Heliumbaby
As far as I'm concerned, the first two episodes highlighted an incredible plotline that could have lasted maybe five or six episodes and then moved on to other city based debates. The old show had a tendency to be childish, an approach this didn't
appear to be taking. Following this last episode, with a city that suddenly had no people at dark, with a lack of collateral damage or repercussions for acting out in a highly evolved society, I have my doubts. The appearance of a 'main villain' with no semblance of them being a realistic character, rather falling into the American superhero trope of being some super powerful always plotting character, has given me worry. Now I'm suspecting they intend to spend the entire show with Korra playing batman with superpowers. Plus the way they've turned bending into the equivalent of throwing ninja stars is silly. What happened to the uniqueness between the elements?
There's a very good reason people aren't out in the city after dark. The population appears to be made up mainly of average guys and bender gangs. The non-powered people will stay way inside to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of these gangs if they're not visiting secret rallies, so it's not exactly ridiculous that the streets are empty. And with no witnesses to the collateral damage I don't know that Korra will get into any trouble. Although she still might, I dunno. We'll have to see in the next episode, although I imagine she'll be pardoned given the information she's bringing back.
I don't think a powerful, scheming main villain is strictly an American superhero trope? I believe I've had my share of European and Japanese media and I think I can say with some confidence that's a general action/adventure trope.
Most villains are powerful and have some kind of evil plan, often involving the main character. They wouldn't be very good villains otherwise. Also I don't really understand how Korra would be Batman with superpowers, since she kind of tried the vigilante route and was arrested almost immediately. Care to elaborate?
As for the bending, I don't see it as diminished or misused at all from the first series. It's a more modern style in a very different environment from the open fields and nameless destructible villages of the last series, with less flourish and more conservative in its movement. That's not a bad thing, that's a "times have changed and being kung fu jesus isn't deemed an appropriate way to behave in public anymore"
). Also, the characters we're following are not masters of the art like the ones in A:TLA. They're more realistically portraying people who have neither focused their lives on training or, in Korra's case, are not used to the new styles of fighting.