Avatar 1x01-2x20 (spoilery)
Mon, Dec. 18th, 2006 05:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterThis is going to be a completely random compilation of things I liked and didn't like.
Am still not impressed with the first season, though part of that may be because I knitted through the whole thing without paying that much attention. Well, ok, the whole calling down the moon thing was pretty cool, as was naming the Water princess Yue ("moon" in Chinese, though pronounced a little differently).
The whole obvious feminist message of the Kyoshi warrior episode was a little too much for me at first, but as with many things, I was much happier in S2 when the Kyoshi warriors showed up again. Also, I am not above the sheer coolness of fighting with fans. I also didn't realize it was kabuki makeup; I thought it was Chinese opera makeup.
Sokka's assorted romantic adventures (misadventures?) don't really get to me. Ditto with Katara's. Ditto with Aang's crush on Katara. Actually, in general, romance in this show sort of freaks me out, given the young age of the kids, though I did awwww over Zuko's date. Hee! And, um.... ok maybe I am shipping Katara and Zuko just a little bit omg going to the special hell.
Zuko totally made me roll my eyes at first, given that he screamed "I am EVIL! Look at my scar!" But his story arc and Iroh's are actually the most compelling parts of the story for me, especially after the appearance of Azula and Zuko and Iroh's exile. Non-ponytailed Zuko is sort of cute. Ok, really... what totally makes that storyline is Iroh. Iroh is my second-favorite character in the show, and he would be my favorite except he is not a small Chinese earthbender girl who is grumpy as hell. But he really is an awesome character, from the tea-loving and eating of possibly poisoned plants to his sensible advice and refusal to get caught up in Zuko's extreme emo-ness.
Zuko is so the Sasuke of this series. (sorry to poke fun at Sasuke -- but honestly, after seeing so many "little emo punk" icons, Sasuke is now my definition of emo)
Plus, aside from the awesomeness of Iroh, the Zuko-Iroh storyline is also the most atypical story in the series. They aren't saving the world, and they don't have plot coupons. And it addresses one of my favorite questions, which is "what happens after (blank)?" Insert obsession, quest or other fantasy staple in the blank. I really like that it talks about daily life and the goodness to be found in daily life and in not being on a Great Quest. I like that it's about finding yourself without venturing out into a war or being in a prophecy.
That's actually one of my larger quibbles with the series; it's just got so many plot coupons! The comet, the eclipse, the different bending teachers, etc. It's very quest-shaped and quest-oriented, and the Quest is one of my least favorite fantasy tropes.
Also, I have to say, I was sad in the first episode when the avatar turned out to be a boy. Everytime the intro said "he" in reference to the avatar, I was hoping for a gender-switch in making the avatar female. I think this, plus Katara being the only main female character, really made me not like S1. But S2 makes me so happy! Azula's voice actor bugs the heck out of me, but I like her as a character. I also like her friends, who aren't Evil, particularly cheerful happy circus girl. I'm hoping that something will happen to them a la Zuko's arc, so that three of the main female characters don't turn out to be evil. I was also grumpy about the sacrificing woman storylines, despite the overlay of feminist messages wrt Katara learning fighting, not just healing, and the Kyoshi warriors. So I like that Katara gets more fight scenes than Sokka, even though she is totally the motherly figure of the group.
And then.... enter Toph! I love Toph SO MUCH. I love that after all the complaints in my head about Katara's role as mother and healer, the writers give us Toph, a tiny, delicate-looking blind girl who is the grumpiest person on the planet and hauls giant chunks of rock at people. I love that she is a master of what is probably the least typically feminine of the elements, that she stomps the ground in her stances whenever she earthbends. I just... gah. I love what they do with her blindness and how they don't forget it but also don't use it to make us pity the poor widdle girly.
Toph is the best.
