The Untold Connection Between The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra's Enigmatic Spirits

Highlights

Legend of Korra mishandled the spirits introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender, losing the mysterious and unpredictable nature that made them intriguing.

In Legend of Korra, the portrayal of spirits as inherently either good or evil negated their multifaceted nature, resulting in a storyline that failed to meet its potential and underutilized this captivating concept.

The Legend of Korra, the controversial sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, faced criticism for attempting to live up to the beloved original show. Despite having some strong elements such as captivating villains, innovative bending powers, and impressive animation, it fell short in terms of writing quality, a less compelling main cast, and questionable choices in expanding on The Last Airbender's established lore.

One specific area where The Legend of Korra struggled was in its mishandling of The Last Airbender's distinctive spirits. While aiming to provide more insight into the Spirit World's history and mechanics, it failed to fully grasp the aspects that initially made them so captivating.

Spirits in The Last Airbender

The spirits featured in Avatar: The Last Airbender were enigmatic entities, transcending human comprehension. They operated based on instinct rather than moral principles, exhibiting diverse and peculiar behaviors. For instance, Hei Bai, the panda forest spirit, reacted impulsively with rage when its habitat was destroyed, only finding solace when offered acorns from the forest. On the other hand, the Painted Lady displayed passivity and withdrew from the Jang Hui River until it received aid in purification. Koh the Face Stealer appeared more malevolent compared to other spirits, but relented when Aang avoided revealing emotions, providing guidance instead of taking his face by force. Koh, in essence, possessed a chaotic and mischievous nature, driven by motivations beyond human understanding rather than outright villainy.

The spirits depicted in Avatar defied categorization, each exhibiting distinct behaviors that eluded the comprehension of human characters. Whether they displayed animalistic tendencies or peculiar sentience, they operated on an incomprehensible plane. Reasoning and appealing to their emotions consistently proved futile; instead, appeasing them required purifying their respective natural domains or interacting on their own terms. As embodiments of true nature spirits, they occupied a realm beyond conventional moral concepts of good and evil. They simply existed as they were.

In Avatar, the spirits were enigmatic, much like the Spirit World itself. It served as a parallel realm to the physical world, where both existed as distorted reflections of each other. Although they occasionally intersected, they mainly coexisted as separate entities. These two worlds relied on each other but remained distinct and better off operating concurrently.

Even the Avatar, tasked with bridging the gap between these two realms, was not an equal in the Spirit World. Unable to bend elements in this alternate realm and often lacking the automatic respect of the spirits, the Avatar was consistently portrayed as a guest in their land, unable to fully grasp their nature. The spirits in Avatar were mysterious and somewhat eerie beings. Their intricate designs and boundless potential captivated the audience, making the world of Avatar feel vibrant and unexplored, brimming with enticing secrets waiting to be unveiled.

Spirits in Legend of Korra

The Legend of Korra expanded upon the concepts and world-building introduced in Avatar. It provided more in-depth explanations about the mechanics of spirits and the Avatar. Korra takes us back to the era of the first Avatar, revealing that the world was once primarily inhabited by Spirit Wilds, which forced humans to seek protection by living on the backs of Lion Turtles. The first Avatar, Wan, eventually decides that humans and spirits cannot coexist directly and closes the Spirit Portals. This action leads to the separation of most of the Spirit Wilds from the mortal realm, damaging the harmony between spirits and humans. Spirits now appear more like invaders from another world, conquering a realm that is not rightfully theirs. This change significantly reduces the mystical aura surrounding spirits, and their connection to the living world no longer feels like a natural phenomenon.

The complexity and depth of the spirits themselves have been diminished. In the original series, spirits were unpredictable deities, unaffected by Western notions of morality and guided solely by their own inclinations. However, in The Legend of Korra, spirits are portrayed as inherently good or light, and they can transform into dark spirits when distressed or influenced by the spirit of darkness. These dark spirits possess a stereotypically villainous appearance, with glowing eyes and twisted bodies. Consequently, spirits no longer possess their enigmatic nature and their moral compass is defined by human standards. They are naturally aligned with goodness, according to human moral codes, but have an evil disposition that only the Avatar can reverse.

Balance is a central theme in Avatar, with the first series focusing on Aang's struggle to find a middle ground between pacifism and ending the war through killing the Fire Lord. The Last Airbender emphasizes the importance of spirits in maintaining balance, exemplified by the ocean and moon spirits, Tui and La, representing yin and yang. These spirits are equal and necessary, highlighting the need for both aspects. However, the concept of balance changes in Korra, with the introduction of Raava and Vaatu. Raava is essential for the existence of the Avatar and upholds balance, while Vaatu only seeks to destroy it. This lack of balance results in an absence of the push and pull between light and darkness, replacing it with a straightforward battle between the hero and the villain.

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One of the major drawbacks of how spirits are portrayed in Legend of Korra is the lack of satisfying follow-through. The decision to open the Spirit Portals by Korra initially generated excitement about the show's direction. However, the show ultimately focused less on the spirits and relegated them to a background role. The appearances of spirits after the portals' reopening were mostly limited to small and friendly ones, adding cuteness to the cast but lacking conflict and relevance to the plot. The only significant impact of spirits returning to the mortal realm was the spirit vines infesting Republic City, which was quickly forgotten by the story, resulting in a disappointing conclusion for one of the Avatar universe's most intriguing concepts.