Mark Watches ‘Avatar’: S01E19 – The Siege of the North, Part I

In the nineteenth chapter of the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Fire Nation descends upon the Northern Water Tribe. As the city is destroyed, Prince Zuko makes a risky decision to go after the Avatar on his own. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar.

Well, shit. I’ve finally made it here.

I’m excited that this first season’s arc started and ended with the Water Tribe, with the hope that Aang would eventually reach the North Pole to train under a water bending master. I don’t think this story moved too quickly, but I expected the journey to last longer than just this season, so this has been a terribly exciting journey for me. It’s already happening! Which means….NOW I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ELSE IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

We’ve got a much more urgent story, too, given what we learned in “Winter Solstice Part II,” and that need to have Aang’s talents accelerated beyond normal allows the writers to do exactly this: place a gigantic battle between the Fire Nation and Team Avatar and the Northern Water Tribe right here at the end of season one. I could not have anticipated such a massive undertaking so early, but it all just feels….right. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. The writers have done a fantastic job giving all the main characters their own time, enough for me, as the viewer, to empathize and relate to them, to adore them or excoriate them for their villainy.

But honestly? And I hope this is ok, because I really do love talking about all the analytical shit that dumps out of my brain, but…

THIS IS SO FUCKING ENTERTAINING

Which is not to say other shows I have watched are not. THEY VERY MUCH ARE. But good lord, this show never ceases to make me feel joy and excitement, time and time again. (Well….ok, I didn’t exactly feel joyous while watching “The Great Divide,” to be perfectly fair.) I think the very nature of the story that’s being told here lends itself to this phenomenon, as it is, at base, a story of oppressed people trying to rise up against their oppressors. And even that, like so many things on Avatar, is never quite as obvious as it could be.

Resuming shortly after where we left off, a great deal of “The Siege of the North, Part I” is all about that “stillness” that is so unbearable before the attack, as Chief Arnook tells Aang later on. And unbearable is a great word to describe what happens here: We are filled with the dread of the oncoming attack. We know just how large the Fire Nation force is. We know that Prince Zuko has plans to infiltrate the Northern Water Tribe to take Aang for himself. We know this as we watch Katara successfully dominate every member of Master Pakku’s class, and we know this when Aang jokes about his lack of attentiveness to the problem. It’s in everything these people do because the question remains: How on earth are they going to get out of this?

There’s a parallel, I feel, to what’s happening between Sokka and Yue, and what’s going on with the battle, though I don’t know enough to feel like I can properly guess as to what their story means for the end of season one. But the dynamic between the two is fascinating, as we see more flirting here and, while Sokka doesn’t necessarily feel like he’s on the same ground as Yue, it’s nice that the two can still talk to one another. But I can’t shake the feeling that whatever the outcome of this siege is, it’s going to affect the two of them rather dramatically. STILL CANNOT FIGURE THIS OUT.

I have to say that the reason I say this is because, in one of the shows most hauntingly beautiful moments, Sokka and Yue pull away from a kiss (GOD DAMN IT SO CLOSE!) and realize that charcoal-tinted snow is falling down upon them. As the camera turns to the village, fountains turning gray, the village knows what this means. The smoke from the Fire Nation fleet is a warning sign, a signal that the sheer size of the fleet must be large enough to cause such an effect. And then Sokka remarks to Yue that this same effect occurred on the day the Fire Nation attacked his village. If I’m not mistaken, that was also the day that his and Katara’s mother died, yes? So….THAT IS SO GRIM. This has to be one of the most depressing snowfalls of all time.

I know I’ve spoken quite candidly about it, but I really adore when a story shows us both sides of the conflict in terms of detail and  character development. Not only does it create a fascinatingly confusing experience (I DON’T KNOW WHO TO CHEER FOR ANYMORE), it also allows us to witness some of the more creepy moments that we might not otherwise have known about. In particular, Admiral Zhao’s entire conversation to Uncle Iroh is just…unsettling. That’s the word, isn’t it? He talks about re-writing history, and while it’s never stated, he’s talking about erasing people from history. He is certainly aware that the Fire Nation’s siege of the Northern Water Tribe is not going to go without a high number of casualties and destruction, but the way he chooses to frame what is actually happening as if he is participating in an honorable and grand moment in the history of the world is seriously disturbing. And for him, it’s perfectly justified and perfectly sensible. To him, the Fire Nation deserves this place in history, since they are the “superior” element in the world.

Gosh darn, I really love this show.

Back at the Northern Water Tribe, the drums of war beat and the citizens assemble to listen to Chief Arnook’s final words before the FIre Nation ships arrive within firing distance. Prior to this, Princess Yue had broken things off with Sokka, knowing that she liked him more than a friend and that the act of merely being with him was too much for her, so this is what motivates Sokka to pipe up when Arnook requests warriors for a difficult mission. It is a bit cheesy to see him accept the marks from Arnook and look upon a crying Yue, but DON’T CARE. It works. Sokka hasn’t had the chance to truly express any sort of romantic interest until now, and he just lost it. Once again, we see his desire to be heroic pop up as he agrees to go on this mission that will surely end in tragedy for someone. Which….my god, during Arnook’s speech, when he says that’s he’s sad to know what some faces will no longer be with them at the end of the battle….UGH MY HEART. Why did they have to flash on all those faces and HAVE SOKKA AMONG THEM. good god WHYYYYYYYYY.

