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[Jacob]

I've fallen super behind, but I'm catching up on Book 2 episodes now and noticing lots of little elements of foreshadowing that I hadn't seen before. The biggest one so far is this shot of an opera mask merchant carrying something awfully familiar right past Zuko...

 

[Toothless]

City of Walls and Secrets

I’ve always called this episode my favorite episode of Avatar, but on this rewatch, I’m not quite sure because I’ve just realized that I really just like this episode for introducing my favorite arc of Avatar. That said, the fight choreography in the end is fantastic, and the humor in this episode has some all-time lines, such as the “bear” exchange. The paranoia the episode invokes is well-realized, and the entire third act is crazy well-edited. Clancy Brown begins his fantastic vocal performance as Long Feng, and the very ending is chilling and effective, and is one of the all-time greats.

The Tales of Ba Sing Se

Hard to comment on this one, so I’ll just give a sentence to every tale.

- The Tale of Toph and Katara: This is really short, but it’s always nice to see Katara and Toph getting along; their dynamic is one of the show’s most interesting.
- The Tale of Iroh: Still utterly heartwrenching and the best part of the episode, Iroh’s Tale shows just how a great guy he is until utterly suckerpunching you in the end – even hearing “Little Soldier Boy” earlier on the Tale gets you a little emotional knowing what’s about to come.
- The Tale of Aang: Eh, it’s a thing that exists and is easily the weakest part of the episode; at least the zookeeper has a good story to tell.
- The Tale of Sokka: One of the best bits of comedy Avatar ever gave us.
- The Tale of Zuko: I actually really like this one, and am slightly disappointed there was never an extended version with Iroh preparing Zuko for the date. It’s cute, funny, and has a really good ending.
- The Tale of Momo: Functioning primarily as set up for the next episode, it’s an interesting experiment in character animation but I’m not a big fan

I’ve always wondered what it would be like if they edited this into one cohesive episode, but after rewatching it, I think that’s pretty impossible. The episode works because of the stories’ disconnectivity. A lot of people will list this one as one of their favorites; I’m not one of those people, but it’s still a pretty good episode.

Time for me to shill that fanfic. In His Shoes adds my favorite overplayed trope to the Avatar Universe – the body switch! Starting sometime in between The Tales of Ba Sing Se and Lake Laogai, it follows if Sokka and Zuko discovered each other in Ba Sing Se, and then fought to the death. The spirits give them another chance to live… in each other’s shoes. It plays the situation pretty well for drama but also includes plenty of fun Sokka and Zuko bits in a parallel universe of sorts. Obviously the actual series is better, but it's still worth a look if you're into fandom stuff. And now…

Appa’s Lost Days

I find this one even harder to comment on than Tales of Ba Sing Se. It’s held together by Dee Bradley Baker’s great vocal performance and it’s a really good, unconventional episode. I also appreciate the continuity nod with the circus, and Eisen voicing the Fire Nation Boy is something I always found a cool touch. I just like how it ties in all together, with Hakoda making his first appearance, the Guru obviously showing up for the first time, and the cool bit with Iroh on the boat. Azula v. the Kyoshi Warriors is neat too. It’s a good episode that, much like the previous one, is always hard to place.

 

[BKatastrophe]

- The Tale of Toph and Katara: This is really short, but it’s always nice to see Katara and Toph getting along; their dynamic is one of the show’s most interesting.

I also really enjoy this dynamic, and I feel like it's one that's greatly overshadowed in the show. While I enjoyed this part of the episode as well, the sad part is that the later episode in Book 3 that heavily focuses on the relationship is one of my least favorite episodes between both ATLA and TLoK. So, despite the fact that I really enjoy the dynamic, I only really enjoy one out of the two episodes that really focus on it.

 

[Jacob]

Tales of Ba Singe Se ranking:

1. Tale of Iroh (for obvious reasons)
2. Tale of Zuko (Jin is bae)
3. Tale of Sokka (haiku rap battle is the bomb)
4. Tale of Momo (atypical idea executed really well)
5. Tale of Toph and Katara (a nice character story but kinda unexceptional)
6. Tale of Aang (s'alright)

Also, I tried to rewatch Avatar Day with an open mind based on the number of positive responses to it on the last page, but I still don't see it. Feels way too much like a lower-tier Book 1 episode to me. The idea of Aang willingly about to be executed (and Katara doing nothing) is a massive WTF moment (and bizarrely out of place for a show where the main villains apparently never executed anyone after the Air Nomad Genocide, aside from Katara's mom), and the whole story is kinda dumb. It does have some good laughs though, and I liked the scene of Aang with the prison guys. Like a lot of those Book 1 episodes though, it was redeemed by the Zuko B-plot, which remained on par with the rest of his Book 2 story thus far.

@Toothless, I recall you mentioning that fanfic before, so I'm definitely going to give it a read.

