In the first episode of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang awakens after the devastating defeat at Ba Sing Se to find himself on a Fire Nation ship and all of his friends dressed as if they are now part of the Fire Nation, too. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar.
Well, that’s one fantastic way to open a season, isn’t it? In the cold open of “The Awakening,†I believed that we were seeing a dream of Zuko’s again, that the guilt and uncertainty over the decision he made in the Crystal Caverns was manifesting itself once again as a dream in his mind. I mean, this boy had hair. But it’s made very clear to us that this is Aang and that this is no dream at all. In a way, our confusion matches that of Aang’s: After a long period of being in the dark, we’re confused and disoriented by what we are seeing. (Ok, to be fair, most of y’all had to wait nine months for this episode and I waited four days. This is only minimally the same as me. I FEEL YOUR PAIN.)
But it all had to be a disguise, right? How long was Aang out of consciousness? I mean….they all couldn’t have converted to the Fire Nation already, right?
It seems not, as we switch over to Zuko’s perspective and there’s no talk of Team Avatar turning to the Fire Nation. We see Zuko’s familiar face, wrecked with the same difficulty we’ve come to expect from him. I know that in “The Guru†/ “The Crossroads of Destiny†we saw a Zuko who certainly was happy in a way, but that transformation wasn’t entirely genuine. Still, upon seeing Zuko’s forlorn face here, I just wanted his happiness more than anything. I think no character has suffered quite as much as he has over the course of his life.
Yet, even saying that, when Mai, who I rather adore, comes up behind Zuko and asks him how he’s doing, something feels wrong. Zuko gives an answer that, again, is quite predictable. I don’t mean that as an insult because Zuko has every right to feel what he’s feeling, but Mai is well aware of Zuko’s brooding seriousness.
And then she kisses him. She kisses him. And it’s as if my mind was able to travel back in time and hear the ceremonious cries of anguish from all of the Zutara shippers. I mean…even I did not expect this in the slightest, even though it was hinted fairly obviously in the past that they had some sort of relationship. Or mutual crush. Or whatever.
Just….it’s been like five minutes and my brain can comprehend none of this.
But we really, really need to talk about…..Aang. Aang has hair. AANG HAS HAIR. Cut it off. CUT IT OFF RIGHT NOW oh my god. I don’t even like having hair and I’m not even an iconic, destined being who can save the world and has arrows all over his body. Just….what the hell?
OK, but there are far more important things we need to talk about than hair. (No, seriously, please cut it.) Understandably so, the entire team (except perhaps Sokka and Toph, who aren’t phased by much anyway) is a bit on edge after the events at the end of last season. Aang is dealing with a lot of guilt and shame for his failure, but I couldn’t figure out Katara’s rudeness towards her father in the early parts of this episode. I initially thought that Katara was doing that passive-aggressive thing where children think their parents are totally uncool and get snappy whenever they try to interact with their friends. (I’m happy to say I never went through this period myself. Oh, wait, i didn’t have friends who met my parents until I was in college LOL LOL oh god what am i doing).
It’s clear that the feelings both Aang and Katara feel for one another are growing and they’re both rapidly progressing towards a point where they’ll have to talk about it. I should have thought about the fact that this is just the first episode of the season and that it was pretty unreasonable to think that this would start right away. But that is where my mind wandered fairly quickly when Aang and Katara had their private healing session. And I wish that didn’t sound so unfortunate, like it was a DIRTY SEX ACT. whatever.
We’d seen how guilt, shame, and trauma manifest in memories with Zuko, and I loved that the writers dealt with how memories can be held in physical pain when it came to Aang. As Katara works her healing magic on Aang’s back (why does that sound so dirty i swear), we see the way that these memories seem intertwined with the wound on his back, as if they are one and the same. It also serves to provide Aang with the knowledge of how he came to be in such a state, and unfortunately, that knowledge still hurts. I wonder what effect Azula’s attack actually had on Aang, aside from the clear physical damage. This weird recollection sequence seems to suggest a much more serious side effect. (That’s a fun bout of alliteration.) Has Aang’s actual Avatar spirit been lost in some way because he was in the Avatar state when he was wounded?
That’s not that important right now, because in these immediate moments, Aang is simply tired. His body is weak from the battle at Ba Sing Se, and his heart is quickly losing strength to carry on.
There does seem to be a new form of hope when the session is completed and Aang and Katara join their friends and the Water Tribe army that has joined them. The mass invasion planned for the day of Black Sun can’t be carried out as planned, but that a modified (and much smaller) strategy will still be acted out. And they have one distinct advantage: The entire world thinks the Avatar is dead.
Naturally, Aang doesn’t take to well to this idea. For him, it’s the past repeating itself: right when the world needs him most, he seems to have disappeared. Hadn’t he just spent all these months doing everything he could to prove to himself and the world that he was here to stay? That he wasn’t going to abandon anyone? That he was finally accepting the responsibility that comes with being the Avatar?
It’s honestly a fucked up situation for Aang, and while we do see bits of his more immature overreacting in “The Awakening,†this time, his frustration stems from the unending absurdity his life seems to follow. What sort of meaning does his life hold if forces outside of his control constantly pull things apart? What’s the point in this struggle when he does everything within his power, making sacrifices, only to have it all taken away?
Aang reacts to this absurdity in the only way he knows how: By desiring solitary control. The thought of having to hide who he is, to deny his personage, and to sit back while the gears of the world turn without him enrages his very soul. This is not who he is. This is not the kind of person he is. Or so he thinks, that is.
It’s become a real treat to see how, time and time again, the writers are able to skillfully run parallel stories between Aang and Zuko and for those stories to never seem stale or boring. Miles and miles away, Zuko has returned home, and in a grand ceremony led by Lo and Li, Azula is welcomed for her heroic and brilliant efforts to take hold of Ba Sign Se through force and coercion. Much to Zuko’s surprise he is given just as much credit as she is. These scenes are intercut with images of Ba Sing Se’s literal fall while Azula was there, as the great wall is destroyed, troops march in and tanks roll forward, and we see Iroh’s old tea house employers, as well as Ying, Tahn, and Hope. I love that the writers don’t let us forget what happened there, as hard as it is to watch, because it’s yet another reminder of how serious this all is.
Gone are the days where a bait-and-switch or a disguise could get Team Avatar out of a dangerous situation, too. When Hakoda and Bato try to convince a Fire Nation captain that they are on a special cargo mission, Toph manages to overhear the captain tell his crew to sink the ship, and a fight breaks out. Again, Aang is left behind, forced to hide inside with Sokka while all of the others take care of the problem. (Thank you, Universe!) Aang’s patience starts wearing thin and we see here how he’s going to let all of this get to him. He’s the Avatar. Why is hiding? Why is he inactive?
For Zuko, though, three years worth of pain and frustration is finally going to have some release, but not in the way he expected it. (Hell, what am I saying? There is no way I could have guessed this development.) I had hoped that the next time we saw those adorable turtle ducks, it would have a much more positive connotation for Zuko, but here, it’s even more depressing than the first time. There’s such a visual power in the image of Zuko, now grown up, sitting at the side of that pond, but without his mother to comfort him. His father isn’t there either and perhaps more so than ever, Zuko has never truly been more alone. He has lost his uncle, he doesn’t trust his sister, and he’s morally conflicted about betraying Katara and Aang. And Azula is about to make it all so much more difficult: She finds Zuko feeding the turtle ducks and wonders aloud why he’s so upset, suspecting that Zuko is keeping something to himself about the Avatar. Looking back on this scene now, I can see how awful this set up truly is and how angry it makes me that Azula continues to torment her brother. And that’s the word I’m choosing: she torments him. She can never allow him to have a happy moment or thought, and it’s just depressing. I think that, at this point, there is nothing I want to see more from season three than for Azula to finally get her comeuppance. She has not once had to deal with the horrific ramifications of her actions. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I’m worried that Azula won’t be held accountable for what she’s done with Zuko.
I was so ecstatic and excited to see that the following scene would be one between Fire Lord Ozai and Zuko, since I expected this to come much later than it did. Like Zuko, I had no idea what I should anticipate from the meeting. Would Ozai forgive his son? Would he get his honor back? Would we finally see his face??????? All three of these are answered in a scene drenched in reds and blacks, dark, violent colors, and Mark Hamill’s voice work booms through the room. (Seriously, Ozai doesn’t sound like Hamill at all!) As Ozai begins to congratulate his son for his actions, he states that he is most impressed with the ferocity with which he used to kill the Avatar.
WHAT. WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED.
I couldn’t understand it. Why would Azula tell her father that Zuko killed the Avatar? For someone as self-centered as Azula, this made no sense at all. And thankfully, it makes no sense to Zuko ever. We see the shock in his face, but he smartly says nothing to his father. Instead, he chooses to confront Azula about it later and the set-up is revealed: In case the Avatar is not dead, Azula retains her honor and now has a scapegoat.
My fascination with Azula has waned pretty much completely. Because now I despise her. She cannot even allow Zuko the pleasure of having an approving father. She’s got to take that away from him, too.
AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH I AM IN A RAGE
Is it also proper to say that Aang is in a rage as well? I cannot ignore the fact that Aang finally has enough of hiding in the shadows, in the belly of the ship, waiting for whatever moment in the future where it’s ok for him to be the Avatar again. After a particularly awkward conversation with Katara, where he finally vocalizes his shame to her, he decides to abandon the ship. It’s time for him to get his honor back. (OH THE HOLY PARALLELS I LOVE YOU.) But Aang quickly discovers that this process is not simply as easy as he thought it was. But before we see this, Katara’s snappy anger at Hakoda is finally explained, adding a third parallel to this story about honor, abandonment, and suffering. And you know, I haven’t really commented on the voice acting on Avatar and that’s really unfortunate. The realistically written dialogue works not only because it’s written well, but because the voice actors speak with such genuine confidence. I wanted to bring this up so that I could heap praise on Mae Whitman, whose job of conveying Katara’s despair as she admits that she is so angry at her father brought me to tears. It’s the scene where the voice acting is what sells everything to me, and Whitman honestly knocks it right out of the park.
Aang’s closure doesn’t come with a single conversation, though, and I’m positive that we won’t actually see him get the emotional closure he wants for a few more episodes. But, yet again, Aang does not succeed in his mission to….do what? What was he going to do out on that ocean all by himself? Exhaustion gets the best of him as the violent waves overpower him and Aang expects loss once more. However, Avatar Roku appears to Aang to apologize. TO APOLOGIZE. What???? He takes accountability for not doing what he could to stop the war currently raging when he was still alive and for causing Aang to inherit all of his problems. Roku’s brief story also fits in with the general theme of shame that passes from character to character in “The Awakening.” Princess Yue even makes an appearance and I couldn’t help but feel an intense sadness as Aang, Roku, and Yue converse with one another. Roku is hurt by the sight of this young boy suffering because of what he did not due; Yue feels sympathy for a boy who has given up so much only to be swatted down by those with more power; and Aang realizes that his path to honor is going to harm him more than it will help him. Even as Aang gains the courage and strength to make a tidal wave to carry him out of the sea, we now know his awakening has brought him right to Crescent Island, the location that used to house the Fire Temple, now destroyed.
For all this talk of destiny and fate, it’s fitting that Aang arrives at this place, seemingly foreshadowing his difficult path towards mastering fire bending. His friends arrive to comfort him, and he accepts that they were right. He needs to stay in hiding. In a moment of dejected acceptance, Aang slams his damaged glider into the ground of Crescent Island, and it erupts in flames. The Avatar, for now, is dead. And he’ll need to stay that way in order to survive the oncoming storm.
THOUGHTS
- Someone allow me to travel the world with the Earth King and Bosco. RIGHT????
- “The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn’t it?” “You make it too easy.” Oh, Sokka.
An Excerpt from My LiveJournal Post on September 22, 2007, Over NINE MONTHS After the S2 Finale but One Day After the S3 Premiere, Which I Did Not Watch Live Because I Was Offered Free Tickets to See Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem That Morning
HELLO, AANG'S HAIR.
Overall, a good setup for the season, if not an amazing episode. Things have changed a bit, and we have to spend a bit of time re-orienting. And…dealing with Katara's daddy issues. WHY IS EVERYTHING ABOUT HAKODA SO UNSUBTLE? HE'S LIKE AN ANVIL MAGNET. HE EVEN MADE KATARA LIST EVERY SINGLE EMOTION SHE WAS FEELING. Seriously, if they're conflating Katara's anguish over Aang with her anguish over her dad, and Katara is some sort of mother figure for Aang…this is like the ickiest cartoon OTP on Nickelodeon ever?
