i thought they didn’t do a very good job setting up korra. i don’t want her one-dimensional, but i think she needed to be fleshed out better. aang as an airbender had a defined personality. korra is just an empty vessel. if they wanted to make her “different” maybe they could have made her darker/angrier like zukko and have her be resentful of being deprived of a childhood and forced to train at such an early age. or just not a very good bender at all in EVERY facet, and the only thing that makes her the avatar is the potential to bend all 4 elements. or just unbelievably OP that she can run around being reckless and not worry about any consequences… and then SLAM. gets her chi blocked and has to learn to win her battles without bending. a lot of interesting directions to go to and the one they chose i felt was pretty uninspired.
Right, because heaven forbid a female who spent their entire life training at something be good at it.
Why would she be resentful? She loves bending! She sucks at the diplomacy & spirit side of being the Avatar, but she loves the martial arts themselves and the competition that comes with it.
I’m not hugely thrilled about the sports theme they seem to be going with, but I’m not a sports guy. Maybe it was because of that, but her two teammates seemed pretty thin. Yeah, first episode and all, but this show is usually better about getting you interested in new characters very early on. These guys were pretty forgettable so far.
Korra herself I thought was great. I like that she seems to have the same basic personality traits as Aang - which makes sense, since she is Aang, reincarnated - but filtered through very different experiences. She’s known she was the Avatar practically since she could walk, so it’s not some heavy burden that’s suddenly upset her entire life. On the other hand, despite being older, better trained, and more naturally apt at bending, she’s vastly less experienced than Aang was at the beginning of his series. By eleven, Aang was already an accomplished world traveler, with friends in every nation, and an understanding of how to get along in variety of environments, from big cities to ice floes. Korra’s lived her entire life cloistered in a monastery, and doesn’t last more than a couple of hours in Republic City before she’s under arrest. Along those lines, Aang (who’s carrying a lot of guilt over not preventing the war) has much more awareness of his effects on the world around him - in his first episode, when he realizes his actions are endangering Kitara’s village, he gives himself up. In Korra’s first episode, when she gets into a fight, she demolishes a row of shops, and doesn’t even realize it until someone else points it out to her. Korra’s never really had to bend in a non-classroom environment, and she doesn’t really understand how her powers - and position - can be a danger to those around her.
That could be a very interesting character trait, particularly considering that this is about the same period in real world history where the modern concept of the celebrity was invented - and that seems to be paralleled in the Avatarverse, what with Korra giving press conferences, and joining a pro sports team. On top of that, the previews seem to indicate that the main story arc for this season (at least) is going to have something to do with a fascistic cult of popularity. That could be a very interesting arena to throw Korra into, and a great way to present a non-bender as a credible threat to a nearly-full trained Avatar. A skilled manipulator of the newly created popular media taking on an inexperienced girl whose been thrust into the limelight purely by an accident of her birth: that’s not an enemy you can beat by throwing boulders at him. I suspect that either he’ll manipulate her into somehow supporting her before revealing his Nefarious Plans, or he’ll target her publicly as the face of what’s wrong with benders in general, and her attempts to fight him head on get twisted into giving him more support. Hell, maybe both.
On a final note, I want to state that Tenzin’s son freaks me right the fuck out.
What’s tacky about that? Setting reincarnation aside, everyone you know is somebody’s son or grandson (or daughter or granddaughter).
Or maybe I don’t get what you meant by “tacky” ?
How many people in your immediate circle of acquaintances are the grandchildren of people who were in your grandfather’s immediate circle of acquaintances?
Another action and adventure series, hooray! I’ve been visualized this will hit the big screen too just like the first series of the Last Airbender. Thought she was the offspring of Aang and Katara which confuse a bit, why isn’t their progency take the role? Are they going to appear in this series too?
Agree.
I’d replace that with “training in her home town” at the South (right?) Pole where she grew up, under a series of bending masters.
I thought she realized it quite well, but didn’t think it was a problem as long as justice was done against the Bad Guys. Basically she thinks of herself as an officer of the State, where the State disagrees.
