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Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance |OT| A Feast of Crows

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shem935 said:
I feel like Korra should have stayed in the swamp longer. Toph could have actually taught her how to fight instead of the two episodes we got where we were led to believe all is right with the avatar state and now it's not. So what was the point of those two episodes again?
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Yeah, I agree. I think the whole Korra plot should have been done differently. Either they had her stay in the swamp longer (and kept jumping around). Or they should have had more single episodes that entirely focused just on Korra.

Or, they should have had her training happen after Kuvira beat her. The way it's set up now, it feels like we have done a lot of nothing, and taken a bunch of steps backwards.
 
The problem over all is, that we pretty much wasted 5 EP just for Korra to lose and be back to where she was at the start of the series.

The main Villain almost lost, and the only reason she didn't was because Korra was acting dumb for some reason. That isn't a good way to show off your main villain, handicapping your main character so they couldn't beat up the foe is stupid.

This is DBGT baby's level of contrivances to make the villain win.
 
I give Korra the benefit the doubt because she's always facing off against elite benders with more experience than her. She's never traveled and learned how to bend in the outside world like the previous avatars. She's a talented bender but she lacks the nuances of her adversaries.
 
Moral Panic said:
My problem is that Korra loses every fight when deus ex doesn't come down to save her ass. Furthermore her fighting isn't even fun to watch, it's not like we are seeing a battle between two people using their skills to the max and pulling out crazy stuff that makes you go wow, it's just watching the lead character get her ass kicked AGAIN.

I don't feel it works with the sort of show they are making. In other shows it works well narratively for the character to constantly lose because there isn't much at stake, and they make obvious room for growth. Technically Korra should be able to die every battle she loses, furthermore she has finished her Avatar training, she has access to all four elements and the Avatar State. Unless they start pulling more stuff out of the air there isn't much more they can do with her. You can talk about the effects from the poison, but the character had a consistent pattern of losing battles against low level opponents before.and now they have just continued that pattern but with a convenient excuse factored in. They've clearly written themselves into a box with the Avatar State and this is now the second time they have made moves to nerf it rather than writing better scenarios.

I don't find her character enjoyable to watch, it feels like they have forgotten what makes this type of show shows fun even though you know the narrative isn't great going in. It's the bending, it's the superpowers, it's seeing gods battle each other with technique and finesse. ATLA provided that in spades, with a constant moving forward in abilities shown and the power level increasing every season. When Katara learns advanced water bending at the Northern water temple she is doing moves way, way better than when she started. Toph joins late and is pretty much OP all the way through, but even she grows when she develops metal bending. Even Sokka get's a new sword and levels up his boomarang skills. Not to talk about Aang who starts off as an airbending master doing exceptional tricks but later gains the other bending arts and adds them to his repertoire. It doesn't feel like any of this was given to Korra. She starts S1 with every element but Air and gains that element via deus ex right at the end of the season. From there she has been meandering with a complete lack of any growth in her powers because the writers seemed too afraid of the Avatar State to throw her into any vicious situations where she can show off. There's not point where Korra can use all four bending skills (in ways that are unique not just fire punch, wind punch, water punch) and you think damn, this is the Avatar. It doesn't feel like the show is giving the emotional highs it needs to sustain its existence. Every fight she is in feels like she is still playing pro-bending.

The latest episode feels especially annoying because you feel you've been through the whole process of Korra losing (AGAIN), recovering from the mental shock of the loss (pretty sure they did this in S1 after Amon nearly raped her), and then finally you expect that you will see her manage to eek out a win or at least be hit by an unexpected weapon that Kuveira had planned in anticipation. NOPE. Korra loses all by herself with no one to blame. AGAIN.
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Of all the inane rants against Korra I've been hearing and reading since "Battle of Zaofu" aired, this touched on a good point for once.

It does seem that Bryan and Mike are too afraid of Korra's power (even if that sounds kind of corny) or hesitant to really show her off. For all their talk about how they wanted Korra to be like an MMA fighter or this cool powerful Avatar, they sure love to make her weak for the sake of "tension", even though, as a lot of you have pointed out, it wasn't well done.

