#(when i was truly so obsessed w this show's missed potential and korrasami also)

[comradekatara]

Interesting. In your vision, would it have fit more if Mako had been Bolin's agent instead of his teammate? An agent who just so happened to be crazy good at fire bending himself? Bolin could soak up the spotlight, Mako would work behind the scenes on his behalf, just as later he would do the same for Korra. I like your thoughts on Mako being autistic, but I still feel like he needs to bring something unique. Maybe he's the team's spy or organizer?

okay so reiterate for the thousandth time, when i talk about "rewriting" lok to make it good, i'm not suggesting tweaks to the mechanics of the plot to "improve" it, but rather to tease out the preexisting implications of the narrative to make it as compelling as it has the potential to be. when i say that mako could better function to critique the patriarchal neoliberal system that necessitates familial order and exploitation of the marginalized/underclasses to operate, i'm not saying that his position in the show would necessarily need to change, but that his role already suggests these critiques, and that the writers simply lacked the insight to explore their own implications properly. just as when i say that bolin could better function to critique the neocolonial implications of republic city through his relationship to his earthbending as a mixed child, or that the implications of asami's abusive upbringing should have been teased out in a meaningful way, i am not suggesting that the structural elements of their characters be changed, but rather that those elements that are already established simply be explored properly.

mako being a pro-athlete in book 1 actually makes a lot of sense, because unlike bolin, who enjoys the attention such a profession brings (again, could that be tied to his formative trauma of being dismissed and ostracized by society due to his poverty and orphanhood? perhaps!!!!!), mako allows himself to be physically and financially exploited for the possibility of relative stability. before getting this gig, he was homeless, and so allowing himself to be exploited and put his body at risk for the chance to live under a roof (the gym where he works) for the first time since early childhood is his primary motivation for continuing to allow his own exploitation. obviously there are secondary factors, like the fact that he gets to bond with his brother doing something that bolin enjoys, the fact that he's being appreciated for his skillset by beautiful, powerful women (again how many times do i have to say that mako is innocent for fumbling korra and asami like i'm sorry but you would all fumble them too), the fact that he's been reintegrated into a more acceptable social form (by which i mean, no longer doing the books for a street gang). but we see that he doesn't actually make enough money in this career to support himself, that he's being financially exploited as well as physically (we even see him take a second job doing factory labor even more exploitative than the first), so the perks are largely the relative stability (of a nonetheless highly exploitative job) compared to his prior life experiences.

this is an interesting tension! the fact that mako feels like it makes more sense to choose asami over korra due to her wealth (as if korra isn't also immensely materially privileged, which mako even points out to her) is also interesting! book 1 does establish these tensions in mako's character, but never actually goes anywhere with it (hint: the issue rhymes with "shmapitalism"), which is the actual problem. he's not "boring" because his character is weak, but because the actually fascinating implications the writers establish with his character kept being negated by their own poor writing. if the structural critiques being implied throughout lok weren't constantly being veiled by a revolving door of wacky yet forgettable side characters and confusing ideological implications muddling our understanding of its own thesis, the show had the potential to be really good. the animation and music is gorgeous, the fight scenes are beautifully choreographed, the protagonist is deeply lovable, and there are enough compelling aspects to the show buried beneath the rubble of its own failures that teasing them out is genuinely worth exploring. mako, as an ostensible primary character whose role nonetheless largely feels like filler despite being highly compelling on paper, is one such example. so no, i would not change his character, i would simply give him the necessary room to shine.

#mysticarcadehologram-blog #asks #mako #bolin #lok crit #it feels like 2014-2016 all over again..... #(when i was truly so obsessed w this show's missed potential and korrasami also)