Live Blogs Opinionated Guide to Avatar: The Last Airbender

Korval2011-06-17 20:09:14

Avatar: The Last Airbender. What is there to say, really?

A lot, apparently, since I'm going to walk through each episode of the entire 61 episode run. But first, some background.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a cartoon show that ran for 3 years, from 2005 to 2007. It has become quite popular, particularly among its periphery demographic. It is often praised for having well-written characters, a story arc, good episode-to-episode continuity, and a well-developed world. It's also one of those shows you see on just about every TV Tropes page; it has a large fandom on this site.

It also had a recent film adaptation that was... universally reviled. But we're not talking about that horseshit now.

Each liveblog page will, in general, discuss a particular episode. Two parters will be handled depending on what kind of two-parter it is. If the two parter is really two episodes that chronologically flow from one to the next (ie: one starts immediately after the other, with a Sequel Hook), then I will review them as two episodes. However, if it's really just a single story told in multiple parts, then I will review it as one.

I also intend for this blog to be more analytical than humorous. I'll throw jokes in where I can, but mostly I'm here to point out what works and what doesn't. Because of that, there will be times when talking about something that happened in an episode at length would bog the actual liveblog down too much. In these cases, I will generally extract that section out of the flow of the text and put it in its own section after the episode synopsis. If you're not interested in such analysis, feel free to skip it whenever you see these sections.

Also, I will occasionally have an entire post devoted to some particular aspect of the series up to that point. These are for things that deserve a detailed calling out on, but don't fit into the season introductions. Usually, this is something that covers events from multiple previous episodes. These too are skippable, though you may be missing some interesting analysis.

For those who have not seen this series, there will be some light spoilers for later episodes. I'll minimize them somewhat, in case you're following along for the first time at home. And I won't reveal the most important ones, unless they have been heavily foreshadowed or are otherwise obvious. If I need to analyze a scene in context of something later, I'll generally only present as much as you need to know at that time to understand what I'm saying.

Also, please read the title. This is the opinionated guide to Avatar. You don't have to agree with anything I say here. You should find that most of these opinions do at least have some evidential support, even if you disagree with the conclusion. I welcome discussion where it happens, so if you agree or disagree, feel free to point it out in the comments section.

Lastly, particularly in the early episodes, you may get the impression that I hate this show. I don't. It's a good show, with quality writing and production values. It's well worth your time, and I even own the last two seasons on DVD (NetFlix lets me watch season 1 whenever I want). But that doesn't mean that I will let crap past, and it's hard to argue that the show started on its best foot. If the show does something wrong, I'm going to call it out.

Book 1: Water

The show's seasons are called "books." For some reason. I don't get it either; books do not prominently figure prominently within the show's overall theme or general milieu. Indeed, one main character is completely illiterate. In any case, season one is called Book 1: Water.

Normally, for the introduction to a season, I will do a look back at what transpired and a look forward, with some detailed analysis. My goal in such sections is to make some particular point about the show that you may not have thought about.

But, since there is no prior season as of yet, instead, I will go over the general concepts behind this world. That way, I don't have to clog up the episodes themselves with such minutiae.

The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender consists of several cultures, most of them drawn from Asian influences. In this world, there are elemental manipulators known as "benders:" Airbenders, Firebenders, Waterbenders, and Earthbenders. Bending, to varying degrees, relies on movements based on real-world martial arts. So when a firebender throws a karate-like punch, a fireball emerges from his fist.

There are a number of large nations that have arisen around bending forms. The Earth Kingdom occupies the largest landmass in the world. There are two Water Tribes, one in the North Pole and one in the South Pole. The Air Nomads occupied 4 hidden air temples in the north, south, east, and west (four winds. Get it?) of the Earth Kingdom's landmass. And the Fire Nation is on a large island to the west of the Earth Kingdom.

Each nation has a loose basis in some real-world culture. The Earth Kingdom bears a striking resemblance to Imperial China. The Water Tribes are Inuits as they live on the ice. The Air Nomads seem very typically Buddhist monk-ish. And the Fire Nation is some kind of hybrid between Imperial Japan and China with some Indian (India-Indian) influences thrown in.

The nations are also color coded. The Water Tribes wear blue, the Earth Kingdom wears greens, the Fire Nation wears reds, and the Air Nomads wear tans and browns. This extends to just about everyone's dress in these nations; rare is the person who dresses out of color for their nation.

The titular Avatar is a perpetually reincarnated being. He/She is the only individual capable of bending all four elements (or even just more than one), and he/she is charged with defending the world and maintaining the "balance". Exactly what that means is never really explained, but it generally means that each nation stays where it is and doesn't invade another. Or something.

