Current Events > Korra season 4 first impressions. Spoilers

(+) Yeah! (+)

Amenadeel posted...

Oh. Ohhhhhh. Now I get all the Asami and Korra shipping that I was aware of before I even knew what avatar was. Was so confused back in season 1 since they were romantic rivals for Mako but as of episode 7 now I get it. I guess it was the only way to keep Asami relevant because honestly as sweet and kind and helpful as she is, she doesn't... add much to the show. The fact that she wasn't a villain really threw me for a while.

She gets a bit of a short stick in the series especially consider she's much more interesting and important than for example Mako who is dulness itself. It's just that most of what she does/feels/accomplishes happens of camera (outside of season 3) and/or isn't really referenced in the series (such as designing the wingsuits). But I guess that's what happens if you have an actual job and not be a bender...

And really, for all that that happens to her, it's quite amazing that she remains such a sweet and kind character.


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The way Amon went out in season 1 was pretty metal and season 3 was the best.

Trumpo posted...

The way Amon went out in season 1 was pretty metal and season 3 was the best.

That murder-suicide blew my mind. Never expected to see something like that in a series like this.

I still wish Amon had not been a bender. The concept of the spirits forsaking the Avatar for letting humanity run wild and opting to elect a powerless human to restore balance in such a cruel way was delightful. It also interacts well with how Korra has always struggled with the spiritual side of being the Avatar.

Plus, Amon is just more enjoyable as a character when taken in that context. A man who cannot bend, who has trained himself to extremes to be able to combat benders with no powers and disable them. Who kidnaps criminals that the justice system has failed to deal with, offers them a fair chance to retain their bending in a test of skill, and then soundly defeats them and strips them of their cruelly-used powers in the name of restoring balance. Somewhat like an anti-hero take on the Avatar.

Amon was excellence up till the big reveal. Once I learned he was a bender and lied about being attacked by a firebender and being gifted his powers by the spirits, I lost some respect for him. He was still cool, but not nearly as cool.

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masterpug53 posted...

Pretty bad take. *Series Finale Spoilers* The end of the series has her deliberately sparing the life of the Avatarverse's Hitler equivalent, not because it's simply 'the right thing to do,' but because Korra gained enough perspective and empathy through her years of paralysis and depression that she could understand why Kuvira was driven to such drastic ends.

I can understand that LoK failed to live up to expectations after TLA and left a lot of people disappointed, but that's no excuse to deliberately ignore the development that's presented in the show.

And you're totally right, btw. It's been a while since I've watched Korra and I'm going to rewatch because there's a lot to take away from Korra and I think I need to reestablish it in my mind and give it due appreciation.

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about Amons death.
that happened at sea, with no witnesses.

did Korra and gang ever find out that he died, or would they have been like "i hope he doesn't come back" for a few years?

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Blue_Dream87 posted...

it didn't come out of nowhere. It was hinted in s3 iirc but s4 was littered from the beginning with signs. It's just a kids show so none of us expected that to actually become a thing

It did though.

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Prestoff posted...

I like that they try to make Kuvira into a three dimensional character, but she's basically a three dimensional character in a saturday morning cartoon villain kind of way. She could've been more interesting, but they went with the cliched of "lets make her a female hitler". It's weird because Zaheer was a one dimensional villain, yet I still liked him more than the other villains that showed more dimensions than him. I fee like a hypocrite now lol.

How was Zaheer one dimensional?

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dave_is_slick posted...

It did though.

Rewatch s4. First off with Korra only writing to Asami, and their interactions with the universal sign of attraction-blushing.


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dave_is_slick posted...

It did though.

S3 had signs and S4 had even more obvious ones.

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Blue_Dream87 posted...

Rewatch s4. First off with Korra only writing to Asami, and their interactions with the universal sign of attraction-blushing.

writing to your only friend of the same gender makes you gay, i bet if aang was only talking to sokka after season 2, he'd be gay too.

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Oh good, have we gotten to the point in the topic where we get to watch the ol' Korrasami Denial Dance?

"Korrasami made no sense and came out of nowhere!"

(has numerous instances of foreahadowing explained to them)

"Oh, well...that just means they're really good friends, obviously!"

etc, etc, zzzzzz...

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masterpug53 posted...

Oh good, have we gotten to the point in the topic where we get to watch the ol' Korrasami Denial Dance?

"Korrasami made no sense and came out of nowhere!"

(has numerous instances of foreahadowing explained to them)

"Oh, well...that just means they're really good friends, obviously!"

etc, etc, zzzzzz...

Yeah, it's insane how many people deny it was poorly written.

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idk man, didnt the show runners have to outright come and tell us that all the stuff they did for each other was in fact because they were gay, and that they were gay in the end? Right after the show had just ended?

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kkTheKiller42 posted...

idk man, didnt the show runners have to outright come and tell us that all the stuff they did for each other was in fact because they were gay, and that they were gay in the end? Right after the show had just ended?

Yes, because during production, gay marriage wasn't even federally legal iirc. They had to be subtle about it because it was a different time, and those relationships weren't as accepted in cartoons. I think only Adventure Time was able to plant a more blatant seed with Marceline/PB in s3

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That one blushing scene in season 4 was "evidence" but it was so heavy handed it didn't feel organic.

