Book Two: Spirits is the second season of the animated TV series
The Legend of Korra by
Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It consisted of fourteen episodes ("chapters"). A sequel to The Legend of Korra: Book 1, it focuses more on spiritual concepts and themes. Ordered in early 2011, Book Two: Spirits began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on September 13, 2013.
CASTING:
Voice actors cast for Book Two: Spirits include:
- Lisa Edelstein as Kya, Tenzin's elder sister, a waterbender, and the only daughter of Aang and Katara.
- John Michael Higgins as Varrick, an eccentric businessman
- Adrian LaTourelle
as Unalaq, Korra's paternal uncle, Tonraq's younger brother, Senna's
brother-in-law, Desna and Eska's father and chief of both Water Tribes
who serves as the main antagonist of Book Two along with Vaatu
- Aaron Himelstein as Desna, Korra’s cousin
- Aubrey Plaza as Eska, Desna's fraternal twin sister and Korra's other cousin
- James Remar as Tonraq, Korra's father, Remar replaces Carlos Alazraqui, who voiced Tonraq in "Welcome to Republic City".
- Alex McKenna as Senna, Korra's mother. McKenna reprises her role from "Welcome to Republic City".[3
- Richard Riehle
as Bumi, Tenzin’s older brother, and the eldest child of Aang and
Katara. He is a non-bender as he does not have any bending abilities.
- Steven Yeun as Wan, the first Avatar[4]
- April Stewart as Raava, the spiritual embodiment
of good and light, balance and order. After permanently fusing and
becoming one with Wan, she was transformed into the mighty Avatar Spirit
entity.
- Jonathan Adams as Vaatu, the spiritual embodiment of evil and darkness, imbalance and chaos.
RECEPTION:
Book 2 has received critical acclaim from critics and fans alike, with
its directing, writing, voice acting, characterization, drama,
animation, pacing, spiritual themes, and moral themes being singled out
as the high marks of the season. Overall critical reaction towards Korra has become more enthusiastic as new episodes of Book 2 showed signs of improvement from Book 1.
The premiere episode screened in advance at Comic-Con was positively reviewed by Max Nicholson of
IGN,
who appreciated the setup of the overarching conflict and the humorous
writing. He also stated that "the animation in Book Two has taken yet
another step up in quality, with noticeable advances in the action
sequences and color treatment". At TV.com,
Noel Kirkpatrick commented favorably on how the episode handled the
necessary quantity of exposition, and on its introduction of the theme
of conflict between spiritualism and secularism. Writing for Vulture,
Matt Patches highlighted the loose, handheld-style cinematography –
challenging for an animated series – and the "weird, wonderful", wildly
imagined spirits fought by Korra; "a Kaiju parade with beasts that mirror velociraptors". The A.V. Club's
Emily Guendelsberger stated that they kept up the first season's plot's
"breakneck pace" and appeared intent on signaling a break with the
convention of avoiding death in children's entertainment, by showing a
spirit dragging a sailor to his likely death in the sea. She appreciated
the nuanced portrayal of Korra's and Mako's relationship and Korra's
character flaws, but remarked that Unalaq was being set up as the
season's antagonist a bit too obviously.
Parts 1 and 2 of the medial episode, "Beginnings", were positively
received by critics as well. Max Nicholson of IGN rated the episode
9.6/10 and praised "Beginnings" for its "stunning" animation,
"top-notch" voice acting, character origins of Avatar Wan, the
friendship and heartfelt relationship between Wan and Raava, "great" new
insights in the Avatar universe, and as a "masterstroke in storytelling
and worldbuilding." At the end of his review, he opined that "Book 2
has never looked so good.".
"The Sting", which premiered prior to "Beginnings", was equally praised
by Nicholson for the improvement of the characterizations of Mako and
Asami and their chemistry between each other, in addition to
establishing Varrick as a "greedy mastermind" rather than as an
eccentric businessman and entertainer as he had been before. For "The Guide", Nicholson praised the character growths of Tenzin and the fleshed-out characterization of Jinora.
He lauded the episode "A New Spiritual Age" for a "great character
narrative" for Korra and the establishment of Unalaq as a more of a
corrupt, twisted, and menacing villain. He was also surprised to see the
return of
Iroh of Avatar: The Last Airbender; this time, to help Korra with her journey in the spirit world.
Parts 1 and 2 of "Civil Wars" were equally acclaimed by Nicholson for
the friendship between Bolin and Varrick, the sibling dynamic of Tenzin,
Kya, and Bumi, a "strong, complex conflict" for Korra, the respective
relationship of Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi, and Korra, Tonraq, and Senna as
the heart of the story, and the twist behind Tonraq's banishment from
the Northern Water Tribe and his imprisonment.
According to him, "Night of a Thousand Stars" brought out the best of
Bolin and the worst of Varrick, as well as setting up the conflict for
the last three episodes of Book 2. For "Harmonic Convergence", Nicholson praised its spectacular action
sequences, fleshing out more on Unalaq's intriguing evil purpose, the
heroism of Bumi, and the animation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra_%28Book_2%29
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