Warning:from The Legend of Korra: Book Two to follow.

Can you believe it's already over? It seems like just yesterday when The Legend of Korra: Book Two first premiered on TV. Alas, it's over now, leaving us to discuss and pore over every detail until Book Three comes out. Indeed, it was a big year for Team Avatar, and the stakes had never been higher. Book Two introduced a ton of new characters and mythology that rocked the very foundation of the show's premise, although it did take some time in getting there. Now, some fans might call Book Two a slow burn, and in some ways it was; despite being called "Spirits," it took about nine episodes before Korra even got to the Spirit World. Still, there was a lot of excellent stuff leading up to that moment. Where Book One pretty much all stayed in Republic City, Book Two expanded its horizons to include other parts of the Avatar world, thus taking its first steps into exciting new territory.The conflict between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, for example, added a fascinating element of political drama. Through Korra's eyes, we saw the emergence of a civil war that quickly turned into a worldwide dispute. Matters of foreign policy were explored, as Korra struggled to maintain a neutral stance in a very personal conflict. In earlier episodes, especially, it was hard to side with any one character -- Korra, Mako, Unalaq and even President Raiko -- because each of them had valid arguments. I know some fans took issue with Korra's bad temper here, but looking at it from her perspective as a hotheaded teenager, it seemed only natural that her first major task as the Avatar would have some trial and error.

IGN's The Legend of Korra: Season Finale Review

Of course, "Beginnings" was the crown jewel of Book Two, as we learned the history of Avatar Wan. Not only did this hour-long episode offer amazing insight into the Avatar world, but it also told a gripping, standalone story with great characters, striking animation and a fantastical sense of wonder. That same energy carried into the second half of Book Two, with Korra forging her own spiritual path for a modern era. This arc hit its peak in "A New Spiritual Age," when Korra discovered the true nature of her powers and assumed her responsibilities as a full-fledged Avatar.

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Spirits, you say? Where!?

"Looks like you had some car trouble. Good thing the police are here."

History in the making.

Book Two was also a great season for Tenzin, whose own emotional journey was just as compelling, if not more so than Korra's. Thanks to "Civil Wars: Part 1," we learned a lot about Tenzin's childhood and his legacy as an airbender. We also found out that his greatest strength was not in leading, but in teaching. Much to good effect, this was demonstrated in "Civil Wars: Part 2" and "Peacekeepers," as Tenzin bonded with Ikki and Meelo, respectively. But it was in "The Guide" and "Darkness Falls" that Tenzin really flourished, as he learned the value of his role as a father and mentor.Other characters came into their own this season as well. Mako, for example, developed an actual personality and even played a key role in the main storyline. Gone was the generic love interest from Book One; in its place was a real character with dimensionality and charm. Even the romance subplot, as trivial as it was, was much improved over last season's, and for once, Mako's struggle with Korra and Asami felt believable and organic. Sure, he was still a schmuck, but a likable schmuck.Bolin had some great moments this season as well; his big-screen turn as Nuktuk: Hero of the South was a definite highlight from Book Two, as was his hilariously twisted relationship with Eska. Meanwhile, Asami was a bit underutilized all around, though she did have her moment to shine in "The Sting." Jinora also had a much bigger part in Book Two, which was cool to see (save for a bit that I've already talked about at length in my finale review ). Newcomers like Kya, Bumi, Tonraq, Eska and Desna were all strong additions to the ensemble and brought interesting new dynamics to the core cast. That said, this year's MVP had to be Varrick, who was voiced to perfection by the uber-talented John Michael Higgins. ("Do the thing!")In fact, the only character that didn't really click, in retrospect, was Unalaq. For one, it was basically telegraphed from the beginning that he was a bad guy -- so much so that I was convinced they'd do a 180 and have him turn out to be good. "Surely," I thought, "they wouldn't have another waterbender with a brother complex as their main villain?" Turns out, they totally would. (Yes, Vaatu is the "bigger bad," but he's more a faceless personification of evil than a living, breathing person.) Don't get me wrong, as a general antagonist, Unalaq was solid, and his backstory was intriguing. But as the main adversary for Book Two, he just didn't have that X factor that characters like Amon and Azula had. Granted, he got a lot cooler when he merged with Vaatu, but it shouldn't take a kaiju-sized transformation to make your villain stand out.From a technical standpoint, Book Two was mostly fantastic. It's widely known at this point that Studio Pierrot stepped in to animate the first half of Book Two, filling in for Studio Mir, which animated all of Book One. At the start, the animation was actually tops. (The first dark spirit encounter comes to mind.) Personally, I didn't notice a steep drop in quality, although it did become more apparent over time, specifically in dialogue scenes, that the animation wasn't quite up to par (distorted faces, clunky physical gestures, etc.). "Peacekeepers" and "The Sting" were probably the worst offenders of this.However, with the return of Studio Mir in "Beginnings," the show took a major step up in quality. The last four episodes in particular were masterfully rendered and delivered fluid action, sublime composition and a gorgeous use of color. It's also worth mentioning Jeremy Zuckerman's original score, which, as always, had some of the most dynamic and inspirational cues I've ever heard on television. All in all, The Legend of Korra is still a beast when it comes to presentation and remains one of the best-looking animated shows out there.