Jump to content

The Legend of Korra season 4

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mamalins (talk | contribs) at 23:47, 19 December 2023. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Book Four: Balance" redirects here. Not to be confused with The Book of Balance.
The Legend of Korra
Season 4
Book Four: Balance
Region 1 DVD cover art
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkNick.com
Original releaseOctober 3 (2014-10-03) –
December 19, 2014 (2014-12-19)
Season chronology
← Previous
Book Three: Change
List of episodes

Book Four: Balance is the fourth and final season of the animated television series The Legend of Korra by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It consists of thirteen episodes ("chapters"), all animated by Studio Mir. The episodes were made available on the Nickelodeon website and other online outlets each Friday beginning on October 3, 2014 and premiered on Nicktoons on November 28, 2014. Critical reception of Book Four, as of the series in general, was positive.

Book Four is set three years after the previous season. It deals with Avatar Korra's journey of self-discovery following the trauma she suffered in Book Three, and with the security officer Kuvira's campaign to unite the Earth Kingdom under her authoritarian leadership.[1]

The season is then followed by the graphic novel trilogy Turf Wars, that picks up immediately after the series finale.

Production

After Nickelodeon cut the budget for season 4 by about the amount required for one episode, DiMartino and Konietzko decided to include a clip show episode, which reuses previously produced animation, instead of letting many of the creative staff go. Inspired by Samurai Champloo's clip show episode "The Disorder Diaries", they chose to frame a series of edited clips from the previous seasons of The Legend of Korra with about five minutes of new animation. Aired as episode 8, "Remembrances", the clip show was also intended as "a lighthearted romp" similar to Avatar: The Last Airbender's episode "The Ember Island Players" before the series enters its dénouement.[2]

Reception

The season was generally well-received by critics. Critics generally enjoyed the main villain Kuvira and thought she complemented Korra well.[3][4] IGN's Max Nicholson felt the overarching plot of Kuvira's military campaign was not as ambitious as previous seasons', though he still enjoyed it. Nicholson also praised the season for its handling of themes like war, dictatorship, weapons of mass destruction and posttraumatic stress disorder.[3]

The series' final shot, intended to show Asami and Korra becoming a romantic couple, was seen as pushing the boundaries of LGBT representation in children's TV.[4]

"Korra Alone" was praised by critics as one of best episodes of the entire series,[5][6][7] described by Nicholson as "masterful and heart-wrenching."[3] "Day of the Colossus" received positive reviews for its action sequences,[4][8] described by ScreenCrush's Matt Patches as "22-minutes of set-piece wizardry, featuring some of the most imaginative, heart-pounding action I've ever seen."[9] In contrast, the clip show "Remembrances" was singled out as a weak point in the season.[3][10][11]

In the final scene of the season and the series, Korra and Asami face each other holding hands. This scene recalls the earlier wedding scene between Zhu Li and Varrick, as well as the last shot of Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which Aang and Katara kiss. It was subject to discussion outside of entertainment media, notably after the series' creators confirmed that the scene was meant to signify Korra and Asami becoming a romantic couple.[12] According to Joanna Robinson for Vanity Fair, who described the series finale as "the most subversive television event of the year", it "changed the face of TV" by going further than any other work of children's television in depicting same-sex relationships[13] – an assessment shared by reviewers for TV.com,[14] The A.V. Club,[4] USA Today,[15] IGN,[16] Moviepilot[17] and The Advocate.[18] Megan Farokhmanesh of Polygon wrote that by portraying Korra and Asami as bisexual, the series even avoided the error of assuming sexual orientation, as many other TV series did, to be a strict divide between "gay" and "straight".[19] In 2018, io9 ranked the final scene #55 on its list of "The 100 Most Important Pop Culture Moments of the Last 10 Years".[20]

Like the third season, the final season received a 100% rating from 9 reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 9/10.[21]

