Mark Watches ‘Avatar’: S03E04 – Sokka’s Master

In the fourth episode of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sokka becomes dejected by the consistent sensation of being useless as the only non-bender in Team Avatar. When he seeks out a sword master to improve his skills, he learns more about himself and the Fire Nation in the process. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar.

There are times when I sort of despise the use of the word “filler” to describe an episode of television.

I think I do understand generally what people mean and occasionally, I think it applies. (And for the sake of this conversation, I’m referring to “filler” as it applies to television, not other mediums like anime, manga, music, etc.) But there’s this weird implication that the writers had planned out x amount of episodes but were allotted y amount of time for a season, so those extra episodes are almost like games of Mad Libs. You know, fill out the characters and the general mythology that has to stay intact, and then WOOPS WE’LL JUST DO WHATEVER WE WANT.

I’m positive that’s not how it works. (Though…oh god, what if that was how it worked. we’ve been fooled everyone.) There’s a difference between an episode that’s not heavily serialized, one that’s poorly written, and what could possibly constitute as genuine filler, and I think it’s important to make that distinction.

Someone on my Tumblr dash mentioned there were too many “filler” episodes in season three, and placed prominently on that list was “Sokka’s Master.” Now, I’m at a point where I just want to scream at them WHAT EPISODE DID YOU JUST WATCH BECAUSE THAT WAS REMARKABLY NON-FILLER, but then I thought that perhaps when they said “filler,” they actually meant something else: the overarching plot did not leap forward.

If the Avatar fandom considers “Sokka’s Master” as a filler episode, then allow me to demand a hell of a lot more filler episodes like this one, because jesus christ that was spectacular. This actually might be one of my favorites from the entire run of the show; even if we put aside my sickening adoration/empathy for Sokka, I still think we got one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking stories so far.

I suppose I should touch on that point first: I can’t help seeing myself in the character of Sokka. This is not something I’ve ignored in the past, and I’ve spoken about the parallels I can see between us before. We both desired strong father figures in our lives; we both craved that sort of affection; we both felt as if we were generally “useless” to our friends for periods of time; we both use humor as a coping mechanism. CAN YOU ALREADY SEE WHY I’D LIKE THIS EPISODE. It’s not some huge secret or anything, but I wanted to acknowledge that yes, there is some personal bias about my enjoyment of this episode that would help explain why I’m willing to defend it.

I even touched on it in yesterday’s review: Sokka latches on to being in charge of the map and the schedule because he wants to make sure that he’s useful to the group. It’s something I’d been hoping the writers would address the entire time. Wouldn’t he be bound to feel awful about not being able to contribute?

That’s what the opening of “Sokka’s Master” sets up for us. As a fiery blue meteor crashes to earth and the ensuing fire threatens to destroy a local Fire Nation village, Toph, Katara, and Aang all use their bending to help neutralize the flames while Sokka is relegated to minding Momo, who, by the way, seems to do a better job at putting out embers than Sokka. You can see how forlorn he looks here, but I thought it would be a fleeting moment as the rest of the episode took a different path than it did. But the following morning, Sokka is still sulking, having resigned himself to the reality that despite what he does offer Team Avatar, he is ultimately useless in the the upcoming invasion. How is map reading or schedule-making going to help anyone once they reach the Fire Lord?

For what it’s worth, I do adore that the group doesn’t stoop to telling Sokka he is wrong to feel that way; it seems all of them, especially Katara, recognize that self esteem is not fixed merely by telling someone they are viewing themselves incorrectly. Instead, the message they send him is far more respectful: We are sorry you feel this way about yourself, but if it helps, we view you as an important person in our lives. And I like that. As someone who has struggled with self-esteem since I was at least nine years old, there’s something patronizing about people who try to shame those who don’t feel good about themselves. I can see a parallel to depression in that as well, as it’s something people try to “fix” by saying some awfully hurtful stuff in the process, even if they mean well.

