A Legend about Korra getting beaten up a whole bunch.

[Mr Companion]

I get it. I get why they need to make Korra not seem too powerful. We don't want her being Goku or Alucard-esq where the protagonist just beats up every villain with no effort because they are sooo coool guyz! The sort of character who never grows or strengthens or learns anything about themselves or the world because the show is about how powerful they are. That would be a terrible show and I am well on board for what LOK is going for, all about her growing as a person, learning balance and wisdom and patience and so on.

What Legend of Korra has become is actually the opposite of a power fantasy to the extent that it has kinda gone too far the other way. Legend of Korra has became the story of a woman who can't do anything right, ever. She makes the wrong decisions, she picks the wrong fights and chooses not to fight at the wrong moments. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw Korra just straight up win a fight, outsmart a villain or do something without somebody else practically doing it for her.

The reason I bring this up is because the latest episode (6) is centered around a fight scene where Korra is fully healed, in control of all the elements, and has access to the Avatar state. Her opponent? A pretty skilled metal bender but any avatar should be expected to beat her. Kuvira has metal and earth, Korra has metal earth water air and fire and has been trained by the greatest combatants of her time. Naturally not only does Korra lose she doesn't even put up a fight. She gets effortlessly beaten up without landing a single blow and she resorts to the Avatar State (which she shouldn't damn well need for this)and STILL loses. Aang would have trashed this girls s**t easily and he was a child who grew and trained under much less favorable circumstances.

Apart from linking the worlds (which is now resulting in terrifying weapons which is kinda why the first Avatar separated them in the first place) and defeating Vaatu (who escaped partially by her fault and as a result of her poor judgement) Korra has been getting her arse beat like a bongo by every villain, passer by and random nobody over the whole world. She fell for an obvious trap set by Amon, she failed against Zaheer (note how pretty much everybody BUT the Avatar defeated him) and is now powerless to stop a metalbender who has every possible disadvantage against her. Korra's mistakes have even led to the past Avatars being cut off, permanently crippling the entire Avatar lineage's spiritual ties. Toff is right, she really is the worst Avatar ever.

I'm not saying she needs to win all the time, just win Some of the time. As in ever. Watching her be pathetic for 4 seasons is getting really old. I don't ever talk with anybody else who watches Avatar so I'm interested to see how you all feel about this.

Edit: Just to clarify what I was expecting from the series I thought we would see her go from the idiot who rushes into things and punches everything without thought for the obvious consequences to slowly becoming a little wiser, a little more patient and a little more impressive and confident. See her learn the harsh lessons of life that inform her duty as the world saving guru she is expected to be. The climactic fight scene or finale demonstrating how much she has grown and how her newfound wisdom and tecnique enable her to overcome great odds, that she isn't just powerful because she has Avatar powers but because she has the strength and courage to use those powers correctly.

Instead all I see is a character who doesn't deserve the powers she was given, doesn't know how to use them and somebody who is hogging a position of authority that somebody smarter (Like Tenzen) could have filled to greater effect. Maybe by the end of this season she will suddenly have a bloody epiphany but even if she does it's been far too long to justify it.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Pathetic? She never gave up for 3 seasons, she was terrified of Amon, (as a great man said bravery is not the abscence of fear) and still stood against him and won in the end. She defeated the demon spirit that only one other Avatar has ever faced, something that makes the firelord look like a pushover. She fought and sacrificed so much that she has PTSD now in the fourth season and even had to go through rehab, would you call a veteran soldier pathetic? Korras journey in season 4 is much like a soldier returning from a warzone, dealing with the wounds both mental and physical except that for Korra there is no hope for peace after doing her duty, this is her whole life, she will be the avatar until she dies.

Some of the mistakes she makes is due to a quick flaring temper yes but she is often faced with choices where there is no right answer, situations where the best thing you can do is make a decision without any time to think about it and hope for the best.

 

[White Lightning]

Now sorry OP but I didn't read most of what you said, but I'm gonna treat this as a Legend of Korra general. I'm like 5 or so episodes in and I just want to ask, does the whole "I like you but you don't like me" crap stop anytime soon? TLAB had a little of it but it was fairly spread out so it was bearable. I'm at the part where the Mask guy and his friends #reck everything and all the main characters harp on about is whether or not they like each other.

