END OF AN ERA - LEGEND OF KORRA: BOOK 4

LEGEND OF KORRA: BOOK 4

2014 - 13 episodes - Adventure/Fantasy
Creator(s): Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko
IMDB: 8.7
Metacritic: n/a
RT: n/a

CinemaChagrin's Ratings:

Book 1: A-
Book 2: C+
Book 3: B+
Book 4: B-

Normally I include a section at the top of each review encouraging or discouraging readers to watch the film or show reviewed based on their interests/likes. I don't see a need to do so with this review. Those of you reading this have probably either watched LoK: Book 4 already or will never do so. After all, it is the last installment of what is essentially a seven-season series. Now, onto the review. 

I, too, am upset that this series is coming to an end.

After many years of prodding, I caved and finally watched Nickolodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender last spring. Although it was ostensibly crafted as a children's show, I enjoyed it immensely and consider it one of the finest TV shows I've ever seen. A few months later, I delved into The Legend of Korra, the highly anticipated follow-up series to ATLA. Created with an older demographic in mind, LoK doesn't reach quite the same level of excellence as ATLA, but is highly enjoyable in its own right. Though the first three books had their ups and downs in quality, I binge-watched them all and had a great time doing so. 

***WARNING - MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW***

The Plot

Book 4 picks up 3 years after the conclusion of Book 3, with Korra having mostly recovered from the wheelchair-bound state she ended up in at the end of the previous season. The first few episodes highlight the changing world and follow Korra as she travels the world incognito, suffering from PTSD as a result of her near-death experience at the hands of the Red Lotus in Book 3. Eventually she is reunited with her friends and confronts a new villain - the beautiful yet stone-cold Kuvira, a metalbender hailed as "The Great Uniter" who sets out to build an empire and conquer Republic City. As expected, our heroes defeat Kuvira, save the world, discover love, all that jazz.

Kuvira, the primary antagonist of Book 4. 

The Good

The Action: The breathtakingly exciting action sequences that are a hallmark of the ATLA/LoK universe are once again...well, breathtaking. The organic nature of bending makes for riveting fight scenes, and several in Book 4 are among the best the entire series has to offer. Unfortunately, there are fewer battles overall in Book 4 than in previous installments, but the ones present are for the most part very well done. Metalbending in particular is highlighted once again, as Kuvira proves a skilled fighter and the Beifong family once again plays a pivotal role in the story. Watch one of my favorite excerpts below:

The Voice-Acting: With a few exceptions, the voice acting in ATLA and LoK has been solid, and Book 4 continues that trend. Korra (Janet Varney) and Bolin (P.J. Byrne) again standout, but there really aren't many bad apples in the bunch.

The World: Geopolitics in the ATLA universe are just so darn cool. I really enjoyed the concept of a powerful dictator arising from the ashes of the fallen Earth kingdom, uniting its people, and then going on the offensive. 

The Music: Once again one of my favorite aspects of the series. A fantastic mix of epic, contemplative, and ethereal themes.

The Characters: All the LoK characters you know and love (or hate) are back in Book 4 (though there is one extremely obnoxious addition). I loved the fact that the ever-hilarious Varrick got more screen-time, and it was great to see how everyone had matured over the 3 years between Books 3 & 4. I also felt they reintroduced an old ATLA character (Toph) effectively - she served a purpose, unlike the presence of other old favorites in previous books, including Zuko and Katara.

Also good - the new Airbender wingsuits. Stylish yet utilitarian.

The Bad

The Writing: Noticeably of lower quality than previous seasons. Many lines felt forced, out of place, or out of character. The extremely large cast certainly makes it difficult to allow most of the secondary characters to say anything of substance during only 13 short episodes. However, the writing and dialogue just generally felt rushed and very much plot-driven.

The Pacing: Also quite rushed. This has been a consistent problem with LoK since its inception, primarily because of the shorter season lengths (12-13 episodes, as opposed to 20 in the original series) and lack of overarching story. Book 4 comes across as even more frantic, with characters having to make obvious statements about lessons learned instead of developing in a more organic fashion.

The CGI: It's been bad since ATLA, and it only gets worse in Book 4 primarily because there is so much of it. I understand this show doesn't have the budget of a feature film, but I've always wondered why the animators felt the need to animate so many things in CGI.

Also, the fanservice. Never really bought into the Varrick - Zhu Li ship. 

The Interesting

I'll be the first to admit I did not see the ending coming. I had never heard of (let alone boarded) the H.M.S. Korrasami during my initial viewing of the finale. The first time I watched the final scene, the apparent romantic connotation between Korra and Asami went waaaay over my head. I had always viewed their friendship as strictly platonic. The creators apparently meant it to be much more than that. I have no problem with their intentions though, and thought it was very tastefully done, albeit a little forced (like many of the romances in the ATLA universe). Regardless, it's nice to once again see LoK pushing the envelope of youth programming on mainstream TV, this time with an LGBT couple.

The now-famous final shot

Though I would rate Book 4 third out of LoK's four seasons, it was still an enjoyable ride, and one that tied everything together quite nicely. I am sad to see the curtain close on the ATLA universe, and can't wait for whatever DiMartino and Konietzko have in store for us next.

- CC

Check out the Book 4 trailer: