Bad Touch Yakushi
Active member
(I left the base months back but will still post the occasional piece time to time if anybody is interested. There'll be a video version of this soon enough)
KORRA - IS THE AVATAR NEEDED?
Avatar: The Last Airbender has gone down in history as quite possibly one of the most involving, influential and important animated shows of all time. What started out as the story of a boy trapped in an iceburg has developed into an entire fictional world, spanning various series and ages. The world of the Avatar has grown, but now that the 10 year journey is coming to an end, it’s only in the last few seasons we’ve started to become aware of the grand theme of the series. Balance. Now the word balance is said often but what does it actually mean? Well- let’s explore that.
The Last Airbender, whilst always remaining fun- bravely managed to depict themes of genocide, imperialism, and the idea of whether it is right to kill, even for the most just cause- heavy stuff for a kids show. The sequel, The Legend of Korra went over and beyond, creating a series with a new target audience- a series surprisingly extroverted with its bold socio-political commentary. By reframing the central power of bending, The Legend of Korra delves into contemporary themes like the luck-based distribution of advantages and socioeconomic justice. In the Avatar universe, certain people are blessed with magical powers allowing them to manipulate the classical elements with the martial art of “bending”. A spirit known as the “Avatar”, with the ability to bend all four elements, is cyclically reincarnated in human form and acts the planet’s peacekeeper and representative tie to the Spirit World. After the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar Aang establishes Republic City, a utopian vision of creating a place where all can live in harmony, and it’s an extremely naïve and creation.
The avatar world starts biographically with the story of Avatar Wan. An Aladdin- style thief who stole the power of firebending and eventually found himself involved with the Spirit World, becoming eventually- the first avatar. An unbiased peace-keeper chosen to keep the world safe and in balance. Avatar Wan showed us that if anything the root of all evil, the world it lives in IS unbalanced, morally unaligned, spiritually disconnected and just generally stuck in a cycle of disarray. This conflict causes issues- pushing spirits and humans far apart, humans wiping out entire civilizations etc. This is the job of the Avatar, to prevent these evils from upsetting this ‘balance’.
Now we have the latest Avatar, Korra of the Water Tribe. And the thing is, in her age- the definition of the word balance is now being put into question entirely. Throughout 4 seasons of trying to become a fully-fledged Avatar, she has come to grips with what that title really entails in a way no other person has before. Korra discovers that this inequality in the world she lives in gives birth to monsters in society and new radical people with radical ideals.
The Legend of Korra is much less cartoony and fun than its predecessor The Last Airbender, in both tone and message. Whilst Aang lived in a more desperate, war-torn era- his villains were more black and white, thus Aang never really had to come to terms with the problems of leadership, the morally grey or different visions of peace and order, he was too busy creating peace in the first place. Whereas Korra alternatively faces problems more grounded in reality, the problems that CAN come from peacetime…and then also the fact that not everybody has the same vision of peace. The villains Korra faces blur the lines of good and evil, and create a very different type of moral threat to not only the Avatar, but world order- one that no Avatar has had to face before.
Amon – Communism
Unalaq – Theocracy
Zaheer & The Red Lotus – Anarchy
Kuvira – Fascism
(Varrick & Earth Queen are Capitalism & Monarchy)
But they’re not all that obvious, the sometimes-villain Varrick embodies the sheer power of Capitalism and the influence that comes with money whilst some villains hide themselves within Government, showing that even the sacred council of Republic City that the Avatar Aang himself put into place has been breached, and early on too. The Legend of Korra’s antagonists have all seen themselves as addressing the problems of a broken world — problems that, they posit, the established elite ignore. Each, however goodhearted, veered to violence and extremism, and so Korra naturally put them away with brute force, doing what she has been taught the Avatar has to do.
