In the fifteenth episode of the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, we are given six separate short stories about what the cast of characters have been doing during their stay in Ba Sing Se. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar and sob to himself in a laundromat. True story.
I really do love it when a show takes a risk by giving us a new method of storytelling. Sometimes, that alone makes the episode so much fun. This is not that case, though, because while I do appreciate the varied narrative device that “Tales of Ba Sing Se” gives us, the real strength here is in the storytelling.
To give you an idea how far ahead of myself I got (more than ever, really) in order to have posts for all of you whilst I was on the AIDS/LifeCycle, I am writing this on Friday, June 3. Today is my packing day, and part of that has involved me doing so much laundry that I’m now wondering how we are in the twenty-first fucking century and we haven’t invented an easier and quicker way to clean clothes. My clothes were spinning about in the washer as I watched this episode on my iPad and right at the end of Iroh’s story, I could not believe how much I was crying. IN A LAUNDROMAT.
This show. The things it does to me.
I’d like to separate this out by story, in the order they each aired, in order to discuss this, as I want to spend time talking about each one. Onwards!
TOPH AND KATARA
I noticed that out of everyone’s stories, only Toph’s and Katara’s had the gang appearing together, and it suggested to me that maybe these stories actually occurred in chronological order in terms of time. Either way, from the start, we’re giving the glaring contrast of Toph’s sense of hygiene with the rest of the group. It was a subtle reminder to how long Team Avatar (well, the first three members) had been traveling. Now that they’re stuck in a way inside Ba Sing Se, why shouldn’t they take the opportunity to enjoy being stationary? In Toph’s case, though, she’s the kind of girl who has little interest in her own physical appearance, and her wonderful rebellion against this particular society’s gender roles is acted out over the course of this story.
When Katara suggests that they have a girl’s day out, you can see the disappointment in Toph’s face, but what this story does is show how Toph can enjoy herself without compromising who she is. She was naturally reticent towards the idea (especially her feet being touched) because her upbringing was engulfed by this very concept of what femininity was for her. Why would she want to go back to being pampered?
What I love so much about this story is how both Katara and Toph are able to have satisfying both what is considered the more “girly” side of the personalities while they are SILLY AS HELL. Toph is able to make creepy faces using Earthbending towards the attending and just minutes later, she can also admit that she feels quite ok with pampering herself and wearing make-up. The scene with the older girls not only shows how toxic this sort of projected hatred of women can be, but it also allows us to see how Katara and Toph care for each other. Katara knows that being “girly” is a new thing for Toph and she doesn’t want her to feel shamed for it, so I rather adore how quick she is to defend her friend.
Even after earth bending them into a river and then water bending them far downstream, Toph still expresses reservations about the whole thing. Words still can hurt people and Toph is hurt. But Katara steps up to the plate and tells Toph the truth, that she IS rather pretty, and that her confidence and self-worth is beautiful. (Well, in her own way.)
I guess that’s what I love about this so much. It’s about supporting your friends when you are down and protecting them from the shame that society tries to heap on them for being themselves. THIS SHOW, Y’ALL.
IROH
If anything, Iroh’s story is just a further continuation of his characterization as one of the most polite and respectable people we’ve seen in the show. Iroh is able to find joy and peace in nearly every act, no matter how banal or how negative it is. Wherever he goes, he wears a smile on his face, and that smile is infectious. It spreads to the owner of a shop selling picnic baskets, and it spreads to the ailing Moon Flower, and it spreads to the young crying boy, who is comforted by Iroh’s magnificent song on the liuqin.
Iroh moves through the world with a deep understanding of love and an even deeper appreciation for the very fact that he is alive, and I love watching him inject that ferocity into others. Even when Iroh is presented with the threat of theft by a mugger (WHO WAS TOTALLY IN “City of Walls and Secrets”), he can’t frown or feel threatened. He merely instructs the man on the proper fighting stance, demonstrating how poor his technique is currently, and how he can correct it to improve. And really, only Iroh would act out this sort of patience with someone who is essentially threatening his life. Hell, he even invites the man to join him for tea! WHERE IS MY TEA DATE WITH IROH.
