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AAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH THAT EPISODE AGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So let’s recap:
-Meelo fartbends (we all knew it was possible)
-Ikki is a snot
-Korra struts around in the snow wearing only a tank top like a frickin’ southern water tribe BOSS
-Metalbender cops are apparently incapable of questioning their orders
-The entire plot is basically a metaphor for the war on terror now
-Tarrlok is the Umbridge to Amon’s Voldemort
-TARRLOK IS A MOTHERFUCKING BLOODBENDER HOLY SHIT I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING
-AWESOME DARK FIGHT SCENES INCLUDING AN URBAN CAR CHASE AIDED BY BENDING afgjkafjkjdalfjiksfnkauirfkjcds <- that’s a word now

Quality, quality shit. One thing, though… I know this isn’t exactly a popular opinion, but I’m convinced that this series would be SO much better without the romantic subplots. They really, really bother me (which is unusual - I normally love all that crazy shipping crap). But in Korra it’s just so forced and awkward and unnecessary OTL…

I’m also kind of disappointed with how little “Team Avatar” is capable of achieving. In the original series, Toph and Katara and Sokka (and later Zuko and Suki) had SUCH a profound impact on the plot, such deep relationships with each other, and such incredible bending prowess, that Korra’s friends seem lacking in comparison. Honestly, Asami is the one who gets the most done. Bolin at least provides lulz, but other than that he and Mako just get…captured. And occasionally provide bending backup. They get very little separate character development or influence over the storyline other than in how they affect Korra emotionally. I don’t mean that they should WIN all the time, just that they should get some of their own plotlines, agendas, and fights, cause right now they really don’t stand on their own.

And Mako. Mako is SOOOOOOOO BOOOORRRRRIIIIIINNNNG. I was hoping they’d develop his character to be “the smart guy” in the group, but no. Nothing. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve actually come to hate him. I hate how fans constantly bitch out Asami for the crime of “getting in the way of Makorra”. Mako is the least interesting character in the series, in my opinion, and I hate how the writers keep forcing the languishing glances between him and Korra. Ugh. What do they have in common? Nothing. And they never seem to actually ENJOY being around each other. And don’t you love how Mako flirts with Korra RIGHT IN FRONT OF ASAMI? Classy, bro. God, I really wanted Asami and Korra to be bff’s…if that’s ruined because they’re both after Mako, I’ll just…ugh. He’s not worth it, girls.

My friend Tim and I were talking about how you could basically substitute a Mako-shaped rock in the role of Mako and it’d be about as interesting. In fact, you know what would be awesome? If Mako had been killed by the same firebender who killed his parents, and Bolin went everywhere with a rock-statue of his dead brother, talking to it as if Mako were still alive, and even making it “fight” sometimes. Tragic, but cooler than what they’ve got now. Yes, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, Mako would be more interesting AS A ROCK.

Man, I’ve really got to stop letting this bother me so much. Breathe, girl, breathe. So what if pretty much ANY other pairing is more interesting than Makorra? Just ignore it, and move on…

BESIDES, WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE TRULY IMPORTANT EVENT IN THIS EPISODE WAS. WE SAW TAHNO’S FEMALE TWIN!! Or perhaps Tahno just has a hobby

As part of my ongoing quest to be really nerdy, I’m going to oblige the people who sent me notes asking what I thought of “The Spirit of Competition” and what my fave Korra ship(s) are etc. Just a little warning: I’m probably not in the majority with my opinion on this episode, so…here’s an opportunity to expand your horizons.

First, I’d like to say that I am a HUGE fan of A:TLA and so far am liking LOK a lot. So take this as an individual episode critique, not a series critique. It’s still too early for that with Korra.

So. Pema and Tenzin. A romance for the ages. That was sarcasm, in case you were wondering. With their relationship comes my first major problem with ep 05: the way the romantic elements were handled. Let’s get this straight. Pema stole Tenzin away from the woman he was dating? And then she recommended to an emotionally confused, EXTREMELY tactless teenage girl that she do the same thing, without getting any of the background information? And nobody sees the problem with this??  We weren’t given enough backstory on Tenzin and his former gal (was she mean to him? Was their relationship completely stagnant? Did the girl and Tenzin want to break up and just couldn’t think of a reason why they should?) Without any sort of additional info, the story is reduced to the following moral: all you have to do is confess your feelings, and the object of your affections will drop his current lover like a hot potato and fill you up with babies! I really liked Pema’s character before this episode, but now…I’m not sure. Honestly, I think Jinora had the better advice with her dragon and volcano story.

Because of Pema’s bad advice, I can kind of forgive Korra for being so romantically douchey in this episode. She’s 17, she’s probably never had a crush on a guy before, and the only way she’s learned to deal with things is by charging in head-on and just grabbing the bitch. Not so effective in matters like these XD Obviously she’s going to have to learn to be less thoughtless and impulsive, but it looks like that’s what her character development arc is going to entail, so we’ll get there eventually. (Still, “you think about me when you’re with her, don’t you??!!” Korrapist. Not cool).

