ATLA Marathon: "Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle"

 

Here we are at the end of all things. It's the series finale, which is comprised of four episodes that are shown back-to-back in a feature-length presentation. Since the episodes have individual titles, I'll look at them in turn. I'd get a comfy seat and stick the kettle on. This may take a while.

Part One: The Phoenix King

Sozin's Comet is due to arrive in three days, but Aang believes that it's not going to be a threat since the Fire Nation have already seized Ba Sing Se. Sokka's proposed beach episode is cut short when Zuko reveals what he'd been told in the war meeting back in "Nightmares and Daydreams"; Fire Lord Ozai intends to torch the entire Earth Kingdom using a fleet of airships on the day of the comet. They soon realise that they need to defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives, but Aang gets cold feet when he realises that everyone expects him to take his opponent's life; something which goes against the pacifist beliefs of the Air Nomads. Frustrated, he wanders into the sea towards a mysterious island.

This episode is largely dedicated to frantic training while Aang deals with his moral quandary. One notable scene involves Katara showing the party a picture of baby Zuko, only for Zuko to reveal it's actually Ozai. This serves to make Aang feel worse, to the point that he yells at Sokka for making a joke about it before storming off. It's a truly powerful scene.

Meanwhile, Ozai decides to name himself "The Phoenix King" and elevates Azula to the now-worthless position of Fire Lord. It was Azula who originally suggested the scorched earth plan, but Ozai intructs her to remain behind. While she was often seen as her father's favourite, the scene with them in this episode hammers home the point that he sees her as little more than a means to an end. It actually gives her some depth and almost elicits sympathy in places. 

There's still some humour, like with the beach episode segment at the beginning with Sokka trying to make a sand sculpture of Suki after Aang makes one of Appa and Toph makes a miniature Ba Sing Se (complete with the Earth King and Bosco). There's also the meme-worthy "melon lord" as they're training. And when Aang disappears and the party splits up to find him, Toph immediately latches onto Zuko, lampshading the fact that "everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko". In fact, Toph gets most of the funny lines in this episode.

One thing that strikes me as odd is Aang's firebending lesson with Zuko at the beginning of the episode. Zuko is telling Aang to be aggressive, but that's kind of contradicting the philosophy they learned in "The Firebending Masters". Then again, it's probably necessary, given the situation.

Part Two: The Old Masters

There's some great drama in this one.

The last episode ended with Zuko taking the party to the Earth Kingdom to seek out June the bounty hunter. But when she's presented with Aang's staff, she determines that he's somehow disappeared from the world. In response, Zuko suggests they find Iroh and convince him to fight Ozai. June's shirshu leads them to Ba Sing Se, where they encounter mentors from earlier in the series (King Bumi from "The King of Omashu", Jeong Jeong from "The Deserter", Pakku from "The Waterbending Master", and Piando from "Sokka's Master"), all of whom are members of The Order of the White Lotus.

The old masters lead Zuko to Iroh's tent, and it leads to one of the most powerful moments of the episode as Zuko contemplates what to say to his uncle after turning on him in Ba Sing Se. He goes inside, finds his uncle asleep, but doesn't wake him. As his uncle wakes and turns away, Zuko tearfully begins to apologise. Iroh simply cuts him off mid-speech and embraces him. He then admits that he was never angry with Zuko, just sad that he was lost. Once again, this is a moment in the series that made me tear up when I saw it. Seeing how forgiving Iroh is just helps to illustrate how awesome he is.

Meanwhile, Aang explores the mysterious island with Momo, and seeks advice from his past lives, but even they seem to be in favour of killing Ozai. Roku tells Aang that he should have killed Sozin when he had the chance, telling him to act decisively. Kyoshi states she likely would have killed Chin the Conquerer herself when he threatened her home, even though she didn't do so directly. Kyoshi's predecessor, Avatar Kuruk, talks about how a period of relative peace and stability led him to not take his role too seriously until his wife was targeted by Koh the Face Stealer. He tells Aang to shape his own destiny. Even Yangchen, the previous Air Nomad Avatar, states that Aang's spiritual beliefs are detrimental to his duty. It puts Aang in a bad position, but he then discovers that the island he's on is a Lion-Turtle who gives him some mystical gift.

Most people have said that the Lion Turtle seemed like a bit of a deus ex machima, and I'm inclined to agree. I'll talk more about that later, so hold onto it. Granted, it was foreshadowed by some wall art in the air temples, and the being's significance would be explored in the sequel series, The Legend of Korra.

As for action, there's a brilliant flashback scene which shows how Bumi escaped captivity during the Day of Black Sun and single-handedly drive the Fire Nation out of Omashu. This includes escaping his metal coffin by using his face to earthbend roof tiles and use them to pry it open. However, it's the next episode that's for the action.

Part Three: Into the Inferno

How is Toph not cooking in that metal armour?

It's the day of Sozin's Comet, and the party are splitting up: Aang has returned to the mainland so he can confront Fire Lord Ozai; Katara and Zuko return to the Fire Nation to seize the throne; Sokka, Toph, and Suki go to disrupt the Fire Nation's airship fleet; and the White Lotus move to liberate Ba Sing Se.

Meanwhile, Azula is preparing to be crowned Fire Lord, but her paranoia is worsening. She banishes a servant for not pitting a cherry, and then banishes her Dai Li agents for being five minutes late. She even banishes her advisors Lo and Li for suggesting she postpones the coronation (kind of). Eventually, she begins having hallucinations of her mother, who talks about how she's only ever been able to get what she wants by making people fear her (even Mai and Ty Lee). Ultimately, she's actually lonely.

This episode is where all the action happens. All the old masters get their moment to shine during the battle of Ba Sing Se. Pakku creates a tidal wave and freezes it so Piando can skate and lop off the soldiers' spearheads. Jeong Jeong obliterates Fire Nation tanks by redirecting the supercharged fire at them. In the Fire Nation, Zuko and Katara disrupt Azula's coronation, and she challenges her brother to an Agni Kai.

It gets intense too, when we see Ozai begin to carry out his attack. He and other firebenders torch a forest in the Earth Kingdom, and we see the devastation it causes. Aang and Ozai have a Dragonball Z-style battle across the region, and Ozai almost kills Aang with lightning until he redirects it. The look on Ozai's face makes him realise that Zuko made good on his intent, and taught Aang that move. Even then, Aang refuses to direct the lightning back at him. At the same time, Azula attempts to shoot ligtning at Katara, incapacitating Zuko when he redirects it.

Despite the intensity of the episode, there's a decent amount of humour in this one. When Sokka's team successfully hijacks one of the airships, and Sokka lures all the crew to the munitions bay under the guise of a special birthday celebration (and it actually was somebody's birthday). When Lo and Li suggest postponing the coronation, Azula asks who suggested it and they both point to each other. She then demands they settle the dispute via an Agni Kai, but neither of them are firebenders. Azula banishes Lo and permits Li to stay, but was pointing at Li when she made the declaration.

