The time Legend of Korra was better than the Last Airbender

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0:00 I will not tolerate Korra slander
1:25 Korra's villains
6:25 Korrasami
9:42 New airbenders!
12:50 Zaheer's philosophy
18:40 how Korra ends up
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Tim Hickson
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Stay nerdy!
Tim

[@HelloFutureMe]

Korra gud. What other change would add? ~ Tim

[@blasemouse3651]

Can you please finish the Dragon toranament?

[@ugootoo]

Mmm

[@buzzwithdrip6347]

I haven't seen Korra but should I? I wasn't a huge fan of Atla btw, I liked it but didn't think it was a masterpiece

[@tennisboatt]

Why does this say 23s ago but this 3hrs ago

[@pyeitme508]

BRUH

[@ImTMZ]

Bolin realizing he can LavaBend but not the more popular (and according to Toph, easier) metal bending is BEAUTIFUL

[@mattpassos5689]

Hilarious that the bot took their own take on this story telling intricacy

[@spider1266]

I always kind of disliked that moment cause it felt kind of like a wish fulfillment thing. Like he wanted metal bending but because he didn't get it he got something more special with less training

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@spider1266 Same, it was kinda too fast

[@thejoyfuldragon887]

it kinda makes sense because he was unsure and insecure about metalbending but he was stubborn and sure of himself when he lavabended for the first time which makes sense with earthbending philosophy

[@finngswan3732]

@@thejoyfuldragon887 It kinda reflects Toph coming around to metalbending. She was in a tight spot same as him and thier approach to earth bending gave them these new abilities.

[@jdellabeat6245]

I think it would be neat if Book 4 explored Bolin's and Mako's cultural diaspora. They're both of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation descent. They could have interesting conversations as to what Kuvira represents and it's also time to acknowledge what the modern citizens of the Fire Nation feel about this change of leadership within the Earth Kingdom. Well, you know the nation that they almost tried to burn down to the ground, especially if it comes in the way of the new Firelord lady (I think her design was too good to not use it)

[@WizardToby]

Right. We saw next to nothing of the Fire Nation in LoK... I think it would have been cool to see more of it in the show.

[@jdellabeat6245]

@@WizardToby Its not my original idea. I was introduced to that idea by Xiran Jay Zhao (they/them) on their video about Korra. Honestly, it's a such obvious idea in hindsight that I'm shocked it wasn't present. Still have a special place for Korra at the end of day, flaws and all.

[@scorching_rae]

@@jdellabeat6245 this. As soon as Xiren proposed it, it felt so obvious and I was sad we didn’t have it. It’s SUCH a good idea!

[@michaelmurray8134]

I'm all on board for that. Like for instance how about the Earth Empire tries to invade the Fire Nation feeling that they're justified for what the Fire Nation did to the Earth kingdom.

[@jdellabeat6245]

@@michaelmurray8134 You meant on board, right?

[@epicbruhmoment6985]

I really love the way Zaheer and P'Li parallel Aang and Katara especially when P'li dies and Zaheer is able to become untethered the way Aang couldn't in Book 2 of Atla.

[@tombombadil1262]

Oh you mean the worst writing in this entire fictional universe. A guy being able to do something only one other air bender managed to do cause “er der I sad and untethered er der i can fly ner er derrrrrr”

[@tonizinn]

​@@tombombadil1262 you're wrong

[@lonedolo644]

@@tombombadil1262i guarantee you sound like the slappable jerk Reddit character

[@huckbear8936]

​@tombombadil1262 this is the worst take I've seen in a long time thanks for providing me that.

[@kanemccarthy1979]

​@@tombombadil1262genuinely never seen a worse take regarding avatar

[@LaneGamesYT]

The thing that always blows my mind about the subtext of this season is that before this season started, Zaheer was a non bender. He was in that super high security mountain top prison, leader of the Red Lotus, BEFORE he could airbend.

[@silverish9081]

Yeah, makes you think what he has done to end up there

[@falsevacuum4667]

@@silverish9081 Tried to kidnap and murder the child Avatar

[@diabloakland]

@@silverish9081 it’s theorized he killed Sokka

[@tombombadil1262]

Goes to show how terrible this show is and how lost the writers are. Really you needed a cool character that has powers that nobody else has and does things nobody else would especially without training. But hey we got idiots like you who will love it so who cares about good writing

[@i_am_tomatosoup]

@@diabloakland It's absolutely criminal that we didn't get either a 5th season of LOK or a follow up series that answered that question. Sokka's death is monumental to the canon, and the fact that we don't get any resolution on that is insane

[@monster-enthusiast]

Best part of this was that you actually understand anarchy as a philosophy. Your version of what Zaheer should have said was spot on and so much better than the original.

Yes !

[@EsmeeAnnamarie]

I disagree, actually. Yes, the answer he came up with explains what anarchy is better, but it lacks the extremism that makes Zaheer a villain in the end. And also, things being kinda unclear is a good thing. We really don't need everything to be spelled out for us. And this line would have had to lead to a much longer philosophical discussion for Zaheer to still clearly be portrayed as the villain and that would've messed up the pacing of the show.

[@monster-enthusiast]

@@EsmeeAnnamarie An easy fix for that would be to have Zaheer be an extremist but have other anarchists that are true to what anarchy really means. Most people don't actually understand the philosophy so when you have a character like Zaheer who says he's an anarchist (and is the only character who does so) but gets anarchy wrong, people are gonna think that's what anarchy is. Plus Zaheer doesn't even need to be that extreme per se or get the philosophy wrong. Going after Korra and trying to kill her is more than enough reason to put him behind bars. You can have a correct portrayal of anarchy while still having him be a villain. But to have only one group in the story be "anarchists" and yet get anarchy wrong is just going to make people misinformed about what anarchy actually is. And it's also not a good look when they're the villains. It paints anarchy in a bad light and misses a ton of nuance.

[@zemox2534]

Anarchy isn't fucking good to behin so who gives a shit! Seriously anyone with a brain can just look up the true definition if it bothered them so much but Anarchy is pretty bad but what the fuck do I know right?!

[@hcxpl1]

I dunno... Being an anarchist, although I agree with the whole "we didn't choose to be governed or agreed to the laws that we are expected to follow" spiel, the idea that there even is such a thing as "justified power/authority/hierarchy" is still very jarring to me - It isn't simply about we not choosing authorities or even forms of government - power, authority, hierarchies and all other mechanisms that make governments possible are inherently oppressive and stunts human development. I can't explain it on a single comment but if you want to understand why check Andrewism's video on hierarchies here on YT. But taking that a change of action on Korra's part is taking the kernel of Zaheer's idea and just making it less extreme is completely flawed. As long as there is a single being that has so much power over others, over nature itself... There will never be true freedom. Basically everyone has a history, an allegiance, and you can't expect any single person to do what's best for everyone bc there isn't a single solution to everyone's problems, so the Avatar must die, one way or another.

[@kmnrzhi]

what about bumi becoming an airbender? i really like this plotpoint because tenzin needs to look at airbending from other point of view and bumi provides it showing that the world had changed and even bending did and its not bad! that sometimes you need to stop clinging to the traditions and maybe consider other ways to do something

[@Gatekid3]

cant you write it away by saying he's aangs kid. He doesnt have to have bending magically, maybe he just didnt try hard enough and gave up early, and maybe seeing this new culture of airbenders helped him learn in his way, rather than aang/tenzins way

[@nimnom5208]

Since Bumi was exposed to airbending all his life, via Aang and Tenzin, then he could still gain it throughout the season if going by how Tim wanted to be. Maybe he could gain it more towards the end of the season, then set it up for season 4. Another show of the change the world is undergoing. Imagine if Bumi even manages, during season 4, to unlock flying like Zaheer, because he doesn't think as conventionally as Tenzin.

[@vullord666]

@@Gatekid3 That or maybe don’t even make him an Airbender at all. I never loved that plot point. It felt too easy and discrediting to Bumi’s character without bending. I would have loved for him to realize his self worth as a non-bender. Then it could be discussed how being an air nomad is a culture and way of life, that’s not necessarily tied to bending (with Bumi embracing a different culture of being an air nomad and teaching Tenzin that change is okay). I always saw it as insanely huge that the Avatar had only one air bender and more importantly that there was a non-bender born to him. I feel like that by itself is an extremely complex story. I wanted to see Bumi become more okay with himself as a person as a non-bender and out of the shadow of his father. I also feel like LOK, really should have used more moments of Aang interacting with his family through Korra, even if only for comedic purposes. With Aang and Korra being a much closer generation together, I was interested in how the whole past life and Avatar interaction would go when Aang’s children are in some ways still finding themselves. Aang and Roku at least interacted a lot, but Roku gave advice from an era long past. It always seemed like such a massive missed opportunity that Aang wasn’t more present to explore the complexities that adds (I mean imagine burying your dad and he still shows up as an avatar ghost to troll you).

