There are so many words that can be put in a smile. It’s a pity not all smiles can be seen. ...or is it? What eyes make are only illusions anyway and even that isn't completely true. You see what I am trying to express my dear reader is not of euphoria, but understanding. It’s a knowing without any reason for such - but how am I to express that?

But enough of my philosophic madness, for this is Korras story now! Since I recall an interest from our esteemed colleague Ragashingo (and friends), I have decided to post here and see what comes of it.

First of all - for those not already in the know, the rabid nature of fans and the stories we love opened the ability to see the Finale (two episodes) a week before they air on TV. If you have not seen the finale - GO. NOW!

Secondly - as implied this topic is about Korra Book 2 in its ENTIRETY! That means spoilers. Duh.
Zhu Li, do the thing!

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Brief Review, Thoughts and Observations:

For me this season had been quite a mix. For the first half of this season... I was…I...Oh shoot - I was essentially bored senseless. Intrigued enough by its premise to watch, but after a few episodes it came to a point where I was asking myself "Why am I watching this?”. Don’t get me wrong – I went in ready to forgive (for this observer) that total crap ending that was Korra Book 1, I just couldn’t get over how little Korra had changed from the first book. She was still an insolent little brat, ready to run her mouth at the moment of an emotion, where an action was reacting instead of thinking – abit like Zuko (from the original series) really, but somehow far worse. Its almost as if the writers wanted to half forget season one existed as well.

In fact – if it wasn’t for Jinora, for whom has been my favorite character in the Korra Set of Books thus far (yes – that means including season one), I probably would have stopped watching. How fortunate she bumped into Wan’s Statue so early in the episodes.

Speaking of Wan – once he get a formal introduction and his story was featured in two episodes, BOOM! The Legend of Korra got an actual Plot. So… that was great. The story pulled in the escalation tactic in its telling and stakes were made. We are left knowing that there is still more to come and that the world is still alive even as the chapter ended. For me the favorite moment wasn’t the fights, the concluding of old stories, or the makings of new ones. It was quick; 10 seconds or so.
She considered others before herself. This alone for Korra would be huge, but its where Korra considered the conclusions of Unalaq, that I find the biggest smile on my face. The man became essentially pure evil and she still considered his thoughts before coming to her own conclusion. If I may say so, she showed a moment of true wisdom. It’s about darn time.

Of course even if it isn’t my favorite moment, I did very much enjoy the visual metaphor of the eternal fight. No… dance. Not even just that but the Fog of Lost Souls – all these things and their conclusions I hope others can take to heart.
The results of all these struggles are poetic. Aangs statue has been ripped from its foundations. The second age of the Avatar has begun and nothing will ever be the same again. For me it’s saying – The original avatar is done, and the plot of the past is done. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Appa, Momo, Suki, Jet , Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, & Iroh (for the most part) all played their part. Let them rest a beautiful death. That was the past and now we look forward to what comes next upon that in creation, where the Avatar is no longer a bridge but a guide. How can you not be happy?

If only Korra let her hair down sooner.

Oh and one more thing...

--------------------From a past topic (stitched together)--------------------

INSANEdrive Addendum: Broadly speaking - Spirits will giveback what they get. Give aggression and they will return it at least two fold.

Ragashingo Says who? Nobody outlined such behavior in the three seasons of TLA or the first season of Korra.

;)

I take it you know more than I do. Care to discuss it?

I know that I know nothing. Here…allow me to elaborate and confuse you more. It is the nature of the idea (as well as statistics amongst approx 7.046 billion people) that every idea you will ever have someone else will have as well. After that it all comes down to the type of person that idea comes to, and the means & skills at their disposal (plus a bunch of other factors but let’s keep this simple). I do not know more then you, but I do have a particular and very quick incite when it comes to the underling idea of Avatar, which I have had a very hard time expressing, and am still considering if it even matters seeing as the action is done. Let’s just say I'm simply glad that someone was able to speak about a few of the observations I have to say. In the quotes above I spoke and do now speak of this topic, not out of memory but by if by some chance I was writing it, that’s what I would do. Mirrors Edge too while I’m at it.

For everything else that is beyond philosophy, podcasts and blog posts. (Which is how I knew about the first Avatars statue, and that Bumi wasn't a bender) :)

For those of you who wonder about Book Three:

(Bryan Konietzko) We have seen the first four episodes of Take 1 animation from Studio Mir on Book 3. AWESOME STUFF! They continue to blow us away. The premiere date hasn’t been pinned down, but we are on track to airing Book 3 with MUCH less of a wait than the unfortunate one there was before Book 2 aired. We are all incredibly excited for you all to see the new book. For now, I hope enjoyed the Book 2 finale!

(Animation cred is linked for both. Credit where credit is due. Done.)

On Hulu or Netflix?

I admit, I didn't read any of your post. Just the title. Heh, because I'm avoiding spoilers. Excited to watch it though! I've loved all the Avatar stuff up to now!

