Legend of Korra: Book 2, Chapters 1-7
I've been hearing a lot about how good Books 3 and 4 of Legend of Korra were, but I didn't particularly feel like watching Season 2 after hearing lackluster reports about it. My sources disagreed on whether Book 2 was safely skippable, and I went back and forth until I finally decided to bite the bullet and watch one episode. If I hated it, I could always stop and move on to Book 3.
Surprisingly, I'm enjoying myself. All I had to do was forget the events of Book 1 ever happened, which was not too hard given how confusing and disjointed it was. Ironically, though the continuity of Book 2 almost completely ignored the events of Book 1 (and good thing, too), the characters and events are set up in a way that echo Book 1 so much that I have a hard time forgetting it. Civil war brewing over long-held grudges? Check. Two waterbending brothers, both political leaders in their own right and at each others' throats? Check. Relentlessly driven father who treats his children as minions? Check. Fabulously rich and duplicitous magnate fomenting rebellion? Check. It's like the creators are trying to do Season 1 over again, except with better execution.
Oh, and Korra's friends are also there. I'm not saying that the plot gave them no reasons to be at the center of these events, but the bonds of emotion and shared history are so weak that I can't help feeling like they're there for the sake of being there. This is one way the weakness of Book 1 has lasting consequences, and despite vast improvements and some very interesting storytelling the show is hobbled for it. Book 2 works hard to pick up the slack and may even succeed, but it can't be the first season. That's an apple you don't get two bites at.
I'm going to say some good things about the half I've watched but first, WHAT IS UP WITH THE ANIMATION?!!!11one? One of the reasons I dragged my foot on Book 2 was because I knew the art in half the episodes would be terrible due to a different studio, Pierrot, taking over from Mir. Even at the nadir of Book 1, at least the visuals were consistently pretty. In the Pierrot parts of Season 2, in contrast, people in the background stay unnaturally still, Korra looks considerably younger with bigger eyes and a rounder face, and doesn't seem like herself at all. The gorgeously animated Studio Mir episodes are a relief, that's for sure.
Okay, so the good stuff! I like that Korra has an actual character arc this time, including facing her issues with authority and control. This is yet another way Book 2 feels like a rehash of 1. It was frustrating, but in a good way, to watch her being manipulated by a series of men with obvious agendas. I like how the story made the reasons for this clear: Both Tenzin and her father had deep flaws of their own that she correctly recognized, and the lack of independence in her life so far left her hard-pressed to make judgments for herself, as she admitted herself. It's always good to have a character, particularly the protagonist, who has a consistent psychology and motivation.
Another source of enjoyment was the moral complexity of the characters and their actions. We have characters at odds with each other, each of whom have their reasons and their blind spots. I liked how Korra's aggression and self-righteousness complicated things. She may have good intentions, but her rage caused her to play into Varrick's manipulations. (It also caused her to dump Mako, though, so arguably things even out.) Unalaq turned out to be a duplicitous megalomaniac, but he helped Korra's growth at a crucial time. Varrick may be helping her get aid from Republic City, but he's, well, Varrick. President Raiko may be refusing Korra's request for aid, but I actually found his decision the most mature and sympathetic of all. Hasty intervention without clear facts and goals is a road headed straight into quagmire, as history has shown over and over again,
Speaking of which, I think my greatest moment of glee in this first half of the season was when Raiko busted Iroh (the second) plotting to drag United Republic into war to help out his buddy the Avatar. The cavalier way Iroh was willing to entangle the country he served in a military situation was not only dangerous, it was treason. But I guess things like "responsibility" and "accountability" to the people you serve doesn't have much meaning when you're foreign royalty. I doubt the idea of serving the plebians has much value to Iroh at all, not when he's willing to throw those lives away and drain the country's resources without any goddamned idea of the seriousness of what he's doing.
Yes, ultimately intervention might have been the right decision, but Iroh didn't have all the facts and was willing to jump with his eyes closed--and not alone, but with the entire United Republic. It still boggles my mind that he would pull this crap, and that he could attempt it and still keep his job. I guess he was trying to be nice, or thought it would be romantic to get into an adventure with the Avatar like his grandfather did. Who cares about the people who might get hurt in the process of his glory-seeking?
There are not enough facepalms in the world.
All this was why it felt so good when Raiko, the elected representative, told this scion of a royal family in no uncertain terms that this crap would not fly, not anymore. And the person who cooperated with Raiko to make this possible was of course Mako, another UR native and himself a commoner. In effect these two Republic City natives stood up to the two foreign elites, Korra and Iroh, to let them know that UR was no longer a pawn for foreign powers. This is a real consequence of the Council being disbanded and the UR electing its own leadership, with the UR and its citizens becoming more assertive than ever. The times they are a-changin' indeed.
In sum, the first half of Book 2 is a giant leap over Book 1 and far less infuriating. It has actual character development, real consequences, and moral complexity. It was a lot of the things Book 1 should have been, and while it's no replacement for a strong first season it's good to see the effort being made.
