After Legend of Korra became available on Netflix, comparisons renewed between the original Avatar: The Last Airbender and its successor. After Avatar: The Last Airbender, the creators sought out to create an entirely new tone with its sequel, yet they receive constant criticism for not making it exactly like its predecessor. Drawing comparisons to what is familiar is natural when watching new movies and shows, and this tendency is especially true for sequels and spinoffs. However, when these comparisons are used to try and tear down shows and characters, toxicity begins to creep into fandoms as fans try to defend their points rather than embracing what they enjoy. Discourse divides communities who should be enjoying the things they like together, pointing out all the great things that they love about the show, movie, or universe. Sometimes, it is okay to just say “this is not for me” and let other fans celebrate the new thing. So, let us enjoy what makes Legend of Korra special.
I will focus on season one of Legend of Korra in order to avoid the most spoilers as possible, but with that being said, there may be some spoilers for the Legend of Korra so proceed with caution.
Korra is introduced as a special kind of Avatar right from her introduction as a child, being so obviously special that her parents quickly affirm that she is the Avatar when the White Lotus inform them that they have investigated many false claims. Her powers are very much a part of her identity, mastering her abilities through years of formal training under the tutelage and protection of the White Lotus while secluded in the Southern Water Tribe. Whereas Aang’s powers are symbolically taught by the friends who help him along the way, Korra’s journey is different as her powers are presented as part of her identity without the audience getting to know her teachers as intimately. Korra has to slowly learn to trust people to help her throughout the show, something she is not always comfortable with as she has always been able to rely on her own powers. Her identity as the Avatar is very important to her, seeing her responsibilities as a way to explore the world she is meant to protect before she realizes the burdens her title also brings. She is confident in her abilities, reckless in her decisions, and ignorant of the dangers of being the Avatar because of her relatively peaceful and sheltered lifestyle. Despite her arrogance in her abilities, she is also incredibly aware of her own weaknesses. Even though she excels at water bending, earth bending, and fire bending, she lacks any skill in air bending or any ability to connect with the spiritual side of being the Avatar, arguably the most important part in her job of maintaining balance between the worlds. She becomes frustrated whenever Tenzin warns her that she cannot do something because she is afraid to confront her own fears that she may not be strong enough to take on the Avatar’s responsibilities. Even though Korra tries to maintain her confidence and positivity throughout her challenges, her fears gnaw at her throughout the season until she finally breaks down under the weight of the expectations placed on her by society and herself. Korra is afraid about what happens to the world if she cannot perform the duties of the Avatar and questions her own self-worth as an individual without titles or powers. What happens to the world if she is not the Avatar? Who is Korra without the powers of the Avatar? These questions continue to plague Korra throughout the show as her pride conflicts with her fears. Legend of Korra continues to tackle the idea of identity and self-worth in relatable and empowering ways as our protagonist faces off against her villains. The theme of identity is probably no better personified than in season one’s villain, Amon, someone who is able to steal someone’s bending powers away from them, or, in other words, a terrorist who threatens Korra’s identity to her core.
Amon is a frightening villain with his incredible power to steal someone’s bending, threatening Korra’s own powers with the threat of stealing away what makes Korra special. In a way, Amon’s powers also threaten the concept of a bending world itself, an antithesis to the powers of the Avatar world. His existence scares Korra to her core, as she is afraid that even with her amazing powers, Amon could easily defeat her. In fact, she rushes into an early confrontation with him where he easily defeats her with the help of his minions, and Amon easily could have taken away her bending. For Korra, she was moments away from losing the only part of her identity that she is certain of, except Amon decides to spare her to ensure she does not become a martyr for resistance against his cause. His confidence mirrors Korra’s own confidence, except, Korra’s confidence comes from her abilities while Amon’s confidence stems from his ideals and the world he hopes to build. Amon’s motivations to create an equal world for everyone are in concept pure, but he uses fear as his weapons to both subjugate benders to his power and manipulate non-benders to rise up in a faux revolution that will place him in charge of Republic City. Amon’s intimidating persona creates a real challenge to our heroine as Korra has to genuinely grow as a character before she is ready to defeat him, embracing her own weaknesses in order to gain the power to overcome Amon. Amon and the Equalists chip away at Korra’s identity throughout the season in a truly compelling story about learning to accept oneself that resonates as a truly empowering story today.
Despite being considered a more mature and serious show as it tackles more adult oriented themes, Legend of Korra has plenty of moments that are just dumb fun. The creators really play around with the possibilities that exist with the concept of an ancient world meets the modern world. The C-plot of the pro bending tournament, a sport centered around bending with ridiculously complex rules, creates many comedic moments while introducing the audience to Bolin and Mako, whose brotherly dynamic and antics drive many of the jokes throughout season one. Bolin’s more carefree attitude contradicts humorously with Mako’s overly serious persona, while the episode that focuses on their love triangle has comedic undertones despite the impact these moments have on the rest of the show. Asami is built up as a prissy rich girl only to humorously subvert those expectations when she shows her true colors as a badass engineer and businesswoman who sets the new Team Avatar up for success. The air bending kids also inject some fun moments throughout the show while Tenzin tries to parent his crazy children along with balancing his other responsibilities. Many new, comedic background characters that make the Avatar universe so lively are present throughout the first season, such as the man that lives in a bush in Republic City’s park or the Equalist protester who calls out Korra for oppressing him. We get a call back to the best running joke in Avatar: The Last Airbender with the introduction of Cabbage Corp, building up the eventual “Not my Cabbage Corp.” line. We even get the funny animal companions with Naga the polar bear dog and Pabu the fire ferret to input some fun moments to balance out the serious themes of the show. Legend of Korra’s many parts, including its mature themes, fun characters, and empowering messages, come together to create a special atmosphere within its show that I hope many new fans come to appreciate with its new access on Netflix.
Did you enjoy the Legend of Korra? Let us know in the comments below.