The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance ***Spoilers***


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Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Blayde MacRonan wrote:

Not freaking... At least I'm not. Personally, the two being a couple isn't something to freak out over. She could've made a conscious decision to be alone and it would have been fine with me. In all honesty, I would have expected it.

No, it's just that the relationship 'seemed' to come out of nowhere. There obviously were hints that we weren't paying attention due to the focus on the 'big picture' as far as plot goes, enough that others picked up on it, but as someone who prides himself as being able to pick up small details like that, the fact that I didn't just doesn't sit well with me. And I'm obviously not alone.

Possibly because you might have been expecting Mako to pick up again with one, or both women. I'm suspecting that part of Korra's problem with her relationship with Mako was that she was inwardly truly a lesbian and was that slow in realizing it. (I suspect that Asami herself might be one that swings both ways.)


LazarX wrote:
Blayde MacRonan wrote:

Not freaking... At least I'm not. Personally, the two being a couple isn't something to freak out over. She could've made a conscious decision to be alone and it would have been fine with me. In all honesty, I would have expected it.

No, it's just that the relationship 'seemed' to come out of nowhere. There obviously were hints that we weren't paying attention due to the focus on the 'big picture' as far as plot goes, enough that others picked up on it, but as someone who prides himself as being able to pick up small details like that, the fact that I didn't just doesn't sit well with me. And I'm obviously not alone.

Possibly because you might have been expecting Mako to pick up again with one, or both women. I'm suspecting that part of Korra's problem with her relationship with Mako was that she was inwardly truly a lesbian and was that slow in realizing it. (I suspect that Asami herself might be one that swings both ways.)

Or, you know, it's entirely possible that both Korra and Asami are Bi and neither of them need be "truly" anything but what they are.

Both of them had clear and genuine passion and attraction to Mako. Korra just had a completely different upbringing than Asami did, and had to learn how to overcome her own emotional detachment from anything other than herself. Book 1 & early Book 2 Korra is more than a little self-obsessed and spends most of Book 2 and all of Book 3 learning how to think about other people. The recurring theme for all 4 Books is that Korra has to tear herself down in order to build the world up. She starts off convinced of her own superiority and her own supremacy, has that stripped away from her, and only after she takes hold of and accepts the fact that she is a flawed and imperfect creature does she truly come into her own.

Korra's journey takes her to the same places of the heart that most of us go through. She fell in love with Mako. It didn't work out, mostly because of her own inability to let anyone get close to her. Not because she didn't love him, but because she couldn't let her guard down. Korra's entire beginning and middle are rooted in her deep-seated fear of losing control and being helpless. She clearly associates letting someone in with losing control. She's a teenage girl who has never known failure, or hardship, or danger, and she's suddenly thrust into a world that might not even need her. That's going to take a toll on any relationship. Korra's just a kid. Older than Aang, sure, but still a teenager. She took a journey that made her weaker, stronger, courageous, afraid, and a lot more. At the end of her journey, she realized that she loved Asami and the two of them recognized their friendship had gone into romance, and they took a trip together. Korra's journey was just as much one of the heart as it was of the spirit. That journey doesn't make her a lesbian. It makes her a realistic character who has to learn how to juggle becoming an adult while carrying the literal weight of two worlds on her shoulders.

And it's not like we have any indication that same-sex relationships in the world of Avatar are handled the same as they are here. Avatar Kiyoshi had an in-canon (as I believe the handheld games and web games were/are canon) same-sex lover, after all. If it's good enough for the Avatar... ;)

(And if I've completely jumped a shark on your commentary, I apologize - I just find I'm a little leery of folks making a claim that only one member of a couple can be bi, not both.)


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I don't see how Korra would not also be bisexual.

Hrm. Kinda reminds me when Willow went for Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and suddenly she had always been a full lesbian for many fans, while it was pretty clear that she is bisexual.


I was disappointed by the ending of this series.

I don't like the fact they made Korra gay, it's like saying that only strong woman are gay or that for a woman to be strong she has to be gay. I don't mind them making Asami gay, in fact I wish they did that long before now. But this isn't the biggest problems I had with the final. There are so many unanswered questions.

-Will Korra ever get the connection to her past lives back.
-How/when/why did Saka die.
-Will Mako/Bolin ever find the firebender who killed there family.
-Was the firebender who killed Mako/Bolin's parents the same as the one who killed Asami's mother.
-Did Saka ever get married and to whom.
-Since Korra lost her connection to her past lives what other effects will this have on the next avatar.
-Will Mako ever find a woman.
-Who will take over the earth kingdom.
-Will Bolin and Opal get married.
-Did Saka have children.
-What effect on the world will the new spirit portal have.
-Who was the father to Toph's oldest daughter.
-What about the other members of the red lotus.
-I wonder how excepting this world is of gay couples, particularly in Korra's case.

