A special note: For the Zutara peeps on my flist, few though you may be.

[timepiececlock]

A Special Note On The Season 2 Finale, For The Zutara Shippers

Do you know what this means?

Zutara is the ship of dark, forbidden angst once more.

If I said I was unhappy about this, I'd probably get struck by lightning. Not that I was unhappy with the fluff teashop bluetara phase.

But. you know. DARK FORBIDDEN ANGST. YES.

(until episode 3x07, which is when he'll turn by my bet. Until then!)


All you that are unhappy? All you dudes who are hatin' on our confused bratty boy Zuko?*

Seriously, you're not thinking of this the right way. I mean, this is the kind of stuff I live for in my shows-- this is why I pick antagonistic pairings. BECAUSE FANFICTION IS PAIN. And good tv is pain, too. Hello, bread! Hello, butter!

Ladies, gentlemen, let's put on our Zutara sunglasses for a moment, shall we? They are purple and pointed, you'll see them by your chair next to the Handbook For Unconventional And Non-Canon Pairings, recycled paper edition.



Katara was about to take away Zuko's most horrible mark, when Aang burst in. Yet another thing the Avatar takes away that could have brought Zuko some good in his life. That's where it happened, if you ask me-- and not because of Katara, but because of the scar and Iroh at Aang's side. But Katara is now tied with that in Zuko's mind, no doubt. He and she were having A MOMENT. A moment with one of his enemies, another rival he hasn't beaten yet, and a girl. They were talking heart to heart about his mom and her mom.

And then... because of love of his family or insecurity or patriotism or frustration and immaturity or whatever, Zuko chooses. Before he resolves anything with KAtara.

Now they have... unfinished business.

Oh yes.

They do.

I'm calling it for next season: this is going to come up again. Zuko and Katara are falling into an interesting pattern of unfinished business, don't you think?

Unfinished fights. Unfinished moments of friendship. So what if he betrayed her trust. So what if she probably wants to kill him now.** So what if he thinks she's part of everything wrong in his life (the Avatar). Now they have HISTORY.

And history, ladies and gentlemen, is fanfic and fanart GOLD. It's fucking GOLD.


I am grinning like an idiot, just a little. I'm going to enjoy the next two months before the real world snatches my time away from fandom. It will be such fun.



*He may be indecisive and misguided, but the boy's loyalty is commendable. Totally misguided, but commendable.

**Before tonight's episode, I would have said that the kind of betrayal we just saw, done in tandem with Aang's near death, was something Katara would never forgive. But I would also have said that Iroh would never never raise his fire against Zuko, not even in a defensive way like he did here. But he DID. I'm telling you, my foundations are a tad shaken. If Iroh can give up on Zuko (has he? I hope not), then Katara can forgive the near death of her friend. Two things I would never think to see, but one of them we just did.


In other news, this episode rocked. Rocked. Major love for all the characters. All the ships. In fandom I have my OTP, but in watching canon I multiship, and this episode was multishipworthy indeed.

How can this show be some much like good anime, and better than several animes too? In terms of pure enjoyment levels, Avatar: The Last Airbender is more fun for me right now that most of the other shows on tv. Especially since Doctor Who is on break. And it's a kid's action adventure drama. That could say bad things about the current state of television, but I prefer to think it says good things about the show.

Although they really earned their 8pm timeslot tonight. Nailed it.

Comments

[keirelle.livejournal.com]

Amen.

P.s
Watch the part where Katara leaves the cave and looks back at Zuko. It cuts to him, watching her go.

He's. Watching. Her. Leave.

All secretive-like. Gotta love meaningful eye-contact.

And that's my shipper moment for the day. Hi, btw. I read your LJ but havn't said hi before. :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

He was watching them both go, equally. But... she was the one who met his eyes as they left. So what was an act of watching the Avatar and Katara, became an act of eye contact with Katara.

And then he betrays Iroh (and by extension, his infant trust/friendship in Katara), without anything between those two points. I'm all a-tizzy with squee.

[meghatron.livejournal.com]

Greetings! I found you via jaina's Avatar post and am rather desperately trying to increase the number of intelligent fans on my flist, so I've added you. Hope you don't mind. :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

You give me someone to squee with about Avatar right now, I don't mind a bit. Also, jaina is love.

