Aphrael (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
silverthunder) wrote2009-12-05 11:45 am
silverthunder) wrote2009-12-05 11:45 am
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Avatar Season Three and Final Impressions
So, as you might have noticed from last night's post, Cody and I watched the finale episodes of Avatar last night.
It was AWESOME. Everything I could've hoped for and more. An epic end to an absolutely fantastic series.
I haven't mentioned the music in this series up until this point. It's good. Through the whole series, I've been utterly in love with it, but they stepped it up even further in the final four episodes. The music playing during the battle with Ozai was phenomenal. I can't express just how awesome it is; really, you just have to hear it, and you have to hear it while watching the episodes and knowing what they mean and what's led up to it.
In other words, watch the series.
In this review, I talked a lot about the various bending abilities with some curiousity about where they originated and why it was that only the Avatar could use all four. The question of origin - the ABSOLUTE origin, not just where each nation learned their bending from - is answered here. The introduction of this new bending seemed to fit just right for me. They don't come right out and explain it - which is good, because I love to speculate - but I think I may have been right that bending evolved and each nation took on its own form of it based on which creatures taught them. I don't think a person is born only able to bend one element; you are born able to bend any, and culturally develop towards that one. It closes the door to the others. Because the Avatar is connected to the spirit realm, he or she isn't restricted by this cultural limitation.
One small slightly unrelated note: the dragons in the Fire Nation were AWESOME. Best bending instructors ever. You gotta admit, it's true.
The story picks up where season two ended, and it just takes off from there. Remember how I said season two trumped season one without question? Well, season three trumped season two the same way. It's darker, edgier, and the pace picks up. Character exploration becomes darker and a great deal of introspection takes place here. Our heroes actually gather their forces and make their move... and fail spectacularly. Regrouping becomes that much harder. Everything builds up and builds up - right to the finale battle, which was EPIC. Incredibly so. The combined battle for Ba Sing Se / airship fight / Azula vs Zuka / Ozai vs Aang was done masterfully. Everything flowed well. The action left you on the edge of your seat at all times. It was just... brilliant.
One thing I especially liked about that final battle is that there was no extended worrying for loved ones. Everyone focused on what they had to do, silently trusting that the others would do their part and come out okay. This really showed in two spots: when Suki fell with the first airship, and when Zuko tries to bring up Aang to Katara. Sokka and Toph move on without Suki; Katara brushes off Zuko's concern with the assertion that Aang will succeed and they should focus on taking down Azula instead.
The characters of this series were wonderful. I can't say enough about them. Even the side characters were given careful thought and often made re-apperances when you thought you'd seen the last of them.
I have to say, Iroh impressed me the most this season. I know I said this before, but that old man is just damn crafty! He escapes on his own, without relying on help from Zuko or anyone else. He gathers an elite force and re-takes Ba Sing Se. He waited all this time for Zuko to find the right path on his own. The scene where they reunite practically had me in tears! I'm tearing up just remembering it. Iroh has such simple dignity, such emotion, such care. Without even being in the spotlight that much, he steals the show.
Zuko went on the biggest emotional journey through this whole series, and that's saying a lot. This season really showed where his destination was. The scene where he defies his father was brilliant. His eagerness to prove himself to the others was clear from there. He did his best to make peace with them, going so far as to risk his life on journeys with first Aang, then Sokka, and then Katara. I have to say that I loved the friendship between Zuko and Katara. I love that they started out with such hatred between them (Katara's, and rightfully earned, if somewhat irrational) and ended the series saving each other's lives. I love that it was a platonic connection (they both end up with other people), proving that a deep bond of friendship between two people of the opposite gender does not HAVE to be romantic. It was very powerful.
I'm sure everyone has commented on this already, but I really wish we'd gotten the answer to the question of where Zuko's mother is! It seems appropriate to leave it hanging (it wasn't an integral part of the plot), but I still wish we knew!
Katara went on an emotional journey this season as well. First the bloodbending and then the quest for revenge. The latter shows how much anger she has, how quickly she loses her temper and behaves irrationally. I felt it most when she lashed out at Sokka, telling him he didn't love their mother enough because he has no need to avenge her death. It's very much in her nature not to listen when someone tells her something she doesn't want to hear. Sokka and Aang knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't feel any better for giving in to that dark part of herself, but she chooses to listen to Zuko (who knows her not at all at this point) because he's saying what she wants to hear. It was very like her... but not like her at the same time. People are like that when confronted with the things that hurt them the most. It reminded me of how Sokka lost his rationality and calm when Azula mentioned Suki during the invasion.
