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Miles and years behind everyone else, I have just mainlined Avatar: the Last Airbender. HI, TINY AWESOME SHOW OF MY HEART.
What I love best about it is basically everything: there is excellent continuity! I adore all the constructed cultures! the politics and morality are pretty great! it looks absolutely gorgeous! and best of all, I'm hugely in love with the entire cast.
I'm not even quite sure what to say about the characters, honestly, because I'm a bit incoherent with love. Let's try anyway: I imprinted on Katara immediately, and I loved her character arc -- whenever she got angry or made bad decisions I took it hilariously personally, and yelled at the screen a lot; it was wonderful to watch her grow up and come into her power and learn how to take care of herself as well as the people around her. Aang, meanwhile, is pretty much everything I could ask for in a Titular Hero; he's young and stupid and sweet and joyful and painfully well-meaning, and oh, I cared. Sokka took a while to grow on me, because I caught on fairly quickly that he was The Xander, and, y'know, whatever -- but I was at least mildly fond of him for a long time, and then, because I find competence unbearably sexy, sometime in third season (or, specifically, at Sokka's Master) I suddenly SAW THE LIGHT, and oh, Sokka. <333 Toph I loved at once (I think the way I explained it at the time was something like "I love Toph so much it makes me want to cry") because I am a huge sucker for compact balls of FIERCE AWESOME with bonus issues -- plus I really love watching earthbending, for whatever reason.
I don't think anyone should be surprised to hear that I am ALL OVER the Fire Nation royal family, though. I mean, I think my very favourite is Uncle Iroh, because running a teashop and having the ability to BREATHE FIRE are two tastes that taste great together, and also Iroh makes me teary a lot. Zuko, much like Sokka, took a while to grow on me -- the firs time I found him interesting at all was, predictably, when he freed Aang while in the guise of the Blue Spirit, because, as I said, competence is sexy. But now when someone mentions Zuko, my reaction is "Zuuuuuko <333" because, dude, he came down with a psychological fever, had a brief flirtation with the right thing, got fabulous emo hair, is terrified of his sister, was ANGRY a lot, made me laugh uncontrollably, and then Did The Right Thing for real, which is a perfect storm of a combination of what I would have found massively appealing at fourteen and what I find massively appealing now. Oh, and did I mention his sister? AZULA <333 I have Issues with Azula's arc that I will address shortly, but in the meantime, goddamn, Azula, be my evil girlfriend. Actually, my desire to have Azula be my evil girlfriend goes a long way towards explaining why, to my mild bewilderment, I kind of identify with Ty Lee. I mean, I do not desire running away to join the circus, nor can I beat you up using only pressure points and awesome acrobatics, but I am pretty sure my aura is pinker than ever, okay. And lastly, I suppose, we have Mai, who I am hugely fond of because she makes me laugh, but who I would love even on the sole basis of her "I don't hate you"/"I don't hate you too" exchange with Zuko.
Which, speaking of: one of the great gifts of being hugely in love with the entire cast is that I want to SHIP EVERYTHING. Here is a probably non-exhaustive list of things I am happy to ship: Azula/Ty Lee(/Mai optionally), Zuko/Mai, Zuko/Sokka, Zuko/Katara, Zuko/Aang, (Zuko/Aang/Katara because I am all for OT3s before ship wars!), Zuko/Jet, (Zuko: A LITTLE BLACK DRESS APPARENTLY), Aang/Katara, Sokka/Suki, Sokka/his angst about the moon princess! Oh, and Roku/Sozin, obviously (because it is Dumbledore/Grindelwald inSPACE the Fire Nation!). I feel a bit weird shipping Aang/anyone, because I am painfully aware that he is twelve; you may also notice that I really have no Toph ships for the same reason. If they're aged up a bit I will probably ship them with everyone, though. Awesome ensemble casts delight my multishippery heart!
Oh, and my character love would be incomplete if I did not also say: APPA AND MOMO. <333 I don't know about you guys, but I would love to have a flying bison.
There were only a couple of things that bothered me about the show, all of them of course in the very last episode. First, the lionturtle-ex-machina: I would have infinitely preferred that Aang had the ability to defeat the Firelord based solely on his own knowledge and reserves of power. Of course he had to incapacitate rather than kill the Firelord, and he had to do it in the Avatar state in order to have the required amount of power, so what they set up and how it went down made perfect sense and was mostly satisfying, but -- I wish Aang could have done it on his own.