 

[Toothless]

My Ba Sing Se ranking:

1. Iroh (DUH!)
2. Sokka (alright, this one is way too fun for it not to be #2)
3. Zuko (great little character development for Zuko, always was disappointed Jin never showed up again)
4. Toph and Katara (I love the exploration of their dynamic although I wish we spent more time on it)
5. Momo (it's a cool idea that doesn't really work for me)
6. Aang (eh... Only disappointing part of the episode)

@Toothless, I recall you mentioning that fanfic before, so I'm definitely going to give it a read.

Awesome, enjoy!

 

[Trey]

community thread is finally up.

 

[Jacob]

Cheers, Trey! Thanks for getting the new OT up. Things didn't feel right without an official homebase for AvatarGAF.

 

[Toothless]

217 Lake Laogai

Original airdate: November 6, 2006
Written by: Tim Hedrick
Directed by: Lauren MacMullan

218 The Earth King

Original airdate: November 17, 2006
Written by: John O'Bryan
Directed by: Ethan Spaulding

We have an episode where shit hits the fan and an episode that's widely considered the weakest in the Ba Sing Se arc. Long Feng's greatest moments are included in these episodes, and there are some great action highlights. There's a lot of good striking imagery in these episodes too. Let's all take a trip to Lake Laogai.

 

[BKatastrophe]

Lake Laogai is one of my favorite episodes in the series. Nay, the entire Avatarverse. Zuko's decision is such a powerful emotional moment, and the battles and Jet's death.

Sublime.

The Earth King is nice. The siege on his palace is a cool sequence. Zuko's turnaround is really nice to see.

 

[Jacob]

The last four episodes of Book 2 always sort of blend together for me. I think it's because the story becomes so serialized in the final stretch, although these two certainly have their own beats and both end in a satisfying manner. It's kind of weird; I love the Ba Sing Se arc and this is what it's all built up to, but in the past when I've tried to assemble best episode lists, these ones always get overshadowed by stand-alone episodes from earlier in the season. But I do think they're excellent, even if more of the glory goes to next week's two-parter.

NB I assume you were referring to The Earth King as the less favorably viewed episode? I agree that it's not quite as good as Lake Laogai, but I still like it a lot. I actually wasn't aware that it was commonly viewed as a comparative weak spot.

 

[Toothless]

NB I assume you were referring to The Earth King as the less favorably viewed episode? I agree that it's not quite as good as Lake Laogai, but I still like it a lot. I actually wasn't aware that it was commonly viewed as a comparative weak spot.

Yeah, I never hear people talking about The Earth King compared to any of the other Ba Sing Se arc. It's nice, but it's not like it stands out compared to literally any other episode in the arc. Anyway...

Lake Laogai

After rewatching this episode, I’m convinced this is my favorite episode of Avatar. After all, I knew it was somewhere in the Ba Sing Se arc and this one has perfect pacing despite feeling longer than 22 minutes (in a good way!) There’s more emotional beats than usual, with Appa being reunited with Aang, Jet’s entire story, and of course, Iroh blowing up at Zuko. On the latter note, is this the first episode where Greg Baldwin voices Iroh? It sounded a lot like him at points. Random note: I really like Aang’s disgust at Sokka implying Katara and Jet were a thing, haha. I also noticed this time around how tragic Jet’s storyline is. He goes to Ba Sing Se looking for redemption but he ultimately becomes a pawn and a sacrifice in the villain’s game. Toph is MVP of the episode with the introduction of her lie detector, some really funny moments, an awesome display of bending, and of course, the heartbreaking line she delivers about Jet. Lake Laogai is an episode that gets better every single time.

The Earth King

This is the episode that got me hooked on Avatar since it premiered right before the Kids Choice Awards on its premiere date. It’s funny though, this episode is notably a weakpoint in the ending of Book 2 arc. This is mostly because it’s a transitional episode with pretty boring subject matter and some weak pacing. I will say this though; the opening siege on the palace is one of the best choreographed moments of the show so far, and it’s hard not to enjoy it. The animation this episode seems oddly cheap, and although the whole episode misses more than it hits, the ending from the receiving of the letters to the very end is really well-executed, perfectly setting the stage for an amazing two-part finale.

 

[Jacob]

Quick administrative question: are we going straight from the Book 2 finale into Book 3 or are we going to take a week off like we did between the first two seasons? If the latter, I'll update the schedule in the OP.

 

[Toothless]

Quick administrative question: are we going straight from the Book 2 finale into Book 3 or are we going to take a week off like we did between the first two seasons? If the latter, I'll update the schedule in the OP.

I don't mind doing either way; the question is what would offer more discussion here? Since it always seems to be dead anyway

 

[Jacob]

Hard to say. I know for some people it's easier to stay focused and excited if they move through a show quickly. But that also makes it easier for people to fall behind. Since spacing things out further didn't help I think it might be worth going back to two or three times a week new discussions. If you feel okay with that.

