Avatar: The Last Air-Binger

[the_gneech]

So in the rare moments I haven't been writing my brains out (~64,000 words and in the middle of the final big action sequence) I've been binge-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is a series I heard praised to the stars and back again, but in my mind it has always more-or-less served as a prequel for Legend of Korra rather than an end to itself.

In the case of LoK I got mired in the crunky part of early season two and never finished, so I wanted to go back and power through that to get to what I'm told is an awesome rest of the series, but I decided that this time instead of just hopping on at the beginning of that series I'd go back and watch A:tLA first.

I'm pleased to say, A:tLA lives up to its hype! I'm roughly 2/3 of the way through the second season (which puts me just about halfway through the entire series), and I'm digging it. Strong and fun characters, interesting setting, engaging story, lovely art, what's not to dig? It reminds me of all the best parts of Pirates of Dark Water, but with better animation and more cohesive writing. There are a few clunky bits here and there and I have a few pet peeves, but this series does so much very right, that it's hard to complain about the few bits that irk me. My main peeve is the villains, who are either Obvious Redemption Bait (e.g., Zuko) or Shut Up and Go Away (e.g., Jet, Princess Azula and her flunkies). The only serial baddie who's really worked for me so far has been Admiral Zhao, who was a complete nonentity, but was a threatening and dangerous nonentity whom I was glad to see get it in the neck.

With that in mind, here is a boatload of random observations, more-or-less as they came to me while watching.

• Avatar: Master of the four elements, and chosen one! ...Is into extreme sports. That... actually makes sense now that I think about it.


• Hey, it's that guy! And that guy! And that guy! So far I've identified Mako, George Takei, James Hong, and Mark Hamill. I wonder if Pat Morita or Victor Wong are in here?


• I am going to like General Iroh. I can tell.


• "All your friends and family were wiped out, Aang! And here is the desiccated corpse of your surrogate dad, surrounded by the bones of his enemies. We thought about having a note next to him that said, 'If only Aang hadn't run off...' but we couldn't work out the logistics of it." Harsh, show, harsh. At least Aang's parents weren't shot in Crime Alley walking home from The Mark of Zorro.


• I like that they firmly establish that the avatars are all reincarnations of the same spirit. I also love that the spirit flips genders between incarnations seemingly at random and it's no big deal. "Oh yeah, I was a girl in that life. I totally kicked ass." The implications of that are staggering if you follow them to the natural conclusions.


• Sokka the Butt Monkey. I hope he gets to do something sometime.


• Humor is very hit-or-miss. Usually the jokes feel like the script said "Insert joke here." But when this series nails a joke, it nails it. "If you get me out of this, spirits, I'll give up meat and sarcasm."


• "I am a warrior, but I'm a girl too." Yes, that's cool, but y'know what? Even if she weren't a warrior, that's no way to treat a girl either, Sokka! Argh.


• This Just In: Zuko is obviously going to be the new Fire Lord by the end of this series.


• Hello, spirit world! I see someone's been watching Studio Ghibli. I approve of this.


• General Iroh saw Aang in the spirit world! O.o That's gotta be important.


• ...The identity of the Blue Spirit took me by surprise.


• Evil Firebender Princess Twilight! Nuuuuuuu! Along with Harley Quinn the Bending Blocker, and Bored Sociopath Chick. Bleah. I'm not going to like these three, I can tell already. There are villains you love to hate, and villains you wish would just go away. These are the latter.


• Ba Sing Se, name-checked again and again. I smell foreshadowing.


• Honestly? Aang should have been all over learning healing from Bender Cleric while Katara was trying to get Master Dickweed to teach her to fight. He's the friggin' Avatar! Bridge between worlds, uniter of the divided, and all that jazz? Healing should be right in his portfolio.


• On the subject of Master Dickweed, do we really need a "He-Man Woman Haterz Club" story in this day and age? And do we really need a "boys get to kick ass, which is awesome, girls are only good for patching holes, which is boring" cultural assumption? Give me healer heroes any day!


• Now I get where all the "I once dated the moon" jokes come from. Second most abrupt romance I've ever seen! At least Sokka wasn't a douchebag this time around.


• Earthbender McNutso attempting to force the avatar state: the Mother of All Bad Ideas.


