Naturally, in a world divided into those with powers and those without, the benders run the risk of using their abilities to rule over the non-benders. After the first half of the season was spent mostly focused on the team’s pro-bending sports career, and the soap-opera-worthy love (rectangle?) between Korra, Mako, Asami and Bolin, this episode really dives into the meat of the central story as well as the political complications it brings about. What it does represent-for me, at least-is the moment the show properly clicked into place. “When Extremes Meet” may not be the most sophisticated of Korra stories, nor is it the most action-packed.
In celebration of this all too underrated masterpiece of television, here is a very subjective list of the best the show had to offer. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and last Friday marked the conclusion of Legend of Korra’s fourth and final year. Originally slated as a 12-episode miniseries, Korra’s reception garnered it an additional three more seasons. Moreover, the show also gave us an incredible female protagonist in the form of its titular character-a kickass teenage girl who must save the world, all the while going through that all-too-familiar adolescent journey to discover her own inner self.
And despite a few bumps in the road here and there, Legend of Korra more than met these expectations, crafting a relentlessly engaging series of stories that married the whimsy and imagination of Hayao Miyazaki with the kind of complex political intrigue one might find in a typical episode of Game of Thrones. When Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino first announced Legend of Korra-a sequel series set 70 or so years after the events of their beloved original show-they certainly were subjected to no shortage of high expectations.