[jakia.livejournal.com]

YES, EXACTLY.

BRING ON THE ANGSTY, FIGHTING, "BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU," "FTW? NO, I'LL KILL YOU FIRST," ZOMG MOMMY AND SCAR CONNECTIONS AND "I THOUGHT YOU CHANGED!"

...

"I DID!"

And the porn. God, the porn after this is going to be so great.

More I see it, this was probably the best episode ever. Maybe. My sister is absolutely devistated, but I'm overall pleased. I always, always thought that the biggest plottwist Mike and Bryan could pull would to have Zuko join the darkside again, and what do you know? They did.

::squeels::

jak

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

BRING ON THE ANGSTY, FIGHTING, "BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU," "FTW? NO, I'LL KILL YOU FIRST," ZOMG MOMMY AND SCAR CONNECTIONS AND "I THOUGHT YOU CHANGED!"

Precisely.


I always, always thought that the biggest plottwist Mike and Bryan could pull would to have Zuko join the darkside again, and what do you know? They did.

I kind of love that Zuko is still this nationalistic and foolish. He probably still thinks of it as his country's side verses The Other Side, not the dark side verses light side. I love that they could go all these lengths to make us believe that Zuko is decent at heart, then have him make the wrong decision yet AGAIN, just so that they can prolong the redemption arc that much further into season 3. Not because he's evil at heart, but because he's just unable to see the big picture.

Now he's going to be watching Azula's side (his country's side) from older, clearer eyes of experience (and a guilty conscience.) And how long to do think that will last? ::snort:: Zuko doesn't have it in him to be Azula's pansy for very long, and I think his betrayal of Iroh will eat at him. And when he does make the inevitable decision of either helping Aang or getting out of Aang's way-- whether it happens in the beginning of season three or the last five minutes of episode 3x20-- until then we have a morally decent character acting as a villain. Again. But now with unfinished business that includes, for the first time, Katara.

Now we have a base to write from. Now they know personal details. Now they're going to have opinions about each other beyond "she's in my way" and "he's just another fire nation goon." Good times, good times.

[loveroftheflame.livejournal.com]

There are a trillion episode posts and I am only posting in a select few... the ones who I know have some sense about them...

That said...


I could not, COULD NOT agree more!!!!!!!

OH BABY!!! That last look! The new TENSION!! I think this is the BEST episode I have ever seen cus it breaks all the molds! And establishes just what you said.

History.

Let the fanficcing begin! Oh baby, baby...

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

What did the pairing have at the end of last season? One good fight and an impersonal tree hostage situation.

What did it have at the end of this season? Personal bonding, cheek-touching, and burning looks of betrayal. Guilt too, at the very end there.



I'll miss the fluff potential before he did anything really bad to them like tonight, but the new tension is far better to play with.

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

How can this show be some much like good anime, and better than several animes too?

Speaking as someone who is on a raging, anime binge, YES!!! WORD! I c-could make several extremely dorky anime comparisons right now, but suffice it to say AtLA has purchased my soul, yes?

Unfinished fights. Unfinished moments of friendship. So what if he betrayed her trust. So what if she probably wants to kill him now.** So what if he thinks she's part of everything wrong in his life (the Avatar). Now they have HISTORY.

YES!! YES!! And this opens that long-locked portal of Zutara-epic-fic POSSIBILITIES! WHO KNOWS! This might be the barrier-break that we've been needing, the turning point from hundred-character drabbles and thirty-chapter adventure fics! YES!

I saw this finale as a sort of technical and incredibly creative ship death for both; at this point, Katara is quite literally single. All the shippy, though, is right over the horizon - Zutara has, well, everything you addressed in your post ((history and possibilities that just became TEN TIMES HOTTER!)) and Kataang has acquired that tragic, sacrificial taste that can be quite appealing. ((reminds me of Ed/Winry when it comes to aftertaste))

ZZuko's traitor factor isn't assholeness so much as undiluted stupidity, so yes, why is fandom hatin'? At this point, he needs a slap on the wrist and a push in the right direction; the boy's tentative already.

But it did catch me by surprise, incredibly. I suppose this finale reveals that at this point in time, Zuko's insecurity, desperation, etc. outweighs his mettle and everything the viewers were previously led to admire about him. It's like the stealing-horstrich moment, only to a much higher degree. Hmmm. So really, it shouldn't be that new.

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

Hey, Shaka? Remember when I complained about creators writing Mary-Sues, and you corrected me, explaining that if it's in canon, it's not a Mary Sue but merely a poorly written character? At the moment, I'm arguing with a fan who is very obstinate in saying Zuko was, in the finale, 'OOC', and I'm trying to tell her that it can't be out-of-character because whatever the show presents is the character.

I used the previous Mary-Sue experience as a parallel, and she disagrees about that as well: "And I do think creators have the ability to write a 'Mary-Sue'. A Mary-Sue, in my definition, is very nearly a perfect character. So in that case, our definitions differ."

At this point, I'm getting a migraine because I've tried to explain it in every way I could, even reminiscing on my own prior experience, as evident by the no-Mary-Sue-in-canon parallel. Think I should keep going? What she's disagreeing about is, I understand now, pure definition, and she thinks I'm trying to change her opinion.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Just let it go. You can't educate the internet, though the allure to try is so very alluring.

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

I almost did, but thankfully, didn't. Interestingly, the conversation branched off into the supposed fallacity of logic, frailty of definition, and some such, so I don't regret it; and we agreed to disagree in the end.

She's intelligent, though, so it was rewarding. Albeit exhausting and probably something that shouldn't happen again, lol.

[mana-runigha.livejournal.com]

I just love how when Aang interrupted Katara and Zuko, he glares at zuko as if "What were you doing with my girl?" It made me laugh. Also, when she said "Everytime I thought of an enemy, I saw your face." I was thinking, "And everytime I saw a rapist, it was your face as well." Just a joke on some smut fics.

But yeah, Zuko was being more idiotic in the season finale than just an asshole. He's claimed he's changed but still holds onto those unlikely hopes of returning home with honor. He even know Azula lies, yet he still blindly believes her. We all know he'll regret it and she'll betray him, but this is something that needs to happen. I was just happy not to see the happy Zuko...it just makes you cringe.

[crzysheelf.livejournal.com]

I JUST saw it, as in it stopped and I ran to my computer!! (I had to record because of other plans last night, ugh, I hate having friends who aren't avatards... well not really... but whatev) And yeah, history, much!!! Angst, much!!! I'm overtjoyed!!

[eido.livejournal.com]

I'm loitering around LJ while waiting for baked food stuffs to finish cooking and I'm stumbling in here from a friend of a friend of a friend's journal.

Unfinished fights. Unfinished moments of friendship. So what if he betrayed her trust. So what if she probably wants to kill him now.** So what if he thinks she's part of everything wrong in his life (the Avatar). Now they have HISTORY.

It's perhaps also worth noting that I totally think she would have given Jet a second shot if not for Long Feng apparently collapsing his chest cavity. Jet... who used her (and Aang) as pawns in attempt to slaughter a whole village of people. Or if not given him a second chance, at least forgave him, which I believe she did. Jet who Katara ended up crying for in the end. Zuko's journey - as it has been with Aang's - is remarkably similar, running parallel I'd say, to Jet's. Although, hopefully minus the whole death thing, despite how irritated Zuko made me in the finale I still consider him much more interesting and he should live (hallmark of great television, if it can invoke some real emotion in you. I was irritated in that I hated what he did, not in some belief of him being written OOC or poor writing).

I'm also still wondering Ursa is going to fit into this whole equation. Between Zuko's foreshadowy dream and the conversation with Katara? I'm thinking Ursa definitely is going to come back into the picture somehow (alive or dead). Also following in the vein of Joseph Campbell, probably function in a major role regarding Zuko's path towards redemption / back to the light side.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Ursa's got to be in season 3 somehow, whether personally or in more Zuko backstory. One of the most reliable things about this show is its foreshadowing continuity, after all. And since Zuko's primary antagonistic force is one parent, it makes sense to introduce the other parent as a counterforce. Iroh's presence wasn't strong enough to compete with the absense of Ozai, but I bet Ursa is.