There are few moments in the entirety of season one that are as tense and difficult to watch as when Aang stands with Chief Arnook and they discuss the stillness before the battle. As I had said (I mean GUSHED) earlier, it’s really such a uniquely powerful moment. Despite that a lot does happen before that first fireball comes falling down on the city, it feels as if everything has moved in slow motion up to that point. When we hear the sound of the fireball rushing through the air, it’s just seconds later that this episode erupts into ordered chaos. God, it is amazing how horrifying and grandiose the siege feels. I know it’s a really obvious thing, but I’d not thought about how the Northern Water Tribe’s city is made of ice, and the fire balls melt that ice. Meaning THIS BATTLE IS GOING TO BE FUCKED UP.

And so far, what little that I do get to see in the first half of this finale is just….holy god. Aang flies aboard Appa into action, deflecting a fireball into a nearby cliff, and heading aboard that first Fire Nation ship, using his airbending and some fantastically clever techniques to disable the catapults and destroy the ship. As he rises up on the back of Appa, he looks on in horror as he sees a horizon full of Fire Nation ships.

How is one boy supposed to fight a thousand ships?

The narrative switches back to Sokka and we learn that Chief Arnook’s secret mission involves infiltrating the Fire Nation army in disguises. Again, Sokka’s humor isn’t just great for his character (which I’ve discussed in-depth in the past), but some of these dire situations really do work best with a bit of humor added to them. I love that Sokka is so casual in his dismissal of the uniforms and in stating the name of the admiral in charge of the Fire Nation.

But with the reveal that the man that Sokka has to work with is actually Princess Yue’s future husband, I’m not really sure what the hell is going on. I know that Sokka has a temper, but this is the only thing I’ve seen in season one that felt forced and rushed. Why was Sokka so quick to rush right to fighting Hahn? I mean, it works as a plot idea, especially since Arnook takes Sokka away from the mission in order to personally protect Princess Yue, which is OH MY GOD INTRIGUING, but it did feel a bit like it wasn’t exactly true to what we’ve seen of Sokka so far. ONLY A LITTLE BIT. It’s not some horrible, distracting thing, but it was just a bit of odd pacing.

But if we want to talk about perfect characterization, then we must discuss how hard I teared up when Uncle Iroh said goodbye to Prince Zuko, telling him that ever since he lost his own son, he know thinks of Zuko as his own. Holy fuck, it’s made even worse when Zuko briefly lets his guard down and says that he knows. That rush to hug Zuko…just good god. I really adore Zuko and Iroh so fucking much and now we know that Iroh’s own son died….fuck. IT’S TOO MUCH ALL AT ONE TIME someone hold my heart together.

So seriously, WHO DO I CHEER FOR. While I don’t want Zuko to get captured, he is going to KIDNAP THE AVATAR. So….ahhhhh i am so conflicted and what happens to Aang at the end of this episode DOES NOT MAKE THIS ANY BIT EASIER. Upon returning to the city, exhausted from trying to fight so many Fire Nation ships, Aang realizes that perhaps he can get some advice or help from the Spirit World. So, while Princess Yue takes him to that AMAZING OASIS hidden inside the city, Zuko is busy being a swimming badass by trying to find away into the city. (I have a slightly gigantic fear of drowning in deep water, so all those tunnel swimming sequences just made me so nervous. SO NERVOUS.)

As these two plots are intertwined, the camera switching between the two, I sort of knew where this was going. Aang managed to enter the Avatar State while meditating (THAT IS SO EXCITING, F U EPISODE FOR NOT SHOWING ME WHAT’S ON THE OTHER SIDE), and that’s precisely when Prince Zuko arrives. Katara makes an interesting statement, that Aang’s body can’t be moved while he is in the Avatar State. Does she mean from that spot? In general? Must Aang return to that cave in order to come back into his body? (Don’t answer this. I know it’s annoying that I have to add this to all my rhetorical questions, but fear not! If I don’t, someone will always answer these and spoil me. So yeah.)

It’s honestly riveting to see Zuko and Katara fight, especially since Katara has developed so quickly into into quite the admirable fighter. Unfortunately, with the rising sun, Zuko is able to melt out of the ice that Katara encases him, and he knocks her out.

Just….HOW UNBELIEVABLY BLEAK IS THE END OF THIS FIRST PART. Aang is gone. The first ship has broke past the Northern Water Tribe wall and soldiers pour into the city. Zhao states that the city will fall. And we are given a final image of Zuko, with Aang on his back, still in the Avatar State, trudging slowly through the snow, a storm above him.

Fucked up.

THOUGHTS

• Honestly? There’s a lot of greatness in this episode, but I’m just going to end this review with one statement: I’m probably not even remotely prepared for what’s coming. BUT I AM SO EXCITE.