I’ve seen the trailer twice now, and I have to say that I like what I see.
Korra’s history has been…tumultuous. Season One was met with general positivity, with a few elements here and there that weren’t handled with the same kind of fineness that we saw in the predecessor (namely that horrible, forced romance subplot). Season Two divided a lot of fans in terms of liking and disliking what was presented. For now, I’ll say that most complaints towards what happened in Season Two are valid. There were a lot of slip-ups, character inconsistencies, and some-what lazy or disjointed writing. On the whole, however, Korra still remains strong enough to stand next to Avatar, and I’m glad to see the fan base is still on fire.
As for my own opinions regarding the series, I was (and still am) generally pleased with most of what Korra has given us. The Head Honchos' decision to run as far away from Avatar in terms of story lines, characters, and world-building is a bold choice that is, for the most part, rewarding. I won’t go so far as to say it’s perfect or even as good as Avatar, but it’s built itself up to be something great on its own, and that’s the best I could ask for in a spin-off series that is, for television, largely unprecedented.
Now, in regards to Season Three: Given the history surrounding the show, this season has a lot on its shoulders. Thousands of fans are crossing their fingers that this one will be the most solid of them all or that it will at least be good enough to bring some lost fans back. After watching the trailer, there are a few things I’ve concluded about this season:
1. Change is being taken seriously. There were apparently a lot of execs at Nick that wanted things to go back to the way they were at the end of Season Two, and because Mike and Bryan are now experts at bucking the system and convincing the network their way is better, that isn’t going to happen. We can see even from the montage of moments that this world is going to look very similar to what we know, but everything involved is going to be much different. In a good way. There’s obviously a lot going on in this new world that involves spirits and people, and it doesn’t appear that any one element is going to be the villain—or the good guys.
2. There’s going to be a crapton of action. Seriously, in the entire two minutes of the trailer, I think there were maybe a total of ten seconds that showed us something that wasn’t action. And that’s good—they’re bringing in more of the elemental fighting that (for me, at least) seemed lacking in the past two seasons. We get to see some more earth and airbending, as well as some other alternate-type benders. Apparently Combustion Man wasn’t the only of his kind.
3. THERE ARE AIRBENDERS. I’m not going to jump onto the Skeptic Bandwagon here, but I DO have some reservations about how they’re going to explain that. I don’t want a cheap plot thread that says “Oh, actually, we can just turn on airbending in people with this certain power.” I’m not sure how else they can suddenly have an army of airbenders when last we knew there were only Tenzin and his kids, but maybe they will impress me with some off-the-wall answer.
4. The animation/music is looking phenomenal. Watching this trailer in HD is amazing. The Korean studios are working their butts off and it’s obvious with the quality that is seen in this animation. It’s still undeniably Avatar, but it’s polished, sharp, and colorful. The backgrounds are highly detailed and beautiful, making this world look so fleshed out and epic. The music, as usual, is beyond remarkable, and given the way it’s presented in the trailer, looks to be as well-synched with the action as the last two seasons. We’re no longer in the pre-industrial cutesy Avatar music; these are fighting tracks. And that’s pretty awesome.
5. ZUKO IS IN IT. Fangirls everywhere are drooling over his little cameo in which we get to see him as an old man and a bad-ass firebender. I’m curious as to what role he’s going to play in this season. Hopefully they won’t treat him like an awkward throw-away character and play it as a cheap fan service. Uncle Iroh’s appearance last season had that reaction from some, and while I disagree with that, I DO think that Zuko has the potential to be that way. I have faith in the Korra team that he won’t, but I suppose we’ll find out.
Overall, I’m excited. I still have faith that this will be a solid, cohesive season. Now if we could just get a release date. That’d be great.
And here's the trailer for those who haven't seen it:
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