Countdown to the Comet!

[sistermagpie]

Okay, today's the last day before the last Avatar--wah! So I'm watching Ember Island Players, of course, and since this is a reflective ep before the last movie, let's reflect.

Comments

rambles

[shusu]

I have to say that overall I *love* Ember Island. In general. Those shows were totally the "filler" that ought to fail, but it just *works*. I think it's getting to me because it's based on more Pacific Islander cultures, and because I had so many of those late night epiphanies as a teenager, where you're just wandering around under the stars and talking about nothing in particular ... until of course everything changes. And it was so often about confronting your fears, and confronting the truth about yourself. I guess the adult equivalent is walking into that one bar of all the bars in all the world

Re: rambles

[sistermagpie]

I was such a fan of The Beach too. As you say, they could just not work, but I feel like they definitely do. Partly because the foundation is there for there to be stuff to dig into with the relationships and the characters. The teen stuff in The Beach was sometimes a little close to on the nose with everyone explaining how they aer the way they are, but it didn't imo crossover into totally unbelievable for teenaged conversation at all.

I thought the same thing about Toph with Sokka and Suki. Particularly with the man playing her, which could have been just as hurful to her as Aang being played by a woman. It isn't since Toph isn't physically mannish but small, but still, the play made as much of a point about there being no relationship between her and Sokka by casting her that way.

Re: rambles

[shusu]

Oooh yes. I overlooked that about Toph's actor. I could see that she was clearly the "I love fanfic because it's not canon" voice, and she did spend a lot of time in the wrestling ring so she has that understanding of drama. But yeah, it shoved any tension with her and Sokka into the realm of subtext.

Toph would totally write satiric fanfic heavily-laden with meta! LOL. What a pile of digs at fandom. That aspect was hilarious. It was like the Gaang arriving at ff.net.

Re: rambles

[genarti]

To be fair, though, Toph is a very very different personality from Aang. She wears different things out in the open, and hides different things.

The question of tension with Suki is a separate one, but in terms of the play, I don't think it's at all implausible for her to be gleefully in favor of her legend being that of the BURLY TOUGH EARTHBENDER GUY, and all of those messy private feeeeelings ignored. I think it's perfectly in keeping with the way she acts about, say, her parents and their rules. Persona is one thing, and that's for all the cheering masses or the people you're about to pummel. The private emotional details are private, or at most for your closest friends to know about.

Whereas Aang is a romantic in different ways. And didn't grow up making his own legend in the professional wrestling earthbending competitions.

[seven31]

Anyway, so Aang. Aang's more complicated because in a way he actually hasn't hit that level of development yet. ... The basic problem in the play was that he was seeing himself being portrayed as impotent and asexual. He was childish (hence being played by a woman).

To add insult to injury, there's also a very young fan dressed up like Aang highlighting Aang as childish rather than Aang as adolescent.

...if he fails or gets killed by Ozai she might never see him at all the way he wants her to see him.
And he doesn't even know how to fix that. He tries to push it by kissing her, which is maybe kind of aggressive so could work, but she doesn't melt into his arms, she just says, WTF, I just said I was confused! He doesn't have the fire he needs.
I think even kissing her was childish. It was a non-verbal, "Well, I'm not confused. Why are you?" Which was, iirc, what he actually asked/implied seconds earlier. Her response, while WTF, sounded more like a mom who is flabbergasted at her son who just did the exact opposite of what he

[sistermagpie]

I think even kissing her was childish. It was a non-verbal, "Well, I'm not confused. Why are you?"

Good description of it. It wasn't one of those kisses that happens in romance where the guy gets what's going on with the girl and is saying "this is what you really want." It was just a frustrated flailing demand.

I feel like Kataang is inevitable (not that I'm a Katura fan, but my suspension of disbelief can only go so far; and a 14 year old girl finding any 12 year old boy hot or even tepid is asking a lot from my suspension.)

I have this problem too. I consider Kataang to be canon and know it's going that way, and I don't have any alternate ships for either Katara or Aang that I'd rather see. I just can't get into it as a ship for this reason. He really does seem like a little boy who's too young for her at this stage of his life and I honestly have no idea how they will get out of that. It's not like they're not aware of it, of course. Especially in this season where they've got the teenaged couples getting it on!

[seven31]

I feel like Kataang is inevitable (not that I'm a Zutara fan, but my suspension of disbelief can only go so far; and a 14 year old girl finding any 12 year old boy hot or even tepid is asking a lot from my suspension.)

I have this problem too. I consider Kataang to be canon and know it's going that way, and I don't have any alternate ships for either Katara or Aang that I'd rather see.

They ended up having the perfect ending. I was so stoked! A hug. We've seen various hugs throughout SC. How perfect to end it with a hug.

Then they effed it up with the kiss.

alas and alack.

Still, SC was nigh pretty perfect!

[seven31]

Katura
Zutara.
Ugh!

[r_ganymede]

OMG, I loved "You smell bad and I hate you forever." Maybe a little too much. (You know, had Zuko been a Harry Potter character he might actually have said this

[sistermagpie]

I admit, I just can't feel Aang/Katara. I know it's canon and all, but it's still weird for me. Partly it's that Aang looks like a child, but it's also that I'm not into the boy/older mothering girl thing.

[sistermagpie]

OMG, I know YAY!!

[sistermagpie]

Hey. I was just writing a whole long post about, among other things, Prince Z's mom. Going up now...