# 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:** 9
**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:** [June 25, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/161 "2012-06-25T04:56:08Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > hmm Tough choice. The chick who is an unstable force of power, or the hotter chick who is possibly now the richest and be running the most influential company in the world. If the show _really_ had some stones…there’d be no choice made at all. Because sharing is fun! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/162 "2012-06-25T08:53:49Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > hmm Tough choice. The chick who is an unstable force of power, or the hotter chick who is possibly now the richest and be running the most influential company in the world. [You’re apparently not alone.](http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/06/25) > [@Ranchoth](#): > > If the show _really_ had some stones…there’d be no choice made at all. Because sharing is fun! 🆒 Maybe Korra would be up for that, but I don’t think Asami would. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/163 "2012-06-25T09:02:00Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Maybe Korra would be up for that, but I don’t think Asami would. Hmmm…maybe if she got Bolin in the deal, too? C’mon, she’s like one of the Kennedys of this world! This should be the kind of thing they’d sew up over golf on a lazy Sunday. 😃 ---
**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:** [July 10, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/164 "2012-07-10T04:49:45Z")
So I’m playing through the PS3 game “Uncharted 2” for the first time, and there’s a minor character in it, a Tibetan, named Tenzin. And his _daughter_ is named Pema. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/165 "2012-07-22T14:42:01Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So I’m playing through the PS3 game “Uncharted 2” for the first time, and there’s a minor character in it, a Tibetan, named Tenzin. And his _daughter_ is named Pema. Weird. Not really. Tenzin Gyatso is the Dalai Llama’s name. You’ll recall from the original series that Aang’s beloved mentor was “Monk Gyatso.” There’s a lot of names taken from real life. Idk who Pema is. Asides from being a sooper dooper evil blood bender, Aman’s concerns about Benders being an unfair elite actually seems kind of reasonable. I can’t decide if that made him a better villain, or a worse one. It reminds me of mewtwo from Pokemon, telling people that their glorified cock fighting was evil, and no one wanted to listen to him. “Yes, you’re right, but the writers prefer the characters on the other side.” 😛 I’m excited for season two! ---
**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:** [July 23, 2012, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/166 "2012-07-23T05:41:18Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Not really. Tenzin Gyatso is the Dalai Llama’s name. You’ll recall from the original series that Aang’s beloved mentor was “Monk Gyatso.” There’s a lot of names taken from real life. Idk who Pema is. Yeah, I was like “Huh, ‘Tenzin’, there’s that name again. Shrug.” It was when his daughter Pema was introduced that it became, “Huh. Weird.” Kay? ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/167 "2012-07-25T04:56:25Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Yeah, I was like “Huh, ‘Tenzin’, there’s that name again. Shrug.” It was when his daughter Pema was introduced that it became, “Huh. Weird.” Kay? I looked it up on the Avatar Wiki (that’s a thing, apparently, :D), and apparently Pema is a very common Tibetan woman’s name, to go with the quite common Tibetan boy’s name, Tenzin. Seems kinda uninspired as I write it out, haha. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/168 "2012-07-30T19:10:45Z")
Here’s a video of LOK panel at the San Diego comic-con: [http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-comic-con-2012-panel-full-episode.html](http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-comic-con-2012-panel-full-episode.html) I’ve only watched the first couple of minutes but they mentioned another 26 episodes have been ordered. And so there will be a total of 4 books. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/169 "2013-09-13T13:37:58Z")
Alright, who’s job was it to tell me the new season started yesterday? :mad: Now I missed the first episode, and I only have 12 more chances to DVR it. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/170 "2013-09-13T13:41:48Z")
Wow, thanks for the heads up, wolfman! My grandson loves Avatar and Korra, and I’ll make sure to DVR it for him now. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/171 "2013-09-14T01:43:40Z")
So any reviews of the start of Book Two? I’m less than impressed so far. Korra is very unlikable and not so smart. None of the characters are all that interesting and the dynamic between the characters and the emotions both seem … off. The story? I’m willing to give it a chance to take some less than obvious turns but they’ve give us some characters we actually can care about. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/172 "2013-09-14T02:09:24Z")
Ooh, thanks for the heads up. I just set the DVR with 5 minutes to spare. I don’t have high hopes for the series – I love the universe, but Book 1 had so many issues with stupid plotting and deus ex outcomes. This one is named Spirit, so maybe Korra will catch a clue from the spirit Mari Su (a really spunky spirit!). ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/173 "2013-09-16T02:59:25Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > So any reviews of the start of Book Two? > > I’m less than impressed so far. Korra is very unlikable and not so smart. None of the characters are all that interesting and the dynamic between the characters and the emotions both seem … off. The story? I’m willing to give it a chance to take some less than obvious turns but they’ve give us some characters we actually can care about. I don’t know, I liked the first episode of season two well enough. I think it helps that I gave up trying to compare it to Avatar in the middle of last season’s Korra. It’s not as good as Avatar and I’m not sure it ever will be. But it’s a decent show on it’s own. It’s pretty funny and it holds my interest. And I already have high hopes for some serious double-crossing with the new characters introduced in the first episode of this season. I’m looking forward to some fun betrayals and reunions. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/174 "2013-09-16T03:13:08Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Alright, who’s job was it to tell me the new season started yesterday? :mad: > > Now I missed the first episode, and I only have 12 more chances to DVR it. You can also watch it on [Nick.com](http://Nick.com). ---
**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:** [September 16, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/175 "2013-09-16T03:33:03Z")
Really disappointed so far. The whole deal with “dark spirits” is thoroughly mishandled. One can’t help but compare to the pissed-off spirit Aang encountered in [Ep 7 of ATLAB](http://vimeo.com/46727725), “The Spirit World”. Aang worked to understand who it was, and why it was angry, and calmed it by _talking_ to it. In Korra, we have angry spirits and Korra (and _Tenzin!_) just try to beat the crap out of them with bending, and North pole guy calms them by _waving his arms a certain way_, which is apparently what passes for spirituality, as opposed to being, you know _spiritual_. So, Korra, what do you do when you’re told to open the spirit magic box that will calm the spirits? Try to figure out what it is – what it’s for – why it’s there? No, just start beating the shit out of it! Thata girl! Ugh. Then there’s the thoroughly unlikable, entitled, selfish brat that’s Korra. But that’s an obvious enough problem I think anyone can identify. Then there’s the rest of the writing. Endless exposition, talk talk talk blah blah blah. It was just so tedious, so just un_fun_ considering the possibilities of the world we’re in. And is anyone surprised at all that North-pole guy was using Korra to nefarious ends? Isn’t that what Avatars (this one anyway :rolleyes:) are for? An an aside I was wondering if Bolin could end up in love with the male twin. After all, he can’t really tell them apart anyway, right? That’d actually be kinda awesome. And so way out beyond what this show is capable of. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/176 "2013-09-16T03:46:40Z")
Tenzin did try to talk and ask why it is angry and was thrown for his effort. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/177 "2013-09-16T03:47:45Z")
Rewatched it with my daughter. It may be just that the acting is off … ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/178 "2013-09-17T21:58:10Z")
I think a lot of the issues with “Korra” can be traced back to a common complaint about A:TLA (one that I’ve never agreed with), which is that it had too many “filler” episodes. There’s this bizarre need in some audience members for every episode to advance the overarching plot. As such, stellar character-centric episodes like “Sokka’s Master” were often criticized for insufficient plot movement, despite the fact that they were (a) crucial for establishing and growing the characters, (b) often excellent “side stories” in their own right, and © were necessary for the pacing of the show. Good storytellers don’t just rain plot development down on their viewers at a constant, unyielding rate - they understand that you need to let off the throttle every once in a while and let your audience catch their breath. _Great_ storytellers then use that opportunity to explore facets of their characters that aren’t directly related to the main arc, or to fill in the edges of their world. A:TLA was fantastic at using its “filler” episodes to do just that. “Korra,” by contrast, was built for shorter seasons - at least in part because the creators of the show were responding to the endless drumbeat of criticism from fans regarding “filler” episodes in the original show. They’ve been pushing the season-long story arcs at a breakneck rate, and then often piling even more plot on top of that. As a result, potentially interesting _character_ arcs have gotten short shrift. For example, I think the Mako/Korra romance _could_ be interesting. It isn’t, right now, AT ALL… but it could. But we never got a clear sense of why these two characters like each other, much less why we as viewers should have any emotional investment in the success of their Great Lurrrve. Compare that to Sokka’s relationships with Princess Yue and Suki, both of which didn’t take up that much time in the narrative, but did get enough so that we understood what drew the characters to one another. We also got to know the characters themselves well enough so that we cared whether they got together. The first two episodes of Season 2 of “Korra” have suffered pretty badly from this focus on plot over character. We’ve basically crammed in a full season or more’s worth of plot development into two episodes: spirits attacking ships, Unalaq’s ability to commune with spirits, the friction between Unalaq and Tonraq, Tonraq’s dark backstory, Korra leaving Tenzin’s tutelage, Tenzin going off to the Air Temple, Korra signing up with Unalaq, Korra opening the portal, Unalaq bringing