Episodes

See also: List of The Legend of Korra episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleAnimated byDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateProd.
code
401"After All These Years"Studio MirColin HeckJoshua HamiltonOctober 3, 2014 (2014-10-03)214
412"Korra Alone"Studio MirIan GrahamMichael Dante DiMartinoOctober 10, 2014 (2014-10-10)215
423"The Coronation"Studio MirMelchior ZwyerTim HedrickOctober 17, 2014 (2014-10-17)216
434"The Calling"Studio MirColin HeckKatie MattilaOctober 24, 2014 (2014-10-24)217
445"Enemy at the Gates"Studio MirIan GrahamJoshua HamiltonOctober 31, 2014 (2014-10-31)218
456"The Battle of Zaofu"Studio MirMelchior ZwyerTim HedrickNovember 7, 2014 (2014-11-07)219
467"Reunion"Studio MirColin HeckMichael Dante DiMartinoNovember 14, 2014 (2014-11-14)220
478"Remembrances"Studio MirMichael Dante DiMartinoJoshua Hamilton, Katie Mattila & Tim HedrickNovember 21, 2014 (2014-11-21)221
489"Beyond the Wilds"Studio MirIan GrahamJoshua HamiltonNovember 28, 2014 (2014-11-28)222
4910"Operation Beifong"Studio MirMelchior ZwyerTim HedrickDecember 5, 2014 (2014-12-05)223
5011"Kuvira's Gambit"Studio MirColin HeckJoshua HamiltonDecember 12, 2014 (2014-12-12)224
5112"Day of the Colossus"Studio MirIan GrahamTim HedrickDecember 19, 2014 (2014-12-19)225
5213"The Last Stand"Studio MirMelchior ZwyerMichael Dante DimartinoDecember 19, 2014 (2014-12-19)226

References

  1. ^ Goldman, Eric (September 29, 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA EXCLUSIVE CLIP: WATCH THE OPENING SEQUENCE FROM BOOK FOUR". IGN. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  2. ^ Konietzko, Bryan (November 20, 2014). "A few preemptive words about Episode 408, "Remembrances"..." Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d Nicholson, Max (December 23, 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA: BOOK FOUR REVIEW". IGN.
  4. ^ a b c d Sava, Oliver (December 19, 2014). "The Legend Of Korra: "Day Of The Colossus"/"The Last Stand"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Nicholson, Max (October 10, 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA: "KORRA ALONE" REVIEW". IGN.
  6. ^ Hoffman, Mike (October 12, 2014). "Legend of Korra: Korra Finds Herself, But They Don't Get Along". The Escapist.
  7. ^ Ferrell, Kaci (October 13, 2014). "The Legend Of Korra season 4 episode 2 review: Korra Alone". Den of Geek.
  8. ^ Farid-ul-Haq (December 20, 2014). "The Legend of Korra 4×12 and 4×13 Review: 'Day of the Colossus' and 'The Last Stand'". The Geekiary.
  9. ^ Patches, Matt (December 19, 2014). "'THE LEGEND OF KORRA' FINALE REVIEW: "DAY OF THE COLOSSUS / THE LAST STAND"". ScreenCrush.
  10. ^ Sava, Oliver (November 21, 2014). "The Legend Of Korra: "Remembrances"". The A.V. Club.
  11. ^ Mammano, Michael S. (November 21, 2014). "The Legend of Korra: Remembrances Review". Den of Geek.
  12. ^ Holpuch, Amanda (December 23, 2014). "Legend Of Korra creators confirm show's same-sex relationship". The Guardian. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  13. ^ Robinson, Joanna (December 19, 2014). "How a Nickelodeon Cartoon Became One of the Most Powerful, Subversive Shows of 2014". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  14. ^ Kirkpatrick, Noel (December 19, 2014). "The Legend of Korra Series Finale Review: New Beginnings". TV.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  15. ^ Hoai-Tran, Bui (December 22, 2014). "Let's talk about that 'Legend of Korra' ending..." USA Today. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  16. ^ IGN Staff (December 24, 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA: IGN EDITORS REACT TO THE ENDING AND KORRASAMI". IGN. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  17. ^ Dauvin, Angela (December 19, 2014). "Legend of Korra: Living Up to the ATLA Legacy". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  18. ^ Ogles, Jacob (February 2, 2017). "35 LGBT Characters Who Redefined Family TV". The Advocate.
  19. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (December 23, 2014). "The Legend of Korra achieved more in under a minute than most shows do in their lifetime". Polygon. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  20. ^ io9 Staff (January 17, 2018). "The 100 Most Important Pop Culture Moments of the Last 10 Years: #41-60". io9.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "The Legend of Korra: Season 4". Retrieved May 17, 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Korra_season_4&oldid=1190806375"