Korra, a total mess to inspire us all.
Photo: Nickelodeon
Accept the voice of the old-fashioned radio broadcaster who performs the ‘earlier’ segments The Legend of Korra, is the big news in Republic City. After running success that Avatar: The Last Airbender had this summer on Netflix, the streaming service announced that the sequel to the Nickelodeon animated series, The Legend of Korra, would come to the platform on August 14th. AvatarThe creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, returned to their original universe several decades later. Korra, which moves things to a 1920s version of New York, with a set of adult protagonists older than the original Avatar bende. The series ran for four ‘books’ from 2012 to 2014, and yes, even though it’s already on CBS All Access (shoutout dedicated to all five Good fight fans), we are very excited to get a bigger platform on Netflix tomorrow.
So, what can you expect? Korra if you just dangle Avatar for the first time this summer? What are the two shows’ comparative strengths and weaknesses? And is Zhu Li an icon? (Of course, yes.) We got two from Vulture’s Avatar heads together to do the thing we intend to discuss.
(Note: Light spoilers for the series lie ahead, including references to their finale.)
Jackson McHenry: We need to start with the first book, since Korra would originally just be a miniseries, but if you enter the show from The Last Airbender, you will probably notice how different KorraThe tone and animation style feels out of place. It reminded me a lot of what is influenced by detective series as well Batman cartoons, featuring Korra, the Avatar’s latest reincarnation, set out to solve one big noir-ish mystery. A change of pace from the epic end of the first series, to say the least. What was your first impression of watching the show?
Zoë Haylock: I got in there Korra know two things: I loved The Last Airbender and that Korra eventually became gay. After having so much fun rewatching The Last Airbender (for the third time) in quarantine, view Korra like the obvious next step. But I was not at all prepared for the road Korra differs from the heart of TLA – that is, a ragtag group of best friends fighting against a common good. In Book One, as Korra travels from the training facility at the South Pole she called home to bustling Republic City, I felt similar, ventured out of the familiar security of Aang’s story, and suddenly expected to fight with the problems of an unknown place.
Korrahis greatest similarity with TLA, for me, is in the details. The show gives you so much that it’s easy to get lost in a moment. i love the Batman comparison – that’s exactly how it feels when Asami gets behind the wheel of a car. Which, I mean, a auto! When the initial shock went away, it was the innovations and the way they built on the incredible world of the original that made me obsessed.
JM: The tension of Korra eventually getting gay is very important to me, even if I spend a lot of time on the show and wish it was gay faster. (Bolin should be clear, this is my personal hobby horse, but anyway.) But I agree, there is a lot to adapt to, especially in Book One, where it feels like the makers are hard want to unpack in a new direction for the show, and there are relatively few moments that connect back to the characters in the original. If you want to know immediately what happened to Zuko after the end of Airbenderto, you are out luck.
But Republic City looks beautiful, especially when they include a picturesque backdrop of the harbor or its pseudo Central Park, and so much thought was clearly built into world construction. Korra is friends with two competitive bending stars, Mako and Bolin, and the show does a great job with scenes where the matches play out without much exposure, and the confidence of the action will manifest itself. The central mystery of Book One has a compelling hook, with the idea of a villain bending over to erase the class differences between benders and non-benders by taking the powers of benders, though I wish it were a little deeper and darker gie. Amon… not entirely wrong? That is true for many of the Korra villains, though, especially in later books as it weaves back into more of Airbenderhis spiritual side.
ZH: Not only that Korra have shorter seasons then TLA, but each season focuses on a different villain, starting with (the total-to-what) Amon. It gives us a few iconic villains, each with a compelling set of morals that Twitter sets debates to this day, but I wish we had more time to hear it out and also see the effects of the resolution.