He imparts the same wisdom here with the mugger that we’ve heard him give both Zuko and Toph: it is perfectly all right to be blessed with the help of others when you need it. And time and time again, Iroh is always willing to be the one to provide that support.
That evening, we learn why Iroh bought a picnic basket, as he ascends a grassy knoll in one of the more beautiful scenes in the whole series. The colors of the Fire Nation swirl behind him, almost as if the writers are giving us a visual hint to what Iroh is about to do, as he begins to set up his picnic. That picnic actually turns out to be a memorial, as it is the exact birth date of Lu Ten, and as the camera flashes to the cloth Iroh laid out, where we learn it’s actually a photo of his dead son, Iroh’s eyes fill with tears. He lights two sticks of incense and gives THE MOST DEPRESSING MONOLOGUE I MAY HAVE EVER HEARD. Oh, Iroh, your story breaks my heart a thousand times over. I don’t know if everything that Iroh does now is out of guilt, as I feel he’s moved past the guilt of losing his son, but at the very least, it has inspired him to help others. As Iroh begins to sing that exact same song he sang to the crying child, I found myself WEEPING PROFUSELY IN A LAUNDROMAT. oh god iron you need all of the hugs ever
(PS: I just found out what the dedication at the end of this story meant. fucking hell I NEED TO BE HELD RIGHT NOW)
AANG
In a way, there’s a neat parallel between Iroh and Aang: both of them have a zest for helping others out. As Aang searches Ba Sing Se for any sign of Appa, he comes upon a zoo that’s derelict and run down, due to a lack of funding from the Dai Li. Drawn to the place and the man who runs it because of his inherent love for animals. Well….that doesn’t always work for Aang, as we see here.
Of all the stories, Aang’s feels the shortest. He gets the idea to take all of the caged beasts who live in this depressing zoo and free them so that he can put them outside the walls and live a higher quality of life. And you know, I’m happy to get this small little story, but there’s not really anything terribly huge or life-changing that happens in it. Aang’s love for the animals gets the best of him, as they chaotically roam the town, and he uses Appa’s bison whistle to call them all towards the outer wall in order to let them out. (Well, there’s also CABBAGE GUY, who YET AGAIN loses his cabbages by some feat of poor luck. Poor guy.) I loved how massive the range of the bison whistle was, but unfortunately, it doesn’t trigger any notice that Appa is around. Where is he???
If anything, Aang’s story is certainly a reminder to us all that Aang has become quite a talented earth bender and the speed and creativity shown when Aang is constructing the new zoo is rather impressive. This is probably the only show I could think of where someone building a zoo in thirty seconds from scratch is not something that’s a disaster. That’s pretty neat.
(One small question: If this zoo was outside the inner wall and it was a big deal that the walls had to be opened….how did so many people just suddenly show up at the zoo after it was made?)
SOKKA
Oh, Sokka. All of your problems are caused by yourself. And I love you for it.
Sokka’s story is also rather short, but it’s such a treat to watch. We can tell how out-of-place that he feels trapped inside those mighty walls, not allowed to talk about fighting the Fire Nation, let alone fighting them. As he wanders the streets of Ba Sing Se, it’s a testament to his determination that he still manages to find a confrontation.
But this particular conversation is so absurd and ridiculous that it’s impossible for me not to smile while I think about it. I think it’s great that Sokka’s tale teaches people about the pattern of haikus and then has him get into a HAIKU WAR with the teacher. Oh, Sokka. Seriously, never change.
ZUKO
Uh, Zuko, could you please just have one completely happy moment. 🙁
I’ll still maintain that Zuko is the best written-character in Avatar and this story is no exception. And while I do recognize just how depressing Zuko’s story is, we do get to see the smallest smidgeon of hope in him here. It all starts off with paranoia, as Zuko suspects that a young woman at the tea house has figured out that he is Fire Nation. Iroh, however, recognizes that Zuko’s fear has clouded him from a much simpler reality: this girl is totally crushing on Zuko. But Zuko has no experience with such a thing, and so he interprets her actions in the only way that he can: in terms of war.
