I know I sort of made a poll about my favorite characters, but since I like typing unnecessarily long paragraphs, maybe artices are the best option for me. This is really one of my first articles ever, so please excuse my clunky writing.
5. Asami Sato
Even though I wasn't entirely interested with her at first, I ended up loving her by the end of the season. I admire her for her caring personality, as well as her independence. She treats people pretty fairly as well, not snapping at anyone unless she feels they deserve it. She doesn't really hold grudges, and is very mature- she doesn't go running off to join something she doesn't believe in because her boyfriend is being dishonest, or because her father is a part of it, she bares through it despite the fact that it hurts her- she gave it her all and asked for nothing in return. She's actually close to tied with my 4th favorite character, and it was a pain not to put her in that spot instead.
If I were to complain about anything, it would be her lack of strong character development, and how we didn't see her struggle more with losing her father (excluding a few scenes). But she still got more development than a lot of other characters (due to the lack of episode room.)
4. Bolin
One thing that stuck out to him for me was how innocent he was compared to the other people around his age- and that I liked, and it made sense considering how dependent he was on his older brother when they were on the streets. I like his bond with his brother, even though we didn't get to see much of it. He's very protective of the people he cares about, and that's very admirable. He's a very optimistic and caring person.
My problem with his character, at least in this season, was actually a pretty large problem. The fact that he basically became a joke-machine. I know he's the comic relief, but it got to where every word that came out of his mouth was tied with a joke. It was unfitting and unbalancing to the situations they were in. My favorite scenes with him are actually when he's not trying to be funny (examples: When he was onstage with Amon, when he helped Asami and called Hiroshi a "horrible father.") But for some reason, I can't knock him off the list.
3. Lin Beifong.
It pains me not to put her higher. I mean really pains me. Do I really have to explain how awesome this woman is? She's unbiased and strict when it came to her job as chief, she had a no-nonsense attitude yet still allowed herself to have a sense of humor, and even on bedrest she still gathers the strength to get up and fight. Lin is self sacrificing and willing to put herself in the crossfire just to protect others. When she was captured, she didn't hesitate on keeping her mouth shut, knowing it would result in her bending being taken. She's an incredibly honorable person.
Any dislikes? Hm.. not really. I could complain about her taking her bitterness out on Korra, but that honestly never bothered me.
2. Tarrlok
...What can I say, the finale got to me. Okay okay, that isn't the only reason I like him. To be honest, I don't think I ever hated him- alright I was close but that was only because I don't like the "slimy politician" vibe that came off of him. But now, I sort of like that about him. Even if I didn't like how he handled certain situations, there was certainly a drive to his actions that I found worth admiring. He may not always think things through, but he was clearly intelligent- and even though he hated Amon at the time, he wasn't willing to put people's lives at stake for Korra's pro-bending match.
I also love dynamic characters. He went from a kind-hearted and sensitive boy to a power hungry and determined man who ran over anyone to get what he wanted. I liked that he wasn't doing it to hurt other people, but to put himself as the city's "savior." He had good intentions, but did awful things. You can be a good person at heart but a terrible person at mind. And in the finale, I felt nothing but respect for him. This doesn't mean that I don't acknowledge his flaws and is completely disregarding his actions because of his sad past, it just means I have a better understanding of why he became what he was.
I have no complaints or regrets for putting him at number 2.
1. Amon/Noatak
My god, I love this man. Every scene he was in, I was shouting "brilliant." His composed and clever ways of speaking to his followers and enemies, how calm and collected he was even while being threatened or argued against, his intellect, his fighting tactics, all freaking brilliant. He was fearless when under attack- which could be because he knew he could defend himself with his abilities, but even so it was impressive and intimidating- that makes an awesome antagonist. I love how calm and secure he sounds infront of his followers, but when it's just between him and Korra, he's more on-edge and ready to kick some Avatar ass. He had a lot of self control, and was extremely calculated. ..All of this, and in a way, what he was fighting for sort of made sense, and I love it when you can actually agree with the antagonists.
Yeah yeah, he definitely went about it the wrong way, and he was a hypocrite- but he was a hypocrite that still believed bending was evil, and he wasn't biased just because he himself was a bender. He gave the non-benders the courage and passion to fight and be heard. At first I was worried that he would end up being a bender, but the way they went about it was actually pretty clever. ..And his backstory. Flame-e-o, sir, flame-e-o. Again, I love dynamic characters- he was once a caring, fair minded (still somewhat fair minded), and protective older brother. Then through the years of pressure and intense training, he became cold and power mad- but still protective. And as an adult, he became a mixture of two elements: his strive for equality and his power madness- like I said with Tarrlok, you can be a good person at heart but a horrible person at mind. Plus, that line when he said to Korra "you're welcome to come down here and try to stop me" made me laugh- just the way he said it, it was like he was going "nah nah nah nah nah."
In the end, he still loved his brother. But he also looked at Tarrlok as his only chance for a better life beyond all of the chaos. Noatak was intelligent, but naïve as well- he seemed to have a mindset that running away from everything will make it go away (which is actually a quality we share.) ..Let's just say that his and Tarrlok's deaths ripped me apart.
...I'm rambling, anyway, dislikes? Meh, not really. Only that we didn't get to see more. And the problems lie more with the plot pacing than with him.
Crappy first article, but I did what I could. I don't think I explained some of my likes and dislikes clearly enough, so if not, I'm sorry.
