Why I love Avatar: The Last Airbender (Spoilers ahead)
So as you may have heard, Avatar: The Last Airbender is currently in full capacity on Netflix. I remember watching it when I was but a naive child after school. I remember looking at everything and thinking, “bending the elements is so fucking cool.” But beneath all the crazy bending and the martial sword fights, there was much more than meets the eye. I don’t have time to explain everything I love but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum so that all you fine folks can still digest my thoughts. Anyways let’s get started.
Characterization/Maturity.
Wow. Well where do I begin? Let’s start with Twinkle Toes himself. Aang is all about adventure. And honestly I don’t blame him. It is learned that his past does indeed haunt him and I don’t think it’s too irrational to understand his desire to run away when the air nomads announce he is the avatar. Keep in mind, these characters primarily in their teenage years. Over the course of the series each character we are introduced to experiences a change/growth of some kind. From Zuko, (who btw is only a good sider for like 7 episodes officially) to Mei, and even Azula herself, the amount of maturity shown by the characters is astounding and definitely a hidden gem of the series.
The War of the Fire Nation
Everyone knows the fire nation is the reason the whole war started. Right until the middle of season 2, we don’t have any reason as to why they started the war other than “FIRE NATION EVIL.” But the episode “The Avatar and The Firelord” explains so much through Aang’s past life Roku. Not only does this episode teach the audience (who is experiencing the story from Aang’s viewpoint) of what happened but also why the war was started. Roku and Sozin where best friends. Bros you might even say. They are both in a position of high power (Sozin being the fire lord). But as time goes on, people change. The conversation between the two on Roku’s wedding day is very telling of the differing ideologies. Sozin’s cause is noble but quite flawed that being the sharing of the Fire Nation’s Greatness (sound familiar?) with the rest of the 3 nations. Roku is horrified to learn of this and ultimately pays the price for sparing Sozin. It shows that even great people beloved by their country are capable of commiting both great good and great evil and that they are the different sides of the same coin (Taoism). This idea is reflected in Zuko’s arc as he is often conflicted. Most notably in the beach episode on Ember Island we get to have an inside look of “Team Azula” where Zuko laments his mentality of not knowing what’s right. Eventually we see that he ultimately is the other side of the balance bringer to the 4 nations.
Personal Conflict/Morality
I talked a bit about this in the latter part of the last segment. Every character has a personal conflict. Let’s view the 2 instances that aren’t talked about as much. Katara’s seeking of vengeance and her unlocking of blood bending. These episodes show Katara at her most personally vulnerable. It’s safe to say that Katara is overwhelmingly lawful good. But even she has her anger issues. In the blood bending episodes, it is only because of her tapping into the “dark side” that she is able to stop Yama from killing her companions. She realizes that blood bending is a violation of her morals and opts to subdue instead of outright killing her. After this, she starts to cry as she knows what kind of power she now wields. In the episode where she and Zuko track down a former Fire Nation general, Katara again is tapped into her darker emotions of rage and vengeance (which parallels Aang’s encounter with Fire Lord Ozai). As Katara is ready to pierce the general through, she has a change of heart. She sees the pathetic state he has been in and opts to spare him if only to prolong his miserable life. Zuko even says, “you’re a disgrace. You got off lucky.”
(To be continued)