The highly anticipated sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend Of Korra takes place 70 years after the end of the first series and follows Korra, the Avatar after Aang. Following the reincarnation cycle, Korra is born into the Southern Water Tribe. Unlike Aang, she has a natural knack for bending multiple elements from a young age, and is confident and enthusiastic about her abilities from the beginning. In fact, the very first words she utters on screen are “I’m the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!” But Korra has grown up insulated from the outside world, protected in a compound by the Order Of The White Lotus. Her sheltered upbringing is one of the reasons why, though Korra excels in water-bending, earth-bending, and fire-bending, she struggles to connect with the spiritual aspects of being the Avatar, which is directly linked to the one element she has never been able to bend—air, the most spiritual of the elements.
When she arrives in Republic City, Korra is exposed to social inequality, the banality of bureaucratic hurdles, and the perverse nature of political power plays for the first time in her life. Even as she learns how to connect with her spiritual self in order to master air-bending, she must also figure out her place as the Avatar in a world where modern technology has greatly replaced spirituality, as well as deal with a growing group of dissidents who argue that the world has moved beyond the need for bending. This conflict forms the backbone of the first season of Legend Of Korra, which premiered on Nickelodeon on April 14, 2012, four years after the end of Avatar. Though the series was originally developed as a standalone 12-episode miniseries, executives initially green-lit a second season of 13 additional episodes and then two additional seasons, for a total of 52 episodes across four seasons (also called “books,” echoing its predecessor). As such, Legend Of Korra doesn’t have an overarching story arc or antagonist that carries through its complete run like Avatar. Each of the four seasons effectively stand alone as a separate story arc, with four separate antagonists.
Legend Of Korra is extremely ambitious in scope, and over the course of the four seasons, focuses on a wide range of issues, including the consequences of class inequality, political oppression and corruption, spirituality versus modernity, bureaucracy versus vigilante justice, and anarchy versus organized government. However, because of the limited number of episodes in each season—12 to 14 compared to Avatar’s 20—the plot for each season moves at a breakneck pace, leaving little time to explore any issue deeply before moving onto the next one. The show’s production was also beset with problems. In between seasons one and two, the animation studios switched from Studio Mir in South Korea to Japanese animation studio Pierrot, as the former initially declined to return for season two, due to the extreme stress the team faced while animating the first season. However, Studio Mir returned to animate the second half of season two, as well as seasons three and four. The size of the staff also fluctuated, as did the production budget—while seasons one and two had a smaller team, season three was the first season to be created with a full in-house design and revision team.
When the budget was cut once again for season four, series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino had to convert one of the episodes into a “clip show” in order to avoid laying off a significant number of staff. Legend Of Korra also struggled with an inconsistent airing schedule, limited advertising, and episodes prematurely leaked onto the internet. While the first two seasons and the first eight episodes of the third season aired live on Nickelodeon, the remaining episodes premiered exclusively online, starting with the ninth episode of season three through the conclusion of the series.
The many challenges and limitations behind the scenes made Legend Of Korra an uneven successor to Avatar, but the series found ways to shine on its own. The acclaimed third season features several complex, multi-layered female characters along with Korra, including Lin Beifong and Suyin Beifong, daughters of Toph Beifong. The series’ exploration of queer themes and the development of Korra and Asami’s romantic relationship in Turf Wars, the post-series graphic novel series, has also been lauded. With the complete series available to stream on Netflix beginning August 14, here are 10 episodes of Legend Of Korra that expand the series’ potential beyond the shadow of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s success.
“Welcome To Republic City” (book one, episode one)
“Welcome to Republic City” is an energetic introduction to the world and characters of Legend Of Korra, quickly establishing the new order—Korra, the confident but reckless new Avatar, sheltered and naive about the way the world works though a prodigious bender, a sleek city with a steampunk-meets-1920s Shanghai/New York aesthetic, and a bureaucratic system that has evolved to function just fine without the Avatar at all. Korra discovers these challenges as soon as she secretly arrives in Republic City, when she tries to assert herself by rescuing a shop from gang violence and ends up getting arrested herself by Republic City police for property damage. “You can’t just waltz in here and dole out vigilante justice like you own the place,” scolds Lin Beifong, chief of Republic City Police and Toph’s daughter, frustrating Korra, who doesn’t understand why she can’t help, considering she is the Avatar. Korra soon discovers that there are many other challenges she must face as well in the outside world, including a growing anti-bender movement among disgruntled non-bender citizens, who believe that benders are oppressive. By the end of the episode, Korra realizes that being the Avatar is a much more complicated endeavor than she ever anticipated within the sheltered walls of the South Pole, but she is willing to learn and grow.
