However, I will admit that things can go south if the first few stories released don't live up to the high standard set by what came before. I love the Legend of Korra and it can be argued to have had a more notable impact on pop-culture (the recently increase in LGBT representation, realistic portrayal of PTSD and a great focus on politics can all be traced back to Korra) it IS a flawed show. I love Korra, Asami, Tenzin, Jinora and Lin but more then half the characters, IMHO, REALLY should have been cut to give focus on other things.
IMO, The Legend of Korra was at it's best when it did it's own thing instead of trying to recapture the magic from the first series. Korra isn't Aang, Asami isn't Katara, Tenzin isn't Sokka and Lin isn't Toph... So, why is Mako and Bolin such obvious attempts to copy and paste Zuko and Sokka? Mako was even described as Zuko without the Angst but while he shares Zuko's broodingness he lacks everything else that made Zuko such a great character. Bolin has Sokka's bad luck and humor(<---?) but lacks Sokka's ingenuity and leadership skills.
Korrasami is NOT Kataang or an attempt to make what the writers thought Zutara was, it was a relationship that grew naturally as the series progressed and one that added to the characters. To contrast with Kataang, after Aang and Katara got together many supports for the ship fell out of love with it as it felt like it regressed Katara's character while Korrasami has remained popular 6 years after it was made canon.
And to go back to Star Wars (which I haven't been doing much recently) one of the problems with the Disney Sequel Trilogy was how it was just the Original Trilogy only with one or two minor changes to try and pass itself off as an original story. The Force Awakens is just A New Hope, The Last Jedi is just the Empire Strikes Back and Rise of Skywalker... Well, ROS actually does have a mostly original plot but it devolves into just being a retread of Return of the Jedi in the end so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
And what's sad is, it could have been amazing if it had only followed through with the original ideas it did have. As I've said before the She-Ra reboot, aka She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, hits most if not all of the same ideas of TDST and that show is AMAZING!!!
If Avatar is going to have a future and make a series that spans several TV Shows, comics, games, novels and even possibly films then it needs to not be mired in the past. You can have call backs, nostalgia, fan serves and scenes that are meant as a shot for shot recreation of a moment that the series is remembered for but you NEED to simply go where the narrative takes you. Also, for the love of the Spirits, DON'T go in with the mindset of "Outsmarting" the viewers.
You can have twists and turns but what's going to draw people back to watch and re-watch something is how much they end up loving the characters. Everyone knows who Luke's father is, everyone knows what Rosebud means & Romeo and Juliet tells you how the play is going to end right at the start. Knowing does not ruin the story, what ruins the story is if you upend the whole narrative just to surprise the audience.
If I'm playing chess with someone and then, towards the end of the game I suddenly take out a Katana and cut the board in half while singing Oo-De-Lally from Disney's Robin Hood, it's surprising but everyone came here to watch two people play chess, not watch one of them go crazy.
A great example of Avatar moving forward is with the Kyoshi novels. Before the novel even starts it makes it clear who the Avatar really is and thus you know how it's all going to end. And yet Kyoshi is loved by fans and critics even with everyone knowing how it all ends because the characters were so well written that we went along for the ride and return just to go through it all over again.
As always, I'm taking a wait and see approach with this series. I'm exited but I'm ready for the worst, just in case. Thoughts?
