#antimako

At times during The Legend of Korra, I was frustrated at or indifferent about Mako. Then I warmed up to him. Then I reached the end of the series and saw what the showrunners were trying to do with him and I realized that, of all the characters in the series, I was most like Mako. (I’m the one always casing the joint and looking for exits. I’m the protective, cynical one. And I even think I experienced love the way he did.) I liked how they framed his relationship with Korra at the end -- the platonic friendship -- but I can’t help but look over the rest of the series and wish that they did more for Mako.

The showrunners gave Mako a lot of time and attention, but it felt like, outside of 1x03, there was no real focus on him as his own character, in a way that was truly meaningful either to him or Korra.

Mako is such a “wouldn’t it be cool if...” character. I know there are some people who think this makes him the “writer’s pet” because he gets to do these awesome things and escapes repercussions.  I look at Mako and think, “He’s the chick + 80′s orphan” (except they gave the positive qualities of the 80′s orphan to Bolin). Go back to the 80′s and 90′s and think of “the chick” -- able to do cool things without a lot of thought going into it. Yeah, that’s Mako to me. When Mako hits Amon with lightning? That’s when “the chick” hits the villain over the head with a vase so the hero can regroup but Mako can shoot lightning out his fingers so it looks more heroic.

I don’t care what gender anyone is. I don’t care much for those types of storylines.

But then we get to Book 2 and I’m really frustrated. And, you know, it’s not him bickering with Korra and all that that grates me. What drives me nuts is nearly everything that happens in Republic City.

Why did Mako choose to be a cop? How does this affect his relationship with the Triads? Like, shouldn’t this affect his relationship with the Triads?

And I know this storyline had nothing -- absolutely nothing -- to do with Korra. But, you know, they could have made it about Mako and his identity -- him choosing what kind of person he wanted to be. It could have been about him coming to terms with a criminal past or separating his current self from what he may have been thinking of himself.  This would have tied in really well with what Korra and Tenzin were going through.

But no. Nope. Everyone around Mako is made stupid. Mako is even made stupid and running around all Cassandra Truthing by virtue of being an eyewitness more than starting at the same level as everyone else and being clever solving it. (And I think the creators realized this because “The Terror Within” does this sort of story so much better!)

But it doesn’t get much better for him in Books 3 and 4. He’s an orphan and he finds his extended family. There’s a hug. He gives up his scarf. Then... then...? Oh, his family is funny comic relief and even chide him on his past love triangle mistakes. Was there a point?

And, again, they could have tied him to another theme that was running rampant in the back half of the series. They could have given him something about “belonging” or define him against his family. But, like, that stuff was reserved for Beifongs, Satos, and Bumi being an airbender. (To be fair, they failed with Korra in this aspect, but Korra had so many other things going for her.)

And then we have Kai and Wu. Like Kai and Wu get better character development when they share scenes with Mako than Mako gets throughout the series.

fuck that guy

like each season his character got worse and more annoying

Like I'm not talking down the show because they wrote him as his type of character really fucking well

but he himself became more and more unlikable as the seasons kept going

like he kept making excuses for cheating on Asami and Korra and just being a prick in general

like honestly I've known too many annoying pricks like him irl and it was just annoying af

first season he was cool

second season he was tolerable

third season he was pretty annoying

fourth season he was groan worthy

That terrible relationship is what stopped me from watching the show the first time

Mako gets with Asami 

Cheats on Asami

Doesn’t tell her about it

Gets with Korra

Breaks up with her

Gets back with Asami

Korra comes back with no memory of the breakup and he Lies to her

Then tells her he loves her?? Like, If you Love her then don’t get back with your ex you cheated on and lie and ugh you shark-browed dick

Alright, this was due to happen at some point or another so I'll just get it over with.

I hate Makorra.

I didn't hate it at first, of course. In fact, I absolutely adored it, before I found out what Mako was like. Frankly, I find Mako to be an obnoxious jerk with little regard for the feelings of others. The Makorra relationship was not healthy and, to be quite frank, I'm glad it's over and I will shed no tears for either person. That's not to say Korra doesn't have her own issues, but I still think an exception can be made for her as she was pretty much raised in isolation and had little experience with other people her age.