 

[Toothless]

Hard to say. I know for some people it's easier to stay focused and excited if they move through a show quickly. But that also makes it easier for people to fall behind. Since spacing things out further didn't help I think it might be worth going back to two or three times a week new discussions. If you feel okay with that.

I'd be fine with that; I definitely have the time for that so no worries if you want to go that way.

 

[Jacob]

Proposed Book 3 schedule, then:

Sat 06 Jun: The Awakening & The Headband
Wed 10 Jun: The Painted Lady & Sokka's Master & The Beach
Sat 13 Jun:The Avatar and the Firelord & The Runaway
Wed 17 Jun: The Puppetmaster & Nightmares and Daydreams
Sat 20 Jun: The Day of Black Sun (two-parter)
Wed 24 Jul: The Western Air Temple & The Firebending Masters
Sat 27 Jun: The Boiling Rock (two-parter)
Wed 01 Jul: The Southern Raiders & The Ember Island Players
Sat 04 Jul: Sozin's Comet (four-parter)

I'll be out of town on a couple of Saturdays but I don't mind posting comments a day or two later. So long as no one minds the conclusion being on the Fourth of July (not that everyone here is American, ofc).

 

[Toothless]

^That'll work for me. Sounds good!

 

[Toothless]

Sorry it's late; I had job training today D:

219 The Guru

Original airdate: December 1, 2006
Written by: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe

220 The Crossroads of Destiny

Original airdate: December 1, 2006
Written by: Aaron Ehasz
Directed by: Michael Dante DiMartino

The Book 2 finale arrives. Famous for its cliffhanger ending with a nine month wait following it, it is a massive improvement on the season 1 finale despite being much smaller in scale. However, it is much larger in impact, and notably features the final vocal performance of Mako. It is truly a fantastic finale.

 

[BKatastrophe]

Amazing finale. The action and dramatic moments hit so hard.

The Guru is also one of the greatest examples of world-building I've ever seen in any series ever. Love that episode.

 

[Hamlet]

Yep what a fantastic episode to finish the season with and i'll always love this Azula scene in the finale. Easily one of the best Azula moments in the series.

 

[BKatastrophe]

Yep what a fantastic episode to finish the season with and i'll always love this Azula scene in the finale. Easily one of the best Azula moments in the series.

Dat ether. Long Feng takes it like a bitch, too.

 

[Jacob]

Hey now, the Book 1 finale is sweet too.

I agree though, this is a truly superlative episode. The best season finale Avatar produced and certainly in the running for the overall title of best episode. The final fight is amazing and Zuko's entrance into it gets me every time. Amazingly animated and choreographed. But his relapse here is some seriously gut-wrenching storytelling.

Always loved Iroh's Dragon of the West "demonstration". Zuko's smirk cracks me up as I can only imagine what circumstances might have led Iroh to pull that trick before.

Azula is a god-tier villain. The Darth Vader of this franchise. When Aang goes into the Avatar State, the sense of awe and power is so real, and then the lightning strike and that look on Azula's face. Damn.

I'll stop gushing now. Great show, great episode. Peace.

 

[BKatastrophe]

Hey now, the Book 1 finale is sweet too.

I agree though, this is a truly superlative episode. The best season finale Avatar produced and certainly in the running for the overall title of best episode. The final fight is amazing and Zuko's entrance into it gets me every time. Amazingly animated and choreographed. But his relapse here is some seriously gut-wrenching storytelling.

Always loved Iroh's Dragon of the West "demonstration". Zuko's smirk cracks me up as I can only imagine what circumstances might have led Iroh to pull that trick before.

Azula is a god-tier villain. The Darth Vader of this franchise. When Aang goes into the Avatar State, the sense of awe and power is so real, and then the lightning strike and that look on Azula's face. Damn.

I'll stop gushing now. Great show, great episode. Peace.

Book 1 finale has Zhao killing the Moon, and Iroh going full rage mode. It's pretty good, but giant fish monster throws me off a bit.

 

[Toothless]

The Guru

When I started this episode, I thought this was a finale was one where all the good stuff comes in the second half. I’m pretty wrong on that front, as this episode has a lot of great stuff in it. The big highlight is Toph discovering Metalbending set to Guru Pathik’s speech, but really, the chakra stuff is the fantastic spiritual side of Avatar you rarely see. The introduction to Hakoda is well-handled too, spending minimal screentime to give a great first impression. Zuko feels really… off in this episode, but that’s not a bad thing. He doesn’t feel like a good guy Zuko at all; he seems a bit too trying to please Iroh to be himself, which kind of foreshadows the ending of the finale. The really good stuff though is Azula enacting her plan to take Ba Sing Se, which is pretty damn exciting to watch. The ending where she obviously is playing Long Feng even though Long Feng believes otherwise is fantastic, and it’s a great part 1 of the finale overall.

