Something that this series made me notice is that both Aang and Korra almost die in the Avatar State in a subterranean cave filled with glowing green crystals in the climax of their penultimate Books. The next Avatar should probably steer clear from such locales.
Yeah, his freak out brought it down 2 points out of idk. It really showed him crumbling, instead of accepting defeat and letting it happen, like with his love interest.
I totally agree, but I also think the weightlessness is a psychological trick he learned from a MOMENT of true emptiness. The rest is fantasy muscle memory? I buy that.
@@StarShade0Fun fact: Michael Dante Dimartino wanted Zaheer to escape at the end of Book 3, but fellow writers insisted that locking Zaheer up will be a better idea, so Zaheer could be used in future stories.
@@Kacpi0044 If they insist on using him later, having Korea meet him in the spirit world like she did earlier this season would’ve been cool. He gets to escape and still be there simultaneously.
2:33 Agree 100%, but I also feel it's important that he's wrong. If he was TOO right, Korra defeating him would be unjust. His logic makes sense in a vacuum because Zaheer doesn't allow himself to see it any other way. That's what makes him a villain.
I think this makes a lot of sense, but I wish Korra portrayed it more that way so you don't have to think to come to this conclusion. Instead of thinking that Zaheer doesn't allow himself to see it in any other way, it would be nice to see him doubt himself and then brush off that doubt because he's too far in or something. It doesn't need to be specifically like that, but still that polishing to the story would have been amazing. This does, however, kind of change the light that Zaheer is portrayed in, but I still prefer good character development over someone simply just looking or talking cool.
That the point of Zaheer because there people throughout history who were stupid but believed their own intentions were good. Zaheer reflects that and he is meant to have a flawed philosophy.
@@BiG-JuPO1O1 I'd argue that dismissing people who believe in such radical and destructive ideology as stupid is a flawed way of seeing things. The problem is that many people who lead radical ideologies often actually end up being well studied and competent, and that's where the real danger stems from.
Doesn't need to be 100% stupid and inncorect just 40% would be enough. He Can talk about how governments are unjust or bad , but at the end of the day , if you're a terrorist you're a terrorist. Realistically if Zaheer Didn't try to kill the Avatar.They'd be able to have their anarchy at least partially
10:24 the same thing happened to Appa in ATLA with ice on one foot dragging him down but doesn’t struggle to fly with 5-6 people on his back other than getting tired, I think it’s limb mobility that effects flight
If you are referring to the opening to The Waterbending Master, that's nowhere near the same. First, Appa wasn't weighed down, his leg was suddenly restricted by the ice, wrecking his movement pattern. Second, he was already near the water surface, so he had zero opportunity to recover.
you’re right I misremembered the scene but the same thing happens to zaheer that he got caught in the air and it threw off his direction, also distracted by trying to kick the ice and break it
One small attention to detail that I was surprised went unmentioned is that when Korra redirects Ghazan's pillar of lava back at him, she does it using Airbending. On first glance, you would think "she's in the Avatar State, she should just Lavabend it." But she almost certainly cannot Lavabend, even in the Avatar State, because the knowledge of how to do so belonged to one of the past lives to which she no longer has a connection. The only times other Avatars are seen Lavabending (Roku in S1E8 & S3E6, Szeto in S2E1, Kyoshi in S2E5), it is accompanied by a use of the Avatar State; presumably, none of those three were able to Lavabend outside of the State, and the use of that technique originates with a Lavabending Avatar further back in history.
@@sebtw8918 Yeah, theoretically the avatar state should not power up Korra at all. Because the only thing we know it does is impart the knowledge and skills of past Avatars. Purely a malus at this point, because the Avatar can be permanently killed while within it. I guess maybe Rava's helping out a little somehow? Unclear.
I’ve always assumed lavabending for an avatar was akin to being able to manipulate heat and earth at once but I guess that’s not what it ever actually is.
Despite making sense or not, I love that Zaheer's motivation is basically a corrupted version of airbender ideals. Airbenders seem like guys who totally can't be villains, so Zaheer's entire character is basically exploiting the idea of an evil one. Freedom and untetheredness is corrupted into a love of anarchy. Inner peace is corrupted into cold-bloodedness. Loving nature becomes hating civilization. Whether well or poorly realized in the end, his ultimate goal is thematically ideal.
Absolutely. He's intelligent enough to recognize and articulate problems with the world as well as plan all his villainy. However, he's a fundamentalist ideologue and his solutions are similarly flawed and corrupted.
I feel like overanalyzing is conflating logic with intelligence. Just because zaheer is intelligent doesnt mean hes logical especially given his radicalism. He wants to burn down the world as a way to grant everyone freedom. It may not make sense to the average person, but for someone who was born to this idea and then spent years in prison to focus on it, he is probably more resolute than ever on this outcome.
0:25 funnily enough, the censors weren't going to allow Korra to be in X-shaped chains. They had also said no to Aang being in X-shaped chains in The Blue Spirit. This time though, one of the showrunners pointed out a Spongebob episode where *he* gets put in X-shaped chains, and Nickelodeon was like "ugh, fine."
Also the characters Grey Delisle voiced, Azula and Ming-Hua, were both defeated by their opposite elements. Azula was frozen and chained up by Katara, while Ming-Hua got electrocuted by Mako.
1:03 The Red Lotus is stated to be an off-shoot of the White Lotus, which has served throughout history as guides for numerous Avatars, and used to be comprised of the wisest and most learned masters in the world, so I think it's entirely possible this knowledge came down through time from the White Lotus. With 10 000 years of history, a similar instance of trying to poison the Avatar had to have come up at some point.
about the poison going trough the skin, yes some chemicals including mercury (closest thing we have to this) can be absorbed trough the skin, such large amounts aren't realistic of course though since somebody is bending it inward in this case I think its believable
I... dont hate how Zaheer was characterized actually, he pretty much spent a huge chunk of his life trying to capture Korra and practically had nothing else he properly put any effort into. He has his friends sure, his philosophy, but getting rid of the avatar is practically his life's work. He spent years figuring out what he was gonna do, executed it, had a few bumpy spots but managed to figure them out without huge issue. Then boom, the love of his life dies, he was unchained, free from earthly tethers, Zaheer thought he would become enlightened by letting go of everything important to him, but obviously the show doesnt support that message. Because as easily as he went up, he came back down, literally chained to the earth again, with the effort of his entire life, crumbling in front of him. He barely processed Pl'i passing, and now he finally got to a point of some kind of result, he was confident Korra would die, its why suddenly all of his schemes and personas collapsed, there was no more point, he is smart, very smart, but years of waiting didnt just drive him a little mad? He was so energetic, the audience has never seen him like this before, he looked alive, at the very thought of finally having killed Korra, and then its all taken away from him. Korra doesnt die, the love of his life died for no purpose, his friends will follow a similiar path, he might be calculated, but he is human, him just breaking like this isnt an insane response from him on a human level. I dont entirely love how he does seem less intimidating and intelligent once he does break down, but that just makes his bounce back in season 4 all the better. In season 3 he was "enlightened" yes, but he still had a messed up view of justice and his plans were still tied to an ideology he once followed true to his heart. In season 4 he had time to think, tethered from the earth, and had finally realized just how blind he was, how short sighted, by the very fact that he managed to admit that, it shows how he had reached true enlightenment, he lost chained up and as a crazy man, and came back, chained yes, but not tethered, more free than any single person alive. Edit: As I see a few people arguing in my replies, I don't think OA is wrong for thinking they smudged Zaheers image with that last scene of him. His ideology being flawed is one thing, but making a joke of him is a bad habit Avatar seems to have in general. They dont let serious moments breathe for a lot, which didn't seem to be the case until this very scene, I think they could've executed Zaheer melting like a maniac in a better way. I don't like the scene itself, but I don't dislike the idea of Zaheer being more than this calculated philosopher that he thinks he is, him failing to uphold that image is in itself a failure to himself, and should show the viewer that the kind of thought process Zaheer had, isnt one to be replicated.
I find it kinda paradoxical how Overanalyzing Avatar usually claims that depth and nuance is what makes a great character, and here, with Zaheer freaking out and showing vulnerability, displaying a lot of depth and nuance, OA calls it boring and ‘out of character’.
@@bellrains Because he's just ass bruh, just for season 4 to sum up all the previous villains as "people who took their ideologies too far". Stop glazing zaheer, it just boils down to him being a philosophical idiot who sounds like he's in middle school. It's dumb and cringe, the only thing actually cool about him was his airbending, that's it. Zaheers "debth and nuance" that you claim to exist is shallow.