And they finally answered my question as to why earthbenders can't bend metal! That never made sense to me. Also, I keep wanting to know why Katara can't just bend whatever water particles are in the air and whatnot. And while I'm picking on the bending system, I wonder why they went with the Greek system of elements instead of the Chinese one (metal, water, wood, fire, earth), given the other Chinese influences. Oh well.
I think I was a lot more excited by S2 than S1 partially because the Ba Sing Se arc really is a lot more interesting and less standard than the "go to the North Pole to find a teacher and have a giant epic battle." I like the intrigue and the cityscape; I like the brainwashing and all that. Alas, they didn't really end up killing Jet.
But wah! I am sad that Zuko went back to the dark side! I have to admit, I loved that scene between him and Katara, even though I knew it was going to happen. And I especially love Toph welcoming Iroh in and Aang and Sokka's expressions.
In conclusion: Toph rocks. Um. Pun unintended at first but am keeping it there anyway.
Links
My non-spoilery write up
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
rilina's tags, memories and fic recs
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
octopedingenue's tags and memories
I don't remember who else is watching this, so if you are and are writing it up, let me know!
Am still not impressed with the first season, though part of that may be because I knitted through the whole thing without paying that much attention. Well, ok, the whole calling down the moon thing was pretty cool, as was naming the Water princess Yue ("moon" in Chinese, though pronounced a little differently).
The whole obvious feminist message of the Kyoshi warrior episode was a little too much for me at first, but as with many things, I was much happier in S2 when the Kyoshi warriors showed up again. Also, I am not above the sheer coolness of fighting with fans. I also didn't realize it was kabuki makeup; I thought it was Chinese opera makeup.
Sokka's assorted romantic adventures (misadventures?) don't really get to me. Ditto with Katara's. Ditto with Aang's crush on Katara. Actually, in general, romance in this show sort of freaks me out, given the young age of the kids, though I did awwww over Zuko's date. Hee! And, um.... ok maybe I am shipping Katara and Zuko just a little bit omg going to the special hell.
Zuko totally made me roll my eyes at first, given that he screamed "I am EVIL! Look at my scar!" But his story arc and Iroh's are actually the most compelling parts of the story for me, especially after the appearance of Azula and Zuko and Iroh's exile. Non-ponytailed Zuko is sort of cute. Ok, really... what totally makes that storyline is Iroh. Iroh is my second-favorite character in the show, and he would be my favorite except he is not a small Chinese earthbender girl who is grumpy as hell. But he really is an awesome character, from the tea-loving and eating of possibly poisoned plants to his sensible advice and refusal to get caught up in Zuko's extreme emo-ness.
Zuko is so the Sasuke of this series. (sorry to poke fun at Sasuke -- but honestly, after seeing so many "little emo punk" icons, Sasuke is now my definition of emo)
Plus, aside from the awesomeness of Iroh, the Zuko-Iroh storyline is also the most atypical story in the series. They aren't saving the world, and they don't have plot coupons. And it addresses one of my favorite questions, which is "what happens after (blank)?" Insert obsession, quest or other fantasy staple in the blank. I really like that it talks about daily life and the goodness to be found in daily life and in not being on a Great Quest. I like that it's about finding yourself without venturing out into a war or being in a prophecy.
That's actually one of my larger quibbles with the series; it's just got so many plot coupons! The comet, the eclipse, the different bending teachers, etc. It's very quest-shaped and quest-oriented, and the Quest is one of my least favorite fantasy tropes.
Also, I have to say, I was sad in the first episode when the avatar turned out to be a boy. Everytime the intro said "he" in reference to the avatar, I was hoping for a gender-switch in making the avatar female. I think this, plus Katara being the only main female character, really made me not like S1. But S2 makes me so happy! Azula's voice actor bugs the heck out of me, but I like her as a character. I also like her friends, who aren't Evil, particularly cheerful happy circus girl. I'm hoping that something will happen to them a la Zuko's arc, so that three of the main female characters don't turn out to be evil. I was also grumpy about the sacrificing woman storylines, despite the overlay of feminist messages wrt Katara learning fighting, not just healing, and the Kyoshi warriors. So I like that Katara gets more fight scenes than Sokka, even though she is totally the motherly figure of the group.
