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I'm not sorry I met you, I'm not sorry it's over
When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.
Stars, "Your Ex-Lover is Dead"
Note: All Spoilers Under Cut.
Avatar is not a series that needs me to recommend it, and I don't think I'm going to sway anyone's opinions no matter how convincing my praise. Nevertheless I feel compelled to talk about the last episode. So many promising series fall down in the end, piling disappointment upon confusion, showing either contempt for the viewer, or a lack of follow-through and insight on the part of the creator.
Not so, for Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Great ideas often have implications that even the creator doesn't realize at first. Some stories are plotted out from the start; some evolve with the telling. But no meaningful story ends well if the creator never took a step back from his work to do the hard work of understanding his own creation.
And trust me, it IS hard work.
In the Case of Azula.
One of my favourite poems is "Judge a moth by the beauty of its candle," by Rumi. The idea that you can judge someone's worth by looking and what he loves is powerful to me. But I think this idea can also work in reverse.... you can also judge a candle by the beauty of the moths it attracts. And in such a case, the "moths" do not have to be lovers. Azula is the moth to both Zuko and Aang, their most persistant and flawless tormentor throughout the series, and she goes after them as arduously as any lover might. Despite being less putatively powerful than her father, and less central to the final battle, she truly is the main villain.
To me, Azula's descent is the end game, the domino that in falling makes the collapse of the empire possible. If Aang had defeated Ozai only to have to face Azula in the end, I do not think things would have turned out so well... because Azula at her height was flawless. A prodigy of battle, who very likely surpassed her own father in both skill and ambition.
I believe that the main reason that Ozai left Azula behind was because he did not trust her. It is clear to me that SHE interpreted it this way, and I think this was the ultimate reason for why she crumbled. To Ozai, Azula was a direct threat to his own power and prestige, and I think he felt that there would always be a stain on his victory if it were to have been gained with the help of his child. He cut her out not for reasons directly related to trust, but rather to insecurity... but the end result was the same. Because in his insecurity, he chose not to take along the sure key to ensuring his victory, and ended up destroying the very legacy of Fire Nation dominion he left for her to protect.
She wasn't someone who was given a lot of angst. The issue with her mother was relatively minor for her while things were going well, and certainly not responsible either for her choice to be a "monster," or her final downfall. This is not to say that I think her mother was a minor influence in her life: her edge of visciousness was sharpened by the belief that she had been hated by her mother, and when she distanced herself from all of the support systems she had built throughout the years, the idea that her mother might be the ONLY one to actually love her was nothing but the cruelest insult.
If Azula had faith in anything besides her own power, it was in the fact that her mother rejected her. To doubt even that was the final unsettling straw.
My feelings for Azula throughout the series were not overly complicated. I was in awe of her. I respected her as a character, and liked her very much as a villain. But through everything, I never felt compelled to relate to her... not even during the beach episode, when everyone was opening their hearts and she was arguably at her most relaxed and honest.
But when she cut her hair, my heart ached for her, not as a character but as a person. It was as if she was real.
Could Aang have defeated her? In this state, yes. But before?
No. No, because she was too clever and too cautious to actually carry out a plan like the raizing of the Earth Kingdom which she proposed to her father. She made the suggestion to her father, in fact, to make sure that HE would be the one to bear the brunt of the Avatar's wrath. Aang could never have attacked her with so much anger and conviction, because she would not knowingly chose to do radical things that would force him to show his hand.
Azula's only flaw, really, was that she had no flaw. None that she saw, anyway. Unlike almost everyone else in the world, she really believed in herself and her choices. For good or for evil, she was committed to following things through to the end, and never took a step without being confident that the earth would rush to hold her up. In yoga terms, she had a "stand." She didn't even have to think about the support that was holding her up: she took for granted that the world existed primarily for this very purpose.
As long as she believed in her stand, she was the immovable object to Aang's irresistable force. At best such a contest would always end in stalemate.