@@bellrains how is it paradoxical? it’s pretty clear to me you can think that you can think having depth and nuance is what makes a great character. and also think that what’s happening here is out of character. there’s nothing paradoxical or hypocritical happening. He just doesn’t think this shows nuance or depth and is instead out of character. you can disagree with that, but it’s not being hypocritical or paradoxical.
1:03 i know you would most likely hate this explaination but the answer could be unalaq. He had conversations with vaatu for an unknown period of time and i would assume vaatu know the limitations of raava
I think Xai Bau (founder of Red Lotus, mentioned in episode 9) taught first Red Lotus members about Avatar State's mechanism and they taught it the next generation including Unalaq and Zaheer.
5:13 bro ive replayed this few seconds like 15 times. "nevermind the earth queen was not the most obvious death. ive never seen anyone more dead in avatar" hahahaha
2:00 YES thats exactly what happens. next season, zaheer straight up regrets what he did after hearing about kuvira filling that power vacuum. He's doing this because he's radicalized and doesn't understand the consequences, and the story makes that clear.
While that may be correct I still kinda feel like someone as smart as he is supposed to be should've thought of it. He may be too radical to actually let that change his views but him at least having thought about the consequences could've been adressed in some way. At least give him SOME argument for that you know ? Maybe he imagined something like the red lotus actively keeping the world in anarchy like the avatar keeping it balanced before or something idk. Or at least have other characters confront him about him NOT having thought about the consequences (insert Iroh's "YOU NEVER THINK THESE THINGS THROUGH" here) and him having no argument against that. That would at least still have the show adress the problem even if Zaheer himself doesnt. Zaheer being confronted about them but actively ignoring the consequences until SHOWN a season later would've been way cooler imo.
he also admits to her "your powers are limitless" and "our interests align". affirming that he respects the avatar as a force for good in the world, and even helps restore her spiritual connection (whatever that means 🙄)
That is the problem with pretty much every one of the baddies in Korra. None of them seem to think about what to do after their plan and all of their ideas were poorly thought out and pretty stupid which to me undercuts them as a character. They are no different than the Underpants Gnomes in South Park. Step 1: Do bad thing, Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit.
I can get behind Zaheer being both intelligent and incredibly misguided. There's plenty of political commentators who are very intelligent and have the stupidest views
Thanos isn't a real world political commentator, but he's a good example of this (at least before Endgame, where his past self became just a plain evil villain sorta guy).
@@lasercraft32 So your saying killing half of all existence doesn't make you plain evil already? Just because he thinks it was justified doesn't mean he was right or remotely moral.
I mean, the simple fact is that the political philosophy Zaheer espouses HAS a formal name and there's many academics over the years who have espoused it. Anarchism even has multiple SUBVARIANTS. The idea that someone "so smart" can be caught up within political ideas that seem so stupid to other people is actually really common, this is ESPECIALLY true of academics who think people are inherently good and only made evil through acculturation, thus for people like that, which Zaheer seems to be one of, if the system is destroyed then people's natural goodness will allow everyone to live in a utopia after. Likewise the philosophy espoused by Thanos ALSO has a formal name: Malthusianism, named for a major 18th century political philosopher Thomas Malthus who first wrote on the EXACT concerns Thanos espoused. Heck, Malthusianism has and continues to HAVE modern academic thinkers pushing it, most famously Paul Elrich who wrote "The Population Bomb" back in the 1970s and it's an underlying motivating philosophy of a certain segment of western elites (most famously being Bill Gates).
@@brandonlyon730 Thanos was always evil, and his ideas are nonsense, but I think their point was more that IW portrayed him as a character with depth, as opposed to Endgame where he's more of 2 dimensional bad guy.
I would like to think the lightning death blow in the water is justified here because of all the conductive mineral water in the cave. Dry human skin isn't a great conductor, so I think that's why it isn't that lethal in other circumstances.
That raises the interesting question of how Mako, who was presumably drenched after landing in the water and frantically evading Ming-Hua, wasn't electrocuted in the slightest. I get that he created the electricity, but, to quote Iroh, "once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide."
Yes certain types of Mercury can in fact go through your skin like that or straight through gloves and into your skin. In the case of Karen Wetterhahn who toxic metal exposure died from her protection being inadequate it only took a couple drops and her fate was sealed she died less then a year later. The major problem with Mercury is that it bonds straight to your nervous system and Kidney
@@samuelhomberg9075Yes, that was dimethylmercury that killed her. Pure elemental mercury, while definitely toxic in its own right, is not absorbed by the body that easily and won’t straight up knock you dead in such a short time.
I don't know if this is a common head canon, but with Bolin as evidence I've always thought that to be a lava bender you either have to one, be the avatar (as shown by Kyoshi); or two, have both earthbending and firebending heritage which we know Bolin has, and possibly Ghazan as well.
While I liked this season a lot, it really makes me realize that I really would've preferred a show about Tenzin, Lin, Tonraq, etc. Like every time those characters are given a chance to really take charge in a scene I love it.
I remember with Aang every time he got kidnap or was threatened and how either get out by himself or get freed and immediately rekt house with airbending. You never got the feeling he wasn't a master already with how he moves or takes done multiple foes. Heck Aang sometimes brings wisdom to others with his pacifism and you can say no duh hes the avatar they come pre busted. But to me Aangs is what a young master of air bending should be doing, like how Toph and Katara master of earth and water taking out a loooot peeps. I'm also not saying a prodigy kid can't lose a fight/look weak but man the only thing Jinora has going for her is the whole spirits thing thats not explored/explained on at all.
If the scene of Jinora's tattoo ceremony was the first thing of Book 3 someone saw. they would think Jinora would be one of THE main characters of this season Even if she was a master, her role this season is so minuscule that the scene doesn't make much sense to have
I didn't mind Zaheer being smart while being a complete idiot. I deal with a lot of academia, and particularly in the humanities, a lot of the groundbreaking classics have the same issue. Being structured and articulated really well, but end up in some really weird corner case conclusions, which further research then ignores or dismisses. I always felt that was well distilled in Zaheer, for a tween show. I do agree that the mouth socking and rage took all the oomph out of the character. I get that Avatar has a thing where it's important to mock and laugh at the villain - and it is - but it really robs a big moment, and I don't think it was needed. I think the sock would've worked better if it wasn't prefaced with petulant rage.
Yeah that's not too weird now that you say it. I've met some really academically inclined people who are INSANELY stupid outside of booksmarts for a given topic.
Zaheers meltdown really throws a shade on his final appearance in season 4, which touches on a very interesting topic and on itself is a really good scene
I oscillate back and forth between "the writers are aware of political anarchism and intentionally write Zaheer as a moron" and "the writers don't actually know what political anarchism entails and make Zaheer clueless because they are"
1:48 I think the point is that Zaheers real motivation was hatred the whole time. He doesn't actually care much about fixing any problems, he just wants to destroy everything he currently hates.
That's an interesting point tbf, but I feel like if his motivation was actually hate they should have teased that a bit more. Right up until the episode before this one he seemed calm and collected, and the switch feels a bit out of place at what is essentially the very end of his arc. Especially given how his characterisation reverts back in s4.
@@Vectorsmoon Teasing it more would also provide a great opportunity to spend a little more time with evil team avatar. Imagine Zaheer pushing things a little too far in his hatred with Ghazan having a "Hold on a minute" moment as he confronts Zaheer about it or something 👀
@@pn2294 each to their own I guess, but I find it really feels like Zaheer’s motivation is genuine for the whole season apart from the lest episode. From him quoting Laghima in his first scene to him achieving flight in the penultimate episode, his characterisation is solid. Him getting angry honestly feels less like a thoughtful reveal and more like an attempt from the writers to copy how Ozai breaks down at the end of ATLA. Especially since the setting for the fight is similar. That’s just my opinion though 😄
The talk about the dark Avatar not reincarnating made me think : If Korra was killed there (or any Avatar in the Avatar State), would Raava just respawn and find someone else?
10:45 I just love that people can just "unlock" bending, what ever the Hell that means Hell, Tenzin still describes a bunch of earth nationers getting airbending with a "somehow" at the end of the episode
"mastered" would've been the better verb to use in this context and would've made it feel more like actual skill than just RNG of who can do special bending techniques.
2:40 don't worry, Zaheer gets to realize how his fanatical nearsightness achieved the exact opposite to the goal that he was working for when he gets to know what the villain of season 4 was up to.
I think that Zaheer was heavily infatuated with the Air Nomad culture. They didn't seem to have much of a government, just voluntary councils. Since they were nomads, if the people had a problem with each other, they could just go off to another temple, or just live on their own. I don't think Zaheer was necessarily naïve or stupid, he just believed that all of the current power structure was bad and there needed to be a big reset on it all. Taking out all of the top leadership means that all of the towns and provinces get to have local power back, and perhaps while everyone is recovering Zaheer could influence the rebuilding process to get something less oppressive. Remember, eliminating the kings and queens and lords and avatar was at the beginning of his plans; we never got to see what the next steps of his plan would be.
