(no subject)

[timepiececlock]

EDIT: Sorry flist, messed up the LJ cut there. Stupid shift key. Anyway, I hope the only 5 or so Avatar fans on my flist weren't watching for that minute to minute and half. If so, sorry! ::bows:: Gomen nasai!

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The party I'm going to doesn't start till 10:30, it turns out, so I got to catch the new episode of Avatar. But what happened to the second one? I thought there were supposed to be two?

I giggled a lot for this episode. Three cheers for the crossdressing appreciation. Now we've had two of the three main male characters in dresses; Zuko's the only one left!

And since I'm talking about Zuko... let's be shallow first: yay his hair is growing! It doesn't looke *quite* so much like Lupin III anymore. Soon he'll be spikey. Now for the character stuff: it seems my & memlu's great hopes to see a Redemption Through Hunger Pains character arc was unwisely predicated on the assumption that Zuko is too honorable to steal for his dinner. Well, clearly that's not happening! I loved his snarky/bitter "Do you like your new teapot?" Aaaaah Zuko... you really don't understand Iroh at all, do you? Hm... Interesting how Iroh just let him brush off where they got the stuff. Clearly he was frustrated and disappointed, but willing to wait and hope Zuko realized his faults on his own. For better or worse, something like that seems to have happened: Zuko's certainly started a change, at any rate. To what direction no one knows. Obviously Zuko has few if any qualms about stealing, though I'd be really curious to hear more about what he actually *feels* about what he's doing. Zuko's very, very driven and willing to go pretty low to achieve his goals, but as far as stealing goes we've seen very little to guess how he views his own behavior. Does he rationalize it? Does he not care at all? Or does he, on some level, realize that what he's doing right now is not what he should be doing, and thinks that by going on his own he'll "find his own way" (i.e. grow up) and not have to be a petty thief? I mean, even if he doesn't see the immorality of it (I think he probably does) it must rankle his pride to be a petty bandit. Either way, his desire to leave suggests that he at least realizes his current situation is wrong. Now if we only had some insight into what part exactly of his behavior is bothering him...

But enough about the emo lying stealing warrior kid! Let's talk about the Avatar. Aang's failure to give his own defense was great, and exactly what happens when you put a twelve year old in front of a crowd. I also loved Aang in Kyoshi warriror make-up. And I loved, loved, LOVED Kyoshi. What a badass. But I have to say, given that the Avatar can apparently CREATE NEW FAULT LINESTM, I guess my old question of "Could the Avatar make a tsunami?" is moot.

Katara and Sokka were both pretty funny this episode, getting into some healthy sibling competition. Katara's whispered prayer of "Please community service, please community service!" was great. And did Sokka have an attack of the SD animation, or what? Plus, "Boomerang, you really do always come back!"

Aang's conversation with the prisoners was amusing, as were the "boiled in oil" jokes, though the town leader was a little too over-the-top and unnecessarily annoying. Still, I guess someone had to lighten the mood of the whole "murder charge" thing.

Anyway, good times, good times. I like this episode much more than last-- it's a great deal more fun. Like the opposite of "Jaynestown."

Comments

[memlu.livejournal.com]

Please fix your cut! I know it's an accident, but, yes.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

fixed!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Goddamn, that was like almost a whole minute! ::pouts:: I'm sorry! Forgot to press shift with my quotations.

[beckingham.livejournal.com]

I think Zuko feels he's so low that anything he does won't bring him any lower. Now he's just surviving to survive, and Iroh's words have made him see that he can't just do that anymore. Because he hasn't hit rock bottom, but he will if he continues this way.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Excellently put, about "surviving to survive." I was surprised Zuko wanted to go out on his own, but it actually is right in line with his bold attitude. I guess none of us assumed he'd be so willing to push away his last emotional crutch, Iroh.

Now my brain is going crazy with ideas of what meddling Iroh will get up to now that he's likewise not burdened with looking after Zuko. He can trust Zuko to take care of himself (and hopefully gain much-needed maturity in the process), and meanwhile can get to work on some crafty Iroh stuff. Like, I don't know...building a rebel army? ;D

[beckingham.livejournal.com]

I'm still a bit unsure about his decision to leave Iroh - it might be the right choice made for the wrong reasons still. But I want to bet my money on the "it's time to mature and move on" side instead of the temper tantrum. Just because I want to give him a bit more credit about the amount of growth he's already been through. I guess we'll just see.