Sokka... Oh, I love Sokka no matter what, but he really got his chance to shine in this season. The invasion plan was his (would've gone off brilliantly if Azula hadn't been tipped off to it previously), the escape from the Boiling Rock was made because of him, and overall he really made his best effort to "not be useless". When he was never useless to begin with. I really enjoyed the episode where he learned swordsmanship, because he didn't lose that goofiness that always characterized him, but still managed to become competent and take his training seriously. He blames himself too easily for things that go wrong outside of his control, but I like that he doesn't sit around and angst over it - he acts. I nearly started crying for him when Azula was taunting him with Suki. For someone like Sokka, that must have been all the more awful to hear - that he somehow failed a loved one. It had to have eased his mind to find her again and help her escape.
I loved that she took charge during that escape, though. Come on, who else thought it was awesome when she climbed up the wall and took the warden prisoner BY HERSELF? It was so cool! Team her up with Sokka and you've got a great combo: he plans, she carries it out. But I'll get to that later. It's too bad we didn't get much chance to explore Suki's character, but a lot of it does come out from her actions.
Toph was a bit overlooked this season, which was really too bad. She ended up doing a lot of awesome things, but we didn't delve into her character nearly as much as the others. I did appreciate the scene where she asks Katara to help her with a letter to her parents. And her fight at the end is EPIC. She bends the door into a METAL SUIT! AWESOME! Toph is just incredible. Seeing her silently crying at the end when it seems like that's it and she's going to die wrung at my heart. It's the first time we've seen her really cry, and that was certainly the moment for it.
Mai and Ty Lee got more development here, although I was a lot more impressed by them in the second episde of Boiling Rock than in the scene where they explain their background and why they are the way they are. The Beach was more of a filler episode anyway. It spoke a little about the characters, but it was mostly humor. Mai's iconic line is now "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you." As powerful as that was, though, I found more emotional power in the scene where Zuko locks her in the cell and they stare at each other through the slit at the top of the door. You can only see her eyes, but the way they shake! And Ty Lee didn't need to say anything; she protected Mai! She ATTACKED AZULA to protect Mai. She looked like she didn't even know why she did it; it was an automatic reaction. The fact that she became a Kyoshi warrier at the end was just made of AWESOME, too. What a perfect ending for her!
And then Azula... what a complicated mess of emotions was Azula at the end. Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal started the degeneration of her sanity, and in the end - she had nothing. There was absolutely nothing left of her in the girl who cried and raged and spat fire in helpless fury. I'll admit, even though I thought she was creepy, I had tears in my eyes through that scene and the scene where she sees her mother in the mirror! Oh, wow. It made her a much clearer person. They couldn't have made a more powerful end for her, or a more decisive victory for Zuko. Like her father, she suffers far more from this than she ever could have from death, regardless of how painful it would have been. Zuko might as well have taken her bending the way Aang did to Ozai; her loss of control serves the same purpose in the end.
Aang... He started the season so full of uncertainty and helplessness. It was like he was not himself in that first episode. Even when he recovers, we have hints that he's not the same. For all his cheerfulness, there's more weight sitting on his shoulders now, and it's given him a certain gravity. The first episode of the finale made me think back to when Appa was taken; he lashes out at everyone, because no one can help him through it. No one can understand what this means to him, and although he reaches out to whoever he can think of looking for answers, it isn't until he gives up that it's presented to him. Honestly, though, the part where I saw how clearly he'd changed was in Ember Island Players. There was no blushing, no stammering - he looks Katara in the eye and asks her clearly and concisely where they stand. This is just not the same Aang from season one. The Aang from season one wouldn't have even kissed her before the invasion.
Which leads me to... shipping. Yay?
Aang/Katara. There it is - I knew it would happen at the end, and it does. The ending kiss was beautiful. I'd have been happier with it if we had more of a bridge (on Katara's part) between 'I'm confused' and 'I kiss you now and neither of us is surprised at all'. It's a fairy-tale ending and it's romantic to think that they understood everything in that one look they shared at Zuko's coronation, but I still would've preferred some discussion. I like awkward first love; it's endearing. I loved this pairing for what it was. I loved when he had the daydream of telling her clearly that he loved her but then couldn't face the real her when he woke up. I loved that he kissed her before the invasion without hesitation because he might never get another chance. And I loved that he asked her how she felt for him and confessed that he'd hoped they would just 'be together' after the kiss and was confused when they weren't. I even loved that she felt awkward enough to play with her hair and tell him it wasn't the right time and she was confused and didn't have time to think about it. My heart wrung for him when he came back in, having it flung back in his face from the play yet again. The kiss was brilliant and set off with gorgeous music and scenery and it did give a certain emotional payoff, but I wanted the discussion too.