 

[DaWaffledude]

Now sorry OP but I didn't read most of what you said, but I'm gonna treat this as a Legend of Korra general. I'm like 5 or so episodes in and I just want to ask, does the whole "I like you but you don't like me" crap stop anytime soon? TLAB had a little of it but it was fairly spread out so it was bearable. I'm at the part where the Mask guy and his friends #reck everything and all the main characters harp on about is whether or not they like each other.

Yeah, that was a common complaint in Season 1. It's somewhat dialed down in Season 2, and mostly gone in seasons 3/4.

OP: This is kind of Korra's thing. "Get knocked down 9 times, get up 10" and whatnot.

 

[Saetha]

Considering all your complaints, I think this is kinda the problem with the Avatar State, especially when it meets a gung-ho character lik Korra. In Last Airbender, the avatar state was so awesome because Aang used it so sparingly. He was afraid to use it. So when it came out, well, it was usually to trounce everything in a ten mile radius - and it could be allowed to do that, because it wasn't something Aang would resort to at the first sign of hardship.

Korra's not like that. She'll go for too much power over too little, so the Avatar State had to be dialed back or removed completely. Now it's just a cool light show she sometimes uses to highlight her bending. It's no longer some mega trump card, because if it were, what would stop Korra from always using it?

I think that's atleast part of the problem - if Korra could defeat everything than she would defeat everything. She doesn't have Aang's philosophy staying her hand. So, everything needs to be capable of curb-stomping her, otherwise there'd be no conflict. Korra would just roll through it all. It's the issue with making a character who's both pugnacious and powerful - they tend to just steamroll over everything. So you have to keep throwing up physical obstacles they can't surmount.

That being said, a good writer would be able to balance that and still give a character the occasional decisive victory. If I've gotten anything from Korra, it's the sinking feeling that Last Airbender's quality was more a team effort than the sole doing of Bryke.

Snip

I think you're missing OP's point. They don't seem to be calling out the strength of Korra's character, but rather they're calling out the idea that she doesn't really have many clear victories - that she's a physically weaker character than Aang, despite having more advantages.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

*snip*

BE WARNED. THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PAST SEASONS OF THE LEGEND OF KORRA.

Something that I've been thinking of regarding the Avatar State, and it's wavering displays of power between both Korra and Aang, is that there's one key thing about the Avatar State itself that should be kept in mind. As Roku explains in the original series...

Spoiler: Forgive the poor quality!

The Avatar State is essentially the combined knowledge and experience of every single incarnation of the Avatar in a single person. That knowledge and experience makes the Avatar State exceptionally powerful, particularly without restraint, such as when in a blind rage.

However, from Book 3 on, Korra no longer has a connection to her previous incarnations. The connection was utterly destroyed. This means, when she's in the Avatar State, all it is now is essentially 'Korra-Plus'. She is only relying on her own power and experience that's been spiritually boosted some. So, while she's undeniably powerful in the Avatar State even then, she isn't near the same level of destructiveness that Aang was, say, during the finale of the original series.

 

[AntiChri5]

Kuvira is "a pretty skilled metal bender" in the same way that Ozai was "a pretty skilled firebender". It still took Aang a hundred years to sort out that shit.

Kuvira is an incredibly skilled metalbender who was the protege to one of the best metal benders in the world and who managed to forge an empire out of a chaotic mess in three years. Korra is a psychological wreck who was raised in a different way to all other avatars, faced challenges none of them have and barely pulled through three times. Episode 6 makes it incredibly clear that Korra's psychological damage is her real enemy here, she defeats herself.

 

[sanquin]

So, what did we get so far...
Season 1: A hormonal teen whom thinks she knows everything better, and by using her friends as crutches and 'suddenly' getting her air bending turned on, finally pulls through.
Season 2: An irresponsible teen whom still thinks she knows everything better for most of the season, and once again by using her friends as crutches and basically a deus ex machina, pulls through.
Season 3: A teen that finally starts to grow up a little, though now she goes the exact opposite way. Instead of letting her friends help she wants to go after them alone. And in the end she becomes scared and doesn't even defeat the baddie.
Season 4: So far, we have a teen that has learned nothing from her past experiences, and still tries to do everything alone.

