2.1 Rebel Spirit Rebel Spirit sets up what appears to be the central conflict this season: the Southern Water Tribe’s lax spirituality versus the more orthodox Northern Tribe. One of this show’s strengths is establishing interesting conflicts in which the “bad guys” have a good point, such as how the Equalists were absolutely correct that the treatment of non-benders needed to change. However, one of this show’s weaknesses is the inability to explore that to its fullest and make a meaningful statement. In other words, this show is great for initiating thoughtful conversation. Just don’t expect it to have anything to say itself. The same thing feels true about the arc between Korra’s father and uncle, although admittedly I am jumping the gun by already being apprehensive about how the writers will handle this conflict. Maybe they will have learned from last season’s mistakes and do better this time. I really hope so! I think, ultimately, that’s why the episode fell a little flat for me: it felt tried and true. What made Avatar: the Last Airbender so great (and what worked best in Korra‘s first season) is that it took risks and was completely different from anything we’d ever seen. Even Korra managed to go places and have conversations that were virtually unheard of in the medium. But the conflicts we’re seeing here: religious fanaticism versus secularism; brother vs. brother; Korra’s preference for brute force over thoughtfulness and spirituality, these are all things that have been done over and over again. I wasn’t entertained because I felt like I’d seen it all before. That said, the job of a “pilot” isn’t easy and plenty of shows have had middling pilots only to go on and have amazing seasons; I have hope that the same thing will happen with the “pilot” of season two of Korra. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
