Preface: So...yeah. This show as a whole was a pretty damn big letdown for me, but I kept my points on it relatively brief since most everyone else seemed to like it. Pointing out the show's flaws actually got me kicked out of a forum.
Original Post: June '12
No sir, I don’t like it.
Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. Being an animation buff, I was able to appreciate it from a production standpoint. It really is the best animation I’ve seen in an American tv production and the setting is unique and chock full of potential. But while it looks fantastic, it’s ultimately brought down by a story that brings up big ideas, but never explores them, a plot that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny and characters who aren’t developed adequately enough to get invested in. This…is sounding awfully familiar…
I'm not saying...I'm just saying...Aliens.
In the end, I’ve got to plant myself firmly in the ‘disappointed’ camp. As I said, the setting is fantastic and unique and some pretty complex notions of the nature of good and evil are hinted at, but it’s all shoved aside for an absolutely atrocious love story. Is it any wonder everyone thinks Makorra was meant to appease Zutarans? Otherwise it means this love story was meant to be taken seriously, and that’s a much harder pill to swallow.
I’m not going to pick the show apart cause there’s just too much there to get lost in, but never let it be said I’m not willing to be constructive. Here’s the few things they got right:
Lin: As a Bei Fong, Lin had a heritage of baddassery to uphold and I think it’s safe to say she does her mother proud. I love the idea of this older woman who has no patience for bullshit and yet as police chief, forces her into a position where she has to answer to the law, public opinion and the nothing-but-bullshit bureaucracy of the council. For the most part, she’s done alright by the show. Enough focus is brought on her to acknowledge this larger aspect of her characters, without taking up so much time as to become distracting. It’s a little rushed and her dialog can get pretty stilted, but that can be said about everything else in the show as well. Overall, Lin’s not an easy high-wire act, but I’d say they pulled it off.
Da Kids: They’re cute, hilarious, endearing and surprising. It seems Bryke have a knack for writing young kids or at the very least, it’s where they seem to be able to write dialog that sounds natural. Yeah, Meelo’s farting schtick should have been left on the cutting room floor, but again, the show knows these are background characters and keeps them there, so it didn’t grate on me as much as it may have if they’d been around more.
Republic City: I don’t even know how to properly describe the setting they went with. A post-industrial, jazz era urban landscape as seen through the lens of a faux east asian culture? That’s…pretty darned unique. It even has a vague reflection of the 20’s we recognize as a free wheeling response to the nasty World War…and the precursor to something worse. Aside from allegorical possibilities, there’s the whole idea of spirituality in a post-industrial world, to say nothing of the good old standby of class warfare. The setting allows for a lot of legroom to work with. A pity the show never did anything with it.
Aaaand…that’s pretty much it. Sure, there were certainly other aspects of the story that worked as much as it needed to - that functioned - but there was precious little that wouldn’t break down under even slight scrutiny. While it’s a shame certainly, there’s hope on the horizon. It appears that Season 2 had more writers coming into the project and with any luck, they’ll be able to provide the quality writing this show so desperately needs and deserves.
…
In the mean time, I’m prolly gonna end up doing my own personal rewrite of this season like I once did for Season 3 of ATLA, cause dat’s how I roll!
Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. Being an animation buff, I was able to appreciate it from a production standpoint. It really is the best animation I’ve seen in an American tv production and the setting is unique and chock full of potential. But while it looks fantastic, it’s ultimately brought down by a story that brings up big ideas, but never explores them, a plot that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny and characters who aren’t developed adequately enough to get invested in. This…is sounding awfully familiar…
I'm not saying...I'm just saying...Aliens.
In the end, I’ve got to plant myself firmly in the ‘disappointed’ camp. As I said, the setting is fantastic and unique and some pretty complex notions of the nature of good and evil are hinted at, but it’s all shoved aside for an absolutely atrocious love story. Is it any wonder everyone thinks Makorra was meant to appease Zutarans? Otherwise it means this love story was meant to be taken seriously, and that’s a much harder pill to swallow.
I’m not going to pick the show apart cause there’s just too much there to get lost in, but never let it be said I’m not willing to be constructive. Here’s the few things they got right:
Lin: As a Bei Fong, Lin had a heritage of baddassery to uphold and I think it’s safe to say she does her mother proud. I love the idea of this older woman who has no patience for bullshit and yet as police chief, forces her into a position where she has to answer to the law, public opinion and the nothing-but-bullshit bureaucracy of the council. For the most part, she’s done alright by the show. Enough focus is brought on her to acknowledge this larger aspect of her characters, without taking up so much time as to become distracting. It’s a little rushed and her dialog can get pretty stilted, but that can be said about everything else in the show as well. Overall, Lin’s not an easy high-wire act, but I’d say they pulled it off.
Da Kids: They’re cute, hilarious, endearing and surprising. It seems Bryke have a knack for writing young kids or at the very least, it’s where they seem to be able to write dialog that sounds natural. Yeah, Meelo’s farting schtick should have been left on the cutting room floor, but again, the show knows these are background characters and keeps them there, so it didn’t grate on me as much as it may have if they’d been around more.