So Iroh sets up a date for his nephew and because of this, we get to see Zuko with slicked back hair and it is the most adorable thing ever and he is so handsome and oh god i just want him to be happy. His date, a young woman named Jin, is a tad more confident than he is, but it’s nice that they are largely both treading on unfamiliar ground. The small talk is awkward and it doesn’t help that Zuko can’t be honest about who he is, so his imagined life is even more bizarre than it already is. And really, Zuko: traveling circus? Juggling??? Oh gosh, YOU ARE SO TRAGICALLY CUTE.
Still, Zuko does begin to understand that he needs to let his guard down every once in a while, and for the briefest of moments, he does it here. Jin takes him to a fountain that is normally light with a collection of lanterns, but vocalizes her disappointment when they arrive and they’re all off. The risk Zuko takes to impress Jin here should not be understated: he could have exposed himself to anyone in Ba Sing Se and risk expulsion (and probably a whole lot of pain) for him and Iroh.
Instead, he secretly lights the lanterns for Jin, and the two share an intimate moment that I never would have expected from Zuko. I was even more surprised that after Jin kissed him, he paused and gave her a kiss. And for that small, tiny window of time, Zuko allowed himself to be completely and totally vulnerable. But that moment ends as quickly as it started, and Zuko pulls away. “It’s complicated,†he says. And he runs away, as he’s so prone to do.
And yet, even when he sees Iroh that night and predictably slams the door at Iroh’s questioning, it’s still not what he relies on completely. He reopens his door and tells Iroh that his night was “nice.†It’s a step. It’s a step towards healing. And I appreciate it all the more.
MOMO
oh my god HE GETS HIS OWN STORY. Thank you, writers, for treating Momo as a character who deserves their own story, and for giving us one that’s both adorable and incredibly crushing.
I mean, how sad was it that Momo finds a tuft of Appa’s fur and then imagines him to be all around? We have seen how badly Aang misses Appa, but at this point, I’d not really considered how close Momo had become to his big furry friend. And it’s during this search that Momo happens to accidentally come across GIGANTIC PUMAS. What? And while a bulk of his story deals with the ridiculous chase that follows (and the amazing scene with the dancing monkeys, which is one of Momo’s best), it’s more about where this leads to: friendship and loneliness. As Momo and the pumas are eventually caught by a butcher and face certain death (and a future on some plates), Momo frees himself and the pumas (despite that the pumas nearly ate him) and the four creatures escape on the rooftops.
(For the record, one of my cats acts exactly like the puma who snuggles Momo. She is a snuggle BEAST.)
What’s really important to me is the fact that the pumas lead Momo to a giant footprint after coming into contact with Appa’s fur, and it’s the first visual confirmation that Appa is alive somewhere inside Ba Sing Se. Unfortunately, there’s no other sign, and Momo, missing his companion more than anything, curls up in that giant footprint as the rain begins to fall and I feel like crying again.
goddamn it, Avatar.
Wouldn't mind Lu Ten being the Fire Lord…
*shifty eyes*
Oh, neither would I! *wipes drool surreptitiously* :*)
As others have said, Iroh's story makes me cry every single time it airs. If I'm not crying by the time he sings the song at the end, it's the dedication that gets me. Mako is one of the few actors whose death have made me cry (one other being Leslie Nielsen, rest him).
I love love love this episode. I don't really think of it as filler — it doesn't advance any storylines, true, but it has so many wonderful character moments that I just can't write it off as pure filler. I just love how they manage to showcase basically the entire cast (except Appa ;_;) in small separate ways. This is one of those eps that reminds me why I love every one of these characters.
