Avatar: The Last Airbender & Korra (SPOILERS)

[Shademp]

Spoiler

any explanation for Ozai's parental abuse of Zuko does not justify it,

Spoiler

The abuse is certainly not justified, but to me the abuse felt more cruel and shocking when we pictured that Ozai knowingly hurt his biological son. Some of that impact is lost to me because now, with the reveal of Ikem, the abuse doesn't shock me as much. Ozai is still a simple evil guy but he looks more evil to me when he scars his biological son, rather than a son that is not his own. The same deal with Ozai banishing Zuko; it is true that the narrative focuses on Zuko's empathy being the main cause behind his banishment, but now that we see him as Ikem's son, the banishment *becomes* different to the viewer. The banishment feels less unexpectedly cruel with Zuko as Ikem's son and not Ozai's.


The flashback scene from The Search Part 2, when the royal family is dining together, doesn't help. Ozai has just learned of Zuko's true parentage, which is when the reader sees the first example of Ozai's abuse. He scolds Zuko and tells him he was lucky to be born. While possible that Ozai spoke like this to his son before, and we already know from The Promise that he found Zuko's empathy peculiar, the impact I get from this is that the abuse started with Ozai learning about Ikem. This in turn changes how I view all later examples of abuse.


In short, my emotional investment in Zuko's journey is compromised because the structure of family ties affects how I perceive the characters. So our disagreement is based on personal taste. To me, the impact of Ozai's cruelty is lessened by this retroactive continuity. To you, it is not (and I totally respect that).

Also the revelation was not just done for shock value, as Mike DiMartino explained it was done to give Zuko further internal struggles to deal with and explore.

I actually do like Zuko's internal struggle, but I can't find it clever or satisfying enough unless it turns out that Ozai is Zuko's father and that Ozai has known for a long time that Ikem was not the father. If my "best scenario" unfolds, then I will commend the authors for being really clever.

 

[Theozilla]

Spoiler

The abuse is certainly not justified, but to me the abuse felt more cruel and shocking when we pictured that Ozai knowingly hurt his biological son. Some of that impact is lost to me because now, with the reveal of Ikem, the abuse doesn't shock me as much. Ozai is still a simple evil guy but he looks more evil to me when he scars his biological son, rather than a son that is not his own. The same deal with Ozai banishing Zuko; it is true that the narrative focuses on Zuko's empathy being the main cause behind his banishment, but now that we see him as Ikem's son, the banishment *becomes* different to the viewer. The banishment feels less unexpectedly cruel with Zuko as Ikem's son and not Ozai's.


The flashback scene from The Search Part 2, when the royal family is dining together, doesn't help. Ozai has just learned of Zuko's true parentage, which is when the reader sees the first example of Ozai's abuse. He scolds Zuko and tells him he was lucky to be born. While possible that Ozai spoke like this to his son before, and we already know from The Promise that he found Zuko's empathy peculiar, the impact I get from this is that the abuse started with Ozai learning about Ikem. This in turn changes how I view all later examples of abuse.


In short, my emotional investment in Zuko's journey is compromised because the structure of family ties affects how I perceive the characters. So our disagreement is based on personal taste. To me, the impact of Ozai's cruelty is lessened by this retroactive continuity. To you, it is not (and I totally respect that).



I actually do like Zuko's internal struggle, but I can't find it clever or satisfying enough unless it turns out that Ozai is Zuko's father and that Ozai has known for a long time that Ikem was not the father. If my "best scenario" unfolds, then I will commend the authors for being really clever.

Eh, like you said we'll just have to agree to disagree on the plot point (and that's fine). Also

Spoiler

when Ozai's abuse exactly started is still rather ambiguous, but based on the show and comic evidence I would not be surprised if Ozai had been abusive even before his knowledge of Ikem.

And I don't think your "best scenario" is that far fetched.

 

[Theozilla]

What I am actually most curious about though

Spoiler

is if it turns out that Noren and Noriko are indeed a face-changed Ursa and Ikem, will Zuko decide to leave them in their new lives (they do have their own child now) or try to restore them to their original lives?

