The Legend of Korra S2E8 FULL & UNCUT REACTION!

so we know the lion turtle taught aang to energy bend, and we find out there are dozens of lion turtles. the lion turtles gave bending powers to the people at the time. so it’s safe to say that every lion turtle is able to energy bend. we also hear raava call the air lion turtle “ancient one” so lion turtles were around even before spirits. just some more cool lore!

AstaMonsta

Fair points!

Sean TankTop

And in defense of Asami: -Future Industries is primarily an automotive manufacturer (making Sato-mobiles and branching into other forms of transport like planes) -Future Industries has also lost a lot of public trust due to her father’s Equalist ties, making it difficult to get sales. This was brought up in Ep 1 when we saw Asami getting out of the plane. -She already has the mecha-tanks due to her father’s hidden past, not because that’s her primary business driver -By aiding the Avatar and ending the oppression of the Southern Water Tribe, she’s improving the company’s public image and she can get back into automotive industry to make honest profits. The sale of the tanks gets her capital to work with while ridding herself of an awful reminder of what her father has done -And while I agree it doesn’t justify the profiteering the way they discussed it in Ep 5, thinking about being in her shoes: If you’re going to sell weapons for a war, at least you’re backing the Avatar’s side.

Star Kid

A couple of things & points: ATLA & LOK are different shows in many ways, but one of the big ways I see it is that: -ATLA, like was said, has a very tangible goal to work towards from the start: Defeat the invading Fire Nation & restore peace. Because of this, much of the show’s story progression is in service of this goal (victories & setbacks like the Book 1 & 2 finales for example) and we have a clear idea of what the end of the show will look like -LOK’s goal isn’t quite as tangible, ultimately it’s about Korra’s growth as a character, so each season’s plot progression ends up being in service of this goal, but it’s less obvious what the end result will be until we get there.

Star Kid

I agree she may have regressed some between S1 & 2, but I disagree in that I don’t think that’s bad writing by default. In fact, I think in the context of all 4 seasons of the show and where it ultimately builds, I think it turned out to be really good writing, and I’ll try and sum my thoughts up as succinctly as I can (without spoiling anything past this point in the show, if I can help it): -Progression/growth isn’t a one-way street, setbacks are a normal part of stories and life. It’s frustrating, yes, because we’re rooting for her and these things can come off “unlikeable” as you say, but in the case of Korra’s Book 2 “reset” I feel comfortable saying it was retroactively intentional (may not have been what they were initially going for, but they worked it into the upcoming plots & growth payoffs of S3 and in particular S4.) -She’s still a teenager, and lessons don’t always stick the first time (I’m a teacher, trust me on this lol). I find it very believable she went through her trauma and lulled back into some old habits, character flaws, and ego after surviving the events of Book 1. I can also see her pride being bruised by her shortcomings and wanting to hide those bruises under bravado. -Unalaq then began to drive the wedge between Korra and her father figures, Tonraq & Tenzin (which wasn’t helped by their behavior, as they each had a lot of growth to do as well as Korra) based on pumping her up and making her believe he’s the only one who has faith in her (continuing to hide the bruises Amon left on her ego). -She’s inclined to trust Unalaq, he’s family, even though they’re not particularly close. Irl most abuse (like Unalaq’s manipulation of Korra) comes from people we know and think we can trust, including family members. -And it truly didn’t take her all that long to figure out something was off (by the end of Ep 4, 1/3rd of the season) but he was able to use the time in which he did have her trust to achieve as many of his objectives as he could as well as separate her from her other mentors and sources of wisdom & advice to help her see past his lies. (Remember: she lacks worldly experience due to her isolated upbringing & training, which was revealed in S2E1 to be a decision made by Tenzin & Tonraq, which ended up of the strings Unalaq was able to pull to get her to turn on them)

Star Kid

Korra didn't really struggle with bending ability because she's naturally better at it, but she needs to learn to be a person rather than an avatar. She needs to learn how to become kind and respectful, and that's another journey that's just as important.