1:20 I'm sure there's a name out there for this, but I call it the "Bus Full of Orphans" effect. Writers, typically for a kids show or a superhero movie, base a villain within some real philosophy or ideas from the real world. When that idea isn't inherently evil (such as Zaheer wanting equality, Flag Smasher wanting help for displaced people, Killmonger wanting to help oppressed minorities), the writers need to create a reason for the villain to be evil without just saying "this thing they want is bad." So, they have the character blow up a bus full of orphans. Regardless of their actual ideology and reasons for doing things, the villain does some over-the-top cartoonish evil shit to make the audience wholly against them.
12:04 it's sad that season 1 happened, because they definitely realised the problem and didn't allow Mako to use lightning a single time in this season until this perfect moment. Also quick thinking on his part, it really adds to how cool the moment is
14:48 I’m pretty sure this is intentional, with Aang doing the correct salute before the war, only for it to change to resemble fire during the war. This would line up with Zuko trying to root out the culture of war in the fire nation
Not perfect, but still great! I wish they were able to focus in a little tighter on the arcs and themes they pay off in the end. But i still always tear up in the final scene. Korra is willing to give her life for aangs dream, and we see it realized with the first new master in a generation. And while korra has to grapple with whether the world needs an avatar anymore, as she chooses to give herself up to save a nation, we get to see the world rally together to save their avatar. Now shes left broken and then world has to find a way to move forward without her, playing right into her fear. A beautiful setup for next season, if only a little under executed.
I don't know if your comedy just hit really well or was a step above in this episode, but you got full belly laughs a number of times. Such a great channel. So glad I subscribed. Plus your insights into the show are so appreciated.
Zaheer HAS always been a really philosophical idiot, intentionally or not. I've always liked that about his character to be honest. He's like the middle schooler who asks why we don't just print money, thinking he's the only one to ever have this thought.
Something I don’t see discussed much is how Zaheer saw Korra, or basically, the entire idea of the avatar being tyrannical by nature. Something interesting that maybe could of been explored .
The reason why korra was shedding a tear at the end was because she wanted to be the avatar, and a good one at that and she also wanted to be and feel needed in the world, and now the world got people who can protect others, like mini avatars. Korra is sad because she is no longer needed.
1:58 I think zaheer's view was supposed to be that he wanted a fair world where people are not born into power and can earn it for themselves maybe even using violence.
Somebody as observant and contemplative as Zaheer should be able to clearly see that his means are the wrong way to justify his ends. The problem is that he’s able to look at the chaos in Ba Sing Se and say “yes, I want to keep doing this,” when this doesn’t line up with his apparently noble goals.
Yeah right go tell an anarchist that their ideas are wrong because they aren't being "observant" enough and they'll have 100 reasons why you're wrong and why they're right. You can't in an argument with any political ideologue nor can you even claim your own ideology is better or smarter unless you're being just as stupid as they are.
It’s actually really great that this happens. The idea that even someone as knowledgeable and observant as Zaheer could so easily become entrapped in their own ideology that they can’t see past it is actually really telling and adds to the complexity of his character.
I hate that this is how they portrayed anarchism, but i get it because real life anarchist action is wayyy too constructive to be suitable for a supposed "villain"
I always figured that the technique Jinora created was her spiritual-projection ability. We've seen other versions of spiritual projection but the way Jinora does it, while tieing it to airbending, is unique to her.
I agree it’s the strongest season, but what made ATLA so much more fun to watch in part was the overarching story. In Korea there is very little effort to keep themes & past events together. Having a memory of Ammon is basically all we get of the once very large equalist movement, & it makes things feel cheaper in retrospect
Zaheer's an idiot cause he's a straw man, he can't properly portray what anarchism is (which involves mostly building community outside of the system, and only partly taking the system down) because then he'd have a point. It can definitely be done to have villains that aren't simply evil, but that doesn't seem to be a particular interest of the creators. The Avatar represents the status quo of modern society, and the creators do not want that questioned much.
Just left a comment exactly like this. Nailed it. They also do not know how to write characters with these worldviews, which might be for the best? But it's definitely frustrating.
zaheers downfall is down to the explained philosophy. to fly you have to release your earthly bonds but caring for whos in charge makes you care about earthly bonds.
I really appreciate the wordplay of using the word “vacuum” and that scene at the same time, considering your rant about it a few episodes ago (which I agree with)
He went into the Avatar State dealing with the volcano, think maybe his fight was just out and going into the avatar state and dying would be an even worse consequence
Because going into the avatar state while poisoned would've been a terrible decision to make, the mercury poison was to keep Korra in the avatar state while it or the Red Lotus killed her
I will say, the smartest people can convince themselves of the stupidest things. If there's anything smart people are good at, it's rationalizing their pre-conceived notions about the world
the "zaheer's flying is inhibited by ice" is actually an established mechanic in the world of Avatar, as the was an episode in book one of Airbender wherein Appa goes into something of a tailspin following his leg getting iced by waterbenders
As much as I love Zaheer, he is basically a 13 year old edgelords view of anarchy: Burn it all down, might makes right, etc. Anarchism is a well thought and serious political structure. While it does include the dissolution of hierarchies, that dissolution is because of a belief that no one single person is above another and all people are equal. On top of that, it is built upon a belief of mutual aid. To help those who are most vulnerable to ensure that they are not subjugated or taken advantage of. If you seek to tear down the system that harms others, you MUST do the work to put a better system in place. My main issue with this series is that they do very surface level explorations of very complicated topics and does this with every villain: Amon is a poor excuse for equality/equity, Unalok is a poor excuse of utilitarianism and reformation, and Kuvira is a weird mish-mash of fascism, imperialism, nationalism, and egocentrism. I love this show, but if they wanted to cover such serious political questions, they needed to have a deeper understanding of those systems.
Sounds like a very naive ideology that assumes everyone will just get along fine and no one would try to consolidate power for themselves or manipulate everyone to make everything go there way while resorting to things like threats or blackmail or turn certain people into scapegoats if any issues that arise.
A youtuber by the name of "Kay and Skittles" did (to my memory) a very well put together mini-series based on this idea. Though his wording is a little different (communism instead of equality, and colonialism instead of utilitarianism/reform) The Kora writers seemed to want to cover these complex political topics, but were not well versed enough in them to do them justice unfortunately. Not to mention all the other constraints on the production.
Yeah this season really shows a shallow version of an alternate political system being bad then goes "welp i guess neoliberal capitalism is the only good thing!" I wonder if this happens in every single other season of the show...
My main problem with Korra is that she makes the same mistakes over and over in exactly the same way. she acts tough but it seems like any enemy can defeat her
Love your take about Zahir's plan in this episode, this is actually the reason (I think) why I never got to fully vibe with the character, and was somewhat confused about all the praise you/the community seem to give him. Don't get me wrong, I think this praise is still deserved, and I can see it when argumented well, it's just that after watching the season only once for myself, I just got left with the bitter taste of the "goal" from this episode, which I didn't like that much (among other things of course).
lava guy is like the villain that can play nice while working he seems intrested in bolins skill to use lava like he can. he could train bolin during the fight and i thnk it would make him a more interesting character
1:04 there have been like thousand avatars if not more. Plenty of time for some avatar to get poison in a simlar way, or at the very least plent of time to study avatars and deducte that they will enter Avatar state in life or death situation
Finally someone points out the obvious that Jinora did not (at least from whats shown) deserve the master tattoos. Irritates me every time. Why did they write it like that?
I would say the miswriting of her entire character outweighs the miswriting of that one scene. Like you would think that most people should be saying "well, given the story that we had, they should fix just that part of the show to make things a bit better" but no. They should have changed everything about her this season to make it deserved.
I still fail to see why people love this season so much, some even going as far to say it's better than every other book of AtLA. The only thing I can think of is that the last two seasons were so bad that even the most mediocre bit of TV could be consider "good" by Korra standards.
I mean even Overanalyzing Avatar agrees that this is the best season of Korra. And while I certainly wouldn't go so far as saying that this season is better than AtLA itself, to say it doesn't have some great elements to it is dismissive as well. The season is one that builds on the world in interesting ways (without overriding previous lore like some other season), has an engaging antagonist, and come on are you going to say that the moment Zaheer gained flight wasn't a great moment?
