Okay. So we’re doing this. I have a bunch of issues with the Legend of
Korra, and a fair amount of my gripes come from Book 2. Honestly, since that season came out, I have
been rewriting it in my head, and after mulling it over for uh 4 years, I want to share how
I would rewrite it. Before I get started, I need to go over a
few things. For this rewrite I will be leaving the rest
of the series as is with a few exceptions. That does not mean that I think there are
no issues with Books 1, 3, and 4...there are, but my focus here is going to be on how Book
2 could have been a more compelling follow up to the first season and a stronger lead
in for the third. I’ll still be trying to use a handful of
the ideas from Book 2 in an effort to keep the plot throughout the series consist and
explore the themes that the season set out to examine in the first place, but keep in
mind that although similar bits and pieces will be in my version, almost all of them
operate in a much, much different way. Also, this is more of a general outline, so
not every point I bring up will be entirely fleshed out. Lastly, I think it is important to say that
I am just a dude on the internet who doesn’t have to worry about budgets, deadlines, target
demographics, or any of the countless hurdles that television writers have to deal with
when making a show. I also have the benefit of hindsight, so I
already know what was received well, and not so well. My point is, I have it easy because all I
am really doing is talking about what I would have liked to see in this season without having
to do any of the actual work of getting it made. With all that out of the way, this is how
I would rewrite Book 2 of The Legend of Korra. The second season didn’t have the best launching
off point, and that can largely be attributed to the way Book 1 ended, so to properly set
up Book 2, I need to change Book 1’s ending. Instead of Korra unlocking the Avatar state
and getting her bending back, it ends with her looking out towards the water, mourning
everything that she’s lost. For all intents and purposes, now, she’s
just be an airbender. And while I’m making changes to Book 1,
I’d also have Harmonic Convergence be mentioned early on in some capacity. It doesn’t really matter how, but it’d
be introduced in a similar way to how Sozin’s comet in The Last Airbender was—as an event
that would cause a major shift in the spiritual energy in the world. Some people are nervous for it, others are
excited, but it’s common knowledge that this astrological alignment is coming soon. This would a) make it feel like it doesn’t
come out of nowhere and b) set the expectations that Harmonic Convergence may bring about
some sort of change, which acts as a better set up for the return of airbenders in Book
3. With those changes made, Book 2 picks up a
few months later. Republic City has changed a lot since we’ve
last seen it. Due to Amon’s assault, the majority of benders
living there no longer have their abilities, so a lot of the infrastructure in the city
that relied on bending has fallen to the wayside, leading a lot of people who held anti-bender
sentiments to realize that they may have jumped the gun on that one. Between losing their primary source of electricity
and having a far less effective police force, tensions in Republic City are high. Furthermore, in Republic City and other major
areas, there have been strange attacks that are rumored to be caused by angry spirits. Blame gets tossed around in all sorts of ways,
and a fair bit of it is directed at Korra, who hasn’t been fulfilling the assumed responsibilities
of the Avatar, as she has hold herself up on Air Temple Island, dedicating the majority
of her time towards mastering airbending. Although she doesn’t admit it to Tenzin
or any of her friends, this is all in an effort to distract herself from her hardships. Despite telling everyone in her life that
she’s fine, she still has not accepted what happened. I imagine there’d be a scene where she’s
standing by the ocean late at night, trying to bend the water, but to no avail, signifying
her reluctance to let go even after all this time. During the time jump, Mako pines for Korra,
but she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. He joins the police to help protect Republic
City, and he rises through the ranks quickly because, with his bending, he’s one of the
more effective police officers. However, he is overworked and feels the weight
of being responsible for everyone else’s problems. Bolin joins him on the force, and Chief Beifong
tries to teach him, and the few other earthbenders remaining in the city, how to metalbend, but
he can’t figure it out. This frustrates him a great deal and feels
like a failure, establishing Bolin’s deep desire to metalbend, strengthening his arc
in Book 3. Asami has been trying to keep her company
afloat after the arrest of her father, but with very little support from former business
partners, it is proving difficult. The group has grown apart a bit as they each
