(8:2:24) Working on Korra Vid 1:3
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00:07:40Hello everyone, hello, let's pop into VC
00:07:54All right, there we go
00:08:00Oh
00:08:07How's everyone doing
00:08:13Well, you're here so I'm doing swell gah
00:08:15Oh
00:08:28Yeah, the Cora video after a few touch-ups the Cora video is now over 30,000 words
00:08:36The whole the first draft of the script is available to read if you're a $5 patron or more
00:08:45Oh
00:08:54Okay, hell
00:08:57Not getting very good sleep, it's too hot
00:09:00Mmm, horse, baby
00:09:03Okay, so the thing for ads has changed now because way too many people were just constantly bitching about
00:09:10The way I set up ads. So now it's just one minute of ads every 20 minutes
00:09:15I
00:09:25Got sick of having to explain to people that like actually this is better for everyone because you go longer without ads and I can
00:09:31Get up and take them and I can get up and like take a breather or something
00:09:34But like no, they were just still constantly bitching. So
00:09:37No
00:09:44No doubt they'll still bitch but
00:10:08Oh
00:10:25We're writing cute Neva and Lobby stuff before the stream writing a little baby Neva
00:10:37Oh
00:10:47BB yes, little BB Neva Oh BB Neva so scurred
00:11:07Oh
00:11:19So the died use of both of the states are low 30s are not Americans
00:11:33Temperature
00:11:36It is 29 degrees Celsius, ooh
00:11:43So the humidity of 51 so that's not terrible. Oh, yeah, that certainly could be worse
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00:13:28Very smart actually it's 5.9 degrees Celsius death. Yep
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00:13:47It's just a miserable it's coming. Hey look if Scotland's chilly, I mean I'd take that like I
00:13:54Can deal with a cold I can I can put on more clothes. I can't take off more skin
00:14:05You
00:14:07You
00:14:29Okay, sorry about that I was responding to the heat by getting ice cream
00:14:33Oh
00:14:35No, seriously, it's a wet rag around the neck does wonders. Oh, yeah, Lily taught me that in our our New York trip. Oh
00:14:41Yeah, we were out like in the oh, yeah, we got that. We got back from the
00:14:46from the blackout
00:14:49Yep
00:14:51We got back to the hotel room and I just started dabbing both of your necks with the cloth. Oh, yeah, it was such a relief
00:14:59I
00:15:06Can I some ice cream I'm not in a position to give you ice cream
00:15:11Yeah, it's not like
00:15:14It's not like but but it's not like the first to give us 50 subs like gets ice cream like that's not within our power
00:15:22Now now hold on a minute and then I'll hold on you you might be on to something there
00:15:48Okay, there we go
00:15:52So I am gonna go I'm gonna go through the whole script again and I'm gonna work on some touch-ups and then we're gonna record it
00:16:00Which will take fucking ages
00:16:03Yep
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00:17:41Hey up bastards, hey Lolo. Hey Lolo. We're in VC if you want to pop in
00:17:49Come join us
00:17:51You
00:18:00Come and join us the master will be home soon
00:18:09Hello fuckers. Hello Lolo
00:18:19Well, how's everyone doing
00:18:22Well, according to according to the discord layout I am between the two lovely ladies right now, so I'm doing great
00:18:34That won't show in twitches UI you're the one between two lovely ladies
00:18:52Yeah, then the weather's cool down a lot more today
00:18:59So I'm no longer sweating my god
00:19:21I
00:19:26Mean the script on the patreon what I saw the script on on patreon
00:19:36Everybody well so far
00:19:39It is
00:19:42God I'm surprised just how much um, what how much words you got out for this the show
00:19:52Say what you will about say what you will about Cora, there's a lot to talk about so you can say plenty
00:19:59It's an 18 train wreck
00:20:03I'm making a surprise for Lily and Michaela. Oh dear. Oh
00:20:12Pence ominous
00:20:21I
00:20:30Got some new um candy bracelets recently
00:20:36Stay on topic, please. Oh, yeah
00:20:41It's it's hard to write a script when you when you when you're like chattering right in my ear. Oh, yeah. Yeah
00:20:51Hmm
00:20:57There's a better show she shit she did like Christ
00:21:03For such a good protagonist the show really doesn't want her to do anything cool
00:21:09Which is just depressing
00:21:11You know, I think the only things that actually need to be tweaked about this script are like
00:21:16Redundancies, which I can find while I'm recording. So let's get right into recording the damn thing
00:21:21All right
00:21:26Well, I'm muted be like
00:21:29That's fine
00:21:32You're on my you're on my headset, so
00:21:43Yeah, you would
00:21:46Okay
00:21:48Testing testing how low out loud does this get before I end up peaking the microphone? Okay. There we go
00:21:55But there we go, but I
00:21:59Need to keep the like though
00:22:00I need to start keeping the microphone at a higher gain so that I don't have to talk so that I don't like I always
00:22:05Sound like I'm shouting because I have to because the gain is always like I always keep the gain so low
00:22:08But if I don't I but if I don't do that, I can always just sit here and talk like a normal fucking human being
00:22:15As opposed as opposed to having to talk like this all the time
00:22:18Which admittedly is probably part of the problem as to why I always sound so angry
00:22:31Best warm-up
00:22:33You
00:22:43Okay
00:22:45Seven years ago
00:22:46Seven years ago. I put my channel on the map with an analysis of Legend of Korra a video that got explosively popular in which
00:22:53I had never expected to a video that got explosively popular in which I had never expected to do so
00:23:00I
00:23:03Made it because the style of video
00:23:04I'd made it because that style of video looked like it would be fun to make and as a result I'd consider it the video
00:23:10On my channel that has aged the worst especially how much I was just aping another video. That was popular for fun