I like that Zaheer is a philosophical idiot. I like that he's dumb and wrong. He's the villain, I don't need him to make sense. I can imagine that he's so hurt by the world that he doesn't care about the harm his philosophy does because he can't imagine it being worse than the world that denied him and locked him away for years.
15:27 I don’t disagree with you that Jinora hasn’t really proved herself onscreen, but Jinora has been trying to get “Master” certification for a while now. Jinora probably knows about the requirement to learn all forms or invent one (given how she’s well versed in Airbender culture), so it’s not crazy to imagine she’s already mastered them all beforehand, and her only obstacle was Tenzin’s lack of approval
12:07 My thought process is that yeah usually its not a killing blow, but in this case its getting conducted by a LOT of water. She's probably soaked and that's a lot of electricity all over her body at once.
It turns out that all of the past Avatars were wrong when they told each other that it was the sum of all the power and experience of the past Avatars. It's just Raava, thanks Beginnings!
@@zillasaiyan1m274 Correct, Korra is now less skillful without the past lives when she enters the avatar state, past avatars were able to Lava bend when entering the avatar state, she can't do that
1:08 They're the red lotus? They used to be white lotus, it totally makes sense they would know about the avatar state's rules and why the mercury would work? The white lotus were protectors of the past avatars. They're like the two groups in all of avatar who have perfectly valid reasons for knowing that.
Left-wing, non-anarchist dude here. The only reason that Zaheer's plan falls short is because of the political naivety of the Korra writing team. By representing real, complicated movements in a teen's show on Nick- they got dialled down so much that they all get demonised & oversimplified season after season. Amon, Tarrlok and Zaheer specifically are underdeveloped because they're writing the lazy, status quo IMPRESSIONS of what those worldviews even are about. Korra is a great show IMO, but it turns 'balance' into a word that really means 'neo-liberalism'.
why are leftists still so mad over a children's show not having a university level academic analysis of a fringe political ideology? this season came out years ago and there are multiple people in this comment section complaining about it.
The script may say the air head sphere is a vacuum, but the animation says otherwise. If it were a vacuum we would see a lot more bulging and eyes poppinh
Book 3 was definitely a step in the right direction but by then it was a little too late the fan base didn't care it wasn't a money maker for Nickelodeon and the network decided to show the rest of the series on the website
Zaheer can both be extremely intelligent and completely crazy at once, a bunch of people are, maybe he's just so intelligent that he's a complete sociopath that can't understand how regular people would react to his ideals
JINORA becoming a master worked for me because I always tied airbending and spirituality in the verse very closely. Her spirit form was something that even Tenzin was in awe of and likely even jealous. That as a prerequisite, combined with commanding a whole troop of new airbenders has got to be enough to be made a master in Tenzin's eyes. Jinora also was always consciously pursuing the tattoos. Her desire and roll as a mentor for these new airbenders would even be reason in and of itself for Tenzin to make her a master to assert her knowledgeable role/seniority. Also even though she doesn't have too many fights, she's clearly proficient in being able to airbend as we see from kora's early training. Considering all of that, I never batted an eye at Jinora's mastery, good for her.
The argument that Zaheer sounds too smart to be an anarchist rings hollow for me. There are some incredibly smart and capable people who believe absolutely insane things, and Anarchy is near the bottom of that list in terms of crazyness. There have been numerous dangerous terrorists throughout history who claimed to be anarchists. To me, this only adds to Zaheer's character. Sure, he looks like an enlightened martial artist, but really, he's more of a well-spoken, radicalized cultist. Often times, it's very smart and charismatic people who end up leading cults. Zaheer may not have been what many fans expected/wanted from him, but that doesn't make him a bad villain.
I like the idea that airbending flight is tied to sense of self. Maybe it's unsatisfying but it's based on a primal level of belief, since being unattached to the earth is what allows you to fly in the first place. So when he's carrying Korra he believes that he can drag her along, but when there's ice he thinks "this should slow me down" so it does. I think it's flimsy but I also think it works since it's a split second thing and he's new to the ability
Like and comment to become immune to conventional weapons for 1.5 seconds.
Does 'conventional' mean I can not be shot unless its with something stupid like a potato cannon ? I'd watch that superhero movie tbh.
Can i apply it at any time?
I am bleeding out
@@overanalyzingavatar keeping this comment open in my phone at all times
🎉
Something that this series made me notice is that both Aang and Korra almost die in the Avatar State in a subterranean cave filled with glowing green crystals in the climax of their penultimate Books.
The next Avatar should probably steer clear from such locales.
Technically Aang was book 2 but still, good catch
Aang and Korra to the next Avatar: Do NOT go there
So good to know, we can only almost destroy the avatar in a cave with green crystals if we get a SECOND season, very valuable information, thank you
@@FlynnTheRedhead”penultimate books” means the second to last, so the original comment was correct
Pavi when she sees a giant green crystal cave in the season before her final season:
Zaheer meditating instead of freaking out would have both set up his vibe in Book 4 and made more sense. He's meant to have no earthly concerns left.
Yeah, I never considered how much of a missed potential that was. Giving Zaheer the Thanos ending in Endgame would’ve been peak.
Yeah, his freak out brought it down 2 points out of idk. It really showed him crumbling, instead of accepting defeat and letting it happen, like with his love interest.
I totally agree, but I also think the weightlessness is a psychological trick he learned from a MOMENT of true emptiness. The rest is fantasy muscle memory? I buy that.
@@StarShade0Fun fact: Michael Dante Dimartino wanted Zaheer to escape at the end of Book 3, but fellow writers insisted that locking Zaheer up will be a better idea, so Zaheer could be used in future stories.
@@Kacpi0044 If they insist on using him later, having Korea meet him in the spirit world like she did earlier this season would’ve been cool. He gets to escape and still be there simultaneously.
2:33 Agree 100%, but I also feel it's important that he's wrong. If he was TOO right, Korra defeating him would be unjust. His logic makes sense in a vacuum because Zaheer doesn't allow himself to see it any other way. That's what makes him a villain.
I think this makes a lot of sense, but I wish Korra portrayed it more that way so you don't have to think to come to this conclusion. Instead of thinking that Zaheer doesn't allow himself to see it in any other way, it would be nice to see him doubt himself and then brush off that doubt because he's too far in or something. It doesn't need to be specifically like that, but still that polishing to the story would have been amazing.
This does, however, kind of change the light that Zaheer is portrayed in, but I still prefer good character development over someone simply just looking or talking cool.
I feel like people think that radicalization is just a matter of intelligence.
That the point of Zaheer because there people throughout history who were stupid but believed their own intentions were good. Zaheer reflects that and he is meant to have a flawed philosophy.
@@BiG-JuPO1O1 I'd argue that dismissing people who believe in such radical and destructive ideology as stupid is a flawed way of seeing things. The problem is that many people who lead radical ideologies often actually end up being well studied and competent, and that's where the real danger stems from.
Doesn't need to be 100% stupid and inncorect just 40% would be enough.
He Can talk about how governments are unjust or bad , but at the end of the day , if you're a terrorist you're a terrorist. Realistically if Zaheer Didn't try to kill the Avatar.They'd be able to have their anarchy at least partially
"Zaheer's really cool if you look at what he is in a vacuum" *shows the Earth Queen death* 😂
Glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed this
10:24 the same thing happened to Appa in ATLA with ice on one foot dragging him down but doesn’t struggle to fly with 5-6 people on his back other than getting tired, I think it’s limb mobility that effects flight
agreed. I think flight requires freedom of movement. It would explain how Appa is restrained multiple times in ATLA
If you are referring to the opening to The Waterbending Master, that's nowhere near the same. First, Appa wasn't weighed down, his leg was suddenly restricted by the ice, wrecking his movement pattern. Second, he was already near the water surface, so he had zero opportunity to recover.
How about its just too cold?? If your foot was covered in ice im sure youll be distracted from whatever you are doing to break free from it
you’re right I misremembered the scene but the same thing happens to zaheer that he got caught in the air and it threw off his direction, also distracted by trying to kick the ice and break it
What episode and scene was that?
One small attention to detail that I was surprised went unmentioned is that when Korra redirects Ghazan's pillar of lava back at him, she does it using Airbending. On first glance, you would think "she's in the Avatar State, she should just Lavabend it." But she almost certainly cannot Lavabend, even in the Avatar State, because the knowledge of how to do so belonged to one of the past lives to which she no longer has a connection. The only times other Avatars are seen Lavabending (Roku in S1E8 & S3E6, Szeto in S2E1, Kyoshi in S2E5), it is accompanied by a use of the Avatar State; presumably, none of those three were able to Lavabend outside of the State, and the use of that technique originates with a Lavabending Avatar further back in history.