[@Gatekid3]

@@vullord666 it could be just as interesting to explore what it feels like to finally be the thing your dad wanted after your dad's dead. now he has no reason to even want to be an airbender. he's already lived his life without it, so him rejecting it could also be an interesting path, but I agree just embracing nonbending is a good idea. I will say though thats just retreading sokka. Bumi is an adult, so its reasonable to think that for the mostpart him and kaya already came to terms with not being aangs favorite (tenzin being the one to never notice). Its not unreasonable for him to come to terms with it this late in life, but i do think him becoming an airbender long after the fact is more interesting.

[@HelloFutureMe]

I personally never liked the plot point. It felt like it diminished Bumi's skills as a non-bender. BUT if you want it, there are any number of ways you could justify it. He's Aang's kid, and maybe learned a hell of a lot before being turned off by Tenzin being prioritised. Maybe he's just a late bloomer? Nothing wrong with that. ~ Tim

[@usernamemctypey428]

Perhaps one of the reasons they cut Zaheer's beard was animation limitations? I heard Tenzin's cloak was already a nightmare to animate, Zaheer's beard would probably be difficult to animate with all of the flying around he does.

[@ZER0punk]

To me it was part of the reason he was able to achieve flight. In Buddhist culture the shaving of one's head represents freeing one's self of earthly attachments. To rid one's self of vanity, ego, fashion, and materialism. Also I feel that he was only shown as having long hair and a beard in prison to point out how dangerous he was. That he wasn't even allowed tools to groom himself, as he could use them as weapons. Also that his shaved heads fits better with his overall anarchist mentality.

[@usernamemctypey428]

@@ZER0punk Oh yeah, definitely. It also obviously parallels the way that he tries to adopt the culture of airbenders, since airbender masers shave their heads to feel the air better (like Aang did). It's been a year and I don't remember the context of the video, but looking back on S3 it's clear that Zaheer's attempts to "revive airbending" is meant to be a foil to Tenzin's attempts to revive airbending. Zaheer adheres much more strictly to the traditional philosophy of airbenders and quotes them religiously, and he's able to achieve much more than Tenzin ever will thanks to that, but just because you're respecting a culture's traditions doesn't mean you're respecting its meaning. Tenzin on the other had does stick to airbender tradition but also is willing to cbend it, for example take in non-Air Nomads who become airbenders, and uses his airbending for good. He may not "respect the culture" as much as Zaheer but he's certainly doing a much better job of being a true Air Nomad.

[@coatrak1357]

Honestly he still looks cool with the shaved head so I don't even really mind

[@clintonjefferson6494]

Ok I love the changes in general, but my issue is with Jinora and spirit projection. My issue is with it being strictly an airbending move. For me it's not airbending move, but purely a spiritual move. I don't want to divorce it from airbenders. They are the most spiritual of the four nations after all, but I've been under the impression that it's purely spiritual. it's similar to Iroh's spirit leaving his physical body. For me it's the closest thing to bending your spirit.

[@HelloFutureMe]

That's 100% fair! ~ Tim

[@RedBlitzen]

Same! I see spiritual connections and the wisdom/powers that come from them as separate from bending. Each has a portfolio of fun and impressive things they can do that the other can't but many of the most impressive things come from COMBINING bending and spirit powers. Exhibit A being the Avatar. I feel like this is what gives the Avatar their greatest powers. They wield bending, a power from the physical world that humans have learned and made their own AND the spiritual powers of (in this version) the two most powerful spirits known to exist. That's how they're able to learn all 4 of the elements. That's why they've become the bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds.

[@IsanG08]

it's strickly an airbending thing because all the other bending have their own sub thing bro, airbending has to have something too, water has blood bending, earth has metal and lava bending, fire has lightning, so it's only right for air to have at least something like bruh cmon you suck

[@clintonjefferson6494]

@@IsanG08 what do you mean, airbending has flight. Spiritual projection is only an airbending move because Jinora said it was. There's no air involved.

[@nomnom137]

Honestly spirit projection as a subset for air is okay for me. Airbending is the element of freedom, which spirit projection seems to fall in line with. And it’s not fully the same as your spirit leaving your body after death. Other elements also seem to have their own spiritual subsets too to balance things out. Water has spiritbending, which ties in to healing. Fire has that thing the fire sage did to detect dark spirit energy (the one in the Wan episodes). The only thing left really is earth

[@tetrabrush]

Even though Season 2 was rough in many aspects, I admire how the writers didn’t retcon season 2 and instead built upon it and improved some of those iffy areas. Unalaq revealed to have worked with the Red Lotus and the rebuilding of Air Nation after harmonic convergence are some examples.

[@cwcpants140]

I tell everyone I suggest LoK to that they need to understand most of us don't rly like Season 2. I personally think the Avatar origin story was fantastic and well-done, but most of the other parts were average at best. Hearing Aubrey Plaza try to dominate Bolin was hilarious too.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

i also love how the series itself, during the recap episode, depicts everyone, including Amon, Zaheer, and Vaatu thinking that Unaloq is stupid, boring, or otherwise don't wanna associate with him.

[@mahnoorahmad1690]

@@cwcpants140 nah I hated that stupid ass abusive Eska and Bolin shit it was so unnecessary. Wish that storyline was gone completely.

[@cwcpants140]

@@mahnoorahmad1690 sure, I think that we can all agree that season two was absolutely the weakest.

[@cwcpants140]

@@mahnoorahmad1690 aubrey plaza is hilarious though. I saw her first on Parks and Rec so hearing her voice act in Legend of Korra hits different for me. Abusive, yes, but its her brand of humor.

[@ljaquos]

10:50 This is actually strikingly Air Nomad on its own. They were called the Nomads for a reason. They were able to travel highly efficiently and were incredibly self sufficient, so they would go "I want to go and see Ba Sing Se" or whatever, and just *go there.* So honestly, I could see Tenzin being bummed until Jinora starts pointing this fact out to him, and it kinda reinvigorates him so he invites people to see the world as only an Air Nomad can. Less uprooting your culture and more like...a field trip? Sorta? And that's how the Red Lotus gets the jump on him or how we remove him as an obstacle for them.

[@jamesgrieves2669]

Yeah, the Air Temples were less homes and more creches. A place for the very young, very old, those who minister to them and those who are just stopping off.

[@ljaquos]

@@jamesgrieves2669 Yeah it was more come and go as you please. That's also why the fire nation didn't get them all in one go and had to hunt them down.

[@chimera9818]

I think it kinda implies that the masters were first amongst equals and teacher for youngs and that what tenzin realize he should become

[@xdsmile5359]

Air nomad culture was almost decimated but thanks to last Airbender and later down the line korra bring the Airbenders back

[@benjaminh.morgan3193]

I never picked up until now that Zaheer was only able to fly because P’li was his final attachment to the world! Such incredible, subtle storytelling.

[@corsaircaruso471]

Really, truly fantastic storytelling, I absolutely agree.

[@kleinkaufman8940]

It really wasn't, he was angry Korra was in her way, angry that her ambition (an attachment in itself ) was being thwarted. He had still a lot of ties to the world so his being able to fly is an absolute inconsistency. He was not truly free,

[@benjaminh.morgan3193]

@@kleinkaufman8940 k bro

[@Commandosoap777]

Idk it was pretty obvious to me even as a kid lol

[@OrganicDolphin]

How did you not pick that up like bruh

[@kellylogs2642]

My entirely wish-fulfillment suggestion would be for Kya to somehow fall into a role, if only for an episode, where she's something of a mentor to Korra, Asami, or both. This is both because I'm just very fond of Kya and wish she'd gotten more time to shine and to set up a rapport that could lead to her being a confidant to the two of them in book 4 as they begin to recognize they're falling for each other and don't know how to process it. I just really want more older queer people being friends with younger queer people and helping them figure things out, and that one scene from Turf Wars is so tantalizingly good.

[@violetjade64]

yes!!!

[@cassiopeiasfire6457]

yes!! that would be wonderful. kya and her partner just *existing* as queer rep in the show, and then advising korra or asami... that would have been wonderful

[@Knuxzy]

not rlly tbh

[@singletona082]

I'm still salty nothing was really done with the Equalists after Amon. Sure it was started as a way for a demagouge to build an army but the sentement of Bender Primacy is still a thing. Maybe have them go straight? Maybe show them as a sort of vigilanti group. Or SOMETHING. THat's a large part of what made the seasons feel not great. you had a few connections between, yes, but nothing really major.