00:23:17I've always had plans to go back and revisit it completely as I've actually softened a lot on Korra over the years
00:23:22I've grown more fond of a lot of the characters and I find a and I find the ideas the show pretends to explore rather
00:23:28fascinating
00:23:29Korra as a series was extremely divisive
00:23:31It was largely seen as a poor follow-up to the last airbender and seemed to be following in the footsteps of similar franchise
00:23:37revivals of the time and trying to have the franchise grow up with the audience as
00:23:44The ten-year-olds who loved avatar when they were 17 as the ten-year-olds who loved avatar were 17 when this came out
00:23:50Unlike similar franchise revivals. However, Korra was uniquely Korra was a uniquely political series
00:23:58Trying to do to avatar what the prequels
00:24:01Unlike similar franchise revivals. However, Korra was you Korra unlike similar franchise revivals though
00:24:07Korra was a uniquely political series trying to do to avatar what the prequel
00:24:12Unlike similar franchise revivals though. Korra was a uniquely political series trying to do to avatar what the prequels did to Star Wars
00:24:19So this is how Liberty dies with thunderous applause
00:24:29Unfortunately
00:24:31Avatar wasn't as ripe for political mining as Star Wars where Star Wars had always had this undercurrent of
00:24:37Where Star Wars had always had this undercurrent of the Empire rose not in spite of the Republic
00:24:42But because of it the prequels could perhaps that the prequels could practically rip apart
00:24:48No fucking Star Wars had always had this
00:24:51undercurrent Star Wars at all
00:24:53Star Wars had always had this undercurrent of the Empire rose not in spite of the Republic
00:24:57But because of it that the prequels could practically rip apart and were also written by someone with political literacy
00:25:05The clip of I'm calling the Rebellion Vietcong
00:25:09Oh, that's a good one
00:25:20Avatar on the other hand is a story that uses political language
00:25:23But if relatively simple concepts as fuel for a story about the power of friendship and diversity
00:25:27Written by two men who are like if the South Park guys are really into Studio Ghibli
00:25:31So when Korra launched with a story about equality movements led by a pathological liar that nonetheless achieved what it wanted
00:25:37A lot of people considered that to be a touch
00:25:40confused
00:25:43Which is a shame because Korra is patient zero for why adherence to certain dogmatic ideas about storytelling ultimately makes stories worse
00:25:51Korra's good ideas the places that excels and where it really shines
00:25:55Ultimately end up being smothered on the under the idea of peak animation
00:26:00Let's not waste any more time and dive right in starting with Korra herself
00:26:04Oh
00:26:06Korra in terms of avatar characters tell in terms of heroes in general Korra is the most unique
00:26:12There's a common trend in fantasy towards humility and reluctance to acquire power
00:26:17There's a common trend in fantasy towards humility and reluctance to acquire power
00:26:23There's a belief among there's a belief among most people that people who don't want to lead are the ones that make the best leaders
00:26:29the ones who have no choice but to lead because they've been forced to
00:26:33It's a trope that avatar plays with a lot
00:26:35Aang didn't want to be the avatar and ran away from home and then eventually has to accept that he is the avatar and
00:26:40Pull up his big-boy pants and get to work
00:26:43Roku is melancholy about leaving his entire life behind but does ultimately make the effort
00:26:52And most of the avatar stories told since then tend to involve reluctance and loss
00:26:57Kiyoshi is reluctant and loses her mentors. Korra is reluctant and loses well everything
00:27:04Yang Chen isn't necessarily reluctant, but she does lose her sister at a very young age and this is fine
00:27:09And this is fine. Honestly, the hero's journey is an enduring template for a reason
00:27:13It works, but Korra differs from them in that she actually wants to be the avatar
00:27:18She doesn't just and she doesn't just want to be the avatar and she doesn't just want to be the avatar
00:27:23She loves being the avatar
00:27:272 3
00:27:282 x 3 16 38
00:27:33Hell her introduction was probably the best introduction any character with a special destiny plot could have
00:27:38I'm the avatar you got a deal with it
00:27:42Before you even see her you see her mother looking utterly exhausted in a house that has been completely true
00:27:48Before you even see her you see her mother looking utterly exhausted in a house that has been
00:27:53Before you even see her you see her mother looking utterly exhausted in a house that has been completely
00:27:59Trashed by a rambunctious little girl who just discovered that she could bend and has gone absolutely crazy with it
00:28:05You get a good idea of the kind of character core is going to be just by the background painting
00:28:11Then she finally appears and I'm the avatar you got a deal with it. Okay, first of all
00:28:19Second of all second of all
00:28:22Little baby Cora announces to everyone
00:28:24I am going to for second of all little baby Cora announces to everyone
00:28:29I am going to come on crust. It's your inner beauty that really counts Wow rude
00:28:35I just mean all that matters is what's in here. You're so self-centered. Look look your inner beauties right here
00:28:42Uncrustables are the best part of the sandwich. Sorry crust
00:28:46Lost Medicaid or chip coverage health care gov is here for you. Where can we find a low-cost health plan?
00:28:53What about a plan that covers doctor business?
00:28:58Emergency care
00:29:00Prescriptions
00:29:03With the new law four out of five customers can find a plan for ten dollars or less per month with financial help
00:29:09Healthcare gov is here for you enroll today for cover starting the first of next month. What's the website again healthcare gov?
