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  • 08/21/12 - Poll ended; /cod/ split off as a new board from /pco/.

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115815 No. 115815
There wasn't a thread, so...
Expand all images
>> No. 115816
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115816
I'm still thinking about this frame. Probably the bleakest shot in the whole show. Apparently the gaang left a man die horribly, all because he wouldn't have fit the character dynamics in the following episode, lol.
>> No. 115817
Tenzin's VA did a great job with the last scene
>> No. 115818
File 138396795887.gif - (0.97MB , 200x167 , 1383795677989.gif )
115818
>>115816

>left a man to die
>he didn't want to leave

wat

Anyways, this was a very fascinating trip into the fucking wacky place we know as the spirit world. Unalaq is a sick piece of shit. Wan Shi Tong, for all of his vast knowledge, is a stupid motherfucker.
>> No. 115819
File 138396798141.jpg - (36.78KB , 333x250 , Zei.jpg )
115819
>>115816
Why would there be a dead body in the spirit world?
>> No. 115820
Iroh isn't a ghost, he is literally a being who ascended to a higher tier of existence.
>> No. 115821
And my god when Iroh appeared my fucking heart stopped. He then proceeded to drop truth and wisdom CARPETBOMBS right and left. When he and babby!Korra hugged I got diabeetus.

Holy fucking shit what is happening with Jinora? Furry Foot you asshole, where is she?

>> No. 115822
>>115820
He did basically that he's dead for all intents and purposes, but he chose to hang in Spirit Land instead of the afterlife
>> No. 115823
Link to ep yet?
>> No. 115824
>>115823

Sorry, forgot to post it.

http://www.4shared.com/get/84VcJT9B/TheLegendOfKorraS02E10ANewSpir.html
>> No. 115825
I don't like them trotting out Iroh like this. It's disrespectful to Mako.
>> No. 115826
>>115825
You know, they brought back Iroh in a moment where a character like his REALLY shines through, and in a way that didn't insult who he was and didn't outshine the rest of the episode. I'd say it was perfect.

And you know, I'm all for honoring Mako, but what they did with Iroh when ATLA was airing -- basically shoving the guy into the background -- didn't feel like the right thing to do with him. Of course they felt they were doing the right thing, but often at times the best way to honor a person is to celebrate them. We also have to consider that they didn't bring Iroh back BECAUSE of Mako.
>> No. 115827
I feel like I missed something. Why was Korra turned into a little girl?
>> No. 115828
>>115825

Iroh was one of Mako's favorite characters he's VA'd. I'm quite sure he wouldn't mind if he made a cameo in a sequel series.
>> No. 115829
>High-Ryu peak
Call me nitpicky, but does anyone else cringe when they hear Japanese mispronounced like that? "Eye-roh" and "May" too.
>> No. 115830
>>115819
Because he lived the remainder of his mortal life in the spirit world.
>> No. 115831
>>115827
It was a representation of how she felt on the inside -- like a lost, scared little kid who still needed to learn.

There's also something behind Korra reverting to the age where she found out she was the Avatar and meeting with a member of the White Lotus -- which in her time lead to her becoming a very messed up person -- and him helping to put her on the right path.
>> No. 115832
>>115827

