[ SECRET POST #1983 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1983 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


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02.
[Super Junior, Kim Heechul]


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03.
[Big Love]


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04.
[Hourou Musuko/Wandering Son]


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05.
[Avengers]


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06.
[Legend of Korra]


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07.
[Legend of the Sun Knight / 吾命骑士]


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08.
[Dexter]


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09.
[Nicky Minaj: Starships]


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10.
[FF12]


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11.
[Discworld, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy]


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12.
[Stephen King's It]


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13.
[14 Nights]


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14.
[Raising Hope]


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15.
[Gangs of New York]


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16.
[Tsuritama]


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17.
[Disney's Brave]


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18.
[Borderlands]


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19.
[Legend of Korra]


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20.
[Star Trek: DS9]


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21.
[Spice World]


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22.
[Glee]


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 023 secrets from Secret Submission Post #283.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - empty comment ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

19. http://i46.tinypic.com/33z30gl.jpg
[Legend of Korra]

[teh_sandwich]

While I agree with you OP that LoK doesn't have a lot of the same magical qualities that A:tLA had and I totally agree about the shipping, Bryke purposefully had LoK take place in Republic City so they could differentiate Korra from the original series. (I currently don't have a link in order to prove that right now, sorry. :/)

[morieris]

IA. I think the timing of things is a little strangely spaced, and I do miss the mysticality, although I can understand why is isn't as prominent but they didn't know they'd be getting a second season, so...

Side Note - Apparently only Mike and Bryan wrote the script for the first season?

[femme_androgyne]

I know you'll probably get a lot of flack from a particular type of foaming-mouthed fan in spite of the fact that your criticisms are all perfectly reasonable and sound, but that's fine. You're allowed to not like things that other people like and to be disappointed that you don't like something you wanted to like as much as you hoped you would. Sequels are frequently not as good as the originals, anyway.

[brightblueink]

Meh, well...honestly the first season was the weakest of the first series. I'll give them some time to build up.

And I honestly prefer Korra as a protagonist to Aang pleasedon'tkillme

[(Anonymous)]

Who says there's not a lot to explore in just one city? It's a big ass city.
And a lot of the story is Korra learning how to airbend. I'm pretty sure the Spirit World and lore will come into place at one point or another.
Other complaints in the secret are pretty subjective though.

Korra spoilers up to the most recent episode.

[loracarol]

I agree with some of the stuff you've said, but "overload of pro-bending"?

It was in the second episode, to introduce her to Mako and Bolin, and to help her understand the "be the leaf~~~~" thing.

It wasn't really in the third episode, I don't think? Or the fourth.

It's kind of in the fifth, but that's mostly because it's about the three of the them.

And then it's in the sixth episode which is when a terrorist attack happens, destroying the building, and providing Amon with a way to speak to a lot of people all at once, while de-bending a popular figure and making sure his message is heard.

After that, not a lot of pro-bending.

IDK, but I'm not seeing pro-bending to be overloaded, most of the pro-bending is there for plot purposes (especially in episode 6. Holy shit episode 6.)

[aquana]

...am I seriously the only person who doesn't miss the "magic" at all? I love to see bending in a completely new environment and I love the whole magic vs. technology problem. I can't wait to see how it all ends.

(Having a main character that I can actually, y'know, relate to and like also helps.)

[(Anonymous)]

You say the story/plot is lacking and... you completely neglect to mention the equalist conflict and the status of benders and nonbenders in a world where technology is rendering bending a commercial spectacle rather than a spiritually-grounded practice worthy of respect?

I know this stuff a lot more subtle than "grr Fire Nation big baddies let's get 'em" but goddamn, seriously??

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sure more spiritual stuff will turn up soon. Korra's development pretty much seems to hang on it, along with learning air-bending.

I do hope she'll go into the spirit world at some point; I'm still hanging out for a reappearance from Koh.

[celestiel]

I was a little disappointed when episode 5 aired, but the eps after that have made me feel a lot better about it, especially the last two episodes! And I'm guessing this secret was written before at least the last one, so I do hope you're not feeling as disappointed as you did before they aired?

I could to without the love triangle, yeah, but I absolutely love everything else, especially the politics and moral ambiguity <3

[There be mild spoilers in this comment]

[(Anonymous)]

I think people tend to judge Korra against the entirety of A:TLA, which seems more than a little unfair. Eight episodes won't seem like much when they're up against 60.

So why not compare what happened in the first eight episodes of each?

ATLA Episode 1:
Sokka and Katara find Aang and Appa in an iceburg while fishing. They take them home. The firenation finds out and starts to move in to attack.

Korra Episode 1:
They find the avatar. She finishes her firebending training and then runs away to the city to learn airbending. Gets into trouble for tearing up the city stopping some gang members.

