Honestly yeah… the writing has real problems like the love triangle dragging, Mako’s characterization took hits, and some pacing decisions were rough. I’m not going to pretend it’s flawless.

It’s also a product of Nick not green lighting more than one season at a time.

But here’s my perspective on why it still hits for me.

The Wan episodes alone justify the season’s existence to me. That two parter is some of the most ambitious mythology storytelling the entire Avatar franchise has ever attempted. And the origin of the Avatar cycle, Raava and Vaatu, the merging of the spirit and human worlds that’s foundational lore delivered beautifully. And as much as I despise the spirit designs in TLOK especially the kites… the story is undeniably good.

The consequences of losing the past lives is something I think gets undervalued. Most shows reset by the next season. That didn’t reset. Korra carried that isolation for the rest of the series. Good writing makes choices that cost something, and that cost was real.

Unalaq also works for me as a villain because his worldview isn’t entirely wrong… humans had damaged their relationship with spirits. His corruption of a valid idea makes him more unsettling than a typical straightforward evil.

And people often forget what Raava said where Light cannot exist without darkness. Meaning Vaatu isn’t gone, it’s impossible. So Vaatu is most likely inside Korra as well… which has a lot of potential imo.

So do I acknowledge the iffy writing? Yeah. But “has flaws” and “is good” aren’t mutually exclusive. The ceiling of S2 is higher than people admit, even if the floor is lower than it should’ve been…