Because that's who she is on the inside. A spoiled little girl who doesn't think before she acts. That is why they brought Iroh in. She was in great need of wisdom. I hope her turning back into teen korra means she finally grew up.
>> No. 115833
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115833
>>115832
>A spoiled little girl
>spoiled
Come on, guys, Korra's a lot of things but she was NEVER spoiled.
>> No. 115834
Why exactly is Unalaq teaming up with Vaatu again? There's being power-hungry, and then there's just being evil to the point of utter stupidity. Considering he knows that Vaatu is the god of chaos and destruction, and that he makes no attempt to hid it, it seems pointless to become king of ashes.
>> No. 115835
>>115834
Well, he did tell Jinora not to believe everything she reads so there might be something else to it.
>> No. 115836
I'm so glad Studio Mir is back, and the story is really getting going. Everything about this episode was pretty much perfect
>> No. 115837
File 138397289252.jpg - (72.58KB , 800x533 , barn-owl1-10-13-03.jpg )
115837
They still haven't fixed Wan Shi Tong's mouth?
>> No. 115838
>>115832
Much in the same way Toph needed to hear Iroh's advice?
>> No. 115839
>>115831
>There's also something behind Korra reverting to the age where she found out she was the Avatar and meeting with a member of the White Lotus
Is Aang still to blame for this mistake? He still told the White Lotus to protect the next Avatar, right?
>> No. 115840
>>115831
>It was a representation of how she felt on the inside -- like a lost, scared little kid who still needed to learn.
So basically an avatar?
>> No. 115842
>>115839
No, it was said in the first episode of book 2 that Aang didn't tell anyone to lock Korra in a compound, it was just a lie they perpetuated probably to keep her under control.
>> No. 115843
>>115829
Oh Hi Manoj; been busy lately?
>> No. 115847
While I still like this season, it feels like the weirdest one of both Avatar shows. It tends to meander and do weird things, and it generally feels likes M&B and co. came up with it after drinking a lot of cactus juice while on a Miyazaki bender.

>>115816
I was depressed that we didn't get to see him as a happy Library Spirit. Fuck you, Wan Shi Tong, get over your grudge against humans already. Or at least treat them ALL the same way.

>>115818
>Wan Shi Tong, for all of his vast knowledge, is a stupid motherfucker.

For reals, he needs to take Humans Not to Trust 101. Question 1: Who do you trust? Little girl who is trying to stop chaos spirit from fucking up the planet, or manipulative bastard trying to unleash said spirit? Manipulative bastard? WRONG. You fail.

>>115825
Broski, Mako was dead by season 3 of ATLA and Greg Baldwin took over, didn't you know that? I personally was happy to see Iroh again, although... I thought he said spirit cakes were non-fattening? He lost his muscular physique and reverted to his fat-happy-go-lucky-guy look.

>>115829
"Iroh" isn't Japanese.

>>115837
He's a spirit, he can look however they want him to. Notice that barn owl isn't all black and white either.

Speaking of He Who Knows 10,000 Things, but is Still Pretty Dense, it may be too late in the series already, but I still want to see Koh! This was the perfect setup; a book about spirits, and a badass Water Tribe Avatar that doesn't need any bending to fight. I want to see her mess Koh up and rescue Ummi and the others.
>> No. 115848
>>115847
But why should Wan Shi Tong trust Jinora or help her out? The last time he gave a little airbender kid the benefit of the doubt, he got deceived. And the people who were trying to trick him that time were the the avatar and his friends; the exact same group of people that Jinora admitted being a part of. The owl told Aang and his pals that there was one specific thing he didn't want his knowledge to be used for, but turns out they were there for precisely that one thing, and they lied about it too.

I mean sure, Wan Shi Tong is a bitter being, coldly indifferent about the struggles that humans face, and lethally dangerous when angered. But he also has a justified reason to not trust the avatar or their friends.
I got the feeling that Wan Shi Tong is aware of what's going on with Rava and Vatu, but he simply doesn't care. Maybe it wouldn't affect spirit world as badly as it would affect the humans? He might have more of a personal motivation to help Unalaq.

Still looking forward to the explanation on why exactly Unalaq's helping Vatu, though. It makes sense for Wan Shi Tong to care more about spirits than humans, but I'm still wondering what's the deal with Unalaq. At first I thought Vatu was tricking him and telling him lies, but he seems to know about Vatu's reputation, yet he's still chosen to side with him. I'll be curious to see what convinced him to do that.
>> No. 115849
>>115848

The Avatar has been reincarnated as an entirely different person. And if he had a problem with Jinora being there simply for being associated with the Avatar, why didn't he just kick her out instead of deceiving her?