Comments

Ghilz Since: Dec, 1969

Aug 4th 2011 at 8:09:18 PM

Now we know why Chin the Conquerer was able to take over the Earth Kingdom (save Ba Sing Se, of course). What I don't understand is why Kyoshi didn't just anoint him Earth King (since he actually does stuff) and take out the current one? Oh that's right; preserving "the balance". Because in the Avatar-verse, you're not allowed to overthrow your current ineffectual government and make something that actually works. Unless of course, you're the Avatar; then you get to create your own little fiefdom (Kyoshi Island) and overthrow a guy who's actually building a nation.

Didja miss the part where Kioshi called Chin a cruel tyrant and we see him attack someone (who is in kneeling before him) with earth bending?

"doing stuff" doesn't mean Chin was a better ruler. Better to have someone that does nothing than one who goes around gratuitously attacking and killing.

Emperordaein Since: Dec, 1969

Aug 4th 2011 at 9:12:27 PM

And I don't mean that they beat the army. Or that they get past the army. I mean that the Earth Kingdom army defending the palace never even comes close to stopping them. The Gaang makes them look like a bunch of poorly dressed fools. Nobody lays so much as a stone on them. At no point are the Gaang ever in anything even remotely approaching danger or peril. They effortlessly smack down everything that highly experienced earthbending soldiers throw at them.

This reminds me so much of Thane's recruitment mission in Mass Effect 2 when Shepherd and Co. Murder an entire building's worth of Eclipse Mercs to find Thane. Then you find Nassana, and the conversation goes something like this:

Shepherd: Hey Nassana! I know you know I murdered your sister on your orders, but I am here to tell you that I murdered my way through your entire security staff who was protecting your from the assassin to ask where the assassin that is trying to kill you is!

Nassana: I hate you so much right now.

Of course that I can accept, because it's Commander motherfucking Shepherd and that's how he/she rolls.

We cut for a bit to Iroh taking care of Zuko, who has a fever.

Fun fact: This is what inspired Hbi2k to create the Angst Coma trope in Escaflowne Abridged. It's when the brain shuts down as it rapidly approaches the Sasuke limit, before bounding into the Shinji zone.

Cut to Sokka and Aang. Sokka starts talking about his positive attitude, and how that got them where they are. Then he says, "Everything’s gonna work out perfectly, from now on and forever."

Richard Hammond: "Oh, I've missed the prang of dread whenever somebody says that....''

JusticeMan Since: Dec, 1969

Aug 7th 2011 at 12:08:28 AM

Sokka is the team planner and the invasion was pretty much his idea, Long Feng only needed Aapa since the Gaang wouldn't go against him, and it was public frikkin' knowledge that they were in Ba Sing Se, Aang wasn't exactly discreet when he stopped that drill or built the zoo.

Now to the "good" I actually agree with you on the Earth-stomp. although it looked positively awesome it was a serious characterization flaw. One of the things I like about Avatar is how we can see power development; Katara going from the little girl in Season 1 to kicking ass in the Painted Lady is a good example. But having such a power jump this early really cheapness the deal. An argument can be made that with a war going on, nobody would spend the best benders guarding a puppet king in an area that was considered impervious to attack in the first place, but plotwise it makes it come off cheap.

I'd also like to note that guys named "The Conqueror" usually aren't that good. So Kyoshi held up a powerless Monarch we have those now, this guy was most likely killing burning and raping his way through a continent and it was pretty much her job to protect them. She made Kyoshi island (her homeland) not as a feifdom as you put it, but as she said, to protect her people from that kind of crap again, and so far ut seems. To have worked. Kyoshi island stayed ''completely" out of the war all this time.

All in all you are a cathartic fellow but your heart is in the right place and I'd love to see how you work editing.

Kalaong Since: Dec, 1969

Feb 12th 2012 at 5:53:10 PM

"Apparently, Long Feng was keeping information from the Gaang. A letter addressed to Toph says that her mother is in the city and wants to speak with her. There is also the message from the Guru back in Appa's Lost Days; Long Feng took it from Appa's horn. And there's an intelligence report of some Southern Water Tribe warriors nearby lead by Katara and Sokka's dad Hakoda.

Now wait a minute. Long Feng had all the information he needed right here to bribe all of the Gaang members into doing whatever he wanted."

You could say that. Or you could say that Long Feng had all the information he needed right here to get at least three of the Gaang members(particularly the human WMD and the earthquake that walks like a girl) out of the city for a while. And it was just lying around where a naive bookworm whom Long Feng has known since childhood could find it.

Say. It. With. Me.

It's a trap!

Codafett Since: Dec, 1969

Dec 5th 2013 at 3:35:42 PM

I agree that the Gaang did make fools out of the Earth Army.