[@BertoxolusThePuzzled]

Yeah, the writing had a severe lack of depth and the world hardly seemed to react or change in response to the events of the seasons before. The Airbending powers showing up should have meant INSTANT war and/or chaos all around the city if not spreading to the city itself. There would likely be hundreds to THOUSANDS of folks like Zaheer out there, suddenly given the power to dominate groups or easily bypass normally impenetrable defenses or escape almost any pursuit by fleeing by air. I mean heck just imagine the TECHNOLOGY that would instantly arise in a steam age society auddenly given the ability to control air pressure artificially... We see NONE of this within the show itself, which is a shane becauae the constantly esvalating stakes and actively deteriorating state of the world powers in response to Fire Nation gains was one of the big things TLA had going for it narratively.

[@JM-us3fr]

I don’t understand why Katara made bloodbending illegal. If she wanted it to be a secret, then just don’t teach anyone (she’s literally the _only_ person who knows how). If she thought people were going to figure it out anyway, then _work with it_ , don’t outlaw it. Explore how bloodbending can be used in civil society, such as in healing techniques or in law enforcement. It was because of Katara’s ban that no one could recognize Amon’s power as bloodbending, and no one could counter it.

[@singletona082]

@@JM-us3fr For all she knew swamp lady had taught Others. For all she knew other people had figured it out. Which as it turns out was the case.

[@fiercelypolygons3696]

Nick only gave the creators 1 season to work with initially. Let me tell you, if they gave em 2 seasons atleast, the equalists story would be so much better. And Amon would be a much better villain with more screentime. Have Korra lose in book 1. In Book 2 her and the team hide and keep it low underground while Korra struggles to get a spirtual connection with her past lives, until she discovers airbending one day when deciding to meditate, from there, she defeats amon with only airbending and at the end of the season she gains the rest of her elements back.

[@mikemorro140]

@@JM-us3fr Countering bloodbending just requires being a stronger water bender and it was outlawed because it was used for pretty horrific shit. I'd also say people wouldn't recognize what Amon did anyway because Amon himself invented that technique

[@queendsheena1]

Season 3 was boss. I'm not the biggest fan of Korra, but the show had some great moments and season 3 was near perfect.

[@danial7050]

Fr season 3 was so good

[@Spunow]

That one conversation with Korra and the new Airbender on the bridge was definitely a highlight of Korra's development though the series.

[@yakirchernin6015]

TBH, my main issue with Korra is the lack sense of... fun. No really silly fun group interactions,not "filler" episodes

[@nassernathan]

I think they had a low budget

[@JamesBond-mm3iu]

The problem with Korra truly comes down to the fact that it never had a guarntee of another year because of this each season is kind of its own stand alone story with very little over connecting themes other then the protagonists. ATLA is one cohesive story told over four seasons. That's why Korra has better "moments" but ATLA is a better overall story imo.

[@xAlecto]

100 percent this.

[@Frazier16]

Tbh I think atla has better moments too

[@DigiMyst]

@@Frazier16 I do too. I rewatched both shows recently and ATLA is overloaded with quality moments. It's just the better show.

[@Frazier16]

@@DigiMyst yeah the best moments of atla were better and the bad moments of atla we're better than the worst Korra moments

[@JamesBond-mm3iu]

@@Frazier16 see while ATLA had a better philopshy I always felt the characters especially the main cast and main antagonist were far more relatable in Korra because of this their moments of victory/defeat always hit harder for me. I never saw myself as Aang or Katara or Zuko but I always found a bit of myself ir the people I know in Korra and crew. Especially the villains removing S2 villains they all seemed like the type where I agreed with them to a degree even if I didn't like the actions they took.

[@prince_nocturne]

I look forward to seeing how you fix Kuvira. I thought she had some really great potential for making Korra actually question herself and her stance on things at the start, something she was already questioning thanks to Zahir. That is until she went all "I guess I'm an evil dictator now!" and started building secret super weapons

[@6thgraderfriends]

It's even crazier when you realize they straight up say Kuvira's doing what Korra should have been doing if she didn't become disabled. They tell us that Korra would have become an evil dictator if she were the one to reunite the earth kingdom. I guess you could argue since she has the literal light spirit inside of her, she can't get corrupted like that, but it's still an interesting concept to think about.

[@johnstajduhar9617]

Honestly I think the biggest problem with Kuvia (before space lasers) was just her tone and attitude, she's just too baldly being a bitch when it doesn't really seem to serve. Someone like a Hitler rises to power with firm rhetoric and projecting power, sure, but he also made a point to interact with regular Germans with plain and simple language to win them over too. Kuvira would be much more compelling if she was much more velvet hand with dealing with people, and only saved the iron fist for when people were being too obstinate or digging in their heels, actually WINNING over people with her charisma more than forcing them in line with her Metalbending soldiers. Perfect example is that scene where raiders attack her train and she ends up cuffing them to the tracks; she should handily defeat them, but then sympathize with the disorder, poverty and privation that's led good, common Earth kingdom subjects to turn to crime and violence to survive, and show them that simply joining her cause is The Way to a better future for them and the whole Earth kingdom! But with the tacit threat that she could just leave them there and depart, just an implication that it's "smarter" to just see things her way.

[@oatmeallemons9676]

@@6thgraderfriends I don't think they were saying that Korra would've become an evil dictator. Just that Kuvira--by being a populist who brought """balance""" and order back to the Earth Kingdom, helping out the poor or protecting them from thieves--was doing what the Avatar should do.

[@yuto4314]

i really wanted a villian in korra to be one of the triads. A villain that d eals with the underground corruption in the city as well as bolin and makos past. A triad/yakuza style season would be really cool.

[@The_Magman]

They did that in the comic in Turf wars

[@matijasostojic4288]

That actually what i would i imagine the first season/book of korra or a part of it would be about (If the story was rewriten to that the entire story was structured more like Atla that just seasonal stories that are conected). Like imagine a entire arc about Mako and Bolin talking about and dealing with the gang they were in post their parents deaths. We could even possibly see a flashback of Mako learning lightning generation from Zolt because he took him under his wing.

[@joeyfarino6560]

What I also love about the red lotus is the water bender (idk how to spell her name). I think not having human arms but still a master water bender is really cool. It doesn’t seem like she can bend without the water arms but her fighting style is really cool to watch. It shows that even not having arms can still allow you to become something or in this case a master bender. Sometimes I wish we got to see the red lotus’ backstories because I really wanted to see how she lost her arms or if she was just born that way. Or I would want to see how she mastered water bending without arms

[@ryanmagrich9420]

I would think the white lotus cut her arms off

[@BiggestHater69420]

ming hua

[@toscagarciagil]

I think it's so weird that people say, Korra has no character arc/development. Her journey of being poisoned, "healed" and then not getting better, having to relearn things and accepting that she's never going to get back to who she was before, was heartbreakingly beautiful to me because I went through a similar experience in the 4 years before I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. I still feel incredibly thankful for having that character arc, it gave me hope and made me feel less alone in my suffering. I like to say that Korra saved my life since I don't know where I would be today without her.

[@thalmoragent9344]

The PTSD strings are a lot easier for incapable writers to pull at viewers heartstrings such as yourself The PTSD is just "Magicked" out of her with the poison and that's why it's not as well received.

[@JohnDoe-pc3uk]

@@thalmoragent9344 it's been a while since I last watched LOK, but I thought her PTSD wasn't just magicked out of her? Even after removing the last bits of the poison, she suffered from it when she fought Kuvira, and she needed to face the source of said PTSD (Zaheer) to get over it.

[@BertoxolusThePuzzled]

@@thalmoragent9344 Exactly this. Her character doesn't so much develop and change as she solves the immediate problem and just returns to normal like it never happened. Korra isn't the shallowest character in fiction but compared to Aang she is practically a cardboard cutout, and I think this is a good way to describe the show as a whole. It was not a BAD show, not by a long shot, but it WAS painfully apparent that the creators but only a fraction of the thought and effort that they put into the original, which to be fair is actually pretty normal. TLA was probably an idea in someone's head for YEARS before ever touching paper let, alone being bought up and produced, and it shows in the amazing character depth and world building that were mostly absent in Korra. Again this is not to say Korra was BAD, just disappointing when compared directly to the original series.

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@JohnDoe-pc3uk Not all the poison was gone when she fought with Kuvira I thought, or maybe that was the situation before with not all the metal Su Yin wasn't able to get, perhaps that's my bad. If so, my apologies, it's been a while. Still, putting yourself in a vulnerable position with the person who screwed you up and telling you that it wasn't their actions or fault for what was happening and it was just Korra "projecting" her issues on Zaheer was a pretty telling moment for what the writers somehow thought was the best way to metaphorically get over her abuse. That was a very odd choice that has more implications than most people give it credit for but...