>Maybe it wouldn't affect spirit world as badly as it would affect the humans? He might have more of a personal motivation to help Unalaq.

This is the only way I could excuse his behavior. Otherwise, he's just being a dick. As for Unalaq and Vatu, I dunno, maybe Unalaq is just a nihilist, or he thinks he'll merge with Vatu and become some sort of godlike being or anti-avatar.
>> No. 115850
My best guess for Unalaq's scheme, providing he's not just crazy/been straight up lied to by Vaatu, is that either:

A) he wants to become the human-host of Vaatu, the same way Raava is to the Avatars, due to his megalomania and ego demand that he just get given more and more stuff (first he steals his brother's kingdom, then he steals the Southern Water Tribe, then attempts to "steal" Korra for his own purposes, and now wants either Korra's power or something along the same lines). He seems to motivated entirely by his own selfish desires, so him wanting to effectively become a god-person, an anti-avatar, would kind of make sense with what we've seen.

or B) Possibly in addition to the above thing, Unalaq knows that the worlds won't be ENTIRELY destroyed, just changed into another form for the 10,000 years it'd take for Raava to reconsistute herself once again. With this in mind, he might be trying to get himself a stake in the "new world" Vaatu would create, with him being in charge of any surviving humans he deems worthy enough to follow him.

So yeah, I figure either he's trying to become a god and/or the plot from Moonraker.
>> No. 115851
>>115849
The point is that he might be a seriously petty dick, but I don't think it's stupid or gullible of him to trust Unalaq over Jinora. Unalaq seems to have given him some kind of reason to trust him while Jinora hasn't. She's a descendant of Aang and a friend of his reincarnation. She didn't even try to act apologetic about the way Aang betrayed the owl's trust in the past, and he has no reason to believe that Jinora will be any better than her grandfather.

>And if he had a problem with Jinora being there simply for being associated with the Avatar, why didn't he just kick her out instead of deceiving her?
It was pretty obvious that he let her stay so he could fetch Unalaq. Again, he appears to have found some kind of common ground with the guy. If Wan Shi Tong knows what Unalaq's doing and agrees with his goals, hopefully we'll be able to figure out more about his motivation once we find out why exactly Unalaq trusts Vatu.
>> No. 115854
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115854
I kinda wish Furryfoot had always been (secretly) a Dark Spirit, and it'd been part of a plan by him to get leverage over Korra to open the Northern Portal. As it stands, this episode feels empty to me.

It's like because the season would be over if she succeeded. It's like why the Robinson family was always lost in space, or why Doctor Sam Beckett could never leap back home. If Korra accomplished her mission in this episode, then the season would be over... well, unless they'd pulled some irony thing where Jinora learned in the library that closing the other portal at this point was a bad thing. But no.

I liked Korra's character growth, but I can't escape the disappointment that this was a whole lot of wheel-spinning painted over with a nice coating of AtLA fan service. It's also another demonstration of just how divorced the Korra half and Republic City half of this season are.
>> No. 115856
My thoughts about this ep:

1) Korra and Jinora immediately have problems because they didn't plan what they were going to do before they went to the spirit world. Specifically how they were going to defend themselves without their bending, how to find the portals, or how to leave the spirit world. You'd have though Tenzin would have given them this information before they entered as he's meant to be the expert on the spirit world.

2) There wasn't any real reason for Korra to become a child; while the golden bird seemed to exist simply to give Korra an easy way to find the spirit portals, then escape. I'm not saying the bird was a bad thing just that it felt unnecessary.

3) Why didn't Jinora simply leave the spirit world to avoid being captured? Korra was able to leave and she didn't need to do anything special.

4) Korra's trip to the spirit world just made everything worse. Seriously if she didn't decide to go to the spirit world the Dark Spirit would have remained imprisoned and the world would be safe. The whole episode feels like contrived way to try and free the Dark Spirit.

