Avatar: The Last Airbender, Episode 3x02
Oct. 2nd, 2007 09:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timepiececlockInteresting. I enjoyed it more than the first episode, though I'm not quite feeling the grove yet of where this season is headed. It was a cute episode, though, very amusing if somewhat filler.
Spoiler Comments
"I love it when you hate the world." Haha. Zuko probably thinks that's a charming thing to say. I'm happy he gets to regularly make out with someone. His "yeah whatever" reaction to Azula vs. Make Out More was great, because it was such a brotherly reaction to an annoying sibling. For once Azula doesn't command his attention when she enters the scene. That's progress, of a strange sort. It must dig, though, that Mai can kiss him yet still belong to his sister first. I was amused by the pure teenagery of that scene, and that Zuko finally figured out what makes a half-way decent dating activity.
Zuko's confrontation with Iroh was predictably uncomfortable and strained. Zuko acted exactly as immature as he always has been. That's what frustrates me (and Iroh, I'm sure) the most about Zuko's character... that he can experience so much, but can't seem to grow from it. He changes, but he doesn't necessarily *learn* as he changes. You'd think he'd have had at least 3 or 4 life-changing moments by now, but it still doesn't stick. It's true he's not the naive kid he was when he left. Frankly, that kid was better-hearted. It makes me think again how horrible Ozai's abusive act was, because of what it's done to that idealistic kid, making him into a selfish and perniciously stubborn young man obsessed impossible goals and STILL unable to break away from this idealistic image of the prince his father wants him to be.
In this episode, given the final scene, I found myself wondering, for the very first time since episode 1x03, that maybe the audience has been played for a fool this whole time, and that Zuko really will be a villain by the end of the show. I was certain, so certain-- and I still am about 86% sure-- that Zuko would end the third season as a positive figure. That the logical need for someone to be Fire Lord after Ozai's death/banishment combined with Zuko's capacity for genuine goodwill would mean that, some point between season 1 and the last 2 minutes of the final episode of season 3, Zuko would turn. But maybe I've been looking at it wrong, and that Iroh or someone else entirely (Zuko's mom? Ty Lee? a farm boy?) would rule the Fire Nation after the war, or no one would. Zuko certainly seems to be getting worse now that he's back in the Fire Nation, and I can easily see how he can progress from his present state to full on mega-villain instead of a sometimes-there, half-assed, ambivalent maybe-villain.
However... I'm still thinking this is a few more steps in the opposite direction before he turns for good permanently. It would be a shame to waste all that character development in season 2, and in terms of practicality and logical storytelling, he's still the best candidate. I do still think he'll turn. I just went from being 99.7% sure to 86%. This episode gave me a confidence drop of about 13.1%, but my confidence is still pretty strong.
I'm not sure if Mai would turn with him or not. She gave Azula a dark look after the picnic interruption, but who knows if that's because she's genuinely upset at Azula or if she was just annoyed for having their privacy interrupted. I still think she's Azula's girl before she's Zuko's, but she's so blank as a character it's impossible to know at this point.
Aang and Katara's dance was very cool. I loved it. It was romantic in a way that suited the two of them very well-- their shared joy of bending and practice, but with whimsical improvisation too. I liked the choreography of it. And it looks like Katara's become almost as good a gymnast as Aang.
Aang/Katara as a pairing is very on/off for me. When I feel like its done right, like in this episode, I love watching it on the show. When it's awkward or feels unnecessary, I get bored quickly. The biggest problem for me in watching it has been that I was never convinced Katara took him seriously in that way, and that Aang could never seem to sort out whether he wanted Katara to be his mom, his sister, or his girlfriend. He claims to want to love her as a boy loves a girl, but he relies on her to be all of those things. I still get that sense of ambiguity with Aang, and the question of how much of it is infatuation (when you're 13, is there any other kind of love besides infatuation?), but Katara, at least in the last two episodes, seems to have noticed Aang more. That's why the shippiness worked well, this episode... the way it was presented was purely fun and energetic and romantic, and it brought out the best in both of them. I much prefer that to Katara only mooning over him when he's injured and Aang always being so frustratingly awkward. He wasn't awkward at the dance, and that made it feel more believable.
I liked seeing Aang in school, and I *loved* the costumes. Toph's and Katara's particularly, but Aang's uniform is nice and the Mom & Dad get-up was hilarious. I wonder if it'd be possible for Aang to learn firebending the way normal kids do-- in school? He can say he's a firebender without saying he's the Avatar, and if he is "from the colonies" that explains why he wasn't properly trained until now.
