Editorial - What I want to see in The Legend of Korra book 4

Korra book 3 is done. And book 4 is already on its way. Whether it'll be Nick.com exclusive as the latter half of book 3 was, remains to be seen, but probably

But unlike most TV retrospective, we won't be looking back today, but looking forward. This is a list of things I want to see in book 4, beware, there will be spoilers from book 3, book 2, book 1, Avatar: The Last Airbender and the comics

1. Korra to stay in a wheelchair until at least the end of episode 1

Don't get me wrong, I know she won't stay in a wheelchair indefinitely. But having her in a wheelchair offers a new set of challenges. There's a good opportunity to tackle a issue that effects millions and I'd like to see how characters like Mako and Bolin respond to it around her

2. The Fire Nation

Aside a minor appearance on an Island that while beautiful didn't look particularly Fire Nation, the Fire Nation has not appeared in this show. While I understand that with the Earth Kingdom in chaos, some time will have to be devoted to that, I hope the Fire Nation becomes the focus of the season

3. The Western Air Temple

Of all the air-temples I think this is the most unique of them, and it's the only air temple that hasn't shown up in Korra yet, it's also near the Fire Nation, so would be an ideal place to side-track to during the adventures.

4. A character arc for Mako

Mako didn't have much of a character arc in book 3. His awkwardness around the girls still remained, even while he grew closer to his brother, who he'd drifted apart from a bit in book 2. His character arc in book 2 was terrible, so I'd like to see a more well written for him

5. Korra and Bolin team-ups

Korra and Mako frequently teamed up in book 1, and Korra and Asami were a frequent pair in book 3, Bolin and Korra haven't developed much of a repetoire yet (and I'm not counting that faux date in book 1). I think Bolin's more sympathetic nature might bring him and Korra closer. I hope so because Bolin has only ever really been teamed up with Mako

6. General Iroh of the United forces

General Iroh (not the one from the spirit world) was introduced as a helping hand character in book 1, he had a decent role in the finale. In book 2 he was reduced to a minor character, and in book 3 he didn't appear at all. Much like Lin Beifong I think he is deserving of a character arc of his own, and being the son of the Fire Lord, this is a good opportunity.

7. Multi-coloured fire-bending

Back to being in the Fire Nation. It would be nice to see people who are able to bend different colours of fire. Back in an Avatar: The Last Airbender episode, the dragons showed Zuko and Aang an array of different fire-bending colours, as of yet, only Azula has ever been able to bend blue fire.

8. More spirits

The fact of the matter is, aside from in republic city, the integration of humans and spirits seems to be going without a hitch. I think more time was needed to demonstrate that isn't that easy. In the fire nation, people have tended to be a little quicker toward aggression and this might harm their relationships with the spirits, something Korra might have to fix

9. The fire lord

She's been teased for the last two seasons, but it's time we finally saw Zuko's daughter, the fire-lord. Most people in their bloodline have not been perfect people (whether confused and angry, or downright evil). I doubt Zuko's daughter is any exception.

10. Character arcs for Ikki and Meelo

Of Tenzin's children, Jinora is the one that got screen-time, but with her character arc pretty much over, it's time to bring the other kids into the spotlight. You saw signs of Ikki and Meelo growing up in books 2 and 3, but no real signs of character development.

11. The Fire Nation warlord that tried to convert P'li

This bit of information came way too late in the series for it not to have some relevance in book 4.

12. More of Zuko

Zuko's role was fairly minor in book 3, and it'd be nice to see his role expanded upon

Things I'd like to see, but wouldn't be too upset if they didn't include

1. Toph

They gave fair hints in book 3 that Toph was still alive, and wondering the world as a nomad. Whilst it could be down to guilt over what happened between Lin and Su Yin, there could be another reason why she chose this path (she certainly wasn't all that interested in it in the first two parts of the Rift comic) however, sometimes things are best left unsaid, and sometimes the legacy trumps the character

2. Azula

Azula is one of the all time favourite Avatar: The Last Airbender (I have to give it its full title, otherwise you might confuse it for the movie, *shudders*) characters. She was cool, clever and cunning, and very powerful. However her arc in the original show was her going mad over the loss of her allies Mai and Ty Lee. The comic The search had her find her mother and attempt to assassinate her, blaming her for everything, only to realise she had her memory voluntarily erased of her entire life with Ozai. She ran off, unsure of what her next move is. Having Azula return may answer some of the questions about what she did, but I'm honestly not sure I can be entirely satisfied with whatever they do with the character, and that's the reason I wouldn't be too upset if she was not included

3. Katara kicking ass

Katara was much more than an excellent healer in the show, and even here she was Korra's water-bending master. It's a shame that she hasn't really been involved in any fight scenes in this show, preferring to be in the healing hut dealing with the injured. As someone who knows the Avatar better than anyone else (Tenzin included) it would be interesting to see her have a much larger role in the show, although I do realise that they don't want to overshadow Korra

4. Bolin and Asami team up

Aside from briefly in book 2 and with general Iroh in book 1, where they talked a little. Bolin and Asami have not really teamed up before, it would be great to see those two team up, however having Bolin and Korra team up is my preferred option

5. A new dark Avatar

If an Avatar re-incarnates after death, so would a Dark Avatar. To do this might require a quite major time skip, so I understand if they don't go with it, but it'd be interesting to see someone else take on Vaatu's quest to begin world chaos, hopefully someone more interesting than Unalaq

6. What's left of the original team Avatar fighting

From what I can tell, Sokka and Aang are the only two of team Avatar dead (aside Suki, I don't even know if she counts) so the reunion of Katara, Toph and Zuko might make for an interesting contrast to the current team Avatar

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Images used in this review are from The Legend of Korra and The Last Airbender and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use.