00:29:23Is this it
00:29:32I mean the first series was all about mastery of the four elements and in the last episode. Oops
00:29:37There's a secret fifth element you never knew about I
00:29:40Mean the series was all about being the master of the four elements and then the last episode. Oops. I forgot
00:29:45Here's the secret fifth element. You never knew about
00:29:59Well, technically there are a hundred well technically there are 118
00:30:03But let's just focus on the fifth and it's a super and it's a super secret mega
00:30:07Bending that can alter someone's entire spirit and take away their ability to bend and this is given to the avatar
00:30:13So we can use it to take away Ozai's bending and then is never used again at any point where it would be necessary
00:30:33I
00:30:35Remember the one episode where they brought up jing then that it comes in positive negative and neutral
00:30:40Forms and then never mentioned it again and replace it with chakras a season later
00:30:51Not even a season later that at the end of that very season
00:30:57So, yeah all the rulers get thrown it
00:30:59So yeah, all the rulers all the rules get through
00:31:02So yeah
00:31:02all the rules get thrown aside because a baby bending three elements would be cool and the rules are about as enforced as tax laws
00:31:09on those with six-figure incomes
00:31:18From the first moment she's on screen Cora is not just willing to be the avatar. She is utterly enthusiastic about it
00:31:25She is putting her all into her training as the avatar and even in her first appearance
00:31:29She's nip and even in her first appearance. She's never shown to be arrogant
00:31:39One one three twenty five
00:31:47In the first season Cora in the first season Cora eagerly wants to train to become an airbender
00:31:53But she's stymied repeatedly by the fact that her teachers are
00:31:57terrible
00:31:58Be the leaf. I don't know what that means
00:32:07Tenzin and his family might be great airbenders themselves, but that doesn't mean they're able to teach airbending to other people
00:32:13The
00:32:18Thing about the four nations is that they immerse themselves in very specific cultures that are inclined toward their element
00:32:23The air nomads lived a very distinct lifestyle from the rest of the world to the point that there were no such thing as air
00:32:28Nomads that couldn't airbend
00:32:30But they're gone now and all that's left is what Aang remembers and Aang was 12 when he went into the ice
00:32:35So Tenzin having to go from teaching his children from birth to teaching Cora is about as smooth and natural a transition as global
00:32:41diplomacy during an actively ongoing genocide
00:32:45So Tenzin having to go from teaching his children
00:32:48From birth to teaching Cora. It's about as smooth and natural a transition as global diplomacy during an actively ongoing genocide
00:32:54I
00:33:10Reason they never use Jing again is because the word is associated with sex. That's funny
00:33:21You have Dom Jing or sub Jing
00:33:24or switch Jing
00:33:26You know you say that but it is positive and neutral Jing
00:33:31Positive and negative and neutral Jing
00:33:34When they sing together it's called a jingle
00:33:38So how big was his positive Jing?
00:33:45The Jing and Jang
00:33:47Oh
00:33:51Thank God, I'm not recording Jingle Jangle Jingle Jangle
00:34:13Cora actually gets her first real airbending lesson from Bolin of all people
00:34:17Oh hang on
00:34:24While teaching her the basics of pro bending the first thing he
00:34:30While teaching her the basics of pro bending the first thing he stresses is how she needs to stay light on her feet and remain
00:34:35Agile a basic skill in a professional match where you have to always dodge enemy attacks
00:34:39But also just the basic approach to airbending. Someone's really light on his feet
00:34:47This is the first time airbending really clicks for Cora as she uses this along with Tenzin's previous lesson about spiral movements
00:34:53To win the match later in the episode
00:35:01So Cora is one of the rare instances where a student questions her teacher and his right to do so
00:35:06granted Cora's difficulties with airbending or a direct result of
00:35:10Granted Cora's difficulties with airbending or a direct result of the way the White Lotus isolated her and taught her in seclusion
00:35:16Keeping her from going on a journey that would have been
00:35:18Keeping her from going on a journey that would have given her perspective on the world and immersed her in the culture of every nation
00:35:25By the time she returned to Air Temple Island. She may have actually been more receptive to the training
00:35:30But kept in the compound and away from the real world Cora was set up for failure from the start
00:35:39Hey Ren
00:35:42Which is why it's all the more noteworthy that Cora is the most powerful avatar to exist
00:35:48Really stop and think about it. Cora is being trained in old-style bending during a time where bending has eclipsed the skills of the characters
00:35:55Cora is being trained really stop and think about it
00:35:58Cora is being trained in old-style bending during a time where bending has eclipsed the skills of characters back in the original series
00:36:05During Aang's time lightning was so rare among firebenders and required such strong control that anyone who actually that anyone who could actually shoot
00:36:12Lightning was considered a prodigy in the series in the series. I think we only see three people do it and they're all Fire Nation royalty
00:36:25Cut to 70 years later and lightning benders are working blue-collar jobs
00:36:29Gangsters gangsters are shooting lightning street urchins are mastering lightning
00:36:35Metal bending metal bending was considered impossible
00:36:41Metal bending metal bending was considered impossible
00:36:44But Thoth discovered it because she had a mastery of seismic sense that nobody else ever needed and even in the series itself metal
00:36:49Metal bending is very crude
00:36:52Seventy years later metal benders are all over the place
00:36:54and the art has been so perfected that they can bend metals other than iron and steel and they no longer need direct contact
00:37:00with it
00:37:02Metalbenders are controlling the infrastructure of entire cities, giant robots with laser beams attached to their arms, and fucking maglev trains.
00:37:10And just on a hand-to-hand level, metalbenders are unmatched by anyone else.
00:37:17Bloodbending was so difficult, it could only be done during the full moon.
00:37:21Outside of the full moon, it's impossible.
00:37:24Against a stronger waterbender, it's impossible.
00:37:26Now people are doing it outside of the full moon, and even doing it without moving their hands,
00:37:30and they can even bloodbend the fucking avatar.
00:37:34The most powerful waterbender in the world.
00:37:37Side note, good job Katara at teaching Korra to defend herself against bloodbending.
00:37:50Check your email, I sent you a surprise.
00:37:52Oh, that's cute. Thanks.
00:38:22Really?
00:38:25The most...
00:38:28Okay.
00:38:29And they can even bloodbend the fucking avatar.
00:38:31The most powerful waterbender in the world.
00:38:33Side note, good job Katara at teaching Korra to defend herself against...
00:38:37Side note, good job Katara at teaching Korra to defend herself against bloodbending.
00:38:44And bloodbenders have managed to sever people...
00:38:47And bloodbenders have even managed to learn to sever people from their bending.
00:38:50An ability that previously only the avatar ever had.