ATLA Episode 2:
The Fire nation attacks! Aang fights them off with the help of Katara and Sokka. When they realize he's the avatar they agree to travel with him as he goes around mastering the elements.

Korra Episode 2:
Korra has a huge airbending block and after much frustration slips out to watch a pro-bending match. There she makes friends with two pro-benders, then joins their team. Has a small airbending breakthrough.

ATLA Episode 3:
While traveling to the North Pole, they stop by Aang's former home. Aang learns about the genocide of his people. This triggers the avatar state, which lets the whole world know that he's back. Zuko and Iroh have their ship repaired.

Korra Episode 3:
Mako and Bolin try to find the money for their place in the tournament. Bolin makes a bad decision, gets kidnapped by equalists. There they learn Amon can take away people's bending, also they rescue Bolin.

ATLA Episode 4:
While traveling through the earth kingdom, the Gaang is captured by Kyoshi Warriors. Sokka trains with the warriors while Aang shows off a lot, does some swimming. Zuko attacks the village and the Gaang escape on Appa.

Korra Episode 4:
Asami tries to run over Mako. The two date and have lots of oogies everywhere. Her dad sponsors the team in the tournament. Korra joins a taskforce to stop the equalist. She challenges Amon to a duel, it doesn't go quite as planned. Also she has nightmares.

ATLA Episode 5:
Aang and friends cause destruction while joyriding through Omashu's mail system. The King of the city challenges Aang to tasks before allowing them to leave the city. Turns out the King is an old pal of Aang's from before he was frozen.

Korra Episode 5:
Relationship drama everywhere. Korra likes Mako who likes Asami and Bolin likes Korra. Dating trainwrecks and one ill-advised kiss later, they almost get beaten in a match, only Korra pulls her act together and kicks major butt.

ATLA Episode 6:
There's a small town where earthbenders are arrested by fire nation just for being benders. Katara accidentally gets someone arrested and then tricks the fire nation into arresting her so she can help the firebenders stage a coup from the inside.

Korra Episode 6:
The pro-bending finals are almost canceled because Amon's announced he's going to crash it. The finals happen anyway. Amon keeps his word, a whole team of probenders lose their bending. Also Lin and Korra were majorly awesome.

ATLA Episode 7:
A small village is under attack by a spirit world monster. Aang tries to stop it, but gets accidentally ported to the spirit world where he gets trapped, but things work out. Iroh gets captured by the earth kingdom and Zuko goes after him.

Korra Episode 7:
Korra discovers that a supposed ally is really an equalist. Fighting happens. Asami, Mako, and Bolin move to the island with Korra and Tenzin's family. Lin retires from the police force.

ATLA Episode 8:
Aang needs to travel to the fire temple to get a message from a past life. Much fighting happens on the way. At the temple it becomes clear that people who were once loyal to the avatar aren't anymore.

Korra Episode 8:
A new police chief is named, Tarrlok has extreme ideas on how to control the city. The new Team Avatar disagrees. Most of them get arrested. Then Korra gets kidnapped by a badgerweasel.

[(Anonymous)]

Complaining about the series staying solely in the city seems... really whiny and missing-the-point to me. Yes, there are OTHER THINGS they could see, but there is absolutely no reason to leave Republic City. Unlike the first series, the issue isn't all over the planet and outside the main characters' homes. The problem is in one huge place. It is in their home. And ~exploring outside the city~ wouldn't help the situation at all.

So while it might be disappointing to not be able to see how the rest of the world looks during that time period, faulting the show for it is kind of over-the-top.

Depending on how the season ends, it's likely they might spread out of the city (or end up forced to leave it for whatever reason), and see other places. But it won't happen now because of plot reasons.

[(Anonymous)]

To be honest, I think Korra is leagues better than the original. Aang annoyed the fuck out of me, and I couldn't take the drama of that series seriously. The sheer emotion that Korra has, with more mature characters - plus the AMAZING female protagonist - has me in awe. Every episode is so clever, I fall in love again every week.

OP, if all you're getting from the series is shipping and pro-bending, you're watching it wrong..

[ooh_mrdarcy]

If LoK didn't invest so much in romance I would find LoK to be better than A:tLA.

Alas, it was not to be. Half of the initial charm LoK had is gone.

[gabzillaz]

I agree :/

I think it's a good show, but I'm not into it the same way I was with AtlA. I enjoy GLTAS way more than Korra.

[togekiss]

they've only dedicated one episode to the topic of shipping. the relationships of the characters being a topic in passing in an episode does not automatically make that a shipping-centric episode.

and we're stuck in one place because the season is only 12 episodes long and mike and bryan didn't know they'd be getting another one when they first started working on it. the conflict this time around is more contained because korra only has one element to learn, there's no point in her traveling the world right now when the only airbending master is in republic city.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm actually really disturbed by the complete change in morals. I get that the Avatar isn't the same person as Aang was, but it feels like Korra has nothing in common with the Avatar and doesn't use her bending for any good. I love that she's strong and more into the physical aspects of bending, but the message seems to be that benders should rule the world and nonbenders should be okay with not being equal. I dunno, it's just so muddled. I can't honestly see Amon as a bad guy.