5. Asami Sato
"They're just normal people who want their rights back!"
Even though I wasn't entirely interested with her at first, I ended up loving her by the end of the season. I admire her for her caring personality, as well as her independence. She treats people pretty fairly as well, not snapping at anyone unless she feels they deserve it. She doesn't really hold grudges, and is very mature- she doesn't go running off to join something she doesn't believe in because her boyfriend is being dishonest, or because her father is a part of it, she bares through it despite the fact that it hurts her- she gave it her all and asked for nothing in return. She's actually close to tied with my 4th favorite character, and it was a pain not to put her in that spot instead.
If I were to complain about anything, it would be her lack of strong character development, and how we didn't see her struggle more with losing her father (excluding a few scenes). But she still got more development than a lot of other characters (due to the lack of episode room.)
4. Bolin
"It's just, ever since we lost our parents, we've been on our own."
One thing that stuck out to him for me was how innocent he was compared to the other people around his age- and that I liked, and it made sense considering how dependent he was on his older brother when they were on the streets. I like his bond with his brother, even though we didn't get to see much of it. He's very protective of the people he cares about, and that's very admirable. He's a very optimistic and caring person.
My problem with his character, at least in this season, was actually a pretty large problem. The fact that he basically became a joke-machine. I know he's the comic relief, but it got to where every word that came out of his mouth was tied with a joke. It was unfitting and unbalancing to the situations they were in. My favorite scenes with him are actually when he's not trying to be funny (examples: When he was onstage with Amon, when he helped Asami and called Hiroshi a "horrible father.") But for some reason, I can't knock him off the list.
3. Lin Beifong.
"Whatever happens to me, don't turn back!"
It pains me not to put her higher. I mean really pains me. Do I really have to explain how awesome this woman is? She's unbiased and strict when it came to her job as chief, she had a no-nonsense attitude yet still allowed herself to have a sense of humor, and even on bedrest she still gathers the strength to get up and fight. Lin is self sacrificing and willing to put herself in the crossfire just to protect others. When she was captured, she didn't hesitate on keeping her mouth shut, knowing it would result in her bending being taken. She's an incredibly honorable person.
Any dislikes? Hm.. not really. I could complain about her taking her bitterness out on Korra, but that honestly never bothered me.
2. Tarrlok
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."
...What can I say, the finale got to me. Okay okay, that isn't the only reason I like him. To be honest, I don't think I ever hated him- alright I was close but that was only because I don't like the "slimy politician" vibe that came off of him. But now, I sort of like that about him. Even if I didn't like how he handled certain situations, there was certainly a drive to his actions that I found worth admiring. He may not always think things through, but he was clearly intelligent- and even though he hated Amon at the time, he wasn't willing to put people's lives at stake for Korra's pro-bending match.
I also love dynamic characters. He went from a kind-hearted and sensitive boy to a power hungry and determined man who ran over anyone to get what he wanted. I liked that he wasn't doing it to hurt other people, but to put himself as the city's "savior." He had good intentions, but did awful things. You can be a good person at heart but a terrible person at mind. And in the finale, I felt nothing but respect for him. This doesn't mean that I don't acknowledge his flaws and is completely disregarding his actions because of his sad past, it just means I have a better understanding of why he became what he was.
I have no complaints or regrets for putting him at number 2.
1. Amon/Noatak
"What are you gonna do about it? You're the weak one."
My god, I love this man. Every scene he was in, I was shouting "brilliant." His composed and clever ways of speaking to his followers and enemies, how calm and collected he was even while being threatened or argued against, his intellect, his fighting tactics, all freaking brilliant. He was fearless when under attack- which could be because he knew he could defend himself with his abilities, but even so it was impressive and intimidating- that makes an awesome antagonist. I love how calm and secure he sounds infront of his followers, but when it's just between him and Korra, he's more on-edge and ready to kick some Avatar ass. He had a lot of self control, and was extremely calculated. ..All of this, and in a way, what he was fighting for sort of made sense, and I love it when you can actually agree with the antagonists.
Yeah yeah, he definitely went about it the wrong way, and he was a hypocrite- but he was a hypocrite that still believed bending was evil, and he wasn't biased just because he himself was a bender. He gave the non-benders the courage and passion to fight and be heard. At first I was worried that he would end up being a bender, but the way they went about it was actually pretty clever. ..And his backstory. Flame-e-o, sir, flame-e-o. Again, I love dynamic characters- he was once a caring, fair minded (still somewhat fair minded), and protective older brother. Then through the years of pressure and intense training, he became cold and power mad- but still protective. And as an adult, he became a mixture of two elements: his strive for equality and his power madness- like I said with Tarrlok, you can be a good person at heart but a horrible person at mind. Plus, that line when he said to Korra "you're welcome to come down here and try to stop me" made me laugh- just the way he said it, it was like he was going "nah nah nah nah nah."
In the end, he still loved his brother. But he also looked at Tarrlok as his only chance for a better life beyond all of the chaos. Noatak was intelligent, but naïve as well- he seemed to have a mindset that running away from everything will make it go away (which is actually a quality we share.) ..Let's just say that his and Tarrlok's deaths ripped me apart.
...I'm rambling, anyway, dislikes? Meh, not really. Only that we didn't get to see more. And the problems lie more with the plot pacing than with him.
Crappy first article, but I did what I could. I don't think I explained some of my likes and dislikes clearly enough, so if not, I'm sorry.
