THE LEGEND OF KORRA - Season 2, Episodes 9-12 (Patreon)

Season One - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 / Season One Finale 

Season Two - Part 1  - Part 2 

Onto the next four episodes!

9. THE GUIDE

Just like the end of last season, things are starting to solidify (a bit) now that we’re getting closer to the end. Which is not to say this solidifying is done cathartically, or even that cleanly, but I’ll take the rough arcs of “finally getting to the point” over the endless delays any day of the week. But the fact that even THIS repetitive dynamic is now a “familiar part of Korra’s approach to storytelling” is troublesome for me. Because when shows repeat the same problem again and again ad nauseam, it’s hard to find new ways to talk about it.

In this episode Korra shows up on the island and reconnects with the airbenders and have to go into the spiritual world! But we soon find out that Tenzin has never been able to enter the spiritual world, much to his frustration, so they have to use his daughter Jinora’s strong connection instead. It should be a strong framework for a dramatic switch. But it’s not for all the familiar reasons. How oh how do I talk about the problems within the episode?

Do I talk about how this plotting just sort of has all this happen without dramatizing it in any meaningful way?

Do I talk about how the cops and Lin are STILL not believing Mako to cartoonish degrees and how WE have to believe their disbelief?

Do I talk about how it *feels* nice to see Tenzin’s family finally getting along, but that sensibility is not feeling entirely earned?

Do I talk about how there are some nice little ideas in the art direction? Like the yin yang in the spirit world? And how I wish that added up to something more?

Do I talk about how this episode loves the texture of fighting, like when Bolin yells at Mako for his fling with Asami and then says, “Korra just left a week ago!” This doesn’t matter because he follows up on precisely none of this. Which is part and parcel of how many times the show actually AVOIDS all it’s deeper conflict, all because I swear at this point it actually doesn’t know how to do it, only have characters point out and yell about it?

Do I talk about how Bolin remains a constant source of good jokes (like getting left in the rafters on set) but the show never gives him a deeper reality to off-set it?

Do I talk about how the show never holds itself accountable for flimsy plotting and imbuing meaning into events: Tenzin: “How did you do this?” Jinora: “I dunno! I guess I just always ______” Come on Korra make these character choices about SOMETHING, please god.

Do I talk about the show’s habit of also lampshading this same flimsy plot with jokes? 

Wait, I’ve only sort of talked about this one, so it can go deeper! To explain: “Lampshade Hanging (or, more informally, "Lampshading" is the writers' trick of dealing with any element of the story that threatens the audience's Willing Suspension of Disbelief, whether a very implausible plot development, or a particularly blatant use of a trope, by calling attention to it and simply moving on.” To wit, there’s the moment where Korra arrives on the island and rattles off the nonsensical logic of the season’s entire plot to her family as they sit there and catch up. Is the fact Tenzin then shouts “I knew this would happen!” funny? Of course it is. They’re great at jokes. It’s the deeper DNA that remains the problem. But remember, Avatar would not only have these kinds of jokes, but the foundational elements were strong under them. The joke wasn’t the ONLY thing that was working.

Do I talk about how the show directly referencing Guru Pathik from that Avatar is part of the show’s habit of trying to invoke characters from that past show to invoke meaning but only really invites worse comparison?

Do I mention that everyone having this HUGE reaction to Tenzin never having been to the spirit world would have been more impactful if it had any kind of real set-up so that it was a meaningful surprise to us? And thus we saw a larger impact on him hiding this?

Do I mention that this episode fiiiiiiinallly reveals the chaos god Vaatu is the one guiding Unalaq’s actions to absolutely no fanfare? I get the “logic” of showing this now that we know Vaatu’s origina story - but the dramatic information of reveals doesn’t operate on logic. Instead it works off character investment / misdirection / etc. So if we actually wanted this to have story meaning, it could have worked so much better if we actually saw them communicating before. Or even better if we were dramatically made to think Vaatu was “good” and seeing Unalaq get swept up in his manipulation -Heck, that way Beginnings could have show us what’s REALLY going on in a way that felt like a turn in our perception. There’s lots of ways they COULD have come at it to make for an interesting turn. But there’s no turns, just the slow doling out of info through teases.