But the initial assertion they all agreed upon — that this is a broken world in need of fixing — remains un-addressed. The good guys have kept the bad at bay, but they have offered nothing in their place, no “solution. A huge part of Book 1 was being dazzled by Republic City by its multi-ethnic populace, its technological achievements, its council politics. But in exploring the world beyond it over the course of the past two seasons, Korra has revealed that this progress has not extended to the rest of the world. Ba Sing Se is the totalitarian nightmare it has always been; the rural Earth Kingdom is an ungovernable mess of looting; and the altruism of the new Air Nomads, however earnest, is largely ineffectual.
And now to explore the villains and what they represent in more detail.
Amon - Communism
The first force Korra encounters in Republic City is the revolutionary Amon, the leader of the ‘Equalists’ who fight for social equality between those who have the ability to bend the elements and those born without. At first Amon seems to embody an actual issue in this fictional society as in Republic City bending DOES grant greater social power than those born without it. Bending is an integral part of the societies foundation, the police force use metalbending to enforce the law, criminal gangs push around and steal from civilians, the cities major source of entertainment is the sport of pro-bending, every council member is a respected master in the art of bending. Due to this total lack of non-bender representation in every aspect of the city non-benders are disempowered and have no say in their city state decisions at all- this explains the amount of opposition benders face in Book 1, creating figures like Sato- a rare example of a non-bender becoming an influential, successful figure of society. And he uses this success and fury to exact revenge and fund Amon’s resistance-creating yet another villain in society.
Despite this cause, Amon is flawed in his drive due to using violent acts of terrorism and taking peoples bending by force rather than become and actual respectable member of society. This devastating ability to permanently rid someone of their bending is in theory- rape. Ridding them of their personal identity and societal power. And this is made even more ironic by the fact that Amon uses the exact same technique that Avatar Aang used on Firelord Ozai to end the Hundred Year War. Whilst clearly not out for power, his cause is made even more invalid by the pure hypocrisy of it all- his entire cause is led by the sheer fact that not only is he a bender himself, but actually one of the most privileged and powerful of them all. His entire backstory was a lie and a cover-up and whilst there was a legitimate cause here, it got lost in the terror of the attack. Amon was flawed.
Unalaq – Theocracy
Unalaq is perhaps the most warped classic ‘villain’ archetype we encounter but even he has his own version of balance. His balance lies with the spirits and he saw the Avatar cycle as wrong. But he was ultimately a megalomaniac, using his own children, lying his way into authority, happily willing to execute his brother and was in prison for a good reason. BECAUSE HE TRIED TO MURDER A TODDLER. His own niece, Avatar Korra. His goal IS power and to rule over an era of darkness by ending Korra’s rule and replacing her ancestry with himself as a ‘Dark Avatar’ which he doesn’t see as a guardian role, but more as taking up the helm of a God. He sees himself, as- a god.
Unalaq can easily be viewed as a generic villain, whose only goal is villainy for the sake of it but to me Unalaq to me is the embodiment of religious zealotry. It’s a true fact that some twisted souls with dark interests just DO exist in this world and the next. And Unalaq finds himself much more invested in the spirit world than humanity- hence why the idea of the Avatar repulses him so. From his perspective the human world is disconnected from the spirits and so he could see himself as suitable for the role of Avatar when in reality, Korra and the rest of the world simply are ignorant to them. Regardless, Unalaq was flawed.
Zaheer - Anarchy
The Red Lotus are the next villains of Book 3, a Book suitably named ‘Book of Change’. Zaheer and his band of criminals saw themselves as peacekeepers, peace through anarchy and were about to force the world into violent revolution by killing all the World Leaders and resetting the power balance between civilians and Kings. Whilst the word Anarchy is well-suited (and also specifically used by Zaheer himself) another alternative is that he is not fighting for anarchy for the sake of it, but for freedom. Zaheer is the worst of the Air Nation, a man who studied the Air Monks work and took the solidarity and hardships of the clan to the extreme. Yet despite this he has been proven to quite literally be an airbending master who found true enlightenment. And this freedom is literally iterated in his ability to quite literally become weightless and take flight, a feat almost impossible.