Silver Crusade

LazarX wrote:
Blayde MacRonan wrote:

Not freaking... At least I'm not. Personally, the two being a couple isn't something to freak out over. She could've made a conscious decision to be alone and it would have been fine with me. In all honesty, I would have expected it.

No, it's just that the relationship 'seemed' to come out of nowhere. There obviously were hints that we weren't paying attention due to the focus on the 'big picture' as far as plot goes, enough that others picked up on it, but as someone who prides himself as being able to pick up small details like that, the fact that I didn't just doesn't sit well with me. And I'm obviously not alone.

Possibly because you might have been expecting Mako to pick up again with one, or both women. I'm suspecting that part of Korra's problem with her relationship with Mako was that she was inwardly truly a lesbian and was that slow in realizing it. (I suspect that Asami herself might be one that swings both ways.)

Actually, I already knew that ship had sailed, so to say that I was expecting her to get back with Mako does little, if anything, to add to the conversation. I actually expected her to go it alone without a romantic partner. To me, that's where it seemed to be headed. And again, I would have been fine with that move.

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

Dragon78, you yourself wondered how the ending could possibly wrap up all those concerns. And, it didn't. I would have been surprised if it had.

Quote:

-How/when/why did Saka die.

-Will Mako/Bolin ever find the firebender who killed there family.
-Was the firebender who killed Mako/Bolin's parents the same as the one who killed Asami's mother.
-Did Saka ever get married and to whom.
-Since Korra lost her connection to her past lives what other effects will this have on the next avatar.
-Will Mako ever find a woman.
-Who will take over the earth kingdom.
-Will Bolin and Opal get married.
-Did Saka have children.
-
-Who was the father to Toph's oldest daughter.
-What about the other members of the red lotus.

These all seem peripheral matters to me. Once Suyin and her family were rescued, the series finally came around to focus on Korra, and on how her previous fights had prepared her to handle Kuivera. There are little asides: Varrick and Jhu Li, Mako's heroism, Asami's feelings for her father. But those scenes move with Korra, putting the central fight in context. Even the Varrick / Jhu Li wedding served to demonstrate that the fight was really over, the same way that Jinora's ceremony ended Book 3. Side scenes about Saka having kids, or about the next avatar after Korra, or whether Naga has puppy-cubs, would have derailed the storyline.

That's not to say that those aren't legitimate hanging questions. If there were post-Korra fiction, they could be taken up and explored. But this episode should not have been the place to do so.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

It's been confirmed Korrasami ship has set sail.


I never liked it when people combine the names of two people who are in a romantic relationship.


A bad way to end the series. So many unanswered questions with even more created. No payoff at all, beyond shipping. Disappointing.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I think they left the world in a pretty okay shape. There's Earth Empire business to be settled for sure, but the shadow of war seems to have been averted.


What questions weren't answered to your satisfaction, Freehold? I know Dragon78 has a laundry list, but I'm with Chris here, most of these were side issues and ultimately irrelevant to the story being told.

While it would be nice to know everything that happened in the 70 years following the end of A:TLA, I don't know that it would make for very compelling storytelling. Plus, there is an ongoing A:TLA comicbook. I'm sure they'll cover a lot of stuff there.

The finale gave us a resolution to the Kuvira arc and hinted at the future of Republic City and the Earth Kingdom, gave everyone a moment to shine, gave us a Korra finally at peace with herself and her place in the world, reconciled Asami with her father, resolved Varrick and Zhu Li's relationship, showed us the reconciled Bei Fong sisters and gave us some really kickbutt action sequences.

Would I love to see more of this story? Yes. But I felt the same when A:TLA ended. But there's nothing left hanging I that felt absolutely needed answering.


I personally feel the aftermath of the discovery of the Spirit Vine superweapon is not something that can just be tossed aside. It's the equivalent of a Nuclear weapon and I can't help but feel that it's going to be used.

Then there is the rebuilding of Republic City, the destruction of so many homes and livelihoods due to Kuvira's abducting and enslaving people, and the re-settlement of the Earth Empire etc. etc.

Unfortunately, for the most part, it's a story that will never get told onscreen. Probably in comic books though.


