Legend Of Korra

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gunblader3
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Post by gunblader3 »

Been awhile since I posted here.
Caswin wrote:In retrospect, the show feels... rushed. Compressed, even. Like it wanted more than twelve episodes to tell the story in full.

The odd part is, of course, that they were already doing twenty episodes at a time and being extremely successful with them, so... I don't know, man. I will be tuning in when the show comes back, of course.
Well because they already made the twelve episodes awhile ago before Nick signed on for another 14 (which would be season 2). Though I do agree, this show suffered from being too fast paced such as some characters not being fully developed (particularly the three main protagonist). The reason the first avatar show was such a hit because everything from the characters, to the geography, plot, story, action scenes, etc were all well explored which brought to a satisfying conclusion (imo).

For this show, the season finale was quite enjoyable, except for a couple of things
1. The way Korra got her airbending. It was such a deus ex machina.
2. Throughout the whole series, bending seem to lack the creativity that the first Series had. Now it just felt like the benders were just shooting magic from their hands.
3. The way they revealed to Amon was. They barely gave enough information and evidence to point out that he was Tarlock's brother. The only evidence we had were that he was able to overcome the bloodbending, he can somehow seal bending, and a bunch of flashbacks with Yakone.
4. How is Noatak's skin lighter than Tarlocks when in the flashbacks it clearly showed Noatak having darker skin tone than his brother.
5. Tenzin keeps getting his butt kicked :?
Other than that, this show was quite fun to watch. The most powerful scene in this show would have to be the boat scene, makes me wonder if they will somehow bring him in for season 2.
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TigerintheShadows
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

gunblader3 wrote:Though I do agree, this show suffered from being too fast paced such as some characters not being fully developed (particularly the three main protagonist).
That's the biggest problem I have. I really wish they'd done more with Mako and Bolin, especially since Mako had the love square thing going on and Bolin never ventured much beyond Plucky Comic Relief.
1. I don't think that Korra's airbending was as much of a deus ex machina as getting her bending back. But then, so was Aang getting into the Avatar State in Sozin's Comet. Maybe it's an Avatar thing. -shrugs-

2. That's one of the things I didn't like about it, but considering that we have a protagonist who essentially views bending that way anyway, it's not surprising.

3. What evidence and foreshadowing could they have provided? In a three-season show like Avatar, they could have pulled it off, but not in a twelve-episode miniseries. Amon resisting bloodbending is a very good bit of foreshadowing. After all, how could he resist bloodbending unless he's a waterbender?

4. Hmm...the only feasable explanation for that would be that Amonoatak spent so much time indoors and behind his mask that he didn't get the Vitamin D or whatever that he needed to keep up the tan skin tone. Either that or skin dyeing.

5. Tenzin? :-s Tenzin's usually the one doing the butt-kicking. He and his family got captured, sure, but that's one of the only times he's been defeated. He's done better than Korra, in my opinion. After all, Tenzin was the only person who managed to knock Amon off his balance.
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Knight Fisher
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Post by Knight Fisher »

I'm really disappointed with what they've done with season 2 so far. Anybody else watching?
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Post by Caswin »

Water Tribe.

(jazz hands)
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

I've been watching. I freaking adore it.

Yeah, it's a little slow, and they could use a villain who's less predictable, but let us bear in mind that it's only the fifth episode. In terms of pacing and build-up, it's a heck of a lot better than Book One. The characters feel like they're all there to be characters, not just vessels to move the plot along. I especially like that they're making Mako likeable and they're not acting like Korra and Mako are in this perfect relationship with happy flowers and hearts and rainbows--they're actually allowed to play off of each other and argue like a real couple would.

The Water Tribe civil war is really interesting, especially when one considers how much of a role diplomacy has in this. In A:tLA, everyone rallied behind Aang as the Avatar--for good reason, considering that he was the one who was trying to rid the world of the imperialism of the Fire Nation. Now, things are more complicated, because there's no immediate threat to the United Republic, Fire Nation, or Earth Kingdom, so it's going to be a lot more difficult than "We're trying to fight evil and I'm the Avatar, so of course you'll be joining my side". I like that conflict--lots of politics, diplomacy, and pragmatism here, so it's going to provide a nice challenge to Little Miss "You Gotta Deal With It!". I liked that the president of RC didn't just give Korra what she wanted, and I liked that Iroh II wasn't allowed to go behind his back either--real world elements like that in a fantasy setting make me happy. \:D/

I also appreciate the Water Tribe civil war because we saw very little of the Water Tribe compared to the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom--I think we saw more Air Nomad culture and history than we saw of the Water Tribes. I'm liking their prominence.

