Nickelodeon introduced viewers to a new fantasy world in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and a few years later, we returned to that Asian-inspired setting in The Legend of Korra. Spanning four seasons of 12-14 episodes each, The Legend of Korra gave viewers a more modern, and a more sophisticated and mature, journey into this world and the lives of its inhabitants.
There's plenty to love about The Legend of Korra, and on IMDb, plenty of fans rated this show's many episodes. Some of the most jaw-dropped episodes were ranked the highest, while others didn't quite resonate with viewers. This is not to say that the bottom 10 episodes were greatly disliked or were poor entertainment. But perhaps they were missing that special "it" factor.
10 Episode 33: "Original Airbenders" (8.3)
It's probably encouraging that even one of the top 10 lowest rated episodes of this show still has a rating so high. Still, it's a far cry from the top episodes, so it makes this list. It's mainly a filler episode, though it does cover some ground that viewers may have been curious about. Tenzin has a whole crowd of new airbenders to train, and this is the future of the Air Nation we're talking about. Tenzin tests his grit as a teacher, and Jinora and Kai do a little exploring of their own.
9 Episode 21: "The Guide" (8.2)
Around half of the episodes on this list come from the show's second season, so perhaps fans weren't so enthused about the Water Tribe Civil War and the emphasis on spirits. In "The Guide," we get a number of developments, but only one of them is truly interesting: Varrick framing Mako, and getting the firebender cop arrested! Varrick is aggressively moving his selfish plans forward, and it nearly splots Mako and Bolin apart. Elsewhere, Unalaq fails to open the Northern Portal, so as Vaatu says, he must wait for Korra to handle matters.
8 Episode 5: "The Spirit of Competition" (8.1)
This is an early one, and like "Original Airbenders," it's mostly filler since it focuses on just one side plot. In this case, we explore Korra's rise in the pro bending world, and the Fire Ferrets take shaky steps toward the final championship in the arena. Korra experiments with dating Bolin, but he's more serious about it than she is. Trouble rears its head when Bolin witnesses Korra and Mako lock lips, and it nearly tears the team apart. By the end, though, they're a coherent unit again. Just in time for an Equalist attack in the next episode!
7 Episode 16: "Civil Wars, Part 2" (8.1)
The Water Tribe is splintering fast, and Korra is scrambling to keep everything together. That task is made even tougher when her personal and family interests might clash with her duties as the Avatar. Her father, Tonraq, is among the Southern Tribe rebels being sent to prison for their role in the civil war, and Korra intervenes. She and her allies rescue Tonraq and the others from a prison ship, then flee on one of Varrick's own ships. A heartbroken Esna, meanwhile, chases the ship to catch Bolin, but she's left behind.
6 Episode 13: "Rebel Spirit" (8.1)
This is the premiere episode of season 2, and it rapidly sets up the conflict to come. Maybe a little too soon for viewers' tastes. Angry, warped spirits are wreaking havoc, and both Korra and Tenzin are at a loss. Elsewhere, Asami (with Bolin in tow) meets the business magnate Varrick, an eccentric man with many inventive ideas. Perhaps viewers didn't like this episode that much because Korra is rather moody and downbeat, and she's not her usual confident and cheery self. Being the Avatar is tough work, after all.
5 Episode 14: "The Southern Lights" (8.0)
Season 2 continues with "The Southern Lights," and we witness Unalaq take it upon himself to be Korra's newest teacher, being a specialist in spirits as well as water bending. On the journey to the Southern Portal, we learn that Tonraq had been born in the Northern Water Tribe, but was banished for leading a disastrous raid against bandits who hid in a spirit forest. Tensions mount and Korra turns on her father, though that doesn't stop her from completing the mission. Once the group arrives back home, they find Northern Water Tribe forces occupying the area, launching the civil war arc.
4 Episode 18: "The Sting" (7.9)
This could be considered a filler episode, though it is important to know that Asami's loss of all her Future Industries stock has an impact on the plot. After all, it leads to Varrick gaining more control of the situation, furthering his plans! In this episode, we see Mako and Asami prepare a sting operation to find out who keeps stealing Future Industries shipments, but the situation goes sideways and their helpers turn on them! Mako and Asami barely make it out alive.
3 Episode 15: "Civil Wars, Part 1" (7.9)
This is the episode that began the Water Tribe civil war arc in earnest. Korra has her hands full trying to keep the peace between the two halves of the Water Tribe, and she believes that her father is plotting something insidious. Later, at night, raiders attack Unalaq in his sleep until Korra intervenes and subdues them. To her surprise, her father Tonraq is not among them. At an Air Temple, Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi recall their childhoods (and not very fondly).
2 Episode 17: "Peacekeepers" (7.9)
This is yet another episode from The Legend of Korra season 2, and in it, the Water Tribe civil war is still in full swing. Now, the civil war is spilling over into Republic City, where bombs damage the Southern Water Tribe cultural center. Northern Water Tribe natives are suspected, and Korra is desperate to get President Raiko's help to support the Southern Tribe. The President refuses, however, and Korra sets off to the Fire Nation to get help... until Eska and Desna attack, and she sinks into the ocean! Meanwhile, Varrick begins making anti-Northern Water Tribe propaganda movies, starring the one and only Bolin!
1 Episode 47: "Remembrances" (6.2)
Most of the episodes on this list were rated lower than many others in The Legend of Korra, but this doesn't necessarily make them "bad" episodes. By contrast, "Remembrances" has a much lower rating than any of them! It's a full 1.7 lower than the next lowest episode, and not without reason. If some of these other episodes were borderline filler, this one is 100% filler. In it, Bolin and Mako tell Prince Wu about, well, pretty much everything that has already happened. Having Wu's amusing commentary slightly softens the blow, but really, no one likes recap episodes like this. Let's get on with the show already!