00:38:55Waterbenders are getting closer to avatar level bending than anyone else in the world.
00:39:10The average bender in Korra makes the prodigies of the last airbender look like chumps.
00:39:14So Korra is coming up in a time where bending has evolved,
00:39:17and the secrets once held by kings are available to everyone,
00:39:20and she's stunted by isolation with poor teachers.
00:39:24And she is stunted by isolation with poor teachers,
00:39:27and she still manages to overcome them.
00:39:29Yeah, she might get bounced across the countryside like a combination Superball and Rube Goldberg machine in the process,
00:39:35but she does ultimately win.
00:39:37Psychic bloodbender? She wins.
00:39:39Great Spirit of Chaos inhabiting the chain of...
00:39:42Great Spirit of Chaos inhabiting the chief of the Water Tribes?
00:39:44Not only does she win, she does it without the avatar spirit.
00:39:51Airbender with none of the ideological restraint?
00:39:53She kicks his ass while she's dying of mercury poisoning.
00:39:59Crazed Metalbender?
00:40:00Yeah, she loses at first, but then comes back and wins.
00:40:04Hell, energy bending is supposed to be just about controlling the energy in the body,
00:40:08and she uses it to deflect a laser beam bigger than a skyscraper at point-blank range.
00:40:15God.
00:40:18If Korra had been properly trained by teachers who knew what the hell they were doing,
00:40:22she would have been absolutely terrifying.
00:40:25She would have been able to make a gang war stop just by arriving.
00:40:29She's met with every disadvantage possible, and she still manages to kick ass at the end of the day.
00:40:35And she's that strong because she's the only avatar who wants to be the avatar,
00:40:40who loves being the avatar, who revels in being the avatar.
00:40:45The world said, you have to give yourself to the Four Nations, and she said, hell yes.
00:40:57Enjoys being a main character.
00:41:02And they still bollocked it up anyway.
00:41:05Yep.
00:41:11Love when she's reunited with Bolin for the first time in season 4,
00:41:15and everyone else is just like, what the hell, and she just smiles.
00:41:19Yeah, I saw that bit. It was so cute.
00:41:25I just love it when characters just arrive, and everyone's all like,
00:41:28oh my god, what the hell's going on? Who are you?
00:41:31And then their friend just rushes out to give them a huge hug.
00:41:35Which is why it's all the more disappointing that the show barely lets her be the avatar.
00:41:41From the first season all the way...
00:41:44From the first season all the way to...
00:41:46From the first season all the way through the third,
00:41:48Korra is chased around by a squad of babysitters who refuse to let her do her job.
00:41:53Heads up, Korra, you're not alone.
00:41:55You're not alone.
00:41:57You're not alone.
00:41:59You're not alone.
00:42:01You're not alone.
00:42:03You're not alone.
00:42:05You're not alone.
00:42:07You're not alone.
00:42:09You're not alone.
00:42:11You're not alone.
00:42:13You're not alone.
00:42:15You're not alone.
00:42:17You're not alone.
00:42:19You're not alone.
00:42:21You're not alone.
00:42:23You're not alone.
00:42:25You're not alone.
00:42:27You're not alone.
00:42:29You're not alone.
00:42:31There is barely a single moment in the first three seasons where Korra's ability to even be the avatar
00:42:36isn't being held back by someone telling her she's not ready,
00:42:39or trying to shelter her to protect her,
00:42:41or just butting in for no clear reason and refusing to explain themselves.
00:42:47Whoops.
00:42:55I did this because I'm curious about something.
00:43:01I think it's damn right gross the amount of times when Korra just wants to do her thing and let the plot progress
00:43:09and everyone's all like, no, you sit here and be a good woman and sit still.
00:43:13Let the men do the job.
00:43:19And she's like, dad, I'm 21.
00:43:2540 pages, Christ.
00:43:32They try to justify this incessant hovering in each subsequent season,
00:43:36but the problem with the hovering isn't that it isn't explained or justified.
00:43:40It's that it's boring.
00:43:42This is the main character of your show,
00:43:44and she isn't allowed to have any agency until she vanishes from the plot.
00:43:51This is going to sound childish, but it doesn't matter how well you explain it.
00:43:55I want to see the cool stuff.
00:43:57This is going to sound childish, but it doesn't matter how well you explain it.
00:44:00I want to see the cool muscle lady do cool muscle lady things.
00:44:04Down in front, Tonraq.
00:44:06Down in front, Tonraq.
00:44:15There's something a little, what's the word,
00:44:17utterly disgusting about showing us one of the coolest characters you'd come up with since Toph
00:44:22and then putting her on a leash for the vast majority of the series.
00:44:28Aang was 12 and he didn't have someone hovering around him like a fussy mother.
00:44:33I'm sure people who ship Zutara would disagree with that,
00:44:37but I'm not in the delusion war to ask them.
00:44:39This is all wrapped up rather poetically in season 2,
00:44:42which is the first time that all of this actually gets questioned.
00:44:46To the writer's credit, Korra is increasingly aware of the way in which she's babied,
00:44:50but the problem is that doesn't change.
00:44:57She expresses her frustration and tries to break away from the handlers,
00:45:06but in nearly all instances she's cast as being foolish and naive for doing so.
00:45:11In season 2, we learn Korra has been left in the dark about the dark spirits
00:45:15attacking at the northern and southern portals, which isn't surprising.
00:45:18If the compound for Avatar training shows us anything,
00:45:21it's that the White Lotus has been consistently setting Korra up to fail
00:45:24and keeping her in the dark about many things that she, as the Avatar, should know about.
00:45:29It would also be interesting to really unpack the disservice that the White Lotus have done to Korra.
00:45:35Korra has been training to be the Avatar since she was 5
00:45:38and has been raised on the compound for just as long,
00:45:41so not only has her childhood been stolen from her,
00:45:43she's been given the worst possible version of mastering the bending arts.
