queenlua | korra season 2 eps 1-3

Man, I'm pretty used to shows drastically disappointing me once they hit season 3 (see: Lost, Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead, The O.C., wow this is an alarming pattern), but season 2 failures are far less common, and wow no pilot in recent memory has disappointed me more than the Legend of Korra season 2 pilot.

An incomplete list of gripes in no particular order:

For a bunch of the characters, it seems like any and all character development from last season just gets pitched out the window. Korra's unreasonably vindictive when dealing with Tenzin in episode 1, as if they didn't have an entire fucking arc in season 1 where they came to respect each other, better accommodate each other's personalities, and so on.

I guess they wanted the revelation with Korra's father to be a big "GASP ONOES" moment, but it just... didn't seem like that big of a deal, to me? Part of the problem, certainly, is the fact that we haven't really seen Korra's parents at all prior to this season, so we have no context for what exactly their relationship's been like—but I imagine a more skilled writer could've given us a few short-but-touching season in episode one, or something—as well as just making the revelation matter more. Given that Korra's a pretty fight-first-ask-questions-later personality herself, you'd think she'd kind of identify with the mistake her father made, and given that the whole thing presumably happened years before she was born and the only affect on her was she happened to grow up in a slightly different location, I just have trouble seeing this as the injustice/betrayal that the show obviously wants you to think it is, because the plot writers decided Korra needed to feel betrayed by her father but couldn't decide on a reasonable way to achieve that. Sigh.

every time Mako's on the screen I want to barf—except for episode 1 he seems to just exist to be all "sweetie" and "honey" and "I believe in you!!!" and what the hell I understand teenage romance can make people schmoopy but this paper-doll-flat-cheerleader-bullshit is just annoying? And the whole "y u no give me advice" weird subplot Korra and Mako had in episode 1 just felt juvenile and silly. Season 1 had some Teenage Relationship Issues that were painfully teenager but also authentic-feeling and touching; this just makes me want to roll my eyes.

the hell is with this Bolin/Eska bullshit? This season they've literally only been playing Bolin for laughs, which is annoying enough on its own—both season one and AtlA, I think, did pretty good jobs of using their comic relief characters for both comedy as well as giving them their own plausible, touching moments of character development, growth, depth, etc, but all Bolin's been doing here is being the butt of jokes. Also, the jokes are just not funny; I don't really understand what I'm supposed to find so hilarious about Eska (oh look! she has a near-identical twin and they both act really cold and robotic and threatening! it's so funny haha I don't get it) and blugh

I just don't understand Korra's motivations for trusting Unalaq so completely. First off, she probably learned a thing or two about trusting older dudes who flatter her from season one (hi Tarrlok)—so are we just pretending that didn't happen, or what? Plus, Korra's motivations for initially allying with Tarrlok in season one were much stronger—he used a combination of flattery and sneaky manipulation (putting her on the spot at the gala bla bla) to put her in a position where not joining him would be cowardice. But Unalaq's like, I dunno, fought a spirit? And evidently that's enough that Korra can look over the fact that he's leading a fucking invasion force in the south pole? I can buy Korra being brash, I can buy Korra putting her faith in the wrong person, I can get her pride and anger pushing her into doing something reckless, but I cannot buy her being a fucking idiot, which is all that's happening here.

The Tenzin-and-siblings sideplot is so irrelevant to the main action—I'm assuming maybe it gets connected to the main action later, because right now it's not relevant to the main plot, but for right now I guess I'm not really sure where they're going with it...? A bunch of pent-up bad feelings between siblings is kind of cool territory to explore, certainly, but they seemed to be trying to convince us, the audience, that Tenzin's an inattentive/poor father—but all the interactions we've seen between him and his kids so far directly contradict this—he's pretty involved in his kids lives, and probably a bit too stuffy and uptight, but not unreasonable or unloving or neglectful. The "you didn't come take care of mom" accusation from Kyza was more interesting/real-feeling but blah I don't know it just didn't do a lot for me on the whole.

also what the hell was with that pacing in the pilot it felt like they threw in EXCITING SPIRIT BATTLE in the last three minutes because they were like "oshit we forgot to include some action let's make it happen"

I'm not sure if I'll watch much more of this show—I was still willing to give it a chance after that massively disappointing pilot, and the subsequent episodes have been maybe a little better, but only marginally so—not enough to keep me watching.

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I'm not sure if I'll watch much more of this show—I was still willing to give it a chance after that massively disappointing pilot, and the subsequent episodes have been maybe a little better, but only marginally so—not enough to keep me watching.

I have never been able to get into either ATLA or Korra. Tried to, kinda felt I should, couldn't, and am progressively less disappointed in myself for it. :/

I haven't watched any of book 2, since I was just massively let down by book 1's squandered everything, and it's increasingly looking like I'm not missing much. I was so into Korra's aesthetic and setting but nahhh it doesn't seem worth following for me.

"happened to grow up in a slightly different location."

On the one hand, I know exactly what you mean, and on the other, opposite side of the world.

I am disproportionately amused by this.

I think they're trying to make up for the shortcomings of Season 1 by introducing a situation in which pacification of the rebel sector is not the correct route to take. Unfortunately they're doing it all with the subtlety of a power drill and stringing along most of its cast with Do This Because Plot Says So in order to accomplish it. Classic bad writing.

I also suspect some element of lack of quality control is at play -- I feel like some things about Eska and Dezda could have been funny, but were so mishandled that they came off exactly as cartoonish as their premise was. Same to Tenzen 'n' sibs: Theoretically interesting premise, unfortunate presentation. I know they outsourced the animation work but I can't help but wonder if that meant that some important step in editing was also nixed or something.

And evidently that's enough that Korra can look over the fact that he's leading a fucking invasion force in the south pole? <-- this is absolutely my biggest complaint with this season and the reason I've been playing Animal Crossing while half-watching the episodes.

think they're trying to make up for the shortcomings of Season 1 by introducing a situation in which pacification of the rebel sector is not the correct route to take.

Mm. Now that you point that out I definitely see that; Korra as peacemaker is certainly a cool route to take in theory.

bummer it's just not panning out :/

Haha, I think we've already pretty much hashed out what irritated me about the series so far in our earlier conversation but yeah pretty much everything you've said here.

It just feels VERY strongly like the writing of the cast is in different hands now, hands that aren't used to handling these characters and don't understand them and maybe even don't like them. AtlA was cheesy as heck but at least the characterization of its cast was fairly consistent. Korra season 2 is just... ??????

I felt like I could sort of forgive the first two episodes, since it was just setting up the general premise of the new season (and I also completely forgot that two episodes had been released at the same time, and so only watched the first episode and thought it was the only one until, like, a week later, which is why I really should not do dishes when trying to watch things online) but now I'm just so... apathetic to the way things are being handled, now, that I'm just going along with it out of a sense of vague obligation to A:tLA and whatnot more than anything else. :/ Bleh.

I also completely forgot that two episodes had been released at the same time

this happened to me too i am so bad at figuring out show release schedules sob

at least for your sake the animation's still pretty? :D;;

korra season 2 eps 1-3

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