There have been good episodes, and although I found the ending to S2 ridiculous (pacific rim, avatar style! Screw bending, punch each other!), I did like it a lot. I guess the biggest problem I have with the biggest problem I have with LoK as a whole is the repeated plot formula. Everything seems great, but there's unrest among the people -> It's quickly revealed this isn't the case, more unrest -> Korra gets stubborn, thinks she knows better, and tries to do something about it in a rash manner -> She fails and gets beaten down -> Something or other happens. (Sudden and unwarranted revelation/change of heart, deus ex, etc) -> They barely manage to pull through. It's the same formula every season. It's like they can't think of any other type of story that spans 12 episodes.

 

[lord.jeff]

Korra losing is one of the things I like about this series, all the characters are more human. It makes sense that someone who spent the past three years in physical therapy can't hold her own against one of the best metal benders.

 

[PBMcNair]

Korra losing is one of the things I like about this series, all the characters are more human. It makes sense that someone who spent the past three years in physical therapy can't hold her own against one of the best metal benders.

I actually like it too, but it happens too often. It's predictable, I knew there was no way she was going to win, or even draw that fight.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

I don't really have a problem with that, especially in this episode, as it was to showcase more of Kavira's skills in combat and to show how formidable she is, especially against a weak-willed Korra who has only recently gotten rid of the mercury in her body (but still hasn't recovered fully), and this being her first real fight in three years. Pit her up against one of the most highly skilled metal benders, and what do you think would happen?

As for the other times, I never really noticed them. Everyone sorta gets tossed around a bit in this show.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Ok, let's take a look at the combatants.
On one corner we have Korra, who for the last three years was crippled emotional wreck. She didn't train for the longest time and still carried deadly, debilitating poison in her veins.
On the other corner we have Kuvira. An incredibly skilled metal bender who was trained by the best and who for the last three years did nothing but train, lead and fight.
Result of the fight should be pretty obvious.
And that "pretty skilled" part? Just freaking look at it http://i.imgur.com/cmQ96Es.gifv

 

[TheGrandSage23]

Lol at using Goku as an example... Goku has lost numerous times.. Even got killed twice

Poor choice to use plus learn PTSD

 

[blackmanon4chan]

i have to agree with everything you said op. This is the main reason i had to stop watching after season 1. for me the character went from being large and in charge to being really timid, to the point where she didnt even come close to defeating her big bads and had to have *spoiler i guess* ang come and save her. to me it seemed the opposite of what ang went through. where he was scared of his responsibility yet he would still rise to the challenge, do his best to come out on top, and then actually come out on top, all the while defeating armys of dudes constantly hunting him down, and he did this all with 1 elemental power. You telling me Kora got 3 and she's having all these problems taking down a random shadow organization made of people who cant even bend elements? granted that chi bending kungfu is quite deadly but you still got 3 elements on your side to their none. I was never able to start season 2, i keep telling myself that i should and would, but i never.

 

[lord canti]

If you're going to mention her fight with Zaheer you should note that she was winning that fight up until the mercury poisoning started kicking in. secondly she has done things right, it's just that the series shows no matter what you do not everyone will be happy. Not to mention she was the one that resurrected the air nomads. Also she spent the last three years being emotionally and mentally crippled, simply having the remaining mercury in her body removed is not going to make her get over that. Kuvira is much more than just a skilled metal bender, she is the protege of the daughter of the person who invented metal bending. Also, take into account that Kuvira was going after Korra with the intent of putting her down for good while Korra was just trying to stop her.

 

[Mr Companion]

So, what did we get so far...
Season 1: A hormonal teen whom thinks she knows everything better, and by using her friends as crutches and 'suddenly' getting her air bending turned on, finally pulls through.
Season 2: An irresponsible teen whom still thinks she knows everything better for most of the season, and once again by using her friends as crutches and basically a deus ex machina, pulls through.
Season 3: A teen that finally starts to grow up a little, though now she goes the exact opposite way. Instead of letting her friends help she wants to go after them alone. And in the end she becomes scared and doesn't even defeat the baddie.
Season 4: So far, we have a teen that has learned nothing from her past experiences, and still tries to do everything alone.