Part Four: Avatar Aang

The battles continue to rage, during which time Sokka breaks his leg and loses his space sword. All seems lost until Suki hijacks another airship and rescues him and Toph. Meanwhile, Ozai's attempt to deliver the final blow to Aang unwittingly unlocks his blocked chakra, allowing him to access the Avatar State again.

Meanwhile, Katara is able to outsmart and subdue Azula, resulting in the princess having a full-on breakdown. Some people have criticised how it was Katara who defeated Azula rather than Zuko, but I personally have no beef with it. Even Dante Basco himself has talked about how Azula's attempt to harm Katara during the Agni Kai was breaking the initial rules of engagement for the duel, in line with her character and deteriorating mental state.

As for Aang, he has Ozai on the ropes, but still refuses to end his life. Ozai attempts a sneak attack which is foiled by the tremorsense Aang learned from Toph, and he stops it. It's then revealed that the Lion-Turtle gave Aang the power of "energybending". It presents an impressive light show as the Lion-Turtle provides an expositionary voice-over, and results in Aang taking away Ozai's ability to firebend. While it's very much a deus ex machima, it does show Aang nearly being consumed by Ozai's corrupt energy, indicating there was still a risk to using it. On top of that, it's ultimately satisfying to see Aang being able to defeat the Fire Lord without taking his life. It's like Bumi said at the beginning of the series; he had to think like a mad genius by playing a hand that wasn't on the table.

The ending has a strong Return of the King feel to it, but that's not a bid thing. After all, it's such an epic story and so many characters are finishing their journey. Zuko is the new Fire Lord and declares an end to hostilities while offering to help Aang rebuild the world. He's hooked up with Mai, while Ty Lee has joined the Kyoshi Warriors. After the coronation ceremony, he visits his father in prison and demands to know his mother's whereabouts. We then cut to Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se, where the party are just chilling for the first time in a long time, ending with Aang and Katara kissing.

Phew, that took some time. This is probably one of the best finales I've ever watched. It's such a satisfying conclusion to an epic journey. I hope you enjoyed sharing this journey with me, and I'll do the obligatory wrap-up post tomorrow.

Until then, stay flamin'.

ATLA Marathon: "The Southern Raiders" & "The Ember Island Players"

 

We're almost at the end now. And these episodes are pretty good.

The Southern Raiders

Wow, there's a side to Katara we've never seen before. Also, this will contain spoilers.

The party is forced to flee as Azula - who is starting to go off the rails - leads an assault of the Western Air Temple with a squadron of airships. While they celebrate with Zuko after the escape, Katara remains antagonistic towards him. Wanting to patch things up, Zuko offers to help Katara find the man who killed her mother; Yan Ra of the Southern Raiders. The pair set out to seek revenge, but Aang urges Katara to forgive him.

This is by far a pretty dark episode. It's interspersed with flashbacks of the fateful day, but from different perspectives each time: We initially see Sokka's perspective when Zuko asks about it, showing the Southern Raiders attack the village and the warriors fending them off. Later, Katara tells Zuko the events from her perspective; she went to find her mother Kya, but discovered Yan Ra in the house. Kya sent her to find Hakoda, promising to supply Yan Ra with some information in exchange for Katara's safety.

We see Katara become determined to get closure, almost with the same attitude that consumed Jet. It's heartbreaking to see one of the most caring and compassionate characters in the show be so consumed by grief. Even Aang realises that it's a journey she needs to take. As she and Zuko set out on the night of a full moon, it feels ominous. It's cool to see the pair working in tandem as they infiltrate a Fire Nation communications centre and obtain dispatches from the Southern Raiders. They later attack the Southern Raider flagship, during which time Katara's desire for closure leads her to bloodbend the captain. It shows how far she's willing to go, but then discovers that Yan Ra has since retired.

Here's where I'm going to spoil it: Katara and Zuko confront Yan Ra, who is living in a Fire Nation village with his overbearing mother. It's then revealed that he'd originally raided the Southern Water Tribe village in search of an alleged waterbender, killing Kya when she falsely claimed to be who he was looking for. Katara prepares to kill Yan Ra, but ultimately can't bring herself to do it while he's willing to throw his own mother under the bus.

The final scene tore me up. Katara contemplates her decision not to kill Yan Ra, wondering if she was too weak to take her revenge or strong enough to not do so. But as Aang commends her for not doing so, she also admits that she didn't forgive him either. However, she does forgive Zuko. It's a powerful scene, and ends on an ominous feeling; as Aang states that violence isn't the answer, Zuko asks how he's going to face the Fire Lord with that attitiude.

It makes me hyped for the finale, but there's going to be a breather before then.

The Ember Island Players

This is the penultimate episode, and it's essentially a recap. But it's done in a unique way.

Zuko has given the party a safe haven at his family's beach house on Ember Island. Meanwhile, Sokka and Suki have discovered that a theatre group known as the Ember Island Players is staging a play based on the party's adventures. They quickly discover that the production is a Fire Nation propaganda piece in which all the characters have been exaggerated for comic effect.

There's not really much to say about this one. As mentioned above, it's essentially a recap of the entire series. However, rather than just doing a clip show, they tried something different, and it pays off. The poster advertising the show mentions that the playwright learned of the party's travels from a variety of sources, including the pirates from "The Waterbending Scroll", the nomads from "The Cave of Two Lovers", and the ever-present cabbage merchant.

Most of the episode is just the party watching the play and seeing how the Fire Nation perceives them. Aang is an overly mischievous prankster, Sokka is obsessed with food, Katara is overly emotional (and obsessed with hope), Zuko is perpetually angsty (and voiced by Zuko VA Dante Basco's brother Derek Basco), while Toph is an incredibly buff guy with a scream-powered sonar sense (because nobody in the Fire Nation would admit to getting their arses handed to them by a petite blind 12-year-old girl).

While doing the recap, the play also works in some funny moments based on fan reactions. For example, they gloss over events of "The Great Divide" by saying "Eh, let's keep flying". Apparently even the show's writers weren't fond of that episode and preferred to forget it. They also describe Jet's death as being "really unclear".

There's also some moments where the play genuinely starts to get to the party. This includes Sokka's relationship with Yue, and Zuko turning on Iroh. Toph and Zuko have a heart to heart as Zuko dwells on his mistake, mentioning her chat with Iroh in "The Chase". The third act cranks that into fifth gear, depicting Azula killing Zuko and Ozai killing Aang, which leads to the audience giving a standing ovation. I did mention that the play was propaganda.

But the effects were decent.

ATLA Marathon: "The Boiling Rock"

 

Just looking at one episode today, which is a two parter: "The Boiling Rock".

Sokka asks Zuko about where the Fire Nation holds prisoners of war, hoping to find out what happened to his father. Zuko tells him that the most likely location is a maximum security prison known as "The Boiling Rock". Deducing that Sokka intends to rescue Hakoda, Zuko opts to travel with him. After their war balloon crashes, they pose as guards and reunite with Suki, but discover that there aren't any Water Tribe prisoners. They promptly devise an escape plan.