• Yo, Earth Nation hippies dude! Like, wow. I guess Lorenzo Music wasn't available, eh?


• So this is the infamous Toph. Basically "Lucy Van Pelt, the Earthbender." I can see why she's popular, even if she's not likely to be my favorite. (Pretty sure General Iroh wins that.) "Look! There it is!" says the blind girl, pointing at random, just to stick it to the rest of the group.


• Jet, you're just a dick. Go away.


• I just imagine a picture of Zuko with the caption, "My life has been a series of bad decisions."


• And boom, here's where "Team Avatar" comes from. It works. And hey, they all turn to Sokka as the idea guy! Given that he is the only non-bender, I love that they actually depend on him for something!


• Um, Katara? Toph already knows how to be girly. "That's it, we're going to the spa!" is not a transformative experience for her, it's putting the same fake skin on she grew up with.


• ...Except it isn't, apparently. Le sigh.


• The Story of General Iroh. Right in the feels. "Dedicated to Mako." Right in the feels again!


• Blegh. I know there's supposed to be conflict and all, but I really didn't want Ba Sing Se to be The Village. Could you just not, show?

That's it so far. :) More observations as the watching continues. Currently I'm hoping that the Ba Sing Se Is the Village stuff gets resolved quickly. I'm also hoping that the defeat of Azula is the big climax of season two, and that she and her flunkies don't return for season three, but I suspect we're stuck with them for the rest of the series.

-The Gneech

Comments

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

Love this show. Joel and Dave introduced me to it and I'm totally into it. I think I'm also about where you are in the show's run!

Main overall complaint: Sokka alternates between being useful and being a butt-monkey (as you pointed out) seemingly based on the script. I don't feel like he transitions well from one role to the other. Sometimes I think they have a hold on his character, but then HURR HURRR he did somethang DOP-AY…. My favorite part is when he's the one conscientious enough to want to go find the library, but Aang and Katara want a VACATION!!1! and the vibe is that Sokka's a stick in the mud. Really???

My general tendency is for my heart to go to the Frank Burns of the group, so I always hope Sokka will redeem himself in a large enough manner so he won't be kicked at, but we'll see.

I am going to like General Iroh. I can tell.

I know it's Mako and all, and hooray, but I swear, why does he have the heavy accent and everyone else speaks whiny American?

Humor is very hit-or-miss. Usually the jokes feel like the script said "Insert joke here." But when this series nails a joke, it nails it. "If you get me out of this, spirits, I'll give up meat and sarcasm."

Sometimes it's okay. There are some places where I feel "Oh yeah… this is for kids. All right, I'll give it a pass."

Evil Firebender Princess Twilight! Nuuuuuuu! Along with Harley Quinn the Bending Blocker, and Bored Sociopath Chick. Bleah. I'm not going to like these three, I can tell already. There are villains you love to hate, and villains you wish would just go away. These are the latter.

Yeah, they don't come over well. It's like some twisted version of "Charmed" or something. It was rather fun to see them get their comeuppance at Ba Sing Se, though.

Honestly? Aang should have been all over learning healing from Bender Cleric while Katara was trying to get Master Dickweed to teach her to fight. He's the friggin' Avatar!

I always get the impression that when Aang gets too serious, the writers make a hard right into "he's immature and inexperienced" just to ensure they're not moving too fast with the character growth. Like the "Avatar Day" episode, which was beyond painful.

On the subject of Master Dickweed, do we really need a "He-Man Woman Haterz Club" story in this day and age? And do we really need a "boys get to kick ass, which is awesome, girls are only good for patching holes, which is boring" cultural assumption? Give me healer heroes any day!

In the second season, Katara's mostly just "Can't we be friends?" 100% of the time. I guess when Aang gets mopey about the Appa, Sokka's whatever the script needs him to be, and Toph is who SHE is, somebody has to hold the group together. I was kind of disappointed with that, but I'm holding out that she sends a few floods somebody's way before the season's up.

Yo, Earth Nation hippies dude! Like, wow. I guess Lorenzo Music wasn't available, eh?

Yeah, ouch.