So what does this enlightenment mean? Ramblings of a madman or the true prophet following the true way of peace of the Air Nomads? Perhaps this breakdown of societal roles was exactly what the Monks of solitude found through their lives of meditation WAS the road to peace, it Is totally possible that Zaheer was entirely in the right. But then we also have to think? Was the works of this Monk Zaheer followed heavily misinterpreted? Or was this peaceful Monk sharing the same philosophy? How far do these ideologies stretch? The line is starting to become more blurred admittedly.
Zaheer’s logic of freedom is fundamentally flawed. Anarchy rasies some points and clearly monarchy affects the world of Avatar very negatively but his concept of freedom simply would not translate into real life application. I think what Zaheer, and the Red Lotus in general, represents is the innate human desire for freedom. We may all have been born in some form of regulated society, but without the option to seek a life for ourselves it wouldn't be considered a society in which freedom is permitted.
What the Red Lotus wants is to abolish any chance that this freedom is brought under scrutiny and bring society to its base form of loose and disorderly. But really think about that. It's literally human nature - most animal's nature too - for us to come under some higher power/leader - they're hunter/gatherers/packs/family groups. Even if it's not under something as huge as an Earth Queen or a President, how could we/they ever be in a world that Zaheer envisions if we simply live in smaller groups - but still with hierarchy? Any form of establishment can become corrupt, it’s literally human nature. Zaheer whilst interesting- was an extremist. Zaheer was flawed.
Kuvira – Fascism
We’re still learning about Kuvira and what her endgame is. She is attempting to unite the Earth nation and yes, fix it piece by piece but also inadvertently shutting out all other nations, which as we know whilst a segregated nation CAN still operate- this world lives off of balance. You can’t have a balanced world with just 3 of the 4 elements, without every nation. And this is peace by force, using an actual colonisation technique used by real life nations- which might make Kuvira the most realistic and maybe even non-villainous antagonist introduced yet.
Kuvira is harsh and she is unforgiving, sometimes even bullying smaller towns into joining her ranks but she seems to be a necessary evil. Even Avatar Aang himself was flawed. He lives in a progressive world where technology, ethics and the people themselves are constantly evolving and so Aang’s old vision of peace that worked with villains like Ozai are now outdated. And that’s the thing. Now that previous Avatars fought to make a future in peacetime, it’s only now that humanity is trying to figure out what peace even is. Currently we have the Air Nomads, the Red Lotus, the Avatar AND Kuvira all trying to establish ‘balance’, whatever that does actually entail. I genuinely will not be surprised if the show ends with Korra ultimately ending the avatar cycle once and for all.
----
The world leaders are all such important parts in the series, meaning this is directly what the show is about. Even Avatar had all of its main characters as members of monarchy. Aang the Avatar, Zuko the fallen Prince, Toph quite literally a Bei Fong princess and Sokka and Katara whilst never mentioned are essentially prince and princess of the Southern Water Tribe, being children of the tribe leader.
Now you can see how anti-establishment villains like Amon and the Red Lotus can come about. It IS fair to say monarchy in both this world and our own is bad and outdated, as that’s what created the Fire Lord, the entire source of every antagonist from the original series and cause of the Hundred Year War. Because with that throne comes an inherited sense of importance and ownership over the land, combine that with the incompetent (Earth King from TLA), the manipulative (Tarlok) and the straight-up evil (Earth Queen) leaders we see elsewhere in the series and it really does put the leadership issue into question.
Considering the strong ties to monarchy in both series and the themes that the showrunners are carrying with their villains- it is fair to assume that the entire world, the entire story of Avatar is based around the notion of leadership, peace and ultimately- balance. But what IS balance? Ever since Book 1 this has been Korra’s struggle- even if she did not know it at the time.
