Summary

• Korra and Asami have a close relationship, but their romantic feelings are never explicitly stated on the show.
• Nickelodeon limited the depiction of same-sex relationships in The Legend of Korra due to audience maturity.
• Sequel comics reveal Korra and Asami officially dating after the series, breaking the news to their loved ones.

At the end of The Legend of Korra, Asami and Korra decide to go on a vacation together in the Spirit World - but they specifically didn't kiss. The Legend of Korra is a sequel series to the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender. Set 70 years after the original series, Korra lived in a very different world than that of Aang and his friends, but it was still her responsibility to keep balance in the world, and she did that with her own team of friends, which included her rival-turned-romantic-interest, Asami.

When she was first introduced, Asami was Mako’s girlfriend and Korra’s romantic rival. At first, she and Korra were intimidated by each other, since Korra also had a crush on Mako. Eventually, they became friends and Asami joined Team Avatar, turning into an essential part of the group. After the events of season 2, they grew even closer. Their romantic feelings for each other, however, are never explicitly stated during the show.

How Korra And Asami Ended The Legend Of Korra

Their Ending Echoed A Last Airbender Couple's

Unlike Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra had a much larger focus on the Spirit World. While The Last Airbender did visit the world a handful of times and did make it clear that Aang was able to connect with spirits, the larger focus was on defeating Fire Lord Ozai. More than one of Korra's conflicts involved the Spirit World itself, so the series closed with a portal to the Spirit World remaining open, and providing a way for people of the physical world to better interact with the spirits.

The last shot of the show had Asami and Korra holding hands and smiling as they step into the portal, in a scene that is reminiscent of Aang and Katara at the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series made it clear that they were going to spend Korra's downtime without any threats going on a vacation together, just the two of them. However, although there are romantic undertones to Asami and Korra’s relationship, they never shared an onscreen kiss nor declared their feelings.

Nickelodeon Didn't Allow Certain Things To Be Shown In Their Animated Series

Nickelodeon Drew The Line At Content Considered Too Dark Or Mature

Although The Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender were animated TV series made for children, both shows explored complex and mature themes during their runs. War, death, the destruction of entire nations, prison camps, kidnappings, violence, and prejudices were a few of the topics discussed in many episodes, and always with great care. However, certain things were deemed too dark or mature to be explicitly shown.

For example, Jet’s death in Avatar's season 2 was left vague on purpose due to the show's target audience. The network, Nickelodeon, wouldn’t allow creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzo to show outright the character had died. In fact, many deaths weren't shown, nor was much blood during fight scenes so that the series wouldn't be considered too violent.

In the case of Asami and Korra, it appears that when the show aired, Nickelodeon considered same-sex relationships too mature for young audiences. That is, of course, despite including heterosexual relationships in the Avatar franchise up to that point. Asami and Korra both showed a romantic interest in Mako and other characters even end up married by the end of the show. Likewise, in The Last Airbender, Aang's feelings for Katara were a big part of his story. Sokka also had two significant romantic relationships with young women - as did Zuko.

In a post made in 2014 on his personal Tumblr account, creator Bryan Konietzko explained the plan wasn't always to have Asami and Korra fall in love, but as the story grew, the relationship made sense for the characters. Still, they also were aware of the "unwritten rule" about showing same-sex relationships in shows for kids, and thus, only alluded to the character’s feelings for each other. He explained:

The more Korra and Asami’s relationship progressed, the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for us. However, we still operated under this notion, another “unwritten rule,” that we would not be allowed to depict that in our show. So we alluded to it throughout the second half of the series, working in the idea that their trajectory could be heading towards a romance.

When the time came to animate the ending of The Legend of Korra, they got confirmation from Nickelodeon that there was a limit to how much they could portray. The animation team, however, deliberately placed Korra and Asami in the same positions as Varrick and Zhu Li when they married and used a romantic score without completely crossing Nickelodeon's line. Apparently, at that time, two women kissing would cross the line. Konietzko admits that the scene where they hold hands falls short of a victory for queer representation but might inch things forward. He wrote:

Was it a slam-dunk victory for queer representation? I think it falls short of that, but hopefully it is a somewhat significant inching forward. It has been encouraging how well the media and the bulk of the fans have embraced it

The sequel comics for the series didn't have those same constraints. They reveal Asami and Korra started dating, officially, after the events of the show. There is even an entire plot thread of the two breaking the news to those they care about. Mako has a hard time getting used to the idea but isn't unsupportive, and it's even revealed that Kya, the daughter of Aang and Katara, has had relationships with women as well.

Several years later, it does appear that The Legend of Korra helped break the glass ceiling somewhat. Queer representation in Western animated cartoons has improved considerably, with shows like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Adventure Time, Harley Quinn, and Steven Universe featuring confirmed and onscreen LGBTQ+ characters and relationships.