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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews the Series Finale of The Legend of Korra

December 20th, 2014 by Todd Black 4 Comments

And here we are, four books, numerous stories, characters, struggles, and battles, to reach this point. The end. I could honestly write thousands of words about this finale, but I won’t do that to you, because there isn’t enough words to express how I felt about this series, and it’s ending. So I’ll do my best to summarize what happened in the last two episodes, and give my score, and leave the rest dear fans, to you.

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“Day of the Colossus” was every bit the action spectacle we wanted it to be. Give Bryan and Mike props for coming up for numerous ideas on how to take the Colossus down. Paint balloons, tripping it, dropping a FREAKING BUILDING ON IT!!!! Seriously, what didn’t they do to that Colossus? I mean they even did a mega EMP and that thing DIDN’T COME DOWN!!!

To me, that’s actually one of the most important things about this episode, the Colossus did not die easily. It wasn’t a “here’s what we do” ABC plan leading to its destruction. It was Plan A, B, M Q, Z, and beyond trying to bring that thing down.

Visually, this episode was stunning from nearly start to finish. From the use of the Airbending glide suits and their numerous attacks on the Colossus. To the use of Korra, Su, Lin, and Bolin’s bending, to the use of the hummingbird mechs, and of course the Colossus itself. All was spot on.

And yet! There wasn’t without good character moments. First was of course Bataar Jr. repenting to Su, who being the great mother she is forgave him of his sins. Then of course there was the return of Hiroshi Sato, who was there to save the day…albeit at the cost of his life. It was rather sad that he died, but at least in his death he got the peace of mind knowing he earned his daughters forgiveness and that many will remember him for his ending instead of his evils.

But wait, there’s more! Varrick and Zhu Li! Yes, they’re married (more on this later), it was great to see it happen, and in such a hilarious yet beautiful way. But hey, it’s Varrick, what else did you expect?

The only downpart about “Day of the Colossus” was (quite predictably) the Wu scenes. Do I really need to say more about this? No? Good.

“The Last Stand” was a near perfect ending for Legend of Korra, albeit with some…questionable parts in some areas…and one big scene that will be a debate for generations to come.

With Korra, Mako, Bolin, Su, and Lin all in the Colossus, the mission was clear. Shut it down, and take out Kuvira. In typical movie style fashion, they broke up into teams to do what needed to be done. Su and Lin took care of the spirit weapon easily. It might have been a little too easy, but as many people may note, you build a tank to be tough on the outside, not on the inside. Right? What saved the scene no doubt was Kuvira ripping off the arm and tossing it away!!!! Classy.

Then of course there was Mako and Bolin, who had to destroy the energy source for the Colossus to shut it down. After some short but epic battling (did you notice Bolin using Ghazan’s fire metal disc attack?) they found out their plan wouldn’t work. Shocker…but, this led to a moment of pure epicness from Mako, who willingly (and knowingly if you paid attention) was read to sacrifice himself in order to save everyone by electrocuting the power source until it exploded.

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What was cool about it though was the fact that they made you believe that he was going to make it…then not make it…then reveal he did make it! Go Bolin! Truly though, the “goodbye” scene in the room with the two brothers was classic. Mako and Bolin have really been a true cornerstone for this series, and their loyalty and brotherhood to one another was a big part of that. It was great to see it pulled off in spades here.

And now, of course, Korra vs. Kuvira. These two went at it in a way that can only be done in the Avatar series. Everything was on the table, and everything (almost everything) got let loose. And that was before the Colossus exploded! The final fight in the Spirit Wilds was a nice touch, even if it did have a slightly expected/unexpected ending. By that I mean that Korra lived and saved Kuvira, while in the process opening a new spirit portal.

The one thing that didn’t jive with me was the exposition in the Spirit World. While it was cool that it took place there, the “revelations” between Kuvira and Korra were…hit-or-miss. It would’ve been great had Kuvira given us this information sooner, to make her more sympathizeable, but she didn’t. Instead, Korra revealed how they were “a lot alike” and everything just sort of…ended. Kuvira surrendered, and it was over.

Not the episode though, there was an epilogue that will be talked about for a while. From the simple use of Varrick’s wedding to tie everything up in a neat bow (how is Bolin a minister?), to the brilliant use of worldbuilding in the final few minutes. From the Earth Kingdom technically being no more, to Republic City planning to expand, and Korra admitting that she still has a lot to learn, and knows there’s a lot more to do before the world is safe.

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But…then…just when you thought it might be over…in walks Asami, and everything…changes? Ok, let me shoot straight here. Korra and Asami decided to take a trip together to the Spirit World, to get away from everything that happened to them in the last few days/months/years. And…the ending shot showed them holding hands and looking at each other happily.

So…does this they are together? Personally? I don’t think it does. Not in the way that many (MANY!!!) want. Why? Well I won’t go into long details here (I’m going to do a podcast on this), but the way Korra and Mako interacted just before this scene gives me pause. Especially with how Korra looked when Mako said “I’ll always have your back”. That wasn’t just a friendly, “i’m here for you”, that was more than that, and she knew it, and I think reflected it too. Also, what’s wrong with just wanting to spend time with a friend who understands what you’ve been going through? One that has recently suffered a great loss as well? Nothing in my opinion.

Now obviously, there is a lot (LOT) of inference that they are together. But as they say, that’s up to you. I’m not going to judge this scene, it’s honestly not my place to judge. Every one of us will have an opinion. I have mine, you have yours, nothing left to say about it.

If there was one thing that “The Last Stand” didn’t do right (two above scenes aside), was that there was a…lack of…how should I say it…iconicness? Yes, I just made up that word, deal with it! Don’t get me wrong, Mako’s Lightningbending, the Colossus blowing up, the new Spirit Portal…the end scene…all memorable. But was it legendary? For lack of a better word? Think about Sozen’s Comet. We had Zuko and Katara vs. Azula. Toph and Sokka taking out the numerous airships, and of course Aang vs. Ozai, each scene was poetry in motion until the very end. This? Well, it was a movie. Not a bad one, but one that kind of made you wish you had more in the end in some ways. For me, that was especially with Kuvira. Oh well.

In the end though, both “Day of the Colossus” and “The Last Stand” will stand out as some of the best episodes of Legend of Korra, period. Was it perfect? No. Did it need to be…? I don’t think so. It was a great end, and it left it open should there be a third series in this beloved universe. I think for many a fan when I say…I really want that to happen.

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Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!