It Still Stings: The Legend of Korra’s Ambiguous Ending Could Have Been Even Queerer

Editor’s Note: TV moves on, but we haven’t. In our feature series It Still Stings, we relive emotional TV moments that we just can’t get over. You know the ones, where months, years, or even decades later, it still provokes a reaction? We’re here for you. We rant because we love. Or, once loved. And obviously, when discussing finales in particular, there will be spoilers:

Korra was always special, from the moment we first met her in Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra. Unlike Aang, her Avatar predecessor, Korra had already mastered earth, water, and fire from the get-go while he struggled to bend anything beyond air. But by the end of her show’s four-season run, Korra proved herself to be far more unique than we could have ever guessed, and not just in the world of Avatar, either.

By 2014, queerness was still deemed “inappropriate” for children’s animation, regardless of the fact that heterosexual pairings existed—and continue to exist—at the forefront of most cartoon fare. The LGBTQ+ characters who did appear up until that point were still villainized, treated as mere subtext, or even edited out completely in shows such as Powerpuff Girls and Sailor Moon, just to name a few.

But then something magical happened. In the final moments of Korra’s very last episode, she and Asami decided to go on a much-deserved vacation together to the Spirit World, just the two of them. As they stood in front of the portal, the pair held hands, stared into each other’s eyes, and then stepped through into the closest thing this show has to paradise, all to the sound of triumphant, swelling music. 

Watching this now without context, it might be hard to picture just how impactful these brief seconds are still, a whole decade later. But even without a kiss or spoken confirmation of their love, “Korrasami,” as the couple became known, continues to resonate now, not just with fans, but an entire industry that shifted thanks in large part to their relationship.

But even still, there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quality to their love, which speaks to how often creators were forced to hide or minimize any potential LGBTQ+ representation, especially in children’s TV. In fact, this scene goes by so quickly that a cursory search online reveals some so-called “fans” still deny Korrasami’s love story, even now. Queer fans always knew better though. 

Thanks to years of being forced to read in-between the lines just for crumbs of LGBTQ+ content, most of us watching knew there was something going on with Korra and Asami as far back as Season 1, even when they competed for the same man. Korrasami fanfiction existed long before their relationship was made official because the authors picked up on all those cute bonding moments the pair started to share as they grew increasingly intimate.  

It’s almost as if Korra’s love for Assami was planned way before that final episode… and that’s because it was. Following the end and subsequent questions around the true nature of Korrasami, show creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko released statements to confirm that Korra and Asami were indeed in love, beyond any shadow of a doubt. 

“I have bragging rights as the first Korrasami shipper (I win!),” Konietzko joked on his blog at the time. “As we wrote Book 1, before the audience had ever laid eyes on Korra and Asami, it was an idea I would kick around the writers’ room… The more Korra and Asami’s relationship progressed, the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for us.”

While TV as a whole was starting to make some headway with queer themes and narratives by this point, Korrasami’s love represented a huge turning point for children’s animation, long considered the final frontier of LGBTQ+ storytelling on TV. Without The Legend of Korra, Adventure Time and Steven Universe might not have been so emboldened to take animation even further in this direction, and the throughline from Korra to later shows like She-Ra, The Owl House, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is clear to see, too. 

And yet, despite its undeniable impact, it’s important to note that this scene wasn’t “a slam-dunk victory for queer representation” either, as Konietzko himself noted at the time. “It falls short of that,” admitted Bryan, and he’s right. Because imagine if Korrasami had done more than just hold hands? Imagine if they had actually been allowed to kiss, just as countless other straight couples have done in Avatar and even The Legend of Korra itself?

This wasn’t the fault of any particular writer or showrunner. Nickelodeon were supportive in the sense that they allowed the hand-holding to go ahead, but as Konietzko revealed in his blog, “There was a limit to how far we could go with it.” And therein lies the sting: it shouldn’t be a case of “allowing” queer relationships to exist on screen. We should enjoy all the same privileges that straight couples take for granted. In an ideal world, this hand-clasp wouldn’t even be a talking point at all because queer creators wouldn’t have to fight for the bare minimum. And that’s just as true now as it was in 2014.

So yes, it hurts to know that plans to make Korra’s journey even queerer were dashed by studio execs, as per usual. But for those who want to know what became of Korrasami after they stepped through that portal, there are official sequel comics such as “The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars,” which reveal exactly that, giving us the kisses and declarations of love that should have been included in the show all along. The only problem is that most fans don’t even know these comics exist. 

Until queer characters are normalized in children’s TV, until queer kids get to see their stories reflected back at them, moments like this matter most on screen where they can reach the widest number of people. Because like Korra, LGBTQ+ children are special and deserving of love too. The only thing “inappropriate” about wanting to include more queerness in kids cartoons is that this even has to be a discussion in the first place.  

David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist. To hear his ramblings on queer film and TV, you can follow him @DavidOpie.

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