A follow-up to my essay, “Rethinking Korrasami”

Keep in mind, Bryke didn’t know how much Korrasami they could show at all (if any) as they were developing Book 3. And we know they only “fought harder” when they got into Book 4′s development. So in that case,if they didn’t think we could get the canonically explicit Korrasami, they’d have to resort to nothing but subtext to tell their story, right?

Now, if you’re asking “do you really think the intended narrative is that Korra and Asami began dating in 3x10?” On the whole…no. Here’s the thing: gauging authorial intent is a tricksy little hobbit, especially when the authors were constantly amending their story. We are lucky though, because Bryan gave us some insight:

“The more Korra and Asami’s relationship progressed, the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for us. However, we still operated under this notion, another “unwritten rule,” that we would not be allowed to depict that in our show. So we alluded to it throughout the second half of the series, working in the idea that their trajectory could be heading towards a romance” (emphasis mine).

With this, we understand that they only “alluded” to Korrasami in the canon because they didn’t think they could do any more. That’s baldly stated. So Bryke couldn’t write the romance they conceived of, or at least a story more immediately recognizable as a romance to the audience at large.

Ironically, this kind of worked in their favor in that it allowed for the Korrasami narrative we got to be one of the most realistic depictions of same-gendered romantic intrigue between two friends I’ve ever seen. The constraints holding Bryke back were the same exact constraints society places on us, which is why not immediately understanding feelings, more subtle flirting and looks, and greater ambiguity surrounding the friend/partner dynamic are common features to modern day queer relationships. The same features found in the Korrasami narrative, largely due to the limits placed on the storytellers.



So it’s not necessarily a coincidence that Korrasami was great and realistic writing; the same exact heterocentric societal mechanisms color both real same-gendered love stories and Korrasami. And in some ways, the realism is truly the best part of it. I mean look, I love the Kataangs, but Fortune Teller and Cave of Two Lovers were pretty damn contrived. The constraints placed by Nickelodeon took these tired romantic storytelling tropes off the table for Bryke in their scripting of Korrasami. And what’s more is that the common romantic tropes and cues are rather heteronormative. Overall, I think there are few who missed their use in Korrasami, other than those who have remained strongly resistant to the narrative (to each their own, just keep it out of the tags).

So then what was the deal with the ship? I do think, objectively, the ship was not Bryke’s attempt to tell us that Korra and Asami were definitively dating in that episode. That being siad, I’m of the mind that the ship was 100% intentional to allude to Korrasami shipping. Without being able to depict traditional overt romantic cues as we’ve become accustomed, I do think Bryke made a conscious effort to speak to the audience directly, and rally the shippers. In this way, they kind of relied on fandom to sound the Korrasami alarm and alert others to its build up. They knew we would latch onto Korra’s use of the world “girlfriend,” and as they drew Grandma Yin holding both Korra and Asami’s hands, they probably envisioned us captioning it with a “meet my OTP” or something of the kind.

And the ship itself. The ship is just too damn conspicuous. Because think about it, plot-wise, what happened for Korra and Asami? They were captured, they crashed, they got out of the desert, and they ended back where they started. So that episode really only served to flesh out their characterizations…I mean, it’s not like we saw Kong again or anything. In fact, Korra and Asami’s dynamic and teamwork could in some ways be considered the focus of that episode. And I do think their choice of a ship, plus the very intentional language around it (“Nice work. Now let’s take control of the ship” and “This ship isn’t going anywhere”) was 100% to allude to “Korrasami, The Ship.” Especially given that the episode ended with Tonraq’s approval. They had to know we were going to run with it.



And you know what? I think it worked! Korrasami went from a crackship at the end of Season 2 to being considered a “serious contender” for the endgame by Season 3’s close. And seriously, just take a look at some of the #korrasami posts that occurred right around that episode’s airing. So yeah, the airship was very intentional on Bryke’s part as a signal for us to focus on Korra and Asami’s dynamic.



Does this mean my subtext essay is worthless? Well, from the sound of Bryan’s post, he and Mike wrote Korrasami on the “trajectory [that] could be heading towards a romance” simply because they assumed they couldn’t show it. So if 3x10 is the episode they wanted us to really begin honing in on that relationship, perhaps the “subtextual narrative,” that is the narrative where Korra and Asami became girlfriends in the Si Wong Desert, is the story of Korrasami if Bryke hadn’t had been (or assumed to be) constrained. The story of Korrasami that the in-verse characters wanted to tell.



We’ve talked a bit about the likelihood that there is a lack of stigma attached to same-gendered relationships in the Avatar-verse. If this is the case, the wonderful realism of the canonical Korrasami narrative might actually not be so “realistic” for the characters in their world. Yes, it’s still a heteronormative world simply due to the apparently low prevalence of same-gender couples (though again, censorship, we’re making an assumption based on an innately constrained depiction), which serves to explain things like “the guy gives the girl the betrothal necklace.” And for that reason, Korra, who grew up sheltered, would still not likely recognize her sexual interest in Asami from the get-go. Though in a world without love between two women being marginalized, it is likely that she would come to the realization earlier, especially given that her arc in Book 2 ended with self-discovery/understanding.

Taking all that into account, Korra and Asami first getting together in 3x10 isn’t all that far-fetched. And in fact I think in some ways the subtextual narrative better explains certain character moments, like Asami offering to watch Korra’s body the very next episode, Korra looking only at Asami when talking about turning herself into Zaheer, the intimacy of their scene in the Book 3 finale, Asami’s willingness to drop everything and move down to the South Pole (which though still in-character for a friend who’s in love, does make a bit more sense for a girlfriend), and so on. Yes, it requires ignoring aspects of the canon, or at least taking dialogue and going “what was the intent here?”…but keep in mind, this was a canon that we know was externally limited. So strict adherence to its depiction may not be the best choice.

The canonical Korrasami narrative we got was gripping and moving in all the right ways, and a beautiful story that felt so very real to us. And I do think that oddly enough, the limits Bryke put on themselves in its depiction is part of what made it so gripping, because they reflected similar societal barriers that exist in one’s understanding same-gender attraction. But perhaps the subtextual Korrasami narrative is the unconstrained story—the story that in some ways was “meant” to be. It’s how Korrasami could have unfolded if Bryke hadn’t restricted themselves with that “unwritten rule.” And if nothing else it’s the story that mystifyingly caused me to write fluffy fic.