“A Leaf In The Wind” (book one, episode two)
By the second episode, Korra is settled into Air Temple Island with Tenzin and his family, ready to begin her air-bending training. However, because air-bending is the most spiritual of the elements and Korra is not at all tapped into her spiritual self, she struggles to connect. She repeatedly fails a basic air-bending exercise that requires her to “dance like a leaf in the wind” rather than forcing her way through. Tenzin, who is tightly wound himself, also struggles to adapt to Korra’s headstrong nature and teenage rebelliousness, especially over pro-bending, a popular competitive sport that Korra loves but which Tenzin considers to be a mockery of the art of bending. Though Tenzin forbids her to watch or listen to any pro-bending matches because “being the Avatar isn’t about fighting” and he doesn’t want her to get distracted from her air-bending training, Korra ignores him, sneaking away to watch a match in person. She even spontaneously joins a team herself: the Fire Ferrets, who need a waterbender to sub in when their team member suddenly quits, infuriating Tenzin when he discovers she has explicitly gone against his wishes. But to both Tenzin and Korra’s surprise, pro-bending might be just what she needs to finally connect and apply his lessons.
“The Revelation” (book one, episode three)
“The Revelation” is where the plot of Legend Of Korra truly begins to ramp up. When the Fire Ferret brothers Mako and Bolin discover that they need to pay 30,000 yuan in order to compete in the pro-bending tournament they have qualified for, they must quickly find a way to get the money. Korra has never had to worry about money because she’s always had people to take care of her; she’s unaware that that is in and of itself a privilege that Mako and Bolin do not have as orphans. Bolin tries to earn cash on the street while Mako gets a job working long hours at the city’s electrical plant. When Mako returns home and finds Bolin missing, he at first assumes his brother might be visiting Korra on Air Temple Island, as he knows that Bolin has a crush on her. Eventually, Korra and Mako team up to search for Bolin in the city, and end up finding more than they bargained for when they discover he has been captured by Amon and the Equalists. “The Revelation” is the first episode in the series to truly take advantage of the urban steampunk setting of Republic City at night, with a compelling combination of stunning cinematography and fast-paced fight choreography.
“Beginnings, Part 1” (book two, episode seven)
The first of two episodes detailing the origins of the Avatar, “Beginnings, Part 1” takes an risk that pays off by diverging completely from the overarching narrative arc to take a step back and introduce Korra—and the audience—to the genesis of the era of the Avatar. After being infected with dark energy that will destroy her Avatar spirit unless she is cleansed, Korra is lowered by fire sages into a healing water pit. There, she meets the spirit of Wan, the first Avatar, who tells her that he will help her find Raava, the spirit of light, by sharing the story of how he became the first Avatar. From here, the animation in “Beginnings, Part 1” transforms into a unique and beautiful style reminiscent of traditional Chinese illustration as the episode follows the beginning of Wan’s journey from scrappy street urchin to Avatar. This illustrative style also gives Wan’s tale an ancient, almost mythical quality that acts as a stark contrast to both the modern setting of Legend Of Korra and the naturalistic setting of Avatar. With the pacing of a fable, the first part of Wan’s tale carries shades of both the myths of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box. We watch as he gains the power of fire-bending through trickery, is banned from his city into the Spirit Wilds, and earns the respect of the spirits who live there through his kindness to a captured cat-deer (who becomes the first Avatar animal guide). Most importantly, Wan inadvertently splits Raava, the spirit of light, from Vaatu, the spirit of darkness, releasing darkness and chaos into the world for the first time in 10,000 years.