There were parts of the season that I wasn't too happy about. The story just felt...off at times; the finale was rather odd at moments, like, WHAT THE HECK DID JINORA DO?!?; or, for all of his time on screen, was Varrick really a necessary character? Not that I didn't enjoy him and Zhu Li, but at the end of the season, it didn't really feel like he added much of anything to the story.

However, despite those things, I still loved the show and am really excited to see what comes next!

Will post more later, but it is one of the few shows I get excited for and follow through with. It had a strange slow burn for being so short, but I loved it.

On Hulu or Netflix?

I admit, I didn't read any of your post. Just the title. Heh, because I'm avoiding spoilers. Excited to watch it though! I've loved all the Avatar stuff up to now!

I don't know if all of it is currently on Hulu or Netflix - Internet is your best bet at the moment.

Zhu Li, do the thing!

FYI:

First of all - for those not already in the know, the rabid nature of fans and the stories we love opened the ability to see the Finale (two episodes) a week before they air on TV. If you have not seen the finale - GO. NOW!

- No text -

It really didn't take a lot for me to enjoy, just watching the interaction of characters I fell in love with in season 1 does a lot for me.

So, here's the breakdown otherwise.

Good:

-Varrik, I fucking loved Varrik. Such a simple comedic character. He brought some comedy to a dark, dramatic season. Anytime he did something or said something, I was so happy.

-All the normal goods, the fight choreography, humor, pacing, animation.

-Avatar origin story, probably the most ballin' two episodes and let the first half of the season have a mystery about it before delving into the meat of it.

-Potential of the Dark Avatar, I think it could've been better elaborated on, but this isn't out for the future. Definitely has a jedi-sith thing going on.

-Bolin. My boy Bolin finally making moves and being a badass. Makes me tear up almost.

Bad:

-Totally phoning in Jinora's spirit connection. She made up for it in spades, but it seemed so sudden other than seeing a wood carving earlier, which didn't tell me she had specific connections to spirits anyway. This is a problem of having such a shirt season.

-Spirit Kaiju battle. As much as I liked it on a level, I thought the idea of giant evil Unalok fighting giant spirit Korra was a bit ridiculous.

-Wasted Potential of Dark Avatar. This can still be used later to introduce a real threat, but Unalok never learned the 4 elements, or obtained the potential. He did fuse with Vaatu, and he was disintegrated, but I'm not sure that eliminates the possibility of a dark avatar cycle from beginning, but as far as I know, this would limit it to water specifically.

-Mako. He was such a dumbass this season. He was right, but still a dumbass about any cues Varrick gave him about protecting loved ones. I didn't get the idea he was resisting evil, I thought he legitimately had no idea what he meant when he said, "You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Bolin or Asami, would you?" And don't get me started on his idea of being emotionally committed to someone. Lord, he was quite the whorish man.

But with all that, I still loved it. It's a fantastic series that should be taught in schools and forced on the unwilling. We will reach synchronization.

Happy endings are boring and Spirits did not dissapoint for one second. New additions to the cast for this season were incredibly and I'd enjoy any setting the writers put them in. Nobody seems to be made an unnecessary weight in this struggle. Asami and Mako did appear to be sidelined this season, no doubt to boost Bolin's newfound talents and Varrik's shenanigans. Mako's adept detective skills are shadowed by relationship issues, which in the end nobody really cared about. Asami takes an even bigger hit and is essentially reduced to a failed businesswoman with nothing else to offer the story, save for her rekindling with Mako that doesn't pan out much this season.

Did I mention that this show is abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous yet? Because it is. I'd be hard pressed to find a single frame from beginning to end that doesn't have its own unique charm. Seeing the different style presented for Avatar Wan's origin story was pretty cool. Oh, and cue the awhs for baby Korra. What an adorable little munchkin!

Ugh I must sound like such a terrible fangirl. Oh well. I highly recommend you guys marathon this series over Thanksgiving or holiday break in the coming month. You will not come away without smiles, laughs, tears, and a lust for Korra's fashion sense. Damn that Water Tribe get-up is sexy.

-Varrik, I fucking loved Varrik. Such a simple comedic character. He brought some comedy to a dark, dramatic season. Anytime he did something or said something, I was so happy.

Varrik was shockingly deep and insightful as time progressed. Really struck by his nonchalant view on war profiteering.

-Bolin. My boy Bolin finally making moves and being a badass. Makes me tear up almost.

Korra should've gone with him from the start. He's handsome, cute, adorkble, trustworthy, dependable, cute, and has a fire ferret. Not to mention that Mako is a total slut. :P

-Mako. He was such a dumbass this season. He was right, but still a dumbass about any cues Varrick gave him about protecting loved ones. I didn't get the idea he was resisting evil, I thought he legitimately had no idea what he meant when he said, "You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Bolin or Asami, would you?" And don't get me started on his idea of being emotionally committed to someone. Lord, he was quite the whorish man.

Ugh. Was he even really there this season? Hopefully that time in the slammer will have changed him.

But with all that, I still loved it. It's a fantastic series that should be taught in schools and forced on the unwilling.

My kids will watch Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra and they'll like it! No really, I assure you they will because it's amazing and obviously they'll get a remarkable taste for fiction from me. :)