The closest we've come to see Korra's true power was in Book 3 and in her battle against Zaheer, also limited because of the poison. In fact, that actually showed how indeed she could best teenage Aang in a duel if she were in full physical and mental health. Now Book 4 comes along, and gives us 6 episodes of Korra recuperating, which would be perfectly ok and even very compelling if we haven't already gone through 2 books of Korra being limited by something or someone.

Korra in Book 1 was a great fighter although the bending in that series overall was limited because of the story and the Republic City setting, but she fought awesomely when she did anyhow.

Book 2, well... I can't remember an actual episode where she fought and didn't end up unconscious. She would've beaten and imprisoned Vaatu once again if it were not for Unalaq's intervention, at least.

Anyway, I do believe that we will finally get to see Korra really show off in the second half of Book 4, and I hope we don't just get a last minute sequence of Korra doing away with Nega-Korra and just quickly dispatching Kuvira and her "spirit vine" weapon. I wan't at least two or three episodes of Korra truly being the Avatar we were promised by Bryan and Mike.
 
Joeytj said:
Of all the inane rants against Korra I've been hearing and reading since "Battle of Zaofu" aired, this touched on a good point for once.

It does seem that Bryan and Mike are too afraid of Korra's power (even if that sounds kind of corny) or hesitant to really show her off. For all their talk about how they wanted Korra to be like an MMA fighter or this cool powerful Avatar, they sure love to make her weak for the sake of "tension", even though, as a lot of you have pointed out, it wasn't well done.

The closest we've come to see Korra's true power was in Book 3 and in her battle against Zaheer, also limited because of the poison. In fact, that actually showed how indeed she could best teenage Aang in a duel if she were in full physical and mental health. Now Book 4 comes along, and gives us 6 episodes of Korra recuperating, which would be perfectly ok and even very compelling if we haven't already gone through 2 books of Korra being limited.

Korra in Book 1 was a great fighter although the bending in that series overall was limited because of the story and the Republic City setting, but she fought awesomely when she did anyhow.

Book 2, well... I can't remember an actual episode where she fought and didn't end up unconscious. She would've beaten Vaatu if it were not for Unalaq's intervention.

Anyway, I do believe that we will finally get to see Korra really show off in the second half of Book 4, and I hope we don't just get a last minute sequence of Korra doing away with Nega-Korra and just quickly dispatching Kuvira and her "spirit vine" weapon. I wan't at least two or three episodes of Korra truly being the Avatar we were promised by Bryan and Mike.
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I just wish people could understand that, just because a plot is logical/makes sense, doesn't always mean it makes for a good story. So much focus of the Korra vs Kuvira fight (those against it or those defending it), sometimes miss that point.

EDIT: If someone loved the fight, and has no issue with any of it, that is more than fine. I just think sometimes we get hung up on semantics, and it doesn't really address the issue some have. For those that don't have an issue, it might seem as petty or nitpicking. For those that do have an issue, they just see it as formulaic story beats, and not being thrilled about how the plot is progressing (or not progressing). Just depends on what side of the coin you are on.

Double Edit: getting into the talk of Korra's overall fighting, I think that can play into what I said above. Like, physically it makes sense why she was weak against Kuvira. It also makes sense that Kuvira would toy with Korra as she gets off on domination. BUT....the overall impact of this fight sequence (in the context of the overall season) is IMO not a very good one. As someone else said above, it really feels like the first 5 episodes were a whole lot of running in place, that we are now back to square one, and it kind of framed Kuvira as not that good of a threat. It was just a weird/predictable sequence. That I really think Bryke should have done something different with.

Of course, just my 2 cents.
 
This whole argument would be a non-issue if Korra had gotten her ass handed to her by Kuvira at the beginning of the show, then she went to Toph, got the metal removed, and trained for a bit. Sure they would have had to explain how the world dealt with Korra ditching them. But she could've probably said something like "I'm useless as is, I need to get this fixed I'll be back as soon as possible"
 
Admiral Woofington said:
This whole argument would be a non-issue if Korra had gotten her ass handed to her by Kuvira at the beginning of the show, then she went to Toph, got the metal removed, and trained for a bit. Sure they would have had to explain how the world dealt with Korra ditching them. But she could've probably said something like "I'm useless as is, I need to get this fixed I'll be back as soon as possible"
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Yeah, I think it's not so much that she lost the fight, as much as people don't like the story beat, and where it's at in the plot this season. That is really what it comes down to. Oh well. They only have half the season left. It will be interesting if they take another 2-3 episodes to have Korra find herself. With so little time left, I'll be curious to see how they race towards the finish line, and what they aim for.
 
