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oneatlatime · 1 year ago

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Bato of the Water Tribe

Bilingual bonus in the title. Also, completely not kidding, I tried to type Bato and my fingers automatically filled out Baton Rouge.

Sokka's battle reconstruction abilities reminding me of Count Ruegen's from the Princess Bride.

I'm not seeing any flags or other identification on that ship, so I guess Sokka knows it's from his dad's fleet because he memorised what all the ships in his dad's fleet looked like? That's both sweet and heartbreaking.

That giant mole dog thing just bit through metal. I'm guessing this thing has no pain receptors in its face.

I'm with Zuko on this one. That lady is too young for Iroh.

Be still my heart!!! Is this going to be a Sokka episode?

Pretty.

BABY SOKKA!!!!!! Also his dad has either a very poofy coat or a tiny head.

Right out the gate, in a scene that can't last more than 30 seconds, we see that the Water Tribe has infinitely superior parenting skills to the Fire Nation. Mr. Firelord could take a couple of lessons from this guy.

Whoever is voicing Bato (thank you avatar writers for putting his name in the title so I can spell it) is doing it absolutely perfectly. Beautiful buttery voice with just a little roughness around the upper and lower edges, and - I won't describe this right - but there's the sound of experience and familiarity in the voice. This is a guy who has lived lots of life, but also lived lots of life with Sokka and Katara. He's really selling their connection and their relationship (which I presume is like those parents' random friends you call uncle and aunt who aren't biologically related - fictive kin).

Either water tribe growth spurts come late or Bato is stupidly tall. Also loving the toga look. Don't quite know how it's staying up, but it does look comfy.

"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey." HOLD UP WHERE'S THE FANFIC 50K SLOW BURN HURT/COMFORT FRIENDS TO LOVERS GIMMEEEEEE

Sorry Bato, but your boat is a ship. Not a boat. It's ship-sized.

Katara's like 'Sokka no that's mean!' Bato's like 'oh god there's two of them.' Lovely stealthy worldbuilding here. We've only seen Sokka and Katara's dad in that 30 second flashback, which told us he was loving. Now we know he's also funny. One line, and the writers double the depth.

Aang get off your high horse. We know you're a vegetarian, but Sokka and Katara left home for the first time only a few weeks ago and are probably getting homesick by now so stuff it! Tangent time: can you imagine how happy Sokka and Katara must be at having a familiar face in a place made familiar, who probably has news of their dad? There's no indication that any of the water tribe men have been home on leave since they all (apparently literally ALL) left home years ago. This is like Christmas for them.

Quick lesson to all you youngins out there: one day you may have children. And if you do, unless your children have the upmost loving respect for you, you will lose all ability to make them follow the rules as soon as they learn about the kind of stuff you got up to when you were their age. So don't post it online. Don't brag about it. Don't document it. They will find out. Children have noses like a bloodhound's for yesteryear's parental shenanigans. Also don't stick an octopus on your head under any circumstances.

Seriously though, I'm loving the insight into normal (ie not avatar or war related) water tribe life. Adds depth to the characters and the culture.

At the end of the episode with the Blue spirit, Aang talked about how he had friends all over the world before the war. During all this global visiting, was he never taught the laws of hospitality? Or basic politeness? Don't touch people's stuff. Learn to sit still for five minutes. It's not always about you.

I had completely forgotten about Katara's necklace. I didn't enjoy Imrpisoned much, so I guess I blanked that plot point.

"You can come with me, and see your father again" once again Bato's voice actor hitting it out of the park. I felt for a moment like it was two years since I'd seen my father and I was so excited for the chance to see him again.

A surprisingly mature stance from both Sokka and Katara here. Actually, despite Sokka's hinted-at father worship I'm not surprised that he made the mature choice. He's the one who's been keeping them on track the whole time. But I am a bit surprised that Katara was ok with missing out on a chance to see her father. She's been the one chasing after butterflies and that's one heck of a butterfly.

Aang DONT

Goddamn he did. Aang has no manners and no brain this episode. Come on.

Zuko and company taking us on a world tour. Popping into previous episodes is a cool idea.