The good things were Iroh and that there does seem to be more to Unalaq's plan than we've been told about (which may be why Wan Shi Tong supports Unalaq).
>> No. 115857
File 138401504311.jpg - (292.90KB , 494x402 , iroh search.jpg )
115857
>>115832
Pity Tenzin wasn't the one to give Korra the wisdom she needed. That would give Tenzin a purpose in this season.

>>115847
Iroh has already lost his muscular physique in the comics (he's in the Search part 3).

>>115850
It's also possible that sealing away Vaatu, rather than destroying him, is causing a serious problem with the human or spirit world. So what Unalaq (and other spirits) may want isn't Vaatu to be free but for either Vaatu or Rava to be destroyed.
>> No. 115858
>>115856
>There wasn't any real reason for Korra to become a child
Character growth? Don't know how you missed the symbolism behind that one.
>> No. 115859
>HURRR HURRRR KORRA DOESN'T GROW AS A CHARACTER

>CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS

>HURRRRR THIS EPISODE FELT SO EMPTY

FUCK YOU.
>> No. 115860
File 138401912311.gif - (0.97MB , 250x188 , avatar_tumblr_inline_mvao5wEGUJ1qb2gbs.gif )
115860
Too much FAIL in this episode. Posting Avatar WIN.
>> No. 115862
File 138402176830.jpg - (1.80MB , 960x2580 , PrairieDogsSpeakingTruth.jpg )
115862
>> No. 115863
>>115860
Fail? Fuck you.
>>115862
Yep, that pretty much sums up the fandom right there.
>> No. 115865
>>115843
Who's that? I'm just used to hearing Hiryu and Mai pronounced "Hee-reeyoo" and "Mye" (the latter even in actual Mandarin proper) so often that it being pronounced any other way grinds on my gears a bit.
>> No. 115866
File 138402940189.png - (577.14KB , 1366x768 , ftkrBvu[1].png )
115866
They nailed the facial expression.
>> No. 115867
File 138403326284.jpg - (50.82KB , 533x1024 , 1384008622621_zpsd45f90be.jpg )
115867
CANNOT UNSEE.
>> No. 115868
>>115865
Are you sure it was Hiryu and not Hairyuu?
>> No. 115869
>>115867
Nah, not buyin' it.
>> No. 115872
>>115867
Ehh, that's reaching.
>> No. 115873
>>115869
>>115872
I don't think it's meant to be serious.
>> No. 115875
>>115859
It was empty. It was pretty goddamn meaningless, really. I mean what happened in this episode other than fanservice? Jinora got taken. Wow.
>> No. 115876
File 138404421619.png - (36.88KB , 229x224 , 1332704033939.png )
115876
>>115875
>> No. 115877
>>115867
What if Wan Shi Tong is the Xanatos pulling all the strings? He hates humanity and wants to punish them for abusing his gift of knowledge, like a Prometheus that's had a change of heart. Unalaq's wife is unable to conceive so Wan makes him a Faustian bargain: I'll give you twins through lolspirit shennigans and in return you free Vaatu.

we're through the looking glass here people.
>> No. 115879
>>115875
Still not tired of doing this?
>> No. 115881
>>115880

I kinda agree, aside from a hunch that Iroh's advice will contribute to the ultimate defeat of Vaatu given the finale's episode title.
>> No. 115882
>>115877
by lolspirit shenanigans you mean wild owl sex right
>> No. 115883
File 138405722993.png - (259.20KB , 500x500 , 1384011828318.png )
115883
>>115882

Exactly.
>> No. 115885
I wonder if Jinora will end up a tad corrupted, like Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke
>> No. 115886
>>115883
Aren't the other two both male?...

Oh wait, I am analyzing shipping logic... my bad.
>> No. 115887
File 138406836596.png - (208.79KB , 1343x500 , you are still awesome and I did save your awesome .png )
115887
>>115862
While I absolutely love your work, it is possible to upscale without pixelation.

For example:
>> No. 115893
>implying the dragon-bird wasn't Iroh's real spirit form.