Good point
That's an interesting point.
great point also maybe one of the reasons Korras avatar state bending is a lot weaker
@@sebtw8918 Yeah, theoretically the avatar state should not power up Korra at all. Because the only thing we know it does is impart the knowledge and skills of past Avatars.
Purely a malus at this point, because the Avatar can be permanently killed while within it. I guess maybe Rava's helping out a little somehow? Unclear.
I’ve always assumed lavabending for an avatar was akin to being able to manipulate heat and earth at once but I guess that’s not what it ever actually is.
Despite making sense or not, I love that Zaheer's motivation is basically a corrupted version of airbender ideals. Airbenders seem like guys who totally can't be villains, so Zaheer's entire character is basically exploiting the idea of an evil one.
Freedom and untetheredness is corrupted into a love of anarchy. Inner peace is corrupted into cold-bloodedness. Loving nature becomes hating civilization. Whether well or poorly realized in the end, his ultimate goal is thematically ideal.
Oh I fw that
Absolutely. He's intelligent enough to recognize and articulate problems with the world as well as plan all his villainy. However, he's a fundamentalist ideologue and his solutions are similarly flawed and corrupted.
I feel like overanalyzing is conflating logic with intelligence. Just because zaheer is intelligent doesnt mean hes logical especially given his radicalism. He wants to burn down the world as a way to grant everyone freedom. It may not make sense to the average person, but for someone who was born to this idea and then spent years in prison to focus on it, he is probably more resolute than ever on this outcome.
@@sirenscall1 and the real world is full of people like that, I didn't get OA's criticism really
Exactly
0:25 funnily enough, the censors weren't going to allow Korra to be in X-shaped chains. They had also said no to Aang being in X-shaped chains in The Blue Spirit. This time though, one of the showrunners pointed out a Spongebob episode where *he* gets put in X-shaped chains, and Nickelodeon was like "ugh, fine."
I’m assuming there is a reason, know what it is?
@froggy8714 probably because it has fetishism vibes
@@froggy8714 I don't think there's any specific reason behind it beyond someone behind a desk thinking "this might give kids nightmares"
@@froggy8714the St Andrew's Cross is just too sexy? 🤷🏻♂️
@@froggy8714 maybe because its a common trope in bdsm, google st andrew cross (or don't)
10:05 that shot of Korra's png just being dragged across the screen is way to hilarious to me and I don't know why it' making me laugh so much XD
Regardless of lightning's inconsistent lethality, Ming-hua's "arms" would send it straight through her heart.
Tbh the bender controls how much power they release.
only if there is a large enough potential difference between two arms, this is why birds don't get shocked if they stand on a single power line
Hell yeah we like Lynn 14:58
Hell Teag
Hell yeah
Hell yeah
Lin
Hell yeah!
If you pay attention the Red lotus members were all defeated in the reversed order they were broken out of prison
Also the characters Grey Delisle voiced, Azula and Ming-Hua, were both defeated by their opposite elements. Azula was frozen and chained up by Katara, while Ming-Hua got electrocuted by Mako.
I watched this season a few times and I somehow never put that together. 😮
@@Kacpi0044 Fantastic observation
I’m disappointed that Katara didn’t make it to her own granddaughter’s ceremony but Zuko did.
Zuko just fly there on a dragon
@@silverloop9029he could’ve picked katara up🤦♀️
Do we ever even see Katara interact with her kids on screen?
@ just Tenzin in the first episode from what I recall
1:03 The Red Lotus is stated to be an off-shoot of the White Lotus, which has served throughout history as guides for numerous Avatars, and used to be comprised of the wisest and most learned masters in the world, so I think it's entirely possible this knowledge came down through time from the White Lotus. With 10 000 years of history, a similar instance of trying to poison the Avatar had to have come up at some point.
5:20
These Red Lotus grunts were only created so that Asami could do something this finale, weren't they?
Asami wanting to do sth every season be like: No, I'm a star. PLEASE! I'M A STAR!
Of course
Bro just looking for any reason to hate at this point
This is exactly how I felt with Spiderman 2 ps5 lmao.
@@casthedemon why single out 2 when 1 was exactly the same?
8:20 the dap sound effect has me crying😭😭😭
Like? 😂😂😂😂😂
Legendary video
Welcome back to the dap up tournament of power🔊
the wind makes it more intense
Mr.Piccolo is somewhere feeling proud right now
I _love_ how Mako looks right after electrocuting Ming Wa. "I genuinely can't believe I'm still alive right now" kind of expression.
@@frenchynoob It was more like "Wow!... I actually killed someone."
I think it was more like "Wow!... I actually killed someone."
I always saw it as more of: "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"
@@abthedragon4921 He is a cop, he cannot kill people unless its or defense. They were trying to get them back in prison originally.
@@BiG-JuPO1O1 hes a cop, woudnt he be *more* inclined to kill someone
about the poison going trough the skin, yes some chemicals including mercury (closest thing we have to this) can be absorbed trough the skin, such large amounts aren't realistic of course though since somebody is bending it inward in this case I think its believable
That amount of metal in someone’s veins would kill them way before it did anything else
I generally assumed that the poison was literally just Mercury and they just didn't really have a name for it in-universe.
@@ThatRipOff Yet they know Platinum.
@@Brain-washed2 Well the Avatar state says no and the plot says we have one more season left.
@@BiG-JuPO1O1
korra sucks I'm well aware
I... dont hate how Zaheer was characterized actually, he pretty much spent a huge chunk of his life trying to capture Korra and practically had nothing else he properly put any effort into. He has his friends sure, his philosophy, but getting rid of the avatar is practically his life's work. He spent years figuring out what he was gonna do, executed it, had a few bumpy spots but managed to figure them out without huge issue. Then boom, the love of his life dies, he was unchained, free from earthly tethers, Zaheer thought he would become enlightened by letting go of everything important to him, but obviously the show doesnt support that message. Because as easily as he went up, he came back down, literally chained to the earth again, with the effort of his entire life, crumbling in front of him. He barely processed Pl'i passing, and now he finally got to a point of some kind of result, he was confident Korra would die, its why suddenly all of his schemes and personas collapsed, there was no more point, he is smart, very smart, but years of waiting didnt just drive him a little mad? He was so energetic, the audience has never seen him like this before, he looked alive, at the very thought of finally having killed Korra, and then its all taken away from him. Korra doesnt die, the love of his life died for no purpose, his friends will follow a similiar path, he might be calculated, but he is human, him just breaking like this isnt an insane response from him on a human level. I dont entirely love how he does seem less intimidating and intelligent once he does break down, but that just makes his bounce back in season 4 all the better. In season 3 he was "enlightened" yes, but he still had a messed up view of justice and his plans were still tied to an ideology he once followed true to his heart. In season 4 he had time to think, tethered from the earth, and had finally realized just how blind he was, how short sighted, by the very fact that he managed to admit that, it shows how he had reached true enlightenment, he lost chained up and as a crazy man, and came back, chained yes, but not tethered, more free than any single person alive.
Edit: As I see a few people arguing in my replies, I don't think OA is wrong for thinking they smudged Zaheers image with that last scene of him. His ideology being flawed is one thing, but making a joke of him is a bad habit Avatar seems to have in general. They dont let serious moments breathe for a lot, which didn't seem to be the case until this very scene, I think they could've executed Zaheer melting like a maniac in a better way. I don't like the scene itself, but I don't dislike the idea of Zaheer being more than this calculated philosopher that he thinks he is, him failing to uphold that image is in itself a failure to himself, and should show the viewer that the kind of thought process Zaheer had, isnt one to be replicated.
I find it kinda paradoxical how Overanalyzing Avatar usually claims that depth and nuance is what makes a great character, and here, with Zaheer freaking out and showing vulnerability, displaying a lot of depth and nuance, OA calls it boring and ‘out of character’.
@@bellrains Because he's just ass bruh, just for season 4 to sum up all the previous villains as "people who took their ideologies too far". Stop glazing zaheer, it just boils down to him being a philosophical idiot who sounds like he's in middle school. It's dumb and cringe, the only thing actually cool about him was his airbending, that's it. Zaheers "debth and nuance" that you claim to exist is shallow.
@@bellrains how is it paradoxical? it’s pretty clear to me you can think that you can think having depth and nuance is what makes a great character. and also think that what’s happening here is out of character. there’s nothing paradoxical or hypocritical happening. He just doesn’t think this shows nuance or depth and is instead out of character. you can disagree with that, but it’s not being hypocritical or paradoxical.
