gradualjinx

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Deleting Tumblr & Reddit, and blocking certain key works on Instagram today. I cannot keep spoiling new iwtv episodes for myself before I have access to them after 9 p.m. on Sundays!

I have no self-control, this is the only way.

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3x05 "The Beach" is such an absolutely insane episode.

Azula goes through the whole series being an incredibly intimidating and deadly threat, and then we have a whole episode of her failing to flirt with boys, genuinely apologizing to Ty Lee for hurting her feelings, bonding with Zuko, reflecting on her mother, and playing on the beach like a (very intense) kid. It is such a total 180 from how her character usually is.

It's a very interesting way to humanize her, and it does such an effective job of showing a new side to her character, that I almost can't integrate that version of Azula with the version of her I know from the rest of the series. I am not intimidated by this Azula at all, and that feels weird to see on screen.

Don't get me wrong, I do really like this episode, but it is undeniably odd. I wonder if in the Netflix adaptation, they will continue to show the competitive, slightly insecure, human version of Azula we've seen so far, and avoid doing a beach episode like this later on. Maybe, characterization-wise, that is a more effective way of rounding out a character instead of her being consistently dominant episode by episode, then one "The Beach" episode to humanize her, followed by a realistic downfall and defeat.

Side note-- I love how Azula gives this sneaky smile while Zuko is talking about how unhappy and confused he is during the bonfire scene. It's a great reminder that the same old Azula is there, still plotting against her brother to maintain dominance.

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I have never liked Mai's character and I think the reason I find her so unlikable is her complacency.

I have no problem with her boredom and teenage angst, it's the fact that she seems so disinterested in working with Azula/the Fire Nation but does any way that annoys me. In fact, she surrenders or gives up pretty quickly several times throughout the show. For example, she refuses to help Ty Lee chase after Katara and Sokka in the drill, and gives up immediately when Sokka and Toph confront her to get the Earth King's bear back. So why does she continuously align herself so closely with Azula?

Mai is never seen being threatened or intimidated like Ty Lee was to join Azula. In fact, she seems pretty enthusiastic about leaving Omashu. But I get that even if there wasn't a directly stated threat, it's clear that denying Azula is not an option for Fire Nation citizens. However, even if she was forced to fight in a war she clearly was not interested in, it doesn't make her a particularly sympathetic character because she offers no resistance. Ty Lee, at least, seems to be genuinely in awe of Azula until the moment when she sees Azula's willingness to attack (and probably kill) Mai for her betrayal. At least Ty Lee stands for something and her actions align with her beliefs throughout the show! Mai stands for nothing and fights in a war she doesn't care about, which in my mind, makes her a very morally weak character.

When she eventually betrays Azula and saves Zuko, I guess I'm supposed to start liking her, but it just doesn't hit right for me. I think that if it weren't for Zuko, she never would have rebelled against the Fire Nation at all-- It's not like she ever indicated any dislike for their methods or the war in general until then. This is especially why I dislike the pairing of Zuko and Mai. Zuko rebelled against the Fire Nation because of his morals and the realization that what they were doing was wrong. Mai rebels because her boyfriend is in trouble. Not the same thing!

Plus, after the war, Ty Lee joins the Kyoshi Warriors, who in addition to protecting their village and fighting the Fire Nation, are just general do-gooders (they spent a great deal of season 2 helping refugees in any way they could). This is Ty Lee's real redemption arc after her one act of rebellion; she has given everything up to serve the community as part of a dedicated group. But Mai just...continues being a Fire Nation aristocrat?? Except she's supposedly a good person now? And I'm supposed to think this makes up for all her pro-Fire Nation war efforts?

If I'm being fair, her attack on Boiling Rock was a very brave and selfless move. And she does mention her controlling and overbearing parents; it's possible there was some emotional neglect in her childhood. Maybe it's too much to expect every 16-year-old in the avatar world to have the courage to rebel against an entire nation. But in the end, none of this is enough for me to like her character.

