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Like many other people, I was beyond excited when a sequel to ATLA was announced -- that show had been my favorite thing in the world throughout the duration of its run and I just couldn't get enough of it...
... But then I took a look at the Steampunk-like world the story took place in and my hopes began to shatter because it was such a departure from the original formula as to feel utterly disconnected.
NOW, granted, the world was going to change a lot after the Hundred-Year War and I'm not necessarily putting it as a strike against the show itself, but Republic City (ugggh!) was supposed to be the result of Fire Nation colonization of the Earth Kingdom and mix heritage between the two groups, so the Americanization of the whole thing feels really off. No building on there looks either Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom and neither do the citizens -- whatever took place there in the last couple of decades didn't feel like it belonged to the same universe as either Yu Dao or Ba Sing Se (hell, it doesn't even look like it could belong to rather obscure outposts like Ember Island or even that one town where Zuko Alone took place).
That would have been a pathetic nitpick IF they didn't DOUBLE shove it in your face: first by making such a big deal out of it being the brainchild of both Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko and then by having high-ranking Earth Kingdom officials commenting on the whole thing being placed on usurped territory, making the look and feel of RC come across as a desperate attempt to mask how unlawful the fucking thing is.
My biggest gripe, however, is with Korra herself.
It is true that she got screwed before the show was even written because we already had full-fledged Earth, Wind and Fire (hah!) avatars, but I don't understand how they could make her that bland. She's really unpleasant to be around and so is her group.
I get that she's supposed to be the "modern woman", unbound by any of the cultural and social norms befalling previous avatars, but she really is insufferable... Like angry cardboard.
I really did like a few things about the show (like them calling out so much of their own BS later into the series and some VERY creative uses of bending), but the whole package felt lacking in all counts: didn't feel rich in either culture, spirituality or martial arts the way the original was and it turned into a bit of a chore as a result -- I couldn't watch it either during its original TV release, through Netflix or even as a review: the pieces were there, but they weren't clicking (at least for me).
I have heard the show being described as "Corporate Vandalization Of A Legend" in a now famous article and yeah, you can really tell a creative vision was being compromised somewhere down the production pipeline... So many things come and go on a whim and it never once feels like the story finds its footing as a result, with the probable exceptions of the Kuvira and Civil War arcs (but even those feel rushed).
I really, REALLY wanted to love this show... But just couldn't. Ironically, though, I truly believe that it'd have worked a lot better as an Avatar knockoff rather than a sequel -- the stakes set up by ATLA were too high for LOK to tackle on its current form.
I could go on forever (and believe me, I was tempted to do so after the whole "Let's undo a genocide" bit), but I'll finish it here... Mercifully.
Thoughts?
... But then I took a look at the Steampunk-like world the story took place in and my hopes began to shatter because it was such a departure from the original formula as to feel utterly disconnected.
NOW, granted, the world was going to change a lot after the Hundred-Year War and I'm not necessarily putting it as a strike against the show itself, but Republic City (ugggh!) was supposed to be the result of Fire Nation colonization of the Earth Kingdom and mix heritage between the two groups, so the Americanization of the whole thing feels really off. No building on there looks either Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom and neither do the citizens -- whatever took place there in the last couple of decades didn't feel like it belonged to the same universe as either Yu Dao or Ba Sing Se (hell, it doesn't even look like it could belong to rather obscure outposts like Ember Island or even that one town where Zuko Alone took place).
That would have been a pathetic nitpick IF they didn't DOUBLE shove it in your face: first by making such a big deal out of it being the brainchild of both Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko and then by having high-ranking Earth Kingdom officials commenting on the whole thing being placed on usurped territory, making the look and feel of RC come across as a desperate attempt to mask how unlawful the fucking thing is.
My biggest gripe, however, is with Korra herself.
It is true that she got screwed before the show was even written because we already had full-fledged Earth, Wind and Fire (hah!) avatars, but I don't understand how they could make her that bland. She's really unpleasant to be around and so is her group.
I get that she's supposed to be the "modern woman", unbound by any of the cultural and social norms befalling previous avatars, but she really is insufferable... Like angry cardboard.
I really did like a few things about the show (like them calling out so much of their own BS later into the series and some VERY creative uses of bending), but the whole package felt lacking in all counts: didn't feel rich in either culture, spirituality or martial arts the way the original was and it turned into a bit of a chore as a result -- I couldn't watch it either during its original TV release, through Netflix or even as a review: the pieces were there, but they weren't clicking (at least for me).
I have heard the show being described as "Corporate Vandalization Of A Legend" in a now famous article and yeah, you can really tell a creative vision was being compromised somewhere down the production pipeline... So many things come and go on a whim and it never once feels like the story finds its footing as a result, with the probable exceptions of the Kuvira and Civil War arcs (but even those feel rushed).
I really, REALLY wanted to love this show... But just couldn't. Ironically, though, I truly believe that it'd have worked a lot better as an Avatar knockoff rather than a sequel -- the stakes set up by ATLA were too high for LOK to tackle on its current form.
I could go on forever (and believe me, I was tempted to do so after the whole "Let's undo a genocide" bit), but I'll finish it here... Mercifully.
Thoughts?