A lot of us who struggle with self-image and self esteem know that it’s not necessarily about what sort of person you are or how others perceive you, though that certainly can play a large part in it. For me, and for others I’ve spoken with, it generally comes down to how you perceive yourself. That is what has to change for there to be an improvement. Obviously, this is my experience and not some universal truth, but my self esteem troubles finally started to go away once I was able to accept myself independent of what people told me. I had to accept my own merits and positive qualities and believe them, and no real amount of well-intentioned insistence changed that.

It does make me laugh, though, that I just wrote out all of that and the one thing that makes Sokka immediately happy is shopping. YES. Sokka, invalidating my word vomits one shopping trip at a time. But I jest; what I’ve just said does come into play later. For now, though, Sokka becomes enamored with a rather impressive sword at the weapons store, learning it was forged by the local sword master, Piandao. (Who is brilliantly voiced by Robert Patrick, who I actually enjoyed during his two-year reign on The X-Files. I mean, like any dutiful X-Phile, I despised his guts when he was introduced, but I came to like him a lot on re-watches.) Aang suggest that Sokka seek out this master to see if he’ll teach him, since the other three members of the group were all taught by masters themselves.

In hindsight, this episode does address self esteem, but it also concerns itself with the power of modesty. Like all the great Avatar episodes in the past, the writers give us subtle parallels between characters. In this case, we see two warriors concerned with how modesty affects their lives. For Sokka, as he first meets Piandao and throughout his teachings, he is entirely self-aware of his limitations. Despite that he approaches all of the tasks assigned to him by the sword master with a joyous glee, he knows that he’s not meeting the expectations set before him. At the same time, miles and miles away, we see Iroh new life in solitary confinement in prison. Wrecked with hunger, filthy, and alone, he has no shame left to feel. Each day, Warden Poon visits the disgraced and ruthlessly insults him. Iroh simply takes it quietly, concerning himself more with food than anything else. Unlike what his nephew would do in the same situation, he never once lets his pride even touch the surface. It’s an expression of pure modesty, even if it’s in a different context than what Sokka goes through.

Of all the “training” sequences/episodes we’ve seen, I think Sokka’s will probably end up my favorite of the bunch. (I say “probably” because I still have no idea who will teach Aang fire bending and….what if it’s super awesome fun time. I have to save this title for later!) The writers have found ways to avoid repetition with Katara and Aang, but when you get down to it, they both seem to follow the traditional pattern for these types of stories: They are taught by someone vastly better than they are, they struggle intensely, they are blocked by some emotional or mental problem, it’s resolved, they master whatever they are learning. The details and context are obviously different, but the trope is familiar. It’s familiar because it works so well.

With Sokka, though, his “block” never seems to completely go away, even until the end. And even if he doesn’t mean to, almost every task and exercise is met with his own sense of humor. He made a seat out of the rock garden. HE DREW IN A RAINBOW DURING THE MEMORY TEST AND THEN ASKED IF THIS WAS OK. Oh my god, he is seriously my favorite. Now, I don’t want to ignore that the training does work rather well, and it’s not long before Sokka is able to disarm Fat. Still, throughout all of this, he never loses sight of the fact that he doesn’t feel quite right doing this all. Even when he succeeds, he doesn’t brag or boast about it once. That’s a huge reason why Piandao agrees to train him in the first place, and it’s what motivates him to continue to do so.

It’s very fitting that Sokka, who has such a non-traditional approach to life, gets to build his first real sword from materials that no other fighter has before. For Piandao, he could not be honored to help forge a sword that is so unique because this is the most unique pupil he has ever taught. I appreciate that the sword-making process is animated with a sort of quiet reverence: no dialogue mucks up the steps, as it is more important to show what a huge moment this is for Sokka. I mean, they guy gets a ceremony from Piandao, showing just how much the sword master has grown to respect Sokka. He respects him so much that he is honest with him: he tells Sokka during this offering of the sword that while he may not be the most skillful swordsman, he is the most talented and creative student that he has ever taught.

It’s a steep honor to be given to Sokka, but during all of this, you can see that Sokka is prepared to reject it all. His face gives it away. He is not worthy of the sword, he admits. I now understand this is because Piandao showed Sokka such respect that he was completely honest with his pupil. In return, Sokka is honest as well.

He’s from the Southern Water Tribe.

I literally–and I’m sure you all understand by now just how clumsy I am–fell off of my own couch. I thought about trying to describe the intricate process in which my legs got tangled up enough that it caused me to plummet to earth, but none of it makes any sense. So there it is. This reveal from Sokka shocked me so much that I became a victim of bad coordination and gravity.

Sokka, on the other hand, is far more coordinated than I. He tells his friends not to intervene as Piandao begins to attack him. This is a battle he must win (or lose) entirely on his own. And for what it’s worth, the training that Piandao gave Sokka shows: Sokka is a lot more talented than I expected him to be after just a couple days. Even his master acknowledges this, constantly narrating all of the versatile and creative techniques the boy uses. (It’s also massively fucking creepy.)

Despite being unprepared for Sokka’s admission, I was just simply not even on the same astral plane when it came to the final minutes of “Sokka’s Master.” Cutting between the two stories, we learn how Iroh’s prison façade and Piandao’s intentions are intertwined. We’d seen bits and pieces of Iroh working out in between visits from Warden Poon. I merely considered them to be insights into what sort of routines Iroh put himself through to stay calm. As Piandao appears to have defeated Sokka, two secrets are nearly simultaneously revealed: Piandao always knew Sokka was from the Water Tribe and that the Avatar was traveling with him. And Iroh has been training himself into a HULKING BEAST OF MUSCLE. oh my god oh my god!!!!!!

What the writers have been doing throughout season three so far is to show us that all of our possible preconceived notions about the Fire Nation are not necessarily true. Now we know that Piandao does not believe the art of the sword belongs to any one nation, a statement that seems to chip away at the superiority we’d seen from past Fire Nation citizens. (It’s quite Iroh-ish, isn’t it?) The Fire Nation is not a monolithic group of people, and to think so is unwise and unfair. This, combined with the revelations about Sokka and the Piandao, feel very serialized to me. Yes, they are character-based, but these are things I feel we needed to know. It’s why I’m not comfortable calling this episode filler.

Oh, and as Team Avatar leaves the village, Fat returns with a gift from Piandao: A white lotus Pai Sho tile.

WHAT?!?!?! ASDKFJ A;DFSKJA DFASD;KA AA;LKDFJ F AJDS;KFJ A;SDLKF UGHA;ASDKF AS;KLDFJ

THOUGHTS

  • Toph learned earth bending from badgermoles!!! That is so awesome!
  • Um….did Toph blush because she sorta has a crush on Sokka?
  • “If you’ve seen nothing once, you’ve seen it a thousand times.” SERIOUSLY HER JOKES ABOUT BEING BLIND ARE SO GOOD.
  • AANG’S OUTFIT IN THE WEAPONS SHOP. Oh man, those were some sweet wailing guitars in the background.
  • oh god i loved this episode so much

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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303 Responses to Mark Watches ‘Avatar’: S03E04 – Sokka’s Master

  1. audzilla says:

    This was one of my favorite episodes in season 3. The fandom might have regarded it as filler, but certainly I don't think the creators did. Aside from all the other awesomeness already mentioned, the chase between Sokka and Piandao through the bamboo grove had some ridiculously cool animation and coloring, with all the light and shadow work.

  2. The Welsh Pirate says:

    Also, Zhao is voiced by Jason Isaacs!

  3. elyce says:

    This is definitely one of my very favorite episodes. And not just because Sokka is my favorite character.

  4. beeftony says:

    For now, though, Sokka becomes enamored with a rather impressive sword at the weapons store, learning it was forged by the local sword master, Piandao. (Who is brilliantly voiced by Robert Patrick, who I actually enjoyed during his two-year reign on The X-Files. I mean, like any dutiful X-Phile, I despised his guts when he was introduced, but I came to like him a lot on re-watches.)

