Episode Rankings: Legend Of Korra

I like Legend Of Korra. It has its weak points and isn't nearly as good as its predecessor, but I still think it's a great series with a lot to love, especially during the fantastic final two seasons. Korra is also a fantastic protagonist, and the show expands on Avatar in a lot of really interesting ways. Here's my ranking of its episodes:

1. Beginnings: Part 2 (S2.08)
2. Beginnings: Part 1 (S2.07)
3. Venom Of The Red Lotus (S3.13)
4. The Last Stand (S4.13)
5. The Ultimatum (S3.11)
6. Korra Alone (S4.02)
7. Day Of The Colossus (S4.12)
8. Enter The Void (S3.12)
9. Endgame (S1.12)
10. Operation Beifong (S4.10)
11. Long Live The Queen (S3.10)
12. Light In The Dark (S2.14)
13. The Aftermath (S1.07)
14. The Metal Clan (S3.05)
15. Out Of The Past (S1.09)
16. A New Spiritual Age (S2.10)
17. And The Winner Is (S1.06)
18. Kuvira's Gambit (S4.11)
19. The Terror Within (S3.08)
20. The Calling (S4.04)
21. A Breath Of Fresh Air (S3.01)
22. Harmonic Convergence (S2.12)
23. Civil Wars: Part 1 (S2.03)
24. When Extremes Meet (S1.08)
25. Beyond The Wilds (S4.09)
26. In Harm's Way (S3.04)
27. Turning The Tides (S1.10)
28. The Stakeout (S3.09)
29. Enemy At The Gates (S4.05)
30. Darkness Falls (S2.13)
31. The Revelation (S1.03)
32. Old Wounds (S3.06)
33. Welcome To Republic City (S1.01)
34. The Coronation (S4.03)
35. Civil Wars: Part 2 (S2.04)
36. Skeletons In The Closet (S1.11)
37. The Battle Of Zaofu (S4.06)
38. After All These Years (S4.01)
39. The Earth Queen (S3.03)
40. Night Of A Thousand Stars (S2.11)
41. The Guide (S2.09)
42. A Leaf In The Wind (S1.02)
43. Rebirth (S3.02)
44. Rebel Spirit (S2.01)
45. Reunion (S4.07)
46. The Voice In The Night (S1.04)
47. Original Airbenders (S3.07)
48. The Southern Lights (S2.02)
49. The Spirit Of Competition (S1.05)
50. Remembrances (S4.08)
51. Peacekeepers (S2.05)
52. The Sting (S2.06)

Episode Rankings: Legend Of Korra

While not as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender, I do think Legend Of Korra is a really good show. Season 2 was definitely a bit of a misstep, and the series definitely has its problems, but it's a worthy sequel to the original series with great characters, amazing villains, interesting storylines, and a phenomenal second half. Here's my ranking of its episodes:

1. Beginnings: Part 2 (S2.08) - Avatar took a lot of inspiration from Ghibli, so it's only natural that they'd just straight-up make a Ghibli movie.
2. Venom Of The Red Lotus (S3.13)
3. Beginnings: Part 1 (S2.07)
4. The Last Stand (S4.13) - Korrasami for the win!
5. The Ultimatum (S3.11)
6. Korra Alone (S4.02) - Korra's PTSD arc is hands down the best thing this show ever did, absolute genius move on the writer's part.
7. Day Of The Colossus (S4.12) - This episode made me realize just how much I cared about Varrick and Zhu Li.
8. Enter The Void (S3.12)
9. Endgame (S1.12) - This finale was a bit rushed and had its odd developments, but it nails the emotional moments really well and is immensely satisfying.
10. Operation Beifong (S4.10)
11. Long Live The Queen (S3.10)
12. The Aftermath (S1.07)
13. Light In The Dark (S2.14)
14. The Metal Clan (S3.05)
15. Out Of The Past (S1.09)
16. A New Spiritual Age (S2.10)
17. Kuvira's Gambit (S4.11)
18. The Terror Within (S3.08)
19. And The Winner Is (S1.06)
20. Harmonic Convergence (S2.12)
21. A Breath Of Fresh Air (S3.01)
22. Civil Wars: Part 1 (S2.03) - Varrick kinda saved this one for me.
23. The Calling (S4.04)
24. When Extremes Meet (S1.08)
25. Beyond The Wilds (S4.09)
26. Turning The Tides (S1.10)
27. In Harm's Way (S3.04)
28. The Stakeout (S3.09)
29. Enemy At The Gates (S4.05)
30. Darkness Falls (S2.13)
31. The Revelation (S1.03)
32. The Coronation (S4.03)
33. Old Wounds (S3.06)
34. Welcome To Republic City (S1.01)
35. Civil Wars: Part 2 (S2.04)
36. Skeletons In The Closet (S1.11)
37. The Battle Of Zaofu (S4.06)
38. After All These Years (S4.01)
39. Night Of A Thousand Stars (S2.11)
40. The Earth Queen (S3.03)
41. The Guide (S2.09)
42. Rebirth (S3.02)
43. A Leaf In The Wind (S1.02)
44. Rebel Spirit (S2.01)
45. Reunion (S4.07)
46. Original Airbenders (S3.07)
47. The Voice In The Night (S1.04)
48. The Southern Lights (S2.02)
49. The Spirit Of Competition (S1.05) - Also known as the dumb love triangle episode.
50. Rememberances (S4.08) - They really tried but this sadly wasn't anywhere near Ember Island Players.
51. Peacekeepers (S2.05)
52. The Sting (S2.06) - Also known as the dumb amnesia episode.

Legend Of Korra (Book 4)

Book 4 of Legend Of Korra came out two months after Book 3. It shouldn't have turned out as well as it did. It's a goddamn miracle that Book 4 manages to not only hold its own coming off the heights of Book 3, letting alone just being a great season in its own right.

Book 4 of Korra is heavily built off of the fallout of the third book. Three years after the Red Lotus attacked, the Earth Kingdom is in disarray, Korra has PTSD from her poisoning, and the group is pretty much split up. When Suyin's adopted daughter Kuvira tries to pick up the pieces and reunite the Earth Kingdom under her rule, Korra has to get over her trauma and stop her. Kuvira is my personal favorite villain of the whole show. I love that she's not as powerful as Ozai or Zaheer aside from being adept at metal-building, so she manages to excel through political maneuvering and her own wits. Even more, having a more smaller scale villain allows the cast to deal with their own conflicts, which is great for a final season. Book 4 is far more character-driven than any of the Korra seasons, and is the point in which I truly began to love the cast. However, my biggest gripe with this season involves the pacing. Book 4 is 13 episodes but given how little time they had to make it, they didn't need to add a clip show episode right in the middle, one that wasn't nearly as well-done as Avatar's. However, since this season feels like less of a build-up than Book 3, it feels a lot more consistently strong, with its best episodes being scattered throughout the season.

Obviously, Korra is the star of the show here. Her storyline about overcoming PTSD is absolutely beautiful and insanely well-done throughout, culminating in a triumphant sequence where she confronts Zaheer only for him to help her out. The Beifongs also get a lot of great material given their relationship to Kuvira, and best character Toph returns with a surprisingly large role. Mako is actually likable and interesting this time around, as he has to take care of the Earth Queen's sleazy replacement Wu. It's great to see Mako warm up a bit (pun intended) and Wu take his job more seriously, as the two slowly form a strong friendship with each other. And then there's Varrick and his assistant Zhu Li who get a phenomenal arc where they firmly join the good side and realize they love each other. Varrick was already an amazing character in Book 2 but his development here was excellently done, and his proposal to Zhu Li might just have been one of the best executed scenes in the whole series. Speaking of love, there's also Korra and Asami ending up together in the end. While it may be a bit too subtle nowadays (especially with shows like She-Ra and Adventure Time), it was a groundbreaking moment in children's entertainment that deservers praise.