Them bonding in season 3 felt more like them becoming friends in the first time ever, since they were frenemies at best for the first two seasons with the love triangle and all.

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NightRender posted...

That one blushing scene in season 4 was "evidence" but it was so heavy handed it didn't feel organic.

Them bonding in season 3 felt more like them becoming friends in the first time ever, since they were frenemies at best for the first two seasons with the love triangle and all.

Agreed.

Blue_Dream87 posted...

Yes, because during production, gay marriage wasn't even federally legal iirc. They had to be subtle about it because it was a different time, and those relationships weren't as accepted in cartoons. I think only Adventure Time was able to plant a more blatant seed with Marceline/PB in s3

It's Avatar, the one cartoon that could do that no problem because of how damn good it was. This doesn't fly.

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Ah yes, the great Avatar sequel that premiered episodes online before network TV

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I find the KorraXAsami thing more like a start of a relationship. Though I preferred it when it was ambiguous at the end rather than the creator just outright saying it.

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Prestoff posted...

I find the KorraXAsami thing more like a start of a relationship. Though I preferred it when it was ambiguous at the end rather than the creator just outright saying it.

Because it is and a lot of people seem to get this wrong acting as if they are already in a full on relationship getting ready to get married. No **** that the transition between friends and lovers then is too big. It didn't really start until Turf Wars part 1. The ending is more of a time of "let's see if this is really there".

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on that note I do recommend the comics. Also they wanted to do more of it but nickelodeon wouldnt let them.

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dave_is_slick posted...

Yeah, it's insane how many people deny it was poorly written.

At this point there is no defending the stance of 'that just means they're good friends' when discussing a gay relationship. That's 90's-era levels of backwards thought. If the foreshadowing of Korra and Asami's relationship had happened between Korra and a man, people would have easily picked up on it and never questioned it; there is equal or less foreshadowing between other future heterosexual couples in the show, like Jinora and Kai.


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masterpug53 posted...

At this point there is no defending the stance of 'that just means they're good friends' when discussing a gay relationship. That's 90's-era levels of backwards thought. If the foreshadowing of Korra and Asami's relationship had happened between Korra and a man, people would have easily picked up on it and never questioned it; there is equal or less foreshadowing between other future heterosexual couples in the show, like Jinora and Kai.

And now here comes the "if it was a straight relationship" defense and that's how I know y'all got nothing to defend it. It's bad writing and it did come out of nowhere, no matter who was involved.

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Blue_Dream87 posted...

Ah yes, the great Avatar sequel that premiered episodes online before network TV

Yeah, since it was online they really have no excuse. Glad you agree.

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It's hard to say which is the dom in their relationship tbh

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Chicken_Butt posted...

It's hard to say which is the dom in their relationship tbh

Definitely Asami.

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dave_is_slick posted...

And now here comes the "if it was a straight relationship" defense and that's how I know y'all got nothing to defend it. It's bad writing and it did come out of nowhere, no matter who was involved.

Funny that you're now attempting to take the 'oh not this again' stance, implying that the obvious has been drilled against your head enough times for it to seem redundant yet somehow hasn't managed to sink in. Do you complain with this level of fervor over Kai and Jinora, or Bolin and Opal, characters who have equal or less foreshadowing towards their eventual relationships? Rhetorical question, obviously. I'm guessing your next counter would be that Korra is the main character instead of a supporting character, as if this would somehow make all the difference as to why one relationship is perfectly natural and the other came completely out of the blue and is trash.

Your inability to have picked up on the foreshadowing for Korrasami does not mean it wasn't there, no matter how much you wish to deny or downplay it. It's fine if you didn't pick up on it the first time; I knew about it before watching the show, so it was easier to notice the signs. However, a mature person would have gone back, noticed those instances, and said 'okay, I can see that.' To continue to dig in your heels and be in denial over this indicates a particular immaturity and inability to overcome your incorrect first impressions. I imagine your counter to this will be 'I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'm just saying it's bad writing.' Well, your basis of 'it's bad writing' is that it 'came out of nowhere,' when in actuality it did not, especially when weighed against the buildup of other romantic relationships presented in the show.

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masterpug53 posted...

Funny that you're now attempting to take the 'oh not this again' stance, implying that the obvious has been drilled against your head enough times for it to seem redundant yet somehow hasn't managed to sink in. Do you complain with this level of fervor over Kai and Jinora, or Bolin and Opal, characters who have equal or less foreshadowing towards their eventual relationships

Yep, this is exactly why I said

dave_is_slick posted...

It's bad writing and it did come out of nowhere, no matter who was involved.

Try reading next time.

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Love how you ignored the 95% of his post that you couldn't come up with an argument against.

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spikethedevil posted...

Love how you ignored the 95% of his post that you couldn't come up with an argument against.

It hinges on the wrong assumption I wouldn't say it was bad writing so why should I acknowledge it?