    I think he knows.

    • Patrick721 says:

      gah. First time I've really had internet access in a few days, due to vacationing, so I went through this a bit fast. My bad.

      At first, I kinda thought he was voiced by Martin Sheen, because Piandao sounds kinda like The Illusive Man. (I'm not the only one who thinks this, am I?)

  5. Ridia says:

    I kinda get how the fandom considers this and the previous couple episodes as "filler" — it's all another symptom of that awful nine-month-between-seasons thing, that everyone was coming off season two all "OH BOY OH BOY SHIT GOT REAL" and waiting nine months in anticipation…and then we got what are, compared to the last mad dash of season 2, several fairly mellow character episodes. I remember disliking this one and "The Headband" on first watch, but on rewatch I enjoy both a lot more ("The Painted Lady" is still "meh", though). I think I can appreciate them more now because it's easier to lay back and enjoy the really great character stuff that's happening here.

    The other thing with this episode and the previous couple, is it always makes me wonder if there wasn't some executive meddling going on. I recall hearing around the time season 3 started that Nick was hoping to build Avatar's audience (but not by doing anything silly like "airing reruns at a regular time and in order" or "not having gaps of several months between episodes"), because one thing I noticed about these last three episodes is that they feel somewhat like "introduction" eps, in a way. Every character gets their own episode — "The Headband" for Aang, then "The Painted Lady" for Katara, then "Sokka's Master" for Sokka. None of the previous seasons followed this format, and it to me definitely seems like something that could have been set up in order to draw new viewers. I can think of several cartoons I watched as a kid that would often follow this format — not that this is necessarily a mark of a bad cartoon, mind, I recall "Gargoyles" followed that format every season and I love that show to bits. It's just something Avatar never really did previously and I think it threw people off when the season first aired.

    That said, these episodes definitely do have a point in retrospect. In a way I think they're kinda the mirror image of what Zuko's B-plot was for much of last season — where Zuko began to learn that the people of the Earth kingdom were real people being really hurt by what the Fire Nation was doing, Aang and co. are learning that the people of the Fire Nation are also real people, not a monolithic force of evil, and that they too are being harmed by the war their rulers have embroiled them in, and that there are those who don't support the war.

  6. Hyatt says:

    Piandao is also based on Sifu Kisu, the martial arts consultant for the show. In case nobody's mentioned that yet.

  7. The Welsh Pirate says:

    Someone on my Tumblr dash mentioned there were too many “filler” episodes in season three, and placed prominently on that list was “Sokka’s Master.”

    Tell me who they are so I can find them and slap them.

    But all joking aside, this might be my personal favorite episode in the series. Partly because Sokka is totally my brother-from-another-mother, and partly because I'm a sword enthusiast. So an episode about Sokka learning swordsmanship and then making a BAD-ASS space-sword is like WIN NIRVANA for me. That would be enough, but we also get a B-plot dedicated to Iroh leveling up his BAMF stats. If there is an A:TLA equivilent to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, than it was written by General Iroh.

    And it makes total sense that Sokka would end up with a sword made of meteorite. His girlfriend is the Moon, after all.

  8. The Welsh Pirate says:

    Piandao: Think of your sword as an extention of yourself.
    Sokka: Like an extra head!
    Piandao: More like an extra long, really sharp arm.

    While this is a sound swordsmanship philosophy, I can't help but think it was an intentional wink at the voice actor as well.

  9. NeonProdigy says:

    can't comment too busy laughing at Doctor Who puns

  10. Tilja says:

    THIS!

  11. dragonsong12 says:

    By the by, I picked this up from my comic book store today, just released yesterday:
    <img src="http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/18/18849.jpg"&gt;

    It's a lot of little mini-stories taking place in between what we see in the show For example, one of the stories shows why the Earth King decided to travel the world with Bosco, and another is an earthbending battle between Tohp and Bumi.