I think it's the voice actor for Hakoda. He's very one-note and boring and makes everything he says sound like some deep, profound lesson.
Toph, still awesome: check. I like that the one metalbending move she did is basically the same thing she did when she discovered it, a sort of projected crunch. She hasn't started, like, floating Fire Nation ships or something. I also like that, now that they've established she has superhearing, they haven't forgotten about it. And, really, superhearing is the only way to explain her perfect aim at a catapult on another ship.
The serpent gag was hilarious. "Thank you, the universe!" Oh, Sokka.
MAI KISSED ZUKO WHAT. I thought they would, like, lead up to something like that. I want to know what happened in the past few weeks. Is she just walking up behind him and kissing him randomly, or are they actually secretly dating?
Loved the callback to the duck pond in "Zuko Alone."
Also, while it wasn't as subtle as it was in "The Storm," I'm glad they're continuing with the Aang/Zuko parallels, except I never expected this. "I have to redeem myself. I have to restore my honor." Poor angsty emo Aang!!
We finally see Ozai's face!! And…there's nothing interesting about it. I was hoping he'd have a scar or something. But raise your hand if you ever expected Ozai to actually welcome Zuko home like that. HE ACTUALLY MADE DADDY LOVE HIM.
Except no, no he didn't. Because oh my God. AZULA. IS. TOTALLY. OMG. MOTHERFUCKING. AWESOME.
…and disturbingly hot in her nightwear. Help me, I have a crush on a fourteen-year-old cartoon villain. I love that Zuko knows about the spirit water and thus suspects Katara saved Aang. I love that he lied to Azula about it. I love that Azula knows he lied. I love that Azula lied to her dad. I love that my initial reaction was that it was an interestingly nice gesture to do for her brother until I realized she was actually just setting him up to fail. This whole thing is so my favorite part of the episode.
(THAT ROBE IS TOO SEXY FOR NICKELODEON, YOU GUYS. I KEPT EXPECTING HER TO OPEN IT UP AND FLASH ZUKO.)
Hey, look, it's Yue! So now Aang has two spirit guides? Roku and Yue? What is Yue's deal? That's still so weird. Also, I think it's kind of awesome that Roku admitted it was so his fault the war even started, since he was the damn Avatar in charge at the time.
NOOO AANG'S GLIDER. I hate when inanimate objects with special meaning are destroyed. I screamed when it burned up and the episode ended because it was over and now we have to wait a whole week for more.
Ooooh yeah, I also love that the whole world thinks the Avatar is dead and Aang can't be all, "Look at meeeeeeeee, I'm the Avatar!!" anymore.
In conclusion, WHERE WAS TY LEE?
"AZULA. IS. TOTALLY. OMG. MOTHERFUCKING. AWESOME.
…and disturbingly hot in her nightwear."
Quoted for truth. Because damn.
Seriously.
Yeah, pretty much this. I mean, I'm straight, I feel that way.
I repeat: She's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14she's14
Oh who am I kidding. Mark? When you were complaining of people Going There with the characters it was all I could do to avoid asking what happens when the creators do so.
<img src="http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3296/129996422620.jpg">
hurt me azula! i love you so bad
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/4027/129996471…
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/9567/12999645815…
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/535/1299956489…
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/8477/130092744…
love these – especially the second linked one. Thanks!
I love how the animation in that entire scene makes it seem like she's trying to seduce him. Except replace "love" with "am completely squicked out by"
so creepy. SHE'S A CREEPER.
Okay, cuz I agree with that sentiment completely, but having watched this video laugh at this scene just a bit, I have to try to embed it and hopefully avoid spoilers by choosing for it to not recommend videos.. I'm not so sure it'll work, cuz I've never tried this before, but here we go.
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/k-eWsMMJwZ4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Aaaaaand I fail. I did try.
Here's just the straight up URL for anyone who wants it: http://youtu.be/k-eWsMMJwZ4
Beware the side bar recommended videos!
you know, whenever i hear that song, i think of Austin Powers?
"(THAT ROBE IS TOO SEXY FOR NICKELODEON, YOU GUYS. I KEPT EXPECTING HER TO OPEN IT UP AND FLASH ZUKO.)"
The sad thing is, I WAS COMPLETELY EXPECTING THAT TOO. i just didn't put it into words.
Ozai's face being normal (pretty handsome, actually) is something the artbook explains.
We were meant to see him as a scary presence in the shadows, because that's how Zuko saw the man who abused him.
Oh, neat! I forgot to look at the art book before I left, so I am not up on my trivia. That's an interesting choice, presenting Ozai from Zuko's perspective. I never really thought of it that way, so I'm glad it was a deliberate choice not to make Ozai objectively grotesque or monstrous (physically, at least).
Also, I read in some forum or other something that gave me pause: Ozai is unblemished, but there is a physical mark of his evil – it's on his son's face. In a way, Ozai's handsomeness makes him that much scarier.
I was sad about Aang's glider too! He even said last season that it was handcrafted by the monks, or something. It's not like he can just grab a new glider at the glider store.
<img src="http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/8762/zuz2.png">
did you get chills? i got chills.
oh aang. don't you know that pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source?
i think we ALL need a healing session.
<img src="http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/570/zuz3.png">
as if i didn't love mai enough already. zuzu, will you ever be happy?
<img src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2918/zuz1.png">
<img src="http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9273/1216952222695.jpg">
Best. Turtle duck. Ever.
please let this be canon.
<img src="http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/3417/123570055752.jpg">
this part made me a little uncomfortable. did the voice actor forget who she was talking to? needless to say, zuko/azula shipping got a BIG boost after this.
"sleep well, zuzu."
<img src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7639/zuz4.png">
<img src="http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4726/123386488936.jpg">
Zuko!turtleduck… <3 <3 <3
what
Aang has hair
what what what
This was very distracting for me during the episode. 😀 I mean, I knew he wasn't naturally bald, considering we even saw him shaving his head at the beginning of Tales of Ba Sing Se, but it's still weird to see him like this. IT MESSES WITH MY PERCEPTION OF REALITY, OKAY?
*ahem* Onto more serious matters… it's equally jarring seeing everyone in their Fire Nation regalia. I was all "WTF NO THEY GOT CAPTURED!" when I saw that Aang was on a Fire Nation ship, but then Momo is getting along fine with someone in the uniforms, and Toph and Katara are there and Sokka's in full armor, and… LOL OMG THAT'S PIPSQUEAK AND THE DUKE! Glad they're okay! I BET YOU'RE REALLY GLAD TO BE WRONG ABOUT THAT PREDICTION. 😀 And they're still working on the invasion, that's… well… I suppose it's good, but they've lost the element of surprise thanks to the Earth King unwittingly blabbing to Azula, so… well, on the other hand, the Fire Nation won't exactly be able to defend themselves too well anyway, so it's cool they're still going forward, even without the Earth Kingdom's support. I don't know how they'll manage without that source of firepower, for lack of a better term. But hey, this counts as another prediction right, in my eyes, since they're at least planning it! So, that makes, lessee… three right in one episode, and another proved gloriously wrong. You're already on a roll!
I can see where Aang is coming from on being distressed about the world thinking he's dead. He's been struggling since the beginning of the show with his guilt about having disappeared from history at a crucial point, at feeling like he abandoned the world. I remember quite clearly the anger of that fisherman in The Storm at Aang, and how Aang felt that anger was justified. He had to let go of those feelings of guilt in The Guru, but in light of what's happened, it's no surprise to me that they're coming back. This is the last thing he needs, right now and at all, given what he's been dealing with internally all along, and especially in the state he's in now thanks to his injury and the fall of the Earth Kingdom. I sympathize with his frustration at not being able to help out during the battle, that's a pretty demoralizing change for him.
Still, I also see Sokka's viewpoint. He's clearly pretty genre-savvy himself: Aang will be able to pull off a DRAMATIC REVEAL that, in fact, someone could survive that. The Fire Nation currently seems to believe that even though they didn't see the body, he's still dead, so why not take advantage of that? Hell, Zuko even says "there's no way he could have survived", but the amusing part is that he knows damn well that there's a way. Azula, of course, seems to see right through this assertion, because she's genre-savvy too, which we know from the fact that she attacked Aang while he was powering up, leading to this whole situation.
Also, whoa, he and Mai are together. I approve, Zuko: she's awesome. At least you have good judgment in ONE thing. 😛 And holy crap, it was horrible seeing the Dai Li bring down the wall for the Fire Nation to march through. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THIS CITY AND THE PEOPLE IN IT, NOT GIVE IT OVER TO THE INVADERS. Bad enough they were already controlling the city through brainwashing and other crimes, but now they're even worse traitors. They're awful.
Aang's rage over failing in Ba Sing Se and his assertion that he needs to face the Fire Lord alone reminds me of a certain boy wizard… but more importantly, his statement about needing to redeem himself and regain his honor is as blatant a parallel between him and Zuko as you can get. Their situations have, essentially, reversed: Zuko has regained his honor in the eyes of his father and sister through his actions in Ba Sing Se. He succeeded, and is welcomed back with open arms. He finally has what he wanted all along. Aang, meanwhile, failed in Ba Sing Se, and is now in hiding, much as Zuko was in hiding during Book Two. He feels that he has lost his honor through that failure, and must win it back somehow. We've been set up for some time to see them as dual protagonists, rather than a strict division of hero and villain, and quite often they've mirrored each other, but never as directly as this, with each one standing in the emotional place the other once occupied.
(cont)
It therefore seems appropriate to have scenes paralleling those seen in The Storm. Zuko kneels once more before his father, in their first meeting since his banishment three years ago; but the difference couldn't be more stark. Instead of cruelly rejecting him, Ozai instead welcomes him home and declares that he has redeemed himself. He has now accepted him, and expresses pride in him. Of course, some of the pride Ozai feels in Zuko is based upon a lie. Whose lie? Azula's, of course. I love when she says "You're going to have to be a little more specific." That girl must have dozens of nefarious schemes going if she can't identify off the top of her head what Zuko's referring to when he simply asks why she did "it". Her answer is very interesting, and not only proves again how whip-smart she is, but also sets up Zuko's newly regained status on very very shaky ground. She and I, and Zuko, know all too well how easily everything could crumble beneath his feet if Aang turns out to be alive after all and Zuko is seen as the one who failed to kill him. She's sensed already that her own triumph in Ba Sing Se over the Avatar may not have been so decisive as she believed, so she moved to turn it into a means by which to destroy Zuko in the event that her suspicions are proven correct. It's rather brilliant, in a twisted and evil way: she doesn't get the immediate glory for slaying the Avatar, but that's a small price to pay, in her mind, for avoiding taking the fall should he still somehow be among the living. And the best part is that she can spin it as a gesture of sisterly support and affection. Not that Zuko buys it, but she knows that, and so she takes the chance to point out to him just what would happen if Aang were to turn out to not be dead, and to remind him of what he said about how he couldn't have survived that. As if to subtly inform him that he brought this upon himself for lying about being so sure about that; and that he'd better hope that Aang really is dead, or else this house of cards she helped construct will collapse over his head.
It's an utterly chilling scene, and frankly I love it for that. It really drives home some of what I've been saying all along about what would happen if Zuko were to go home like this: nothing has changed. Azula is still Azula. She still lies, and manipulates, and is still using him and seeking to protect or help herself at his expense. And if Ozai weren't still Ozai, if the threat of his being utterly rejected and punished again didn't still hang over his head should he make a single mistake, then Azula's schemes wouldn't carry any weight. Zuko is home again, and his father is proud of him, and he has a cool girlfriend, and the nation sees him as a hero; but he's still in turmoil and isn't out of the danger of losing everything just yet. Things are not going to be easy for him just because he has what he wants, no – that would be boring. He's going to have to fight to keep what he wants, and indeed to figure out if he feels it's worth it. He's already seeing that it's not exactly how he thought it would be, and his travels have indeed changed him as Ozai said; but how much? Will they prove to be in ways his father does not like, after all? Where will his path lead him now? Zuko's portion of this episode leaves us with so many questions for his continuing arc over the rest of the season. As it should.
