tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post4935278192770401931..comments2023-07-10T10:52:14.660-04:00Comments on Animated Discussions: AtLA Monday: Hope ReturnsFroborrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782366056731381450noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post-89860347843652311642010-04-12T15:31:59.761-04:002010-04-12T15:31:59.761-04:00It is amusing! Also a little sad, on the whole &qu...It is amusing! Also a little sad, on the whole "Aang doesn't understand that there's no such thing as teenagers anymore" front.Froborrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08782366056731381450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post-51469058312048919762010-04-12T14:06:56.279-04:002010-04-12T14:06:56.279-04:00You know, I just noticed that you didn't menti...You know, I just noticed that you didn't mention the exchange where Zuko says that Aang is just a child, to which Aang responds, 'you're just a teenager'. I always that exchange incredibly amusing.cypsiman2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post-13825094148818734212010-04-08T10:30:38.052-04:002010-04-08T10:30:38.052-04:00@cadetsethy: Thank you, and I look forward to hear...@cadetsethy: Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you more!<br /><br />You make a good point. However, we have no evidence that anyone was hurt when the ice wall collapsed. It fell across the prow of the ship, and did not appear to do any actual damage, just blocked the ship's path. There was no one on deck at that end of the ship, so I think it's unlikely that anyone was hurt.<br /><br />Second of all, rewatching the Avatar State scene closely, I see six people surrounding Aang, Zuko and five soldiers. Three of those soldiers are positioned such that they'd be thrown into the superstructure, and appear to be the same three soldiers Katara freezes later.<br /><br />Zuko is thrown overboard, and the two soldiers with him are thrown into the wall, but not overboard. There are two objects flying overboard beside Zuko, but pausing and looking closely reveals them to be empty pieces of armor (knocked off the soldiers, presumably).<br /><br />Of course, it is still possible that he killed someone in his Avatar State attack. However, it's debatable, especially at this stage in his development, whether Aang is in control of his Avatar State at all. He specifically states in this episode that he doesn't know how he waterbent; combined with the completely out-of-character facial expressions he shows in the Avatar State, this leads me to believe that his past selves are more in control of his actions than he is. (As we will see later, his past selves were much more willing to kill than Aang is.)Froborrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08782366056731381450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post-2252724686304276182010-04-07T16:47:10.423-04:002010-04-07T16:47:10.423-04:00A well thought-out and well written review is hard...A well thought-out and well written review is hard to find, especially for AtLA. Thanks for taking the time to write one.<br /><br />The only issue I had was with this passage - "Aang, you see, doesn't hurt anyone during his escape. He smacks some people around, sure, but never does any injury worse than stunning them momentarily."<br /><br />While he may not have meant to hurt anyone, Aang almost certainly severely injured or even killed some of the members of Zuko's crew. Some of them were thrown overboard into the arctic waters, which are almost impossible for a human to survive in for any length of time. Others may have been crushed by the collapse of the ice wall onto the front of the ship. This loss of life and/or injury of his crew could be a major contribution to his drive to capture the avatar in that it proves that the avatar is extremely dangerous. Also, the crew of that ship is Zuko's responsibility, and he has a strong drive to see to their wellbeing that is shown in later episodes.<br /><br />Other than that point, it was an excellent review. I look forward to reading more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post-43232128556489538622010-04-07T08:43:04.015-04:002010-04-07T08:43:04.015-04:00Everybody *does* have to make the best of what the...Everybody *does* have to make the best of what they have. The universe really *doesn't* care what you want. It's an astonishingly mature theme for an American cartoon, given the prevalence of "Wish really, really hard and everything you want will become yours!" in American children's media.<br /><br />Aang does have a choice. But in the very next episode he will discover the consequences of refusing the call, and thereafter he will choose to accept it, though it will lay very heavily on him at times. The last episodes of the series will revisit this theme very heavily, as Aang struggles to figure out how to be a good Avatar while also staying true to his own values.<br /><br />But I think for the rest of the characters that join him, Aang is a liberating force. It's most obvious with Toph in the second season, but it happens to everyone. Katara never completely stops being Team Mom, but she is able to grow into *more* than a Team Mom: a warrior, a healer, and possibly the most naturally heroic of the characters. Sokka becomes *more* than a warrior and a protector: a comedian, a lover, a friend, and an inventor. Even Zuko, following at a distance, slowly realizes he has other options.Froborrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08782366056731381450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705216410906868562.post-58402331253981003572010-04-07T03:39:43.063-04:002010-04-07T03:39:43.063-04:00Hooray, ATLA Monday/Tuesday! The antidote to LB Mo...Hooray, ATLA Monday/Tuesday! The antidote to LB Monday! I apologise in advance for the following essay!comment.<br /><br />I always found “I never wanted to be” heartbreaking. Mostly because of just how little it matters throughout the course of the series. Never wanted to be the Avatar? Tough, the world needs one. Doesn’t matter that it’s a thoroughly awful job. Doesn’t matter what Aang wanted to do with his life - or who he wanted to spend it with. (Somewhere along the line, some poor sixteen-year-old has had their dreams crushed by this news. And I can imagine the whole Avatar thing causing serious family strife.) <br /><br />And the same applies for virtually everyone else. Katara might not want to be the Team Mom, but a Team Mom is needed and she’s the only one stepping up, for whatever reason. Clothes don’t mend themselves. Food doesn’t appear on plates. Zuko doesn’t want to be cut off from his family like he is, but no amount of effort can get him back the family he lost when his cousin died, his uncle went AWOL, and his mother was forced to leave. The universe just doesn’t care what these kids want. They have to make the best of it anyway.<br /><br />Sokka I see as a slightly different case. Of the four main characters thus far, I think Sokka has the most positive, constructive conception of his own life, and in some ways the most reasonable expectations. Protect the South Pole. Protect Katara. Both concrete things to work for, and ends in themselves (as opposed to Zuko’s “capture the Avatar and then everything will magically be fine”). Unlike the other three, he can work with what he has. The responsibility might be crushing, but Sokka’s wants and reality are closer together than the wants and realities of the others. <br /><br />However, like the other three, the universe just doesn’t care about this. When he decides to leave the South Pole and when his self-appointed role as Katara’s protector becomes utterly redundant, he has to accept that. “Life happens, wherever you are, whether you make it or not,” Iroh says, sometime in season two. It seems to me the more positive spin on the idea that everyone just has to make the best of what they have. “Never wanted to be” doesn’t matter.<br /><br />Long comment is long, and quite possibly confused.Ebbynoreply@blogger.com