try to adapt to life in a post-revolution world. None of them are comfortable with where they
are in life, and each worries that they will never get what they want. Then Korra starts to have the same dream every
night, similar to the ones she had in Book 1 that followed Aang’s interactions with
Yakone, but instead of dreaming of Aang, it is of a different Avatar, one Korra has never
heard about before. Avatar Wan, the first Avatar. These dreams start cryptic, but soon Korra
realizes that they’re showing her how Wan became the Avatar. Wan’s story is told throughout the entire
season with these dreams, instead of them just being designated to 2 episodes. From these dreams she learns the origins of
each bending discipline: waterbending from the moon, earthbending from the badgermoles,
firebending from the dragons, and airbending from the skybison, sticking closer to the
origins of bending that Avatar: The Last Airbender first established instead of the direction
the Legend of Korra took it. Each source has a spirit associated with it,
and Wan seeks each of them out in order to wield the four elements. Korra realizes that the dreams are trying
to get her to find the original sources of bending, and knowing the tales of how the
Princess of the Northern Water Tribe became the Moon Spirit, Korra heads north, in the
hopes of reconnecting her bending. She tries to go alone, but Tenzin insists
that he be there to act as her spiritual guide, and of course, his family joins them, including
Bumi and Kya. Lin, knowing the importance of Korra’s journey,
assigns Mako to help escort her, Bolin comes along, hoping he might be able to learn a
thing or two about bending from the badgermoles, and Asami sets up a meeting with a very eccentric
and extravagant businessman, Varrick, who has a summer home in the Northern Water Tribe
because why not. So, on a Sato made ship, the New Team Avatar
sets sail for their first stop: the Northern Water Tribe. On the trip, Korra and Asami start to strike
up an actual friendship. They bond not just over their grief, but also
over how no one knows how to treat them anymore. Both have gotten more pity than anything else,
so it is nice for them to talk to someone who offers actual empathy. As they arrive at the Northern Water Tribe,
they are met by Korra’s uncle, Unalaaq, the chieftain of the tribe, and he expresses
his concern about the mistreatment of spirits in the south. He fears that the great cities outside of
the north pole have lost respect for the spirtual world, driving many of them from their rightful
homes in the name of progress and science. With Harmonic Convergence approaching quickly,
he urges Korra to open the Northern Spirit Portal as a sign of good faith to the spirits:
a way to show that humans want to live alongside them. Korra tries, but she isn’t able to open
it. At some point, Bolin meets Eska, who he quickly
falls in and out of love with, and Asami strikes a deal with Varrick who agrees to finance
a new project for her company if he is allowed to document the Avatar’s journey in a mover. So, Korra goes to the Spirit Oasis, and sits
next to the familiar pond where two koi fish swim around each other endlessly. She tries to connect to the Moon Spirit, but
due to Tenzin laying his guidance on a little thick, distractions from Varrick’s film
crew, and Korra’s personal walls, she is unable to. However, Jinora makes a brief connection with
the Moon Spirit, who tells her to bring that Avatar back later that night, alone. They do this, and with Jinora’s aid, Korra
is able to communicate with the Moon Spirit. Yue, through spiritual energy, reconnects
the severed link to Korra’s waterbending, restoring part of her powers. The next day, frustrated that he missed the
moment, Varrick tries to recreate it, enlisting the help of Bolin. A funnier writer than I would come up with
good bits for Varricks remakes. I imagine Korra would have little interest
in wasting her time with reshooting these events, meaning Varrick would have to cast
stunt doubles and stand-ins to try to make a cohesive product. This “remake” continues throughout the
entire adventure as the film crew don’t end up capturing many of the more important
moments as they happen. Varrick’s actual goal is to follow Korra
to various spots with intense spiritual energy so he can purchase nearby land, and commercialize
it, essentially turning these spiritual spots into tourist traps. Mako is suspicious of Varrick and a game of
cat and mouse goes on between them, similarly to how it played out in the actual season. Korra’s dreams continue, and she learns
more about the life of Avatar Wan as she sets out for the earth kingdom and then the fire
nation. She learns of how he separated Raava and Vaatu,
the spirits of light and dark, and then offered himself as a vessel for Raava in order to
stop the world from falling out of balance, allowing him to channel all 4 types of bending. And it is important to note that in in this
