In response to Mike and Bryan:

I’m torn. On the one hand, I love and respect you guys, and I have since the beginning of TLA. Your writing has been phenomenal on just about every front imaginable. (I love your fanservice reference to Tahno. Reading about that in your description made me smile.) But on the other hand, just because I love and respect you guys doesn’t mean I have to agree with you guys. There are little things that were stated in your ‘Korrasami is Canon!’ announcements that kind of sort of enraged me. Just a little bit ( not really it was actually a lot ). And, to be honest, basically all of what I’m upset about comes from Bryan ( please don’t hate me)





“Sadly and unsurprisingly, there are also plenty of people who have lashed out with homophobic vitriol and nonsense.“ ”…this kind of mindset is…due to a deficiency in empathy.”

I sincerely hope that this isn’t centered toward those who are against Korrasami in general. My reasoning for disliking Korrasami isn’t because I’m homophobic in the least bit. In fact, I’ve supported the LGBT community so fiercely in and outside of my home, that my parents, and even some of my friends who know better, have questioned my sexuality. When I protest against my father’s occasional statements that the LGBT community is odd or unnatural, I have, on more than one occasion, been asked by my own father if I was lesbian (the answer is no). I’m anything but homophobic. Many of my favorite actors are a part of the LGBT community (Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Lee Pace, etc.) Some of my family members are a part of the community. Because I don’t believe Korrasami should have been canon, or because I believe the ending was unexpected or not done well, doesn’t mean I’m homophobic. That also doesn’t mean I have a lack of empathy. One of the reasons I support the LGBT community to the extent that I do is because I relate to being thought of as a deviant. Because I differ from the social norm, and I have been called out for it. I understand what that feeling is like. And it’s because of this that I started paying attention to these social issues to begin with.

“If it seems out of the blue to you, I think a second viewing of the last two seasons would show that perhaps you were looking at it only through a hetero lens.”

I have two main problems with this statement. One, I rewatched the entire series just recently in preparation for the show coming to an end, and I allowed myself to go in with an open mind towards all ships. For instance, when Korra and Bolin went on their date, I realized that, much unlike my reaction upon first watching, I found the two to be sort of cute. I didn’t start shipping it, but I did realize that there is a sort of appeal to that ship. At the same time, I realized that Mako and Korra didn’t have much build up in the beginning, so I understood completely the hostility some had to their relationship. Post-break up Makorra was a tad different. Were there hints to their past relationship? Yes. Were there moments of healing between the two as a result of their past relationship? Yes. Were there moments showing that Mako still has feelings for Korra? While I would have said yes while watching, I never viewed that fact as explicitly canon. Just a way to interpret it. Now, of course his statement was that I was watching the show through a “hetero lens,” not a shipping lens, and I’ll have you know I gave Korrasami a chance as well. In fact, when the ship was first starting to grow in popularity in the fandom, I thought it was a cute little idea, and I actively stated, “You know, I don’t mind this.” But my problem is that, when it comes to romance beyond a crack pairing, there were no hints that Korra and Asami were romantically interested in each other in the show, or at least not beyond extremely deep rooted subtext (for example, Asami grasping Korra’s hand in the Book 3 finale being parallel to Mako grasping Korra’s hand in Book 1). The difference is, the reason I viewed Mako grasping Korra’s hand in Book 1 as romantic and not Asami grasping Korra’s hand in Book 3, was not because of gender, but because, in the show, by the time Mako grasped Korra’s hand it had been previously established that the two were interested in each other as more than friends. Let’s be honest, how many explicitly romantic interactions did we get between Asami and Korra throughout the seasons? I can see how a couple of scenes might be romantic in Book 4, but if you really wanted this ship to be realistic, wouldn’t you push it a little more? More than just “Oh look, Korra wrote to her best friend and not her other friends,” or “Oh look, Korra blushed at a compliment." My second problem with this statement is that you can barely fault the people for not viewing Korra and Asami’s interactions as romantic when you previously established that Korra and Mako were interested in each other. For two seasons long. And what was the point in having Korra and Mako say the words “always” to each other if it was never going to be addressed again? You don’t just say you’ll always love someone and not establish that it wasn’t meant romantically but as friends. Why would you include the word always to begin with? And what was the point in ship-baiting Makorra?