Second, and here's the kicker: Azula. Again, I knew what they were trying to do; there was very little chance that Zuko, who was demonstrably a much less capable firebender than his sister, would be able to defeat her. The means of Azula's descent into being defeatable was also perfectly coherent, and actually wonderfully heartbreaking: the only two people in the world Azula has ever trusted or been friends with abandon and betray her; of course she can't cope. The scene with her raggedly cutting her hair and seeing her mother in the mirror was excellent. But, for all that, I don't want Azula to be the sort of person who cracks because she's been abandoned. If she's a sociopath -- and, hi, Azula is a sociopath -- she's going to be frustrated that Ty Lee and Mai left her, confused as to why Mai possibly chose her brother over her, and furious at the loss of her elite team ... but I don't think she's going to become a wreck. What I wanted from Azula and Zuko & Katara's showdown was, in fact, to see that Zuko, having found his new purpose, having been touched by the Firemasters, having grown, was now of equal power with his sister. I wanted Zuko and Katara to team up and, by their powers combined, be honestly more than a match for Azula without the narrative first having to take her down. So ... I bought it, but barely, and I think it was one of the few times the narrative did disservice to the characters.
The funny thing about reaching the end of the series was that I immediately wondered where the next season was. Obviously there's the unresolved question of Zuko's mother, but more than that -- okay, basically Babylon 5 has spoiled me. Babylon 5 spends three and a half seasons on an epic interstellar war, and then spends the last season and a half making its characters face the war's aftermath and rebuild their world. And that's what I want from Avatar now! I don't mean I necessarily want another televised season, but it is what I want from the fic. The Fire Nation was, on the whole, doing pretty damn well under their megalomaniacal dictator: how are most of Zuko's subjects actually going to react to having an idealistic teenager, traitor prince on the throne? Ba Sing Se fell from the inside, thanks to the Dai Li; that aside, the Earth Kingdom and its various kings are pretty damn powerful. Bumi and the White Lotus guys are on the side of the resistance, but I doubt that all the people in power are going to be very forgiving of the Fire Nation, nor indeed happy that General Iroh is contently running a teashop. And how, exactly, can balance be truly restored if the Air Nomads are still, Aang excepted, extinct?
There are also the less world-shaking questions, like, again, Zuko's mother. Or, will Toph ever see her parents again, and what would their relationship be like? Is Katara ever going to deal with the horror of her ability to bloodbend? Will Sokka and Suki actually be in the same place long enough to make it work? And will Zuko and Iroh ever get to hang out at the Jasmine Dragon, considering that Zuko has to rule a country? &c!
...I feel like a lot of these questions can't be easily addressed in a children's show, because the answers are a bit dark, but damn, bring on the fic. No, really, do! Any recs, guys? I am up for pretty much everything. :D
What I love best about it is basically everything: there is excellent continuity! I adore all the constructed cultures! the politics and morality are pretty great! it looks absolutely gorgeous! and best of all, I'm hugely in love with the entire cast.
I'm not even quite sure what to say about the characters, honestly, because I'm a bit incoherent with love. Let's try anyway: I imprinted on Katara immediately, and I loved her character arc -- whenever she got angry or made bad decisions I took it hilariously personally, and yelled at the screen a lot; it was wonderful to watch her grow up and come into her power and learn how to take care of herself as well as the people around her. Aang, meanwhile, is pretty much everything I could ask for in a Titular Hero; he's young and stupid and sweet and joyful and painfully well-meaning, and oh, I cared. Sokka took a while to grow on me, because I caught on fairly quickly that he was The Xander, and, y'know, whatever -- but I was at least mildly fond of him for a long time, and then, because I find competence unbearably sexy, sometime in third season (or, specifically, at Sokka's Master) I suddenly SAW THE LIGHT, and oh, Sokka. <333 Toph I loved at once (I think the way I explained it at the time was something like "I love Toph so much it makes me want to cry") because I am a huge sucker for compact balls of FIERCE AWESOME with bonus issues -- plus I really love watching earthbending, for whatever reason.
I don't think anyone should be surprised to hear that I am ALL OVER the Fire Nation royal family, though. I mean, I think my very favourite is Uncle Iroh, because running a teashop and having the ability to BREATHE FIRE are two tastes that taste great together, and also Iroh makes me teary a lot. Zuko, much like Sokka, took a while to grow on me -- the firs time I found him interesting at all was, predictably, when he freed Aang while in the guise of the Blue Spirit, because, as I said, competence is sexy. But now when someone mentions Zuko, my reaction is "Zuuuuuko <333" because, dude, he came down with a psychological fever, had a brief flirtation with the right thing, got fabulous emo hair, is terrified of his sister, was ANGRY a lot, made me laugh uncontrollably, and then Did The Right Thing for real, which is a perfect storm of a combination of what I would have found massively appealing at fourteen and what I find massively appealing now. Oh, and did I mention his sister? AZULA <333 I have Issues with Azula's arc that I will address shortly, but in the meantime, goddamn, Azula, be my evil girlfriend. Actually, my desire to have Azula be my evil girlfriend goes a long way towards explaining why, to my mild bewilderment, I kind of identify with Ty Lee. I mean, I do not desire running away to join the circus, nor can I beat you up using only pressure points and awesome acrobatics, but I am pretty sure my aura is pinker than ever, okay. And lastly, I suppose, we have Mai, who I am hugely fond of because she makes me laugh, but who I would love even on the sole basis of her "I don't hate you"/"I don't hate you too" exchange with Zuko.
