The necessary words to adequately convey how much I love this show have not yet been introduced into the English language. If you speak another language and feel that your lengua materna has such a term, please inform me so that I may fill this gap in my education.
So assuming you're between the age of 8 and 28 and regularly watched the colorful light box, you should remember a Nickelodeon show called Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was really fantastic. A modern masterpiece.
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| I mean it. The entire series is on Netflix. Or, you know, this thing called the internet. DO IT NOW. |
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| "Quick! Don't look at the nonwatcher!" |
If you think I'm talking about blue cat people who live on a moon and do weird things with their reproductive organs tails, then kindly back out of this post and go educate yourselves a bit.
I'm not going to do a review or recap. There are already tons of those hovering in the bloggosphere and Tumblr, yearning to be consumed. (Alternatively, if you know of some good ones, tell me in the comments. We might be able to get a mutual appreciation thing going.)
There is a certain appeal with high concept and fully visualized fictional worlds. The Avatar universe is pretty much that in a nut shell. And not to call them plot holes, but there are usually a fewunintended amusing consequences that result from imagined reality. So this post is about that.
Now pay attention:
This is full of spoilers. Spoilers without reservation. You've been warned and whining will not be tolerated.
1. The Water Tribe Baby Boom
Four years before Korra begins, both the Northern and Southern Water tribe experienced an explosive baby boom. The Order of the White Lotus mentioned that they had received multiple reports from both tribes. They should have seen it coming, honestly. Avatar Aang was an airbender, so the next nation in the reincarnation cycle is Water. Who wouldn't want their kid to be the Avatar?
So whenever the current avatar dies/is close to dying, carpenters start carving more cradles, shepherds enjoy an upswing in wool demand, merchants stock more bottles and nappies, and everyone from the next nation in the cycle gets busy in the bedroom department. People from other nations probably start having more kids too. Even if there is no chance of having the avatar, at least the kid will be close to his/her age. That should raise their chances of winning one of the coveted spots on Team Avatar.
2. The Ethics of Restoring Bending
When Lin Bei Fong, the most badass human being ever, led a one-woman charge against the invading forces and lost her bending, the entire fandom was quick to reassure themselves that Korra is a kid's show. Nothing bad ever happens on a kid's show. Lin would get her bending back. Nothing to worry about.
Sure enough, Korra connected with her past lives and learned how to restore (and take) a person's bending. The first person she restores is Lin.
The next logical course of action would be for Korra to return to Republic City and restore all of the benders there.
So the brave metalbenders of the police force and the devoted waterbenders of the Order of the White Lotus get their bending back.
Yay!
That means Tahno and the Wolfbats get their bending back. Technically they're guilty of (at least) cheating during the Pro-bending finales, but that's not enough to completely take away their bending. Maybe take away their championship rings or whatever they have in this universe.
But remember this guy?
"Lightning Bolt" Zolt. He is the head of the Triple Threat Triad and was the first person to lose his bending at the hands of Amon. I guarantee you he has murdered, extorted, robbed, beaten, and tormented people all over Republic City.
Do you give him his bending back?
3. The (lack of the) March of Progress
That's a lot of Avatars.
That's a lot of lifetimes. That's a really old world. And they're just now getting to the 1920's.
On one hand, our world is really old. There's that mental exercise you hear all the time in school - if Earth's history was boiled down to 24 hours, humans would only appear five minutes before midnight or something.
On the other hand, avatars are not normal people (in case you couldn't tell from all the badassery in the prior photos). Avatar Kyoshi is the longest living avatar - a whopping 230 years.
While every Avatar doesn't live as long a Kyoshi, assuming an average lifespan of 150 years and maybe 50 visible Avatars standing in that scene, that's 7500 years. And it's not just that it took a while for the Avatar universe to get to the Roaring 20's. They're also accelerating through technological development at a rocket pace (for Rule of Cool, but stay with me).
The Avatar is always in the world, keeping the balance and bridging the gap between the human and spirit realms. I suppose you get some down time when the new Avatar is born and growing up, but for the most part I don't think the Avatar universe ever had any full scale wars develop.
Some pretty good reasons to not piss off those people above. Based on flashbacks to Kyoshi, Roku, and even Aang, it seems that Avatars would stop conflicts before long. Couple that with the opportunities presented by benders and the relatively insular nature of the four nations, and it seems like society didn't have any need to invent.
But then Aang decided to imitate Captain America for a hundred years.
Suddenly there was lasting, open warfare that mashed nations and people together and demanded they make something out of the new situations. Most advancements in our own world derive from military funding and adapted weapons technology.
Honestly, Aang seems to have done humanity a favor by sleeping on the job for a bit.
So those were my big three points. Rather than drag this on, I'll end with some questions we can mull over together.