The first sign that the world might not exist primarily for her convenience was when Mai and Ty-Lee turned on her. This shook her, but in and of itself was not sufficient to unsettle her to the point of stumbling. Losing the idea that her father believed in her was what did it. Losing the idea that her mother hated her simply sealed it, because that was an invention of her own delusional mind and had no relation to anything that really happened.
So she cut her hair. And as with Samson, this seemingly inconsequential act broke the spell of belief that she had cast over herself. No longer was she a flawless agent of war.
Suddenly, she was just a girl.
In the Case of Aang
I'm sure there are going to be people who think that Aang's spiritual revelation brought to him courtesy of the sea lion was completely random and therefore a cop out. I can see how it is possible for someone who was not paying enough attention to think this, because the precendent was somewhat subtle. And yet, it was one of the clear revelations of this season that Bending originally was a power that belonged only to ancient lineages of mystical animals, and that the only way to understand the true nature of power was to go to those who originated it. Toph was Aang's only master who was qualified right from the start, and she learned everything she knew from the giant underground moles, who used bending primarily as a way to see. Zuko came to Aang throttled, his skills under tourniquet. It was only when he and Aang together went to see the "ancient masters of firebending" did he learn that firebending originally was taught to humans by the supposedly extinct race of dragons... and that for dragons, fire was breath, and therefore life. His skill was renewed by this encounter, and Aang in turn was able to benefit... both from direct teaching, and in having Zuko finally "finished" for him in terms of being ready to teach.
Aang had two important levels of truth to learn before he was ready to face Ozai. First was through his encounter with the previous Avatars of Fire, Earth, Wind, and Air. But in life, no one can move forward who depends entirely on one vision of the past. By speaking to the sea lion, Aang was able to learn something very very old and turn it into something radically new.
What is given can also be taken away.
This was as true of Ozai's powers as it was of his life... and Aang needed the ruthlessness and resolve that the previous Avatars urged, all of it, because in many ways what he did was far more cruel than outright killing Ozai. And I am sure he was completely aware of this.
He dodged the bullet of being compelled to take a life, but he was NOT able to dodge the responsibility he had to the world. As the last Air Bender advised, he embraced his duty to the world and forsook his desire to pursue a higher spiritual path.
Furthermore, the sea lion represents Water, right? The last lesson comes from the last type of mystical animal, and brings the story full circle. Because we started with the water tribe; fitting for Aang's last truth to come from an animal that represents the most ancient master for the tribe that was responsible for his rebirth.
In the Case of the World
In the end, there was victory, but no balance. Two key points have been left unresolved: one is the fact that the Air Benders of the world need to be restored in order to guarantee the cycle of reincarnation for the Avatars. The other is the fact that Azula, the main villain, remains unredeemed, and yet for the first time has become someone who is potentially redeemable.
So many good and necessary things happened in this 4-episode finale, things that I honestly yearned for. All along there was nothing I wanted more than for Zuko and Iroh to reconcile, and this happened, in a way that was all the more beautiful for being simple and understated. This event alone was enough to ensure that I would feel at least some sense of fulfillment, and I believe this was true for most viewers.
Zuko learned to believe in himself, at last. Katara learned how to forgive. Sokka carried off an ambitious plan with both intelligent tactics and excellent battle skills, and proved his worth as a true warrior of the Water Tribe. Toph... oh Toph. She is so uncomplicated that I can't say that she had any big revelations, except to say that she stands as the true counterpoint to Azula, as someone who has found a stand that is TRULY invincible.
I love Toph so much. She was a master from the start.
Anyway. Although so much happened, with those two major things unresolved, can I really say that this was a good and appropriate ending for Avatar?
Yes. So much, yes.
Because those things? Those are a new story. Not just another chapter, but another book.
Whether they actually are told will be a matter of the marketplace and the appetite of TV executives for continuing a series that they appeared all too willing to kill. But that is not as important as the fact that the writers discharged their duty: they finished this story, while making it clear that the world continues on, and there are more stories to be had.
