Impression:

It is official. Wan deserves his own series. May I be giving this story too much credit because of its contrast in terms of quality with Legend of Korra? Yes and no. This side story may be better than Legend of Korra as a whole, but the actual series has been improving. I guess that I want a solo series because I loved these two episodes that much. I know I am not the only one that thinks this and we should start praying now.

Mastering all four elements is no easy task.

After a lot of begging, Wan convinced the spirit of peace to work with him in order to stop the chaos. The first step in this process was for Wan to master air bending. This was good, but Wan needed more than that if they were going to have a chance in this big fight that is coming up. The big fight in question is an altercation that occurs every ten thousand years with the fate of the world at stake. Wan was able to master all four elements, but the chaos spread a little too quickly. Wan’s old comrades made their home in the wilderness, but their battle with the spirits has led to a lot of loss. A good portion of the original group did not make it to this point in time and the spirits have been consumed by the chaos. Wan was able to stop them once spirit fusion occurred, but it can’t be allowed to happen for too long. Fusing with a spirit leads to death. Wan’s people were annihilated, but there was no time to mourn. The battle at the gateway between worlds was about to start and Wan entered the southern spirit portal. The fight started and Wan was quickly put in his place. Unfortunately, Wan cannot use his full powers without the spirit fusion. Well, Wan and the spirit of peace push the limits and become one for all of eternity. The spirit of chaos was sealed along with the two spirit portals and a new era began. The spirits went back to their world and the lionturtles no longer lived alongside the humans. It became Wan’s mission to end conflict in the world, but he died trying. Luckily, the avatar is forever.

That broke my heart.

Current Opinion of the Show:

Can we not go back to Legend of Korra yet? I really want to see more Wan. The story of the avatar origins was very nice. The connection to the spirits being a mix of personal experience and supernatural fusion was pretty nice. The avatar state would not be possible without the fusion stuff. I also enjoyed the failed attempt at saving the world from war. It may have been sad, but the inevitability of conflict is cliché for a reason. People fight and anyone that says it doesn’t occur in nature doesn’t know a lot about nature. Animals fight over territory and mates all the time. The avatar has to reincarnate and continue to exist in this world because the avatar has a job that will always be necessary. It wouldn’t make for a very good series if there wasn’t any conflict. What is the current conflict? Unalaq is probably working for the side of chaos. If his children weren’t a big enough hint for you, then the fact that he wants the spirit portals opened during the time of the great conflict should be a pretty big tell.

Unalaq is connected to some crazy stuff.

I am actually excited for the return to Legend of Korra. Why is that? Well, they didn’t spend a ridiculous amount of time on the amnesia thing. The avatar stuff may have made Korra’s return to bending a little too convenient in the first season, but I did like how we can jump back into the main story right away. Also, Korra is about to confront Unalaq for real this time. She has to close the southern spirit portal and that confrontation will tell us about Unalaq’s connection to the dark spirits. That will hopefully be interesting. Having said that, I have a pretty important question. Did Korra forget about getting reinforcements from the Fire Nation? I know that her true mission has been shown to her, but it will be tough to fight off the northern forces without more help. Korra may have been out of it for a while, but it shouldn’t take too long to get aid from Zuko. Am I just being an angry fan of the original series that wants to see Zuko? Yes, but fuck anyone that doesn’t want to see Zuko. He is cool and I want to get a hint at his wife from their daughter.

I love the art in the Wan story.