(cont)
Aang, meanwhile, runs away again, though with different motivations than when he fled one hundred years prior, and it seems as though he will once again go down in a storm the way he was so long ago. He loses his glider, and drifts in the turbulant sea. Here, though, Roku and Yue appear to give him messages of hope and encouragement, and Aang draws strength from their words. With Yue's help, he fights his way to shore, empowered with a new resolve to not give up, to keep going, because he hasn't lost yet. It's not over. Fittingly, the shore he reaches is that of Crescent Island, where the Fire Temple where he spoke with Roku in Winter Solstice Part II once stood. It's here that the rest of this little family finds him, and my heart utterly melts at the group hug, especially when Appa comes over and leans his head against them. HAPPY TEARS ALL DOWN MY FACE. APPA IS SO WONDERFUL. As is the fact that they had him do that at all. There's so much emotion and warmth conveyed in that little gesture, and in Momo clinging to Aang's head, all expressed without a single word. I really, really do love how the animal characters are treated on this show. And I reiterate my desire for my own Appa and Momo. 🙁
It's hard to see Aang give the glider up, knowing just how much it means to him as a last remnant of his destroyed culture. I imagine it's a horrible wrench for Aang, too. But he and I both recognize the unfortunate necessity of such an action, and Aang has come to recognize the wisdom of letting the world believe he's dead for just a little while longer. It's painful, knowing how this will affect so many people, but if it will help them in the long run, then there's no other choice for the greater good.
The road ahead is going to be more difficult than ever before. But at least Aang is not alone, and he recognizes the value of his friends. They're all in this together, and I think that's going to make the difference between success and failure.
Other stuff:
– The family from Serpent's Pass. 🙁 They made it to Ba Sing Se, but…
– Bye, Bosco. 🙁 I'll miss you.
– I still get giddy when I see Toph metalbend. GREATEST EARTHBENDER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH <3
– TURTLE DUCKS! <3 <3 <3
– "Thank you, the universe!" LOL this scene is utterly perfect.
– I didn't know where else to best fit my thoughts on Katara's issues with Hakoda, so they'll go here. I was at first mystified by her snappish behavior towards him, but then it all became so clear when she vented about Aang to him and he figured out that she has similar feelings of frustration towards him. I like that things weren't just hunky-dory between them: it makes sense that she'd be struggling with some feelings of abandonment, and I can sympathize. It couldn't have been easy for her to lose her mother and then have her father leave too; sure, as she points out, they had Gran-Gran, but that doesn't erase the intense feelings of loss she and Sokka must have gone through. Sokka experienced it his own way, and was able to have that nice reunion in The Guru, but Katara processed it differently, and so it wasn't so easy for her. It may have been necessary for him to leave them behind, but it was painful and difficult on all sides. Another example of how War Ruins Everything.
– omg we see Ozai's face for the first time
– he is still a creepy motherfucker
– and I should note:
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/hrwxep.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
– just in case anyone was unaware
Mark Hamill is a beast. I didn't realize it was him until I checked the credits.
The Dai Lee are by far the worst secret police ever.
Oh, I had missed all the giant commentaries that the wonderful posters on this site come up with.
Who can honestly say that they didn't want to be in the middle of that group hug? Seriously. More hugs now please!
Oh hi Maiko and the fandom hate it caused.
I do love this episode on so many levels that you pointed out and I adore the parallels between Zuko and Aang that have been constantly running through out the series and continue here.
Also Sokka has the best lines ever. Well next to Iroh.
All right, let's get this out of the way.
<img src="http://i522.photobucket.com/albums/w345/SnowWhiteKatara/Avatar%20Clips/00000000000000000000000000000000-10.gif">
And verily, if you listen hard, you can still hear the echoing screams of "WHAAAA" as they ring through the halls of time. Honestly, I remember thinking the scene was kind of cute. Zuko goes off on his "HONOR AND MY DADDY DON'T LOVE ME" spiel, while Mai jokingly comforts him. She just asked if you were cold, dude. Not about the ~ torturous sorrow of your heart~. Admittedly, there wasn't much build-up to the kiss (unless you read some supplementary comics which I never found), but I'm willing to see where this goes.
So onto the actual meat of this episode! Namely, poor Aang waking up and having to deal with the consequences of losing at Ba Sing Se. Poor baby once again has to deal with the whole world thinking he's dead. And hair. I can't really be too mad that he ran away, but I still don't know how the Gaang found him. Seriously, did Yue just pop over to Sokka and say "Yo, go do something about arrowboy?". AANGST EVERYWHERE, MEIN GOTT.
We get a nice comparison of dads here, with Hakoda and Ozai. (I remember people being really surprised that Ozai looked like an older Zuko with prominent cheekbones. Apparently they were expecting someone hideous. That would have gone against ATLA's message. They've been pretty fair about the whole "Beauty = Good, Ugliness = Evil" trope.) Hakoda clearly clears about his children, no matter the circumstance, while Ozai's, er, affections seem to rely on what his children have done. NICELY DONE, FIRE DOUCHE.
In conclusion: Some post that video of Azula and Zuko set to the Marvin Gaye song. You know what I'm talking about. I can't find it anywhere.
You know, I really like MaiXZuko. It just seems like such a fitting couple. I can see the potential for Zutara, but Mai and Zuko are so gloomy all the time, with their own rare brand of humour, that I think they'd drive everyone else up the wall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-eWsMMJwZ4
This, right? Uncomfortable and hilarious at the same time.
Sorry, can't embed! Don't look at the related videos.
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/kartikeya/Avatar/awakening1.jpg">
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/kartikeya/Avatar/awakening2.jpg">
One of those little moments easily missed but oh so character defining in this episode: the turtleducks, presumably a few generations on, are still afraid of Azula.
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/kartikeya/Avatar/awakening3.jpg">
Aang, Azula, and Zuko got updated looks for season three.
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/kartikeya/Avatar/awakening4.jpg">
After two seasons of hiding the Fire Lord in shadows, the audience finally got to see him when Zuko returned home in "The Awakening". It's a symbolic moment where Zuko finally sees his father for who he truly is–not a mysterious, frightening figure hidden in shadow, but a flesh-and-blood man, similar in appearance to himself.
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/kartikeya/Avatar/awakening5.jpg">
<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/kartikeya/Avatar/awakening6.jpg">
I'm not sure why I never noticed how they were directly contrasting Hakoda and Ozai in this episode until this most recent rewatch last night. Here's Hakoda telling Katara how he loves her and Sokka more than anything else, and how he ached every night he was away from them, and here's Ozai coldly laying out all the conditions of why he uh…slightly likes his son now? This doesn't even sound like 'like', it's just 'I approve of what you did', like Zuko's having a performance review with his employer, rather than a reunion with his father.
Ozai looks like such a douchebag. I always forget that.
This isn't my favorite episode, but I appreciate the way it deals with the aftermath of "The Crossroads of Destiny." I especially liked Katara's scene with Hakida where she breaks down; she's been the responsible one for so long, and it's hard to see how being left alone has worn her down. I agree, Mae Whitman deserves immense praise for her acting in this episode. I like that Zuko seems to realize that making his choice to side with Azula and have his honor restores hasn't erased his problems or angst. Azula is an evil genius (who must have really tortured those poor turtle ducks).
I understand why Aang is frustrated and angry, but I don't fully understand his motivations for running away, other than a need to be alone or maybe get to the Fire Nation first. I don't know what he hoped to accomplish other than feel like he was doing something. On the plus side, this was the first episode in a while that ended on a hopeful note (aside from "Lake Laogai," but Jet died so it wasn't all good). Group hug!
<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/11hv2op.png">
I remember when I first watched this episode how in awe I was of Azula's machinations– she's so clever, and so cruel. I know it's been said before at length, but though I despise her as a person, I am thrilled with her as a character and a villain. It's not often we get a truly intelligent and crafty foil for our protagonists. That said, I was really proud of Zuko for not telling his sister about the water from the Spirit Oasis. I mean, it could be read as him just not trusting her (WHICH IS A GOOD THING) or whatever, but I choose to believe this moment signals that he has some corner of himself that isn't relying on the destiny his father and sister have laid out for him, that is ZUKO rather than the Prince of the Fire Nation. And that piece that is Zuko? Kind of a cool dude.
You're so right about Azula. She is a great villain, because, quite frankly, if you pitted her in a To The Death Fight or a Battle of Wills with any of our heroes–let's face it. She'd win. She amps up the drama and suspense because you really don't know what to expect from her.
Who was it that said a man is only as good as his enemies? That might have been the Doctor, actually, and he would know.
Unfortunately, Azula's savvy enough to catch the little pause between her question and Zuko's answer.
"I don’t even like having hair"
omg Mark I hear you on this one. You're so lucky you're a guy and it's socially acceptable to not have hair. I keep my hair really short anyway but I've always wanted to just shave the damn stuff off. But of course, I would get WAY too much grief if I actually did that.
And of course it would lead to a lot of people assuming I have cancer and that is one awkward conversation I can live without.
LIVE THE HAIRLESS DREAM MY BROTHER.
FUCK. That seriously SUCKS. I mean….seriously, hair is SO HARD. I DON'T LIKE.
i will live this dream for you with honor
:: salutes the flag ::
Agh, I am the same way. Hair is utterly annoying and if it wouldn't make me feel even more self conscious than I already am (which is crippling already, so) I would completely shave it all off.
Well, that and I would get hilarious sunburns without hair. I already get them on my head with it. But that's what hats are for!
If you ever lose complete patient with it, maybe you can justify shaving it off to raise money for cancer or something. People can't give you disapproving looks if you actually do it for a good cause. Plus, you are raising money for cancer, and that's a benefit in of itself.
I FEEL YOU SO MUCH. Hair, why must you get in the way. I would shave my hair off but my hair is about the only thing that makes my face look less weird.
Aang has hair! And everyone else is dressed as Fire Nation residents and soldiers! And Sokka has an invasion plan!
Okay, so I kinda love Mai/Zuko together because they're just such teenagers. Zuko's emoting all over the place and being angsty when asked if he's simply cold, while Mai, well, doesn't want his life story. It's just cute and entirely believable. And I like the thought of them together because I think they would balance each other out well. And since Mai/Zuko is the cause of a lot of Mai hate in fandom, and this ship gets bashed a lot, have a gif of them kissing because that's a shitty reason to dislike Mai and I'm kinda spiteful like that.
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/z7rfc.gif">
Aw, adorable. ADORABLE.
Also, Fire Nation propaganda speech omg! I love fictional propaganda. And ngl, it's pretty cool to see Azula and Zuko both being greeted and cheered for by the Fire Nation.
And then his and Azula's talk is interesting. Ooh, apparently Zuko is worried, and is probably even feeling conflicted. But then Ozai tells him he's redeemed himself, and welcomes him back, which is what Zuko always wanted. But he's still apparently unhappy.
Love the parallel that Katara feels regarding Aang and her dad. Honestly, her yelling at her dad about Aang may actually be one of my favorite of her moments, just cause it's so piercing to me. She doesn't like looking vulnerable, but sometimes things get overwhelming. Really, such a touching moment. And it's absolutely not lost on me that they contrast her relationship with her father with Zuko and his father. Hakoda is sympathetic, and Katara yelling at him is meant to be sympathetic but not some sort of victory, whereas Zuko abides by Ozai's wishes, when I think everyone just wants him to rebel against his father. Makes for some interesting dynamics.
In conclusion, I heart Azula. Her villainy is just so fun to watch! And she constantly seems to be a couple steps ahead of everyone. Love it. Maybe it's easier for me to love Azula because I know how the series ends, and all that happens between then and where we are in The Awakening, but I am so content to simply watch Azula scheme. And I don't feel guilty about that one bit.
I wanted to bring this up so that I could heap praise on Mae Whitman
Who?
Her?
Egg?
WAIT ISN'T SHE THE ACTRESS WHO DOES KATARA'S VOICE
and is also Ann on Arrested Development omg the best show ever
Yes. She is the awesome actress who does Katara's voice.
Also, she plays Roxy in Scott Pilgrim. But–even cooler–she lends her voice to the character of Lisa in this animated short they did of a scene that didn't make it into the movie. SO COOL, and you can tell it's her right away.
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BitByGeWGxU
Um, spoilers for the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, obviously.
Oh, I remember this! It's that short where Michael Cera mysteriously performed the role of Scott about 10x better than he did in the actual freaking movie.
*is not bitter*
I call her Annabelle because her body is shaped kinda like a–
…she's the bell of the ball.
Yep! That's her. She's also Bernice in the movie Hope Floats, she was so tiny and adorable in that movie
Hey, if you like AD, try Archer. Same cast as the voice actors, and funny as (if you'll excuse the vulgarity, but it fits) fuck.