Mathies

This is going to be another one of those "Can't wait til season 3" comments, but there is a more apparent overall arc that starts to take shape once Season 3 begins. Season 2 is actually the weaker one -although it has some cool moments like the Wan storyline-, but it does serve Season 3 in many interesting ways, which makes for an absolute blast of a season. Also it has the best villain by far in all of Avatar, I can't wait for you guys to watch it

mattjofre

Yes I agree now a days that most criticism is actually valid but back in the day it was pretty aggressive and some parts were a little sus. All of Sean, Dustin, and Morgan’s criticisms are good examples of honest criticism. Vi from arcane is a good example of a loud, brash, in your face female lead who is likeable. I think Korra, if the writing of her character had been more nuanced through 1-2, would have come off that way. I wish they would have dived more into her isolated upbringing in the compound- away from her watertribes people and the rest of the world. This would have given her closed view more depth. I think Korras character is likeable and empathetic through 3-4. And her naïveté and brashness are more understandable and balanced in season 1. I think season 2, like you said, suffers from bad writing and an inconsistent and unbalanced narrative.

Ci-Ci

In retrospect and in 2021 I think we can detach characters from 'masculine and feminine' traits tbh. Korra's main issue as a character was that she regressed in early seasons and apparently seemed incapable of learning from her mistakes, they just reset her back to factory settings for S2. It's more the fault of writing honestly, they wrote her in a way that made her unlikeable, she shrugged off Tenzin to go follow the uncle she just met and ended up starting a civil war. At no point did she think, oh somethings fishy, they just sort of wrote her to be naïve and stupid. Which is really unrealistic and disingenuous to the character they set her up to be, considering what she's already done in S1 and how she literally suspected Hiroshi from the jump.

Faeginn

female lead*

onlyastarion

not to mention she was a female with personality traits that people usually find masculine and when they’re put on a woman they find it “unattractive” and “bad” idk it’s always rubbed me the wrong way. i always take in mind the people who critic the show and korra in general in a respectful manner rather than just being racist, misogynistic, etc in general. but a lot of that bavk then (and a lot today … so many men hate korra and (just bc she’s brash, stubborn, aggressive, and likes to do shit on her own) when that’s how they usually act … weird as hell.

onlyastarion

I agree! I don’t think anyone is being sexist in the reaction, but definitely when it came to her perception when this show first aired... I think some sexism was at play. First off part of why nick was not super sold on Korra in the beginning was because she was a female lead. And it almost got shit canned because of that. Also the joke “Legend of Whore-A” at the time. Some of this discourse was really hateful/aggressive towards korra and very few went through the issues in a thoughtful manner like Sean, Morgan, and Dustin do. though there are honest criticisms for LOK and korra, especially in the second and some of the first season. Mostly due to restriction by nick.

Ci-Ci

I agree with lots of people who have commented pointing out that aang's journey is *about* learning the elements/how to be the avatar versus Korra's journey being about where to go from there, but I also think it'd be unfair to not acknowledge a gender/culture issue at play too. aang's flaws were almost that he was too Good: too selfless, too gentle, too fun loving. Korra's got much more unattractive flaws that look Bad on first glance: aggression, rudeness, stubbornness. aang's flaws just highlight how good he is (and Korra's seem to me more realistic). but Korra's flaws largely come from her most traditionally masculine characteristics. not to say you guys are being sexist, just that I think its a lens anyone raised in our society will see this female character through especially when comparing her to aang. lastly, I think the writer's muddied the water by making this season's background (the water tribe civil war) something super personal to Korra. it's a real challenge to her objectivity that her home is being colonized/invaded and I think it makes her actions more understandable. anyway, love the review as always! cant wait for you guys to see where this goes. plus s3 is my favorite - so hyped!