Who cares? Why should he be endlessly intimidating and bounce back? He is a awful villain he shoudknt be helping korra
@@bellrains teenage boy mindset wants villains to be endlessly cool and badass
1:03 i know you would most likely hate this explaination but the answer could be unalaq. He had conversations with vaatu for an unknown period of time and i would assume vaatu know the limitations of raava
I think Xai Bau (founder of Red Lotus, mentioned in episode 9) taught first Red Lotus members about Avatar State's mechanism and they taught it the next generation including Unalaq and Zaheer.
5:13 bro ive replayed this few seconds like 15 times. "nevermind the earth queen was not the most obvious death. ive never seen anyone more dead in avatar" hahahaha
2:00
YES thats exactly what happens. next season, zaheer straight up regrets what he did after hearing about kuvira filling that power vacuum. He's doing this because he's radicalized and doesn't understand the consequences, and the story makes that clear.
While that may be correct I still kinda feel like someone as smart as he is supposed to be should've thought of it. He may be too radical to actually let that change his views but him at least having thought about the consequences could've been adressed in some way. At least give him SOME argument for that you know ? Maybe he imagined something like the red lotus actively keeping the world in anarchy like the avatar keeping it balanced before or something idk. Or at least have other characters confront him about him NOT having thought about the consequences (insert Iroh's "YOU NEVER THINK THESE THINGS THROUGH" here) and him having no argument against that. That would at least still have the show adress the problem even if Zaheer himself doesnt. Zaheer being confronted about them but actively ignoring the consequences until SHOWN a season later would've been way cooler imo.
he also admits to her "your powers are limitless" and "our interests align". affirming that he respects the avatar as a force for good in the world, and even helps restore her spiritual connection (whatever that means 🙄)
That is the problem with pretty much every one of the baddies in Korra. None of them seem to think about what to do after their plan and all of their ideas were poorly thought out and pretty stupid which to me undercuts them as a character. They are no different than the Underpants Gnomes in South Park. Step 1: Do bad thing, Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit.
@@Ronfost89 that profit joke came from SOUTH PARK??? it's so fucking iconic
@@punchster289 Lmao yeah its from season 2 I think, now I feel old.
"Anyone else just like Lyn? Can I get a 'Hell Yeah?'"
Hell Yeah.
I can get behind Zaheer being both intelligent and incredibly misguided. There's plenty of political commentators who are very intelligent and have the stupidest views
It would make sense if the whole flying thing and rules never happened, at that point the writing becomes overwhelmingly contradictory and just, bad
Thanos isn't a real world political commentator, but he's a good example of this (at least before Endgame, where his past self became just a plain evil villain sorta guy).
@@lasercraft32 So your saying killing half of all existence doesn't make you plain evil already? Just because he thinks it was justified doesn't mean he was right or remotely moral.
I mean, the simple fact is that the political philosophy Zaheer espouses HAS a formal name and there's many academics over the years who have espoused it. Anarchism even has multiple SUBVARIANTS. The idea that someone "so smart" can be caught up within political ideas that seem so stupid to other people is actually really common, this is ESPECIALLY true of academics who think people are inherently good and only made evil through acculturation, thus for people like that, which Zaheer seems to be one of, if the system is destroyed then people's natural goodness will allow everyone to live in a utopia after.
Likewise the philosophy espoused by Thanos ALSO has a formal name: Malthusianism, named for a major 18th century political philosopher Thomas Malthus who first wrote on the EXACT concerns Thanos espoused. Heck, Malthusianism has and continues to HAVE modern academic thinkers pushing it, most famously Paul Elrich who wrote "The Population Bomb" back in the 1970s and it's an underlying motivating philosophy of a certain segment of western elites (most famously being Bill Gates).
@@brandonlyon730 Thanos was always evil, and his ideas are nonsense, but I think their point was more that IW portrayed him as a character with depth, as opposed to Endgame where he's more of 2 dimensional bad guy.
I would like to think the lightning death blow in the water is justified here because of all the conductive mineral water in the cave.
Dry human skin isn't a great conductor, so I think that's why it isn't that lethal in other circumstances.
That raises the interesting question of how Mako, who was presumably drenched after landing in the water and frantically evading Ming-Hua, wasn't electrocuted in the slightest. I get that he created the electricity, but, to quote Iroh, "once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide."
@@ijpete98it seems in this show lightning has a completely different set of rules especially with how long it takes to cast and it’s lethality
Yes certain types of Mercury can in fact go through your skin like that or straight through gloves and into your skin. In the case of Karen Wetterhahn who toxic metal exposure died from her protection being inadequate it only took a couple drops and her fate was sealed she died less then a year later. The major problem with Mercury is that it bonds straight to your nervous system and Kidney
It wasn't metallic mercury in that case, but mercury-carbon compound, much more lethal.
@@samuelhomberg9075Yes, that was dimethylmercury that killed her. Pure elemental mercury, while definitely toxic in its own right, is not absorbed by the body that easily and won’t straight up knock you dead in such a short time.
I don't know if this is a common head canon, but with Bolin as evidence I've always thought that to be a lava bender you either have to one, be the avatar (as shown by Kyoshi); or two, have both earthbending and firebending heritage which we know Bolin has, and possibly Ghazan as well.
5:14 holy shit that guy got absolutely obliterated
Those two shouldn't have had the jobber uniforms on, those are bad luck
He got that Beifong treatment. 😉
My girl Lin don't play when it comes to threatening the Air Nation!!!
Batman: NOW TALK
Su heard this guy talking to Opal and was like "Not my daughter, you bitch".
While I liked this season a lot, it really makes me realize that I really would've preferred a show about Tenzin, Lin, Tonraq, etc. Like every time those characters are given a chance to really take charge in a scene I love it.
As much as I love Korra and Bolin, there’s no getting around Tenzin and Lin (bar Season 2) being some of the best written characters in the franchise.
I remember with Aang every time he got kidnap or was threatened and how either get out by himself or get freed and immediately rekt house with airbending. You never got the feeling he wasn't a master already with how he moves or takes done multiple foes. Heck Aang sometimes brings wisdom to others with his pacifism and you can say no duh hes the avatar they come pre busted. But to me Aangs is what a young master of air bending should be doing, like how Toph and Katara master of earth and water taking out a loooot peeps. I'm also not saying a prodigy kid can't lose a fight/look weak but man the only thing Jinora has going for her is the whole spirits thing thats not explored/explained on at all.
If the scene of Jinora's tattoo ceremony was the first thing of Book 3 someone saw. they would think Jinora would be one of THE main characters of this season
Even if she was a master, her role this season is so minuscule that the scene doesn't make much sense to have
14:51 I just realised this is the same move Toph does when they invade the earth king's throne room!
Like mother, like daughter.
I didn't mind Zaheer being smart while being a complete idiot. I deal with a lot of academia, and particularly in the humanities, a lot of the groundbreaking classics have the same issue. Being structured and articulated really well, but end up in some really weird corner case conclusions, which further research then ignores or dismisses. I always felt that was well distilled in Zaheer, for a tween show.
I do agree that the mouth socking and rage took all the oomph out of the character. I get that Avatar has a thing where it's important to mock and laugh at the villain - and it is - but it really robs a big moment, and I don't think it was needed. I think the sock would've worked better if it wasn't prefaced with petulant rage.
Indeed. He could have been calmly lecturing them and it still would be funny.
Yeah that's not too weird now that you say it. I've met some really academically inclined people who are INSANELY stupid outside of booksmarts for a given topic.
Zaheers meltdown really throws a shade on his final appearance in season 4, which touches on a very interesting topic and on itself is a really good scene
I oscillate back and forth between "the writers are aware of political anarchism and intentionally write Zaheer as a moron" and "the writers don't actually know what political anarchism entails and make Zaheer clueless because they are"
It's most likely both. And i really doubt it would have been green lid if it was to pro anarchy
1:48 I think the point is that Zaheers real motivation was hatred the whole time. He doesn't actually care much about fixing any problems, he just wants to destroy everything he currently hates.
That's an interesting point tbf, but I feel like if his motivation was actually hate they should have teased that a bit more. Right up until the episode before this one he seemed calm and collected, and the switch feels a bit out of place at what is essentially the very end of his arc. Especially given how his characterisation reverts back in s4.
@@Vectorsmoon Teasing it more would also provide a great opportunity to spend a little more time with evil team avatar. Imagine Zaheer pushing things a little too far in his hatred with Ghazan having a "Hold on a minute" moment as he confronts Zaheer about it or something 👀
@@Vectorsmoondoes it need to be teased? His actions showcase it pretty well
@@pn2294 each to their own I guess, but I find it really feels like Zaheer’s motivation is genuine for the whole season apart from the lest episode. From him quoting Laghima in his first scene to him achieving flight in the penultimate episode, his characterisation is solid. Him getting angry honestly feels less like a thoughtful reveal and more like an attempt from the writers to copy how Ozai breaks down at the end of ATLA. Especially since the setting for the fight is similar. That’s just my opinion though 😄
If that's the case I feel that it was explained poorly in the series
The talk about the dark Avatar not reincarnating made me think : If Korra was killed there (or any Avatar in the Avatar State), would Raava just respawn and find someone else?
10:45
I just love that people can just "unlock" bending, what ever the Hell that means
Hell, Tenzin still describes a bunch of earth nationers getting airbending with a "somehow" at the end of the episode
"mastered" would've been the better verb to use in this context and would've made it feel more like actual skill than just RNG of who can do special bending techniques.
Somehow, Palpatine unlocked Airbending.
Tenzin says that because he doesn't know exactly how they adquired airbending, he just knows Is because korra kept the portals open
*Clears throat* HEEELLL YEAH FOR LIN
2:40 don't worry, Zaheer gets to realize how his fanatical nearsightness achieved the exact opposite to the goal that he was working for when he gets to know what the villain of season 4 was up to.
I hope you edit in Zaheer saying “yes” every time anyone says “no” going forward
I think that Zaheer was heavily infatuated with the Air Nomad culture. They didn't seem to have much of a government, just voluntary councils. Since they were nomads, if the people had a problem with each other, they could just go off to another temple, or just live on their own.
I don't think Zaheer was necessarily naïve or stupid, he just believed that all of the current power structure was bad and there needed to be a big reset on it all. Taking out all of the top leadership means that all of the towns and provinces get to have local power back, and perhaps while everyone is recovering Zaheer could influence the rebuilding process to get something less oppressive.
Remember, eliminating the kings and queens and lords and avatar was at the beginning of his plans; we never got to see what the next steps of his plan would be.
1:20 I'm sure there's a name out there for this, but I call it the "Bus Full of Orphans" effect. Writers, typically for a kids show or a superhero movie, base a villain within some real philosophy or ideas from the real world. When that idea isn't inherently evil (such as Zaheer wanting equality, Flag Smasher wanting help for displaced people, Killmonger wanting to help oppressed minorities), the writers need to create a reason for the villain to be evil without just saying "this thing they want is bad." So, they have the character blow up a bus full of orphans. Regardless of their actual ideology and reasons for doing things, the villain does some over-the-top cartoonish evil shit to make the audience wholly against them.
12:04 it's sad that season 1 happened, because they definitely realised the problem and didn't allow Mako to use lightning a single time in this season until this perfect moment. Also quick thinking on his part, it really adds to how cool the moment is
14:48 I’m pretty sure this is intentional, with Aang doing the correct salute before the war, only for it to change to resemble fire during the war. This would line up with Zuko trying to root out the culture of war in the fire nation
Not perfect, but still great! I wish they were able to focus in a little tighter on the arcs and themes they pay off in the end. But i still always tear up in the final scene. Korra is willing to give her life for aangs dream, and we see it realized with the first new master in a generation. And while korra has to grapple with whether the world needs an avatar anymore, as she chooses to give herself up to save a nation, we get to see the world rally together to save their avatar. Now shes left broken and then world has to find a way to move forward without her, playing right into her fear. A beautiful setup for next season, if only a little under executed.
This fight and the closing moments of this episode was a tearjerker 😢
I don't know if your comedy just hit really well or was a step above in this episode, but you got full belly laughs a number of times. Such a great channel. So glad I subscribed. Plus your insights into the show are so appreciated.
Zaheer HAS always been a really philosophical idiot, intentionally or not. I've always liked that about his character to be honest. He's like the middle schooler who asks why we don't just print money, thinking he's the only one to ever have this thought.
No, he is right about a lot of things, but he's also a zealot.
@vetarlittorf1807 He correctly identifies the problems in society but he's foolish enough to think that just clearing the board is the solution.
@@commentsgalore1549 Again, zealot. Zealots are not logical. We even had a comparable scenario of this recently with Luigi Mangione.
@@vetarlittorf1807 he isn't right about any solution. Being right that problems exists is something that everyone is right about
well yeah, except printing money does just work
What I like about Zaheer getting defeated is that Korra becomes his Earthly tether, stopping him from flying and pulling him to the ground.
Something I don’t see discussed much is how Zaheer saw Korra, or basically, the entire idea of the avatar being tyrannical by nature. Something interesting that maybe could of been explored .
She is inherently not equal to everybody else. He's about abolishing hierarchy
The reason why korra was shedding a tear at the end was because she wanted to be the avatar, and a good one at that and she also wanted to be and feel needed in the world, and now the world got people who can protect others, like mini avatars. Korra is sad because she is no longer needed.
5:11 hey, they’re not just killing Korra; they’re killing the Avatar itself.
13:26 you didn’t mention that Korra definitely thought she was dead and in heaven here
The landscape shots for the fight really is fantastically drawn. Also hell yeah lin is great
1:58 I think zaheer's view was supposed to be that he wanted a fair world where people are not born into power and can earn it for themselves maybe even using violence.
The whole point of Zaheer is that he’s wrong. He’s just so obsessed with his ideology that he can’t see past it.
Somebody as observant and contemplative as Zaheer should be able to clearly see that his means are the wrong way to justify his ends. The problem is that he’s able to look at the chaos in Ba Sing Se and say “yes, I want to keep doing this,” when this doesn’t line up with his apparently noble goals.
@@al_eggsActually it does. He wants a world-wide insurrection against the established world order.
Yeah right go tell an anarchist that their ideas are wrong because they aren't being "observant" enough and they'll have 100 reasons why you're wrong and why they're right. You can't in an argument with any political ideologue nor can you even claim your own ideology is better or smarter unless you're being just as stupid as they are.
It’s actually really great that this happens. The idea that even someone as knowledgeable and observant as Zaheer could so easily become entrapped in their own ideology that they can’t see past it is actually really telling and adds to the complexity of his character.
I hate that this is how they portrayed anarchism, but i get it because real life anarchist action is wayyy too constructive to be suitable for a supposed "villain"
I always figured that the technique Jinora created was her spiritual-projection ability. We've seen other versions of spiritual projection but the way Jinora does it, while tieing it to airbending, is unique to her.
I guess so ? although if that's the case why wasn't she appointed earlier ?
Finally, the best season is behind us. Can't wait to hear your opinions on the very silly vine lasers!
Does anyone else hear the Pacific Rim theme song?
I agree it’s the strongest season, but what made ATLA so much more fun to watch in part was the overarching story. In Korea there is very little effort to keep themes & past events together.
Having a memory of Ammon is basically all we get of the once very large equalist movement, & it makes things feel cheaper in retrospect
I wish It showed more of Ginora becoming an Air-bending master
Zaheer's an idiot cause he's a straw man, he can't properly portray what anarchism is (which involves mostly building community outside of the system, and only partly taking the system down) because then he'd have a point. It can definitely be done to have villains that aren't simply evil, but that doesn't seem to be a particular interest of the creators. The Avatar represents the status quo of modern society, and the creators do not want that questioned much.
Just left a comment exactly like this. Nailed it. They also do not know how to write characters with these worldviews, which might be for the best? But it's definitely frustrating.
6:10 I love how Korra's muscles are emphasized 😳😩🤣❤️.
zaheers downfall is down to the explained philosophy. to fly you have to release your earthly bonds but caring for whos in charge makes you care about earthly bonds.
I really appreciate the wordplay of using the word “vacuum” and that scene at the same time, considering your rant about it a few episodes ago (which I agree with)
Why didn't Roku go into the avatar state when he was poisoned? Does toxic gas not count as a serious enough threat?
May have been too quick of a death, as Korra was able to struggle for as long as she did.
He went into the Avatar State dealing with the volcano, think maybe his fight was just out and going into the avatar state and dying would be an even worse consequence
Because the writing was better at that point in the story.
@@Zaurthurlmaooo
Because going into the avatar state while poisoned would've been a terrible decision to make, the mercury poison was to keep Korra in the avatar state while it or the Red Lotus killed her
I will say, the smartest people can convince themselves of the stupidest things. If there's anything smart people are good at, it's rationalizing their pre-conceived notions about the world
Just commenting to say I subbed to the patreon in excitement to see the advance uploads and I’ve not regretted it in the slightest! This channel rocks
the "zaheer's flying is inhibited by ice" is actually an established mechanic in the world of Avatar, as the was an episode in book one of Airbender wherein Appa goes into something of a tailspin following his leg getting iced by waterbenders
As much as I love Zaheer, he is basically a 13 year old edgelords view of anarchy: Burn it all down, might makes right, etc.
