THE ORIGIN OF THE AVATAR!?! The Legend Of Korra - Season 2 Ep 7+8 | Reaction

[@lucariomew358_2]

Lorewise: - This retcon didn’t remove prior lore; it expanded it. Most of the original Avatar lore was presented to Team Avatar and the audience as ancient stories. No one actually knew the full truth of what happened, and oral history is naturally subject to change over time. - Lion Turtles granted the ability to generate elements, but the bending styles were developed by observing nature: Badgermoles (earthbenders), Dragon Dancing (firebenders-Wan is even shown using the Sun Warrior form of bending, "The Dancing Dragon," with dragons), Moon and Ocean tidal shifts (waterbenders), and Sky Bison (airbenders). - Much of the content in these two episodes was conceptualized during the original series. For instance, Aang finds a picture of a Lion Turtle in *ATLA* Season 2's Library episode, hinting at their greater significance. However, the series creators and storyboard artists struggled to find an organic way to incorporate this lore at the time, especially as the series progressed. Ultimately, a Lion Turtle appears near the end of *ATLA*, imparting knowledge and introducing a new form of bending to Aang. Interestingly, the Lion Turtle Aang encounters has symbols resembling the Fire Lion Turtle, though I don't think its been confirmed if its the same one that Avatar Waan grew up on. - By the time *The Legend of Korra* was developed, the creators didn’t expect to have an opportunity to include this lore. When Season 2 was greenlit after Season 1 had already wrapped, they seized the chance to weave it in, believing it might be their last opportunity. However, *TLoK* was unexpectedly renewed for two more seasons at the last minute, prior to the finale being finished.

[@sohammitra1951]

Raava IS the Avatar Spirit fused with soul/ spirit of humans, She carries the spirits of past Avatars with her. She glows with energy inside, the Avatar glows in that state. Wan and Raava won because after experiment combining so many times they were unified permanently, A balance between a human and a spirit as one working in perfect sync with all 4 elements..That Overpowered Vaatu. The touching is just them taking in the Harmonic energy giving the boost to finish the final touches of unification.

[@Glaceonmon]

I like how this explains why we call it "Avatar" 😅 no one ever seems to question WHY we call them avatars... here, we finally learn that the human IS the Avatar body for she who controls the body, Raava ❤ an Avatar is what they actually are, and not just he who controls all the elements... like, from the very beginning of ATLA, we used the word Avatar to just mean a person who controls all the elements; but here, we learn that the Avatar is literally an Avatar that is the embodiment of a light spirit.

[@benspiller]

This is such a good point! I never questioned why they had this name, but it all makes so much sense now, love that they finally explored the reason for it and actually made this person a literal Avatar for something.

[@Glaceonmon]

@benspiller exactly! People just think it's a title or something, instead of it being literal

[@bluehope42]

It was implied in the original when Aang was literally a vessel for Roku, Kyoshi and the Ocean Spirit.

[@WiseOne45]

That’s Bhanti village a ancient civilization in the fire nation away from mainland fire nation.

[@lucariomew358_2]

