***Spoilers for the Legend of Korra … duh***

Regardless of whatever criticism anyone may have about The Legend Of Korra, it is one of my favourite shows. Sure, I will admit that this show has its flaws. But that’s more to do with the limitations placed on the creators rather than the creators themselves. We have seen, through Avatar The Last Airbender, that the writers of this show: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are incredibly talented. But even great talent struggles when it is only promised one season at a time to carry out their work.

Regardless, this show truly pulled at my heartstrings. I’m not going to lie, watching Korra interact with original Team Avatar made me cry. There is no love story in this world that makes me as emotional as the friendships in Team Avatar. Truly, this is a connection that transcends lifetimes and I wish I had more of it. Every time I watch Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, I am disappointed when it is finally over. I loved this world so much that I cannot bear to see the stories within it end. In fact, I’d be more than down for extending the series.

And now I’m about to say a very unpopular opinion … I preferred Legend of Korra to Avatar The Last Airbender. Yes, yes, I know! It’s practically sacrilegious for me to say something so ridiculous. But I think it’s important to note that I started this series as an adult. And while I love Avatar The Last Airbender, it was targeted to a demographic much younger than me. It had a tendency to censor the true horror of the world. But I think the biggest thing in Legend of Korra’s favour is that its main character is my favourite character. Aang was not my favourite character in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Zuko was my favourite character.

And I find that I am always inclined to prefer stories that make me feel most strongly for the protagonist. But honestly, during much of Avatar The Last Airbender, I was rooting for Zuko. No, I didn’t want him to capture the avatar but I wanted him to be happy. I never cried as much for any character as I did for Zuko. He held my heart and soul. And I didn’t get to see enough of him to be honest.

Character Development

Disclaimer: contrary to what the title may suggest, I’m not comparing the two shows. They are both phenomenal and while I can happily note my preference for one, I will not do them the disservice of promoting one by shitting on the other. That being said, Zuko’s character arc in Avatar The Last Airbender is one of the best story arcs in television history.

Originally, I watched half of the first episode and then ignored it for months. It was only after I watched a Trope Talks video that discussed Zuko’s character arc that I watched the entirety of the show. I never would have been interested in Avatar The Last Airbender if it had not been for Zuko.

But he is one character and cannot be the determiner of which show I prefer. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me. 🙁

Asami’s Relationship With Her Father

Asami Sato was originally set up to be the perfect villain. She was supposed to be a spy for her father. And her backstory and introduction to the story all but suggested that she was the villain. But this show is too queer to make Asami Sato, the queen herself, the bad guy. She proved herself to be a loyal friend and at her core, a good person. Asami gave up the only family she had left and her immense wealth and privilege to do the right thing. She chose to risk everything rather than help her own father commit atrocities. And regardless of how much she struggled, she persevered and set out to redeem her family name.

And this, to no one’s surprise, made her her father’s enemy. The man proved himself to be a self-serving coward, only loving his daughter so far as she agreed with him. And at the end of the first season, when he’s defeated and thrown in prison, that should be the end of their relationship right? No.

Legend of Korra proves itself to be grounded in reality. The truth is, no matter how horrible our parents are, the bonds created between parent and child can never be severed. As much as Asami tried to move on from his evil, she was still pulled back to him. This is something that anyone with toxic or abusive family members can relate to. Family is hard to let go of. And the sad truth is, as twisted as the relationship is, there is still love there.

As evil as Asami’s father was, he LOVED her and she loved him. And while he chose to be selfish when they first became enemies, he was unable to forsake his daughter completely. That’s the sad reality of a toxic parent. As horrible and evil as they can be, they love their children. And this love comes out in small moments that make it impossible for an abused child to let go. This small glimmer of love is the reason why so many abused children can never completely cut off their parents.

In fact, only someone as cold and cutthroat as me has the ability to go full no contact. And even in my coldness, I still dream of my family. I still recollect the good moments. I know the truth. There are no monsters in this world, only humans. And even when humans do evil things, they themselves are rarely evil. And it is when we see that glimmer of goodness in our abusers that it is crucial we cut them off.

Yes, you read that right. An abuser’s love is true but it is dangerous. They do not have the conscience needed to love without pain. I am convinced that Asami’s father would have hurt her again had she let him back. His death was his only chance at redemption. He was able to leave with one last testament of his love for his daughter before his own selfish desires sabotaged the relationship. This is a truth I know better than most as an abused child myself.

