Of Birthdays, Hangovers and Avatars (Spoilers)

Well, this just happened in the Legend of Korra finale.

Honestly, as somebody waking up on his birthday with a hangover from last night's Christmas party, this was the perfect gift. I can only compare this with December 2006 when Mickey Bay kindly uploaded the first proper trailer for Transformers on my B-Day.

And wow, what a satisfying conclusion. Not just for the sparkling KorraSami shipping (yesyesyesyes I love you girls!) but it completely subverted my pessimistic expections.

Legend of Korra is/was a frustrating show for me. I love it to bits but always fear that in the long run it won't pay off my emotional investment. Moments with the resulution of Season 1, the execution of Season 2's middle act and the pacing of the otherwise sublime Season 3 left me dreading the 'inevitable' point when Season 4 would fumble the ball...

But no! They scored a try! And nailed a full conversion! (and for the confused, that is Rugby terminology - what, you think a proud Welshman would use sporting anaologies drawn from American Football? Silly readers ).

This finale did not dissapoint, in the least. So many old faces turned up, everybody proves their kickassery (even Pema got time to shine, dear sweet overlooked Pema!), Kuvira got the character development I hoped and prayed for, the visuals were stunning and moving, and I got some sweet emotional payoff.

And now, looking back across all four seasons, the writing is incredibly tight. Yes there were a few ups and downs, but I can't wait to rewatch the entire series from start to finish, seeing how everything action, event and decision plays into the next. Seasons 3 and 4, in particular, really build upon each other in a manner that is almost seamless (kinda obvious given they were produced back-to-back, but still). This kind to writing, juggling so many balls at once, is difficult. I honestly think even the original series did not have so many 'balls' in action, or such a satisfyingly 'open' ending. I mean, yes Zuko is now fire-lord and Aang and Katara got together, but the ending of Korra has such a greater sense of promise, with the girls going off to explore the spirit world together, and Republic City rebuilding and expanding in new and unpredicable ways.

So many feels. Oh, the feels!

To Brian, Mike and everyone who created and crafted one of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying: thankyou for a wonderful Birthday Gift!

PS: Other moments of noteworthiness (yes, that is a Varrickism):

Airbabies - Meelo proves his worth in spades, and Ikki swoops in to save her sister. Another Little Miss Badass is born!

Wu - the spoilt rich kid came good. I would have suggested he rework himself as a constitutional monarch with an elected parliament (hey, it works for us in the UK), but then that would take away from valuable singing time. Ah well. Long Live the Democratic Peoples Republic of the Earth Federation, or whatever they name themselves.

Hiroshi - I should have realised he'd die the second Ju Li revealled the hummingbirds' ejector seats could be triggered independantly. But damn, that long on Asami's face as she's slow-mo fired out of her cockpit, leaving Dad behind to get splatted.

Ju Li - speaking of the good lady, she finally got her man! And what a beautiful wedding it was.

Spirit Portal - bravo! Republic City is now truly a microcosm of the entire Avatar universe. And what a brilliant, beautiful and logical climax to Kuvira's abuse/development of Spirit-based technology.

The Colussus - I was wondering if the giant mecha-titan was going to be just a one-shot villain to be brought down quickly leading to the real climax. I'm really glad how that was not the case, and how the gun itself became the engine of the climax.

Spirit non-intervention - I am a bit surprised that Korra's pleading for assistance to the spirits did not pay off - when Kuvira fled into the spirit wilds I was expecting her to end up lynched by the vines before Korra could catch back up. I am however glad that Korra was the one who solo-ed the climax without the spirits coming in to rescue her.

Kuvira - even in defeat she is amazing. Zelda Williams nailed the performance, and I've got genuine hope for the character's future, be it in fanon or spin-offs (please let there be spin-offs!) - if Azula could be redeemed, then so can Kuvira (and I still want to see those two face off in a fantasy Death Battle - the Iron-willed Great Uniter vs: the Prodigy Scion of the Fire Nation).

Comments

[VoxAdam]

Well, Happy Birthday! Glad to hear that by the sound of it, the day was indeed a rewarding one.

... Man, I really need to catch up on the Last Airbender franchise.