Korra Book 3 Finale

There's a lot I want to talk about especially since I don't have a lot of time to make journals anymore or be on a lot so I want to address something recent that being the finale of The Legend of Korra Book 3 which aired last Friday.

In short... OH MAI GOSH THAT WAS F&*$&@&! AWEYEAHSOME!!! *ahem*

Yes the finale was a huge whirlwind both figuratively and literally in regards to... well everything. There was humor, action, drama, intrigue, romance-okay no romance. But you know because there wasn't the finale actually was very very good! Also there's definitely mystery in regards to how things have ended. 

Basically the Red Lotus (Zaheer's gang) has been defeated but Korra has been greatly injured due to their methods of trying to kill her. Now Korra's kind of a cripple, or just handicapped, basically Xavier in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Interestingly Asami is at Korra's side at the end vowing to take care of Korra no matter what. From what we got of the two's relationship Asami and Korra really have become good friends and much closer than they were in Book 1 and 2. It's rare to have a nice platonic awesome friendship like this in shows and I'm glad to have it. But the part of me that so... so... SO ships Korrasami was almost thinking that maybe the pairing was getting some kind of hint. eh but as for of actual canon I'm tired of pairings. 

Speaking of I'm so glad Book 3 actually kind of gave us a break from pairings and having romance for a change. Usually in a lot of shows romance is always there and while it can be written very good that wasn’t really the case for Book 1 and 2. I don’t know if Mike and Bryan had heard the complaints of fans and took that into consideration but I’m still glad for choosing not to have romance be so heavy this time. It actually made Asami, Korra, and Mako a lot cooler and developed them better than when they were in that love triangle.

By the end of Book 3 though I couldn’t help but think that something is not good. The finale shot shows Korra, still pretty injured and kind of unresponsive, watching Jinora’s ceremony (becoming a master Airbender requires you to look just like young Aang, derp). Now the final shot of the season shows Korra’s reaction which is kind of blank but then she sheds a tear. And in that moment you sense sadness and pain and then it ends. Now I was actually kind of reminded of the end of the movie Battle for the Planet of the Apes which basically dealt with a war between the Apes and Man. The end however shows centuries later a statue of the hero Caesar who fought for peace between the races which apparently succeeded when you see both human and ape children together. But then the finale shot shows Caesar’s statue actually shedding a tear, as if an ominous warning that things are not as they seem.

For Korra who knows what she’s feeling at the end of Book 3. She’s gone through a lot yes and people have speculated that really all these battles she’s been in from Amon, to Vaatu, to Zaheer have taken a bit of a toll. I could see where someone mentally might suffer a bit but it’s with her recent crippling that makes me think it’s where she’s feeling down. Weirdly Korra’s gone through sorts of crippling before, in Book 1 she lost her bending briefly to Amon, in Book 2 she lost her connection to Raava, and here in Book 3 she’s very injured from her battle with Zaheer. Now in the prior times Korra has bounced back but only when she’s gained her abilities back. This time while she still is an Avatar she’s mostly injured and spent the last two weeks (as confirmed by Asami) in her depressed state. I’d imagine she’s worrying about her role in the world and how much longer she can keep up until she’s truly broken by whatever else comes forward.

Oh there’s also something else interesting. The Red Lotus also is technically still active (insert antagonists for Book 4 here) since no one really knows who else is out there. President Raiko declares the group a terrorist organization which in itself brings a whole slew of story to tell. We actually kind of dealt with terrorism before in Korra in the form of Amon and the Equalists. To me Amon was the true successful terrorist who really caused so much damage and was so good at what he did. Zaheer is a terrorist too but it’s funny how the label immediately goes to Zaheer rather than Amon. It baffles me why Amon was never labeled a terrorist. What the Red Lotus reminds me of though in terms of how they might be approached in Book 4 is of HYDRA from Captain America: the Winter Soldier. I wonder if there’s other Red Lotus out there just raring to go and cause some upfront damage like we saw Amon do, you know more outward than Zaheer and his gang. I feel like the goal will be hunting down Red Lotus members around the world like Captain America and SHIELD will in the Avengers universe.