Nonsense. She understands that she can mess people up, and only uses powers to mess up the Bad Guys. But she definitely doesn’t understand living in the Big City, where she charges Naga around on thoroughfares, causing accidents or worse, because she’s not a city girl. She’ll get up to speed, and make sure Naga does as well.
That’s a good analysis. And definitely both.
Glad its not just me, his character design is… disturbing.
Um, most of my family? If you include Family as Acquaintance. Otherwise, who the hell knows – it seems likely that many folk I grew up knowing were descendents of people from a generation or two before who all knew each other. How the hell would I know if these were/weren’t the case. If I lived/grew up in the same place as where my previous or next previous generation lived, it seems likely I’d know peers that fit that description.
Actually, let me try that answer again.
We’re in Republic City, 70 years after the events of the last series. The main characters of the last series were all apparently instrumental in the founding of this city. We’re now 1-2 generations from that time. I can say that I would not at all be surprised to find that people descended or associated from those founders were important people in the city, officially or unofficially, and that characters in this story, who might also affects major events in this city, might encounter them.
Her airbending teacher is Aang and Katara’s son. And the role of the Avatar is explicitly not genetic, or else it wouldn’t change nation every go round.
I’m wondering if the plot isn’t going to go in a Harrison Bergeron direction(the villains are equalists 
) but I have faith the creators have the skill to handle it.
It would make sense that with industrialization and scientific advancement benders would become less and less needed in society.
[QUOTE=Miller]
That could be a very interesting character trait, particularly considering that this is about the same period in real world history where the modern concept of the celebrity was invented - and that seems to be paralleled in the Avatarverse, what with Korra giving press conferences, and joining a pro sports team. On top of that, the previews seem to indicate that the main story arc for this season (at least) is going to have something to do with a fascistic cult of popularity. That could be a very interesting arena to throw Korra into, and a great way to present a non-bender as a credible threat to a nearly-full trained Avatar. A skilled manipulator of the newly created popular media taking on an inexperienced girl whose been thrust into the limelight purely by an accident of her birth: that’s not an enemy you can beat by throwing boulders at him. I suspect that either he’ll manipulate her into somehow supporting her before revealing his Nefarious Plans, or he’ll target her publicly as the face of what’s wrong with benders in general, and her attempts to fight him head on get twisted into giving him more support. Hell, maybe both.
On a final note, I want to state that Tenzin’s son freaks me right the fuck out.
[/QUOTE]
That is an excellent point, and something I had missed. During Aang’s time while the avatar coming into the village was a big deal, people weren’t flocking to catch a glimpse.
How is this a defense, or even relevant, to what I said? I did not, in fact, even mention bending.
Now, on that point, I find her being good at bending fine, particualrly with all the training. When they show her already having entirely self-developed basic skills at age 5 or 6, and already being a brash dumbass who doesn’t get called on it, I do get annoyed. Even the best benders in the world weren’t shown as being that good, and the Avatar doesn’t seem to get any unusual advantage there apart from having lots of talent to be unlocked.
But no, I’m more talking about her complete inability to make intelligent decisions, yet have that same lack somehow never stop her from succeeding. Also her suprising but intermittent spinelessness.
I still want to know if Korra said “Saddle-mobile”, or something else. What do they all car cars?
Gack.
“What do they all call ‘cars’ ?” Better?
She demonstrated the capacity to bend more than one element, but only in the same sense that making toast demonstrates the capacity to cook a meal.
But she does get called on it, almost every time she interacts with an authority figure outside the White Lotus. The Equalist speaker, the police, the pro-bending referee…
..and having the best teachers in the world, and the support to do nothing but train.
We’ve only seen two episodes. So far she’s wheedled her way into getting taught by Tenzin - a man who was already going to teach her, but was inclined to put it off until it was more convenient, and learnt to dodge attacks coming from halfway across the ring - not airbend, just use the footwork to quit getting smacked around.
Satomobiles.
Do you have specific examples from the show in mind? I can’t say as I particularly noticed either of these traits. She’s headstrong, sure - and not only does she get called on it, she gets arrested for it.
I don’t recall anything she did that struck me as particularly unintelligent or spineless, either.
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]
Screw it. I spent half an hour writing it before the board F*^$&g ate it.
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.
This could get interesting, for a supposed kids show anyway.