Mark Watches ‘Avatar’: S01E17 – The Northern Air Temple

In the seventeenth episode of the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender HOLY GOD THIS MIGHT BE THE MOST PERFECT EPISODE YET. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar.

Thank you. All of you. SO MUCH.

As I’ve said in the past, I was interested in doing a show after Doctor Who that was very not that show. Which is not because I didn’t like, as it became obvious very quickly that I was utterly obsessed with Doctor Who. I just like to change things up, to challenge myself with new mediums and new stories and force myself to think about television in different ways.

Unless the remainder of Avatar: The Last Airbender is a story about how mixed-race Mexican-Americans who are gay and suffer from depression are deeply awful people, then I feel like I can safely say that I am a fan of this show. I enjoy it. It challenges me to think different, it has given me a deeply fascinating story to dissect, and it is, above everything else, immensely entertaining.

The thought is always in the back of my mind: What if I start watching a show or reading a book and I end up hating it? What if I am disappointed? And while the things I’ve read and watched had disappointing elements or episodes (WILL NEVER GET OVER “FEAR HER” EVER GRUDGE FOR LIFE), I’ve largely had such positive experiences with the things I’ve tackled. I know that I would disappoint people if I wasn’t honest about not enjoying something, but it’s been so pleasant to assemble these fandoms in such an optimistic loving manner for brief periods of time. With very, very, very few exceptions, I got to see the best of the Harry Potter fandom. I have seen the fantastic parts of the Doctor Who community. I can call myself a Browncoat now. There’s something really rewarding and smile-inducing to be able to say you are a part of something that large and that emotionally supportive. I mean, that’s why a lot of us gravitate towards fandoms, especially online. This is not to suggest that any of you have the same experience with loneliness as I do, but there are brief moments I experience on a weekly basis where I feel that gap inside of myself close just a little bit more.

Thank you for recommending this show so fervently to me over the past year. I promise to make this worth it as much as you make this worth it for me.

AND REALLY, THAT’S NOT SO HARD WITH AN EPISODE LIKE THIS. “The Northern Air Temple” might be the first completely flawless episode of Avatar that I’ve come across, as it deals with so many issues in a very short time with grace and respect. And even beyond that, there are like a billion SHIT JUST GOT REAL moments, too! We all know precisely how much I love such things as well.

The episode opens mid-story, as Team Avatar listen to a man in some unnamed tribe in the forest tell the story of the air benders. It’s not explicitly stated in the episode once, so I’m going to assume that these are members of the Earth Kingdom. They can’t be Air Nomads or the Fire Nation, and they were nowhere near water, so not a water tribe. And I assume that everyone in this fictional world is a part of some elemental group for now, unless I’m proven wrong, so that would mean everyone we come across in “The Northern Air Temple” is an Earth Kingdom citizen. Which is kind of a fascinating concept: these elemental tribes are all spread out in interesting ways, something I suppose I’d not remarked on before. Naturally, the Air Nomads live in the….air. Ok, that makes it sound really silly, but you get what I mean. The water tribes clearly all live next to large bodies at water. (Do they also live at sea? Don’t answer that.) The Earth Kingdom seem to have an expansive spread across the globe, stretching from the South Pole to the North Pole. I say that because Team Avatar have encountered the Earth Kingdom so often on their journey north. That makes me wonder: before the Fire Nation became TOTAL BIGOTS, were the Earth Kingdom villages much closer together? Much larger? We’ve had references to death on the show so far, and Teo outright says that the Fire Nation is murdering people. Plus, we know they exterminated all of the Air Nomads, too. (Wow, that is a really depressing thought. Christ.)

Wow, that was a really long tangent. But it all leads to the first HOLY SHIT WHAT moment of the episode: When Aang expresses his joy at hearing an Airbender tale, remarking that the storyteller’s grandpa must have seen them long ago, the man replies that his grandpa saw them just last week.

WAIT. WHAT. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. HOW. Isn’t Aang the last of his kind? (Hello, Doctor Who!) (OMG, the Avatar “regenerates” into a new body upon death.) (OMG maybe they are the same show.) (CONSPIRACY.)

Thus, Team Avatar board Appa and head to the Northern Air Temple. For a moment, seeing small figures circling the temple in the distance, it seems the impossible is now possible: Aang is not alone. The story here deals with Aang’s disappointment (and his justified anger) incredibly well, as he becomes concerned with the erasure of his culture and their history.