If we are lucky, perhaps there will be an official followup. But I don't consider it unfortunate to be given a complete story that presents opportunities for the imagination.
A good story has an ending that is both predictable and startling. Everyone knew that the Avatar had to defeat the fire nation, and he did. HOW he did was what made the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender so gripping.
Oh the blood and the treasure--
and the losing it all--
the time that we wasted--
and the place where we fall.
Will we wake in the morning
and know what it was for?
Up in our bedroom, after the war?
Stars, "The Beginning After the End"
Stars, "Your Ex-Lover is Dead"
Note: All Spoilers Under Cut.
Avatar is not a series that needs me to recommend it, and I don't think I'm going to sway anyone's opinions no matter how convincing my praise. Nevertheless I feel compelled to talk about the last episode. So many promising series fall down in the end, piling disappointment upon confusion, showing either contempt for the viewer, or a lack of follow-through and insight on the part of the creator.
Not so, for Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Great ideas often have implications that even the creator doesn't realize at first. Some stories are plotted out from the start; some evolve with the telling. But no meaningful story ends well if the creator never took a step back from his work to do the hard work of understanding his own creation.
And trust me, it IS hard work.
In the Case of Azula.
One of my favourite poems is "Judge a moth by the beauty of its candle," by Rumi. The idea that you can judge someone's worth by looking and what he loves is powerful to me. But I think this idea can also work in reverse.... you can also judge a candle by the beauty of the moths it attracts. And in such a case, the "moths" do not have to be lovers. Azula is the moth to both Zuko and Aang, their most persistant and flawless tormentor throughout the series, and she goes after them as arduously as any lover might. Despite being less putatively powerful than her father, and less central to the final battle, she truly is the main villain.
To me, Azula's descent is the end game, the domino that in falling makes the collapse of the empire possible. If Aang had defeated Ozai only to have to face Azula in the end, I do not think things would have turned out so well... because Azula at her height was flawless. A prodigy of battle, who very likely surpassed her own father in both skill and ambition.
I believe that the main reason that Ozai left Azula behind was because he did not trust her. It is clear to me that SHE interpreted it this way, and I think this was the ultimate reason for why she crumbled. To Ozai, Azula was a direct threat to his own power and prestige, and I think he felt that there would always be a stain on his victory if it were to have been gained with the help of his child. He cut her out not for reasons directly related to trust, but rather to insecurity... but the end result was the same. Because in his insecurity, he chose not to take along the sure key to ensuring his victory, and ended up destroying the very legacy of Fire Nation dominion he left for her to protect.
She wasn't someone who was given a lot of angst. The issue with her mother was relatively minor for her while things were going well, and certainly not responsible either for her choice to be a "monster," or her final downfall. This is not to say that I think her mother was a minor influence in her life: her edge of visciousness was sharpened by the belief that she had been hated by her mother, and when she distanced herself from all of the support systems she had built throughout the years, the idea that her mother might be the ONLY one to actually love her was nothing but the cruelest insult.
If Azula had faith in anything besides her own power, it was in the fact that her mother rejected her. To doubt even that was the final unsettling straw.
My feelings for Azula throughout the series were not overly complicated. I was in awe of her. I respected her as a character, and liked her very much as a villain. But through everything, I never felt compelled to relate to her... not even during the beach episode, when everyone was opening their hearts and she was arguably at her most relaxed and honest.
But when she cut her hair, my heart ached for her, not as a character but as a person. It was as if she was real.
Could Aang have defeated her? In this state, yes. But before?
No. No, because she was too clever and too cautious to actually carry out a plan like the raizing of the Earth Kingdom which she proposed to her father. She made the suggestion to her father, in fact, to make sure that HE would be the one to bear the brunt of the Avatar's wrath. Aang could never have attacked her with so much anger and conviction, because she would not knowingly chose to do radical things that would force him to show his hand.
Azula's only flaw, really, was that she had no flaw. None that she saw, anyway. Unlike almost everyone else in the world, she really believed in herself and her choices. For good or for evil, she was committed to following things through to the end, and never took a step without being confident that the earth would rush to hold her up. In yoga terms, she had a "stand." She didn't even have to think about the support that was holding her up: she took for granted that the world existed primarily for this very purpose.