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@BertoxolusThePuzzled Yeah, Korra in theory is everything I'd have wanted in a show set in this kind of universe, and it definitely had the potential to reach, if not surpass, ATLA that came before. So much potential was squandered and its a shame that it wasn't able to deliver. ATLA, looking back, had simple themes and it was cheesy at times. Looking back, the effort put into the characters, soundtrack and at times Visuals (cause it looked a lot better than most Western animated cartoons at the time) was what made it stick. It worked well around the restrictions Nickelodeon (for understandable reasons) placed around it, but I can also accept that it wasn't as "deep" in most parts as some others claim. The moments when Avatar hit were, however, very well done to all their credit, so really, Korra having a higher age group target audience and previous ATLA writers and access to better animation studio's for the time showed that what we actually ended up getting is FAR from what Korra could've been. So many small instances in Korra that show what it could've been makes me more disappointed than genuinely angry. (Although, the waste of Kuvira's ARC in Season 4, the waste of the Civil War storyline really upset me, cause those easily could've been improved on into something greater had they stuck with the initial concept. And the very unnecessary rework of the elements and the whole deal with the first Avatar and Ravaa and Vaatu really just put a sour taste in my mouth

[@ISamAtlas]

14:16 I actually love this so much, it's an accurate portrayal and it kinda fits with why they're trying to take Rava away from Korra, born a slave to someone more powerful. It's cool because Korra is kind of battling the ideology. Like you can see that she's different from the past Avatars which proves she isn't taking orders or forced to do anything, and her personality is inherently good, she's just been given the power to do something.

[@Numba003]

Zaheer and the Red Lotus were horrifically effective, and I remember how scary and brutal that torture of Korra was at the end of the season. I'm looking forward to what you'll do with season four! I feel like it had a lot of squandered potential! Thank you for the video. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you, friends. ✝️ :)

[@elijahdoesstuff4600]

I feel like we should have seen flashbacks of the Red Lotus fighting the Gaang. Maybe this could even explain Sokka’s absence.

[@zeroinsight8566]

I've always loved legend of korra but it was the insane disparity of character development between the last Airbender and korra that really made me disappointed in the show.

[@millieboon]

Yh but avatar got a lot more episodes in a season to explore and get the development and as they had defeating the fire lord as end goal it was easier to to do but with korra having shorter season and more it’s doesn’t really get the chance as nick also messed them about

[@mikemorro140]

@@millieboon The only problem I have with the episode number defense is they spent two seasons on a ridiculous love triangle when with all that time they could've done other shit

[@thalmoragent9344]

Yeah, it fell really flat compared to other shows like it. Even now, Korra's potential was so high but never reached

[@anonperson3972]

I think the seasons needed to be longer to give more time for character development

[@Tytoalba777]

@@mikemorro140 Also, Season 1 A:TLA condensed (or at least focused) a lot of character arcs into one episode. Sokka made a lot of progress into reversing his sexism in only episode 4

[@genkar1209]

Honestly, when I want to re-watch Korra, Season 3 are the main episodes I go back to. I remember hearing all the hate Korra got but then I actually watched the show and really liked it. Also I developed a hardcore crush on himbo Bolin.

[@samuelclayhills3298]

Bolin mister I joined a facist movment because im that dumb smh

[@TinyCloud90]

i loved Bolin from the start. He is the one and only :D

[@shadowldrago]

Himbolin?

[@mochiyeosang1908]

​@@shadowldragohimbo lin beifong?

[@TheRibottoStudios]

"You can't have a villain lose too much otherwise they don't feel like a threat anymore." This is something Transformers Prime does VERY VERY well. There are almost TOO many instances of Optimus losing to Megatron. Optimus does of course win here and there, but sometimes at a great cost. He nearly loses his life, he lost his memory, he's had to make a few tough calls as leader. Prime does a good job at balancing both Optimus and Megatron's power level. During the "One Shall Stand" arc, where it was Optimus vs Megatron at the volcano, Optimus had the upper hand, but SOMETHING shifted he was just a SECOND too late in killing Megatron and GOD that kind of thing is FRUSTRATING in a good way. Megatron in Prime was a STONE. COLD. BADASS. And it made the victory against him ALL the more satisfying because of how much of a merciless being he was. There was even a good moral dilemma moment with Jack Darby and Megatron; when everyone was trapped underground, Jack was able to use Cybertronian tech to dig his way out, and came across a trapped Megatron. Raising the question to audiences: would you take the opportunity to kill him and have the war be over, or would that be a dishonorable thing to do even with a tyrant?

[@th3fps304]

My favorite transformers show

[@berengustav7714]

One of my favorite shows,before I ever saw Avatar.

[@bandito6678]

Love this show so much. Soundwave was my favorite character, literally only lost two times in the whole show

[@ember-brandt]

_"Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or selling something."_ The amount of culture this man has.

[@Sootielove]

I'm not usually one for spin offs, but I would legitimately be fascinated in a Red Lotus backstory/flashback show. It has the potential to be incredible heartwarming yet tragic with their strong bonds and growing relationships, knowing it all ends with their defeat but they still inspire the change they need. It's an excellent theme throughout this season how leaders have a responsibility, not an entitlement to their people. Everything to do with Tenzin's pressure of maintaining the airbender legacy the same way Korra has to maintain the legacy of the avatar, but they both have to learn they're not wholly defined by that and they can't force others to do what they want because of that pressure. It's all so interesting and an excellent part in their arcs for the Red Lotus to inspire them to consider their actions and wants

[@adamtsuch]

I really appreciate how you change Zaheer’s philosophy to a better depiction of what anarchism actually is. That was always a major issue for me, how this season (and how a lot of people in general) view anarchism

[@ZenKrio]

2:00 what I love here as well is that with her death, he had no Earthly Bonds left in his eyes, and was able to finally learn flight because he was forced to let her go. Korras team indirectly made him that much more powerful by killing her.

[@ToaArcan]

Zaheer keeping Zahair is a very good change.

[@RedBlitzen]

Ha! I'm mildly embarrassed by how long it took me to pick up on that pun.

[@BeregondFirstCaptain]

I love that tenzin was winning and beating him in there fight. He was at his best there and it was an amazing fight.

[@beast_boy97]

I noticed you didn't mention anything about the metal clan, and how Opal is an airbender. How could we change that so Opal makes sense, and also manages to tie in the metal clan?

[@6thgraderfriends]

Maybe she never felt like she belonged in her family as a non-bender. Baatar Jr. had his father to look up to, Huan had his art, Wing and Wei had their metalbending game, but Opal had nothing and started studying airbenders and the freedom they had to do whatever they wanted wherever they wanted. So, she studies them their whole life and then eventually becomes an airbender as well. That might work in this version.

[@matianakin]

@@6thgraderfriends but it negates the whole thing of "not everyone can become an Airbender" and it makes literally 0 sense why she would start Airbending at the same time as others

[@cemetables5114]

Maybe we could rewrite it so she ran away from her society because he wanted to explore the world, and was adopted by Suyin. We’ve already seen that Suyin adopted Kuvira so it wouldn’t be TOO much of a stretch to assume Suyin would take in another child. Especially if she wanted daughters.

[@etienne8110]

Just make her adopted like kuvira was. She may have airbender ancestry this way.

[@agarnes100]

In a discussion about villains who were objectively correct online once, I said "Zaheer was right". People called me all kinds of terrible things and said I was excusing attempting to murder children. But no. I never said "Zaheer did nothing wrong", just that his philosophy was objectively correct in the context of his world. Tyrants were causing genocides and enslaving people and subjugating the poor based on ancient traditions and blood ties. Those tyrants have no claim to power other than saying they deserve it because their ancestors had it. It's the same as saying Magneto was right. There's no one saying Magneto killing thousands of people was a good thing, but his message was still important and not listening to him caused the continuation of terrible things happening to innocent people.

[@lostboi2271]

While my feelings about TLoK are... mixed to say the least I will also say that the show was vastly over-hated

[@LuxiBelle]

For some reason, this season (as well as 2 and 4 to an extent) seemed really brutal I remember there being loads of scenes of Korra getting beat mercilessly. It seemed like they wanted to show "she is suffering"

[@elli_senfsaat]

Hm, or they wanted to go for a more mature and serious setting.

[@Oodelally]

The problem with season 2 is that it didn’t go as far as it should have done! She gets Raava ripped out from her by Unavaatu only for it to mean nothing - it was just senseless violence.

