ambitions like ribbons

dustpigeons asked: hi! i quite like reading your opinions about various characters because they always seem fairly interesting / well-thought-out, and i was just curious as to what you think of Mako from LoK now that book 1 is complete?? (:

Mako has been analyzed to death by everyone and I don’t have anything particularly unique to offer, so I’ll just keep it short. I think I had certain expectations of him that I probably shouldn’t have had so early on. We sort of expect him to be the “responsible older brother” and the controlling guardian type, which he is, absolutely, but I think a lot of us also forget he’s just a teenage boy, and he makes mistakes. I don’t think any of the mistakes he made were unforgivable - he was simply indecisive and defensive. Most people don’t know what they want when it comes to love, especially if it’s their first relationship! Furthermore, Mako owns up to it and apologizes when he makes mistakes, and as a character he does have a bit more depth than Asami, Bolin, or Iroh, so I can understand where he’s coming from and I can’t blame him for it. I do think they could have handled his relationship with Asami better, at least by making the breakup more explicit, but I will say that the message came across pretty clearly to me anyway (a kiss on the cheek as goodbye is a pretty clear indication of an ended relationship with no hard feelings, imo. Feel free to agree or disagree on this). I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t delve deeper into the brothers’ past (and there was a lack of friendship development in general), but I’m also sure they’ll cover it in the coming seasons, so right now I’m pretty neutral on all the characters (except Korra, I love Korra).