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| Saturday, August 1, 2009 04:12 PM |
| (Last updated on Saturday, August 1, 2009 04:21 PM) | | On the Viewer - Avatar: The Last Airbender (Book 3, Volume 1) |
 by Fëanor |
"The Awakening"
Ok, that's a shocker! Aang wakes up with hair on his head inside a Fire Nation ship! And a friendly Fire Nation ship at that!
Zuko's got a girlfriend! Zuko's got a girlfriend!
Katara says angry things to her Dad, then is surprised when Aang asks if she's angry at him. I don't blame Aang for being confused! This is all very strange.
Katara didn't just heal Aang - she brought him back to life. That was some spirit water!
Creepy old Fire Nation ladies give a handy recap of what happened in the Earth Kingdom since we saw it last. Then Sokka provides a recap of what happened to our heroes. I love that the Earth King is wandering the Earth in disguise, accompanied by his pet bear.
Ha! I also love it when Toph metalbends. She rules.
Zuko's definitely turning now. He's already hiding information from Azula about the possible survival of Aang.
Man, Aang is really bad at not doing anything.
Oh good lord, now Aang has become Zuko!! He's angry, desperate to redeem himself and get his honor back, and he wants to do it all alone. Man, why do characters always want to do stuff alone in stories like this? You have a bunch of powerful friends dying to help you! And you need them to win! Just let them help!
Meanwhile, Zuko has redeemed himself according to the Firelord, whose face we now get to see for the first time.
Ah, the reason for Katara's anger at her father finally comes out, because it's tied up with her current angst over Aang: she hates that she was abandoned. But again this series shows how smart and adult it is. Katara's and her father's feelings are not explained simply and then brushed aside. They're complex and will take time and work to resolve.
Azula has imprisoned her brother in yet another clever trap by giving him the credit for killing the Avatar - whom she suspects is not really dead. At least this time he realizes it's a trap right away.
Thanks to some Obi-wan-like visits from a few friendly spirits, and some soul-searching, Aang learns to forgive himself a little bit, and accept that he can't do all this alone or take all the blame on himself. He lets his old self burn and embraces the future. And he finally gets rid of that damn glider! He was always losing that thing, and it was always kind of a crutch for him. I'm glad it's gone.
"The Headband"
Sokka: "Hey, we're in enemy territory! Those are enemy birds."
Sokka: "Everybody eats meat here. Even the meat!"
D'oh! Aang is going to Fire Nation school now?! But it's obvious he wants to. He never did get to have a real childhood, poor guy.
Aang: "I already have a picture of Firelord Ozai! And here's one that I made out of noodles!"
Sokka: "Impressive, I admit, but I still think it's too dangerous."
Katara looks quite lovely in her Fire Nation disguise.
Teacher: "Dancing is not conducive to a proper learning environment." Uh oh. This isn't going to turn into Footloose, is it?
Aang's feelings are a bit crushed by the Fire Nation insistence on strict discipline and order. And now he has to go to a parent-teacher conference, with Katara and Sokka standing in as his folks! Hoo boy.
Headmaster: "If he acts up one more time, I'll have him sent to reform school. By which I mean the coal mines."
Mai [watching sunset]: "Orange is such an awful color."
Zuko: "You're so beautiful when you hate the world."
Mai: "I don't hate you."
Zuko: "I don't hate you, too."
Ah, romance.
Argh. Azula can manipulate Zuko so easily. Admittedly, she's rather masterful at manipulation in general, but still.
Oh my God, it is turning into Footloose!
Appa is upset he has to stay out back during the dance party, and Aang sympathizes: "You've got fancier feet than anybody. And six of them!"
Poor Iroh. Zuko keeps visiting him in prison, alternately apologizing to him and cursing him.
Man, Aang is going to get all these kids into a whole crapload of trouble, isn't he?
Heh. I love the freestyling kid.
Awesome! It's like the ending of Spartacus, except instead of saying "I'm Spartacus!" they're all wearing a headband.
Ha! I love how the Headmaster's enforcers start shuffling to the music and he has to order them to stop. I also love that Sokka can't take off his mustache because it's permanently glued to his skin.
Woah! Zuko hired some crazy tattooed dude to hunt down and kill the Avatar!
It was great to see the old fun-loving Aang back, instead of the angry, emo Aang from last episode. There was lots of amusing comedy, too, and a happy ending! Although the happy ending had the threat of unhappiness wrapped up in it. Very enjoyable.
"The Painted Lady"
Awww, Sokka took his mustache off. :(
Hmm, Painted Lady, eh? That wouldn't be Katara in disguise, would it?
Shoe: "Would you like the one-headed fish or the two-headed fish?"
Sokka: "Two-headed! What? You get more for your money that way!"