I still adore this pairing - it's definitely my favorite. Katara is headstrong, often irrational, and easily set off. She dwells too much on her negative emotions. Aang may be prone to acting without thinking, but he's more often calm and rational. It takes a lot to set him off. But he can be too careless and sometimes has trouble seeing the overlying effects of his actions; Katara is often there to remind him. When he is irrational, she is there for him. When she is irrational, he is there for her. Even if they can't do anything to help, they're both aware that just being there as support is the most important thing.
Any recs for good fanfiction and/or art would be appreciated! I've found some myself, but there are always those hidden gems you miss.
Sokka/Suki. I couldn't have found a better match for Sokka. I know I mentioned it above, but Sokka and Suki make a brilliant team. He plans - she acts. She's a stronger fighter than he is, but they still protect each other and yet don't expect the other to 'stay where it's safe' or any such nonsense. He has certain issues with his self-worth and his view of himself; she's a good person to help him keep his perspective. I think Toph would've been good at this as well, or even Ty Lee, but I think Suki is the best.
I'd like fanfiction/fanart recs of Sokka/Suki most of all, but Sokka/Toph and Sokka/Ty Lee would be neat, too.
Zuko/Mai. Y'know, when this pairing popped in out of nowhere and had them kissing on the screen, I took it for a crack pairing at first. I liked it - don't get me wrong - but their interactions were just so amusing. She seems to be the perfect person for Zuko, though. Where he is so easily excitable, she's calm. She doesn't let her emotions get the best of her, even when she seems to be acting impetuously. He's the opposite. They'll be a good balance for each other. And I know I said this before, but I loved the scene where he locks her in the cell. It's a short scene, but there's so much emotion there - so much love and misunderstanding between them. But in the end, even that is forgiven. The scene where she shows up to help him with his robes and they kiss was fantastic. Especially her last line. Hehe.
And yes, Zuko/Mai fanfiction/fanart recs would also be muchly appreciated.
What a ride with this series! It had everything it needed: a well-developed setting, interesting powers and abilities, awesome fight scenes, a fantastic plot, and wonderful, wonderful characters. I am seriously blown away. I don't think I've felt quite so impressed with a series in a long, long time. It's just... everything I want in a show.
EDIT:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
herongale has a much better analysis of Avatar's ending that I completely agree with.
It was AWESOME. Everything I could've hoped for and more. An epic end to an absolutely fantastic series.
I haven't mentioned the music in this series up until this point. It's good. Through the whole series, I've been utterly in love with it, but they stepped it up even further in the final four episodes. The music playing during the battle with Ozai was phenomenal. I can't express just how awesome it is; really, you just have to hear it, and you have to hear it while watching the episodes and knowing what they mean and what's led up to it.
In other words, watch the series.
In this review, I talked a lot about the various bending abilities with some curiousity about where they originated and why it was that only the Avatar could use all four. The question of origin - the ABSOLUTE origin, not just where each nation learned their bending from - is answered here. The introduction of this new bending seemed to fit just right for me. They don't come right out and explain it - which is good, because I love to speculate - but I think I may have been right that bending evolved and each nation took on its own form of it based on which creatures taught them. I don't think a person is born only able to bend one element; you are born able to bend any, and culturally develop towards that one. It closes the door to the others. Because the Avatar is connected to the spirit realm, he or she isn't restricted by this cultural limitation.
One small slightly unrelated note: the dragons in the Fire Nation were AWESOME. Best bending instructors ever. You gotta admit, it's true.
The story picks up where season two ended, and it just takes off from there. Remember how I said season two trumped season one without question? Well, season three trumped season two the same way. It's darker, edgier, and the pace picks up. Character exploration becomes darker and a great deal of introspection takes place here. Our heroes actually gather their forces and make their move... and fail spectacularly. Regrouping becomes that much harder. Everything builds up and builds up - right to the finale battle, which was EPIC. Incredibly so. The combined battle for Ba Sing Se / airship fight / Azula vs Zuka / Ozai vs Aang was done masterfully. Everything flowed well. The action left you on the edge of your seat at all times. It was just... brilliant.
One thing I especially liked about that final battle is that there was no extended worrying for loved ones. Everyone focused on what they had to do, silently trusting that the others would do their part and come out okay. This really showed in two spots: when Suki fell with the first airship, and when Zuko tries to bring up Aang to Katara. Sokka and Toph move on without Suki; Katara brushes off Zuko's concern with the assertion that Aang will succeed and they should focus on taking down Azula instead.
