Revisiting Avatar: top 5 episodes from book one

Book one is not considered by most to be the best of the last airbender,with many claiming characters were juvenile and underdeveloped. However it was still good enough to impress critics and fans alike, thus securing a further two more cherished seasons. There are lots of not very good episodes in this series, from when avatar was still finding its feet however I think that there are some gems in this season that can stand amongst the best of that later seasons.

5. Winter solstice part 1: The Spirit World

This episode is of unrivaled importance for continuity throughout the rest of The Last Airbender and even into Korra. The audience is presented with the spirit world, spirits and the role of the Avatar as bridge between the physical and spirit world. It also mentions Ba Sing Se as the earth nation capital and the site of Irohs fabled military disgrace, and plants hints of the level of Irohs spiritual understanding which is not fully understood until the third season. Aang and the Panda spirit make amends with themselves for not protecting innocents and the forest from the wrath of fire nation soldier, and for the first time we see a symbolic suggestion that the world can repair itself over time from the carnage of a hundred years of war.

4. The Fortuneteller

The Last Airbender had twice as many episodes per season as Korra, so it could always afford to dedicate a few to explore themes and locations otherwise irrelevant to the primary plot. Fortuneteller felt almost like a fable or a proverb, warning for the complications that arrise from excess superstition or theology. Aang is not sure where he stands when Katara is swept away by the tellings of a con-woman/ psychic and Sokka tries to demonstrate that science and logic reign supreme despite the jeers of others. We see that obvious coincedental pre cognitive dispositions play a large role in the playing of peoples ‘fate’. For example Sokka meets a man who has been told he will meet his love while wearing red shoes, and therefor he eagerly wears red shoes every day. Sokka tried to explain that this isnt a fair scientific test for the psychic reading, but to no avail. Also the voice actress who did a one episode appearance as Meng also goes on to play Toph.

3. The Blue Spirit

Aang is captured by the newly annointed Admiral Zhao to be rescued by a sword fighting vigilante called the blue spirit. Demasked and unconscious following an arrow injury, Aang realises his saviour is Prince Zuko to his horror. He contemplates leaving him for dead but saves Zuko to repay the debt. When Zuko is slipping into consciousness Aang has a one way conversation with him about his frustrations and how under different circumstances they could have been friends, just like Zuko would reciprocate in The Siege of the North.

2. The Siege of the North: part 2

Iroh realises that Yue owes her life to the moon.

The last episode of book one fittingly gives us glimpses into the more developed and detailed characters and story lines of the second book. Zuko is stuck in a cave with meditating-coma-Aang and uses the cognitively absent Aang as a psychologist to tell his frustrations too. We hear details of his abusive and neglectful father, and for the first time recounts of his prodigal and ruthless sister. Zhao kills the moon spirit in the spirit oasis, prompting Iroh into a traitorous rage. We see that Irohs true loyalities lie not with the tyrannical fire nation despite his royal upbringing and military prowess, but instead with nature and his family. Yue sacrifices herself the revive the moon, marking avatars first on screen non implicit major character death, followed shortly by Admiral Zhao.

1. The Storm

 Zuko begs for mercy.

This episode is great because it juxtaposes Aang and Zuko showing just how similar their pasts and temperament are. Both have suffered terrible injustices as children and feel bound by a duty to their people. The only difference between them is seen to be that Aang had a good hearted mentor in Monk Gyatso, while Zuko was raised by the Fire Lord. The plot set in the current setting is rather dull and of no great consequence, however the flashbacks to Aang and Zukos childhoods teach us to empathise with the series anti-villain and would go on to determine events for the rest of the series and beyond.

Legend of Korra: “beginnings” to “a new spiritual age” thoughts

I havent talked about Korra for a while and a lot has been going on. I loved the beginnings episodes they provided a much needed scope for the story arch of this series. a trip back to the more familiar setting of feudal avatar was much appreciated, and other walking dead fans Im sure were delighted to recognise the voice of glen. Spirits are much more familiar in temperament than all the dark spirits weve seen which was also nice. we see the pride, stubbornness and suspicion of humans, but also the generosity and wisdom which have become typical characteristics of spirits. the Wan story was great, but there were a few small details that bugged me. firstly was the way that humans were given bending. in the original trilogy Iroh said that the fire nation learnt bending from dragons, air from sky bison, earth from badgermoles and water from the moon. however in this story arc all bending was disposed to the people by lionturtles that they lived on. I sort of prefered the earlier story of how bending was learnt, although I understand the two are not mutually exclusive. My main problem is that the Lionturtles doesnt seem a sufficiently spiritual or philosophical  way of learning bending. at all. It seems to me that they keep being used as a deus ex machina of sorts; that is, when there isnt enough time to show characters learning something properly, a lion turtle will teach it to them magically and instantaneously. this happened when aang learnt how to remove ozai’s fire bending and more recently now.

I guess the explanation suggested is that the lion turtles gave people bending, which was crude and unpracticed and they taught themselves by observation. this is seen with wan doing the dragon dance with a dragon, and villagers commmenting that he used his bending like an extension of his body made possible by a heightened spiritual understanding.

plot developments in the material world were limited. Asami and Mako kissed, Varrick is evil and Mako was framed for destroying Sato industries. in comparison nothing huge, or entirely unexpected. Im a little pised of at bolin for wasting precious screen time with his moving pictures, but Im going to assume in faith it will be important to the plot down the track. lets be honest Bolin hasnt done shit all this series. he has literarily earth bent once to help eska of her carriage, but is apparently still a main character where jinora isn’t.

which brings us to ‘a new spiritual age’. Jinora and Korra enter the spirit world and become separated. In the most unexpected plot turn in the whole series, we run into Iroh (the original and the best Iroh). turns out once he was done fulfilling what he was meant to do on earth he decided to abandon his body and join the spirits whose company, apparently, he has always preferred. It is retrospectively obvious that his reappearance was foreshadowed by Wan’s teapot. Im not sure how I feel about Irohs returning. on the one hand, any throwback to the last airbender is welcomed wholeheartedly by me but part of me worries if this iroh is consistent with his original portrayal. it was made apparent that humans, as I had assumed, do not go to the spirit world after death. So what happened with Iroh reuniting with his son Lu Ten? I would have thought that would prioritise over him spending an eternity with some nondescript spirits. but overall im incredibly happy to see iroh again and his general demeanour is unchanged. but the question remains; where is Zuko? we know he is alive, why have we not met him yet?