The titular prison serves as an excellent setting. Situated in the middle of a boiling volcanic lake and accessible only via cable car, inmates are subject to abusive guards. The punishment for firebending is to be locked in a literal and figurative "cooler", where the freezing temperatures make firebending impossible.

The first part has a lot of tension as Sokka and Zuko are undercover, especially when it's revealed that the prison warden is Mai's uncle and recognises Zuko, and Mai later shows up bitter over Zuko leaving her. Suki also recognises Zuko from his raid on her village, resulting in some teeth-clenched teamwork. On top of that, an inmate named Chit Seng learns they're planning an escape and threatens to rat them out if they don't let him join.

Using his incredible brand of ingenuity, Sokka devises a scheme with the three of them to use one of the cooler cells as a boat to float across the lake. But as they're carrying it out, they learn that a new batch of inmates is arriving which includes several war prisoners. Sokka opts to stay, and Suki and Zuko join him, but Chit Seng and his friends leave. However, the plan doesn't work and they get caught, while Sokka confirms that Hakoda is amongst the inmates.

I've heard people say that the first part is unneccesary and that the first exape attempt seems like padding. While I agree with the sentiments, I also quite like how it plays out, with some funny dialogue that ensues. On top of that, it creates a tense yet satisfying scene as the warden questions Chit Seng over the incident. Chit Seng claims to have colluded with a guard, creating some tension as Sokka is brought into a line-up, but then identifies the guard who bullied him. It's satisfying, but takes another tense turn as Azula interrupts the interrogation and immediately deduces he was a fall guy.

Part Two is more action-packed, with Sokka making contact with Hakoda and devising a new plan; start a prison riot and escape in the cable car after taking the warden hostage. There's a funny moment when Hakoda tries to start a riot by shoving the largest inmate he can find, only for the inmate to say he's trying to manage his anger. Chit Seng promptly grabs an inmate and shouts "Hey! Riot!" That works, and Suki quickly captures the warden after some almost Spiderman-like climbing ability.

Anyway, the climax is fantastic, but I'm going to have to spoil it. They escape in the cable car with the warden, but Azula and Ty Lee pursue them. As the party battle them on top of the gondola, the warden orders the guards to cut the line. As Azula and Ty Lee break off their attack, Mai attacks the prison guards to aid the escape, telling Azula that she loves Zuko more than she fear Azula. When Azula goes to attack, Ty Lee sides with Mai and chi-blocks her. It's an epic moment which has a ripple effect on the finale, so I had to mention it here. It also provides an interesting message about protecting those you love and standing by those who stood by you.

I love the first part for the tension, and the second part for the action.

ATLA Marathon: "The Western Air Temple" & "The Firebending Masters"

 

Most of the episodes which follow are about Zuko earning the party's trust. While going on adventures with individual members.

The Western Air Temple

That temple is not one for the acrophobic.

The party (along with Haru, Teo, and The Duke) have fled the Fire Nation, seeking shelter at the Western Air Temple, which is situated on the underside of a cliff. Contemplating their next move, they determine that Aang has to master the elements and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before Sozin's Comet arrives. Aang realises that there likely isn't anyone who would teach him to firebend except for Jeong Jeong (with Toph acting as an audience surrogate for anyone who didn't watch from the beginning). Meanwhile, Zuko has located them but is unsure about how to approach them, fearing that they won't trust him.

There's a lot of tension as Zuko introduces himself, and even offers to teach Aang firebending. However, none of the party trust him (especially after learning he'd hired Combustion Man to kill Aang). Katara is particularly bitter over his betrayal at Ba Sing Se, and threatens him into leaving. However, Toph realises that he was being sincere, and points out that nobody else is willing to teach Aang. It almost strikes up a rift as the rest of the party argue against her. Toph sneaks off to speak to Zuko herself, but he accidentally burns her feet while taken by surprise. This serves to make the party trust him even less, but then they realise they have to keep him close. Ah, the Michael Corleone school of thought; "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer".

There's still some humour, stemming from Zuko's awkward speech (which he rehearses in front of a frog beforehand), and plenty of funny lines from the party as they discuss the situation. On one occassion, Aang briefly lets his guard down when Appa licks Zuko (whom he'd set free in Ba Sing Se), and Sokka suggests he'd engineered it by glazing himself in honey.

In the climax, Combustion Man returns and gets the drop on the party after Toph's injury hinders her tremor sense. Zuko attempts to call of the contract, but is rebuffed and almost knocked off a cliff. As he attempts to collapse the part of the temple he's hiding in, it's ultimately Sokka who saves the day with his boomerang. 

The ending is quite touching as Zuko apologises to the party and talks about how easy it is to cause harm when firebending. Aang empathises with this and agrees to take him on after his friends agree. But even when he joins the party, Katara is still distrustful of him.

All in all, it's a pretty good one, and a stark reminder that adjusting to change takes time.

The Firebending Masters

Getting an Uncharted vibe from this one.

Zuko begins to teach Aang firebending, but finds it difficult to do without being dependent on rage. Drawing from her own experiences learning from the badger-moles - regarded as the original earthbenders - Toph suggests they seek out the original firebenders; the dragons. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation hunted dragons to extinction, so the pair set out to learn from the Sun Warriors, an ancient civilisation which once worshipped the dragons. Travelling through a booby-trapped temple, they encounter the Sun Warriors and must meet "the masters" Ran and Sho.

It's interesting to see Aang and Zuko going on their own adventure in a distinctly Mesoamerican city which they both see influenced the temple of the Fire Sages. We get some funny exchanges between the optimistic Aang and more pessimistic Zuko, but even those roles get reversed at times. On one occassion, Aang narrowly avoids a spike trap and has doubts after airbending across it. Zuko then throws it back by running across the wall Prince of Persia-style, showing there's more to him than firebending. He later uses his swords to fast-track a time lock on a door that opens on the solstice. We also get some funny moments when they're entangled by a glue-based trap and contemplate their place in the universe before the Sun Warriors meet them.

The pair are then sent on a trial to take a pirce of "The Eternal Flame" to The Cave of the Masters. Aang has doubts about carrying the flame, but is surprised when he holds it, being told that "fire is life". They have to present their flame to the masters. I'll keep the exact details a surprise, but I will say that it's incredible and otherworldy.

One big thing we get from this episode is how bending is more than just a martial art, but an extension of oneself which has more uses than just combat. For example, the badger moles were blind and used their earthbending to see and interact with the world, which is how Toph developed her tremorsense. This episode applies the same philosophy to firebending, which has had a reputation as the most destructive element. The last time we truly explored that was with Jeong Jeong in "The Deserter", who rejects firebending for those reasons. But here, we see that the Sun Warriors have their own philosophy which differs from that.

It was great to see Aang and Zuko working in sync for the first time.

ATLA Marathon: "The Day of Black Sun"

 

Happy Avatar Day! Today marks the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere on Nickelodeon, which led to me doing these reviews in the first place. Of course, had to give this episode its own post, as it's a two-parter and a major part of the story, which we've been building up to since the last season. This post will contain major spoilers.