As long as she believed in her stand, she was the immovable object to Aang's irresistable force. At best such a contest would always end in stalemate.
The first sign that the world might not exist primarily for her convenience was when Mai and Ty-Lee turned on her. This shook her, but in and of itself was not sufficient to unsettle her to the point of stumbling. Losing the idea that her father believed in her was what did it. Losing the idea that her mother hated her simply sealed it, because that was an invention of her own delusional mind and had no relation to anything that really happened.
So she cut her hair. And as with Samson, this seemingly inconsequential act broke the spell of belief that she had cast over herself. No longer was she a flawless agent of war.
Suddenly, she was just a girl.
In the Case of Aang
I'm sure there are going to be people who think that Aang's spiritual revelation brought to him courtesy of the sea lion was completely random and therefore a cop out. I can see how it is possible for someone who was not paying enough attention to think this, because the precendent was somewhat subtle. And yet, it was one of the clear revelations of this season that Bending originally was a power that belonged only to ancient lineages of mystical animals, and that the only way to understand the true nature of power was to go to those who originated it. Toph was Aang's only master who was qualified right from the start, and she learned everything she knew from the giant underground moles, who used bending primarily as a way to see. Zuko came to Aang throttled, his skills under tourniquet. It was only when he and Aang together went to see the "ancient masters of firebending" did he learn that firebending originally was taught to humans by the supposedly extinct race of dragons... and that for dragons, fire was breath, and therefore life. His skill was renewed by this encounter, and Aang in turn was able to benefit... both from direct teaching, and in having Zuko finally "finished" for him in terms of being ready to teach.
Aang had two important levels of truth to learn before he was ready to face Ozai. First was through his encounter with the previous Avatars of Fire, Earth, Wind, and Air. But in life, no one can move forward who depends entirely on one vision of the past. By speaking to the sea lion, Aang was able to learn something very very old and turn it into something radically new.
What is given can also be taken away.
This was as true of Ozai's powers as it was of his life... and Aang needed the ruthlessness and resolve that the previous Avatars urged, all of it, because in many ways what he did was far more cruel than outright killing Ozai. And I am sure he was completely aware of this.
He dodged the bullet of being compelled to take a life, but he was NOT able to dodge the responsibility he had to the world. As the last Air Bender advised, he embraced his duty to the world and forsook his desire to pursue a higher spiritual path.
Furthermore, the sea lion represents Water, right? The last lesson comes from the last type of mystical animal, and brings the story full circle. Because we started with the water tribe; fitting for Aang's last truth to come from an animal that represents the most ancient master for the tribe that was responsible for his rebirth.
In the Case of the World
In the end, there was victory, but no balance. Two key points have been left unresolved: one is the fact that the Air Benders of the world need to be restored in order to guarantee the cycle of reincarnation for the Avatars. The other is the fact that Azula, the main villain, remains unredeemed, and yet for the first time has become someone who is potentially redeemable.
So many good and necessary things happened in this 4-episode finale, things that I honestly yearned for. All along there was nothing I wanted more than for Zuko and Iroh to reconcile, and this happened, in a way that was all the more beautiful for being simple and understated. This event alone was enough to ensure that I would feel at least some sense of fulfillment, and I believe this was true for most viewers.
Zuko learned to believe in himself, at last. Katara learned how to forgive. Sokka carried off an ambitious plan with both intelligent tactics and excellent battle skills, and proved his worth as a true warrior of the Water Tribe. Toph... oh Toph. She is so uncomplicated that I can't say that she had any big revelations, except to say that she stands as the true counterpoint to Azula, as someone who has found a stand that is TRULY invincible.
I love Toph so much. She was a master from the start.
Anyway. Although so much happened, with those two major things unresolved, can I really say that this was a good and appropriate ending for Avatar?
Yes. So much, yes.
