If Mako is clearly gearing up to be Korra's main love interest, why is it so hard to root for them to get together? And what can be done to make cheering him on easier?

So I know this week’s episode of Legend of Korra was full of action and revelations and flashbacks (!!!), but let’s talk about what you all want to talk about — romance! I mean, I know that there’s a point to this show (and all shows) besides who’s going to end up with who, but I’ve been steadily avoiding discussing the subject of who Korra’s going to end up with and my opinions on it, and after the way Mako acted this week, I feel like I’ve probably put it off for long enough.

So, straight talk — Mako seems to be Korra’s intended romantic endgame. Mostly, I’m cool with this. I mean, he’s not my favorite. But if we’re assuming Korra’s going to end up with a dude (and as a note to the Korra producers who are probably not reading this, if you’re considering the possibility of Korra and Asami getting together, consider this an enthusiastic “yes” vote from me), he seems the only logical choice. My other favorite dudes are Tenzin, Meelo, and Bolin. Tenzin and Meelo wouldn’t work with Korra for the obvious ick factor, and Bolin’s crush seems to have pretty much bit it ever since he saw Korra and Mako making out. Which I think is fair. I feel like seeing your crush making out with your brother probably kills whatever feelings you were having.

The problem with Mako is I don’t love him yet. To be fair, his character isn’t inherently adorable the way Bolin’s is. And that’s okay! I’m all for growing to love Mako the way I grew to love Zuko, but he’s going to need a lot more development. Of all the main characters, he’s probably tied with Asami if not being beaten by her in terms of development, only what we’ve seen of Asami so far is way more likable. What we’ve seen of Mako makes him sympathetic, but it also makes him hardcore trip what I call “the douchebag alarm.”

Okay, so for dudes reading this (because almost every girl who’s reading this, I’m guessing, knows exactly what “the douchebag alarm” is), what I’m referring to is this thing every girl I have ever met develops in high school. It’s a very useful internal sensor that tells us when a guy is too much of a jerk to date. There are a lot of ways to trip this, like wearing Ed Hardy or referring to yourself as a “nice guy.” Mako hasn’t done that, but he has done the following things:

Photo Credit: Nickelodeon