Book 4 has a lot of my personal favorite episodes that help elevate it for me:

Korra Alone: This episode is an absolutely devastating and affecting depiction of dealing with trauma that feels more subtle and genuine than any other episode of the whole show. The way Korra slowly alienates herself from her friends and loses her drive to fight is just heartbreaking. But hey, at least Toph's back!

Operation Beifong: This episode was just plain fun. Bolin, Lin, and Opal saving the Beifong family from Kuvira is amazing, mostly just because everything goes right. There are so many badass moments from all of the earth benders, especially Toph, and the reveal that Zhu Li isn't actually evil is a big relief.

Day Of The Colossus: The first half of the series finale could have been goofy given that the final battle was against a mech, but it really works. This episode has a strong sense of dread as the whole cast tries to tie up loose ends (leading to that amazing proposal scene), and the ending with Hiroshi's sacrifice does a good job at resolving Asami's storyline.

The Last Stand: A phenomenal and satisfying finale for the show, even if it's not as built up to as Avatar's finale. The final battle with Kuvira started off as an intricate showcase of metal-bending and ended on an emotional note, Mako's sacrifice was great (even though he should've died), Varrick marrying Zhu Li is adorable, and of course, Korrasami continues to be one of the biggest moments in animated TV history.

Overall, I have a soft spot for Book 4. Even with its pacing issues, it's easily the most consistently strong and character-driven season of the bunch, with a great villain, phenomenal character arcs, and a strong finale that help end Korra on a strong note.

5/5 Stars

My ranking of the Avatar/Korra seasons is:

Avatar 3 > Avatar 2 > Korra 3 = Korra 4 > Avatar 1 > Korra 1 > Korra 2

And my ranking of the Avatar/Korra finales is:

Avatar 2 > Korra 3 > Avatar 3 > Korra 4 > Avatar 1 > Korra 1 > Korra 2 

Favorite Avatar Episode: Into The Inferno

Favorite Korra Episode: Beginnings

Legend Of Korra (Book 3)

Korra's second book wasn't necessarily a bad season, but you could tell the show was already starting to run out of steam. Thankfully, Book 3 of Legend Of Korra was the breath of fresh air the series needed, and easily one of the best seasons in the Avatar franchise.

The season's premise is simple but incredibly effective. Random people suddenly start turning into air benders, including the season's villain Zaheer. Kicked out of Republic City, Korra sets off to create a new Airbender clan while also trying to stop Zaheer and his team from sending the world into anarchy. Right from the get-go, this season has a sense of energy that Korra has never had before. We get a compelling villain who only gets better as the season goes on, and a great excuse for Korra and her friends to leave Republic City and start going on adventures together. There are tons of neat locations that we get to visit here, from revisiting Ba Sing Se, to the Beifong family's home, to the Northern Air Temple, all of which end up playing into the final four episodes. Book 3 works really well as a slow, serialized build-up to these aforementioned episodes as well, as while the first two thirds of the season is consistently solid all around, it's that final third that really surpasses anything else in all of Korra.

As for the characters, Book 3 does a great job of doing right by all of them. Korra is far more likable than in the last two seasons, and her budding friendship with Asami is absolutely amazing. Lin's story arc about her family issues is also amazing, and one of the most emotional parts of the season. The new air benders are also incredibly likable, especially Opal, and it gives Tenzin one of his most compelling storylines as he tries to live up to his father Aang. But it's the villains that really steal the show this season, Zaheer and the Red Lotus are incredibly badass, all of whom feel like a dark version of Team Avatar, and Zaheer's calm and introspective nature in spite of his anarchist motives make him a really unique villain. I particularly love that Zaheer would just calmly outline his plan to Korra, it's such a cool moment!

Due to the nature of this season, most of the high points come right at the very end:

Long Live The Queen: Korra and Asami's escape from the Earth Queen's capture is a ton of fun and involves them escaping a giant land shark, but it's the chilling and genuinely disgusting death of the Earth Queen herself that truly helps this episode stand out. It's such a cruel death for a kid's show, and the cliffhanger of Ba Sing Se erupting into chaos (again) kickstarts the amazing final third.