Part One: The Invasion

The day of Black Sun has arrived, and Hakoda has reached the rendezvous after locating a number of the party's allies from around the world: the Foggy Swamp waterbenders from "The Swamp", Haru and Tyro from "Imprisoned", The Boulder and Big Bad Hippo from "The Blind Bandit", Pipsqueak and The Duke from "Jet", and the Mechanist and Teo from "The Northern Air Temple". As Aang leaves to confront the Fire Lord directly, the rest of the invasion force carry out their assault. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh seem to be making their own plans, with Zuko removing his prince's headpiece and leaving a letter for Mai while Iroh tells a sympathetic prison guard to take the day off.

Most of this episode is dedicated to the initial assault, and everyone gets their moments to shine. There is a great amount of imagination stemming from the Mechanist's war machines combined with bending. For example, Sokka had him design submarines powered by waterbending so they could bypass the Fire Nation's coastal defences. They even have "torpedoes"; explosives encased in ice so the waterbenders could launch them. When they land, they deploy their own tanks to counter the Fire Nation's, with Katara using Appa to provide close air support and Huw gathering seaweed to assume his swamp monster form.

Once again, Sokka gets his moment to shine. He flubs his speech at the beginning, resulting in Hakoda taking charge. But when Hakoda gets injured, Sokka shows he does have what it takes to lead. He even uses his space sword to slice a spear lengthways.

Unfortunately, Aang's objectives are hampered when he reaches the palace and discovers it to be completely deserted.

Part Two: The Eclipse

Here's when the invasion goes tits up.

As Aang returns to the beachhead to report his findings, Sokka realises that the Fire Lord knew about the eclipse from the beginning, but realises he won't have left the city. He goes with Toph and Aang to find a secret bunker in the mountains, while Hakoda and Katara join Bato in pressing on the palace.

Unfortunately, it's a false positive. They reach the bunker but only find Azula waiting for them. Toph can't tell when she's lying, and she retained the services of the Dai Li, who aren't affected by the eclipse. Hell, Azula's still a tough opponent even without her firebending. When Sokka realises she's stalling them for time, she successfully baits him by revealing that she captured Suki. 

As the eclipse wears off, the party decides to cut their losses. But when they return to the invasion force, the Fire Nation deploys a fleet of zeppelins which bomb their ships. Hakoda sends Team Avatar away on Appa, while the rest of the invasion force surrenders. It's such a poignant moment as the party has to leave, with everything they built and prepared for just gone.

While all that's going on, Zuko meets with Ozai and calls him out for being a horrible father and a tyrant. It's an incredible scene, and a reminder of how it's important to stand up to abusive family members, including parents. During their discussion, Zuko announces his intention to defect from the Fire Nation and help Aang. It turns out that baiting people runs in the family, as Ozai stalls Zuko by revealing that he was ordered by Fire Lord Azulon to kill his own son to teach him a lesson. To protect him, Ursa colluded with Ozai to poison the Fire Lord so he'd inherit the throne. With that, Ozai attempts to shoot Zuko with lightning, but he uses Iroh's technique to redirect it. Zuko leaves, but discovers that Iroh has already broken out of prison.

The episode ends with Team Avatar fleeing the Fire Nation, while Zuko follows close behind.

It would be six months before the show revealed what happened next, but I'll talk about that tomorrow.

ATLA Marathon: "The Runaway", "The Puppetmaster", & "Nightmares and Daydreams"

 

I've decided to look at three episodes today, because I've got a two-parter coming up that deserves its own post. Time to wrap up the filler part of the season.

The Runaway

As much as stealing could help the war effort, it also risks drawing too much heat. You can decide whether that was a pun or not.

We open in medias res with Toph being arrested by Fire Nation soldiers, with the reveal that Katara petrayed her. Three days earlier, Toph had gone to the nearby town with Aang and Sokka, where she used her earthbending to outwit a scammer running a shell game. As she starts pulling off more scams, she begins to butt heads with Katara, whose concerns she dismisses as being too motherly. But Sokka then discovers that Katara's concerns are justified when he discovers that there's a bounty for Toph, dubbed "The Runaway".

Most of this episode is dedicated to Katara and Toph's conflicts, stemming from their opposing backgrounds. Katara lost her mother and was tasked by her father with taking care of the village, which has led to her motherly persona. On the flip side, Toph ran away from home to escape her overbearing parents, leading to her rebellious streak. This has previously been explored in "The Chase" and to a lesser extent in "City of Walls and Secrets" and "Tales of Ba Sing Se", but I suppose if the party is waiting around for a spell, conflicts are bound to arise. There is actually a poignant moment where Sokka attempts to resolve the conflict by revealing that he sees Katara as a mother figure ever since their mother's death, to which Toph admits she also admires that in Katara, finding her more caring than her mother ever was.

I do like the humour in the scam montage, which includes Toph inventing insurance fraud by claiming to be knocked down by a cart (with Sokka donning the Wang Fire beard from "The Headband" to pose as a police officer). Although it seems a little out of character for Aang to be involved in the scams. There's also a bit of slapstick when Sokka buys a messenger hawk which Momo picks a fight with.

Anyway, how did the beginning scene unfold? Wanting to prove that she wasn't acting like a mother all the time, Katara proposed her own scam with Toph by handing her in for the bounty. Unfortunately, the scam backfires when they're both captured byZuko's assassin, Sparky Sparky Boom Man Combustion Man. Knowing that Toph can bend metal, he has them locked in a wooden cell in order to lure Aang into a trap. Katara breaks out of the cell with Toph by waterbending her own sweat. Meanwhile, Toph discovers that she can incapacitate Combustion Man by hitting him in his third eye.

All in all, this is a fun one. And it goes deeper into the nature of bending, in a way that gets expanded upon in the next episode.

The Puppetmaster

You know how the human body is mostly water? I'm getting a "Halloween special" vibe from this one.

The party are camping in the woods sharing ghost stories when they're met by an old lady named Hama. She warns them that people have disappeared on nights where there's a full moon, and invites them to stay at her inn. While she and Katara strike up an unlikely friendship, Sokka becomes wary and seeks to investigate the disappearances. They soon discover that Hama is actually a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, like Katara. 

This is probably one of the strongest episodes of the season so far. It was established at the beginning of the series that Katara was the only waterbender in her tribe, and this episode goes into why; over sixty years earlier, the Fire Nation periodically raided the Southern Water Tribe and imprisoned the waterbenders, including Hama. We've already seen that they've done that with earthbenders, and we know that they wiped out the Air Nomads. It's horrifying.

Tress MacNeille does a great job as Hama. She's set up to be creepy from the get-go, but we warm up and symapthise when we initially learn her heritage. But things return to creepy as she teaches Katara how to use water in the air or draw water from plants (a step up from the vinebender in "The Swamp"). But then she steps into the truly sinister when she teaches Katara a special technique which can only be taught on the full moon, known as "bloodbending"; bending the water inside a person's body to control them like a puppet. Hence the episode's title. Just describing that sends chills down my spine. This is probably the first time in the series that we've had a truly villanous waterbender, which helps establish that no one nation or group is truly good or evil.

