Avatar: The Last Airbender has reincarnted in the form of Avatar: Seven Havens , a new mainline series that has already been renewed for four seasons just as season 1 started airing last week. And as is the case with Avatar fandom, it’s already being hotly debated online, much of that stemming from one aspect in particular.

In Seven Havens, the previous Avatar, Korra, from The Legend of Korra, is vilified as a monster who caused some sort of cataclysm that ended the world instead of protecting it. She has created fear of the concept of the Avatar in general, which is why the new Avatar twins, Pavi and Nisha, are being kept hidden rather than celebrated, as was the case when a new Avatar emerged. This has caused a significant split among fans, and a powerful reaction from Korra’s voice actress, Janet Varney, who gave an emotional take on the development:

“I sobbed through this pilot episode. I was shattered. I cannot emphasize it enough. I finished it, and my partner was like, ‘So?’ And I was like, ‘I can’t even tell you what happened. I’m so upset, crying.’

“And I was like, ‘I’m so worried about all the people that love Korra and already defend Korra.’ And I had to go back and watch with fresh eyes after I had deeply grieved.”

“I know we don’t know what will happen, and I want people to keep the faith, but who knows? But just for me, watching children talk about her as if she’s a monster was heartbreaking. I mean, it really hurt. I’m not her, but I know what she means to some people, and it just really hurt.”

I do understand her reaction in the sense that you have been tied to this heroic character from a beloved franchise for so long, that seeing her legacy shredded instantly would be at least temporarily devastating. But Varney does seem to get it more than most fans, as she reiterates that we do not know what’s going to happen, just that this was her initial reaction to the surprise development which she nor the fanbase was expecting.

The larger Avatar community seems more willfully obtuse about the situation, declaring that Seven Havens is presently destroying the universe with this Korra slander, even if it seems painfully obvious we are not going to get through this series, probably not even this season, without the truth about what happened with Korra being revealed. This is not some big rejection of the past from a new show, which is made by the same people who did Korra, this is a plot point and a mystery where Korra will no doubt be redeemed somehow once the truth of what happened hundreds of years ago is uncovered.

I am already seeing a lot of other criticism that can be addressed by saying “can you just chill and wait and see?” Some think that the diverse races of the Avatar world have been homogenized in Seven Havens and have lost their unique identities, with different Asian regional representations. I would point to the title of the show, which is Seven Havens, where we have only seen one haven to date. I know this is the Avatar community we’re talking about, eager to jump on any little thing, but please, just relax until we’re more than 2-3 episodes in.

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