The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra thread II: The Revenge

[Olthar]

Did Aang bet blood bent into the morgue?

If you're talking about the Yakone incident, then no. That happened when Aang was 40. He died 26 years later.

[Pilarcraft]

OK but am I the only one who thinks that the fact that the Fire Nation Army moved all the way through two different nations, climbed up four tall mountains (remember, at that point, they didn't have balloons, and most Fire benders don't go Human Torch when in contact with the Comet), and fought the airbenders, and killed everyone is crazy?

I mean, sure, I get it, it's a kid show so "plot device" or whatever, but come on! the Earth Kingdoms were already at war with the Fire Nation (since the FN had attacked and colonized their territory before, they wouldn't have that nice a relationship even otherwise) and the various people who lived near the Temples would have at least tried to hinder the army, or idk go tell the Airbenders that "crazy firebenders incoming!"
How did all of them die? is this truly darwinism at work?

[The first Galactic Republic]

OK but am I the only one who thinks that the fact that the Fire Nation Army moved all the way through two different nations, climbed up four tall mountains (remember, at that point, they didn't have balloons, and most Fire benders don't go Human Torch when in contact with the Comet), and fought the airbenders, and killed everyone is crazy?

I mean, sure, I get it, it's a kid show so "plot device" or whatever, but come on! the Earth Kingdoms were already at war with the Fire Nation (since the FN had attacked and colonized their territory before, they wouldn't have that nice a relationship even otherwise) and the various people who lived near the Temples would have at least tried to hinder the army, or idk go tell the Airbenders that "crazy firebenders incoming!"
How did all of them die? is this truly darwinism at work?

I always thought that was a little silly. Like there aren’t survivors anywhere?

To be honest it’s probably Earth Kingdom propaganda to make the Fire Nation look evil. In reality the Air Nomads probably just flew away.

[Olthar]

According to the comics, many airbenders did escape or simply weren't at the temples at the time. The Fire Nation then hunted them down one by one.

[Pilarcraft]

According to the comics, many airbenders did escape or simply weren't at the temples at the time. The Fire Nation then hunted them down one by one.

that... makes even less sense though. I mean, come on. We're talking about a race of people who's basic philosophy is "if you see a problem flee until it goes away". You really think they're that easy to hunt down? Especially during a time where land-to-air warfare is weak as it is? And let's not even go into how it's literally impossible that the only airbenders ever are the nomads lol. Actually, I have a longer rant about the Airbenders, but I'll leave it for another day

[The Green M and M]

According to the comics, many airbenders did escape or simply weren't at the temples at the time. The Fire Nation then hunted them down one by one.

that... makes even less sense though. I mean, come on. We're talking about a race of people who's basic philosophy is "if you see a problem flee until it goes away". You really think they're that easy to hunt down? Especially during a time where land-to-air warfare is weak as it is? And let's not even go into how it's literally impossible that the only airbenders ever are the nomads lol. Actually, I have a longer rant about the Airbenders, but I'll leave it for another day

Rant away, the airbenders were freaking idiots.

[Olthar]

According to the comics, many airbenders did escape or simply weren't at the temples at the time. The Fire Nation then hunted them down one by one.

that... makes even less sense though. I mean, come on. We're talking about a race of people who's basic philosophy is "if you see a problem flee until it goes away". You really think they're that easy to hunt down? Especially during a time where land-to-air warfare is weak as it is?

Air benders can't actually fly, though, and they're also not robots. They need to stop to eat and rest just like anyone. It's also easier to kill them when you lay traps, which is exactly what the Fire Nation did. They confiscated a bunch of Air Nomad artifacts and used them to bait the air benders into ambushes.

Its like you seem to think that institutionalized genocide is somehow impossible and could never happen.

And let's not even go into how it's literally impossible that the only airbenders ever are the nomads lol. Actually, I have a longer rant about the Airbenders, but I'll leave it for another day

Just like how it's literally impossible that the only Tibetans ever are from Tibet.