Republic City: I don’t even know how to properly describe the setting they went with. A post-industrial, jazz era urban landscape as seen through the lens of a faux east asian culture? That’s…pretty darned unique. It even has a vague reflection of the 20’s we recognize as a free wheeling response to the nasty World War…and the precursor to something worse. Aside from allegorical possibilities, there’s the whole idea of spirituality in a post-industrial world, to say nothing of the good old standby of class warfare. The setting allows for a lot of legroom to work with. A pity the show never did anything with it.
Aaaand…that’s pretty much it. Sure, there were certainly other aspects of the story that worked as much as it needed to - that functioned - but there was precious little that wouldn’t break down under even slight scrutiny. While it’s a shame certainly, there’s hope on the horizon. It appears that Season 2 had more writers coming into the project and with any luck, they’ll be able to provide the quality writing this show so desperately needs and deserves.
…
In the mean time, I’m prolly gonna end up doing my own personal rewrite of this season like I once did for Season 3 of ATLA, cause dat’s how I roll!
2nd Post
I kinda sorta maybe forgot to mention the issue of
the portrayal of women in TLOK. Seeing as how it was my largest worry
prior to the shows release, it’s kinda funny I didn’t mention it,
in’it? As if…maybe I think they did do a piss poor job portraying their
female characters…?
Nope! Just forgot to mention it is all! Heh…
Okay, I’m sorry! It just slipped my mind. Honest!
***STANDARD I-AM-A-DUDE-AND-SPEAK-ONLY-FROM-PERSONAL-OPINION-AND-DO-NOT-PRETEND-TO-HAVE-ANY-AUTHORITY-ON-THE-MATTER-OF-WOMEN’S-PORTRAYAL-IN-MEDIA DISCLAIMER***
Alright, so the basic gist of my initial concerns were that the attempt to portray a main female character in a serious minded action cartoon was going to be clunky and awkward. I wasn’t thoroughly convinced Bryke could pull it off without some form of forced ‘grrl power’ seeping in at some point and mucking the whole thing over.
Well, that didn’t happen. In fact they did exactly what I was hoping, they didn’t comment on it at all. At no point do gender roles ever come up with any character. I suppose an argument could be made for Pema and the fact that she’s pregnant. Don’t know what to tell ya…women have babies. I didn’t read into it farther than that since it wasn’t the focus of the story, but in terms of the world they built and the characters that inhabit it, gender politics appear to be a relatively complete non-issue.
That’s not to say the female characters are well written. I stand by my opinion that the writing was overall substandard including the characters, but none of it was related to gender. ‘nother words, Korra (et al) was not a poorly written female, just a poorly written character. Fact is, everyone acted ridiculously in this show without adequate character development to justify it, but if the show itself was saying that Korra ‘cheated’ on Bolin cause she’s a girl or visa versa with Mako ‘n Asami…I didn’t see it. Maybe there were lines there that needed reading between, but all I saw was stupid people being stupid due to bad writing.
So…damning with faint praise I suppose, but considering how rare I’ve seen a show that presented female equality as a standard rather than deviation, the praise is a little less faint that usual. Which is kinda depressing now that I think about it.
Nope! Just forgot to mention it is all! Heh…
Okay, I’m sorry! It just slipped my mind. Honest!
***STANDARD I-AM-A-DUDE-AND-SPEAK-ONLY-FROM-PERSONAL-OPINION-AND-DO-NOT-PRETEND-TO-HAVE-ANY-AUTHORITY-ON-THE-MATTER-OF-WOMEN’S-PORTRAYAL-IN-MEDIA DISCLAIMER***
Alright, so the basic gist of my initial concerns were that the attempt to portray a main female character in a serious minded action cartoon was going to be clunky and awkward. I wasn’t thoroughly convinced Bryke could pull it off without some form of forced ‘grrl power’ seeping in at some point and mucking the whole thing over.
Well, that didn’t happen. In fact they did exactly what I was hoping, they didn’t comment on it at all. At no point do gender roles ever come up with any character. I suppose an argument could be made for Pema and the fact that she’s pregnant. Don’t know what to tell ya…women have babies. I didn’t read into it farther than that since it wasn’t the focus of the story, but in terms of the world they built and the characters that inhabit it, gender politics appear to be a relatively complete non-issue.
That’s not to say the female characters are well written. I stand by my opinion that the writing was overall substandard including the characters, but none of it was related to gender. ‘nother words, Korra (et al) was not a poorly written female, just a poorly written character. Fact is, everyone acted ridiculously in this show without adequate character development to justify it, but if the show itself was saying that Korra ‘cheated’ on Bolin cause she’s a girl or visa versa with Mako ‘n Asami…I didn’t see it. Maybe there were lines there that needed reading between, but all I saw was stupid people being stupid due to bad writing.
So…damning with faint praise I suppose, but considering how rare I’ve seen a show that presented female equality as a standard rather than deviation, the praise is a little less faint that usual. Which is kinda depressing now that I think about it.
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