“Beginnings, Part 2” (book two, episode eight)
Both Legend Of Korra and Avatar share a common refrain in that the key role of the Avatar is to bring balance to the world, whether that means bringing an end to a hundred year war or figuring out how to integrate spirituality into an increasingly modern world. As “Beginnings, Part 2” shows, bringing balance is the ceaseless work of lifetimes, borne of the consequences of Wan’s reckless act of separating Raava and Vaatu without fully understanding its repercussions. After the separation, Raava reluctantly agrees to help Wan master the power of the other three elements so they can work together to have a chance at winning against Vaatu during Harmonic Convergence. Unfortunately, they are unable to stop Vaatu from corrupting both humans and peaceful spirits in the mortal world—including the old friends he left behind when he was banished from his city and his spirit friends from the Spirit Wilds. Though Wan fails to save his friends, when Harmonic Convergence finally comes, Raava and Wan are finally able to bond together permanently, defeat Vaatu, and seal the spirit portals so that he can never escape again. However, because darkness has irrevocably entered the mortal world, although Wan tries his best, by the end of his life, it still remains unbalanced. But in his final moments, Raava comforts Wan and tells him not to worry, for she will be with him forever as they work together to bring balance to the world for all his future lifetimes.
“The Metal Clan” (book three, episode five)
Although Lin Beifong is present from the very first episode of the series and plays a key role in the narrative, until the third season, her own backstory mostly remains a mystery, the exception being her volatile romantic history with Tenzin. In “The Metal Clan,” the first of two episodes that focus on Lin and her psyche, these details finally start to reveal themselves. Fissures in her fierce and private exterior are exposed when Korra and the team learn of another new air-bender in the spectacular metal city of Zaofu. In short order, we learn that not only does Lin have a younger half-sister—Suyin Beifong, the founder of Zaofu—but she’s has been estranged from her for 30 years, has refused multiple efforts at reconciliation, and the new air-bender is none other than her own niece, Opal, who she has never even met. When Korra asks Suyin what happened to cause such a substantial rift, she explains that when they were young, Lin was a straight shooter who followed their mother’s footsteps as a cop while she was a rebel who left home at 16 to make her own way in the world. Although Suyin has grown into an extremely accomplished woman greatly changed from the rebellious teenager she once was, she has given up hope that her older sister will ever be a part of her life. After her conversation with Suyin, Korra tries to help bridge the gap by encouraging Opal to approach Lin directly. Unfortunately, Lin rebuffs her niece’s efforts and tells Korra to focus on fixing the world instead of her family.
“Old Wounds” (book three, episode six)
“Old Wounds” picks right up where “The Metal Clan” leaves off, with some new wounds created after Lin’s caustic rebuke of Korra and her cruel rejection of Opal. Exposed and vulnerable in a way she never wanted to be, Lin becomes increasingly stressed and disheveled as she continues refusing to face the issues that are causing her distress. At the suggestion of Aiwei, Suyin’s trusted advisor, Lin finally visits an acupuncturist who tells her she has many unresolved issues from the past that are preventing her from moving forward. Though she scoffs at this, as soon as the acupuncturist places a needle onto a pressure point on her forehead, Lin flashes back to the most traumatic repressed memories of her past: the day she got the permanent scars on her face. They are revealed to be from none other than Suyin herself, who wounded her older sister while trying to help criminals escape and the real reason she left Republic City at 16 in disgrace, to prevent the inevitable scandal of being the the criminal daughter of the city police chief. After the session ends, when Lin still doesn’t feel any better, she realizes she needs to deal with her old wounds in her own way and approaches Suyin in the courtyard for a long overdue confrontation. Korra wonders whether she should stop them, but Bolin tells her that for siblings, “Fighting is part of the healing process,” so she stands back and lets the two sisters duke it out.
“The Stakeout” (book three, episode nine)
Because there are no romantic relationships complicating the rapport between Korra and her friends in the third season, and no adults present in the episode, “The Stakeout” presents a rare opportunity to highlight the best aspects of their dynamic as a true team. With the pacing of a detective film, the first half of the episode follows the four friends as they leave Zaofu in pursuit of Aiwei, Suyin’s trusted advisor turned betrayer, revealed to be in cahoots with the Red Lotus. When they discover he is staying in a nearby hotel, the friends stake out in the room across from Aiwei and wait for him to make a move. Several hours later, Korra decides she’s spent enough time waiting and rushes over to Aiwei’s room and breaks down the door, only to discover him in a meditative state— indicating that the secret meeting place is the spirit world. Mystery solved, the pace quickly switches from detective film to action-adventure; while Korra meditates into the spirit world to find Zaheer and Aiwei, the rest of the team stays behind to watch over her body. Korra doesn’t have to travel far to find Zaheer, who seems surprisingly open to answering all her questions about the history of the Red Lotus and their motivations. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Korra, Zaheer has figured out where her physical body is located, and has sent other members of the Red Lotus to capture her as he keeps her occupied in the spirit world.