Joey Wapelhorst

My favorite tiny detail about these episodes is that Wan learns the elements in the order of the Avatar cycle: fire, air, water, earth. Also makes Sokka's line in the Southern Air Temple episode hit different.... "You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met." Meanwhile, Wan's statue in the corner..... Really, all the little details that are present throughout make me happy!

GameAndWatch

I think the best way to look at it is Aang is a person learning to be a avatar and Korra is a avatar learning to be a person in a way.

Jam

I remember from that when i first watched season two while it was being released live. that the standards set in animation and gradual character building were, which were very high, not met. And i almost quit the whole franchise. its hard to articulate what precisely made it season 2 so off (sidenote the varick content redeems a third of the season). But when youre watching all of this the first time you have such an appreciation for the high quality of the story building of the world that youre afraid if you watch anymore of season 2 that it will ruin a masterpiece permanently. But it doesnt. your intro made me so hype for season 3 already

Gordon Barad

I legit tear up at the end of this, every f'in time.

William Timmins

After years, my view is that season 2 has some of the best and worst episodes of the series.

William Timmins

I think the simplest way to put it is aang story Is is about a person coping with becoming the avatar. While koras is about the avatar Coping with being just a person

season 2 may be the weakest, but it’s not the worst thing ever like people make it out to be. they really overreact imo. s3-4 are some of my favorite things ever put out to this day. i don’t wanna spoil stuff but it all wraps up amazingly and that’s why korra is my fav avatar.

onlyastarion

I think the difference from Korra to Aang is that Korra's story is a fall from grace, to redemption. All she ever wanted to be was the Avatar since she was young. She tells this to her mother in the civil wars episode. She has a perception of herself of that being the Most important part of her. Without it, she doesn't feel complete. Which you see a glimpse of it at the end of the first season, when she's on the cliff. So whatever comes after this, seems way more earned than it seems at the moment.

Jonathan Guzman

so a couple of fun facts before a couple of my thoughts 1 - the battle field where Wan died is the same battle field you see in the episode Zukko Alone. 2 - Raava is voiced by the same voice actress that is Stan's Mom and the Mayor from South Park So almost all your points were very valid or not if not bang on. Season 2 of Korra is the weakest season of all Avatar seasons. I still rate it at like a 7/10, the next weakest season for me is ATLA season 1. I don't want to go to much now and risk spoilers accidently but for me and here on out till the end of season 4 the show is just brilliant. You guys got the right attitude for watching season 2 and look forward to your thoughts especially once we get to season 3, my favorite season of all Avatar seasons

Matt Knowles

Another note: while LoK suffered from being underfunded and constantly under threat of cancellation, I can't wait to see what Mike and Bryan do now they have a whole studio entirely dedicated to all things Avatarverse. Exciting times.

Aidan Pullen

Aang's primary journey is his mastering of the four elements. Korra's primary journey is largely about personal growth and learning how to be the best person and best avatar she can be. She's living under this shadow of Aang's greatness, and those expectations combined with her natural talent has made her arrogant. It's a lot harder to make a steady, straightforward, AND relatable story out of that than what they did for Aang. Season 2 of Korra really is the weakest point in the story simply because it was inconsistent and lost its footing in the writing and personal interactions (the backbone of Korra's journey). They make a lot better plot, character, and writing choices in Season 3 & 4 imo. Having said that.... Beginnings 1 & 2 are some of the coolest episodes in the series.

Aidan Pullen

This is not my favorite two-parter.

Katelyn

Also, I know I shit on Korra a lot but they do really give her a journey through S3 and S4 in terms of personal growth, I think you guys will appreciate it by the end of it. My opinion on her definitely swayed but watching these early seasons with you again is so tilting lmao

Faeginn

god i love wan so much and all this amazing worldbuilding!

Michelle

Remember when Roku tells Aang he's got until next summer to train and he says "I know you can do it, you've done it before." That was this.

Faeginn