The Legend of Korra season 4
The Legend of Korra | |
---|---|
Season 4 | |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Release | |
Original network | Nicktoons Nick.com |
Original release | October 3 December 19, 2014 | –
Season chronology | |
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 physical and psychological injuries she incurred in the fight with Zaheer and with unrest in the Earth Kingdom where Kuvira, formerly a security officer in Suyin Beifong's service, seeks to seize power by military force.[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]
"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]
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Animated by | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
40 | 1 | "Chapter One: After All These Years" | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Joshua Hamilton | October 3, 2014 | 214 |
41 | 2 | "Chapter Two: Korra Alone" | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Michael Dante DiMartino | October 10, 2014 | 215 |
42 | 3 | "Chapter Three: The Coronation" | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick | October 17, 2014 | 216 |
43 | 4 | "Chapter Four: The Calling" | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Katie Mattila | October 24, 2014 | 217 |
44 | 5 | "Chapter Five: Enemy at the Gates" | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Joshua Hamilton | October 31, 2014 | 218 |
45 | 6 | "Chapter Six: The Battle of Zaofu" | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick | November 7, 2014 | 219 |
46 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: Reunion" | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Michael Dante DiMartino | November 14, 2014 | 220 |
47 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: Remembrances" | Studio Mir | Michael Dante DiMartino | Joshua Hamilton, Katie Mattila & Tim Hedrick | November 21, 2014 | 221 |
48 | 9 | "Chapter Nine: Beyond the Wilds" | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Joshua Hamilton | November 28, 2014 | 222 |
49 | 10 | "Chapter Ten: Operation Beifong" | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick | December 5, 2014 | 223 |
50 | 11 | "Chapter Eleven: Kuvira's Gambit" | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Joshua Hamilton | December 12, 2014 | 224 |
51 | 12 | "Chapter Twelve: Day of the Colossus" | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Tim Hedrick | December 19, 2014 | 225 |
52 | 13 | "Chapter Thirteen: The Last Stand" | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Michael Dante Dimartino | December 19, 2014 | 226 |
References
- ^ Goldman, Eric (29 September 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA EXCLUSIVE CLIP: WATCH THE OPENING SEQUENCE FROM BOOK FOUR". IGN. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ Konietzko, Bryan (20 November 2014). "A few preemptive words about Episode 408, "Remembrances"..." Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d Nicholson, Max (December 23, 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA: BOOK FOUR REVIEW". IGN.
- ^ a b c d Sava, Oliver (19 December 2014). "The Legend Of Korra: "Day Of The Colossus"/"The Last Stand"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ Nicholson, Max (October 10, 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA: "KORRA ALONE" REVIEW". IGN.
- ^ Hoffman, Mike (October 12, 2014). "Legend of Korra: Korra Finds Herself, But They Don't Get Along". The Escapist.
- ^ Ferrell, Kaci (October 13, 2014). "The Legend Of Korra season 4 episode 2 review: Korra Alone". Den of Geek.
- ^ Farid-ul-Haq. "The Legend of Korra 4×12 and 4×13 Review: 'Day of the Colossus' and 'The Last Stand'". The Geekiary.
- ^ Patches, Matt (December 19, 2014). "'THE LEGEND OF KORRA' FINALE REVIEW: "DAY OF THE COLOSSUS / THE LAST STAND"". ScreenCrush.
- ^ Sava, Oliver (November 21, 2014). "The Legend Of Korra: "Remembrances"". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Mammano, Michael S. (November 21, 2014). "The Legend of Korra: Remembrances Review". Den of Geek.
- ^ Holpuch, Amanda (23 December 2014). "Legend Of Korra creators confirm show's same-sex relationship". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Robinson, Joanna (19 December 2014). "How a Nickelodeon Cartoon Became One of the Most Powerful, Subversive Shows of 2014". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, Noel (19 December 2014). "The Legend of Korra Series Finale Review: New Beginnings". TV.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ Hoai-Tran, Bui (22 December 2014). "Let's talk about that 'Legend of Korra' ending..." USA Today. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ IGN Staff (24 December 2014). "THE LEGEND OF KORRA: IGN EDITORS REACT TO THE ENDING AND KORRASAMI". IGN. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Dauvin, Angela (19 December 2014). "Legend of Korra: Living Up to the ATLA Legacy". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (February 2, 2017). "35 LGBT Characters Who Redefined Family TV". The Advocate.
- ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (23 December 2014). "The Legend of Korra achieved more in under a minute than most shows do in their lifetime". Polygon. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ io9 Staff (January 17, 2018). "The 100 Most Important Pop Culture Moments of the Last 10 Years: #41-60". io9.
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