The climax is both haunting and incredible. Aang, Sokka, and Toph discover that Hama has been abducting villagers and imprisoning them in a mountain cave, while Katara draws the same conclusion from hearing her tales of bloodbending. Hama then bloodbends Katara, and her stilted movements are unnerving. Katara is able to use her own waterbending to resist, leading to a duel. But when Sokka and Aang show up, Hama bloodbends them, making Sokka attack Katara. And when she tries to make Sokka skewer Aang, Katara is forced to bloodbend her to stop. It's a genuinely poignant ending as Hama is taken away by the townspeople but admitting that she won in teaching Katara how to bloodbend, which leaves her genuinely shaken.

Yeah, nobody should have that kind of power.

Nightmares and Daydreams

This is definitely a filler episode.

The party has arrived at the secluded island which serves as their rendezvous point for Hakoda's forces, and the eclipse is only four days away. Aang grows anxious over the impending invasion, and begins to have nightmares. He grows restless, trains constantly, and soon begins to hallucinate. Meanwhile, Zuko begins to enjoy some of the perks of being royalty as he spends time with Mai, but gets troubled by a passing mention of a war meeting he wasn't invited to (bringing with it his past trauma).

I've said previously that most of Book Three is just killing time before the eclipse, and this episode is by far the biggest offender. However, I still enjoy the episode. As someone who has issues with stress and anxiety, I relate to Aang a lot. And I'm not battling any tyrants. Not directly, anyway. His friends are worried for his wellbeing and attempt to help him relieve his stress through different ways, but none of them seem to work.

There are are some funny dream sequences with Aang confronting the Fire Lord, but is told he can't fight him because he's either not wearing pants or forgot to study for his maths test. The Fire Lord isn't the kind of villain who laughs evilly in real like, but Mark Hamill is definitely channelling his inner Joker in the dream sequences. Although the later ones get vivid and creepy, almost like when Frodo puts on the ring and gets Sauron vision.

Roughly the second half of the episode devolves into a cactus juice trip. Complete with Appa and Momo developing speech and having a samurai duel, and a multi-armed Guru Pathik singing about chakras. Unlike Sokka's trip, we see this one from Aang's perspective as well as that of his friends.

Meanwhile, Sokka is finally summoned to the meeting, being told his father wouldn't start until he arrived. But when he leaves, he's deeply disturbed by what was discussed.

I'm truly hyped for tomorrow.

ATA Marathon: "The Beach" & "The Avatar and the Fire Lord"

 

Bit of an odd couple of episodes today.

The Beach

I've heard that it's quite common in anime to have a "beach episode", and I guess that influenced this one.

Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are sent on a trip to Ember Island while the Fire Lord meets with his advisors. Ty Lee attracts a throng of admirers, Zuko and Mai bicker, and Azula just scares everybody they meet. After winning a game of beach volleyball, they get invited to a house party but don't reveal their true identities. Meanwhile, Aang's party is attacked by Zuko's mysterious assassin; a "combustion bender" who can fire explosive projectiles out of a third eye.

There's not really much to say about this one. Most of it is dedicated to the villains' day out, but it's clear that none of them have any idea about how to behave like normal teenagers. I must admit, Azula flirting is kinda funny, especially with the weird looks she gets with her proclamations.

After Zuko gets jealous of somebody else talking to Mai, they have an argument and she dumps him. We follow him walking back to his family's summer home, during which time we get flashbacks of him visiting Ember Island during his childhood, and even then we see that he likely spent more time with his uncle than his father.

Anyway, our antagonists later make a fire on the beach and have a heated discussion, during which we gain some insight into their characters: Ty Lee has a desire for attention which stems from growing up with five identical sisters who all had the same name, resulting in her joining the circus so she wasn't part of a "matching set"; Mai reveals that her parents gave her whatever she wanted as long as she behaved and acted "proper", leading to her bottling up her feelings and growing emotionless; Zuko is angry at himself because having his father's approval like he always wanted doesn't feel right, expressing his underlying guilt for his actions at Ba Sing Se; Azula expresses being hurt by the idea that her own mother thought she was a monster. This creates one of the most powerful scenes in the episode.

There's still a bit of action as Team Avatar escape the combustion bender, along with Team Fire Nation playing volleyball and trashing the party.

All in all, this episode is filler, but it's worth it for the campfire scene.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord

Bet you thought there was going to be a confrontation, didn't you?

Aang is visited by Avatar Roku in a dream, who tells him to come to his island on the summer solstice so he can learn of the war's origins. Meanwhile, Zuko receives a mysterious letter telling him to learn his destiny through the death of his great-grandfather. A hidden message on the letter directs him to a secret history kept by the Fire Sages, where he finds the last written testament of Fire Lord Sozin.

This is basically an origin story, similar to "The Storm", but with Aang and Zuko learning the same story simultaneously. We learn that Roku hailed from a Fire Nation noble family, where he was a close friend of Prince Sozin. During a celebration of their shared 16th birthday, the Fire Sages informed them that Roku was the Avatar. Roku left to learn the other elements, returning to the Fire Nation twelve years later and reuniting with now-Fire Lord Sozin, who stood as best man at his wedding. But Sozin expressed a desire to expand the Fire Nation's inluence and hoped Roku would be on board with it. Roku warned him against disrupting the balance, but then learned that he'd established a Fire Nation colony in the Earth Kingdom. In response, Roku confronted Sozin in his throne room and defeated him, but spared him out of their old friendship. 25 years later, a volcano erupted on the island where Roku lived, prompting him to evacuate the island's inhabitants. Sozin arrived and offered to help, but as Roku succumbed to poisonous gases, Sozin left him to die so he could carry out his expansionist policy. Knowing that the next Avatar was an Air Nomad, he utilised the power of a comet to carry out a genocide, but always feared "The Last Airbender".

The episode is largely dedicated to the flashback, but it's a pretty deep one. It's rather touching to see how Roku and Sozin were once friends. In fact, Sozin gave Roku his ceremonial headpiece as a keepsake when he left. To see Sozin leave Roku for dead at the end is heart-wrenching. The beginning of the season had Roku expressing his regret over not killing Sozin outright, believing that Aang has inherited his mess.

There's still some funny moments. For example, we see Roku learn airbending at the Southern Air Temple, where he was good friends with Monk Gyatso, and they both made their fair share of mischief. There's also a funny moment when Roku is having a "rock surfing" race with his Earthbending teacher, Thud. We see Thud race ahead to the top of the hill and enthusiastically cheer over his victory...only to see Roku has already beaten him and brewing a cup of tea.

If there's a message we can get from this episode, it's the old chestnut that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and that power can corrupt. Sozin originally confided his grand scheme to Roku in the hopes that he'd share his ideology as a subject of the Fire Nation. He later played that card as a threat when Roku confronted him, but Roku claimed his Avatar status overrides his nationality. It certainly conveys a "Neutral Good" vibe about working with authority figures but not being beholden to them.

