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Emily in Paris - Season 3: Quotes
-Ā āYouāll be hearing from our lawyers. (Emily) - So youāre suing me for not calling you?ā (Alfie) (Episode 2)
-Ā āI didnāt realize what I had until I lost it.ā (Emily - Episode 2)
-Ā āYeah, well, the American dream turned into the French nightmare.ā (Episode 2)
-Ā āYou know, Iāll give it to Paris. Even when youāre having a bad day, the city is looking great.ā (Episode 2)
-Ā āItās funny how you become the things you hate.ā (Episode 3)
-Ā āWell, I guess all those endless selfies are finally paying off.ā (Sylvie - Episode 5)Ā
-Ā āPlus he sent over some champagne. (Emily) -Ā āFinally, someone who understands my needs.ā (Mindy - Episode 5)
- āI thought you were gonna be a professional polo player. You know we used to call you Nacho?ā (Mindy - Episode 5 - GG reference too)
-Ā āSexy. Why am I never around when anything good happens?ā (Episode 5)
-Ā āWhat Am I supposed to do?Ā An affair? (Emily) - You saw two girls kissing at a party. You need to get out more. Okay, Emily Jane Cooper, occupe-toi de tes oignons.ā (Mindy - Episode 5)
-Ā āJust because I was raised rich doesnāt mean I donāt love a free sample.ā (Mindy - Episode 5)
-Ā āYeah, well, youāre American, sheās Australian, you colluded.ā (Sylvie - Episode 5)Ā
-Ā āAre you serious? I... I am so tired of apologizing for who I am. I canāt change my past. If youāll always resent me for it, maybe we donāt have a future.ā (Mindy - Episode 5)
-Ā āItās notĀ āeither orā, Camille. Are we really here to just love one person?ā (The artist - Episode 6)Ā
-Ā āI donāt understand. Youāre married to him and having an affaire with me or youāre in a relationship with me having an affair with your husband.ā (Erik - Episode 6)
-Ā āI mean, is this really necessary? (Alfie) - Luxury is a necessity that begins when necessity ends. (Antoine) - Mmm. Coco Chanel.ā (Emily - Episode 6)
-Ā āWhy donāt guys tell you what theyāre thinking? - And save us the mystery?ā (Episode 7)
-Ā āWhat do you think of the quality? (Pierre) - Honestly? - Brutally.ā (Pierre - Episode 7)
-Ā āTheyāve turned me into a clown trapped in a funhouse mirror.ā (Pierre - Episode 7)
-Ā āWow, this is so surreal. I feel like weāre walking into heaven on acid.ā (Emily - Episode 7)
-Ā āCome on, seriously? In this? (Mindy) - You look incredible tonight. Every man there was checking you out. (Nicolas) - Yeah, except for you. (Mindy) - Believe me, I noticed. It took every ounce of willpower not to make a spectacle of myself.ā (Nicolas - Episode 7)Ā Ā
-Ā āThe only time Iāve heard Sylvie sayĀ āMerveilleuxā was about a Chablis.ā (Luc or Julien - Episode 7)
-Ā āThe men may be gone, but the brands persist.ā (Episode 7) -Ā āMore times than I care to remember.ā (Episode 7)
-Ā āYou can feel as guilty as you want, but not everything happens because you make it happen. - Well, except for this. This was definitively you.ā (Episode 8)Ā
-Ā āWell, he did sustain some injuries, Gregory, so we need to treat this with the sensitivity it deserves.ā (Episode 8)
-Ā āI love you both. - And Iām going to end up with nothing.ā (Episode 8)
-Ā āWho do you want to go to bed withā (Julien - Episode 8)
-Ā āIn love? I canāt believe he said that. (Mindy) - He was drunk.ā (Emily) - Sure, but alcohol doesnāt make people lie. Kind of the opposite.ā (Mindy - Episode 8)
-Ā āTrue elegance is found in simplicity.ā (Episode 8)
-Ā āIt died the moment I sold my soul to JVMA.ā (Pierre - Episode 8)
-Ā āPierre is a respected talent any you only bought his company to toss him out like the trash. - If you can do that to him, you can do that to me. You can do that to anyone.ā (Episode 8)
-Ā āDo you have any idea what you just lost? (Louis de Leon) - Something I never wanted. A relationship with you.ā (Sylvie - Episode 8)
-Ā āI just made an enemy of the most powerful family in fashion.ā (Sylvie - Episode 8)
-Ā āLetās not become one of those couples that spend more time analyzing their relationship than being in one.ā (Alfie - Episode 9)
-Ā āDo you know why this works so well? We get to be together and still do everything we want. We should be enjoying ourselves every second we can. Life is short.ā (Episode 9)
-Ā āHell of aĀ āwelcome homeā, mate.ā (Alfie - Episode 9)
-Ā āYeah, well, every couple hits that point. Itās either time to break it off or commit to each other. Youāre either in or youāre out.ā (Alfie - Episode 9)
-Ā āOnly the two people involved know what they are to each other. You knew everything about every single piece. - No, you just didnāt know anything.ā (Episode 9)
-Ā āCan I get the recipe for that? (Emily) - Recipe? There are no recipes. Itās not a list of things. Itās a feeling. You just know when something is right and when something is wrong.ā (Gabrielās grandmother - Episode 10)
-Ā āHis ex-girlfriend, Marianne.ā (Julien) - Oh, which Marianne? (Sylvie) - I can neither confirm nor deny. (Luc) - Marianne number one. (Julien) - How did you know that?ā (Luc - Episode 10)
-Ā āIt was not what she said, itās what she did.ā (Luc - Episode 10)
-Ā āI hope you take as good care of her as I did. She deserves a good man. (TimothĆ©e) - Iāll certainly do my best.ā (Alfie - Episode 10)Ā
-Ā āEmily. Our secrets are what will keep us close. (Camille - Episode 10)
#emily in paris#emily in paris season 3#emily in paris quotes#emily in paris season 3 quotes#eip quotes#emily cooper#alfie#mindy#luc#netflix shows#netflix series
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EIP missing scene (because we all need a little light-heartedness from that episode)
Zuko: As soon as we defeat the Firelord, I'm sending a very strongly worded cease and desist letter to those idiot writers
Katara: You can't do that, Zuko, that's censorship
Zuko: *mutters something unintelligible*
#I know he technically didn't know he was going to be fire lord at this point but let me have my fun#zuko#katara#zutara#eip#atla#avatar the last airbender#incorrect quotes#atla incorrect quotes#zutara incorrect qoutes
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do you ever think about how Katara's portrayal in the Ember Island Players' stage play is an in-universe, textual example of an oppressor state adultifying & sexualizing a racialized girl as a form of pro-colonization propaganda
and then do you ever think about how a third of the fandom also participates in that completely unironically
#this is in response to someone on twt saying that the EIP's portrayal of the DOBS cave scene was a 'win' for them as a zk shipper#& I know that tweet was a silly jokey joke.....but man#thankfully a lot of people are eloquently calling them out in the quotes of the tweet so I don't really feel the need to take it over here#but still. I try so hard to be neutral about zk & zk shippers because I really don't dislike the ship at its core.#but so many of you just can't help but make that impossible by consistently showing that you don't care about atla's themes at all ugggh#atla#avatar the last airbender#katara#the ember island players
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I wrote this when someone i love so much hurt me so badš
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i've scrolled through your blog quite a bit, and one thing i haven't seen you talk about (though maybe i just didn't scroll far enough) was the scene where sokka is wearing the kyoshi warrior uniform.
