As some of you might have noticed last year, my final review for The Legend of Korra never came. With Book 2 coming in less then a week though, I felt it was time to finally revisit the Book 1 finale and give you guys my thought on it; especially now that I’ve seen the show (and finale) about 3-4 time now. Obviously, THIS POST WILL INCLUDE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1. That being said, let’s get the elephant out of the room…

Yes, the Ending Wasn’t Amazing

For some people, the last 5 or so minute of Book 1 are a deal breaker, and I can understand where they are coming from. A lot of things happen VERY suddenly and (conveniently) solve some VERY big issues. What a lot of people unfamiliar with the show forget however, was that the creators behind the show had no idea there was even going to BE a Book 2. They couldn’t afford to end the show on a cliffhanger (otherwise fans would flip their lids) but at the same time they only had so many episodes to tell the story they wanted to tell.

To put it into perspective, lets pretend of a second that the final episode ended with Amon and Tarrlok out on the boat. You know the scene… and that was the last we of Book 1. It would have been emotional, it would have brought closer to the story arc of defeating Amon and saving Republic City. But it would have left some HUGE questions about the fate of Korra and everyone else. Perhaps an additional episode to pad out the season could have done this; or the beginning couple of episodes of Book 2. I’d argue that this probably would have been the best way to play it all out.

But again, this just WASN’T POSSIBLE. The creators had no way of just “adding an episode” or ending on a cliffhanger like that. They had already been given their set number of episodes and they pretty much just had to tie their story up in a neat little bow. Which they did. I’m not saying the ending couldn’t have used more time to breathe, because it did. But I’m still of the opinion that the actual plot point of it make just as much sense as anything else. For example…

Aang is not a Deus Ex Machina. I don’t care what people tell you, but Aang showing up and healing the damage Amon did to Korra’s bending made complete sense within the realm of the story we were being told. What has Korra been trying to do all season? Master Airbending and get in touch with her spiritual side (AKA her past lives/Avatar state). What have we learned about Amon, Tarrlok, Yakone & Bloodbending? That it is NOT the most powerful form of bending, The Avatar is. So when Korra loses her bending to a Bloodbender, guess what the logical place for her to “go” to get it healed would be? Within her self: to her past life as Aang.

What makes the ending feel so “cheap” isn’t the fact that is happened the way it did, but the time frame in which it happened. We hardly had enough time to mourn Korra losing her bending before Aang brought it back. The ending was rushed; not bad. And yes there is a difference. Besides…

Everything Else was Fantastic

So many people forget all the fantastic moments that happened PRIOR to the rushed ending. So let’s take a second to remember that moment when…