THE LEGEND OF KORRA - Season 2 Wrap Up and The Grand Nadir (Patreon)

THE LEGEND OF KORRA - Season 2, Episodes 13-14

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

Season Two - Part 1  - Part 2 - Part 3 

And now, onto the finale...

13. DARKNESS FALLS

I think this show might be, like, my kryptonite.

Probably because it crystalizes into something that is so antithetical to what I look for in storytelling. After all, I’m hard pressed to think of another show that has so much insane talent, so much polish in direction, and so much established history of not just competence but transcendence from the creative team - yet then crashes to the ground thanks to a complete lack of understanding with the corest of the core principles of drama. And you can feel it right in the DNA of the episode. 

Make no mistake, the assured direction does it’s best to alternate between the fisticuffs of Korra’s big boss battle and the quiet, desperate search for Jinora, but it is constantly suffering a crisis of basic function underneath it. With Jinora, I can see the sketch of the idea. The three siblings looking for Jinora again, but they have to do it right this time! (Don’t make me break out the George Lucas “they rhyme” clip again). They understand the shape of a story, they understand we want them to be able to do that which they couldn’t do before. And yet it all gets fumbled in execution because neither journey was actually about anything.

In the first go round, Bumi and… oh god I forget the sisters name (which is sadly telling because it wastes the great Lisa Edelstein) end up in a big fight and they leave *ahem* EVEN THOUGH THEIR NEICE IS LITERALLY MISSING, THEY THROW A HISSY FIT AND JUST LEAVE, BUT THE NARRATIVE NEVER BRINGS ATTENTION TO THIS OR CARES. So, you know, this is our set-up: “families fight and stuff!” while ignoring the real fucking shit going on under that. That’s a terrible set-up. And so now, there isn’t anything the narrative can really “correct” except show them not fight and succeed. It is the most surface of surface level changes. But in the very least they could do SOMETHING to motivate a change, or even maybe just elucidate something before…

Instead, they wander around and react to everything happening around them with a series of and then / and then / and then. So it’s not the tonal juxtaposition that makes these scenes clash with the battle, it’s the crippling lack of purpose, clarity, and drama. For instance, they know to go back to the scorpion JUST CAUSE. Then Tenzin suddenly knows that the fog is a spirit and slowly infects your mind and drives you mad and this was the note I wrote, *ahem*: “PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD SET UP ONE GOD DAMN THING IN THIS SHOW. DO IT. I DARE YOU. SET UP ONE GOD DAMN THING YOU DONT HAND WAVE WITH A “I READ ABOUT IT SOMEWHERE. YOU ARE…” And I won’t include the rest of the note because it was very mean. 

It’s such a stark contrast to the tradition of Avatar, where I’m reminded of one of that show’s best episodes “Bitter Work” and it’s exploration of how hard it is to do the simplest of things, to make bending feel real, powerful, and effective. And it earned everything felt within. But in this show it’s not bitter work, but “busy work” AKA that which keeps a person occupied but has little value in itself. I mean, if there was a real point it to all this, it would feel that way. We would be imbued with a sense of meaningful catharsis.

Instead there’s the whole culminating action with the fog, a symbolic gesture of Tenzin giving up the pressure to be like his dad and instead embracing his own identity and again, which all sounds lovely on paper, but all this would mean so much more if this is what his story was dramatized as. But for every reason I’ve expressed, it’s just lip service that manages to clear the fog… for… reasons? And as they’re going home, Jinora goes back and disappears anyway and I’m trying to figure out the thematic point and… I just… I’m trying so hard y’all. It’s hard to point at what to fix when none of was built right in the first place.