i've seen so many people say "wow, the show is really taking a stance against toxic masculinity! sokka wore a dress! it humbled him!" but if you actually watch the show . . .
it wants you to laugh at that, actually. it's one of my least favorite lines from aang. sokka is repeating something suki told him about what different parts of the uniform represent or something like that and he's looking pretty proud, but then aang walks by and says "hey sokka, nice dress" and laughs. and that's never walked back and aang's never punished. so the narrative is clearly pushing that . . . what aang said was okay? but if what aang said was okay, then that means that sokka wearing a dress was meant to be laughed at, right?
anyway, i don't understand how people watch that scene and take away "wow, that scene was so progressive! sokka wore a dress!" yeah . . . we as the audience are supposed to laugh at it. it's supposed to be funny. because boy in dress can't be taken seriously! it has to be a joke!
and i don't understand how people watch that scene and like aang. that was his first major red flag for me. like??? it get that he's twelve and a little shitster, but as you've said so many times, his age isn't an excuse to not hold him accountable. in fact, his immaturity means he should be held extra accountable, so he doesn't end up the same little shitster as an adult. the end of that episode should have had aang apologize to suki (who was also there when aang made that comment iirc). that comment was demeaning and threw away the entire point of that scene (and episode, honestly) in just four words. it demeaned the kyoshi customs and culture, and it completely throws away the point of suki telling sokka "if you want to train with me, you have to follow all our traditions" (paraphrase, not real quote).
anyway aang sucks, and if you've already talked about this, sorry. but if you haven't would love to hear your thoughts.
Of all the things that I think are wrong with Aang, his sexism is pretty low. That's not to say I don't think he's got the potential to be sexist, I just don't think it's occurred to him. He grew up in a gender segregated monastery. I wouldn't be surprised if Katara was the first girl around his own age that he'd spent any time with at all. What were the monks teaching him about girls, and why they were separated? Who knows? Clearly, he knew enough to ridicule Sokka for wearing a dress and to be upset about being played by a woman in EIP. Aang does have some sexist tendencies, but I don't think he's thought through the implications enough to actually be outright sexist. His worst moments have to do with his cultural biases, and an Air Nomad superiority complex. One of his worst moments had to do with him being disrespectful towards Bato about SWT artifacts.
The most obvious potential example of his sexism the way he treats Katara throughout the series, at least on the surface, but while there was absolutely sexism involved in how Katara was treated, I think it was more sexism in the writers room than in Aang himself. With Aang, it was less sexism, and more general entitlement. He wanted Katara. Her feelings didn't matter, not because she was a girl, but because she was an object. I've pointed out before that Nightmares and Daydreams proved that he understood what enthusiastic consent is, but he never even considered her feelings enough to think that she could turn him down. He was very entitled about Katara's affections and even her body, but I don't think the entitlement would've been different if the genders were reversed (look at how entitled Korra felt to Mako), or even if Aang and Katara were both boys.
I'm sure someone else could find more examples of Aang being overtly sexist- in fact, I remember reading a really good meta about Aang's reaction to being played by a woman in EIP, but I can't remember who wrote it. Still, don't think it matters if Aang was sexist or not. He's more toxic than Sokka ever was, even without being overtly sexist. Sokka, at least, was open to learning and growing, and his sexism was never that deep. But Aang? He never gets the opportunity to grow, because his bad traits are never called out like Sokka's are. I'm convinced that Aang benefits from cute privilege within the fandom. If Aang was a year or two older, and looked like Sokka or Zuko, he'd be right up there with Ross Gellar and Ted Mosby in the Nice Guys Who Aren't Actually That Nice pantheon, but because he's got big ears, chubby cheeks, and a big ol' smile, he gets a pass.
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.....so anyway! since that one user insists on having a very myopic view of our fandom as a whole, how about some fun zutara facts to banish all the hate being thrown at it's shippers specifically on here during this, our sacred zutara week?
