Although there were many significant ways in which fans felt thatLegend of Korrawas a letdown after the pure epicness ofThe Last Airbender,there was one way in particular that the sequel franchise was hugely successful, and that was in expanding the alreadyunusually deep loreof the world.
The Legend of Korratook the foundation of bending the four elements, and brought it forward into a more modern world than the original time period in which Aang, Katara, and Sokka lived, and with it, began exploring the effects of some ofThe Last Airbender’smost important discoveries,including energy bending, blood bending, and the removal of one’s gifts by force. And in bringing this elemental power into a modern world, theLegend of Korraexplored many interesting topics and angles around the progression of society into technology and weaponry, and the political upheaval between the benders and those without power.
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But as well as exploring the idea of bending in the modern world, and introducingspecialized bending techniques, theLegend of Korraalso took the audience back into the past, to the very creation of the Avatar itself. Fans were introduced to the character of Wan, who lived in a world that mirrored Korras, a world of mistreatment and political unrest, where a select few held all power and authority, and abused it. Wan goes on a journey into the wilderness outside of his city in order to find the lion turtle, a vast and ancient spirit that is able to grant humans the ability to control fire.
Once Wan is given this gift, he tries to use it to help his people, but inevitably ends up causing more damage and war. Thus, he is banished, and so he ventures on a quest to find the other lion turtles, in order to seek out the other elements. On his journey, he comes across Rava and Vatu, two spirits who are entangled and fighting. He is easily manipulated by vatu into releasing him, thus releasing chaos and darkness into the world.
In order to recapture Vatu, and prevent the next 10,000 years being that of destruction and demise, Wan and Rava must cross over into the spirit world and defeat the evil Vatu during harmonic convergence, when all of the powers in the universe are aligned. Rava holds the other 3 elements, of Water, Earth and Air, and helps Wan learn how to master them, thus making him one ofthe most powerful characters inLegend of Korra, and arguablyThe Last Airbendertoo. In return, he can then help her seal Vatu away for the next 10,000 years.
They win the battle, but only by binding themselves to one another forever, which is how the Avatar cycle is formed, and Rava promises that the power of light and goodness will remain with him in all of his future lives. Wan then crosses back into the human world and decides to seal the gate to the spirit world so that humans cannot harm the spirits, or find/release Vatu. He then turns his attention to bringing peace to the benders, and trying to create a world where people can live in harmony with one another, a task that is passed down from him to all of the other generations of Avatars in existence and features a lot inThe Last Airbendervideo game adaptations.
This creation story is by far the best scene in the entire Legend of Korra franchise because it underpins so much of Aang and Korra purpose, and it gives clarity on so many things about the avatar cycle and the avatar state itself. As well as expanding on the lore in a way that is hugely beneficial, it is also an incredibly striking episode, both in terms of its visuals, and in terms of its parallels to the real world, and to the problems that exist within society today.
The art style is very unique, paying homage to ancient Tibetan scrolls, and Chinese painting techniques of the elements, which really adds to giving it that feeling of a lost legend that has passed through all the ages of the avatar’s time. This style of storytelling, this aura of magic and mythology of an ancient world is something thatThe Last Airbenderdid so well, and something that fans felt was missing fromLegend of Korrathroughout, so Wan’s creation story really brought back to life the heart of what fans loved.
It also spoke to the futility of war, and the impossibility of one single person stopping all of the perils that this world can bring. It taught lessons about humanity, lessons about solidarity against an unimaginable foe, and lessons about remaining humble, even when presented with the most precious gifts. Wan’s story resonated deeply with many fans on a very personal level, and conjured real-world scenarios that had huge impacts on perceptions and understanding of spirituality and what isknown about cosmic energy. It was, by far, the most down-to-earth concept explored in any of theLegends of Korraseries, and this definitely made it the best episode of the whole franchise.
