The Legend of Korra

Very minor spoilers below.  I will NOT ruin the show for you.

Ben and I finished The Legend of Korra last week. The four seasons were a little uneven -- the first was fascinating mostly for its world-building and the establishment of some great characters, while the second season seemed to search for a good storyline. But the series found its footing in the excellent third season and continued that quality all the way through the fourth and final season.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) has a warmth and child-like wonder that Korra never duplicates, but to be fair, the story is told from a very different perspective. Avatar Aang was a 12 year old, exploring the world with his friends, while shouldering the terrible responsibility of ending a violent,  oppressive, hundred year war. Avatar Korra is a young woman dealing with a variety of issues like discrimination, industrialization, cultural upheaval, race, gender and fascism. 

Fortunately, Korra follows ATLA's example of creating wonderful characters. I especially loved Tenzin, Varrick, Asami, Bolin, Jinora, and Meelo, but the list of great characters is very long indeed. The humor from ATLA also carries forward intact. And the action scenes are incredibly well done, filled with clever uses of bending and real stakes. It's also notable that both series deal with the real burden and emotional toll of the events the characters experience.

And, finally, the ending was simply amazing. There were hints that the story was going towards a specific resolution, but I really thought they would remain just hints. This was, after all, a show that aired on Nickelodeon, a kid's channel, from 2012 to 2014. As I watched the last moments of the story unfold, I kept waiting for them to veer off, to go in a different direction. But they didn't, and it was one of the best moments of television I've ever experienced.