Mako, on the other hand, does not have any excuse for how he played with the feelings of two girls he purportedly cared about. I could go into a rant about why I don't like Mako, but I'm very tired and didn't get much sleep last night, so I won't.

Personally, I feel like Makorra was a pitiful attempt from Bryke to reconcile with the disgruntled Zutara fans (and I'm sure even the Kataang fans were disappointed by the lack of build-up for their ship in the series). As a Zutara fan myself (don't even try to change my mind, it won't work), I find Makorra to be a grievous insult to me, my ship, and my fellow shippers.

Makorra is nothing like Zutara.

Just because Korra and Katara are both Waterbenders from the South and Zuko and Mako are both Firebenders does not mean the two ships are carbon copies, and anyone who asserts they are is a moron. Zuko and Katara went through two and a half seasons of being enemies (and didn't even become anything like friends until Southerns Raiders) while unknowingly having a great many things in common, such as an absentee mother, a sibling they continually butt-heads with, a father involved in the war, exceptional Bending skill, stubbornness, a powerful sense of right and wrong, having to grow up early because of adult responsibilities being placed on their shoulders, and a connection with the Avatar.

Korra and Mako only seem to have the stubbornness and Bending skill aspects down. Beyond that, they not only have nothing in common with Zuko and Katara, they have nothing in common with each other.

Korra is a loud, brash, headstrong girl who was trained from the age of five to be the Avatar. Both her parents are (odd for the Avatar universe) still alive and neither one is missing. She led a fairly sheltered life, preventing her from experiencing the world. When Korra wants something, she seems to do everything she can to get it, even if it can involve using force. However, she has been shown to have a gentler side and cares very much about people close to her like her parents, Katara, and her Krew. Despite this, her clearly stunted emotional development makes it hard for her to know when to draw a line (i.e. kissing Mako when she knew he was dating Asami). While she does know when the actions of others are wrong, she has trouble learning from her own mistakes unless the impact on her is severe enough.

Mako is an opinionated, somewhat egotistical guy who expects nothing but perfection from the people he's around. It wouldn't surprise me if it was his overbearing attitude that made Hasook quit the team (even if Hasook really was a jerk). He has little patience for other people's happiness and constantly makes biting comments towards people like his brother and Korra for little slip-ups. He also doesn't know when to take responsibility for his actions, blaming Bolin for telling Asami about the kiss with Korra and also not accounting for the fact that he kissed her back even if she initiated the kiss. Despite his faults, Mako has shown that he is capable of being very observant, like when he figured out that Varrick was behind all the "Northern" attacks in Republic City.

There are a number of other points I could make about Mako and Korra, but let's move on.

At what point did Makorra ever resemble Zutara? Never. In fact, the ship that probably most resembles Zutara is Tahnorra (Tahno and Korra) just because the two were "enemies" of a sort before Tahno lost his Bending and got all depressed.

Now that I have clarified why Makorra is not Zutara, I will make my closing comments.

I do not hate Makorra shippers. Love the ship if you want, just don't try to force it down my throat. Bryke, or whoever they had writing the couple's interactions, cannot and should not write romance. EVER. I also hope to high heaven that Makorra never returns to the show. Korra and Asami do quite well as single, powerful ladies who don't need any men dragging them down. I find it annoying when strong female characters are judged purely on who the man in their life is. It is sexist. Don't even try to deny it for what it is.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!! WHAT IS THIS SHIT, MAKO???? LYING KORRA IN FRONT OF YOUR BROTHER AND ASAMI????

korra you lost your bending powers???? HERES YOUR BENDING BACK COMPLETELY RESTORED WITH NO CONSEQUENCES AT ALL, ALSO DATE THE BOY THAT YOU LIKE FOR LITERALLY NO REASON BECAUSE HES A TOOL

YOU KNOW ALL THIS POTENTIAL WE SET UP??? ALL THE ANGRY NONBENDERS AND THE COMPLICATED PROBLEMS WELL