Legend of Korra: Season 3 - SPOILERS

[Mask-Salesman]

Though I agree that I doubt Korra will be de-persuaded in the end, she's still a teenage girl who makes impulsive decisions depending on her emotions. Although she's starting to become a much more wise Avatar, she's still got a long way to go. Her decision to go with Unalaq is an example of an impulsive and ultimately dangerous decision of hers.

Of course she has a chance, but it'll be a slim one. She's prevailed over both Amon and Unalaq, but both came at a loss (Amon blocked her bending except for air iirc, and Unalaq released the Dark Avatar (or something along those lines) and caused Korra's connection to the past Avatars to be severed). Korra might win over the Red Lotus, but I predict she'll have to pay a hefty cost.

Yes, she is impulsive and young, but she does have a strong sense of morality. I highly doubt her changing sides or being persuaded to see the Red Lotus point of view. They are nothing more than anarchist who want to bring chaos. The Avatar is the keeper of balance, hence it's impossible for her to change believes I think.

The final battle however is something I'm really, really looking forward too. The Red Lotus has pretty muched owned everyone they fought against without even breaking a sweat. Maybe an avatar state Korra would stand a chance, but is the Avatar State what it used to be after severing the connection with her past lifes? The Avatar State was so powerfull because you received the experience and power of all the previous Avatars. That connection is gone now. Korra hasn't gone in Avatar State this season, so I'm very curious.

 

[Sydney]

Yes, she is impulsive and young, but she does have a strong sense of morality. I highly doubt her changing sides or being persuaded to see the Red Lotus point of view. They are nothing more than anarchist who want to bring chaos. The Avatar is the keeper of balance, hence it's impossible for her to change believes I think.

The final battle however is something I'm really, really looking forward too. The Red Lotus has pretty muched owned everyone they fought against without even breaking a sweat. Maybe an avatar state Korra would stand a chance, but is the Avatar State what it used to be after severing the connection with her past lifes? The Avatar State was so powerfull because you received the experience and power of all the previous Avatars. That connection is gone now. Korra hasn't gone in Avatar State this season, so I'm very curious.

You make a good point, but in regards to the latest episode the Red Lotus only needed a small bit of leverage to win Korra over (I say a small bit because the Red Lotus hasn't even reached the Fire Nation yet, nor have they made any attempts to overthrow President Raiko). Maybe her beliefs won't be changed, but I can see her being forced to side with the bad guys.

I don't think the finale will house the final battle between Korra and the RL, as I imagine they'll continue to play a large part in the story within Book 4. To be honest, I'd be somewhat upset if Korra pulled some random, over-powered Avatar move last second to win the battle. I'd hate to see something like giant Smurf Korra again...

 

[Blackkirby]

TENZIN NUUUUUU

 

[Sydney]

TENZIN NUUUUUU

HAHA ARE YOU CRYING BECAUSE I'M NOT CRYING

WHY WOULD I BE CRYING

HAHA

haha

ha

done w/ lyfe kbye

That episode was so fantastic, but it hurt so much.

 

[Blackkirby]

literally if tenzin dies i die on the inside and will probably have to rage here .... so yeah tenzin can u like not die for me

for my feelings

so selfish

 

[Mask-Salesman]

Gawd no, I've just finished watching it!!!!!

He can't die!!!!

Here you are, enjoying an awesome airbender vs. airbender battle and then this show hits you on the head with this? Tenzin was by far my favorite character! I've never hoped so much for a character in a cartoon to survive!

 

[Akuhime-sama]

I hate how we have to wait for new episodes.
I forget small details of previous episodes RIGHT BEFORE I watch the new one, because of how ling I have to wait.

 

[A Link In Time]

This was arguably the most cohesive season of either show. The show has gone full circle with its recurring themes. I especially appreciate the scene in the final episode where Korra receives flashbacks of Amon, Unalaq, and Vaatu looking down at the members of the Red Lotus. Although the seasons seemed disjointed at first, they've been brought together with the Avatar trying to restore balance to the world after someone tries to establish "a new world order". The morality involved is thought-provoking as the villains lack blatantly evil intentions like Ozai from the first series.

