<div class="quote"><i> <p>Valer22 wrote: </p> <div class="quote">Omnibender wrote:
It baffles we haven't actually seen Koh again since his minuscule cameo in the Escape for the Spirit World game. The fact the spirit portals are open means there's a ton of potential new faces for him to steal. About the Red Lotus, I'd like that. LoK ended with the organization still technically at large. I'd like to see in the comics the scrapped kidnapping attempt of Korra when she was a child that never made it to the episodes. And as much as I'd like to see the connection with previous Avatars being restored, I highly doubt they'd actually do that.</i></div>
<p>I still don't get why people want the previous Avatars restored. The Avatar world has entered a new age in which nature and civilization is moving towards harmony and where humans are reconnected with the spirits and the knowledge of the past Avatars wouldn't be of much use if Korra needs an advise. Not to mention that restoring the Avatars would kinda kill the moral that sometimes we need to accept what happens, for better or worse. </p><p>As for Koh. Even though the portals were closed during ATLA, spirits were still able to enter the material world. So I think he could have gone there any time he wanted. I mean, Koh did manage to take Rafa's face. </p> </div> <p>As I mentioned in another thread, connection to past Avatars is a connection to ten thousand years of knowledge in bending, history, and everything else that all previous Avatars experienced. That is a remarkable resource. I find it impossible that all knowledge of past Avatars has been rendered useless. We also know that past Avatars could contact the current Avatar on their own if there was something they wanted to warn them about, and having access to the past Avatars means the current Avatars has people who shared the same burden that can advise them, who can act as a sounding board. Take the origins of the Avatar for example. Other than a group that was underground for ages, knowledge of Raava and Vaatu was for all intents and purposes lost. There's bound to be significant information in the memories of past Avatars that has been lost. Pretty much all knowledge from that era is lost. The worst part of this is the justification Bryke used: "she didn't use it much, so we figured it was ok to break those connections". That's an asinine excuse. Just because Korra wasn't big on spirituality, that doesn't mean future Avatars wouldn't want to use those connections, or even need them. If I were an Avatar that came after Korra, I'd be furious at her for costing me such a information resource. About Koh, his access to the physical world, while still possible, was still very much restricted to specific timeframes (like solstices), and places. The spirit oasis, for example, is still not a portal where one can physically enter the spirit world. The fact there are three actual physical portals now means it's much easier for him to go hunt for new faces. The fact pretty much only Korra can perform spiritbending means he has very little to fear from most people. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Omnibender wrote:
<div class="quote"> <p>Valer22 wrote: </p> <div class="quote">Omnibender wrote:
It baffles we haven't actually seen Koh again since his minuscule cameo in the Escape for the Spirit World game. The fact the spirit portals are open means there's a ton of potential new faces for him to steal. About the Red Lotus, I'd like that. LoK ended with the organization still technically at large. I'd like to see in the comics the scrapped kidnapping attempt of Korra when she was a child that never made it to the episodes. And as much as I'd like to see the connection with previous Avatars being restored, I highly doubt they'd actually do that.</i></div>
I still don't get why people want the previous Avatars restored. The Avatar world has entered a new age in which nature and civilization is moving towards harmony and where humans are reconnected with the spirits and the knowledge of the past Avatars wouldn't be of much use if Korra needs an advise. Not to mention that restoring the Avatars would kinda kill the moral that sometimes we need to accept what happens, for better or worse. <p>As for Koh. Even though the portals were closed during ATLA, spirits were still able to enter the material world. So I think he could have gone there any time he wanted. I mean, Koh did manage to take Rafa's face. </p> </div>As I mentioned in another thread, connection to past Avatars is a connection to ten thousand years of knowledge in bending, history, and everything else that all previous Avatars experienced. That is a remarkable resource. I find it impossible that all knowledge of past Avatars has been rendered useless. We also know that past Avatars could contact the current Avatar on their own if there was something they wanted to warn them about, and having access to the past Avatars means the current Avatars has people who shared the same burden that can advise them, who can act as a sounding board. Take the origins of the Avatar for example. Other than a group that was underground for ages, knowledge of Raava and Vaatu was for all intents and purposes lost. There's bound to be significant information in the memories of past Avatars that has been lost. Pretty much all knowledge from that era is lost. The worst part of this is the justification Bryke used: "she didn't use it much, so we figured it was ok to break those connections". That's an asinine excuse. Just because Korra wasn't big on spirituality, that doesn't mean future Avatars wouldn't want to use those connections, or even need them. If I were an Avatar that came after Korra, I'd be furious at her for costing me such a information resource. About Koh, his access to the physical world, while still possible, was still very much restricted to specific timeframes (like solstices), and places. The spirit oasis, for example, is still not a portal where one can physically enter the spirit world. The fact there are three actual physical portals now means it's much easier for him to go hunt for new faces. The fact pretty much only Korra can perform spiritbending means he has very little to fear from most people. </div> <p>Actually, Korra did become quite a spiritual person eventually. And I'm not saying that she wouldn't want the past wisdom, just that she shouldn't. Because that would kill an important moral delivered by ALoK. I think you only want the old cycle back because of nostalgia. </p><p>Oh, and the reason why they broke the connection is actually because Bryke didn't like the idea of people comparing Korra to Aang. It's also for the better anyway. It motivated Korra to rely more on her own experience to forge her own path, just like Wan did. And when Bryke said "because she didn't use it that much." that was just a witty remark. They explained the real reason later on (and it was practically hinted at in the show as well). </p><p>And why would you be furious at Korra? It's not like she begged Unalaq to rip Raava out of her and vaporize her. Besides, Korra restored (though renewed) the Avatar cycle later on. </p><p>As for Koh, he only takes people's faces if they wander into his sanctuary or as a punishment for some sinful behaviour (even though it is kind of a harsh punishment, it isn't done for evil purposes). So he doesn't really have a reason to march into the material world and randomly steal faces. And Korra wouldn't use spiritbending on him unless she has no other choice. Of course, I would feel uncomfortable knowing Koh were in the material world, but again, if you behave well, he'll spare you....boy, now that I think about it, he kinda sounds like a story used to frighten children XD </p>