00:45:47Meaning that in terms of most Avatars by her age,
00:45:50she's technically weaker, less disciplined, and more impulsive,
00:45:54more prone to making catastrophic mistakes,
00:45:56and most importantly, she's more gullible.
00:45:59And this would all be interesting character work if they did anything with it,
00:46:04but they don't.
00:46:05Just look at this bit.
00:46:06S2E1-945.
00:46:09Korra, an adult woman, and the fucking Avatar,
00:46:12made a decision about her training and her father steps in and overrules her.
00:46:17He does it multiple times without even bothering to explain himself to his daughter.
00:46:22The fucking Avatar.
00:46:26The fucking Avatar.
00:46:31None of this is helped by the fact that Korra's excellent characterization in Season 1
00:46:35backslides horribly in Season 2.
00:46:37Korra becomes more impulsive, more childish, more dismissive of everyone around her,
00:46:41and snaps at her boyfriend over nothing.
00:46:44And this is because it's setting her up to take a fall for trusting Udolok
00:46:47after the second act revealed that he's actually a Satanist.
00:46:51Before this point, Korra is spending most of the season battling against people
00:46:55who just won't let her actually be the Avatar.
00:47:06And her uncle ends up being one of the few people who respects her as the Avatar.
00:47:10Korra actually really starts coming into her own because of this
00:47:13and is even able to de-escalate the war between the North and South multiple times.
00:47:17But all this gets thrown away when it's revealed that she's just playing completely into Udolok's hands.
00:47:23So Korra actually being the Avatar and being good at it
00:47:27is immediately recontextualized into her being a rube
00:47:30who retroactively justifies the behavior of everyone
00:47:36who was smothering her and talking over her.
00:47:38So Korra gets to push back against the dismissive attitudes of the men around her
00:47:42and is immediately made the fool for doing so.
00:47:47Look, can we stop treating her like an idiot child?
00:47:49Korra wants to be the Avatar, let her be the Avatar.
00:47:52Hell, you know how when Aang is fighting Ozai and he gets warfed at one point
00:47:56only to go into the Avatar state, and then it's game over, victory, Aang?
00:48:00Multiple times in fight scenes in season two, Korra will go into the Avatar state,
00:48:05make some declaration of victory, the music hits that crescendo,
00:48:08and she gets warfed almost immediately.
00:48:20And this repeats multiple times before the plot says,
00:48:23okay, time for the main character to win now.
00:48:27She pulls off the most impressive feat imaginable
00:48:30by fighting Unalaq with her own spirit without the Avatar spirit,
00:48:34and she still gets murked and has to be saved by Jinora
00:48:37just to do the exact same thing she just failed to do.
00:48:43It'd be one thing if she was pounded into mulch once before pulling out the Avatar state
00:48:47and going ham on someone, but it usually happens multiple times
00:48:51and she usually has to be saved by Jinora.
00:48:53She gets saved by Jinora in season two during her kaiju fight,
00:48:56she gets saved by Jinora in season three when Zaheer tries to suffocate her,
00:48:59she gets saved by Jinora in season four again,
00:49:02she gets saved by Jinora again in season four when Kuvira defeats her.
00:49:07This is three times in three seasons they pulled out the Jinora Ex Machina.
00:49:21I feel like these guys have never written a woman character before,
00:49:24because, Christ, this is some next-level sexism here.
00:49:28You can almost hear a record scratch every time Korra pulls out the
00:49:31oh-shit-I-mean-business power and then gets crunched anyway.
00:49:35This goes hand-in-hand with the babysitters.
00:49:37People argue that the training in the compound makes sense
00:49:40because we already saw the other elements in the previous series,
00:49:42but that is a gross misreading of the Avatar's journey in the first place.
00:49:47The journey isn't just about learning how to do magic-shaman mixed martial arts.
00:49:51The journey itself is symbolic.
00:49:53The Avatar has to represent the entire world,
00:49:56and that necessitates becoming a part of the culture of every corner of it.
00:50:01Given the original series was strongly anti-imperialist,
00:50:04this was something every character was fighting against.
00:50:16Okay.
00:50:30Okay.
00:50:46Furthermore, it's...
00:50:47See you later, I got stuff to do. See you, Rag.
00:50:49Bye, Rag.
00:50:53Furthermore, it's also a...
00:50:57...coming-of-age story...
00:50:59Furthermore, it's also a...
00:51:02Furthermore, it's also a...
00:51:05...coming-of-age story...
00:51:07Fucking kill me.
00:51:08As the Avatar journeys out on her own at 16 and gains independence
00:51:11from not just her family, but her own nation.
00:51:14Doing the fantasy equivalent of backpacking across China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Tibet, and...
00:51:19...Canada, apparently.
00:51:21Doing the fantasy equivalent of backpacking across China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Tibet, and...
00:51:27...Canada, apparently.
00:51:29The journey isn't just an excuse...
00:51:31The journey isn't just an excuse plot,
00:51:33it's an entire character arc in the macro in which you can fit any adventure you want.
00:51:39You don't get to be a fully realized Avatar until you've completed your character arc.
00:51:47But Korra is set on her character arc with only the Avatar state left to go,
00:51:51and then she's just given that.
00:51:53At no point does Korra get to put in the work for anything.
00:51:57And she wants to put in the work for everything.
00:52:00And she wants to put in the work for everything.
00:52:03Korra is characterized as headstrong and hardworking,
00:52:06and she is repeatedly denied the ability to demonstrate those things.
00:52:10Often times the story just gives her her missing powers at a...
00:52:14Often times her story just gives her her missing powers at the moment it would be the most dramatic.
00:52:19So why does Aang get to make all the decisions on his journey at 12, but...
00:52:24So why does Aang get to make all the decisions on his journey at 12, but Korra doesn't?
00:52:29Well, the Ang Universe answer is because either...
00:52:32Aang, the White Lotus, Tonraq, or the Red Lotus, depending on which season it is.