[@mikemorro140]

@@Oodelally She loses the connections to the past Avatars but I feel like the series didn't explore her connection with them enough for it to matter so it did just feel like shock value

[@rmsgrey]

@@mikemorro140 It does tie in with one of the broad themes of Korra - of modernisation and the role of tradition in a rapidly changing world. Korra's world is, in some ways, radically different from the world of Last Airbender - technology is developing at a dizzying pace, and a new culture is still figuring itself out in Republic City. Korra is constantly faced with the question of what the Avatar's role should be in a world with metal-bending police and commercial airships and giant mecha and pro-bending competitions and movers and heavy industry... Removing her connection to the line of past Avatars separates her from an increasingly irrelevant history, that may have had wisdom to offer, but didn't have direct answers. She's disconnected from tradition on a personal level in a world that's evolving new traditions for new situations, at risk of missing the opportunity to examine the traditions that brought them to that point. In a world where people are rushing to discard their history and reinvent themselves, Korra has her history ripped from her, and, while she may be able to reclaim part of her heritage, much of the context - the history that gave it meaning - is lost, possibly forever.

[@mikemorro140]

@@rmsgrey But the problem I'm point out is the series doesn't explore that connection enough, at least in the context of Korra, she never really seemed to care about the past Avatar spirits or had a real bond with one of them like Aang had with Roku, the closest she had was with Raava but Raava never really talks to Korra like she interacted with Wan, which is also a problem I had with introducing Raava. The idea of an Avatar having ot figure out how to live in the modern world is an interesting one, but the series keeps questioning that while also showing the Avatar just does what the Avatar usually did, keep the peace and battle any who would disrupt the spirits or humans. Like all Aang had to deal with, kinda, was the Fire Nation but Korra had a massive new threat to deal with like every season and you can't keep throwing out new major threats and then try to seem like there's a question of what the Avatar does cause again it's pretty much just the same shit but modern times.

[@auspiscious4012]

Despite Korra having heavy plot armor in the show. I still love her character development and how its the exact opposite of Aang. Aang was a peacemaker when the world needed a fighter, as for Korra was a fighter when the world needed a peace maker. Their ideologies affect the way they fight. I love how the fighting scenes aren't always just the main character pursuing victory, it shows struggle and allows the avatar to lose battles. Thats whats so beautiful about Avatars fight scenes

[@johanluisrivas8016]

Aang had plot armor too

[@auspiscious4012]

@@johanluisrivas8016 yeah he did like how he magically got spirit bending and somehow survived azulas attack

[@urubissoldat5452]

I doubt you will see this but, I do have a gripe with the way that you change Zaheer's idealogy. Zaheer in the show, is more of an Anarchist than what you would have hime be, he challenges the very idea of consent saying that any position of power, any nation or ruling body is inherently non-consentual, no matter if you choose to live in it. "Together, we will forge a world without kings or Queens, without borders or nations, where man's only allegiance is to himself and those he loves." Zaheer goes beyond most irl anarchists, not even in an infantile way, but in a way that wants to return entirely to small familes and "clan" literally only those few people that you can love. He would see the love that a few characters have of the queen as being delusional or not natural and thus he wouldn't trust them to make a government they consent to. He and the red lotus would have to destroy that government.

[@michaelhegwood9977]

I've said it before, but if Korra ended on season 3 it would have been one of my favorite shows, yeah I know they wouldn't it would have been too dark but just imagine if it ended on the most bittersweet note possible.

[@viktorhermansson2284]

Wasn't it written to be the end of the show. If i remember correctly the showmakers didn't know how many seasons they had but i could ne wrong

[@vullord666]

I disagree. If it had STARTED on season 3, it could have been fantastic. That was the first time we saw Korra deal with something real and if we had seen it be more permanent (like 3 more seasons of her learning to deal with the PTSD) it would have been fantastic. She also desperately needed a reason to go on an Avatar journey and actually learn/grow from real world experiences by visiting all nations. A Red Lotus attack that left her feeling unfit to protect republic city could have done that. I also liked the more philosophical arguments it brought up for her and the white lotus treatment of cuddling her instead of letting her have an avatar journey. It just would have been nice if any of this stuck. Season 3 actually could have been a fantastic opener (or a really good turning point), but it was way too close to the end to be either.

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@viktorhermansson2284 No, Bryke always knew how many seasons they had.

[@GodsWolf8354]

@@viktorhermansson2284 They were only greenlit for one season, Nickelodeon approved a second season after that and then part way through season 2 airing, Nickelodeon greenlit two more seasons. This season was the first season they wrote where they knew there was going to be another season following it.

[@hayscollins5867]

Yeah I will agree to a point although book 4 was a weaker season compared to book 3(even though I still love book 4) Korra’s journey was wrapped up BEAUTIFULLY. and not just because she got with Asamis bla bla bla. But because she finally fought her demons and came out a better person

[@anthonyconsalvo5858]

I would leave Zaheer's ideology and path to airbending alone (maybe fit him in to the rewrites as someone on a parallel path to those on the sky bison island, like a field researcher from Ba Sing Se living among those on the island). His best facet is taking Aang's worldview and using it as a justification for violence. Pacifist detachment distorts into nihilistic violence - very pertinent to the real world. Also, the taking of ideals of an extinct people and claiming to know their truth is an amazing theme.

[@ElMonoFuerte]

Seconding this, with the added reason to keep it: Zaheer is fundamentally misunderstanding the air nomad philosophy, and that's kind of the point. In the show as aired, Zaheer is essentially self-taught, being roughly Tenzin's age that means that he grew up watching Aang be the *only* air nomad, and then went to learn more about the Air Nomad philosophies. I don't recall if we ever got any of Zaheer's past, but I could easily see Zaheer having grown up in the oppressive Earth Kingdom and seeking a way to justify the anger and hurt he was experiencing at the hands of the corrupt monarchy. Zaheer interprets the Air Nomad philosophies without any cultural context or upbringing, seeing them through a lens in which the message is distorted and lost. Aang experiences a similar issue at the end of Book 2 in regards to the last Chakra and Earthly attachment: letting go of Earthly attachments doesn't inherently mean you can't love someone, have a family, etc, it just means that those attachments do not rule you or prevent you from making "more correct" decisions. To Aang, a young boy with few living attachments and these growing feelings of love, that sentiment seems harsh and unfeeling, but that's because he lacks the cultural context for it. I think what would help would be to have Zaheer have these philosophies and then Tenzin actively rebutting them, maybe during their fight, or in a conversation with Korra explaining why Zaheer is such a threat: show that while the underlying message of these philosophies is good, Zaheer's interpretation and execution (literally) of those ideas is flawed. Which, like HFM has made in previous videos, kind of the point: each of the villains of Korra is some ideology taken to extremes in the worst way, and even with some of the not BBEGs like Varrik (capitalism) and the Earth Queen (Monarchy/Imperialism) are some of these examples.

[@joshmartin4914]

Hey, I discovered your channel two weeks ago and have gone through all your Avatar, Tolkien and Writing Advice videos in that time. With this, I am finally up to date. You, my friend, are a Godsend! As an amateur writer, I found all your videos really helpful and insightful. I've learned so much and have gotten so many ideas, especially from a Legend of Korra crossover story I am currently working on. Needless to say, your Avatar videos have given me much to think about. If I can leave a suggestion for a Writing video, do you reckon you do one about how to use amnesia in writing? For the story I'm working on, my OC suffers from amnesia. It's actually proving a bit more complicated than I thought it would. I'd be shocked if I were the only one who wanted a video on the subject. I look forward to your future videos, especially on Korra. I'm glad you acknowledge its several flaws but don't hate on the show. I personally only watched it earlier this year for the first time and swiftly fell in love with it, mainly for Korra herself.

[@madgodprince]

One of the biggest gripes I have with book 3 that prevents me from thinking very highly of it is that we know jack shit about the villains compared to almost any other avatar villain, we know more about the motivations behind azula, kuvira, amon, tarrlock, unalaq, and even other sub-antagonists like mai, ty lee, or even zhao than we do about the red lotus characters. Like what major things do we even know about Ghazan or Ming-Hua that doesn't come from ancillary sources outside of the show? All we know is that they like the red lotus philosophy but we have 0 backstory of what happened in their personal lives to drive them to that philosophy. I remember seeing the original trailer for book 3 back when it first came out and being so hyped, and then being so underwhelmed when they killed them all off without giving them any good development at all, the closest we ever got to any development was the scene with Pl'i kissing Zaheer in the finale, and the scene in the van with ghazan talking with bolin. Cool character designs=/= good characters imo

[@Falllll]

I never really understood why people rate them as the best villains in either series. They've got an interesting dynamic and definitely had the potential to be, and the fights were cool, but they largely lacked the sort of development that I think would have been required for them to be anything other than "oh neat this is better than most of the rest of Korra." And most of what we do know about their backstory is just told to us rather than shown.

[@captainmarvelwilson508]

Except Unaloq was a shit villain with a shit motivation.

[@raisedbystories4287]

The way Korra struggled with her spiritual side in the beginning to end up becoming arguably the most spiritually entwined Avatar to date has got to be talked about more. Such an underrated and overlooked character arc

[@Sootielove]

HA! The Zaheer beard comment is 100% a mood. He looked amazing with the ponytail and beard

[@Goober_Gaming555]

I reaaaally liked how you represented the idea of anarchy, while it was really nice to see it represented in the mainstream as a valid idea with korra i dont think the understanding was complete and it couldve been done better. i really appreciate you taking the time to explain and understand these ideas.