So while you may hate this arc, I think it’s one of the best ones in the show. It is a glimpse into our grey world. There is no true evil as there is always good hidden beneath that. And it is our responsibility as people to still protect ourselves despite the sympathy we feel for that glimmer of good.

Korra’s Journey Of Healing

While the Avatar universe has never held back on its exploration of trauma, I think this is the first time it’s truly been centre stage. And while there have been disabled characters before, this is the first time a main character has had a debilitating injury (shown on screen) which caused them to relearn how to walk.

With the Avatar’s deity level powers, it’s easy to forget they’re also human. It’s easy to think they’ll bounce back no matter what happens.

Season 4 disproves this notion. Korra being poisoned lands her in a wheelchair and it takes her six months to even walk with the help of bars. This is the point where her humanity is on display the most. She may be the Avatar but she is also fallible. And there are devastating consequences when her mortality is revealed. Not only does Korra lose her connection to the past avatars (the only people who understand what she is going through) but she also almost ends the avatar cycle (multiple times).

And this is the point. The way I see it, the Avatar cycle needs to be reset. The Avatar is not an invulnerable being as that would defeat the very purpose of there being an Avatar. Korra’s journey illustrates the humanity required to act as a bridge between spirits and humans. Korra shows that in order to resolve conflicts more effectively, one needs to fall.

What happens to Korra is horrifying but she is strong enough to face it. Even if she cannot walk, she is surrounded by people who love her and would die for her without question. Who understand that she is also a person who deserves a good life. This is an essential lesson for Korra, who has spent her whole life believing that being the Avatar is her only purpose. She is a product of Aang’s failures. She is stubborn and rash because when she was Aang, her peaceful temperament was a detriment to her defeating the Firelord. Aang’s non-violent inclinations almost cost him the war and it created a host of problems.

Aang choosing to take away bending rather than directly removing the dangers to his society created the villains Korra fought. Korra is the opposite of Aang because she is what was needed during the 100 year war. But unfortunately, Aang created the world he wanted to be a part of. He created a world that needed non-violence and calm.

Korra only learns this after falling multiple times. Her recklessness almost costs her whole world and so she is forced to tone it down. She has to learn how to take a step back and not enter every conflict, ready to beat the crap out of anyone who opposes her. Season 4 Korra is a vastly different person to season 1 Korra who was constantly issuing challenges and begging for a fight.

Now that’s good character development.

Prince Wu

Let me be clear, I don’t believe in the monarchy. I think the world should be a mixture of meritocracy and democracy. Government officials should have a thorough understanding of diplomacy, other nations, trade, what the people want and need etc before they can be allowed to stand for elections and the individuals who are competent and want to lead should be chosen by the people.

Prince Wu was not a competent leader when he first appeared on screen. He was a selfish and self-absorbed rich boy. But I think he had the potential to be a great king. And I know this because he has made the wisest decision a king could make, he realised his own inadequacy and gave up his power. He realised he had no inherent right to his authority and knew he didn’t have what it takes to be a great king. And he’s right because there’s no such thing as a great king. By its very nature, a monarchy is outdated and counterproductive.

Plus, he’s a queer icon and so we forgive him his blunders at the beginning. And no, I’m not talking about his self-care routine. Just rewatch every interaction he has with Mako and tell me he isn’t at least a little gay. Even if neither of them ever admit it (and Mako likely never will), there’s tension there.

Varrick Developing A Conscience

You know who Varrick reminds me of? Howard Stark. Specifically, Howard Stark from the Agent Carter TV show. Think about it, they’re both chaotic, incredibly wealthy inventors who struggle to put the greater good above their own self-interest. And they both have the same chaotic sense of humour.

Yes, I know he’s a villain. No, I don’t condone his actions. War profiteering is bad regardless of who does it. But you can’t tell me that you don’t find his complete lack of remorse at least a little funny? He’s there to represent capitalism. He’s not meant to be the epitome of all that is moral. And it takes him inventing something that could destroy everything before he realises his selfishness is actually a bad thing.

That’s hilarious.

This man literally invented the Avatar equivalent of a nuclear weapon before developing a conscience. And you know what, he stuck to his guns. He did everything he could to reverse his own stupidity and he didn’t change his mind, even at the risk of death.

Sure, he’s a spineless coward but he’s also fictional. Every story needs a spineless coward. It adds an essential spice.

Villains From Previous Seasons

It’s fitting that, in the final season, we get a villain that makes the previous ones seem tame by comparison. Kuvira has one single minded purpose, she doesn’t care about anything: not the people who raised her and not even her fiancé. She’ll sacrifice everyone and everything to get her way. And it takes her own downfall to recognise she’s on the wrong path.