I wonder how the writers decided what order to put the stories in, because I think they did a great job. We start fairly lightly with Katara and Toph (and with the Gaang waking up in the morning, which makes a neat parallel with the episode ending with Momo asleep at night), then the absolute heartbreaker that is Iroh's tale…and then immediately to the happy, bright Tale of Aang (which I think works so well because after watching Iroh's story the audience *needs* something fluffy and energetic), followed by still more lighter fare with Sokka, the mix of angst and cute and OMG dorky wonderfulness with Zuko and then end on another heartbreaker with freakin' *Momo* of all people (it takes real skill and love for your characters to manage a real wonderful tear-jerking story about the cute animal sidekick). It just all flows really nicely.
I love Iroh doing Zuko's hair. Not just because of the hilarious way it ended up, but because I want to see the ten minutes Iroh spent on Zuko's hair. Cutest ten minutes ever, y/n? And this was the episode where I at last fully realized Zuko's deep, dark secret: Zuko is an enormous dork. An enormous, adorable, socially awkward dork. I loved when Jin leaned in for the kiss and Zuko's all "Oh yeah, um, have a tea coupon." Oh, Zuko. This is why I love you the best.
There is really nothing I can say about Iroh's story that hasn't been said. TEARS. ALL THE TEARS EVER.
That's when I started loving Zuko – when I realized that under all the ~angst~ and ~rage~ and HONOR! Is just the most awkward, dorkiest teenage boy to ever teenage boy. I mean, compare him to Sokka – Sokka, on the outside, is the comic relief goof ball, right? And Sokka's a dork, don't get me wrong, he's as goofy as anyone but he's James Bond compared to Zuko. Sigh. I love Zuko so so so much. I just want to give him a hug, and feed him tea and talk about ~girls and how they're confusing and spying on him all the time and OMG is it because they know his deep dark secret? Yes, Zuko, we all know your a dork and that's why they're staring. Becuase they like you.
Oh god, this episode. You know what happens to me with The Tale of Iroh? TEARS ALL THE TEARS. And not just watching the show, when I'm reminded of it. So today Mark Watches MADE ME CRY.
Avatar, I love you so.
I LOVE THE TALE OF ZUKO! It is my favorite in this episode =] He is just so cute and awkward and I will love him for all time
Before I forget, here are some Zuko/Jin gifs. 😀
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(I love how Zuko cockblocks himself here.)
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/w2gfR.gif" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
(SO CUTE!)
All from this Tumblr. Beware of spoilers.
HIS SIDEBURNS GREW
WHAT I NEVER NOTICED THOSE.
And now a Jin/Zuko fic — from Jin's perspective — to prolong the sweet of "bittersweet". Fic itself is spoiler-free for future eps AFAICT, but comments may be spoilery for the most hardline anti-expectations folks.
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator
(I didn't write this, but I love it)
Anyway, FANTASTIC EPISODE. Iroh and Momo's stories make me want to cry forever. I'm so happy that the writers didn't half-ass this episode like other shows would do. It's an interesting new different format that, despite not progressing the story much further (though not forgetting it altogether), still focuses heavily on character depth and development.
I CAN'T with Iroh's, and to a lesser extent, Momo's stories.
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Can someone just post one huge comment filled with Jears for the tragedy that is Iroh and Momo's stories?
I haven't seen this photo anywhere else in the comments, so I'm using yours to do so (multiple sorrys!)
Anyway, the words on Lu Ten's picture translate to: To General Iroh: See you after we win the war. Your loyal son Lu Ten.
🙁 🙁 🙁
🙁 🙁 🙁 !
That is so sad. THAT IS SO SAD!!! That means that Lu Ten and Iroh were far away from one another when Lu Ten was killed…:(
Oh wow, thanks for the translation. It makes it all even sadder.
I am one of the people that is watching this show for the first time and I feel like I have to comment on this episode even though what I wind up saying is going to sound like a bunch of jibberish.
