"Korra Alone" | |
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The Legend of Korra episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 2 |
Directed by | Ian Graham |
Written by | Michael Dante DiMartino |
Featured music | Jeremy Zuckerman |
Production code | 215 |
Original air date | October 10, 2014 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Korra Alone" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra , a spin-off/stand-alone sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender , and the 41st episode overall. The show follows Avatar Korra (Janet Varney), the only person capable of bending all four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), as she tries to maintain balance in the world, with this season focusing on her battle with Kuvira (Zelda Williams) as she plans to take over the Earth Kingdom and turn it into a dictatorship.
The episode was directed by Ian Graham and written by series co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino, and follows Korra struggling to physically and mentally recover from her battle with Zaheer in the season three finale. The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon's website on October 10, 2014, and received critical acclaim for its depiction of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a children's show. [1]
After Jinora's ceremony, [lower-alpha 1] a still paralyzed Korra leaves Republic City and returns to her home in the Southern Water Tribe. There she experiences nightmares about her battle with Zaheer. [lower-alpha 1] Korra's mother Senna, concerned for Korra's mental wellbeing, begs her to reach out for help from Katara. Over the next two years, Korra attempts to gain control of her legs again with Katara's help whilst avoiding contact with her friends Mako, Bolin and Asami Sato. Korra eventually learns to walk again and expresses joy.
Two years after Zaheer's battle, Tenzin visits Korra who is struggling to regain her fighting skills and still suffering from visions of Zaheer and herself chained while in the Avatar State. Tenzin advices the Avatar to be grateful for the progress she has made rather than worry about the future. Korra eventually responds back to Asami, letting her know the past couple of years have been the hardest of her life. She finally tells her parents she's ready to return to Republic City and continue her treatment there. However, when she returns to the city, she realizes she's not ready to be the Avatar again after she sees a statue of herself. She travels to the Earth Kingdom, picking up clothing from there, and she cuts her hair in order to avoid recognition.
Korra then travels to the North Pole to enter the Spirit World via the northern spirit portal. She tries to reconnect with Raava, the spirit of the Avatar, but she fails to do so. She writes to her parents lying that she has returned to Air Temple Island and has reunited with her friends, but instead wanders around the desert seeing visions of her chained self and Raava. Six months later, Korra enlists herself in an earthbending cage fight, but loses after she imagines her opponent as her chained self. Leaving the fight, bruised and with a black eye, Korra follows a white dog to the Foggy Swamp. There she falls into a shallow pool made of mercury that sticks to Korra and pulls her down. Unable to save herself, the hallucination of her chained self watches as she sinks completely into the pool. Sometime later, Korra wakes up to find herself attended to by an elder Toph Beifong, who addresses her as "Twinkle Toes."
The episode was directed by Ian Graham and written by Michael Dante DiMartino.
"Korra Alone" received critical acclaim for its handling of complex themes and heavy subject matter such as Korra's post-traumatic stress disorder. [1] [2] Rick Stevenson of Looper stated the episode is a "masterpiece" for its chronicle of the "ongoing process of recovery — a process of anger, frustration, guilt, acceptance, failure, triumph, and change.", [3] while C. K. Anderson of Loud and Clear Reviews wrote that "The importance of this storyline cannot be overstated, not just to Legend of Korra, but to children’s entertainment in general. Korra’s struggle with mental health and trauma and her ability to overcome it sends a vital message to young viewers that might be experiencing similar struggles." [4]
The episode also received praise for Korra's character development, [5] with Kaci Ferrell from Den of Geek writing "the writers have matured Korra and improved the way they write her that I thoroughly enjoyed an episode focusing entirely on her; if you’ll remember, a lot of us had major problems with not particularly liking Korra as a character and finding other characters more interesting than her. The fact that now in the fourth season I can watch this entire episode and honestly say it’s one of my favourites says a lot about how the quality of her writing has improved." [6]
Many consider the episode to be the best in the series, [7] such as Rich Knight from Cinema Blend who states that "'Korra Alone' is all about trauma and how some people deal with it. And sometimes, people can’t deal with it, especially when they close themselves off to other people. We learn that Korra has been physically and mentally suffering ever since her encounter with Zaheer, to the extent that she’s broken as not only the Avatar, but as a person, too. This is the deepest this show ever gets, and also probably the darkest." [8]
Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club stated that the episode "details the Avatar’s three years of slow healing in one heart-wrenching character study, exploring the depths of her fear and self-doubt by pitting her against a familiar foe: herself." [9] Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a score of 10 out of 10, writing that "It's rare that a 22-minute episode of a show can tell an emotionally satisfying story all its own, but this week's The Legend of Korra was definitely one of those episodes." and "the storytelling came from an emotional place, freeing up the episode to really explore Korra's PTSD and the affect Zaheer had on her physical and spiritual self. Beautifully animated, wonderfully scored and dramatically poignant, "Korra Alone" easily ranks among the best episodes of the series." [10]
PrinceZuko, also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the character is voiced by Dante Basco in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Bruce Davison in The Legend of Korra, and portrayed by Dev Patel in M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 film The Last Airbender and Dallas Liu in the 2024 Netflix live-action remake series.
Katara is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series The Legend of Korra. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Mae Whitman in the original series and Eva Marie Saint in the sequel series, The Legend of Korra. She is Chief Hakoda and Kya's daughter and Sokka's younger sister. In the 2010 live action film adaptation, she was played by Nicola Peltz, while in the live-action television series adaptation, she is portrayed by Kiawentiio.