“Korra Alone” (book four, episode two)
“Korra Alone” is a stark, heart-wrenching portrayal of post-traumatic stress disorder. The episode follows Korra closely over the course of three years as she recovers from her attack and learns to cope with the inner demons that haunt her as a result of her trauma. No longer is she the confident, fearless young woman who declared she could take on the world; she is broken both mentally and physically. Six months after the attack, she collapses on the floor of Katara’s healing hut, frustrated that she still can’t take more than a few steps without falling down and trying to make sense of why the attack happened to her. When Katara encourages her to find meaning in her suffering, just as Aang did when he discovered the genocide of his people, Korra takes it to heart and starts to make progress with physical therapy. Unfortunately, her depression still remains unresolved, and she continues to isolate herself from everyone, leaving all her friends’ letters unanswered (with the exception of Asami). After three years, Korra finally decides to return to Republic City for a change of pace, but just as she arrives, her inner trauma manifests as an unnerving physical apparition of herself bound in chains, with poison in her veins, which frightens her into turning right back around. Instead of going back home to the South Pole, Korra cuts her hair and quietly disappears into the Earth Kingdom in order to escape her malevolent spirit self, but she soon learns she cannot outrun it until she learns how to overcome her inner pain.
“The Calling” (book four, episode four)
Though The Legend Of Korra has its share of humor, overall, it is a far more serious series than its predecessor, especially in the fourth season, where the first few episodes focus on the immediate aftermath of the attack on Korra and her long journey to recovery. But the final installment in Korra’s recovery arc, “The Calling,” has two alternating storylines that strike the perfect balance between levity and compassion. The leading storyline follows Tenzin’s children Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo on their first solo mission: They set out in search of Korra after they learn she has gone missing. Even though the kids aren’t much younger than Aang and Katara were during their adventures, it is a little jarring to see them go off on their own. But it is their youth that makes the air-bender siblings so amusing to watch—their scenes together are an extremely entertaining combination of irritation, pettiness, and teasing as the trio learns to work together and build trust in each other’s instincts and strengths. Meanwhile, Korra, who is still with Toph in the swamp, is forced to confront her fears once and for all. Working through these heady challenges, Korra succeeds and finally reconnects with herself and the people who love her after three long years.
71 Comments
Beginnings was an amazing episode that kind of came out of nowhere, especially when the previous episode ended with the standard amnesia trope. I thought I was in for a few episodes of Korra trying to remember who she was, rather than diving deep into the lore of the Avatar.
They never really fleshed out a background plot involving the circus that everyone ran away to years prior to the show – including Suyin, all for members of the Red Lotus, and a young Varrick.
Did anyone else ever feel like Korra suffered needlessly throughout her show? Aang experiences survivor’s guilt, and PTSD as well, but look at how his show allowed him room to breath without any condescending lectures or cliched “we NEED to talk about this!” moments. Compared to that, Korra gets set up to fail every single time.I used to really dislike Korra as a protagonist because I thought she was an arrogant doofus, but a recent second viewing of the series corrected my misunderstanding: Korra had no agency, little direction, and her supporting cast actually did very little to support her! She was constantly misled, undermined, or outright lied to, making her easy pickings for her seas0nal villains. Everyone keeps trying to “do the right thing by her” instead of doing the comparatively simple task of just telling her what the fuck is going on,and then leaving her to face plant while they cluck their tongues at her impetuousness.Yeah, she’s bullheaded, but daaaamn. Give her something to work with!
The one addition that I think would have “fixed” that problem would have been a pretty profound yet powerful idea: have The Order of the White Lotus refer to an “Avatar Almanac” with records of the past Avatars, and Tenzin fretting constantly, trying to do things “by the book.” He is a scholar, after all.It’s one thing for everyone to be stressed over rebuilding the Air Nation – an unprecedented task – but if Aang had helped the OOTWL prepare for his death and Korra’s coming, then he likely would have given them some explicit guidance and insight into who and what the Avatar is. That would at least justify their ham-fisted attempts to box her in when they see her exhibiting, say, the brashness of Kyoshi and the overconfident laxness of Kuruk.
Aang had survivor’s guilt and culture shock, but he didn’t actually *experience* the genocide.By S4, Korra has directly experienced an insane amount of trauma.
