But, on the other hand, Katara trusted Zuko least, and thus she needed to be the last one to forgive/accept. Putting Boiling Rock after Southern Raiders would have made it less about Sokka-Zuko bonding and more about Sokka saving his Dad.
(Alternatively, we can interpret Katara's attitude at the beginning of Southern Raiders as at least partly jealousy ("Why didn't *I* get to go on a field trip with Zuko?").)
Maybe Ty Lee's joining the Kyoshi warriors is a sign that she's given up her need for attention all the time and accepted that it's okay to look like other girls around her because she has her own personality to make her stand out? (EVERYBODY has a crush on Zuko, duh!)
(I am STILL SAD that Avatar is over. Currently, I am forcing myself to not rewatch favorite parts of season 3 so they'll seem more new when I get the DVDs.)
See why I need to watch with other people? I think you're absolutely right about Ty Lee. I will now watch Boiling Rock again and revel in the bonding ("My first girlfriend turned into the moon." "That's rough, buddy." OMG! AVATAR!)
You have so much more restraint than I do. I just keep watching and rewatching (and pausing and replaying). I didn't even order the Book 3 DVDs until yesterday because I kept waiting for "*yawn* Bored now. Where's the shiny?" to kick in from overexposure.
Question 8: Any clue on why Ozai went from Ember Island Dad to Evil Overlord of Plottingtude and Crazy? I feel like there's a big storytelling hole there. (Secretly, you're impressed that I am devoting an entire section of my brain to remembering the question numbers.)
We see Zuko's shadowed memories of summers at the beach. Of course, it could just be Zuko misreading his father's character...or having Azula drove Dad crazy 'cause she's a monster. If there were more time between Lu Ten's death and Dad going all plotty evil, I would think that his nephew's death inspired Dark Thoughts of Power in Ozai, now that he was only one heir from the throne.
I think Iroh would have chosen to go with Zuko regardless (Uncle loves Zuko!). In the canonically-enhanced version of Avatar that I watch in my head, I believe Iroh was sent away by Ozai because he's the one who let Zuko in the meeting and therefore bears a smidge of the "disgrace" himself.
I kinda like the idea that Azula (who was raised by hyenas 'til she was five) drove Ozai crazy. (After all, the LET'S BURN THE WORLD DOWN, LOL thing was her idea.) Or maybe it's all about the position of Fire Lord driving people to be power-hungry dictators (see also: Sozin). Which would make me worry about Zuko, except that he's obviously too pure-hearted to be affected.
I understand Iroh wanting to go with Zuko, but I'm less clear on why Zuko seemed to be okay with Iroh going with him even from the start. Also, where did they get that ship and all the soldiers?
I was in the middle of making an absolutely fabulous response to the last question (it had options and sub-scenarios and everything) when the power went out at my desk and it was lost. So: since the condition Ozai set for his son's return was that Zuko bring back the Avatar, it's possible that evilDad allowed him to requisition a ship+crew for his journey. Or (and I like this one better, because it ties into your question about why Zuko tolerates Uncle's presence) Iroh used his military connections to scam a ship and crew. As you note, the crew is very small, and we see that the ship is also small when compared with those in Zhao's fleet.
I want to drape this comment in black to mourn the lost comment, but that would make it hard to read.
I like the second option better, too, since they didn't have the ship when they first left. (It was when we see Zuko and Iroh alone in Western Temple that I started wondering where the ship came from; before that I just assumed it was a gift from not-so-psycho-Dad.)
D. Related question: We don't know who was teaching Zuko before he was banished, do we? (Because Iroh wouldn't have had time while he was off sieging Ba Sing Se, right?) Also (E), did Ozai teach Azula? Because she's really good, but it doesn't seem like Ozai would be a very good teacher.
D) Nope, we don't know who originally taught Zuko. Iroh returned from Ba Sing Se shortly after Lu Ten's death, so he could have been teaching Zuko for a couple of years after his poor display in front of Azulon. (Poor Zuko.)