My god.
Maybe you could do that next on Mark Watches? If you haven't seen it already, that is.
That or Fullmetal Alchemist. Either/or. 😀
And also Rose in American Dragon Jake Long, in which Dante Basco is… Jake Long.
Seriously trippy watching that show.
Egg.
<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/10873n8.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Oh… her?
It's as Ann as the nose on plain's face!
ALSO I TOTALLY JUST GOT THIS JOKE/REFERENCE RIGHT NOW.
i get things
You get things now. Getting things is cool.
i like Mai and Zuko. They can be emo together! 😀
I'm with you on this one… seeing Aang with hair is just too wierd.
The scene between Katara and Hakoda is what cemented my love of Katara forever. My parents are divorced, and I get to see my mother, who lives 12 hours away in Montana (I'm Canadian), at most three times a year. Sometimes not even that. Watching Katara confront her father about leaving them really resonates with me because that is something I've had to deal with for almost ten years now. I really admire the Katara for being able to have that conversation with her father, because what she tells him is the same things I've never had the courage to say to my mother. I also have to commend the writers, and Whitman, for daring to deal with that ON A CHILDREN'S SHOW (admittedly it seems to be a common thing for children to go through nowadays, but I have never seen another children's show attempt this idea) and DOING IT WELL!!! This scene honestly broke my heart.
This is a really great season opener. Very powerful, and it sets up what they’re going to be dealing with. I wonder how long until Zuko’s found out. Love the parallels of Aang and Zuko again. Aang’s always had so much guilt over abandoning everyone. Now they think he’s gone again, and it just makes everything worse. And now Zuko’s starting to feel guilt over betraying Iroh? Maybe? He doesn’t look very happy to be back home. (Also, did Mai just kiss Zuko and he was totally okay with it? Wow, unexpected. Thought they’d been hinting that Mai just had an unrequited crush on him. I bet the fandom imploded at that moment.)
It’s interesting that Roku feels so much responsibility for what’s happened. Really, Aang was just a kid when the war started, so he couldn’t have done much. But wars don’t just happen overnight. Presumably there was something that happened years ago that could have hinted at what was going to happen.
The somewhat in medias res beginning is really cool, especially since we are just as confused as Aang. Why is everyone on a Fire Nation ship and acting so calm? Why does Aang have hair? It’s all answered really quickly, but as soon as we work that out we have a new problem. The incoming ship realizes that they’re imposters. But thankfully Toph is the most badass being alive.
(Also, “Thank you, the universe.” xD Something actually goes right for Sokka!)
Katara’s anger at her father is totally understandable to me. My father died when I was just a kid. One of my worst fears for years after was that I would lose my mom, too. In this case Katara’s father was alive, but she had no way of knowing where he was, if he was okay, or if he would come back. They’d lost their mother to the Fire Nation presumably only a couple years(?) before the men went off to fight. As far as the kids are concerned, it’s like they’ve lost both of their parents.
Azula is just. Holy shit. The one time she does something ‘nice’ for Zuko, it’s because she wants to make sure there’s no chance any loose ends can bite her in the ass. I kind of get the feeling that on some level she might really be trying to protect Zuko because he’s her brother, but she has so many more levels of plot going on that it doesn’t really matter. On one hand if they find out Aang isn’t dead, it gets blamed on Zuko and Azula is scot free. On the other hand if Aang was dead, it gives a chance to show a united and strong royal family, which is politically more stable. Also Azula gets Zuko back close to her, where she can manipulate him. (I might be reading into it, though.)
Oh, and hey, we finally see Ozai's face!
Mark, I must say I am disappointed by your lack of enthusiasm about Pipsqueak and The Duke returning…
😛
On a lighter note, here's a freakishly accurate rendering of Ozai by the wonderful BooterFreak, who drew it BEFORE SEASON 3:
<img src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs13/f/2007/028/7/d/What_I_Think_Ozai_Looks_Like_by_Booter_Freak.png">
source
OH FUCK. I totally neglected to write about that. And it also proves my prediction wrong about not seeing any more Freedom Fights.
So that means that Team Avatar now has….six people? Well…wait, they weren't there at the end of the episode, so does that count?
I think you'll have a chance to write about them later. 😉 I mean, they're still preparing the mini-invasion, right? They're bound to turn up again…
And personally, I only count Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph (and Momo and Appa) as Team Avatar, not all their allies. Just the core group.
BooterFreak is obviously a practitioner of the Dark Arts. Steps should be taken with utmost haste.
Wait, that was Booter's image? I knew someone drew freakishly good prediction art, but I didn't know it was her. That girl is truly a genius.
Yep, BooterFreak. She's amazing.
If I remember correctly, didn't Mike and Bryan hire her on as a storyboard artist for season three because they liked her fanart so much?
You're thinking of rufftoon. Another awesome, often hilarious female fanartist. I could see why you got confused.
They do have a similar style, so yeah, it's easy to get them confused.
I predict that one of the episodes in this Season will be your series Favorite.
I can't think of which one that is!! SO MANY GOOD ONES
I mean, he might like the one where the Gaang travels back in time and then has tea at Iroh's tea shop.
Shhhhhh.
Spoilers man.
Or in the finale, when Koh turns Azula into a turtleduck because he knows he'll never be able to steal her face? AMAZING.
Or OOOOH! I bet Mark will really like the musical episode, which is done with stop-animation finger puppets. Pretty clever.
I'm assuming you mean That One Episode, which is pretty much everyone's favorite.
Seriously cannot wait. I am so utterly psyched about it. (Except there are many many other episodes which I also seriously cannot wait for Mark to get to. Hooray for Season 3!)
There's an episode which is pretty much everyone's favorite? ROT13 please?
I think your reaction to the episode is what the writers were hoping for and the reaction I had. Unfortunately, the long wait between seasons coupled with the huge cliffhanger made the fandoms expectations go wild. I remember there were quite a few "I waited 9 months for that!!" Type post on the fan forums.
I get that, to an extent. It's totally a different experience to see a show all at once rather than in broadcast time.
It's also different when you watch a show outside of fandom and don't have to absorb all its expectations into yourself. Like this one show I loved had a season that most people didn't like, so after every episode, there was a week of complaining and criticizing…but then when I rewatched the episodes later all in one night, they didn't seem bad at all!
And so they say that Mai’s hatedom grew five times that day. Oh, fandom. You can be so ugly sometimes.
This was a great episode for the day after Father’s Day. Zuko finally returns home and regains his honour! And suddenly remembers that, oh yeah, Azula can’t be trusted!
As great as it would have been for Zuko and Iroh to join Team Avatar at the end of season 2, I have to applaud the series for not taking the easy route. This episode provides some very interesting story potential for the next stage on Zuko’s character arc. He has gained what he longed for those past three years and he’s full of doubts. The reason for Katara suggesting the spirit water for Zuko’s scar also becomes clear as Azula and Zuko hedge their bets on Aang’s survival.
…Aang’s giving you until the Eclipse, Zuko. Use that time as you will.
At least we have Hakoda to continue to be a good contrast to Ozai here. His scene with Katara is a great contrast in displaying the emotion of two loved ones who don’t want to be apart but know their duty needs them elsewhere. The whole scene with Ozai had some great contrasting as a whole, really. Don’t you start on the honour obsession, Aang!
Also: How horrible is the impact of seeing the city we’ve spent the last several episodes in be occupied by the Fire Nation… The cameos make it all the worse. Ying and Tahn just can’t find peace.
He has gained what he longed for those past three years and he’s full of doubts.
This reminds me of a line from Into the Woods that I've always loved (and probably related to a bit too much than is probably good for me): "But how can you know what you want 'til you get what you want and you see if you like it?"
That's where Zuko's at right now, I think. He's finally got what he wants, but he's unsure whether he does like. (Hint, Zuko: you don't like it, and the sooner you realize this and run off to join Aang et al., the happier we'll all be, 'kay?)
Oh, that also reminds me of a line in Princess and the Frog, which says "you got what you wanted, but you lost what you had." Which is true. Zuko regained his honor, he was home and everyone thought he was a hero, but he lost the one person who actually on-screen cared for him (I say on-screen because it's very clear that Ursa cared for him, but she's not here, is she?) and has thrown Iroh in prison. He lost the inner peace he had (hopefully) finally gained in "The Guru" after the freaky fever-dream, and he lost, I think, his respect for himself. Oh, Zuko. I love you forever.
We see Jin too!!! She's inside a doorway for about a second behind some old guy =]
That was the tea shop where "Lee" and "Mushi" worked at first — the old guy was their boss.
I find Azula simultaneously horrifying and fascinating. But yeah, comeuppance. Needs to happen.
We've all spent plenty of time OMGing over the animation in this show. But one of the things I love most is the emphasis placed on character's eyes. Zuko is not only marked by his scar. He has the same, amber eyes as his sister, and (we find out in this episode) as his father.
Yet, even though he as come back to "their side", we already know how different Zuko is from his father and sister. And that ties in brilliantly with the way these characters are written. In this show, no matter which of the four nations you hail from, no matter who you look like, no matter who you're related to, you are an individual, and you have a chance to take your life into your own hands (Even if Zuko blew that chance in Ba Sing Se.)
Oh my gosh, the Fire Nation islands are totally like Iceland!!! I don't know why I didn't see it before.
In terms of development, out of all the characters in the show, to me, Aang’s is the hardest to appreciate. This is not to say that he’s not a likable character—he’s the little brother everyone wish they could have!—but I honestly don’t think he’s made a more mature decision in his quest until now of accepting to hide his identity at the end. Throughout the series Aang always had the privilege of having the recognition of being both the avatar and the last Airbender. We’ve also heard much of how free-sprited and amusing the monks were, but touched little on their philosophies and norms until notably recently in “the Guru”. The scene of Aang destroying his glider is such a crucial turning point in his character. It’s accepting transcendence of extinction of his people and blending in with fire nation; truly understanding the demands of not only being the avatar, but ultimately growing up.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/37935203/ep41pan25.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
seriously this comment is AMAZING. A+ commentary.
Agreed! I remembered that I focused on the whole burning-the-glider bit because earlier, when Toph is using it to crack some nuts, Aang gets bent outta shape – paraphrasing here: "Its really special to me and it's an antique (earthly possessions) and acts like the kid he really is. Then here, he burns it like its nothing because he's gotten to the point where hey! The world doesn't need a twelve-thirteen year old kid with funky cosmic powers, it needs the Avatar, being mature and looking at the big picture, to fix this giant mess of a war and imbalance of power.
Thank you for this comment! I am rewatching the series for the third or fourth time now, and this time around I have discovered a greater appreciation for Aang and everything he goes through. But this is something I hadn't really thought about in the context of his character development, so thanks!
And this is why Aang is my favorite. His development isn't so "in your face.". There is a sort of refreshing subtlety to it. Like this scene you pointed out.
I actually really like that Mai and Zuko are just sort of…together now. It kind of threw me off when they just kissed like it was no big deal, but it's actually quite refreshing to have their relationship shown like that. There's no big angsty storyline about them getting together – it's just kind of assumed and it wasn't a conversation we really needed to see. They just threw in the kiss as a kind of 'hey, by the way…'
And they're pretty cute together too. It's nice that something is going right for Zuko.
*sigh* I miss Iroh though…
Yes! This is my exact feeling about it, I LOVED their little teen romance "Yeah, so by the way we're dating now" thing. I like that they can just hang out together and chill (or as close as Zuko can ever come to it…) – right now, Zuko needs someone who simply accepts him and enjoys his company.
And I love Mai so much, so if she wants a boyfriend who angsts like its going out of style, good for her. They're such adorable little emo kids…
There was a comic done to explain what led up to the romantic relationship that they're now.
In this Quasi-review, I'll just be splitting up the two plotlines, because the cuts in this are… kind of annoying actually.
So we start with… Aang waking up. Well, it's called The Awakening, so I guess we can accept that.
It was really hard to see him hobbling through the ship, he's usually jumping all over the place like a monkey. Then he gets the full infodump of what's happened so far, and goes into Aangst mode once again.
The fight was awesome, but there are other things going on here. Aang is feeling useless, so he decides to head straight into the heart of the Fire Nation when a day ago, he could barely walk on his own. Smart guy he is. Taking on an impossible task because he needs to restore his honor? Who does that sound like?
And Katara's daddy issues finally surface. All I could think during that scene was… something that in retrospect is terribly sexist, and I am ashamed to repeat it. So I won't. Let's just say that it got to me in several ways.