Yoo Jae-Myung, an animation director for atla, drew that infamous slightly older zutara art for a promotional event on the series in South Korea because it's the preferred ship there
Korra's voice actress, Janet Varney, ships zutara
While series director Giancarlo Volpe is an avid kataang shipper, he admitted to thinking that zutara may have been a better couple after having a retrospective talk about the series with his wife; and even stated that he'd love to see a scene in the live action avatar series where zuko and katara get to have a quiet moment alone that showcases their chemistry
the god of the avatar universe, the Cabbage Merchant himself (or rather, his actor James Sie) ships zutara
to quote the shipping wiki directly: "Tim Hedrick added onto this by stating that the allusions to Zuko and Katara's potential romance and Katara's rejection of Aang's romantic advances in The Ember Island Players served as a plot device for the writers to keep their options open"
(also not EIP making the zutara ship a thing in-universe that's so funny lmaooo somebody please write about that)
Jade Fire Gold by CL Tan was written with a zutara dynamic in mind for it's main protagonists, just in case fans needed more book recs
and finally, Kacen Callender (who is black) and Ash Van Otterloo are two queer, trans young adult published authors who both ship zutara whose books you should check out and support. put your money where your mouth is<3
okay that's it for now! peace an love to all!
(ps: a queer black woman wrote all this, jsyk. in case I needed a qualifier. for no reason at all, of course)
X
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'Emily in Paris': Lily Collins Proves She Has Way Better Style Than Emily Cooper
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the same guy who was upset that a woman was playing him in EIP?
Avatar Aang, Feminist Icon?
āWhoās your favorite character?ā I hear that question come up a lot over Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show particularly near and dear to me. Iroh and Toph get tossed around a lot. Zuko is very popular. Sokka has his fans. But something Iāve noticed? Aang very rarely gets the pick. When he comes up, itās usually in that āOh, and alsoā¦ā kind of way. Which is strange, I think, considering heās the main character, the titular airbender, of the entire show.
I never really thought much about it until a couple weeks ago when I finished my annual re-watch of the series and found myself, for the first time, specifically focused on Aangās arc. Somehow, I never really paid that much attention to him before. I mean sure, heās front and center in most episodes, fighting or practicing or learning big spiritual secrets, and yet, he always feels a little overshadowed. Katara takes care of the group. Sokka makes the plans. Zuko has the big, heroic Joseph Campbell journey. Aangā¦goofs around. He listens and follows and plays with Momo. And yes, at the end his story gets bigger and louder, but even then I feel like a lot of it dodges the spotlight. And hereās why:
Avatar casts the least traditionally-masculine hero you could possibly write as the star of a fantasy war story. Because of that, we donāt see Aang naturally for everything he is, so we look elsewhere.
To show what I mean, I want to talk about some of the showās other characters, and I want to start with Zuko. Zuko is the hero weāre looking for. Heās tall and hot and complicated. He perseveres in the face of constant setbacks. He uses two swords and shoots fire out of his hands. He trains with a wise old man on ship decks and mountaintops. Occasionally he yells at the sky. Heās got the whole 180-degree moral turn beat for beat, right down to the scars and the sins-of-the-father confrontation scene. And if you were going into battle, some epic affair with battalions of armor-clad infantry, Zuko is the man youād want leading the charge, Aragorn style. We love Zuko. Because Zuko does what heās supposed to do.
Now letās look at Katara. Katara doesnāt do what sheās supposed to do. She doesnāt care about your traditionally gender dynamics because sheās too busy fighting pirates and firebenders, planning military operations with the highest ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom, and dismantling the entire patriarchal structure of the Northern Water Tribe. Somewhere in her spare time she also manages to become one of the greatest waterbenders in the world, train the Avatar, defeat the princess of the Fire Nation in the middle of Sozinās Comet and take care of the entire rest of the cast for an entire year living in tents and caves. Katara is a badass, and we love that.
So what about Aang? When we meet Aang, he is twelve years old. He is small and his voice hasnāt changed yet. His hobbies include dancing, baking and braiding necklaces with pink flowers. He loves animals. He doesnāt eat meat. He despises violence and spends nine tenths of every fight ducking and dodging. His only āweaponā is a blunt staff, used more for recreation than combat. Through the show, Aang receives most of his training from two young women ā Katara and Toph ā whom he gives absolute respect, even to the point of reverence. When he questions their instruction, it comes from a place of discomfort or anxiety, never superiority. He defers to women, young women, in matters of strategy and combat. Then he makes a joke at his own expense and goes off to feed his pet lemur.
Now thereās a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this, and itās the one that shielded Aang from the heroic limelight in my eyes for ten years. The reasoning goes like this: Aang is a child. He has no presumptuous authority complex, no masculinity anxiety, no self-consciousness about his preferred pastimes, because heās twelve. Heās still the hero, but heās the prepubescent hero, the hero who canāt lead the charge himself because heās just not old enough. The problem is, that reasoning just doesnāt hold up when you look at him in the context of the rest of the show.
Letās look at Azula. Aside from the Avatar himself, Zukoās sister is arguably the strongest bender in the entire show. We could debate Toph and Ozai all day, but when you look at all Azula does, the evidence is pretty damning. Letās make a list, shall we?
Azula completely mastered lightning, the highest level firebending technique, in her spare time on a boat, under the instruction of two old women who canāt even bend.
Azula led the drill assault on Ba Sing Sae, one of the most important Fire Nation operations of the entire war, and almost succeeded in conquering the whole Earth Kingdom.
Azula then bested the Kyoshi Warriors, one of the strongest non-bender fighting groups in the entire world, successfully infiltrated the Earth Kingdom in disguise, befriended its monarch, learned of the enemyās most secret operation, emotionally manipulated her older brother, overthrew the captain of the secret police and did conquer the Earth Kingdom, something three Fire Lords, numerous technological monstrosities, and countless generals, including her uncle, failed to do in a century.
And she did this all when she was fourteen.
That last part is easy to forget. Azula seems so much her brotherās peer, we forget sheās the same age as Katara. And that means that when we first meet Azula, sheās only a year older than Aang is at the end of the series. So to dismiss Aangās autonomy, maturity or capability because of his age is ridiculous, understanding that he and Azula could have been in the same preschool class.