Even with all these questions, the thing about Korra is that we always get a glimmer of things that work.

Like the scene where Mako confronts Varrick is so damn good and 100% more functional than anything they’ve done yet. So the real question is why? Well, first this is a scene where Varrick’s vagueness is the exact point. He’s playing coy, not letting anything on, yet totally trying to bate Mako in a way that actually PLAYS INTO THE DRAMA OF THE SCENE! HALLELUJAH! But I think the success is even deeper, because Varrick is the one character that they actually just had a solid lock on from the beginning. He’s not only funny, he’s well-defined in his kooky, rich-guy war profiteer approach. They know exactly who he is, want he wants, and thus, they can actually reveal those bits of information at the right time because they know what they want the audience to think both before and after! 

It’s every other character that’s a problem. 

10. A NEW SPIRITUAL AGE

Ah, the Alice In Wonderland episode! What a grand TV tradition. A character goes into a magical / dream space where things can either go topsy turvy or the visions an literalize the fears / wants / inner trouble. Once again we get a show that understands the texture of that, but exhibit the same foundation writing problems that we have had since the beginning.

Keeping with that tradition, the grand ideas and instincts are there. For example, The choice to make Korra a little version of her younger self is a perfect idea. For Korra is a person who postures herself, who stands tall and forward, and this is getting at the heart of the scared little kid underneath that. The one who feels defenseless, especially now that she is part of a world that can’t bend. But they make this so hard to track. Some of this is the same problem of writing execution (they don’t tie her bending to powerlessness, the mechanics don’t focus on her overcoming with change, just reinforcing lip service). But I realized there’s a deeper thematic problem happening here, too.

The issue is their understanding of psychology, for there is nothing more important to solid characterization. Avatar understood this so deeply (I think back to the episodes where Aang admitted he was getting angry because he was running from his emotions and the excellent Guru episode, too). As I was writing down notes for this I saw someone posting on social media that “emotions are like waves” in that you can’t stop them, only choose how we surf them. Which is a truth that made so many of that show’s plot lines work. And yet, here it is absolutely telling that Korra doesn’t use the same verbiage, but instead a problematic one. It’s full of disastrous therapeutic language like “stay positive!” and “look for the dark and it will be all you ever see.” People who have dealt with depression will recognize the problems of these sentiments instantly. They aren’t helpful. They’re just un-validating forms of denial, the same ones that often come from people who don’t go to therapy and run from their emotions / full on disconnect from them. And I’m telling you, this is a HUGE issue in the writing of this show.

Look how often the show avoids digging deep and sticking to surface details. It never gets down to the ACTUAL PROBLEMS within and favors lip service solutions. When Iroh tells Korra “you have light and peace inside you” I’m left to think a simple question: does she? I guess in that ham-fisted way we all do. But the only times she has ever seemed to has been moments where she just COULD for no other reason than the narrative need her too. Has she learned anything about light and peace at all? It doesn’t really matter. Because the writers just revert to “fear itself” mantra and have her shout at her demons, saying that they’re not real. Oh, her demons are real, the show just doesn’t know how to actually engage them yet.

While we’re here, this brings to a conversation about Iroh… arguably the most beloved character in all the combined series. But even in Avatar, I had trouble with recasting. What makes that character work is that Mako was such a singular talent, an actor whose cadence, personality, and timing was everything to his execution. And when he passed there was a two fold reaction of 1) I understood that they wanted to finish Iroh and Zuko’s plot line in earnest and thus can get by on that choice to replace him with SOMEONE, but 2) I had major issues with them casting a white dude simply doing a Mako impersonation. And to bring him back here feels all the more egregious? Especially if he’s going to be used to effuse a bunch of stock emotion-denying ideals?