Not a fan of Eska, though. Desna is iffy--perhaps if he becomes more distinguished, he'll grow on me. Eska, however, really grates on my nerves. (I'm almost shipping Bolin/Asami at this point, though that conflicts with my secret love of Iroh II/Asami.)
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Post by RileyTomTimothy »

Well I think that Unalaq is quite unpredictable. What does he want with that spirit portal and does he somehow have control of how the spirits act? I mean he already knows so much about them it wouldn't surprise me that he can tame a spirit and then revert it back to it's destructive state later. Now that's just speculation of course as I recall back to the beginning of the first episode where this exact same giant spirit that attacked that fishing boat, attacks Korra later in the fifth episode.

I'm really glad that the show is traveling back and forth between Tenzin's family at the Southern Air Temple and Korra and the gaang. I also particularly like what TigerintheShadows mentioned above how not everything is going Korra's way and getting challenged. This will force her to think differently and hopefully more spiritually, but right now she's still acting her usual brash self instead of consulting with Aang or Roku. It's also really cool how they're using the 'movers' exactly in the way that they're being used today- hint;hint government cool-aid- and then did anyone catch the Marilyn Monroe thing? Made me laugh!

Now, I can't wait to see the modern day fire nation and it's new Firelord! It should be nice to see if Zuko is in this next episode. I also am excited to see what Jinora's part in all this is.

Almost forgot: In six episodes I've gone from Bokorra, to Bosami and back to Bokorra again. This is getting crazy, lol! And Eska is just plain crazy, not gonna lie!
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

Still shipping Mako and Korra. Bolin/Korra is pretty lame, not gonna lie. :p But Eska is the most obnoxious person. "She stole my husband" my butt-- Korra has a freaking boyfriend (or had, as of this episode)! What would she want with the husband you betrothed to yourself with a dog-collar-in-all-but-name? I hope she gets called on her behavior at some point. Hate her so much.

I love Mako being his own person with his own story. They could have used his character to much better effect last book, but he was basically "the not-boyfriend" to Korra. I'm pleased to see him coming into his own as a character, and I'm curious to see where this lead he's found will take him.

Unalaq was predictable in the sense that he was a lot like Tarrlok pre-episode 8--promising to give Korra something besides her current situation and using it to accomplish his own ends. The fact that Unalaq is a waterbender doesn't help the comparison. He's also the power-mongering brother of a guy with a fair few secrets. It's pretty obvious to me that whatever he plans to do with the spirits is malevolent in nature, whatever he says about balance. A guy who talks about spiritual balance and yet attempts to take over an entire people group through manipulative, unscrupulous means probably never had particularly good intentions, no matter what good rhetoric he's spouting.

Am I saying that Unalaq is unsalvagable? No, but I am saying that his being a jerk at best, doing something to harm Tonraq because he wanted power, and attempting to manipulate Korra isn't anything I couldn't have foreseen the minute he walked in and spouted off his "you must all be uber-spiritual" rhetoric.
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"Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" "So he can sneak up on people. Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking..."
"And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."
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Post by Knight Fisher »

The two parter was my favorite episode of the season so far.

And Varrick is now one of my favorite characters.
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

I like Unalaq and Varrick as villains, and I especially like the Raava-Vaatu conflict. It's an interesting ensemble when one combines "economic villainy", "political villainy", and "TEH EEEEEBBUUUUULLLLLLLSSSS". It's definitely going to be a good season, conflict-wise.

Now let's talk about shipping.

I cannot even describe how much I despise and detest this Masami development. For one thing, IT IS NOT CREATIVE IN THE SLIGHTEST. IT IS A REHASHING OF THE SAME OBNOXIOUS SUBPLOT FROM LAST SEASON. This is not creativity; it is being obtuse, because clearly the writers do not understand that these annoying little romances are incredibly stupid, boring timewasters that do nothing but detract from characters they want us to love and adore. I never liked Katara/Aang, but I would take that ship over the Makorrasami garbage any day. For heaven's sake, provide us with relationship drama that is actual drama and not the ruination of the characters.

