# Avatar: the Legend of Korra **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820 "2012-04-15T04:28:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/61 "2012-04-22T02:00:07Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Ok whoever called the equalists as communist revolution stand ins collect your prize, down to the secret meetings and blaming bending for all the worlds wars and troubles and calling each other brother and sister. Works pretty well for Fascists, too. Or for that matter, early French Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/62 "2012-04-22T02:11:58Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Works pretty well for Fascists, too. Or for that matter, early French Republicans. I didn’t see much nationalism or call for national solidarity o. I wish we had more set up though, we have had a few glimpses of bender glorification and fire nation hate simmering over the years(someone was wondering what was gonna happen to the FN colonies at the end of the last show with the war over) but they needed a better sense that benders have become a burden in a time of industrialization and peace(in war you just pray your benders can kill their benders) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/63 "2012-04-22T04:46:05Z")
So I’m guessing it’s going to go this way: Amon announces his intentions to purge bending from the world. From the latest episode, Korra will play a role in validating the Amon has the real juice to do just that. Some sort of pogrom begins: benders are hauled by equalist mobs before Amon, who nukes their bending. Somewhere during that, Bolin and/or Mako (and perhaps Darmok at Tenagra) lose their bending by this process, despite Korra’s best efforts to save them. Perhaps even Tenzin. Later in this story line, there will be few benders left in the world, besides Korra and a few others who resist Amon. And… I’m not sure what happens after that point. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/64 "2012-04-22T05:24:40Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So I’m guessing it’s going to go this way: > > Amon announces his intentions to purge bending from the world. From the latest episode, Korra will play a role in validating the Amon has the real juice to do just that. Some sort of pogrom begins: benders are hauled by equalist mobs before Amon, who nukes their bending. > > Somewhere during that, Bolin and/or Mako (and perhaps Darmok at Tenagra) lose their bending by this process, despite Korra’s best efforts to save them. Perhaps even Tenzin. Later in this story line, there will be few benders left in the world, besides Korra and a few others who resist Amon. > > And… I’m not sure what happens after that point. Anyone? I think you’re on the right track, I saw somewhere that Republic City and perhaps moreof the world’s government is ruled by a five member body all benders who represent the four bending nations and north and south water tribes, no wonder non-benders are getting angry! Also as someone pointed out elsewhere Amon just took out the head of the biggest organized crime gang in the city in public, that approaching turf war? Oh yea with this power vacuum there is going to be a lot of violence in the streets by benders, which will further turn public opinion toward Amon. This show is already way beyond my expectations! Oh BTW Aang had to learn that pacifism doesn’t always work, Korra has to learn violence doesn’t always work. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/65 "2012-04-23T00:49:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Korra, who skirts the thin edge of mary Sue in the first two episodes as well as being surprisingly lame for all of it. Well it’s a lot better on that front compared to the original. Kitara only had self-taught water pushing, then two or three days of second hand lessons and she is nearly the equal of a White Lotus grandmaster water bender. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/66 "2012-04-23T01:43:47Z")
Yea, I don’t really get the “Mary Sue” complaints regarding Korra. If anything, she kinda sucks at her job. She gets her butt kicked by the non-bending motorcycle ninjas, is mediocre at Bender-Quidditch, can’t air bend, gets captured by the air-ballon cops, etc. Aang seemed to do a lot better despite being raised by pacisfists and being younger and only able (initially) to bend one element. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/67 "2012-04-23T19:48:02Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Just saw the next episode: “The Revelation”.[spoiler]Holy shit! Amon is an _energy bender!_ How is that possible? Korra better work on her spiritual side if she’s going to fight that, since, as we saw in the previous series, a spirit “must be unbendable or [that spirit] will be corrupted and destroyed”. She also needs to work on blocking chi blocking. > > And now I know what those two “short swords” that the equalist henchman wield are: cattle prods.[/spoiler] [spoiler]I don’t think that was spirit bending - it didn’t look anything like what Aang did to the Fire Lord at the end of the first series. More likely, it’s an advanced chi blocking technique, one that apparently doesn’t wear off on its own. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of it being curable, though - if one of the main characters gets depowered, I expect an extended subplot about finding a way to reverse the technique. My guess for which series regular is going to get their bending blocked by Amon? Korra, of course.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/68 "2012-04-23T20:51:18Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > They did have that bit about the Earth King’s bear. What’s this “bear” you speak of? Surely you mean a squirrel-bear? Or a flamingo-bear? Watched the first two episodes, I enjoyed them a lot. They have already built a consistent and interesting world. The animation quality seems a bit rough, fewer key frames(?), and the art style is more angular. A bit jarring, so it remains to be seen if I warm up to it, or if I long for the prior series’ style. Interesting how the city seems to have a ‘meh’ attitude about the coming of the next avatar, like it’s been reduced to merely a political appointment with superior bending abilities, but without the whole mystical destiny overtones. I hope they explore that. