"Long ago, the Avatar fandom lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Korra haters attacked. Only the Creators, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, could stop them, but when the world needed them most... their funding vanished. Fourteen years have passed and the Creators have given us new Avatars, Earthbenders named Pavi and Nisha, and while their show Seven Havens is great, it has a lot to do before it can unite anyone. But I believe... Seven Havens can save the fandom." - Ian E.S. Adler
Pretty good, eh? Took me a couple days to come up with that.
Anyway, I finished watching season 1 of Avatar: Seven Havens and can say without a shadow of a doubt that I loved it to the hilt. It has action, mystery, love, tragedy, betrayal, morally grey characters, heart and heartbreak, plus a cast of incredible characters in a Avatar world that is no longer the Four Nations (or five counting the United Republic) yet is familiar still. I wish I could say more, but I will cursed before I utter so much as a single spoiler for this utterly incredibly sequel to The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.
The creators behind the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise addressed all of the hate Korra gets heading into Avatar: Seven Havens with their thoughts on it all. Avatar: Seven Havens is set hundreds of years after the end of the original series and reveals that Korra is now being blamed as the one that destroyed the world and led to its current post-apocalyptic state. This has only led to more debate surrounding Korra’s role in the wider Avatar Studios franchise slate.
The debate around Korra as a main character has gotten to such a point where some even believe that creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko themselves hate her as well. But when asked about this in a recent interview with Teen Vogue, the two creators revealed that it’s “definitely not true” that they hate Korra. In fact, Konietzko reveals that he believes these fans “…hold Korra to this totally different standard. I think there’s a lot of misogyny. I think there’s a lot of homophobia.”
“If people don’t like Korra as a character, they don’t like that series, that’s totally fine,” Konietzko stated when asked whether the hate against Korra was justified and if they also hated Korra. “We both love Korra, and I’m really proud of that series. The idea that Korra separated her connection with the other Avatars, it’s like, her uncle did that to her.” Then Konietzko related it to how fans view Aang, “And I’m always like, ‘Aang’s entire people were wiped out, but no one seems to hold that against Aang. But they hold Korra to this totally different standard.”
“I think there’s a lot of misogyny,” Konietzko continued. “I think there’s a lot of homophobia. Her story is an amazing one of resilience and repair. The idea that we hate Korra? I would say, well that’s definitely not true.” DiMartino also added, “She’s one of my favorite characters. The Avatars are never perfect heroes. But there’s more to Korra’s story than you see in the first couple episodes.” But this also puts that debate to bed as the hate for Korra online has now morphed into its own thing.
In a way, Avatar: Seven Havens is attacking all of this head-on. Korra is being blamed for the current destruction of the world and has been outright hated by all of the people in the society, as revealed in the latest episodes. This might have broken the heart of Korra’s voice actor Janet Varney in the process, but it’s also likely to be revealed that something else is likely the cause behind all of that destruction. This label has been unfairly pushed onto her much like all of the hate has unfairly been pushed onto her by the fandom.
Avatar: Seven Havens is introducing two new twin Avatars at the start of their very own journey, and through the four seasons to come, they’ll likely find out more about their predecessor and form their own opinions of Korra. This is the show’s chance to openly challenge all of the hate that Korra has received thus far, but it’s still going to be an uphill battle for those fans that made up their minds years before now.
As far as I am concerned, this all but proves what I have been saying for some time now: the inexplicable scorn Korra gets from the modern fandom factored into Seven Havens, because Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are quite 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. Also Korra haters (and even some fans) sincerely believing the blatantly obvious misdirection of Korra going rogue is beyond baffling. As my friend Ben far more colorfully phrases it: "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."
I am not going to delve into all the countless theories because it would take pages and give mammoth spoilers, but for those who worry about korrasami I feel include to note that (as I literally posted above) everything Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko say about Korra and korrasami shows they adore both and continue to defend them! Better still, DiMartino just said the following: “I definitely think that TV [and] even the kids’ animation landscape has definitely changed. Whereas on Korra, we ran into some… pushback about what we could and couldn't show, this time around everyone was super supportive and it's more about the storytelling. What is the best way to show these relationships? It's nice to see, and we will see more of what Korra and Asami's relationship was like in the past.” So relax folks. The past and future are ahead, waiting to be discovered.
And for those who have not watched Legend of Korra and/or Seven Havens, DO SO. I began 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. Which was the point DiMartino saying in a podcast extensively about trying to differentiate the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, stating: "When we did Korra, and now we’re doing new stuff, and it’s always like, 'Is that too similar to what Aang went through, or is that too similar to what we did with Zuko?...That’s why we made Korra an older girl who wanted to fight, let’s make her as different as possible personality-wise from what Aang was." I love it, and Korra, forever. I began watching Seven Havens similarly wary, yet now love it! Because it refuses to stand in the shadows of the the previous shows.
Now I, along with so many, wait for Season 2 with baited breath! Seriously, that ending...such a glorious mix of triumph, heartbreak, cliffhanger and hope for the future!
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