Legend of Korra: Series Finale Review

The Legend of Korra's one hour series finale has arrived, and as sad as it is to see the series come to a close, the finale does not disappoint.

*Full Spoilers Ahead*

Team Avatar Assemble!

Wow, The Legend of Korra has finally come to an end. Even though the season as a whole has not been the best, the two-part series finale, titled "Day of the Colossus" and "The Last Stand," raises both the scale and the stakes to a entirely different level. Each season finale of Korra has gone bigger and more grand with each season finale, and nothing tops this final battle with Korra and everyone working together to defeat Kuvira's giant mecha, which the characters actually refer to as a "mecha." As stated in an insightful article on Forbes.com, which you can read here, , Korra's finales demonstrate a mastery of escalation, with each one having bigger stakes and a grander scale.

The first 20 minutes are, essentially, one giant action set piece that rivals most of Hollywood and even Japanese animation! Seeing everyone work together reminds me of The Avengers in scale, and it is truly amazing to witness. From the Airbenders attack to Korra using the four elements, the entire assault culminated with the most impression action sequence in the franchise’s history.

With so much going on, someone had to die, and even though it was not one of the main cast, killing off Asami's father, Hiroshi, aka Hayao Miyazaki, was a satisfying choice, after the series set up his possible redemption previously in the series. The emotional impact of Hiroshi’s death was relatively effective, although Mako’s death-experience should have ended with him actually dying, instead of Bolin saving him. Mako is a decent character, and he is the perfect character to kill off since the fandom will not rage over his death, but rather his noble sacrifice would have made up for his romantic troubles that the fandom still seems to hate him for. 

In the episode, there was only a small issue: Prince Wu. Yep, he has plagued the entire season, and while he has certainly had his moments, his singing was not necessary, or at least not so much of it. However, the use of Badgermoles did remind of the Avatar episode "The Cave of Two Lovers."

Varrick's proposal to Zhu Li's and their marriage towards the end of the episode is both a satisfying end to their relationship, and classic way to end a comedy play in old literature. However, I was a bit surprised that Bolin read them their vows, although there is nothing like a preacher in the Avatar. Also, Varrick asking Zhu Li to "do the thing" with him was a decidedly Varrick way to propose.

Kuvira's final scene with Korra is a relatively satisfying way to end her dictatorial reign, although her villainy was kind of undermined in that scene. As a whole, Kuvira has been an excellent antagonist in the series, who ranks among the best in the franchise. As Korra said, there are some similarities between Kuvira and Korra, but they took different paths to reach the same goal. An antagonist mirroring the hero is not uncommon, but it is executed well in this final episode.

To end the series, Korra and Asami's friendship concludes with them going on an adventure to the Spirit World. In a way, their friendship reminds me a lot of Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings, especially the book version, in that have been through so much together in their adventures that they just want to take a vacation. You do not often see, what many like to call, a "bromance," or rather "sismance," with two female characters, especially in an action/fantasy franchise, so what The Legend of Korra has done is great. Generally, The Legend of Korra is a series that features a predominantly female cast, and yet it never feels as though it is trying to force a message or leaving out the male audience. 

Overall 10/10- The Legend of Korra concludes the series in epic fashion. While it does not throw in many twists, it provides a fitting send off to our favorite characters with themes that come full circle to a more than satisfying conclusion. In the end, The Legend of Korra had its flaws; however, when it delivered, it did so in spades, especially in the finales, and no finale is more epic and satisfying than this one. In fact, as far as series finales go, this might just be the best...

If you are a Legend of Korra fan that is looking for something to fill the void, I highly recommend that you watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and you can read my review for that series by clicking here for part one, and here for part two.

WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE OVER!

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