Despite being a cartoon and arguably a Western anime, The Legend of Korra can be merciless when it comes to character survival rates. Unlike its predecessor, The Legend of Korra has killed off more than a few characters in its four seasons, often villains— but sometimes heroes, too. How much plot armor do all these characters have?
Some characters in TLOK are well-protected, such as Asami Sato and Avatar Korra herself. But others have lousy plot armor, either because that plot armor is very thin, or the plot armor feels awkward and inorganic in the story itself.
10 Tarrlok, The Corrupt Councilman
Councilman Tarrlok had some decent plot armor when he first appeared in Book One: Air, being the Water Tribe representative of Republic City’s all-bender council. As the son of Yakon and a fierce bloodbender, he sought to control the entire city. He even tried to get rid of Korra herself.
Once Tarrlok lost his bending and his Council seat alike, nothing was left to protect him, and his plot armor dropped to 0. In fact, Tarrlok gave his life so he could blow up the motorboat that had him and his brother Noatak/Amon aboard. By then, he was nothing more than a loose end.
9 Asami Sato, The Future Industries Chief
For the most part, Asami Sato’s willingness to fight alongside Avatar Korra during dangerous missions is highly admirable. Asami isn’t even a bender, but she can use motorcycles, Equalist shock gloves, and martial arts to take on foes of all shapes and sizes.
The story needs to keep Asami alive since she is a major character, and a future love interest for Korra as well. But realistically, Asami could have and probably would have lost her life or suffered serious injuries while fighting on Korra’s team. Inexplicably, that never happened.
8 Hiroshi Sato, The Fallen CEO Of Future Industries
Like Tarrlok, Mr. Hiroshi Sato was a minor villain in the first season, and he became completely disposable after that. The story kept him alive as the surprise villain of Season 1, and he was defeated when Asami and Bolin the Earthbender fought him two on one. Then he ended up in prison for his crimes.
In Book Four: Balance, Hiroshi earned Asami’s forgiveness, and he was even allowed to help engineer Republic City’s defenses against Kuvira and her Earth Empire forces. His role in the story was done and his plot armor was depleted, so he gave his life to help take down Kuvira’s platinum colossus. It was time for him to go.
7 Earth Queen Hou-Ting, The Despicable Tyrant
When she appeared in Book Three: Change, the unpleasant Earth Queen Hou-Ting was practically begging to get written out of the show. She served mainly to prove Zaheer’s point about oppressive kings and queens, and no one would come to her defense.
Some fans might have seen Hou-Ting’s death coming from a mile away, and indeed, Zaheer assassinated her right there in the throne room. In fact, Hou-Ting had the opposite of plot armor; for the story’s sake, she needed to die.
6 Tenzin, The Airbending Master
More than once, the great Airbender Tenzin could have lost his bending, his life or both, but the story won’t allow that. He is vital as the sole Airbender master of his time, and if he were to die or lose his bending, he could not restore the Air Nomads nation in Book Three.
Fair enough, but really, it was only the plot that protected Tenzin. In-universe, he easily could have and arguably should have lost his life, and he’s the type of person to sacrifice himself for someone else’s sake anyway. But the plot took control and made sure that Tenzin survived, whether he deserved it or not.
5 Avatar Korra, The Hero Of The Day
Avatar Korra herself has the thickest plot armor in the entire series, seeing how she is the Avatar and the protagonist. No way would The Legend of Korra kill her off, especially since her name is in the title, but some of Korra’s battles could have and should have turned out much worse.
Arguably, Korra should have either died or lost her bending several times in the series, such as when Amon all but defeated her, and when she fought for her life against the Red Lotus organization. But since Korra is the protagonist, the show made sure to bail Korra out of trouble at the last minute by various means. She owes a lot to the writers.
4 Bumi, Son Of Aang
Bumi, the eldest child of Aang, was named after an Earthbender but was born with no bending at all. Instead, he joined the United Forces, and rose in the ranks until he eventually retired in his early 50s or so. Just how did he survive so many adventures?
If Bumi weren’t Tenzin and Kya’s brother, he easily could have lost his life either as a United Forces soldier, or as a non-bending hero in Book Two: Spirits. But the story isn’t about to write out a child of Aang’s and Katara’s, so he’s clad in some thick plot armor.
3 P’Li, The New Combustion Bender
The combustion Firebender known as P’Li has terrible plot armor— not because of contrived reasons, but because her plot armor is so incredibly thin. P’Li is a cool character, but her sole purpose is to be a fighter of the Red Lotus and give Team Avatar a proper challenge. And that’s it.
P’Li survived long enough to take part in a few fun fight scenes, such as in the metal city of Zaofu and again at an air temple. But in that final fight, she became a 100% disposable character, so the story tied up this loose end by killing her off. In fact, P’Li’s death helped Zaheer let go of his final earthly attachment. Like Hou-Ting, P’Li might actually have anti-plot armor.
2 Prince Wu, The Bumbling Future King
“Wu down!” That’s what Prince Wu likes to say whenever anything goes wrong, and Mako the Firebender was right to take that as a bad sign. This young man means well, but he is self-centered and practically helpless, and his status as Earth Kingdom royalty made him a threat— and therefore a target to Kuvira.
Prince Wu found himself in Kuvira’s crosshairs, and he was captured and nearly yanked out of Mako’s grip for good. It’s easily conceivable that Prince Wu would have been totally captured and imprisoned somewhere in the Earth Empire, but the plot lent him a hand and allowed Korra and Mako to rescue him. Wu really lucked out, and he has the script to thank.
1 Lin Beifong, Chief Of Police
Chief Lin Beifong is a tough Metalbender, and she can look after herself. But even she was overwhelmed when the Equalists arrived in force, and she took them all on so Tenzin and his family could try to escape aboard an air bison. Sure enough, Lin got herself captured by Equalist forces.
Lin lost her bending to Amon, but given her important role in Republic City and her fierce opposition to the Equalists, it stands to reason that Amon would simply kill her once he took her bending and rendered her helpless (and this show isn’t afraid to kill its characters). However, Lin is supposed to stick around as Korra’s grumpy bodyguard later, so Amon conveniently took it easy on Lin. He can bend blood, but he can’t bend plot armor.
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