I was kind of annoyed with how easily the gang forgave Jet, though they are young adolescents and he didn't REALLY kill the village so I guess they are more forgiving. I personally don't care if he actually killed anyone or not-- the fact that he set it in motion makes him a bad apple in my book. You can't cure someone of the capacity for cold, calculated slaughter as a means to an end.

But they did push the Zuko/Jet parallels, so seeing Jetara and Zutara parallels isn't that big of a stretch, in my mind. Especially given that Katara personally related to both boys in a major or significant way-- Jet in season 1, Zuko now in season 2.

[sporkyadrasteia.livejournal.com]

Now they have... unfinished business.

Oh yes.

They do.

I'm calling it for next season: this is going to come up again. Zuko and Katara are falling into an interesting pattern of unfinished business, don't you think?

Unfinished fights. Unfinished moments of friendship. So what if he betrayed her trust. So what if she probably wants to kill him now.** So what if he thinks she's part of everything wrong in his life (the Avatar). Now they have HISTORY.


*bows* THANK YOU for putting into words exactly what I was thinking Zutara-wise in this episode. I mean, this means that they have to meet again and conflict and yes.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I've always thought the biggest hinderance to the pairing from a fandom perspective wasn't that they were on opposite sides, but that they were connected through Aang instead of directly to one another. Now they had a shared experience-- a very emotionally charged shared experience-- that relates only to them. It's a base. Something we can finally work with.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

I do adore you. So I finish the watching the episodes, finish my initial reactions, come off the adrenaline high, start scanning the LJ subject lines, trying to decide what to read first...

and it occurs to me I want to write.

And what do I want to write?

Smut, of course. Smut. Because of all the darkness (and the fact that they did something, because her reaction to his betrayal was WAY too much like her reaction to Jet), and the damn angst of this episode, and...

but I can't write smut.

But the fanfic should be good.

...GOD WHY DOES INSPIRATION HAVE TO COME THE WEEK BEFORE FINALS??? WHYYYYYYYYYYY?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

And what do we want you to write?

Smut, of course. Smut.





No seriously, I want you to write smut.



(and the fact that they did something, because her reaction to his betrayal was WAY too much like her reaction to Jet),

It was. She was like "I was totally crushing on you back there! WTF?! Now you've ruined it!"

And he's like "Yeah so what if I did! You'll still be thinking about me anyway, won't you!" And then it's all FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT SPEECH FIGHT DEATH.


And the scar-touching thing did nothing for me in the commercial, but in the context of the episode I was suprised. He just let her touch it! After they had only been bonding for like five minutes. Suddenly they're standing close and she's like "I can heal that" and then, without the water, she reaches up to touch his scar and he just let's her. It wasn't even romantic-sexual, but the intimacy of it still surprised me.


Write fanfic when your finals are done! And don't be afraid of smut. Just practice. It gets easier. I am on my third and most graphic attempt at mature fic, and it's easier than last time. I think having it be darker helps. When I did my fic Whose Hearts Are Mountains, I had a lot of trouble with it because I was trying to make it romantic. I'm doing my kakasaku fic Lucid right now, and it's just dirty not romantic, so I feel less pressure and it's more fun to write.

[muffytaj.livejournal.com]

Oh hell yeah. I don't see why fans are complaining - this episode was so good to us, and brought extra twists to the pairing.

(Plus, Katara confessed that whenever she thought of the enemy, she saw Zuko's face. Which means we have canon proof that at some point she was just sitting around, thinking about Zuko. Which is a great way to lead in smut fics)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

As a pairing in the show, we're a hell of a lot better off than we were before the finale. The complaint that "they've never even had a conversation!" is no longer valid, and if the pairing were to have been invented for the first time after this episode, the shippers would get a lot less flack about it than they got all season 1. This is the kind of confrontational stuff that half the ships in all of internet/tv/anime fandom are MADE OF. Someone's probably going to beat me for this analogy, but hell, we've canonically got more basis for our ship than Draco/Harry fans have... at least these are two enemy characters who've had a heart to heart moment of honesty and intimate confessions. That's more than most antagonistic pairings have.


Which means we have canon proof that at some point she was just sitting around, thinking about Zuko.