Now an important and…sometimes aggravating fact of Korra is that a lot of the time she simply does not listen. Early immaturity cause her to retort to the Equalists cause with ‘BENDING IS THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER!’ And whilst she means well, she has never readdressed this issue for actual non-benders living in the city. Korra never tried to understand Vaatu and immediately sided with what she is comfortable with, Raava and whilst she tried to understand and listen to The Red Lotus’ plans- her best solution was to instead beat all of them up. An important line comes in Book 4, “The names change but the streets stay the same”.
Korra defeats her opponents who threaten her way of life but never gets to the root of the problem or really understand their perspective. In this manner the Avatar now serves a different role, to guard the current vision of peace at any cost, violently if needed- to preserve Aang’s naïve sanctuary. Korra lives in a time where the Avatar is praised as a founding father and a hero, having to live up to that legacy alone is more than enough to create an inferiority complex but there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s very important to note that the very presence of an Avatar has been extremely romanticized from Korra’s perspective…and so she can’t wait to put these firebending classes to the test and punch bad guys right? Which is…ironically exactly what she does when she arrives- only to get arrested. Even from the start Korra is blindsighted as to what the Avatar actually entails because of Aang’s legacy.
In Book 4 we see Korra as a nomad, an emotional wreck after the events of Book 3. Literally being paralysed and distraught by The Red Lotus and everything that came before them. This is because Korra has to face something that no other avatar has had to face before, especially Aang. Opponents who not only want to kill her but ones that actively try to destroy her way of life. Amon took away her bending and vowed to destroy her. Unalaq took her family hostage, stole her avatar state and disconneced her from her past lives and The Red Lotus tried to personally end the avatar cycle. They have all posed against what the Avatar represents and by the time of book 4 there is little left to take. The Red Lotus planted a metallic poison but also more than that- the real poison was planting the thought inside her head- that she may not be needed any longer.
Now this connects with a huge, ambiguous scene from the finale of Book 3. In the aftermath of the Red Lotus battle Korra attends Jinora’s tattoo ceremony where it’s actually her own mentor Tenzin’s words who hit her the hardest. Why does she cry here? What does the tear symbolize? Well think of it from her perspective. Korra’s entire life has revolved around her identity as the Avatar, hidden away as a toddler, taught how to be a good avatar for her whole childhood hidden away from the world and now here she is being told how her identity has turned to nothing. It’s the fact that the Air Nation have now taken over the role of balance-keeping and the impotence and helplessness she feels from the chair. It’s this moment that she realizes the truth of Zaheer’s words and her worst fear is confirmed. The world no longer needs the Avatar.
Now this editorial has been quite critical on Korra herself, when really that isn’t the case. Korra has done a good job of peace up-keeping, but only when you consider her age and experience. The problem is…why was a teenager chosen at random and blessed with the arsenal of an atom bomb to guard over the world with? That seems like an outdated and strange cycle when you put it that way. Now of course, Korra is a half-baked avatar. She was a shutaway hothead who had her life set out for her at the age of six and….yeah, she’s still young. She isn’t perfect and she hasn’t figured out the road to balance either, but at the same time…has anyone? You have people who have dedicated their lives to their causes but in both Legend of Aang and Legend of Korra they have done one thing right. Nobody you see in this series has got it right. Everyone’s character or ideology is in some way flawed, and so at the same time you shouldn’t fully support or believe anybody in this series.
It's really interesting to analyze the thought processes of these sorts of antagonists because it really says something about issues never being solely black or white, and about extremist individuals in our own world. There is a conflict of ideals that media like the Legend of Korra can portray like nothing else can. And however the series comes to a close, whatever Korra’s struggle with Kuvira is I genuinely believe the build-up til now has been the beginning of the end for this cycle, that Korra will end the cycle of the Avatar for good or come to a huge unknown realisation about her role in the universe. So? Do we even need the Avatar anymore?
