In the second episode of the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang is banned from the Water Tribe for putting the group in danger of the Fire Nation. As Sokka bravely prepares for battle, the Avatar is revealed…already. Seriously. And it’s awesome. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar.

STOP POSTING SPOILERS

Is what you are about to comment in any episode past “The Avatar Returns”?

Then STOP POSTING AND WALK AWAY

Seriously, please stop this. I don’t think I have ever seen it so bad around these parts. I will rain down fire from the heavens on your account if any of you continue to be rude, inconsiderate shits who do this again. All of you who have had a comment deleted yesterday or today: That was YOUR ONLY WARNING.

And now, on to the review!

—————————-

Ok, so I was unaware that Nickelodeon aired this and “The Boy In The Iceberg” as one episode, so I’d like to avoid that in the future. Are there any episodes in the future that are split up as two, but were aired at once? I do not mean ALL two-parters, just those aired at the same time. Also, ONE OF YOU can answer this, not 400. Which I appreciate just the same, but it’s funny when people on like..page six are still answering the same question. I do a hearty L-O-L, indeed.

It does make sense that this was aired with the “first” episode, as the full 45 minute story is a much better introduction to the world of Avatar than just “The Boy In the Iceberg” alone. It also satisfies the one main gripe I thought I’d have for the show rather quickly: Trying to keep up the illusion that Aang isn’t the Avatar when it’s obvious that’s what he’ll become. Ironically for me, though, was the fact that Aang knew he was the Avatar the whole time, which now opens up a billion new questions for me. What’s most exciting about that is that it completely destroys the Unknown Hero trope, since Aang knows what he is. So…I guess the main question is: Why did Aang go into hiding if he knew he was the Avatar?

But, like I do so often, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start from the beginning of “The Avatar Returns.” The conflict between Sokka and Katara seems inevitable and obvious, but I think the subtext of the initial banishment to be a lot more interesting once you peel back the surface. It wasn’t surprising that Katara seemed so willing at first to head off with Aang when he was kicked out of the tribe’s village, but you could see the sadness in her eyes as Sokka pointed out she was leaving her family for someone she just met. And beyond that, we know Sokka is jealous of the way Aang can command the attention of the people in his tribe, but he does have a point: Aang did cause the trap to get set off, which is bringing the Fire Nation upon the Water Tribe.

I think that Sokka might have been portrayed to be both the comic relief and the main “good” conflict for Katara, but he does a lot here in “The Avatar Returns” to show that his character is a lot more deep than it may seem. There’s the issue of masculinity at play here, too, since he’s the oldest male left in the tribe after all the fathers have left to go fight the Fire Nation. He feels obligated not only to protect the tribe, but to maintain his own image as a strong, powerful fighter. We can see that struggle acted out a lot over the pilot episodes, but we also get to see him have moments where he can let that guard down. (Flipping out over Appa’s actual flight is one of them, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he looks so happy when he gets to be who he wants.) I’m excited to see if the show develops this sub-plot with Sokka over the course of the three seasons that make up this show, because I feel like they’re intentionally including these seeds here.

Sokka isn’t a fantastic fighter, as I expected, but I love his valiant bravery here, even if it is tied to his idea of masculinity. It doesn’t matter. His heart’s in the right place: He just wants to protect his family and friends. But Prince Zuko is more experienced at fighting, easily disarming Sokka with his bare hands. It’s only Sokka’s delayed boomerang that gets a solid hit on the Firebender, inciting him to anger. On top of that, Zuko expects the Water Tribe to be harboring an old man who has been in hiding for a hundred years. And right on time, Aang comes barreling into camp on the back of a penguin (who looks rather peeved that he isn’t getting some fish), knocking Zuko over.

And even though I talked about it in the beginning, let’s discuss it again. Aang knows he is the Avatar. So….he went into hiding on purpose? He later expresses that he didn’t want to be the Avatar, so that makes me think that he enclosed himself in an iceberg in order to avoid it. But, on the opposite end of the spectrum, as Zuko and Aang begin to fight each other, Aang is quick to sacrifice himself in order to prevent the children of the Water Tribe from getting harmed. There’s virtually no reluctance on his part to give himself to the Firebenders, and I think that’s a sign of how selfless he is naturally. Is he meant to be the Avatar? How exactly does one become an Avatar?

Those are questions to be answered for another time, as “The Avatar Returns” becomes a rescue mission. Sokka and Katara recognize that HOLY SHIT THE AVATAR WAS JUST IN OUR CAMP and decide it’s a pretty fine idea to just go rescue him. Bless their hearts. But I suppose that if any plan involves getting on Appa and flying off into the distance, that’s about all the knowledge and practicality you need. Seriously, where is my Appa.

This is also the first chance we get to see just how free and fantastical the story can be because it uses the medium of animation. I imagine that since this follows the manga/anime style of storytelling, we’ll see a lot of fighting. This is a world at war, and there can’t not be fighting. When Aang takes the opportunity to use his Airbending to escape, I suddenly realized just how awesome this is going to be. I suppose it sounds silly, but it was just so cool watching Aang use wind to escape, blowing it against a door to bust it open or turning wheels or flying. The thing that’s so fascinating is that since Aang will eventually be able to control four elements, there’s no telling what things we’re going to see that might otherwise look silly in a live action show. (TAKE NOTE, M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN. Oh wait, too late.)

There are a couple SHIT IS GETTING REAL moments in this episode, too. The first of those happens when Zuko traps Aang in his personal room, and the two begin to battle again. Just when Zuko is about to blast him with fire, Aang uses his airbending to slam him against the walls. The show plays this off as a funny moment instead of brutally violent; maybe the writers are still unsure what they can get away with on this show, specifically on Nickelodeon. (When did the show air? Afternoon or morning? Just curious.) I don’t expect or really want the show to become more “realistic” or brutal, and the fact that it’s played for laughs here actually fits the tone of the episode well.

But seriously, let’s just talk about the moment when Appa arrives with Sokka and Katara and Zuko manages to Firebend Aang into the ocean. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?? Why did his arrows glow? Did throwing him into water activate his Waterbending powers? Because seriously, that scene was AMAZING. Which leaves two powers we’ve not seen from Aang so far: Earthbending and Firebending. (I’m guessing we won’t see Fire until the end.)

And then. Then!!! Katara!!! Maybe the pressure of the oncoming Fire Nation soldiers finally made her able to Waterbend better than she had before, but I was shocked (pleasantly so) that she was able to freeze them in her tracks. Knowing that there will be some Waterbending training in the future, I’m excited that we’ve been give the device in which these two people can grow closer.

There’s one more thing I wanted to point out that I enjoyed before I wrap this up with my closing list. Defeated on the Firebender ship, I didn’t expect Zuko to say what villains never seem to vocalize: I underestimated my opponent. It takes a lot to put aside one’s pride to say that someone is better than you at something. I mean…yes, he’s saying this in order to properly prepare to DESTROY SOMEONE, but I still think it was a small moment to make all of this just a little bit different than we expect.

THOUGHTS

• Iroh doesn’t seem like a man to battle, but he shows his Firebending skills here at the end. Dude doesn’t seem like someone you want to fuck with.
• “Wow. I haven’t cleaned my room in a hundred years! Not looking forward to that.
• “You’re just a child.” “Well, you’re just a teenager.” I LOVE THE WAY HE DISMISSES ZUKO.