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Legend of Korra Episode 4 Review
Another week, another Korra episode. While I found plenty to like in Episode 4, I thought the writing could have cohered around a theme a bit better. This is parallel to my small complaint about Episode 2 dropping the Equalist plot, as though character/relationship development and the larger plot can't possibly share the same episode.
Other than that bit of complaint, this episode was a lot of fun. The part the episode focused on--character development for Korra--worked well, and I liked the explosive thrown into the shipping docks. The events of forty-two years ago will likely come back to haunt the city and provide plenty of intrigue along the way.
The foremost goal of Episode 4, and the part that interested me the most, was the way it developed Korra's character. In terms of Jungian psychology Korra started out very much the puer, the divinely powerful child who thrives on adventure and chafes at restriction. This is much the same place Aang started, for all his and Korra's different attitudes toward power and violence.
What brings the puer down to earth and toward adulthood are the realities of life, the airy light of the boisterous spirit gaining depth and definition from the darkness of love and loss. In Aang's case it started with an unfathomable loss of everything he knew; in Korra's case it is the fear of losing a core part of herself, the bending power that defines her and through it her mission as the Avatar.
Much as Aang spent the better part of the first three episodes ignoring reality, so does Korra try to ignore her fear by first denying it, then trying to destroy its source the best way she knew how. Of course Amon, a master of psychological tactics, knew just how to rip away her illusion of control and leave her helpless. She'll remain helpless until she has a plan to deal with this threat, or she'll be left with no handhold on her terror. In the meantime Korra's head-on collision with reality lends a new depth and vulnerability to her character, something I applaud.
That said, I also wonder if the writing of the episode wouldn't have been improved by tying in that development in the protagonist to the developments in the city at large. We see the Council's mostly controlled response to this threat and Tarrlok playing Korra like a fiddle, but by and large Korra's sense of helplessness and fear were not reflected in the city at large. That, to me, gave the writing a scattered quality. Not saying character and plot have to share equal billing, but I think the disparate elements in the episode would have cohered better if there were some reflections and counterpoints in the writing.
On the other hand, the seeds of that city-wide reaction were richly sown. It appears Tarrlok's tactics are going to alienate the population and do little to capture Amon while racking up credit for himself. (As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lizbee said, LoK is turning into The Wire.) Chief Beifong, the only one at the party who was willing to tell Korra hard truths, won't like that one bit. The play Amon saw and avoided--martyring the Avatar--may very well have been Tarrlok's opening move, but it won't be the last. Given all these opportunities for escalation, I don't overly object to the relative lull in the main plot.
Shipping-wise I liked all the romantic angles in this episode. There was my OTP Kofong, of course (or Linorra, take your pick), but on the sidelines Sato Asami came out of nowhere to run over the budding Makorra romance with a moped. And here I thought the creators were going to keep the romance straightforward. That's just the first of my incorrect predictions. Take note, because doubtless there will be more.
Asami is so perfect as Mako's love interest she sort of boggles the imagination; sweet, gorgeous rich girl who just happens to boost a struggling athlete out of a hard spot. Bit lacking in spice, but that could happen in time. (Maybe she regularly causes traffic accidents to get dates, which would up my interest in her 1000%.) She seems exactly the type to date handsome athletes, and I can totally live with the idea of Masami. I don't know how much they have in common and how well they'll weather relationship pressures, and I don't care. They're cute together and they're good for each other at this point in their lives, who cares if they're together two weeks or a lifetime?
Bolin seems to be making his own play, but thankfully not in the gross brother-hypotenuse way I'd feared, partly due to his lack of seriousness and mostly due to a total absence of chemistry. I'm still hoping Bolin will coax Korra into a couple of dates, even though I see even less of a future for Borra than I do for Masami. And I'm still waiting around for the parade of ladies who were supposed to be hanging on Bolin's manly, muscular arm. (Did I mention he looks and acts a lot like my very own Wishsong? Favorite character, natch.)
Otherwise, there's a lot to speculate about what happened forty-two years ago and where the story goes from here, but I'd rather not get too much into speculation. The kids were adorable and hilarious, and Wishsong wishes we could have seen more of them.