Because those things? Those are a new story. Not just another chapter, but another book.
Whether they actually are told will be a matter of the marketplace and the appetite of TV executives for continuing a series that they appeared all too willing to kill. But that is not as important as the fact that the writers discharged their duty: they finished this story, while making it clear that the world continues on, and there are more stories to be had.
If we are lucky, perhaps there will be an official followup. But I don't consider it unfortunate to be given a complete story that presents opportunities for the imagination.
A good story has an ending that is both predictable and startling. Everyone knew that the Avatar had to defeat the fire nation, and he did. HOW he did was what made the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender so gripping.
Oh the blood and the treasure--
and the losing it all--
the time that we wasted--
and the place where we fall.
Will we wake in the morning
and know what it was for?
Up in our bedroom, after the war?
Stars, "The Beginning After the End"
no subject
This finale touched me because in these days, people want this modern concept of realism; one that involves death, bad endings, 'dark' and depressing stuff, and ugliness all around. Cynicism and pessimism and 'snarkiness' is seen as realism, while optimism and happiness is associated with idealism. And it gets really frustrating.
I like that this finale touched on what people have written for since the beginning of time; spiritualists dreamed of it, philosophers would dwell on it, and artists would envision it. It's something that most people feel can't be achieved today, what can't be realized but only conceptualized. And maybe that's true, and maybe that's why this all was so awesome to me.
I'm never going to live to see peace. Not many people have lived in a time of peace all of their lives. Especially now that we're exposed, through media, to conflict every day.
The concept of a savior is something humanity has dreamed of forever. From writing about heroes like Superman, to writing in books about God and Jesus and Allah and various people who will one day come and redeem humanity and save them all, it's something that people hope for distantly and sometimes foolishly.
I never really bought into any of that stuff, because as merciful and loving as these figures were said to be, reading about them it did not appear so. Too many contradictions, too many things that made me uneasy or skeptical or annoyed. I'm definitely not a believer; never have been and never will be.
But what Aang did was what I have always longed for to be in these books. It's what I've always yearned for in a 'savior', in a figure that I could have hope in and faith in and believe in. You can bet that Aang would have done the same for Sozin, someone who committed genocide against his people.
He looked at Ozai's baby picture. Ozai, who had led armies and battles and conquered cities and countless lives and enslaved people and nearly ordered genocide on the Southern Water Tribe. Ozai who was willing to kill his own son, who abused his son. This man is honestly a horrible person by almost all crosscultural standards.
And Aang refuses to take his life. He confronts him on the pain he's caused others, and he takes away the power Ozai has that is causing that pain. His life is still sacred, even if he didn't think so about others lives. Aang showed mercy, even when Ozai was still a bastard and didn't want any of it. He didn't want any mercy or forgiveness, and he didn't need to ask for it.
He didn't need to 'repent' right before he died. There was no casting him into an eternal hellfire for not wanting this mercy. There was nothing but unconditional understanding. It's something I never read about as a child.
no subject
What gets me is that most of the people who get down on Aang for his idealism love Zuko who... uh, if it hadn't been obvious already, was canonically stated to be an idealist in the finale. I think the point was they would have had fairly similar philosophies, but Aang was raised in a culture that emphasized freedom, balance and peace while Zuko was raised in an emotionally stifling environment.
THEY BOTH HAVE SUCH DELICATE HEARTS, LOL.BUT WTFEVER, who cares what other people think: coupled with what you've said about Aang as a truly inspiring savior figure makes me extra glad this story was framed as a narrative for children. If you do it right, writing for children can reveal more universal truths than writing for adults ever could. Maybe we get too self absorbed with our own, petty flaws the older we get? lol? o__O
no subject
Now back to Avatar:
What gets me is that most of the people who get down on Aang for his idealism love Zuko who... uh, if it hadn't been obvious already, was canonically stated to be an idealist in the finale. I think the point was they would have had fairly similar philosophies, but Aang was raised in a culture that emphasized freedom, balance and peace while Zuko was raised in an emotionally stifling environment.