I think the tonal shift in suffering is because of the age of Aang/the supporting cast compared to Korra/the supporting cast
I recently did a Last Air Bender rewatch and have been excited to give this another chance. I didn’t get into it when it first came out, the first season had a few issues. I hear it gets better though and I look forward to watching it
Do it. Season 1 rushes the hell out of its ending and Season 2 has tons of problems. But stick through Season 2 and you will be rewarded.
I loved the ending of Season 1. When Korra finally (spoilers) gets her airbending it was predictable but I cry every time.
It wasn’t the air-bending that bothered me. Or, necessarily, Amon’s resolution (could have been cleaner, but I got what they were going for). Or even her regaining her bending, eventually. It was all of those things stacked on top of each other–felt pretty unsatisfying.
Season 1 is a little uneven, rushing the finale, and occasionaly leaning too far into the relationship drama, but over all excellent. The action sequences alone make it worth your time.The first half of season 2 is weak, but then it gets really good again. The avatar Origins episodes are some of the best of the series.Season 3 in my opinion is on the level of Avatar at it’s best. Truly among the best seasons of animated storytelling to ever be created in america and nothing has come close since
We agree about Book 1. The show puts it focus in the wrong places, starting too slowly and ending too abruptly. But it is very much a solid start.Book 2 is….a mess all things considered. Again, pacing and focus were its undoing.Book 3 of Korra is something really special. It shot the show into the stratosphere. I agree there hasn’t been a season of animated tv to reach that level since.
Season 2 is the worst part of the show. It’s only the seasons 3 and 4 where it truly starts finding its ground. The first season would be good but it tries to work through too much stuff in too short a time, since the showrunners didn’t know if they’d get another season. The 2nd season was rushed through and it shows; it has some good moments but overall the story is a mess.
Season 2 also has the excellent origins of the Avatar and Nuktuc, hero of the south, Tenzin’s family time with Jinora finding herself.
It has a lot of good stuff.
But it starts off weak and seemingly small scale. And ends in a really rough place with the Avatar spirit being crippled. Which hurts.
NukTuk was excellent.I really didn’t like the Beginnings stuff. Changing the Avatar from “The Spirit of the World” to “Light Spirit Locked in Manichean Struggle with Dark Spirit” was very silly.
LoK is one of those shows whose later seasons make it worth a couple uneven early seasons, and hard.Like I would say “just watch season 3 and 4″ but the first 2 certainly give the context for those to work so well. It really feels organic that season 2 is that huge growing pain.
Pacing, pacing, pacing.
Yeach season 2 had some great bits but I always hated the the final showdown was just korra and the bad guy turning into giant monsters and grabbing each other.
There are a couple uneven bits, but overall the rewards were worth the rough patches.
S2 is a full-on gas leak year.(I honestly hate the Beginnings episodes, too)S3 and 4 stand up with S2 and 3 of Avatar.
They didn’t include the Clerks episode, which is a shame:
10 best episodes of Korra, with a lot of cheating, for me (spoilers):“And the Winner Is…” (1×06)“Turning the Tides” (1×10)—Action-packed all around, it’s really here for Lin’s sacrifice. Airbenders are a Beifong’s responsibility, dammit.“Beginnings” (2×07 and 2×08)“A New Spiritual Age” (2×10)—IROH!! “Long Live the Queen” (3×10)“The Ultimatum” (3×11)“Enter the Void”/”Venom of the Red Lotus” (3×12 and 3×13)“Korra Alone” (4×02)—Naming an episode after “Zuko Alone” is just begging for an unflattering comparison, but this episode delivers in every way, charting each step in Korra’s journey with aplomb. Powerful animated story-telling.“Operation Beifong” (4×10)“Day of the Colossus”/”The Last Stand” (4×12 and 4×13)
why is she like 7 feet tall?
I’m baffled by the lack of Venom of the Red Lotus, which might legit be the best episode of either series even if Last Airbender is generally superior.
That final air-bending ceremony………
And I mean the whole damn thing is about reinforcing that Aang was right to reject the “purity” of airbending that involves separating yourself from all earthly attachments. Zaheer achieves this absolute mastery of the code, and is so strong that not even a force of nature like the Avatar can save him, but he’s instead defeated by a group performing the most basic airbending move as a nation.Korra’s arc is entirely about the limits of power and the importance of humanity and introspection, and it’s so damned touching to see that personified in that episode. It is so good.
Seconded. My latest rewatch confirmed the brilliance of Season 3, and it was a wise call to make the villain’s philosophy a reflection of Aang’s struggle when facing the Avatar State and, ultimately, Firelord Ozai.