Back in big battle land, Bolin and Mako are given their traditional “guard me and prevent X” role which is functional I guess, but gotten so, so tiring. I just want something fun to happen, PLEASE just one fun thing. But the moment gives way to something utterly bizarre. Yes, I’m talking about the moment where Bolin’s solution is to FAKE BEING IN LOVE WITH HIS EX GIRLFRIEND and it seems such a heinous, manipulative, awful action. I will read my note to the writing again: “what the fuck is this? Fuck off you little stupid boys who think you understand emotions or anything.” But THEN the narrative feints and it seems to be positing that Bolin actually felt this!?!?!?! His shakey denial to Mako is just… I… what is this???? Because if he does actually feel something, then holy hell do we need some reason for this crazy 180 degree turn based on anything. Seriously, what the fuck is this? This isn’t one of those “invisible set-ups that secretly matter” writing things. This is one of those “you will make your character seem like a psychopath either way” things with regards to consistency. Holy hell.

Anyways, Korra is fighting Unalaq. It’s big and grand and comic booky and so SO dumb. Which sucks because the second Unalaq talks about becoming a dark avatar, I’m like, “Holy shit! That could be an interesting idea!” But literally just as I was getting excited about it, I remembered to curb my enthusiasm because likely it will not be brought to life with any kind of verve or interesting theme. Even though there are a million ways to explore what a “dark avatar” could mean, I know they won’t. I just know it.

Because they can’t even do a pep talk right. 

You know the movie pep talk! A crucial moment where a character says the exact thing a hero needs to hear to cathartically fix a part of themselves? Sure, they can be hackneyed. But they can be transcend moments that reach into our souls. My mind immediately drifts to the end of CREED, where this young man wants to throw himself again into the last round of the fight, to nearly kill himself in that process, just as his dad did, and Rocky wants to stop the fight. To get it right this time. But young Creed won’t let him because he has to prove himself. And in that moment, the crux of their relationship spills into the ring. Rocky: “Prove what?” Creed: “That I’m not a mistake!” And with a single look, Rocky sees the depth of his pain. He sees the boy who abandoned who was thrown away. The boy has been carrying that burden and trying to prove that he belonged side a father who was never even there. And in that moment, Rocky knows he’s been there. He tells Creed how important he’s been in his life, how he taught HIM to fight, echoing all the fatherly sentiments he can say without saying the words. And then he tells him he loves him. He’s not a mistake. He’s been a gift. The two look at each other, for it heals the thing that is so broken… cue rocky theme. 

I remember getting a mix of goosebumps and tears when I first saw that. It is the catharsis of the soul and it can be the most powerful feeling, energizing thing in the world. The truth is the pep talk gives you the cerebral side of the win, it’s the set-up, the context, the understanding to deliver that punchline. And after the moment where young Creed and Rocky came together? No one would want to be on the other side of that… But here, there is no deep catharsis. It’s all mcguffins and magic arcs of light and stock words that are meaningless. What is it about Raava saying, “do not give into 10,000 years of darkness!” that speaks to some deeper part of Korra’s characterization or her soul? What does any of this really mean? It’s just a power up. A boring stock moment in a show that has used this move ten times over already. 

And more importantly, none of her power up actually works, but simply for artificial reasons. Unalaq’s victory almost feels like this obligatory loss. Something that needs to happen so that something else can happen and the show can go on an episode longer. There is no deeper “why” behind Korra’s loss - it’s just because this is how the shape of stories are supposed to go! Maybe! Sorta! And so as we cynically watch the history of avatars get swept away with a series of thoughtless, empty gestures, I’m left to ponder…

Is there a more apt metaphor for the show?

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

-Really? Zhao the conquerer? Man that’s a deep cut i could give LESS of a fuck about, but I’m also glad it didn’t do the thing where I didn’t try to hang a hat on it.

-Did anyone else snicker when they first heard the fused Vaatu / Unalaq voice?