Which, speaking of: one of the great gifts of being hugely in love with the entire cast is that I want to SHIP EVERYTHING. Here is a probably non-exhaustive list of things I am happy to ship: Azula/Ty Lee(/Mai optionally), Zuko/Mai, Zuko/Sokka, Zuko/Katara, Zuko/Aang, (Zuko/Aang/Katara because I am all for OT3s before ship wars!), Zuko/Jet, (Zuko: A LITTLE BLACK DRESS APPARENTLY), Aang/Katara, Sokka/Suki, Sokka/his angst about the moon princess! Oh, and Roku/Sozin, obviously (because it is Dumbledore/Grindelwald in
Oh, and my character love would be incomplete if I did not also say: APPA AND MOMO. <333 I don't know about you guys, but I would love to have a flying bison.
There were only a couple of things that bothered me about the show, all of them of course in the very last episode. First, the lionturtle-ex-machina: I would have infinitely preferred that Aang had the ability to defeat the Firelord based solely on his own knowledge and reserves of power. Of course he had to incapacitate rather than kill the Firelord, and he had to do it in the Avatar state in order to have the required amount of power, so what they set up and how it went down made perfect sense and was mostly satisfying, but -- I wish Aang could have done it on his own.
Second, and here's the kicker: Azula. Again, I knew what they were trying to do; there was very little chance that Zuko, who was demonstrably a much less capable firebender than his sister, would be able to defeat her. The means of Azula's descent into being defeatable was also perfectly coherent, and actually wonderfully heartbreaking: the only two people in the world Azula has ever trusted or been friends with abandon and betray her; of course she can't cope. The scene with her raggedly cutting her hair and seeing her mother in the mirror was excellent. But, for all that, I don't want Azula to be the sort of person who cracks because she's been abandoned. If she's a sociopath -- and, hi, Azula is a sociopath -- she's going to be frustrated that Ty Lee and Mai left her, confused as to why Mai possibly chose her brother over her, and furious at the loss of her elite team ... but I don't think she's going to become a wreck. What I wanted from Azula and Zuko & Katara's showdown was, in fact, to see that Zuko, having found his new purpose, having been touched by the Firemasters, having grown, was now of equal power with his sister. I wanted Zuko and Katara to team up and, by their powers combined, be honestly more than a match for Azula without the narrative first having to take her down. So ... I bought it, but barely, and I think it was one of the few times the narrative did disservice to the characters.
The funny thing about reaching the end of the series was that I immediately wondered where the next season was. Obviously there's the unresolved question of Zuko's mother, but more than that -- okay, basically Babylon 5 has spoiled me. Babylon 5 spends three and a half seasons on an epic interstellar war, and then spends the last season and a half making its characters face the war's aftermath and rebuild their world. And that's what I want from Avatar now! I don't mean I necessarily want another televised season, but it is what I want from the fic. The Fire Nation was, on the whole, doing pretty damn well under their megalomaniacal dictator: how are most of Zuko's subjects actually going to react to having an idealistic teenager, traitor prince on the throne? Ba Sing Se fell from the inside, thanks to the Dai Li; that aside, the Earth Kingdom and its various kings are pretty damn powerful. Bumi and the White Lotus guys are on the side of the resistance, but I doubt that all the people in power are going to be very forgiving of the Fire Nation, nor indeed happy that General Iroh is contently running a teashop. And how, exactly, can balance be truly restored if the Air Nomads are still, Aang excepted, extinct?
There are also the less world-shaking questions, like, again, Zuko's mother. Or, will Toph ever see her parents again, and what would their relationship be like? Is Katara ever going to deal with the horror of her ability to bloodbend? Will Sokka and Suki actually be in the same place long enough to make it work? And will Zuko and Iroh ever get to hang out at the Jasmine Dragon, considering that Zuko has to rule a country? &c!
...I feel like a lot of these questions can't be easily addressed in a children's show, because the answers are a bit dark, but damn, bring on the fic. No, really, do! Any recs, guys? I am up for pretty much everything. :D