A Reason for Season Three (Part One)
I'm pissed off. So here is a bitchy meta in favour of the third season of A:TLA.
I think it's safe to say that most of the episodes are considered, to an extent, filler. I've heard often that those "filler" episodes are just that: pointless wastes of time that could be used telling other, more productive stories.
Well, I'm sick of it.
You may not like all of the episodes of Book Three: Fire, and that's your choice. But the episodes deemed "filler" each have a reason for being there, and since most people don't seem to get that, I'm going to spell it out for you all the only way I can: Bitchily and with pictures.
I'm going to leave of some of the episodes. This is a meta for the filler episodes. So I'm going to obviously leave out big-hitters like "Day of Black Sun", "The Boiling Rock", "The Southern Raiders" and obviously, the finale.
Filler Episode #1: 302: The Headband
I'm going to focus on the "A" plot, since it's moot that Zuko's "B" plot is important regardless.
Right. So. The Gaang finally lands in the Fire Nation in order to bide their time until the eclipse, which is estimated as a few weeks away - it's never really outright said. To spend their time, there are two options: become elusive cave people and bore themselves to death while eating insects, or assimilate and maybe learn more along the way. Without much hesitation, the group decides on the second option.
So costumes are acquired dubiously and the Gaang infiltrate masquerading as a bunch of Fire Nation kids (without parents) apparently. Aang is singled out due to his desire to each vegetation out of the garbage, and - due to his cute little outfit - is thought of as a truant student and dragged back to school.
Here comes my first point: This episode is not only a great look at average daily life in the Fire Nation. We see a marketplace, homes, and average people going about their lives. You also get to see how things are tightly run, and how even a single missing kid is singled out to be thrown back into school. It gives a hint as to how strict things can get.
So, anyway. Aang is thrown into school, reveals himself as a Harry Potter fanboy, and is tossed into mid-lesson under the stern glare of the teacher there. Right away we learn that Fire Nation children are taught from the get-go to be patriotic without question.
Aang finds himself somewhat at a loss, especially when he questions the accuracy of the history being taught. He's basically told not to question anything - to follow blindly for the good of the nation. This is huge, since it right away tells us that the way Fire Nation soldiers behave is pounded into them at a very young age.
Even in music class he's told to think only of the Fire Nation, and that anything that may distract himself from that loyalty is pointless and not worth a second thought. Aang doesn't dig that one bit.
In any case, Aang attracts a few friends, tussles with a moron, and ends up getting blown up a few times in the name of fun. It ends up with Katara and Sokka dressing up in a creepy version of Fire Nation parents, also giving birth to the greatest meme of the entire fandom:
Yeah.
Sokka, with some reason, blows up at Aang and tries to forbid him from ever going back, but Aang overrides this by declaring that he's already planned a dance party for his new peers, because they're too sheltered and he hates that. There is some reluctance, but eventually everyone agrees with it.
The kids arrive and refuse to dance, despite the kickass music playing. So Aang shows them that they won't die if they dance by strutting his stuff and actually dancing Fire Nation dances, which is awesome, and my next point:
This is a huge point in terms of Fire Nation society. if kids are encouraged to not even dance, despite the fact that their history is so obviously rich with it, that's a huge fucking problem. These kids are told to basically become robots - no feeling, moving, talking, or thinking allowed unless it's patriotic - and if they're raised like this, it's bound to make them into fucked-up adults later in life.
Eventually, they warm up to Aang and his crazy free-thinking ways, enough to relax and imitate Foamy on some levels:
This is also key, because it shows that while Fire Nation kids are brought up to be assimilates, they also have the ability - if given the chance - to loosen up and show their own colours and personalities. Plus, it's really fucking fun to watch a bunch of silly kids loosen up and dance like it's 1999.
And of course, a controversial point must be made: The Kataango.
Maybe it's just my inner Kataanger, but damn this scene is neat and well-done. Often called the series' "G-rated sex scene", Aang and Katara wow the students with a mix of waterbending forms and pure improv. The dance is a pivotal moment in their relationship, because they learn to have fun and trust each other in a pocket of time, without the shadows of war creeping up behind them to spoil their fun. It's nice to see.
In any case, the douche that Aang tussled with at the start decided to be a narc, so now the party is busted up and the Gaang have to piss off before they're discovered as...well...the Gaang.
Lol, what a douche.
However, instead of selling him out like you would think they would, the Fire Nation kids actually help Aang out. They each wear their belts on their foreheads like he does and distracts the adults long enough for them to get away. One would think that if the Fire Nation bred their kids evil to the bone, they wouldn't have bothered, right?
Well, here's the thing: Aang just taught a whole class of kids how to dance and free themselves from their inhibitions. That kind of shit is something you don't forget easily.
In any case, the Gaang gets home safely and they leave without a scratch. But I suspect that dance parties end up being a Fire Nation version of speakeasys in the future - once you have a taste of something like that, it's hard to let go. Aang probably inadvertently just ruined a whole generation of Fire Nation kids by shaking his ass for them. Awesome.
Hell, even the adults are digging it.
So, in the end, this episode has a point: it gives an insight to Fire Nation childhood, society, and freedom. It's a silly, fun episode, but it does have merit and reason for the scene of things. It shows the viewers that, perhaps, there are more sides to things, and that sometimes things are taught as the only option, no matter how shitty, and if they're only one option, what else are you going to pick?
This episode is also loathed because of the Maiko/Kataang heaviness, but that's just shipping-butthurt and I'm not bothering to get into that. My points still stand without them.
