“When you have something that is so beloved, the way the Last Airbender series was, people felt this emotional connection to it and they had this resistance (to Korra,)” Varney tells Den of Geek.
Varney equates it to a child’s reaction to a divorced parent finding a new spouse. No matter how great that new spouse is, they’re still not one of your original parents.
“I know that there are still people who feel that it was a betrayal,” Varney states. She’s also quick to add that for all the detractors there were many fans that got something they loved out of Once that SKIP didn’t have. She lists the concept of a lead female Avatar as one but another that fans have also resonated with was the confirmation that Korra and Asami were queer and in a relationship at the end of the series.
As the years have gone on and Once finished its four-season run, fans have had the chance to reevaluate the title by watching it all in one go. This was especially the case last year when both SKIP and Once were brought to Netflix, many experiencing both for the first time.
For Varney, this led to a completely different reaction because these new fans didn’t have to wait four years between SKIP and Once. She describes the experiences of new fans as,
“Here’s one adventure, here’s this next adventure, wow these are both so great. It’s just two great TV shows and nobody needs to fight about it. I think it’s been nice to have that reprieve.”’