Aang talks to both Roku and Yue, and they show him the light, or something like that. Another "awakening."
And in the ends, he burns the glider. What irks me is that Aang was standing, like, right next to the lava the whole time, but it's the staff that bursts into flames. Then again, Zuko has hit against a wall in practically every fight he's taken part of, and he seems mostly alright. I guess people are just made of sterner stuff on this planet.
Now Zuko's side: First of all, Zuko and Mai on the ship (pun intended). A lot of fans hated Mai/Zuko because
they were Zutarians… I don't know actually. Booter, help us out.<img src="http://www.deviantart.com/download/70925174/The_Problem_With_Maiko_by_Booter_Freak.png"/>
As good a theory as any. Yeah, this fandom is so silly sometimes.
So… Zuko is home and things aren't going too well. He probably still feels bad about Uncle, and now he has to deal with Azula putting the Avatar's death on his hands. And that scene was… Just… This video.
<iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/k-eWsMMJwZ4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If it doesn't embed, then you'll just have to use this link. the suggested videos may be spoilery, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-eWsMMJwZ4
Essentially, it's the bedroom scene with Zuko and Azula (augh, not like that) set to a Marvin Gaye song. The effect is exactly hat that sentence implies.
Also: Turtle Ducks still run away from Azula.
Unrelated picspam to follow.
These were supposed to go up sometime during your season 2 reviews, but I couldn't remember to post them until now.
<img src="http://www.deviantart.com/download/58656009/Gagstrip_57_by_Booter_Freak.png">
<img src="http://www.deviantart.com/download/44372731/Gagstrip_48_by_Booter_Freak.png">
ooh… um… This one uses "that word" that Mark doesn't like. <a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs25/i/2008/172/d/d/Gagstrip_73_by_Booter_Freak.png"” target=”_blank”>http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs25/i/2008/172/d/d/Gagstrip_73_by_Booter_Freak.png"
Oh, I love Booter's comics so much. The Harry Potter one and 'The Problem with Maiko' especially.
That Maiko comic is sadly spot on. I am intrigued by the crossed out suggestion, though. Katara/Mai? Hmm…
Maitara is actually quite popular in some circles. Along with all of the lovely Ozai's Angels pairings.
Mai/Zuko still throws me off because suddenly it was like a one sided crush on her part and then BOOM! Kissing. Weirded me out, even though the pairing makes perfect sense in the context of their animated lives.
Okay, I have issues with people in fiction denying the validity of a person's emotional reaction to things. I. Hate. That. When Mai asked Zuko, "Don't you feel cold?" he was assuming that she could infer that he didn't feel cold because he's so distracted by his current problems. They're big problems and real ones, and she effectively belittled his turmoil, which is real, by telling him, "I don't care what you think or how you feel. Give me nookie, bitch."
I disliked Mai with Zuko, because I felt like she really didn't give a damn in this scene and it messed with my perceptions of her from then on. Now, you can say she's dragging him out of his funk, kicking and screaming, but I didn't see sarcasm there, and I didn't see amusement there, I saw someone who just didn't give a damn. Call me crazy, but that's how I read it.
Please do not use "bitch" and "crazy" on this site.
Yeah, I saw it as "dragging him out of his funk", or at least trying to. By his response she recognizes that he's in the midst of a BroodSpiral, which, yes, is not a lot of fun for her to be around, but also is not very good for him. She tries to break him out of it with a sarcastic quip (because it's what she does), which doesn't work. She recognizes that it didn't work, and then shifts to the smooch-don't-worry tactic, which probably worked better.
Okay, is it just me, or is Ozai kind of handsome? I mean, he's an evil bastard, but still… rowr…
Yup he is quite handsome and evil like a young Tom Riddle. It's not like James Bond where the villains are always scarred and hideous.
He may actually be even more DILF-y than Hakoda.
unf
Oh yeah, much more DILFy. No offence, Hakoda, but you're just not my type… 😛
Close call in my book…
There's this panel in a Booter-Freak comic called "It's Avatarded If…" and it says "You didn't know what a DILF was before Avatar, but you sure as hell do now" and then a picture of Ozai and Hakoda… From all of her fanart featuring Ozai, she seems to be a fan lol
I think Ozai is slightly more DILF-y than Hakoda though…
Teehee, I know that comic… XD
Uh, yeah. I'd tap that.
YANA.
I have no idea if this counts as a spoiler so this is a spoiler warning so someone can check and delete if necessary.
Isn't Ozai meant to be a representation of an Zuko had he not had his mother's kindness?
I'd do him if he wasn't a complete monster.
Hakoda…. Yeah. *starry eyes*
So…would posting scans of/links to the comics that Nickelodeon Magazine put out to fill in some of the blanks between the end of season two and this episode be allowed? Or would those be considered spoilery? (Rereading them, they don't seem spoilery except for "The Awakening" but not sure what the policy would be for that sort of thing!)
One of them [[znxrf zr jbaqre ubj nalbar pbhyq bccbfr Znvxb hayrff gurl unqa'g ernq vg]].
When I remember this episode, the first thing I think of was how absolutely TERRIFIC Mae Whitman's voice acting was. Seriously, she was fantastic. She's a brilliant actress, and in just about everything. I love her in Parenthood.
Aang has hair. Cut it off.
So Zuko probably wins in the hair department, right?
YAY, A VICTORY!!!
<img src="http://piandao.org/screencaps/ep41/ep41-1129.png">
Nothing sensual here.
No sire.
/duck
I'd go for it. Granted Ty Lee's better but still…
She's still 14, so we have to take deep, cooling breaths…
Oh, wait, and fictional.
Fair enough..
Damn this show and their constant Jailbaiting! But I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who got the impression that Azula was trying to use her "feminine wiles" on Zuko. As Mal would say: "You are a tweaked one".
I'm sure that bedroom scene helped plenty of young people hit puberty, though. Much like how April O'Neil, Poison Ivy, and Jessica Rabbit (yeah, I'm all about the redheads) helped some of us.
For a fun fact, Azula's voice actress (Grey DeLisle) almost got to voice Mother Gothel in Tangled. Now that would be creepy, neh?
Holy criminy. Does she sing? I mean, Donna Murphy was just about perfect in the role, but Grey DeLisle definitely would have been just as awesome at the spoken-word parts.
Grey DeLisle singing Bohemian Rhapsody http://youtu.be/4kXXTe6M1PE
So, Ozai is hot, right? It's not just me?
It's not just you.
It's definitely not just you. /eyedart
I still remember watching this for the first time, and feeling the first fifteen heart-stopping seconds when I thought; Oh, shit, Aang’s been captured, he’s on a Fire Nation ship, what the hell has happened…
I worked it out fairly quickly that he wasn’t in danger, of course. His injuries were tended to, he wasn’t locked up, he had his staff, those voices were familiar- it’s actually a bit amazing that a boy as bright as Aang didn’t work it out sooner. Although, I guess when you’ve been in a coma for a few weeks and are acting on pure adrenaline, you can be forgiven.
The big thing about this episode is that its about changes. The writers jumped forward a good bit in the narrative from where the last season left off, and things have changed. The audience (and Aang) find themselves trying to work out what exactly has happened. Relationships between characters and dynamics have changed completely and utterly. We have to pay very close attention to see how everything fits together.
Some of the stuff are things you would have expected. You could easily have guessed that Team Avatar would remain on the run, trying to avoid detection from the Fire Nation, and the fact that they’re still mounting an invasion on the day of the eclipse is also good. I really love the way they’re going about it, though. Guerilla warfare. Definitely a set up for something interesting. You’ve got a random collection of fighters, of a variety of different styles, techniques and backgrounds, against a massive Fire Nation force…this will become very cool, very quickly. Somehow I don’t think the Fire Nation would deal very well with hit and run tactics. Of course, they’ll be fighting the Fire Nation on their home turf, and one of the greatest benefits that guerrilla fighters get is their intimate knowledge of the land, and support of the villagers. So from a tactical perspective, this is going to be very fun.
Basically, there’s a lot of setting up for the plot, but my favourite stuff is, as always, the characters. Let’s begin by looking at Katara. She gets a lot of shit for how she acts in this episode, but let me say; I love how she acts here.
Yes, maybe it’s petty. She knows that. She says that she knew that Hakoda was only acting so he could help the world, and his children. That doesn’t mean that she can’t have feelings besides that. We’ve all had times when we or someone close to us has to act in a certain way, and we understand that, but also resent it. If you have a parent or significant other who has to work long hours to make end’s meet- that won’t stop you wishing they had more time for you. And Katara had to deal with a little more than just having to have supper alone, and not getting quality bonding time for her dad. She already had no mom, so she was losing one of the only remaining parental figures in her life. She wasn’t just asked to take care for the house for a few hours each night. Her brother and sister were told “You’re the children of the chief, it’s your job to completely protect, care and lead this tribe.” She had to deal with the fear that her Dad, and all her family friends, were being hurt and dying, and she wouldn’t even know about it; and even if she did, she was helpless. Those are genuine feelings, and Katara had a right to express them. Yes, many people have made PMS jokes, and as a girl, I know that your hormones can cause some pretty weird mood swings at time; but that doesn’t mean Katara’s feelings were just about that.
(cont.)
Also, there’s something so moving about the scene where Katara and Hakoda are out on deck, alone, beneath the stars. Katara giving her heart out to her father, and him embracing her, too, saying he’s sorry and that he loves her…..it gets me every time. I see myself in that scene. I deeply love my Dad, and it makes me think of our relationship. Shipping is always about the bonds between characters as they forge bonds and romance- but for me, I always loving seeing the strength between friends and family. This scene was perfect for me.
Besides, Katara’s not the only one with the downpour of sadness. Let us introduce us to Aang, who has just proven that a really long sleep doesn’t always make a guy feel relaxed and well rested. And, hey, I’m cool with that. Angst is good for story lines, at least when done well, and when you have stakes as high as this, anxiety and frustration are not only natural, but expected. It’s just, well…
…the one thing that annoys me about this, is this particular line.
“I need to reclaim my honour.”
No. No, just no. I understand the point the writers are trying to make; they’re reasserting the comparison between Aang and Zuko. It just doesn’t work out, though. The viewers aren’t idiots, and a good portion of watchers (even the kids) have seen the similarity between the two characters since ‘The Storm’. You didn’t need to use Zuko’s line to show this. Besides, it seems out of character for Aang, even if he’s drowning in angst. I don’t doubt that after having lost a giant battle, and having the world think he’s abandoned them again probably is hurting his pride. Even though he’s a humble kid, he’s still a kid, and he’s allowed to care about his image for a moment. But I think that if we’d had Aang focus more on his failure, and the people he’s let down by losing Ba Sing Se, rather than how those people view him, would have felt better.
But speaking of Zuko’s line, let’s looked at the banished prince himself. Wait, did I say banished? Because he is rejected no longer.
Finally, after three years, he’s been accepted back home. And really, things are going wwwaaayyy better than you’d expect. He’s considered a war hero, he’s got himself a girlfriend, his father seems to have forgiven him…
You can see that this is a fragile Jenga Tower, though, and eventually one of the pieces will be taken away, and Zuko will be set to fall. The one person who’s stood beside him all these years, and guided him, is imprisoned. (Yeah, hope you feel guilty over that one, Zuzu.) So good look going to him for help now that Azula has set you up as the perfect scape-goat when Aang proudly announces his presence. You really have to applaud Azula’s planning on this one; she is not falling for any of the traps most villains fall into. She didn’t just sit politely by as Aang transformed into the Avatar, but calmly shot him in the back with lightning. She’s not taking his death for granted, either. She’s still on her guard for the avatar’s return, and set up a way to protect her own political integrity at the same time. Azula may be an evil, manipulative, cruel person, but you can’t help admire her. This is way she’s my favourite villain of all time.
Great commentary on Katara! (and everything else :D)
If you have a parent or significant other who has to work long hours to make end’s meet- that won’t stop you wishing they had more time for you.
Yes, this exactly. Well said.