-Whenever I talk about problems in Korra some folks love to mention the production problems, whether it’s animation houses switching / general production hell - and this is often done as a kind of tempering excuse. But I want to make something clear, because I’ve been working in this town long enough to tell you something: things going through production hell is so important. It effects people’s lives, minds, and sanity. Mostly, it makes people hate X being a part of their creative lives. In terms of output, it can result in rushed moments, faulty quick decisions that often didn’t see some X problem that came about, missing scenes, or just generally thrown off instincts. But it doesn’t effect “storytelling being bad across the board.” In fact, production hell has very little to do with the end product unless the hell is a result of a crisis of purpose. And it especially does not impact THE POINT of storytelling or result in the complete erasure of themes. So the problem isn’t that they had production problems… the problem is that they didn’t know how to write this particular story. There is nothing more clear.

Onto the finale…

14. LIGHT IN THE DARK

God this episode is pretty.

I feel I should take a moment and really acknowledge that. For all my endless harping on the writing, the show’s sense of cinematography is always impeccable. The convey scale and distance effortlessly, which is great because Unalaq/Vaatu’s form feels like the best kind of homage to Neon Genesis Evangelion. There all these vibrant hues of pink, clashing and hitting with the most elegant of blues and yellows. But it’s not just that it’s pretty. The show always knows how to use perspective to communicate relationships, danger, and movement. And if the goal of these write-ups is to help be informative, then I think I should talk about this a lot more going forward and cite specific examples. And to be honest, with this show I think I’ve written about every kind storytelling problem under the sun at this point (though I’m sure I’ll find more), so a change is in order. 

In the Korra tradition, there’s lIttle moments of delight. I love the shot of the president in Lin’s arms as the swing away! The mom’s comments watching the battle! And heck yeah, MY MAN VARRICK gets a perfect little ending as they escape jail. Him shouting, “Zhu-Li, do the thing!” proves the show at its often at its best when it’s turning into the zany. Sometime it makes me wish this show was an out and out comedy, but alas. 

Also alas: the fact that episode encapsulates all the other stuff that’s been a problem.

Starting with The Tree of Time. Here we are! The most convenient thing that’s never, ever been mentioned before that gives super magic powers that allow her to do the exact thing that’s been taken away from her! How convenient! Audience: Huh, that’s simplifying, guess it should require a really important thing to make it possible for her to use it? Oh, all she needs to do is open up to a spiritual side, which is something that was kept wishy-washy and never articulated as some huge problem for her - in fact, the times she was blocked were a result of other artificial constraints and she can literally do it immediately… sigh. Instinctively, they must sense that this is absolutely nothing so it gets the lamp-shading joke from Bumi when she turns into a giant spirit, “uh, what did you say to her exactly?”

The same lack of clarity hurts the battle itself. Which again, sure LOOKS COOL, but I wish Tenzin’s comments of “don’t bend the elements, but the energy within yourself” was actually about something other than the literal construct of how the fight is possible (there’s no metaphor because explored, likely because it’s too broad and vague anyway). And Jinora showing up and magically being able to point out Raava? It’s not only NOT set-up, it’s also vague and meaningless. Like, if you want to have this moment happen? There’s like four things you need to do to set it up, including establishing Jinora’s connection to Raava, but instead it’s just more of the series endless game of magic Calvinball (which is like some four year old came along wand was like AND THEN KORRA TURNED INTO A SPACESHIP, AND THEN…)

Again, all this would matter far more if the relationships were really about something, but lack of foundation in the show is what renders their words hollow. The family tells Tenzin, “she needs you now, more than ever,” but everything about their relationship this season wasn’t ACTUALLY DEALT WITH, not the split when she left, nor Korra losing Jinora nor really anything of great depth. So when we get Korra saying, “Thank you for not giving up on me,” and him saying “I’m proud of you” it is not the powerful words that heal a dramatic riff. There’s no Creed moment even thought it wants to be. It is the simple acknowledgement that they were fighting before and now they aren’t! That’s not drama, nor catharsis, that’s simply a meaningless shift.

Anyway, Korra beats Vaatu because magic or whatever.