    I JUST picked it up, so I haven't read it yet, but it looks like some neat supplementary material and I thought I'd share.

    • dragonsong12 says:

      why do I always misspell things? *sigh*

    • Hyatt says:

      It's been released?! I thought it was still stuck in Development Hell!

    • @Ahavah22 says:

      THE COMICS ARE OUT!!!! *FANGIRL DANCE*

      I think the "Buffy Season 8" style comics are still in development hell, though. I met Dave Roman (AKA @Yaytime, AKA The guy who edited "The Comic Book" Section of the late, great Nickelodeon Magazine) at a con and he told me that they hadn't asked him to write any of the new comics. It seems no one knows who will write them, but Mr. Roman, who did write a bunch of Avatar comics for the magazine, and co-wrote the "Zuko's Story" prequel manga with Alison Wilgus (which is very well done and probably better than the movie) would be a great choice.

    • Strabo says:

      Wait it is released? When I checked last week Amazon put it down as 12th of January 2012 still… Damn, need to order it now.

      • Lariren says:

        Comic book stores supplied by Diamond have it. Amazon might on July 5th and Barnes and Noble in January.

    • @lizbee says:

      I literally finished reading it an hour ago! It gets pretty spoilery for season 3, but I love it to pieces.

  12. @ambyrglow says:

    We have now seen all the footage from my favorite Avatar vid, which means I can link it! Yay!

    This Is Why Iroh's Hot.

  13. Tauriel_ says:

    That's true, they don't get much screentime, unfortunately.

    The world of Avatar is clearly in need of a Granny Weatherwax figure.

  14. Teaspoon Capacity says:

    I will be honest: the first time I saw this episode I was upset. The plot of Aang preparing to fight (and possibly kill) Ozai did not move forward, so I considered this episode to be filler.

    That being said, after I watched it a second time I realized that this was a beautiful characterizing moment for Sokka, and I instantly warmed up to this episode. Sokka, despite being a non-bender, is talented in his own ways; he's intelligent, strategic, brave, witty, and has many qualities of being a good leader, warrior, brother, and friend. It was about time that the writers and Gaang focused on these wonderful parts of Sokka's personality. I've come to really enjoy Sokka's Master as an episode, and while I would still consider it filler it's definitely the good kind of filler that every series should have.

    Also, everyone's a BAMF, but special shoutouts to Sokka, Iroh, and Piandao. Fuck yeah, swords, muscles, and White Lotus tiles.

  15. echinodermata says:

    Please don't use "crazy" on this site.

  16. arctic_hare says:

    As someone who has struggled with self-esteem since I was at least nine years old, there’s something patronizing about people who try to shame those who don’t feel good about themselves.

    GOOD GRIEF do I ever know exactly what you mean. There are "friends" I've long since stopped expressing those feelings to precisely because of that shit.

  17. Lariren says:

    I <3 this episode and almost died yesterday when you were talking about Sokka clinging to his schedule to feel useful knowing this episode was next.

    I always took filler to mean the plot wasn't moving forward but this does move the plot forward in a "wait why is Iroh getting to buff?! And WHITE LOTUS TILE!" kind of way.

    Also, I'm sure someone mentioned this somewhere, The Painted Lady episode was pitched, I believe, ask Katara as Robin Hood. So that episode was kind of a Mad Libs episode.

  18. @Ahavah22 says:

    Don't forget the farmers' kid who took in Zuko in "Zuko Alone!"

  19. @Ahavah22 says:

    A lot of us who struggle with self-image and self esteem know that it’s not necessarily about what sort of person you are or how others perceive you, though that certainly can play a large part in it. For me, and for others I’ve spoken with, it generally comes down to how you perceive yourself. That is what has to change for there to be an improvement. Obviously, this is my experience and not some universal truth, but my self esteem troubles finally started to go away once I was able to accept myself independent of what people told me. I had to accept my own merits and positive qualities and believe them, and no real amount of well-intentioned insistence changed that.