AND THIS IS WHY THEY ARE LIFE PARTNERS OTP FOR ME but yes. Imagine the pockets of resistance and stubborn nationalists/racists that are gonna hate Fire Lord Zuko, lol :I HE HAS A CENTURY OF INDOCTRINATION TO FIGHT.
But seriously, they all adore Zuko, when Aang and Zuko have really had to both deal with being 'alone' in their own ways, and pushing toward their idealist ways and embracing them.
who cares what other people think: coupled with what you've said about Aang as a truly inspiring savior figure makes me extra glad this story was framed as a narrative for children.
This is why I'm avoiding Avatar fandom like the plague right now. God I would have given so much to have a figure like Aang and a visually compelling and narratively stunning cartoon like Avatar to watch while I was a kid.
I think that has a lot to do with it. The last thing you wrote, lol. In fact I just think most people today just have the associations that dark edgy pessimism= realism, while happy optimistic mercy stuff is all idealist and unrealistic and blah blah. The series didn't have Aang not kill Ozai (Or not die) because it was a kid's show. It never shied away from confronting death before.
It was because it would have destroyed the themes of the show. Pairings have nothing to do with the themes. It's love over fear and how hope can exist throughout how shitty war can be and how much it devastates people's lives. 8) Something westerners ... don't really understand. I'm reminded of Persepolis, when Marjane comes from Iran and is talking philosophy with westerners, and she's seen her relatives die for their freedom, while the western kids are all moaning about how life is pointless and dark and once man realizes this they play power games for fun XD
Ironically uses cynical and nihilistic icon.
I also wish this mode of creative thought would, excuse the colloquialism, DIE IN A FIRE. A, uh, deep meaningful fire. :P
I love me a good ol' dark story full of death and decay and failure and all that, but I have a hard time seeing the value in a work of fiction if it's only goal is to promote empty nihilism. That's not to say that every story should be about hope, but hope is a part of the human experience too.
no subject
but I have a hard time seeing the value in a work of fiction if it's only goal is to promote empty nihilism. That's not to say that every story should be about hope, but hope is a part of the human experience too.
SOULMATE ♥ ♥ ♥ !!!
*MAKES INANELY OBVIOUS PHILISOPHICAL OBSERVATION*
We went from Rock to Punk to Grunge to Emo.
We believed in change, we got angry when it didn't happen. The anger grew bitter and paranoid, but now all we do is whine about it.
no subject
We went from Rock to Punk to Grunge to Emo
... AEAWHEHAWHAHAHHAHAHAHHA
That's... god, that's really sad .... LMAO
no subject
Re: *MAKES INANELY OBVIOUS PHILISOPHICAL OBSERVATION*
It's hard for people who truly love the world and the people in it, who are filled with love and hope, to see the need to turn to violence. I'll look tomorrow and see if I can't find some of his quotes on the matter, because he is really interesting (and he always writes so beautifully too).
Re: *MAKES INANELY OBVIOUS PHILISOPHICAL OBSERVATION*
no subject
You say everything about Aang that I felt inadequate to explain, and which you'd think would go without saying. Aang had that thing, true goodness, which sounds so small when put into plain words. But really, "true goodness" is the hope of all humanity, the thing we all need and wish for. It's far more important than justice, but infinitely harder to achieve.
"But I believe? Aang can save the world."
Katara gives this to us in her monologue that has been with us from the beginning, and this comes just a few lines after she tells us that the Avatar vanished just when the world needed him the most. It is hard to believe in a world that has let you down, in saviors thave have been shown to be gold statues with clay feet, in a "true goodness" that can come forth from failure and disappointment.
People see this with Zuko. But it is a million times more relevant with Aang. He DID keep his promise. It took him 100 years, but he kept the faith. He might not have, either, except for the fact that one girl in a small village at the end of the world decided to toss out cynicism and fear, and GIVE him the belief that he needed, the little pulse of trust that was all that was required for him to fulfill the needs of an entire planet.
