Avatar: The Last Airbender TV Show • Page 11

really liking s3 so far! the beginning had me thinking finding a way to cohabitate the spirits and humans would be the main focus, which sounds like an awesome season, but the direction it's going with the search for the airbenders is awesome. great material for all the major characters to work with (Tenzin tearing up when all the freed airbenders chose to go with him... man)

I also didn't think they'd stay in the metal city for multiple episodes lol but I'm glad they did. some long overdue character development for Lin, and it's such a dope setting (even if it kinda sorta looks like Gondor lmao)

 

I’m watching Korra for the first time and just finished season 2. I’m kinda disappointed with Korra’s development as a character so far. It seems like she doesn’t earn her wins and big moments. For example at the end of season 1, she loses her bending. I kinda thought she’d have a whole season without her bending and go through some sort of spiritual journey to regain it, but instead it seems like she gets it back half an episode later with no real cost or wisdom gained. It feels like that type of thing has happened a lot throughout the show, too. I get having a flawed character, but it seems like she always escapes trouble too easily without any cost or lesson learned, just because she’s the avatar.

Also, a lot of the conflict seems very contrived and unnatural. I don’t have any examples off the top of my head though.

 

This is certainly a valid criticism for the first half of the show, but again, this is another thing that gets remedied in books 3 and 4! Korra goes through a lot of shit and it has lingering consequences that she has to overcome.

This is another one of those things that was hindered by the shows production. They never thought they had time to sort this stuff out. It was supposed to be a single season, then Nickelodeon gave them a second, then at some point said “hey give us two more”. So they basically had to gear up for three series finales.

 

Yeah you definitely feel the weight of those costs specifically when season four kicks off…

 

yeah I just finished s3 and goddamn do you start to feel some consequences for what she's been through. the last frame of that season is absolutely heartbreaking

that may actually have been one of the best seasons between both shows. love that they just simplified it and told one season long story, with clear stakes and arcs, and weirdly likable villains who you still want to see get their asses absolutely kicked. such a simple proposition but damn did it work well

 

halfway through s4 now and it's been so damn good. the timeskip was such a good idea for all the new character designs alone. Korra Alone is maybe my favourite episode of the whole show and up there with the very best of ATLA, absolutely incredible. and Kuvira is such a good, genuinely terrifying villain

kinda don't want it to end and know I'm gonna be so bummed but this show is so addictive lol

 

If anyone hasn’t, I definitely suggest looking into either reading or finding a video going through the comic stories as well. There’s some really great things that extend both ATLA and LoK.

I’ve also heard the YA novels are very good. Haven’t gotten to them yet myself, but they’re next on my list when I need a break from SW books.

 

Yes! I have all the TLOK graphic novels, and all of Gene Luen Yang's ATLA, very much recommend

 

feels like I should read The Search at some point for sure. I was definitely... surprised that plot point wasn't addressed in the shows

 

alright, just polished off s4. long post incoming, I commend anyone who actually makes it to the end lol

about the season: the point I left off just after "Reunion" had me thinking it might be the best season, but I found myself pretty whelmed by the second half of it. kicking it off with a clip show episode was not a reassuring sign, and while the following episodes were better there was a weird flattening of stakes/problems that did a bit of a disservice to what came before. like all of Korra's PTSD, which they rendered so thoughtfully in the first half? just kinda goes away after a quick talk with Zaheer. Kuvira being an honestly threatening and compelling villain? a lot less so when she's a Bond villain inside a giant mech suit. all that buildup about the spirit world, finding a way to live harmoniously together - just leads to kinda nothing except the last-minute spirit portal reveal. also really thought the Air Nation, and especially Kai and Jinora, were being set up to play a major role at the end, but after the first few episodes it's like they barely exist

even Lin's struggle to forgive her family is kinda swept under the rug because Toph needs to go back to the swamp for plot to happen. I would've loved to see this play out more, imo it was one of the most compelling arcs in the last two seasons, and one of its most interesting explorations of the family theme, especially since Tenzin and his family are very much sidelined for the whole last season. (fr, what happened to Kya? she was awesome and underused). I honestly never really felt that 'oh the show is ending' feeling you usually get in the endgame until... pretty much the wedding scene, which was in the last 5 or so minutes of the show. by comparison I actually the whole final run of s3 had much more of that sense of finality I wanted to feel from a final season; probably largely because its villains were a lot more threatening, and I really didn't think the final fight of the show would be with a big robot lol

