Avatar: The Last Airbender represents a golden moment in TV history. It is a perfect storm of excellent animation, powerful story, genuinely intelligent writing, a vast host of classic tropes lovingly reiterated, and a gorgeously rich fantasy mythos all its own. It may be the greatest TV series of all-time. So when it was announced that a new series in the Avatar universe was to be produced, my first thought naturally was "HOLY FUCKING SHIT OH MY GOD YES." Then, my second thought was.... "Wait, lightning doesn't strike twice."
But apparently it does. Because the brilliant creators behind Avatar: The Last Airbender created The Legend of Korra. And to my elated, giddy surprise, it's every bit as good as the original. In some ways, it's even better. I've watched the whole series three times already. It just aired. I almost invariably wait years in between viewings of story-based programs.
The Legend of Korra is set 70 years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko turned the Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom into an autonomous nation where all of the cultures mix freely. Avatar Korra is the 17 year old reincarnation of Avatar Aang, and while she is prodigious at the physical aspects of bending, she lacks discipline and spirituality, inhibitng her ability to Airbend. Having been sheltered in the Southern Water Tribe her whole life, she moves to the mixed nation in order to learn airbending from Aang's youngest son, Tenzin -- the only living airbending master in the world.
The amazing thing (well, one of them) about The Legend of Korra, is that it manages to carry on the legacy of ATLA without merely reiterating it. It carves for itself a unique set of attributes independent from ATLA, and in doing so it becomes a truly brilliant series in its own right. It's not really that either series is better or worse, it's more like they're both freaking amazing for their own individual reasons.
Where ATLA was an expansive saga told over more than 60 episodes, TLOK is a terse, 12 episode self-contained story. Further season(s) will follow but they too will be self-contained. So while ATLA had plenty of filler eps to flesh out character details and submerge us in this utterly rich and fascinating mythos, every single episode of Korra is action-packed. Furthermore, while ATLA toyed heavily with classic shonen tropes and built its legacy on the Eastern spirituality of venerable TV programs like Kung Fu, The Legend of Korra steps out into its own a bit with less of an archetypal storyline, and draws inspiration from the universally-beloved films of Hayao Miyazaki.
ATLA's wide-open ancient landscape becomes a 1920s steampunk city for TLOK, reminiscent of Miyazaki or Final Fantasy 6 (complete with mech-suits). But don't worry, the setting and animation retain the impeccable grandeur of the original. In fact, the animation in Korra is several fold superior to the already flawless animation in ATLA! I honestly have never seen more gorgeous fight choreography in my life. The series is amazing to behold simply on the virtue of the animation alone, before you even get into the immaculate story.
Speaking of, now on to the story. The following segment contains MAJOR SPOILERS so be forewarned!
The characters in TLOK are FANTASTIC. While Uncle Iroh is easily my second favorite animated character of all-time (behind Magneto), the rest of the top 5 would probably all be TLOK characters.
In ATLA, Sokka was the token non-bender on the team. And while he was funny and very smart, he was the antithesis of cool. On the contrary, TLOK's non-bender is an unmitigated badass, the beautiful and deadly Asami. Her character arc is fascinating: watching her have to face off against her own father, and choose her only living family or the life she's made for herself with her friends.
I'm partial to Airbenders in general, for their spirituality, but Avatar Korra gives Aang a run for his money. She's strong and sincere, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. And then of course there's Tenzin. He's not quite as wise as Iroh or Monk Gyatso, but what he lacks in powerful wisdom he makes up for in raw power. In a series full of truly amazing bedners, Tenzin may well be the biggest badass of all. When he absent-mindedly obliterates the equalists trying to capture him in episode 10, has to be one of the coolest things I've seen in my life.
Tarrlok, Amon, and the boat scene.
The best and most excellent thing about The Legend of Korra are the characters Noatak and Tarrlok. Easily one of the most fascinating and most excellently developed storylines I've seen on screen. First we have Amon, one of my favorite all-time villains because he does it with such absolute style and force. I was almost rooting for him just because of how cool he is.
Then we have Tarrlok, who at first appears to be a sleazy manipulator; a second-rate villain just to serve as minor sport for Korra until the real showdown with Amon begins. But in truth he and his brother Noatak were the sons of a powerful bloodbender, who had forced them into learning his evil art. But Noatak and Tarrlok defied their father and seperated, and Tarrlok dedicated his life to the pursuit of good and justice. His father was a notorious criminal, so he became a city councilman, to uphold law and order. He lived in constant fear of becoming his father. His paranoia drove him to extreme methods against the Equalists, which caused a rift between him and Avatar Korra. Tarrlok's fight with Korra is the season's single best bit of bending, particularly when Korra rips the wall out and turns it on him. Tarrlok captures Korra and blames it on the Equalists. In a brilliant twist, Amon subdues Tarrlok for interfering, and Korra frees herself.
But at the end we find out the truth about Tarrlok. That Amon is Noatak, his brother, who despised their father and set out to rid the world of bending. Both brothers hated their father and dedicated their life to escaping his influence. Tragically, their attempts to escape their upbringing unwittingly led them to vy for control of Republic City just like their father had. When Amon is defeated, he and Tarrlok escape. But Tarrlok now understands that they'll never be able to escape their father, and in order to rid the world of his evil legacy and put a rest to him and his brother's constant fear, Tarrlok kills his brother and himself in a selfless act of sacrifice, the most brutal and beautiful thing you'll ever see on Nickelodeon.
Easily the greatest television series to debut since Victorious in 2010, and easily one of the greatest television series ever made.
