{"id":434,"date":"2011-06-30T13:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-06-30T20:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=434"},"modified":"2011-06-29T16:53:59","modified_gmt":"2011-06-29T23:53:59","slug":"mark-watches-avatar-s03e09-nightmares-and-daydreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/06\/mark-watches-avatar-s03e09-nightmares-and-daydreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Avatar’: S03E09 – Nightmares and Daydreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the ninth episode of the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender<\/em>, Aang and Zuko begin to simultaneously worry about the upcoming war. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Avatar<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This is not a fantastic episode (I will admit that it’s actually necessary to set up the invasion), but it is worth every second of its existence to watch Momo and Appa talk. This is, by and large, the weirdest<\/em> episode of Avatar<\/em> so far, and that’s not really a complaint. Again, I don’t think this episode was gifted to us by the gods up above, but it’s fun, silly, and finally acknowledges the timeline of the invasion. (I had<\/em> been wondering this whole time when the rendezvous date was.) And I’m sure people were annoyed that the time right before one of the biggest events in the show’s canon was spent on hallucinatory dreams, so I’m not saying this is a necessary <\/em>thing. I get it. But it was a lot of fun, and that’s all right for me.<\/p>\n

Clearly, I only post ~edgy thoughts~ about the Avatar <\/em>fandom.<\/p>\n

“Nightmares and Daydreams” is rife with references, both to other episodes and other figures in anime and manga. It’s one sign that the writers just wanted to have fun with the story, though I do worry about those who didn’t get a single reference. I totally recognized the Goku outfit in the first dream, but after that, it sort of felt like hanging out in a room of people who all have one inside joke that I’m not a part of, and I have to keep hearing them laugh at the joke over and over again. That’s okay, though, and that’s not the writers’ fault or anything. But it was one of a few things that prevented me from fully enjoying the whole episode.<\/p>\n

In this sense, this might be the weakest of the Aang\/Zuko parallel episodes, though the story isn’t bad at all. It’s just not as powerful. But miles from each other, the two characters fret and worry about their nearing future, and I was fascinated by that<\/em> more than anything. If you think about it, we haven’t had much confirmation about what the Fire Nation or Team Avatar is actually<\/em> going to do during the Invasion of the Black Sun. I can’t remember perfectly, but didn’t Azula find out about the solar eclipse while undercover in Ba Sing Se? I mean…I guess she would have had to have found out, since the Fire Nation is clearly preparing for some sort of battle. But now my head is all mixed up and I have no idea. I feel like I haven’t been paying attention at all! Is the Invasion going to be an actual surprise this time around?<\/p>\n

Ok, this isn’t that important right now. What is<\/em> important is that Aang is surprised by the Invasion, and it’s this that sends him into a spiral of bad dreams and waking nightmares. I get that this is a huge moment in Aang’s life, and it’s perfectly reasonable that he would go through such a mental and emotional turmoil because of it. It’s not that this episode is unrealistic in that sense. As Aang cycles through his surreal dreams, it just feels a tad too repetitive to me. The content of the dreams changes only slightly each time, all with the same message: Aang is going to fail miserably at defeating the Fire Lord. Dreams can<\/em> be cyclical in nature, but the episode as a whole (for Aang’s story) just feels like the same thing over and over. Bad dream. Wake up. Refuse sleep. Train until exhaustion.<\/p>\n

A lot of the little details entertain me, though. The fire breathing cow\/hippo thing is awesome. We’d not seen yoga before, either! The glorious Wang Fire beard makes another reappearance, and Sokka is a beautifully irritating therapist. Toph uses earth bending to try to massage Aang’s stress away. And there’s a boarcupine again! If anything, there’s a nice message amongst the silliness: Aang’s friends truly care about him and they’ll do whatever they can to make him feel better.<\/p>\n

We see that manifested in his final nightmare, as Aang loses everyone<\/em> during the invasion. It’s a remarkably creepy dream, and it’s obvious that more than anything, Aang could bear with the idea of losing the people that he loves. It doesn’t even seem like he’s that concerned with winning<\/em>. The loss of his friends would be the absolute worst. Is this why his brain finally decides to confront Katara about how much he is totally in love with her? Because he worried that the end was coming soon, so it was now or never? There was a moment that I believed their makeout scene was actually real, but the whole “forever girl” thing was…oh, it was just too much<\/em>. Just painfully awkward and weird and I DON’T <\/em><\/p>\n

Yet somehow, the walking daydream\/hallucination that Aang has is just….holy overwhelming<\/em>. Wow. WOW<\/strong>. It’s silly, hilarious, upsetting, and terrifying all at the same time. There are like fifty things going on at the same time<\/strong>. I almost wish I could have recorded myself watching this episode last night. The sound I made when Momo started talking sounded like I was choking to death. It’s even weirder because…well, their voices sort of fit their bodies? Ugh, oh god, IT IS JUST SO STRANGE<\/strong>. And then there are koala sheep and Guru Pathik has six arms and what are the rocks doing and the tree is dancing and MY BRAIN HURTS FROM ALL OF THIS<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Bravo, Avatar<\/em>. That was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

Thinking about it now, it is<\/em> kind of tonally strange how Zuko’s story fits in to all of this. His story does have a direct parallel to Aang’s, but that’s the only real connection. We know now from “The Beach” that Zuko’s relationship with anger has become this consuming thing for him, and that his confusion with what moral standing he has is blanketing his life. Why doesn’t he feel right about getting exactly what he wants?<\/p>\n

We get to see more of his life in the Fire Nation, and, even if the scenes are brief, I’ve completely warmed to the idea of Zuko and Mai as a couple. They just seem to fit well, and this episode shows how much she cares for him in a very genuine way. It’s especially sad when she reminds of the last time he wanted to be a part of a war meeting, and for a moment, you think she’s finally gotten through to him. And yet he turns his face away from her, and she knows that this is a futile journey. Zuko’s problems cannot become her responsibility anymore, and she can’t feel obligated to work his demons out.<\/p>\n

At this point, Zuko’s story has taken him precisely to where he wants to be: he’s home, his father accepts him, he has a girlfriend, he’s a respected prince in the Fire Nation, and he was invited to sit at the right hand side of the Fire Lord during the war meeting. The writers have given Zuko everything he has ever desired, and Zuko has finally discovered that it makes him feel no different. That must be such a disappointing and frightening thing to experience, and you can see the heartbreak in his face when he leaves the war meeting and talks to Mai.<\/p>\n

He is not himself anymore.<\/p>\n

SO THIS IS TOTALLY A SET-UP FOR HIM TO JOIN TEAM AVATAR. RIGHT? RIGHT? right?!?!?!?! OH GOD <\/em>PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n