Legend of Korra: Finale review
Jun. 24th, 2012 01:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brendalaNeedless to say, thar be major spoilers under the cut. Don't read this if you haven't watched the finale already.
My thoughts on the Legend of Korra finale.....
The things I liked
-I'm glad my prediction about Asami turning evil because she lost access to Mako's penis turned out to be false. I kept waiting for it to happen and was pleasantly surprised to see her stand her ground against her father even when he had her backed against the wall and pulled the "AVENGE YOUR DEAD MOTHER" card. Go Asami!
-As usual with Avatar, the fight scenes were amazing and exciting.
-Iroh-2. I was afraid that hearing Dante Basco's distinctive voice come out of a different character would be distracting as hell. But it didn't take long for me to accept him as a completely new character. Kudos to Basco for a great performance and I'm sorry for doubting him.
-Tarlok and Amon/Noetok's story. I'm glad that Amon was a new character and not someone connected to the old gAang (a lot of fans were sure that Bumi-2 was Amon). Their story was tragic; but it was believable and it actually made me feel bad for both of them.
And I STILL can't believe that Nickelodeon allowed the writers to have Tarlok commit murder/suicide ON SCREEN! I was so not expecting that (especially after Amon/Noetok started tearing up and going on about starting a new life with his long lost brother). That scene was so damn powerful and I hope that the writers don't cheapen it by having Tarlok and/or Noetok survive the explosion and come back to menace Team Avatar in season two.
-Seeing Aang and all the former Avatars at the end. Not gonna lie, seeing adult Aang gave me the warm fuzzies. If he had asked Korra to say "hi" to his family for him, I might have bawled like a little girl
What I didn't like
-I still can't believe that my prediction about Amon's identity wasn't true. All the clues were there!!! XD
-Bolin who? He didn't really have much to do in the finale. This wouldn't bug me so much if it wasn't for the fact that he's been getting the shaft for the past 5 or so episodes because the writers wanted to make room for more nauseating romantic melodrama
-You knew this was coming...
The horrible, HORRIBLE romantic plot tumors. All the scenes where Mako and Korra interacted made me want to gag! And I'm not just saying this as a butthurt Korra/Someone-Else shipper. Their interactions were so sappy and OOC that they'd make a Disney princess puke.
Mako telling her "I can't imagine my life without you now, Korra" was especially nauseating because....
a) he's only known her for about 4 months, tops.
b) at that point, Asami was still his official girlfriend. Mako just decided one day to treat her like a nuisance and string her AND Korra along so he could have his cake and eat it too. And...
c) Mako wasn't characterized as overtly emotional until his romance with Korra was forced into the narrative. I could see Bolin telling a new girlfriend something overblown like that because he wears his heart on his sleeve 24/7. But Mako? No.
Speaking of Bolin, what happened to his affection for Korra? I know she broke his heart and all; but it doesn't make sense for him to go from being head over heels for her to not showing any concern/affection at all. A guy THAT emotional can't just turn those feelings off like a faucet. Especially when the girl in question faces danger and death every other day.
-Last but not least...
MAKO IS A F***KING DOUCHEBAG!!!
I now officially hate this character! He's worse than Rio from Jem and the Holograms (at least Rio wasn't technically cheating on his girlfriend). He shamelessly flirted with Korra in front of Asami (and Bolin) and the only time he showed Asami (aka HIS ACTUAL GIRLFRIEND!) any affection was the moment before they embarked on separate suicide missions. And then this little fucker runs out and declares his LOOOVE for Korra without even offering Asami the courtesy of a Dear John letter!? What a sleazy little man-whore!
I was also pissed that Mako was the only one to chase after Korra when she ran off crying at the end. Her parents were there. It would have made more sense for THEM to chase her out into the tundra instead of just standing in the igloo while a hormonal teenage boy chased their emotionally vulnerable daughter outside to "comfort" herwith his tongue.
The Mako/Korra makeout at the end only served to make both Mako and Korra look like assholes. It was framed as ~*romantic*~; but those two were cheating behind Asami's back. After all the shit Asami went through in this show and all she sacrificed to help Korra and the brothers out, she deserved better than being cheated on and pushed aside for no reason.
FINAL VERDICT:
It's a shame that the Akira-esque romantic plot tumors dragged down this otherwise AMAZING show. It's not quite as bad as the-show-that-shall-not-be-named (mainly because it didn't spit on any beloved characters from previous shows), but it's still really aggravating.
This show would have been 1,000 times better if Korra had stayed single for the duration of the story. Not only would the narrative have flowed a lot nicer without the unnecessary melodrama. But it would have sent a positive message to the youngsters (mainly the girls) in the audience that you won't shrivel up and die if you hit your late teens without ever snagging a romantic partner. And leaving out the romantic melodrama in season one would have allowed the characters to develop and get to know each other. Thereby leaving romantic plots open for season two if it was greenlit (which it was). Sadly, shows about teenagers (especially teenage girls) are apparently required by law to have romance and love triangles shoe-horned in. So we just have to deal with it, I guess. :P
I'm not sure where the second season can go from here (this show's ending was clearly made by people who didn't expect to get a season two). My guess is that Korra may have to deal with the moral quandary of whether or not to restore everyone's bending (including the criminals) or make judgements about who deserves to have that power. And perhaps someone will try to take Amon's place as the leader of the non-benders who still believe in the cause despite Amon being a phony.