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At this point y'all are just throwing unmarked spoilers out for TC to read. Dave is either dense af or trolling, not even worth it anymore

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I wonder if there will ever be a topic about the series without it being discussed ad nauseam

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That... ended alright. I guess. A final battle against a giant mecha suit with a laser cannon. Well at least we know that's probably what kuvira was making all the villages under her command do, dig out platinum ore to build that giant thing. Although I don't know how she could have kept that on the down low.

So after Korra saved her life from the spirit gun that she blasted, a new
spirit portal was created and kuvira decided to stand down and accept the punishment heading her way. Seems a little too neatly wrapped but sure why not.

One thing I want to mention is that someone said that Korra's character evolves and the show is trying to show (and outright state) that she's more compassionate and whatnot now, but it's not like the Korra of seasons 1, 2, or 3 would have killed kuvira or anything like that either so... I don't know what would have changed.

Amenadeel posted...

Well at least we know that's probably what kuvira was making all the villages under her command do, dig out platinum ore to build that giant thing. Although I don't know how she could have kept that on the down low.

It's never outright said, but the mech was probably made using the platinum domes from Zaofu.

Amenadeel posted...

One thing I want to mention is that someone said that Korra's character evolves and the show is trying to show (and outright state) that she's more compassionate and whatnot now, but it's not like the Korra of seasons 1, 2, or 3 would have killed kuvira or anything like that either so... I don't know what would have changed.

I think Korra might have killed her tbh. I don't remember her ever showing the same aversion to it that Aang did.

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You can probable see a bigger difference in the comics where (given the situation) she has more time to actually show the difference instead of just preparing for war.

For example there is a point where she tries to talk to Raiko about putting up a wall around the Spirit Portal and in her normal fashion first gags a croney of his using a metal plate to stop him from stopping her, but basically resigns/withdraws when Raiko says it's her fault due to her recklessness whereas at the beginning of the series she would probable have fought him until somebody dragged her away.

Sure, most of it seems based on her confidence, but still.

The second comic arc also shows that, while Kuvira is captured, it isn't entirely over.

I would have liked it if they also showed some more after effects of the damage she took over the series and not have it all be over after the talk with Zaheer, but I understand they can't because it might take up too much space and/or be too heavy.

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I definitely recommend the comics.

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Prestoff posted...

I like that they try to make Kuvira into a three dimensional character, but she's basically a three dimensional character in a saturday morning cartoon villain kind of way. She could've been more interesting, but they went with the cliched of "lets make her a female hitler". It's weird because Zaheer was a one dimensional villain, yet I still liked him more than the other villains that showed more dimensions than him. I fee like a hypocrite now lol.

I thought she was more like Stalin or possibly Napoleon than Hitler. Or more accurately, she's like those dictators who overthrow the corrupt king who was initially put there by foreign powers (aka republic city/the rest of the nations) and has the support of the people in the beginning before developing a greater need for power and growing more and more corrupt.

Total_Lost2 posted...

She gets a bit of a short stick in the series especially consider she's much more interesting and important than for example Mako who is dulness itself. It's just that most of what she does/feels/accomplishes happens of camera (outside of season 3) and/or isn't really referenced in the series (such as designing the wingsuits). But I guess that's what happens if you have an actual job and not be a bender...

And really, for all that that happens to her, it's quite amazing that she remains such a sweet and kind character.

I agree, and it's part of the reason I'm sad this sequel didn't get more of a budget to flesh out its characters because Asami definitely deserves it. She accomplished so much yet in the beginning they were relegating her to just the 3rd end of a love triangle when she is so out of Mako's league that it's frustrating to watch.

SerperiorThanU posted...

I like how people are so heated about korrasami yet TC doesn't even mention it lol

I mean... I'm kinda indifferent to it, or more accurately ambivalent about it. At first glance, going from romantic rivals to lovers with each other sounds like something out of a 50s screwball comedy classic, or a cheesy porn story. But it doesn't affect the story they're trying to tell and it's not like any of the romance in Korra has been any good, it's always been a drag and hurt its entire first season.

I'd be interested to see if they take it further in the comics since they're not bound by the restrictions of network TV. At least, this was true for the dcau Batman comics, which had things as controversial as Barbara miscarrying Bruce's baby (your mileage may vary on that particular storyline)

And on that note, thanks to those recommending the comics! I was already planning on reading them, and now I know I'll have someone to discuss them with.

pegusus123456 posted...

It's never outright said, but the mech was probably made using the platinum domes from Zaofu.

I think Korra might have killed her tbh. I don't remember her ever showing the same aversion to it that Aang did.

The domes were platinum, not bendable metal? That makes sense.

And while Korra has never had an aversion to violence, I don't think that necessarily means she would kill, and really kind of doubtful. Maybe beat someone up, but kill? I dunno

Remember though, Aang was an outlier. He spoke to half a dozen Avatars and all of them told him that he should kill Ozai to preserve the balance. And while she was forced to do it, there was no retrospection or regret about killing Unalaq.


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Wait that's what happened, didn't bolin defeat unalaq? Dammit Varrick!

But yeah good point I do wonder if she would have gone that route if kuvira was like I'll stop at nothing instead of the whole going sympathetic orphan backstory route they had at the end there.