Overall Book 3 was a whole lot better than I expected. It just sucked that Nickelodeon was terrible at managing the show. Like you’d think if someone was handed gold, a sure success that they would take care of it, nurture it, promote it, and what have you, but then you get what happened this year. IDK it irks me that a show like The Legend of Korra doesn’t get its promotion or the recognition it truly deserves. But at least we fans who love the show and continue to watch it celebrate how awesome it is.

As for what I want from Book 4 I would like to see characters that appeared in Book 1 and 2 but for whatever reason didn’t get screen time or enough screen time in Book 3. Firstly I want to see more of General Iroh and him actively helping Team Korra. Like it was awesome when he appeared, the fact he’s voiced by Dante Basco and that he’s the grandson of Zuko made him cool. His actions proved how heroic and likeable he is and I don’t get why we haven’t seen more of him in the later seasons. Also I’d want to see more of Iroh and Zuko’s family, the Fire Nation Royal family to be exact. We know that Zuko’s daughter is the current Fire Lord and technically the last major monarch, Iroh who is in the United Forces is her son. I want to explore their family and see what’s changed since the Hundred Year War and know if there’s still that tension like before.

Also I want to see Toph again. I was happy that Toph was confirmed to be alive in Book 3 or at least possibly alive. Something tells me Toph is somewhere out there up to something, it’d be odd if Toph’s only mentioned and never gets to make an appearance in Korra’s lifetime. I did dig her story with her daughters a lot and how their family dynamic was but I’d like more light shed on Toph herself. Everything we’ve heard of Toph’s adult life has been from other characters and until Toph makes an appearance and sheds some light on that we really won’t know what she’s been thinking since ATLA.

I think I would also want to see more of Desna and Eska next season. I was surprised that they appeared at all in Book 3 but for what we got they were pretty awesome. Though it feels like they only appeared alongside Tonraq and Zuko to show the difference in power between the two (who are kinda master waterbenders) and of Zaheer’s gang. I think it’d be hilarious if Eska and Bolin reunited and she found out about Opal. I know Eska’s moved on but one’s feelings for another person no matter how twisted don’t really go away fast. There’d probably be some jealousy on Eska’s part. I just wouldn’t want it to be a love triangle like Asami-Mako-and Korra. Then again if Bolin’s involved and Eska’s involved it might be kinda funnier than the last one.

If possible I’d also want to see more of Varrick. I knew he would return after his escape from prison at the end of Book 2. He was one of my favorite characters from that book and it was fun to see him again despite that there’s tension between him and Team Korra. I know he was an antagonist but I don’t see him as truly evil, he just chose to make some evil choices which even I kind of question. I like that he’s still an inventor and would like to see where he takes that in Book 4. The thing about Avatar’s world is that it’s evolving rather like our own but has unique spins on technology and Varrick like several inventors has built things that radically can alter the world, on an industrial scale. I wonder if Varrick and maybe other inventor or industrial type characters will feature, villains or protagonists I don’t mind which.

Oh I also would really, really, really want to see Spirits this time. Like we got Spirits in Book 2 but they were not the focus for way too long in that season and while they still exist and live in the human world they were not featured a lot in Book 3. I just think it’s weird that the problem of the Spirit vines was dropped when Korra decided to find the Airbenders. It felt like Book 3 had several arcs and that one arc that might be addressed later. I just hope we see more spirits and more spirit characters in Book 4. I’d also like to see Spirit antagonists again like not controlled by Unalaq but something like the Face Stealer or Vaatu. Something in between-a foe maybe to challenge Korra and the human realm, I know Book 2 was the Spirits kind of arc but I want to have more conflict between the Spirits and humans and if we get that in Book 4 I’d be very pleased.

That’s all my thoughts mostly about Book 3 and its finale. I just hope Book 4 is awesome and is able to bring a close on Avatar and show how great it is to the world and to its fans. I want it to do it justice but mostly to stay golden up until the last scene. At least that’s what I, I fan of the original show and the new show would greatly desire.