I can't wait to see when Zuko meets up with the gang in their Fire Nation outfits. It'll make for some pretty cool imagery. I'm also intrigued to read what the K/Z fanfiction world will make of this season. I'm looking forward to some pretty intense drama fics.
Spoiler Comments
"I love it when you hate the world." Haha. Zuko probably thinks that's a charming thing to say. I'm happy he gets to regularly make out with someone. His "yeah whatever" reaction to Azula vs. Make Out More was great, because it was such a brotherly reaction to an annoying sibling. For once Azula doesn't command his attention when she enters the scene. That's progress, of a strange sort. It must dig, though, that Mai can kiss him yet still belong to his sister first. I was amused by the pure teenagery of that scene, and that Zuko finally figured out what makes a half-way decent dating activity.
Zuko's confrontation with Iroh was predictably uncomfortable and strained. Zuko acted exactly as immature as he always has been. That's what frustrates me (and Iroh, I'm sure) the most about Zuko's character... that he can experience so much, but can't seem to grow from it. He changes, but he doesn't necessarily *learn* as he changes. You'd think he'd have had at least 3 or 4 life-changing moments by now, but it still doesn't stick. It's true he's not the naive kid he was when he left. Frankly, that kid was better-hearted. It makes me think again how horrible Ozai's abusive act was, because of what it's done to that idealistic kid, making him into a selfish and perniciously stubborn young man obsessed impossible goals and STILL unable to break away from this idealistic image of the prince his father wants him to be.
In this episode, given the final scene, I found myself wondering, for the very first time since episode 1x03, that maybe the audience has been played for a fool this whole time, and that Zuko really will be a villain by the end of the show. I was certain, so certain-- and I still am about 86% sure-- that Zuko would end the third season as a positive figure. That the logical need for someone to be Fire Lord after Ozai's death/banishment combined with Zuko's capacity for genuine goodwill would mean that, some point between season 1 and the last 2 minutes of the final episode of season 3, Zuko would turn. But maybe I've been looking at it wrong, and that Iroh or someone else entirely (Zuko's mom? Ty Lee? a farm boy?) would rule the Fire Nation after the war, or no one would. Zuko certainly seems to be getting worse now that he's back in the Fire Nation, and I can easily see how he can progress from his present state to full on mega-villain instead of a sometimes-there, half-assed, ambivalent maybe-villain.
However... I'm still thinking this is a few more steps in the opposite direction before he turns for good permanently. It would be a shame to waste all that character development in season 2, and in terms of practicality and logical storytelling, he's still the best candidate. I do still think he'll turn. I just went from being 99.7% sure to 86%. This episode gave me a confidence drop of about 13.1%, but my confidence is still pretty strong.
I'm not sure if Mai would turn with him or not. She gave Azula a dark look after the picnic interruption, but who knows if that's because she's genuinely upset at Azula or if she was just annoyed for having their privacy interrupted. I still think she's Azula's girl before she's Zuko's, but she's so blank as a character it's impossible to know at this point.
Aang and Katara's dance was very cool. I loved it. It was romantic in a way that suited the two of them very well-- their shared joy of bending and practice, but with whimsical improvisation too. I liked the choreography of it. And it looks like Katara's become almost as good a gymnast as Aang.
Aang/Katara as a pairing is very on/off for me. When I feel like its done right, like in this episode, I love watching it on the show. When it's awkward or feels unnecessary, I get bored quickly. The biggest problem for me in watching it has been that I was never convinced Katara took him seriously in that way, and that Aang could never seem to sort out whether he wanted Katara to be his mom, his sister, or his girlfriend. He claims to want to love her as a boy loves a girl, but he relies on her to be all of those things. I still get that sense of ambiguity with Aang, and the question of how much of it is infatuation (when you're 13, is there any other kind of love besides infatuation?), but Katara, at least in the last two episodes, seems to have noticed Aang more. That's why the shippiness worked well, this episode... the way it was presented was purely fun and energetic and romantic, and it brought out the best in both of them. I much prefer that to Katara only mooning over him when he's injured and Aang always being so frustratingly awkward. He wasn't awkward at the dance, and that made it feel more believable.
I liked seeing Aang in school, and I *loved* the costumes. Toph's and Katara's particularly, but Aang's uniform is nice and the Mom & Dad get-up was hilarious. I wonder if it'd be possible for Aang to learn firebending the way normal kids do-- in school? He can say he's a firebender without saying he's the Avatar, and if he is "from the colonies" that explains why he wasn't properly trained until now.
I can't wait to see when Zuko meets up with the gang in their Fire Nation outfits. It'll make for some pretty cool imagery. I'm also intrigued to read what the K/Z fanfiction world will make of this season. I'm looking forward to some pretty intense drama fics.