00:52:36Well, the in-universe answer is because of either Aang, the White Lotus, Tonraq, or the Red Lotus, depending on which season it is.
00:52:42But the out-of-universe answer...
00:52:45Well, Braik and writing women have never really gone well together.
00:53:02It's interesting how Braik is very interested...
00:53:07They can write women that are, like, on two cool badass powers and, like, fighting moves,
00:53:11but as soon as they're actually, um, them actually, um, you know, being their own independent person,
00:53:16that's when they're like, ooh, what about that?
00:53:21Even when Braik writes female characters well, they still conform to very strict and rigid gender stereotypes.
00:53:26Katara is one of the best female characters ever written,
00:53:29but she's still a character whose arc is about calming down and being gentle.
00:53:33Azula is a very compelling look into what happens to a golden child when the scapegoat gets away,
00:53:38but the story goes out of its way to paint her as irredeemably evil at 14.
00:53:42Uniquely evil, in fact.
00:53:44No, she's crazy and she needs to go down.
00:53:47Man, I'm so s- Man, I'm so sad about my dead s-
00:53:50Man, I'm so sad about my dead son, and I hope my nephew doesn't go down the same path.
00:53:54My niece, on the other hand- Oh, she can fucking choke.
00:54:00So both Katara and Azula end up conforming to traditional gender norms.
00:54:04In fact, you could take Cassandra Yatrin's gender study analysis of Sailor Moon,
00:54:08swap Serena and Beryl with Katara and Azula, and nothing would change.
00:54:20So what do Braik do with Korra?
00:54:22Well, they do the same thing they did with Katara,
00:54:24repeatedly beat her down until she calms down and humbles herself.
00:54:27A lot of Korra's encounters with main villains involve rather extensive and prolonged shots
00:54:31of Korra writhing in agony and being tossed around like a ragdoll
00:54:34that Aang was never really subjected to.
00:54:45It often reminds me of the way modern video games tend to put their female characters
00:54:48through a level of gory and brutal violence that their male counterparts don't have to-
00:54:52that their male counterparts don't have to go to.
00:54:55I always come back to Season 3, where an entire episode is dedicated to Korra
00:54:59having mercury painfully absorbed into her skin,
00:55:02and then she thrashes around in agony for ten minutes.
00:55:05And then when she goes into the Avatar state and escapes,
00:55:08she's thrown against the rocks and cliffs to bounce around like a tennis ball in a washing machine.
00:55:17While Janet Varney practically murders the concept of voice foley.
00:55:21Or hell, here's Aang being bloodbent-
00:55:24Aang being bloodbent.
00:55:25Now here's Korra being bloodbent-
00:55:27Korra being bloodbent.
00:55:31When Aang is getting tossed around in a fight, it doesn't linger on shots of him ragdolling around the room.
00:55:35You aren't forced to listen to every agonized grunt and moan that Zack Isen can possibly muster.
00:55:41Aang can get electrocuted in the back when the-
00:55:44and the whole thing is shot as if trying to give him dignity,
00:55:46with a- with a dramatic zoom in-
00:55:49with a dramatic zoom in to the one responsible in his descent to the ground,
00:55:52broken by Katara, who sweeps him to safety.
00:55:55Meanwhile, Korra is smacking into the ground at-
00:55:57Meanwhile, Korra is smacking into the ground at terminal velocity,
00:56:00spared no dignity as she rolls over the rock,
00:56:03every second filled with her agonized screams.
00:56:08And I wonder what all of this is in service of,
00:56:10because it- because it isn't engaging to watch, it just makes me uncomfortable.
00:56:16And I'm wondering what all of this is-
00:56:17and I wonder what all of this is in service of,
00:56:19because it isn't engaging to watch, it just makes me uncomfortable.
00:56:22It makes me uncomfortable to watch a chara- any-
00:56:25It makes me uncomfortable to watch any character without any agency being tortured.
00:56:31Aang gets to meet his attackers head-on and fight them as equals,
00:56:34while Korra is either getting curb-stomped immediately,
00:56:37or she's chained up, slow- being slowly murdered with poison over an entire episode.
00:56:42Oh well, Lily, Korra's just a darker, more violent show.
00:56:46No it's not. No. No it's not. No it's not. No it's not.
00:56:50Because just a few episodes prior, the Red Lotus proceed to beat the shit out of Tenzin,
00:56:56while he's already injured and unable to fight back,
00:56:59and the camera slowly pans away to give him dignity.
00:57:03This is two episodes-
00:57:05This is two episodes before the Mercury Snuff film.
00:57:08So why does Tenzin get to have dignity in this torment, but Korra doesn't?
00:57:13This is a recurring and worrying trend that didn't start with Korra,
00:57:17but Korra certainly helped normalize it.
00:57:19And if I had to sit here and explain to you how everything about a character suffers
00:57:23when you're wasting time on gruesome, almost pornographic displays of pain and suffering,
00:57:28then...
00:57:29Honestly, I can't explain it to you.
00:57:31It'd be like asking me to explain to you why oxygen is important.
00:57:34If you don't know- If you don't already know, I'm not equipped to fix that.
00:57:39Oh lord.
00:57:43...
00:57:44...
00:57:45...
00:57:46...
00:57:47...
00:57:48...
00:57:49...
00:57:50Korra is such a cool character, but Bryke is so fucking weird about women.
00:57:54One of the first things she does in the non-action part of the series
00:57:57is beef with some other girl over the most unremarkable guy in the universe.
00:58:01If that doesn't- If that doesn't reek of this was written by weird men to you,
00:58:05then you're probably a weird man.
00:58:07It doesn't really stop after that, either.
00:58:10It remains a consistent thorn in the show's side for its entire runtime.
00:58:14Season 4 is where Korra gets away from her handlers,
00:58:16but then she spends most of the season not really doing anything,
00:58:19and that still doesn't stop her from being everyone's hacky sack.
00:58:27She gets tossed around an earthbending arena.
00:58:29She gets tossed around by Toph.