It’s so chilling when they zoom out after they exit the cave and reveal that Korra and Zaheer are fighting in another battlefield full of rock pillars. Once again, it’s an airbender being pursued by someone using firebending for flight. But it’s totally reversed.Plus we get that moment where the music swells and all the landmarks go away and as they soar in the air the camera makes it impossible to tell where they even are, it might be the best depiction of human flight I’ve ever seen.
The season is well built up and structured, too. It’s exactly what I wanted from an A:TLA sequel.
Korra Hulking out may be a better action setpiece than Aang v Ozai.Meanwhile, 5 episodes from the first two seasons.So, yeah. Genuinely baffling list.
Aang becomes an atom, Korra becomes a cavewoman.
Ah, I love Korra (the character, in this case)
I do as well. They did great things with her.
The big talking point is that she’s inverse of Aang, which is true, but she’s also a foil for Zuko, as both of them have intense character arcs marked by growth through pain as a result of pride. The difference is that Zuko’s pride manifests in shame, and Korra’s pride manifests in hubris, but they both need to find balance in a way Aang fundamentally doesn’t because despite some everyday flaws he’s a lot healthier from the start.I mean she even gets an adult mentor that she disdains at first but grows to respect, and an episode called Korra Alone.
Yeah, Korra definitely has a significantly more dynamic character arc than Aang, who almost fits the Goku mold of “Flat Character Arcs” – he definitely grows a bit over the course of the series, but most of the conflict and character growth comes from how people react to Aang.
I’d have a hard time analyzing Aang’s character growth throughout the series. He’s already pretty fully formed by the end of The Storm, when he moves past his guilt over not being there when the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads. There’s probably some interesting analysis on how his ‘letting go of everything worldly’ advice from Guru Pathik was proven wrong, and how that ties into Sozin’s Comet. I’m not quite sure, though.
I do love the recurrent theme of each Avatar being a direct reaction to the problems that the previous Avatar faced – Korra would have HANDLED Ozai and Yakone.
Nothing beats Zuko vs. Azula……but yes, holy crap, the ending of Book 3 is sublime in every way. Very few shows have ever elicited as strong an emotional reaction from me as Korra Book 3. This is a strange list indeed. The Metal Clan and The Stakeout are both very good. Not better than those final 4 of Book 33—all of them should have been on here.And why pick the first 3 of Book 1 1 over And the Winner is…? The Avatar list was pretty accurate, at least.
This is like 20% of the episodes that exist.
Well the top ten list for Avatar composes 16% of the show’s episodes.
A couple episodes I thought were missed:“And the winner is…”: Korra vs the Lieutenant is one of the best (looking) fights in both series in terms of its cinematic weight. Also, Korra’s and-1 mixtape takedown of Tahno in the tiebreaker was the moment I knew Korra was the Avatar I needed in my life.“Original Airbenders”: Soo underrated. So many great moments in this episode. It’s a great Tenzin episode, it’s a great Bumi episode, has great Kai and Jinora moments, Korra (even though absent for most of the episode) is at peak Avatar form in the advice she gives to Tenzin, also some really hilarious sight gags and the best version of Meelo’s humor.“Operation Beifong”: Su vs Kuvira is the best choreographed fight in both series (with the only possible exception being Zuko vs Azula Agni Kai). Also, this was an episode centered around the family drama of a multi-generational group of women who all kick ass. It’s great.“The Ultimatum”: Tenzin’s final stand is still glorious after probably my 50th viewing. Arguably, the best aspect of Legend of Korra is the relationship between Korra and Tenzin- a student-mentor pair who share a similar burden in representing the legacy of Aang. The growth of their friendship and unshakable love is best exemplified in Tenzin’s exchange with Zaheer:Tenzin: I will never let you get to KorraZaheer: You don’t have a choiceTenzin: Yes I do
Agree with all of these. Original Airbenders felt like classic A:TLA.
Each one of these are among my favorite episodes. But this right here:
Arguably, the best aspect of Legend of Korra is the relationship between Korra and Tenzin- a student-mentor pair who share a similar burden in representing the legacy of Aang.This…THIS is well said, and gets at what the heart of the show always was imo. It’s the reason why the ending frustrated me because I always felt it more appropriate that the show’s final scene be between Korra and Tenzin (sorry shippers) who had an amazing journey together; The two people most important to carrying on Aang’s legacy symbolize the metaphor for this show carrying on Avatar The Last Airbender’s legacy
The Ultimatum is more worthy than any episode from the first two seasons.
