Legend Of Korra: 5 Endings That Fans Completely Reject (& 5 They Think Were Perfectly In Character)
Avatar: The Legend Of Korra was a great sequel to The Last Airbender. However, there are things that fans were mixed about in the ending of some arcs.
After Avatar: The Last Airbender gave audiences the typical hero's journey, not everyone was expecting the new take on that structure in Legend of Korra. Korra was never meant to be a replica of the peaceful monk Aang so when their stories ended differently, with Korra's friends all on their own paths rather than together, it took some people by surprise while others completely expected it.
When Team Avatar battled a new "big bad" every season, it was bound to happen that there would be some endings for heroes, villains, or side characters that weren't perfect. Some, however, ended their story perfectly in character.
10 Reject: Prince Wu Disbanding Hierarchy
Prince Wu's minor stint on the show could have been just that but instead, he had a rather large and expedited leap in character development. When fans first met him he was a pampered, ignorant, and complacent young prince. Which is why when he suddenly understood the ramifications the Earth Kingdom hierarchy was having, he disbanded it.
This was an ending rejected by fans simply for the way it came about so quickly and was really none of the main characters' doing. Korra didn't talk to him about the implementation of democracy, which is usually the type of thing the Avatar would try to help people with, he just spent some time with Mako and that was enough. It's a good ending for the Earth Kingdom and Wu but was not well-received in reference to the storyline.
9 In Character: Kuvira's Fate
Amongst fans, Kuvira's villainous motivations were actually the most admirable of the villains in LOK. But she still did horrible things like withholding resources from the citizens she claimed she was there to stand up for, slave labor, and attacking Republic City in a giant mecha suit.
Fans supported that she ended properly by accepting her fate of prison and how she went about her goals all of the wrong ways. She likely wouldn't have done so without the reflection she had to face with Korra in the Spirit World but regardless she came full circle learning from her mistakes and being brought to justice.
8 Reject: Varrick & Zhu Li's Wedding
Zhu Li was Varrick's assistant until their declaration of love in Season 4. Varrick had been through the wringer when it came to character development going from greedy and innovative to a kind and helpful innovator. Unfortunately, that same drive for constantly upgrading society is also what put him in a dangerous situation with Kuvira.
When he denied her request to build a weapon, he left Kuvira's clutches with Bolin and realized he didn't want to thrive off of things like war anymore. Zhu Li realized the same thing on a separate occasion and ended up back on a team with Varrick. While their character arcs make sense, their marriage came out of left field and felt like a weird placeholder to make their story feel complete even when it wasn't.
7 In Character: Jinora's Masterhood
Jinora had been open-minded, excited, honest, brave, and a wonderful leader throughout the whole series. So when she confronted her dad about getting her Master Airbender tattoos it had all culminated in her newfound confidence in how skilled she truly was.
In season 3, Tenzin finally anointed her with her tattoos and the "Master" title. It was perfectly fitting for both his development as a father and Airbending teacher and Jinora's development overall as a character.
6 Reject: Leaving The Spirit World Open
It is acknowledged amongst fans and in the Avatar universe that the portals to the Spirit and physical worlds were not meant to be open and shared until humans found peace and understanding. It was also seen in the first Avatar, Wan's, story that the closure between the worlds was meant to keep Vaatu extra secure so in the next 10,000 years when Harmonic Convergence reoccurs, he could escape since the portals were left open.
Not only did it wreak havoc on Republic City because none of them had ever had to understand or interact with spirits, but it also wasn't a game-changer for spirits since they had been finding ways in and out of both worlds anyway. Korra wanted them to figure out how to get along when both worlds hadn't figured out how to get along with their own kind yet.
5 In Character: Losing Past Avatar Lives
Fans don't seem particularly bothered by the fact that Korra lost the connection to her past Avatar lives when Raava was momentarily destroyed, but they are concerned with whether or not she or the lineage after her will ever get that connection back.
Losing the connection is in character because Aang also experienced momentary loss, Korra's situation was just different since it was based on the battle between Raava and Vaatu. Being disconnected allowed Korra to truly reflect on the ability to learn from the Avatar State and her own spirit rather than who she thought she was supposed to be because she's the Avatar. This makes fans believe that with her newfound sense of self and power, she or someone in the future will be able to restore the past lives or accept that they are creating a new cycle of Avatars.
4 Reject: The End Of Season 1
Since The Legend of Korra was supposed to be one season, it was likely that it would be a one-and-done battle with a specific villain and Amon was an incredible villain to choose. But when the show was given more seasons, fans thought the ending battle between Korra and Amon would be one for the books.
Fans reject the ending of Season 1 for the less-than-satisfying battle and that it seemed to be the tidiest ending possible rather than presenting a new mess like in most TV shows.
3 In Character: Mako's Last Stand
In the finale episode, Mako's culmination of being the tough guy solidifies in his understanding of the meaning of everything Team Avatar and others have done leading up to this point. He ventures into the engine room of the giant mecha with Bolin and when Bolin gets out, he stays to redirect lightning to tear it down from the inside.
Fans received his attempted sacrifice well because he was doing something he was good at, bending and protecting those he cared about. Some fans were disappointed that it wasn't an actual sacrifice but most were just happy he was still "awesome," just like Bolin said.
2 Reject: Original Team Avatar
The most obvious disappointment to fans was that Katara acted as if everyone she knew was gone for good when in reality Toph and Zuko were still very much around. But the rejection continued when it came to the portrayal of Aang as an adult and how he favored Tenzin over his other children and was sometimes no fun.
Additionally, characters like Sokka and Suki basically got no recognition throughout the series.
1 In Character: Korrasami
While Korra and Asami's separate relationships with Mako were sometimes points of contention throughout the show, the girls never held a grudge against each other and allowed their shared understanding of Mako to bring them closer. The evidence of Korra and Asami falling in love began to pile up through Seasons 3 and 4.
Fans that finally got to see a canonically LGBTQ+ relationship in a universe with such a big following truly shared their excitement for Korrasami and what would happen with them next. For those still curious, their story continues in the Turf Wars comics.