version, Vaatu and Raava spirits aren’t, uh, rugs. Back at the North Pole, Unalaaq is genuinely
worried about upsetting the spirits, and with Korra unable to unlock the spirit portal,
he takes matters into his own hands by entering the spirit world through meditation, and going
to Wan Shi Tong’s library, hoping to find information on how the spirit portal could
possibly be opened. In his research, he also learns of Raava and
Vaatu, and that it was Raava’s power that sealed the Spirit Portal in the first place. Hoping Vaatu may have the power to reverse
it, he sets out to find the dark spirit. To do so, he visits one of the only spirits
old enough to know where Vaatu may be: Koh, the face stealer. As a sidenote, it’d be awesome if Koh has
a new face belonging to someone from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ya know, maybe someone who we don’t hear
much from in The Legend of Korra. Someone famous for carrying a boomerang and
wearing a ponytail... Maybe that’s too dark though. Anyway, Koh tells Unalaaq where to go, and
he sets out to find Vaatu. Meanwhile, Korra explores Omashu and the surrounding
area to learn more about the origins of earthbending, and with Jinora’s aid, communicates with
the spirit that taught Wan and Raava earthbending. Most likely it’d be the spirit of a great
badgermole but maybe it could be the spirit of Oma from the legend told in the Cave of
Two Lovers. Through this meeting, her earthbending is
restored. In the fire nation, Korra meets with Firelord
Zuko who tells her of the Sun Warriors ruins, and with the help of the dragons there, she
is led to the boss-ass dragon spirit that Wan met on his travels thousands of years
ago, restoring her final lost piece. She is ecstatic to have her bending back,
but her dreams continue, as she watches Wan mastering the Avatar State, something she
still has not even been able to do. In the Spirit World, Unalaaq makes the dangerous
trek to Vaatu’s prison, where he finds the spirit chained in place as light pours on
him from every direction, weakening him greatly. Vaatu tells Unalaaq that this was the work
of the first Avatar, and while many believe the Avatar is the bridge between worlds, spirits
have been mistreated for millennia because of the Avatar. Unalaaq frees Vaatu and asks him to open the
portal. Vaatu, unsure whether or not he will be able
to, agrees to try It’s worthwhile to note that Unalaaq is not desperate for power and
he has no desire to throw the world into darkness. He believes in tradition and spiritualism,
and feels that the Avatar and rest of the world has turned its back on these tenants. In this version, he’s also not a member
of the Red Lotus as that felt like a tacked on detail anyway. Unaalaq isn’t evil, he’s just trying to
do what he thinks will save the world. As all of that is going on, Team Avatar tries
to decide what to do next. Tenzin questions his ability as a mentor as
he sees Jinora doing a better job at the things he trained his entire life to be able to do. Through conversations with Bumi and Kya, he
realizes that this is what children are supposed to do: outshine their parents, which is in
some ways relieving but in other ways unsettling as he and his siblings consider if they have
done better than their parents. Also, Varrick’s plan to build resorts near
spiritual locations is revealed, which leads to further conflicts between humans and spirits. Vaatu and Unalaaq attempt to open the spirit
portal, but Vaatu’s powers are not strong enough to do so. Regardless, he begins gathering spirits angered
by the actions of Varrick and other humans, in order to try and break through it by sheer
force. Jinora senses the disturbance, and after communing
with spirits, learns of what is happening. Korra and Jinora enter the spirit world to
see what is going on, and spirit world hijinks happen that play out similarly to the way
they did in the show, ending with Jinora being taken captive by Unalaaq, Vaatu, and rogue
spirits, and using her as leverage to get Korra to open the portal. Korra tries to open it, but it isn’t until
Vaatu assists her that the barrier is lifted. Jinora is overtaken by spirits, and Korra
is kicked back to her body in the material plane, with Jinora stuck in the spirit world. Now out of the Spirit World, Vaatu manipulates
Unalaaq by speaking of all the wrongs humans have done to spirits over the history of the
world, and how places like Republic City cut off the spiritual energy of the world, slowly
killing it. And it is here that Unalaaq makes his tragic
turn into true villainy as he suggest that they “restore” the city to what it once
was by using the power granted to the spirits from Harmonic Convergence. Spirits in tow, they head to Republic City,
and Unalaaq brings Eska and Desna with him. They obey their father, but have severe doubts
about what he is doing. Korra catches wind of Unalaaq’s plan, either
from spirits or from people who see his mystical army travelling south, so Team Avatar heads