While "The Storm" created a strong origin story for Aang and Zuko, this one also did a good job establishing the origins of the war. There's also another pretty deep reveal on Zuko's side of the story, but I'm going to keep that one a surprise.

ATLA Marathon: "The Painted Lady" & "Sokka's Master"

 

Something I'm picking up with the first half of Book Three is that a lot of it can feel like filler. Like we're just killing time before the invasion.

The Painted Lady

This one plays out like an episode of Captain Planet.

The party is making their way through the Fire Nation to rendezvous with Hakoda's invasion force, but stop at a fishing village which is suffering due to pollution from a Fire Nation munitions factory. Although Sokka is adamant that they continue their journey, Katara wishes to help the village. But when Appa falls sick, they realise they have to stay in the region. Soon, they learn that a spirit known as "The Painted Lady" is helping the villagers. As Appa continues to recuperate, Aang discovers that the Painted Lady is Katara in disguise and they opt to demolish the factory.

Yeah, if you haven't guessed, this episode conveys a very blatant "save the planet" message. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing (even though it's one those in charge need be heeding more than us). It's not like this is new; respect for nature has been a recurring theme throughout the series, with "The Winter Solstice" and "The Swamp" touching upon this as well.

Whether the message is deemed necessary or not in regards to the subtle version within the show's story, I still think this is a good episode. We see how the industrial side of the Fire Nation's war machine is causing harm to its own people. Not only is the fishing village suffering due to the polluted rivers, but the soldiers at the factory are requisitioning all of their medicine. It makes Aang and Katara's act of sabotage more cathartic.

The schedule subplot makes Sokka a bit of a dick, especially when he discovers that Katara has been posing as the Painted Lady, and she calls him out for wanting her to turn away those in need. But when the soldiers at the factory attempt to carry out a reprisal against the village, Katara opts to save them and Sokka offers to help her. It just goes to show how much he really cares for his sister. He also defends Katara when she's recognised as the Painted Lady after they scare the soldiers away.

I did like the final scene, but I'll keep that one a secret.

Sokka's Master

There's not much concern about the schedule in this one. Kind of contradicts the last episode.

After the party save a village from a meteor, Sokka begins to feel depressed on the grounds that he can't bend. While going on a shopping trip to cheer himself up, he learns that there's a renowned swordmaster named Piando (voiced by the T-1000, Robert Patrick) who lives in the region. Sokka visits his castle, and is taken on as Piando's student when the master is impressed by how humble he is.

Most of the episode is just dedicated to a training montage as Piando puts Sokka through a series of unusual lessons, including calligraphy, rock gardening, and landscape painting, applying the logic to use of the blade. In that regard, Piando is kinda like Mr Miyagi in The Karate Kid. I mean, dancing and fencing both stress the importance of footwork, so why apply the same logic to other activities. I do like the humour of Piando just going with Sokka's approach to his tasks. There's also a funny Terminator 2 reference as Piando - who is voiced by Robert Patrick - claims a sword is "an extra-long really sharp arm".

As impressive as Piando's teachings are, not to mention the cool space sword Sokka forges out of a meteorite, this episode is kind of redundant. A story about Sokka proving his worth to the party without any bending would have made a lot more sense at the beginning of the series. But we've had 43 episodes before this one to solidify Sokka's role as the team's strategist and problem solver. The parts where the rest of the party are pondering what to do while Sokka's training seems rather forced.

Despite that, I love the climax of the episode. Sokka admits to Piando that he's from the Southern Water Tribe (having initially claimed to have been from the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom), and Piando attacks him. The swordfight is impressive, with Piando repeatedly complementing Sokka's methods, like making use of the high ground (while not underestimating power). Having written swordfights in my own work, I've actually Piando's teachings into account. One notable moment occurs when Sokka throws dust in Piando's face to blind him, but Piando simply listens for Sokka's footsteps.

It then ends with an interesting reveal: Piando admits that he knew Sokka wasn't Fire Nation from the beginning, but states that his knowledge doesn't belong to one nation or person. He then gives Sokka a white lotus Pai Sho tile, implying that he's part of the same secret society that Iroh sought in "The Desert". Sorry to spoil it, but that's an important message.

Speaking of Iroh, we see that his languishing in prison is actually a facade while he secretly works out.

ATLA Marathon: "The Awakening" & "The Headband"

 

It's time to make a start on the third season, "Book Three: Fire". The first two episodes are...an interesting mix.

The Awakening

Man, this episode is a bleak one. But it nonetheless hooked me for the new season.

Aang wakes up from a coma on board a Fire Nation ship with a full head of hair. He soon discovers the party, along with Hakoda and Bato, wearing Fire Nation uniforms. He learns that after he was mortally wounded by Azula, the Fire Nation seized Ba Sing Se, the Earth King has gone into hiding, and the world believes that the Avatar is dead. Sokka is proposing that they continue with the invasion plan, using the different friends and allies they've met on their travels to attack the Fire Nation's capital on the Day of Black Sun. Meanwhile, Zuko returns to the Fire Nation with Azula and is given a hero's welcome by his father.

This episode is mostly comprised of drama and internal conflict. Aang believes that he's failed, and is determined to confront the Fire Lord to prove himself wrong. He even ends up sounding like Zuko when he talks about it. During the journey to the Fire Nation, they're stopped by another vessel and attampt bluff them away, but Toph overhears the other captain issue orders to sink them after they've left. There's a pretty good action sequence as they're pursued, but Sokka forces Aang to stay hidden. They later encounter the sea serpent from "The Serpent's Pass", but it ends up sinking the other ship and allowing them to escape.

It's not just Aang who's facing conflict. We also see Katara interact with her father, and it's clear that she's bitter over him leaving her and Sokka behind to fight in the war. When we compare this with Sokka's desire to earn his father's approval, it puts into perspective that they're both still teenagers and shows the effects the war had even before the series began.

Meanwhile, Zuko is perpetually troubled by his return home (despite hooking up with Mai). He meets with Fire Lord Ozai for the first time in three years, and we see the Fire Lord's face for the first time. In his previous appearances, he was always cast in shadow or his face was out of shot (kinda like Blofeld), and the big reveal shows that he isn't monstrous but is nonetheless menacing. He bluntly states that Zuko has redeemed himself and welcomes him home. However, it's then revealed that Azula has given her brother the credit for killing Aang as part of her life of machination and manipulation; if the reports of the Avatar's death were proven wrong, Zuko would be disgraced.

In the latter portion of the episode, we see Aang flee the ship and glide away in a pretty impressive sequence. He bends underwater to sneak past a blockade, later using his glider to windsail on a piece of flotsam. There's also a touching "Force ghost" moment when he's visited by the spirit of Avatar Roku, who blames himself for the war, along with Yue. Both assure him he can save the world again, and he gets a heroic second wind out of it. Arriving at Roku's island, the rest of the party catch up with him. He accepts his position and leaves, but not before burning the remains of his glider.

That final shot is so powerful. Aang's glider has been with him for the whole series, and it's something that's always been associated with him. It's sad to see it gone.