And then.... enter Toph! I love Toph SO MUCH. I love that after all the complaints in my head about Katara's role as mother and healer, the writers give us Toph, a tiny, delicate-looking blind girl who is the grumpiest person on the planet and hauls giant chunks of rock at people. I love that she is a master of what is probably the least typically feminine of the elements, that she stomps the ground in her stances whenever she earthbends. I just... gah. I love what they do with her blindness and how they don't forget it but also don't use it to make us pity the poor widdle girly.
Toph is the best.
And they finally answered my question as to why earthbenders can't bend metal! That never made sense to me. Also, I keep wanting to know why Katara can't just bend whatever water particles are in the air and whatnot. And while I'm picking on the bending system, I wonder why they went with the Greek system of elements instead of the Chinese one (metal, water, wood, fire, earth), given the other Chinese influences. Oh well.
I think I was a lot more excited by S2 than S1 partially because the Ba Sing Se arc really is a lot more interesting and less standard than the "go to the North Pole to find a teacher and have a giant epic battle." I like the intrigue and the cityscape; I like the brainwashing and all that. Alas, they didn't really end up killing Jet.
But wah! I am sad that Zuko went back to the dark side! I have to admit, I loved that scene between him and Katara, even though I knew it was going to happen. And I especially love Toph welcoming Iroh in and Aang and Sokka's expressions.
In conclusion: Toph rocks. Um. Pun unintended at first but am keeping it there anyway.
Links
My non-spoilery write up
rilina's tags, memories and fic recsoctopedingenue's tags and memoriesI don't remember who else is watching this, so if you are and are writing it up, let me know!
Tags:
(no subject)
Tue, Dec. 19th, 2006 01:21 am (UTC)It really seems to me that the basic idea for the end of S2 was to do everything the opposite of S1's finale: Infiltration vs. Invasion, Good guys lose, Avatar state fixes nothing, Katara saves Aang, etc.
I did like that Katara saves Aang, I didn't like that the Magic Water (aka, "Revive Neo Plot Coupon"), got used for him. Using it on Zuko seemed full of much more interesting drama and twists.
I also didn't like Zuko's magic turnaround either. We never saw him make a major decision during his "Spiritual crisis"(which, I felt would have been a good mirror for Aang's spiritual thang), and then suddenly he goes from "Azula always lies" to, "Sure, I'll believe you on the SAME LIE you told me earlier this season, before shooting my uncle with lightning...".
My only hope is that no matter what, they don't kill Iroh in Season 3. I like him as a character, but I also like him as an adult- the fact that there is an adult who is present, and not just a "Ben Kenobi" to pass wisdom and then die.
(no subject)
Tue, Dec. 19th, 2006 01:31 am (UTC)I didn't think of the S2 finale as a negative image version of the S1 finale, but that's really cool.
The Magic Water made me roll my eyes, especially because the Zuko usage would have been a hundred times more interesting. But I'm holding out some hope for Zuko, despite his Sasuke-esque nature, just because that would be the most boring character turn ever.
I was really scared at first that they were going to write out Toph when she got the letter from her mother, but thankfully, it was just another opportunity for Toph to be awesome.
(no subject)
Tue, Dec. 19th, 2006 01:39 am (UTC)That aside, Zuko is a thousand times more interesting than Sasuke. At least we see Zuko's inner conflicts and his issues stem from estrangement from his father, not just "OMG! They killed my village! Damn YOOOUUU!" that sums up Sasuke's bit (well, with a, "Bruddaaah!" added).
(no subject)
Tue, Dec. 19th, 2006 04:36 am (UTC)HEE! I like your summary of Sasuke.