The Legend of Korra: After All These Years

What? More Korra? Already? I can't keep up with Nickelodeon's logic in the airing of this show, especially when it's at its absolute best. I just hope none of this decreases my chances for a prequel series that explores the lives of the pre-Aang Avatars.

But let's jump straight in since that's clearly what they want us to do. Quickly establishing that three years have passed since the final shot of season three – that broken, devastated look on Korra's face – we get a surprising lack of emphasis on our main characters; instead a sharp look at the political landscape is what takes up the bulk of this episode.

Asami, Mako, Bolin, Tenzin and Lin are quickly accounted for, but it's Kuvira, Opal and Kai that really take centre stage in introducing and exploring the new political situation. If season three was all about anarchy, then season four would appear to focus on fascism. In the wake of the Earth Queen's murder two figureheads have emerged, each one representing a different mode of government. On the one hand, we have Prince Wu, the Queen's niece. On the other, we have Kuvira.

Sure enough, the overt introduction of Kuvira at the end of last season was a hint as to her prominence in this season, and she's certainly risen in power and status. Travelling round the Earth Kingdom in a train, she's supplying townships with supplies and protection – but only if they commit their allegiance to her, the Great Uniter.

Most places sign up to this deal, plagued as they are by bandits that roam the countryside (even without spelling it out, this feels like a natural consequence of Ba Sing Se's coup) but a few cling to their independence. It's here the Air Nomads come in, helping out where they can.

But they're stretched thin, and they have minimal supplies – which makes Kuvira's offer all the more tempting, especially since the heir to the throne is a foppish teenager.

It surprised me that Opal and Kai were so pronounced here, though I wouldn't be surprised if they were phased out a little in consecutive episodes. They were prominent enough last season to deserve a little screen-time, but not so much that they have the right to take over the show. So here they were used to reintroduce us to the idea of the Air Nomads (I loved the flying squirrel suits and their professional/personal rapport with each other), as well as yet more Bei Fong family drama.

Turns out that Kuvira (who used to be part of the Metal Clan, remember?) has broken away from Suyin due to ideological differences. This is unsurprising given what we know about Suyin's policies, but it turns out that her son Bataar (shown only fleetingly last season) has pulled a Percy Weasley and is now engaged to Kuvira. For her part, Opal is not happy about any of this, creating added stress with Bolin, who works for Kuvira.

Oh, and Varrick is along for the ride. Because of course he is.

But Kuvira is certainly a force to be reckoned with, and after only a single episode of watching her at work, she has the potential to be a brilliant antagonist. Zelda Williams has a wonderful voice – brisk, clear, a little husky – and it brings the character to life in a way that Henry Rollins never really managed to do with Zaheer, who was wonderfully written, but tonally flat.

Here, watching Kuvira expertly thrash the bandits attacking the train, smoothly manoeuvring her way around the antagonism of Opal and the Governor, and no doubt ordering the bandits to steal Kai and Opal's supplies so that the Governor would be forced to sign her treaty all make her a force to be reckoned with.

And have we ever seen a metal bender manipulate magnetic forces before? Because I'm pretty sure that's what the "clink" sound effects were suggesting when she threw the bandits together and lined them up either side of the railway line.

So many wonderful little character beats that demonstrated how others behaved around her: how Varrick, Bataar and Bolin lowered their teacups when she announced she would not celebrate, how her presence stretched as far as Republic City when her followers threw pies at Prince Wu, the bandit insisting that they wouldn't have attacked the train if they'd known it was her, and the cheering of the villagers as they wilfully submitted to her control.

These are her allies. Including her fiancé. Even they're uncomfortable.

I truly hope that she remains as she is now: committed to her cause without going overboard into real villainy.

***

Have you ever noticed that whenever a show does a time jump, all the characters are either completely unchanged, or have undergone a total personality switch? Or alternatively, if only a short amount of time has passed (usually when a season ends on a cliff-hanger), they seem much older and more mature, as though they've skipped a few seasons of on-screen development?

Here the writers managed to avoid that particular inconsistency, making our leads visibly older both physically and emotionally – though Asami's use of the phrase "after all these years" seems a little generous for a mere three.

Though at the same time, things still felt a little jarring. That Mako, Bolin, Asami and Korra have been separated for so long is difficult to get my head around, though it makes sense when you consider Korra's condition and the other three's need for employment. As it is, the show made surprisingly good use of the time skip – by having it be unsurprising in some ways and a little unsettling in others, it comes across as very realistic.

And of course, they hold off on Korra's appearance until the final few minutes. Disregarding Tonraq's absurd lack of emotion when he realizes that his daughter has been missing for six months, this was an ingenious way of raising audience suspense as to her whereabouts, topped off by the realization that nobody knows where she is.

So where is she? Getting beaten up in bending matches, clearly not at her physical or mental best. The amount of hate Korra gets in fandom has always saddened me, as she's never been a malicious or unfriendly person – just headstrong and overly passionate. Now it would appear that's she's lost herself, signified by her cut hair, her defeated stance and her sad "I wouldn't know" when she's asked what happened to the Avatar. Get well soon, girl!

 

How can you hate her for this?