The Iron Lady (2/28)

 It's time to write about Kuvira. A flawed character whose writing often misses the mark, in a season too short and too poorly funded to tackle what the writers wanted to say. And yet, Kuvira, and the season surrounding her, was what cemented Legend of Korra as my all time favorite animated show.

Book 4 is done. I'm free... I never have to think about Legend of Korra again, until 15 minutes from now when I think about my beloved show again.

Book 4: Balance

Book 4 begins with both Korra the character and Korra the show having seemingly vanished. Nickelodeon, for reasons beyond me, decided that the best way to conclude the saga was by relegating it to the Nickelodeon site. It didn’t premiere on television until months later. They also, despite telling the crew they were renewed for two full seasons, slashed the budget of the fourth season as it went into production. This results in awkward pacing, undercooked characters, and a clipshow episode halfway through the season that grinds all momentum to a halt. It sucks and it’s very disappointing to see a great show kneecapped yet again by the studio’s interference.

It’s a constant theme of the show, and part of why I’m so soft on it. Despite everything they had to deal with, each new renewal a surprise they had to scramble to accommodate, each step back Nick took from supporting the show, every fight the creators had to put up to get their story told, they still made it. It’s not perfect, but I love it more because I love an underdog. I love that they still made a show as good as they did despite all those problems. I wish they didn’t have them, I wish that they could have made the show they wanted exactly how they had planned, but that’s not the hand they were dealt. They played their cards as well as possible, and even though it comes up short in places, I still admire it for the tenacity to at least try to make it as good as possible despite it. I know many disagree about the degree of success (though some assert it didn’t succeed at all), but I think the show rules. If you couldn’t tell. If you’re just catching on to that now, hey, welcome to the party.

Book 4 begins with a three year time skip, and we see the world much changed by the actions of Zaheer and the Boys Brigade Red Lotus. The Earth Kingdom is still in turmoil, the death of the Earth Queen causing the region to be divvied up by bandit clans and warlords. Korra hasn’t been seen in three years, the post of peacekeeper have been occupied by two different organizations; the new Air Nation, and Kuvira. Kuvira has an army of metal benders and is marching through the Earth Kingdom setting things straight. She’s being hailed as the “Great Uniter” as she brings province after province to heel.

This first introduction to Kuvira (Beyond her brief name drop at the end of the last season) is a mixed bag. It shows both the power she possesses and the type of person that fills the dual vacuum that both Korra and the Earth Queen left. She’s got an army, the most technologically advanced army in the world, bringing order and balance (Because doesn’t balance mean an absence of conflict? That’s certainly the interpretation that many characters in the franchise, including Aang, have had) and doesn’t take shit from nobody. She’s the baddest chick on the planet. The perfect antithesis to Zaheer, earth vs wind, anarchy vs authority. Each villain has answered and echoed the one that preceded them. It’s the reason why I really like the show’s more segmented season arcs.

Amon called for equality, asserting that the current human status quo is unjust, bender vs non-bender. Unalaq pushes that a bit further, asserting the fundamental structure of the entire world is improper, that the barriers between mortal and spirit realm need to be torn down. Zaheer’s philosophy is that there can be no freedom, balance, or harmony, in a world where any power structures exist. And Kuvira’s answer is to show the opposite extreme, where one tries to keep things in order through force of arms. All of these assertions from all the different villains have valid points, all of which Korra is forced to reckon with as she defeats each and she sees herself and the world altered (for better and worse) by the interactions.

Book 4, unfortunately, trips right at the starting pistol. The first interaction we have with Kuvira is her forcing a provincial governor to bow to her, to which he says “Oh and I know what you do to people who don’t listen to you! I’ve heard about the camps!” to which Kuvira snidely remarks that if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll join up. It’s such a missed opportunity. We get less than an episode, probably 10 minutes, before Kuvira reveals herself as an unapologetic fascist. I wish they had waited a little longer to show the dark side of Kuvira’s campaign. They’re evil, and vocally evil, right from the jump. The points she makes later in the series, her reasoning for fighting, don’t matter because in episode 1 she says “Yes there are labor camps, because I’m an evil person doing evil things!”. I’m not saying I want a sympathetic fascist, I just wish they had played it closer to the chest until at least the second episode. Show us a world that seems to be doing just fine without Korra, until we get the reveal that it is doing anything but.

At the same time, Korra is being wracked by psychological trauma (Becoming a pit fighter and doing very badly because she’s lost any and all confidence in her abilities), and is still dealing with mercury swimming around her blood stream. She can’t connect to the Avatar State and is so terrified of failing again that she’s closed herself off the possibility of trying! (She’s just like me fr!) It’s great, I love my depressed queen, I love how her beefy arms are atrophied, I love how scared she is of disappointing others that she seals herself away. Great arc.