AHHH I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO WRITE A LONG COMMENT
I love how utterly mournful this episode is. I love comparing the various season openers. Each of them has a theme of Aang struggling with his identity as the Avatar. I love that season one had Aang pretending not to be the Avatar because he never wanted to be, and now in season three everyone is telling him to pretend not to be the Avatar and he has so much trouble coming to terms with that idea. For him, it is clearly The Wrong Thing to do. Look at all that character development! *wipes tear away*
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/Tghlt.png>
I love how this episode revolves around different character dealing with the consequences of their actions, even when those actions were taken in good faith. Aang (continues) to deal with the consequences of his disappearance and then, of his failure at Ba Sing Se. Zuko has to deal with the consequences of his decision to join Azula. Azula recognizes that there could be Future Consequences if the Avatar was discovered alive and so hands them over to Zuko- Azula is so meta in her evilness! Hakoda has to deal with the consequences of leaving his children behind.
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/HNvOD.png>
I loved the Hakoda and Katara story, by the by. Up until now, Katara mostly has had storylines regarding the loss of her mother (the Jet episode, the Haku episode, her and Zuko's scene heard 'round the world, etc) while Sokka mostly had stories about their dad. So it was really nice to see how Hakoda leaving had such a strong impact on Katara. And yessss, her voice actress is amazing.
Also, hahaha, paternal parallels! Zuko is back with his father and they are pretending that everything is All Good, Nothing to See Here, and it is clearly not even remotely okay. Meanwhile, Katara is angry with her father and is able to show that, is able to accept it within herself- and they end up at least starting to patch things up between them.
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/toLI3.png>
Now. The serious topic. Aang's hair. SO WEIRD I AGREE. But I remember a lot of people being upset that he wasn't blond because they had been writing him as a blond in their smutty fanfics and NOW HIS CURTAINS DIDN'T MATCH THE DRAPES or whatever. So… yeah!
I, however, was really distressed by the fact that Aang let his glider be burnt by the volcano. That's an antique! Hand crafted by monks! Aang, you are the only monk left, ARE YOU PREPARED TO HAND CRAFT A NEW GLIDER FOR YOURSELF? IT WON'T BE AN ANTIQUE, THOUGH. Seriously, though, it is so sad to see how much he has changed since Bitter Work, where he was so protective of the glider, to now. I am so worried about this kid and his emotional trauma. 🙁 He seemed so detached in this episode.
OKAY I HAVE TO GO BETTER COMMENTS AFTER THIS WEEK?! I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH I WANT TO HUG ALL OF YOU
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/i66LV.png>
YOU'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! 😀 😀 😀 *HUGS*
"a lot of people being upset that he wasn't blond"
HAHAHAHA WHAT. I don't remember this… Who would think that? For God's sake, nobody on this show is the least bit white. That shit is crazy.
"Crazy" is an ableist term
…..oh, crap. Sorry. 🙁 I only recently found out about the negative connotations associated with that word and I've been having a difficult time phasing it out of my vocabulary.
WE MISSED YOU TOO
Hooray!
…Also blonde? Ahahaha.
Did the fanfic writers pull an M. Night Shyamalan and not realize these characters are Asian?
Yes. In fact, after the Shyamalan casting was revealed, you had some people seriously arguing that Aang was definitely white and not Asian at all.
Most of the "Aang with hair" fanart, as well as those "Everbody swaps biological sexes" fanart that I saw had him more light brown/cinnamon hair.
Ha, I remember the whole hair debate. "BUT IN MY FIC HE WAS GINGER, HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST MY SUPERIOR WORD?!?!"
While it's still a silly thing to whine about, I can at least see where ginger was a possibility. There aren't many of them, but we have had a couple of redheads on the show. Young Bumi comes to mind. Blond, on the other hand completely floors me. Has there ever been a blond character on the show, even amongst the random background characters? I don't think Yue actually counts (since it's really white, and only light because of supernatural shennaniganry) and even the mean-girl cheerleader types from Ba Sing Se were brunette. Why in the world would they think Aang would be blond?
Weird, I always interpreted Bumi's hair as bleached-brown (=originally black or dark-brown). If deliberately done, it would fit with his whole ~unconventional personality~ schtick.
Yay! You're back.
which is so strange because LOL HELLO BROWNISH-LOOKING EYEBROWS
Now. The serious topic. Aang's hair. SO WEIRD I AGREE. But I remember a lot of people being upset that he wasn't blond because they had been writing him as a blond in their smutty fanfics and NOW HIS CURTAINS DIDN'T MATCH THE DRAPES or whatever. So… yeah!
I'm ecstatic you're back commenting because this is the most hilariously awful thing ever. Oh fandoms, never change.
HUGS BACK!
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/16c0ym9.gif">
I just did a complete hand flail at the concept of the "curtains matching the drapes" even coming up in the same context as Aang. WHY WHY WHY.
You weren't here for Mark's reaction to being assailed by illustrated underage shenanigans?
HOORAY! YOU'RE BACK! 😀 <3
Um, I dunno… Nothing personal, but given that the word "crazy" is frowned upon around here for its ableist subtext, is this pic, which IMHO mocks mentally ill people ("retarded"), okay?
Yeah, I'm so sorry. I had never actually seen that until I was looking at my post again, and then I deleted it because uncool 🙁
Which is disappointing, because the rest of the piece is awesome and then aljfkdajfldjfldakjfkdjlfjd whyyyy
That's the real shame about it. Ableism isn't very commonly known, and ableist language is so prevalent, that terms like that really get thrown around in works which are otherwise amazing.
So…. can you like post a link with a warning? Because if it's a pretty art, I kind of want to see it anyway.
Actually, it wasn't particularly pretty, either… Could be considered "funny" by some people who laugh at disfigured faces, squinting eyes and lolling mouths…
As Tauriel says, it's problematic in more ways than one, now that I stop and think about it for two seconds.
Which really just goes to show how far I have to go in working through my own privilege. I think it's best if I not re-post the link.
And since this thread is still growing, let's put some fanart into it again. Take two, without all the gross ableism?
"I Never Wanted This" by KUNGPOW333
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/3358jzk.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> http://fav.me/dhpqow <—— Found Here
This person has done a lot of my favorite Avatar art. Mai and Ty Lee, found http://fav.me/dr35de and http://fav.me/dr8zlp, respectively.
Once again, deepest apologies for the first image.
I never wanted to be an Avatar anyway.
I wanted to be… A LUMBERJACK!!! Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Colombia! The giant redwood! The larch! The fir! The mighty Scots pine! With my best girlie by my side *grabs Katara*, we'd sing, sing, SING!
😀
Bum bum bum bum, Bum bum bum bum…
He's a lumberjack and he's okay, he sleeps all night and he works all day…
No problem, we all make mistakes. 🙂
"It is usually best to admit mistakes when they occur and to seek to restore honour."
😀
Indeed. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has one of those days.
NOBODY'S PERFECT
I GOTTA WORK IT
… You can go ahead and let me drown now.
O hai there, Ozai! http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_la9mxhjgo21qc4h…
Actually Mark I believe it was Yue (aka the Moon) that made that tidal wave.
Otherwise <3 and yeah the Maiko kiss was blah but only because I am a Toko fan.
Agreed. It's just such a shame.
DUDE. THE EARTH KING ONLY HAD ONE SHOE. IT REALLY BOTHERED ME.
AND AZULA LOOKS REALLY WEIRD WITH HER HAIR DOWN. She doesn't look as dangerous, and even though she's EXACTLY THE SAME AS BEFORE, somehow her having her hair down translates to me that she isn't as mean as before. EVEN THOUGH THAT IS ENTIRELY WRONG.
She's also not wearing her lipstick, so there's that.
….*checks* SHE ISN'T! how did i miss that ?_?
He does look pretty daft with just one shoe, doesn't he?
<img src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m482/manself/tumblr_lmhgrxbUiY1qfiuy9.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
My fascination with Azula has waned pretty much completely. Because now I despise her.
See, I can't help admiring her and the way the writers depict her, because I've spent most of my life resenting the lack of competent female villains in animated narratives. They're either inferior distaff copies of male archvillains or they exist to provide the hero with a "forbidden love interest".
But Azula isn't like that. She's clever, but her real gift is strategic intelligence, the fact that she's always two steps ahead of everyone. She can't be swayed by the good guy's rocking abs or whatever. And even when compared to her father, she still comes off as distinct and unique (the flames in Ozai's personal chambers are red, not blue – in that respect she may even be more powerful than the Big Bad Firelord).
Off the top of my head, the only other female villains who fit that mold are Demona from "Gargoyles", Mystique in the various "X-Men" adaptations and Nerissa from the second season of "WITCH". So… the more the merrier, basically. 🙂
but there's no use of the word "crazy" in that link, just a joke about the Nick logo farting out the show. Unless I'm somehow seeing a completely different comic.
Oh… There's a funny story:
I was supposed to link This:
http://tinyurl.com/3ekufsg
(tinnyurl'd because the link name is too long, funny enough)
because I originally had that Nickelodeon one in the post, but realized it sort of spoiled certain things, so cut it.
Then as I was editing, I saw "the word" in what I linked above, and decided to make that a direct link instead of a picture post, but the html coding screwed it up when I took the image tags off, so I went to copy/paste the link that I had (my computer does this thing where it saves what I was about to post in the comment box, even after I posted it), but instead copied the link to the nickelodeon one because it was still the last image tag in the "saved" copy of the post.
So essentially, I messed up.
Ozai is yummier, though.
They are both completely delicious in different ways. Hakoda's all rugged and wild, whereas Ozai's sleek and polished.
To put it this way: Hakoda's like a wolf and Ozai is like a panther, if that makes sense.
But both are complete DILFs.
Great comparison! 🙂
There was never a truer comparison between Avatar's DILFs and wild animals….
This sentence is making me lol so hard. 😀
Well, he DOES have a sort of goatee… 😉
Sure, but it's more this than this. 🙂
Hellooooo Mr. Firelord
…I opened that while my younger cousin was sitting next to me watching Bob the Builder. I regret nothing.
whaaaat
<img src="http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/568/zuz5.png">
is that jin?
OMG it is! Good catch!
Maybe she got a job in the teashop where Iroh and Zuko first worked…
She was probably there looking for "Lee".
Thanks! I was about to mention Jin's cameo. But now that I look at it, her hairstyle is different. So it might be just a random character who happens to look like Jin. But in my head-canon she's Jin.
Actually, that's how her hair was when she and Zuko first met, but she put it up into some kind of pony-tail for their ~big date~
yeah, my man LOVES it when I scratch his head!
Aang having hair is wrong on so many levels, it took me forever to learn to ignore it.
I think Aang's hair is adorable. I have the gif somewhere but can't find it right now.
Also, LOL at Azula "You're going to have to be a little more specific." Chick never misses a beat.
I didn't like Aang's hair at first but then it grew on me.
And on him!
…..i'll just see meself out…
I love you.
LULZ
it looks like aang starts it, and yue makes it massive.
yue wasn't a waterbender before, but i guess becoming the moon has its benefits.
I always took it that she simply enhanced Aang's waterbending power.
Mark! NOW YOU CAN WATCH THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr0Rq0KgvGg
Excerpts of the story bits from Nickelodeon's online game in which you have to help Aang wake from his coma. The whole thing is confirmed as canon.
Avoid following links though! 🙂
The stories on this are interesting but I feel like even if it's confirmed as canon, it doesn't seem (to me) to be as well written. But then it's a video game. So what am I really expecting? I dunno.
One get's the impression that (at least for the surviving members) they are setting up the Fire Nation Royals as counterparts to Hakoda's family.
Think it over, the leader who is absent from his kid's lives, the insecure eldest son seeking approval, and the willful younger daughter who happens to be a Bending Demigoddess…
The mother that is absent…for one reason or another….
Not sure if that's spoilery or not considering Katara's mom is in the picture, but hell, they already said she's dead, right?
Either way, it's spoilery for an outfit.
Can I at least link to it?
That's fine; just give a warning that it's slightly spoilery.
Okay, I'm just linking to it this time. Don't look if you don't want spoilers.
Here.
No, they haven't. Katara said that "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me". They didn't specify whether she was dead or imprisoned or what.
Very first episode, when Katara's ranting at Sokka, she says "Ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!"
That's not "Random." It says "Fandom."
The sexism was the point of the piece, because the artist is documenting the fans' reaction to Mai.
Lol, I've been thinking of Fire Nation geography as more like Hawai'i – equatorial volcanic islands. (Not that I know all that much about Hawai'i, tbh.) And I have the artbooks too, so I have no excuse. Guess I should read that bit more carefully.
I think the whole point of the comic is to point out sexism against women in fandom, especially considering the fact that BooterFreak is a woman.
EDIT: Ninja'd. Alas.
Yup.
The fact that so many of those outraged over Zuko and Mai getting together were female as well makes it worse though.
