Talk:Asami Sato/@comment-76.65.4.139-20120430223628

One of the things that really irked me about this character was not that she was Mako's love interest, but mostly the way that she was introduced. Throughout this whole season (which granted, is not that long) Korra has faced (justified) criticism from Mako about recognizing her unfair privilege over others. She did not have to suffer the way that the bending brothers have and she needs to respect their struggle. I can also see how she will also grow to recognize the power and privilege that comes with her bending abilities (a power and privilege that many Amon followers will never be able to access) as the series progresses. Korra's story is one that is complex. She isn't perfect and there is room for improvement, and that improvement is one that we, the audience, can see her making episode by episode.

One of the things that I loved about the Mako/Korra dynamic was that we was unafraid to call her out on her crap, and she would take that criticism pretty gracefully. I was not necessarily rooting for a relationship between the two, but I could see their friendship having a positive influence on Korra.

Then we come to this episode, where there is a girl who waltzes in with all the wealth, beauty and social graces that any character could ever have. She literally becomes the 'sugar momma' of not only Mako, but the team as well. And Mako is totally fine with this. Granted, he is attracted to her, but the critical view that he usually provides on unearned benifits that some people (namely Korra) have is no longer present in relation to this character. I think that this says more about Mako's hypocrisy than anything else ('its not fair that you have had it easy growing up while I had to struggle to provide for me and my brother... But if you happen to buy me stuff and be really cute then its all cool!') This obviously says more about Mako's character than Asami's.

The point that I am trying to make with this rambling, essay long post is that one of the things that irks me about Asami is that she has no faults. Granted, she has only been in the show for one episode, and I totally understand that it is waaaay too early to really have a genuine criticism of her character. But, I have a feeling that Asami is going to turn into another Yue or Suki. While these were 'good' characters, there were perhaps too good. They did not have any character faults; they had absolutely no room to grow as individuals because their growth was already complete. They were the 'perfect girlfriend' and were unrealistically idealized. Wheras characters like Katara, Toph and even Azula were complex and (sometimes deeply) imperfect. And I like that. I like that Korra couldn't face her fears this episode. I like that people point out that she's a nitwit sometimes. It makes her human.

And that's why I came out of this episode disliking Asami. She was the perfect princess there to save the day, wheras Korra made mistake after mistake and (hopefully) learned from them and became closer to her mentor over them. I understand that Asami has not had a perfect life (losing a mother is a terrible thing) but that is not a fault, she can't grow and learn from her mistakes over that.

If Asami is going to be one of the main characters (like I suspect she will) Bryke will have to step up their game. I want Asami to make mistakes and be a total twit sometimes, and I want other characters to call her on it. I want her to be real, not this angel with a halo over her head. I think that she has the potential to be a really intriguing character, but the way they set her up this episode makes me think that she may very well be another Yue. Give me your thoughts!!!