Legend of Korra · 3:59am Jun 29th, 2014
I recently sat down and watched The Legend of Korra, and I don't like it. At all.
The third season is starting up soon, or maybe it's already started. I don't know. I don't watch TV anymore.
The show is just all kinds of bad, and the worst part is that Korra is at the center of the bad. From the first moment I saw her I knew I wasn't going to like her. I really had the same reaction to Rainbow Dash when I first saw her. The overconfident bombastic types wear quickly on my nerves. But Rainbow's character changed throughout the seasons, and she's come to be my second favorite of the main cast. Korra just get's worse and worse.
Korra suffers from many problems, but the biggest is that the first season was only twelve episodes. It tried to do WAY too much. There were so many subplots that were either terrible because of bad writing, or terrible because they didn't have time to go anywhere. The ending was an Anticlimax, robbing Korra of any power as a heroine. The bending was toned way down, which in itself isn't a bad thing, I didn't think it was too big a deal. But when you come from a series were people were conjuring firestorms, moving cities, and all sorts of other stuff, sticking bending in a sport is pretty freakin' lame.
But the worst part about this show is the romance, and that's the reason I'm writing this. This show... you know what? Twilight has a better love story than this. Yes, I'm serious on this. I don't even know why there was a romance sub plot in this. Well, that's not entirely true. I know why, because that's what you do nowadays, and it's awful. Romance is shoved into everything, especially where it shouldn't be, like in this show. I won't say this show wasn't ambitious, it was. It addressed issues like equality and privilege with the benders vs non-benders theme. It totally dropped the ball on it, but at least it tried. But in a twelve episode season, what makes them think they have time for a romance when tackling heavy issues like that? Not to mention the other subplots.
Mako, the typical good lookin' stud, is dating this attractive daughter of a business tycoon. Her name is Asami. In the middle of dating her, Korra starts to get feelings for him, and visa versa. Eventually they both kiss, and Asami finds out. The first thing Mako does is get all angry and blame his brother, Bolin for telling her. This guy is a snake. He's a douchebag. Bolin is made out to be the comedic, less attractive, sometimes awkward type. He makes a move on Korra, and she does not share his romantic feelings, still being conflicted about the above douche canoe. You know, I really don't like the whole "Nice Guy" image. But I can almost, ALMOST, see where some young naive boy will watch this and think, if he wants to get the girl, he needs to be a complete prick.
It really makes me wonder, if Korra wasn't the main character in this, if the main protagonist wasn't a girl. Would this have happened? If a love triangle doesn't work, it can ruin all three characters involved. This one ruined two of the three. I know that people are clamoring for better female leads, but this is what they want? Are these the risks of having that? The temptation that just because a character is female, she NEEDS to have a romantic subplot, regardless of how damaging it might be to the rest of the story, is terrible. It's a bit sexist, I'm aware. But people need to realize these things before writing them. If you can't write a female character properly, don't have one. These people are professionals, they should be able to do this.
Writing this and thinking on the issues has made me realize one thing. MLP is a super special show.
One of the things that drew me into MLP was it's focus on friendship. The type of love that is not romantic, but felt between close friends. The ponies are friends, that's it. None of them are in relationships. There are no large romantic sub plots in the show at all. It's such a nice change of pace. Lauren wasn't a good writer, and her vision had many problems in season 1, but the idea that her characters didn't need to be chasing boys all the time was outstanding. I feel like I'm alone in thinking things like this, but what the fuck makes someone like Korra think she has time for (poor) relationships when she is THE AVATAR??? Aka the chosen one. Same deal with Asami. Both of them being involved with that asshole Mako is just beneath them. They should go off and do their own thing. And you know what? You know what show went in that very direction just recently and felt the exact same way??? My Little Pony.
Simple Ways was one of my favorite episodes in season 4, and in the entire show, hands down. It was another trope episode, "The boyyy," that was going to happen sooner or later. The love triangle was handled perfectly here. Neither of the two main characters are turned into heinous abominations, and they realize that they were better off without Trenderhoof. The humor was perfect. Take the scenes in where AJ and Rarity trade aesthetics. AJ carries it off pretty well, while Rarity reduces herself to a blue-collar caricature. That's funny. It's shaming, but the point gets across, especially when Rararar's heartthrob d-bag does the same thing she did. It was perfect. This episode was genius in it's context and execution.
A taste of something different is always good. This may come off as me disliking romance, and that may be true to an extent, because it's so damn everywhere always, and it doesn't need to be. These things take time to feel real. The romance in TLA worked because it had three seasons to come together. Writers need to realize that that romance doesn't need to happen everywhere. It can destroy characters if not handled properly.
Haven't watched Legend of Korra. Basically because I keep hearing that it's the worst thing since the invention of cancer.
It's too bad. I liked the original little series with her.
Hell, I love romance. And even I agree with this.
It's just a thing in our culture. Everything needs a romance subplot. Even in places and stories where it's massively out of place.
2242837 The internet deals in absolutes with everything. The show is bad, but it's not cancer bad. That's the problem I have with critics and why I utterly despise Cinema Sins. But that's a topic for another blog post.
You're an experienced guy, Lumi. You know those crucial points in stories where certain things happen that shape the entire thing? Those defining moments when good/clever writing tips a story from great to Breaking Bad? Korra is a story where EVERY TIME one of those moments comes up they drop the ball. That is how I would describe it.
But Korra really is a BAD character. She does things that any likable character should not do.
In the first season, when Korra is conflicted about Mako, she talks to Pema. Pema is Tenzen's wife, and Tenzen is Aang's son. Pema tells the story of how she married Tenzen, she says that he was attracted to Lin Beifong, Toph's daughter. She didn't do anything at first, then says that "I just couldn't stand seeing him with the "wrong woman," so she confessed her love and the rest is history.
So what we can gather from this is that Pema was self-centered and thought Lin was not good enough for Tenzen. Pema was in no place to decide who the "right" woman is for Tenzen.
Korra takes this and interferes with Mako's relationship with Asami. She kisses him, and says... "When you're with her you think of me..."
Is this real? Did the main character seriously act like this? THE PROTAGONIST?! This is what I'm talking about. Am I off base here? This is how to not write a protagonist. She doesn't even learn anything. It all works out for her in the end. These characters are sneaky and underhanded. If you want to send a message to kids, if that's a goal in any way, they should not be prospering with these actions. I really hate this, Lumi. I sound like a moral guardian. Those people are usually pompous and pretentious, not to mention they usually have an ulterior agenda. This is a microcosm of another reason why I watch FiM, and why it resonates with me. This sort of behavior is called out in FiM and usually nobody who acts like this comes out a winner in the end. There are exceptions, but that's generally how it is.
People think Equestria Girls sends a bad message for girls? It's not even in the same galaxy as this awful character. Not even close.
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Yes. I do know what'cha mean. Those points where you end up saying 'it would have been so cool if...'. And yes, I can see it being very frustrating if you run into something where that keeps happening.
As for Korra getting bad advice... well... she wasn't ever exactly known for her intelligence, was she? And people can be totally led dumb places when they're too mentally lame to question what they hear.
I doubt that was the point the story was trying to make though.
Nah. She's just a really crap protagonist. We expect more from our heroes than we do some random conniving woman off the street.
I'm totally a moral guardian.
But no, you sound like someone making a very valid point against a show, to my view. It's not like you're outraged for outrage's sake. You're annoyed because someone botched making a hero heroic, and thus threw away a series that could have been good and cool.
Well the first two season are ok but the third book is quite good