The Ultimatum: This episode is just amazing in so many ways, the chaos in Ba Sing Se, Iroh's surprising return, Mako and Bolin saving their family, the attack on the Northern Air Temple, Tenzin sacrificing himself for the other air benders. It's such an intense and relentless episode that really demonstrates how well this season is put together.

Enter The Void: This entire episode is just one massive fight scene and it's so much fun. P'Li's death by head explosion is another insane yet gruesome death scene, Bolin learning how to lava bend is fun, and the reveal that Zaheer can fly is a surprising but logical addition to the show's lore. And that final cliffhanger does a great job of setting up for the finale.

Venom Of The Red Lotus: This season finale was just amazing. Having Korra escape capture on her own was a great move, and the final battle with Zaheer is both bombastic and horrifying. The whole cast also gets something to do as they defeat the other members of the Red Lotus in satisfying and horrifying ways, and between Korra's poison, Jinora's tattoo, and the fallout of the Earth Kingdom chaos, this finale drastically changes the series in preparation for Book 4.

Overall, Korra's third book is a massive improvement on the first two seasons and one of the most well-crafted seasons I've ever seen. It's packed with fun adventure, crazy action, amazing villains, and a stunning final third that finally feels like Korra is living up to its predecessor.

5/5 Stars

Legend Of Korra (Book 2)

Coming after a solid but flawed first season, Korra showed that it had the potential to become something truly great. Well, that didn't quite pan out this season, but its high points show that the potential is still there.

Book 2 is kind of a mess in its story. It's about a water-bender named Unalaq who wants to access the Spirit World and retrieve the literal embodiment of evil named Raava. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad storyline and it allows for a lot of lore to be added to the world of Avatar. However, Unalaq is just a dull villain and the storyline feels kind of boring at times. The subplots don't fare much better, as Bolin, Mako, and Asami are mostly pushed aside into random, unfunny side storylines. The best part of the season, at least in my opinion, is Varrick, an entertaining and opportunistic villain who gives the show a ton of energy every time he's on screen. Despite my many complaints, I do think the Spirit World aspect is actually really well-handled. The Spirit World is beautiful and unique, and all of the spirits that inhabit it feel like they're straight out of a Ghibli film. In addition, the final three episodes that make up the season's final battle do a good job of utilizing the cast, upping the stakes, and drastically shifting the status quo of the series.

This mixed level of quality for Korra's second season is made even worse by the animation issues. Usually, Korra's animation by Studio Mir is beautiful and expressive, but this season had another studio, Studio Pierrot, take charge of the animation for the first half of the season. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Pierrot, they do a solid job on Naruto and Bleach, but they're just not a good fit for Korra. The characters feel less animated under Pierrot and it gives the show a cheap feel, especially compared to Mir's work in the second half. The first half of Book 2 was slow enough as it was, but Pierrot's animation just made it worse. Thankfully, Studio Mir returns once it's time to animate the Spirit World, resulting in some of the most visually stunning animation in both Avatar shows. I also think this season did a solid job with the humor as well. It's way more comedic than the first, but most of the jokes ended up hitting.

While the low notes of Book 2 were dull and boring, the high points were actually really high:

Beginnings: It's odd that my least favorite season of Korra has my favorite episode, but Beginnings is way too good for this season. The whole episode tells the story of the very first Avatar, and does a lot to add to the lore in a way that still feels somewhat consistent with what we already know. Even aside from the lore implications, Beginnings is an amazing fable on its own right, with beautiful and stunning animation that sets it apart from anything in the franchise.

A New Spiritual Age: This episode finally brings Korra into the Spirit World and it's just as visually stunning as ever. This is an absolute trip of an episode that packs in one of the best cameos in the whole show (Iroh's back!) along with ending on a shocking note as Jinora is left stuck in the Spirit World.