    This quote was therapeutic for me, and I thank you for your insight. It is all too true that the well-intentioned words of others can do more harm than good, and accepting and validating feelings, good or bad, yours or someone else's, is the best way to go.

    Thank you so much! (continued)

    • @Ahavah22 says:

      I really like this episode. I love the fact that Sokka isn't perfect in his pursuit of martial arts, nor does he strive to be. It's like the message of the episode (or one of them) is that even if you aren't naturally gifted, it's okay to try.

      I'm not and have never been into sports in any way. Every time I got hurt in a game, and all the times I've lost (and whatever team I was on, whatever game we were playing, my team *always seemed to lose*) I got discouraged. I just think of myself as klutzy and unable to engage in physical activities well, so why try?

      A few years ago I got the opportunity to try out karate classes and I really enjoyed it. There's just a pure joy in learning a new skill and training in physical maneuvers, even when you know you'll probably never make it to Black Belt. It lends itself to a sense of self esteem and empowerment that's both exhilarating and motivating, and this episode captures that feeling so well!

      Mark, I hope you get the chance to watch this episode with the commentaries, because Bryan Konietzko describes how he's been training with Sifu Kisu for a while and even *acted out the choreography of the fight scene in this episode* with him, and he says he feel exactly like Sokka!

      Bryan says that he knows he'll never be as good as Sifu Kisu,, but he just loves learning martial arts for the sake of learning martial arts. The idea that you should engage in activities you love even if you're not particularly good at them is a theme that comes up in this show from time to time (Sokka's art!) but this episode just encapsulates that idea. It's a great and *VERY IMPORTANT LESSON* for kids AND adults!

      (continued)

      • @Ahavah22 says:

        On a less sobering note: I love your idea of Mad-Libs filler writing! So *that's* how they came up with over 200+ episodes of filler at the end of the original Naruto series! It all makes sense now!

        *On Shipping*:

        1. I didn't get to comment much on your "The Headband" review but that dance between Aang and Katara was so…this will make me sound dirty…passionate and sexy! It looked like they were just mimicking Bending and fighting moves, but you could practically feel the chemistry between them. Not to mention that Katara notes that everyone is staring at them, and Aang says something to the effect of "It's just you and me here." I'm glad I'm not a Nick censor, because I would've taken the whole dance out!

        ….Needless to say, it solidified my stance as a Kataang shipper (though I do see the potential of Zutara, especially since Bryke trolled Zutarians so hard in "The Crossroads of Destiny." That scene is like cruel and unusual punishment for Zutara fans. Bad, Bryke, bad!)

        2. TOKKA FOR THE WIN!!! of course, the fact that she *intended* to kiss Sokka during the Serpent's Path is proof enough of her crush, but my favorite thing about them is how Toph truly appreciates Sokka's sense of humor, and has a similarly snarky style! Sense of humor is important in a relationship, IMHO.

        Now I'm going to try to post some art stuffs for the first time here. I really hope this works!

        <img =http://yaytime.com/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/Gallery/Fan%20Art/Aang_and_Katara.jp>

        <img =http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQp6YefdJCI3ea7IFYdGPun3fW6lBX6XF4_JFL5orRdr5mG4uZf>

  20. Rickard says:

    This episode CAN'T qualify as filler for one simple reason. It explains why Sokka will be using a Jian(his sword). Character development+introduced recurring item= NOT filler. A filler features NO character development and does NOT introduce an item that will be recurring. Unless it's a filler arc- but a filler arc is a selfcontained arc made explicitly for the purpose of being filler.

  21. Tauriel_ says:

    Hear, hear!

  22. Rickard says:

    As for a sad, realism statement- Iroh's "bulking up" ignores logic. His age should slow it, and bulking up like that takes more time than that even for people with a body more or less built for it.

    I dismiss it as rule of cool and Power of Plot… but it still broke my suspension of disbelief, if only slightly.

