Started up episode 38 early this morning and ... I'm through Episode 55. :o
Yeah. The show is kinda like crack, I guess. :\ ^_^;
Click the title for spoiler-filled commentary.
Thoughts on Zuko:
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Still my #1 favorite character of the series. :) There are only two imperfections in Zuko's storyline in my opinion; other than that, it's all perfect. The first is Zuko's transformation in Ba Sing Se ........... except he didn't transform (at least not just yet) and totally betrayed Uncle. WTF. I don't blame Uncle Iroh one bit for not giving Zuko a single response after what happened. But shrug. Second complaint is his professed love for Mei. I don't really get it: I see why she crushes over him (little miss Goth girl, head-over-heels in love with the strong silent sufferer type that is Zuko), but I don't see what her appeal is for him. A, she's one of his psycho bitch sister's best friends. B, she's got a lot of qualities about her which Zuko hates, and has mentioned he hates, like how she's so gloomy and otherwise devoid of human emotions. I don't dislike Mei at all. I think she could have been interesting. But she just isn't. She's the boring third wheel of the Azula trio. And quite frankly, all Tai Li's got going for her is her positive attitude, crush on Sokka, and nice boobs. I'll upload a photo and you tell me if you think this is a 14 year old. xp
Thoughts on Uncle Iroh:
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A-fucking-mazing. :D I love Uncle Iroh. Definitely my #2 favorite character in the series. And man -- he was fucking badass in that prison cell! :D So smart! So strong! So determined! Man: this is the guy who was always meant to lead the Fire Nation. It's too bad his jerk of a brother betrayed him and his bigger jerk of a father was too stupid (or too dead by that point in time) to realize it.
I loved how Uncle got his own tea shop in Ba Sing Se. I really thought he was going to stay there forever (and make me sad, 'cause I love him and didn't want him to just be a cameo appearance sort of guy for Season 3), and I figured he was going to part ways with Zuko there. "You go on, Nephew, and do what you must. I'll stay here and live out the rest of my days as an Earth Kingdom tea shop owner." Something like that.
I'm not complaining, of course! :D I can't wait to see badass Uncle Iroh kick Azula's and/or the Fire Lord's sorry ass! My only fear is that the show is too perfectly set up to have Zuko become the next Fire Lord that Iroh seems predestined to die in this upcoming battle. :(
About the episode "The Beach":
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This was an example of good filler. It did a lot of good character development for Zuko, Azula, and the two tag-along girls, even if it didn't really advance the main Avatar storyline all that much. I loved Azula's awkward proposal on the balcony! XD "Together, you and I will be the strongest couple in the entire world! We will dominate the Earth!" Priceless.
Already mentioned it earlier, but perhaps just as priceless was the fanservice for the boys and girls alike. Hunky emo Zuko, femme fatale Azula, and busty ditzy Tai Li all in their swimwear on the beach. Priceless, tasteless fanservice. ;p
About Zuko's mother:
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Ehhhhhhhhh. :\ I have very few complaints with this television series, but I gotta say, the plot twists surrounding Zuko's mom that we learned from Fire Lord Ozai in the two-parter with the solar eclipse were just ... unwelcome. :\ First of all, she might still be alive? No! That's kind of a big killjoy! Not to be mean or bloodthirsty or anything, but it just doesn't have that same evil oomph if Ozai didn't off his wife. That he merely banished her and told his children that she was dead just ... meh, doesn't sit well with me. :\ Second, wtf was she banished for!? She helped Ozai commit treason by killing the former Fire Lord (Ozai's and Iroh's dad) and putting Ozai on the throne. She was his accomplice, according to him. So why the fuck, and who the fuck, would have banished her for treason? The old man would have already been dead, and surely the husband and co-conspirator would never have dreamed of betraying his accomplice so brazenly!? I mean, seriously: what if she talks!? It just doesn't make any sense. I'm happy for Zuko if his mom's still alive, but ... :\, sorta makes the story a little less epic. Goddamn children's media, always gotta be doing this to me. (Yeah, that's right, Wall-E: I'm still talking to you!)