 

[Shademp]

What I am actually most curious about though

Spoiler

is if it turns out that Noren and Noriko are indeed a face-changed Ursa and Ikem, will Zuko decide to leave them in their new lives (they do have their own child now) or try to restore them to their original lives?

Spoiler

I reckon that the status quo will be preserved. Just think how traumatic it would be for the daughter if her parents just gained completely different faces. Then again that problem could be avoided by Noren and Noriko simply regaining their memories, so the only issue would be that the daughter doesn't entirely recognize their personalities.

The 'Love Amongst Dragons' play seems to end with both main characters in mask, almost symbolically.
"Only with your glory hidden in false form could you finally recognize my devotion!"

I can't word it exactly, but I just get the impression that the ending of The Search Part 3 will honor the end of Love Amongst Dragons, and have the "masked" Noriko and Noren kissing each other, whilst the audience sees what exists behind their masks/'new faces'.

If nothing else, I don't think Zuko would risk the happiness of this couple by having them remember their tragic past.

 

[Theozilla]

Spoiler

I reckon that the status quo will be preserved. Just think how traumatic it would be for the daughter if her parents just gained completely different faces. Then again that problem could be avoided by Noren and Noriko simply regaining their memories, so the only issue would be that the daughter doesn't entirely recognize their personalities.

The 'Love Amongst Dragons' play seems to end with both main characters in mask, almost symbolically.
"Only with your glory hidden in false form could you finally recognize my devotion!"

I can't word it exactly, but I just get the impression that the ending of The Search Part 3 will honor the end of Love Amongst Dragons, and have the "masked" Noriko and Noren kissing each other, whilst the audience sees what exists behind their masks/'new faces'.

If nothing else, I don't think Zuko would risk the happiness of this couple by having them remember their tragic past.

Yeah

Spoiler

if the theory turns out to be true (which I think it has good chance of being as Noren has been partially lying to the Gaang about Ursa returning to Hira'a, which makes me wonder how much of Ikem's memories are left in him compared to Noriko/Ursa (if they are Ikem and Ursa)) I would not surprised if Bryke and Yang choose to go that route, providing resolution while also giving a bittersweet ending.

 

[Shademp]

7-page preview of The Search Part 3

 

[Theozilla]

http://benditlikekorra.tumblr.com/post/56943059446/rebel-spirit-full-episode-guide

A link for anyone who wants to see the Rebel Spirit episode with relatively good audio quality.

 

[Theozilla]

Nickelodeon just released the first part of 3-part animated short series called "Republic City Hustle" featuring the backstory of Mako and Bolin time growing up as street orphans.

 

[Shademp]

That's a great addition. Just love it when the story is expanded this way.

Random: Today I listened to an episode of LoK with Swedish dub, for the first time. Holy cow does it feel unnatural to listen to. The voice acting isn't bad; they chose voice actors wisely and it's a lot better than, say, MLP:FIM where every character sounds the same. But the Swedish language just sounds so limited, poor and forced in comparison to English.

Spoiler: Thoughts on Rebel Spirit

- Why did Tenzin and Korra's father keep Korra in the south pole? If it wasn't Aang's wish, then why keep the Avatar protected for so long? My only guess is that there are some anti-Avatar sentiments in the world, but aside from the non-bender arena we haven't seen any hints of this. It probably has to do with the circumstances of Aang's own death.

- I really like the interaction between Tenzin and his older siblings. It reminds me of how my older siblings like teasing our sister, the youngest among us. If she's not around, then I'm the one being teased.

- If it doesn't turn out that Korra's uncle summoned the dark spirit, I will be very surprised. We've seen this plot before where the villain summons a convenient threat to make himself look like a hero, so it would be nice if LoK went against our expectations here.

 

[Theozilla]

Spoiler: Thoughts on Rebel Spirit

- Why did Tenzin and Korra's father keep Korra in the south pole? If it wasn't Aang's wish, then why keep the Avatar protected for so long? My only guess is that there are some anti-Avatar sentiments in the world, but aside from the non-bender arena we haven't seen any hints of this. It probably has to do with the circumstances of Aang's own death.

- I really like the interaction between Tenzin and his older siblings. It reminds me of how my older siblings like teasing our sister, the youngest among us. If she's not around, then I'm the one being teased.

