[TV] The Legend of Korra - Page 143

On June 26 2012 08:40 Adron wrote:
Guys, please dont forget there will be a second series of the legend of korra. Character growth can still (and will, im sure) happen. Explanations can also be given (and korra can dump mako and hook up with bolin, or a korra-asami-bolin triangle will do fine as well)

On June 26 2012 12:03 n.DieJokes wrote:
So, having thought it over, my problem isn't so much with the finale as with the entire series focus. TLK didn't tell me a story, or at any rate it didn't tell a very good one. It wasn't so much the legend of Korra but more "check out all this cool stuff that revolves around Korra". I felt like they wanted, first and foremost, to explore a futuristic bending world and make some cool, toned down and well stylized fight scenes; the story always came second to the visuals. So watching it was incredibly frustrating.

They would set up these very interesting conflicts: bender vs. nonbenders, Tarlock vs. the rest of council, Korra vs. her spirituality, Asami vs. her father, Tarlock vs. Tenzin, bending vs. technology (plus the big mystery around Amon) but then they'd put them down and go back to explosions and romance junk (and at the end dash there heads against a wall). All these things drew me in not just out of curiosity, but because they were thought provoking, and every single damn time they took the easiest and least interesting way out.

It was kind of like watching a clown blow up a narrow balloon, ask you what animal you wanted to see it molded into, then pop it and clap at the loud noise. I'm almost entirely convinced they started this miniseries with a concept but not a story arc, it felt like they were making it up episode to episode so, in retrospect, its no surprise they ran everything into a wall at the end. Its not that it was a children's show, I'm not asking for darkness I'm asking for thought. Children don't need to have things painted in black and white for them, you don't have to point out the good guys and the bad guys, you can leave it for the viewer to decide. If you can't pick a winner you can comprise or, god forbid, gives a ending with winners and losers. Real losers, not a snuffed out ultimate evil but a muddy villain given a harsh fate. Let the viewer choose what to feel.

The finale is the worst episode(s) in the series because its the ultimate let down. A last shot to piece together an interesting story and not a fun flip book. For the first ten episodes they dangle these fascinating elements in front of viewer, baiting them deeper and deeper into the show. Sure they finish a few of these in dull, poorly conceived and uninspired manner (the bending tournament, Tarlock, Asumi and her dad) but they leave enough interesting question marks dangling to make me think they can pull it together. TLK wouldn't be the first animated show to slump hard in the middle (Death Note -.-), a strong and thought out finale could have saved the entire show. But no, the middle episodes weren't some fluke; they slotted twenty minutes to planes flown by faceless bad guys into ships of good guys I don't care about. Then they methodically destroyed everything interesting and dynamic about the main villain, fixed all the problems with out of nowhere bullshit and called it a wrap. It's exploitation of the fan base at its most basic level; they show you the world of avatar and with it the promises that previous show made good on, but don't give you anything interesting in its own right.

I realize they only had twelve episodes but its not like it would have been impossible to make a good story. Just some immediate ideas; cut everything about the bending arena and the brothers. Focus on Korra on the air temple trying to get in touch with her spiritual side while making frequent excursions into Republic City, with and without Tarlock to deal with equalists. Now you have three more episodes to develop Korra as a strong and independently minded protagonist. Three more episodes to consider the dynamics of republic city. Plus all that time developing the characters in Korra's "posse" and love triangle and all that junk; isn't Korra supposed to be the opposite of Aang anyway? Let her be independent, Korra relies more on the people around her than Aang did and hes supposed to be ten (or 13? I don't remember). It can still be fun and action packed like the writers obviously wanted but now there's time to write a good story behind that. Flesh out the conflicts, style Amon after Jet, Tarlock after the Azumi, play up the airbending family and her bear thing for fun and comedic effect (dear god the wife, there was so much potential there it hurts me to think about).

Overall it wasn't a good show and I'm disappointed that I slogged through 12 episodes just to get burned.

p.s. I might have called Asumi Mako a few times, sorry

On June 26 2012 12:03 n.DieJokes wrote:
Its not that it was a children's show, I'm not asking for darkness I'm asking for thought. Children don't need to have things painted in black and white for them, you don't have to point out the good guys and the bad guys, you can leave it for the viewer to decide. If you can't pick a winner you can comprise or, god forbid, gives a ending with winners and losers. Real losers, not a snuffed out ultimate evil but a muddy villain given a harsh fate. Let the viewer choose what to feel.

On June 26 2012 07:30 Sitinte wrote:
I hate to go away from the current discussion, but after seeing relative success with The Promise (I'm saying relative because I don't know what the actual figures are, but it's good enough to get a green light), Dark Horse Comics is going to work on another interlude series, this time called, "The Search".

Zuko's the main character in this one, and it deals with the search for his mother. From the looks of promo cover and the interview, Azula will play a prominent role as well. Probably the best part of the interview is that the rest of the Gaang will be secondary and support.

Link to the news:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=39354

Related pic (cover)

+ Show Spoiler +

On June 26 2012 23:03 ghost_403 wrote:
@FB: There's a lot of bending in LoK that was flat out impossible in Avatar. The proliferation of metal bending, the mastery of blood bending, General Iroh flying via fire, Mako teaching himself lightning... Sure, nothing can compare to the Aang/Ozai fight, but on average, I would say the benders are much more skilled than they were in Avatar.

@Majujuju: Lin didn't have time to do that because she was too busy being BatFong. Holy crap, every time she started bending, I started cheering.

On June 26 2012 07:30 Sitinte wrote:
I hate to go away from the current discussion, but after seeing relative success with The Promise (I'm saying relative because I don't know what the actual figures are, but it's good enough to get a green light), Dark Horse Comics is going to work on another interlude series, this time called, "The Search".

Zuko's the main character in this one, and it deals with the search for his mother. From the looks of promo cover and the interview, Azula will play a prominent role as well. Probably the best part of the interview is that the rest of the Gaang will be secondary and support.

Link to the news:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=39354

Related pic (cover)

+ Show Spoiler +

On June 27 2012 04:39 Acetone wrote:

I'm also totally pumped for the Fire Nation royal family's story, but Azula totally deserved what she got. The Fire Nation's royal siblings, who are completely opposite in every way, perfectly embody the story's core struggle between good and evil. Zuko's slow, arduous rise to greatness and Azula's quick fall to ruin are probably my two favorite things about TLA. Zuko, whose entire childhood had been a struggle plagued by the scorn of his father and his own poor decisions, eventually found his way onto the right path thanks to Iroh's guidance and his own innate kindness. On the other hand, Azula, whose entire childhood was spent in the lap of luxury and her father's favoritism, eventually falls victim to events brought about by her own cruel nature. For Azula to receive a fate any better than the one she got (+ Show Spoiler +) would have been a direct slight to not only everything the show had done in developing the massive contrast between her and her brother, but the story's core conflict between good and evil.