In Which I Speculate About Legend of Korra...
Saturday, July 12th, 2014 02:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoThis entry will discuss events that happened up to Episode 5, "The Metal Clan." I know that more episodes have been leaked, and if you know any spoilers concerning those, I'd appreciate them being kept under a hat.
I am REALLY loving this season. All the characters have changed, and the villains are genuinely scary, even before we know that their endgame is (other than being super badass benders who can even take a frakking dragon out.) I like seeing how Korra has matured and how she's much more the Avatar now, and that she takes her role seriously. I loved seeing Tenzin's eyes fill with tears as he met the newest Airbender recruits, and I love seeing Jinora's powers again.
I'm a little less sold on Kai, who seems like a bit of concession to create a character that younger viewers can identify with (since apparently Jinora is not enough or something) and has done nothing but create trouble thus far. While it's fun to see Mako and Bolin's reactions to him (and Bolin as the lackadaisical big brother has been a good source of comedy), I really hope that he grows and changes into a stronger character as the season progresses, and doesn't just remain a force of chaos, romantic and otherwise.
Asami is still a bit of a sidekick character, but her calm attitude about the whole thing reminds of an NPC that a storyteller creates so that the PCs always have an ally they can trust to get out of trouble. (I'm entirely guilty of having done this myself on more than a few roleplaying occasions.) Again, I hope she has a chance to be the star of a few more scenes, and mature more as well.
And specifically about Lin: and really, Toph's whole family: I'm not entirely surprised that Toph wasn't the greatest or most stable parent. While Toph is an amazing character, she's not the sort to sit back and put her feet up (heh). After all, this is the woman who invented/mastered metalbending to escape from a prison that her family had set up for her. This is not a good set-up for a person to become the kind of down-to-earth, 9-to-5 type of parent that Lin and Su must have craved. This is a woman who creates a new form of bending, who travels endlessly in an effort to compensate for a life constricted too hard and too early.
All this said, Lin and Su are adults now, and it sounds like nothing they've ever done is good enough for themselves, or for their famous mother. (Who is, apparently, still alive?? And wandering around somewhere?!? WHUT?!) What could possibly drive a wedge between two sisters like that? Thirty years is a long time, especially if Su has been reaching out, as she claims to have done. I've always assumed that Lin is in her late 40s/early 50s, which puts the Dividing Incident somewhere at the end of her teenage years or early 20s. Hopefully the answer isn't "bitch stole my man!" because Lin, although she's been cold to other characters in the past, still manages to have a cordial relationship with Tenzin even after they dated, despite the fact it didn't work out. (To be fair, this could have been later on.) So if it's not the telenovela answer, then what? I've a read a few theories that Lin's scars have something to do with the Dividing Incident. I think this is something that involves being denied entry into Su's family somehow, given Lin's reaction to poor Opal (who deserves a prize for calling Bolin out on his nonsensical approach to dating her.) How that ties in with scars, though, I've no idea.
I really like the two episodes a Friday night format, even though we're in the Friday night death slot. It feels more substantial as two episodes, and it gives the plot more time to unfold, rather than suffering from endless recapping.
I am REALLY loving this season. All the characters have changed, and the villains are genuinely scary, even before we know that their endgame is (other than being super badass benders who can even take a frakking dragon out.) I like seeing how Korra has matured and how she's much more the Avatar now, and that she takes her role seriously. I loved seeing Tenzin's eyes fill with tears as he met the newest Airbender recruits, and I love seeing Jinora's powers again.
I'm a little less sold on Kai, who seems like a bit of concession to create a character that younger viewers can identify with (since apparently Jinora is not enough or something) and has done nothing but create trouble thus far. While it's fun to see Mako and Bolin's reactions to him (and Bolin as the lackadaisical big brother has been a good source of comedy), I really hope that he grows and changes into a stronger character as the season progresses, and doesn't just remain a force of chaos, romantic and otherwise.
Asami is still a bit of a sidekick character, but her calm attitude about the whole thing reminds of an NPC that a storyteller creates so that the PCs always have an ally they can trust to get out of trouble. (I'm entirely guilty of having done this myself on more than a few roleplaying occasions.) Again, I hope she has a chance to be the star of a few more scenes, and mature more as well.
And specifically about Lin: and really, Toph's whole family: I'm not entirely surprised that Toph wasn't the greatest or most stable parent. While Toph is an amazing character, she's not the sort to sit back and put her feet up (heh). After all, this is the woman who invented/mastered metalbending to escape from a prison that her family had set up for her. This is not a good set-up for a person to become the kind of down-to-earth, 9-to-5 type of parent that Lin and Su must have craved. This is a woman who creates a new form of bending, who travels endlessly in an effort to compensate for a life constricted too hard and too early.
All this said, Lin and Su are adults now, and it sounds like nothing they've ever done is good enough for themselves, or for their famous mother. (Who is, apparently, still alive?? And wandering around somewhere?!? WHUT?!) What could possibly drive a wedge between two sisters like that? Thirty years is a long time, especially if Su has been reaching out, as she claims to have done. I've always assumed that Lin is in her late 40s/early 50s, which puts the Dividing Incident somewhere at the end of her teenage years or early 20s. Hopefully the answer isn't "bitch stole my man!" because Lin, although she's been cold to other characters in the past, still manages to have a cordial relationship with Tenzin even after they dated, despite the fact it didn't work out. (To be fair, this could have been later on.) So if it's not the telenovela answer, then what? I've a read a few theories that Lin's scars have something to do with the Dividing Incident. I think this is something that involves being denied entry into Su's family somehow, given Lin's reaction to poor Opal (who deserves a prize for calling Bolin out on his nonsensical approach to dating her.) How that ties in with scars, though, I've no idea.
I really like the two episodes a Friday night format, even though we're in the Friday night death slot. It feels more substantial as two episodes, and it gives the plot more time to unfold, rather than suffering from endless recapping.