00:58:30She gets tossed around by Kuvira.
00:58:32She spends most of Season 4 bouncing off the dirt like she's just been kicked by your forger.
00:58:38So we go through multiple seasons of physical and emotional torment
00:58:42that's framed in a more perverse and gruesome manner than any other violence in the franchise,
00:58:46and we do it for... what?
00:58:49Well, funnily enough, I did actually get my answer.
00:58:52To mention Tomb Raider just above, I needed footage of Tomb Raider's gruesome-
00:58:56Did I actually-
00:59:08To show Tomb Raider just above, I needed footage of Tomb Raider's gruesome violence,
00:59:12so I went on YouTube to steal it from someone, and I found this.
00:59:19And then I show... where is it?
00:59:28And then I show this image.
00:59:37So that says it all in just one image.
00:59:45God, if the Legends Trilogy had franked all physics as their deaths, this is just fucking...
00:59:50...snuff.
00:59:52And fucking hell did that thumbnail give clarity.
00:59:55Now I'm remi-
00:59:56Now I'm reminded-
00:59:57And now I'm reminded-
00:59:58And fucking hell did that thumbnail give clarity.
01:00:00And now I'm reminded of the new She-Ra,
01:00:02which advertised itself as a fun show for girls about saving the world,
01:00:06but then the show they aired was about someone being relentlessly pursued
01:00:09by their possessive, sociopathic sister.
01:00:16In which it dedicates plenty of time to perversely watching Adora get beaten,
01:00:19bludgeoned, tortured, mind-controlled, and perved on,
01:00:22and the response I often heard from fans as to why this was supposed to be a-
01:00:25And the response I often heard from fans as to why this was supposed to be appealing was often,
01:00:30And the response I often heard from fans as to why this was supposed to be appealing was often,
01:00:37...
01:00:38...
01:00:39...
01:00:40...
01:00:41...
01:00:42...
01:00:43...
01:00:44...
01:00:45...
01:00:46...
01:00:47...
01:00:48I can understand people who like The Passion of the Christ.
01:00:50I can also understand people who like The Coffin of Andi and Layla.
01:00:53I get it, you're disgusting and will never see the light of heaven, but I get it.
01:00:57What I don't get, and will never understand,
01:00:59is people who like children's cartoons from the 80s secretly being both of those things.
01:01:06...
01:01:11Hell, in recent discussions on my channel about anime,
01:01:14I've rather persistently recommended a show called Madoka,
01:01:16and looking it up, shows a series that seems to be trying to deconstruct the magical girl genre,
01:01:20but in doing so,
01:01:21there's an awful lot of footage of the lead characters getting brutally murdered,
01:01:23and it-
01:01:25Uh, y'know what.
01:01:27Snip that last bit.
01:01:28...
01:01:29Once is by chance, twice is a coincidence,
01:01:32coincidence, three times as a pattern and four times as an established genre.
01:01:38This isn't about violence in and of itself, this is about the framing of violence.
01:01:46The writers would have never chained up Aang and poisoned him through his skin while he
01:01:50writhes and shrieks and screams.
01:01:53But they do shit like this to Korra a lot.
01:02:06The treatment Korra receives is disappointing because Korra better deals with adversity
01:02:10when that adversity isn't just gruesome torture porn.
01:02:14Half the first season deals with Korra's profound fear of losing her bending, and given
01:02:18how much of her character is about enthusiastically being the Avatar, a villain who could take
01:02:22away her bending is probably the best personal antagonist she could have.
01:02:29We'll get more into Amon later, but if he was just the anti-bending equivalent of a
01:02:50serial killer, that season would have been a lot better.
01:03:08Ironically Fighting Amon teaches her more about how the Avatar is more than just an
01:03:12elemental karate master than most of the other characters do in the same season, and it doesn't
01:03:16need torture porn to do it.
01:03:20The second season, before it goes off the rails, deals with the inferiority complex
01:03:23Korra has as a result of all of her babysitters talking over her and keeping important information
01:03:27from her, treating her less like the Avatar and more like a feeble turtle duck, to the
01:03:32point that Korra is genuinely surprised when Unalaq tells her she has to handle the spirit
01:03:36portal herself.
01:03:37Nobody has ever just let her do her job before.
01:03:59The third season has Korra dealing with finally getting to be the Avatar, trying to deal with
01:04:13the spirit vines before dedicating her time to the new airbenders and how they're caught
01:04:17up in a conspiracy plot with the Earth Queen, at least until the Red Lotus shows up, derail
01:04:21the entire story, and her babysitter starts smothering her again.
01:04:26The final season has Korra dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, but also her own shortcomings
01:04:30as the Avatar.
01:04:33And while it doesn't address that most of these shortcomings are the result of external
01:04:36factors beyond her control, it's marginally interesting, more so than watching Toph bounce
01:04:41Korra off every tree in the swamp like the world's screamiest ping pong ball and forcing
01:04:45her into a room with her abuser to be given spirit
01:04:55therapy by him.
01:05:15But something about Korra's arc in the final season always rubbed me the wrong way, and
01:05:18it took me several years to realize that Korra's recovery from her trauma is about rewinding
01:05:23that trauma back to before it happened.
01:05:27When you go through a heavy amount of trauma, it can affect you in ways that can't be undone.
01:05:31And I'm not talking about triggers or trauma responses, I'm talking about the way your
01:05:35experiences influence you as a person.
01:05:39You can't go through the kind of extreme torment Korra is put through and not come out of it
01:05:48with some opinions on the matter.
01:05:50I speak from experience here, having had a gruesome childhood that has left me with
01:06:07very strong opinions on how parents should treat their children, how parents shouldn't
01:06:10normalize sibling abuse, and how the education and medical systems treat children who are
01:06:14inconvenient.
01:06:17And whenever a creative work brushes against my own experiences with trauma and especially
01:06:21abuse, I finally decidedly lack consideration of this.
