Quibbles and Scribbles

This morning I went on a mini Legend of Korra binge and halfway through thought to myself: holy shit I seriously love this show. I’ve been a fan for a while, but at times it just hits me how awesome it is. The basic idea with the elements and the plot are all great parts but what makes or breaks the show is the characters, especially the main one.

I will be completely honest when I say I did not want to watch Korra at first. I had just finished Last Airbender, it was weird everyone was dead or old, and I didn’t know how to feel about it. In about two months time however, I opened my mind and got into the show.

Right off the bat we learn Korra is a mentally and physically strong Avatar and is only one element away from mastering them all. A free spirit who never holds anything back, Korra thinks for herself and even though at times it would get her in trouble, she’s still a kid maturing.

There were good and bad times. For a moment of time she lost the ability to bend 3/4 of the elements, went through the frustration of the public not always being happy with her, and had to give all she’s got to beat certain opponents.

But as put so nicely, “find the light in the darkness,” and Korra always did that.

In the darkness Korra opened another world allowing spirits and humans to live together, took down every enemy, and even became the first metal-bending Avatar.

Korra is more than her abilities. She cares about people, especially those closest to her. Despite having a love interest for the first two seasons she never needed one. Korra never “needed” anyone, she could take care of herself just fine, with or without bending she could do it all.

But like most people, the battles they fight every day became too much, and Korra broke. At the end of season 3, despite a big celebration, Korra sat in a wheelchair crying. Three years pass between seasons and we learn Korra had never gotten over the last battle. For years she struggled with walking, getting up every day and trying, and forgetting the fight that almost took her life. Korra started out mentally strong, but over time we saw even people like Korra will break.

To be honest this part of the series resonated the most with me. It took Korra years to overcome a mental illness and even at the end she wasn’t 100% whole, but you knew she was trying to get better. Korra did not stop fighting to get her old life back once she realized things needed to change. At the end of the series we began to see the old Korra again, the old Korra but more mature and not taking things for granted.

Korra quickly became one of all time favorite characters. She’s someone anyone can look up to, with her confidence and “go-getter” attitude. What makes her even more relatable is how she didn’t put on a facade, she didn’t make everyone believe she was okay when she wasn’t. Korra took the time she needed to get better. Korra started off strong, went through a lot of shit, was mentally ill for years, but never wanted to stop fighting.