I was also... fairly bummed that the queer rep that's usually the first thing people mention talking about this show only actually happens in the last frame of the show. I get it, they were limited by what the network would allow, and I know this show paved the way for a lot of stuff that wouldn't exist without it. probably a victim of some Seinfeld effect here, but it's just the way people usually talk about that romance had me expecting... like a lot more romance haha

about the show overall: there's a lot to be said about how LOK doesn't put ATLA on any kind of pedestal, and actually in many ways interrogates and challenges the earlier show (making Aang and Toph kinda crappy parents, showing how impossible and self-defeating the Avatar's work can actually be). a lot of great, meaty thematic stuff to chew on about family, forgiveness and change. I can kind of understand being a kid and feeling protective of ATLA actually hating this show, especially during its growing pains phase in the first two seasons. but watching both as an adult they complement and contrast in really interesting ways

there's still definitely a lot of stuff I would've done differently or preferred they not do at all. some wild tonal whiplash across this show and some really inconsistent storytelling. at its best, largely s3 I think it easily stacks up to ATLA, and on the whole I find Korra a much more interesting and compelling protagonist than Aang (although her Team Avatar is pretty lacking for the most part, especially Mako who has as little personality in the last episode as he did at the start lmao. Bolin is my beautiful himbo boy though). I'm really glad I watched both these shows when I did, flaws and all - it's a fantastic universe with some truly fantastic storytelling, and I can't wait for the next chapter of it

 

I love both shows just about equally, but Nickelodeon fumbled with TLOK so hard. it never reached its full potential--far from it, actually. imo if each season had even just six more episodes to flesh things out, most critiques of the show would've been fixed. iirc S4 didn't even premiere on TV. Kinda reminds me of what Owl House is going through.

It's great that Cartoon Network brought Adventure Time and Steven Universe back for Distant Lands and SU: Future, but when those shows were airing their schedules were really inconsistent which made it hard for viewers to follow

Seeing how Netflix and HBO Max are canceling/taking down their animation projects, it becomes increasingly apparent that animation as a medium for long-form storytelling is becoming (and has been) severely undervalued, especially when it's queer

 

I need to rewatch both series. It’s been a while.

 

absolutely. definitely not lost on me that the best season was also the first one where they actually knew ahead of time that they would be getting another season, so they had time to slow down and explore the storyline more instead of cramming so much into each episode. a few more episodes per season would've helped immensely (I only just realised Korra has less episodes than ATLA despite having a whole extra season, which is pretty wild)

anyway I feel like I'm being negative when on the whole this was a great time, and I loved most of it while I was watching. the more I thought about it the more I found some flaws with it (I also feel like Korra is a much better rewatch show than it must've been watching week to week for this reason lol)

as a bit of fun, my favourites from each season:

ATLA s1: The Storm
ATLA s2: Tales of Ba Sing Se
ATLA s3: The Southern Raiders (very strong shoutout to The Puppet Master)

Korra s1: I guess When Extremes Meet. this does feel like one long story and so it's harder to pick individual episodes
Korra s2: Beginnings Part 1 & 2
Korra s3: I guess Venom, but this thing consistently bangs front to finish
Korra s4: Korra Alone

 

This is pretty much the exact complaint I told you about before you had started the show. haha. The supporting cast is just fairly bland and flat compared to the one in ATLA, but Korra is arguably a more interesting protagonist in terms of the growth she has to experience.

With TLOK, it's like they built their Team Avatar around the Ninja Turtles. You have the brooding serious one (Leo/Mako), the brash, hot-headed one who always acts before thinking (Raph/Korra), the goofy, naive comic relief character (Mikey/Bolin) and the super smart one who is good with tech and facilitates all of their transportation (Donnie/Asami). Maybe that's an oversimplification, but I feel like they were all just made to fulfill a role in the group instead of having dynamic and layered personalities.

Otherwise, I'd say all of your thoughts are pretty much in line with how a lot of the overall fanbase feels. A lot of stuff doesn't feel properly developed or explored and a lot of the problems from one season just seem to disappear and don't carry over into the next (aside from S3 to S4). Most of the issues that I have with the show (outside of the bland supporting cast) definitely seem like results of the challenges that Nickelodeon caused them though.

 

Please be good please be good please be good

 

This news is a couple weeks old but for people that haven’t heard: they are recasting the gaang VAs for the 2025 movie

 

Bought/preordered some of the graphic novels I'm missing. If this new show is good then that's good, we'll just have to wait and see, but at the moment I'm more interested in things that add to the story rather than reinterpret it

I did seem to like Netflix Cowboy Bebop and Resident Evil more than most people tho

 

Those photos sort of look like cosplay, but I’ll remain optimistic.

 

I'm interested, but still very hesitant since the creators left the show

 

I don't care about this, so if it's good - rad! If it's bad - whatever. We have Avatar Studios and that I am genuinely excited for.

 

You know, maybe this is just a show that should stay a cartoon

 

Obviously can't tell quality until we see how plot points are handled and how the actors' chemistry plays out....but that preview at least looks like they put in 1000% more care than what went into that one movie that might or might not exist.