Where are they getting money, anyway? I guess they could have gotten it from the captured Fire Nation ship...
Heh. I love Sokka and Aang doing their impersonations of "spirit magic." But Sokka has unwittingly given Katara an idea about how to save this village: blow up the factory!
Yeah, I thought this would happen; as usual, Katara has not really thought this all the way through, and the soldiers are now planning to take revenge on the villagers for the factory's destruction. Our heroes always try to do the immediate good, but tend to forget about the long term consequences. Anyway, time to finish things up with a giant fight!
Oh, this is much better than a giant fight! They've created fantastic special effects to back up Katara's Painted Lady. Brilliant stuff.
This is really a clever show. This episode examines a difficult question of ethics. Is it right to help the people who are in trouble here and now, even if it means putting in jeopardy a longterm plan to help more people later? Things are never simple in this series, either. The Fire Nation is the enemy, but all the people of that nation are not necessarily evil. Here our heroes have saved an entire village of Fire Nation citizens. And I really love the final scene, when Katara is visited and thanked by the real Painted Lady.
"Sokka's Master"
Poor unpowered Sokka is relegated to the job of lemursitter. I take it this episode is going to be about him feeling like an inadequate fifth wheel.
Oh, what have they done to poor Iroh! He doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. But maybe he hasn't been brought down as low as it seems...
Aww, weapons cheer up Sokka! Heh. I'm pretty sure Aang's ridiculously overdone super armor is a parody of similar things in anime.
Hey, the guy running the weapons shop looks a lot like Iroh. Is he related?
Is it really a good idea for Sokka to ask a Fire Nation master to teach him the sword? Isn't a wise teacher likely to notice something's off about Sokka?
With Sokka gone, there's no one to keep the rest of the gang on a schedule, or tell them jokes! Horrors!
Ah, teaching Sokka calligraphy and painting as a prelude to swordplay. Classic martial arts movie stuff. Sadly, Sokka is extremely literal! But he is pretty good at fighting.
Meanwhile, Iroh's getting in shape, but still has the guard convinced he's crazy and broken. Smart.
Oh, Toph totally has a crush on Sokka!
He's going to make his sword out of mysterious space rock? Good call!
Dude! Iroh is totally ripped. Awesome.
Yep. The sword master knew the truth about Sokka all along. But Sokka passed his final! Good stuff. And the sword master is a member of the White Lotus Society! Very cool.
Aww, Sokka gave Toph a piece of meteorite. That's sweet.
The moral of this episode was maybe a little too obvious, but I enjoyed it very much regardless.
"The Beach"
Zuko and the gang are on an enforced beach getaway together! Zuko hates it! He's so cute when he hates things. Mai, describing the place where they're staying: "It looks like the beach threw up in here."
Ah, this is going to be an adventure of selfdiscovery.
Oh, jeez, Aang just got himself spotted and recognized by Fire Nation soldiers.
Woah, Zuko's gang members look pretty hot in their swim suits! Ty Lee in particular is attracting a lot of attention. Uh oh, time for vollyball! Apparently you can also kick the ball in this version. Azula: "We have defeated you for all time! You will never rise from the ashes of your destruction! Ah, that was fun."
Heh, Fire Nation beach teens. One of them is named Ron Jon.
The elderly twins are pretty funny. "To the party!"
Wow! Zuko's hitman intercepted the messenger hawk carrying the info about the Avatar.
Azula's trying to act normal and is utterly unable to do so. It's pretty hilarious. Zuko not doing so hot either. He's jealous and angry.
Ty Lee gets so panicked by all the guys who are surrounding her and coming onto her that she beats them all up! Heh. Meanwhile, Azula is actually jealous of Ty Lee's easy way with the boys. Ty Lee gives her advice. Azula: "That sounds totally shallow and stupid. Let's try it."
Mai and Zuko are hilarious! Until they get into a huge fight. Ouch. The stuff they yell at each other is totally true, though.
Ty Lee's advice works at first, but then Azula mistakenly starts acting like her creepy self again. She's so incredibly scary! Ha ha.
Woah! How the hell is this assassin dude shooting fire and crap out of his head?!
Very cool fight between Aang and the assassin. I like the rock suit Aang makes for himself.
Zuko is making enemies of everyone now! The whole gang is psychoanalyzing themselves and each other.
Zuko: "I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why?" Who is he angry at? "No one! Everyone! I'm angry at myself! Because I'm confused. I'm not sure I know the difference between what's right and wrong anymore." This little group therapy session seems to have brought Zuko and Mai back together again. Azula: "My own mother thought I was a monster. She was right of course, but it still hurt."
Heh. They go back, literally crash the party, and burn the house down, just for fun. So hilarious.
Wow! Lots of dramatic and powerful character development, plenty of comedy, and even some kick-ass action sequences. Another great episode. |
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