  23. PeacockDawson says:

    A lot of us who struggle with self-image and self esteem know …….. it generally comes down to how you perceive yourself.
    I am pretty sure that that is the exact definition of self-esteem. The word itself really doesn't leave much wiggle room here. It is the esteem that you have for yourself.

  24. Mauve_Avenger says:

    Weren't the only other times he's been shirtless all in "Winter Solstice," where he's practically naked?

    I seem to remember him being a little bit pudgy in that episode, but I could be mis-remembering.

    ETA: There's a site that actually has a side-by-side comparison:
    <img src="http://mimg.ugo.com/201102/8/6/8/172868/cuts/uncle-iroh-final_480_poster.jpg"&gt;

    • PeacockDawson says:

      Okay, but what about- well, I really remember this. Totally. It happened, I know it did! Okay, okay, I think it was in that same episode, where he was kidnapped? Like, I think I remember that when he was fire-bending he suddenly looked a lot more badass? Maybe? Or something? I-I remember it!! Am I just crazy?

      • beeftony says:

        You're thinking of "Bitter Work."

        <img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t251/beeftony/276.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Image Source">

        His arms are a lot bigger after traveling around the Earth Kingdom, and anyone who can remain as active as he does has to have retained a lot of their old bulk, with a layer of fat on the top. What the prison helps him do is give him a rigid diet to shed the fat and maintain the muscles he already has. It's not like he was portrayed as a weak old man before, is it?

  25. Classtoise says:

    “Um….did Toph blush because she sorta has a crush on Sokka?”

    Yep. It’s a bit of a running gag. Sokka is the only boy who’s been able to match her. Aang immediately treats her like a superior and wants to be taught, her father (also ew) treats her like a child who needs to be protected.

    Sokka is really the first male in her life that doesn’t view her as a spectacle (All the Earth Rumble guys), a teacher, a fragile little girl…but as an equal. It makes sense she’d kind of develop a crush on him. He doesn’t even need to be asked to treat her just how she wants.

    Plus ladies love Sokka. Regardless of age difference.

    (Also it makes all the scenes where he’s generally guiding her on not-earth even more adorable.)

    As for Sokka, I love how this episode went to great lengths to finally show us that Sokka is incredibly smart and talented. In one episode (albeit late), he was validated as important.

    He’s got an impressive resume for a non-Bender. Aside from Aang (who rarely takes charge), he’s basically the leader of the Gaang.

    • Rickard says:

      This and the fact that he is the only member of the group that pretty much accepted her completely while both Aang and Katara treated her like an emotional punching bag early on.

    • Avatar_fan_mom says:

      Ladies DO just love Sokka. It might be easier to mention female characters thus far who did NOT have eyes for Sokka….

  26. aaren says:

    ALOT of season three felt like filler, because some of the episides had points that they really could have just put into one episode, so it felt like they were just dragging it out. THIS episode however, wasn't filler because EVERYTHING that happened it in was EXTREMLY important.

    Sokka gets development that his character has needed for a VERY long time, you learn how Toph learn Earthbending which I aboslutly adored beyond words, you see how even under the stressful and heart breaking situation Irok is in how Iroh is coping, and if anyone didn't really buy how confident he is in his abilities and how he not only doesn't take humilliation to his heart but even uses it AGAINST his enemies as an advantage, this is the episode that showed it, plus it expanded on how broad the scope of membrs of the Lotus flower are.

  27. notemily says:

    "SHOPPING!!!" Oh Sokka, I love you.

    I love Sokka's unconventional style of learning and how everything he thinks of is so amazingly SOKKA. He's silly, but he really is a think-outside-the-box, Gordian-knot type of guy.

    SKY IRON. SKYYYY IRON JUST LIKE IOREK'S ARMOR AMIRITE

    Toph totally has a crush on Sokka, aw.

    "A heart as strong as a lion-turtle!" I love Avatar's world.

    Running gag that everyone is named Lee. Hee hee.

    I like the idea that the White Lotus guys are brought together by the idea that divisions between nations aren't that important after all.

    Piandao is so awesome.

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