There have been good episodes, and although I found the ending to S2 ridiculous (pacific rim, avatar style! Screw bending, punch each other!), I did like it a lot. I guess the biggest problem I have with the biggest problem I have with LoK as a whole is the repeated plot formula. Everything seems great, but there's unrest among the people -> It's quickly revealed this isn't the case, more unrest -> Korra gets stubborn, thinks she knows better, and tries to do something about it in a rash manner -> She fails and gets beaten down -> Something or other happens. (Sudden and unwarranted revelation/change of heart, deus ex, etc) -> They barely manage to pull through. It's the same formula every season. It's like they can't think of any other type of story that spans 12 episodes.

All of this. Every time there is a problems She isn't the one to solve it. Either a fortuitous deus ex event happens that saves her or her allies save the day. Her actions DO change the world a lot and just as you say the season 2 godly punch up was the one part of the show where the climax actually met the build up. Other than that she is usually the character the writers throw at a problem first to show how dire the situation is, then some other people solve it or at least lead Korra through all the steps necessary to solving it, doing almost all the work for her in the process. She isn't a bad character by any means she just isn't the character I want the story to focus on because she is not an interesting heroine, just a canary the important people throw at a problem first to gauge how bad it is.

You do have a point OP but you fail to see the main reason Korra is Korra... they're trying to subvert the normal tropes of film and story telling.. Pretty much Korra is being treated like any other male protagonist.. I mean look at One Piece... name one major fight Luffy has come through where he wasn't a bloody mess.

Granted the fact the Korra never seems to show physical scars is a bit disconcerting. Otherwise she's meant to also bea direct contrast to Aang. he's as bullheaded as Aang was evasive. But like Aang most of their inner turmoil stems rom the simple problem theny have with how they understand their responsibilities. Heck Aang fled the responsibilities while Korra embraced them but at the same time Korra has had more problems because in her eagerness to 'Be The Avatar' she somewhat misses the finer points of what that means.

In regards to the Luffy comparison (bare with me I hanv't seen a lot of One Peice) Typical anime characters follow a common process.
1: Ima cool guy
2: Oh no the bad guy beat me up because I lack the mental and/or physical prowess necessary to overcome them!
3: Time to train or meditate or learn exposition or do some side nonsense to bulk up and grow as a person
4: Now I won as a metaphor for how much I have grown, my physical prowess in combat mirroring my mental development

In Legend of Korra it's more like this
1: There is a new bad guy causing civic unrest so lets throw Korra at the problem
2: She got beat up or captured or had to run away because she didn't read the situation right
3: Faffing around for 6 or so episodes doing nothing important with side stories. Exposition about people who did things that actually mattered ages ago.
4: Time to finish thi- oh wait she got beat up again. Somebody help her or pull bulls**t out of nowhere. Hooray we won!
5: Korra wakes up after the whole ordeal having learned nothing and achieved nothing. Everybody applauds her for being an amazing Avatar.

The typical format is too simplistic. The Korra format is too fruitless. Replacing a tired old trope with something equally lazy yat more baffling isn't the kind of story telling progress I was hoping for with LOK. I guess maybe my expectations were a little high and I'll for sure keep watching but it's really getting on my nips.

Korra losing is one of the things I like about this series, all the characters are more human. It makes sense that someone who spent the past three years in physical therapy can't hold her own against one of the best metal benders.

I actually like it too, but it happens too often. It's predictable, I knew there was no way she was going to win, or even draw that fight.

Agreed. A show has gotten pretty odd when the main character is a superpowered element-wielding spiritual demigod and we see her entering a one on one duel and we litarally have no doubt in our mind she *will* lose. In most shows the protagonists victory is too predictable which is boring. In Legend of Korra her faliure is too predictable. All I ask is that the show sprinkles a few victories around once and a while just to add an air of uncertainty because right now the phrase "Even the Avatar can't defeat them!" is losing it's potency.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Ok, let's take a look at the combatants.
On one corner we have Korra, who for the last three years was crippled emotional wreck. She didn't train for the longest time and still carried deadly, debilitating poison in her veins.
On the other corner we have Kuvira. An incredibly skilled metal bender who was trained by the best and who for the last three years did nothing but train, lead and fight.
Result of the fight should be pretty obvious.
And that "pretty skilled" part? Just freaking look at it http://i.imgur.com/cmQ96Es.gifv

Awesome fight.

Yeah, what other people have said. Korra has been doing pretty well so far. Even the first avatar didn't take care of Vaatu to the level she did. Plus as others have said, Kuvira won not just because of her abilities vs Korra's, but also because Korra is still having PTSD issues. I mean, Korra would have won if she hadn't stopped fighting at that moment.

However, I do have one issue with the fight.

Korra is a metal bender like Kuvira, right? So why didn't she bend Kuvira's metal armor? The whole fight I was king of wondering why she didn't do to Kuvira what Kuvira did to Varrick?

I guess you could say her armor could be made of un-bendable metal like platinum, but Kuvira seems to be bending her armor or at least parts of it.

Eh, maybe this will be addressed later.

 

[LarsInCharge]

Ok, let's take a look at the combatants.
On one corner we have Korra, who for the last three years was crippled emotional wreck. She didn't train for the longest time and still carried deadly, debilitating poison in her veins.
On the other corner we have Kuvira. An incredibly skilled metal bender who was trained by the best and who for the last three years did nothing but train, lead and fight.
Result of the fight should be pretty obvious.
And that "pretty skilled" part? Just freaking look at it http://i.imgur.com/cmQ96Es.gifv

Awesome fight.

Yeah, what other people have said. Korra has been doing pretty well so far. Even the first avatar didn't take care of Vaatu to the level she did. Plus as others have said, Kuvira won not just because of her abilities vs Korra's, but also because Korra is still having PTSD issues. I mean, Korra would have won if she hadn't stopped fighting at that moment.

However, I do have one issue with the fight.

Korra is a metal bender like Kuvira, right? So why didn't she bend Kuvira's metal armor? The whole fight I was king of wondering why she didn't do to Kuvira what Kuvira did to Varrick?

I guess you could say her armor could be made of un-bendable metal like platinum, but Kuvira seems to be bending her armor or at least parts of it.

Eh, maybe this will be addressed later.

The implication for not being able to bend the other person's armor is based on how much control one has over their surroundings. Korra could try and bend her armor, but Kuvira would be enacting similar control at close range over her own armor, creating a stalemate.

Secondly, Korra is not a master metalbender. Kuvira is, so fighting her at her own game is likely a poor decision anyway.

 

[Mr Companion]

Ok, let's take a look at the combatants.
On one corner we have Korra, who for the last three years was crippled emotional wreck. She didn't train for the longest time and still carried deadly, debilitating poison in her veins.
On the other corner we have Kuvira. An incredibly skilled metal bender who was trained by the best and who for the last three years did nothing but train, lead and fight.
Result of the fight should be pretty obvious.
And that "pretty skilled" part? Just freaking look at it http://i.imgur.com/cmQ96Es.gifv

Awesome fight.

Yeah, what other people have said. Korra has been doing pretty well so far. Even the first avatar didn't take care of Vaatu to the level she did. Plus as others have said, Kuvira won not just because of her abilities vs Korra's, but also because Korra is still having PTSD issues. I mean, Korra would have won if she hadn't stopped fighting at that moment.

However, I do have one issue with the fight.

Korra is a metal bender like Kuvira, right? So why didn't she bend Kuvira's metal armor? The whole fight I was king of wondering why she didn't do to Kuvira what Kuvira did to Varrick?

I guess you could say her armor could be made of un-bendable metal like platinum, but Kuvira seems to be bending her armor or at least parts of it.

Eh, maybe this will be addressed later.

Yeah I do like the premise of the season how she is having PTSD because of all the horrible s**t she has had to do all these years, it shows a greater level of thought and development than most anime protagonists and makes her seem more like a human being than a mindless ass-kicking machine. if this story has proceeded events or arcs of her growing up and learning the responsibilities of being the Avatar I would be all over it it's just... well you know :/

Also totally agreed. I too watched the fight thinking "Bend her armor!". Even if her armor is somehow unbendable (which like, how? All metal is made from rock ore) she could surely launch a surprise attack using the metal cuffs and projectiles Kuvira has all over her. I hate to rail on Korra because I do like her character even if she does make for a weak protagonist, but this is kinda typical of her. She doesn't use tactics or guile or improvisation, she just throws things. Aang acheived a lot with what little he had, Korra achieves very little effect with a lot of power. Why she even tried to battle Kuvira in front of her whole army in the open with no plan for an escape route is beyond any speculation. I would love to say it's the stupidest thing she has ever done but I am probably forgetting something, It's a course of action that makes so little sense I struggle to imagine Aang or any of his friends would have even entertained the idea.