[Pilarcraft]

Ok, so a few things I have noticed about Airbenders these last few years.
Airbenders, right? We know them. According to the canon of the show, they all lived in covens, nomadic tribes that migrated through the four temples in the Avatar's Planet. We know that ALL of them were benders, and that they never did anything bad. Also, they had fucking gigantic flying Bisons as their primary companion animals, and that they had a unique prankster's sense of humor (Tenzin aside)... and a weird set of philosophies (the Guru Laghima was an Airbender, and respected enough to get a statue after all).

That's bullshit.
1- There's no way everyone of them were benders. We already know that two people won't necessarily breed a bender if they're both benders (Katara and Aang gave birth to my favorite character, Bumi, who was not a bender -even if he was closer to the stereotypical airbender than anyone else-. Are you actually telling me that up until Aang, they got lucky enough to get Airbenders as children EVERY SINGLE TIME?
So, what did they do to the non-benders that they bore? Well, my theory is that they sent them away to the nearby villages. It's the most humane thing for them to have done, and I'd rather think they did that instead of 'getting rid of them'.

2- There's no way nobody in their history did a bad thing. Come on. I'm not talking petty thievery either. Murder, anything really. Are you telling me nobody was a criminal? To be fair, this is up to debate, but Since the Airbenders were pretty anti-killing themselves, I'm guessing they also send these criminals to the nearby villages too.

3- they had fucking gigantic flying bisons as pets. Bisons, who need to feed... and none of the four temples had any graze lands nearby. How do you think they fed? Hint: it's the same way every nomadic tribe sends their pets to feed... which brings them into conflict with the nearby villages even more. (Even if a Bison didn't land on farming terrain, destroying it, they'd still eat... a lot. and that grain means life and death to most farmers.)

4- we Also have a set of morally ambiguous people who care not to lie if it'll "be for the greater good", who can just float the fuck away when the lies end up revealed. Think about it, Aang essentially lies whenever he wants. There's no way he -an impressionable 12 year old boy- just grew that attitude all by himself. Now, think if the guy who lied to you that "the ancestor of you and those people you hate built it all to play football" just floated the fuck away after you found out he was bullshitting you. Imagine that, and then think if you were in a medieval era mindset :/


all in all, I can't blame why the villagers didn't tell the Benders "someone's coming to kill you all!"... and I can't believe none of the non-benders or the criminals ever bore to any airbender ever.

[Pilarcraft]

that... makes even less sense though. I mean, come on. We're talking about a race of people who's basic philosophy is "if you see a problem flee until it goes away". You really think they're that easy to hunt down? Especially during a time where land-to-air warfare is weak as it is?

Air benders can't actually fly, though, and they're also not robots. They need to stop to eat and rest just like anyone. It's also easier to kill them when you lay traps, which is exactly what the Fire Nation did. They confiscated a bunch of Air Nomad artifacts and used them to bait the air benders into ambushes.

Its like you seem to think that institutionalized genocide is somehow impossible and could never happen.

Also, We have no information that the Day of the Comet was on their migration time. From what we know, they were already in the temples. That means, unless we're going into headcanon, that the Fire Nation's Army marched through the Earth Kingdom, north, south, and east, climbed mountains (let's assume that the dragons carry the elite soldiers up, ok, but not THE ENTIRE ARMY), fought and killed the Airbenders, and then climbed all the way back and marched back to the original borders to start an offensive against the Western Earth Kingdoms where the war actually started.
Yes, Institutionalized genocide does happen, but not when you live up in mountains, secluded, in a place that only you can reach, with your bisons... or with dragons -mind you, there weren't that many dragons even at that time-, where you have every advantage. ONE Airbender (Gyatso) managed to off like, a dozen Firebenders when they got him. We know ALL Airbender nomads were trained in combat. it's not even that hard. literally push them off the mountain.

And let's not even go into how it's literally impossible that the only airbenders ever are the nomads lol. Actually, I have a longer rant about the Airbenders, but I'll leave it for another day

Just like how it's literally impossible that the only Tibetans ever are from Tibet.

I didn't know that all benders were of unique ethnicities. Mako, Bolin, literally three out of every four avatar, the entire storyline of LoK, etc.? eat your hearts out!

