This is a series where we speculate everything there is to know about Book 2 of The Legend of Korra. We have currently covered speculation on the book’s setting, character development and villain. Today we focus on the book’s flashbacks.

One of my favorite things about Book 1 of The Legend of Korra was the multitude of flashbacks throughout the season. Not only did they develop the plot line in ways I’ve never seen before, but they also reintroduced the Old Team Avatar in a way that simply felt nostalgic. Flashbacks have proven to be both entertaining and informative thus far, so when I read that Mike and Bryan plan on having them in Book 2, I was ecstatic.

The reading I referred to was an IGN interview with the cast and creators. In that interview, Mike DiMartino confirmed the use of flashbacks in Book 2 and gave a little insight on them too:

While the creators mentioned that additional appearances from Avatar Aang are still possible, they also revealed that they have something special planned for Book Two. “We have one of the most flashback-y of flashbacks coming up,” said DiMartino. “We have something in store. We don’t want to give it away quite yet. It seems like we always do some kind of flashback episode or sequence, something like that.”

“We do have a history of doing that throughout Avatar,” added Konietzko, “and I think that gives it a sense of history and mythology; it’s wider than just the story that you’re watching. And [in Book Two], we’re doing it in a bigger way than we’ve ever done it before. It definitely deals with the legacy of the Avatar.”

Based on this interview, we know two things: We might see Avatar Aang in some flashbacks, and we might see flashbacks pertaining to “the legacy of the Avatar”.

The initial point from the interview is self explanatory: Avatar Aang might appear in certain flashbacks to possibly develop Book 2’s plotline just as he did in Book 1. But since Book 2 is titled Spirit, I don’t expect Avatar Aang’s appearance to just be constrained to the flashbacks. Avatar Korra will need guidance during her trips to the Spirit World, and just as Avatar Roku guided Avatar Aang, Avatar Aang will likely guide Avatar Korra. Korra will need Aang’s teachings throughout the Book, and this could give Aang a more prominent role in Book 2. His role could be seen as similar to Avatar Roku’s role in The Last Airbender.

The latter point, however, is not necessarily as easy to decipher. Personally, when I think of “the legacy of the Avatar”, I think of the beginning. I think about how everything started and came to be. As a result, I believe that the “flashback-y of flashbacks” that Mike is referring to is a flashback based on the original Avatar. Mike and Bryan already explained that we would learn more about the Avatar and the Spirit World during the course of Book 2; what better way to learn about the Avatar than to see the original Avatar?

That would be amazing.

I think we fans are in for an amazing ride when Book 2 finally airs (next year?). If you’re interested in the mythology of Avatar World as a whole, you’re in for a treat very soon. Flashbacks made Book 1 of The Legend of Korra incredible, and the fact that Mike and Bryan plan on doing them “in a bigger way” during the course of Book 2 excites me. Hopefully it excites you too.

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Filed under: Speculation