About "bloodbending":
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I was really glad that this was brought up, and I was actually glad to see it brought up in such an ethically challenging and creepy light. It bothered me from almost the very beginning of the series that Katara never seemed to try to grab water from her living surroundings. Just like the old crazy lady pointed out to Katara (thank God! it's about time, girl!), there's water moisture in the air just about everywhere, and so a skilled water bender should never be without at least some water for combat use or for quenching thirst. But anyway, yeah, back to bloodbending: it was cool to see that (a) the writers realized that humans, who are 70%-odd made up of H2O, should be quite "bendable" by a water bender, and (b) that the writers recognized the lack of ethical appeal behind such a tactic. The end to this episode was perfect, and frighteningly mature for a children's television show. From the old woman's cackle to Katara's sobs, just the very concept alone that Kitara "caved in" (so to speak) and used the self-imposed forbidden technique ... man, it was just really welcome. Creepy. Wouldn't want it every week. But definitely a nice nod to the adults in the audience.
About Aang's firebending teacher:
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ZUUUKOOOOOOOOOOOO! XD
On the one hand, it sort of upsets me 'cause he's to fire what Katara was in Season 1 to water. :\ He uses the element, but he's no Master. But on the other hand ... IT'S ZUKO! :) And besides: I'll try to b.s. myself into believing that that convenient visit to the lost civilization of the first firebenders was good enough to make Zuko on par with Toph and Kitara. ;)
I gotta admit, though, that I still would have preferred it if -- and even now am still holding out hope for! -- Uncle Iroh to show up and co-teach the boys together. So they'd be like brothers, in a way. Sorta like if Malfoy and Harry Potter were both receiving Occlumency lessons from Snape at the same time. Oh well.
About the prison break episodes:
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I would have been fine with this if it'd only been a one-parter. But wasting two whole episodes on this was, in my repetitive opinion, a waste of time. :\ Yay, we got Tsuki back. Yay, Sokka got his dad back. But wtf, what about the other warriors? And wtf with (so prematurely -- we've still got six or seven episodes to go before the show's over!!) having Mei and Tai Li betray Azula so soon!? So now Azula's gonna be all alone? And now we're not going to see her two sidekicks up until the final episodes when, presumably, they bust out of jail and join in the final battle? Hmm. :\
I might write more later. Maybe in the final (for now, XD) blog update about Avatar.
Oh yeah, photos!
Tai Li at the beach - how can you look at this and not admit that the show's producers are baiting the teen+ male audience!?
Amazing, hysterical nod to the classic bishounen scene in anime when they disrobe their outer garments before getting serious. I just love the birds.
Face it, KV: Uncle Iroh was right. Azula is a crazy bitch and she needs to go down. XD
Oh, wait, she's a normal teenage girl after all?
Nope. Same ol' Azula. "OUR CHILDREN WILL BE THE MASTER RACE, CHAD!" ;p Maybe not her exact words, but close enough. ;p
LOL.
3 comments:
That sounds like me and soul eater right now. I was on ep. 10 yesterday and now I'm on ep. 25.
I'm looking forward to seeing the Avatar movie. Do I need to watch the show before the movie comes out?
I wouldn't look forward to it because it looks like crap, and no you don't need to see the show. I hear there are to be 3 movies, one for each season of the show.
I think what Sean is trying to say, Colin, is that you should watch the show instead but that if you're going to watch the movies that the show isn't going to be a prerequisite.
The story was divided into three "books," or seasons, with each episode being a "chapter." Pretty classy, really. :) So think of it this way: Harry Potter books are also 20-odd chapters long and become single films, so they'll probably try to do the same thing with Avatar. The key difference is that Harry Potter books were actually books and therefore had a lot of text spent on telling the reader stuff which the cameraman can cover in a few frames of film. Avatar's books, on the other hand, are already twenty 22-minute episodes. There's not going to be any way for them to condense that much footage per season into one 2-to-3 hour film and have it preserve the magic of the original series.
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