Let me start by saying that I\u2019m a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It\u2019s a well written series with strong characters, exciting action, and good pacing. In this, it set a high bar for the first season of Avatar: The Legend of Korra to clear. Yes, I know – It is its own show. However, it is directly built off of the foundation of lore established by Last Airbender. I can\u2019t really sever Legend of Korra from Last Airbender and I\u2019m not going to try.<\/p>\n
While the first season of Legend of Korra was good compared to its competition, it didn\u2019t quite measure up to Last Airbender by my reckoning. That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s a bad show or that anyone who likes more than Last Airbender is wrong. For me, there were weaknesses in the writing and character development that were hard to ignore.\u00a0There are many other reviews to point out the strengths and flaws of the show and give an in-depth analysis. I\u2019m not going to retread much ground except to point out what glared to me<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n Korra, as a brawn over brain character, never really appealed to me. I can see the attempt to recreate the technique that created Toph (my #2 favorite ATLA character), by simply converting a male character archetype to a female appearance and leaving the personality intact. However, the punch first and ask questions later type in any gender doesn\u2019t endear itself to me without some other magic ingredient to add a little complexity. What that is, I\u2019m not exactly sure. In addition, I couldn\u2019t quite accept that Korra was truly Katara\u2019s student. When I saw that she was trained by Katara, I expected plenty of crazy awesome waterbending from Korra. Instead, she was more a firebender with an earthbender\u2019s mentality. Only her costume gave any hint to her elemental origin.<\/p>\n The love story for the sake of a love story could have been left out. Korra could have just been friendzoned and stood on her own. Mako sliding in on Bolin\u2019s interest was a douche move to pull on his brother, especially after scoring a wealthy beauty like Asami. He just came across as an irredeemable jerk and the sort of person I wouldn\u2019t give the time of day to. Asami was awesome and felt like the strongest character in team Korra, despite having daddy-issues as a personality trait. She overcame her obstacles without needing a deus ex Aang to solve her problems. Yeah, I don\u2019t like the ending to the first season. It could have been handled differently. Either let Katara or a descendant of Ty Lee\u2019s techniques figure it out or don\u2019t take the bending block route, if having Season 2 being about Korra regaining her powers was not what the writers wanted.<\/p>\n Speaking of techniques, wasn\u2019t lightning bending a master level skill? Why were the Equalists pissed off about the benders if the benders\u00a0powered the city?<\/em>\u00a0If there were firebenders producing electricity for the city to use, were there waterbenders making sure that the water and sewer systems functioned? Were there earthbenders creating stable foundations for buildings? Why would the Equalists throw a fit about people having special abilities, if those special people were being used as living utilities, exhausting their chi for the benefit of the city? Where was the tyranny? Writers, show, don\u2019t tell!<\/p>\n I could go on, but the little lore-breaking bits and lazy writing soured a show that could have been greater than it was.\u00a0Was it because there were only twelve episodes? No. That\u2019s on the writers to make sure that they fit their story in the time allotted. I\u2019m also a fan of Madoka Magica, a brilliantly paced show that fit into the twelve episode span. I know that a great storyline can fit into that small frame.<\/p>\n Was it because there were only two writers for the first season of Legend of Korra, instead of the team that created Last Airbender? Quite possibly. I suspect that DiMartino and Konietzko might also suffer a bit from the same creative malady as Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek. Great worldbuilders and idea generators, but not so good on characters and plot. They make the guiding framework for other writers to shine within and that\u2019s where they\u2019re strongest.<\/p>\n I hope that Season 2 makes up for the weaknesses of Season 1 and Korra comes back strong in writing. There\u2019s so much potential there and it\u2019s so hard to watch something not quite make it. Maybe my Star Trek reference above will hold in another way and the successor show will surpass it\u2019s predecessor despite a confused start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let me start by saying that I\u2019m a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It\u2019s a well written series with strong characters, exciting action, and good pacing. In this, it set a high bar for the first season of Avatar: The Legend of Korra to clear. Yes, I know – It is its own show. 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