We must then accept Aang for what he truly is: the hero of the story, the leader of the charge, who repeatedly displays restraint and meekness, not because of his age, not because of his upbringing, not because of some character flaw, but because he chooses too. We clamor for strong female characters, and for excellent reason. But nobody every calls for more weak male characters. Not weak in a negative sense, but weak in a sense that he listens when heroes talk. He negotiates when heroes fight. And when heroes are sharpening their blades, planning their strategies and stringing along their hetero love interests, Aang is making jewelry, feeding Appa, and wearing that flower crown he got from a travelling band of hippies. If all Aangās hobbies and habits were transposed onto Toph or Katara, weād see it as a weakening of their characters. But with Aang itās cute, because heās a child. Only it isnāt, because heās not.
Even in his relationship with Katara, a landmark piece of any traditional protagonistās identity, Aang defies expectations. From the moment he wakes up in episode one, he is infatuated with the young woman who would become his oldest teacher and closest friend. Throughout season one we see many examples of his puppy love expressing itself, usually to no avail. But thereās one episode in particular that I always thought a little odd, and thatās Jet.
In Jet, Katara has an infatuation of her own. The titular vigilante outlaw sweeps her off her feet, literally, with his stunning hair, his masterful swordsmanship and his apparent selflessness. Youād think this would elicit some kind of jealousy from Aang. Thereās no way heās ignorant of whatās happening, as Sokka sarcastically refers to Jet as Kataraās boyfriend directly in Aangās presence, and she doesnāt even dispute it. But even then, we never see any kind of rivalry manifest in Aang. Rather, he seems in full support of it. He repeatedly praises Jet, impressed by his leadership and carefree attitude. Despite his overwhelming affection for Katara, he evaluates both her and Jet on their own merits as people. There is no sense of ownership or macho competition.
Contrast this with Zukoās reaction to a similar scenario in season threeās The Beach. Zuko goes to a party with his girlfriend, and at that party he sees her talking to another guy. His reaction? Throwing the challenger into the wall, shattering a vase, yelling at Mai, and storming out. This may seem a little extreme, but itās also what weād expect to an extent. Zuko is being challenged. He feels threatened in his station as a man, and he responds physically, asserting his strength and dominance as best he can.
I could go on and on. I could talk about how the first time Aang trains with a dedicated waterbending master, he tries to quit because of sexist double standards, only changing his mind after Kataraās urging. I could talk about how Aang is cast as a woman in the Fire Nationās propaganda theatre piece bashing him and his friends. Because in a patriarchal society, the worst thing a man can be is feminine. I could talk about the only times Aang causes any kind of real destruction in the Avatar state, itās not even him, since he doesnāt gain control of the skill until the showās closing moments. Every time he is powerless in his own power and guilt-ridden right after, until the very end when he finally gains control, and what does he do with all that potential? He raises the rivers, and puts the fires out.
Aang isnāt what heās supposed to be. He rejects every masculine expectation placed on his role, and in doing so he dodges center stage of his own show. Itās shocking to think about how many times I just forgot about Aang. Even at the end, when his voice has dropped and his abs have filled in, we miss it. Zukoās coronation comes and we cheer with the crowd, psyched to see our hero crowned. Then the Fire Lord shakes his head, gestures behind him and declares āthe real hero is the Avatar.ā Itās like heās talking to us. āDonāt you get it?ā he asks. āDid you miss it? This is his story. But you forgot that. Because he was small. And silly. And he hated fighting. And he loved to dance. Look at him,ā Zuko seems to say. āHeās your hero. Avatar Aang, defier of gender norms, champion of self-identity, feminist icon.ā
#idk man#feminist icon seems a bit of a stretch#you can have feminine traits and not be a feminist#thatās like saying all women are feminists when thatās not true#also these characteristics are literally the norm for air nomads so itās not like aang chose to act like this#heās not breaking any gender norms intentionally because this is literally normal to him#but seriously#he was upset that he was being played as a woman in EIP#also he kept saying that katara didnāt mean it when she was standing up to pakku#speaking over women doesnāt make you a feminist just like speaking over poc doesnāt make you woke#also these traits are not#attributes limited to femininity#also there are so many WOMAN characters in the show that you couldāve used#anti new atla quote unquote stans#atla discourse#atla critical#aang critical#not really but just in case
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Aang as ZukoāsĀ āFound-Siblingā
so i kind of alluded to it on my previous postĀ but if zuko sees his relationship with any of the gaang as a foil to his sibling relationship with azula, itās aang.Ā
in the season 1 finale, zuko compares the two directly:
zuko:Ā I finally have you, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard. There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a Firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am.
here zuko makes a lot of assumptions. he is implying that because aang is a prodigy like azula, everything must come easy for him. we as the audience know this isnāt true (he doesnāt know aangās background at this point), but it does speak to his insecurities in terms of his sister (foreshadowing to his season 2 interactions with azula.)Ā
contrast that quote with what zuko says to katara in the season 1 finale:
zuko: you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun.
he sees katara as evenly skilled as himself. a match, but with opposite bending elements. and thatās even reflected in the way that katara wins their match at night, but zuko wins their fight when itās day time.
zuko (especially in season 1) sees azula as superior to him, someone who heāll never catch up to in skill because sheās a prodigy. in contrast, heās seen katara when she first started to bend and made mistakes (barely able to form a water whip, and the time she accidentally froze sokka). zuko has seen and acknowledged her growth throughout the show and he sees her as someone who has also had to struggle and work hard to get to her current bending capacity.
and like @sokkastylesā already said:Ā
Aang is the younger prodigy who he resents for being better than him in the beginning, the one who is imbued with power and authority by birth that he lacks, the āluckyā one.
