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Avatar through 3x17
Only the finale is left to go! (I think.) And knowing that it's a long episode (and the LAST!!!), we're saving it for tomorrow.
This latest bunch of episodes feels a tiny bit filler-ish, though we got plenty of fun character bits, and the fact that Zuko seems to have won himself a secure spot in their little group delights me to no end.
"Katara, it's your turn to take a field trip with Zuko?" *SNERK* Lampshade-hanging FTW!
It was neat having episodes focusing on the individual characters, as well as furthering Zuko's integration into the group without being too exposition-y about it. I'm a little sad that Zuko and Toph didn't get their own episode, but at least they had that little scene in "Ember Island Players". Awww, Zuko's expression when Toph told him what his uncle had told her about him. And:
"Ow! Why did you hit me?"
"That's how I show affection."
Zuko, you know they've accepted you when Toph starts hitting you. (Also, her delight at being portrayed by a giant musclebound guy, in contrast to everyone else nitpicking their own portrayals to death? MADE OF WIN.)
The Sokka prison episode felt like it suffered a bit for having to stay within the Nickelodeon content restrictions. On the other hand, it had a lot of fun bits and it was great to see Sokka in (and out of) his element, and Sokka and Zuko doing a bit of bonding. (Also, Sokka? Do not take planning advice from Zuko, because he sucks at it. You're the idea guy. Play to your strengths!) And Mai taking up arms against her friends to "save the jerk who dumped me" was awesome!
And then there was the Katara episode, which was pure distilled win from start to finish. FIREFIGHT ON A DIRIGIBLE! OH SHOW! With a plummet into the abyss and a last-minute bison save! (... I am so vidding this show, when I get a chance.)
But what I really loved about that episode (besides getting so much Katara, YAY) was how emotionally nuanced it was. Katara was cheated of her revenge because the man she's hated all her life is a broken-down, washed-up old man. But he's not remorseful, not at all full of guilt, and he doesn't care about the little girl who fled her mother's sacrifice; there's no cathartic battle, but also, no last-minute reconciliation. He's nothing but the pathetic remnants of an unrepentent killer, living a miserable hardscrabble life -- he won't ever understand the depth of what he's done, but it's not worth the cost to her to kill him. And there's no warm glow of forgiveness for Katara, who can't forgive him: he's a stone-cold killer who murdered her mother. This episode doesn't give us any easy outs, or tie things up into any neat bows; Katara has to find her own path to serenity. But she offers Zuko her forgiveness, taking another step toward her emotional healing, and his.
And "Ember Island Players" was meta-licious fun. *g* I love how the show makes fun of itself in that episode, as well as poking affectionate fun at shounen anime in general (weepy cleavage-showing Katara! Aang played by a girl actor! Sokka's food obsession! All the overblown speechifying!) ... and am I imagining a bit of an overt nod to "Journey to the West", with the way that the Avatar character is played in a rather Monkey-like fashion? And yet, it's also at least halfway believable within the story setting -- the whole thing reads as a pretty believable propaganda-state comedy, with all the humor wrapping up with an "approved" ending, featuring the ultimate Fire Nation victory. The characters' reactions to their weirdly distorted stage selves were hysterical, and a little poignant at times (Aang taking the romance subplot a little too seriously; everyone's sympathetic and vaguely horrified looks when Zuko's character bit the dust). And, of course, this is the lead-in to the BIG FINALE *eek*.
This latest bunch of episodes feels a tiny bit filler-ish, though we got plenty of fun character bits, and the fact that Zuko seems to have won himself a secure spot in their little group delights me to no end.
"Katara, it's your turn to take a field trip with Zuko?" *SNERK* Lampshade-hanging FTW!
It was neat having episodes focusing on the individual characters, as well as furthering Zuko's integration into the group without being too exposition-y about it. I'm a little sad that Zuko and Toph didn't get their own episode, but at least they had that little scene in "Ember Island Players". Awww, Zuko's expression when Toph told him what his uncle had told her about him. And:
"Ow! Why did you hit me?"
"That's how I show affection."
Zuko, you know they've accepted you when Toph starts hitting you. (Also, her delight at being portrayed by a giant musclebound guy, in contrast to everyone else nitpicking their own portrayals to death? MADE OF WIN.)
The Sokka prison episode felt like it suffered a bit for having to stay within the Nickelodeon content restrictions. On the other hand, it had a lot of fun bits and it was great to see Sokka in (and out of) his element, and Sokka and Zuko doing a bit of bonding. (Also, Sokka? Do not take planning advice from Zuko, because he sucks at it. You're the idea guy. Play to your strengths!) And Mai taking up arms against her friends to "save the jerk who dumped me" was awesome!
And then there was the Katara episode, which was pure distilled win from start to finish. FIREFIGHT ON A DIRIGIBLE! OH SHOW! With a plummet into the abyss and a last-minute bison save! (... I am so vidding this show, when I get a chance.)
But what I really loved about that episode (besides getting so much Katara, YAY) was how emotionally nuanced it was. Katara was cheated of her revenge because the man she's hated all her life is a broken-down, washed-up old man. But he's not remorseful, not at all full of guilt, and he doesn't care about the little girl who fled her mother's sacrifice; there's no cathartic battle, but also, no last-minute reconciliation. He's nothing but the pathetic remnants of an unrepentent killer, living a miserable hardscrabble life -- he won't ever understand the depth of what he's done, but it's not worth the cost to her to kill him. And there's no warm glow of forgiveness for Katara, who can't forgive him: he's a stone-cold killer who murdered her mother. This episode doesn't give us any easy outs, or tie things up into any neat bows; Katara has to find her own path to serenity. But she offers Zuko her forgiveness, taking another step toward her emotional healing, and his.
And "Ember Island Players" was meta-licious fun. *g* I love how the show makes fun of itself in that episode, as well as poking affectionate fun at shounen anime in general (weepy cleavage-showing Katara! Aang played by a girl actor! Sokka's food obsession! All the overblown speechifying!) ... and am I imagining a bit of an overt nod to "Journey to the West", with the way that the Avatar character is played in a rather Monkey-like fashion? And yet, it's also at least halfway believable within the story setting -- the whole thing reads as a pretty believable propaganda-state comedy, with all the humor wrapping up with an "approved" ending, featuring the ultimate Fire Nation victory. The characters' reactions to their weirdly distorted stage selves were hysterical, and a little poignant at times (Aang taking the romance subplot a little too seriously; everyone's sympathetic and vaguely horrified looks when Zuko's character bit the dust). And, of course, this is the lead-in to the BIG FINALE *eek*.