You could say the first trailer for Paramount+’s Avatar: Seven Havens has done more than put a new world and protagonist on the map. It has also let loose a narrative bombshell that has the fandom in an uproar.
The 26-episode series is set in a time of ruin, after some cataclysm has left the era in pieces. We are introduced to Pavi, a young Earthbender (Saheli Khan) who finds out she is the next Avatar. Yet there is a problem with that designation in this broken future. The title no longer means what it once did in terms of balance or protection. History has made of the role humanity’s great destroyer, and the finger of blame is pointed unerringly at Korra, the last one to hold it.
With some arresting imagery of an older Korra in a violent Avatar State and landscapes in tatters, the teaser makes a point of casting the franchise’s old lead in a villainous light. A closer inspection of the wider universe, however, suggests this heel turn is nothing if not a deft bit of misdirection, in keeping with a fine tradition of storytelling.
A Familiar Franchise Trend
There is something of a shock in watching an Avatar hero become the public’s enemy, yet one should not be surprised; the franchise has a habit of taking the long view when it comes to its lore. In this world, the historical record is seldom right the first time around.
Consider the Avatars of yore. Kuruk was written off as a lazy hedonist for generations, all the while he was quietly giving up his life force to hold back dark spirits. Then there is Kyoshi, whose brand of hardline justice made her the bogeyman of the Earth Kingdom, or Aang who was called a coward for disappearing at the very moment the world required him.
Given that pedigree, it is no character assassination for Seven Havens to make of Korra the one who brought about the end of civilization. That is simply how things go. To call her hard-won development a cheap failure would be doing The Legend of Korra a disservice, even if the decision to leave the Spirit Portals open did change the world considerably.
Is Vaatu to Blame?
The stinger at the end of the trailer shows something ominous and shadowy that has fans talking of the primordial spirit of chaos. Korra put an end to him in Season 2, to be sure, but the lore is clear that you do not so much destroy light and dark as put them in check for a while. Some are already theorising that centuries on, Vaatu has found a way to break free and corrupt the Avatar State, or perhaps engineer the very collapse of the old world.
What lies ahead for the franchise remains to be seen. Be it historical revisionism or some form of spiritual possession, the narrative risk Seven Havens is running is a high one. It is positioning itself as something more than a run-of-the-mill spin-off; a study in how legends can warp with the passing of time. We will have our answers before too long when the series makes its official premiere on Paramount+ on October 9.