Avatar Korra was guilty of acting childishly, being arrogant, and making impulsive decisions. Each of these traits got her into hot water on more than a couple of occasions. She was beaten at least once by almost every major villain, she got in political and legal trouble, and she caused tension within her friend group multiple times.
However, Korra grew a lot throughout The Legend Of Korra. She went from an arrogant Avatar who wanted to give up when the going got tough to one of the only Avatars to change the world while cut off from her past lives’ advice. She became mature and as a result, she began to act in ways that changed the world forever.
9 When She Tried To Save Kuvira
Kuvira had not only humiliated Korra, but she had also gone on an imperialist, authoritarian trade where she tried to capture other lands and hurt its people. Despite all this, when the beam from Kuvira’s machine turned on Kuvira, Korra stepped in to deflect the blast.
Seeing that Korra had saved her (and considering how she did it), Kuvira recognized her defeat and surrendered. It would have been easier and safer for Korra to let Kuvira die, but that was not who Korra was.
8 When She Sacrificed Herself To Help Save The Air Nomads
To save the airbenders who the Red Lotus had captured, Korra surrendered to its leader, Zaheer. While it was a mistake that would come to haunt Korra even into her arc with Kuvira, Korra did not have much of a choice. Her sacrifice, which allowed the airbenders to be able to continue rebuilding, was both mature and selfless.
In the end, it turned out that the exchange was a trap and the airbenders were not there to be released. It was all trickery conducted by the Red Lotus’ waterbender, Ming-Hua.
7 When She Confronted Zaheer Despite Her Trauma
Korra had to face many fears throughout The Legend Of Korra, each as traumatizing as the last. She lost her bending, the thing that signified the Avatar the most, to Amon and the Equalists for a while. She was also poisoned by Zaheer. However, she was forced to continue fighting because of her duty as the Avatar.
Despite everything Zaheer had put her through, she still had to return to speak to him again following his defeat. She had to work with him and move past her fears to continue doing her job.
6 When She Began The Hard Healing Process After Being Poisoned
After her altercation with Zaheer and the Red Lotus, Korra was poisoned with mercury. Although metalbending was able to get rid of most of the poison, Korra was still unable to make a full recovery. Eventually, she found Toph Beifong deep within the swamp. Toph tried to help heal her.
The problem was that Korra was holding onto trauma and subconsciously did not want to be healed and go back to the life that saw her repeatedly go through unsettling situations. She could not be healed from the poison until she started healing herself mentally. Eventually, she was able to let go of her hold-ups and go back to her life as the Avatar.
5 When She Made The Hard Decision To Join Raava
Korra knew the inherent risks of fighting Unalaq with Raava, but it was the only way to stop Vaatu and the Dark Avatar. Though the decision had consequences that Korra could have avoided if she hadn’t trusted Unalaq (like everyone warned), she had made so many bad decisions that there was only one option left for her.
In the end, she had to do the hard thing, which was to completely isolate herself as the Avatar to stop Unalaq and Vaatu. She was just about able to save Raava in the process, which was a plus, but the Avatar line was severed.
4 When Confronted Kuvira After Failing The First Time
After Korra returned, she still had a lot to work through mentally. After all, her healing had only just begun, and healing from trauma can take a long time. When she confronted Kuvira, she was unable to hold onto the Avatar State, which had been a trigger for her trauma.
She was swiftly defeated by Kuvira and was only saved because the airbenders intervened where they were not supposed to. Despite this humiliating defeat, she fought Kuvira again when she had worked through some of what hindered her during their first fight.
3 When She And Asami Work Through Their Complicated Past
Korra’s behavior with Asami, Mako, and Bolin in terms of romance was not stellar. She killed Mako when Bolin was in love with her and when Mako was in a relationship with Asami. It was one of her least proud moments, and it was a clear case of her immaturity showing itself.
However, Asami and Korra were able to work out their differences. They became close and forged an unbreakable bond, even becoming a canonical couple off-screen, leaving Mako to figure himself out.
2 When She Took The Spirit World Into More Consideration Than The Other Avatars
One of the major criticisms of many of the Avatars was their care for the material world and humans over the spirits. Many Avatars neglected the spirits altogether. Aang didn’t spend much time dwelling on the spirit world and when he did, he was simply trying to make the spirits feel better about what the humans had done to them.
However, Korra went to the spirit world and addressed the spirits directly. Eventually, she settled on opening up the spirit world to the material plane. Though this caused a lot of problems for the human world, it was a decision that finally addressed the spirits who felt forgotten and disrespected.
1 When She Tried To Clean Up Her Mistakes
A lot of the Avatars are the cause of their problems or their next life’s problems. Aang’s treatment of Yakone caused the later issues with Amon. Roku’s inability to handle Fire Lord Sozin caused the 100 Year War that Aang had to deal with. And, Korra severed the connection with her past lives, which would deeply affect any future Avatars.
However, Korra desperately tried to clean up her messes. She fought tooth and nail to stop Unalaq and Vaatu, and she even worked hard to make amends for the transgressions she made against her friends in her personal life. She lost a lot of her battles the first time around, but she tried her best to keep fighting and fix those mistakes.
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