Avatar: The Last Airbender & Korra (SPOILERS)

[Theozilla]

Assuming the term 'Equalist' refered to just a single organization, and not a cultural movement.

As Equalists are the bending equivalent of Jazz Era communists, it would be completely believable that there would be radical and non-radical wings of it, just as there were and are radical and non-radical wings of organizations today. There are environmentalists and then there are eco-terrorists. Both are part of an ecologically minded culture, but with TOTALLY different goals and methods.

Perhaps, if it is the latter; but I personally interpreted it more as the former based on episodes 1 and 3, the Equalists seemed pretty exclusive.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Again, this is me considering that the idea of the equalists changed over the course of development, rather than being the purely extremist group we know them as in the finished product.

 

[Ite]

Just marathoned Korra with Sizheng. HOLY CRAP.

Ite: Is it possible to have an OT5?
Sizheng: Who's the fifth?
Ite: Iroh.
Sizheng: I don't know man.

 

[Carlie]

Who are the other 4?

 

[Ryushikaze]

Who are the other 4?

Summer, Spring, Winter, and Autmun. Four seasons, Four loves.

 

[Carlie]

I read that as OTP5

 

[Demona]

Who are the other 4?

Ite/Macbeth was referring to the Team Avatar love quadrangle when he said that, so I'm guessing he means Asami/Korra/Mako/Bolin.

As someone who soooorta didn't really give A:TLA any chance (I couldn't watch it after the pilot, actually), I guess I just really, really dug A:Korra. Most of my love is because I was all YES a character whose faults or potential tragic flaws are clearly articulated and don't appear to be "too friendly/naive" and "annoying god make him shut up he is not at all compelling."

I actually found the love subplots to be appropriately clumsy, given how ridiculous teenhood is, particularly when faced with, dunno, heteronormative monogamous models. If Mako had been more clearly delineated (too much telling, not enough showing on his part), I would have been all "DO THEM BOTH, BRO" but as it is, I'm in favour of Korra and Asami both ditching him for each other and, dunno, inviting Bolin for the occasional threesome.

And to be fair, Mako is just Not Good at that stuff. It came across okay. I was fine with it. I just wish it had been a tad more subtle, although I got a kick out of it all. (Bo Lin's crying scene in episode five was priceless as all fuck).

I actually found the world to be appropriately explored, given the nature of the arc and of the series itself. It's a sequel series, begotten from four arcs of EXPLORAYSHUN OH GAW MOAR POWERS and it's lovely to have KORRA begin almost in medias res in this city.

Uhm. You know what, in some ways, it reminds me of the differences between Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2. I know most people preferred the first, but the political intrigue and through plots of the second were pretty rad. But Republic City is like Kirkwall. You're stuck in it for the entirety of the series, and it is well-explored and the character alliances and stuff are pretty cool. I wish they left more loose threads, though (the love quadrangle does NOT COUNT), politically speaking.

As it is, pro-bending was a lovely device for wicked fight scenes and action before the conflict escalated; so the main plot was free to shift around it as desired.

I'm guessing that season 2 will be more outside Republic City and I hope to hell that Bumi shows up more.

Also, the Airbending children? To paraphrase Ite: the potato-headed kid is way more fun as a berserker than as a repository for all the fart jokes they thought would make kids and simpletons laugh.

 

[Zealkin]

Ite/Macbeth was referring to the Team Avatar love quadrangle when he said that, so I'm guessing he means Asami/Korra/Mako/Bolin.

As someone who soooorta didn't really give A:TLA any chance (I couldn't watch it after the pilot, actually), I guess I just really, really dug A:Korra. Most of my love is because I was all YES a character whose faults or potential tragic flaws are clearly articulated and don't appear to be "too friendly/naive" and "annoying god make him shut up he is not at all compelling."

I actually found the love subplots to be appropriately clumsy, given how ridiculous teenhood is, particularly when faced with, dunno, heteronormative monogamous models. If Mako had been more clearly delineated (too much telling, not enough showing on his part), I would have been all "DO THEM BOTH, BRO" but as it is, I'm in favour of Korra and Asami both ditching him for each other and, dunno, inviting Bolin for the occasional threesome.