in his fleet… whew. Just typing all of that was tiring. It’s just too damn much plot. And worst of all, because so many things happened in such short succession, we end up not giving enough time to _feel_ the reasoning why the characters make certain choices. Korra, in particular, basically undergoes character assassination in the process. I mean, take Korra’s decision to reject Tenzin’s teaching. This _could have_ been extremely compelling, had it been built up properly. But doing so would have taken weeks, if not months, worth of episodes, given the closeness of their relationship the last time we saw them at the end of Season 1. Instead, Korra basically goes from “mildly annoyed” to straight up “get out of my life” in the space of about five minutes, with little provocation. No wonder viewers think she’s being an immature bitch, when you write her like that! Again, compare that to Zuko’s rejection of his father, which was something that literally took _three full seasons_ to develop. That amount of time allowed it to happen organically, emerging from the growth of the character rather than being forced by authorial fiat. It’s unfortunate, really - I don’t think this is the showrunners’ fault, at least not entirely. They’re trying to tell an extremely ambitious story with more characters, more moral ambiguity, and a whole lot more plot advancement, in significantly less time than they had for the previous show. It’s not too late for them to correct course. They just need to give the story more time to breathe and get back to the roots of what made A:TLA so successful. Simplify the plot, focus on developing the characters, and “Korra” can still be great. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/179 "2013-09-17T23:03:37Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > It’s just too damn much plot. And worst of all, because so many things happened in such short succession, we end up not giving enough time to _feel_ the reasoning why the characters make certain choices. Korra, in particular, basically undergoes character assassination in the process. I mean, take Korra’s decision to reject Tenzin’s teaching. This _could have_ been extremely compelling, had it been built up properly. But doing so would have taken weeks, if not months, worth of episodes, given the closeness of their relationship the last time we saw them at the end of Season 1. Instead, Korra basically goes from “mildly annoyed” to straight up “get out of my life” in the space of about five minutes, with little provocation. No wonder viewers think she’s being an immature bitch, when you write her like that! Yep, they seem to really want to move things along, and doing this means pretty much jerking Korra’s character in crazy directions. Last season’s pilot had her insisting on training with Tenzin, the most spiritual man she knew - now he’s useless as a spiritual adviser? The entire season built on her lack of spirtuality hindering her airbending, and it’s when she embraces it that she can achieve the avatar state, airbend, and talk with her previous incarnations - now she’s back to being all about brute force, even with airbending? And what indication did we ever have that Mako wanted to be a cop? The FF go from “competing is our life” to “eh, whatever” in 6 months, after being cheated out of the championship title? No desire to fix that? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820/180 "2013-09-23T00:15:19Z")
Now that it’s going to be a long series I wonder if they’ll soon introduce an overarching goal or just have each season be its own self contained story a la season 1. > [@squeegee](#): > > So, Korra, what do you do when you’re told to open the spirit magic box that will calm the spirits? Try to figure out what it is – what it’s for – why it’s there? No, just start beating the shit out of it! Thata girl! Ugh. They kept calling it a portal so I thought she had to break through the ice and use it to travel to the spirit realm and figure out why they’re so pissed. But nah, she just touches it in the Avatar state and fixes everything instantly. What? The northern spirits were pissed because their forest got trashed. I thought the southern ones would be mad because of overfishing or pollution or some other Captain Planety reason. Or maybe there’s actually some moral defect in the Southern Water Tribe, like they’re habitual jaywalkers or something. But nah, they just don’t commune. Really now? The spirits sure are clingy. I’m guessing Unalaq will reveal more about the spirits as part of his quasi-nefarious plan. > [@](#): > > Then there’s the thoroughly unlikable, entitled, selfish brat that’s Korra. But that’s an obvious enough problem I think anyone can identify. I think she’s fine other than when she’s complaining about how her parents/Tenzin won’t let her do what she wants or how no one understands her. Realistic, I guess (she’s like what, 16?), but I just want to start slapping people. And her scene where she leaves Tenzin, man, she sure does suck at this whole human communication thing. All she has to say is I’m not leaving forever and we can do the air temple thing later, I value our relationship and you helped me a lot blah blah blah but I just need to learn some things from Unalaq for now. > [@](#): > > And is anyone surprised at all that North-pole guy was using Korra to nefarious ends? Isn’t that what Avatars (this one anyway :rolleyes:) are for? Seems kinda ballsy since Avatars seem to wreck people’s evil plans more often than not. Then again, if she’s such a naive brat, hey, why not try to get her godly powers on your side? Seems like it’d be easier to just cut her throat or poison her drink though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/618820.md?page=10)