Mark Watches ‘Avatar’: S01E08 – Winter Solstice Part II: Avatar Roku

In the eighth episode of the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang, Sokka, and Katara head to the crescent island in the Fire Nation so that Aang can speak with Avatar Roku’s spirit. When he does, he discovers what his vision means for the future of the world. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar.

If this is what this show can accomplish in EPISODE EIGHT, I think I’m going to be pleasantly surprised with what Avatar is going to do. The storytelling is already intrigued and captivating; I couldn’t believe how tense the scene with the spirit of Roku was, especially since the show did this in just seven episodes. I needed to know what Aang’s vision of the comet meant and what this all had to do with him. OH MAN I AM SO HOOKED, EVERYONE.

This episode first seems like it’ll be Aang alone, as he tries to get Appa to take him to the crescent island in the Fire Nation. But Appa won’t budge, and Sokka and Katara pledge their support to Aang so that they can come too! FRIENDSHIP!

I’m not poking fun at that. I love that this show tells you that you can support your friends through difficult and dangerous situations and that it’s a rewarding thing, even if it doesn’t seem that way when you start off. Seriously, think about it: Sokka and Katara just left their whole families behind to accompany Aang on his journey to the North Pole. I’m actually interested to see how they’ll deal with this in the future. I imagine the brother and sister will begin to miss their home. Surely they’ll return to the Southern Water Tribe, right? (Don’t answer that. Seriously, it’s rhetorical and EVERY DAY I have to remove a comment where someone answers my rhetorical questions.)

I think that I’ll largely avoid discussing what is a bit of a repetitive plot to focus mostly on Aang. We see more of Prince Zuko following Aang to capture him, and his story doesn’t grab my attention until nearly the end. I understand that it’s necessary to get him to the Temple so all the good stuff can happen, but I didn’t find it particularly interesting. What I was fascinated with was the EPIC BATTLE AT THE BLOCKADE.  Oh man, what a fantastic scene. First of all, you can answer this, but were those FLAMING BALLS OF POOP being flung at Appa? Why did they smell so bad? I mean, I’M PERFECTLY OK WITH IT BEING POOP JUST BECAUSE IT’S HILARIOUS.

The decision faced by Zhao, who is manning the blockade, concerns whether he should bomb the Avatar and risk crashing Zuko’s ship, or whether he should let Appa pass. Of course, the man is committed to acts of violence and he cares little for the fate of Zuko. There’s more talk between Iroh and Zuko about Zuko’s banishment from the Fire Nation, since they have a choice as well, to either go after Aang or turn back at the blockade. Zhao and Zuko aren’t that much different at this point of the story. They’re both stubbornly concerned with their own pride, willing to do any destructive thing to get ahead. Their actions here aren’t surprising, as both act to do whatever they need to in order to get both of the things they want.

As the two Fire Nation dudes continue their quest after Aang, Appa proves that he’s the biggest BAMF of them all, able to dodge what looked like a hundred flaming spheres. (Of poop. Oh god, please tell me it’s poop.) Like another moment later in the episode, it’s a chance for someone aside from Aang or maybe even Katara to shine in the limelight. Appa’s always just there and this is a reminder for us to acknowledge that he’s a flying bison who is also a complete and total badass. Do not underestimate Appa.

Breaking past the blockade was a huge moment for our trio of heroes. It did seem like an impossible venture, which is also why I’m glad that when Zuko’s ship gets past, him and Iroh are not foolish enough to believe that they did so purely by their own merits. As Zuko sneaks off in his own ship, using the smoke trail as a disguise, I knew that he’d be a variable in whatever happened in the Temple.

WELL. OKAY. Again. This show takes narratives we’ve seen or can guess the outcome of, and then COMPLETELY TWISTS THEM IN UNEXPECTED DIRECTIONS. I promise that I won’t say this in every review, because it’s already approaching the absurd, but THIS IS A SHOW FOR YOUNG FOLK! This is not the same kind of cartoon I grew up watching. I have to get my brain out of that mentality! Well, it is allowing me to be continually excited by the show, which is a great thing, but just because something is geared for a younger audience doesn’t mean that adults can’t be just as entertained and engaged by it.

It’s been interesting doing all the Mark Does with so much media geared toward a younger audience, because when I transitioned to things like Firely and Doctor Who, they are largely seamless segues. They don’t feel like I’m moving up and down in terms of how entertained I am, or the amazingly powerful messages that I’m able to find.

Basically, this is a massively silly tangent I really felt like taking. Sorry.

Let’s go back to MORE PLOTS THAT SEEM OBVIOUS AND END UP NOT BEING SO. After a long journey, with a fantastic montage of Appa getting increasingly tired, the arrival at the Temple (That Has No Name?) is just as grand as I hoped it would be, lava spilling down the side of the mountain housing the temple. We’d been spending so much time in the Fire Kingdown, encased in browns and greys, that I forgot just how richly colorful this show can be. The reds, oranges, and yellows swirl together on this mountain, and we see more of these motifs as the trio move inside the Temple.

I, of course, expected the place to be empty, since it was long abandoned by the Fire Nation. Instead, upon entering the massive structure, five Fire Sages reveal that they’ve been guarding the place as they were sworn to do. But the world’s changed so drastically in the last 100 years that Aang’s proclamation that he is the Avatar is not met with fanfare, but derision.