KORRA - IS THE AVATAR NEEDED?
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Avatar: The Last Airbender has gone down in history as quite possibly one of the most involving, influential and important animated shows of all time. What started out as the story of a boy trapped in an iceburg has developed into an entire fictional world, spanning various series and ages. The world of the Avatar has grown, but now that the 10 year journey is coming to an end, it’s only in the last few seasons we’ve started to become aware of the grand theme of the series. Balance. Now the word balance is said often but what does it actually mean? Well- let’s explore that.
The Last Airbender, whilst always remaining fun- bravely managed to depict themes of genocide, imperialism, and the idea of whether it is right to kill, even for the most just cause- heavy stuff for a kids show. The sequel, The Legend of Korra went over and beyond, creating a series with a new target audience- a series surprisingly extroverted with its bold socio-political commentary. By reframing the central power of bending, The Legend of Korra delves into contemporary themes like the luck-based distribution of advantages and socioeconomic justice. In the Avatar universe, certain people are blessed with magical powers allowing them to manipulate the classical elements with the martial art of “bending”. A spirit known as the “Avatar”, with the ability to bend all four elements, is cyclically reincarnated in human form and acts the planet’s peacekeeper and representative tie to the Spirit World. After the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar Aang establishes Republic City, a utopian vision of creating a place where all can live in harmony, and it’s an extremely naïve and creation.
You must be registered for see images
The avatar world starts biographically with the story of Avatar Wan. An Aladdin- style thief who stole the power of firebending and eventually found himself involved with the Spirit World, becoming eventually- the first avatar. An unbiased peace-keeper chosen to keep the world safe and in balance. Avatar Wan showed us that if anything the root of all evil, the world it lives in IS unbalanced, morally unaligned, spiritually disconnected and just generally stuck in a cycle of disarray. This conflict causes issues- pushing spirits and humans far apart, humans wiping out entire civilizations etc. This is the job of the Avatar, to prevent these evils from upsetting this ‘balance’.
You must be registered for see images
Now we have the latest Avatar, Korra of the Water Tribe. And the thing is, in her age- the definition of the word balance is now being put into question entirely. Throughout 4 seasons of trying to become a fully-fledged Avatar, she has come to grips with what that title really entails in a way no other person has before. Korra discovers that this inequality in the world she lives in gives birth to monsters in society and new radical people with radical ideals.
The Legend of Korra is much less cartoony and fun than its predecessor The Last Airbender, in both tone and message. Whilst Aang lived in a more desperate, war-torn era- his villains were more black and white, thus Aang never really had to come to terms with the problems of leadership, the morally grey or different visions of peace and order, he was too busy creating peace in the first place. Whereas Korra alternatively faces problems more grounded in reality, the problems that CAN come from peacetime…and then also the fact that not everybody has the same vision of peace. The villains Korra faces blur the lines of good and evil, and create a very different type of moral threat to not only the Avatar, but world order- one that no Avatar has had to face before.
Amon – Communism
Unalaq – Theocracy
Zaheer & The Red Lotus – Anarchy
Kuvira – Fascism
(Varrick & Earth Queen are Capitalism & Monarchy)
But they’re not all that obvious, the sometimes-villain Varrick embodies the sheer power of Capitalism and the influence that comes with money whilst some villains hide themselves within Government, showing that even the sacred council of Republic City that the Avatar Aang himself put into place has been breached, and early on too. The Legend of Korra’s antagonists have all seen themselves as addressing the problems of a broken world — problems that, they posit, the established elite ignore. Each, however goodhearted, veered to violence and extremism, and so Korra naturally put them away with brute force, doing what she has been taught the Avatar has to do.