The Headband

You know, I still need to see Footloose. This episode feels like filler, but is still worth a watch.

While undercover in the Fire Nation, the party steal clothes so they can hide in plain sight. However, Aang unwittingly picks up a school uniform and is subsequently caught by a truant officer. He soon discovers that the Fire Nation's education system is very much geared towards teaching conformity rather than self-direction, and arranges a secret dance party to teach the other kids to express themselves.

A lot of this episode is built around "fish out of water" comedy as Aang tries to fit in at the Fire Nation school, wearing a headband to conceal his arrow tattoo while claiming to be from the Fire Nation colonies. His outspoken nature wins him friends while most of the teachers write him off as a troublemaker.

I guess the writers wanted to make something softer and light-hearted after how hard-hitting the previous episode was. Honestly, I don't blame them. Despite the sift in tone, this episode lends an interesting perspective to Fire Nation society. One notable scene has a teacher quizzing the class on how Fire Lord Sozin defeated the "Air Nomad Army", despite the fact that the Air Nomads didn't have an army. This is an important scene, because it addresses how imperialist countries change history to suit their narrative. It's also unnerving that the Fire Nation's definition of "Reform School" is a coal mine. I don't like the sound of that.

As for the B plot, we learn that Iroh has been thrown in prison where he's become a broken down old man. Zuko still visits him, but he refuses to speak to him. Honestly, I really feel for him. The biggest heartbreak of "The Crossroads of Destiny" wasn't the fact that Zuko chose to side with Azula, but that he turned his back on his uncle. Iroh was more of a father figure to him than his actual father, and would have gone with him to the ends of the earth. It's during this time we see Azula's machinations starting to get to Zuko. He expresses a suspicion that the Aang is still alive, and the episode ends with him hiring an assassin.

Ominous cliffhangers aside, it's ultimately nice to see Aang get an opportunity to be a normal kid, which is all he's ever wanted.

ATLA Marathon: "The Earth King" & The Book Two Finale

 

I'm going to be looking at three episodes again today, as the final two episodes of the season are shown together on Netflix.

The Earth King

Yeah, I'm with the Earth King on that one. That was a fancy door.

After escaping from Lake Laogai, the party opt to deliver the information about the eclipse directly, while also exposing Long Feng. Meanwhile, Zuko's decision to release Appa makes him physically sick, during which time he has fever dreams as Iroh tends to him.

Pretty much the first half of this episode involves the party storming the palace and battling royal guards, in a very impressive display of bending. After being attacked with "surface-to-air rocks", they take the fight to the ground. Toph and Aang use their earthbending to block incoming projectiles while Katara incapacitates the guards with a water whip (while being apologetic). Unfortunately, when they reach the throne room they find Long Feng and the Dai Li waiting for them. But the Earth King's bear likes Aang, so he agrees to hear him out.

The latter half involves the party trying to unravel Long Feng's conspiracy, starting by showing the bite mark on his leg. There's some humour stemming from how monumentally naive the Earth King is. It's during this time we learn that the Earth King has been sheltered to the point that he's never actually left the palace, taking a journey on one of the city's elevated trains as the people look on him in awe. They travel to Lake Laogai, but Long Feng has already managed to close the facility down. Eventually, they win him over by showing him the Fire Nation drill which nearly penetrated the outer wall. The Earth King orders Long Feng's arrest, and pledges his forces to Sokka's proposed offensive against the Fire Nation on "The Day of the Black Sun".

It's at this point that the party receives correspondence which Long Feng intercepted, and we have what's essentially a break-up of the fellowship: Aang receives a letter from Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple, offering to teach him how to control the Avatar State; Toph receives a letter from her mother, saying that she understands why she ran away, and inviting her to meet in the city; Sokka and Katara receive an intelligence report about a fleet of Water Tribe ships guarding Chameleon Bay led by Hakoda. Katara offers to remain in the city and help the Earth King's generals plan the invasion so Sokka can see their father again. Meanwhile, they receive word that the Kyoshi Warriors have arrived in Ba Sing Se, so Sokka is excited to reunite with Suki when he gets back.

However, there's also some underlying tension to get you hooked for the finale. Long Feng is in prison, but the Dai Li are still loyal to him. The invitation from Toph's mother is actually a trap set by Xin Fu and Master Yu, and they capture her. And the Kyoshi Warriors are actually Azula and her friends in disguise.

All in, this was a pretty good one.

The Guru

This one is the calm before the storm.

Aang has begun his training with Guru Pathik. Sokka has reunited with his father. The Earth Kingdom's war council has formulated a battle strategy for the Day of the Black Sun. Zuko has recuperated and even finding contentment as he and Iroh open their new tea shop. But there's also tension beneath the surface: Toph is trapped in a metal box as Xin Fu and Master Yu take her back to her father's estate, while Azula learns about Long Feng and the Dai Li.

In the time we see Aang spending with the Guru, we get some deeper insights into his character as he unlocks his chakras. He talks about fears of facing the Fire Lord, guilt over the destruction he causes when in the Avatar State, shame over hurting Katara when firebending, and grief over the loss of the Air Nomads. We also get some deep philosophy on how everything is connected. But the training grows tense as Aang is required to let go of earthly attachments; his love for Katara.

We also get some insights into Sokka through his interactions with Hakoda. We see that both his ingenuity and sense of humour were inherited traits as Hakoda demonstrates his "stink and sink" mines, but there's also something deeper. In "Bato of the Water Tribe" we learn that Sokka wanted to sail with his father but was deemed too young. Here we see that the experience has given him an innate desire to prove his worth and earn his father's respect, while also showing that his father already respects him. It's quite touching.

Speaking of everything being connected, as Pathik talks about how even metal is merely a refined form of earth, we see his words ring true elsewhere. As Toph is trying to escape from her captors, she realises that her tremor-sense can see the mineral impurities in the metal. This allows her to manipulate them and become the world's first metalbender. She escapes the box and subdues her captors, boldly proclaiming that she's the greatest earthbender who ever lived. It's only her storyline that gets resolved.

Meanwhile, it's about to kick off in Ba Sing Se. Katara stops for a cup of tea while delivering a letter from the generals to the Earth King, and finds Zuko working in the tea shop. She goes to warn the Kyoshi Warriors but uncovers their ruse and is captured, during which time Azula realises that Zuko and Iroh are in the city. In a scene lifted right out of The Empire Strikes Back, Aang has a vision of Katara in danger and leaves to help her, despite being warned that he may not be able to access the Avatar State. Meanwhile, the Dai Li bring Azula before Long Feng, and they form an unholy alliance.

Which goes to show; never split the party.

The Crossroads of Destiny

Man, this was such an epic finale. And one that tops "The Siege of the North".

Having left the Eastern Air Temple above the Guru's objections, Aang catches up with Sokka and Toph, and they return to Ba Sing Se. Meanwhile, Long Feng has given Azula command of the Dai Li, and she uses them to carry out a coup. She also sets a trap for Zuko and Iroh via an alleged summons from the king to serve him their tea. Iroh escapes, but Zuko is captured after he opts to face Azula. He promptly allies with the party to rescue both Katara and Zuko. But when Zuko sees them working together, he's offered a chance to return home with Azula and forced to make a choice.