Personally all I really want to know (and I'm guessing will be covered in the comics) is whether or not I'm right and that new Spirit Portal is actually now the only Spirit Portal on the planet. I'd have to go look, but I'm pretty sure the North/South pole portals didn't have the energy helix in their columns. I wouldn't be surprised if the other two were closed by this, and the new portal has taken both their places.

It's going to be very interesting in ten thousand years.


Tels wrote:

I personally feel the aftermath of the discovery of the Spirit Vine superweapon is not something that can just be tossed aside. It's the equivalent of a Nuclear weapon and I can't help but feel that it's going to be used.

Then there is the rebuilding of Republic City, the destruction of so many homes and livelihoods due to Kuvira's abducting and enslaving people, and the re-settlement of the Earth Empire etc. etc.

Unfortunately, for the most part, it's a story that will never get told onscreen. Probably in comic books though.

I'm not sure how you could really cover the ramifications of the spirit gun in an epilogue, short of some dry exposition. Same goes for the rebuilding of Republic City. We have mention that it's going to happen, though they're going to expand out rather than rebuild over, And Su mentions that Kuvira is going to pay for her crimes. I realize that doesn't cover everything, but A:TLA didn't really cover rebuilding from the 100 Years War, or how Zuko re-purposed the Fire Nation from a military power to a peaceful neighbor to the other nations. Remember that when A:TLA ended, there weren't any plans for a sequel series or comics or any of that. That was the only ending we were supposed to get at the time.

I understand that some people felt caught flat-footed by Korra and Asami getting together at the end (though the creators have mentioned on their respective blogs that they've been building up to this since the start of Season 3.) but even if that caught people by surprise, everything else flows pretty well from what has been presented all season. (And I would argue the Korra/Asami relationship flows from it as well.) We didn't have the weird "A Lion Turtle Secretly Taught Me Spirit-Bending" twist from A:TLA. While Korra re-routing the Spirit Beam into opening a new Spirit Portal was a surprise, her ability to manipulate spirit energy had already been established, and I saw lots of speculation that she was going to end up bending the spirit beam at some point in the finale in many quarters, so that wasn't really a surprise either, even if the results were.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Dragon78 wrote:

I was disappointed by the ending of this series.

I don't like the fact they made Korra gay, it's like saying that only strong woman are gay or that for a woman to be strong she has to be gay. I don't mind them making Asami gay, in fact I wish they did that long before now. But this isn't the biggest problems I had with the final. There are so many unanswered questions.

-Will Korra ever get the connection to her past lives back.
-How/when/why did Saka die.
-Will Mako/Bolin ever find the firebender who killed there family.
-Was the firebender who killed Mako/Bolin's parents the same as the one who killed Asami's mother.
-Did Saka ever get married and to whom.
-Since Korra lost her connection to her past lives what other effects will this have on the next avatar.
-Will Mako ever find a woman.
-Who will take over the earth kingdom.
-Will Bolin and Opal get married.
-Did Saka have children.
-What effect on the world will the new spirit portal have.
-Who was the father to Toph's oldest daughter.
-What about the other members of the red lotus.
-I wonder how excepting this world is of gay couples, particularly in Korra's case.

1.No. once some bridges are broken, they can't be rebuilt.

2. Not germane to Korra's story
3. See 2 above.
4. See 2 above.
5. For some future comic book to answer when Korra dies. It's quite probable that the only past life the next Avatar will have access to is Korra's. Korra is essentially the new Avatar Wu.
6. See 2 above.
7. If you paid attention you'll see that Wu intends to eliminate the monarchy, presumably in order to move to a Republic City style government.
8. That's a future story that soemone else may tell.
9. See 2 above.
10. It gives a new opening for mortals and spirits to cross over.
11. See 2 above.
12. See 8 above.
13. Unrevealed, and not a major element of the story.


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Aang and Katara

Korra and Asami

A&K
K&A

Conspiracy theorists, go rampant.


So that means Zuko must have ended up with Mai. His name has a 'K' sound in it and hers ends in that long 'A'. They never did say if she came back after leaving during the comics. But now we can figure it out.


Zuko's daughter (Fire Lord Izumi) looks just like Mai. I doubt that is a coincidence.


Tels wrote:

Aang and Katara

Korra and Asami

A&K
K&A

Conspiracy theorists, go rampant.

Thank god i wrapped my head in tin foil before watching the episode in question....


Freehold DM wrote:
Tels wrote:

Aang and Katara

Korra and Asami

A&K
K&A

Conspiracy theorists, go rampant.

Thank god i wrapped my head in tin foil before watching the episode in question....

Avatar-Life 3 confirmed?

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