An American animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, with Aaron Ehasz as head writer
Rebel Spirit Alas we have arrived at the moment I’ve been dreading since my commitment to writing about Korra, for as much as I deeply love the show there is no way to sidestep an important fact: the second season just isn’t … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Rebel Spirit” & “The Southern Lights”
Skeletons in the Closet If you will allow me a bit of ostentatious pontification, I would like to submit a proposal to why the season one finale of The Legend of Korra is odd and discombobulating, beyond the fact that it was … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Skeletons in the Closet” & “Endgame”
Out of the Past As the first season of The Legend of Korra barrels into its final act, the strain of the pacing and meting out of the plot really starts to grip the series. Once again this pair of episodes are … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Out of the Past” & “Turning the Tides”
The Aftermath One of the most common critiques lodged against the first season of Korra is that of its breathless pacing. In Bryke’s ambition to construct a tightly wound mini-series they didn’t allow enough time to stop and consider what was happening … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Aftermath” & “When Extremes Meet”
The Spirit of Competition Ah yes, here we are, the episode that, to some, breaks The Legend of Korra. After an exciting opening act, introducing the viewer to a changed world with new characters and ideas, the show takes a … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Spirit of Competition” & “And the Winner is…”
The Revelation If the first two episodes of The Legend of Korra were all about situating the viewer in a transformed version of The Four Nations, than this duo is about properly setting off the main narrative machine of the season. Now … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Revelation” & “The Voice in the Night”
Welcome to Republic City What is the Legend of Korra? It’s a question that has confounded fans ever since the sequel series to Avatar started in 2012. A piece of the puzzle that has mostly driven the divided response to the newer show, … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Welcome to Republic City” & “A Leaf in the Wind”
The Southern Raiders Katara is a fascinating figure in the world of Avatar. For what was clearly designed to be a love interest and female counterpoint to our boyish hero, Katara has evolved into a interesting personality in the realm of the … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Southern Raiders” & “The Ember Island Players”
In Which Tonight There’s Going to be a Jailbreak “The Boiling Rock” should be one of Avatar’s best entries. If I were asked to rank it from memory I would definitely put it near the top. It contains three or four of … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Boiling Rock”
The Western Air Temple In a way this is the episode that the show has been building towards. Even though the conclusion to Avatar is still half a season down the road, the introduction of Zuko to Team Avatar is … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Western Air Temple” & “The Firebending Masters”
In Which Pants Are an Illusion, Just Like Death In a random episode of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer the character Xander recalls many of the misadventures he’s had over the course of the series. The fact that he both accidentally got wrapped … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Day of Black Sun”
The Puppetmaster Third time’s the charm for this particular format of the show. Once again we have an episode of the third season that focusses on Katara and demonstrates that life in the Fire Nation is more varied and textured … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Puppetmaster” & “Nightmares and Daydreams”
The Avatar and The Firelord There is an undercurrent in Avatar that runs through the narrative with deep implications but never becomes the primary topic of conversation for the show. In the lore of the series, The Avatar is a person who … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Avatar and The Firelord” & “The Runaway”
In Which We Will Be Changed Like Sand in the Sea From a macro perspective “The Beach” seems like a perfectly normal episode of the show. It has an A and B-plot, it’s got a big action scene, it follows … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Beach”
The Painted Lady There’s an episode of the sci-fi show Fringe that aired in its second season, but was filmed to fulfill the order for the first season. The network thought it wasn’t worth airing the first time around, but needed an … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Painted Lady” & “Sokka’s Master”
The Awakening How do you build back up after tearing everything down? Eventually all great storytellers arrive at this problem, one that’s so difficult to solve that many just tumble through it and let things be. Hell George R. R. … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Awakening” & “The Headband”
In Which The Stars Turn and a Decision Presents Itself Avatar has never been shy about its influences. The creators are open to the fact that they cribbed from most major pieces of genre storytelling at the time. The stew of Star … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Guru” & “The Crossroads of Destiny”
Lake Laogai Avatar has always been a show haunted by death. Hell even its title is a gesture to the genocide that serves as the thematic underpinning of the whole fair. A rather grim cornerstone from which to build a program … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Lake Laogai” & “The Earth King”
Tales of Ba Sing Sae It’s always fun when a TV show breaks its format. Throwing expectations to the wind to do something unique or unexpected. However it’s rarer for such a thing to happen with two back-to-back episodes. Avatar isn’t your … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “Tales of Ba Sing Sae” & “Appa’s Lost Days”
In Which There’s No War in Ba Sing Sae In many of the previous recaps I’ve used the words unsettled and uncertain to describe the state of our current narrative. Indeed the life of Team Avatar has been incredibly tumultuous. … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “City of Walls and Secrets”
The Serpent’s Pass In my recap on “The Desert” I noted that the midpoint of the series featured another downshift in the tonal texture of Avatar. That what was once a cheery piece of adventuring was slowly morphing into a story with … Continue reading Re-Avatar State: “The Serpent’s Pass” & “The Drill”
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