You must be registered for see images
But the initial assertion they all agreed upon — that this is a broken world in need of fixing — remains un-addressed. The good guys have kept the bad at bay, but they have offered nothing in their place, no “solution. A huge part of Book 1 was being dazzled by Republic City by its multi-ethnic populace, its technological achievements, its council politics. But in exploring the world beyond it over the course of the past two seasons, Korra has revealed that this progress has not extended to the rest of the world. Ba Sing Se is the totalitarian nightmare it has always been; the rural Earth Kingdom is an ungovernable mess of looting; and the altruism of the new Air Nomads, however earnest, is largely ineffectual.
And now to explore the villains and what they represent in more detail.
Amon - Communism
You must be registered for see images
The first force Korra encounters in Republic City is the revolutionary Amon, the leader of the ‘Equalists’ who fight for social equality between those who have the ability to bend the elements and those born without. At first Amon seems to embody an actual issue in this fictional society as in Republic City bending DOES grant greater social power than those born without it. Bending is an integral part of the societies foundation, the police force use metalbending to enforce the law, criminal gangs push around and steal from civilians, the cities major source of entertainment is the sport of pro-bending, every council member is a respected master in the art of bending. Due to this total lack of non-bender representation in every aspect of the city non-benders are disempowered and have no say in their city state decisions at all- this explains the amount of opposition benders face in Book 1, creating figures like Sato- a rare example of a non-bender becoming an influential, successful figure of society. And he uses this success and fury to exact revenge and fund Amon’s resistance-creating yet another villain in society.
Despite this cause, Amon is flawed in his drive due to using violent acts of terrorism and taking peoples bending by force rather than become and actual respectable member of society. This devastating ability to permanently rid someone of their bending is in theory- rape. Ridding them of their personal identity and societal power. And this is made even more ironic by the fact that Amon uses the exact same technique that Avatar Aang used on Firelord Ozai to end the Hundred Year War. Whilst clearly not out for power, his cause is made even more invalid by the pure hypocrisy of it all- his entire cause is led by the sheer fact that not only is he a bender himself, but actually one of the most privileged and powerful of them all. His entire backstory was a lie and a cover-up and whilst there was a legitimate cause here, it got lost in the terror of the attack. Amon was flawed.
Unalaq – Theocracy
You must be registered for see images
Unalaq is perhaps the most warped classic ‘villain’ archetype we encounter but even he has his own version of balance. His balance lies with the spirits and he saw the Avatar cycle as wrong. But he was ultimately a megalomaniac, using his own children, lying his way into authority, happily willing to execute his brother and was in prison for a good reason. BECAUSE HE TRIED TO MURDER A TODDLER. His own niece, Avatar Korra. His goal IS power and to rule over an era of darkness by ending Korra’s rule and replacing her ancestry with himself as a ‘Dark Avatar’ which he doesn’t see as a guardian role, but more as taking up the helm of a God. He sees himself, as- a god.
Unalaq can easily be viewed as a generic villain, whose only goal is villainy for the sake of it but to me Unalaq to me is the embodiment of religious zealotry. It’s a true fact that some twisted souls with dark interests just DO exist in this world and the next. And Unalaq finds himself much more invested in the spirit world than humanity- hence why the idea of the Avatar repulses him so. From his perspective the human world is disconnected from the spirits and so he could see himself as suitable for the role of Avatar when in reality, Korra and the rest of the world simply are ignorant to them. Regardless, Unalaq was flawed.
Zaheer - Anarchy
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The Red Lotus are the next villains of Book 3, a Book suitably named ‘Book of Change’. Zaheer and his band of criminals saw themselves as peacekeepers, peace through anarchy and were about to force the world into violent revolution by killing all the World Leaders and resetting the power balance between civilians and Kings. Whilst the word Anarchy is well-suited (and also specifically used by Zaheer himself) another alternative is that he is not fighting for anarchy for the sake of it, but for freedom. Zaheer is the worst of the Air Nation, a man who studied the Air Monks work and took the solidarity and hardships of the clan to the extreme. Yet despite this he has been proven to quite literally be an airbending master who found true enlightenment. And this freedom is literally iterated in his ability to quite literally become weightless and take flight, a feat almost impossible.