Azula said:
Yeah, I think it's not so much that she lost the fight, as much as people don't like the story beat, and where it's at in the plot this season. That is really what it comes down to. Oh well. They only have half the season left. It will be interesting if they take another 2-3 episodes to have Korra find herself. With so little time left, I'll be curious to see how they race towards the finish line, and what they aim for.
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I guess it'll be now Korra training/recuperating throughout the show and the rest of the allies picking up the slack until the end where she finally kicks ass. Further emphasizing the theme of 'the world doesn't need the avatar as much as before'.
 
Admiral Woofington said:
I guess it'll be now Korra training/recuperating throughout the show and the rest of the allies picking up the slack until the end where she finally kicks ass. Further emphasizing the theme of 'the world doesn't need the avatar as much as before'.
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I still think Kuvira is going to aim her sights at Republic City. It would be strange if they tried to make a "conflict" out of her just staying in the Earth Kingdom territory. I mean, sure it's bad that people are being forced into slavery (so that would concern the Avatar). But I still think she has to be an external threat. Which is why I don't see her stopping her invasion after taking Metal City. I think she'll see Republic City as technically the last land in earth Kingdom Territory. So in order to truly have everything, she will go after that next.

I guess the spirit vine stuff is still up in the air. Probably just going to be this weapon she'll make to threaten Republic City to step down (because even their army can't stop a Spirit Vine nuke).
 
I honestly doubt Junior will be able to successfully reproduce the vine technology in a successful fashion just by somewhat observing what Varrick did, which he wasn't even building what he had done before. I guess that if Zhu Li helps him do it effectively it might be a threat it just seems a bit silly. It'd be like having Einstein at your disposal, then he leaves you, then another guy who fiddled with science saw his notes and said "I can reproduce this." I really do hope the writers don't make it easy for the sake of having a 'nuclear' weapon at the disposal of Kuvira.

As to her going power hungry and going for Republic city, I'm sure that or something similar will happen. The comments of political systems not being inherently flawed but the thirst of the rulers being their downfall would be conveyed in that way.
 
Does anyone else here think we'll find out what happened to Sokka this season? It really bothers me that hasn't been addressed yet, nor do I have an idea how they can do so in a way that adds to the story.

Zuko was disappointing last season, but they managed to make Toph as awesome this season as she was in the original show by giving her a substantial role in Korra's rehabilitation. I'm hoping they can do the same for Sokka, by which I mean revelations that have a significant impact in the narrative going forward.
 
Frog-fu said:
Does anyone else here think we'll find out what happened to Sokka this season? It really bothers me that hasn't been addressed yet, nor do I have an idea how they can do so in a way that adds to the story.

Zuko was disappointing last season, but they managed to make Toph as awesome this season as she was in the original show by giving her a substantial role in Korra's rehabilitation. I'm hoping they can do the same for Sokka, by which I mean revelations that have a significant impact in the narrative going forward.
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Probably not tbh. There really isn't enough time to cover him. Sokka got the short end of the stick. THE ONLY way I could see him getting any kind of mention, is if Toph says something at some point (like a sarcastic remark). Or...if he's the baby daddy of Su.
 
Azula said:
Probably not tbh. There really isn't enough time to cover him. Sokka got the short end of the stick. THE ONLY way I could see him getting any kind of mention, is if Toph says something at some point (like a sarcastic remark). Or...if he's the baby daddy of Su.
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Sokka held off the Red Lotus last time didn't he? Or something close to that. He should have been brought up last season if they wanted to do a good tie in
 
Azula said:
Probably not tbh. There really isn't enough time to cover him. Sokka got the short end of the stick. THE ONLY way I could see him getting any kind of mention, is if Toph says something at some point (like a sarcastic remark). Or...if he's the baby daddy of Su.
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Him being Su's father would solve the "Tenzin and Lin are cousins! Ew!" argument.
 