And Mako, seriously? Dude. This is probably a pet peeve of mine, but when you have a crush on two people, YOU DON’T DATE ONE AND TELL THE OTHER ONE YOU LIKE HER. You date NEITHER until you can make up your goddamn mind. Unlike Korra, Mako thinks things through (probably too much), so he should have the good sense to man up and choose one permanently or choose neither. Maybe I’m just being harsh because so far I’m not a fan of his character. In A:TLA, I always felt like the characters were real people. I almost never got the sense that they were, you know, written. With Mako, I constantly see the writers behind him. He feels…crafted somehow. It’s like they wanted to make this brooding sexy guy for the fangirls.

Which brings me to the two people who were shafted by Korra and Mako’s behavior: Bolin and Asami, even if she doesn’t know it. It really bothered me that they treated Bolin’s heartbreak as a form of comic relief. It kind of cheapened what could have been a serious moment of character development for Korra (seeing how her rash decisions and selfishness hurts her friends). It also felt like a wasted opportunity for development between Mako and Bolin - is Bolin so upset because Mako frequently captures the attention of the girls he likes? Is Bolin always like this after a breakup? Or does he just REALLY like Korra? There’s no real way of knowing what other factors, if any, contributed to Bolin being so upset. It was improperly explored, in my opinion.

And poor freaking Asami supports their team financially and personally, displays consistent generosity, congratulates Korra on being a badass, and is rewarded by eternal hatred from the fandom for the crime of “coming between” Mako and Korra. Mako CHEATS ON HER (intentionally or not), and she’s left none the wiser, and the episode doesn’t treat this as a problem.Things just go right back to status quo. She just exists as “the other girl” without getting any further character development. I know there’s only so much room in one episode, but by making her so peripheral, it positions Mako and Korra as the “righteous couple”. We in the audience don’t have enough information to feel what Mako is feeling (the struggle to choose between two very different but equally attractive girls), so the assumption is that he should choose Korra. Where’s the complexity and moral ambiguity in that? I thought this series was supposed to stride into uncharted gray areas, but I guess romance is exempt from that.

The fact that the plot was secondary to the romantic elements made them feel even more rushed and melodramatic than they already were. There was this sense that the creators were like, “you want ship wars, fandom? Well here you fucking go.” (As evidenced by this attempt by nickelodeon to connect with the youth: https://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3kd731gfU1r63s1so1_500.png). I felt like I was watching an episode of Degrassi. It glossed over dealing with real issues like rejection and infidelity in favor of a rollercoaster shipping ride, and it made the episode seem…weirdly immature.

I just think like there’s this assumption on the part of the show that Korra and Mako should like each other and be together, but there’s no FOUNDATION for that. Yeah, so Korra has a crush. So what? They spend most of their screen time together being…well, not nice to one another. Particularly Mako. It’s the typical “headstrong girl and aloof boy conflict but secretly like each other oooooh” dynamic. I am just SO tired of this kind of pairing. I feel like I see it in everything nowadays. Maybe I’m just a weirdo, but I like to see relationships where the two are NICE to each other and actually ENJOY being in one another’s company (that, and relationships between intellectual rivals, but that’s a story for another day ;-P ).

 I think that’s what made me like Aang and Katara so much (an opinion which hasn’t always made me very popular with the Zutarian A:TLA fandom). They actually CARED about each other openly and were always there for each other. They built a friendship fathoms fucking deep, allowing trust and mutual support to carry them through difficult situations. Yeah, so the kiss at the end felt minutely forced (mostly because we didn’t get to see enough of Katara’s state of mind leading up to her realization that she liked Aang romantically), but you as the viewer KNEW those two people had an amazing foundation to build on. I mean, this is the pair that freaking embraced and CRIED after a baby was born in the midst of a worldwide war. Next to that, a crush on your pro-bending teammate just seems hollow.

I wish I could be more articulate about why this episode made me so mad, that it wasn’t the events that took place so much as the way they were HANDLED, but I think I’ve written enough. To conclude (and to answer the original question), I used to ship several couples, but now I pretty much ship none. This episode lacked any semblance of subtlety and almost felt a little like trolling (if it was meant to be a giant shipper troll, well, props). I want everything to get back to PLOT now, thanks. Moving on.

…Actually, no. I know what I’ll ship. Amon x Korra. There we go, fandom, eat your heart out!!

Way to ship-troll Bryke

bryankonietzko:

You guys have the shipping names all wrong: It’s Koko and Kolin. Love, Brychael.
EDIT: Oh! And of course Mami.

Team Borra, actually. Bolin is a mega sweetie.

(Source: korranation)