At times it feels like many fans who didn’t like Legend of Korra(LOK) were just disappointed they didn’t get Avatar:The Last Airbender(ATLA) 2.0, but there are valid arguments about LOK not providing the expectations set by its predecessor.
The while there were deliberate contrasts to avoid telling the same story, such as Korra’s personality and the main setting, the shows differ in how they handle the series engine.
A series engine is what fuels the show’s storyline and what the audience can expect from a typical episode. A strong part of this is defining the protagonist’s wants and end goals. For many series, once the protagonist reaches this goal, everything is over.
In Parks and Recreation, Leslie’s goal is to climb the political ladder and improve people’s lives through government work. She strives toward this in every episode but doesn’t reach the peaks of those until the finale. As a result, many fans of the show didn’t feel a decline in quality throughout the series.
Compare this to The Office where Michael’s goal is to be liked and respected by those around him which happens at the end of season 7, leaving two extra seasons most fans agree don’t hold the same quality.
Both series of the Avatar universe hold external and internal conflicts for their respective protagonist to solve and both are set in the series pilot.
For Aang, he needs to end the war and take responsibility as the Avatar despite his ideals steering him away from the traditional meaning. ATLA follows him fighting obstacles in the way of both goals, building up to the finale where he ends the war by defeating the Fire Lord and becomes a fully realized Avatar by doing it his own way. The audience follows a clear singular journey for the entire series run.
This is where LOK differs as it was originally made as a single season. The pilot sets up both levels of conflict: Amon threatens Repulic City and her defiance of authority prevents her from becoming a fully realized avatar. While the original series kept the conflict going for the whole run, Korra’s journey felt complete at the end of the first season. Amon is defeated, she learns airbending, masters the avatar state, and connects to her past lives. She seemingly did everything Aang accomplished in one season.
So, what do we watch for the rest of the show? The world threatening external conflicts continue with a new villain every season, but we’re no longer watching Korra become a full avatar, especially once she enters the spirit world. While there’s still internal and interpersonal conflict stemming from her stubbornness, a major journey fans came to see has ended.
What does that say about people like me who loved the original series and also loved following Korra? I don’t view her internal goal throughout the series as becoming a realized Avatar like Aang. I view it as understanding her place in a world that’s become more complicated and ever-changing. The later three seasons each represent a new principle she must learn that’s now different in the modern world.
Maybe the reason a lot of fans didn’t like LOK wasn’t them expecting a repeat of ATLA, but they were first drawn in by something different than I was. When that went away, they lost interest. LOK played a dangerous game in leaving the series engine up for interpretation.
Fans will always come in with what they expect from each episode. The most successful series tend to give it to them.
Comments