The third season of the animated television series ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American Anime-influenced animation, anime-influenced Animated series, animated television series created by Michael Dante ...

'', titled ''Book Three: Change'', was created by

Michael Dante DiMartino Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...

and

Bryan Konietzko Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and musician. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...

, and consists of thirteen episodes ("chapters"), all animated by

Studio Mir Studio Mir Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean animation studio based in Seoul. Among other works, the studio animated most of the American TV series ''The Legend of Korra'', the fourth season of ''The Boondocks'', the Netflix series '' Voltron: Lege ...

. The season began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on June 27, 2014. After leaked episodes and following declining ratings, the series stopped airing on Nickelodeon after episode 8 on July 25, 2014. Episodes 9 to 13 of ''Book Three'' were subsequently made available on the Internet weekly through Nickelodeon's website and on digital download platforms. The season takes place largely in the Earth Kingdom, one of the four major nations in the setting of the series, while depicting the re-emergence of airbending among people of other nations. The season's antagonists are the "Red Lotus", a group of dangerous anarchists led by the new airbender

Zaheer Zaheer is a character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'' (a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''). He serves as the main antagonist of '' Book Three: Change'', and his actions have lingering effects on Ava ...

who wants to overthrow the world's governments and the Avatar. Among the season's supporting characters are the now elderly

Zuko Prince (later Fire Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino ...

(a character from the

original series Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television, film or web series productions ...

) and the family of Lin Beifong's sister Suyin. __TOC__

Episodes

Cast and Characters

Main

Janet Varney Janet Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for voicing Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television ser ...

Avatar Korra Avatar Korra is the Title character, title lead character in Nickelodeon's List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'' (a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''), in which she is depicted as the curre ...

* David Faustino as

Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese voice actress, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also performed in a Japanese television ...

* P.J. Byrne as

Bolin Bolin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bert Bolin (1925–2007), Swedish meteorologist * Bob Bolin (born 1939), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Charles E. Bolin (1843–1924), American politician * Jane Bolin (1908� ...

Mindy Sterling Mindy Lee Sterling (born July 11, 1953) is an American television, film and voice actress. She portrayed Frau Farbissina in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and starred in the web series ''Con Man'', the latter of which earned her a Primetime ...

Lin Beifong is a major character, voiced by Mindy Sterling, in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', were created by Micha ...

* J.K. Simmons as

Tenzin Tenzin ( bo, བསྟན་འཛིན) is a Tibetan given name, meaning "the holder of Buddha Dharma". Tenzin can alternatively be spelled as Tenzing and Stanzin as well. Stanzin is generally used by the Ladakhi people, since Ladakhi language ...

Seychelle Gabriel Seychelle Suzanne Gabriel is an American actress. On television, she portrayed Lourdes Delgado in ''Falling Skies'' (2011–2014) and voiced Asami Sato in ''The Legend of Korra'' (2012–2014). She has also appeared in the films '' The Spirit'' ...

Asami Sato is a major character in the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bry ...

Kiernan Shipka Kiernan Brennan Shipka (born November 10, 1999) is an American actress, best-known for her roles as Sally Draper in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), Sabrina Spellman in the Netflix series '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' (2018 ...

as Jinora * Skyler Brigmann as Kai

Recurring

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...

as Fire Lord Zuko * Logan Wells as Meelo *

Darcy Rose Byrnes Darcy Rose Byrnes (born November 4, 1998) is an American and Irish actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Abby Newman on ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', Penny Scavo on '' Desperate ...

as Ikki *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory' ...

as Bumi *

Lisa Edelstein Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

as Kya *

John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the American vers ...

as Varrick *

Stephanie Sheh Stephanie Sheh is an American voice actress, ADR director, writer and producer who has worked for several major companies, including Cartoon Network and Sony. She is often involved with work in English dubs of anime, cartoons, video games and fi ...

as Zhu Li *

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...

* Anne Heche as Suyin Beifong *

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

as Ming'hua * Peter Giles as Ghazan *

Kristy Wu Kristy Wu (born October 11, 1982) is a retired American actress, best known for her recurring role as Chao-Ahn in the TV series, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and co-starring as Melissa Wu in ''Flight 29 Down''. Other television credits include g ...

as P'Li *

Alyson Stoner Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her film roles include ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Her television roles i ...

as Opal Beifong

Production

Design

''Book Three'' was the first season of ''The Legend of Korra'' to be created with a full in-house design and revision team, an expansion from the 25 to 30 people who worked for the series at Nickelodeon for seasons 1 and 2.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Joaquim Dos Santos: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 1 The design for the armless waterbender Ming-Hua was based on Bryan Konietzko's friend Michi,Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Joaquim Dos Santos: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 2 and Opal's hairstyle was based on that of Dolly Haas.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Jeremy Zuckerman: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 5 The location of Zaofu, Suyin Beifong's metal-domed city, was inspired by Lake Louise in Canada's Banff National Park, and the exterior of Lake Laogai, the site of the Dai-Lin's headquarters, was modeled on Lake Tahoe.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Tim Hedrick, Josh Hamilton: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 4 The sand shark from which Korra and Asami flee in episode 10 is based on the

sarcastic fringehead The sarcastic fringehead (''Neoclinus blanchardi'') is a small but very hardy saltwater fish that has a large mouth and aggressive territorial behavior, for which it has been given its common name. When two fringeheads have a territorial battle ...