[Forsher]

OK but am I the only one who thinks that the fact that the Fire Nation Army moved all the way through two different nations, climbed up four tall mountains (remember, at that point, they didn't have balloons, and most Fire benders don't go Human Torch when in contact with the Comet), and fought the airbenders, and killed everyone is crazy?

I mean, sure, I get it, it's a kid show so "plot device" or whatever, but come on! the Earth Kingdoms were already at war with the Fire Nation (since the FN had attacked and colonized their territory before, they wouldn't have that nice a relationship even otherwise) and the various people who lived near the Temples would have at least tried to hinder the army, or idk go tell the Airbenders that "crazy firebenders incoming!"
How did all of them die? is this truly darwinism at work?

Not so.

Recall that in the episode where Sokka and thingum invent balloons that we actually saw how the Fire Nation could attack that particular temple. And we also saw that it was a close run thing.

With the actual attacks against the Air Nomads... the assaults would have used far more men, were assisted by the Comet and came with an element of surprise against a people who didn't have an army. Also to their advantage is that Fire is much more offensive than Air, in an era where people knew how to fight Air Benders.

The upside down (Eastern??) temples are harder to explain in the sense that the only visible approach seems to be by hanging down by ropes, which seems to imply that you could just blow them off the ropes and into an early grave. Perhaps they concentrated the FIre-flight capable benders in that attack/used dragons.

According to the comics, many airbenders did escape or simply weren't at the temples at the time. The Fire Nation then hunted them down one by one.

that... makes even less sense though. I mean, come on. We're talking about a race of people who's basic philosophy is "if you see a problem flee until it goes away". You really think they're that easy to hunt down? Especially during a time where land-to-air warfare is weak as it is? And let's not even go into how it's literally impossible that the only airbenders ever are the nomads lol. Actually, I have a longer rant about the Airbenders, but I'll leave it for another day

Avatar is set on a pretty small globe... with some seriously good trackers available.

And the entire show is premised on Earth Kingdom is where you get Earth Benders, Fire Nation Fire Benders, Water Tribe (except for the Swamp guys) Water Benders and Air Nomad Air Benders. How this works is explained in the Wan episodes of Korra Book Two.

Ok, so a few things I have noticed about Airbenders these last few years.
Airbenders, right? We know them. According to the canon of the show, they all lived in covens, nomadic tribes that migrated through the four temples in the Avatar's Planet. We know that ALL of them were benders, and that they never did anything bad. Also, they had fucking gigantic flying Bisons as their primary companion animals, and that they had a unique prankster's sense of humor (Tenzin aside)... and a weird set of philosophies (the Guru Laghima was an Airbender, and respected enough to get a statue after all).

That's bullshit.
1- There's no way everyone of them were benders. We already know that two people won't necessarily breed a bender if they're both benders (Katara and Aang gave birth to my favorite character, Bumi, who was not a bender -even if he was closer to the stereotypical airbender than anyone else-. Are you actually telling me that up until Aang, they got lucky enough to get Airbenders as children EVERY SINGLE TIME?

It's spiritual. Notice how all of Pema (Air Acolyte) and Tenzin's (Air Bender) children (except, maybe, the baby) can bend? It matters that Pema is into the Air Nomad theory (parenting excepted, see: below).

It's also not really explained that obviously but Aang's whole dynamic as a parent with children is completely out of whack with Air Nomad traditions. We see all those kids and quite a lot of Aang's childhood without a single mother or father... just monks. In fact, it might even have been two male and two female temples, I can't remember.

I didn't know that all benders were of unique ethnicities. Mako, Bolin, literally three out of every four avatar, the entire storyline of LoK, etc.? eat your hearts out!

Mako's Fire Nation on his mum's side and Bolin's Earth Kingdom on his father's side. In some sense, Avatar's version of spiritualism leads to some pretty racialised outcomes. This is probably why they had the Farmer episode in Book Three; a dude who gains Air Bending but points out that doesn't change who he is. Anyway, the point is that Mako and Bolin not only have histories consistent with ATLA and Book Two but they're really good illustrations of the existing lore.

