Legend of Korra Going Digital: My Thoughts & Concerns

Art by Bryan Konietzko

Bryan Konietzko, the co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, posted this picture to his Tumblr page after the news broke that Nickelodeon would cease airing two episodes of The Legend of Korra per week, and would be pulling the last five episodes from its airing schedule.

The other co-creator, Michael Dante DiMartino, also made the following comment on his Facebook:

"Hang tight, Korra fans. There is 1 new episode this Friday at 8, then the rest of the season will be available from various sites online. We'll let you know when we have more details. Thanks!" 

As one might suspect, this announcement has sent the Korra fanbase into a crazed frenzy. Many fans feared Nickelodeon had decided to cancel the show mid-season. While that doesn't seem to be the case, the specifics are still shrouded in mystery and we will not know anymore until after the Korra panel at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego. If you'd like to keep yourself up to date about The Legend of Korra and the developments around this announcement, I suggest checking out AvatarSpirit.com.

Personally, I have very mixed emotions about this. Part of me is saddened by the news that I won't be able to tune in on Friday nights to watch two new episodes of Book 3. While that airing schedule was a little strange, I kind of like getting two doses of Korra goodness. Also, I wish they could give us more concrete answers about which websites will be hosting the Korra episodes, when they'll be posted, and what this means for Book 4 (which is nearing the end of its production).

However, another part of me wonders if the move to digital might be a godsend for the series. Its not secret that Nickelodeon has treated The Legend of Korra horribly. They've screwed with the scheduling, bungled the advertisement for it, and have shown almost no confidence in the series. I've always found this odd, especially considering that The Legend of Korra is the sequel to one of the most successful cartoons of the past decade, was highly rated, and probably raked in a lot of money for Nick. You'd think they'd give the creators more benefit of the doubt because of that. Apparently you'd be wrong.

What do you think? Do you think the move to digital will be a good or bad thing for The Legend of Korra? Also, what do you think of Book 3? Do you like it, or not? I'm personally enjoying it a lot at the moment.

*UPDATE* We've received some clarification about what will be happening with this move to digital. Beginning on August 1st, the remaining episodes of Book 3 will be appearing weekly on Nick.com and the Nick app, as well as platforms like Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, and Hulu.