there as well. Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi go to the Spirit World
to rescue Jinora, which, again, plays out similarly to how it does in the show, but
uh, without the deus ex machina at the very end of it. When the spirits arrive at the city, Harmonic
Convergence begins, and Vaatu along with the other angry spirits, becomes even more powerful,
and they began reigning havoc down on Republic City, trying to erase it from the earth. Korra and her friends arrive, and fight with
Vaatu, but he is too powerful for them. Focusing most of his efforts on Korra in order
to stamp out the light that tormented him for so long, Vaatu unleashes a barrage of
devastating attacks, and it is here that Korra enters the Avatar state for the first time
in the series. Pulling from the power of the Spirits who
helped her along the journey and from the energy brought about by Harmonic Convergence,
similarly to what Aang does at the end of Book 1 in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Korra
takes on a massive, spiritual form, that, ideally, is cooler looking than just a blue
version of herself, and with all of this power, she battles against Vaatu. During the fight Unalaaq and rogue spirits
continue to attack the city, and Bolin, Mako, and Asami fight against him. At some point Eska and Desna join the fray,
and they try to appeal to their father, who now seems to be beyond saving, so they fight
against him, and are able to take him down. After a destructive battle, Korra vanquishes
Vaatu and the darkness he brought with him. Saving the day. Now able to enter the Avatar state, Korra
finally connect to her past lives, and learns from Aang how to restore bending to those
who lost it. And that is where it’d end. I think these changes would help the series
in a few ways. First off, Korra at the end of season one
gets off too easy. She is met with a major problem, but she doesn’t
actually solve it herself. With these changes, she has to deal with the
consequences of her conflicts. Also, I think this would make her struggles
in Book 4 hit even harder, because even though she battled back from losing the parts of
her that she felt made her special, even though she finally connected to the Avatar state,
even though she should was strong enough to defeat the embodiment of darkness, she still
fails. She overcomes so much adversity just to be
knocked down harder than before, and that would be crushing, and fascinating to see. It also gives Team Avatar a chance to actually
become friends, which is something Book 2 lacked. In this version, they spend time together,
learn to respect one another, and genuinely want to help each other find the bits of themselves
that are missing. It also sets up future arcs in more clear
and distinguished ways. It leaves Tenzin, Bumi and Kya wondering if
they will ever have an impact on the world in the way that their parents did, which leads
well into the resurgence of Airbenders in Book 3. It shows Varrick has a lack of respect for
the spiritual world, setting up his arc with the spirit vines in Book 4. It establishes Bolin as someone who wants
to be a better bender than he is setting him up to learn lavabending, it gives Mako a new
layer of depth as he puts the problems of others on his own shoulders making his attempted
sacrifice feel like the inevitable toll of taking on more than he should, and it gets
the ball rolling sooner with Korra and Asami’s relationship. Lastly, it gives some actual depth to Unalaaq. The way the show plays right now, both Vaatu
and Unalaaq feel like moustache twirling baddies who are evil for the sake of being evil. While it makes sense that the spirit of darkness
is evil, Unalaaq’s motivations never really made sense to me. But by showing Unalaaq’s attempts at trying
to relieve the tension between humans and spirits, he becomes sympathetic and his actions
are more understandable. Obviously, my suggestions here leave room
for a lot of details that would need to be filled in to make it a cohesive show, but
this is the structure I would follow. It would be a callback to that of the original
show, giving viewers a glimpse of the world they first fell in love with all those years
ago. We’d get to see how the world has changed
over the past 80 years, which in regards to especially the Fire Nation, would be very
interesting to see. All-in-all, it would feel like an adventure,
which is something I always thought was lacking from The Legend of Korra. I love thinking about stories, and I know
that this is nothing more than glorified fanfiction, but I do think there is value in breaking
down what works and doesn’t work in a story, and considering how you would approach it
if given the chance. It’s an exercise I think anyone who likes
to write stories should do every once and awhile, as it allows you to focus on finding
interesting story beats with an established cast of characters. Honestly, feel free to do it here with The
Legend of Korra, and let me know what you would have liked to see from Book 2.