I just really can't comprehend how this episode exists. It is that amazing. I've watched it three times now and I just cannot comprehend how it exists. Every vignette is perfect. The colors are perfect. Each character is given a chance to perfectly explain who they are and somehow this was done for a kid's show.
Toph who is big and brave and mouthy also has insecurities. One being the fact that she can't see what she looks like and does actually want approval from the people around her.
Katara is a water bender and a mother figure and self assured and strong and she is the one that doesn't care what other people think about her. Sure she was the one who suggested the day spa, but she also laughed at the mud monster joke and then wasn't going to take any lip from the randoms who were trying to shame her and Toph.
Iroh, who has to be the best older person in children's entertainment since Dumbledore, is going to spend the rest of his life trying to help and care for everyone that he meets because he couldn't help and care for the one person he should have.
Aang is going to save the world… one baboon at a time.
Sokka gets distracted by pretty things, but he is witty and isn't afraid of failure. He chooses to live as much as he can, even if he makes a fool of himself every once and a while.
Zuko doesn't know how to be anything but hard and abrasive, but he is learning.
MOMO! who is an animal, but is full of sadness because Appa is gone because he loves Appa.
Gosh this turned out rambly and instead of posting it, I should probably delete it, but yeah. So those are some of my feeling about watching this episode.
Those are good feelings, and this is a good comment!
Been watching A:TLA for two weeks to catch up with Mark and – WHAT AN EPISODE TO CATCH UP ON!! (this is my first time watching it all the way through, too – I've meant to for a while, but I've just put it off).
All of these were fantastic, but my favorite was Zuko. It seems like he's been so pissed off all the time and just doesn't try to find anything positive about being in Ba Sing Se. And Iroh – that cunning, conniving, funny, awesome and sweet old man – sets him up on a date. Zuko on a date – oh, that makes me giggle 🙂 And Jin is adorable. The whole thing was adorable and I loved it.
Speaking of Iroh… his tale just had everything I love about him in it. It showcased his humor, his heart and his sweetness. When I first started watching this show, I knew the Fire Nation was supposed to be the villains, but how could a character like Iroh be a bad guy? I'm glad that he and Zuko got out of there – and Iroh is working in a tea shop! So much perfection!
(and I got a little bleary at the end there – I even realized that he was singing about his son when he sang the song to the little boy in the street. ALL THE SADS T_T)
I love this show.
Yes Jin finally! I don't care what others say. I am a total Jin fangirl. I love her.
As a Zutara fangirl, I was glad for Jin…because then Zuko got some experience, at least *coughcough*
I don't know, I generally always follow canonical pairings or if I feel like there's something there (especially in a show that doesn't really have pairings, like Bleach) but I just saw something in Zuko/Katara. Of course, I didn't nag on everybody else for liking other pairings. I just need romance in all of my stories, I don't know why.
Probably because of my lack of a romantic life in real life.
(Psss, not all Zutarians are scary)
Oh damn I just realized you were talking about Iroh…actually I don't ever remember that part of the fandom–I've never heard of anybody saying a word against Iroh.
It was just the one person hating on Iroh, and she got called out from all corners.
I love this episode because it's one of my favorite types of story-telling. Also, Melinda Clarke (Julie in The OC, and pretty much every evil woman character ever) voices the Poetry teacher! And because Momo got his own story which he totes deserves!
So…imagine being in this fandom when series two was first airing. And midway through the season (before this episode, I want to say around the time The Serpent's Pass/The Drill were airing), we find out that Iroh's voice actor has died. That he'd been sick for a while and the producers/directors were aware and had factored that into future episodes.
Remember that not long before IROH NEARLY DIED AT AZULA'S HANDS.
Yeah. The horror of fandom trying to guess when/if Iroh was going to die because of Mako's death was AGONIZING.
"Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar and sob to himself in a laundromat. True story." Mark, you are the best of everything.
You're trying to make me cry, aren't you?