And to be fair, Mako is just Not Good at that stuff. It came across okay. I was fine with it. I just wish it had been a tad more subtle, although I got a kick out of it all. (Bo Lin's crying scene in episode five was priceless as all fuck).

I actually found the world to be appropriately explored, given the nature of the arc and of the series itself. It's a sequel series, begotten from four arcs of EXPLORAYSHUN OH GAW MOAR POWERS and it's lovely to have KORRA begin almost in medias res in this city.

Uhm. You know what, in some ways, it reminds me of the differences between Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2. I know most people preferred the first, but the political intrigue and through plots of the second were pretty rad. But Republic City is like Kirkwall. You're stuck in it for the entirety of the series, and it is well-explored and the character alliances and stuff are pretty cool. I wish they left more loose threads, though (the love quadrangle does NOT COUNT), politically speaking.

As it is, pro-bending was a lovely device for wicked fight scenes and action before the conflict escalated; so the main plot was free to shift around it as desired.

Uhm. You know what, in some ways, it reminds me of the differences between Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2. I know most people preferred the first, but the political intrigue and through plots of the second were pretty rad.

I'm guessing that season 2 will be more outside Republic City and I hope to hell that Bumi shows up more.

Also, the Airbending children? To paraphrase Ite: the potato-headed kid is way more fun as a berserker than as a repository for all the fart jokes they thought would make kids and simpletons laugh.

This is how I feel too, the two series are connected but are completely different entities in their own right. I'm having a korrathon with my friends tomorrow can't wait to watch it all again from the beginning! :3

 

[Ite]

Jokes about bodily functions as a rule are unfunny.

Notable exception: over-reaction shots. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDcDCQpwaus

I hope potato head kid gets iced.

As for the issue of lack of worldbuilding, I found the world compelling as hell, with the exact right amount of history and current events to keep me satisfied.

 

[looneymoon]

Jokes about bodily functions as a rule are unfunny.

dead to me

 

[Carlie]

^Liar.

Potty jokes can be funny if they're done right and once or twice, by Turning The Tides I had enough of them and they went to unfunny territory.

Sizheng - You mentioned Dragon Age that's reason enough for me to thank your post. I found your comparison of Dragon Age and Avatar to be accurate though the difference I found between Kirkwall and Republic City was that I felt Kirkwall was a small place masquerading as something bigger with their copy/paste locations and got tiring after some time while Republic City felt like an actual city with history and different places to be explored.

 

[Theozilla]

http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-comic-con-2012-panel-full-episode.html?LOKFB2
Official Nick.com video of the Comic-Con Panel, 29:55 minutes, most of the content people have probably already seen in separate videos before, but there are some questions asked before the cast script readings at the beginning and after the animatics trailer (around 23:20) that I think have not been captured in most videos that are pretty interesting to listen to.

 

[Demona]

Jokes about bodily functions as a rule are unfunny.

I would agree with you, if I didn't think sex jokes were so damn hilarious. Also, your copious use of the air-hump motion and caroling "BONE... BONE... BONE..." leads me to believe you are full of [insert preferred bodily-function-byproduct here].

I found your comparison of Dragon Age and Avatar to be accurate though the difference I found between Kirkwall and Republic City was that I felt Kirkwall was a small place masquerading as something bigger with their copy/paste locations and got tiring after some time while Republic City felt like an actual city with history and different places to be explored.

A-FUCKIN'-men to that. I absolutely agree, particularly since so much has happened in... what? Fifty years? You spend a lot of the series just marvelling at the fast pace, whereas the passage of time in Kirkwall is sort of... stale? Static? You understand and I understand and DEAR GOD THOSE AWFUL COOKIE-CUTTER DUNGEONS ARGH. I'm playing DA2 all the way through for the first time and so far, I love the action but hate the laziness. I don't feel Avatar:KORRA has the same sort of laziness. Haste and action, sure, but I think they handle the fact they're playing in a pre-established world far better than DA2 did.