Continued

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

So this is the infamous Toph. Basically "Lucy Van Pelt, the Earthbender." I can see why she's popular, even if she's not likely to be my favorite. (Pretty sure General Iroh wins that.) "Look! There it is!" says the blind girl, pointing at random, just to stick it to the rest of the group.

When I first saw her, I thought I'd hate her, but I sort of don't. I guess I like her concept enough (feels through her feet) and the fact that the writers commit to it. I can see why her unique situation (also being raised as a special snowflake) might make her a bit bitter, but hey, no need to jump at the others when they ask her to go to the library. How do we know there aren't books in Earthbending Braille?

Jet, you're just a dick. Go away.

I keep thinking there'll be a lot more to the Jet/Zukko deal. I'm holding out.

I just imagine a picture of Zuko with the caption, "My life has been a series of bad decisions."

And grumbling at Iroh's snark.

And boom, here's where "Team Avatar" comes from. It works. And hey, they all turn to Sokka as the idea guy! Given that he is the only non-bender, I love that they actually depend on him for something!

As previously mentioned, YAYYYYY!!!

The Story of General Iroh. Right in the feels. "Dedicated to Mako." Right in the feels again!

Hmm, haven't gotten that far, I guess. Can't wait, now.

Other minor observations: I can't believe that airbending yourself up from a sitting position would expend less energy than just, you know, standing up. But hey, maybe airbending is like blinking or something.

There are a whole lot of minor threads, some of which I've forgotten. largely because I watch it on my visits to Joel and Dave, and those are often weeks or months apart. But I'm so massively admiring of how they wove such an elaborate fantasy ostensibly for kids. Except for some corny schtick once in a while, they don't really dumb down anything, and I admire that immensely. It's a good show and I can't wait to see how it comes out.

Re: Continued

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

The Story of General Iroh. Right in the feels. "Dedicated to Mako." Right in the feels again!

Hmm, haven't gotten that far, I guess. Can't wait, now.

It's in the anthology episode. They've referenced the loss of his son before, but this one really twists the emotional knife.

I can't believe that airbending yourself up from a sitting position would expend less energy than just, you know, standing up. But hey, maybe airbending is like blinking or something.

I think the idea is supposed to be that Aang is such a prodigious airbender that it's just as natural as using his arms and legs. That's a thread that comes up in LoK too, where Korra basically has three of the four elements as a toddler already.

-TG

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I was kind of disappointed with that, but I'm holding out that she sends a few floods somebody's way before the season's up.

She did tear up that sea serpent on the narrow pass crossing. That was pretty heavy-duty water-bending!

-TG

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

That's true. I wonder if they put the Serpent's Pass bit in so Katara could finally kick some ass the way she should!

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

Oh, and since you've seen that bit (didn't want to spoil) I do like that Toph has a mild thing for Sokka. That's really adorable.

[mooncat.livejournal.com]

Sokka's storyarc does improve, especially in the final season. He's still a butt-monkey at times, but he really, essentially, grows up and becomes a major asset.

I found that I was satisfied with the resolution of Azula, Mei and...whatever the third girl's name was...dangit I forget...anyway of their stories as the series progressed. Minor spoiler, they do return in Season 3, but, hang in there, shit gets real, as they say. However, Season 2's climax does -not- disappoint.

Depending on where you are in season 2, there still one more potential "gut punch" moment, and season 3 has a lot of sombre, mature stories that I very much liked. (One's actually pretty horrifying when you think about it, you'll know when it comes up, I think)

Glad you're enjoying the series, it's one of my favourites. Hm, I prolly should re-watch it m'self, it's been a while.

[jamesbarrett.livejournal.com]

I've watched this whole thing twice, once when Mutt was watching it and I'd catch episodes here and there and again from start to finish cause Netflix had the whole thing and why not? I loved it, but I also watch it with less scrutinization that you do :P I let the villains be villains as they wanted, really enjoyed Zuko's oh so obvious personality shift, and was amused by the eventual outcome of the 3 girls. When Sokka gets his sword, that's where he truly changes, and events in season 4 wouldn't be able to go as they do without him. (or was that the end of season 3?) Anyway, great show. What I need to do is see the Korra stuff.

[laurie-robey.livejournal.com]

I think Legend of Korra's on Netflix. If not Netflix, then Amazon or Hulu.