Avatar: Seven Havens - Official Trailer

If Korra truly did go mad - which I DOUBT - I think I might  know why. Vaatu was not imprisoned but 'destroyed', and Raava said that even were she to destroy Vaatu and usher in a new era of peace, what little darkness existed in her would magnify until Vaatu would be reborn and burst forth. And since, unlike the eras before Wan's time, Raava is fused with the Avatar...

“Humanity is not ready for the Avatar’s return. And yet, it’s the one thing this world needs the most.” 

Also, THIS diehard Korra fan cannot wait for October 9th, not only because Seven Havens looks stellar but for the chance to, alongside all Korra fans, fight to redeem her name while desperately hoping the show lives up to that hope. On that note, the argument I first heard on twitter/X is gaining traction: Korra fans and haters sincerely believing the obvious misdirection set up of all time is so baffling. "Korra isn't the reason the world ended, she's the reason there's anything left of it at all" is so obviously going to be the big twist that it almost doesn't even qualify as one. Though my friend Ben says "it’s less a twist than the violently obvious reinforced brick wall Bugs Bunny hides behind the matador cape so those dim enough to charge at the obvious bait receive maximum kinetic feedback."

Indeed, I get the feeling that the inexplicable scorn Korra gets from the modern fanbase factored into this show. Seriously, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are totally capable of making a meta-prank out of this, having the world start out hating Korra but then revealing her to be the hero all us fans of hers know her to be. That, and I cannot fathom DiMartino and Konietzko making a true villain out of a past Avatar, much less the titular protagonist of their last series.

So at worst, and as I said previously, we are dealing with a Roku situation: "If anyone is to blame for the state of the world, it is me. I should have seen this war coming and prevented it. You inherited my problems and my mistakes. But I believe you are destined to redeem me and save the world." - Avatar Roku to Aang. Hence Korra may end up saying something similar to Pavi: an Avatar who failed to prevent the disaster that shaped the current world. Roku failed to prevent the 100 Years War, and Korra failed to stop...whatever this is.
https://x.com/i/status/2108313121211236739

Regardless, I started watching Legend of Korra as wary of it as anyone. But I came to love it BECAUSE it was different from ATLA. It was not an inferior retelling but a bold new show, exploring new themes with new, excellent characters. I love it, and Korra, forever. 

Also and on a side note, I think the Spirit Apocalypse (for lack of a better phrase) was to get rid of all the tech. It served well in LOK, but a sequel would be more technologically advanced and I think Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko wanted to go back to ALTA tech levels. Which sadly required Spirit Apocalypse.