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/69 "2012-04-23T21:08:39Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So I’m guessing it’s going to go this way: > > Amon announces his intentions to purge bending from the world. From the latest episode, Korra will play a role in validating the Amon has the real juice to do just that. Some sort of pogrom begins: benders are hauled by equalist mobs before Amon, who nukes their bending. > > Somewhere during that, Bolin and/or Mako (and perhaps Darmok at Tenagra) lose their bending by this process, despite Korra’s best efforts to save them. Perhaps even Tenzin. Later in this story line, there will be few benders left in the world, besides Korra and a few others who resist Amon. > > And… I’m not sure what happens after that point. Anyone? My guess is that Amon is a bender, likely a fire bender, possibly one who has reason to believe he should be a Fire Lord. His motivation is to disarm all those benders who might oppose him and only leave with bending power those who will be loyal to his new, highly imbalanced, rule. It has already been pointed out that Korra needs to learn how to not fight, how to dodge (hence her difficulty with air bending); she also needs to learn how to wait for the right moment … who better to teach her that than Toph’s daughter? (Hence the importance of setting her up as so dislikable and rigid.) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/70 "2012-04-24T01:20:58Z")
…wow. Gettin’ dark. And it’s episode _3_. More and more, I’m getting the feeling that the ending of this series is going to look like the last 15 minutes of _Akira_. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/71 "2012-04-24T01:50:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [spoiler]I don’t think that was spirit bending - it didn’t look anything like what Aang did to the Fire Lord at the end of the first series. More likely, it’s an advanced chi blocking technique, one that apparently doesn’t wear off on its own. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of it being curable, though - if one of the main characters gets depowered, I expect an extended subplot about finding a way to reverse the technique. > > My guess for which series regular is going to get their bending blocked by Amon? Korra, of course.[/spoiler] [spoiler]You may be right about whether it is or isn’t spirit bending. The obvious differences are that the effect we just saw happened very quickly, and there wasn’t the big light show, where Aang’s use of the technique seemed to take a while and it was quite spectacular. But then, it’s not that clear to me that the time it took and the light show were anything more than how Aang saw things in real time, where an outside observer might have seen nothing all that unusual. I’m not sure I buy that, but let’s set it aside for now. So there were also similarities to spirit bending: Amon grabs the mob boss, then places his hand on the guy’s forehead, as Aang did. A few moments later the guy collapses to the floor, clearly weak and befuddled. Then he very weakly tries to firebend, using pretty much exactly the same moves and with the same weakness as the Firelord had when Aang removed his bending. So, I don’t know if this is spirit/energy bending; there are differences, but there are also similarities. You may be right that it’s uber-chi blocking of a new sort, but I’m not yet convinced. Damn, now I have to keep watching. 😉 And you’re probably right about Korra getting her chi/bending nuked, which starts a side plot about what can be done. That makes all kinds of plot sense.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/72 "2012-04-24T03:54:39Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > [spoiler]You may be right about whether it is or isn’t spirit bending. The obvious differences are that the effect we just saw happened very quickly, and there wasn’t the big light show, where Aang’s use of the technique seemed to take a while and it was quite spectacular. But then, it’s not that clear to me that the time it took and the light show were anything more than how Aang saw things in real time, where an outside observer might have seen nothing all that unusual. I’m not sure I buy that, but let’s set it aside for now. > > So there were also similarities to spirit bending: Amon grabs the mob boss, then places his hand on the guy’s forehead, as Aang did. A few moments later the guy collapses to the floor, clearly weak and befuddled. Then he very weakly tries to firebend, using pretty much exactly the same moves and with the same weakness as the Firelord had when Aang removed his bending. So, I don’t know if this is spirit/energy bending; there are differences, but there are also similarities. You may be right that it’s uber-chi blocking of a new sort, but I’m not yet convinced. Damn, now I have to keep watching. 😉 > > And you’re probably right about Korra getting her chi/bending nuked, which starts a side plot about what can be done. That makes all kinds of plot sense.[/spoiler] And I forgot the other obvious similarity: the mob boss asked, in the _exact same words_ that the Firelord did, “what did you do to me??” Which of course proves nothing, except that the writers are intentionally giving us the impression that what Amon did is the same thing Aang had done. Which, following your theory, may be a red herring, an intentional deception encouraged by the writers that would make us think Amon can do what Aang could. Or we’re over thinking things, and Amon really is spirit bending. I don’t know which! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/73 "2012-04-24T07:31:59Z")