continuing on, i wanna talk about crossroads of destiny. the zk scene again emphasizes how similar zuko sees katara to himself (not azula.)
he is calm, open, and vulnerable throughout these scene with katara. he almost allows himself to forget theyāre on opposite sides because of how much they have in common.Ā but once aang comes in:
thereās that same anger and resentment he has towards azula.Ā
iāve seen some people refer to the crossroads of destiny as zuko some hidden meaning of choosing betweenĀ āsisters,ā but i disagree. itās framed as a decision between azula and aang, and for zuko, itās supposed to be an impossible choice.Ā
so we see him go after aang with an uncontrolled intensity that is so different from the brief peace he was able to achieve with iroh in ba sing se. and itās easy to imagine that this is because heās taking his frustration that he canāt express towards azula, out on aang, as a substitute.Ā
we see lingering bits of zukoās resentment towards aang, even after he joins the gaang. itās unintentional, but from the firebending masters, we can see how he initially still holds onto that insecurity a bit.
when he initially realizes he lost his firebending he tries the forms over and over, while aang is just chilling:
aang: that one felt kinda hot
zuko: donāt patronize me!
aang: sorry sifu hotman
zuko: and stop calling me that!
even though aang was being genuine, itās easy to imagine that zuko is connecting this moment back to times with azula growing up. especially because we know how much his ability to fire bend is tied up into his self worth.Ā
heās given the chance toĀ āproveā himself by teaching someone who he considers superior in skill to himself (aang, just off virtue of being the avatar), and when he fails, that rears up the resentment again.Ā
but then, their dynamic shifts after zuko admits he doesnāt want to rely on hate and anger anymore. zuko has several moments where he encourages aang (who he was previously resentful towards) because he sees that aang needs it. heās able to realize that aang isnāt a prodigy in the sense that he thinks heās superior to anyone else. and heās also able to see that aang has his own insecurities as well, as they get to know each other more on their trip. he has phrases like:Ā
zuko: you can do it. i know you can. youāre a strong kid.
aang:Ā [Turning to Zuko.] We could turn back now. We've already learned more about fire than we'd hoped. [Aang shows Zuko his flame and gives a weak smile.]
zuko:Ā No, we're seeing this through to the end.
and aangās face as a result:Ā
so in a sense, zuko is able to be needed as a big brother. and to offer support because aang is unsure about himself.Ā
also this scene reeks of sibling energy:
but anyways, i think aang/zukoās found-sibling relationship foils azula/zukoās sibling relationship because even though they start off with resentment for similar reasons, his dynamic with aang changes.
i see people say that the reason they think katara is zukoāsĀ āsurrogate siblingā is because she provides him with care and kindness, unlike azula. the same could be said about aang.
whereas azula has made it clear that she doesnāt respect zukoās bending, aang values and respects zuko for his skills (even when he was struggling at the beginning of the firebending masters.) aang is able to reciprocally affirm zuko as well:
aang: i donāt care what everyone else says about you. youāre pretty smart!
i also find the last few lines after they meet with the dragons to be significant:
zuko:Ā That's why my firebending was so weak before. Because for so many years, hunting you [Turns toward Aang as screen zooms out to show Aang.] was my drive ... it was my purpose. [Aang turns toward Zuko as well.] So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now, I have a new drive. [Cut to Zuko's face as screen zooms in.] I have to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world.
iād like to think that part of losing/letting go of his anger/resentment in part was because of the new relationship he was able to build with aang. in a sense, heās able to repair aĀ āpseudo-siblingā relationship with a found-sibling who willingly accepts him.Ā
i love that theyāre address their confidence issues regarding firebending together.Ā
and how, when they rushed to show the rest of the gaang after they returned:
aang:Ā [Cut to Aang and Zuko demonstrating the Dancing Dragon to the rest of Team Avatar and friends.] With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable.
zuko has gained a found-sibling relationship that isnāt about comparing their firebending to each other, but working as a team. itās so so meaningful that aang saysĀ āzuko and i.ā the idea of zuko having a sibling relationship where heās able to share his love of firebending and not feel insecure about it ...š„ŗ. him having aĀ āsiblingā who wants to hang out with him and do things together and gushes about it with the confidence that aang had when he said they would be unstoppable.Ā
oh! not to mention that iāve seen people say that zuko/katara have a sibling relationship because she teases him in EIP. but like .. thatās such flimsy logic. and also? aang and zuko have their mutual teasing moments especially in the firebending masters, and itās just adorable.Ā
anyways, my main point from all this is that ik people love to say zuko/katara fit surrogate siblings (which i hate btw), but itās mostly said because of katara/azulaās similar age. it doesnt matter that aang is 12, though, because honestly, he fits theĀ āfound-siblingā dynamic a lot better because of how zuko used to see aang in relation to azula. it just works better thematically. especially, because like iāve said, and as so many people in fandom point out: zuko and katara are similar (some people... antis.. would sayĀ ātooā similar). and when has zuko ever seen azula as being similar to himself? exactly.Ā
#i'm gonna tag zutara for exposure but it's not zutara lol#found sibling#zuko#aang#atla#showing love to aang and zuko's friendship because i love it so much#and i consider them to be brothers#i wrote this at 4 AM whoops#if there's errorsĀ that's why lol#found sibling makes my heart go brrr#sorry that this was long#and no i dont want aang to replace azula btw#but i do think through his relationship with aang he would eventually know how to approach and repair his with azula
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āThe Headbandā: How Performance and a Clash of Dynamics Undermines a Ship.
A lot of people talk about the famous dance scene in āThe HeadbandāĀ as a big, romantic, pivotal moment for KA, but let me tell you why I disagree.
(Not sure why this post is getting tagged as anti-Zutara, as I donāt mention Zuko at all...? Anyway, this contentĀ might make Kat*angers Kat*angry. Ā Proceed with caution):
1) The iconic dance scene was, at its very core, a performance. Ā
What does this mean, exactly?