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Does Aang enter the avatar state here to save Katara? This is from episode 2x02 "The Cave of Two Lovers" when Katara is about to be crushed by falling rocks. It's only for a frame or two, but it looks to me like Aangs' tattoos are glowing.

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else so I'm wondering what people think

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Why did Ozai choose to burn Zuko's face, specifically?

In the original, it doesn't show Ozai actually burning Zuko so I always assumed that the fact that his eye took the brunt of the attack was an accident or just chance. But in the Netflix show, we see that Ozai was very particular and careful in burning Zuko's face. In fact, his actual eyeball doesn't seem to be injured, so the positioning of the burn was very exact and intentional.

I think this backs up my theory (see my previous post) that Zuko's banishment was a planned thing. Burning him on the face would make his shame and rejection always visible on his skin. If he wanted to make sure that no one doubted Azula's role as heir over Zuko, then leaving Zuko disfigured is one way to make his lowered position permanent and obvious. I can't imagine that an imaged-obsessed Ozai would tolerate his heir, the next Fire Lord, having a large burn on his face-- especially if that burn was from a famous, public defeat. By the time he burned Zuko, I'm certain he had already decided that Zuko would never be Fire Lord.

I wonder if he also wanted Zuko's face to look different. Did Zuko look too much like his mother? Did Ozai want to burn the resemblance out of him?

Maybe he wanted any of Zuko's rebelliousness to be literally burned out of him and replaced with a shame that would keep him submissive to the Fire Nation, Ozai, and one day, Azula too. A burn, a physical manifestation of his rejection from his family, could have kept him ashamed and loyal if it weren't for his natural resilience and kind heart. That was Ozai's only miscalculation. Just like Azula's famous miscalculation with Mai and Ty Lee-- Zuko's inner sense of justice, his drive for peace, and his love for others outweighed the shame and fear he felt towards his father.

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Zuko's banishment was planned out by Ozai before it happened:

Ultimately it leads to his defeat, but banishing Zuko was definitely the correct strategic decision for Ozai to make. I think that Ozai was looking for any reason at all to get Zuko out of the way, and Zuko's banishment was no accident. Ozai set Zuko up by allowing him in a war meeting before he was ready. Then, Ozai chose to fight Zuko instead of the general, not because Ozai himself was insulted, but because he knew Zuko would fail to attack him. This was the perfect chance to force Zuko out of the line of succession before he got older and made allies within the Fire Nation.

And this was the right choice. The Fire Nation began the war with a genocide, taking out all of the airbenders in a brutal and effective attack. Since then, the Fire Nation continued the war with similar brutal tactics. We see them killing and imprisoning as many benders as they can-- clearly, they saw anyone born with bending abilities as a weapon that had to be taken out in any way possible. The only way they would win the war and maintain control afterward was by continuing this devastation and the extermination of dangerous benders.

Ozai's heir would need to be equally brutal and completely on board with the goals of the Fire Nation. He could not risk another Iroh-- someone who gave up all their power and lost their motivation to fight after a personal loss. I think he saw this "weakness" in Zuko from the beginning. And Ozai was right to doubt him! After spending less than one year out in the real world, Zuko does come to oppose the war and actively tries to stop it.

Getting Zuko out of the way, and making it seem like it was all Zuko's fault for his disrespect and weakness, left Azula as the only choice for heir. With Zuko gone for so long, all of the Fire Nation generals and high-ranking officials had no choice but to back Azula-- they no longer had any other options. This allowed Ozai to direct all of his attention to the only one of his children capable of the violence needed to win and who had an unwavering devotion to the cause. Because of this, I don't think Zuko's banishment was an accident or an overreaction on Ozai's part, I think it was all part of the plan.

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Okay, not to open this can of worms...But I first watched Avatar when it came out, and then again for the second time a few years ago, and I never really got any feeling that Katara and Zuko should be together. After my second watch, I saw that a ton of people online shipped them, so since then I've tried to find those moments in the show and I just don't see them.