Haybending. Another entry on the list of vaguely defined avatar powers.

Is this ice dodging thing going where I think it's going? Because if so, I am completely on board.

I finished the fortuneteller episode pretty peeved at the plot in general, but I gotta say I admire the balls on this lady. Only person in the village with a spine (and a brain). Followed up with a pretty banger line from Iroh. If Iroh is looking for some action he should check out this lady rather than the bounty hunter. They could make increasingly cryptic comments over a shared pot of tea and annoy Zuko so much he turns colours.

The most intense Bar Mitzvah I've ever seen. As a general rule, Bar Mitzvahs don't (usually) involve the possibility of a body count.

What's on Sokka's face?

Just going to slip in some sneaky meditation. Seems like a quiet enough spot.

You know, I think Katara's actually in the correct pose for holding the mainsail. Obviously Sokka has nautical knowledge, but I guess Katara sails too.

Can we talk for a moment about how sweet it is that Sokka finds a way to turn his test of manhood into a group project? To be clear, I think his greater motivation was the glory of greater achievement, but it's so very Sokka to find a way to include his sister.

That's pretty funny.

Wisdom is appropriate for Sokka. Bravery is appropriate for Katara, mostly because wisdom certainly isn't (*cough* Jet *cough*).

Interesting that it's Sokka who has a Katara-style blow up over the missing map. I definitely buy this. So soon after a very personal and important ritual that both connects them to their people and - by necessity - reminds them of who isn't there at the moment (dad), Sokka and Katara would both be sensitive to anything dad-related. Normally Katara is 100% ride or die for Aang, but pre-existing family is about the only exception I can think of that she would make for that policy.

"I'm an idiot Momo." YEP.

So the mole dog thing bashed the gate in, to turn in a circle and leave after ten seconds? Was that worth the headache caused by using your head as a battering ram? Especially when the very leapable wall was right there?

Side note, I would pay good money to be able to keep my hair as perfect and my makeup as unsmudged as this bounty hunter lady can, especially while doing extreme sports.

Lo and behold, he gets it. His dad told him he would get it someday. Kudos to Bato for the stealth teenage wrangling that prompted Sokka's epiphany. Bato didn't have to phrase his explanation of the wolf in a way that so paralleled the situation with Aang, but he chose to for a reason. I think Bato and Iroh should sit down for a drink and exchange stealth teenager wrangling tactics.

This is so perfect. Bato's not even their dad but he's Dadding so well! Letting them come to their own conclusions (with only a gentle nudge), respecting that decision and affirming that it's the right one by stating that their dad is 100% for sure super proud of what they're doing, then - the cherry on top - giving them a way to BOTH go with Aang AND see their dad if the opportunity presents. And then leaving a message at the rendezvous point as a last bit of long distance dadding.

Side note: I'm hoping Bato's bandages are cosmetic only, otherwise that backpack strap is going to be murder after half an hour.

Side side note: if Bato is walking to the rendezvous point, what happened to his ship?

How does the nun know about the necklace?

That poor gate gets no respect.

This mole dog thing sure is getting whipped a lot. I don't like that.

Pro tip: if your opponent has horns the size of a grown man and is looking for a headbutting contest, just walk away. Poor mole dog thing has no eyes, so he tragically can't see the horns and gets thoroughly curb stomped.

Would Aang really look this worried about fighting Zuko? He's come out on top one way or another in every fight they've had so far.

Some elements don't mix. Good to know.

Iroh. Forget about it. Bounty Hunter lady has extreme non-straight energy. Go for the fortuneteller instead.

Appa showing that he does not subscribe to Aang's pacifist philosophy. If the bounty hunter hadn't dodged she would have been a thin paste on Appa's paw.

I'm seeing lots of parallels in this fight. At one point Aang recycles Zuko's move, after they've switched so that Zuko is in Aang's original place. Neat.

I really know nothing about fight choreography, but this action is followable and entertaining, so I'm calling these fights good.

This episode's Beat Up Sokka quota is now fulfilled.

This well set piece is making me giggle.

You tell him Appa!