My hope is that season two starts with Asami kicking Mako in the balls for being a cheating douche and going off to live single and happy in her sweet mansion for many years to come.
My thoughts on the Legend of Korra finale.....
The things I liked
-I'm glad my prediction about Asami turning evil because she lost access to Mako's penis turned out to be false. I kept waiting for it to happen and was pleasantly surprised to see her stand her ground against her father even when he had her backed against the wall and pulled the "AVENGE YOUR DEAD MOTHER" card. Go Asami!
-As usual with Avatar, the fight scenes were amazing and exciting.
-Iroh-2. I was afraid that hearing Dante Basco's distinctive voice come out of a different character would be distracting as hell. But it didn't take long for me to accept him as a completely new character. Kudos to Basco for a great performance and I'm sorry for doubting him.
-Tarlok and Amon/Noetok's story. I'm glad that Amon was a new character and not someone connected to the old gAang (a lot of fans were sure that Bumi-2 was Amon). Their story was tragic; but it was believable and it actually made me feel bad for both of them.
And I STILL can't believe that Nickelodeon allowed the writers to have Tarlok commit murder/suicide ON SCREEN! I was so not expecting that (especially after Amon/Noetok started tearing up and going on about starting a new life with his long lost brother). That scene was so damn powerful and I hope that the writers don't cheapen it by having Tarlok and/or Noetok survive the explosion and come back to menace Team Avatar in season two.
-Seeing Aang and all the former Avatars at the end. Not gonna lie, seeing adult Aang gave me the warm fuzzies. If he had asked Korra to say "hi" to his family for him, I might have bawled like a little girl
What I didn't like
-I still can't believe that my prediction about Amon's identity wasn't true. All the clues were there!!! XD
-Bolin who? He didn't really have much to do in the finale. This wouldn't bug me so much if it wasn't for the fact that he's been getting the shaft for the past 5 or so episodes because the writers wanted to make room for more nauseating romantic melodrama
-You knew this was coming...
The horrible, HORRIBLE romantic plot tumors. All the scenes where Mako and Korra interacted made me want to gag! And I'm not just saying this as a butthurt Korra/Someone-Else shipper. Their interactions were so sappy and OOC that they'd make a Disney princess puke.
Mako telling her "I can't imagine my life without you now, Korra" was especially nauseating because....
a) he's only known her for about 4 months, tops.
b) at that point, Asami was still his official girlfriend. Mako just decided one day to treat her like a nuisance and string her AND Korra along so he could have his cake and eat it too. And...
c) Mako wasn't characterized as overtly emotional until his romance with Korra was forced into the narrative. I could see Bolin telling a new girlfriend something overblown like that because he wears his heart on his sleeve 24/7. But Mako? No.
Speaking of Bolin, what happened to his affection for Korra? I know she broke his heart and all; but it doesn't make sense for him to go from being head over heels for her to not showing any concern/affection at all. A guy THAT emotional can't just turn those feelings off like a faucet. Especially when the girl in question faces danger and death every other day.
-Last but not least...
MAKO IS A F***KING DOUCHEBAG!!!
I now officially hate this character! He's worse than Rio from Jem and the Holograms (at least Rio wasn't technically cheating on his girlfriend). He shamelessly flirted with Korra in front of Asami (and Bolin) and the only time he showed Asami (aka HIS ACTUAL GIRLFRIEND!) any affection was the moment before they embarked on separate suicide missions. And then this little fucker runs out and declares his LOOOVE for Korra without even offering Asami the courtesy of a Dear John letter!? What a sleazy little man-whore!
I was also pissed that Mako was the only one to chase after Korra when she ran off crying at the end. Her parents were there. It would have made more sense for THEM to chase her out into the tundra instead of just standing in the igloo while a hormonal teenage boy chased their emotionally vulnerable daughter outside to "comfort" her
The Mako/Korra makeout at the end only served to make both Mako and Korra look like assholes. It was framed as ~*romantic*~; but those two were cheating behind Asami's back. After all the shit Asami went through in this show and all she sacrificed to help Korra and the brothers out, she deserved better than being cheated on and pushed aside for no reason.
FINAL VERDICT:
It's a shame that the Akira-esque romantic plot tumors dragged down this otherwise AMAZING show. It's not quite as bad as the-show-that-shall-not-be-named (mainly because it didn't spit on any beloved characters from previous shows), but it's still really aggravating.
This show would have been 1,000 times better if Korra had stayed single for the duration of the story. Not only would the narrative have flowed a lot nicer without the unnecessary melodrama. But it would have sent a positive message to the youngsters (mainly the girls) in the audience that you won't shrivel up and die if you hit your late teens without ever snagging a romantic partner. And leaving out the romantic melodrama in season one would have allowed the characters to develop and get to know each other. Thereby leaving romantic plots open for season two if it was greenlit (which it was). Sadly, shows about teenagers (especially teenage girls) are apparently required by law to have romance and love triangles shoe-horned in. So we just have to deal with it, I guess. :P
I'm not sure where the second season can go from here (this show's ending was clearly made by people who didn't expect to get a season two). My guess is that Korra may have to deal with the moral quandary of whether or not to restore everyone's bending (including the criminals) or make judgements about who deserves to have that power. And perhaps someone will try to take Amon's place as the leader of the non-benders who still believe in the cause despite Amon being a phony.
My hope is that season two starts with Asami kicking Mako in the balls for being a cheating douche and going off to live single and happy in her sweet mansion for many years to come.
