Southern Raiders, Partie Deux
1) I love my new icon because it really conveys the motion of the scene. (Malone is sitting here calling me a "nerdy nerdy flabfat." "I'm making fun of you! She has ears! *squishes ear* Huhuh wow, that's really weird-looking. I could sew your ear shut like that and nobody would love you. Could you hear worse or better? *notices that I am taking a transcript of the moment* *sticks finger in middle of ponytail* Rape!")
2) Well, while she's sitting here, I'll just go ahead and make my post about my thoughts on Southern Raiders. Based on the conversations over at
katara_zuko, there seem to be a couple of main issues with the episode:
a) Why the crap was Zuko being so freaking OOC?
b) Why didn't they talk? Did Katara really forgive Zuko, or was that just a copout?
c) Zuko's reaction to Katara's AWESOME BENDING OF DOOOOOOOOOOOM: turn on or get me the hell out of here?
So, here's my thoughts on said issues:
a) He was doing it so he could show his support for Katara and be there for her. I, too, thought he was being incredibly OOC, but as I already said in my previous post, as the episode progressed, my instincts told me that he knew that Katara wasn't going to do it. And, as many people other than me have said, Zuko's been there, done that, with the whole really-angry revenge thing. Zuko knew what Katara was and was not going to do (though he didn't know what she is and is not capable of, at least in terms of bending), and he also knew that the others weren't going to get that, and weren't going to leave her alone and let her work it out on their own, which is what she needed to do.
See, the way I see it, Zuko knows Katara at her absolute worst. He's seen glimpses of her good side--especially under Ba Sing Se--and he's seen her be strong and courageous under pressure--the necklace incident--but the entirety of this long-term companionship they have, she's been mean and spiteful. He's fought her and talked with her; he knows her strategies, and he's also been privy to (and caused) some of her deepest pains. Zuko knows a great deal about Katara's darker side, much like she knows a great deal about Aang's darker side (the Avatar state, etc.). He knows that her worst won't let her murder someone, no matter how much she might want to. And even she's not sure why: "don't know if I was too weak to do it, or strong enough not to do it." But she wasn't going to do it. And he knew that.
And so knowing that, he also knew that she didn't need to face it alone, and that she needed someone to go with her who wouldn't bother her about it the whole time--because Katara's stubborn, like Sokka, and you know that the more they tried to tell her not to do anything, the more she would be convinced she needed to do it. So he says what she wants to hear, so that she won't bug him about coming with her, and then he's there for her.
b) I don't think they talked at all, or at least not very much, during the ride there and back. I'm pretty convinced there wasn't much to say.
And I think it's going to take a little while (which we may or may not see) for her to get used to not being all bitter around Zuko. (Either that or it won't take much time at all, and he'll be freaked out by how friendly she can be when she's not hating your guts.) But the hug--she throws her arms around him. It's a thank-you hug. It's a real hug, and it might just be fanservice or whatever, but it's THERE, and it's CANON, and it's the hug of a friend.
c) He doesn't judge her at all. That's the most important part.
And it's about time for The Ember Island Players to start, so I'll have to cut this short, and add the links to the good discussions on k_z but--YAY. I LOVE KATARA, AND I LOVE THIS SHOW.
2) Well, while she's sitting here, I'll just go ahead and make my post about my thoughts on Southern Raiders. Based on the conversations over at
katara_zuko, there seem to be a couple of main issues with the episode:
a) Why the crap was Zuko being so freaking OOC?
b) Why didn't they talk? Did Katara really forgive Zuko, or was that just a copout?
c) Zuko's reaction to Katara's AWESOME BENDING OF DOOOOOOOOOOOM: turn on or get me the hell out of here?
So, here's my thoughts on said issues:
a) He was doing it so he could show his support for Katara and be there for her. I, too, thought he was being incredibly OOC, but as I already said in my previous post, as the episode progressed, my instincts told me that he knew that Katara wasn't going to do it. And, as many people other than me have said, Zuko's been there, done that, with the whole really-angry revenge thing. Zuko knew what Katara was and was not going to do (though he didn't know what she is and is not capable of, at least in terms of bending), and he also knew that the others weren't going to get that, and weren't going to leave her alone and let her work it out on their own, which is what she needed to do.
See, the way I see it, Zuko knows Katara at her absolute worst. He's seen glimpses of her good side--especially under Ba Sing Se--and he's seen her be strong and courageous under pressure--the necklace incident--but the entirety of this long-term companionship they have, she's been mean and spiteful. He's fought her and talked with her; he knows her strategies, and he's also been privy to (and caused) some of her deepest pains. Zuko knows a great deal about Katara's darker side, much like she knows a great deal about Aang's darker side (the Avatar state, etc.). He knows that her worst won't let her murder someone, no matter how much she might want to. And even she's not sure why: "don't know if I was too weak to do it, or strong enough not to do it." But she wasn't going to do it. And he knew that.
And so knowing that, he also knew that she didn't need to face it alone, and that she needed someone to go with her who wouldn't bother her about it the whole time--because Katara's stubborn, like Sokka, and you know that the more they tried to tell her not to do anything, the more she would be convinced she needed to do it. So he says what she wants to hear, so that she won't bug him about coming with her, and then he's there for her.
b) I don't think they talked at all, or at least not very much, during the ride there and back. I'm pretty convinced there wasn't much to say.
And I think it's going to take a little while (which we may or may not see) for her to get used to not being all bitter around Zuko. (Either that or it won't take much time at all, and he'll be freaked out by how friendly she can be when she's not hating your guts.) But the hug--she throws her arms around him. It's a thank-you hug. It's a real hug, and it might just be fanservice or whatever, but it's THERE, and it's CANON, and it's the hug of a friend.
c) He doesn't judge her at all. That's the most important part.
And it's about time for The Ember Island Players to start, so I'll have to cut this short, and add the links to the good discussions on k_z but--YAY. I LOVE KATARA, AND I LOVE THIS SHOW.