The Crossroads of Destiny

If there’s an award for the most epic 22 minutes in history, it’d go to this episode. Holy shit. After the first act, the episode becomes non-stop action and character moments. I can’t even give a most valuable player to this episode, that’s how great it is. I love Long Feng’s surrendering to Azula. I love Aang and Iroh’s conversation. I love Zuko and Katara’s interactions. Azula and Iroh talking to Zuko. The end fight. The arrival of the Dai Li agents. Azula shocking Aang in the Avatar State. I can’t complain. Damn it, I guess this is the best episode of Avatar ever. It’s fantastic.

 

[zeemumu]

Crossroads of Destiny was always one of my favorites. It really does feel like a breaking point of all of the emotions building up throughout the 2nd season, and how they're coming into direct contrast with the goals of the characters, although I hated to see Zuko walk it back like that. Excellent displays of bending by everyone involved as well.

 

[Toothless]

Book 3 begins! Enjoy this trailer for the first half!

301 The Awakening

Original airdate: September 21, 2007
Written by: Aaron Ehasz
Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe

302 The Headband

Original airdate: September 28, 2007
Written by: John O'Bryan
Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos

Book 3 begins with a really dark episode that works as a pretty good segway, and one of the most blatantly fun episodes of Avatar ever. It's interesting to go back and see GAF's initial reaction to these episodes, as they really are quite more negative than what you'd expect. I blame the nine month wait inbetween, but seriously, how could anyone dislike Avatar Footloose?

 

[epmode]

I'm glad I wasn't reading the GAF thread when this was airing.

One of my favorite parts of season 3 is how quickly they got rid of the Earth King. He was really only interesting as a plot point, not as a character and the writers obviously agreed.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

 

[LogicGoat]

I loved this show. Can't believe it's been 10 years already.

Might join in with the rewatching.

 

[-Deimos]

I can understand the criticisms back when the episodes first aired. It's hard to be patient when you have to wait a week between episodes.

 

[The Hermit]

YES!!

 

[BKatastrophe]

Definitely a solid premiere.

The Headband is a fun episode, and solid world-building for the Fire Nation.

 

[Jacob]

Aw yiss. I'm glad you posted that trailer Toothless, both it and the one for the second half of Book 3 are really great, and the music always gets me going. Book 3 grows on me every time I rewatch it so I've been looking forward to getting here with you guys.

Book 3 begins with a really dark episode that works as a pretty good segway, and one of the most blatantly fun episodes of Avatar ever. It's interesting to go back and see GAF's initial reaction to these episodes, as they really are quite more negative than what you'd expect. I blame the nine month wait inbetween, but seriously, how could anyone dislike Avatar Footloose?

I can understand the criticisms back when the episodes first aired. It's hard to be patient when you have to wait a week between episodes.

I think Deimos is on-point with this. I wasn't on GAF back when ATLA aired, so my recollections are based off other forums I've frequented (mainly AvatarSpirit.net) as well as conversations I had with IRL friends, but the week to week thing definitely made it hard. During Book 2 when Appa was missing there were some people who got pretty agitated about Tales of Ba Sing Se since they felt it was delaying the resolution of that storyline. Book 3 was far more polarizing though, probably because it represented such a departure from the hyper-serialized style of the end of Book 2. Plus, people were expecting the story to move quickly to a major confrontation, and instead we got a lot of episodic, character and world-building focused episodes in a rather methodically paced first half. Not the sort of thrilling follow-up people had waited nine months before.

But with the benefit of hindsight (and being able to set my own pace), there are so many gems in Book 3. "The Awakening" still feels somewhat perfunctory to me, but it covers necessary ground to re-orient both the audience and Aang himself to all that has happened since the Book 2 finale. And it's by no means bad; far from it. "The Headband" is in some ways a throwback to Book 1 with the admittedly goofy premise, but I've come to regard it as a genuinely great episode. It sort of reminds me of "The Cave of Two Lovers", both for its position in the season and its episodic goodness, though I don't think I'd rank it quite as high as that episode. The music is sweet though (including this deleted track), and the Fire Nation outfits are some of my favorite costumes from the series. Plus I will never not love Aang with hair.

 

[Pau]

If I was Katara I would have told Aang to keep the hair.

Also, I've always loved Katara's heartbreaking conversation with her dad in The Awakening. These character moments are what make the show so good.

 

[Arondight]

Did a recent run through, I quite liked the show.

Despite liking it, I found Korra uninteresting. If there's one thing through that whole series, that I would have loved to see, it's the decapitation of every villain. I was like nope, Just kill him/her. That and I didn't quite like the technological advancements in it.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Still feels to this day the whole resolution to the don't-wanna-kill Avatar Aang as really, really cheap.

As is the way Aang overpowered the Firelord.

Haven't watched Korra. For some reason I am just uninterested in it despite some first initial hype.

 

[Hamlet]

The Headband is even better when you find out that Bryan Konietzko did all the dancing in real life as video references for the animators.
Episode is a lot of silly fun with Sokka or might I say Wang Fire easily being the highlight of the episode. Plus it gives us a interesting glimpse into the daily life of Fire Nation kids and does a good job in humanizing them.
The Zuko side of things is a lot more down compared to the Aang side of things. Iroh refusing to talk to Zuko is such a heartbreaking moment. Though we do later get one of the rare Zuko laughs on his date and it sure is a unique one haha.