Which is a pity, because you spend way more time beating DA2 than you do watching Avatar:Korra.

 

[Ite]

I would agree with you, if I didn't think sex jokes were so damn hilarious. Also, your copious use of the air-hump motion and caroling "BONE... BONE... BONE..." leads me to believe you are full of [insert preferred bodily-function-byproduct here].

That's you who do that.

 

[stiles]

i just finished avatar korra, the pace is ridiculously fast but it doesn't feel retarded like other shit that goes ridiculously fast like.

amon: what a dumb piece of shit honestly. like okay you could have helped your little brother asshole, just because one guy was a shitty bender means you take everybodys bending power away? WTF? i have literally no idea why he took his little brothers power away either. or why tarlock wasnt mad. i mean i guess he was mad because he ended up killing the two of them (?) but that really seemed like a genuine act of good on his part.

tarlock: okay so he spends his time telling us this story about how he loathes his father for what hes done to him, but then he goes and tries to carry out his fathers wish anyways? who writes this shit?

korra: what a home wrecker like ARE WE BEING SERIOUS THO? you and mako TRIED to have a thing, shit didnt work out, then you get all jealous and try to steal him from salami? give me a break, aang has and always will be a hundred times the better avatar than you could possibly hope to be. and you dont even do cool shit with the elements like aang used to fuck shit up and here you are playing volleyball and getting your ass kicked by randoms. ugh korra. youre a disappointment to my life.

bolin: youre adorable <3 rock bend the shit out of people and stuff yay!

potato head: sadfsagsdhfsjdf'asflg'afdhlgdfjgff

 

[Demona]

Oh 'urite. It's me who do that.

 

[Zealkin]

korra: what a home wrecker like ARE WE BEING SERIOUS THO? you and mako TRIED to have a thing, shit didnt work out, then you get all jealous and try to steal him from salami? give me a break, aang has and always will be a hundred times the better avatar than you could possibly hope to be. and you dont even do cool shit with the elements like aang used to fuck shit up and here you are playing volleyball and getting your ass kicked by randoms. ugh korra. youre a disappointment to my life.

bolin: youre adorable <3 rock bend the shit out of people and stuff yay!

potato head: sadfsagsdhfsjdf'asflg'afdhlgdfjgff

O.O
Did we watch the same show? Korra and mako never made moves on each other at the beginning, they repressed their feelings that was part of why the love square ended up running rampant. Korra left her feelings to the last minute, and mako refused to acknowledge his. And i dont think korra intentionally meant to "steal" asami shes impulsive as it is plus shes a teenager and she doesnt really think things through. Plus when she and asami become friends she genuinely just lays off because she knows it will be better if mako supports her when shes lost her father. And aang got kidnapped/captured/beat up too you know, I feel like seeing the elements in the last show for the first time made them more spectacular but by legend of Korra we already knew what to expect. IMO I though Korra had some great bending moves throughout the show, so I'm just going to have to disagree with you entirely.

 

[Theozilla]

i just finished avatar korra, the pace is ridiculously fast but it doesn't feel retarded like other shit that goes ridiculously fast like.

amon: what a dumb piece of shit honestly. like okay you could have helped your little brother asshole, just because one guy was a shitty bender means you take everybodys bending power away? WTF? i have literally no idea why he took his little brothers power away either. or why tarlock wasnt mad. i mean i guess he was mad because he ended up killing the two of them (?) but that really seemed like a genuine act of good on his part.

tarlock: okay so he spends his time telling us this story about how he loathes his father for what hes done to him, but then he goes and tries to carry out his fathers wish anyways? who writes this shit?

korra: what a home wrecker like ARE WE BEING SERIOUS THO? you and mako TRIED to have a thing, shit didnt work out, then you get all jealous and try to steal him from salami? give me a break, aang has and always will be a hundred times the better avatar than you could possibly hope to be. and you dont even do cool shit with the elements like aang used to fuck shit up and here you are playing volleyball and getting your ass kicked by randoms. ugh korra. youre a disappointment to my life.