- If it doesn't turn out that Korra's uncle summoned the dark spirit, I will be very surprised. We've seen this plot before where the villain summons a convenient threat to make himself look like a hero, so it would be nice if LoK went against our expectations here.

Perhaps Tenzin and Tonraq

Spoiler

had Korra confined to the compound not because of any specific threat but rather overreacted to the dangers Aang experienced growing up and wanted to make sure Korra did not have to experience any of that in her training. I doubt the reasons have anything to do specifically with Aang's death as I believe Bryke already said that Aang died relatively young due to the stress his body experienced having been in the Avatar State for a 100 years.

 

[Shademp]

Spoiler

I doubt the reasons have anything to do specifically with Aang's death as I believe Bryke already said that Aang died relatively young due to the stress his body experienced having been in the Avatar State for a 100 years.

I often had that as a headcanon, but now that you mentioned there being an interview I had to look it up. Indeed, you are right.

If there’s a new Avatar, that means Aang has passed on. If he died around age 70, isn’t that pretty young for an Avatar?

Konietzko: You gotta keep in mind that he was frozen in a state of suspended animation for 100 years, so he kind of burned up some of his extra Avatar time.

Nice to have that bit confirmed.

 

[Shademp]

Zuko's voice actor, Dante Basco, reads from The Search Part 2.

Spoiler: Thoughts

I hate to be a critic in this case, but I wish he read the lines with slightly more emotion, taking the context into account. But I'm just being nitpicky. Awesome to hear him read out those few lines.

 

[Shademp]

The Legend of Korra - Book 2 Trailer #2

Spoiler

That snow-to-ice-spikes bending trick at the end creeps me out.

 

[Theozilla]

http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/leg...ity-hustle-episode-2-vf5.html?xid=korranation

Republic City Hustle Part 2 is up
See the origins of Pabu!

This on the Nick video player, so it might not work for non-USA users.

 

[Theozilla]

Zuko's voice actor, Dante Basco, reads from The Search Part 2.

Spoiler: Thoughts

I hate to be a critic in this case, but I wish he read the lines with slightly more emotion, taking the context into account. But I'm just being nitpicky. Awesome to hear him read out those few lines.

Well, I think it also shows how much of a difference the voice director makes in the quality of acting. Andrea Romano is really able to bring out the best in the actors.

 

[Theozilla]

Republic City Hustle part 3 is out.

 

[Theozilla]

http://www.nick.com/games/legend-of-korra-dark-into-light-trivia.html?apiKey=001
So here’s all the new information we got from a new Nickelodeon TLOK trivia game here:

Tonraq was banished out of the Northern Water tribe by his father for destroying a spirit forest during an attack.

Unalaq is a fundamentalist when it comes to dealing with spirits and has a deep spiritual connection. He’s elevated to ruler of the Water Tribe because Tonraq was banished.

Eska and Desna don’t like Korra and Eska forces Bolin to be her new boyfriend.
Varrick was born poor, but built a successful business starting with one canoe. He invents film and uses it to create anti Northern Water Tribe propaganda starring Bolin.

Kya is confirmed to be the second child in the family. She moved back to the Southern Water Tribe when her father passed away to spend more time with her mother and become closer to her.

Also here is the newest trailer for Book 2 (which is premiering with two episodes this coming Friday).

 

[Carlie]

It's backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

 

[Theozilla]

Great first two episodes of the season. Loved they were delving into Korra's agency and how she's often had people telling what to do all her life and her issues with that. Unalaq is interesting, he did manipulate Korra sorta, but what makes it so complex is that his statements were also correct and what Korra as a person really needed. He also seems to truly believe what he preaches, so it does not seem like he is trying to do just a power grab. Mako and Korra's relationship was cute and explored the difficulties of relationships well, particularly communication. Jinora, I can't to see her arc this season. Tenzin and his siblings look cool and funny as well. Bolin and the twins were a riot.

The animation was great as usual but you could tell it was Studio Pierrot and not Studio Mir animating the episodes.

 

[Shademp]

Squeeing hard over here.