The characters of this series were wonderful. I can't say enough about them. Even the side characters were given careful thought and often made re-apperances when you thought you'd seen the last of them.
I have to say, Iroh impressed me the most this season. I know I said this before, but that old man is just damn crafty! He escapes on his own, without relying on help from Zuko or anyone else. He gathers an elite force and re-takes Ba Sing Se. He waited all this time for Zuko to find the right path on his own. The scene where they reunite practically had me in tears! I'm tearing up just remembering it. Iroh has such simple dignity, such emotion, such care. Without even being in the spotlight that much, he steals the show.
Zuko went on the biggest emotional journey through this whole series, and that's saying a lot. This season really showed where his destination was. The scene where he defies his father was brilliant. His eagerness to prove himself to the others was clear from there. He did his best to make peace with them, going so far as to risk his life on journeys with first Aang, then Sokka, and then Katara. I have to say that I loved the friendship between Zuko and Katara. I love that they started out with such hatred between them (Katara's, and rightfully earned, if somewhat irrational) and ended the series saving each other's lives. I love that it was a platonic connection (they both end up with other people), proving that a deep bond of friendship between two people of the opposite gender does not HAVE to be romantic. It was very powerful.
I'm sure everyone has commented on this already, but I really wish we'd gotten the answer to the question of where Zuko's mother is! It seems appropriate to leave it hanging (it wasn't an integral part of the plot), but I still wish we knew!
Katara went on an emotional journey this season as well. First the bloodbending and then the quest for revenge. The latter shows how much anger she has, how quickly she loses her temper and behaves irrationally. I felt it most when she lashed out at Sokka, telling him he didn't love their mother enough because he has no need to avenge her death. It's very much in her nature not to listen when someone tells her something she doesn't want to hear. Sokka and Aang knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't feel any better for giving in to that dark part of herself, but she chooses to listen to Zuko (who knows her not at all at this point) because he's saying what she wants to hear. It was very like her... but not like her at the same time. People are like that when confronted with the things that hurt them the most. It reminded me of how Sokka lost his rationality and calm when Azula mentioned Suki during the invasion.
Sokka... Oh, I love Sokka no matter what, but he really got his chance to shine in this season. The invasion plan was his (would've gone off brilliantly if Azula hadn't been tipped off to it previously), the escape from the Boiling Rock was made because of him, and overall he really made his best effort to "not be useless". When he was never useless to begin with. I really enjoyed the episode where he learned swordsmanship, because he didn't lose that goofiness that always characterized him, but still managed to become competent and take his training seriously. He blames himself too easily for things that go wrong outside of his control, but I like that he doesn't sit around and angst over it - he acts. I nearly started crying for him when Azula was taunting him with Suki. For someone like Sokka, that must have been all the more awful to hear - that he somehow failed a loved one. It had to have eased his mind to find her again and help her escape.
I loved that she took charge during that escape, though. Come on, who else thought it was awesome when she climbed up the wall and took the warden prisoner BY HERSELF? It was so cool! Team her up with Sokka and you've got a great combo: he plans, she carries it out. But I'll get to that later. It's too bad we didn't get much chance to explore Suki's character, but a lot of it does come out from her actions.
Toph was a bit overlooked this season, which was really too bad. She ended up doing a lot of awesome things, but we didn't delve into her character nearly as much as the others. I did appreciate the scene where she asks Katara to help her with a letter to her parents. And her fight at the end is EPIC. She bends the door into a METAL SUIT! AWESOME! Toph is just incredible. Seeing her silently crying at the end when it seems like that's it and she's going to die wrung at my heart. It's the first time we've seen her really cry, and that was certainly the moment for it.
Mai and Ty Lee got more development here, although I was a lot more impressed by them in the second episde of Boiling Rock than in the scene where they explain their background and why they are the way they are. The Beach was more of a filler episode anyway. It spoke a little about the characters, but it was mostly humor. Mai's iconic line is now "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you." As powerful as that was, though, I found more emotional power in the scene where Zuko locks her in the cell and they stare at each other through the slit at the top of the door. You can only see her eyes, but the way they shake! And Ty Lee didn't need to say anything; she protected Mai! She ATTACKED AZULA to protect Mai. She looked like she didn't even know why she did it; it was an automatic reaction. The fact that she became a Kyoshi warrier at the end was just made of AWESOME, too. What a perfect ending for her!