I get that they're the bad guys, but that poor mole dog thing can't catch a break. The trick with the perfume must have been distressing, if not also painful.

Skeezy. Knock it off.

I hope Zuko got a new clasp for that necklace while he had it.

Final Thoughts

Well, I finally got my long-desired Sokka episode. It contained less Sokka than I thought a Sokka episode would have. But I do feel like I have better insight into his character. The somewhat exaggerated attempts at manliness (followed up by a genuinely terrifying need to be the man of the tribe) of the first two episodes now have context. (I could include the Kyoshi Warriors episode in that statement too, but I felt Sokka wasn't in character that episode so I won't)

Sokka was told that he was too young (true) to join the men at war. Sokka being Sokka, what he heard was that he wasn't manly enough rather than wasn't old enough, hence the compensatory manliness at the start of the show. But, and this bit is probably more important now that Sokka is a certified man, Sokka also seems to define himself through serving others, particularly his sister. His dad tells him to protect his sister in the flashback; I think his grandmother said something similar to him when they left the south pole. Having your life's purpose 100% rooted outside of yourself is generally not a great idea. I pointed out a few episodes ago that Sokka has that classic teenage boy combination of soaring ego/crashing self-esteem; I now see why. Whatever his dad's and grandma's intentions in telling Sokka to look after his sister, Sokka has interpreted that request as becoming his sister's human shield, provider, brain/planner, and - if needed - sacrifice. Pretty hard to think too much of yourself when your life's work is to serve and die for another. This also explains why I keep seeing Katara outsourcing her thinking - she's basically been told to, and Sokka believes it's his duty.

I love Bato. I love his design, his voice, his purpose in the narrative. Excellent combination of worldbuilding, character work, and a light-hearted reminder that fun can still be had, even by grown ups who are actively fighting a war. My heart did a funny flip when I realised that I was being introduced to a responsible adult. That's how I know that I'm a proper grown-up: swooning at the notion of our main characters finally getting some caring adult supervision.

I love the family tidbits that Bato gives us. One throwaway line and we know that Sokka and his dad have the same sense of humour. Another half-referenced anecdote and we learn that Sokka's so-genius-it's-stupid manic tendencies, which are excellent at getting them all out of tight spots, are inherited or learned from a father who has similarly outlandish adventures pretty regularly. And it's such an effective story hook! Dangling small tidbits and noodle incidents leaves me wanting more.

Aang. Oh Aang. His problems this episode were self-inflicted, my least favourite type of narrative. I've gone hard in the past on Katara for her self-inflicted problems, so it's only fair I go hard on Aang too. If he had just behaved properly and not gone off in a sulk over being less than the centre of all attention for five whole minutes, he would have heard Sokka and Katara turn down the offer to see their father. But he just had to be an asshole for the first few minutes of the episode, and things snowballed from there.

That being said, all his actions from that point on do make perfect sense. 12 year old whose entire civilisation has been wiped out and who actually discovered his father figure's remains is NOT going to be ok with the idea of his remaining support system deserting him. Especially since the actions he took the last time his support system was threatened (running away) kind of inadvertently caused his support's system's extermination. Of course he's going to be irrational, to cling twice as hard to what he has left, by fair means or foul.

One thing I do like about Aang's otherwise dumbass behaviour is that he knows 100% that's it wrong to hide the map from the moment he does it. No initial self-justifications and gradual creeping doubts. He's doing wrong and he knows it. Shows he has a moral compass.

Zuko's plan of tracking the Avatar by Katara's necklace was solid, and he only lost because he's the villain in a kid's cartoon and is thus contractually obligated to lose. Iroh was not so great this episode.

I adored the Water tribe stuff. The intersecting fights at the end were very good. The Aang stuff was annoying, if understandable. And we'd already learned in previous episodes that Sokka and Katara were ride or die for Aang, which is the ultimate lesson here. It was interesting to learn that the breaking point for that statement is family, but other than that, no new info. I love this episode, but I would have loved it even more if it had more Sokka and Bato and less Aang.

I hope they went back and collected the map.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #bato of the water tribe #avatar the last airbender

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