Spoiler: First two episodes, but mostly the second episode

My favorite bit was the world-building regarding the southern lights and the spirit world. In the real world, southern lights happen regardless of human affairs. But by having the lights depend on the peace of the spirits in the Avatar universe, they clearly establish the duality of that world. I just think it was really clever to make it so that the southern lights had long been out and instead replaced by the "Everstorm" (which is an awesome name, btw).

Super-excited for Jinora's arc. With the first book of Legend of Korra, the creators were smart to not just redo A:TLA "except with the sons and daughters of the previous generation". Tenzin and the rest were already middle-aged which was a great move. At this point, it feels justified for them to explore Jinora's relation to spirituality and the Avatars, what-with her being the granddaughter of Aang. Maybe I'm looking at this weird, but I like that they waited with this type of focus on Aang's offspring's offspring until the second book. Then again, maybe Jinora's arc won't take up as much space as I expect.

Absolutely love the statue of Wan being made out of tree material, with the arms being gone. Looks so wonderfully ancient that way.

 

[ForceStealer]

Good stuff, I'm glad it's back

Spoiler

I'm definitely eager to see a point where Korra can't overcome something simply by overpowering it but by being creative. The trip through the forest was a tad anticlimactic, I was expecting something more along the lines of when Aang was searching for Koh. Spirit world shenanigans and the like. As it was, I'm not sure why no one else could go, I thought it was because she had to go to the spirit world.

But still, I'm excited to see more, especially in light of that trailer.

And she'd better stop being a jerk to Tenzin!

 

[Theozilla]

And she'd better stop being a jerk to Tenzin

We already know from trailers that they will reconcile, but it's not like Tenzin was blameless in the situation. Korra's anger very understandable and justified (and she also admits she isn't 100% sure that she made the right decision but feels she needs to follow her heart). So if she makes mistakes, they are ones she made of her own agency, which is really important to her character.

 

[Drax]

Haven't caught up yet, but this seems to be the topic of concern (and that last option does sound cool)

 

[Theozilla]

I think tonight's newest episode may be my newest favorite episode ("When Extremes Meet" was the previous one). So much great and heavy family drama that felt all so incredibly real. Unalaq, I am really curious where his character is going to go (I don't think he'll end being a straight up manipulative villain like Tarrlok was initially) but what’s really interesting/so great (writing wise) about his manipulation of Korra is that he does make a lot of good points. Korra staying neutral during the episode was the best recourse at the time considering all the multiple variables. This all I can really say for now, but there was so much great stuff in this episode.

Also the The Search Part 3 was partially spoiled in a early review of it, if anyone's curious:
http://www.fandompost.com/2013/09/1...ender-the-search-part-3-graphic-novel-review/

 

[Shademp]

Spoiler: Book 2 Episode 3

I had speculations that Tenzin was Aang's favorite, but that Aang would go so far as to not take the other kids with him on trips? Man, Aang must have been a clueless parent. Aside from that, the family drama felt very real. The reminder that non-benders will feel at a disadvantage and suffer inferiority complexes is just another part that makes the series feel very real. If I had grown up in a family where all my siblings had super-powers, I would have been even more depressed and self-loathing than I was in this real life.

The quick switches between Tenzin and Korra made me slightly stressed. You really felt the writers trying to cram as much content as possible in this one. But if I were to choose between a slow episode and one that feels stressed, like this one, I'd definitely pick the latter.

Unalaq is really showering Korra with encouragement. Does he really think Korra will become "the most admired Avatar ever"? Seriously. Aang defeated the Fire Lord when he was 12-13 years old. By default Korra can't become the most admired Avatar. Kyoshi is also a strong contender for this title, if only for the fact that she lived so ridiculously long. Unalaq must be playing on Korra's emotions with all this encouragement, so that he can proceed with his plans without resistence.

Eska & Desna laughing... Well, that was a whole lot of NOPE. It's creepier than seeing Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory trying to act like a human being.

Civil War seems inevitable (why would we have this two-parter otherwise). The one thing I'd like to see is old-Katara kicking ass with her mega-powerful waterbending. On one hand she shouldn't be involved in the conflict, but on the other hand I really want to see her as an active force, even if only briefly.