But seriously screw them for continuously milking the previous series for references. Plus they're stating (as much as they're allowed to by their rating) that the Spirit World is not an afterlife so THAT MEANS THAT HE WILL NEVER SEE LU TEN AGAIN.
>> No. 115895
>>115862
So much win from so much fail.
>> No. 115896
>>115887

Thanks, although it's not mine. I pulled it off another message board, who pulled it off Reddit. But good to know.
>> No. 115897
A thought occurs.

I was thinking about what major changes could be about to help out the protagonists in the Spirit World in time for the finale, and then I remembered something.

In both the end of the first season of Airbender and the canonical game that bridged the second and third seasons (Escape from the Spirit World), they showed that the Spirit World is a place where the Avatar can meet their past incarnations in person.

The main difference between Wan's time and Korra's? In Wan's time he couldn't potentially have 10,000 years worth of Avatars there to back him up.

One of whom might be a touch miffed at Unalaq for threatening his grandchild...
>> No. 115899
>>115893
>Continuously milking
Please, we'll probably never see Iroh again, Katara is probably going to keep up a pattern of appearing in the first episode of each book and disappearing until the last one, we still haven't seen Zuko, Aang appearing more than once makes sense because he's, you know, the Avatar right before Korra and he would be the one she has to go to for advice most of the time.
>> No. 115900
File 138410419155.jpg - (80.44KB , 962x768 , 3228061.jpg )
115900
>>115899
But what about the most important hanging thread from the original series?
>> No. 115901
>>115900
>let's resolve Azula's arc 70 years later when two of the three people she'd have unresolved issues with would be dead
I think we need to stop the whole 'Azula is going to be a primary force in LOK' stuff.
>> No. 115902
File 138411153787.png - (529.36KB , 1280x720 , vlcsnap-2013-11-10-14h23m07s76.png )
115902
>Radio
>Little Man that Plays Musical Instruments

Hey don't fault the messenger. Diskworld is some good stuff.
>> No. 115903
>>115902
Also I really hate that bird in general.
>> No. 115906
>>115858
Why did she have to turn into a child for character growth? Why couldn't Iroh tell the same thing to the adult Korra?

>>115867
Oh the shipping is going to be bad because of this.

>>115885
I doubt Nick will allow them to show a child being corrupted unless they're magically healed the same episode. So nothing will happen to Jinora and she will be fine by the next episode.

>>115897
Since there's only one Raava if all the past Avatars fight all you'll have is about a thousand strong benders and one Avatar. Of course if the thousand previous Avatars can't fight because they no longer have a physical body then they won't be much help.
>> No. 115907
She turned into a child because it symbolizes both her emotional maturity and how she sees herself. That's the age she stopped just being Korra and became the Avatar. In a way, Korra never grew; all of her self worth comes from being the Avatar. Iroh taught her that she had her own light inside her, and that what makes her special is who she is - not that she's the Avatar. Plus, she feels out of her league with all the political stuff she's had to deal with. She feels like a child in an adults world, which most people around her age and into their early 20s feel like (unless they've somehow got all their shit together).

Also, this is more interesting visually than just having grown Korra around. Might as well take advantage of the spirit world's shenanigans. Stuff like this makes the place feel more mystical.
>> No. 115908
>>115906
To be honest, I really doubt Vaatu is going to "possess" (I don't know why people use this term since Raava didn't possess Wan, they merged, and there wasn't a loss of personality on Wan's part) anyone unless while he was sealed he was weakened so badly that it's the only option for him. Whether or not Unalaq wants that remains to be seem, but I don't think it's Vaatu's itinerary.
>> No. 115911
>>115886
Are you implying men can't have babies, cis scum?
I kid, I kid.
>> No. 115912
>>115902
I loved that scene. My brothers and I laughed so hard we had to pause the show until we could contain ourselves.
>> No. 115913
>>115908
Vaatu would posses because he is a bad guy.

>>115899
We got 'Admiral Iroh' with Zuko's voice, which was bad enough.
>> No. 115914
>>115913
>We got 'Admiral Iroh' with Zuko's voice, which was bad enough.