The first season sets us up with our new Team Avatar: Mako, Bolin, and Asami, a non-bender whose father helped Amon’s revolution. I have a complicated relationship with the relationships in Korra: I want to give these disgruntled young adults who have spent so much of their lives just trying to survive some credit for not knowing how to navigate their romantic relationships, but … it’s a mess. I think they deserve more time to build up to the romantic climax. As it is, the relationships suffer, just like the rest of Team Avatar’s stories. In later seasons, the focus on Korra and her personal relationships – especially with villains – really becomes the core of the show, as they dispel expectations.
JM: There is a “The Last Jedi in front of The Last Jedi came even from ”quality Korra, in that the show continues to try to inflate itself structurally in ways that are both exciting and sometimes baffling, and in that, if you tweet about it, many men will show up to write their opinions. Not to delve into some of the specifications of what happens in the future Korra books, Avatar power-wise, but I really admire the makers’ willingness to go to extremes in terms of the world-changing decisions Korra makes and often the psychological trauma she endures herself. It’s another, less direct arc than Aang has. He has this enormous power, but must gradually unpack it so that he can use it. She continues to use her power, and then continues to face the unintended consequences. I wish the books had seasons of 22 episodes, because there are a lot of implications I wish Korra could sit for an episode instead of sending it to more plot, but I think Korra’s inner conflict is handled in a way that feels weird.
ZH: Where Aang was wise beyond his appearance, Korra has “a lot to learn” just about herself. With every mistep, despite being potentially world-shattering, we see her trying to learn from it and her frustration when she encounters another obstacle. Aang was the Avatar in a world that desperately needed him; 70 years later, they knew less about Korra. Korra’s struggle with being made powerless by bureaucracy, by non-benders, by her own mind, is incredible to look at, because it has to deal with challenges that former Avatars could not even imagine. Throughout the show, we see her found purpose in a modern world that is seemingly intense to destroy her. (Which, mood.) It’s not the relaxing quarantine watch The Last Airbender was for me, but I came out just as inspired to move on for the greater good.
JM: Korra, a total mess to inspire us all. This is definitely a performance that is lighter on the surface then Avatar, even if there is still a lot of it. I love the writers’ commitment to jokes that are so dumb that they go all out and get smart and funny (as in, most things Bolin or Varrick say), and their ability to detail thinking about a world in a few gestures to backstories or habits of characters.
One frustration I had observed Korra this summer that is a holdover from Airbender is that, for a show that is hard to owe to Asian and indigenous cultures, the voice cast is very stark white. It’s pretty shocking to hear and recognize people like JK Simmons or Aubrey Plaza or even Kiernan Shipka as the voices for characters who all refer to things built from non-white mythologies. 2012 was not so long ago. That I was excited about the prospect of DiMartino and Konietzko going to this world again for the live action of Netflix Avatar remake and actual cast of Native American and Asian actors (as opposed to the live action movie we will never discuss), although I am less enthusiastic about this remake after they left creative differences with Netflix. Sure, you could Avatar show without the two of them, but one of the things that Korra proved that the makers always remained open to tweak and further explore this vast universe they had created. I think that’s something KorraThe big, moving last steering wheel is all about.
ZH: The new live action is a rare opportunity to make so much Avatar choose right spending and, really, the least they could do. However, you are so right, Korra’s expansion on TLAThe history and the body is a testament to the original inspirations, cultural and stylistic. The animation in Korra is breathtaking, thanks to the South Korean animation community Studio Mir. Actually, I will say it: the animation is what gets me through some of Korra’s large, moving at last.
In the end, I just wish we had more time for it all – more insight, more air benders, more Zhu Li, more gay panic. What comforts me about the finale is that after all this time spent dismantling the Aang journey, Korra’s reflects the end of his. The world is evolving and they do not know where it is going, but they know what they are doing. (Yes, all I have quarantined is watching cartoons and crying …) Korra is a ride, whether you have seen it or not The Last Airbender. The puns, the adorable pets and the scene-stealing little characters all make for an entertaining binge watch, even if you just want to get to the bisexual twist of the finale. Yes, they could have done more, but it certainly left the door open for Korra’s uncertain but hopeful future. Part of the show’s legacy is the vast universe, and that includes the world that fans have built for them online based on that finale.
