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timepiececlockA 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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 03:34 am (UTC)(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)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 06:20 am (UTC)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::
no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 05:51 am (UTC)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!
no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 06:11 am (UTC)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.