So I keep saying the same weird misunderstandings that have been going around the fan base for years, despite this all being cleared up. So without spoilers for future episodes/seasons, here is the following: *1. What is the Avatar Spirit?* - The Avatar Spirit is the fusion of Raava (Spirit of Light) and Avatar Wan’s human soul. This bond was formed when Wan and Raava merged, and it persists unchanged through every reincarnation. Importantly, the Avatar Spirit does not gain a new soul with each reincarnation; it always consists of Raava + Wan's soul. *2. What Happens When an Avatar Dies?* - When an Avatar dies, the Avatar Spirit (Raava + Wan’s soul) reincarnates into a new body. The Mother of Faces (the spirit that grants identity/personhood to all newborn life/binding these "faces" to their names) grants the new life a unique "face" (identity), but the soul remains Wan’s (just with a new name/identity). The new Avatar is not a separate soul added to the Avatar Spirit-it is always just Wan’s soul, with Raava. *3. Raava’s Role and Memories* - Raava, as a spirit, does not change duing reincaration; she retains the memories, emotions, and personas of past Avatars. While the human side (Wan’s soul) starts each life fresh, Raava stores everything, allowing the Avatar to recall wisdom, emotions, and skills from past lives. This process feels like déjà vu or an unconscious instinct. - This is why tests for identifying the Avatar (e.g., choosing objects tied to past lives) work-Raava holds this information for Wan’s soul, which cannot recall it fully on its own. - *Important:* Past Avatars are not separate souls-they are aspects of Wan’s soul, manifested through Raava. Each new life can channel and manifest past lives through Raava. This explains how Avatars like Aang can communicate with past Avatars like Roku, Yang Chen, or Kyoshi. When Aang sees Roku in a reflection, it’s a metatextual experience: he’s seeing his past self, reflected through Raava. *4. A Custom PC Analogy* The Avatar Spirit is like a custom-built PC: - *Body* = The PC case (replaced each life) - *Brain* = The motherboard (unique to the current Avatar) - *Soul* = The hard drive (Wan’s enduring soul) - *Raava* = The cloud backup and external GPU When an Avatar reincarnates, the body, motherboard, and power adapter are replaced, but Wan’s soul (the hard drive) remains intact. Raava holds all past memories and personas in the "cloud," granting access as needed. *5. Raava’s Dual Role* - Raava is more than just a memory bank; she also serves as an external GPU, enhancing the Avatar’s power during the Avatar State. The Avatar can either draw on full possession by past Avatars or selectively access their knowledge and abilities. *6. Misconception About Souls* - A common misconception is that each reincarnation adds a new soul to the Avatar Spirit, or that Raava holds multiple soils. This is false. The human side of the Avatar is always Wan’s soul, reincarnated (under a new name/persona). Past Avatars are not separate individuals or new souls added to the Avatar Spirit; they are manifestations of Wan’s soul across lifetimes, with Raava as the link. *7. The Unified Nature of the Avatar Spirit* - Each Avatar is an individual, but their core remains the same: Wan’s soul and Raava. Raava ensures that the wisdom, experiences, and abilities of past lives are always accessible. In short, the Avatar Spirit is always just Wan and Raava-no one else.

[@tzukishiro]

Haven't finished the video yet, but THANK YOU, you're one the first reactors who agrees that spirits are extremely aggresive towards humans and that there's a literal huge reason why humans are afraid and also attack back to spirits. Most reactors are always like "hur dur human bad, spirit good" Spirits are for the most part, huge dickheads

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

He used the energy of the spirit portals during harmonic convergence to fuse himself with raava

[@benspiller]

Ah so that’s what it was, thought it was the ‘Light’ side touching it setting balance towards the light but this makes sense with how this was the connection between human and spirit world so it was the only thing that could fuse them.

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

@benspiller exactly. I think he was technically energy bending. The same thing aang used to take ozai's bending. And korra used it to open the spirit portal

[@BalletStrong-cl6cb]

26:00 Confirmation Ben is a Pokemon fan. Let us rejoice

[@benspiller]

Forever and always!

[@SylverQrow]

Hot take. Appa is the last of the Sky Bison, the we see in this show are Air Bison. 2 different breeds of Flying Bison, just like Doberman and Pitbull are breeds of dogs.

[@willfanofmanyii3751]

Already confirmed.

[@jeroen3468]

Coldest take, since this is canon

[@benspiller]

Thought I saw some visual differences between them since we saw so many here that look exactly the same as one another and not Appa.

[@leandrodavidgarcia5711]

This is why I think Unalak is by far the most dangerous villain in the Avatar universe. It's not just about conquering a nation or eliminating the bending from the world. This time the danger is 10,000 years of darkness.

[@benspiller]

Absolutely! The threat he poses feels cosmic compared to what we’ve seen before, it actually makes the previous ones seem relatively tame in comparison as if Unaloq gets his way these kinds of evil would become the norm.

[@corgiluver9718]

Thanks Ben. I love how these two episodes add to the Avatar lore.

[@benspiller]

Same, it’s so crazy how much these two episodes cover!

