(no subject)
As much as I'd like to stop watching the Secret Life of the American Teenager, its just so non-sensical and insane that I can't look away. Like the show's insistence on Ben marrying Amy as charming. Its actually a bit psycho! If he had a crush on her for the longest time, I might find it somewhat believable. But he only just transferred to that school. And other than thinking she's "kinda cute" upon first seeing her, I'm not seeing how he went from that to being in love with her! After all, he first became interested in her because his friends told him she was more his speed than the prissy good goody Christian girl cheerleader or the fiery latina school slut. But all of a sudden, he finds out she's preggers with another boy's baby and he's wanting to marry and take care of her?! He hardly knows her! And what's laughable is him thinking that such a marriage would last because his dad married his high school sweetheart. One, he's not "high school sweethearts" with original Mini-Coop. In fact, there are times she's creeped out by him and finds him insanely clingy. Plus there's the fact her own friends wanted her to initially go out with him, sleep with him, and then claim the baby was his! How anyone in their right mind can see him marrying her to take care of her and her baby won't be compounding one disaster over another is baffling!
Anyways, halfway through s3 of avatar. Just watched the Day of the Black Sun two parter. I love how they had so many previous plot points come together. Not just bringing back old characters, but showing what became of the fire nation capturing the air balloon prototype of the Mechanist. Plus, I totally forgot Azula knew about the invasion. But she managed to pull off a major coup there. Well, not a literal coup. But totally countering the good guys' plans.
Lulling them into a fall sense of hope was one thing, but I didn't think she still had command of the Dai Li even after she left Ba Sing Se. But that makes perfect sense, if you know of a day where you'd be left without your firebending, why not get some earthbending bodyguards?
I'm sure both Aang and Sokka will blame themselves, but hilariously, I think Zuko should shoulder some of the blame. He had his father cornered. I don't know how his dad's martial arts skills rate, but Zuko's young, pretty good, and has the advantage of being armed even though they were both unable to firebend. But not only did he waste all that time speechifying, he had the chance to stop his father, but let him go because its the Avatar's destiny! Why not grab the glory? And even if you're not a glory hound, you don't not take out the head bad guy because you think some other person will prolly do it a few minutes later!! Better to be safe than sorry!
Anyways, halfway through s3 of avatar. Just watched the Day of the Black Sun two parter. I love how they had so many previous plot points come together. Not just bringing back old characters, but showing what became of the fire nation capturing the air balloon prototype of the Mechanist. Plus, I totally forgot Azula knew about the invasion. But she managed to pull off a major coup there. Well, not a literal coup. But totally countering the good guys' plans.
Lulling them into a fall sense of hope was one thing, but I didn't think she still had command of the Dai Li even after she left Ba Sing Se. But that makes perfect sense, if you know of a day where you'd be left without your firebending, why not get some earthbending bodyguards?
I'm sure both Aang and Sokka will blame themselves, but hilariously, I think Zuko should shoulder some of the blame. He had his father cornered. I don't know how his dad's martial arts skills rate, but Zuko's young, pretty good, and has the advantage of being armed even though they were both unable to firebend. But not only did he waste all that time speechifying, he had the chance to stop his father, but let him go because its the Avatar's destiny! Why not grab the glory? And even if you're not a glory hound, you don't not take out the head bad guy because you think some other person will prolly do it a few minutes later!! Better to be safe than sorry!
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I don't think Zuko could've won, even though he was armed. His father, I can only assume, is superior in badassness to Azula, who is definitely superior to Zuko.
he had the chance to stop his father, but let him go because its the Avatar's destiny! Why not grab the glory?
That's just how the asian-oriented mysticism is. For all the talk of honor and finding one's path and etc etc, if Zuko were to kill his father in place of the Avatar, he would be betraying the lesson he has finally learned just now. The Avatar keeps the balance, not him, so it is the Avatar's battle to take down the guy who has broken the balance (or in this case, has perpetuated the lack of balance) in the world.
From a practical standpoint, yeah, sure, he should've tried to take down his father. But the likelihood he can defeat his father at this moment, even with odds stacked in his favor in this way, is sketchy at best, and probably very unlikely. And, if Zuko dies trying to do this (and therefore fails to kill his father), the key role he knows he will have to play in the next few episodes will remain unfulfilled, possibly causing the Avatar to fail to defeat Ozai as well (e.g., fail to to complete his own destiny and fulfill his own duties).
Basically, Zuko knows that the Avatar has a better chance of defeating his father than he does here, and he knows there are things he must do still (and remain alive to do) that are almost as important to restoring the balance to the world as the actual act of the Avatar taking down Ozai.