Upon escaping their attacks and running through the labyrinthine corridors, a lone Sage encounters the trio and offers them the correct passage to Avatar Roku’s statue. The whole situation stunk of a trap to me, a diversion meant to earn Aang’s trust so that he’d be in a location where he couldn’t escape. But what other choice did they have, especially with more Sages on their way? It’s not a bad choice, I thought, but it seemed way too fishy for me.

EXCEPT THE SAGE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH. See? This episode messes with my perception.

The person who really steps up to the plate to save the day is not Aang, as we’ve come to expect, or Katara, whose heart of gold gives her the strength to be courageous. It’s Sokka’s ingenuity that gets Aang past the door with the five fire bending locks. Of the three, he has no bending powers, and I feel like because of this, he gets left behind a bit. He seems perfectly ok with this most of the time, mind you, but this was a chance for him to show that he’s worth. (Note: Why am I drawn to the male characters who get left in the background too much? Ron Weasley, Cinna, Mickey, and now Sokka. WHAT.)

There was a moment as the door was opened by the Sages, tricked by the soot and charring on the door from Sokka’s plan, that Aang had a split second to determine what he was going to do. Prince Zuko proved to be the wild card in the situation, nabbing Aang just as the door opens. Easily escaping him with his air bending, he rapidly glances between the now-closing door and his friends, who are chained to a pillar. Selfishly, all I could think was, HURRY UP AND LEAVE THEM BEHIND I NEED TO KNOW WHAT AVATAR ROKU NEEDS TO TELL YOU. Man, I would be an awful super hero because I would constantly use my powers just for myself. But I know that Aang actually made the right decision here, and he knows deep down that the vision he had is much more serious than his friends being temporarily trapped by Prince Zuko.

Inside the chamber with Roku’s statue…I mean, what is there to say? This is easily the best scene in the show that I’ve seen so far, epic in scope and MIND-FUCKINGLY AMAZING as Roku begins to reveal what the image of the flaming comet means. But first (and I have to comment on this), Roku asks Aang, “What took you so long?” Initially, I thought this was a reference to him getting into the temple, and I wanted to yell back, DUDE YOU PUT A BUNCH OF LOCKS ON THE DOOR, CALM YOUR SHIT. But it’s actually a reference to the 100 years it has taken Aang to accept that he is the Avatar, and that is most certainly a long time. There’s a scene earlier where the Sage Shyu explains to the trio why he decided to betray the other Fire Sages, and you can hear the sadness in his voice when he states that he has been waiting a long time for the Avatar to come back. Roku doesn’t sound loud at all, but I do get a hint of disappointment in his voice. Which now makes me more curious than ever: Why the hell did Aang freeze himself for a hundred years?

None of you need me to summarize the story that Roku gives Aang. So, if you’ll indulge me….

;LAJKSDF ;KALJSD AS;DKFJ ASDF;LKJAFDS ;LKASDJF

THE COMET IS WHAT STARTED THE FIRE NATION WAR IN THE FIRST PLACE AND HOW THE HELL DOES SOMEONE STEAL POWER FROM A COMET, BUT I GUESS THAT SHOULD BE THE LEAST OF MY WORRIES CONSIDERING THESE PEOPLE CAN BEND THE FUCKING ELEMENTS BUT THE COMET IS COMING BACK AND FIRE LORD OZAI IS GOING TO USE IT A SECOND TIME TO DESTROY EVERYTHING

A;LKSDFJ A;SKLDFJ A;KSLDJF A;SKLDFJ A;SLKDFJ A;DKSFJ A;LDKSF;AK;AKLJSSF

BUT THIS ISN’T EVEN THE WORST NEWS. AANG DOESN’T HAVE YEARS TO LEARN ALL OF THE ELEMENTS, HE HAS UNTIL SUMMER

“oh hey I’m roku and I’m a spirit and I’m totally telling aang all of this without the slightest bit of concern because I’m a badass spirit and we don’t need to worry because I can haunt shit and that is the greatest thing ever. Oh, right, aang, anyway, so you have to do what normally takes years in just a few months, but I ain’t worried because I’VE SEEN YOU DO IT BEFORE.”

AD;LFKAJ A;OIWUR ;AKSDJF ZVC JAS;KLDUA F

WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE HELL, THAT MAKES NO SENSE, WHAT THELKR;AJDS;  A;LKFDJ DKFJ A; A;LKSDFJAJK

OH SO THERE ARE FIRE NATION WARRIORS OUTSIDE? LET ME ACTIVATE YOUR AVATAR SPIRIT AND WE ARE GOING TO WALTZ OUT THAT DOOR AND DESTROY EVERYTHING

It’s simply amazing and shocking to watch Roku step out of that door and rain down destruction on the Fire Nation warriors. It’s even cooler when Roku starts the process of destroying the whole temple and then switches back to Aang and Katara and Sokka get to see he that he was Roku the whole time.

THIS SHOW. THIS SHOW.

THOUGHTS

• Dude, Zhao, you’re a dick. The end.
• Sozin’s Comet. Seriously, what a fascinating concept. So it comes every 100 years….does that mean it was always around even when the Avatar was in power? Did people use it then?
• This is the first time I consciously listened to the music, and the chanting part in front of the door was a great mix.
• “Did the definition of ‘genius’ change in the last hundred years?”
• “His butt may be trying to tell you something….”
• “How’s Aang going to make it out of this?” “How are we going to make it out of this?”