The Legend of Korra S03E01-05 – Review

By: Tim Hedrick, Joshua Hamilton, Michael Dante DiMartino (story)

The Story: Suddenly, being an airbender is a whole lot less special.

The Review: So for all those who thought that maybe I Dropped this series, my sincerest apologies. I hate to turn bar prep into my personal scapegoat for all my failings, but you have to admit, it’s a good one. Indeed, it wasn’t until commenters Daniel and Del Keyes mentioned it—thanks, pals!—that I remembered there was such a thing as Legend of Korra. Seriously, my reaction was something along the lines of, “Oh, yeah…”

I picked a real bad season to forget about the premiere, too, since the show came right out the gate with three episodes, and seems set to follow a two-episode-a-week schedule from now on. So just like my bar prep, I have a lot of catching up to do. To get started, let’s do as the show does and get the return of the spirits out of the way first. It’s exactly as disruptive as you’d expect, with vining habitats randomly popping up across Republic City, but since the show can’t exactly revive the spirit-human conflict without becoming repetitious, there’s not much anyone can do about the situation except deal with it, albeit sullenly.

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.