So what does this enlightenment mean? Ramblings of a madman or the true prophet following the true way of peace of the Air Nomads? Perhaps this breakdown of societal roles was exactly what the Monks of solitude found through their lives of meditation WAS the road to peace, it Is totally possible that Zaheer was entirely in the right. But then we also have to think? Was the works of this Monk Zaheer followed heavily misinterpreted? Or was this peaceful Monk sharing the same philosophy? How far do these ideologies stretch? The line is starting to become more blurred admittedly.
Zaheer’s logic of freedom is fundamentally flawed. Anarchy rasies some points and clearly monarchy affects the world of Avatar very negatively but his concept of freedom simply would not translate into real life application. I think what Zaheer, and the Red Lotus in general, represents is the innate human desire for freedom. We may all have been born in some form of regulated society, but without the option to seek a life for ourselves it wouldn't be considered a society in which freedom is permitted.
What the Red Lotus wants is to abolish any chance that this freedom is brought under scrutiny and bring society to its base form of loose and disorderly. But really think about that. It's literally human nature - most animal's nature too - for us to come under some higher power/leader - they're hunter/gatherers/packs/family groups. Even if it's not under something as huge as an Earth Queen or a President, how could we/they ever be in a world that Zaheer envisions if we simply live in smaller groups - but still with hierarchy? Any form of establishment can become corrupt, it’s literally human nature. Zaheer whilst interesting- was an extremist. Zaheer was flawed.
Kuvira – Fascism
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We’re still learning about Kuvira and what her endgame is. She is attempting to unite the Earth nation and yes, fix it piece by piece but also inadvertently shutting out all other nations, which as we know whilst a segregated nation CAN still operate- this world lives off of balance. You can’t have a balanced world with just 3 of the 4 elements, without every nation. And this is peace by force, using an actual colonisation technique used by real life nations- which might make Kuvira the most realistic and maybe even non-villainous antagonist introduced yet.
Kuvira is harsh and she is unforgiving, sometimes even bullying smaller towns into joining her ranks but she seems to be a necessary evil. Even Avatar Aang himself was flawed. He lives in a progressive world where technology, ethics and the people themselves are constantly evolving and so Aang’s old vision of peace that worked with villains like Ozai are now outdated. And that’s the thing. Now that previous Avatars fought to make a future in peacetime, it’s only now that humanity is trying to figure out what peace even is. Currently we have the Air Nomads, the Red Lotus, the Avatar AND Kuvira all trying to establish ‘balance’, whatever that does actually entail. I genuinely will not be surprised if the show ends with Korra ultimately ending the avatar cycle once and for all.
----
The world leaders are all such important parts in the series, meaning this is directly what the show is about. Even Avatar had all of its main characters as members of monarchy. Aang the Avatar, Zuko the fallen Prince, Toph quite literally a Bei Fong princess and Sokka and Katara whilst never mentioned are essentially prince and princess of the Southern Water Tribe, being children of the tribe leader.
You must be registered for see images
Now you can see how anti-establishment villains like Amon and the Red Lotus can come about. It IS fair to say monarchy in both this world and our own is bad and outdated, as that’s what created the Fire Lord, the entire source of every antagonist from the original series and cause of the Hundred Year War. Because with that throne comes an inherited sense of importance and ownership over the land, combine that with the incompetent (Earth King from TLA), the manipulative (Tarlok) and the straight-up evil (Earth Queen) leaders we see elsewhere in the series and it really does put the leadership issue into question.
You must be registered for see images
Considering the strong ties to monarchy in both series and the themes that the showrunners are carrying with their villains- it is fair to assume that the entire world, the entire story of Avatar is based around the notion of leadership, peace and ultimately- balance. But what IS balance? Ever since Book 1 this has been Korra’s struggle- even if she did not know it at the time.