Oh cry some more. Yeah, it was weird hearing Zuko's exact voice, but the show isn't just shoving mindless fanservice and callbacks from ATLA in our face all the time, most of it is relevant in some way or another.
>> No. 115915
>>115913

The voice thing is the most minor complaint you could make about Iroh II. The fan service element is 'eh' in my opinion, but I loathe the way he takes over his half of the finale. I'd have rather seen Lin busted out of jail and helping the team despite her loss of bending, or just Bolin and Asami saving the day at the airfield on their own. Not an extended action sequence with this totally new guy saving the day. Iroh's prominence is just a really weird writing decision.
>> No. 115916
>>115915
Agreed wholeheartedly, having Iroh II hijack the final act like he was part of the narrative all along was just bizarre.

I feel this was the first good episode of the season that actually involved Korra in some capacity. The Wan Show was great and the Sting was fine, but Korra was just irritating up until now.
Maybe they're finally salvaging the character and it's about time.
Character development be damned, I shouldn't huff with irritation whenever the main character rears her moronic head.
>> No. 115917
>>115914
And what about Cabbage corp and it's CEO crying "my cabbages", Sokka mentioning Combustion man, "Twinkletoes", Sokka's statue with boomerang, bloodbending, the dancing otter-penguings and platypus bear suit, the spot where Aang meditated with Guru Pathik, etc?
>> No. 115918
>>115917
Those are still all very minor things, minus the Bloodbending, which isn't really "fanservice", as you'd put it. Why are you so bothered?
>> No. 115919
>>115917
Most of those are so incredibly minor, they really aren't that big of a deal. Especially bloodbending, it's not like there was some rule saying it could only be in ATLA.

I mean do you consider it fanservice every time they mention Aang, the Avatar that came before Korra and would warrant frequent mentioning?
>> No. 115920
>>115917
A little reference here and there isn't a bad thing.
Although they are terribly on the nose about it as always:
>Oh my god! It's the corpse of Prof. Zei. A man my grandfather met in passing!

I think I can forgive most of these instances, except for Iroh II. The character seems to be comprised solely on the notion of Wink Nudge Nudge.
It's such a self-congratulatory concept, that I can't believe they went through with it.
>> No. 115922
>>115920
Eh, the idea of of a descendant of Zuko's being named after Iroh isn't a problem, it's how they went about introducing him into the series. I would've even been okay if they just cut off his involvement with him showing up and getting his ass handed to him, but then they had to go all Iron Man on us.
>> No. 115923
>>115922
I would be okay with Iroh II if he didn't have Zuko's voice, and for his ultimately needless role in the finale.
>> No. 115924
>>115922
Yeah, that's what I mean.
He feels like a fancharacter.
>Young
>dashing
>competent
>already an admiral
>he has Iroh's name
>and Zuko's voice
>he's a masterful firebender
>comes out of nowhere to save the day
>everyone instantly accepts his judgement calls without hesitation or questions
>and has a fistbump moment with Aang's statue

He should have been a cameo. As it stands he ventured pretty close to the dreaded Sue territory.
>> No. 115925
>>115924
He was a reference to something people liked in the original series. That's the only thing they have which they can use to get people interested in the series besides shipping. How does anyone not get that?
>> No. 115926
Anybody else feel really disappointed with this season as a whole? Not wanting to start any arguing or anything, just wanted a flame-free consensus on what other people think. It's easily the worse one out of any season so far to me, including the first series. The plot is somewhat interesting and I'll definitely keep watching to see what happens, but it's really weak and cliched compared to the rest. All of the interesting side characters from the first season have been horrendously butchered or forgotten (Tenzin, Lin), and the new ones are doing absolutely nothing but make me cringe (Bumi, those oh-so-funny twins). Varrick is fine.