If this isn't what being a savior is about, I don't know what is. Avatar reminded me that faith in others is pretty much the only thing we've got that will keep us going, but also that it is enough. It is more than enough. And even though I will never be as good as someone like Aang, I can keep on striving, and nurture my faith in humanity, even if again and again it has generally proven faithless and heartless and seemingly unworthy of such trust.
no subject
The show did it awesomely without making it tripe or lame ... but idk, I guess people just generally, for some reason or another, get bothered by the characters that they can oversimplify into 'PLUCKY KID' because you know that means there's no depth to the character ;}
It's something I can't even argue about with fans, because even my friends, when they try to explain any 'issues' they have with Aang or the finale, I just think it sounds like bullshit and would rather not get into a debate about something I'm perfectly content with.
Word to everything you said, seriously ;akel;awlel;awe the finale gave me this peaceful, awe-inspired feeling that I've never had from a TV show or a conclusion in my life. It made me so happy and kind of sad that we'd never get to see something like that in our lifetime. This is why I am glad there was no "INTO THE FUTURE" epilogue, because I doubt the world stayed peaceful. But it's that freedom and hope and all of that contentment so many had at the end of the series, that even if they just had THAT for a while it was enough for them 8)
no subject
Oh God, Azula. Her descent into madness was what hit me hardest of all the hard hits in the finale. She's not a character I'm particularly invested in, but she had me hurting pretty bad by the ending. Her turn around from invincible monster into pathetic, lost girl was tangibly embarassing. Even after so many episodes, I'm still occasionally shocked by the quality of writing on this show. They managed to give their most enduring villain her humanity without taking that extra step and making her sympathetic. You pity her, but it's not the kind of pity you feel for Zuko in Season 1.
no subject
no subject
Avatar is a show that uses every element of its artistic direction to perfection. Or at the very least, has learned to over time.
no subject
But there is such a huge difference, in the story, between the control that Azula and Ozai had over others that leaves you empty inside once it's gone, and the type of control Aang and Zuko learned to have over themselves.
no subject
It's not like Avatar is perfect, but it told the story it set out to tell, and it told in such a way as to exceed my most generous expectations. The last time I felt this much GRATITUDE at an ending was either with Hikaru no Go, or Haibane Renmei. Which are definitely amongst the strongest anime series of all time.
Her turn around from invincible monster into pathetic, lost girl was tangibly embarassing.
"Embarrassing" is the perfect word for it, too. I cringed for her, and yet at the same time wanted someone to HOLD her already (er, not me eheh-- I value my skin). I would agree that she is not exactly sympathetic, but I felt that in this ending they did something to awaken a YEARNING on her behalf that certainly never existed before. I want her to find with her mother what Zuko found with Iroh. It is precisely because she doesn't deserve it, that I wish for it so much.
In Haibane Renmei, the secret to escaping the "circle of sin" was for someone outside of the circle to give you a hand, and pull you up from the spiraling whirlpool. The essential paradox of the circle of sin is that if you believe you are a sinner, then you can be saved... but if you believe you are saved, you are in sin. Azula believed in herself, thought she was justified... and even with everything that has happen, even with her shattered faith, she will still find herself trapped in this circle. Because the moment it dawns on her that maybe she made a mistake, she will then think that is all that she needed to do, and then proceed to forgive herself and think herself justified.
A lot of people find themselves in this dilemma. The reason we need someone outside of ourselves is because we need someone to hold us and tell us IT DOESN'T MATTER. That we can be BOTH sinner and saved... and either way, still be loved.
That's really what salvation is.
no subject
YES YES YES YES
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People say his 'LOVE EVERYONE' ways are unrealistic, but they aren't. He's very tied to his spirituality and is zen about all of that crap. He is detached to petty things, and he's got flaws. He's easily intimidated or afraid, has a hard time with confrontation, and likes using escapist ways of dealing with things.
The moral of this show couldn't have been spelled out more clearly. They even had a character basically spoonfeed it to the audience (Mai). The moral of the entire story is love over fear.
