While a lot of people love Avatar: The Last Airbender (and, to a lesser extent, The Legend of Korra), I simply love the WORLD of Avatar itself.
Not only have I watched ATLA and The Legend of Korra in their entirety multiple times, but I've also read all of the comics, as well as all six novels. So, believe me when I say this: nobody was looking forward to Avatar: Seven Havens more than I was. And I like it!…to a certain extent.
While I did enjoy the first three episodes on my Paramount+ subscription, there were a couple of things that really turned me off when it comes to the show. So, here’s everything I like about the new series (Which has three new episodes coming October 16th), and two things that I greatly dislike.
What I Love: The Diversity!
No surprise here: when I first saw that our protagonists would be named Pavi and Nisha, I was overjoyed that we would finally have characters of Indian descent leading the way. Now, since India doesn’t actually exist in the Avatar universe, our two protagonists (who are twin Avatars, might I add, a first for the series!) are connected to the Earth Kingdom, which now has an assortment of different benders living together.
This makes sense since the Haven that we’re introduced to–which is the central setting of this story thus far–is called Ellora, which is the actual name of real caves (The Ellora Caves) in Aurangabad, India. This is a nice reference and further proof that the series’ creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, are definitely aiming for a sense of broader Asian culture in this new series.
Which is so cool. I love how unique the Haven of Ellora feels with its diverse populace, and also that Earth, Fire, Air, and Waterbenders all work together in this Haven. It’s all beautiful to see!
What I Greatly Dislike So Far: The Ages Of The Main Protagonists
Okay, so I know I just said that I love that Pavi and Nisha are of Indian descent, but I don’t particularly love how YOUNG they are. Yes, Aang was twelve in Avatar: The Last Airbender (which was why it was so cool to see him all grown up in the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie), but I found his age much more acceptable in that series, as it really fit the sometimes silly tone that the show possessed.
Avatar: Seven Havens feels a lot more mature, tonally speaking, and then we have these little kids who are nine and act like they’re nine. This kind of throws off the tone since their ages don’t really mesh well with the seriousness that this show is seemingly going for.
It might be why I prefer The Legend of Korra to Avatar: The Last Airbender, because Korra was the perfect age (seventeen-twenty-one) for the more mature themes presented in her series. Pavi and Nisha being nine just seems off in the first three episodes, so I hope they add more humor or something, because their ages just aren’t working for me currently.
What I Love: The Openly Gay Couple
One aspect that was both applauded and somewhat maligned in The Legend of Korra was the “relationship” between Korra and Asami, better known as “Korrasami”. Now, I put “relationship” in quotes because when we finally realized that Korra and Asami had a thing going on between them, it was literally in the last few seconds of the final episode, and even then it felt questionable (Like, ARE they attracted to each other? They could just be holding hands as friends).
We’d learn in the subsequent comics that yes, they are dating, but I recall a lot of fans at the time wishing there were better hints sprinkled throughout that a relationship was blossoming. Well, I’m happy to report that in Avatar: Seven Havens, it’s clear as day that one of our leads, Jae, is in a relationship with another male named Datu.
For one thing, Jae is constantly blushing around him, and later on, Datu kisses Jae. And, like, cool. I know a lot of parents would see something like that and be like, “My child is not watching this,” and I’m sure the powers that be at Paramount+ were likely considering the possible loss of viewership. I’m glad that the creators thought it was important enough to make sure that this gay relationship was obvious, because representation matters.
What I Greatly Dislike So Far: The Post-Apocalyptic Setting
Ellora is a cool setting since it feels Middle Eastern, but the thing I don’t like about it is that it’s supposed to be post-apocalyptic, because it honestly doesn’t feel like it.
Yes, this is definitely a world that is far removed from the Republic City found in The Legend of Korra, as that had a steampunk aesthetic with fast cars, moving pictures, and dirigibles, and Ellora has none of that. It also just doesn’t feel post-apocalyptic to me in the sense that the characters, besides Pavi, don’t seem to be living on the razor’s edge and just trying their best to survive, even though this season’s title is actually Book One: Survival.
This bugs me, since the idea of a post-apocalyptic world of Avatar does sound really intriguing to me, but it just doesn’t come off as such given what they have currently provided for us. I think I may have gone into this with the wrong idea, though, since when I envision a “post-apocalyptic world,” I picture everybody scrounging through trash and people at each other’s throats just to get by, and that’s not what we have here. This civilization seems to be thriving, so I feel like they dropped the ball on this one.
What I Love: The Mystery Attached To Korra
Lastly, I think the thing that has gotten me the most invested in this show is the mystery of what the hell happened to Korra. At the start of this series, we learn that people now fear and hate the Avatar, since Korra apparently caused a near-extinction-level event that the characters are all calling the “Cataclysm,” and like, what? Korra is the one who brought the near-destruction of humankind? How?
Also, how long did Korra live? This story takes place 225 years after The Legend of Korra, which means one of two things: Either one, we’ve had other Avatars since her death that we never got to see, or two, Korra really lived hundreds of years, and with her passing, her spirit is now transferred onto Pavi and Nisha, which, again, makes them the first twin Avatars.
This mystery is truly the thing that has me most invested in this new series, because I have just got to know what happened to Korra, or if there are darker implications at play and perhaps people are trying to make her out to be the villain, when she was actually trying to save the world. Either way, this mystery is what’s now got me hooked, and I’m looking forward to the next three episodes this Friday. Hopefully, more will be revealed on this front.