The other plot point is that the Republic of Nations, as well as the other bending nations, are trying to install Prince Wu on the throne. He’s the Earth Queen’s great-nephew and is a piece of shit. I hate this guy. With his coronation, the nations of the world hope to bring peace back to the Earth Kingdom. Kuvira, who did all the work of uniting the Kingdom, must bend the knee to a distant relative of one of the worst monarchs in history. Kuvira, anti-monarchist bae, refuses to bow. She asserts (correctly, might I add) that they only want Wu because he can be easily manipulated by the politicking of the other great powers. She declares herself leader of a new Earth Empire, and she wants Prince Wu in the dirt. Queen (Anti-monarchist queen) behavior.

Book 4 works for me because there’s no conflict between right and wrong. ATLA was fairly simple in that the Fire Nation (As a political entity ruled by a string of despotic Fire Lords) was evil and must be defeated. The end of the show is the right hereditary monarch being placed on the throne, the existing power structures that lead to the war still in place. We just have to cross our fingers and hope that everything else goes fine forever!

Book 4 (Balance, ugh it’s so good that it’s called Balance) positions several bad positions. The Republic of Nations is unwilling to intervene in the Earth Kingdom; they refused to sanction Kuvira’s campaign until it turns out she’s doing a good job. The Air Nation tries their best, but they are also looked down on by the Republic of Nations. They have no interest in helping the Earth Kingdom, but are more than happy to pull the strings to get their ideal candidate on the throne (A throne whose consistent occupation resulted in the political and economic strife that caused such bloody conflict the moment it was vacated). And the other option is Kuvira, a straight up xenophobic fascist whose dream of an Earth Kingdom is one free of the denizens of other nations. Which way Korra? Is authoritarianism better when it’s wearing a crown or an arm band?

I ask again, is “Balance” defined as the cessation of conflict? Kuvira has certainly done that in much of the Earth Kingdom. But is peace maintained through a brutal and violent political structure worth the cost? It’s an interesting question asked by each and every season, each one having a different take on it. It’s the throughline of the show, a fundamental challenge to the basic assumptions of the Avatar world. It’s why I adore the show. It’s got some tough questions to ask, and while its answers aren’t always perfect, I’m grateful that a show aimed at kids is asking them!

The season also deals with Weapons of Mass Destruction in the form of “spirit cannons”. Weapons that harness spirit energy and release it with catastrophic force. It’s a great way to make in universe weapons that aren't “atom bending" or chemical warfare. And then, in a move that others hate but I love, Kuvira straps the giant laser cannon to a Gundam. I see why people say it’s ridiculous, why it looks silly, why it doesn’t fit the world. I think you’re a fool to not cheer for a giant robot.

Kuvira rocks. I like that we get a female main villain (I’m not counting Azula just because she exists as an extent of Ozai’s will. Kuvira’s agenda and machinations are her own, she’s the head honcho), someone competent and committed completely to her cause. She almost murders her fiancee because he’s dumb enough to not be the baddest chick in the universe and he got captured. Kuvira has no time for emotional bonds, she only has time to conquer.

But then she’s proven wrong! Kuvira’s disregard of personal relationships at the expense of some higher goal put me in mind of Return of the Jedi. Faith in your friends is not now, or ever, a weakness. It’s the drive to save others instead of subjugate them that drives Korra, and it’s this drive that sends Korra diving in front of a spirit laser to save Kuvira’s life. This display of power, to spare rather than smite, is what finally breaks Kuvira. She can’t compete with the Avatar not just in power, but in the purpose of why that power is used and when it’s wielded. It’s a great ending and rebuttal of Kuvira’s ideology. She doesn’t die confident and assured, she doesn’t refuse to bend even in defeat, she recognizes that there’s another baddest chick on the planet. That’s my Avatar baby.

Wow, another post where I did not mention the names of any of the Team Avatar members. What else is there to say? Korrasami is canon (If it had been any male/female partnership with the exact same interactions, no one would gripe about it! But because we live in a heteronormative society we cannot accept the jump from platonic to romantic feelings between women so people say it’s underwritten. You’re wrong, sorry!) and I love it. I think it’s great to have queer representation in cartoons, even if the devil Nickelodeon tried to nip that in the bud as well.

Korra the character, and Korra the show, had impossible tasks. Live up to the greatest thing that had been, and try to surpass it. She stumbles, she bucks against expectations, she is constantly ground down by forces beyond her control. But the two Korras come out of it battered, bruised, defiant, and in my humble (and correct) opinion, entirely victorious.

I’m very grateful this show exists. I love so much about it, and despair at the shortcomings. But even the rift between hope and reality are gaps that my love still finds light to shine. I think there’s a lot of people who write it off for bad reasons, whose logic is flawed or are wildly misinterpreting the text. Whatever. Do what you will. There’s some things that can’t change.

One of them being that she’s the Avatar, and you’ve gotta deal with it.