Aang didn't have to give up love. Why is ... fandom so dumb? I just ... I like to pretend it doesn't exist. I like to think that honestly, there are not adolescents and young adults everywhere honestly getting riled up about pairings and hating fictional characters and shaking their fist at the TV screen and literally getting that lame over something and missing the point and having their reading comprehension shoved up their asses and lost forever in the copious amounts of bullshit they spew every day.
I agree with you so much, and I didn't think the seaturtlelion thing was 'out of nowhere' at all, and I'm usually the first person to whine about plot inconsistencies and devices. It was something that happened to other characters in the series.
I like that Aang made this conscious decision not to kill, because most of the destruction and death he's caused was a result of letting his anger get the best of him, and him going into the Avatar state with no real conscious control (but he still made the decision to let himself get that angry). The lesson in his character is important to me but idk, he's not an angsty bishounen so he's got hatas to the left and hatas to the right
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As an adult, I feel like I can ignore all that bullshit and see the story for what it is. But there is something that I can never have with Avatar, and that is the wonder and joy of experiencing it as a child. If I think back on my younger self, I am sure that if I had seen this UNTAINTED I would have had my eyes opened in ways that otherwise would have taken me many more years to really see. This show is like jumper cables for adults, but it has the potential to be a 1.21 gigawatt plutonium reactor for the right kind of child.
This is what pisses me off most about online fandom. People who are already hardened by experience can brush off the negativity of others. But children don't always fare so well, and it it often people who are not much older than children themselves who fuel much of the stupidity and contempt.
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YES!!!
SO YESS!!!
Being a man is alright I guess. But give me merciful and kind every time, in either flavour of gender. XDDDDD
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Regarding Azula, I agree with your take on her and that she does have possibility for redemption. I think one of the take-aways of the whole series is that everyone can be redeemed (in the spiritual not necessarily religious sense); heck, maybe Sozin can get a clue now that he's been humbled. Being humbled was what both Sozin and Azula needed, because their arrogance was their fatal flaw, for the both of them. For Azula on a micro level, I'd say her only flaw was that she did not inspire loyalty, and hence her descent into madness. The Mai and Ty Lee desertion didn't seem to hurt her at first but it makes sense that it eventually would; but Azula doesn't inspire trust because her motivation is only personal glory. I never got the feeling that her ambitions were for the Fire Nation, but for herself. Same with Sozin, and look where that got him.
You know I loved the arcs for all the main characters, they were all complete and fulfilling...I totally agree that this show delivered on every level it intended to. And one last thing: it was both very funny and extremely touching, a rare thing indeed.
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I always knew that he wouldn't kill Ozai. It was pretty plain both from the logical flow of the story -- everyone was telling Aang he had to kill, but there was never any acceptance in him for it -- and also just from the format of the show. This is a children's show. They would never condone killing in cold blood.
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If Aang had defeated Ozai only to have to face Azula in the end, I do not think things would have turned out so well... because Azula at her height was flawless.
Agreed. Azula was far more of a threat in my mind than her father ever was. Ozai was a non-villain to the end, I felt. I don't think any of the other characters could have bested Azula at the height of her power. Even Zuko and Katara working together would not have been enough. It's fortunate for everyone that Ozai made that fatal error, thinking himself more important than his great empire.
I'm sure there are going to be people who think that Aang's spiritual revelation brought to him courtesy of the sea lion was completely random and therefore a cop out
I never got this feeling at all. It made sense to me that all forms of bending had a common origin, and I was wondering if they would bring it up in the series. It was satisfying when they did. And it explains why Aang was summoned by the sea lion in the first place; he needed exactly that guidance, and it was provided to him.
That Aang had to have connections with the originating animals of each type of bending slid by me, but it clicked right when I read it here. And you're right - that is probably what makes Toph such a master, and puts her on very nearly the same level of Iroh in my mind. They both learned directly from the source.
Iroh and Toph are just so awesome.
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Here it is.
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