Am I crazy or should the Red Lotus have been the only villain in The Legend of Korra?
Ive never like how serialized Korra was in its conflicts, but I like it even less that each season is disconnected. ATLA worked because it had one cohesive conflict, but smaller more contained adventures in between.
The Red Lotus is a refreshing addition to the world, especially after the disaster of season 2. Unfortunately, that’s probably the only good season in the show, and it would’ve been so much more revered if the whole 4 seasons was only the Red Lotus.
I’m more saying why not elongate the plot of S3? Maybe have Amon be subservient to the Red Lotis, with Zaheer and other commanding them from their prisons. Have Korra lose everything except air bending and have her slowly gain it back over the course of the series. Convergence could be smaller and not restart the cycle, but instead be conducive to freeing the leaders of the RL. And the season 3 could go on as usual. Combine that with improved character work and a more cohesive magic system, and it could’ve been on par with or even more revered than ATLA .
It could’ve reinforced the themes of the oppressive cityscape and sprouting crime rings of the original, giving it its own unique aesthetic without simply being like “hey look, a reference to the old show.” It would also give Korra some great character development (being the Avatar is her whole identity, so she can grow when that is mostly stripped away). Furthermore, the RL already tried to take her when she was a kid, and she was thusly isolated; it connects everything together in a way that almost too good. I’m getting frustrated just talking about it that this wasn’t he original.
You may say that it’d destroy what made the show work, but I’m arguing that it straight up doesn’t. It has a lot of problems.
It could’ve been the antithesis to ATLA, where the Fire Nation was oppressive and prevalent, whereas the White Lotus is the underdog, radicals that are confronting real societal issues, albeit in an immoral way. Aang had to learn all the elements and was a nomad, Korra could reclaim them and have to deal with being isolated her whole life, which even fits into Zaheer's worldview very cleanly and can be something he uses in debate with her.
It could even have a cooler final battle than Ozai, as Korra would be fighting D1 benders of every element, and with a more volatile, 3d ideological clash.
God, it just gets better the more you talk about it.
I'm not talking about production scheduling, I know it was originally just going to be one season, and was then ordered in chunks. I'm more just daydreaming about a better story, one that would've resulted in a better-quality show with a more likeable protagonist.
A lot of stuff could even stay as well. Unaloq was connected to the RL before, and Harmonic Convergence could still happen, albeit in a less city-level way.
Most Korra fans think people don't like the show because Korra's a girl or because it's just not the original, but most "haters" are thinking in the same way I am: I wanted it to be better, and I'm upset that it wasn't. The worst part? This isn't even the only storytelling segmant/throughline that could've made a near-perfect show. It could've been fucking beautiful.