Anyway, the same familiar issues spill out in a more technical way with Jinora (who I finally realized was Kiernen Shipka!). She goes to the same library place from Avatar. But because the show makes everything so outrageously convenient (because it doesn’t know how to dramatize things) she just knows everything about it with a hand-wavey “Oh, I’ve read about this place - it’s [new information]!” There’s no set up. She just remembers everything the audience does and 10 times more. The idea she would know who Professor Zei is so insane. 

Again, it’s not the logic of this, it’s the drama. Because I really don’t get the point of any of this. There’s nothing the audience couldn’t get on their own. And in turn, we could get a whole scene of dramatic irony or something more important. But instead, it just’s direct dot connecting to Avatar seemingly because it doesn’t know how to do anything else. Again, it doesn’t matter how good the radio joke is (and it is), we need deeper storytelling. Especially if the turn of betrayal of furry foot is going to have any effect. And it really SHOULD feel like one, but I guess the spirits were anything other than dumb easily influenced puppets that change only when convenient?

Either way, Jinora gets kidnapped. There’s a stand off between Korra and Unalaq where everything is finally out of the table. The thing is that Korra actually fails in her mission to try and save Jinora! Which is a good dramatic instinct! It just falls flat, especially when there isn’t any meaningful reason she gets away through a deus ex machina dragon. It’s probably telling that in the moment I was like, “hey, have her do something more! Have her lose and her friends have to learn to save her! Or have Jinora actually die or something! I want dire consequences not out of callousness, but because I want THE SHOW to actually care about consequences. But then, suddenly, we seem we get that exact thing…

When Korra comes back and Tenzin freaks out because Jinora isn’t waking up? When we hear the panic in his voice?? When we see him asking Korra how this could happen??? When we see the pain in her eyes???? I’m like YES. FINALLY. The show is going for a real emotional crux! She has let down Tenzin, who has seemingly lost something, he is so shaken and thus we are brought to a place of emotional fallout. Because finally there is going to be a thing that puts a rift and conflict between these two characters. Finally we will be able to dig into an actual conflict based on something really happening in the story. It honestly felt like one of the best moments of the show so far… and if I was ending the recap and submitting before watching more, that’s how I would end this section… but that’s not what happened.

Because I watched two more episodes to see the fireworks play out and there is precisely ZERO conflict that comes between them as a result of this. They just move on determined to fix it and almost baaaaaarely mention her. Jinora’s just another macguffin that doesn’t effect their emotion or temperament or journeys or relationship or anything at all. There isn’t even a scene of Tenzin and Korra ADDRESSING the emotional fallout of the things he said to her - they don’t even show him rising above it… Which means it’s just another in a long line of emotional overwrought moments that come in this show and mean fuck all. Another overwrought moment that ended up having no real part of the character’s journey. Another overwrought moment that was just sound and fury, ultimately meaning nothing. 

And the lack of follow through on THIS? The most necessary of moments? I’m sorry, but THIS is the real dagger in the show for me. It looks right at the very POINT of everything it should be doing and even grazes against it by accident, then walks right by. Avoidant psychology. The unwillingness to dig deep. Why go to Wonderland if you aren’t even going to do anything with it? And so, I will say something I haven’t had the ability to say so far, and now I will say certainty. Because this writing sin is so great that I can say it plainly. 

The writing on this show fucking sucks.

11. NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS

Someone on the twitter asked me a good question: why does the dialogue in this show feels so… off?

It’s true. It’s also a combination of things. The first is the logistical execution of writing itself. Because good dialogue writing is like good plotting. You want follow the sequence of what people are talking about in a series of “therefore / but” style discussion. There’s a positive and negative exchange happening throughout a scene that evolves. It addresses the dramatic urgency of a scene with who wants what? What happens if they don’t get it? Why now? But The Legend of Korra so frequently tries to shove intensity and urgency by having characters yelling. Or some mcguffiny plot. Or using a lamp-shading joke. But notice how little of it actually comes from the grounded reality of its characters who are navigating things that are actually important to them with consequences. But that’s part of the problem, to believe what characters are saying, you have to believe that these would be things they were saying in the first place.