And then Azula... what a complicated mess of emotions was Azula at the end. Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal started the degeneration of her sanity, and in the end - she had nothing. There was absolutely nothing left of her in the girl who cried and raged and spat fire in helpless fury. I'll admit, even though I thought she was creepy, I had tears in my eyes through that scene and the scene where she sees her mother in the mirror! Oh, wow. It made her a much clearer person. They couldn't have made a more powerful end for her, or a more decisive victory for Zuko. Like her father, she suffers far more from this than she ever could have from death, regardless of how painful it would have been. Zuko might as well have taken her bending the way Aang did to Ozai; her loss of control serves the same purpose in the end.
Aang... He started the season so full of uncertainty and helplessness. It was like he was not himself in that first episode. Even when he recovers, we have hints that he's not the same. For all his cheerfulness, there's more weight sitting on his shoulders now, and it's given him a certain gravity. The first episode of the finale made me think back to when Appa was taken; he lashes out at everyone, because no one can help him through it. No one can understand what this means to him, and although he reaches out to whoever he can think of looking for answers, it isn't until he gives up that it's presented to him. Honestly, though, the part where I saw how clearly he'd changed was in Ember Island Players. There was no blushing, no stammering - he looks Katara in the eye and asks her clearly and concisely where they stand. This is just not the same Aang from season one. The Aang from season one wouldn't have even kissed her before the invasion.
Which leads me to... shipping. Yay?
Aang/Katara. There it is - I knew it would happen at the end, and it does. The ending kiss was beautiful. I'd have been happier with it if we had more of a bridge (on Katara's part) between 'I'm confused' and 'I kiss you now and neither of us is surprised at all'. It's a fairy-tale ending and it's romantic to think that they understood everything in that one look they shared at Zuko's coronation, but I still would've preferred some discussion. I like awkward first love; it's endearing. I loved this pairing for what it was. I loved when he had the daydream of telling her clearly that he loved her but then couldn't face the real her when he woke up. I loved that he kissed her before the invasion without hesitation because he might never get another chance. And I loved that he asked her how she felt for him and confessed that he'd hoped they would just 'be together' after the kiss and was confused when they weren't. I even loved that she felt awkward enough to play with her hair and tell him it wasn't the right time and she was confused and didn't have time to think about it. My heart wrung for him when he came back in, having it flung back in his face from the play yet again. The kiss was brilliant and set off with gorgeous music and scenery and it did give a certain emotional payoff, but I wanted the discussion too.
I still adore this pairing - it's definitely my favorite. Katara is headstrong, often irrational, and easily set off. She dwells too much on her negative emotions. Aang may be prone to acting without thinking, but he's more often calm and rational. It takes a lot to set him off. But he can be too careless and sometimes has trouble seeing the overlying effects of his actions; Katara is often there to remind him. When he is irrational, she is there for him. When she is irrational, he is there for her. Even if they can't do anything to help, they're both aware that just being there as support is the most important thing.
Any recs for good fanfiction and/or art would be appreciated! I've found some myself, but there are always those hidden gems you miss.
Sokka/Suki. I couldn't have found a better match for Sokka. I know I mentioned it above, but Sokka and Suki make a brilliant team. He plans - she acts. She's a stronger fighter than he is, but they still protect each other and yet don't expect the other to 'stay where it's safe' or any such nonsense. He has certain issues with his self-worth and his view of himself; she's a good person to help him keep his perspective. I think Toph would've been good at this as well, or even Ty Lee, but I think Suki is the best.
I'd like fanfiction/fanart recs of Sokka/Suki most of all, but Sokka/Toph and Sokka/Ty Lee would be neat, too.
Zuko/Mai. Y'know, when this pairing popped in out of nowhere and had them kissing on the screen, I took it for a crack pairing at first. I liked it - don't get me wrong - but their interactions were just so amusing. She seems to be the perfect person for Zuko, though. Where he is so easily excitable, she's calm. She doesn't let her emotions get the best of her, even when she seems to be acting impetuously. He's the opposite. They'll be a good balance for each other. And I know I said this before, but I loved the scene where he locks her in the cell. It's a short scene, but there's so much emotion there - so much love and misunderstanding between them. But in the end, even that is forgiven. The scene where she shows up to help him with his robes and they kiss was fantastic. Especially her last line. Hehe.
And yes, Zuko/Mai fanfiction/fanart recs would also be muchly appreciated.
What a ride with this series! It had everything it needed: a well-developed setting, interesting powers and abilities, awesome fight scenes, a fantastic plot, and wonderful, wonderful characters. I am seriously blown away. I don't think I've felt quite so impressed with a series in a long, long time. It's just... everything I want in a show.
EDIT:
herongale has a much better analysis of Avatar's ending that I completely agree with.