Avatar Aang, or simply Aang, is the titular protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang was the last surviving Airbender, a monk of the Air Nomads' Southern Air Temple, and the youngest ever airbending master.
Toph Beifong is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, voiced by Michaela Jill Murphy in the original series and Kate Higgins as an adult and Philece Sampler as an elder in the sequel series.
The Legend of Korra, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Korra, or more rarely simply as Korra, is an American animated fantasy action television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. A stand-alone sequel to their previous series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, which ran for three seasons from February 21, 2005 to July 19, 2008, the series ran for 52 episodes ("chapters"), separated into four seasons ("books"), from April 14, 2012, to December 19, 2014. It has been continued as a comic book series.
Avatar Korra, commonly simply known as Korra, is the title lead character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, in which she is depicted as the current incarnation of Raava's Avatar—the spiritual embodiment of balance and change—responsible for maintaining peace and harmony in the world. She is the immediate reincarnation of Avatar Aang. The character was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and was voiced by Janet Varney, and by Cora Baker as a child.
Tenzin is a major character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by J. K. Simmons. Tenzin's father, Aang, was the Avatar who preceded Korra and kept world peace by preventing the Fire Nation from taking over the world during the Hundred Year War, which occurred about seventy years before the beginning of The Legend of Korra. Tenzin's mother, Katara, greatly assisted Aang in his efforts to save the Earth Kingdom from destruction. Tenzin is the youngest of the three children of Aang and Katara.
Book Two: Spirits is the second season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It consists of fourteen episodes ("chapters"). It focuses more on spiritual concepts and themes than the preceding season, Book One: Air. Ordered in early 2011, Book Two: Spirits began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on September 13, 2013.
"Out of the Past" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, which is a spin-off/stand-alone sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show follows Avatar Korra, the only person capable of bending all four elements, as she tries to maintain balance in the world, with this season focusing on her battle with Amon and his group of equalists as they intend to remove bending abilities from the world using Amon's ability to take bending away from an individual.
Mako is a major character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by David Faustino. Because he is a firebender, Mako is able to create and manipulate the classical element of fire. Mako also has the ability to both generate and redirect lightning. The character is named in honor of the late Mako Iwamatsu who voiced Iroh, a major supporting character, in the first two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Bolin is a major fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by P. J. Byrne. Bolin is able to manipulate the classical element of earth, which is known as earthbending. It is revealed in the third season that he is also able to create and control lava, which is a very rare sub-ability called lavabending.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender comics are an official continuation of the original Nickelodeon animated television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The series includes The Lost Adventures, published from 2005 to 2011 and set between episodes of the original series, and the graphic novel trilogies, published since 2012 and set a few years after the original series. A related comic continuation, taking place seven decades later, The Legend of Korra, began publication in 2017.
Book Three: Change is the third season of the animated television series The Legend of Korra, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and consists of thirteen episodes ("chapters"), all animated by Studio Mir. The season began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on June 27, 2014. After leaked episodes and following declining ratings, the series stopped airing on Nickelodeon after episode 8 on July 25, 2014. Episodes 9 to 13 of Book Three were subsequently made available on the Internet weekly through Nickelodeon's website and on digital download platforms.
Asami Sato is a major character in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra (2012–2014). The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008), were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. She is voiced by Seychelle Gabriel. The series' final scene, indicating the beginning of a romantic relationship between Asami and the female lead character, Korra, was unprecedented in its representation of LGBT persons in western children's television, with the characters' relationship fully explored in the comic continuations Turf Wars (2017–2018), Ruins of the Empire (2019–2020), and Patterns in Time (2022–2023).
Zaheer is a recurring character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra. He serves as the main antagonist of Book Three: Change, and his actions have lingering effects on Avatar Korra and the series' plot in the following book. The character was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is voiced by Henry Rollins. The character was well received by critics as a complex and intimidating villain.
Lin Beifong is a fictional major character, voiced by Mindy Sterling, in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Lin's mother, Toph Beifong, greatly aided the previous avatar, Aang, in his efforts to save the Earth Kingdom from destruction. Lin is the older of Toph's two daughters.
Kuvira, also known as The Great Uniter, is a fictional major character in the 2014 third and fourth seasons of the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Introduced in a minor capacity in the third season of the series, she becomes the main antagonist of the fourth season, and a supporting protagonist of the 2019–2020 Ruins of the Empire comics. Kuvira was created with similar characteristics to the portrayal of protagonist Korra in prior seasons to highlight the changes she had made over the course of the series. Kuvira's character has been mostly met with positive reception. Critics note her motives as being understandable, while her actions are given political analogues.
"Endgame" is the twelfth and final episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, a spin-off/stand-alone sequel to The Legend of Aang. Production occurred under the code 1123 and the episode was directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and Ki Hyun Ryu and written by the Avatar franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. "Endgame" originally aired on Nickelodeon on June 23, 2012, and was animated by Studio Mir.
"Venom of the Red Lotus" is the thirteenth and final episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, a spin-off/stand-alone sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the 39th episode overall. The show follows Avatar Korra, the only person capable of bending all four elements, as she tries to maintain balance in the world, with this season focusing on her battle with The Red Lotus, led by Zaheer, as they intend to create an anarchist world free from government and the Avatar.