But they never dig that deep with any of these people. 

To wit, the way it 1) Ignores Psychology AKA the disconnect of what’s REALLY happening with characters within this episode. When Bolin ends the jail visitation scene by joking that Mako is going for the insanity defense, I’m like WAIT, is this real? He is just callously not caring if his brother has lost his mind and going to jail for it? It is the complete and utter inability to recognize the reality of what they are actually writing for the sake of a dumb joke. And don’t tell me they didn’t mean it, because Bolin absolutely doesn’t give a shit in that entire scene.

At the same exact time, 2) Avoids Psychology in the way it continues to play lip service to storylines that have been “happening” but not dramatized. Like when Bolin says, “I know our lives moving in two different directions,” I wish this had actually created a moment of conflict before this moment. Instead they’re just trying to justify the choice to have had them apart after the fact.

And lastly it also 3) Confuses Psychology in that prevents them from actually lending credence and insight. You hear lines like “You being in jail reminds her [Asami] of her dad” And it’s like wait is that REAL motivation or are you just sidestepping all of this? It’s just Bolin saying something we don’t actually see drawn from her, nor what would be a real thing that she’s felt in the story we’ve seen. It’s happening because they have to keep Mako alone for the plot. And they will confuse everything we know about Asami to achieve it.

There is this dire lack of interiority that brings audience into a headspace. Heck, the whole Mako plot line that’s lead to this moment misses the whole goal of having such a plot line in the first place. Because the point of “I alone known the truth!” type plot lines is to make you feel like you are going crazy. We’d be with Mako’s headspace and frustrated by the world and circumstances going on around him - a living nightmare. That’s the point of the drama. But the problem is how much we feel on the OUTSIDE of Mako’s headspace. Everyone on his side is handwaving it, like Bolin making jokes or Asami not believing him (but them not actually having her show up to dramatize that). Hell, it’s almost making fun of him. It’s all a symptom of them not knowing what to do. Which means it doesn’t matter. Because by the time everything does wrap up? When Varrick is revealed to be bad and it’s all out in the open? It shows how little it really cared about the conflict in the first place. Lin is like “you’re a great officer!” Bolin gives the BAREST of non-apologies and then Mako’s like, “Don’t worry about bro!” And I’m left to ask: why would i ever worry about it? No one ever really worries about anything…

Until it’s insanely convenient, that is.

Take the episode’s most outrageous moment where Korra shows up and kisses Mako and then reveals she doesn’t remember that they broke up. This was not set up whatsoever. We literally are unaware she can forget things. The scene literally has to STOP and explain “Oh i guess I don’t remember some stuff!” This should be great juicy teenage feelings stuff, but instead? It is the flimsiest shit I have ever seen (and just like the fallout of Jinora, it doesn’t even get addressed in the next few episodes). Nor does it have impact on Asami outside of the moment, nor does Korra have any memory issues for anything else. It is downright egregious writing. And to get back to the first question…

Great dialogue is something you wield it like a weapon, but rarely for it to be seen. It’s effortless, functional, enjoyable, but most of all, makes you feel the feeling you’re supposed to and if set-up right, done in a way that feels transcendent. Which brings us to yet another question: Why would they be able to do that in a scene if they can’t even do it with the major elements of the story?

RANDOM THOUGHTS;

-Bolin to Asami, “you’re doing… business lady stuff.” Again, hanging a joke on what is flimsy.

-The last ten minutes of this episode is super rushed, but Varrick having built himself a his own jail cell when he built the jail because he figured he’d get caught at some point is aces.

-Speaking of Varrick and the battleship? It’s something I liked a lot but it has come to have absolutely zero baring at the story so far (got one more left, so we’ll see!). But it’s all part of how no one actually fights for / earns things, they’re just given them, and then they also has no bearing on plot. They just go to south and then use air bison anyway.