bolin: youre adorable <3 rock bend the shit out of people and stuff yay!

potato head: sadfsagsdhfsjdf'asflg'afdhlgdfjgff

Tarrlok did not intentionally carry out his father's wishes, he tried to defy them by trying to be a hero to Republic City but like he said his father's ghost ended up making him go to the other extreme that his brother went to.
Amon/Noatak simply developed a warped world view due to his father's abuse, that happens to plenty of people who suffer parental abuse in real life.

 

[stiles]

go cry about it you pansies!

 

[Demona]

go cry about it you pansies!

 

[looneymoon]

I was like :| at stiles' post until "Salami."

 

[Ryushikaze]

Um, that crying jag came about due to a kiss shared after Asami entered the picture. There was no attempt to have a 'thing' at any point before that.

 

[Ite]

Yeah, the "Previously on Avatar..." bit where the announcer* said "love is in the air!" I was like "Since when? That wasn't even implicit. All right, they're cutting right to the chase and are going to deal with this love triangle bullshit neatly in one episode." When it continued throughout the series I was like "lol oh no" but I figure Asami and Bolin are gonna end up together a few seasons from now and they are a fucking dream couple so it didn't really bother me.

*can I just say that I fucking LOVE how the "Previously..." bit is like a WWI radio report? Why are people saying that the world is underdeveloped? Because setting 1920s Manhattan in the middle of Ancient China basically writes itself, and the worldbuilding has been subtle and great, just like in A:tlA. The implications of creating the United Republic are vast and everywhere, and everything about the world seems touched by Aang's great leadership, even down to the existence of the Bending Tournament (whereas 80 years ago, only Earth-benders had that, and it was only amongst themselves) -- developing the tournament not only gave us amazing fight scenes to chew on while waiting for the plot to escalate, but it was also a great tool for showing us how different the world is if people weren't divided by what element they were born into -- even Mako and Bolin developing different bending has huge implications. Are they actually related? Was this possible all along? Does that mean that you can choose your bending path? And if so, can you choose more than one?

I love this new show, the action and the world are great, Korra is a great protagonist, and some of the side characters are notably well developed with the exception of Mako who is a fucking carboard box, to be filled with your personal dream-boat qualities like all bad romances.

But I trust that the writers are going to take this horrible love-soup in a mature direction next season. One that won't let moral ambiguity be rewarded with successful relationships. I always hope for a poly direction, but alas, no one is willing to show children relationship models outside of the status-quo, even in a show primarily watched by adults. I at least hope they develop Mako a little more -- usually it's the female who lacks characterization (in order to make her a better love-interest) (because getting to know someone is how relationships fall apart, apparently) and I am glad that it's reversed here, but I want to root for the endgame-canon couple, like Zidane/Garnet or Sokka/Suki, or Old-Man/Cabbages.

Love-Soup {luhv-soop} (n) 1. A love triangle with so many points that it ceases to be a shape and becomes a viscous mass. 2. An incredibly contrived plot device meant to raise the stakes by intervening during more important plot related events like Bending Tournaments or Saving the World. 3. A literal soup that is also a love potion.

as a verb: the writers love-souped this fucking show and now it blows; she love-souped my dinner and now we're getting married!
synonyms: love-tetrahedron; social-soup; orgy
see also: soap-opera; soup-opera

 

[Carlie]

even Mako and Bolin developing different bending has huge implications. Are they actually related? Was this possible all along? Does that mean that you can choose your bending path? And if so, can you choose more than one?

Mako and Bolin come from bending parents, one was a firebender the other an earthbender that's why Mako and Bolin have different bending. Another example would be Aang and Katara who had 3 children, one non bender (Bumi), one waterbender (Kya) and one airbender (Tenzin).

 

[Ite]

Right. I may have zoned out during that exposition. That show is paced like Teioh.