In the eighth episode of the second season of The Legend of Korra, Korra discovers her destiny. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The Legend of Korra.
It’s not an easy task to introduce a canon-shaping episode like this one to the world of Avatar. It’s not like this is near the beginning of the show’s existence; we’re now five seasons into the ongoing storyline that began with Aang years ago. So it’s a challenge right from the start to add to existing mythology in a way that will define it forever. Actually, as I type this shit, it’s making me nervous. It’s so ambitious!
But I’m so pleased that the “Beginnings” flashback provides us with an origin story that doesn’t negate what comes after it. It fits within the general themes of this fictional universe while still being shocking and exciting. For real, I honestly didn’t know how this was going to end, other than knowing that the world wasn’t plunged into darkness and terror for 10,000 years. How would Wan gain all four elements? How would he become the Avatar? How would that get passed down through the years? Why was it necessary?
While many of those logistical questions were answered, I found that the most important one – Why was this necessary? – was answered the best. The concept of balance plays out over “Beginnings, Part 2” in a number of ways that demonstrate why balance was so hard to achieve in the first place. You can see it right there in the first scene: Raava is unable to see things from Wan’s perspective. Yes, Wan made a mistake when he freed Vaatu, but his care for the natural world influenced that decision. And Raava had, at the time, no care for humanity or the human/animal world. They clash, nearly violently so, and it’s because there’s no balance of understanding between them. There’s no common ground. That’s the difficulty Wan faces as he explores the world, desperate to right his wrong. He meets conflict immediately and must figure out how to navigate it.
That’s the case with the airbending tribe he meets and with his friends later on in the episode. It’s the core of his interaction with both Raava and Vaatu on the back of the lion turtle. He wants to do right by the world, but conflict seems to arise wherever he is. It’s a natural thing, of course, and “Beginnings” doesn’t attempt to say it’s all caused by some external, metaphysical force. No, even when Wan finally imprisons Vaatu, the world is still full of strife. It always will be. So where does Wan – and the Avatar mythos as a whole – fit into that? If the world is always subject to chaos, why even bother?
Well, I’d say that these two episodes show us what happens when no one bothers. The airbending tribe is terrorized by Vaatu. Wan’s human friends and his spirit friends believe the other side is destructive enough to warrant their death. LITERALLY EVERY ONE OF WAN’S HUMAN FRIENDS DIE. The alternative to caring is obviously not caring, but it’s so much more horrific than that. Apathy – even the apathy surrounding the mere act of good faith – can burn entire cities down. It can destroy lives. And so, even when faced with impossible odds against Vaatu, Wan refuses to stop caring. That’s something I think makes up every Avatar that’s come after him. It’s part determination and will, sure, but there’s a sense of sacrifice to Wan’s fight that shows us that he wants the best for the world, even if that means he’ll no longer be in it.
To me, that’s what the Avatar represents. Balance is not easily achieved, and sometimes, you fail trying to achieve it. That does not mean you give up or that you stop trying. Wan could have died when he merged with Raava, but it didn’t stop him. I see that in the Avatar rebirth cycle, too. Nothing can stop the Avatar’s existence – as long as the Avatar doesn’t want to stop.
So we’ve got one hell of an update to this show’s canon, y’all. Now I understand so much more about why this world works as it does! I think, then, that Unalaq has no clue what he’s done. His aim seems to be the unification of the Water Tribes through dominance, and the portals at the poles will provide him with that. I think the Harmonic Convergence is a mere coincidence at this point, not something he’s looking to exploit. OR IS HE? I don’t suspect he is, honestly, but I suppose it’s possible. Regardless, Korra has to close those portals, or Vaatu will come spilling out into the world again.
THIS WAS SO GREAT, Y’ALL.
The video for “Beginnings, Part II” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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