Now an important and…sometimes aggravating fact of Korra is that a lot of the time she simply does not listen. Early immaturity cause her to retort to the Equalists cause with ‘BENDING IS THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER!’ And whilst she means well, she has never readdressed this issue for actual non-benders living in the city. Korra never tried to understand Vaatu and immediately sided with what she is comfortable with, Raava and whilst she tried to understand and listen to The Red Lotus’ plans- her best solution was to instead beat all of them up. An important line comes in Book 4, “The names change but the streets stay the same”.
Korra defeats her opponents who threaten her way of life but never gets to the root of the problem or really understand their perspective. In this manner the Avatar now serves a different role, to guard the current vision of peace at any cost, violently if needed- to preserve Aang’s naïve sanctuary. Korra lives in a time where the Avatar is praised as a founding father and a hero, having to live up to that legacy alone is more than enough to create an inferiority complex but there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s very important to note that the very presence of an Avatar has been extremely romanticized from Korra’s perspective…and so she can’t wait to put these firebending classes to the test and punch bad guys right? Which is…ironically exactly what she does when she arrives- only to get arrested. Even from the start Korra is blindsighted as to what the Avatar actually entails because of Aang’s legacy.
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In Book 4 we see Korra as a nomad, an emotional wreck after the events of Book 3. Literally being paralysed and distraught by The Red Lotus and everything that came before them. This is because Korra has to face something that no other avatar has had to face before, especially Aang. Opponents who not only want to kill her but ones that actively try to destroy her way of life. Amon took away her bending and vowed to destroy her. Unalaq took her family hostage, stole her avatar state and disconneced her from her past lives and The Red Lotus tried to personally end the avatar cycle. They have all posed against what the Avatar represents and by the time of book 4 there is little left to take. The Red Lotus planted a metallic poison but also more than that- the real poison was planting the thought inside her head- that she may not be needed any longer.
Now this connects with a huge, ambiguous scene from the finale of Book 3. In the aftermath of the Red Lotus battle Korra attends Jinora’s tattoo ceremony where it’s actually her own mentor Tenzin’s words who hit her the hardest. Why does she cry here? What does the tear symbolize? Well think of it from her perspective. Korra’s entire life has revolved around her identity as the Avatar, hidden away as a toddler, taught how to be a good avatar for her whole childhood hidden away from the world and now here she is being told how her identity has turned to nothing. It’s the fact that the Air Nation have now taken over the role of balance-keeping and the impotence and helplessness she feels from the chair. It’s this moment that she realizes the truth of Zaheer’s words and her worst fear is confirmed. The world no longer needs the Avatar.
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Now this editorial has been quite critical on Korra herself, when really that isn’t the case. Korra has done a good job of peace up-keeping, but only when you consider her age and experience. The problem is…why was a teenager chosen at random and blessed with the arsenal of an atom bomb to guard over the world with? That seems like an outdated and strange cycle when you put it that way. Now of course, Korra is a half-baked avatar. She was a shutaway hothead who had her life set out for her at the age of six and….yeah, she’s still young. She isn’t perfect and she hasn’t figured out the road to balance either, but at the same time…has anyone? You have people who have dedicated their lives to their causes but in both Legend of Aang and Legend of Korra they have done one thing right. Nobody you see in this series has got it right. Everyone’s character or ideology is in some way flawed, and so at the same time you shouldn’t fully support or believe anybody in this series.
It's really interesting to analyze the thought processes of these sorts of antagonists because it really says something about issues never being solely black or white, and about extremist individuals in our own world. There is a conflict of ideals that media like the Legend of Korra can portray like nothing else can. And however the series comes to a close, whatever Korra’s struggle with Kuvira is I genuinely believe the build-up til now has been the beginning of the end for this cycle, that Korra will end the cycle of the Avatar for good or come to a huge unknown realisation about her role in the universe. So? Do we even need the Avatar anymore?
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