Did a recent run through, I quite liked the show.

Despite liking it, I found Korra uninteresting. If there's one thing through that whole series, that I would have loved to see, it's the decapitation of every villain. I was like nope, Just kill him/her. That and I didn't quite like the technological advancements in it.

The 7+ age rating kinda limits them from doing that and I believe they weren't even allowed to mention death in context to characters dying. Instead replaced with taken out or brought down. Still both shows really pushed the 7+ quite a few times.

 

[Toothless]

The Awakening

This one is interesting because I remember waiting nine months to see it originally. I think the gap does it better, since this is the only time in Avatar we have a clear time skip, even if it is just a month. It’s a transitional episode, setting up that basically, Aang and Zuko’s positions have switched, Aang being the persecuted and Zuko being the adored. It’s got a lot of great moments, although some stuff (Mai and Zuko kissing being the stand-out) feels odd just because we’ve been gone from the characters. There’s also a surprising amount of flashbacks that aren’t “Previously On Avatar.” Basically, this episode feels off at points just because it’s switching from the Ba Sing Se arc to the Exploring the Fire Nation arc, so naturally, it’s going to feel weird. Still, good episode.

The Headband

I always forget how much I love this episode. It’s probably one of the best comedy episodes of Avatar ever; there’s tons of great character moments, and every scene in the school is full of comedy gold. Who doesn’t like the introduction of Wang Fire? The finale of the episode is blatantly Avatar Footloose in the best way, and Katara and Aang’s dance is super awesomely choreographed (which is funny when you realize all the kids looking on think Aang’s dancing with his mom). The Zuko subplot gives great attention to Iroh thankfully, and it starts their wonderfully estranged relationship. Unlike other comedic episodes though, the funny A-plot is the highlight here, and it’s really fun.

 

[Jacob]

I wanna hold off on discussing the handling of Aang's dilemma in the finale until I get a chance to rewatch that (though it was definitely something that bothered me on first viewing). However, I think ATLA definitely pushes the boundaries of the TV-Y7 rating a number of times. Considering the (ostensible) target demographic), there's a surprising amount of sensuality in that Aang/Katara dance. Sadly I couldn't find a GIF of them at the end but even a still image kinda captures it:

This part of the season has never been my favorite part of Zuko's story, but the revelation of Fire Lord Ozai's face after so long, as well as his familial resemblance to Zuko, is a powerful moment. I think these were some crucial episodes for Zuko in terms of his overall arc, and it's great to see so much of the Fire Nation from different perspectives.

PS Konietzko video references are always fun, but that is one of the best.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

The bedroom eyes in the Aang and Katara dance sure were something else.

The Headband is even better when you find out that Bryan Konietzko did all the dancing in real life as video references for the animators.

Hahaha, oh wow. This is great

 

[Toothless]

303 The Painted Lady

Original airdate: October 5, 2007
Written by: Joshua Hamilton
Directed by: Ethan Spaulding

304 Sokka's Master

Original airdate: October 12, 2007
Written by: Tim Hedrick
Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe

305 The Beach

Original airdate: October 19, 2007
Written by: Katie Mattila
Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos

We got three episodes of varying quality today. First off, the only episode in Avatar history that feels more like an executive mandate than a creative endeavor. Then, one of the best character-focused episodes about our favorite nonbender. Finally, we finish with a slightly sloppy but still entertaining episode that features some of Azula's best comedic moments. It's an intriguing trilogy of episodes.

 

[Jacob]

Just wanna preemptively say that Sokka's Master is dope before the haters come in. J/k but seriously guys, the point of the episode is dealing with Sokka's own internalized view of himself. It's not about making him useful to the group; he obviously had been for a long time. This episode is also a really good showcase of the amazing backgrounds the show had developed by this point, in part inspired by Bryan's travel photos of Iceland.

I always found Painted Lady pretty forgettable, so I'll have to wait until my day off when I can re-watch it to see if anything worth commenting on in detail jumps out at me. The Beach, I hated at the time (probably my least favorite episode of Avatar for a while). Looking back, this was clearly an overreaction, and The Beach has probably been the greatest beneficiary of my gradual re-assessment of Book 3. But I do agree with Toothless' description of it as sloppy. I dunno if I'd call the campfire scene OOC in the technical sense of the word, but it felt way too teen movie-ish and out of place. Probably could have been integrated into the show's overall feel better, the way other genres were in various episodes.

Spoiler

Also, Ty Lee in dat swimsuit was my shit when I was 13 and this episode came out.

 

[BKatastrophe]

303 The Painted Lady

Original airdate: October 5, 2007
Written by: Joshua Hamilton
Directed by: Ethan Spaulding



304 Sokka's Master

Original airdate: October 12, 2007
Written by: Tim Hedrick
Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe



305 The Beach

Original airdate: October 19, 2007
Written by: Katie Mattila
Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos



We got three episodes of varying quality today. First off, the only episode in Avatar history that feels more like an executive mandate than a creative endeavor. Then, one of the best character-focused episodes about our favorite nonbender. Finally, we finish with a slightly sloppy but still entertaining episode that features some of Azula's best comedic moments. It's an intriguing trilogy of episodes.

The Painted Lady is a boring episode. It really is. It deals with something that we really didn't need to deal with. Not sure if I'd call it development on Katara's part, since it doesn't develop anything we didn't know or haven't already seen (essentially her motherly bond and unwillingness to leave others behind). Granted, it does create a better image of "The Fire Nation sucks, too." So that's a plus behind it.

Sokka's Master is great. Love it. Sokka becoming stronger is good. Granted, it provides the issue of "was Sokka weak to begin with," since it essentially takes all the growth Sokka's had, and reduced it to less than what it was. Basically, he doubts himself when he shouldn't. His role in the group isn't a powerhouse. He's the tactician, the guy that sees what needs to be seen. He's seeing what others don't. When it comes to the battlefield, he's Batman: going directly for the target and the quickest way to shut down the enemy. Because he isn't the strongest. This episode sort of undermines that, even if it is really enjoyable.

The Beach is great, but the chunk of "teenage angst" at the end has always felt forced. Like they're pushing the whole "THIS IS WHAT THESE CHARACTERS ARE ABOUT" angle waaaaay too hard. Granted, it's good development, but it feels unnatural. As a result, I don't like that bit as much as I normally would, but it doesn't completely mar the episode for me. Since the rest is comic gold. Plus the fight with Combustion Man is enjoyable to watch as well, even if it does just sort of "pop up" in the episode.

Spoiler

Also, Ty Lee in dat swimsuit was my shit when I was 13 and this episode came out.

 

[Jacob]

Sokka's Master is great. Love it. Sokka becoming stronger is good. Granted, it provides the issue of "was Sokka weak to begin with," since it essentially takes all the growth Sokka's had, and reduced it to less than what it was. Basically, he doubts himself when he shouldn't. His role in the group isn't a powerhouse. He's the tactician, the guy that sees what needs to be seen. He's seeing what others don't. When it comes to the battlefield, he's Batman: going directly for the target and the quickest way to shut down the enemy. Because he isn't the strongest. This episode sort of undermines that, even if it is really enjoyable.

I agree with you about "The Painted Lady" and "The Beach", but I think you're selling "Sokka's Master" a little short. I mean, certainly, Sokka is seeing deficiencies in himself that none of the other characters believe exist, that's sort of the point of the episode. And his role in the group really doesn't change as a result of this episode. He spends like two days max with Piandao and while space sword is certainly a valuable addition to his arsenal, the main thing he gains is greater self-respect. He didn't have time to become a master at anything and Piandao straight up says that it wasn't Sokka's martial skills that impressed him. He's always the (relatively) weakest physical fighter in the group, but this episode helps him gain more confidence in that role. It ties into the repeated theme of Sokka's inferiority complex, going back to his becoming "the man of the village" at the age of 10. This comes up numerous times, and it's indicated that Sokka's bravado and humor are to a large extent ways of masking his inner pain. This episode is crucial in helping him overcome that, while also retaining much of his humor and attitude.

 

[BKatastrophe]

I agree with you about "The Painted Lady" and "The Beach", but I think you're selling "Sokka's Master" a little short. I mean, certainly, Sokka is seeing deficiencies in himself that none of the other characters believe exist, that's sort of the point of the episode. And his role in the group really doesn't change as a result of this episode. He spends like two days max with Piandao and while space sword is certainly a valuable addition to his arsenal, the main thing he gains is greater self-respect. He didn't have time to become a master at anything and Piandao straight up says that it wasn't Sokka's martial skills that impressed him. He's always the (relatively) weakest physical fighter in the group, but this episode helps him gain more confidence in that role. It ties into the repeated theme of Sokka's inferiority complex, going back to his becoming "the man of the village" at the age of 10. This comes up numerous times, and it's indicated that Sokka's bravado and humor are to a large extent ways of masking his inner pain. This episode is crucial in helping him overcome that, while also retaining much of his humor and attitude.

The bolded is my point. Nothing actually changes at all. No new relationship dynamic, no new anything. He just gets a sword that is OP as hell, and gives Toph meteorite rock (something that gets played into TLoK much later on in that series), but all in all, nothing changes. The group doesn't see him differently, and he doesn't see himself differently. His gaining of greater self-respect wasn't a necessary thing because he already sees himself for what he is.