Oh, god. That brings to mind images of Iroh taking Suki and Jet under his wing with their respective groups and... fuck. I am now in the land of "never gonna happen in canon, but wouldn't it rock so hard?"

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

it might be the right choice made for the wrong reasons still.

Yup, very possible.

But I want to bet my money on the "it's time to mature and move on" side instead of the temper tantrum. Just because I want to give him a bit more credit about the amount of growth he's already been through.

I'd bet on that too-- on the single basis that Zuko didn't look happy stealing. He looked angry about his bandit lifestyle. I wish we could be told if he was angry because of the conditions of the lifestyle itself or because he felt guilt at what he was doing. But either way, I think it's more than a temper tantrum. Foolhardy probably, not not a tantrum. He was pretty calm talking about it, and we've seen what Zuko's tantrums are like. I'm guessing that he does realize he can't go on like this, and is seeking a change. Realizing something's wrong is the first step to improvement... but like you said, he does have a long, long way to go yet.

That brings to mind images of Iroh taking Suki and Jet under his wing with their respective groups and... fuck.

I'd love that with Suki (and I'd like to see what Iroh makes of Jet), but if Jet came back as some heroic character I'd shoot my tv. I want him to stay the same fundamentally amoral little piece of shit that he is (I say that with love.) Fanatics never stop being fanatics, they just change what they're fanatic for.

[beckingham.livejournal.com]

I'd bet on that too-- on the single basis that Zuko didn't look happy stealing. He looked angry about his bandit lifestyle. I wish we could be told if he was angry because of the conditions of the lifestyle itself or because he felt guilt at what he was doing.
Maybe it's both. He hates being a "peasant" - something he's been using to insult the water siblings with. And he's being brought down to a level that robs him of the last of his honor and, as he sees it, his last chance of regaining it. He's going against every ideal he once held dear and now Iroh has laid it out for him to see what's happening. Zuko is doing his best to deal with that.

I'd love that with Suki (and I'd like to see what Iroh makes of Jet), but if Jet came back as some heroic character I'd shoot my tv. I want him to stay the same fundamentally amoral little piece of shit that he is (I say that with love.) Fanatics never stop being fanatics, they just change what they're fanatic for.
I want Iroh to use Jet's fanatic nature against him and incorporate him into the team as an ally - one you just have to keep an eye on. It would be interesting to see how he could convince them to come together and how he could show us why he was such a great general with putting all their skills to use. If Jet was ever anything but a jerk with supposedly good intentions then it would rub me wrong - I enjoy that dynamic too much and it's important to show that the "good guys" can be just as ruthless as the "bad guys".

Honestly, I just want Suki back. It would be great to have her run into Iroh, if not team up with him.

[wingedrivers.livejournal.com]

I just wanna say I got to your journal from a superb icon you made for Blood of the Immortal. XD And there is much icon love for Zuko and the heady pikes.

I wish I could contribute to your journal post, but I haven't seen almost any of the new episodes. ;-;

[mana-runigha.livejournal.com]

I was really mad about the Suki thing. I mean...no personal hatred towards the character it's just that the episode before this dealt with Sokka facing Yue telling him that it's his fault she's the moon spirit. And if he thinks about her as much as he said he did, I wouldn't think that he'd be that interested in Suki, but then he was on her island so that might have sparked a memory that was nullified until recently. I just don't want to see him move on so quickly because I really like the Yue/Sokka ship that I still cry over it.

The whole scene with Aang and the prisoners just creeped me out. I'm sorry...I recently went to a courtroom trial with the judge telling the man on trial to get out of three years of jail that there were men with tattoos on his arms and how thick they were and how they would love small guys like him. I couldn't help but think that when Aang encountered the other prisoners, but I laughed that he could get out of his holdings rather well.

The Sokka and Katara part was my favorite. "What if you lost your arrow tattoos and Katara lost....her hair loopies." That was hilarious. I don't think the animation is going downhill, it's just this episode lacked seriousness (it had some, but was more of a break imo) that I think the animation seemed bad in certain parts.