I love the fact that even some of the previous villains like Asami’s father and Zaheer take one look at her and go “Nah, that’s too far.” Especially considering that Asami’s father went after his own daughter for defying him and Zaheer kidnapped and threatened to kill children. But I guess they all pale in comparison with someone attempting totalitarianism with no regard for human life.

I kind of appreciate that the heroes got help from past villains without it overshadowing what they did. Zaheer is still in prison after helping Korra re-enter the spirit world and learn to function through her trauma. Asami’s father would probably be sent back to prison if he hadn’t sacrificed himself. They haven’t achieved redemption but that doesn’t mean that they are incapable of doing anything good. Because remember, there’s no such thing as true evil. There’s always a glimmer of good in the evil and that’s the truly scary thing.

I think the best thing about the villains of past seasons is that they had (I guess) good intentions. Amon wanted non benders to be free from being terrorised by benders (or at least that’s what he accidentally tried to achieve. I still kind of think he just wanted power and saw making everyone else a non bender the way to do it). Unalaq wanted to bring balance to the world. Zaheer wanted to bring balance as well and he tried to do this by attempting to get rid of nations and allowing freedom of movement from spirit world to human world and vice versa. They all kinda had good intentions. But they were bat shit crazy. As the show said, they were unbalanced.

I think that even though Zaheer caused so much harm, he attempted to free the Earth nation from an oppressive queen. His helping Korra seemed natural to me. He wanted freedom for all and Kuvira is a dictator that exploited the power vacuum created by the Queen’s death. She exploited what he did to do something he’d never want. Of course, he’d want to get rid of her at all costs. Asami’s father makes sense as well. He just wanted to get rid of benders (which is terrible of course) but he loved the city.

And while I definitely say that they should be locked up forever, I appreciate that they willingly helped the heroes defeat a power hungry totalitarian. Call me an idealist but I believe that everyone is capable of changing. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be punished but that they can be better in the future (after finishing their punishment).

Totalitarian Regimes Vs. The Idiot Monarch

The Earth Kingdom has been in chaos for as long as we’ve known it. And it’s because of incompetent monarchs. As evil as Kuvira’s actions are, she truly did unite the Kingdom. And on a surface level, that may seem like a good thing. Obviously, after living through generations of chaos, people would want order and peace (even if that was achieved through fear). That’s not a bad thing. It’s a human flaw to be unable to see beyond our own immediate problems.

And considering Prince Wu’s complete lack of training and blatant selfishness, it’s hard to say what’s worse. Is totalitarianism better than an incompetent ruler? It’s impossible to say. One leads to the complete loss of human rights while the other leads to chaos. Both systems cause countless deaths.

At the end of the day, Kuvira could never have been created if not for the incompetence of the rulers of this world. Kuvira is a symptom of the problem. Prince Wu giving up his crown was his best decision because it was the first one that addressed the core issue which is an imbalance of power and wealth. Only with the removal of the monarch and the totalitarian can there be a chance for representational ruling. Only then can there be truly equity.

Queer Representation (Finally!)

I know that they didn’t even kiss in the end or straight out acknowledge that they were dating but their relationship is canon so I’m happy. This show paved the way for kids shows of the future to be explicit with LGBTQ+ representation. It’s hard to believe but a lot of the progress made in diverse queer representation within mainstream media was made in the last couple of years. And with kids shows, it’s even slower.

It was only in 2019 that Arthur: a kids show that had been running for 20 years featured a same sex wedding. Mr Ratburn was revealed to be gay without any ceremony. And while some were unhappy with the show acknowledging that yes, gay people exist and it’s normal and okay for them to get married, many more were ecstatic with this representation. And it was only recently that the main character of “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” was revealed to be gay. Yay, Catradora is canon.

But those things couldn’t have happened without a show like this making the first step. It may be unfair but mainstream media, especially mainstream kids media is very restricted in what they can get away with. Due to the rampant homophobia present in our society, it can be difficult to showcase an LGBtQ+ character in mainstream media, let alone kids shows.

So I won’t criticise this show for not even having a kiss. The last episode premiered in December of 2014. Australia didn’t even legalise same sex marriage until December of 2017.

Progress may be slow but it’s happening and in every other regard, the Avatar universe shines. We get main characters who aren’t able bodied. This show successfully explores refugees, PTSD, homelessness, war, police brutality, corrupt governments etc. And it’s all catered towards kids. That’s a major achievement.