The Legend of Korra season 3
The Red Lotus seeks to overthrow all governments and the Avatar.
Book Three: Change is the third season of the animated television series The Legend of Korra, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It consists of thirteen episodes, all animated by Studio Mir, and began airing on Nickelodeon on June 27, 2014. After declining ratings and leaked episodes, the season moved to online distribution for its final five episodes.
Quick Facts
- Season number
- 3; Book Three: Change
- Showrunner
- Michael Dante DiMartino; Bryan Konietzko
- Episodes
- 13
- Network
- Nickelodeon (Episodes 1–8); Nick.com (Episodes 9–13)
- First aired
- 27 June 2014
- Last aired
- 22 August 2014
Facts from the source article.
Production
Book Three marked a turning point for The Legend of Korra, as it was the first season developed with a dedicated in-house design and revision team, a significant expansion from the 25 to 30 staff members who had handled the first two seasons at Nickelodeon. The character designs drew from real-life inspirations: the armless waterbender Ming-Hua was modeled after Bryan Konietzko’s friend Michi, while Opal’s hairstyle was based on actress Dolly Haas. The metal-domed city of Zaofu, home to Suyin Beifong, took its visual cues from Lake Louise in Canada’s Banff National Park, and the exterior of Lake Laogai, the Dai Li’s headquarters, was patterned after Lake Tahoe. The sand shark that chases Korra and Asami in episode 10 was inspired by the sarcastic fringehead, a small Pacific fish. Due to time constraints, the designers reused the layout of Zuko and Iroh’s Ba Sing Se apartment from Avatar: The Last Airbender for Mako and Bolin’s family home in episode 11. Another concept carried over from the earlier series, though never shown there, was the advanced airbending technique of “becoming wind,” which had been included in the original Avatar series bible. The X-shaped chains used to restrain the Avatar in the season finale were first envisioned for Aang’s capture by the Fire Nation in the first season of Avatar, but the network vetoed it. Konietzko got approval this time after complaining about seeing SpongeBob SquarePants, another Nickelodeon character, bound in a similar way. For animation, Studio Mir was joined by its subsidiary Studio Reve on some episodes. Book Three introduced several recurring characters, including the extended Beifong family and Kai, an orphaned thief who becomes Jinora’s romantic interest. Kai was named after writer Josh Hamilton’s son, and Konietzko worried about adding him due to the already large cast and his resemblance to Aang. According to Konietzko, the series gained more visibility starting with Book Three, allowing it to attract well-known actors. Anne Heche auditioned for and won the role of Suyin Beifong, Lin’s estranged sister, while Jon Heder auditioned for the minor part of Ryu, an apathetic teenage airbender. Henry Rollins expressed interest in playing the main antagonist Zaheer, even calling Konietzko and DiMartino from a tour to ask questions about the character.
Reception
Book Three of The Legend of Korra was widely praised by critics. The review site Rotten Tomatoes gave it a perfect 100% approval score based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 9.5 out of 10. Kenneth Brown of Blu-ray.com called it a spectacular season filled with excitement, humor, emotional pain, complex storytelling, impressive world-building, and intense fights. He felt that with this season, the show finally matched the quality of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Brown noted a strong sense of confidence running through the entire series, where the story, animation, dialogue, and music all worked together beautifully. As the main characters grew into young adults, the show adapted by presenting them with more mature and complicated challenges than expected from a Nickelodeon program. Max Nicholson from IGN said the third season was the show’s most consistent so far, offering deep themes, excellent plots, and top-tier production. Mike Hoffman of The Escapist pointed out that the series respected its young audience by showing major character deaths with real emotional impact, including what he called one of the most brutal and sudden deaths in children’s television for the character P’Li. The villains, like the Red Lotus, were not simple bad guys but people with understandable beliefs that had gone too far, trusting viewers to grasp someone’s viewpoint without agreeing with their actions. Hoffman also highlighted that the season ended with Korra experiencing full depression, and the following season focused heavily on her recovery. This helped normalize mental health struggles, a topic rarely addressed in children’s shows, making it less frightening for viewers.
More in Characters & Avatars
Elsewhere in The Legend of Korra
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced