Avatar: Seven Havens Responds to The Legend of Korra Criticism

At midnight on Dec. 19, 2014, Nickelodeon dumped the final two episodes of Avatar: The Legend of Korra on Nick.com. That night, I gathered on the couch with my roommate to watch the end of an epic four-season story. Streaming technology in 2014 still had room to grow. After watching Nickelodeon’s online video player buffer for about 15 minutes, I gave up and went to bed. It was Thursday night, and I had work in the morning.

The Korra series finale viewed in high-definition under normal connection speeds remains one of my favorite endings and favorite TV shows of all time. Flaws are hard to ignore, though. A slashed budget forced animators to rely on still images for pivotal scenes instead of fluid animation. Studio executives rejected a planned kiss between Korra and Asami in favor of some charged hand-holding. A small group of fans who rejected the premise of a rebellious young female Avatar as a replacement for the lovable boy wunderkind Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender cast a dark cloud over the enterprise. The overall experience of Korra was imperfect.

Over a decade and one live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender remake later, the original franchise is back. The first three episodes of Avatar: Seven Havens are streaming on Paramount Plus, which runs on better technology than Nick.com did in the mid-2010s. Seven Havens offers plenty to love. French studio La Chouette Compagnie delivers stunning animation. Franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko provide masterful worldbuilding alongside an intriguing mystery box at the center of the story. Best of all, Seven Havens acts as a rebuttal to every angry fan and meddling studio executive who tried to tear down The Legend of Korra.

One step forward, two steps back

Seven Havens takes place over 200 years after Legend of Korra. A mysterious calamity undid the industrial revolution from the previous two shows. Instead of the gleaming Republic City in Korra or the walled kingdom of Ba Sing Se in The Last Airbender, the world features seven fortified havens separated by inhospitable desert. Civilization collapsed some time after the Four Nations invented hoverbikes.

A modern world limited by nature mirrors real-life circumstances. Surprisingly, characters in the world of Seven Havens blame the fall of civilization entirely on Korra.

The opening credits establish that Korra caused an apocalyptic event. This event created a post-apocalyptic future and transformed public perception of the Avatar from savior to destroyer. Korra functions as a boogeyman in Seven Havens. Building murals depict her as a monstrous elemental force, and actors perform plays about the evil Avatar who doomed civilization.

This premise requires two new Avatars—identical twins named Nisha and Pavi—to hide their powers and train in secret. On a deeper level, DiMartino, Konietzko, and the writing team appear to respond to the Korra detractors among the fandom. By painting Korra as a monster despite her heroic and complex nature, Seven Havens turns the criticism of the earlier show into something absurd.

Trailers hint that Korra might appear in the show, and the series will likely reveal what actually happened. That reveal should prove more nuanced than claiming Korra was evil all along. The series prepares to challenge anyone who struggled with a complex hero and their emotions.

Vindication for Korra

Seven Havens occasionally resembles The Last Airbender more than The Legend of Korra. Centering the story on child-aged Avatars instead of a teenager gives the series a youthful exuberance that feels less serious than Korra’s story. That approach makes the new show feel less mature than Korra for now.

Stakes will likely rise quickly, giving Seven Havens the energy of The Last Airbender combined with the maturity of The Legend of Korra. DiMartino and Konietzko deserve the freedom to finish their story properly.

Source: Polygon