This is not something I particularly relate with on a personal level, as being a mixed-race adopted person means that my struggle with cultural identity has been WILDLY COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. But I really adore that the writers never shame Aang for feeling the way he does about the Northern Air Temple. Not only does he have specific memories about the place, but as he walks about the temple, seeing how the Earth Kingdom people have changed or covered up so much of the art and natural beauty of the place, he justifiably gets concerned.

Obviously, this is exacerbated by the fact that Aang is the last Airbender, and the responsibility of carrying on that tradition and keeping that culture alive has to be overwhelming and suffocating. I mean…doing that entirely by yourself? I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Aang’s sadness is dependent on this reality. Even if all the other Airbender temples were still full of people, I’d expect a similar reaction from Aang. His history is being forgotten and replaced right before his eyes! On top of that, what it is being replaced with also offends Aang. I get the sense that this is a commentary about how technology replaces so much of the culture that people develop or practice in their own ways, and for Aang, it feels less authentic than air bending for him.

At the same time, Aang manifests this into his distaste for the way these Earth Kingdom folks take to the skies as if they are Airbenders. I get it. I do. Which is why I also like that Aang recognizes the “spirit” present in these resilient Earth Kingdom people, specifically Teo, and opens himself to the concept of change. As he learns more about how these people have used technology to not only appreciate the air in the same way he does, but they’ve done so in order to survive, we watch as he puts aside some of his more stranger feelings to embrace what is being done here.

Teo’s story did feel a bit similar to the idea of becoming disappointed in someone you look up to, sort of like the dynamic in “Jet,” but I did want to comment on something that was really awesome: here is a character in a wheelchair that isn’t tokenized, isn’t there to make us feel pity for, and is a veritable badass. He’s just there, he’s awesome, and it’s not even to make some grand statement on anything. He is a character. He’s in a wheelchair. Those statements are not mutually exclusive. And he is perfectly capable of doing whatever the hell he wants because WHO IS GOING TO STOP HIM? High five, writers, for doing this because this almost NEVER HAPPENS.

And really, this episode is all about people banding together to use what they are best at in order to solve a common problem. There is probably no greater example of this than the gorgeous, beautiful, and perfect relationship between Sokka and The Mechanist. (Does he have a name?) WHERE ARE THOSE IN THE FANDOM THAT SHIP THEM TOGETHER. They are such a perfect fit for each other: silly, inventive, able to solve problems using creative solutions that involve no bending at all, and I’m surprised there wasn’t a scene of the two of them just enjoying a meal together. I’m sure in the extended cut of “The Northern Air Temple,” there are just ten minutes of Sokka and The Mechanist sitting at a dinner table talking solely about delicious food. It was nice to see the episode split between their growing relationship and Aang/Katara growing closer with Teo.

In Teo’s case, winning over Aang’s respect convinces the Avatar to open what is the only untouched area of the entire Northern Air Temple, an area that Teo knows Aang will appreciate because it’s the only spot that’s entirely unmodified by the Earth Kingdom who have taken residence there. Having scene what was behind the locked door at the last Air Temple, I was certainly on edge to see if some other piece of the show’s mythology was hidden away in this unseen part of the temple. Would it be another set of Avatar statues? Some hidden scroll with bending techniques? MAYBE ANOTHER AIRBENDER OR MAYBE ANOTHER FLYING BISON OR MAYBE MORE LEMURS. Oh god, the possibilities were endless! HOW TERRIBLY EXCITING THIS WAS! And the doors unlocked, one air lock at a time, and the great wooden slabs swung open to reveal….

FIRE NATION SUPPLIES????? WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!!?

Had the Fire Nation infiltrated the temple? Were they there RIGHT AT THAT VERY MOMENT? How does this make EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF SENSE?

Shockingly, the Mechanist arrives just at the moment it’s all figured out: Using his uncanny, brilliant mind, the Mechanist has been creating war machines for the Fire Nation.

WHAT.

It’s truly a depressing, shocking twist, one that was probably inevitable, considering that almost all of the conflict of this story had disappeared by that point. Something had to go wrong, right?