Dear everyone:

[(Anonymous)]

THEY ARE DIFFERENT SERIES. GET OVER IT.

[otakugal15]

Well OP, there is a VERY BIG REASON as to why we haven't seen the spirit world/avatar state....it's linked to her not getting Airbending. Thought that was VERY obvious since episode 2.

And Republic City is kind of metaphor for the lack of spirituality as well, it's why it needs to be set "right." And pro-bending is a foot in the face of bending. Tenzin said it best with his thing. It's all linked and needs to be set right.

We'll get there. Just hold your horses (there honestly hasn't been that much pro-bending after. kind of can't since the arena got partially destroyed).

[deenaa]

I find it really disappointing that so many people went in expecting The Last Airbender 2.0. The whole show is different. It's had eight episodes. Etc.

It's perfectly fine to not like it, but when people complain about this stuff, I can't help but feel that a lot of people have been glorifying the old (and complete) series in their heads for a long time. Give Korra some time to find its voice.

[the_glow_worm]

OP, it sounds to me like you really just want the original series. Which is fine, of course, and we all like different things in shows. But I think you need to stop expecting A:tLA things to come out of LOK. The plot is more nuanced, less black and white, more confusing to the protagonists (and to us). That's intentional. A:tLA was about a protagonist who knew what he had to do, he just needed the skills and resolve. LOK is about a protagonist who has the skills and resolve (well, most of the skills lol) but has no idea what to do. It's contained in one rich, urban and fantastic environment rather than spanning the globe. As for the mystic advice and magic and whatever--again, totally different tones.

TL;DR--I'm thinking you need to set aside your A:tLA expectations and come to terms with the fact the LOK is a completely different show, and there's no need for that to change. And that's okay.

[squirreledaway]

... I watched all of season 1 of ATLA. I don't remember the comet being announced throughout the entire season. Just saying.

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed, 100 percent. And honestly, I don't need to wait until the end of the season to make this judgement like some people say you should. In the first Avatar series, I was hooked. A few episodes in, even if the pace was a bit slow, I was completely hooked. As early as the first episode, we had our conflict, and it was a BIG conflict. We had a good idea of everyone's base characterization. We had lovable characters, a relatable plot, a magical world to explore, and so on. The first season of Avatar may have been it's weakest, but it was by far stronger than Korra's has been. The characters are bland, the world is grey and dreary, the conflict's been done before and not all that interesting, and so forth. The only thing that stood out to me was Amon's ability to take people's bending away. That's fantastic, that interests me. And the episodes where he does that are by far the strongest. But every 'plot twist' or interesting turn that's been thrown at us so far is tired. We haven't explored anything outside the realm of the first series. I'm not impressed by metal bending, I'm not impressed by bloodbending, and I'm not impressed by lightning bending because I've seen it before. Give me something NEW. Keep the old elements, but throw something new in there, something exciting. It's so odd how a show can parallel another show so completely and yet still flop so horribly. All of the character tropes are the same, all of the basic plot elements are the same. For a show that's trying to differentiate itself from it's predecessor, it's not doing a very good job. Tarrlock is basically General Zhao, Mako is the broody character trope that Zuko filled, Bolin is the dorky guy who cracks jokes all the time like Sokka did, Asami is as dull and boring and Suki, despite their fighting abilities, and Korra is bland mixture of Katara's bold confidence Toph's snarky attitude. There is absolutely nothing new to chew on. Maybe the new, modernized world would be cool if it wasn't painted in the most dreary color shades imaginable, and if we actually got to EXPLORE it, but we don't. The show is horribly paced (seriously, I thought the revelation about Asami's father was lacking any sort of buildup), the characters bore me (So what if Korra has feelings and problems and cries sometimes? It doesn't make her any less boring), and the plot is just not working for me. Nothing is holding this show up. It's plot sucks, so the characters should be holding it up. But the characters suck too, and since the plot sucks, there's nothing holding this show together. I really really REALLY hope they prove me wrong, but honestly, it should not take 10 episodes into what is going to be a relatively short series to get me hooked, and I'm STILL not hooked. If not now, then when? When will it happen? Maybe this show does have a lot of fans, but since I'm not in the fandom, and I don't ship, I think I can see it for what it is. And it's very plain.

Also, I watched the first series when I was almost an adult, so no nostalgia filter for me.

[truxillogical]

Oh for pity's sake. It's a different show. That doesn't make it less good, that just means it's going for a different feel.

Me, I'm relieved that they're falling into the trap of sequels and doing all the same beats, but with new characters. And I'm loving every new element we discover.