
Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino are sadistic 'trolls' using Nickelodeon's 'The Legend of Korra' for their own diabolical delight? Seriously?
Recently Nickelodeon's 'The Legend of Korra' co-creator Bryan Konietzko responded via his Tumblr blog to apparent fan 'outrage' over a web comic he and co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino posted via Bryan's blog.
The comic playfully illustrated fandom's vehement reaction to Avatar Korra being 'blood-bent' by the now bending-defunct former Republic City Councilman Tarrlok. Apparently many fans felt Mike and Bryan were "trolling" in offering this dramatic and unquestionably dark plot twist in 'The Legend of Korra' storyline.
I'm trying to visualize a circumstance in which Bryan or Mike would ever really merit the title, "troll." It's difficult to imagine that term being used to describe the creative genius behind 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' and 'The Legend of Korra.'
Granted, Mike and Bryan are, ironically enough, the 'M. Night Shyamalans' of the animated world when it comes to executing unexpected and highly dramatic plot twists. (Oh yeah, I went there)
Case in point: Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Roku were revealed to be blood kin. Remember that super-shocker from ATLA? And that was just one of many 'OMFG' fan moments.
Make no mistake, "bloodbending" is a cruel and ruthless act. It is the term used for an admittedly sinister and savage bending art.
But let's go back for a moment and look at where and how it all started--back before Republic City crime lord Yakone or even councilman Tarrlok.
Let's go back to Hama.
I've often said the complexities of Hama's character and the subsequent inner conflict and turmoil it posed for Katara, were some of the very best and most exquisite storytelling to come out of Bryan and Mike's brilliant minds during in the entire ATLA series.
The truth is Hama would likely have never acquired the art of "bloodbending" had it not been for her brutal capture and painful imprisonment by the Fire Nation in ATLA.
You have to ask yourself, "Is Hama really a heartless 'puppetmaster' or is she a victim of war, who, using her Water Tribe resilience, enabled herself to survive an experience which killed most, if not all, of her fellow waterbending brothers and sisters?"
It's the deliciously complex moral conundrum or mind-puzzle Mike and Bryan are famous for--it forces the viewing audience to stop, think and deeply consider what they just witnessed.
It is important, if not vital, in 'The Legend of Korra,' for us to consider character and storyline development in more than mere two-dimensional terms.
For example, Republic City is finally rid of its apparent 'weasel' in former councilman Tarrlok--fair enough. But that 'weasel' was the ONLY thing which kept the 'snake' that is Amon in check. Now that Tarrlok is gone, Amon is free to unleash his plans upon a seemingly unprepared Republic City with only a struggling young Avatar, who has yet to master or even attain basic airbending, let alone the 'Avatar State,' standing in his way.
Just like in real life, sometimes it's difficult to label people or events as being concretely 'good' or entirely 'bad.'
As BK so eloquently stated in his Tumblr blog, "...We're just doing what we always did: trying to tell an exciting story with character arcs, dynamic character relationships, humanized characters with virtues and flaws, action, danger, intrigue, humor, drama, teen romance, scary stuff, etc. But somehow now that's all trolling and we're trolls for it..."
Far from it Bryan.
'Avatar' is not, nor has it ever been "just a kid's TV show." That train left the station a long time ago and there's no going back.
The only thing BK and MD-squared can truly be guilty of is offering high-quality storytelling complete with incredibly realistic undertones which just so happen to fall out into the world as an animated cartoon featured on the kid's TV network, Nickelodeon.
Labeling Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino as 'trolls' for creating powerfully thought-provoking art would be akin to labeling Picasso, a 'mindless scribbler' or Da Vinci, a 'pointless doodler.'
The label just doesn't fit.