01:06:28This isn't to suggest that trauma makes you wiser, but it does at the very least make
01:06:31you think about the things that caused your trauma in the first place, and how to actively
01:06:35avoid them.
01:06:36And in most cases, people target Korra specifically because she's the avatar.
01:06:46Kron tries to take her bending because she's the avatar, Zaheer tries to kill her to end
01:06:53the avatar cycle, Unalaq rips Rava out of her and destroys it, but tellingly leaves
01:06:59Korra alone after that.
01:07:01Without Rava, she isn't the avatar anymore, she's just his niece.
01:07:07Being the avatar is the reason Korra has had all these people after her, it's paralyzed
01:07:34her, poisoned her, had her violated in more ways than one, and hurt her so badly that
01:07:38she can't even do her own job.
01:07:48Given how much Korra loved being the avatar, this would be the best reason for her to disappear
01:07:51for three years.
01:07:53How do you deal with the fact that the one thing you always wanted to be is directly
01:07:56responsible for every single ounce of suffering you've ever experienced?
01:08:00It's easy to love being the chosen one when you're five and all you have to worry about
01:08:04is training, it's a lot harder when the reality of being the chosen one slams you into a mountain
01:08:10seventeen times.
01:08:20Do you even want to be the avatar anymore?
01:08:22Do you need to be?
01:08:23The world seems to be doing just fine without you.
01:08:25You're the avatar, you're supposed to help fix the Earth Kingdom, but your friends are
01:08:29handling that in your stead and they've all decided to let you recover at your own pace.
01:08:34There's this cross section between Korra's duties as the avatar, her wavering desire
01:08:38to be the avatar, and that unspoken act of sincere love from all of her friends that
01:08:42would be interesting to explore.
01:08:47If Korra came back and said she's at her limit and can't be the avatar anymore, how would
01:08:50people take that?
01:08:54This is only briefly lampshaded as Korra remarks to Toph that she's supposed to be the one
01:08:58out there helping the world, and Toph calls her out for deliberately prolonging her recovery.
01:09:02But past that, it's never brought up.
01:09:05The season switches to being about stopping a villain so we don't have time for any of
01:09:11that anyway, and it doesn't seem like they wanted it to be about that anyway.
01:09:25The avatar can't just decide not to be the avatar.
01:09:28Well, they could.
01:09:29Nobody's stopping them.
01:09:32Instead, once Korra gets the poison out of her body and reconnects with Rava, she's
01:09:37fine.
01:09:38There's nothing wrong with her after this point.
01:09:39Furthermore, it's a little weird that this is happening now of all times.
01:09:42By the time of season 3, Korra's been through enough traumatic events that you could call
01:09:47her the Banshee Queen.
01:09:49Yet it's only Zaheer that really sticks with her.
01:09:52Not Amon terrorizing her for months and stealing her bending.
01:09:55Not Unalaq ripping out her very soul and destroying it, which Korra was feeling every
01:09:59ounce of pain from.
01:10:00No, it's this and only this.
01:10:14I've heard some argue that this is especially traumatic, but I strongly disagree.
01:10:18I think what she went through in season 2 was worse, and should have been at the forefront
01:10:21of her PTSD.
01:10:23The problem is that the writers hadn't thought to give her a PTSD arc by then.
01:10:28Season 3 is the only...
01:10:31Season 3 is the only season written with the knowledge that there was going to be another
01:10:34one next, which is why it has multiple long-lasting negative effects on the world and the characters
01:10:39that doesn't get tied up in a neat little bow at the very end.
01:10:46And that's about the only reason that Korra is dealing with any of this now as opposed
01:10:49to two seasons ago.
01:10:56It's also why the world-ending dark evil god of darkness and destruction happens in
01:11:00the second season when most people would have saved that for the finale.
01:11:11We never really get to deal with this.
01:11:13Once Korra reestablishes her connection with Rava, that part of the story is just over.
01:11:17It's time to move on to the big robot shooting its big gun.
01:11:22All of this has meant that Korra, an otherwise A-tier character, never gets to come into
01:11:27her own.
01:11:31She doesn't get to have the breadth of experience, belief, and agency that her predecessor had,
01:11:35and she is frequently shunted around the plot either by her handlers or by a sledgehammer.
01:11:40And what time that could have been spent fleshing her out as a character is instead spent on
01:11:43fanservice.
01:11:44Let me just show this.
01:11:54It's like...
01:11:55And it's just...
01:11:56Oh.
01:11:57Oh.
01:11:58There's so much space there.
01:11:59And he goes, no, not that kind of fanservice.
01:12:06No, not that kind.
01:12:07No, not that kind of fanservice.
01:12:09It's like, no, not my cabbage corp.
01:12:11This kind of fanservice.
01:12:17The Legend of Korra has far too many characters, and half of them have the severe problem of
01:12:20having to deal with the legacy characters.
01:12:24Now a large cast is fine, but if you're struggling to make your main character work, it's probably
01:12:28not the best time to introduce an entirely new team avatar, the children of the old team
01:12:33avatar, an entire rogues gallery of villains, and more side characters than you can shake
01:12:36a stick at.
01:12:37In fact, let's get to shaking that stick, shall we?
01:12:41Oh god, just the section on Korra alone is 50 minutes unedited.
01:12:47Oh my god.
01:12:48Well, the main problems of the show do come from her, so it only makes sense that's the
01:12:54longest part.
01:12:55We don't know that this is going to be the longest part, though.
01:13:00True.
01:13:01God.
01:13:02Holy yakow.
01:13:04Holy yakow.
01:13:08Holy character development, Batman.
01:13:12Yakow, a place where the police rounds up cartoon characters.
01:13:23It's a sequel to Roger Rabbit that we've all been waiting for.
01:13:27That was actually a really dark joke, and none of you got it.
01:13:31Oh.
01:13:32It took me a second, I got it.
01:13:34Uh, is it what I think it is?
01:13:37Probably.
01:13:42Took me a second.