Next up: Filler Episode 2: 303: The Painted Lady. (STOP GROANING, FUCK.)
I think it's safe to say that most of the episodes are considered, to an extent, filler. I've heard often that those "filler" episodes are just that: pointless wastes of time that could be used telling other, more productive stories.
Well, I'm sick of it.
You may not like all of the episodes of Book Three: Fire, and that's your choice. But the episodes deemed "filler" each have a reason for being there, and since most people don't seem to get that, I'm going to spell it out for you all the only way I can: Bitchily and with pictures.
I'm going to leave of some of the episodes. This is a meta for the filler episodes. So I'm going to obviously leave out big-hitters like "Day of Black Sun", "The Boiling Rock", "The Southern Raiders" and obviously, the finale.
Filler Episode #1: 302: The Headband
I'm going to focus on the "A" plot, since it's moot that Zuko's "B" plot is important regardless.
Right. So. The Gaang finally lands in the Fire Nation in order to bide their time until the eclipse, which is estimated as a few weeks away - it's never really outright said. To spend their time, there are two options: become elusive cave people and bore themselves to death while eating insects, or assimilate and maybe learn more along the way. Without much hesitation, the group decides on the second option.
So costumes are acquired dubiously and the Gaang infiltrate masquerading as a bunch of Fire Nation kids (without parents) apparently. Aang is singled out due to his desire to each vegetation out of the garbage, and - due to his cute little outfit - is thought of as a truant student and dragged back to school.
Here comes my first point: This episode is not only a great look at average daily life in the Fire Nation. We see a marketplace, homes, and average people going about their lives. You also get to see how things are tightly run, and how even a single missing kid is singled out to be thrown back into school. It gives a hint as to how strict things can get.
So, anyway. Aang is thrown into school, reveals himself as a Harry Potter fanboy, and is tossed into mid-lesson under the stern glare of the teacher there. Right away we learn that Fire Nation children are taught from the get-go to be patriotic without question.
Aang finds himself somewhat at a loss, especially when he questions the accuracy of the history being taught. He's basically told not to question anything - to follow blindly for the good of the nation. This is huge, since it right away tells us that the way Fire Nation soldiers behave is pounded into them at a very young age.
Even in music class he's told to think only of the Fire Nation, and that anything that may distract himself from that loyalty is pointless and not worth a second thought. Aang doesn't dig that one bit.
In any case, Aang attracts a few friends, tussles with a moron, and ends up getting blown up a few times in the name of fun. It ends up with Katara and Sokka dressing up in a creepy version of Fire Nation parents, also giving birth to the greatest meme of the entire fandom:
Yeah.
Sokka, with some reason, blows up at Aang and tries to forbid him from ever going back, but Aang overrides this by declaring that he's already planned a dance party for his new peers, because they're too sheltered and he hates that. There is some reluctance, but eventually everyone agrees with it.
The kids arrive and refuse to dance, despite the kickass music playing. So Aang shows them that they won't die if they dance by strutting his stuff and actually dancing Fire Nation dances, which is awesome, and my next point:
This is a huge point in terms of Fire Nation society. if kids are encouraged to not even dance, despite the fact that their history is so obviously rich with it, that's a huge fucking problem. These kids are told to basically become robots - no feeling, moving, talking, or thinking allowed unless it's patriotic - and if they're raised like this, it's bound to make them into fucked-up adults later in life.
Eventually, they warm up to Aang and his crazy free-thinking ways, enough to relax and imitate Foamy on some levels:
This is also key, because it shows that while Fire Nation kids are brought up to be assimilates, they also have the ability - if given the chance - to loosen up and show their own colours and personalities. Plus, it's really fucking fun to watch a bunch of silly kids loosen up and dance like it's 1999.
And of course, a controversial point must be made: The Kataango.
Maybe it's just my inner Kataanger, but damn this scene is neat and well-done. Often called the series' "G-rated sex scene", Aang and Katara wow the students with a mix of waterbending forms and pure improv. The dance is a pivotal moment in their relationship, because they learn to have fun and trust each other in a pocket of time, without the shadows of war creeping up behind them to spoil their fun. It's nice to see.
In any case, the douche that Aang tussled with at the start decided to be a narc, so now the party is busted up and the Gaang have to piss off before they're discovered as...well...the Gaang.
Lol, what a douche.
However, instead of selling him out like you would think they would, the Fire Nation kids actually help Aang out. They each wear their belts on their foreheads like he does and distracts the adults long enough for them to get away. One would think that if the Fire Nation bred their kids evil to the bone, they wouldn't have bothered, right?
Well, here's the thing: Aang just taught a whole class of kids how to dance and free themselves from their inhibitions. That kind of shit is something you don't forget easily.
In any case, the Gaang gets home safely and they leave without a scratch. But I suspect that dance parties end up being a Fire Nation version of speakeasys in the future - once you have a taste of something like that, it's hard to let go. Aang probably inadvertently just ruined a whole generation of Fire Nation kids by shaking his ass for them. Awesome.
Hell, even the adults are digging it.
So, in the end, this episode has a point: it gives an insight to Fire Nation childhood, society, and freedom. It's a silly, fun episode, but it does have merit and reason for the scene of things. It shows the viewers that, perhaps, there are more sides to things, and that sometimes things are taught as the only option, no matter how shitty, and if they're only one option, what else are you going to pick?
This episode is also loathed because of the Maiko/Kataang heaviness, but that's just shipping-butthurt and I'm not bothering to get into that. My points still stand without them.
Next up: Filler Episode 2: 303: The Painted Lady. (STOP GROANING, FUCK.)