Dude, what's with the aggression? So I mis-read the comic because the font was hard to read. Big deal.
I also took issue with the mention of Katara's "daddy issues" (girls are always being unfairly accused of having "daddy issues", and it's sexist. In addition, I think it's pretty clear that Katara had ABANDONMENT ISSUES that were completely unrelated to her being female.) and the fact that the original poster just HAD to mention that they thought something sexist when they saw that scene (if they were really ashamed of it why did they mention it anyway?) certainly rubbed me the wrong way and probably caused me to view the comic below the post in the light I did.
I ain't seeing no aggression.
Since when are "daddy issues" restricted to women? Zuko and Sokka BOTH have "daddy issues" and nobody has bigger daddy issues than Zuko in this show.
Well, there's a gender bias in the use of a term like "daddy issues."
Googling the term, I get a men's article entitled "Her Daddy Issues," the wiki page on "Electra Complex" ("…a girl’s psychosexual competition with mother for possession of father."), and Urban Dictionary's definition ("Whenever a female has a fucked up relationship with her father, or absence of a father figure during her childhood, it tends to spill into any adult relationship they embark on, usually to the chagrin of any poor male in their life.") as the top 3 links.
So no, "daddy issues" are not restricted to women, but the term itself is loaded against women, not men.
Exactly. In fact, I've always thought that it's usually MEN who have "daddy issues"…
I see the point in the rest of your post, but… er, what aggression?
One of the things I loved about Avatar was its countless and often very subtle parallels and references to our world. "The Awakening" had one that was particularly striking and painful for me once I recognized it.
<src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg171/scaled.php?server=171&filename=fnbss.png&res=medium"</>
(Source is Iroh.org)
<src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg51/scaled.php?server=51&filename=nazisinparis.jpg&res=medium"</>
I guess my nationality is pretty obvious at this point.
Can a mod delete my terrible post please ? I failed (again) in posting images…
<img src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg171/scaled.php?server=171&filename=fnbss.png&res=medium">
<img src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg51/scaled.php?server=51&filename=nazisinparis.jpg&res=medium">
You rock, many thanks ! How did you do you it ?
[img src="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg171/scaled.php?server=171&filename=fnbss.png&res=medium" ]
But replace [] with the opening and closing arrows. You were close!
This Episode had some serious WTF moments when it
– reveals that Zuko and Mai have started a relationship since they left Ba Sing Se
– shows Ozai's face for the first time
– shows Aang with hair
But the one thing I will always remember this Episode for is the Bedroom scene!
I'm serious. Has anyone else felt that really awkward vibe in the air during that scene? At first I thought I was just a dirty dirty man who has read too many fictional stories about incestual relationships, but then I found out that many many other people felt the same way during that scene. After rewatching it, it seems as if Azula almost tries to seduce Zuko. Not because she really wants to get it on with him, but to confuse or irritate him (he is a teenage boy after all). I am sure that this scene was intentional. Just look at the way she moves in this scene. Totally opposite of her usual more sharper movements when she's in uniform. It just cements how dangerously manipulative she is if she even goes as far as to use female charm on her own brother.
Yep, that female charm, damn dangerous stuff it is.
Can I just say, the trailer for season 3 opens up with that scene of Aang looking up at the fire crest?
THEY NEVER EXPLAIN IT. WE SPENT NEARLY 9 MONTHS THINKING HE HAD BEEN CAPTURED.
Don't watch the rest of the trailer though. It has spoilers.
I remember that this is the arc where I stop liking Kataara. Though I honestly can't remember why :/ We shall see if that opinion stays the same.
ALSO TURTLE DUCKS. That are afraid of Azula. What has she done to them 🙁
Also Zuko and Azula's outfits really match despite their different genders. I like that, makes it seem that formal military wear is gender-blind.
Amazing bending is amazing. Also, Sokka's hair has grown too. The sides of his head are no longer shaved. I wonder if that has any significance? He looks a lot more like the other water tribe warriors now so maybe that's why…
Hello there weird incestuous vibes. I'll be ignoring you now because you make my skin crawl. Stop stroking the bed Azula. Stop staring Zuko.
Yay group hug!
ALSO TURTLE DUCKS. That are afraid of Azula. What has she done to them 🙁
Remember in "Zuko Alone," when he was all "This is how Azula feeds the turtleducks!"?
D: Whhhhhyyyyyyy
Also, I think Sokka growing his hair out is more for the sake of disguise, so it looks less like an obvious Water Tribe 'do.
All this discussion about the hiatus makes me wonder how much of my — and other fans' — reactions were influenced by the mere availability of the show. I archive-binged it, a handful a day, and was — consequently?? — surprised by the amount of fandom meh toward the third season.
I admit, I had lukewarm feelings about this episode when it premiered. But I still enjoyed it overall, and it's really grown on me. I think it would have been impossible to live up to the expectations that fandom built up over the wait. It does appear to have been a powerful influence.
This, to the max. A lot of my initial MEH reaction to the new season was a result of the sheer amount of time we as a fandom had to build up our expectations. Now that I can just sit down and watch the entire season one episode after the other, I've come around in a big way.
It wasn't just the nine month wait either. All of season three was done in a really weird scatter shot schedule. You had the nine-month wait for the first episode, then ten normally scheduled once a week episodes, then another three month hiatus, then a few more episodes, then BAM all of the last episodes shown every night for a week straight, culminating in the four-part series finale on a Saturday night.
I myself was one of the people that felt that season 3 seemed a bit disjointed. Since then, I've sat down to watch it again (twice actually) with friends I've converted to the flock. I can honestly say that season 3 is much more enjoyable when able to be viewed in that manner.
The weirdest part is that by this point, the show had a solid fanbase and was doing pretty well. I think it might have been outranked only by Spongebob, at this point. Why would the network treat one of its better rated shows with such erratic scheduling?
Maybe Nickelodean was taking scheduling tips from Fox.
But that one last week of Avatar was really enjoyable! The rapid-fire intensity of the new episodes helped to get the fandom excited for the finale, I think. Plus, you know, ten new Avatars in a single week? That's incredibly awesome.
I agree! I watched it all at once and really don't understand the fandom hate. I think the wait did have an effect.
There was fandom meh? But it's so good!
OH HAPPY DAY! JOHN NOBLE! 😀
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I highly approve of Maiko. I mean, given Mai's social position and background in the Fire Nation she is probably one of the few girls Zuko's age who would really understand everything the poor boy has had to go through and their mutually emo kissing scene makes me surprisingly happy. And let's not forget that without Mai Zuko would be COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY ALONE RIGHT NOW WITH NO ONE HE CAN TRUST AND NO ONE TO LOVE HIM. So, even if you don't think they're soul mates, please, just let them be.
I agree! I ship Zutara, but let the poor boy get at least one or two hugs once in awhile! Mai is actually nice to him in a world where very few people are.
Here here. Zutara fan here but Mai is a wonderful option for Zuko – even better than Katara. She's got the social position, she understands the social norms and the delicate operations of the fire nation court. She's beautiful, demure, and skilled. She'd be a excellent fire princess. Katara would be RIPPED OPEN by the fire nation nobles. Even IF the world was at peace.
Well, I do contest that. People always say that Mai is a good choice because she would be more… courtly. Um, sure. She found court so boring that she ran away with her girlfriends on an extended, knife-throwing, Avatar-defeating camping trip.
I sort of feel like this portrayal of Mai (as "a good Firelady who knows the rules") is common among Zutara fans and sort of sells Mai short.
Yes, she did find it boring. Totally agree with that. She'd probably despise it or perhaps find something interesting once she had that position of power.
But she does know the rules and the culture of it. She knows the history, the laws, and she knows those unspoken things that can and cannot be done in the Fire Nation. I can't help but think Katara would march right in there and start going on about lifting the peasantry into more equal wealth. I fear that she would be met with intense resistance and hate. Mai, while certainly not heartless and cruel, would probably take more time with such a subject – not out of dislike or disagreement (For the sake of the argument I'm thinking Mai would support such a thing) but she would know which nobles to appeal to first to convince the others, she would know when, what and how to propose such an idea, and she also would know that it would take years, if not decades for such a thing to happen.
I hope that helps my case. I'm not trying to sell Mai short – I really love her and after her romance with Zuko was introduce she certainly took over my number 1 spot for Zuko. I love Zutara for the fire/ice mixture – both elemental, personality and color wise. But Mai knows Zuko. She's been through somewhat similiar situations – feeling and being neglected – she knows his history, knows what he likes and doesn't like, she's quiet and thoughtful.. something that can balance his impulsive and rash nature in a way I feel Katara couldn't. Even though Katara is also quiet and thoughtful, but she certainly speaks her mind in a.. train of thought sort of way rather than picking and choosing her words almost.
I mean, I'm not trying to argue for Katara over Mai. In most ways, I feel like both of them would be unfit or unhappy to be the kind of Fire Lady you describe–but I don't see that as a bad thing.
Certainly – I get that line "unfit or unhappy to be the kind of Fire Lady you describe."
I probably [s]am [/s] Idolizing the role of Fire Lady because I'm such a royalty nutcase (HULLO ROYAL WEDDING. I DVRed YOU.) and I love anything having to do with nobility, aristocracy, royalty, etc. etc. I also played Azula on an RP and totally got a HUGE EGO from being PRINCESS OF THE FIRE NATION BOW TO ME PEONS for a while there.
Oh, I get you about the royalty thing. Azula's speech about being born to rule? AWESOME.
I'd say Mai knows the rules like Toph knows manners. I think she'd probably also find court more interesting if she's the one calling the shots, instead of being controlled by her parents.
There were a few comics that came out in between Books 2 and 3 which are considered canon and help set up some of the things we see in "The Awakening." These are the three that I feel are essential reading:
"Going Home Again" gives a better idea of where Zuko's head is at immediately after betraying Iroh, and it sets up the Maiko stuff quite nicely.
"It's Only Natural" is a silly little comic, but we get to see Sokka/Earth King/Bosco shenanigans.
"The Bridge" gives us a little perspective on Katara's state of mind after the fall of Ba Sing Se, and also shows us Team Avatar regrouping in the weeks while Aang is still unconscious.
The comics used to be on Nickelodeon's website, but I can't seem to find a working URL, so I'm going to email screenshots of these three comics to you.
I've seen panels of those, but never the whole thing. Still, I kind of don't get them being "essential reading."
If they're essential to understanding the storyline, then it should be in the show, not supplemental material. It's a pet peeve I have with a lot of authors.
Scans of (most of) the comics are available at http://nl.avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Strips. Note that some of the comics are set later in season 3 and contain spoilers! Stick with the three JewelOfSong mentioned if you're worried.
Oh! It's a sort of low-tech spoiler-striker. You encrypt the text by swapping out each letter to its counterpart half an alphabet away (e.g., A<>N, I think). Issokay though, not a hugely important thing. Probably be simpler to ask to join me at the spoiler forum instead, if you have an account.
I assume they're talking about "Rzore Vfynaq Cynlref", but I could be wrong.
Ohhhh hahaha. Yeah, I think he would!
LOL. Personally, I-
…I just went to look at the Wikipedia list for episode titles and remembered that about half the episodes in this season are in my "best episodes ever" list. :/
That is…. so needlessly complicated. How about reverse leet? EIT.
It's not complicated at all. Google ROT13 and you'll find places that translate it with a click of a button.
Yay, John Noble!
But, did Modern Family seriously beat out Parks and Recreation for best comedy?
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W. T. FUCK.
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Parks and Rec is the best show on teevee and Leslie Knope is my spirit animal. Boo.
Li'l Sebastion is *my* spirit animal. R.I.P.
I swear, if P&R doesn't get any nominations at the Emmys, there will be HELL TO PAY.
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This is the Emmys we're talking about. The institution that specially changed their nomination process in a way that was informally deemed the "Lauren Graham Rules" and still failed to nominate Lauren Graham. The institution that still hasn't given Hugh Laurie an award for House because gosh darnit, that Spader was just so good at those courtroom speeches in Boston Legal. The institution that didn't even know that The Wire existed, barely managed to acknowledge Friday Night Lights…need I go on?
True. I just think it's ridiculous that more people don't watch P&R and Community. It's not like they're impossible to just jump into and enjoy.
Then again, the endless amount of awards 30 Rock receives do little to up the ratings, so an Emmy probably wouldn't do much to change that for P&R. BUT I CAN HOPE.
Ew. Modern Family wasn't as good as P&R or Community this past year. At all.