, a small fish found in the Pacific.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Lauren Montgomery: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 10 For reasons of time, the designers re-used the design for Zuko and Iroh's apartment in Ba Sing Se from ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' for the apartment of Mako and Bolin's family in episode 11.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Colin Heck: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 11 Another concept taken from the previous series, although not depicted there, was the notion of "becoming wind" as a high-level airbending form, which was included in the series bible of ''Avatar''.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Joaquim Dos Santos: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 12 The idea of restraining the Avatar in X-shaped chains, as seen in the season finale, was originally conceived for the scene of Aang being captured by the Fire Nation in the first season of ''Avatar'', but was then vetoed by the network. It was allowed this time, according to Konietzko, after he complained about seeing a shot of

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character ...

, another Nickelodeon character, similarly restrained.

Animation

In creating the animation,

was assisted by its subsidiary Studio Reve for some episodes.

Cast and characters

''Book Three'' introduced many new characters that would recur until the end of the series, including the extended Beifong family and Jinora's romantic interest, the orphaned thief Kai, named after writer Josh Hamilton's son.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Tim Hedrick, Josh Hamilton: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 3 Bryan Konietzko was worried about introducing him because of the growing roster of characters and his similarity to

Aang Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng) is the title character and protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang ...

. Also according to Konietzko, beginning with ''Book Three'', the series became a more visible property and was able to retain more well-known actors. Anne Heche auditioned and was cast for Suyin Beifong, Lin's estranged sister, and

Jon Heder Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He has also appeared in the films '' Just Like Heaven'', '' The Benchwarmers'', '' ...

auditioned for the minor role of the apathetic adolescent airbender Ryu.

expressed interest for auditioning for the role of the season's main antagonist Zaheer, calling Konietzko and DiMartino from a tour to pose questions about the character.Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Katie Mattila: ''The Legend of Korra: Book 3: Change'', audio commentary to the Blu-ray version of season 3, episode 6

Writing

The season's title, ''Change'', was inspired by a

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

motto, "the only constant is change", reflecting the changes in Korra's world as a result of her opening the spirit portals in season 2 and the reemergence of airbending, as well as the change of Korra as a person. The writers considered and rejected including a flashback to the Red Lotus's attempted kidnapping of Korra as a child, and also cut a scene of Asami and Lin sneaking into the airship in episode 4. The amount of

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair * Expository writing ** Exposition (narrative) * Exposition (music) *Trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade e ...

scenes in ''Book Three'' worried the writers because of the danger of boring audiences. According to Konietzko, most notes from Nickelodeon amounted to "more fighting, more action!". The writers intended to set aside the love triangle among the main characters for ''Book Three'' and focus on Korra and Asami becoming friends. In addition, they began to allude to the possibility of a mutual attraction between the two that would result in them becoming romantically linked in the final moments of the series.

Reception

''Book Three'' received critical acclaim, with review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

calculating a 100% approval rating for the season from 9 reviews and an average rating of 9.5/10. At ''Blu-ray.com'', Kenneth Brown described Book Three as "a spectacular season of thrills, laughs, heartache, sophisticated storytelling, masterful world-building ndharrowing battles", noting that with this season, the series was finally "standing shoulder to shoulder with ''

Avatar: The Last Airbender ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...

''". Describing a "sense of deep, unwavering confidence driving the entire series", with story, animation, dialogue and music coming together to "stunning ends", he wrote that as the protagonists entered early adulthood, the series adapted to see them overcome challenges in a much more seasoned and complicated manner that was not to be expected from a Nickelodeon series. Max Nicholson for IGN described the third season as "easily the show's most consistent season to date, delivering complex themes, excellent storylines and unmatched production values." Writing for ''The Escapist'', Mike Hoffman noted how the series respected its younger viewers by explicitly showing, but also giving emotional weight to the death of major characters, including "one of the most brutal and sudden deaths in children's television" in the case of P'Li in season 3. By portraying Korra's opponents, including the Red Lotus, not as stereotypical villains but as human beings with understandable motivations corrupted by an excess of zeal, the series trusted in viewers to be able to "resolve the dissonance between understanding someone's view and disagreeing with their methods". And, Hoffman wrote, by showing Korra to suffer from "full-on depression" at the end of the third season, and devoting much of the fourth to her recovery, the series helped normalize mental health issues, a theme generally unaddressed in children's television, which made them less oppressive for the viewers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legend of Korra (Book 3) The Legend of Korra 2014 American television seasons