The Kya-Bumi-Tenzin bending slugfest……pure animated bliss.
It was so awesome
And then it was followed by a perfect two-part finale. That’s how you pace a 13-episode season.
That’s why Book 3 Change and Book 3 Fïre are my favorite seasons of avatar franchise. It’s not even close. The villains the finale the music the arcs. It was top notch
I found Earth slightly stronger than Fire as a whole. But the entire final stretch of Avatar: The Last Airbender is practically flawless, starting with Day of Black Sun. That’s not even counting The Avatar and the Firelord and The Puppetmaster before that.
Agreed. The final stretch of Book 3 after Nightmare & Daydreams are peak western storytelling. The stakes the drama the animation the writing. Mike and Bryan really captured gold with that one
Exactly! Zuko’s redemption gave them a massive boost of energy. There’s the action-packed extravaganza that is Day of Black Sun, the hilarious, character-driven Western Air Temple, the really action-packed and fun Firebending Masters and Boiling Rock, the incredibly weighty The Southern Raiders, the charming Ember Island Players, and the exemplary finale (capped off with Zuko vs. Azula and Aang vs. Ozai, the two best fights in the series). They really succeeded in that stretch of cementing Avatar as a Western animated show that could stack up to the anime greats.
Well said. I still revisit clips of the finale 12 years later. Impressive stuff
I’ve always been a defender of how excellent Korra was as a series, but hopefully reading this list and thinking how many all time classic episodes that easily couldve been on here cements that for others. It is not perfect in the way avatar was, but it is still just so freaking good and deserving of praise
I’m still strangely baffled by the picks here. Aside from Beginnings and Korra Alone, this isn’t the best crop of episodes the show had to offer.Korra was probably destined to be more controversial than Avatar was from its inception, bold themes, and troubled production cycle. But it still got so much right it’s disappointing to me to see some outright refuse to recognize any of Korra’s strengths.
It really is too bad. I feel like most people came into Korra after having binged Avatar on Netflix (back in the early days of streaming Netflix had the whole series on there) and then had to watch Korra on an episode to episode basis so the problems were more apparent. I knew Avatar was special from the first episode when they go penguin sledding, but I think something that you miss if you just binge the series is that most of what makes people consider Avatar one of the all time great series happened in late season 2 and season 3.
Oh, I certainly didn’t miss that the first time around. Book 1 of Avatar can be extremely hard to sit through. Even on re-watch, it’s notably less great than the other two Books.
This list is way off. How do you not include “The Ultimatum”, “Venom of the Red Lotus”, “Kuvira’s Gambit”, or “Endgame”. Zaheer vs Tenzin was one of the best moments in the ENTIRE franchise
Watch the first few eps of S1 to get a handle on the characters and the new setting;Skip to Beginnings 1/2 in Season 2;Skip to S3 and watch all of S3 and S4.And you’re done! You’ve watched all of Legend of Korra!
Should come with a warning label: “It gets better, I promise.”
I legitimately enjoyed much of S1. It was obviously finding its feet, but it was tackling more complex issues than ATLA while expanding upon the world. And S2 was a mess, sadly.I think Korra, at its best, is better than ATLA at its best. But ATLA was a lot more consistent. I would have loved to see a 23-episode season version of Korra with a stable production process. Alas.
Nickelodeon says no…..I really enjoy Book 1 as well. For the most part, more than Book 1 of A:TLA. Just that it needed 3 more episodes to fit everything together properly. Or a longer runtime.
It is interesting how many people I know who absolutely love Avatar but have never seen Korra, or who gave up very early on. The original series is better, but Korra expanded the universe in clever ways. Lavabending, flight, improved bloodbending, the city of metalbenders, and the improvements in technology all felt like believable extensions of the world created in the original series without cheapening anything (though Season 2 did get into some weird territory; and I always found the abundance of unbendable platinum throughout the series to be a bit too convenient).
I honestly don’t think it’s as black and white as TLA is better. I have more fondness for TLA, but I think Korra legit does some things better. Like, I’ll take Book 1 of Korra over TLA any day.
