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All my thoughts on Legend of Korra
So first of all, I'm basically going to crib my reactions from what I just wrote at the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
white_lotus reaction post.
The squee:
IROH ONNA PLANE. Actually, every scene with Iroh. Also every time he opens his mouth. CAN I HAVE MORE IROH, PLZ?
Lin got her bending back!!!!! \o/ \o/ \o/
I totally did not see the reveal on Amon coming. All the stuff I'd guessed? NOT THAT AT ALL. And the flashbacks to wee!Tarlok and wee!Amon were really sweet, although I do wish they'd either given us more of a reason to care about either one of them in previous episodes, or tightened that part up considerably. I really enjoyed it when I was watching it; it's just that looking back later, I felt like the pacing was off in that area. idk.
AAAAAANG! \o/
Tenzin and Bumi. AHAHAAHA. Oh, I wish we'd been able to see them interact, but I can imagine it very clearly, and oh, TENZIN'S FACE. XD
The not!squee:
WAY TOO RUSHED. omg. Actually, the ending in general ... GAH.
Okay, I get that they believed it would be a single season, so they couldn't leave things in limbo. And Lin getting her bending back was a big squee! moment. However, I really did believe that they were setting it up for a situation in which Korra is limited exclusively to airbending and has to unlock the other elements one by one. It would have been a great, very natural way of depowering her. As it was, everything was just WAY too easy and tied the whole thing off with a frustratingly neat and tidy (and very rushed) bow on top.
At least until the second season, I can cling to a certain amount of headcanon regarding Korra's bending not having come back completely. The ending is actually ambiguous enough that it's very plausible to imagine she can only bend the other elements in the avatar state -- we never actually see anything else, and no one SAYS anything about it, which makes me cross my fingers hoping that's the case. Because otherwise, I can't imagine what sort of character arc they could have for her in season two. She's overcome her one big challenge, she's already pretty good with the other elements, she's learning to be less hotheaded and more patient, and she's still got a large and powerful support system that basically encompasses all the world's movers and shakers ... what is left to do with her?
And I really felt like Asami got screwed over by the love triangle. I wish we could've at least had a scene that gives some resolution on Asami/Mako (and a dignified exit from that relationship for Asami) rather than Mako basically doing what he's been doing all along and running off to see Korra behind her back. (Still want Mako to take a long walk off a short pier, by the way. I liked him at first and I wish I could still like him, but, just, aargh. Every once in awhile he has a neat moment, like shooting lightning or telling Bolin he loves him when they separated. And the rest of the time, he is basically either just kind of there, or he's being a dick boyfriend to Asami.)
I'm also majorly frustrated with the lack of attention to rebuilding the city -- the large-scale benders vs. nonbenders issue was basically dropped in favor of a focus on the characters' problems in these episodes, which normally I would not really have a problem with, except that it was dropped completely and the bigger political picture isn't even lightly name-checked at the end. All the tensions that existed at the beginning of the show are not only still there, but almost certainly worse than ever now (which may be the main focus of season two, I don't know, but I really would've liked at least a nod to the state of the city at the end). I would MUCH rather have seen Tarlok turn down Noatak's offer and stay at home to help fix the mess he helped create (which is actually what I thought he was going to do), rather than going out in a suicide attack.
Okay, I am aware that a lot of my issues with the show basically amount to "If I were writing it, I'd have written it this way!" Which isn't an objective flaw in the show, so much as a disconnect between what I want out of a show, and what it ended up delivering. But it is a pretty big disconnect.
...
In the end, my reaction to the finale is that I enjoyed watching it, had major squee over a few things, was very frustrated by the ending, and basically am kind of "meh" now. Which sums up my reaction to the whole series, actually. The worldbuilding is gorgeous, the characters are lots of fun (though some of them have a lot more potential as characters than they ever got to develop), and there were scenes I loved a lot. It has SO MUCH PROMISE. But in the end, it didn't grab me with anything like the joy and delight that A:tLA grabbed me. I know that my expectations were high, whereas with A:tLA I didn't know what to expect, so it was all a surprise. But I also just feel like A:tLA was a better show. Or perhaps just a show that was more to my taste, whereas this one wasn't really to my taste? I am definitely coming back for season two, mostly because there are certain characters I REALLY want more of (Lin! Iroh! Airfamily!) ... but I'm not on tenterhooks waiting for it.
white_lotus reaction post.The squee:
IROH ONNA PLANE. Actually, every scene with Iroh. Also every time he opens his mouth. CAN I HAVE MORE IROH, PLZ?