<p>Korra become <i>more</i> spiritual, that doesn't mean she's <i>quite</i> spiritual. Being spiritual doesn't equal asking for past Avatars' advice for every little thing. Even Aang didn't do that. Korra is a very independent person, so it's also unlikely she'd ask for help often. Nostalgia has nothing to do with it. I'd be perfectly ok with never seeing adult Aang through Korra again. That connection was a connection to other Avatars as well, which while technically the past, would also be new information, and more world-building. That was a very good window to other eras. Severing the connection does nothing do stop people comparing Korra to Aang. They'd do that regardless by virtue of both of them sharing any trait, the most notable of which are being the Avatar and the protagonist of each series. That's trying to cover the sun with a sieve. You don't need to sever those connections to make your own path. That's equivalent of saying no past Avatar made their own path because they had connections to past Avatars to rely on if necessary. Korra having Raava ripped out of her is very much a consequence of her drinking Unalaq's kool-aid, who from the moment showed up, was clearly up to no good. She had been manipulated by Tarrlok not long before, and should have seen through Unalaq immediately, they were cut from the same cloth. Korra renewing the cycle is only good for ensuring the continuity of the Avatar cycle. Again, those connections are a wealth of knowledge. Just because Korra doesn't need it, it doesn't mean it should be discarded, or that it wouldn't be useful later. Knowledge is valuable, look no further than the Day of Black Sun. They learned that was a moment that could end the war, and probably could have succeeded, but since the Fire Nation also learned about it, they prepared for it, and thwarted the invasion plans. We can't really discuss Koh much, since we saw so little of him, there's very little with which to say what he would or would not do. And that's actually not true about only in his realm of as punishment. During the "Escape from the Spirit World", which is canon, Koh repeatedly tries taking Aang's face when he's trying to reconnect with the four most recent Avatars before him. Aang was neither in his realm, nor did anything sinful to warrant punishment. From what we've seen, Koh will take any face he has the opportunity to take. </p>

<p>It's not really specified how Koh chooses most of his targets actually, but the thing is even if Korra is the only person who can spiritbend--which we don't actually know--she can still go after him. It's not like he can just waltz in, take whatever he wants, & never have to face consequences. </p><p>Oh, & if you know me, it should go without saying that I'm entirely with Valer22 on the past lives situation. As the Air Nomads would say, people's attachment to the Avatar State causes them suffering & blinds them to the possibilities of a new reality. </p>

<p>I'd like to see the following things: </p>

• The fate if the EK and whether or not Wu's plans go off without hitch.
• More about the current state of the FN and more about Fire Lord Izumi and her kids
• Some further development on the various romances (marriage, babies, etc.)