Also just to echo what other people have been saying, these callbacks and ham-fisted "REMEMBER THIS?" references for 10-year-olds are getting really painful. I've never thought it, but I'm starting to feel like none of this should have been done in the first place.
>> No. 115927
>>115926

Nope.
>> No. 115928
>>115926
The live action movie should never have been made. They should've proceeded wth their plans to make those 4 1 hour Avatar specials with the original staff and that should've been the end of it.
>> No. 115929
>>115926

I think Book 2 has been a mess, TBH. It's had a lot of good moments, but the various storylines aren't gelling well, and the opening four episode arc was weak.

The sense I'm getting is that the show was built to tell Book 1 alone, which was meant as a mini-series. Korra's cast was designed to tell the Amon story, and her enlightenment arc finally living out in the world. So in Book 2, when the show suddenly wants to delve into all this stuff going on outside Republic City, her supporting cast doesn't translate well outside their native setting.

You could strip Mako, Bolin, and Asami from the first four episodes of Book 2 and not make a huge difference. The show is really "Korra's Family Drama Hour" at that point. It's not until "Peacekeepers" and "The Sting", when we return to Republic City, that the Krew members finally have a role to play in the ongoing story... although even then, that's all been divorced from Korra. She's understandably worried about the Harmonic Convergence at this point, but she's also totally dropped any concern for the civil war.

While I've really enjoyed what they've given Mako, Bolin, and Asami this season, I also feel that Book 2 as a whole would've been stronger if they'd been dumped from the show. They stick out like sore thumbs in this Unalaq plot, and it's hard to escape the creeping suspicion that Varrick (while awesome) was created simply to give the Republic City cast an antagonist they could grapple with while Korra and Tenzin handle this cosmic world-ending stuff.
>> No. 115931
File 138421672025.gif - (0.95MB , 500x266 , tumblr_mw3yjumuvH1rogcuio1_500.gif )
115931
Young Korra looks like she’s angry and pooping at the same time.
>> No. 115932
>>115931
No, Young Korra's bloated African parasite belly is creepy as fuck
>> No. 115933
File 138422314167.png - (74.24KB , 344x225 , 1384106191780.png )
115933
>The sense I'm getting is that the show was built to tell Book 1 alone, which was meant as a mini-series. Korra's cast was designed to tell the Amon story, and her enlightenment arc finally living out in the world. So in Book 2, when the show suddenly wants to delve into all this stuff going on outside Republic City, her supporting cast doesn't translate well outside their native setting.

To some extent I agree, however, I think this more the case with Mako and Bolin than anyone else. In the South Pole, Mako had no real purpose and Bolin's deal was just comedic filler to help deflate the tension. Asami on the other hand, is a much more universal character I think. She mixes well in any environment because she's a budding business woman in an ever industrializing world and so she does have something she can do in these other nations that's worth watching. On that same note, characters like Varrick I think provide a bridge so that Mako and Bolin can take part in this particular story.

>It's not until "Peacekeepers" and "The Sting", when we return to Republic City, that the Krew members finally have a role to play in the ongoing story... although even then, that's all been divorced from Korra. She's understandably worried about the Harmonic Convergence at this point, but she's also totally dropped any concern for the civil war.

