Shes' somewhere in between for me. She is definitely not a responsible avatar; she blew it off for pro-bending in season 1 and she's putting off getting better (as Toph mentioned) to avoid responsibilities this season. She's lovable sometimes, but then other times she just really annoys me. But I also don't think she's despicable.

She has flaws , but she is a good person and wants to somehow make the world better and be useful. And no matter what anyone says Korra is a GOOD person , and i'm not gonna write some long ass essay why , it's obvious her intentions are NOT bad .

@zanhar I don't mean to start an argument by contradicting you, but I'd argue that at this point Korra has changed a great deal since season one and has quit the pro-bending, so I don't think that counts as a point towards her not being a responsible Avatar. That'd be like saying Aang's an irresponsible Avatar because in the early episodes of book 1 he hid his identity as the Avatar, then put off going to learn water bending because he wanted to fly around the world having fun.
And she's not putting off getting better to avoid her responsibilities - at least, that's not the way I read it. Korra isn't afraid of her responsibility, she never has been. She's afraid of going through what Zaheer did to her again, or something similar - and not on a conscious level, either. As with season one, she'd never admit to being afraid of these things because in her head she thinks she should want to get better. But there's even more to it than that. Korra has lived in the belief that she, as the Avatar, is needed by the world to keep things in order. But all of her enemies have been acting against her under the belief that the Avatar has failed them, or is an outdated concept that the world doesn't need. And what has Korra kept receiving since her move to the South Pole? A load of letters from her friends saying that, while they miss her, they are doing totally fine without her and keeping the peace in her place. Now, I'm not criticizing them for that by any means, but what they have done by doing this is basically show Korra that her enemies were right - the Avatar isn't needed to keep order anymore. Her argument to Toph as to why the world needs her is fairly telling - she mentions she HAS saved the world from a few terrors. Not that she has a world in chaos that needs order restoring to it. Not that the Avatar is always needed to maintain harmony and that she can do more good in the world by recovering. No, she mentions things that happened in the past, and in my opinion that is because on a level, she believes that the world doesn't need her anymore. It's a very difficult crisis and she is aware that she has no way of being a decent Avatar while she has this block against her recovery. Is my own reading of the situation anyway.

It's cool, I'm always open for a good debate. I can agree with that, she's shown a good amount of character development. The Aang comparison is also a fair one. However she does still seem to make very rash and irresponsible decisions. Like how she tried to feed that one judge to Naga in season 2. I can understand why she did it, I mean her father's life was at stake, however the action was still irresponsible. I also think that trusting her uncle over her father just because she was mad at him wasn't all to responsible either. But as you said, Aang had his moments, they all do. Perhaps she's not totally irresponsible, but I still think she is one of the most irresponsible avatars. I guess I'm reading it like that because of what Toph said, I think it makes sense. But yeah I also think it's because of the trauma Zaheer inflicted...and I don't blame her, it's a very human response. But going through insane stuff like that is part of her responsibility is it not--of course it can be avoided but naturally when facing crazy bad guys to save the world there's always a chance that something like that will happen. Being the avatar is a high-risk business. Sort of like a fireman who got burned terribly and is afraid to go back to work. Understandable and justified yes, but still putting off work due to fear nonetheless. Avatar Kuruk mentioned that he lived in a time where the avatar wasn't really needed and he didn't go through such an identity crisis. Some times simply aren't as hard as others. I'm not trying to say she should be like Kuruk as they are different people (sort of) with different personalities. What I am saying is that she shouldn't listen to her enemies, they'll do anything to bring her ego down. I think she needs to realize that when a crisis arises she is needed and people just want to act tough and say they can handle it without her. She should also realize that the world isn't going to be in crisis all the time and she should use the harmonious time to do those things that she liked, such as pro-bending. It would make her life easier. However I do realize that that would defeat the purpose of her arc; as her arc seems to be centered around this insecurity.

Oh she backtracked in the beginning of season two like nobody's business, I'll not argue that point there. And in Korra's defence, she is trying to overcome this hurdle - I think on a level that shows she is concerned with taking her responsibilities seriously. And yeah, it is the point of her arc I guess. I think they mentioned (spoiler alert) this past episode that part of her problem was being disconnected from the people she loves and it's probably been in part due to her pride that she's struggled to recover, not wanting to show her friends that she's as weak as she has been while they're all doing so well.

I find Korra really irresponsible..... I also find her stubborn..... and she is occasionally selfish in her actions. Her growth has been minuscule for me, and this book is really making it evident how much she is shirking her responsibilities and avoiding her role as avatar.

Glad we could agree on something lol. I agree she's definitely trying, after watching Rumplestilskin (from OUAT) try to redeem himself I think I can spot someone who isn't trying. I think Korra's at least giving change a shot. She was willing to work with Toph. Yeah, that's what Toph said, and she used the tree to overcome the disconnect.

^Well she went trough really traurmatic events and she was in pain and wanted to redeem herself that's why she was avoiding them >_< Can't you put yourself in her shoes for a second and try feeling the fear and worthlessness she felt?

I just did...the whole time in my first comment I was saying that her actions were understandable; "I can understand why she did it, I mean her father's life was at stake" "But yeah I also think it's because of the trauma Zaheer inflicted...and I don't blame her, it's a very human response."

So yeah, I did put myself in her shoes hence why I picked that she has flaws but is an overall good person.

^^ Even though she did go through traumatic events, she still is avoiding her responsibilities and not owning up to her identity. I know we are supposed to feel sorry for Korra, because Bryke has blatantly made it so, but in three years, Korra tried to get better, and she couldn't let anything go. She deliberately refused to get better.... and only was concerned for herself.... and not the people that needed her. I get she's going through an identity crisis, but I've gotten to that point, where I don't feel sorry for her. She was supposed to go back to Republic City and reconnect with the people that love her. Yet, Korra can't be bothered to follow orders, lies, and goes to the earth kingdom to go fight other benders in an arena. Oh you say she was following her dark spirit version? Well....here's an idea. GO TO SOMEONE SPIRITUAL, like Tenzin or Jinora, and have them HELP YOU. But I forgot, Korra becomes overly obstinate and "needs to do things by herself."

Additionally, Bryke has made it so that Korra can instantly cure her PTSD by metal bending everything out, which basically undermines her having PTSD in the first place. -___- And now, Bryke has told us that all of the villains have caused imbalance within the world, when in actuality, so has Korra. And now we're also blaming disconnection between Korra and people she loves as another reason why she isn't getting better. But.... Korra was supposed to go back? So technically, she is causing herself to get worse. All of this could have been avoided, had she LISTENED (like Toph said).

Who Hasn't ?

Me!!!!!