<div class="quote"><i> <p>Neo Bahamut wrote: It's not really specified how Koh chooses most of his targets actually, but the thing is even if Korra is the only person who can spiritbend--which we don't actually know--she can still go after him. It's not like he can just waltz in, take whatever he wants, & never have to face consequences. </p><p>Oh, & if you know me, it should go without saying that I'm entirely with Valer22 on the past lives situation. As the Air Nomads would say, people's attachment to the Avatar State causes them suffering & blinds them to the possibilities of a new reality. </p> </i></div>
<p>I assume that so far Korra is the only one who can because Unalaq isn't known to have taught it to anyone else, and Korra isn't known to have taught it to anyone else either, though I would certainly expect she would teach to others, should it become necessary, or should anyone ask her. I certainly think Kya would ask to learn. </p><p>I don't deny the value of the "shit happens, deal with it" of the loss of the connection, I just think there's value in having access to information. The loss of that to me is akin to the loss of the Fire Nation section of Wan Shi Tong's library, there's a lot of interesting stuff we might never know because of that. Sorry if I value knowledge and information. At the least the Tree of Time was still able to show stuff from Wan's time, so there's still an avenue of acquiring ancient information should it become really necessary. </p> <div class="quote"><i> <p>QueenCeline wrote: I'd like to see the following things: </p>

• The fate if the EK and whether or not Wu's plans go off without hitch.
• More about the current state of the FN and more about Fire Lord Izumi and her kids
• Some further development on the various romances (marriage, babies, etc.)

</i></div>
<p>Really not interested in shipping. Far too easy to highjack valuable time spent in actual plot. I'm still ok with shipping happens along a proper story, just not if the shipping is the primary story. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Korra having Raava ripped out of her is very much a consequence of her drinking Unalaq's kool-aid, who from the moment showed up, was clearly up to no good. She had been manipulated by Tarrlok not long before, and should have seen through Unalaq immediately, they were cut from the same cloth.</i></div>
<p>Delicious argument from extra-narrative perspective. Also I would argue that gaining spiritbending easily outweighs the costs of allying with Unalaq. </p><p>We don't know if Unalaq was the only one who knew how to Spiritbend either. </p>

