Despite some fans' feelings that The Legend of Korra didn't quite live up to its predecessor, there's no mistaking that the series still manages to handle most of its characters quite well. Things get a bit rocky when examining characters' interpersonal relationships, but when it comes to their ideologies and driving motivations — especially when examining the main villains of the series — they're handled solidly and garner sympathy.
This isn't the case with every antagonist within the series, however. Many of the smaller-time villains with fewer appearances aren't given the same sympathetic and well-thought-out motivations that the bigger threats are. In the same vein, there are a few big bads who, despite being well-written, simply don't garner sympathy from the audience due to the horrific nature of their actions.
10 Desna And Eska Redeemed Themselves In The End, But Started On A Sour Note
Desna and Eska originally seemed like they wouldn't be redeemable characters. This is in part due to how loyally they followed their father's twisted ambitions, and in part due to how Eska treated Bolin when the two were in a relationship.
However, they did end up redeeming themselves after their father became the Dark Avatar. Realizing he was beyond redemption, the two of them aided Team Avatar, and relations between the Water Tribes began to improve after they took over as Unalaq's successors.
9 Hotah Was A Corrupt Judge Who Abused His Power To Help Unalaq
Hotah is a judge who worked alongside Unalaq, scripting his judgments to suit the chief, even if they were corrupt and unfair. His tactics were relatively simple but incredibly effective, given his position of power.
He would always allow Unalaq to go first before cross-examining the accused, but his questions were scripted to make Unalaq seem innocent. He was even able to use these manipulative tactics to implicate Korra, going as far as to try to give the rebels the death sentence.
8 Aiwei Was An Undercover Red Lotus Member Who Used His Abilities To Manipulate Others
Aiwei was a former advisor of Suyin Beifong who actually managed to garner a good bit of respect due to his position before his true identity was revealed. A cunning member of the Red Lotus, he used the lie-detecting abilities that earthbending granted him to gain others' trust.
He isn't an incredibly dastardly villain like some others, but there isn't anything about his character that garners sympathy, either. He fled after his cover was blown and was subsequently sentenced to eternity within the Fog of Lost Souls by Zaheer.
7 Ghazan Tried To Kidnap Korra Twice And Attempted To Kill Mako And Bolin
It's a shame that Ghazan isn't a very sympathetic antagonist, given that his rare ability to lavabend is incredibly powerful. He attempted to kidnap Korra when she was a small child and again nearly a decade and a half later.
He was unsuccessful both times, and ended up in a heated battle against Mako and Bolin after the second attempt where he was fighting to kill. In the end, he took his own life so he wouldn't have to face punishment for his crimes.
6 Hou-Ting Was A Corrupt Earth Queen Who Cared More About Herself Than Her People
Hou-Ting is one of the best examples within the series of the absolute worst type of leader. She was a rude and temperamental person who had no problem wrongly imprisoning those who went against her way of doing things.
Not only that, but after the new airbenders began appearing, she ordered their capture so she could train them for her own personal army. Her narcissism would ultimately lead to her downfall as she was brought down by Zaheer.
5 Ming-Hua Was A Skilled Waterbender Who Had No Problem Attacking The Innocent
Ming-Hua is one of the strongest waterbenders present in the entire series, who actually posed a sizable threat to Team Avatar. It was only with her assistance that her squad of Red Lotus members were able to tranquilize Korra and her polar bear dog, and she was able to incapacitate both Mako and Bolin rather easily.
Her water-arm prosthetics, though her greatest strength, would also prove to be her downfall in the end. After jumping into a pool of water, Mako was able to use lightning-bending to electrocute her to death.
4 Ganbat Was A Bison Poacher Who Also Kidnapped Children And Only Cared About Profit
It's hard enough to feel any form of sympathy for a character who takes pride in poaching a near-extinct animal for the sake of profit. Ganbat doesn't do himself any favors with his line of work, and his cruelty is further proven when Kai and Jinora are brought to their camp; he locks them up and plans to transport them along with the bison.
He gets his comeuppance near immediately, as several other airbenders join the scene and help in ultimately forcing Ganbat to surrender. There's nothing sympathetic that stands out about a ruthless poacher who reveled in the suffering of others.
3 Amon Used His Past As An Excuse To Ruin The Lives Of Others And Take Away Their Innate Gifts
Amon and his brother's tale began rather sympathetic, as both of them were simply seen as tools by their father, who sought to only use them to get the revenge he could no longer achieve. However, that couldn't save his character from the weight of his later actions.
Hiding behind the guise of desiring equality, Amon actually sought to rid the world of benders — which is incredibly hypocritical, as it's bloodbending that allowed him to gain power. After everything fell apart, he chose to run away instead of owning up to his misdeeds, and his brother subsequently decided that neither of them could go on living after what they'd done.
2 Unalaq Pretended To Advocate For Peace In Order To Obtain World-Shattering Levels Of Power
Unalaq originally presented himself as someone who wished to help, mentor, and guide Korra, but this was all part of his ruse to use her for his own schemes. He turned public opinion against her to get more supporters on his side and force her to follow along with his grand plans.
He ended up fusing with Vaatu after getting Korra to open the Spirit Portals for him to become the Dark Avatar and gain unimaginable power. He nearly destroyed Republic City itself before he was ultimately taken down by Korra, who was only able to do so by harnessing the power of the other of the two spirits.
1 Yakone Was A Criminal Mastermind Who Mistreated His Sons For The Sake Of Revenge
Yakone was a corrupt bloodbender who used his unique abilities to subject others to his will and evade capture for the longest time. It was only because of Team Avatar that he was eventually brought to justice, and his bending was forever taken from him as punishment.
This would have been a good turning point for him to reflect on his actions, but he instead chose to have children solely for the sake of raising them to obtain his revenge. He forced them to bloodbend — not only on innocent animals, but also on each other — and passed after his more-promising son left and his hopes for revenge crumbled.
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