I mean, think about it: the whole reason he loses self-confidence is because he couldn't put out a wildfire. A situation he had no control over and would not have been able to help. At best, he'd give orders, which is a role that he's already fully aware of and accepted at this point in the show. In a later episode (spoilers for any following who haven't seen the show until now and are following for the first time)

Spoiler

The Day of Black Sun is a far better reason for Sokka getting down on himself. He couldn't properly deliver a speech and explain his plan, something he's never had trouble with before. So Hakoda took it over instead and he gets a feeling of inferiority, which is overcome during the actual battle when he has to take over after Hakoda is injured.

That, and The Kyoshi Warriors are perfect ways to execute this type of development. He's being humbled in areas that he considers his specialities. Now, if he had been in a scenario that he actually could have handled on his own and was outclassed in bending and it made him obsolete, then I would accept it. But since that isn't the case with this episode, (a wildfire isn't exactly his area of expertise, though perhaps organizing a fire brigade to do so is) it comes off as a pointless episode in Sokka's overall character arc.

I'm not selling it short at all, I just believe it was a flimsy excuse to give Sokka a weapons upgrade, which ends up being the only lasting effect of the episode (aside from Master Piandao and the Gaang finding out about the White Lotus).

 

[Toothless]

The Painted Lady

Well... I’m just gonna cut to the chase and say this is the second worst episode of Avatar, after The Great Divide. There’s really no point to it and it very obviously exists just so they could do an environmentally themed episode of Avatar. That said, there are some good character moments (although the one-off character is one of the most obnoxious ever) for everyone, not just Katara. There was a point where Aang, Sokka, and Toph all individually made me chuckle. It’s oddly inconsistent though how Toph’s blindness affects her in the village. I also like how the ending basically deconstructs the ending of Zuko Alone in a way that shows in retrospect that maybe, just maybe if Zuko wasn’t alone in that episode, everyone wouldn’t have outcasted him. But yeah… besides that this episode stinks worse than the polluted river.

Sokka’s Master

Yeah, I think season 3 might be considered a lot stronger if this episode had followed Headband. After Painted Lady it seems a bit inconsistent with Sokka’s character in that episode. That said, enough of me complaining about The Painted Lady. This episode is great as its Sokka’s episode in general; even Aang, Katara, and Toph spend the entire episode complaining they don’t get to hang with Sokka. Sokka is the best member of the Gaang and this episode proves it with its slick swordplay choreography and Robert Patrick’s masterful (no pun intended) guest performance as Piandao. The biggest disappointment comes from the fact that you know on a rewatch Sokka won’t get to do much with the sword but that doesn’t hurt this episode in and of itself. Iroh’s bits are great too, but there’s not much to talk about there. But yeah, good episode.

The Beach

Yeah, the campfire scene is super unsubtle, but this episode is still fun. Watching Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee try to interact with normal teenagers is as funny as it sounds, and I also think this is the rare episode where we see Azula actually be legitimately nice and – GASP – vulnerable! Lo and Li surprisingly get a few laughs too, but once again, Azula is the comedic highlight, defeating people for all time and being half of the ultimate power couple. Even with the unsubtle writing, the beach scene gives some great backstory for Ty Lee particularly, revealing that the creators actually do have a subtle story arc for her; it’s just that the beginning of said arc is in her backstory. The Gaang’s first encounter with Combustion Man is cool too, and I think it’s a fun, if not great episode.

 

[Jacob]

The bolded is my point. Nothing actually changes at all. No new relationship dynamic, no new anything. He just gets a sword that is OP as hell, and gives Toph meteorite rock (something that gets played into TLoK much later on in that series), but all in all, nothing changes. The group doesn't see him differently, and he doesn't see himself differently. His gaining of greater self-respect wasn't a necessary thing because he already sees himself for what he is.

I gotta disagree with the bolded. Sokka's feelings of inadequacy were bubbling just under the surface for basically the entire run of the show, and they are rooted in some deep emotional trauma regarding the death of his mother and the loss of his father to the war effort. There are many things that bring these feelings to the forefront: meeting Suki as you mention, being unable to protect Yue, meeting his father again in Book 2, etc. I think the set up with the comet and the wildfire is fairly contrived, but Sokka does still like to think of himself as a warrior, even while embracing his strategist side. He has no "Winter Wrap Up" moment where he accepts project management as his calling; even in the finale he is "fan and sword" along with Suki.

Granted, "fan and sword" is part of a joke by Sokka, but his humor is intimately tied to the emotional burdens he carries. I think that is what makes Sokka work equally well as a comic relief character and an occasional dramatic focus, and allows him to switch between the roles seamlessly. He uses humor to help process his emotional pain, and also because he knows he's good at it and enjoys the attention (and undoubtedly just enjoys being able to laugh, too). We get to see Sokka's vulnerable site very early in the show, but it's a long and uneven journey towards greater self-acceptance for him. Not unlike Zuko, though of course Zuko started in a much unhealthier place.

I definitely agree with what you say about The Day of Black Sun, and thematically this placement in the season might not have been the best for Sokka's Master. But considering how unpredictable emotions can be in the real world I think it still works. Though obviously that's just my opinion.