Ok just so I can lay it down here is my theory on Amon’s identity. Amon is not human, he is a spirit from the spirit world(or possibly a human imbued with powers by a spirit in the spirit world). He could even be Koh or has had his face stolen by Koh and is doing his bidding. There may be a civil war going on in the spirit world. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/74 "2012-04-26T02:47:57Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Amon is not human, he is a spirit from the spirit world(or possibly a human imbued with powers by a spirit in the spirit world). He could even be Koh or has had his face stolen by Koh and is doing his bidding. That would certainly explain the mask. If it isn’t so, then he’s almost certainly an _Airbender_ - the only benders shown to have that level of spiritual awareness. That seems improbable on its own, though. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/75 "2012-04-26T03:04:35Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > That would certainly explain the mask. > > If it isn’t so, then he’s almost certainly an _Airbender_ - the only benders shown to have that level of spiritual awareness. That seems improbable on its own, though. Well, as seen when he took the hood’s bending away, he is pretty good at dodging. So are airbenders. Then again, I saw no signs of circle walking, so perhaps not. I’m not sure I’m buying the “Amon is a spirit” thing. They’ve not used Spirit World stuff very much since the end of season 1 of A:TLAB, except for minor things like Yue manifesting to Aang. So I’m thinking the Spirit World isn’t in that much favor with the screenwriters since then. OTOH, we’ve already been foreshadowed from that White Lotus Grumpy Dude that Korra needs spiritual chops, so perhaps Spirit World will stage a comeback plot-wise. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/76 "2012-04-26T04:34:04Z")
My theory? Amon is [Bumi](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Bumi_(non-bender)), Aang’s first, non-bender son, as yet unseen in the show, though mentioned. Also a notably creepy-looking fellow—unless he’s a delightfully frazzled mad scientist, he’s practically got “villain” written all over him. Probably driven to evil by jealousy and/or perceived parental favoritism, and developing the bender-nullification by occult dealings and/or steampunk science. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/77 "2012-04-26T04:41:41Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > They’ve not used Spirit World stuff very much since the end of season 1 of A:TLAB, except for minor things like Yue manifesting to Aang. So I’m thinking the Spirit World isn’t in that much favor with the screenwriters since then. . Aang was in the spirit world right before the finale when he was taught spirit bending by the lion turtle, all the scenes in the jungle on the turtle’s back were in the spirit world. (The bounty hunter chick says she could find Aang even if he was dead, but he isn’t he is just gone from the world.) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/78 "2012-04-26T05:16:54Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Aang was in the spirit world right before the finale when he was taught spirit bending by the lion turtle, all the scenes in the jungle on the turtle’s back were in the spirit world. (The bounty hunter chick says she could find Aang even if he was dead, but he isn’t he is just gone from the world.) Actually, no. Aang thought he was in the spirit world at first, but proved to himself that he was not because he could still bend, which wouldn’t work in the spirit world. He was merely on the back of a giant lion-turtle, as he discovered soon after. June, the bounty hunter girl, asserted that he was gone, “real gone”, but we never got an explanation why her shirshu couldn’t sniff out Aang when he really wasn’t “real gone” but merely on the back of a mobile amphibian. Maybe lion turtles are exempt in some way from a shirshu’s nostrils. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/79 "2012-04-26T18:06:53Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I don’t know about a mini series, but I just found this: > [The Promise | Avatar Wiki | Fandom](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/The_Promise) I have the first one. The other two aren’t out yet and I’ve been waiting for all three before I start reading but now I’m curious and I might just go ahead and read the first one. > [@GargoyleWB](#): > > What’s this “bear” you speak of? Surely you mean a squirrel-bear? Or a flamingo-bear? I love that scene. All the confusion because it is just a bear. > [@](#): > > Watched the first two episodes, I enjoyed them a lot. They have already built a consistent and interesting world. The animation quality seems a bit rough, fewer key frames(?), and the art style is more angular. A bit jarring, so it remains to be seen if I warm up to it, or if I long for the prior series’ style. > > Interesting how the city seems to have a ‘meh’ attitude about the coming of the next avatar, like it’s been reduced to merely a political appointment with superior bending abilities, but without the whole mystical destiny overtones. I hope they explore that. Well the Avatar and The Fire Lord founded the city with a bunch of other benders and apparantly the Avatar hung around the city quite a bit so 15 or so years after his death a new Avatar showing up wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/80 "2012-04-27T23:18:22Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Well, as seen when he took the hood’s bending away, he is pretty good at dodging. So are airbenders. Then again, I saw no signs of circle walking, so perhaps not. Honestly, one thing I finally realized kept bugging me is that everyone in the show moves the same way. I don’t see a clear difference between fighting styles of any of the benders shown. In fact, the only time anything was shown differently was when they wanted to show Korra suddenly learning not to faceroll. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820.md?page=5)