-The episode ends with what is supposed to be a big climactic stand off between Unalaq and Korra’s dad. It would have been great if we actually had some story build up to SOMETHING HERE in this supposedly important relationship. But there hasn’t been. So again, I found myself rooting for something to HAPPEN, like a death, etc. I then genuinely thought that slo mo ice move was a kill. But no. Just another empty gesture, a fake-out, the texture of death without committing, then the hollow cartoon threat that comes next: “now that i defeated you, your daughter is next!”

… Sigh. My kingdom for something that doesn’t feel hollow.

12. Harmonic Convergence

“YOURE NO APPA!” 

This is something I, a grown ass man, said at my TV after they apparently gave the new air bison a name without any set-up / convention / or establishing of affinity. They just call him Oogie and it’s like “there, like it!” Again, this show just reverts to assumption / people conveniently falling into place / copying the past, etc. I have so many questions. Why do this instead of trying to do ANYTHING with Naga and Pabu? They’re always just… around. Even when they come back to be of service again at the end, I’m meant NOT to think about how they got there or why, the logic doesn’t matter - nor would any dramatic point. It happens because it’s convenient. Which also brings us to the core problem of the episode…

It doesn’t land that which, on paper, should be excellent.

People often talk about how much they like the action on The Legend of Korra and… I sort of don’t like it the same as Avatar? Don’t misunderstand me, the cinematography and choice of angles is impeccable. The action is frenetic, yet smooth, there’s this perfect clarity of position, geography, and where people can get to and from. This is stuff they have down so clean, but like everything in this show, there’s a hiccup up with the writing and intentionality.

Yes, action needs and intentionality. It’s basically little bits of storytelling and cause and effect. They understand the rough shape of this, but like with drama, what is missing is that deep thinking of what the audience is thinking. Go back and watch “The Siege of the North: Part 1” from season one of Avatar and you will see exactly what I’m talking about. That battle has so many wonderful reversals and hoodwinks on the audience, you can see the way they keep everything so beautifully up in the air with a sense of drama. 

This episode with the assault on the camp feels similar, but again it’s difference of texture VS pure function. Here we stylized bits of posturing and little moments, but on an action storytelling level, it feels like calvinball. And thus, it can’t help but render all the action into a dull, placating buzz that washes over me. But even then, there’s a deeper misgiving at the heart of this: I don’t give a shit about the battles because I don’t give as much of a shit about the characters.

But the biggest problem is that I *want* to care about the characters. Not just out of aching familiarity for what has come before, it’s that the storytellers are also too good not to have glimmers. The Bumi plot line comes so close to finding it’s dramatic path (the fake knockout gag punch is so good). Heck, turns out even the flute was a functional enough pay off. But without deeper writing behind it, we’ll never turn these moments of affinity into catharsis. And so, it falls victim to the things we keep coming back to again and again. 

A shrug of, “yup, this is all nice, but unearned.” And we could see the rough outlines of what could have been. The idea of someone becoming a DARK AVATAR? Hell yeah, that could be great. But they can’t ever find the way that turn that into a fully realized character. Nor find the way to take that broad idea and find the real psychology underneath it, the core flawed emotion or human want. Instead, it’s cardboard cutout villainy. Which again, to compare to Avatar, depicted Firelord Ozai’s true depth of evil by showing it through young Zuko’s eyes. We felt the drama in watching this scarred, flawed little boy try to please someone so full of malice, and thus we felt the drama of that futility. It made Ozai’s “true dark villainy” still feel human, organic, and real to us (and it also gave way to Zuko’s growth). But here? Here we get the kind of stock depictions evil that parents THOUGHT were in comic books in the 1950’s. He doesn’t even question what it would be to be a Dark Avatar. 

Because there is no real human there.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I took one notes: “really, a mother in law joke?’

Let’s limp to the finale!

<3HULK