The airbenders were the perfect juxtaposition to the Red Lotus. Whereas the Red Lotus wanted to sever the bonds of monarchy and formal leadership, the airbenders aim was to restore harmony. While there were a few sidestories along the way, such as discord in the Beifong family, it's only fitting the book traced the development of the new air nation. The fight between Tenzin and Zaheer was a manifestation of what the air nomads were meant to be versus the conflicting vision one madman who had acquired airbending powers desired.

As for the finale itself, it found a comfortable spot between the rushed ending of the first book and the prolonged battle concluding the second. While the stakes weren't as high as Korra's bout with Unalaq and Vaatu, the emotional suffering portrayed was a lot more vivid and believable. Seeing Korra screaming as the metal based poison was injected into her and the look of consternation on her face, added a sense of panic and urgency to the situation. The creators were also a lot more bold throughout by showing character deaths on screen.

It was a bit different to see Korra herself be unable to defeat the Red Lotus. Rightfully so, it was the power of unity that toppled a group of terrorists who were concerned with only themselves. This sequence completed the differentiation of Jinora from her father as the second living airbending master as she may be weaker in mind and physical prowess than Tenzin, yet makes up for it in her strong connection to the spiritial world and natural leadership ability.

Character development was handled very well throughout and not relegated to a lesser role as newcomers like Kai and Su Beifong received ample screen time. Older characters including Lin Beifong, Bolin, and Mako were also given proper back stories. Only Asami has been left at the backburner for quite a bit. She hasn't been as important a character since the first book. Hopefully, she fits better into the fourth without being awkwardly plopped in just to increase screen time.

My hope for what is the final season of Korra and perhaps the last we'll see of the Avatar series is for Korra to find her identity whether it be setting a precedent for future avatars as the first in the line of the Avatar Cycle or regaining her connection to the past avatars. I may be a bit biased here as I loved Aang's appearances earlier in the show, but I'd personally prefer the latter.

 

[Blackkirby]

I don't always drink but when I do its BECAUSE KORRA BOOK 3 FINALE HAS RIPPED MY HEART OUT

 

[Sheik]

Holy **** what an finale.

Seriously, that had my heart racing. I loved it. And I enjoyed Book 3 entirely.

 

[Garo]

This season is easily the strongest season of Korra (and stronger than every season of Airbender save for Book 3), and it manages that feat by sticking the landing. Both Book 1 and Book 2 utterly failed to deliver finales that were satisfactory conclusions to their respective stories, with Book 1 pulling an eleventh hour twist that was wholly unearned in terms of character development, and with Book 2 ending with an anti-climactic duel of spirit Godzillas that traded thematic and emotional resonance for sheer scale. Book 3, however, scaled back and focused on intimate conflicts that were in keeping with each character's emotional arcs - Bolin v. Ghazan, for example, delivered on Bolin's feelings of inadequacy at his inability to metalbend - while also providing a compelling plot that, given that haunting final image, will likely deliver on the season's title of "Change."

Basically - 10/10, fantastic finale.

 

[Big Octo]

Heh... heh... she's in a wheelchair. Let's make fun of her for it. Heh heh... Avatar Cripple...

Okay, in all seriousness, this is easily the best finale we've had for the entirety of the series. It didn't suffer any of the problems of the first two, and the ending really felt warranted.

 

[Fraxinus]

Some of those battlegrounds looked familiar. Teehee. Also, kind of wish those three didn't all get killed off like they did. They would have made for good Book 4 villains, too. Good wrap-up, though.

 

[Sydney]

I hate how we have to wait for new episodes.
I forget small details of previous episodes RIGHT BEFORE I watch the new one, because of how ling I have to wait.

I'm not sure if you're joking or not, but you have to wait a week between episodes, which is pretty normal. I'd rather the show premier a new episode every week rather than premier a cluster of episodes followed by a few weeks of breaks.

---

I'm so satisfied with this finale. I cannot begin to say how happy I am with the outcome of this, because this was true perfection. I had a little gripes with the season here and there, but overall this was easily the best Book shown thus far. My issues with this season would be 1.) why did Mako realize towards the very end that Ming-Hua could be defeated via Lightning bending -- hell even Asami could have defeated her with her glove, 2.) why did they bother giving P'li a tragic backstory, only to have her killed within a matter of minutes, and 3.) they never expanded on the backstories of any other members of the Red Lotus (i.e. did Ghazan and Ming-Hua ever date, because that was heavily implied by Bolin). These are rather small things that I would have liked to see, but it's not that big of a deal.

One of the things that makes me happy about this series is that when they attempt character development on main characters, they execute it perfectly. When I talk about main characters, I mean people like Aang, Katara, and most recently Korra. I wanted to talk about Korra specifically because the final fight evidently broke her. It's clearly painted on her face during the final scenes, and it's such a big development from when she first arrived in Republic City all arrogant and care-free. Prior to fights with Amon, Unalaq, Vaatu, and the Red Lotus, Korra never faced a severe and difficult challenge in her life. Now with all of these challenges overcome, Korra is a different person both mentally and emotionally (maybe even spiritually), and I'm a little bit excited and anxious to see how she's changed.

Also, Jinora with tattoos? TOTALLY CALLED IT!

My predictions with Book 4 are a little open ended. I'm not sure who could be the main villain, or if there will even be one. I feel that Korra is going to have to deal with what the Red Lotus left behind (aka a liberated Ba Sing Se). I'm also looking forward to seeing the Fire Nation play some role in Book 4 (the series would most certainly come full circle with representation from the Fire Nation). Lord Zuko mentioned his daughter (or granddaughter, I don't quite remember) being in charge of the Fire Nation, so I assumed it was a build-up of sorts to get us ready for it. Maybe we'll get to see Iroh too?

 

[Garo]

Book 4 is going to be about Korra's shaken faith with the Avatar concept. Right now, we've had three different people present arguments for why the Avatar doesn't need to exist. Granted, all three were villains, and all three had evil schemes to boot. But it's enough that it has clearly shaken her belief that the Avatar is a critical part of the world. Given her readiness to sacrifice herself, I think Korra's going to have quite the existential crisis come next season.

So that leads us to ask... should there be an Avatar? Let's look at the events as they've unfolded. Korra's actions restored balance to the world by bringing the Air Nation back to life. That's pretty awesome and on paper it looks like something in her favor. But how'd she do that? She opened the spirit portals that Avatar Wan closed 10,000 years ago. Korra basically just undid the biggest mistake an Avatar ever made, and restored balance that way. So... the Avatar was the one who created the imbalance, and now that an Avatar has restored it, maybe we don't need her anymore? Okay let's let that sit there for a minute. How about Korra's big rescue? She managed to break free of the Red Lotus, and at the end of the day, they were defeated... but through no action of Korra's own. Her support system - Mako, Bolin, Lin, Tenzin, the new Air Nation, Tonraq, the Metal Clan - managed that perfectly well on their own. With no help from Korra, they killed P'Li (brutal), maybe killed Ming-Hua (also brutal), and cornered Ghazan. The Air Nation, led by Jinora (<3 <3 <3 she's the best), were able to bring Zaheer to his knees. Again, without Korra.

It sure looks like the world is perfectly capable of protecting itself. All Korra did in these episodes was stay alive long enough for them to rescue her. And now, in the final moments, we see her in a clearly depressed state. And Tenzin offers to pick up the slack and protect the world while she recuperates. How is she gonna take that other than "it's cool, Korra, we got this, we don't need the Avatar"?

It sure sounds like we don't need the Avatar, but the point remains that none of this would happen without her. If Korra didn't exist, then her support system - the ones who saved the day this season - would be disparate units rather than a cohesive whole. What we've seen Korra do this season is bring people together. She is a figurehead, a rallying point for all those committed to balance and peace to join with to better protect the world in unison. The Avatar is viewed as this ultimate symbol of peace and balance, the incorruptible ideal that draws those with valiant hearts to each other. That's an invaluable asset, and while it's different from the past role of the Avatar as a physical force for balance, it is every bit as important.

But this show is clearly mounting an attack on the Avatar concept. So Book 4? It's going to attack the symbol of the Avatar. It's going to corrupt the incorruptible, make her appear vulnerable, shake the faith of her support system. It's going to be a big ol' test on the Avatar concept, and it's gonna be rough. It's gonna be grueling. It's going to be AMAZING.

(this is all speculation but i really want it)