I disagree on account of the fact that you can't divorce Harmonic Convergence from the Civil War. The two at this point are still loosely intertwined and, depending on the direction the story takes, may or may not become more intertwined. We are given good reason to believe that if Varrick succeeds in his plans, it will only cause the dark spirits and thus Vatu to gather more strength from the ongoing conflict. So stopping Varrick's ambitions seems pretty important in the overall grand scheme of things. Korra's side deals with the more spiritual aspects of the conflict and Asami, Mako and Bolin's story deals with the more physical and worldly aspects. However, neither of these have yet to have been shown as independent of another since one affects the other. And while I would agree the effects of one on the other haven't shown except on the political level (the thing with the dark spirits was what motivated Unalaq's invasion of The South), theoretically, if Varrick succeeds, it will have disastrous effects as the negative energy will strengthen the dark spirits. All we've seen points to such an outcome, whereas if Varrick fails, it deals a serious blow to the dark spirits and makes Korra's job much easier. However, we haven't seen the direct effects that the Civil War has on the Dark Spirits, we've just had it confirmed that the dark spirits gain strength or are created through the force of negative energy. But nonetheless, I think your judgement is premature since we haven't seen the outcome of the Varrick subplot yet nor how that outcome will effect Korra's side of things. So to say the situation with Varrick has no impact on the Unalaq plot acts as though that subplot is already over and to operate under the assumption that it's outcome doesn't affect the main plot involving Vatu, Unalaq and Harmonic Convergence when all that we've been shown thus far in the last four episodes where even generally good spirits can be affected easily by the overwhelming negative energy of humans points to the fact that it ultimately will. Now if the Varrick subplot does just end abruptly with no delving into how its impacted Korra's end of the spectrum, then I think we can say it was just there to give the other characters something to do until they were ready to join Korra. But if for example, Varrick succeeds and our heroes in Republic City fail to prevent full scale war and this all of sudden multiplies and gives a power boost to all the rampant dark spirit kaiju, then I don't think we can say it was pointless.

Basically, I'm just saying that I think any story is allowed to look a little disjointed until it reaches its conclusion, where loose ends are expected to be tied up and all subplots should be connected by then.
>> No. 115935
>>115933
There's still no logical reason Unalaq did any of the things he did at the South Pole to begin with. None of them were necessary and they actually worked counter to his goals; which would have failed if Korra hadn't brought Jinora with her to the spirit world.
>> No. 115936
>>115935


>There's still no logical reason Unalaq did any of the things he did at the South Pole to begin with. None of them were necessary and they actually worked counter to his goals;

He was consolidating his power in the region and reinforcing the defenses around the newly opened spirit portal so that only he could control what and who passed in and out of there. The only thing that really wasn't necessary was arresting Tonraq, which he apparently did for his own petty reasons against his brother.

>which would have failed if Korra hadn't brought Jinora with her to the spirit world.

not exactly, since he could have just captured Korra's spirit. Not like she could defend herself. Keep her spirit imprisoned and then threaten to let loose dark spirits to kill her dad. She'll open that portal one way or another.
>> No. 115937
In the original series there weren't really any bad guys who acted without any motivation. Even Long Feng had a solid if short-sighted reason for doing what he did. The villains in this series have none of that. No consistent plans; no strategies; no goals. It feels like exactly what's been happening in the writing since day one: they're just making it up as they go along.
>> No. 115938
>>115937
I don't know where you got this from considering Amon's goal was spelled out for us on plenty occasions, including his motivations.
>> No. 115939
>>115933
>Asami on the other hand, is a much more universal character I think.
I'm really not trying to mock what you're trying to say but I think this is funny considering Asami disappeared for a few episodes and only got back into the spotlight AFTER the plot returned to Republic City.
>> No. 115940
>>115938

Indeed, if not for Unalaq, Vaatu and their "DURR I AMA EVIL DURR" party, LOK actually has had fairly complex villains like Tarrlok and Noatak.
>> No. 115941
>>115926
After having just watched Aang hand Ozai his ass for the 100th time, I can turn around and say that this season has been, in my opinion, absolutely terribly handled, both artistically and from a writing perspective. I won't even talk about last season's finale.

There are definite exceptions IE: Wan and the latest episode, and the quality DOES seem to be improving, but DAMN.
>> No. 115942
File 138430500195.jpg - (332.03KB , 800x1867 , lok__a_new_spiritual_cameo_pt__1_by_neodusk-d6tx85.jpg )
115942
http://neodusk.deviantart.com/art/LoK-A-New-Spiritual-Cameo-Pt-1-413056145
>> No. 115944
>>115941

>I can turn around and say that this season has been, in my opinion, absolutely terribly handled, both artistically and from a writing perspective

Nah. I don't see it that way. I fucking love this season.
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