I just watched this episode and cannot believe how much raw emotion is packed into it. As this is a children's show which still boggles my mind how this show is still geared towards younger viewers. Most episodes have small moments of jokes or humor to appeal to the younger kids. But, in this episode with exception of a few lines from Sokka, was a very serious and at some points heart string pulling (not as much as Iroh's tale. That will never fail to make me cry). Back to the episode, I was intrigued at Katara's resentment towards her father at first, but then when I saw her reveal the turmoil that was inside I was blown away. I was glad to see that Katara was able to have a moment with her father without it being forced or cheesy. I cannot wait for you to see the rest, Mark!
You should go through the comments sometime. someone used the phrase "clawed bleeding abs."
The long-awaited season-three opener. SO MANY THOUGHTS
1) I always kind of liked how so much has happened in between the break. It's just like, yeah, we have a fire nation ship, and we've met up with everyone and formulated a plan, we couldn't just wait around. Similarly, the same with Zuko and Mai; yeah, we're together, so what? I think we're so used to couples in TV and movies having to go through this long, agonizing period where they're in love but won't admit it that it's surprising when two people just…get together because they're attracted to each other.
2) A lot of people hated Katara's subplot, but I adored it. I feel like the things people hate about Katara are the things I love about her, haha. It's just such a human reaction, you know? I feel like anyone who says they've never felt resentment or jealousy or abandonment toward someone even when they knew it was illogical is a lying liar who lies.
3) Hey, it's Yue! 😀
4) I'll admit at first I felt like Ozai's appearance was anticlimactic, but then I thought about it. I mean, what was I expecting him to look like? It's not like he was going to be some half-dragon demon or whatever. And this way, it makes a bit more sense; that despite the fact that he's capable of such horrible actions, in the end, he's still just a man.
5) Also, I love how much your reaction to Azula is the same as my mother's when she first watched the show. At one point she was just like "OK, when is she going to get hers? >:("
You didn't sound aggressive in the slightest.
Words can not describe how much I disagree with you about how Zuko has suffered more than any other character. Compared to Team Avatar he's just a whiny kid with a scar, a boat, a crew of servants/soldiers, and a kickass uncle. Aang's lost his entire culture, Katara and Sokka have lost their mother and probably a good many more. Toph is the one with the closest fate to Zuko's and she's BLIND.
I don't think Toph views her blindness as "suffering".
Definitely has parental respect issues though.
Given how her parents treated her, do you blame her? She's shown respect to adults who respect her as a person.
A scar that he got when his own father burned half his face off.
Zuko has lost his mother, too, as far as he knows. And he has to deal with the fact, for many years, that even though he has his father, his father /kinda hates him to his soul/. At least Katara/Sokka know they have love in their lives. Same with Aang, if not from his former culture, then with his current friends.
I don't really think "sole survivor of genocide" is really comparable to "victim of severe domestic abuse". They're both fucked up, but scale aside, in totally different ways as well.
True. Zuko's is more of a tangible/physical&emotional experience, while Aang's is heavilyyy emotional. We can be glad the poor guy didn't have to experience acts of genocide himself(although he probably would've Avatar Stated the hell out of the Fire Nation army….)
I don't think I saw this addressed as such in the discussion, but here it goes. In one of the Avatar extras that Nick airs from time to time, it was revealed that Firelord Ozai was designed to look identical to Zuko (minus the scar, of course). I know it had something to do with a compare/contrast thing that the creators were doing. It has been a while ago since I had seen it. Sorry its not more detailed!
So I figured that since we have a guy who posts art from the art book and another guy who posts Texts From the Fire Nation, I could start my own little tradition. A couple years ago I wrote a series of fanfics that examined certain third season episodes in depth. While writing long, in-depth reviews has its own appeal (as evidenced by this site), I thought it would be fun to have the characters examine some of the more subtle themes. So every time an episode comes along that I happened to write a story about, I'll be posting the link to the relevant fanfic.
This first one explores Katara's viewpoint on "The Crossroads of Destiny," with a little help from Toph. It's a little heavy on the exposition, but all of it is relevant.
With that in mind, I give you After Thoughts
BTW, don't read the author's notes on that one if you haven't seen the whole show. Spoilers and whatnot.
I don't usually write meta for my comments here, but I think I'm going to start, because I love Season Three so much asfhalskfh and I really enjoy analyzing it. <3
So. "The Awakening". Alternate titles include "Aang now has Zuko's obsession with honor", "We finally see Ozai and he is not a monster and is instead strangely attractive and bishounen", and "Katara has abandomnent issues".
Also "Toph is awesome forever" but pretty much all episodes past Blind Bandit get that name too.First off, I have to say that I love just how frustrated Aang is. The writers basically took him from the first extreme he had in the beginning of the series, where he was more of a goof-off and didn't take things seriously enough, and they've pushed him all the way to the OTHER extreme, in which everything is his fault and he personally failed the world and now he has to atone for it ALL ALONE because he doesn't want anyone else getting hurt or paying for what he feels is his mistakes. He basically goes Batman for an episode, trying to shoulder too much with too little preparation, mostly out of guilt for letting the people he's supposed to protect down. The rug has basically been pulled out from under him and he's left floundering in his anger at himself and frustration with having to hide.
Meanwhile, Zuko is getting a red carpet rolled out for him as a grand welcome home. AND THIS IS WHY THEY ARE EPIC POETIC FOILS TO EACH OTHER AND I LOVE THEM. But there's a catch. Zuko gets what he wants, exactly what he's been wanting from the beginning, but he does not like it. (To paraphrase C.S. Lewis's Magician's Nephew there.) He's got some internal conflict still roiling around inside his mind, and doubts about the certainty of Aang's demise, which Azula OF COURSE takes great glee in exploiting.
And here is where I spare a paragraph to gush about how evilly awesome Azula is oh my gosh I love her. Azula is THE master Chessmaster. She plans for everything. And has three or four back-up plans in case something goes wrong. (I just love how she asks Zuko to specify what he's talking about. Because of course she has so many plans in place she can't possibly be expected to know which one off the top of her head he's referring to.) And she does this at the smallest provocation too. Zuko didn't tell her the Avatar survived. Zuko doesn't even know if the Avatar survived. She just decided to set him up to take to fall, you know, just on the off chance. Because she is Azula and she will make your life miserable.
And have the best lines while doing so. My favorite is actually her coy offhand, "Has Mai been getting to you already? Though, come to think of it, Mai has been in a strangelygood mood lately." Lololol oh Mark why are you so worried about dirty implications between Aang and Katara, CLEARLY you should be more worried about Zuko and Mai.
Speaking of Mai though, something nice and subtle I noticed:
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He lets her touch his scar. She acts like it isn't even there, in fact. Like it doesn't even matter to her. And this is why I love them.
Back with the Gaang, Aang and Katara stay pretty to close to each other throughout the episode. Or rather, Katara stays pretty close to Aang. Which makes sense. Katara had just seen him struck down before her eyes the last episode and had almost lost him. So she's overcompensating a little by trying to be near him every second, to make sure he's okay, and comfort him. One of the things I love most about Katara's character is that she reacts badly to losing people she cares about, or having them leave her. It puts her in a vulnerable place, emotionally and mentally. We saw hints of it with her mother, back in "The Swamp". It definitely came out in full force when Aang was shot. So she's in a very fragile emotional state in this episode, and that's what I attribute her snappishness towards her father to.
(cont.)
Here she is, she just almost lost one of the closest people to her, and her father-who left Katara and Sokka behind and went off to the war, possibly never to come back-is hanging around, being friendly. But Katara still sees him as responsible for a kind of abandonment she felt back then. And then when Aang leaves abruptly, "abandoning" her to go fight the fight alone, just like Hakoda did, it sets her off and makes her immediately connect Aang leaving with how her father left, and how she still hurts from that, even though she knows why he did it. Because Katara is not a mature and rational woman yet, she's a scared teenage girl who needs the people she loves to be there for her. So she vents out all her anger and sadness and Hakoda just comforts her and reassures her that he loved and missed her and Sokka. (It's intriguing to me that Katara chose to connect Aang with her father. I do think there's some interconnect, comparison, and identification between how a girl relates to and sees her father and she relates to and sees her romantic prospects. The interplay between girls, their dads, and their significant others fascinates me to no end.)
And there's an interesting parallel/foil to Zuko here as well. Hakoda is the Good Dad; his love for his children is genuine and unconditional. Ozai's "love" (or favor rather) towards Zuko is based upon how well Zuko reflects upon himself, and is very very conditional. Ozai accepts Zuko because he thinks the boy has viciously slain an enemy of the Fire Nation, not because Zuko is his son, is a person who needs love and approval from his parent.
One more interesting parallel to note: Aang burning his glider could be comparable to Zuko cutting off his topknot at the beginning of Season Two. They're both shedding their identity to assume a different guise as they hide and travel through enemy lands.
Just some food for thought.
"…immolate my soul on the flaming altar of our love…"
Pfffft-
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OH GOSH I AM LAUGHING SO HARD.
Thanks! I figured that all Zuko's ideas of romance would be fire-based. 🙂
So I have two issues with the Katara-Hakoda scene.
1. We're never given any hint to the strained relationship between the two. The only evidence to it is that Katara isn't as excited as Sokka is to finally meet up with Hakoda in previous episodes. It really comes as a surprise that Katara is so mad at her father.
2. Katara's nastiness to her father is monologued and then explained away almost immediately. In less than three minutes, the entire issue is resolved.
1. We never had any interaction beforehand between the two, so how should they really show it, without giving us Katara's inner thoughts? Also, there probably was no issue until she met him again, feeling she didn't even realise she had for him.
The expectation is often very different from the realisation of something you wish for. She had to be strong and the de-facto head of the household (even if Sokka fancied himself the "men in the house") for several years, organizing and caring for the others, first in their village, later for Team Avatar, always putting herself and her feelings/worries last. It's a lot of pressure, and these feelings of abandonment, added with those over Aangs (spirit) death kept inside came out when she met her father again.
2. That's the great thing about confrontations with your feelings. It might hurt and might be brutal for both sides, but it is usually short and can solve the problem, unlike keeping the stuff bottled up and not talking about it, which leads to passive-aggressive behaviour and prolonged angst (hey there Zuko).
By the way, I love how every season starts on a boat. Very nice touch.
They're on a boat!
I expect it comes as a surprise that Katara is so mad at her father to Katara too. 🙂
…It should really tell you something about this fandom that, upon reading this, I went "Oh, it's the incesty nightgown episode."
….THEY'VE CORRUPTED ME
IT'S NOT MY FAULT
We just like to imagine the Royal Family to be as corrupt as humanly possible.
This tendency tends to inter-react with Rule34… creepily
In some defense of the Mai/Zuko scene, there was a cute comic published inbetween the seasons where they went on a date before going out. I continue to wish to this day that it had been a part of the show instead of comic-only because it would've saved me SO MUCH confusion when this episode aired. Hell, I'd missed the small hints of Mai and Zuko having possible crushes on each other prior to this so I was even MORE confused than I think you were/are. (And this isn't even touching my shipper side, holy crap. X_x) Though ugh, that whole damn "I asked if you were cold, not your whole life story" thing just. Yeah, no, honey. I'll leave it at that for now. *nod*
Other than that, I though this was one hell of a way to open the season. It addressed the turbulent emotions from the previous episodes and didn't shy away from showing the direct effects. God, I love this show so damn much and it only gets better. <3
I actually rather liked the "I asked if you were cold" line. It shows that Mai would rather have Zuko focus on the happy that's in his life right now rather than brooding., because she's doing just that while she's with him.
Also, it's consistent with Mai's personality. It wouldn't make sense for her to suddenly turn all sweet when we know her as sarcastic and perpetually bored. I think it says a lot about their relationship that she still feels free to make her sarcastic comments, but then softens them by letting Zuko know that she really does care about him.
(Seriously, Ozai doesn’t sound like Hamill at all!)
Not like his younger self, that's true, but his voice has aged in a very weird way. He has been a specialist for villain- and psycopath-voices for quite a while now.
Thanks for defending me, but I feel the need to correct you: I'm a guy.
Is it just me, or does Aang look twelve years old now that he has hair?
Mai and Zuko kissi– ugh, excuse whilst I vomit.
You're excused.
OK, Azula did awful, horrible things throughout season 2, yet it's (albeit unintentionally) delivering KARMA to the stupid bastard who betrayed his uncle to go with her that pisses you off the most? HUH!?
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