[@darthdracul8372]

Origin and the power of the avatar, including the origin between the spirits, Magnificent!

[@benspiller]

Absolutely! Some of the best episodes of Korra so far with how much they cover and add to the lore all while being done in such a nice Art Style!

[@nanatalie_bh]

I love the different art style in these episodes as well! You might also like the spinoff comics, which all have different cool art styles and cover things during and after the original series and Korra. I've been reading them for the first time this year, and it feels like I'm back with the gang:)

[@benspiller]

The Art style was just amazing and hearing that they changed it up for the comics too sounds so cool, I’ll definitely be checking them out!

[@Sophiex9i]

This is definitely one of the best episodes of Korra there is so much lore and story in these 2 episodes to process the art style really fits this time period.

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

Yes It's very beautiful made and wan death really touched me especially hearing the new born avatar Move Me

[@benspiller]

Completely agree, the amount these two episodes manage to cover is insane and I love everything it explores and adds to the lore. The Art Style is just the icing on top and makes this such a joy to watch.

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

Last time in your reply to me you wondered how Korra's amnesia would effect, here we see pretty much not at all, it's basically just a plot devise - nothing would change at all if they hadn't include it, but it doesn't bother me that much. Some people take issue with explaining the origin of the Avatar, but I have always loved what they did with it - the writers actually already got the idea back in season 2 of Airbender - that Wan wasn't some noble hero with some great destiny, but a thief and a liar, who make a giant mistake he did everything in his life to make up for. Oh and it's 10.000 years before Korra's time. That's reflected in Wan's name that's Mandarin for 10.000. Also Wan isn't from the Fire Nation but the Ancestral people of the Fire Nation living on the Lion Turtle city. The four nations does not exist yet. Something else I love about the story of Wan, that's he is a fire bender "the villain element" in Airbender showing as Aang said "Anyone is capable of great good or great evil". You are mostly getting the Harmonic Convergence it's a celestial event that happens every 10.000 years when Vaartu and Raava fight for the fate of the world but you misunderstood something who that touches the portal does not decide the outcome of the battle - Wan only did it to absorb the energy to be strong enough to fuse with Raava permanently to trap Vaartu in the tree of Time. Unalaq's motivation is that he is a power hungry hypocrite who claim he is doing this all for the sake of the spirits but that's a lie - he only cares about using Vaartu's power to remake the world in his image. I'm not sure if the show even fully understand it's self - if you ever want to see villains who does this character type right you should check out She-ra and the princesses of power and The Owl House. both great show You seem to have missed this but Raava referred to one of the Lion Turtles as ancient one implying the are not only the defenders of mankind but the Gods of this world - older than time it self even then the spirits have great respect for.

[@benspiller]

The amnesia thing definitely feels redundant in retrospect but at least it’s used to get Korra to reconnect with Raava. Absolutely loved how the writers built on the Lore here and it makes the Avatar’s role in the world far deeper and more personal than just a unifier, the idea that they were a flawed person who now has to spend eternity making up for it is just insane! Love the detail of Wan’s name actually meaning 10,000 years, and their using Fire for the first element is perfect and goes to show how small Aang’s reservations for using it were in the big picture of things. Understand the portal thing now being that it was essentially the fusing of both worlds so Wan could use it to fuse himself and Raava together, which in turn gave him the power to defeat Vaatu and decide the fate of everything, which makes me wonder about Unaloq since he is just seeking power, how would unleashing Vaatu change anything since the Avatar is still powerful enough to imprison them again. Heard about this detail with the Lion Turtles, makes it even clearer that their inspiration is the world turtle thing which is the idea that Earth exists on a giant turtle's back that swims through space, so it’s awesome to see these get more detail and actually be some kind of god that protects humanity.

[@TheFireMonkey]

I would note that there have been many people in the real world who have believed in magic and spirits and demons and such - now, logic says, do not release a demon in your attempt to gain power, and yet people have tried to summon demons over and over because they always seem to believe they will be able to control the demon. Nobody seems to think, if you can control demons, then clearly you are already more powerful than the demons so why would you need the demons to give you power? Now, I'm not saying people have or have not actually summoned demons or whether they exist or not - the point is that real people have tried to summon demons to gain power and they believed that not only do the demons exist, but also that they can safely control these demons.