[@dannikris3696]

This was also my favorite arc, I’m glad to see more people appreciating LOK

[@jameswest6232]

"Exhausted from being the Avatar" I fell off the series around season 2/3 (I recall it being on at a weird time for me, so I couldn't follow it well), but I love the idea of Korra deconstructing what life as the Avatar would be like in a maturing, modernizing society, especially for a teenager_ (who people really need to stop coming to with political crap)_

[@DigiMyst]

Do yourself a favor and skip Season 4 of Korra. They completely jump the shark with the technology they use and insufferable character writing. It's their worst season.

[@Bee-603]

@@DigiMyst id say 2 was the worst one 4s decently good

[@dylanhicks4771]

4 was incredible. Terrible take.

[@reddytoplay9188]

@@dylanhicks4771typo you swapped incredible and terrible.

[@dylanhicks4771]

@@reddytoplay9188 You're fat

[@CinematicGalaxy]

Season 3 of Korra is legitimately my favorite Avatar-related season apart from Book 2 of ATLA. Really enjoyed this breakdown!

[@azurda7483]

Same here, TLOK Book 3 and ATLA Book 2 are blessed

[@rhiannonxxo]

Love this rewrite, just adding a little more that I thought would be cool! So, after Zaheer went to Tenzin's house in search of Korra, Tenzin decides they should go to one of the remote remaining Air temples to hide/shelter, but Korra doesn't want to go with him because she doesn't want to risk the safety of any of the newly found airbenders, she wants to go off alone to hide, they're fighting over this when Lin Beifong (who is there because police were obvs called after Zaheer showed up) suggests that she knows a secure place Korra could go, and that she will go with her (the gang also insists on coming obvs) and that's when she takes Korra to Suyin's city (this could honestly be what happened in the show, I don't remember lol). Something to note about Suyin's city, it's still quite "artsy/liberal" like it is in the show, but it's also more spiritual, there's a lot of reverence/respect paid to the badgermoles as the original earth benders, with statues of them around the city and maybe even having a badgermole or two actually living there, and traditional/ancient techniques, which in modern places like Republic City are seen as outdated, are still practiced. This would make sense, given that Toph learnt earthbending from the badgermoles and would have passed what she learned from them down to her daughters. Now, we get to Suyin's city and there's still all that tension between the sisters, but there's an added depth of Lin not having her bending anymore and Suyin not knowing this, so Lin is extra upset to be seeing everyone around her bending when she can't. Some major argument/clash happens between the sisters and during that fight is when it's revealed to Suyin that Lin can no longer bend, Lin runs away ashamed/upset. Korra goes to Lin to talk to her, Korra and Lin have also grown closer by this point, up till now they had mutual respect for each other but they didn't actually have any sort of friendship, now they do. It's at this point that Korra reveals to Lin that she too has lost much of her bending, Lin is shocked, she had no idea as it was something that has only been shared with the people who are closest to Korra. Korra tells her about Amon, and how she was only able to airbend for a while, but that after she learned the origin of bending, she's slowly been able to regain her water bending, and she hopes to one day be able to do the same with her earth and fire bending. She tells Lin not to give up, and that maybe there's still hope for her bending too. It's a really nice moment where these two characters talk about this shared loss/trauma. Korra leaves and we see Suyin enter Lin's room, the sisters reconcile in a way, it's not some perfect reunion nor does it mean all their issues with each other are fixed/gone, but we see that they truly care for each other. Lin opens up with Suyin about her loss of her bending and Suyin comforts her, Lin expresses that maybe if she were to reconnect in a spiritual way with earthbending, that this might help it return to her. Suyin promises to help Lin with this, and this is how Lin's journey to regaining her earthbending begins. 😄

[@johndalenino]

In my headcannon, Ghazan didn't die and trained Bolin lavabending. That's all the change I can make. The rest is pretty solid and tightly-written plots that weave into each other so seamlessly

[@memma1101]

when i heard the line "the writers naturally were afraid of getting Korra and Asami together on screen, because it would immediately turn every kid watching it into a lesbian" I had to pause the video and guffaw. Now I know why I'm a lesbian 😂😂😂

[@lainiwakura1776]

It's good they were scared, not for that reason, but because Korrasami was a crackship. It was never taken seriously by the fans in on it but Bryke, in their infinite dumbassery, took it seriously, even though Bryan wrote on his Tumblr during season 1 that Korra and Mako were made for each other.

[@TheLithp]

@@lainiwakura1776 Seethe and cope.

[@memma1101]

@@lainiwakura1776 as much as I love the ship, yeah, the way they wrote it was god awful

[@erickmoczulski1582]

I like volume 3. I really like it. But there is one thing I absolutely depise in this season. Aftermath of Earth Queen assassination. It makes less sense the more you think about it. Earth Kingdom is an absolute monarchy. After queens death there should be plenty of powerfull people lining up to take over. Genrerals, bureaucrats, noble relatives. Plenty of people willing and able to massacre any rioters or insurrectionists. Oh and let's not forget about the city of Ba Sing Se. You know a place where every layer of society is PHYSICALY separated by Huge Walls. So in conclusion death of a monarch shouldn't cause much chaos, and even if it did it would have not throun the city into chaos or brought down the state.

[@BertoxolusThePuzzled]

Historically speaking Civil War between dueling generals or royals would be a very real possibility, absolute chaos breaking out though? Exceedingly unlikely. Those competing for the now vacant throne would be doing so primarily by demonstrating their ability to maintain order and economics within their personal territory as compared to their emerging rivals.

[@HelloFutureMe]

I tend to think the Queen's death isn't what caused chaos but Ghazon bringing down the walls between the rings of the city. If Ba Sing Se was already a powder keg of class tension, which the show suggests it is, the walls coming down would be a huge trigger for them to root and riot. Then chaos at the top makes it worse. You are right re tons of people able to take over! Which is, in a way, sort of what we see. The rioting doesn't last forever. ~ Tim

[@nelgluhak6709]

@@HelloFutureMe it wasn't just the class tension. honestly, i always thought the problem with the Earth Kingdom was how huge and messy it was. the monarch was never /truly/ in power properly. depending on where in the kingdom you are, the laws might change (Chin village had its own laws, for example). it has an earth monarch, yes, but then Omashu has its own king as well. it's also a confederate monarchy, which means it has semi-autonomous provinces. some parts of earth kingdom are not governed at all (hence we have swampbenders that definitely do not accept the rule of some king or queen, and the pirates in the si wong desert. i mean, even daofei had their own cities in the past, and they DEFINITELY followed no king). also, i always thought that small rulers and governors of provinces probably had too much power, and too many people were connected owing each other favours. in Rise of Kyoshi, earth kingdom is also on the brink of falling apart because of that, constantly. i haven't started reading the Yangchen novel yet, so I just know that there was some war there in the earth kingdom as well, and some platinum affair, idk, i will read that and be even more knowledgable about avatar, i s w e a r . and sure, you are right about the class tensions, they definitely added to the whole mess as well. don't forget the yellow neck uprising, peasant uprising in ba sing se and chin the conqueror(who was fighting against the earth king's authoritarian rule and had a huge support of common people all across the kingdom, and seriously, why was Kyoshi against him because I feel like he might've been on the right side, not to mention all that led to Kyoshi creating the Dai Li. I love Kyoshi, but she really messed up that one). there's also a problem of parts of earth kingdom just deciding not to be a part of it anymore lol like Cranefish town and honestly the whole territory of the United Republic (which was definitely lost to imperialistic Fire Nation and honestly, Hou-Ting was right about it being Earth Kingdom territory), Zaofu (Suyin just bought a part of the land and called it her own? that does not sound legal, tbh). not to mention that earth kingdom has never been super united. there were always autonomous regional rulers and in the past, Earth Sages as well. the king/queen never cares about more distant provinces. i always thought that was why Kuvira stood out so much and why people supported her as much as they did. she was the Great Uniter, finally someone who has found a way to unite the nation (which was by mostly building railways and connecting even the most distant parts of the nation to the rest of it). and, after Kuvira, the Earth Kingdom is still falling apart. the democracy doesn't work (because people literally have no choice. they can vote for the same governors that already are in power, and, as the comics show, sometimes the candidates are LITERALLY identical). there's also militant royalists who are still roaming the country, wanting the monarchy back, and earth empire loyalists, who want the earth empire back. so yeah, earth kingdom is overall a mess, and i don't think it's as simple as Ghazan lava-ing some walls down.

