The Legend of Korra S01E11 & E12

By: Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko

The Story: It may come as a shock to you that Amon is not a family man.

The Review: I’m a regular reader of Wired, the ostensible boutique magazine for geeks, and I find it, just like whatever that’s “boutique” anything, is a little prone to making broad, definitive judgment calls with no support.  Take Scott Thrill’s take on The Legend of Korra, in his eyes the “Smartest Cartoon on TV.”  Now, I didn’t quite do a spit-take on reading that headline, but I must say, with no offense to Thrill, that I respectfully disagree.

The last couple episodes have been solid enough to make me eager for the season finale, but halfway through, right around the point where Tarrlok spills the beans on every revelation you ever needed, I found myself turned cold.  Be forewarned, this next chunk of review will contain quite a few spoilers, so shut your eyes and move on if you’re not into that kind of thing.

The Legend of Korra S01E09 – Review

By: Michael DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko (story)

The Story: Grown-up Aang = less cute, more beard.

The Review: In some ways, this show has been quite prudent in avoiding too many references to or guest spots from the original Team Avatar.  Obviously, DiMartino-Konietzko want the show to stand on its own to some extent, and give the new cast a chance to grow without distractions from already beloved characters.  Yet it would’ve been highly unusual if we didn’t get to see the old gang at some point; I’m certain there’d be some kind of protest if that happened.

Honestly, though, while it’s exciting to see the grown-up Aang, Sokka, and Toph, the only real resemblance they have to the cute kids we knew and loved are echoes in their physical features (with Aang, you don’t even get that; you can’t see a trace of the round-faced kid in this Amish-bearded, strong-jawed man).  But that’s to be expected; they couldn’t possibly be impulsive or silly children forever.  And on the bright side, you at least get a “Twinkle-toes” out of Toph and Sokka’s borderline creepy affection for his “trusty boomerang,” so it’s not a complete loss.

The Legend of Korra S01E08 – Review

By: Michael DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko (story)

The Story: Take a lesson from the Abba Teens, guys—tribute bands aren’t actual bands.

The Review: A couple weeks ago, I mentioned how I felt DiMartino-Konietzko only had so much story to tell for this season and how they’ve attempted to disguise the fact with several plotlines that didn’t really offer any worthwhile material.  Big example: the entirety of the pro-bending arc, which basically had some flashy animation and did virtually nothing else for the show.  At times, it almost exasperatingly got in the way of the truly intriguing stuff.

I’m talking, of course, about the bender versus non-bender war we’ve currently got in full force.  With all the opposing parties are out in the open, it seems like only now DiMartino-Konietzko can stride confidently into the story they’ve wanted to tell all along.  Everything certainly clicks a lot better than it has in the first half of the season, from the character interaction and even to the battle sequences.  You can sense purpose behind every moment, which is a great feeling.

The Legend of Korra S01E06 – Review

By: Michael DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko (story)

The Story: Ringside seats grow less amazing once terrorists take over the ring.

The Review: I don’t mean to sound like a downer, but I’ve found another point of dissatisfaction with this series.  It just feels like we don’t have much going on in each episode, making you feel as if DiMartino-Konietzko are trying to scrape a fairly limited plot across a whole season, filling in the gaps with as much bending tricks as they can dream up.  And while that’s entertaining enough in itself, it doesn’t make for a very driven or memorable show.

The show has a consistent problem of predictability.  At first, you think it throws you a curve ball when Tarrlok, of all people, is in total agreement with Tenzin on protecting innocent lives rather than confront Amon.  You start thinking he might have some good in his body after all, which would make him a more multifaceted character than your run-of-the-mill obsequious schemer.  And then he ruins it by immediately stepping back once he’s sure that someone else will take the blame should things go south.