E) I like to think Azula learned firebending at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls...'cause firebending at a finishing school amuses me. (And that setting just screams prequel.)
For some reason I had my timeline messed up and forgot about the years between Ozai becoming Fire Lord and Zuko's banishment. (In my head it was all one big catastrophe.)
I like this theory, though it makes me wonder why we don't see any firebending girls other than Azula. I guess it's just an extension of how we don't see a lot of girl benders outside the main cast.
I like to think Azula learned firebending at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls
This is what I had assumed. I mean, she befriended Ty Lee and Mai there, and they're masters of their own forms of combat, right? I'd say the Fire Nation has a different idea of what constitutes a "Finishing School" than we do. It fits, too, since they're all such power hungry sorts.
In my mind, Zuko was taught by one of many tutors/sages. I would figure that the Crown Prince, he would have had to stay by his father's side at the castle to be prepared for his role someday, so he did his learning there, whereas "the girl" was sent to "finishing school." (This also falls in line with pretty much any medieval/fantasy tale of similar plotting.)
Book 3, too. Why didn't I wait two days to buy?? (Book 2, mysteriously, is $50. I think Amazon doesn't want me to watch Crossroads of Destiny ever again.)
(Alternatively, we can interpret Katara's attitude at the beginning of Southern Raiders as at least partly jealousy ("Why didn't *I* get to go on a field trip with Zuko?").)
Maybe Ty Lee's joining the Kyoshi warriors is a sign that she's given up her need for attention all the time and accepted that it's okay to look like other girls around her because she has her own personality to make her stand out? (EVERYBODY has a crush on Zuko, duh!)
(I am STILL SAD that Avatar is over. Currently, I am forcing myself to not rewatch favorite parts of season 3 so they'll seem more new when I get the DVDs.)
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You have so much more restraint than I do. I just keep watching and rewatching (and pausing and replaying). I didn't even order the Book 3 DVDs until yesterday because I kept waiting for "*yawn* Bored now. Where's the shiny?" to kick in from overexposure.
Question 8: Any clue on why Ozai went from Ember Island Dad to Evil Overlord of Plottingtude and Crazy? I feel like there's a big storytelling hole there. (Secretly, you're impressed that I am devoting an entire section of my brain to remembering the question numbers.)
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I think Iroh would have chosen to go with Zuko regardless (Uncle loves Zuko!). In the canonically-enhanced version of Avatar that I watch in my head, I believe Iroh was sent away by Ozai because he's the one who let Zuko in the meeting and therefore bears a smidge of the "disgrace" himself.
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I understand Iroh wanting to go with Zuko, but I'm less clear on why Zuko seemed to be okay with Iroh going with him even from the start. Also, where did they get that ship and all the soldiers?
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I like the second option better, too, since they didn't have the ship when they first left. (It was when we see Zuko and Iroh alone in Western Temple that I started wondering where the ship came from; before that I just assumed it was a gift from not-so-psycho-Dad.)
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E) I like to think Azula learned firebending at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls...'cause firebending at a finishing school amuses me. (And that setting just screams prequel.)
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I like this theory, though it makes me wonder why we don't see any firebending girls other than Azula. I guess it's just an extension of how we don't see a lot of girl benders outside the main cast.
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This is what I had assumed. I mean, she befriended Ty Lee and Mai there, and they're masters of their own forms of combat, right? I'd say the Fire Nation has a different idea of what constitutes a "Finishing School" than we do. It fits, too, since they're all such power hungry sorts.
In my mind, Zuko was taught by one of many tutors/sages. I would figure that the Crown Prince, he would have had to stay by his father's side at the castle to be prepared for his role someday, so he did his learning there, whereas "the girl" was sent to "finishing school." (This also falls in line with pretty much any medieval/fantasy tale of similar plotting.)
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I think you mean "except that Zuko is President Obama."
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