Well, this wasnāt an unscripted, unrehearsed private moment between the characters weāve known since the beginning of the show. Ā This wasnāt Aang nervously asking Katara to get out of her comfort zone with him for some āalone timeā and express their feelings to each other. Ā This dance was an opportunity to let go of their inhibitions out in the open. Ā This was āKuzon Fireā whispering something into an older girlās ear, them promptly bowing and proceeding to perform some dance moves together.
Based on the formality of these moves, they werenāt decided at the drop of a hat. Ā TheyĀ looked like parts of a routine Katara and Aang had been working on previously-unseen occasions (perhaps during Aangās training?), and it was Aangās idea to get Katara to have fun and perform with him asĀ āKuzon FireāĀ in front of Fire Nation kids in a secret cave. Ā From Kataraās hesitancy, itās clear that she isnāt one for impromptu dancing, but Aang persistently encourages fun by whispering in her ear to perform bending moves she already knows (moves she probably taught him). Ā Itās a routine that puts Katara in her comfort zone, and while she begins to have fun just doing that, the routine turns into an official performance as the crowd begins to admire them as a pair.
We as viewers know this more than just a ādance routineā for Aang. Ā We as viewers know Aang wants to find any excuse to hold Kataraās hand. Ā And he does this in the guise of āKuzon Fire,ā because for some reasonĀ this disguise and all of this attention heās getting from the kidsĀ gives him the confidence to be that vulnerable in front of his crush. Ā To have Aang just be his sweet, awkward, lovestruck self to Katara just isnāt enough, but in a healthy relationship, it should be. Ā
True, this dance was a great reason for Aang to remind Katara to still be a kid (remember the penguin sledding he encouraged in Season 1, ep 1? This is a total step up!). Ā It reminded us that the characters we know and love know how to have fun together and can play off of each other in any given situation.
True, it showed how sweet KA looked to a crowd, and to us as viewers. Ā To even quote Sokka from earlier in the episode, the danceĀ showed howĀ āthey look pretty good together.ā
The problem here was that this dance didnāt addressĀ Katara and Aangās actual dynamic... how they truly actĀ towards each other when theĀ ācurtain fallsā, when all eyes turn away, when their rehearsed routine is over and thereās no adrenaline rush to hazeĀ their actual selves.
Because itās a performance,Ā āThe Headbandā episode encourages a completely different kind of one-on-one interaction from what weāve always seenĀ between Katara and Aang whenever they have moments of privacy. Ā Just compare the dance to the awkward exchange they have in private during theĀ āCave of Two Loversā that ultimately leads to nothing in terms of their relationship progress.
...or the sad farewell exchange they have during āThe Invasionā (just a few more episodes after āThe Headbandā)Ā that ends with a desperate, one-sided kiss.
...or when they finally try to talk about their feelings during theĀ āEmber Island Playersā which ends in another desperate, very much one-sided kiss.
(Small note on the EIP moment--Ā NoticeĀ how in that scene,Ā Aang is upset about a performance, specifically how itāsĀ not syncing perfectly with what he wants to believe is happening in real life. Ā Hmm.)
The dance shows that Katara and Aang can naturally be good team together when the situation calls for it - be it for a performance, or a dangerous task/obstacle/sea monster - but when the pressure is off, and no dangers are abound... when itās just the two of them, standing face to face... things look quite different.
What you have is a young idealistic kid who, up until a year ago, never had to deal with horrors bigger than cleaning his own room, andĀ a traumatized teenaged girl who grew up in a war-torn village, delivering babies by the time she was Aangās age. Ā
Their differences in maturity and world views ultimately limit the deep level of understanding they can actually have as people.
...which brings me to my second point:
2) The dynamic between Katara and Aang in āThe HeadbandāĀ was... weird.
Seriously. Ā It was characteristically a hot mess.
On one hand, you have Katara completely fine dressing up as Aangās very-pregnant, very-doting mother to get him out of detention. Ā On the other hand, you have Katara being girlishly shy and upset from the attention Aang is getting from random girls (something that echoed her sentiments from way back in Season 1 ep 4 āWarriors of Kyoshiā but havenāt seemed to amount to anything.)
We see Kataraās inherently-mature self suddenly get eclipsed by her girlish Ā feelings for the kid she is always nurturing. Ā A kid who is very much still a kid.
How much of a kid is he, you ask?
Well...Ā when Katara dances with Aang, they dance with the same synchronization and sweet energy of anĀ āitā couple at Prom. Ā The issue here is... even if Aang was technically thirteen, in this scene, he is āKuzon Fireā... elementary-school kid who makes FL Ozai portraits out of noodles and happily shows them to his fake-parents as refrigerator-worthy.
So, at least in this episode, Aang isĀ actually twelve going on seven. Ā
Heās a kid, and kids donāt go to Prom. Ā They go to highly-chaperoned elementary-school mixers. Ā
In the crowdās eyes, sparks are flying between Katara and Aang as they dance, they have this unspoken chemistry, and their final pose inspires romance. Ā Great! Ā In my mind, Iām thinkingĀ āaw, so this is like the mature eighth-grader showing deep feelings for the fun-loving sixth-grader, age gap be damned... and theyāre too shy to kiss. Ā Itās not Prom or Elementary School mixer. Ā Itās typical middle-school cuteness.ā Ā Cool.
However...
After the whole cave dance scene is over, and they escape from the Fire Nation school principal, Katara tells Sokka that theyāre safe and he can take off the mustache now.
...and thatās when it hit me.
Sokka was dressed as a chaperone, and acted like a chaperone for this dance.
