The Legend of Korra 4×12 and 4×13 Review: ‘Day of the Colossus’ and ‘The Last Stand’

I don’t know where to start with the two part finale of The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance. Should I talk about the action that took place, the new spirit portal opening or Korra and Asami making things official? It was a bold move but a very welcome one by creators Michael DiMartin and Bryan Konietzo.

Team Korra survived Kuvira’s attack. I was expecting someone major to die, but I was glad that didn’t happen. The finale was filled with emotional moments throughout, and Mako and Tenzin came really close to dying. I actually thought Mako was going to sacrifice himself to take down the Giant Mecha near the end.

Team Korra hatched out a lot of plans to take down Kuvira. I liked how Meelo took charge and tried to disrupt the Mecha’s vision. Their plan failed but they attacked again with the flying Mecha suits Varrick and Asami invented. I liked how Asami’s father came to help them all out. He devised the idea to give the flying Mecha suits plasma saws so they could infiltrate the giant one. He was one of the antagonists back in Book 1 but I’m glad the show found some use for him and allowed Asami to forgive her father.

Varrick and Zhu Li also came to terms with their ‘complicated’ relationship. The crazy scientist finally asked her to marry him and I let out a breath of relief. Even though I shipped Varrick with Bolin, he and Zhu Li were always meant for each other, so no disappointed feelings from my side.

The action sequences were the best in the finale. Everyone showed exceptional bending skills during the fights. I was impressed by Bolin and the pool of lava he was able to create as Team Korra tried to make the giant Mecha fall. Korra also showed us her true power, especially when she used a river to freeze the robot in its tracks.

The final fight between Korra and Kuvira was exciting to watch. The two were evenly matched, even though Korra was fighting her with three elements and Kuvira only used metalbending. After being poisoned, Korra was able to experience what it was like to be helpless and that led her to show compassion towards Kuvira. I was expecting the spirits to take out Kuvira when the fight occurred in the spirit woods, but that didn’t happen. Both women talked about their reasons behind doing the things they had done throughout Book 4. I still think Zaheer was the most thought out antagonist in the whole series and I wanted Kuvira to die.

Prince Wu had a lot of character development in the finale. He helped the people of Republic City escape by brining giant badger moles. He also used them to take out three of Kuvira’s soldiers that tried to capture the evacuees. I liked his declaration to take down the monarchy in the Earth Kingdom and decided to hold elections instead.

The finale lead to two major events happening in the Avatar Universe: A new spirit portal opened up in the heart of Republic City, and Korra and Asami made things official between them. Of all the characters Korra could’ve ended up with, Asami was the perfect choice from the start. It was her that Korra sent letters to while she was recovering from her fight with Zaheer. There was a scene where Korra and Mako talked about always having each other’s backs. I was expecting them to kiss but I relaxed when Korra didn’t even blush like the way she did when Asami complimented her new hair.

Korra walked away from the wedding to clear her head and Asami joined her. That’s when I knew the animated show was making them a couple. Korra apologized for being out of touch when she ran away and Asami said she couldn’t have handled losing her during the battle. The two decided to take a vacation and the show ended with them entering the new spirit portal, holding hands as they looked at each other.

Now, some of you might say that they were best friends and not a romantic couple. That’s up to you if you want to interpret the scenes that way. If this was a ‘friend’ thing, Korra would’ve also apologized to Bolin and Mako for not staying in touch with them too. She would’ve planned to go on a vacation with the whole team. But she didn’t because this was not a Team Korra thing! No, this was a Korra and Asami thing, and it was purely because of romantic reasons. Two characters riding off together into the sunset at the end of any series or even a book, etc. is code for romantic pairing.

I’m still not over how happy I was to see such a pairing and that too in a major animated series that has millions of fans worldwide. Awesome representation!

Best Bending Award: Everybody wins this week!

Did you watch the finale of The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance? What did you think of it? What are your thoughts about Korra and Asami? Let us know!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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