“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is about children; there’s romance in the show, but it’s always a supporting detail of the story. Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) has a crush on Katara (Mae Whitman), Sokka (Jack De Sena) has relationships with both Water Tribe Princess Yue (Johanna Braddy) and warrior woman Suki (Jennie Kwan), and Prince Zuko (Dante Basco) has a relationship with the sullen Mai (Cricket Leigh).
“The Legend of Korra” is about young adults, i.e. people whose romantic relationships and worldly outlooks are still crystallizing. So, “Legend Of Korra” explores different political ideologies (an area where the show, which is groundbreakingly progressive in some ways, is dispiritingly conservative) and amps up the soapiness of the romantic stories.
In Book 1 of “The Legend of Korra,” Korra joins a team of “pro-bending” athletes alongside two brothers, the Firebender Mako (David Faustino) and Earthbender Bolin (P.J. Byrne). Bolin likes Korra (at first), but she only has eyes for Mako. Mako, though, is more reluctant to commit; while he’s flirting with Korra, he also starts dating Asami (they meet when she accidentally crashes into him on her motorcycle). He eventually chooses Korra, but he doesn’t properly break up with Asami either.
In Book 2, Korra and Mako’s relationship hits the rocks and they break up in episode 5, “Peacekeepers,” they break up. Then in the following episode, “The Sting,” while Korra is away, Asami kisses Mako on impulse and they appear to get back together. Then Korra returns, with amnesia, seemingly having forgotten she and Mako broke up, and Mako, even with Asami watching, doesn’t correct her! And then it turns out Korra remembered the break-up, she was just pretending to avoid the difficult conversation.
After that exhaustion, most (though not all) were happy to see Book 2 end with a permanent kibosh on “Makorra” and “Masami.”
When “The Last Airbender” aired, many fans shipped “Zutara,” meaning they wanted Katara and Zuko to get together. That didn’t happen; the series concluded with Aang and Katara finally kissing, and “Legend of Korra” confirmed they stayed together (with three kids) until the end of Aang’s life.
Many have speculated that pairing Mako and Korra was a make-good to the Zutara fans, by pairing two broadly similar characters (plucky Waterbending girl and angsty Firebending boy). But the sparks weren’t there and it didn’t help that Mako is a pretty bland character, too. When Korra and Mako proclaim they love each other in the season 1 finale, “Endgame,” it falls flat.
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