Never was it implied that Katara wouldnātĀ be a chaperone for this dance, and it made the whole scene be as if Aang really was the onlyĀ ākidā. Ā Sure, her pregnant belly is gone. Ā But in one scene, sheāsĀ water-bending Fire Nation punch for the dance. Ā Iām not saying sheās supposed to beĀ that adult we always see in school dances thatās onĀ āpunch duty,ā but neither she nor Toph nor Sokka joined in with the dance party on their own. Ā
It made me believe they were all supposed to watch the party like formal adult chaperones, keeping watch to make sure no FN authorities showed up.
But...
Aang extends a hand out to Katara, and the adult/kid dynamic they have (both in that cave scene and in real life) is supposed to magically change gracefully into two middle-schoolers with a crush.
For me, it was like looking at a typicalĀ āmiddle-school danceā scene, and witnessing the charming, golden-boy new kid walk across the gymnasium floor to extend a hand to the pretty but very-much-adult teacher whoās chaperoning the dance. Ā And she takes it. Ā No gasps, no gossip. Ā Everyone justĀ goes with it, like itās not a big deal.
If you look at it like that, itās really hard to not see it as weird.
And then... anĀ āATLA writerās roomā thought occurred to me:
Sokka keeps his beard after that one gag with the FN principal, sure, but perhapsĀ Kataraās pregnant belly disappeared wasĀ to make it less āweirdā of a dynamic when KA would actually dance. Ā It would make a cute moment between them more valid, pretending that Kataraās motherly nature wasnāt inherently part of her character, that Aang could be seen more grown-up in their relationship. Ā It would add to the potential of a KA ending. Ā Right?
Except...Ā
Their whole mother/son dynamic returns the momentĀ the cave scene ends!
Katara returns to her motherly ways, tells Sokka to quit pretending with a fake mustache, and Toph even encourages maturity in Aang by complimenting him about the deep foresight in teaching FN kids about freedom. Ā And how does Aang respond? Ā NotĀ āyeah! that was my plan all alongā but rather...Ā āhaha, I dunno I just wanted to dance.ā
And so Aang remains the oblivious, innocent fun kid... and Katara continues to be his doting mom, affectionately kissing him on the cheek as usual, as if to thank her son for reminding her adult self to have fun once in a while.
For me, it made the romantic subtext of that entire danceĀ scene completely fall through.
If one of the goals in "The Headbandā was to show a progressive romantic development between KA, wouldnāt the writers want Katara to see Aang as more age-appropriate for her?
Knowing that Katara is light-years more mature than the average teenager, much less kid, she wouldnāt want to see Aang as a kid she constantly needs to take care of, either in real life or in pretend scenarios.
If Katara did have a crush on Aang by the point ofĀ āThe Headband,ā the idea of playing hisĀ mom (especially a pregnant mom) would come off as awkward and strange. Ā
It wouldāve been more credible to have Toph jump in and playĀ Kuzonās momĀ in that principalās office, to have Toph play the tough-love disciplinarian to Aang along with Sokka, and have Toph enjoy pretending to be married to her crush.
Look. Ā All Iām saying is... imagine what the FNĀ Principal mustāve thought if he had walked in on Kuzon Fire dipping someone who looks a lot like his mom Sapphire minus-pregnant-belly down on the dance floor like that.
Ew.
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(pt 1) i really enjoy all your atla analyses & you've done a great job breaking down the usual arguments re how eip shows that kataang shouldn't have happened. i'm curious about your take on one specific argument that i just saw today, in an analysis of the show by a zker that was otherwise quite good and respectful (i know you've already talked about eip a lot, so no problem if you don't feel like rehashing). the premise: aang didn't just pressure katara in eip, he threatened her.
(pt 2) they point to when katara joins aang & asks if heās alright: āaang: no, iām not! i hate this play! katara: i know itās upsetting, but it sounds like youāre overreacting. aang: overreacting? if i hadnāt blocked my chakra, iād probably be in the avatar state right now!ā the suggestion is heās threatening her when he says āiād probably be in the avatar state right nowā to describe his anger. i think this take exaggerates and oversimplifies it, but interested in your thoughts on it.
Hello my friend!! It is true I am Old inside and donāt like rehashing dhdlksjslks BUT your comments on my posts are always incredibly kind and insightful so I am more than willing to do a bit of rehashing for you š„° Besides! Iāve seen this general take before a few times and itās always irked me for the exact reason you point out - it simultaneously exaggerates and oversimplifies the situation (and honestly thatās an impressive duality since itās seemingly contradictory, so hats off to them lmaooo) - and now is as good a time as any to address it. So, for starters, letās go ahead and get the excerpt they love to focus on so much:
Cut to Aang standing alone on a balcony. Katara enters and walks up to him.
Katara: Are you all right?
Aang: [Angered.] No, Iām not! I hate this play! [Yanks his hat off and throws it on the ground.]
Katara: I know itās upsetting, but it sounds like youāre overreacting.
Aang: Overreacting? If I hadnāt blocked my chakra, Iād probably be in the Avatar State right now!
Hereās the thing about so-called analyses of this excerpt: in a manner extremely convenient to the poster, they never seek to contextualize this moment. (I mean, to do so would deplatform their entire āargumentā - perhaps thatās why they avoid performing a full analysis?) So letās avoid that pitfall from the start.
Firstly, below are some links to related posts; Iām going to do my best to summarize the most relevant parts, but for anyone who desires greater detail, I gotchu š¤
This post explains why EIP (the play, lol) is imperialist propaganda and is intended to belittle the entire Gaang.
This post explains how Aang never acted āentitledā to Kataraās affections, particularly in regard to EIP.
This post breaks down the infamous EIP kiss like Snopes Fact Checker, covering common misconceptions, important perspectives to consider, etc.
Alright. With that out the way, itās time for some context.