[@HelloFutureMe]

@@nelgluhak6709 no no I agree with pretty much all of that! There's no reason all the Earth Kingdom would fall apart without the Queen. I also felt it was very Ba Sing Se centric.

[@nelgluhak6709]

@@HelloFutureMe the villages were already being raided by criminals while also having to pay taxes to the Queen. After she died, the criminals figured there were no more soldiers enforcing taxes being paid and there was more to steal with less obstruction. I think that was one of the first dominos that fell. Also holy heck thanks for noticing my comment 😭 I love your videos aaaa I literally recommend you to everyone interested in writing! Also sorry if that long comment was a bit rambly lol

[@MatiasBenavides]

I agree with the beard and korrasami, but not about the air-benders arc. There is this charm about people being completely different and showing different facets on “air” as an element, in opposition of just spiritual behavior. The current arc extends on the concept, while what you are proposing here is actually just constraining the narrative. IMO. Love the video anyway!

[@alenasenie6928]

"speaking of selling you something" One of the best ad transitions I have seen, it is the most organic

[@alliswonderlain2595]

A few people have mentioned it but Imma say it again because it was the part I hated most about the season: Bolin being able to lavabend came out of left field! Maybe I was reading into it wrong, but I got the idea that all subbendings were possible for a bender of that element, as long as they met the requirements. For example, it wasn't that Zuko lacked the inherent ability to bend lightning, he just never quite silenced the storm of his mind. Aang never learned to metalbend, not because it was power he lacked, but because he was shit at earthbending to begin with and the discipline it would require to metalbend was beyond him. Bolin isn't the most disciplined guy out there so it makes sense that he can't metalbend, but the way he just threw his hands up and the lava moved made it seem more like this was an inherent power that he either had or didn't and lucky for him, he did. I would have liked a scene of him training to manipulate temperature, maybe yelling no results, but at the absolute last second he's forced to try once more. Maybe have Ghazan give him a few pointers while they fight, something for him to call back on. Also, moving lava would be more akin to moving water than earth, it was always weird to me that Bolin was immediately an expert despite the different feel.

[@silverish9081]

I'm always up for the trope of "villain acts as a mentor to a hero". They did it with Katara learning bloodbending, could have worked some guidance for Bolin from Ghazan as well, especially as it seems like he was the least ideologically driven character out of the Red Lotus gang and just didn't want to be imprisoned again.

[@wingshad0w00982]

I'd love for somewhere after a fight with the red lotus Bolin and other earthbenders are like 'you can't bend lava' and Bolin tries to replicate what Ghazan did with no (evident) success. However after he does someone else comes down and sits on the rock he bent from the ground and makes a quick 'ow hot!' comment before moving on, just to show that he's close, and he's developing it. Not flawless, but at least a bit of a hint.

[@xtoadsannom6704]

Bolin's not an immediate expert though, Ghazan still schools him hard in their next fight. Bolin can create a quick flow of lava in front of him, block and redirect a stream of about the same size coming at him and solidify a wave of the stuff if necessary. Ghazan can make the whole battlefield a hazard zone that he can navigate easily, can melt a ceiling and throw the resultant wave at his opponent and can even make lava bombs! Bolin may have come to their fight all cocky and confident, but once Ghazan knew that he could lavabend, Bolin held no more surprises for him and the Red Lotus member beat him soundly.

[@xtoadsannom6704]

I like to think that lavabending can only be learned when an earthbender is in a desperate lava-related situation and only this ability can save them. Hence why it's so rare, how many people are going to put themselves in mortal danger just for a shot at learning lavabending ?

[@zacharys8141]

I never really understood the idea that aang was a bad earth bender he obviously takes a little while to pick it up but by the end of the show he seems much better applying it in combat than water bending he even learns seismic sense not even half way through season 3. In the show he is probably 3rd best behind toph and bumi.

[@RevereShin]

"Speaking of trying to sell you something" got a great chuckle out of me. Please never change your honest ways, Tim.

[@carolin633]

I loved Korra so much. Somehow it touched me more than the last Airbender. Especially the trauma she went through, it felt so close to heart.

[@Milaa9987]

Kia ora, is that a New Zealand accent I hear?? It's so cool to see other Kiwis in the writing world!! Thanks for all your awesome videos, they've been so helpful for my story I'm writing. You've got a new sub :)

[@Ryder-a-Blaze]

I’m gonna be cosplaying as Amon again at Comic Con in October

[@buggymah]

Cool!

[@gloriafrimpong17]

I remember being absolutely blown away by season 3 when it came out. Episodes 11,12, and 13 all had me literally crying. Especially Korra’s final tear. I remember rewinding because I couldn’t believe they ended the episode like that.

[@squirechronicles]

Great comments on this season, I agree. I enjoyed most of season one and three, watching this has got me wanting to watch them again. Looking forward to your thoughts on season four

[@Doomsword0]

Another great one of these, looking forward to season 4. I agree most on Zaheer's beard, imagine the shaved head still but that long grey beard, that is a great look for a villain, especially an air bender who will have that long beard flow like crazy in the winds

[@brucewatkinson5254]

I'll never get tired of the reoccurring gag in your essay videos of Spirit Kaiju Force-field Korra being such a left-field moment (among other events and story-beats) in Season 2.

[@passedthevibe-check141]

I adored Korra when she came out. I loved what they were doing with her at the start. She had an actual teenager feel to her. They actually went into the poor girl's trauma. Because for Korra, if she succeeded she was overpowered, but if she failed she was a terrible Avatar. I just wish she was treated better by the plot and fandom. Amazing work on here.

[@lainiwakura1776]

The plot and fandom? Neither of those things wrote Korra, Bryan and Mike did, blame them for resetting Korra's character development at the beginning of every season and for making her so unlikable as a character with no redeemable qualities. If Korra was real, she'd be wondering why no one likes her and why everyone seemed like such an assh*le to her, not realizing that she was the assh*le and not self aware to boot.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

@@lainiwakura1776 Enjoying your copium?

[@corylocke7754]

That's how it goes sadly for characters that don't tick the "right" boxes for people. It always seems minority characters can't be anything less than perfect and even then if they are they are called boring. Korra and any development she gets is twisted and criticized then they say she didn't get any. "Good" character's flaws will be ignored and nothing can have nuance

[@cantbelieveitsnotredacted1117]

@@corylocke7754 uh, take a look at ATLA characters. The female characters in that show are leagues better than korra

[@dylanhicks4771]

You are a literal axample of the fandom trying to ruin her

[@inshayana]

I love this series of yours SO MUCH

[@Delta_Aves]

One small thing I would change is the resolution to Lin and Suyin’s conflict. I believe Su got off too easy, and while Lin definitely needed to let the past go, Su was completely unsympathetic to her issues, especially considering they involved her. Su may have genuinely seen the error of her ways and changed for the better, but since we didn’t get to see that journey, it kind of rings hollow. And sure, she was able to make things right with Toph, but I bet Lin felt more personally betrayed by Su, since Su was the one that inflicted those scars on her cheek (albeit by accident) and didn’t seem to be remorseful about that at any point. However, I would forgive all of that if, instead of making up at the end of Old Wounds, Lin was still mad and skeptical of Su, but decided to give her a chance to prove herself (like what Asami did with her dad in Season 4) And then throughout the rest of the series there’ed kind of be this back and forth tension between them, but slowly but surely they’d let down their defenses and forgive each other.

[@tijmuhn8034]

Hey hey Tim, Again some very nice changes to Korra. Loving this series. Normally i have some questions, but since you have only changed a few things i only have 1 question this time :) 1. Is Korra still able to bend Fire, Earth and Water in the avatar state? Or are those connections severed as well. 1.1. If she isnt able to bend those 3 elements, how would she be able to beat the Red Lotus in the finale?

[@HelloFutureMe]

Great questions! 1 - she got back water last season, and you can have it a couple of ways. You could have her still have access to earth and fire but only in the Avatar State, as most avatars do, or you could have an epic final battle with just water and air. Both are good! This could be the moment that confirms she does have the last two deep down. There are a number if ways to work around it. ~ Tim

[@robchuk4136]

I was also wondering this, but assumed she'd just get them back in the Avatar State, since it's defined by tapping into what can't be done normally. And if being a bender is a part of who you are, then her potential for Earth and Fire still exists. Just like with Air, she has to find a way to "unlock" it again.

[@LooseAsADEUCE]

@@HelloFutureMe This alleviated my only concern about this season's rewrite so thanks for that. I did not want to lose that awesome fight at the end so I chose to pretend Korra only has access to the other elements in the Avatar State lol. If that is how she realizes she still has access to the other elements that could also feed into her depression at the season's end.

[@rogerdrayer1503]

@@HelloFutureMe Wouldn't that just mean she'd have had access to the other 3 elements since the end of season 1 with the Avatar state? And if not, why would gaining back water outside the avatar state also give her back fire and earth in the avatar state?