[Britannic Unity]

I do wonder what the Avatar World Would have looked like if Ozai had his way, and imposed his (and the Fire Nation's) will on the rest of the world. Clearly, fire-bending would become a symbol of status and privilege and with essentially no geopolitical rivals, it appears that A Pax Azula might persist for a long time.

[Northern Mexico]

I am considering watching episodes of The Legend of Korra online. I am wondering what I should expect from the show. From the clips I have seen, it looks like an allegory for various ideologies. How deep is the show and why is it interesting?

[Ameriganastan]

I am considering watching episodes of The Legend of Korra online. I am wondering what I should expect from the show. From the clips I have seen, it looks like an allegory for various ideologies. How deep is the show and why is it interesting?

Bad first season with a good villain.
Atrocious second season with an atrocious villain.
Decent third season with decent villain.
Good fourth season with good villain.

[Northern Mexico]

I am considering watching episodes of The Legend of Korra online. I am wondering what I should expect from the show. From the clips I have seen, it looks like an allegory for various ideologies. How deep is the show and why is it interesting?

Bad first season with a good villain.
Atrocious second season with an atrocious villain.
Decent third season with decent villain.
Good fourth season with good villain.

I hear that the villains represent different political ideologies. How true is that?

[Guadalupador]

Bad first season with a good villain.
Atrocious second season with an atrocious villain.
Decent third season with decent villain.
Good fourth season with good villain.

I hear that the villains represent different political ideologies. How true is that?

It's pretty true.

[Northern Mexico]

I hear that the villains represent different political ideologies. How true is that?

It's pretty true.

It sounds like a show that I would be interested in. I will probably watch the first episode to see if I like it.

[Guadalupador]

It's pretty true.

It sounds like a show that I would be interested in. I will probably watch the first episode to see if I like it.

The first episode doesn't do the show justice. I'd suggest just watching the whole thing, tbh. It isn't hard to binge watch if you get into it.

[Ameriganastan]

It sounds like a show that I would be interested in. I will probably watch the first episode to see if I like it.

The first episode doesn't do the show justice. I'd suggest just watching the whole thing, tbh. It isn't hard to binge watch if you get into it.

First episode doesn't? The entire two first effing seasons don't. God, Korra was such an insufferable turd before season 3.

[Guadalupador]

She wasn't that bad in the first two seasons.

[Ameriganastan]

She wasn't that bad in the first two seasons.

The Hell she wasn't. Entitled little annoyance who always whined about every effing thing and couldn't win a fight if the other guy gave up.

[Guadalupador]

Honestly I think you're blowing everything out of proportion. She was basically the opposite of Aang: foolhardy, brash, stubborn, etc. That was the point. She had to stop being like that and actually learn her place as the Avatar.

[Ameriganastan]

Honestly I think you're blowing everything out of proportion. She was basically the opposite of Aang: foolhardy, brash, stubborn, etc. That was the point. She had to stop being like that and actually learn her place as the Avatar.

Yeah, she was the opposite of Aang. He was likable, useful and made the show fun.

She was a borish asshole, useless as mittens on a snake and made the show a complete chore til season 3 dialed back her insufferableness.

[Olthar]

Honestly I think you're blowing everything out of proportion. She was basically the opposite of Aang: foolhardy, brash, stubborn, etc. That was the point. She had to stop being like that and actually learn her place as the Avatar.

Yeah, she was the opposite of Aang. He was likable, useful and made the show fun.

She was a borish asshole, useless as mittens on a snake and made the show a complete chore til season 3 dialed back her insufferableness.

Book one Aang was so horribly, terribly insufferable that the only reason I didn't give up on the show was the fact that I had already bought it. By comparison, book one Korra was a shining beacon of great writing. Her flaws made her human and relatable. His flaws made me want to shove a burning spear up his ass.

[Ameriganastan]

...God, I missed this. Me badmouthing everything about Korra, you guys defending her, me ignoring all your points and repeating myself.

Good times.

[Olthar]

...God, I missed this. Me badmouthing everything about Korra, you guys defending her, me ignoring all your points and repeating myself.

Good times.

I'm not saying that the first two books of Korra were perfect or even particularly great. I'm just saying the first book of Avatar was worse.