There is a pretty funny brick joke which was initiated in "Lake Laogai". When Aang proposes going outside the law, Toph enthusiastically punches a hole through the wall of their lodgings (but they still leave through the front door). When the characters return, we some scaffolding erected around the house. There's also some humour in the reactions from Aang and Sokka when Iroh visits them and Toph claims he's an old friend.

As the Dai Li arrest the Earth Kingdom's generals, Sokka and Toph warn the Earth King but are intercepted by Mai and Ty Lee, surrending when Azula threatens the Earth King. Which goes to show how useless monarchy can be sometimes. Anyway, this puts into perspective how dangerous a threat Azula actually is; when she captures the party, Long Feng attempts to turn on her. But the Dai Li side with Azula due to being both inspired and frightened by her. Long Feng concedes, to which she reveals that she'd manipulated him from the very beginning.

We get a deep discussion between Zuko and Katara as they're imprisoned in catacombs beneath the palace as they share experiences of losing their mothers to the war. Katara's even willing to treat Zuko's scar using a vial of spirit water she obtained at the beginning of the season. At the same time, Aang talks to Iroh about his decision to abandon Pathik over his requirement to let go of Katara, and Iroh offers what advice he can.

The climax is both incredible and heart-wrenching: As Azula pursues Aang and Katara, Zuko makes his decision, choosing to forsake his uncle and side with his sister. The fight between the four of them seems evenly matched, until the Dai Li arrive to reinforce Azula and Zuko. As Katara is surrounded, Aang opts not to intervene, letting her go in order to access the Avatar State. He succeeds, and we think he's about to unleash a can of whoop-ass on the Dai Li, only for Azula to mortally wound him with lightning. Katara promptly saves him as Iroh buys them time to escape, getting himself captured in the process. She's able to revive Aang with the spirit water as the party escapes with the Earth King, who despairingly proclaims that the Earth Kingdom has fallen. That final line sends me chills.

This is probably the lowest point we've seen the characters at. It's almost akin to The Empire Strikes Back, yet it also feels fresh and original, creating a strong finale.

ATLA Marathon: "Appa's Lost Days" & "Lake Laogai"

 

Just an advance warning: This post will be discussing animal cruelty. Reader discretion is advised.

Appa's Lost Days

This is another filler episode, for the most part. It's also a grim viewing that made me tear up. And this from somebody who grew up with The Animals of Farthing Wood.

Four weeks earlier, when the party was at the library, the sandbenders who stole Appa sold him to some "beetle-headed merchants". Those merchants subsequently sold him to a Fire Nation circus, where he was mistreated by an animal handler and developed a fear of fire. He escaped from the circus and returned to the desert, where he encountered the buzzard wasps. While searching for Aang in a forest, he's attacked by a boar-cupine and severely injured, retreating to a cave for several days until he's found by Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors. They nurse him back to health, but are confronted by Azula and her friends. Suki sends Appa away, and he travels to the Eastern Air Temple where he was originally raised. There, he meets Guru Pathik, who has had a vision about meeting Aang there. Pathik sends him to Ba Sing Se to find Aang, but he's intercepted and captured by the Dai Li.

While there are some hooks for later, this episode mostly shows what happened to Appa when he was taken, and he was put through the blender. He goes through so much trauma that he's actually afraid of Suki when she finds him. In fact, the episode actually won the Humane Society's Genesis Award for its realistic depiction of animal abuse, particularly in circuses. 

There's still some action. It's so cathartic to see that animal handler get star KO'd, and we also get a cool fight between Azula's team and the Kyoshi Warriors. Appa's even willing to help Suki, but she warns him away by waving a torch.

There is a brief moment where Iroh witness Appa flying past the ship to Ba Sing Se while Zuko's asleep. As he's flying to the Eastern Air Temple, he passes several Water Tribe ships, briefly giving us a non-flashback appearance of Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's father. 

Other than that, there's not much to be said. All in all, this is still a strong episode in terms of emotion, but it's not one for the faint of heart.

Lake Laogai

Laws and morals are not the same thing.

The party decide to go outside the law to search for Appa, printing and distributing flyers and rebuffing Joo Dee when she reprimands them. They later find Jet, who offers to help them over Katara's objections. Meanwhile, Iroh is offered his own tea shop and accomodation in the Upper Ring. But when Zuko finds one of Aang's flyers, he becomes determined to capture the Avatar once again. While Iroh is content to build a new life, Zuko dons the mantle of the Blue Spirit once more to find Appa.

Long Feng makes a good antagonist, who achieves power through subterfuge rather than conquest (plus Clancy Brown has a great voice) and demonstrates that there are no truly good or evil nations in this world. Wanting to maintain his hold on the Earth King but not wanting to risk direct conflict with Aang, he uses Jet to lead the party on a wild goose chase by showing them an empty warehouse where Appa was once held. A janitor then claims that Appa was sold to a noble on Whale-Tale Island near the South Pole. It almost would have succeeded if Smellerbee and Longshot hadn't caught up with Jet and revealed he'd been arrested by the Dai Li. The party then learn that there's a secret underground facility beneath Lake Laogai.

We also discover another ability in Toph's repertoire; using her tremor sense to detect physical changes when somebody is lying. When Jet offers to help the party, she's able to ascertain he's telling the truth. When Katara expresses her distrust, Toph asks if he was her boyfriend and claims she's lying when Katara denies it. This actually makes a moment in "The Blind Bandit" funnier; when Aang seeks out Toph and claims a mad king and swamp vision led him to her, she pulls a face. We now realise that she knew Aang was telling the truth, despite how absurd it was. Of course, it's not an infallible power, as it doesn't always account for brainwashing. This gets demonstrated when Jet denies his arrest, and Toph senses that both both he and his companions are telling the truth.

The facility beneath Lake Laogai is creepy, as is expected of any villain's secret underground lair. We see that Joo Dee was one of many agents used in his machinations. The party is promptly led into a trap by Long Feng, and we get a cool fight scene as they scrap with the Dai Li agents (who have some pretty cool stone fists that can be used to grab enemies or act like machine guns). They do a lot with it, and then Long Feng lures Aang and Jet into another chamber where we find that Jet hasn't been entirely deprogrammed, resulting in him attacking Aang. The Avatar is able to break the programming, but Long Feng apparently kills Jet and makes his escape. Sorry to spoil it, but that part seemed pretty forced and clumsy.

While all that's going on, Zuko discovers Lake Laogai independently and locates Appa. However, Iroh had followed him and confronts him in a much more powerful scene in which he suggests that Zuko is trying to fulfil a destiny that isn't his own. As the party return to the surface and get cut off by Long Feng, Appa pulls off a "Big Damn Heroes" moment and skips Long Feng across the water like a stone.

While Jet's death wasn't handled particularly well, this was nonetheless a good episode. I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the second season.