11.22
Now if only Bumi knew the Batusi.
Time to hold your breath and count to ten, I guess. At the time of this writing, Nick had recently released four episodes in one day. Ignoring the whole “Does Nickelodeon have any issue with Korra” controversy that’s been making the rounds, this proves to make the blog more challenging to write than usual. One episode allows a central topic to form. Four at once means that it’s hard to write something cohesive without rambling in the middle. In fact, you may insist that I’m rambling right now. But in any case, the show’s season finale gives me as good a chance as any to do appraisals of the characters. Legend of Korra makes an interesting case for this due to some characters like Korra and Bolin arguably changing over the course of the show while others like Unalaq and Tenzin remain stagnant for the season. The show can’t tell whether it wants the characters to drive the plot or for the plot to drive the characters, and that seemed to be what drew criticism toward the second season from many dispirited viewers.
So for a word on the plot, I wasn’t that impressed. Yeah, I know. I’m complaining about the plot in a Nickelodeon show, but the Unalaq arc stalled while taking over screen time from other stories like Tenzin’s family dilemma. The writers wanted to make his plan a twist, but the whole “Fuse with Vaatu to become Dark Avatar and take over the world” scenario became too by-the-books. Once Vaatu got introduced, we knew where we going with this plot. The writers really wanted to play with this yin-yang concept, but didn’t seem to understand how it worked. Chaos and order don’t automatically equate to evil and good, respectively. Chaos can lead to freedom while order can be corrupted into totalitarianism. And yet, the chaos Vaatu promised was shown as unambiguously evil whereas Raava’s energy was taken as absolute good. The finale never questions whether Unalaq’s truly evil. However, I did not expect Korra keeping the spirit portals open. I liked that part. Though given the show’s attempt to progress as the early 1900s did—with filmmaking, automobiles, and capitalism taking over—I’m more than a bit intrigued as to how Bryan and Mike will deal with that certain part of the 20th Century. But enough with speculation, time for characters.
Bolin: I remember reading from a source I can’t find right now—so what I’m talking about right now might be hogwash—that Bolin would get a bigger piece of the pie this season, story-wise. Instead, Bolin was still the series’ monkey. I like how his character arc was woven into the world-building, but it didn’t really inspire my interest. The Nuktuk scenes were hilarious, but there was no meat to Bolin’s development. He becomes corrupted by the prospect of stardom, only to immediately realize that it’s lonely at the top. And then he saves the President from Varrick’s mercenaries while winning Ginger’s love. There was no pacing to any of that, with little time for Bolin to breathe.
Varrick: I’ve said this so many times before, but Varrick is love. If he wasn’t in this season, chances are I probably would’ve dropped this show midway. In a sea of characters acting a bit thick-headed, he was the one guy who could pull the strings. It’s a shame that he immediately went with the “kidnap President” plan instead of wait for the war to start, as he was already ensured to reap some profits. Since he already had the President’s good will, kidnapping felt a bit like overkill. He could’ve slowly convinced the President that war might be a good idea through his propaganda rather than simply forcing his way to the top. You don’t win a chess game by using the Queen before the time is right. If you’re going to do that, do it when you’re not already getting the turnover from this relationship. In the middle of the proposed war, when the President decides that he’s had enough with fighting the other side, Varrick could hatch that part of his plan then and there for the best effect.
Asami: Oh, poor Asami. Any character development she gets involved being romantically played with by Mako or economically manipulated by Varrick. I was hoping that they would deal with Hiroshi’s betrayal, but that only gets casually referenced. Asami’s just a satellite this season. When Mako’s not around, she revolves around Bolin. And Bolin gets the tiny subplot, which he resolves by his own will and Earthbending rather than any help from her end. Characters whose only role is to exposit plot to Korra like the President have more impact on the plot than Asami. I am pretty sure that girl who threw a snowball at Korra and called her the worst Avatar had more impact on the plot than Asami.
Mako: That scene where Lin and the rest of the Metalbender Corps applaud Mako while promoting him got to me. Sure, he gets called out on his personal life soon after, but that moment was too congratulatory for his character. So he figured out what anybody who looked further into Varrick’s plan would? Never mind that he thought dealing with the Triple Threat Triad was a good idea. Please forget that he only recently became part of the force. No, he gets a pat on the back from Lin for doing such good police work.
But admittedly, at least the writers did well in finally calling Makorra off. The romance angle never worked for the show. Even in the first season, it was haphazard and only induced wincing than empathy. Everyone, in and out of universe, knew that Korra and Mako had no chemistry together. And so, that had to get cut. Now maybe they can have character interactions that don’t lead to relationship subtext. Who knows? Maybe Mako’s character can develop enough to form believable interactions with everyone else. And this is a good first step in doing so. For all of Mako’s faults, he has the potential to change in comparison to my next subject.