Damn you. I've now got a compelling urge to type "lol", which frankly makes me kind of sick inside. ::clenches fist::

[muffytaj.livejournal.com]

I think the only way a zutara fan could be diasspointed with this e4pisode was if they were expecting Zuko and Katara to have sex in that cave, then have Zuko join the side of good.

And you know what?

That wouldn't have pleased me at all.

This pairing is MADE of stolen moments and antagonising relationships. The threat of violence, the feeling that those two could understand each other a lot better than they'd like if they let themselves (which they've started to do), and the fact that they are so similar and yet so different...

Katara honestly believed that Zuko had changed. She was angry at him for 'betraying' her. But now she sees him as a human being, not just the face of the enemy. And he sees her as human too, no longer an obsticale in his quest for the avatar.

And yet they've both been placed on opposite sides of the field again.

(And he was totally going to let her try to 'heal' his scar. Totally)

There's now a whole lot of issues between those two that have to be dealt with, and I am curious as to what will happen next time they come into close contact. Because, unlike the last season finale, where they were in extremely close quaters and really trying to hurt each other, this season finale they stood on opposite sides of the river and just pounded at each other's defences. Even when Zuko was cutting off Katara's attack on Azula, he only aimed for the middle of the tentacle things, rather than directly at Katara.

Which, considering last finale he direct blasted her hard enough for her to fly back into a pole and knock herself out, is a real change.

So yeah, that's a very long way of saying: Squee!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

YESYESYES.

I like happy stuff and I *am* sad that Zuko chose unwisely and that there was no redemptive healing or Zuko swearing fealty to the Avatar...because that would have been the right, good, true path and I'm sad for Zuko that he was too blind to see it. But deep in my heart, as a viewer and as a shipper who watches with an interest in this pairing, I'm kind of dancing. Because this makes for a better, richer story. It's not the end of Zutara, it's finally the beginning. It's just taken so long for our pairing to GET a real beginning that some of us aren't seeing it for what it is: the start of a connection.

Before their grudges were impersonal, being aimed at each other as symbols (the face of the fire nation, the helper of the avatar). Now they will have a grudge (or at least Katara will), and it is personal. She's not mad at Zuko for being the face of the enemy anymore; she's mad at him for choosing the enemy's side over the avatar's side (the right side, her side). That he did this after she finally saw him as human makes it worse. It's not easy to hate him anymore... because how could someone who understands the loss of a mother and the evils the Fire Nation can commit, willfully choose the "bad" side? That question is going to stick with Katara like it used to stick with Aang, though I think Aang by now has finally learned that Zuko's first loyalty is to the Fire Nation, without question.

Want to know the weird thing? I think it will make Zuko a better Fire Lord. Because at the end of the day, every citizen wants their leader to care more about them than about the rest of the world. They want their leader to have unquestioning devotion to the country and to the citizens. Even if Zuko's making the wrong choice and doing it because of his sister's lies and his own stupid insecurities... if any portion of his decision is based in nationalism, then as the prince that IS the right decision. Even at the expense of his uncle. I guess we'll see in season 3 if Zuko really has the stomach to be that kind of ruler. He did in the finale, but at the expense of a good portion of his soul and remaining childhood. Now we'll have to see if he can find that thin red line between loyalty to his people vs. loyalty to the world and his loved ones.


There's now a whole lot of issues between those two that have to be dealt with, and I am curious as to what will happen next time they come into close contact. Because, unlike the last season finale, where they were in extremely close quaters and really trying to hurt each other, this season finale they stood on opposite sides of the river and just pounded at each other's defences.

It's like wanting to hear the "morning after" conversation. We know they're bound to meet again, and if they meet for long enough to talk, even as enemies, then that will be one juicy conversation. A conversation that gets very personal, very fast.

Because, for better or worse, now they KNOW each other. They're beyond aquaintence-enemies into the level of personal rivals.

Also, my older wish that every season finale ends in a Zuko/Katara fight might come true! And that kind of pattern along is enough to suggest something. I mean, really... did Zuko even fight Aang at all in Seige of the North? I don't think he did.

[zutarian4eva.livejournal.com]

I can really see you grinning evily...T_T' ZUTARA GOTTA HAPPEN HERE PEOPLE! I DON'T CARE IF BLUETARA HITS CANON! IT'S STILL ZUKO JUST BEHIND T HE MASK!