I feel like people who want to defend this jump too quickly to the "it's realistic" argument. Realism does not excuse reprehensible behavior. Shame on Asami for knowing that Mako just broke up with Korra and throwing herself at him romantically anyway, overstepping her bounds of merely being "distressed and in need of comfort", and shame on Mako for using Asami as a rebound. More importantly, shame on the writers for thinking that we as a fandom are interested in seeing their ability for excessive repetition. Just because something is "realistic" doesn't mean it should be displayed, and certainly not in such a way that does not present it as being what it is--in this case, a questionable-at-best and reprehensible-at-worst display of writers who cannot think of ways to create real drama in a show that simply does not need it. LoK is so fast-paced that a "realistic" love triangle just doesn't make sense, storytelling-wise, so why make us as a fandom suffer for it?

I mean, it's one thing for the villains to have similarities--inevitably, they just will if they're going to be complex human beings instead of just doing things for TEH EBULZ. We love them anyway, because the writers take old molds and make us like them and appreciate them because they do new things. Yet another love triangle subplot with the same characters who went through all this last season, to the explicit, fiery ire of ALMOST EVERYONE? We don't like that. In fact, many of us, myself certainly included, hate it. Just have Mako and Korra break up and then work out their problems and get back together, and ignore Asami as "the love interest" and make her an actual character again, apart from what she does in connection to the Krew.
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Post by Knight Fisher »

Half an hour till the finale goes up on the website. \:D/
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

YES

YES

MUCH WANT

VERY FANGIRL

SO KORRA
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"Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" "So he can sneak up on people. Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking..."
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Post by Mr. Sunnys »

Awesome series... I think I watched all of it. Was there anything after she gained her air bending?
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

Mr. Sunnys wrote:Awesome series... I think I watched all of it. Was there anything after she gained her air bending?
The end of the finale of Book One, as well as Book Two, the finale of which aired a few weeks ago...have you only watched up to "Endgame"? You've really missed a lot if that's the case...
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Post by Mr. Sunnys »

<Sarcastic voice> Cool...
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

Book Two was actually a step up from Book One, honestly. With the exception of the romance subplot, it was actually quite good. There was a really strong theme of legacy and how being part of one doesn't mean that you have to live up to the past. There was even a two-parter that existed solely to tell us how the Avatar came to be, which I can promise you is the best of the LoK episodes and really some of the best in Avatar canon. Seriously, you don't want to go without Book Two if you've watched Book One. Book Two isn't just that good--it's better.
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"Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" "So he can sneak up on people. Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking..."
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Knight Fisher
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Post by Knight Fisher »

Well Book 3 starts on Friday. The trailers released so far are disturbing.
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

I'm so excited! This book looks like it's going to be nothing short of magnificent. I can't wait to see what Book Three is going to explore—like non-love-triangle relationships. \:D/ Also:
Zuko! :inlove:
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Knight Fisher
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Post by Knight Fisher »

Spoilers ahead.
Zuko! \:D/ Yeah, that was awesome.
And just because.
Last edited by Knight Fisher on Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by TigerintheShadows »

I saw all three episodes earlier this morning and I have to say, I'm really impressed with how this is going. The love triangle has been chucked out of the window in favor of real friendship and character development. I hope they can do that for all the Krew, not just Korra and Asami. The fight choreography is absolutely stunning, especially with the villains. And Zuko's back! :inlove: I'm also really liking how reality is ensuing for all the changes that are going on—Korra has to deal with the consequences of leaving the spirit portals open, and Tenzin has to adjust to the fact that not everyone wants to uproot their lives to become an Air Nomad—they're not all raring to go. And the Dai Li and the Earth Queen! I'm really excited to see where that's going—political intrigue is my kind of story. Overall, I'm really impressed, and I have to wonder where this writing was all last book.
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"Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" "So he can sneak up on people. Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking..."
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Post by Knight Fisher »

TOPH CAN SHOW UP. Oh. My.
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