Azula said:
Probably not tbh. There really isn't enough time to cover him. Sokka got the short end of the stick. THE ONLY way I could see him getting any kind of mention, is if Toph says something at some point (like a sarcastic remark). Or...if he's the baby daddy of Su.
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I suppose not.

Admiral Woofington said:
There's nothing to explore about Sokka. He was into Suki and the show left it at that. Whether they had children is unimportant because they aren't relevant to the plot.
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Unless... unless they are members of the Red Lotus!

-

Some closure on what happened to Sokka would be nice regardless of whether or not he has any importance.
 
Closure would be nice but if it's irrelevant to the plot of this show it'd be just lazy attempt at getting older fans interested. I don't need cameos and explanations if it isn't relevant to the plot and just for a "oh hey guys remember me?"

that's my issue with so much star wars media. More so when they force the cameo to be relevant.
 
just saw the preview for episode 7. Honestly if the show went digital they should've just allowed people to marathon the whole thing. Imagine if Netflix released shows on a week to week basis. The clip itself was, as expected, a whole lot of nothing that just has me wondering what else will occur in the next episode.

As long as people are curious about the fate of Varrick and Bolin, or they show us more scenes with them, I'm cool with it. Those two are entertaining as shit together.
 
Toa TAK said:
So does this mean Toph's coming back to train Korra? Didn't Bryke say she was a major player (playa) this season?
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Yeah they kinda implied that she will need a compelling reason to leave the swamp which I suppose could deal with Suyin and her grankids being taken hostage by Kuvira.
Admiral Woofington said:
just saw the preview for episode 7. Honestly if the show went digital they should've just allowed people to marathon the whole thing. Imagine if Netflix released shows on a week to week basis. The clip itself was, as expected, a whole lot of nothing that just has me wondering what else will occur in the next episode.

As long as people are curious about the fate of Varrick and Bolin, or they show us more scenes with them, I'm cool with it. Those two are entertaining as shit together.
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Yeah it would have been nice to have all the episodes at once but as more production information comes out it looks if they went that path it wouldn't have been possible till around January or so. As Studio Mir are still animating the last couple of episodes and Bryke were still mixing the sound for episode 9 just last week.
Suppose this shows just how much Nick wants to get rid of the show as fast as possible as it's not like it conflicts with any of their tv schedules anymore with it airing on online now .

Yeah the Bolin and Varrick pairing turned out to be the best part of the last episode. Really looking forward to seeing what adventures they get up to while escaping the Earth Kingdom.
Guessing we'll be getting that
backstory on Varrick's childhood that Bryke said would occur sometime this season.
 
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Frog-fu said:
Korra is too straightforward as a fighter to beat Aang. She lacks creativity and telegraphs her every move. She would hardly be able to touch Aang, let alone beat him, because he is simply the worst kind of opponent specifically for Korra.

Aang approaches combat in a fundamentally different way. It's not his intent or objective to hurt his opponent; that would go against everything he stands for. No, Aang lets his opponent's strength be their own undoing. He uses his superior agility to avoid direct confrontation whilst conserving his own enemy as his opponent tires themselves out.

When Korra fights, she's a bull in a china shop. She will wreck anything that crosses her path will little consideration or tact. Fighting Aang would be like fighting a matador. She'd lose.
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Aang also handled opponents beyond his power level much better than Korra. Korra never had the chance to go head to head against P'Li in Book 3, if she did she'll get destroyed.
 
JadedWriter said:
Am I the only human being on this site that has never watched Sponge Bob
Because it looked fucking stupid
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You're missing out if you haven't seen it as the first three seasons and the movie are great.
Current Spongebob though if a hollow shell of what it used to be.
 
I'm biased because I grew up with Spongebob. I actually saw the series premiere live on TV (Same with South Park). So it's hard to divorce myself from the show without a nostalgic bias. I also haven't re-visited it. That said, I think most people say that Spongebob was great for the first couple of seasons and died with the movie?
 
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