Unalaq: He entered the show as an obviously evil guy with bizarre motives and ended his run as an obviously evil guy with bizarre motives. And he wasn’t even entertaining in his villainy. Instead, every moment he was given was made to show that we were supposed to root against him. That works against his character, because it’s hard to believe he could do any of this and not question a bit of his plan. When the climax of your plan involves transforming into a demonic titan with red tattoos and tendrils bent on taking over the world, it’s a tad hard to find sympathy on your case. You may as well be twirling your mustache if Varrick didn’t already have one.
Unalaq appears to be the case where the mystery is more interesting than the explanation. Like in the first season, where Amon had more sway over the show as a masked man who could take away bending instead of Tarrlok’s estranged brother. The mystery surrounding him gives way for many ideas, so at least a few fans were probably disappointed when he turned out to be a bloodbender instead of something weird like Koh or an aged Azula. I suppose using a mystery might be a double-edged sword, due to no clear way to resolve the mystery without making it less interesting. The reason why people avoid the obvious answer to a question is because they want something that goes against their expectations. I had a faint hope that Unalaq wouldn’t be what he appeared to be because I saw him being a villain as taking the easy way out.
Desna and Eska: Like Asami, the two were just on the side despite being featured a lot in promotional materials. Despite working closely with the main villain, neither of them really offered much for personality. We basically got Mai clones as the henchmen. This showed, as being questioned as to why they follow their father only elicits blind loyalty rather than an explanation. How they got coerced into joining the good guys—through Bolin confessing his love to Eska—felt odd in the wake of previous episodes. We’ve already been through the “I love this guy more than I fear you” schtick with The Boiling Rock. Like, they turn good because of the power of love, making Eska’s heart grow three sizes that day.
I just feel more could’ve been done with these characters. It would’ve been interesting to see their relationship with Korra, and why they adhere to their father’s whim. Instead of doing that, the show reveals about as much of their personalities as we knew when they first premiered. They just came off as Unalaq’s henchmen—to make it seem like Unalaq had more clout to support his cause rather than be a lone madman—so why bother making these characters if you’re not going to do anything with them?
Tenzin: I could tell the writers were trying to give Tenzin some character flaws for the finale. That scene where he asks a spider for help, only to get attacked, that was nice. Then it happens again, which seemed a bit stupid. Along with giving him some family drama, they did try. But Tenzin’s character doesn’t change. He only gets affirmed. He reunites with his family by using “I am Tenzin” as a mantra, but who is Tenzin besides the team mentor? How can he transcend from being the static teacher and develop? The show offers points like his relationship with Aang for conflict, but that doesn’t lead to much. The show wants to remind us that Tenzin isn’t Aang, so show why instead of just saying so. Don’t go halfway by giving us a shaky history between Tenzin and his siblings, and have Tenzin simply use an affirmation mantra to make those problems go away. Though given the ending with spirits populating the human world again, this gives Tenzin good enough ground for character growth.
Jinora: So what was with that ending where Jinora makes Raava come out of Vaatu to give Korra an edge in the final fight? I appreciate the writers making sure that Korra’s victory wasn’t just her own but a cooperative effort, though it only raises questions. Jinora goes from being hinted at spirituality to seeing spirits to that. It’s like that scene from Last of the Time Lords where the Doctor becomes almighty and starts wrecking the Master’s plans out of nowhere. Sure, there was some foreshadowing. But there’s no missing link between point A and point B. That’s like if caterpillars instantly became butterflies. Jinora’s moment needed to gradually develop for it to work effectively. Instead, she became Inch-High Wonder Christ out of nowhere. Like Bolin, there’s little time to see her character change. Maybe the second season could have benefited from more episodes to allow a smoother pacing.
Korra: And now we’re at Korra. Now that the dust has settled, I’ve found her character to be a bit more redeeming. I like how she can’t connect to the previous Avatars anymore. She never gave much value to that, so the oncoming season will see how she’ll deal now that part of her is gone. The show never gave her much reason to seek spirituality, and now this rift will do that for her. Though maybe it’ll be botched up and by the start of season three, Korra will be just as flustered as ever. But I give the writers the benefit of the doubt that they have something planned for season 3. After all, season one’s ending wasn’t made with the immediate assumption that more seasons would be made. Plus, I like how her ending this season basically threw out the ending from last season. Last year ended with her talking to Aang and making out with Mako. This year has Aang torn out from her soul and Mako purely on platonic terms. It feels like the writers want to restart with her character and try something else.
But that doesn’t ignore what happened in the finale, where she turned into Dr. Manhattan and had an Ultraman fight with Unalaq. And then she gets saved by the aforementioned Jinora moment. I’m pretty sure that no amount of foreshadowing would have made any of that sensible. There’s something about how activating all seven chakras while inside the spirit tree can do that to Korra, but it’s a moment that gives off confusion rather than awe. The tree was used to seal Vaatu, and it somehow made Korra more powerful despite having Raava taken out of her. Then there’s something about how cosmic energy combined with the harmonic convergence somehow made this all possible. I know someone will use Energybending as rationale, but the entire climax just came off an odd way to resolve the season. Not that I’m complaining, but it could have been structured better.