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

Counter point there are ways for humans to summon and control large beasts like elephants but that doesn't make us more powerful than them. Most people I have heard of who tried summoning demons used a special charm to control them and probably expected them to be mindless beasts or follow some kind of rules.

[@TheFireMonkey]

@lasseehrenreich5502 fair point about elephants. My point though is really more that in real history there have been many humans who have thought summoning powerful demons was a good idea because they believed they could control them once summoned. I personally always thought, and where did knowledge of these charms and wards and things come from? And the traditional answer seems to be - from powerful spirits which for some reason people always assume can't or won't lie to them. But either way, the key point here is that a lot of risk seems to be taken based on an untestable believe that he will be in control and so it will be alright. I suppose he thinks that since he can control small spirits he can also manage even the most powerful ones. But in the end, it does show that him releasing such an evil and powerful spirit has lots of real world presidence.

[@benspiller]

This explains Unaloq perfectly, he’s a religious zealot who’s also an egomaniac so of course he believes he can control Vattu for whatever purpose but that’s clearly not going to work out well for him 😂

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

​@@TheFireMonkey oh sorry for missing your point but yes you are right some people will be willing to take any risk if they think it will make them more powerful even in non supernatural ways just like the nuclear bomb - it was nice having this conversation with you, I hope you have a good day

[@TheFireMonkey]

@@benspiller it is amazing how many times some egotist has tried to do something stupid because they are so full of themselves that they can't believe it might fail. And I mean in real life - so of course writers use that as a theme too. Sadly, it almost always gets others hurt along the way.

[@Flirtz420]

There’s a theory/rumor that the old lady is supposed to be Lady Azula.

[@warrenpowers108]

That theory is ridiculous lol, its based on nothing more than their hairstyles being vaguely similar 😂🤦‍♀️

[@Flirtz420]

@ in anime that’s all u need. lol

[@benspiller]

Really!? She must have gone through quite the theory journey to go from a psychopath to actually helping the Avatar 😂

[@Flirtz420]

What’s the difference between a sky bison and a wind buffalo?

[@Flirtz420]

Meow! 💙

[@warrenpowers108]

I wish you would pause the show when you're giving your analysis. Its always twenty minutes of just repeating the characters dialogue coupled with "But - wha- ah! Eh? But what - oh!" with nothing coherent being said lol. No hate, I enjoy your reactions but its become boderline unwatchable 😭

[@benspiller]

Well it is a reaction and then an analysis at the end.

[@willfanofmanyii3751]

These episodes have been very much controversial in the fanbase since release, since various aspects of the backstory don't align with the functionality and Avatar lore in the original show.

[@benspiller]

Interesting, didn’t spot any inconsistences while watching but I guess with how it seems so different to everything we knew in ATLA that there’s bound to be something that doesn’t line up.

[@loandx2074]

​@@benspiller Some people think it contradicts the notion that bending was taught by the sky bison, the moon, badgermoles and dragons, by having it just be given to man by the lion turtles. Personally I think this doesn't contradict, as you could say the lion turtles gave humans the 'power of the element', and the dragons etc taught those people how to properly 'bend'. This is even subtly demonstrated in these episodes as you pointed out yourself, when you said Wan had no technique at the beginning, then trained with the dragon and afterwards bent fire with more technique. I'm not 100% sure on this but I think the creators of avatar were planning on writing this story into ATLA, but it tot taken out for some reason. So then they wrote it into LOK.

[@lucariomew358_2]

Ironically, the majority of this this two-parter was written during the original series and it was planned to be included. Aang was the one supposed to be experiencing all of this, And it would have shown how certain beliefs are slightly misremembered Legends. But they lacked time decided not to put it in. But they did keep aspects of the lion turtle, which is why it showed up in the finale.

[@carlosalbertoalcazarandrad5348]

Nah, the fanbase is wrong, all align perfectly with the functionality and avatar lore in the original show