Korra is exposed to social
inequality, the banality of bureaucratic hurdles, and the perverse
nature of political power plays…she must also figure out her place as the Avatar in a world
where modern technology has greatly replaced spirituality, as well as
deal with a growing group of dissidents who argue that the world has
moved beyond the need for bending. This conflict forms the backbone of
the first season of Legend Of Korra…and perfectly explains why I love Season 1 so much. This was weighty stuff and I was here for it! Amon had some points, and I liked how The Equalist movement evoked things like the Communist revolutions or the Taiping Rebellion, which fits neatly with the new time period LoK was evoking. Even though the ending resolves things a little too neatly, I believe this to be the tightest season because of its initial mini series nature. It didn’t have to worry as much about place setting, cliffhangers, cancellations, etc. like the later seasons did. Besides, this new world had a cool aesthetic I was really in to. While it was nice to start traveling after this, the later locations are never as interesting as Republic City was.The first 3 episodes this article picks, to see what LoK brings to the table are perfect. “Beginnings” 1 and 2 are must-haves also. And I like “The Stakeout” pick, but the 2-part Beifong family drama is side plot stuff. Season 3 has two episodes more key to Korra’s journey and what the show was doing to stand out of TLA’s shadow. Like “A Breath of Fresh Air” the S3 opener that brings back the airbenders (kind of a big deal) and introduces Zaheer, the show’s (and arguably the entire franchise’s) best villain. This is also an episode where Korra talks a young man on a bridge out of jumping, and we can see the writers have done a lot to rectify how brash and annoying her character had been in the first 2 seasons as someone becoming more thoughtful and likeable.
Season 3 does well to further the ideas of S1 and the need to eliminate the Avatar. This time, however, there’s both an anarchist and philosophical root to the villain’s motivations, and by “The Venom of the Red Lotus” finale, the stakes for Korra never seem more personal. Her poisoning is the impetus of the PTSD that would dominate much of her S4 arc, and the tear she sheds at the end, where victory feels like loss, is one of the most powerful images from the show. Meanwhile, Jinora graduates to Certified Boss, and we’ve got a new airbending master, which means so much for the greater for the growth of the Avatar universe.
Season 4 is…fine. S3 was hard to top, and I think this feels the most rushed of all the seasons, because I don’t think it does enough with its ideas. (There’s also too much bullshit with Prince Wu.) But Kuvira made for another good villain, and her totalitarian regime rising up after the fall of the Earth Queen made a lot of sense. As such, I’d like to highlight an episode like “The Battle of Zaofu” over “The Calling” if for no other reason, than to be in awe of Kuvira’s conquering might. But it’s also a pretty good snapshot of the season’s best ideas: There’s an assassination attempt, a city siege, Bolin and Varrik escape their ‘manhattan project’, and the Beifong family drama is actually important to the plot here. Plus Korra’s demons keep her from winning this big showdown.
You’ve gotta rewatch S4, now that it’s on Netflix – it’s absolutely insane as a binge.
Big fan of season 4, i did find the big walking mech to be a bit much. Lol not sure why i had a hard time suspending my disbelief around that, but it just seemed out of place and from no where.
I recently rewatched both series in order, and at the risk of committing heresy, I think I actually like Korra better overall. I disagree with the folks recommending that you skip through seasons 1 and 2; even with the sloppy plotting, I still enjoyed spending time with the characters and seeing cool bending shit throughout. I followed along with the old AV Club recaps and comments during my rewatch, and the whole “Season 2 is a mess” thing didn’t manifest in real time. The season has major flaws, but IMO it became popular to shit on it in retrospect, and people jumped on the bandwagon.
I was in my early 20s when my youngest brother introduced me to The Last Airbender and I fell into it. I am, frankly, jealous of the kids that got to grow up with the level of storytelling brought by this team (and by extension The Dragon Prince). Whenever I revisit, or am reminded of, the themes of the shows, I’m always impressed by the messages of inclusion, growth and responsibility. I’m cautiously optimistic about the new live action series. I’d love to see the production team reunited for a proper prequel about one of the earlier avatars.Or just platypus bears.
Four or five too many episodes from the first two seasons…including two too many from S2.LoK didn’t step out of Avatar’s shadow until S3.
The LoK is a great show. That’s it.
Beginnings was probably a welcome respite while watching S2, but I honestly never cared for it beyond the fact that it reset the animation to the original high standards. I’m not one that likes for mythology to be overly explained, Hello Future Me has a video that aligns with most of my thoughts on it.
My list is pretty much S3, last episodes at top.