evil dynamic between them. I half expected Suyin Beifong to be the revealed to be the villain. But introducing Kuvira in a scene with no context in a episode felt jarring.
While Korra isn’t a mary sue she doesn’t get much done in her series. Aang gives her back her powers, Jinora kind of saves her twice, but Korra finally takes some agency in healing herself in the last season and actually defeating Kuvira.
Also I know there are comics explaining stuff but this is BS in the likes of FF15. I don’t want to watch or read something that is in another medium connected to the show to get the full story. There shouldn’t be a side comic to add on important story elements you couldn’t fit in the main series. FF15 had a movie, anime, and DLC just to change the story and make it very different since release day.
I guess my main problem with the show was it didn’t show enough. Everything happened off screen. The biggest problem was the 3 year time skip. A ton of important stuff just happens and while they do flashback to some they left a few details we need to connect them. Kuvira she was introduced in two seconds in book 3 and now she suddenly is the villain in book 4 without showing how she rose in power. Korra learned to walk again off screen. We never saw the inequality that Amon talked about. We were just told stuff happened and now Korra and the gang has to solve it.
Amon turned out to be a hypocrite and we never were shown all the inequality everyone talked about. Unalaq wanted to free spirit Satan. The Red Lotus while a cool concept just wanted anarchy. And Kuvira was just a Nazi.
And I know they want to make it all about Korra but where are all the Aang flashbacks? Like he was an important leader I get that he died early but so did other leaders and we still get stories about them. After season 1 we never get another look at what Aang did as an adult. I mean he died at 66, and we don’t more mention about what he did or thought?
I know she lost her connection with her past selfs early on but that doesn’t mean other characters lost it too. I don’t believe that Aang didn’t go out and help more people.
This show is still worth a watch but I think it really lacked planning and care that was put into ATLA that made it great.