I'm not selling it short at all, I just believe it was a flimsy excuse to give Sokka a weapons upgrade, which ends up being the only lasting effect of the episode (aside from Master Piandao and the Gaang finding out about the White Lotus).

I really don't think the sword was the point. I'm glad you brought up the White Lotus, though. I had always hoped there would be some recognition of that tile in the end of the scene, maybe that Sokka would become an initiate or something. Maybe we'll see that in one of the comics, though I haven't been much of a fan of their handling of show mysteries so far.

Iroh’s bits are great too, but there’s not much to talk about there.

Not much other than how fucking swole he got in prison, you mean.

Yeah, the campfire scene is super unsubtle, but this episode is still fun. Watching Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee try to interact with normal teenagers is as funny as it sounds, and I also think this is the rare episode where we see Azula actually be legitimately nice and – GASP – vulnerable!

I've had mixed feelings about The Beach's characterization of Azula over time. When I first saw it, I thought they tried way too hard for laughs (still not super fond of the bird flying around Chan's head). Nowadays I do think it was important to have a humanizing episode for Azula, given how much she was played up as evil, even in flashbacks as a child. But given her utter disdain for Zuko in most other appearances, I do think it's kind of weird that she was able to open up to him as well as Mai and Ty Lee, who we do know she cared about, even if it was in a selfish and twisted way.

 

[Jackson50]

It's been too long since I last watched Avatar. As I remember, the first half of Book 3 is a mixed bag. The first two episodes are fine. The Painted Lady is awful. The next two are mediocre. The Avatar and the Fire Lord is superb. And then there are three decent episodes followed by the superb Eclipse episodes. I know I am late to the party, but the 2nd half of Book 2 is consistently great. Once they reach Ba Singe Se, the story is relentlessly great.

 

[openrob]

Just dropping in to say, I haven't been keeping up for a few weeks, but Sokkas master was the last episode I watched, so I guess I'm in track!

I liked the episode, although it was a bit sloppy. I n hindsight its easy to pass over the whole white lotus thing, because we know it all. But when first watching it, it really does play out into another aspect of the world that we haven't really seen at this point.

Spoiler

I don't like how blasé The white lotus is presented in LoK, keep it mysterious!

.

I also liked how cheesy it is when they are all trying to be funny without him.

 

[BKatastrophe]

I gotta disagree with the bolded. Sokka's feelings of inadequacy were bubbling just under the surface for basically the entire run of the show, and they are rooted in some deep emotional trauma regarding the death of his mother and the loss of his father to the war effort. There are many things that bring these feelings to the forefront: meeting Suki as you mention, being unable to protect Yue, meeting his father again in Book 2, etc. I think the set up with the comet and the wildfire is fairly contrived, but Sokka does still like to think of himself as a warrior, even while embracing his strategist side. He has no "Winter Wrap Up" moment where he accepts project management as his calling; even in the finale he is "fan and sword" along with Suki.

Granted, "fan and sword" is part of a joke by Sokka, but his humor is intimately tied to the emotional burdens he carries. I think that is what makes Sokka work equally well as a comic relief character and an occasional dramatic focus, and allows him to switch between the roles seamlessly. He uses humor to help process his emotional pain, and also because he knows he's good at it and enjoys the attention (and undoubtedly just enjoys being able to laugh, too). We get to see Sokka's vulnerable site very early in the show, but it's a long and uneven journey towards greater self-acceptance for him. Not unlike Zuko, though of course Zuko started in a much unhealthier place.

I definitely agree with what you say about The Day of Black Sun, and thematically this placement in the season might not have been the best for Sokka's Master. But considering how unpredictable emotions can be in the real world I think it still works. Though obviously that's just my opinion.



I really don't think the sword was the point. I'm glad you brought up the White Lotus, though. I had always hoped there would be some recognition of that tile in the end of the scene, maybe that Sokka would become an initiate or something. Maybe we'll see that in one of the comics, though I haven't been much of a fan of their handling of show mysteries so far..

The sword was totally the point, because there isn't much to be gained from the episode that no other episode already accomplishes.

I guess I shouldn't say that he doesn't need self-respect, but it's more how he sees his role in the group. Yes, he has issues of inadequacy (it breeds his cynicism), but ultimately he knows what his role is. He knows his specialities, and he constantly tries to get new things to improve himself, which is nice and good. But having a single episode dedicated entirely to him getting a sword? I mean hell, again, this particular scenario is cause by a problem that he was incapable of helping with at the time. If the sword were a subplot, I'd be okay, but it isn't. It's the core focus.

And I'll stick to it that, if you remove this episode from the series, you're not missing out on anything important, really. Save for Sokka getting a sword and Toph getting a meteorite bracelet (key for a later episode

Spoiler

see what I did there?

). Oh, and meeting Master Piandao. It's an episode focused on Sokka that doesn't add anything to Sokka's character. There's no improvement or advancement. Just a sword, and I suppose I'll concede a boost in physical combat ability.