Avatar thoughts ("The Guru" and "Crossroads of Destiny")
Oh, this show. ♥
My thoughts:
--Zuko waking up from his fever all "YAY I ARE GOOD GUY NOW" was kind of creepy. If I'd been watching it without any spoilers, I would have been very D:< D:< D:< at Mike and Bryan about how that was too easy. POD PERSON ZUZU.
--I loved how Aang's rise through the chakras wasn't really development in and of itself, but a summation of preexisting development. He'd already overcome fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies, and illusion. This wasn't him rushing through all that development--it was him confirming it.
--How are all the powerups on this show done so well? Toph metalbending worked perfectly.
--So this is what the anti-canon-Katara/Aang people list as the most crucial evidence against the ship? But it was explicitly framed as a choice between love and power--and Iroh confirmed this approvingly in the next episode. Are we really supposed to believe that the other choice would have fit the themes of the show?
--Sokka is so goddamn cute clinging to his father. His expression at being told that Hakoda considers him a man! Aww. And yet he's still able to choose to walk away from his dreams of fighting as a Water Tribe warrior to do what needs to be done in his new life. I ♥ Sokka.
--The Earth King is such an adorable dork. I love how even the briefest characters on this show are awesome.
--Fire Nation ladies of doom. ♥ I love how Azula is such a formidable villain, always several steps ahead of anyone else, and how she makes such perfect sense to herself despite how appalling her actions are. Also, Ty Lee is hilarious and adorable, and Mai's :| provides an amusing counterpoint to the passion of the other two--although I look forward to seeing her get developed beyond it.
--Aang and Katara were really damn shippy in "Crossroads of Destiny." For serious. I love that even though he came to save her, Katara was the one who wound up saving him--and she was so badass about it. ♥ Katara, seriously. And...gah, the looks they gave each other, and especially the looks she gave him. Everything about the situation screamed "Noble Hero Rescuing His Damsel In Distress Princess"--right up to the fact that Katara used the Avatar equivalent of a magic potion on Aang--except with the genders reversed.
--Of note is that this scene also proves that Aang is perfectly capable of letting go of Katara and achieving the Avatar state that way if he has to, so it's not like his attachment to her is some kind of debilitating weakness. It's just that it's a bad idea for him to do so.
--Gah, Zuko. Even so soon after he makes his choice, the show reassures us that he's still developing in the right direction by showing how he regrets it. But it makes sense. He's changed and matured over the first two seasons--he's become capable of making his own decisions, where before he could only thrash blindly after whatever goal someone else set in front of him. They're just not necessarily the right decisions.
--Iroh. ;_; You are far too awesome.
Will start on the third season later. Hopefully I'll go through that faster so that I can start RPing Avatar characters soon.
My thoughts:
--Zuko waking up from his fever all "YAY I ARE GOOD GUY NOW" was kind of creepy. If I'd been watching it without any spoilers, I would have been very D:< D:< D:< at Mike and Bryan about how that was too easy. POD PERSON ZUZU.
--I loved how Aang's rise through the chakras wasn't really development in and of itself, but a summation of preexisting development. He'd already overcome fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies, and illusion. This wasn't him rushing through all that development--it was him confirming it.
--How are all the powerups on this show done so well? Toph metalbending worked perfectly.
--So this is what the anti-canon-Katara/Aang people list as the most crucial evidence against the ship? But it was explicitly framed as a choice between love and power--and Iroh confirmed this approvingly in the next episode. Are we really supposed to believe that the other choice would have fit the themes of the show?
--Sokka is so goddamn cute clinging to his father. His expression at being told that Hakoda considers him a man! Aww. And yet he's still able to choose to walk away from his dreams of fighting as a Water Tribe warrior to do what needs to be done in his new life. I ♥ Sokka.
--The Earth King is such an adorable dork. I love how even the briefest characters on this show are awesome.
--Fire Nation ladies of doom. ♥ I love how Azula is such a formidable villain, always several steps ahead of anyone else, and how she makes such perfect sense to herself despite how appalling her actions are. Also, Ty Lee is hilarious and adorable, and Mai's :| provides an amusing counterpoint to the passion of the other two--although I look forward to seeing her get developed beyond it.
--Aang and Katara were really damn shippy in "Crossroads of Destiny." For serious. I love that even though he came to save her, Katara was the one who wound up saving him--and she was so badass about it. ♥ Katara, seriously. And...gah, the looks they gave each other, and especially the looks she gave him. Everything about the situation screamed "Noble Hero Rescuing His Damsel In Distress Princess"--right up to the fact that Katara used the Avatar equivalent of a magic potion on Aang--except with the genders reversed.
--Of note is that this scene also proves that Aang is perfectly capable of letting go of Katara and achieving the Avatar state that way if he has to, so it's not like his attachment to her is some kind of debilitating weakness. It's just that it's a bad idea for him to do so.
--Gah, Zuko. Even so soon after he makes his choice, the show reassures us that he's still developing in the right direction by showing how he regrets it. But it makes sense. He's changed and matured over the first two seasons--he's become capable of making his own decisions, where before he could only thrash blindly after whatever goal someone else set in front of him. They're just not necessarily the right decisions.
--Iroh. ;_; You are far too awesome.
Will start on the third season later. Hopefully I'll go through that faster so that I can start RPing Avatar characters soon.