The Legend of Korra: Book 2: Spirits Review

Im going to write this review assuming you are familiar with the world and lore of avatar. If you aren't, I recommend you start with Avatar: The Last Airbender, all 3 seasons can be found on Netflix streaming.

The brilliant thing about this season is it sort of has a complete clean slate to work with. That has to be liberating for a writer. Season 2 starts right from where season 1 left off but with the events from the previous season not having to be continued. Sure, certain things do continue as they do with any good story but not in the way they would have in The Last Airbender. I love this new direction the writers are going with this style of storytelling. It’s not all about an over arching main plot anymore, its a central plot that further fleshes out this world's history.

This season, or Book as it’s said, has a lot to do with family. Whether it’s immediate family or extended, that was the main focus this story took. Even with the spirit world being a huge central location we visit frequently, it’s still about close loved ones. There are some very touching moments throughout the season that, dare I say, made me choke up. I wanted so badly for the conflict in the show to be over because I actually care about these animated fictional characters. That speaks volumes about what excellent writing and well fleshed out characters can do.

We are introduced to a few new characters in this season that are integral to other characters growing. I love this dynamic of characters forcing other characters to see the error of their ways. It lends to understanding and loving these people even more. The first 5 episodes is simply building on this, the meat and potatoes of the major plot aren’t apparent till later on, I’m a fan of this though as well. Korra was raised as the Avatar, she never was taught the intricacies of human interaction. So for her, someone being “nice” to her will come off as someone being manipulative to another. This causes for a lot of mistakes being made on her part. Mistakes she must rectify in a very fun and edge-of-your-seat way.

My only gripe with this season and the story as a whole is it can be a bit overwhelming to have so much relationship drama. I get that they’re teenagers and that’s sort of a thing with that age group, i think we’ve all been there, but it becomes boring and not entertaining sometimes. They do try to incorporate it into the plot somehow but it’s feels forced. Now i’m not saying relationship stuff can’t be in the show, it should be, what I’m getting at is it never feels right. I read a comic a while back called “Ultra” written by the Luna Brothers a while back and I described this comic as “Super Heroes meets Sex in the City, as written by men”. The reason i bring this up is it has that same feeling of trepidation for the female side of things.

I loved this season very much, the way it’s structured was intelligent and fun. I’m excited to see where they take Korra and company in the next 2 books. I give it an 8/10.

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