I’m probably just yelling into the void at this point because I don’t actually have many followers, but nonetheless I feel compelled to say something after the announcement for the new Avatar series.
STOP JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS!
I was not always a Korra fan, it took me a long time to appreciate her for the good Avatar she was. When I first watched the series, I could not stand Korra—at all. She aggravated me beyond all reason and as such I didn’t judge her or treat her fairly.
But I am a fairly judgmental person and as such, sometimes I have to force myself to be more reasonable and realistic in my expectations of a person and giving them grace. So I did. And once I did, I really came to love Korra. She made many mistakes, just as Aang did, Roku, Kyoshi, Yangchen, and every Avatar before her. She learned and the world changed because of it, both for the better and the worse. But just as the world changed, so did she, and she grew as a person into a much better person and Avatar. Not only does the series show that, but so do the comics.
Although I used to be one of Korea’s biggest haters, I am now one of her fiercest defenders. I still have a couple of qualms with certain plot points in the series *cough* Aang would’ve been an amazing dad *cough* but none of them link back directly to Korra’s value as a person and/or an Avatar.
This announcement was meant to spark discourse and discussion, mainly to incite curiosity and excitement about the series! That much is obvious and there is no doubt in my mind the writers intended that with the announcement. I’m also certain they knew by how they were framing it that some discussion would link back to Korra and the state of the world at her passing. However, I do not believe the writers intended to start a hailstorm of hatred all directed at Korra, restarting the years old and tired discussion of her value as a person and/or an Avatar. Do I think they could’ve framed it differently to not restart that discussion while still inciting curiosity and excitement? I’m genuinely not certain. That said, it is still the responsibility of fans to use critical thinking skills when discussing and analyzing a series. To dislike a character is understandable, to completely dismiss one as useless and awful because of your own bias is not.
All this in mind, WE DO NOT KNOW THAT KORRA CAUSED THIS GREAT CATACLYSM DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. Let us use our critical thinking skills and NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. Something happened, assumedly towards the end of Korra’s lifetime, though possibly even after her passing. Obviously there would probably have been some lead up during her lifetime to the cataclysm that left the world in the state it is in at the beginning of Seven Havens, but there’s no way to say it happened during or after her lifetime, at least not at this time. Either way though, I must repeat, WE DO NOT KNOW THAT KORRA CAUSED THIS GREAT CATACLYSM DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. She is a good Avatar, in spite of the many mistakes she’s made, and I have full confidence that she did a great wonderful, albeit imperfect, job of balancing the world in every way she could. And I believe that that rings true throughout her entire life, even the life we have not seen thus far.
Even with all this, whatever state the world was in at her passing, disrepair because crises insurmountable to her abilities arose, or a tentative peace with problems creeping along the edges, Korra cannot be entirely blamed for whatever happens when she dies. Just as Kuruk’s time in the spirit world left the earthly realm imbalanced for Yangchen to deal with, Roku’s failure to take down Sozin left Aang to take down the Fire Lord and end a hundred-year-long war, and Aang letting Yakone remain unfound for Korra to deal with his son, Korra may have left some issues unresolved, due to her own mistakes and her own inability to resolve every single problem the world throws at her. Wan was the first Avatar, using the powers for good, but even he died unable to leave the world completely at peace, beginning the cycle so each Avatar could do their best to maintain balance.
Korra shouldn’t need such fierce defending because, just as every Avatar before her, she made mistakes, but she also accomplished a lot of good. People are far too quick to unfairly dismiss and hate on her when she did exactly what every good Avatar before her did: use her powers to help guide the world, albeit imperfectly.
We know practically nothing about Seven Havens from the small synopsis blurb, let alone what part Korra may have had in it. Stop jumping to conclusions and stop unfairly hating on Korra, she deserves better.