<div class="quote"><i> <p>Neo Bahamut wrote: </p> <div class="quote">Korra having Raava ripped out of her is very much a consequence of her drinking Unalaq's kool-aid, who from the moment showed up, was clearly up to no good. She had been manipulated by Tarrlok not long before, and should have seen through Unalaq immediately, they were cut from the same cloth.</i></div>
<p>Delicious argument from extra-narrative perspective. Also I would argue that gaining spiritbending easily outweighs the costs of allying with Unalaq. </p><p>We don't know if Unalaq was the only one who knew how to Spiritbend either. </p> </div> <p>Korra was easily defeated by chi-blockers the first time she fought them because she knew nothing about them, and learned how to fight them, and even in the instances she was defeated later, she put up more of a fight. Is it that unrealistic to expect her to suspect manipulation of some sort when someone is massaging her ego the same way a previous manipulator did, specially if she's supposed to have learned not to tackle all problems head on? If you think that's extra-narrative perspective, at most it shifts the issue from Korra's own judgement to the writers' room, but it's still an issue. The artbook for Book Two mentioned spiritbending as an unique skill developed by Unalaq, so it's confirmed he originated it. I see it can go both ways on others knowing it before he taught Korra, I just don't quite see him as someone who give others such a useful skill, not unless he gets something valuable in return. The thing I find odd with spiritbending, is that it seems like a watered-down version of energybending, which we know can affect spirit energy. </p><p>About plots I'd like to see, the Red Lotus origins people have already commented on. Something I've always wanted is a greater spirit presence. But not as those all-powerful beings, or the pet-like spirits, I mean characters that happen to be spirits. More of the ones like the fruithog spirit Korra and Asami met in A Breath of Fresh Air. I'd like a spirit main character. There have been a couple sketches of Korra and Asami riding that dragon bird spirit, but that feels more like a spirit equivalent of Appa or Naga to me. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>Omnibender wrote:
Korra become <i>more</i> spiritual, that doesn't mean she's <i>quite</i> spiritual. Being spiritual doesn't equal asking for past Avatars' advice for every little thing. Even Aang didn't do that. Korra is a very independent person, so it's also unlikely she'd ask for help often. Nostalgia has nothing to do with it. I'd be perfectly ok with never seeing adult Aang through Korra again. That connection was a connection to other Avatars as well, which while technically the past, would also be new information, and more world-building. That was a very good window to other eras. Severing the connection does nothing do stop people comparing Korra to Aang. They'd do that regardless by virtue of both of them sharing any trait, the most notable of which are being the Avatar and the protagonist of each series. That's trying to cover the sun with a sieve. You don't need to sever those connections to make your own path. That's equivalent of saying no past Avatar made their own path because they had connections to past Avatars to rely on if necessary. Korra having Raava ripped out of her is very much a consequence of her drinking Unalaq's kool-aid, who from the moment showed up, was clearly up to no good. She had been manipulated by Tarrlok not long before, and should have seen through Unalaq immediately, they were cut from the same cloth. Korra renewing the cycle is only good for ensuring the continuity of the Avatar cycle. Again, those connections are a wealth of knowledge. Just because Korra doesn't need it, it doesn't mean it should be discarded, or that it wouldn't be useful later. Knowledge is valuable, look no further than the Day of Black Sun. They learned that was a moment that could end the war, and probably could have succeeded, but since the Fire Nation also learned about it, they prepared for it, and thwarted the invasion plans. We can't really discuss Koh much, since we saw so little of him, there's very little with which to say what he would or would not do. And that's actually not true about only in his realm of as punishment. During the "Escape from the Spirit World", which is canon, Koh repeatedly tries taking Aang's face when he's trying to reconnect with the four most recent Avatars before him. Aang was neither in his realm, nor did anything sinful to warrant punishment. From what we've seen, Koh will take any face he has the opportunity to take.</i></div>
<p>Actually, Korra did become very spiritual in the end. The whole point of ALoK was for Korra to reach spiritual enlightenment. And she did that by the end of Book 4, thanks to her experience and the wisdom she received from it as well as from Tenzin, Jinora, Raava, Toph and to some extent, Zaheer and Unalaq. </p><p>Also, about the Unalaq thing. Of course WE know he was up to no good. But COME ON, he's her uncle, he's family, she had no reason to mistrust him. And spiritbending is not comparable to energybending. Spiritbending is basically just an advanced version of healing. Energybending is much more powerful and dangerous form of bending. </p>

<p>Being spiritual still wouldn't mean consulting past lives at every available opportunity. Character growth can happen as a result of pretty much everything. Still a poor rationale for the "they don't want people to compare Aang and Korra" reasoning you put forward. Unalaq is an uncle who she barely knows, as much as she had no reason to mistrust him, she had no real reason to actually trust him either. Between her father, who she always had trust and went back to trusting after Unalaq betrayed her, and Tenzin, who she had grow to trust and respect, she had at least enough reason to take a moment and give it some careful thought. Blame Korra's character or blame the writers for writing her like that, it's still sloppy. Yes, spiritbending is comparable to energybending. The only thing spiritbending was shown to do is affecting spirits by changing their energy. It's only comparable to healing in that healing works by changing how chi works in humans. Not quite the same effect in spirits. The purifying/corrupting effects on spirits feel more like instant change of morals. Energybending has energy in its name, and affects spiritual energy, as seen by Korra using it both in the spirit world, and to deflect the spirit energy from Kuvira's weapon. Yes, energybending is powerful, that's why I said spiritbending is a watered-down version of it. Other than not being as dangerous to the one using it, the only thing spiritbending has over it is the fact it's easier to learn, as you only need to be a waterbender, while lion-turtles aside, energybending is restricted to Avatars. </p>