The Mechanist reveals the ugly truth: after a flood devastated their village, taking away his wife and permanently injuring his son, the Earth Kingdom took refuge in the deserted temple, where they were quickly forced into a deal to survive. The Mechanist had to provide the Fire Nation with weapons and they would be left alone.

JESUS. What an awful decision to have to make. Do you face certain tragedy a second time or do you obey the oppressive powers of the Fire Nation just to keep living?

I actually enjoyed that “The Northern Air Temple” didn’t spend much time at all in dealing with the morality of such an act, aside from crushing Teo’s spirit for a brief moment. It’s sort of a beautiful thing how everyone bands their resources together to simply come up with a solution. Of course, when the War Minister comes to collect his next shipment of weapons, Aang does slap him in the face with air, complicating matters just a bit. (Oh my god, what an amazing power. How can I acquire such a thing.)

Given all of this, and the impending destruction the Fire Nation will surely bring to this temple, what can these people do? Continue to berate or shame The Mechanist for his decision so many years ago?

It’s kind of a beautiful thing to watch Sokka figure out how to create a properly working war ballon with The Mechanist, to watch Aang and Katara plan out how they can use Teo’s friends and fellow citizens to take to the air and combat the oncoming soldiers. As the final battle arrives, it’s a few against many. While we’ve all seen that story told time and time again, there’s a reason so many of us love to see the underdogs win. For me, it’s seeing the hope that a minority group could one day rise up so victorious against oppressors like this, as absurd as that may seem. It’s good storytelling, too, especially as they face the impossibility of victory there on that snowy mountain below the temple. They take out a lot of the soldiers, but the tanks that The Mechanist built suddenly appear and, with The Mechanist out of the picture while he helps Sokka, Team Avatar is stumped. How do you fight tanks with Fire benders shooting flames at them? How do you fight tanks with grappling hooks that allow them to ascend vertical cliffs? And how the hell do you fight tanks that use a water balancing system that prevents them from being flipped over?

Each new problem they face, Team Avatar (I’m grouping everyone on that mountain and temple with Team Avatar, FYI) come up with another inventive, genius method of attacking. But it comes down to sheer numbers and sheer power in the end, and with no war balloon in sight, how on earth are they supposed to fend off these warriors?

I love the irony in the idea that the very thing The Mechanist built for the Fire Nation is ultimately used against them, as the war balloon is naturally camouflaged at first, allowing Sokka and The Mechanist to successfully bomb a good portion of the Fire Nation’s troops. Calling back to an earlier conversation they’d had about gas leaks and rotten eggs, the two sacrifice their fuel in order to bomb the mountain, cutting the chain ties the tanks had to that mountain. I actually yelled YESSSSSSSS at my screen when this happened. I LOVE IT WHEN THESE PEOPLE WORK TOGETHER.

That’s why this episode fills me with such joy. Aang essentially “gives” the temple to these people, knowing that they’ll respect and protect the place. As I know they’ll head off for the North Pole, I wondered if we’d see The Mechanist or Teo again, as they proved to be such wonderful allies against the Fire Nation. (By the way, there was no Zuko or Zhao in this episode, which was kind of neat!) OMG I JUST HAD A THOUGHT. What if there’s a huge battle later and The Mechanist and Teo show up to help. Ok, just wishful thinking, BUT THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.

And how’s that for a pseudo-grim ending? The Fire Nation manage to salvage the war balloon anyway, since Sokka and The Mechanist abandoned it. DAMN IT I DON’T LIKE THAT.

THOUGHTS

• WHY DID THE MECHANIST GET ALL SAD AT THE VERY END? Was the color supposed to disappear like that? DON’T ANSWER THAT.
• “It’s like the hermit crab. Maybe you weren’t born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other.” OMG SO BEAUTIFUL.
• “This place is unbelievable.” “Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?” “No, just unbelievable.” SICK BURN.
• MOMO KEEPING HIS MOUTH OPEN FOR BUGS = PERFECTION.
• Katara later choking on a bug is also wonderful.
• “So then the question became, how do you keep a lid on hot air?” “Aww, if we only knew.” SORRY I LAUGHED.
• The Mechanist’s finger-safe knife sharpener is AMAZING.
• “I laugh at gravity all the time! Hahahaha, gravity.” I WANT TO MARRY THIS LINE.