ALARIS' REVIEWS

30th June 2010
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Post Finale Comments

*Spoiler Alert*

One sign of a great story is that the audience is left thinking about it for some time afterwards. Although, this is also true of absolutely atrocious movies. Fifteen years later, I still feel enraged thinking about From Dusk Til Dawn (1996) .

Anyway, here are some of my post-finale thoughts on Avatar: TLA .

• I would have liked to see the characters grow a little older. The entire series takes place over a period of months, and while the characters do mature, I would have loved to see them growing up, evolving more, becoming the people they have the potential to be. One of the things I enjoy about TV series like Buffy: the Vampire Slayer (1997) is seeing the characters facing different challenges as they move through the different stages of their life, accumulating history. I would have liked to see them maybe three years, five years down the track.


• Zuko spends far too much time wandering around angsting in season two. It takes him absolutely forever to join Aang, and there is a lot of wasted time in between. I would have liked to see Zuko's change of heart occur sooner, and consequently have his growth arc travel much further.


• I would have liked to see more of Iroh in season three, but I imagine there were logistical issues relating to the passing of Mako, his wonderful voice actor. I really wanted to see Iroh's prison break!

Shipping

One thing that did kind of bother me about the finale was the implication that Katara and Aang end up romantically involved. Aside from the fact that he's 12, and a monk, I feel that Aang's crush is pretty exclusively one sided throughout the series. There's no real indication that Katara feels anything other than sisterly affection for Aang, so the suggestion that she does feel romantically for him is really abrupt.

If they writers had hinted towards it more throughout the series eg. showed Katara's feelings growing, showed her and Aang connecting on a more intense level, it wouldn't have seemed so sudden. But as it stands, it seems uncomfortably like the protagonist getting together with his crush, without the crush really having developed feelings beyond ‘Hurry, it's the finale!'.

What's even more confusing is the fact that any romantic tension written into the series seems to be between Katara and Zuko, something which is parodied in the hilariously tragic recap episode ‘The Ember Island Players'.

From Zuko's uncharacteristically sophisticated attempt at negotiating with Katara in ‘The Water Scroll', to his Aw Yeah Lightning Leap of Rescue in the series finale, Zuko and Katara seem to connect at critical times, in unexpected ways.

Although Zuko and Katara seem polar opposites in many ways (bring on the cheesy fire vs water comments), both of them actually arise from places of anger, driven by hope. Zuko's anger is born of isolation and rejection, and his hope is to regain his father's love. Katara's anger revolves around her mother's death and her hatred of the fire nation, while her hope is for Aang to defeat the Firelord and squidge his empire into jelly.

The notable scenes involving Zuko and Katara, such as in the prison beneath Ba Sing Se, demonstrate what is missing from the scenes with Katara and Aang – chemistry, connection, and change. Cool is also good, but optional.

These key features are also missing from the equally sudden relationship between Mai and Zuko. While they do make an amusingly dour couple, it feels like a case of Mei getting together with her crush, without us ever seeing what drew Zuko to Mai.

The best relationships are the ones in which each person changes the other, and they challenge and support one another at critical times, in meaningful ways.

While I have no doubt Aang cares for Katara, and vice versa, I never felt that he was enormously changed by her. On the other hand, we keep seeing Katara and Zuko together at morally important junctions.

So, while I'm happy for Katara and Zuko to just be friends, I'm a little uncomfortable with the Katara/Aang pairing, and the Zuko/Mai pairing. In the absence of romantic tension before they get together, it's a little like ‘Hello, meet Mrs Hotohori' (for those who watched Fushigi Yugi, 1995 ).

Favourite Characters

1. Iroh – because he'd be so much fun to hang out with. And the endless patience, wisdom, and killer fire bending are cool too.


2. Toph – because she's so self assured, so matter of fact, and such a great role model for little girls everywhere.


3. Zuko – he fell out of grace for a while, but he's such a funny tragic. And I love a good redemption arc.


4. Appa – because he's a giant flying bison!


5. Katara – because she's compassionate, determined, and learns some pretty fierce water bending through the series.


6. Sokka – because he's the funny guy, the sceptic, and the strategist. I like people who make plans, which is why Ishida is more interesting to watch than…well, anyone else on Bleach (2004) .

Favourite Scenes
(In no particular order)

• Katara's battle with Master Paku in S01E18 ‘The Waterbending Master'. Tai-chi meets the fast and the furious.


• Toph's big battle at the end of S02E06 ‘The Blind Bandit'. The girl is fierce .


• Katara and Zuko's heart to heart in the prison beneath Ba Sing Se in S02E20 ‘The Crossroads of Destiny'. This really should have been Zuko's moment of redemption, when he comes to his senses and joins Aang. I kept on hoping it was a long con, but it wasn't to be.


• The recap in S03E17 ‘The Ember Island Players'. Written for the fans, it was clever, self referential, and hilarious.


• Zuko's epic battle with Azula in the series finale, and his Lightning Leap of Rescue. The tragic music was a superb fit, and a great reminder that battles like this aren't glorious, just terribly sad.