It looks pretty, but it ends without much fanfare (though I will say, the EXCELLENT score is doing it’s best). And we get to shift into resolution time, which is the thing that actually informs us if any of these arcs were actually about anything - I don’t mean that just thematically, but meaning anything to these characters and their relationships… So did they? Not really. But let’s at least explore the different ways they were offensive in that regard.

The Most “Limping To Finish Line” Offensive: Mako and Korra. Again, we get some hand-wavey nonsense about how Korra is now able to remember their fight because “being inside the tree of time brought it back,” and I swear, my kingdom for something dramatized so they don’t just retroactively explain in moment. But through an utterly nonsense / all over the place conversation they reach the conclusion: “we know this doesn’t work.” It’s over, “for real this time” and I cannot explain how much this is NOTHING, because none of this was really explored in a dramatic sense. The statement is almost a meta-admittance to the fact that their relationship has been an obligatory, non-starter from minute they got together. And because the show still doesn’t dig into anyone’s wants and needs and instead opts for posturing, we only got “they fought and misunderstood each other in certain moments.” And so it was a flimsy foundation to which there could be no movement. It only never worked because they didn’t know how to craft something that did.

The Most Glaringly Offensive: Bolin and Eska’s “we didn’t mean it” feint. Like seriously, come the fuck on with this. You saw me flip my shit about the choices in the last episode and their excuse, which granted is probably the only logical way to explain his behavior, but it is such bullshit. Her “eternal darkness was upon us, I became caught up in the moment,” isn’t even proper lamp-shading. Especially considering this is a show that has made so many jokes at her expense about her vengeance / etc. These flips need to mean something and instead it just shuffles it all away. And it’s like? Was any of this real? Did any of this mean anything? In the end, it was two one-note characters that the writers have no fucking idea how do more with. It’s a victim of that alone. And they way they backed out of it was a mix of an uncaring shrug and downright stupid cowardice out of the fact they don’t know how to evolve their characters. Yes, we should be this angry about it.

The Most Stealth Offensive: Remember when I was excited at the beginning of this season when they showed that moment of interiority with Asami? And made me think that they’ll actually care about her and give a plot line? Well after a few episodes of trying they just slowly phased her out because they don’t actually know how to do fuck all with her. I think there’s only one shot of her in the finale when Jinora wakes up. She’s not even brought up in the after resolution part. It’s such the sign of a show that only knows how to posture like it cares about the right things with depictions and then runs the fuck away when it doesn’t know how to do more. #TeamAvatarMyAss #JusticeForAsami

The Most Existentially Offensive: Okay. This season was called “spirits.” And from minute one, they were there. They were attacking. They were beckoning. They were working with whoever the heck. We even got got a big old origin story. I get why it was called spirits. But then a very telling thing happens. Korra asks, “What if humans and spirits weren’t meant to live apart?” And the truth is I have no idea what to think about any of this choice because outside of the parable of Stinky, the first avatar / Raava, I haven’t actually been shown a dramatically-meaningful story with a spirit. We’ve just seen a few nice little playful bunnies or whatever and sometimes they got corrupted? Or in a much more specific criticism, whatever the fallout, it elucidates nothing coherent to make Korra want to make this most climactic, deeply impactful choice.

It just sounds nice. 

Going into this show, people asked me to compare Korra or try to explain why it just isn’t as good as Avatar (at least for the first two seasons, I’m aware it apparently gets better). And my reductive, sad answer is “the writing is bad.” For it is bad in almost all the ways that writing can be bad (except that it usually hits its jokes). And so I sit there and write “it just sounds nice,” and wonder if that was their guiding light. Which makes me feel sort of empty and dumbfound. After all that convoluted plotting, I absolutely have no idea what to with the show’s aspirations and instincts. For as I watch all these powerful, colorful, well-meaning things dance about the screen, as I watch heroes swell and fight to the most grand of operatic scores, I’m reminded of a little twist on a quote: it’s a tale told by surface-scratchers, full of sound and beauty… signifying nothing. 

And you can’t put a lampshade joke on that. 

<3 HULK