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I just recently gave this show a rewatch after enjoying a rewatch of Last Airbender, and I noticed two real big problems (in addition to everything else wrong) that keep Korra from being a good protagonist.
1. Way too many fucking main characters. Last Airbender had the five main kids getting the almost all the focus, maybe with a little extra time for Iroh, resulting in a small group of strong characters the writers actually devoted time and energy to -- the many other colorful characters are just there to be fun. Korra thinks that the Avatar, her friends, her teacher, her teacher's family, her teacher's siblings, all the Bei Fongs, all the Bei Fong children, and EVERY OTHER named character all deserve five minutes per episode for a half-assed plot arc. As a result, the members of "Team Avatar" who should be leading the show just feel like dumb caricatures that they pitched as vague ideas in the planning stages and never really made into actual people.
2. They're so devoted to making these villains big and scary that the heroes look pathetic. I'm sure they thought it added to the tension for the villain to always be one step ahead and nigh-insurmountable, but that just makes Korra and most other main characters feel completely stupid and impotent when they not only fail horribly at every turn, but make it look like they were buffoons to even try. There's no Sokka making solid strategies, no Aang to make tough calls about the right thing to do, no Katara to back up someone in danger, it's just a group of imbeciles rushing headfirst into something idiotic EVERY TIME. Worse yet, they acknowledge this and spend all their time being pissed at themselves and each other, bringing them even lower, while the bad guys get to be perfectly focused and efficient.
If Korra had focused down to a small team of mains who were interesting, capable people who were reasonably challenged and able to overcome adversity, it would have been the worthwhile show it looked like on paper
