February 15, 2015 – Korra Month Part 3 – Book 2
"And this is the aspect about Book 2 I hate the most: Unalaq," Ryu said angrily. "And it's not only because he's a diabolical man, nor is it only because he's the murderer of the entire chain of Avatars that came before Korra, and nor is it even only because he betrayed his family, best friends, children, and forced spirits to work against their will."
"What other reason could there be?" Keldeo asked.
"Well, Keldeo, you may take personal offense to this, being as you are religious. See, it has to do with the kind of character Unalaq is. Specifically, religious bigots, whom I think are the absolute worst people to ever exist. And believe me, it's a privilege if anyone hears me call them people."
"And that's why it took an extra day to get this out," Ryu said, stopping the memory from playing any more. "Things got ugly after that last sentence."
"Well, Ryu, this is what happens when you phrase your thoughts so harshly," Russell chided.
"Well, now that I've calmed down, I can put it in better terms. See, I have no problem with religious people, nor do I with people who aren't religious. What I do have a problem with is when people use any of their beliefs for bad things and say they're right. And it affects me more when it's religious beliefs being disgraced this way being as I know a lot of religious practitioners, like Keldeo here. He's Christian, and although I will always, always disagree with his thoughts on homosexuality, at least he's not letting his beliefs turn him into some Torquemada-wannabe. You don't see him protesting at a funeral or claiming that a national tragedy was 'God's will.' Basically, just believe what you want to, and don't act so extremely on those beliefs, and you'll be fine with me."
"Ryu, I wish you'd phrased it like that yesterday," Keldeo said.
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for offending you so deeply."
"It's fine, Ryu. Deep down, I do understand your feelings. I don't like seeing my religion shamed by those bigots you ranted about."
"Honestly, I think Ryu was offended for you, Keldeo," Zorua added.
"Anyway, Ryu, it's all good. But I am curious, though: are you Christian yourself?"
"Agnostic Christian in my case," Ryu answered. "And before you ask, no, I'm not gay. I'm what you'd call asexual; neither women nor men romantically interest me."
"I see."
"Well, seeing as how a character from The Legend of Korra got me onto this tangent, let's get to talking about Book 2."
"And seeing as how that character is this book's big bad, let's get him out of the way," Ryu continued. "As I already listed yesterday, his greatest crimes are his multiple betrayals of all close to him (except for Vaatu), his entire nature and pretentious personality, and his killing of Raava, which also obliterated the past Avatars, including Aang."
"Ryu, not to make light of this, but, as we saw this season, I almost kept calling him 'Unod,'" Keldeo confessed. "Their names almost sound alike."
"Yeah, kinda. But anyway, here's a case example of his holier-than-thou attitude. He attends the South Pole's Glacier Spirits Festival, and does this during a banquet held in his honor…"
Unalaq: As your chief, it is my honor to speak at this festival, which was founded to bring our tribes together and restore the ancient balance between our world and that of the spirits. But I am saddened to see what it has become: a cheap carnival that celebrates greedy and trivial humans. I feel the time is fast approaching when the North can no longer stand idly by while our Southern brothers slip into total spiritual decay. Angry spirits are already attacking ships in your waters. I only hope we are not too late to change course.
"You smug son of a bitch," Ryu said to the memory that played.
"First off, Ryu, I wish you'd stop with the obscenities," Keldeo said. "Second, just like all of us, I knew Unalaq was a villain as soon as I saw him. Coming down to the South Pole to basically call them 'dumb seculars' confirmed it, as did this line at the end of the premiere episode, which he said almost immediately after Korra discharges Tenzin as her teacher and hires him to take his place…"
Unalaq: I know this was a hard decision, Korra, but it was the right one. Now it is time to put it behind you and begin your new training. I have great plans for you.
"Yeah, I don't care who you are, but a line like that does not come from someone who's on your side," Keldeo explained. "In addition to the stuff you listed, Ryu, my problem with Unalaq is how obvious he is. Seriously, Sonic SatAM's Dr. Robotnik might be the only villain who's more obvious."
"In fact, a lot of people's problem with him is that they think he's a boring, phoned-in villain," Ryu added. "Personally, I disagree, seeing as his actions had permanent effects on the world. But even a clip show in Book 4 seemed to agree with that perception. I will admit, he could've been better developed, and Amon was a better villain overall. Not to mention the villains of future books would be even better. Even in this book he was overshadowed by the figure that's basically the Avatar world's ultimate enemy: Vaatu."
"Oh, Vaatu was certainly a piece of work. Speaking of whom, can we talk about the best part of this book?"
"You mean the story of Avatar Wan?"
"Definitely. Those episodes were amazing! Although I did have some problems with it at first, until you explained your theories. At first, my biggest problem was that it appeared the origin of bending was just lion-turtles giving the power of the elements to people, even though 'Avatar- the Last Airbender' had mentioned where the bending of elements came from; dragons being the original firebenders, for instance."
"Yeah, but as I told you, gaining an ability doesn't mean automatic mastery of it. Wan was even seen training alongside a dragon. Basically, I think the lion-turtles gave humans the ability to bend the elements, and then mastered the ability over time, and possibly under the tutelage of what the originators of each element is: the moon for waterbenders (don't ask), badger-moles for earthbenders, dragons for firebenders, and sky bisons for airbenders. Granted, a lot of Wan's training with those other elements was off-screen, but it paid off. In the end, he defeated Vaatu and brought peace to the worlds for the next 10,000 years."
"But then the physical and spirit worlds had to be split. But anyway, those episodes have to be seen to be believed. If anybody's seeing the memory of me saying this, go watch those episodes now! They're awesome!"
"To those seeing this, he likes them because they told a complete story in just two episodes and wonderfully depicted the origin of the Avatar Cycle. Plus, he'd wanted a likable protagonist after some of Korra's most questionable acts in this season."
"Oh, you had to bring that up," Keldeo said disdainfully. "But yeah, Korra was downright terrible in the first half of this season. Discharging Tenzin as her teacher, sending her father away from her mission to open the Southern Spirit Portal, escalating a civil war (which, granted, Unalaq started), trying to start an actual was with the North over it, and then kicking Mako's desk over. Seriously, Mako had every right to break up with Korra!"
"But then, she witnessed the life of Avatar Wan, and everything turned around," Ryu defended. "I think this was the point her character development started, and would end up staying this time."
"Honestly, there's no reason her development in Book 1 should've disappeared. Still, I'm pleased to hear that. And how much better is Book 3?"
"Well, we'll see soon enough."
A/N: Sorry if this entry seems like a letdown, but it's in the next book that the world's changes start really mattering, so I'll discuss them then. Plus, the two-parter about Avatar Wan truly is epic. It should be seen. I can't do it justice.
Keldeo the Critic and Zorua the young reviewer belong to Matthais Unidostres. "The Legend of Korra" belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Nickelodeon, and Viacom. "Littlest Pet Shop" belongs to Hasbro, DHX Media, and Discovery Channel (formerly The Hub). Episode transcripts came from the Avatar Wiki, with some changes made by me.