Good episode overall, with a lot of buildup for character and plot if not a killer pace. If this were a Primetime Adventures session it would be a character episode rather than a plot episode. I look forward to what the creators do with all this foreshadowing.
Other than that bit of complaint, this episode was a lot of fun. The part the episode focused on--character development for Korra--worked well, and I liked the explosive thrown into the shipping docks. The events of forty-two years ago will likely come back to haunt the city and provide plenty of intrigue along the way.
The foremost goal of Episode 4, and the part that interested me the most, was the way it developed Korra's character. In terms of Jungian psychology Korra started out very much the puer, the divinely powerful child who thrives on adventure and chafes at restriction. This is much the same place Aang started, for all his and Korra's different attitudes toward power and violence.
What brings the puer down to earth and toward adulthood are the realities of life, the airy light of the boisterous spirit gaining depth and definition from the darkness of love and loss. In Aang's case it started with an unfathomable loss of everything he knew; in Korra's case it is the fear of losing a core part of herself, the bending power that defines her and through it her mission as the Avatar.
Much as Aang spent the better part of the first three episodes ignoring reality, so does Korra try to ignore her fear by first denying it, then trying to destroy its source the best way she knew how. Of course Amon, a master of psychological tactics, knew just how to rip away her illusion of control and leave her helpless. She'll remain helpless until she has a plan to deal with this threat, or she'll be left with no handhold on her terror. In the meantime Korra's head-on collision with reality lends a new depth and vulnerability to her character, something I applaud.
That said, I also wonder if the writing of the episode wouldn't have been improved by tying in that development in the protagonist to the developments in the city at large. We see the Council's mostly controlled response to this threat and Tarrlok playing Korra like a fiddle, but by and large Korra's sense of helplessness and fear were not reflected in the city at large. That, to me, gave the writing a scattered quality. Not saying character and plot have to share equal billing, but I think the disparate elements in the episode would have cohered better if there were some reflections and counterpoints in the writing.
On the other hand, the seeds of that city-wide reaction were richly sown. It appears Tarrlok's tactics are going to alienate the population and do little to capture Amon while racking up credit for himself. (As
lizbee said, LoK is turning into The Wire.) Chief Beifong, the only one at the party who was willing to tell Korra hard truths, won't like that one bit. The play Amon saw and avoided--martyring the Avatar--may very well have been Tarrlok's opening move, but it won't be the last. Given all these opportunities for escalation, I don't overly object to the relative lull in the main plot.Shipping-wise I liked all the romantic angles in this episode. There was my OTP Kofong, of course (or Linorra, take your pick), but on the sidelines Sato Asami came out of nowhere to run over the budding Makorra romance with a moped. And here I thought the creators were going to keep the romance straightforward. That's just the first of my incorrect predictions. Take note, because doubtless there will be more.
Asami is so perfect as Mako's love interest she sort of boggles the imagination; sweet, gorgeous rich girl who just happens to boost a struggling athlete out of a hard spot. Bit lacking in spice, but that could happen in time. (Maybe she regularly causes traffic accidents to get dates, which would up my interest in her 1000%.) She seems exactly the type to date handsome athletes, and I can totally live with the idea of Masami. I don't know how much they have in common and how well they'll weather relationship pressures, and I don't care. They're cute together and they're good for each other at this point in their lives, who cares if they're together two weeks or a lifetime?
Bolin seems to be making his own play, but thankfully not in the gross brother-hypotenuse way I'd feared, partly due to his lack of seriousness and mostly due to a total absence of chemistry. I'm still hoping Bolin will coax Korra into a couple of dates, even though I see even less of a future for Borra than I do for Masami. And I'm still waiting around for the parade of ladies who were supposed to be hanging on Bolin's manly, muscular arm. (Did I mention he looks and acts a lot like my very own Wishsong? Favorite character, natch.)
Otherwise, there's a lot to speculate about what happened forty-two years ago and where the story goes from here, but I'd rather not get too much into speculation. The kids were adorable and hilarious, and Wishsong wishes we could have seen more of them.
Good episode overall, with a lot of buildup for character and plot if not a killer pace. If this were a Primetime Adventures session it would be a character episode rather than a plot episode. I look forward to what the creators do with all this foreshadowing.