Lin got her bending back!!!!! \o/ \o/ \o/
I totally did not see the reveal on Amon coming. All the stuff I'd guessed? NOT THAT AT ALL. And the flashbacks to wee!Tarlok and wee!Amon were really sweet, although I do wish they'd either given us more of a reason to care about either one of them in previous episodes, or tightened that part up considerably. I really enjoyed it when I was watching it; it's just that looking back later, I felt like the pacing was off in that area. idk.
AAAAAANG! \o/
Tenzin and Bumi. AHAHAAHA. Oh, I wish we'd been able to see them interact, but I can imagine it very clearly, and oh, TENZIN'S FACE. XD
The not!squee:
WAY TOO RUSHED. omg. Actually, the ending in general ... GAH.
Okay, I get that they believed it would be a single season, so they couldn't leave things in limbo. And Lin getting her bending back was a big squee! moment. However, I really did believe that they were setting it up for a situation in which Korra is limited exclusively to airbending and has to unlock the other elements one by one. It would have been a great, very natural way of depowering her. As it was, everything was just WAY too easy and tied the whole thing off with a frustratingly neat and tidy (and very rushed) bow on top.
At least until the second season, I can cling to a certain amount of headcanon regarding Korra's bending not having come back completely. The ending is actually ambiguous enough that it's very plausible to imagine she can only bend the other elements in the avatar state -- we never actually see anything else, and no one SAYS anything about it, which makes me cross my fingers hoping that's the case. Because otherwise, I can't imagine what sort of character arc they could have for her in season two. She's overcome her one big challenge, she's already pretty good with the other elements, she's learning to be less hotheaded and more patient, and she's still got a large and powerful support system that basically encompasses all the world's movers and shakers ... what is left to do with her?
And I really felt like Asami got screwed over by the love triangle. I wish we could've at least had a scene that gives some resolution on Asami/Mako (and a dignified exit from that relationship for Asami) rather than Mako basically doing what he's been doing all along and running off to see Korra behind her back. (Still want Mako to take a long walk off a short pier, by the way. I liked him at first and I wish I could still like him, but, just, aargh. Every once in awhile he has a neat moment, like shooting lightning or telling Bolin he loves him when they separated. And the rest of the time, he is basically either just kind of there, or he's being a dick boyfriend to Asami.)
I'm also majorly frustrated with the lack of attention to rebuilding the city -- the large-scale benders vs. nonbenders issue was basically dropped in favor of a focus on the characters' problems in these episodes, which normally I would not really have a problem with, except that it was dropped completely and the bigger political picture isn't even lightly name-checked at the end. All the tensions that existed at the beginning of the show are not only still there, but almost certainly worse than ever now (which may be the main focus of season two, I don't know, but I really would've liked at least a nod to the state of the city at the end). I would MUCH rather have seen Tarlok turn down Noatak's offer and stay at home to help fix the mess he helped create (which is actually what I thought he was going to do), rather than going out in a suicide attack.
Okay, I am aware that a lot of my issues with the show basically amount to "If I were writing it, I'd have written it this way!" Which isn't an objective flaw in the show, so much as a disconnect between what I want out of a show, and what it ended up delivering. But it is a pretty big disconnect.
...
In the end, my reaction to the finale is that I enjoyed watching it, had major squee over a few things, was very frustrated by the ending, and basically am kind of "meh" now. Which sums up my reaction to the whole series, actually. The worldbuilding is gorgeous, the characters are lots of fun (though some of them have a lot more potential as characters than they ever got to develop), and there were scenes I loved a lot. It has SO MUCH PROMISE. But in the end, it didn't grab me with anything like the joy and delight that A:tLA grabbed me. I know that my expectations were high, whereas with A:tLA I didn't know what to expect, so it was all a surprise. But I also just feel like A:tLA was a better show. Or perhaps just a show that was more to my taste, whereas this one wasn't really to my taste? I am definitely coming back for season two, mostly because there are certain characters I REALLY want more of (Lin! Iroh! Airfamily!) ... but I'm not on tenterhooks waiting for it.
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