The Legend of Korra: Official Book 4: Balance Discussion Thread

qtwanderer
[21]Dec 20, 2014
member since: 06/15/05
level: 27
rank: Shark Jumper
posts: 9,516
I also found it odd Sokka was barely mentioned throughout the entire series. And I hoped there would be a re-connect with Korra's past lives or atleast some more engagement with Raava. The ending felt like the ending to a popular series' movie-ending. The characters did alot but in the end wasn't impactful, emotion wise; a example of no emotion would be Asami's dad. He dies (though to be honest he really didn't have to) and it lets the viewers know, this finale is serious but no one else and to be honest, there wasn't enough emotion invested in his character for me to feel anyway tpwards his death.

Didn't see a new spirit portal coming, though I guess Korra did what Vaatu did. I'm happy the mech suit wasn't easy to take down, though I was surprised the avatar state wasn't much. Seemed toned/powered down throughout the fight save for the airbending. I guess that can become fuel to the debate if the past lives made the avatar state powerful. This season was cool in that we got to see earth bending in a new way. Also we got to see the difference in earth bending between the two series, ATLA and LOK.

And I totally got a strange vibe from the ending, as if it was made to look like it could go either ways. I'm feel alittle teased by this season finale and a bit by the season but overall it was ok.
You must be registered and logged in to post a message.
RaizenYusuke
[22]Dec 24, 2014
member since: 06/15/05
level: 28
rank: Disco Stu
posts: 8,128
The creators officially confirmed that ending was meant to confirm Korra and Asami did indeed get together just like the finale for A: TLA did with Aang and Katara. I'm actually impressed that they admitted that. I figured they would keep their mouth closed and leave us to debating if they were a couple or just friends in the end. I'm even more impressed Nick let them do it.

Now that the series is over I found it funny that Mako is arguably the character with the least development or least interesting storylines. For a while it was looking like Bolin would be the least developed character, but books 3 and 4 did a lot for making the character grow and making him stand out. Watching him in season 4 really showed how much he grew from season 1 and he became a powerful addition to the team, especially once he learned lava bending. He has had as much romance drama as Mako, but his failures with Korra and Eske still added a bit more to his character and his romance with Oppal was sweet and didn't feel forced. Mako in book 3 and 4 didn't really have much of a story arc outside of being Bolin's wing man and later Wu's advisor. He didn't really grow as a character and didn't really have any memorable storylines outside his romances, which were kind of bad. It is funny thinking about this because in book1 played him up as the most important member of Team Avatar outside of Korra and even had Amon praise his skills as a bender. Bolin IMO surpassed him in every way as a character.

Did anyone think it is weird the writer dropped a bomb about Aang played favorites and then we never visited that plotline again? I have no problem that Aang and Katara made mistakes as parents, but it was like the writers abandoned that plot line, which was weird because they had a similar one with Toph's family, but they followed through on it. We never hear Katara's perspective on it, just Bumi and Kya's. It struck me as odd that in book 2 the writers only had Tenzin talk to Aang's spirit and have all 3 talk to him and have resolution. It was like they wanted to explore Aang's flaws, but than chickened out and stopped diving into it out of fear of angering the fan base or stirring up shipping wars.
You must be registered and logged in to post a message.
VirusMonster
[23]Dec 24, 2014
member since: 12/17/04
level: 15
rank: Ginsu Knife
posts: 710
They really got together? Wow... I wasn't expecting that. Well I can imagine in my head an alternate route where they're together as just best friends and nothing more.

It's a shame really if the series wasn't a mini-series and a full-on series I think they would've explored those ares surrounding Aang's family ties.

So this is the end of the Avatar series, huh? I'm a little sad but are the comic series between A:TLA and A:TLoK still on-going? I know I read the comics regarding Zuko's search for his mother but I want to know what happens to Azula afterwards and did Zuko and her ever patch things up between them.
You must be registered and logged in to post a message.
Kwando7
[24]Dec 27, 2014
member since: 11/28/08
level: 18
rank: Land Shark
posts: 2,636
Yeah but Aang does seem like to person to take cultural importance over other things like his kids. It would have been cool if Aang had spoken to all his children even if to apologize to them.
You must be registered and logged in to post a message.

RaizenYusuke

[25]Dec 28, 2014

member since: 06/15/05
level: 28
rank: Disco Stu
posts: 8,128

Kwando7 wrote:

Yeah but Aang does seem like to person to take cultural importance over other things like his kids. It would have been cool if Aang had spoken to all his children even if to apologize to them.

I would have liked to have explore that more. It felt odd that it was a big issue for the first few episodes of book 2 then it just sort of fizzled out until the finale of book 2 than wasn't mentioned again. In general the Beifongs had a much better storyline and resolution.If you compare Bumi and Lin who had similar storylines to each other about thinking they were disappointments to their parents you can see how Lin's storyline is superior. Bumi talks to a statue of his dad about wishing he could make him proud, while Linhad heartwarming talk with Su, Oppal, and Toph.Kya's issues with Aang aren't really explored at all.

Frankly the storyline had potential, but the writers wasted it. There needed to be an episode where Katara, Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya all got together and had a serious talk andlistened to each other. It was obvious at the start of book 2 that Katara was tryingto get her children to get past their differences and really understand each other and their father. Bumi's storyline was so focused onAang not exploring this issue inany real depthmade his character suffer. To be honest only Toph and her family got any really exploration in depths with the series. Aang/Katara, Sokka, and even Zuko's families weren't given as much depth at all.

You must be registered and logged in to post a message.

VirusMonster
[26]Dec 28, 2014
member since: 12/17/04
level: 15
rank: Ginsu Knife
posts: 710
Yeah... it's quite a shame.

But it was a mini-series originally and they didn't really planned to go beyond one season I hear? Then again there was budget limits as well considering they were short and had to do a flashback episode in Season 4 as they were short.

Hopefully they release a comic series between the seasons of Legend of Korra to explore more of the characters' backstories so more.
Edited on 12/28/2014 7:54pm
You must be registered and logged in to post a message.

We're moving Forums to the Community pages. Click here for more information and updates.

The Legend of Korra Forums

Official Book 4: Balance Discussion Thread

qtwanderer

RaizenYusuke

VirusMonster

Kwando7

RaizenYusuke

VirusMonster