Leaves from the vine, falling so slow…
I love what Iroh's story does, because it's so subtle. The story reinforces a lot of things that we already know about Iroh (he's caring, he reaches out to others, etc.) and at first, it looks like that's all his tale will be. But then, at the last minute, it actually ADVANCES HIS CHARACTER by telling us WHY Iroh is this way.
We already know, from the flashbacks in "Zuko alone" that Iroh left his mission at Ba Sing Se when his son died. We also know that he retired soon after his son's death. But we've never really gotten a clear picture of how Iroh went from a pretty vicious general (someone who laughed when talking about burning a city to the ground) to a kind, normally non-violent person. But Iroh's words by the tree, "If only I could have helped you" speak volumes as to how this happened. Iroh regrets that he was not there to help his son–that he was not there to save him. And so he does everything he can to make up for that by helping everyone else around him. This is how REAL PEOPLE often deal with grief (by starting a charity in a lost loved one's name, trying to advance research for the disease that killed their loved one, etc.) and this is a KIDS SHOW! Incredibly realistic storytelling…and in a short SHORT amount of time.
The beauty. T_T
This
<img src="http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs36/i/2008/274/8/0/Iroh__In_Honor_of_Mako_by_DarkKenjie.jpg">
That's so sad and beautiful!!!! Unfortunately I'm only allowed to upvote this once, but I think it's worth exactly 17.85743 upvotes, so that's what I'm giving you….
THANKS NOW I'M CRYING AGAIN.
That is a beautiful fan art….wow.
Sparkly angel/ghost Lu Ten is stunning. Comforting his father…
OMG, THAT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND SAD!!!
Oh Lu Ten… :'(((((
Thanks, now I'm all teary again…
*INSTANT CRAIS* ;; Beautiful picture.
LU TENNNNNNNNNNNN
WHAT WOULD IT BE IF YOU HAD LIVED?
I love your take on Zuko's journal.
. It all sounds pretty undignified. I think he must be mistaken. Mother and Father wouldn't have done that. <—-I'm pretty sure all kids believe this after initially learning about the facts of life. Heck, I think I still believe it. At least in connection with my parents and grandparents.
And I can totally see Zuko's face turning all shades of red everytime Iroh brings up sex-ed. (There is a really great fanfic about this, but it is so full of spoilers…)
I totally get what you mean. I mean, my parents were hippies, soooo….
But my grandma?? MY GRANDMA?? It must have been immaculate conception. That's the only possibility.
For Iroh & Momo
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YAY JEARS! (I really shouldn't be happy…but I so am)
It's in a restaurant at the end of the universe…
First of all, if this is filler, than ALL FILLER SHOULD BE LIKE THIS!!!
I don't think I've ever seen "filler episodes" chosen as fan favorite episodes outside the A:TLA fandom. A:TLA is in a league of its own, as far as writing is concerned.
Secondly, all the stories presented here are superb (I personally love seeing Toph and Katara hanging out and being good friends!), and not enough can be written about how sad and beautiful Iroh's Tale is…
BUT EVEN A LOT OF SOKKA LOVE IS NEVER ENOUGH SOKKA LOVE:
Sokka is Master
of Love, Haiku, Disaster
that's Self-Inflicted
Sokka Can Rock Ya!
From The Southern Water Tribe
To Ba Sing Se's Pride!
Sokka Warrior,
Thinks Analytically,
Science For The Win! 🙂
Wit and Sarcasm
His Charm is Like His Own Type
Of Bending Powers!
Re: Momo's Story: NONDISCURSIVE LANGUAGE USED FOR STORYTELLING IS ALWAYS AWESOME.
peeps should reconsider using the word "filler" like that
i know there's a couple different ways to define it, but the way avatar works, VERY few episodes are skippable. ya'll are thinking of other shows that animate episodes faster than the original artist can write/publish, so they make new episodes that have nothing to do with the story to give the original author time to finish his story arcs.
think of the 26-episode cowboy bebop: would you call the 20 or so episodes that didn't include vicious "filler"? that's a pretty arbitrary definition.