[@kraytdrache1511]

I like to add one littel Change. I really liked it that in Korra, Fire Nation People are the reason that Skybisons Survied (a bit like Germans that hid Jews in WW2) so i would Like you to keep in that they at least started as Fire Nation People. Sorry for Spelling Errors English is only a second league for me

[@Archius9]

I had always thought it would be good if new airbenders came from the refugees that settled in the northern air temple. Like maybe Tano or Taho, the son of the alchemist, would display some latent air bending that takes some generations to come out. The air nation spirit being reborn into the new air temple settlers PS I absolutely love Korra as a series. The Korra motif in the soundtracks, such as towards the end of The Greatest Change is one of the pieces of music that emotionally affects me most. Also Jinoras correlation is perfection.

[@nykole1963]

I always felt like the showy, gold light of "spirit bending" was more of just show and they were actually killing the spirits. A permanent death.

[@kmnrzhi]

LMAOOOOO "NICELODEON WERE TERRIFIED OF LETTING KORRA AND ASAMI GET TOGETHER ON SCREEN CAUSE IT WILL IMMEDIATELY TURN EVERY KID WATCHING INTO A LESBIAN" HELP THAT'S SO FUNNY

[@paul3v767]

I'm really appreciating this videos, because this beautiful show deserve more love and we deserved a better show. The idea of tying the restoration of the lost bendings of Korra to the characters' development and themes of the ongoing season is on-point, I really like it. This show demonstrate (by not doing it) how focusing more elements in single characters/situation end up giving them more space to grow and express themselves to the fullest. And that random-kaiju-laser fights are a bad idea

[@danielduff]

I wish that Bumi never got airbending. Bumi had this really interesting pathos in season 2 where he was the only one of the Avatar's children to not inherit bending, so giving him airbending kinda takes away what made him interesting. Plus Korra already lacks cool non-bending characters, when atla had so many. I also would've liked to see more about how lava-bending works. Like how did Bolin figure out how to do it? He just sorta unlocks it. We've seen water benders turn water into ice, so maybe benders can change the temperature of their element. Lava is just hot rocks so lava bending has to involve changing the temperature of the earth right? That's just my theory, but I would've loved more of an explanation into the technique of lava-bending. Otherwise, Korra season 3 slaps

[@AutistRapper]

I actually prefer zaheer shaved since it really shows a dark reflection of Aang in the avatar

[@FRANK_-vo9be]

"Speaking of trying to sell you something... Campfire" The best ad segue ever.

[@jorrit_8292]

Maybe you said it in the last installment, but how does the avatar state battle work with only one element? How is she going to fight the red lotus at the end?

[@HelloFutureMe]

I don't have any problem with Korra regaining access to earth and fire whilst in the Avatar State! All avatars do. Alternatively, have Korra only fight him with water and air. It'd still be an epic battle. You can pick. The Avatar State here could the first acknowledgement that she DOES still have them somewhere deep down. There are lots of ways to get around it. I'm gonna have her get them back permanently and fully in control in season 4. ~ Tim

[@jorrit_8292]

@@HelloFutureMe Solid answer, thanks!

[@deaddhianna]

This was some really great work Tim

[@6thgraderfriends]

I was hoping you'd mention Kuvira's role already in season 3. It really did feel like a waste to only have her in the background since they knew they were going to give her a real role in season 4. Something I noticed in the 4th season is that there seems to be this really weird writing tug-of-war with her character. She's a full-on sociopath who's mad with power and can't be stopped *and* she's a redeemable well-intentioned extremist who took things too far and if she stepped back when she should have, she wouldn't have turned evil. They really needed to go one way or the other and season 3 could have cemented it. In the re-write they could either cement how sociopathic she is behind the scenes of Zaofu *or* they could have known how good of a leader she is, but Suyin likes to be in control, so she felt like she needed to leave in order to help the earth kingdom.

[@Teramin1]

I think an interesting turn along the lines of point four for this season may also be that Korra is conflicted, especially after seeing the actions of the earth queen. This could either stand by itself or lead into a scene similar to the one from ATLA where Aang is speaking with the other avatars about killing Ozai. I could see a lot of very interesting perspectives from them, as many of them like Kyoshi and Roku used their power along very similar lines to what Zahir is doing now, minus the avatar killing part.

[@567secret]

I'm really glad you touched on changes to the portrayal of anarchism.

[@qwentytruy9843]

02:02 pleer is a slang for testicle in Indonesia, as Indonesian myself, i encourage people to use that as a ship name

[@oatmeallemons9676]

I can't wait to see what you do for Season 4. Kuvira had a lot of potential as a depiction of how fascists rise to power and how they work, but then they really dropped the ball at the end with the weird last minute redemption arc and spirit lasers.

[@anonperson3972]

I think the best improvement would just be more time to explore the characters and the previous events with the red lotus

[@tajaniscott]

To each their own I guess. I feel like this is only praised as much because of the Season 2 which came before

[@jaybay272]

And another one! Thank you. I legit look forward to these😊

[@KreAtorGames]

I think some of you people forget, Nickelodeon severely underfunded this show. On many occasions paid the creators less, made them fire employees, and change their episodes. Thus why we got the “filler” explanation of the entire 4 books episode in book 4 episode 8. But it truly shows when they only were allowed 13 episodes per book while Avatar had 22 episodes per book while also using the same villain(s) the whole 3 books. They also snuck in a sentence about how their show was treated by Nickelodeon. Varrik says in episode 6 of book 4 “you don’t know what it’s like giving birth to genius, only to have it kidnapped and raised by fools”. It’s a double entendre, he’s talking about the vine energy tech but also speaking for the creators and how Nickelodeon took their creation and ruined it.

[@Syurtpiutha]

Good that you point out the difference between actual anarchist thinking and the playground nihilism they had Zaheer spout at some point. People often confuse political anarchism with political nihilism (which was also a revolutionary movement in Russia. Check Sergey Nechayev's 'catechism of the revolutionary' for an idea what that is like). The focus is often on the destructive side of anarchic thought (the tearing down of the oppressive system), overlooking the grassroots community building etc which is required to keep an actual free society going. Anyway, interesting video. Curious what you'll say about Season 4. While I enjoyed it, I found the writers seemed to be more sympathetic to Kuvira's point of view. And as much as Kuvira has massive 'step on me' energy, she's still too fashy for me to consider her 'the most noble' of Korra's antagonists. Also, Varric needs to face actual consequences for his war profiteering. I get it, the guy is hilarious. His turn to the good side felt unearned to me.

[@gaynarchist]

While they aren't necessarily inherent to each other, nihilism and anarchism practically run parallel in many ways. Most anarchists are nihilists for that reason

[@stachmantel5593]

I'm rewatching Korra right now halfway in season two it's decent we will see if I agree with you once I'm done

[@megarotom1590]

The one minor issue is that I always liked that some of the air benders clearly weren't really...of that lifestyle. Like in your version it's based around them having at least something close to that tradition. Furthermore, Zaheer needs to not have airbending from the start but suddenly obtain it while in prison. Otherwise his jail would have been built around that ability to begin with.

[@imartinez670]

Season 3 is top tier honestly I always rewatch it because it is just way better written and more entertaining then the other seasons

[@rolfhenning8793]

Ouff, out with controversial opinions are we? I’m all for it. I love Korra. Just got my first Korra comics. Can’t wait to follow her adventures further!

[@thalmoragent9344]

Biggest issue for me was Bolin's sudden ability to Lava Bend. A super rare, mostly unknown element and Bolin is granted it for the sole reason that he didn't get Metal Bending. If he could, in times of high emotion, could maybe sorta melt some rock or maybe harden it a little bit to buy time, it would've been better received than outright bending Lava like he's an expert in Water Bending movements and just "knows" how to do it so easily. 3:12 Zuko actually wasn't Fire Lord here, and even back in the day, it's been known that of all the Benders in his family, Zuko was at the bottom of the barrel.

[@AuroraIceFlame]

Season 3 is so fucking good. From the world building to the character arcs it’s just amazing.

[@that1cat999]

Yes. I do agree that Zaheer looked so much sexier with the beard and long hair

[@omaralfar1666]

Hey Tim can you make a video about the psychology of Aang? It would be interesting

[@tomjack1000000]

My only major complaint about S3 is that you have to watch S2

[@goldengear1000]

My issue with this part of your rewrite is that now that the airbenders all come from one specific place, there’s no impetus for the gang to travel the world looking for airbenders to recruit, which was a HUGE part of the first half of the season. It’s also the whole reason why they go to Zaofu in the first place, which is a major location that’s basically inseparable from the season, but in this version, it and the characters associated with it have no reason to be involved in the story.

[@micah1848]

i'm excited to see your take on season 4!