“There is the inevitable reaction, “Mike and Bryan just caved in to the fans.” Well, which fans? There were plenty of Makorra shippers out there, so if we had gone back on our decision and gotten those characters back together, would that have meant we caved in to those fans instead?”

My problem with this isn’t quite extreme as the last two, but I will say that the reason Makorra wouldn’t have been viewed this way and Korrasami is, is simply because, once again, Makorra was a ship established in the show from early on in Book 1. Korrasami was purely born in the fandom from people liking the two’s interactions enough to feel it warranted a ship (like how most all crack pairings happen). Not because there were explicit hints in the show. Not because Korra and Asami were acting in any romantic fashion. But because it was fun to see them support each other and not be at each other’s necks just because they liked the same guy.

I did not like the ending of Korra. Not because there was a bisexual relationship, but because I didn’t personally like the ship, and, even more rooted in my irritation, is how it ruins the narrative of the show. With the ship, a big problem I, myself, have is that Korra and Asami’s relationship is, get this, too perfect. Name one instance other than Asami’s little snap at Korra (to which Korra immediately apologized) where the two had any sort of real problems with one another after Book 1 (their issues in Book 1 were obviously misguided and strictly limited to those scenarios, i.e. Korra not knowing what Asami was actually like or their relationships with Mako). There is no real weight to their relationship. It’s essentially “I’ll support you and you support me.” That’s not a bad thing to have, granted, but there is no conflict in that relationship, and thus no room to grow. If everything is perfect, how can they strengthen their bonds any more than they already have? Just by spending time with each other? That is not only boring for the audience, but for the pair as characters. A real, healthy relationship has arguments. But just because we don’t see those arguments on screen doesn’t mean they don’t happen, right? And just because I don’t approve of those dynamics doesn’t mean it’s not a decent ship. So let’s drop that argument. Even so, I’ve got a bucket full of problems with this ship becoming canon. My problem I mentioned about the narrative of the show—simple. What happened to Team Avatar? Focusing on a ship in the end worked in TLA, because the whole of Team Avatar, both old members and new, spent time together leading up to it. We saw them interacting, on screen in the finale, all as close friends, before answering the series long question of whether or not Aang and Katara would be romantically involved in the end. But in Korra there was no long-standing, unanswered question built up from Book 1 or any other Book for that matter with the exception of the aforementioned "always”. But ignoring that, I’ll say it again, what happened to Team Avatar? The entirety of Team Avatar deserved to go on a vacation. Asami lost her father after losing just about everything else. Korra had been suffering from PTSD for over 3 years, and had to jump back in action to stop another world threat, risking her life. Mako sacrificed himself, nearly dying, injuring his arm. Bolin was captured by Kuvira for a while, along with Varrick, and was nearly killed multiple times. Each and every one of these characters deserved a vacation. TLA ended with the entirety of Team Avatar at peace. Korra clearly does not do that. But let’s not compare here right? I’m irked because it ignores the long standing narrative of friendship. We didn’t need a romance in Korra anymore. You said it yourself, that after Book 2 you wanted to focus on friendship. But instead, we barely even see Korra and Bolin interact this season. Bolin’s a part of the team too. They speak, what, twice together? What happened to that relationship?

So yeah, I’m irritated with that ending. And it really is just the last few seconds I have a problem with. There are consequences to every action, and this action to me didn’t make up for the amount of consequences it had. And when Bryan, one of my favorite writers ever, goes on to make these statements…well let’s just say it rubs me the wrong way. I see what Bryke were going for here, and I really do appreciate it, but I just can’t agree with it.