"tales of ba sing se" is ESSENTIAL viewing. there's a lot of substantial characterization going on. we can see aspects of the character's lives that we would NEVER see otherwise. we need to see zuko on a date. to see how he and iroh are acclimating to ba sing se. to see what katara would want to do in a massive city (ie. they're not camping out in the wilderness for once). to see what living in ba sing se means to iroh. to see etc. etc. allowing the characters to breathe and interact with a place for more than one episode is an absolutely legitimate storytelling device, especially after the non-stop plot intensity of episodes 2.06 to 2.14 (except people also called "bitter work" filler. come on.)
okay aang's bit wasn't essential.
jin (with artifacts, but my season 2 DVDs haven't come in the mail yet)
she has the best expressions
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that :3 face
I love the part when she's pulling him through the street.
And picture #4: Zuko smiling and Jin fixing her hair. 🙂
think of the 26-episode cowboy bebop: would you call the 20 or so episodes that didn't include vicious "filler"? that's a pretty arbitrary definition.
Heh, actually, I would. I kind of wish that series was half as long and just focused on the main arc.
We don't really NEED to see any of this stuff (meaning that you could skip this episode and go on to the next without "missing" any of the "essential" stuff that moves the "main plot" along.) But focusing on characterization (and doing it well) is what makes Avatar stand out from other "throw away" cartoons. It's part of what makes it so similar to traditional animes (which spend a lot of time on characterization) and not-so-similar to other American-made cartoons. It's not all about plot all the time. It's about STORYTELLING. So…yea. You could skip this episode and still "get" where the plot is going. But if you care about the characters, you wouldn't.
It was after this episode aired that I saw the first instance of Iroh hate.
Let me borrow this wonderful quote from Hagrid as a response to Iroh-haters:
DON'T. INSULT. IROH. IN FRONT. OF ME! DX
I maintain to this day that Toph purposely keeps her hair dirty and muddy so she can earthbend it into shape every morning.
Oh gosh, this must be true!
I just remembered Toph's words to Iroh when you said that: "Maybe you should tell him you need him too." *wibble*
There is no shame in crying at the Iroh story. I cried. My husband–a bearded straight man–also cried. This means it is okay.
FUCK YES, I WAS WAITING FOR THIS EPISODE, I NEED SOMEONE TO SHARE MY PAIIIIIIN____Just…that Iroh story. It destroyed me. I mean, it was a beautiful episode and superbly written and acted (MAKO) but it still made me cry buckets and you know what I don't even care. If a cartoon can make me feel this way it's gotta be a pretty damn good cartoon because I don't cry this much over real life sad events.____I was already sobbing when Iroh was singing "little soldier boy comes marching home" with TEARS IN HIS EYES, (IROH I NEVER WANT YOU TO FEEL SAD, EVER) and then it was like the guy from Mortal Kombat roared "FINISH HIM" from the ether and the words "in honor of Mako" appeared on the screen and I just FUCKING *DIED* OF SADNESS. ____WRITERS OF AVATAR I LOVE YOU FOR MAKING ME FEEL THIS WAY ABOUT A CHARACTER, THANK YOU____*gives Mark a hug over the internet*
I have probably said it before, but it bears repeating:
Fandom!Zuko: Suave and dangerously seductive Dark Prince.
Canon!Zuko: Socially Inept/Adorkable, bit of a pushover in terms of romance (note the risks taken to make a near stranger he had been browbeaten into a date with smile), and would almost certainly be a Momma's Boy if Momma were still in the picture.
Guess which one I, and most women of my aquaintance, find more entertaining.
Everybody says good filler, but it kind of works — what I mean, it's natural. The plot doesn't advance because everybody is stuck in Ba Sing Se right now. Zuko and Iroh aren't going anywhere, and Team Avatar has to wait 6-7 weeks to see the king.
No one moves, so we might as well explore the city and focus on every day life.