Katara starts out hating Zuko and everything he stands for. He also really hurt and scared her over and over again. In season 3, we see that she was the last to trust him because of all the pain he caused her. Then, of course, their journey to find Katara's mother's killer, and their incredible Agni Kai scene with Azula at the end solidifies their bond. But I never saw that bond as romantic, and I don't think it was written that way.

After a person hurts another person so badly-- and I mean physically, emotionally, and mentally for months-- can't we be okay with just an enemies-to-friends/allies arc and not enemies-to-lovers? Isn't there a certain level of trust that has been broken that would prevent true intimacy in a romantic relationship? Why do we need Katara to be so forgiving and kind? And why can't a deep friendship be a satisfying enough endgame-- can't that be just as meaningful as a romantic relationship?

Of course, feel free to disagree. I never felt a connection between Zuko and Mai either, so maybe I just don't have a good radar for hetero relationships.

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I think there are interesting implications for Ozai assigning the 41st division to Zuko, apart from creating an interesting plot point.

Since there was such a small chance of Zuko actually finding the avatar, this trip was meant to be indefinite and would take Zuko into dangerous enemy waters. Ozai probably thought that many of the soldiers would die or be injured along the way. I think he wanted Zuko to see them suffer to prove that his sacrifice was ultimately useless. Even though Zuko gave everything up for this group of men, he would not be able to save them from the war.

Plus, we started to see the crew turn against Zuko, and maybe Ozai predicted this would happen after sending soldiers on such a useless mission led by a teenager. This would certainly be upsetting, adding insult to injury for Zuko.

Finally, since the 41st were seen as disposable and the most logical choice for a sacrifice, I wonder if they were unskilled or previously unsuccessful in battle. If this is true, then Ozai was putting Zuko in a lot of danger by assigning him this specific crew.

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Seeing all of the women healers from the Northern Water tribe line up to fight and join Katara actually had me tearing up.

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Not a Kevin Tran jump scare in avatar :0

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One thing I'd like to see more of if we get a season two is downtime. Let the gaang slow down a little!

A lot of the original includes the Gaang on their long journey, it makes the world seem much bigger and the length of their journey more significant. I'd love to see natla exploring this with more scenes of them hunting + gathering food, setting up their camp at night, sitting by a fire, and just generally interacting with each other in low-stakes moments. I know we won't get side quest episodes, but just having a few moments like this is so important for character building and getting the tone of the show right.

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As someone with a very noticeable scar that I can't hide, I really do appreciate any show with good scar representation. Especially when the scar doesn't magically heal or go away once a character becomes "good"

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Which side is Iroh really on?

I'm wondering what people think about this in both the original and the Netflix remake.

Is Iroh still on the Fire Nation's side in season 1? Does he genuinely want the Fire Nation to win? It seems his number 1 goal is to protect and guide Zuko, but Zuko wants to capture the avatar-- so in helping Zuko capture the avatar, Iroh is supporting the Fire Nation? Maybe he wants the war to end, but his actions speak louder than words, and his actions support the Fire Nation cause.

He seems to be anti-war, pro-spirit world, and pro-the other nations surviving to maintain balance. So why does he wait so long to actually rebel against the Fire Nation? Duty? Fear? Exhaustion? Loyalty to Zuko?

Also, Iroh was so slow to try and stop Zhao from killing the moon spirit in the Netflix remake, and I wonder why? Why would he wait until the last minute when he had plenty of opportunity to take action before it got so desperate? Was he debating whether or not he should stop it from happening? And if so, why? Was he afraid of taking action against a Fire Nation general, or was he in denial?

It seems like Iroh's character arc is a lot more complicated than I originally thought. Obviously, he gave up his titles- and that's huge- but it still took quite a while for him to stop being complicit in the war.