Dreamwidth entry URL: http://ljlee.dreamwidth.org/58032.html
Surprisingly, I'm enjoying myself. All I had to do was forget the events of Book 1 ever happened, which was not too hard given how confusing and disjointed it was. Ironically, though the continuity of Book 2 almost completely ignored the events of Book 1 (and good thing, too), the characters and events are set up in a way that echo Book 1 so much that I have a hard time forgetting it. Civil war brewing over long-held grudges? Check. Two waterbending brothers, both political leaders in their own right and at each others' throats? Check. Relentlessly driven father who treats his children as minions? Check. Fabulously rich and duplicitous magnate fomenting rebellion? Check. It's like the creators are trying to do Season 1 over again, except with better execution.
Oh, and Korra's friends are also there. I'm not saying that the plot gave them no reasons to be at the center of these events, but the bonds of emotion and shared history are so weak that I can't help feeling like they're there for the sake of being there. This is one way the weakness of Book 1 has lasting consequences, and despite vast improvements and some very interesting storytelling the show is hobbled for it. Book 2 works hard to pick up the slack and may even succeed, but it can't be the first season. That's an apple you don't get two bites at.
I'm going to say some good things about the half I've watched but first, WHAT IS UP WITH THE ANIMATION?!!!11one? One of the reasons I dragged my foot on Book 2 was because I knew the art in half the episodes would be terrible due to a different studio, Pierrot, taking over from Mir. Even at the nadir of Book 1, at least the visuals were consistently pretty. In the Pierrot parts of Season 2, in contrast, people in the background stay unnaturally still, Korra looks considerably younger with bigger eyes and a rounder face, and doesn't seem like herself at all. The gorgeously animated Studio Mir episodes are a relief, that's for sure.
Okay, so the good stuff! I like that Korra has an actual character arc this time, including facing her issues with authority and control. This is yet another way Book 2 feels like a rehash of 1. It was frustrating, but in a good way, to watch her being manipulated by a series of men with obvious agendas. I like how the story made the reasons for this clear: Both Tenzin and her father had deep flaws of their own that she correctly recognized, and the lack of independence in her life so far left her hard-pressed to make judgments for herself, as she admitted herself. It's always good to have a character, particularly the protagonist, who has a consistent psychology and motivation.
Another source of enjoyment was the moral complexity of the characters and their actions. We have characters at odds with each other, each of whom have their reasons and their blind spots. I liked how Korra's aggression and self-righteousness complicated things. She may have good intentions, but her rage caused her to play into Varrick's manipulations. (It also caused her to dump Mako, though, so arguably things even out.) Unalaq turned out to be a duplicitous megalomaniac, but he helped Korra's growth at a crucial time. Varrick may be helping her get aid from Republic City, but he's, well, Varrick. President Raiko may be refusing Korra's request for aid, but I actually found his decision the most mature and sympathetic of all. Hasty intervention without clear facts and goals is a road headed straight into quagmire, as history has shown over and over again,
Speaking of which, I think my greatest moment of glee in this first half of the season was when Raiko busted Iroh (the second) plotting to drag United Republic into war to help out his buddy the Avatar. The cavalier way Iroh was willing to entangle the country he served in a military situation was not only dangerous, it was treason. But I guess things like "responsibility" and "accountability" to the people you serve doesn't have much meaning when you're foreign royalty. I doubt the idea of serving the plebians has much value to Iroh at all, not when he's willing to throw those lives away and drain the country's resources without any goddamned idea of the seriousness of what he's doing.
Yes, ultimately intervention might have been the right decision, but Iroh didn't have all the facts and was willing to jump with his eyes closed--and not alone, but with the entire United Republic. It still boggles my mind that he would pull this crap, and that he could attempt it and still keep his job. I guess he was trying to be nice, or thought it would be romantic to get into an adventure with the Avatar like his grandfather did. Who cares about the people who might get hurt in the process of his glory-seeking?
There are not enough facepalms in the world.
All this was why it felt so good when Raiko, the elected representative, told this scion of a royal family in no uncertain terms that this crap would not fly, not anymore. And the person who cooperated with Raiko to make this possible was of course Mako, another UR native and himself a commoner. In effect these two Republic City natives stood up to the two foreign elites, Korra and Iroh, to let them know that UR was no longer a pawn for foreign powers. This is a real consequence of the Council being disbanded and the UR electing its own leadership, with the UR and its citizens becoming more assertive than ever. The times they are a-changin' indeed.
In sum, the first half of Book 2 is a giant leap over Book 1 and far less infuriating. It has actual character development, real consequences, and moral complexity. It was a lot of the things Book 1 should have been, and while it's no replacement for a strong first season it's good to see the effort being made.
Dreamwidth entry URL: http://ljlee.dreamwidth.org/58032.html