Light In The Dark: I know this finale was kinda divisive, and yeah, Kaiju Korra is kind of stupid. However, I think this episode does a good job of tying together all of the season's plot threads, and unlike the neat and tidy Season 1 finale, Korra losing her connection to the other Avatars and opening the Spirit Portal is a massive change that should lead to a drastically different Book 3.

Overall, Book 2 was a mess. At times, it was boring with bad animation. At other points, it was visually stunning and genuinely surprising. The high points were high, the low points were low, but as a whole, Book 2 just doesn't live up to the level of quality that Avatar and Korra usually maintain.

2.5/5 Stars

Legend Of Korra (Book 1)

Being the nearly perfect animated masterpiece that it is, Avatar The Last Airbender is a pretty tough act to follow for a potential sequel. While Legend Of Korra doesn't quite reach those heights, especially not at first, its first season is still a really strong animated show in its own right.

Legend Of Korra is about the next Avatar after Aang, the water-bender Korra. This first season has her arrive at Republic City to be trained by Aang's son Tenzin, while also joining a Pro-Bending game and trying to stop an anti-bending terrorist group called the Equalists. Personally, I love the Equalists storyline. This is the first time we really see how non-benders deal with the fact that they can't bend, and its leader Amon was such a mysterious, compelling, and morally gray character, at least at first. Eventually we learn Amon is a bender too which is a neat twist but it does remove some of that moral complexity. The Pro-Bending storyline is a bit weaker however, as it doesn't really accomplish much outside of kickstarting a love triangle between Korra and her friends Mako and Bolin. I don't necessarily hate love triangles, but this one just seems to take up so much of this first season, which is especially jarring given how low-key a lot of Avatar's romance arcs were. Thankfully, the majority of the season is still focused on the Equalists, which is far darker and more intense than anything Avatar ever put out.

As for the characters, I do really like Korra's cast, but they're not as well-developed as Avatar's cast yet. Korra is a great protagonist, serving as a perfect parallel of Aang, and I really like Toph's daughter Lin (What can I say? The Beifongs are awesome!). Asami is an awesome "non-bender" of the group due to her nice personality, interesting backstory, and generally just being a badass character. Bolin is an adorable goofball, Tenzin is a compelling character in his own right, but I'm not a fan of Mako and never have been. Mako has always been a boring and uninteresting character to me, and I find him to be a weak link of the cast. The world-building isn't as strong as Avatar's either, mostly because of how the entire season takes place in one location: Republic City. Thankfully, Republic City is still a really cool place and perfectly shows how the world of Avatar has evolved since the original show. Korra's first season is also noteworthy for being pretty much just one complete story since it was originally planned to be the only season of the show. While this does mean the finale is a bit on the rushed side, I do like how self-contained and small scale it is.

Despite the season's shorter length, it's packed with exciting episodes and strong plot twists:

And The Winner Is: I've always admired how dark this season is compared to pretty much any other show in Avatar, with this episode resolving the Pro-Bending storyline by having the Equalists attack the arena. Yes, this children's show actually has a terrorist attack in it.

The Aftermath: This was the episode that made me love Asami, as despite my belief that she would turn bad and join her father and the Equalists, she had the guts to electrocute her own dad solidifying her place in the new Team Avatar. Even outside of that, it's a strong episode in its own right, containing the emotional fallout of the aforementioned terrorist attack and a bunch of cute character interactions.

Endgame: Despite the somewhat rushed resolution, Endgame does a great job of wrapping everything up into a satisfying final battle with Amon. It has some crazy twists like Korra getting her bending taken away, shocking moments like Amon's suicide-bombing (yes, this show has a suicide in it!), and a pretty emotional ending where Korra finally connects with the past Avatars.

Overall, Korra's first season is a very solid first outing for the show, with a likable cast, compelling main storyline, and a strong protagonist. If you can put aside the fact that it's not as air-tight as Avatar, there really is a lot to love here.

4/5 Stars