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Yes, book 1 of atla is water, and Aang learned waterbending. Then book 2 is Earth, and Aang learns Earth bending. Then book 3 is fire... The neat storytelling of the original is one of the things I love about it. Things pay off. Characters end up in places that make sense. The goals of each season are logical and fit together well.

But, season 1 of the Netflix remake is just season one. Aang does not learn waterbending. It is not as neat and tidy.

Am I upset about this... yes and no. I will miss the order and the symmetry. However, this is something new and it doesn't have to be a shot-for-shot, or plot point by plot point, remake.

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maybe I'm just reading too much into this. But why did Zuko tell Iroh "Lu Ten would have been proud to have you as his father". He was Lu Ten's father? And I imagine Lu Ten was proud of that?

Shouldn't he have said "I know Lu Ten was proud to be your son", or "I would be proud to be your son".

I far prefer the original when Iroh says he thinks of Zuko as his son. The phrasing of this version felt awkward and took me out of the moment.

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Natla Season 2 Predictions

We know that in natla Sozin's comet is coming "soon" which could mean anything. And we know that the actors, especially Gordon and Kiawentiio, look older (and much taller!). Because of this they will probably have to do a time jump between seasons one and two to account for the actors aging and the new timeline-- here's how I think they'll handle that:

In the original, season two starts with the gaang on a Northern Water trib ship with Pakku and other Northern Water Tribe members who are headed south. The gaang leaves from here to fly to Omashu and plans to have Aang learn Earth bending from Bumi. Along the way, Katara is expected to teach Aang more water bending. Meanwhile, Iroh and Zuko are hanging out at a spa after "floating on a piece of driftwood for three weeks" after escaping the north. Zuko's face has healed, so this means that the original time jump is about one month after the season 1 finale.

Natla sets up approximately this same plot. Zuko and Iroh are adrift at sea. Azula has already taken over Omashu. And the gaang are still at the Northern Water Tribe. I imagine that the showrunners will do a time jump here with everyone essentially staying in the same place so the plot doesn't skip ahead:

Aang and Katara will have spent the interim year learning water bending at the Northern Water Tribe, and I imagine Sokka will have been helping the city rebuild and improve its defenses. We will probably open with Aang having nearly mastered water bending, and Sokka having made a name for himself as an engineer. They then either decide that it's time to move on and master a new element (like in the original), or maybe they hear word of what's happened in Omashu.

I would predict that Iroh and Zuko have spent that whole year wandering around as refugees, but there would have to be some scene or explanation for why they can't return to the Fire Nation. In the original, Azula tricks Zuko into thinking he is welcome home, only to ambush him and Iroh who find out that they are now considered traitors to the Fire Nation. I could imagine a flashback scene to something similar happening in natla, or maybe they decide on their own that the Earth Kingdom is safer for them after Zuko's blue spirit stunt and their actions against General Zhao. Either way, Zuko would not be satisfied waiting patiently for an entire year so something needs to happen to keep them in hiding for the time jump to work.

Just like in the original, I think Azula can easily hold Omashu for the entire year without word reaching the Northern Watertribe-- the different tribes are pretty isolated from each other, and it would be a long way for a spy to go to carry on that message. Maybe this is what triggers the gaang to leave the north, but probably not.

I bet we'll have episode 2x01 showing where they are/what they've been doing, why they need to leave, and then cover the original 2x01 episode "The Avatar State". Then episode 2 will include 2x03 'Return to Omashu" and maybe 2x04 "The Swamp", with some Zuko Alone stuff mixed throughout. Probably Toph will come in episode 3 and that's when the earth-bending training will start.

I don't know if they'll keep the Netflix show to three seasons, and how much warping of the plot that will include, but this is what I think right now. I could see a time jump of only a few months too...maybe a year is too long for the characters to be so still...but I don't think it'll be 3-4 weeks like in the original.

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MOMO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!!!?!?!?!????!??!?!??!

oh nevermind, he's fine