1. How do you invent plastic surgery before you invent airplanes?
2. What is the religion of this universe? How does the afterlife work for everyone else?
3. What do you want to see in Season 2?
4. If Yakone had his bending taken away, but Tarlock and Noatock were benders, how exactly was Amon planning to rid the world of bending? Outlaw sex?
Honestly though, I think the Fire Nation really did attack. It's going to be hotter than hell this weekend. Stay safe!
I'm not going to do a review or recap. There are already tons of those hovering in the bloggosphere and Tumblr, yearning to be consumed. (Alternatively, if you know of some good ones, tell me in the comments. We might be able to get a mutual appreciation thing going.)
There is a certain appeal with high concept and fully visualized fictional worlds. The Avatar universe is pretty much that in a nut shell. And not to call them plot holes, but there are usually a few
Now pay attention:
This is full of spoilers. Spoilers without reservation. You've been warned and whining will not be tolerated.
1. The Water Tribe Baby Boom
Four years before Korra begins, both the Northern and Southern Water tribe experienced an explosive baby boom. The Order of the White Lotus mentioned that they had received multiple reports from both tribes. They should have seen it coming, honestly. Avatar Aang was an airbender, so the next nation in the reincarnation cycle is Water. Who wouldn't want their kid to be the Avatar?
So whenever the current avatar dies/is close to dying, carpenters start carving more cradles, shepherds enjoy an upswing in wool demand, merchants stock more bottles and nappies, and everyone from the next nation in the cycle gets busy in the bedroom department. People from other nations probably start having more kids too. Even if there is no chance of having the avatar, at least the kid will be close to his/her age. That should raise their chances of winning one of the coveted spots on Team Avatar.
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| A little fartbending is worth putting up with if it means a demi-god turns to you for help. |
2. The Ethics of Restoring Bending
When Lin Bei Fong, the most badass human being ever, led a one-woman charge against the invading forces and lost her bending, the entire fandom was quick to reassure themselves that Korra is a kid's show. Nothing bad ever happens on a kid's show. Lin would get her bending back. Nothing to worry about.
 |
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| Lin Bei Fong demonstrating how she created of Stonehenge. The Easter Island heads. The Pyramids. THE WORLD. |
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| I would like to thank Bolin for being the only person to demonstrate the appropriate level of excitement here. |
So the brave metalbenders of the police force and the devoted waterbenders of the Order of the White Lotus get their bending back.
Yay!
That means Tahno and the Wolfbats get their bending back. Technically they're guilty of (at least) cheating during the Pro-bending finales, but that's not enough to completely take away their bending. Maybe take away their championship rings or whatever they have in this universe.
 |
| Poor baby needs waterbending to do his hair. |
But remember this guy?
"Lightning Bolt" Zolt. He is the head of the Triple Threat Triad and was the first person to lose his bending at the hands of Amon. I guarantee you he has murdered, extorted, robbed, beaten, and tormented people all over Republic City.
Do you give him his bending back?
3. The (lack of the) March of Progress
That's a lot of Avatars.
That's a lot of lifetimes. That's a really old world. And they're just now getting to the 1920's.
On one hand, our world is really old. There's that mental exercise you hear all the time in school - if Earth's history was boiled down to 24 hours, humans would only appear five minutes before midnight or something.
 |
| I'm going to assume the Avatar was created after humans appeared. The Lion turtle tells me so. |
On the other hand, avatars are not normal people (in case you couldn't tell from all the badassery in the prior photos). Avatar Kyoshi is the longest living avatar - a whopping 230 years.
 |
| I also lack words to honor the amazing female characters in this show. |
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| The speedboat of feels, for example, was invented sometime in the 60's. |
The Avatar is always in the world, keeping the balance and bridging the gap between the human and spirit realms. I suppose you get some down time when the new Avatar is born and growing up, but for the most part I don't think the Avatar universe ever had any full scale wars develop.
Some pretty good reasons to not piss off those people above. Based on flashbacks to Kyoshi, Roku, and even Aang, it seems that Avatars would stop conflicts before long. Couple that with the opportunities presented by benders and the relatively insular nature of the four nations, and it seems like society didn't have any need to invent.
But then Aang decided to imitate Captain America for a hundred years.
Suddenly there was lasting, open warfare that mashed nations and people together and demanded they make something out of the new situations. Most advancements in our own world derive from military funding and adapted weapons technology.
Honestly, Aang seems to have done humanity a favor by sleeping on the job for a bit.
 |
| His genius was just misunderstood by the petty mortals. |
1. How do you invent plastic surgery before you invent airplanes?
2. What is the religion of this universe? How does the afterlife work for everyone else?
3. What do you want to see in Season 2?
4. If Yakone had his bending taken away, but Tarlock and Noatock were benders, how exactly was Amon planning to rid the world of bending? Outlaw sex?
Honestly though, I think the Fire Nation really did attack. It's going to be hotter than hell this weekend. Stay safe!
