Ken, you wonderful, wonderful person. Thank you for stating so perfectly what I could not. Tumblr is actively (and in the case of some people, more than likely literally) shitting itself with excitement over a series that, compared to its predecessor, falls woefully short. The pro-bending plotline is one of the saddest attempts at guaranteed action in a series already based in martial arts-style action than I thought possible, and centering so many episodes around it has made for a dull story. The central conflict, which you explained beautifully in your post, touches on deeper and more complicated issues that more closely resemble those in ATLA, issues that you can understand from both sides and make you think about where you really stand. But instead of making those problems the central conflicts, they have been shoved aside and only come to the forefront when pro-bending can literally no longer exist due to Amon's attack on the stadium.
Korra insists that bending is all about balance, as is her role as Avatar, but there is no acknowledgement that the world she lives in is horribly out of balance already. Maybe this will come to light in the last few episodes and she'll find a way to even things out? I'm not too hopeful. If pro-bending has told us anything about this series' ability to tell a decent story, I'm not holding out for anything awe-inspiring. Fans of this series are settling for so much less than they did with ATLA, and they're too busy with their ship wars to realize it.
I didn't even think about pro-bending when I was making this (brushed off most of my indifference towards it as symptomatic of my indifference towards sports in general) but you're totally right. They have this amazing, deep, grey conflict that they're shoving aside for the sake of sportsball.
Korra insists that bending is all about balance, as is her role as Avatar, but there is no acknowledgement that the world she lives in is horribly out of balance already. Maybe this will come to light in the last few episodes and she'll find a way to even things out? I'm not too hopeful. If pro-bending has told us anything about this series' ability to tell a decent story, I'm not holding out for anything awe-inspiring. Fans of this series are settling for so much less than they did with ATLA, and they're too busy with their ship wars to realize it.
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I didn't even think about pro-bending when I was making this (brushed off most of my indifference towards it as symptomatic of my indifference towards sports in general) but you're totally right. They have this amazing, deep, grey conflict that they're shoving aside for the sake of sportsball.
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