Anarchism is a well thought and serious political structure. While it does include the dissolution of hierarchies, that dissolution is because of a belief that no one single person is above another and all people are equal. On top of that, it is built upon a belief of mutual aid. To help those who are most vulnerable to ensure that they are not subjugated or taken advantage of. If you seek to tear down the system that harms others, you MUST do the work to put a better system in place.
My main issue with this series is that they do very surface level explorations of very complicated topics and does this with every villain: Amon is a poor excuse for equality/equity, Unalok is a poor excuse of utilitarianism and reformation, and Kuvira is a weird mish-mash of fascism, imperialism, nationalism, and egocentrism.
I love this show, but if they wanted to cover such serious political questions, they needed to have a deeper understanding of those systems.
I completely agree. They also never turn these ideas inward and question whether Republic City’s neocolonialism is ethical or justified.
Sounds like a very naive ideology that assumes everyone will just get along fine and no one would try to consolidate power for themselves or manipulate everyone to make everything go there way while resorting to things like threats or blackmail or turn certain people into scapegoats if any issues that arise.
A youtuber by the name of "Kay and Skittles" did (to my memory) a very well put together mini-series based on this idea. Though his wording is a little different (communism instead of equality, and colonialism instead of utilitarianism/reform)
The Kora writers seemed to want to cover these complex political topics, but were not well versed enough in them to do them justice unfortunately. Not to mention all the other constraints on the production.
Yeah this season really shows a shallow version of an alternate political system being bad then goes "welp i guess neoliberal capitalism is the only good thing!" I wonder if this happens in every single other season of the show...
@@chimeforestNot really. All he did was twist the interpretation to fit his own narrative.
My main problem with Korra is that she makes the same mistakes over and over in exactly the same way. she acts tough but it seems like any enemy can defeat her
Love your take about Zahir's plan in this episode, this is actually the reason (I think) why I never got to fully vibe with the character, and was somewhat confused about all the praise you/the community seem to give him.
Don't get me wrong, I think this praise is still deserved, and I can see it when argumented well, it's just that after watching the season only once for myself, I just got left with the bitter taste of the "goal" from this episode, which I didn't like that much (among other things of course).
lava guy is like the villain that can play nice while working he seems intrested in bolins skill to use lava like he can. he could train bolin during the fight and i thnk it would make him a more interesting character
6:14 I CHOKED
Lin and Tenzin are THE best characters in this show. So yeah, I like Lin lol
1:04 there have been like thousand avatars if not more. Plenty of time for some avatar to get poison in a simlar way, or at the very least plent of time to study avatars and deducte that they will enter Avatar state in life or death situation
ngl gazan is just a chill guy
Finally someone points out the obvious that Jinora did not (at least from whats shown) deserve the master tattoos. Irritates me every time. Why did they write it like that?
because female
I would say the miswriting of her entire character outweighs the miswriting of that one scene.
Like you would think that most people should be saying "well, given the story that we had, they should fix just that part of the show to make things a bit better" but no. They should have changed everything about her this season to make it deserved.
8:19 now that, that is something I needed to rewatch.
5:36 "Your alive! I can't be- NOPE"
That was sooooo me when I 1st watched it
I still fail to see why people love this season so much, some even going as far to say it's better than every other book of AtLA.
The only thing I can think of is that the last two seasons were so bad that even the most mediocre bit of TV could be consider "good" by Korra standards.
I mean even Overanalyzing Avatar agrees that this is the best season of Korra. And while I certainly wouldn't go so far as saying that this season is better than AtLA itself, to say it doesn't have some great elements to it is dismissive as well. The season is one that builds on the world in interesting ways (without overriding previous lore like some other season), has an engaging antagonist, and come on are you going to say that the moment Zaheer gained flight wasn't a great moment?
They like the fights
I like that Zaheer is a philosophical idiot. I like that he's dumb and wrong. He's the villain, I don't need him to make sense. I can imagine that he's so hurt by the world that he doesn't care about the harm his philosophy does because he can't imagine it being worse than the world that denied him and locked him away for years.
15:27 I don’t disagree with you that Jinora hasn’t really proved herself onscreen, but Jinora has been trying to get “Master” certification for a while now. Jinora probably knows about the requirement to learn all forms or invent one (given how she’s well versed in Airbender culture), so it’s not crazy to imagine she’s already mastered them all beforehand, and her only obstacle was Tenzin’s lack of approval
12:07 My thought process is that yeah usually its not a killing blow, but in this case its getting conducted by a LOT of water. She's probably soaked and that's a lot of electricity all over her body at once.
1:49 Ah, but you forget! There are genuinely people in the real world who seem to have the _exact_ same mentality as Zaheer.
So I never understood how the Avatar State works now that all the past Avatars are gone
It turns out that all of the past Avatars were wrong when they told each other that it was the sum of all the power and experience of the past Avatars. It's just Raava, thanks Beginnings!
@@TheOwneroftheICWell you’re half right! :D
@@TheOwneroftheICthe power comes from raava, but the skills comes from the past avatars.
@@TheOwneroftheIC Man i hate that two-parter
@@zillasaiyan1m274 Correct, Korra is now less skillful without the past lives when she enters the avatar state, past avatars were able to Lava bend when entering the avatar state, she can't do that
1:08 They're the red lotus? They used to be white lotus, it totally makes sense they would know about the avatar state's rules and why the mercury would work? The white lotus were protectors of the past avatars. They're like the two groups in all of avatar who have perfectly valid reasons for knowing that.
Left-wing, non-anarchist dude here. The only reason that Zaheer's plan falls short is because of the political naivety of the Korra writing team. By representing real, complicated movements in a teen's show on Nick- they got dialled down so much that they all get demonised & oversimplified season after season. Amon, Tarrlok and Zaheer specifically are underdeveloped because they're writing the lazy, status quo IMPRESSIONS of what those worldviews even are about.
Korra is a great show IMO, but it turns 'balance' into a word that really means 'neo-liberalism'.
i think its a bad show but youre right about their politics being surface level leading to bad villains
why are leftists still so mad over a children's show not having a university level academic analysis of a fringe political ideology? this season came out years ago and there are multiple people in this comment section complaining about it.
The script may say the air head sphere is a vacuum, but the animation says otherwise. If it were a vacuum we would see a lot more bulging and eyes poppinh
Book 3 was definitely a step in the right direction but by then it was a little too late the fan base didn't care it wasn't a money maker for Nickelodeon and the network decided to show the rest of the series on the website
I am so glad you decided to react to Korra, might have to go back and rewatch the original series reactions again now that its been a while.
Jinora really didn't do anything significant beside doing spirit projection and coordinating one important tornado
Zaheer can both be extremely intelligent and completely crazy at once, a bunch of people are, maybe he's just so intelligent that he's a complete sociopath that can't understand how regular people would react to his ideals
7:15 dancing aang cameo
Dude, how did you notice that, that's incredible 🤯
@@kalebjacobs7505 I thought everyone saw it lol
8:19 damn they should really participate in the dap up tournament
The metal skin entering poison has got to be a reference to mercury right?
Tbh I always just assumed that it was liquid mercury lmao
JINORA becoming a master worked for me because I always tied airbending and spirituality in the verse very closely. Her spirit form was something that even Tenzin was in awe of and likely even jealous. That as a prerequisite, combined with commanding a whole troop of new airbenders has got to be enough to be made a master in Tenzin's eyes. Jinora also was always consciously pursuing the tattoos. Her desire and roll as a mentor for these new airbenders would even be reason in and of itself for Tenzin to make her a master to assert her knowledgeable role/seniority. Also even though she doesn't have too many fights, she's clearly proficient in being able to airbend as we see from kora's early training. Considering all of that, I never batted an eye at Jinora's mastery, good for her.
The argument that Zaheer sounds too smart to be an anarchist rings hollow for me. There are some incredibly smart and capable people who believe absolutely insane things, and Anarchy is near the bottom of that list in terms of crazyness. There have been numerous dangerous terrorists throughout history who claimed to be anarchists.
To me, this only adds to Zaheer's character. Sure, he looks like an enlightened martial artist, but really, he's more of a well-spoken, radicalized cultist. Often times, it's very smart and charismatic people who end up leading cults. Zaheer may not have been what many fans expected/wanted from him, but that doesn't make him a bad villain.
Facts
Man who has clearly never learned anarchism beliefs dismisses it, more at 11
I like the idea that airbending flight is tied to sense of self. Maybe it's unsatisfying but it's based on a primal level of belief, since being unattached to the earth is what allows you to fly in the first place. So when he's carrying Korra he believes that he can drag her along, but when there's ice he thinks "this should slow me down" so it does. I think it's flimsy but I also think it works since it's a split second thing and he's new to the ability