Aang and Katara have this conversation on the balcony after watching 95% of āThe Boy in the Iceberg,ā a play chock-full of Fire Nation propaganda that demeans the entire Gaang in order to prop up the Fire Nation as superior (hence why the play ends with Ozaiās victory). Here is my general breakdown of Aang and Kataraās treatment in particular from a previous post:
- katara, an indigenous woman, is highly sexualized and portrayed as overly dramatic and tearful, because the fire nation objectifies women not of their own people and views them as less intelligent and less emotionally stable
- aang, the avatar, the sole survivor of the fire nationās genocide of the air nomads who is incredibly in-touch with his spirituality and femininity, is portrayed as an overly-airy and immature woman. the fire nation portrays him with a female actor to demean him (like, thatās classic imperialistic propagandist tactics) and furthermore writing his character as a childish airhead reinforces the fire nation sentiment that the air nomads were weak, foolish people who did not deserve to exist in their world
In other words, these kids have just watched almost an entire play that preys upon their insecurities and depicts them using racist and sexist stereotypes about their respective nations. It is completely understandable that tensions might run a little high and that their interactions would not be as balanced as usual (Katara and Aang have a great track record of communicating well with each other, as it happens!).
So we have to keep that in mind when examining the aforementioned excerpt. But there are other factors to consider, too! Namely: they are kids. Children. Teens. Aang is 12, Katara is 14.
If we want to be scientific, a personās brain doesnāt finish developing until they are 25, lmao, and the preteen/teen years are when the prefrontal cortex that controls ārationality,ā ājudgement,ā āforethought,ā etc. is still developing. This doesnāt mean Aang and Katara are irrational and make poor decisions 24/7 (obviously not), but it does mean that in an intense, highly emotional situation, like after watching a play that intentionally demeans them and depicts them as inferior, they are more likely to overreact, more likely to be emotional, and more likely to make mistakes. Like, Iām serious, lol. āTeens process information with the amygdala.ā Thatās part of the brain that helps control emotions! Itās why teens sometimes struggle to articulate what weāre thinking, especially in situations that require instinct/impulse and quick decisions, because weāre really feeling whenever we make those choices. Acting more on emotion. Our brains simply havenāt finished developing the decision-making parts, lmao.
In sum: Aang and Katara are both kids, not adults, and should be interpreted as such. This doesnāt negate their intelligence, because they are both incredibly smart and Aang is arguably the wisest of the Gaang, but they are human. Young humans. They have emotions, and we should not be so cruel as to assume theyād never act on them.
So taking that all together, we can now acknowledge the high stress Aang and Katara are under, understand why they might be upset (*cough* imperialist propaganda is hurtful *cough*), and examine how their youth might play into their emotional reactions. And funny thing - all analyses that come to the conclusion of Aang āthreateningā Katara here do not usually bother with this context. I canāt imagine why!
And you know what, letās add one more piece of context: Sokka states that Aang left the theater ālike, ten minutes ago,ā which is what cues Katara to go look for him on the balcony. The reason I mention this line is because to me, it suggests Aang knew he was more worked up than usual! He chose to separate himself from his friends so he could process his frustration! He did not take his anger at the play out on them; instead, he purposefully took time and space to be alone.
With that in mind, I donāt understand at all how Aangās Avatar state quote could be interpreted as a threat? Canonly, Aang is someone who was aware enough of his frustration to separate himself from the others - yet the logical next step is him threatening Katara as a result? He knew his intense emotions were because of the play (which he says himself), so the logical conclusion is that he then pinned the fault on Katara? What?? Sorry, that interpretation has no textual basis, lmao. But I digress!
Aang tells Katara, āIf I hadnāt blocked my chakra, Iād probably be in the Avatar State right now!ā As you said, this is the line people point to in an attempt to justify their (baseless) conclusion that Aang is āthreateningā Katara. So letās bring in the two key pieces of context: imperialist propaganda and age. Given that Aang is 12, and given that Aang has just watched almost a full play that demeans him and everything his people stood for (and letās not forget it also mocks his and Kataraās love for each other)ā¦
His reaction is understandable. An exaggeration and needlessly dramatic, but understandable. He feels vulnerable and insecure and Aang is human. He is human and flawed and he overreacts here and I love that A:TLA shows how even our heroes, even people who are truly good at heart and in soul, can get overly upset (especially given the aforementioned circumstances!). Would Aang actually be in the Avatar state at that moment, had it been possible? Of course not! Heās young and heās hurt and as such he says something dramatic to convey his anxieties and frustrations. The line is not meant to be taken literally, and seeing people do so despite all the factors that should be taken into consideration when analyzing itā¦ Cue a long, tired sigh from me and so many other A:TLA fans.
And to be honest? I cannot fathom how people watch this episode and come to the conclusion that Aang is āthreateningā Katara. To me, this episode - besides being a recap episode - is one that humanizes our cast even further. Aang snaps at Katara, kisses her when he shouldnāt (which the story appropriately treats as wrong). Katara pushes down her true feelings and retreats into herself, afraid to start a relationship with the boy she loves because sheās already lost him once before and canāt bear to do so again. Zuko further confronts the hurt heās enacted upon others, especially upon Iroh. Toph practices being vulnerable and accepting vulnerability from others by conversing with Zuko. Sokka witnesses how others have erased his contributions and labelled him as nothing more than the token nonbender in the group. Even Suki learns that she is not the only person who holds a place in Sokkaās heart and that she can never replace what he has lost.
To watch this episode where our heroes must come to terms with how the Fire Nation deems them inherently inferior, with how they have more fights to overcome in the future with the Fire Nation than a single war, and to come to the conclusion thatā¦ that what, Aang is abusive? A monster? Irredeemable? That he would threaten his best friend, someone he loves in every way?
Wow. That says more than enough about the viewer, doesnāt it?
#getting back into the swing of things babey āļø#aang#katara#kataang#kataangtag#the ember island players#atla#avatar the last airbender#amy answers#dramaticowl#amy analyzes#also i am speaking in GENERAL TERMS here lmaooo this is not a direct response to any one post šš
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