Korra's Avatar State

What's This One?
Well, this is more or less my thoughts about a topic I thought about for a while. I am a fan of the Avatar series (both Aang and Korra's respective stories) and I've been discussing this with my friends as well. No, this is not an opinion that is about some big issue - instead it is just a bit about myself in a way.

The Avatar State
So, for Avatar fans out there, the Avatar State should be familiar. Basically, the Avatar State is the most powerful ability available to the Avatar (a person who can manipulate four elements). It allows the Avatar to call upon past wisdom and experience but also strong cosmic energy. The two ways it can be used (as demonstrated in the series) is the reflexive and controlled versions of the Avatar State.

Korra's Avatar State
Much conversation has engulfed my friends around the topic about how bad Korra's use of the Avatar State is and how she lost against enemies she could clearly (?) defeat (See the last few episodes of the second season of Korra). They have also compared how powerful Aang's Avatar State is compared to Korra's.

My line of argument to this is that when Korra uses the Avatar State (pre-finale of third season), she was only utilising it in the controlled manner. Thus, she was only using powerful bursts of bending rather than a complete powerful usage over a long period of time. She had lost to those said enemies because she was not in the reflexive version of the Avatar State where the Avatar is more heavily powerful with their bending over time - as demonstrated in the finale of the third series where she was more powerful than the said "bursts" of the Avatar State.

This is the same as Aang where up until the last episode of the entire series, he only used the reflexive version of the State. As, explained previously, this bending is more powerful than the "bursts" Korra was using until a point. Obviously the Reflexive Avatar State is only when the Avatar is in complete mortal danger to their lives that the Avatar State is used reflexively.

In saying that however, I was still pretty angry with Korra that she let her past lives "die" as it were. But I understand why it was done and I understand that she was winning the fight until a certain turning point - also that it may necessarily might not have been her fault. I do say that this is my opinion and I would be open to other arguments on this point but it is an insignificant part of the Korra series when you look at the whole story.

Summation
If you didn't know what the bloody hell was going on in this, then don't worry. My next post will be about something else I have my thoughts on. Well, this is another one of A Small Point of View.

: ) Thanks.