I'd like to thank not only god but also jesus for all the Korrasami at the end of the finale. Remember when I used to ship that just to spite Makorra shippers? Well now I'm really attached goddamnit. Some people argue that since Nick took Korra off the air that there's more of a chance for some actual canon Korrasami; others argue that since Book 4 was already in the animation process when that happened, there's still not much of a shot. I'd really like to see it happen in Book 4. It would be nice to have more canon lesbians, especially in a series that has been in my heart since I was little.
As far as the finale itself goes, I have to say I was not nearly as moved as a lot of people were. I'm almost disappointed in myself for not being as emotionally vested in Avatar as I used to be. By most standards, the finale was objectively very good - well fleshed out, pacing was better than before, and it addressed the complaints most of us had at the end of Book 1. Everyone was pissed that Korra got her bending back so quickly. We wanted to see her struggle, to see how her character would develop while facing such a huge roadblock. Now we have another roadblock, but this one isn't going away overnight. Not only is she physically hurt from her battle and in a wheelchair, but she overtly displays a pretty severe case of PTSD. Think about it. She took down three major threats to the world in... a year? Less? I'm not sure what the time frame of the show is, but it all happened so fast. Now a 17 year old girl has to deal with the remnants of all that. We know it bothers her; when she was fighting the poison, all her past demons came to haunt her. I appreciate this theme so much. I think it'll do a lot for her character to see how she bounces back from this.
I feel like part of the reason I wasn't very moved by it is the simple fact that no one I cared about died. Three villains died ironically by their own hands, but there really wasn't anyone to worry about. I've actually started watching/reading Attack on Titan, and one of the things I love about that series is that no one is really safe. Every manga chapter or anime episode, you have to worry about a favorite character dying. It's exhaustingly investing. With Korra being directed towards a younger audience, we're really not going to have that kind of violence, gore, or stress, but it does pale in comparison to me. I honestly wasn't worried about anyone dying in this finale. I knew everyone was going to be okay. Of course Korra was going to be okay; it's her damn show and Book 4 is already in the making. I was totally prepping for Tenzin to die and having to deal with the heartbreak of his family, but no go. Not even Tonraq died! Like!!!! We can't even kill off a minor character just to unsettle the audience. I think just the fact that it was so predictably safe detracted... a lot, for me personally.
Also I ship Kainora so hard. I love the dynamic between the two. They're both so young but they're major contributors to the group's success. I was touched by Mako and Kai's adopted-brother-off-the-streets moment. I'm glad Mako could be a bit of a role model for Kai and even more glad that Kai turned out to not be a little ****. I love the sister work between Lin and Su. Again, I was prepping for one of them to get blown off the mountain. That would have really hurt. And Bolin is a lavabender!!! Can't bend metal but can bend molten rock. I dig it. I wonder if him being able to bend lava will come into play in Book 4, and if so, how it will affect him. I feel like him discovering he's a lavabender could help him begin metalbending since he seems to have a pretty good confidence boost now. Then again, maybe you can't do both, only one or the other. Who knows.
As a final point, I'm intensely curious about how Zaheer got poison that would force Korra into the Avatar State. I want to know who developed that poison. How did they know it would work? Obviously it wasn't used on Aang. As far as we know it wasn't used on Roku or Kyoshi. Seems to me like it's an old discovery. Wouldn't surprise me at all given the fact that Zaheer is so into studying and using history. I also thought it was cool that P'li was so much taller than Zaheer. They were definitely not the most orthodox couple, and I appreciated them being out of the norm. Now it's time to bust out of the norm further and get some girls kissing.
I totally wasn't planning on writing this much, but I guess I just have a lot to say when it comes to Avatar. I'm very excited for new horizons in Book 4, but also scared. This is our last hiatus... ever. I remember watching the series finale of ATLA and it being totally bittersweet. Now I was given the chance to experience Avatar all over again and it's probably the last time ever. Probably the end of the graphic novels as well. There's gonna be a time in the near future when we don't get anything new out of the Avatar world ever again and I don't think I'm emotionally capable of handling that ))):