…and cry. And laugh. (Did Sokka just use a machete to shave like three hairs)
I was dreading and was excited for you to get to this episode. Iroh's Tale made me cry so much at the end. i love this episode.
There was a skit done at Anime Boston, a convention, where it starts out with Uncle playing this song with Lu Ten's picture. Slowly, more characters from other animes start to bring on pictures of loved ones they lost also. THERE WAS NOT A DRY EYE IN THE ENTIRE PLACE. It was amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IfIq76vndo (i didn't take this, since i was eating dinner with friends. my sister saw it though.)
OH! SPOILERS MAYBE FOR OTHER ANIMES. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS BEFORE.
THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!
I don't even know all those characters…but when Tohru came out I gasped…SO SAD!
Ugh. When I first watched this episode, it just DESTROYED my heart. I mean, I loved Aang and Sokka's little humorous stories, but man, all the others, even Toph's made me tear up, if not straight up start bawling. It is still one of my favorites, though!
Dammit, I'm at work, don't make me cry!
Hey Mark, speaking of the lessons this show teaches kids, Iroh's story is another reminder that it's okay for men–powerful, badass, former military men–to cry. There's nothing wrong with shedding tears when you're feeling emotionally overwhelmed, and none of the male characters who do cry on this show are portrayed as sniveling or less masculine for it. And it's not like we can judge him for crying when we're bawling our eyes out.
This is the hardest I have ever cried at an episode of an animated show (or any show, for that matter), and I'm including Futurama's "Jurassic Bark" in there.
I love that we get to Iroh cry also (as painful as it is). Iroh has shown, time and time again, that he values honesty. Crying when you're sad is a way of being honest with yourself.
the last scene of momo in that short story, I cried SO hard, oh my god. my heart broke.
This was the first Avatar episode I ever saw. The second was Cave of Two Lovers. Since I didn't know who the characters were, not all the stories hit me equally. After this episode, I thought that the show was about a chubby Christ-like character who wandered around saving people, and an adorable lemur who missed his best friend.
After Cave of Two Lovers, I was thoroughly convinced that this show was about two best friends, Appa and Momo, who are sometimes torn apart by circumstances but love each other forever. The Avatar? He was clearly just a side-show. I remember vividly discussing the show with a friend– who was watching Season 1–how Appa and Momo's close friendship was the most beautiful part of the show. And his response was, "what?"
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/fyeb0.png" alt="Little Soldier Boy" />
I hope this posts right…
Er… what is it? Musical notation? What kind, if so?
It's guitar tab. To Little Soldier Boy.
I was using filler as a positive descriptor here. As in 'this is what filler episodes SHOULD be'. I don't consider filler to be at all a bad thing so long as it's done well. Sometimes stories need to take a break, slow down, or otherwise do something that doesn't immediately advance the overarching plot. This one does exactly that, and perfectly.
Actually, it's kind've a pet peeve of mine how often people seem to imply that an episode being filler means it's not good and forgetful and generally shouldn't be there.
I…I just…WHAT?! I mean, ok, I ship Zutara (bring it people I've shipped them since season 1 and am actually ok with others opinions) but that's a little ridicolous. I mean that in seeing all the other wank out there.
I actually like Jin and think Zuko needed someone who wanted him for him other than Iroh in his life. I mean, you go girl, get him!
"Toph is able to make creepy faces using Earthbending…"
Not gonna lie dude, I laughed SO HARD at that part. It is probably one of my favorite goofy moments in the show, because I had been wanting to see more Katara/Toph friendship.
Confession time! "Tales of Ba Sing Se" was actually the first Avatar episode I saw. I got into the show mostly due to Zuko and his dorky awkward date of adorableness. (Zuko/Jin was also my first Avatar ship.)
/cool story bro
HahahahahhahahaHAHAHAHAHA. Can't stop laughing. "It all sounds pretty undignified."
Oh, Zuko.
You're all so talented! I love these!
A lovely extended version of the song, with voice and piano. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo6h0yY–oA
Never Stop.
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