The king of guys who don't win
Aug. 8th, 2008 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geebsAh, just finished watching the finale of Avatar. I thought it was a pretty good end to the series.
Were they really just gonna wait for the comet to pass by before Aang faced the Fire Lord?! Even if Zuko didn't tell them his father's plan, surely they wouldn't think the fire nation would waste such an event. They had to know something bad would happen.
Oh, but its easy to forget that less than a year passes over the whole series. Forget Aang learning to master all the elements by the time of the comet's arrival. Like, the Fire Nation must have insane production capabilities! I mean, in just several months, capturing that one war balloon and then learning to build and actually building a fleet of powerful airships?
Though, its good for them Toph's the only Earth bender who can metal bend, because they would get their asses handed to them if it was a common thing earth benders can do, given how many metallic war machines they have. The whole thing where Sokka dumped the crew of the airship they captured out the bomb bay by claiming they were having a birthday party was hilarious- its almost out of Frisky Dingo or the Venture Brothers. I do feel sorry for the poor guy who actually did have a birthday.
But speaking of things that made me sad in the finale, I'm amused that one of the things I was sad about was Sokka having to chuck his "space sword" to save himself and Toph. Its a sword made out of meteor rock! Its not something you can easily make!
But I really like how they had Aang defeat Ozai. Taking away his bending was a good way to stop him without having Aang compromise his ideals. As much as I love the fighting and killing, I respect a hero who refuses to kill, its what I liked about Vash the Stampede, and what I liked about the Doctor. But forget about the whole air nomad respect for life thing, even beyond that he's freaking 12 years old!! They should be glad a kid doesn't want to be killing! He's not a sociopath!
Speaking of sociopaths, Azula's descent into madness was interesting. Banishing her servants, and the Dai Li, and finally Li and Lo (well, one of them, only they weren't sure which, which was a hilarious touch). It was Zuko's job to face her, and I did like the reasoning behind why only Aang could be the one to defeat the Fire Lord. Unless the Avatar did it, it wouldn't bring balance. Even if a good person like Iroh or Zuko assumed the throne by killing Ozai, the world would just view it as internal political strife. Sure, the current leader may be nice, but they'll still prolly feel the fire nation is not to be trusted. So I liked that they added a political component to further complicate things.
Eh, I still would've preferred Zuko and Katara to end up together. Its kinda odd, the movie almost sets it up- she's the one there for Zuko when he's afraid to face his Uncle, he asks her to come with him on his little adventure to defeat Azula. And then when Azula tries to make it a Pyrrhic victory by frying Katara during the Agni Kai, Zuko jumps in front of her and takes the hit! Alas, no Katara getting really pissed and bloodbending Azula and making her pay. Although it seemed she could've easily killed Azula when they ended up fighting, since Azula had gone all crazy and reckless. But she cleverly subdues her, and goes to heal Zuko. That almost seemed like the perfect time for a Zutara kiss, but alas, no.
But he has Mai, and she and Aang kiss at the end. I'm not convinced though! Aang's sure to grow up to be a respectable young man and a really good catch, but as I've said before, other than them "claiming" to like each other and a few glances, there doesn't seem to be that much there. Owel, if they ever continued it, I'm sure a quadrangle between them, the Avatar and the Fire Lord competing for the same girl would make for a juicy story. Hey, they did leave it open with Zuko needing to find his mom. And who better to help him through it than a girl who's lost her mom!
And you could have a whole thing where Mai and Zuko will always feel strongly for each other because they're each other's first loves, but even if their feelings cool and they decide to split amicably, they can't because of protocol. He is a prince, and she's a high ranking citizen, from a family that greatly values political power. And Aang and Katara meanwhile have to deal with the whole mess of her having to share him with the world. Its the classic superhero dilemma, the world needs him! Such concepts seem to show up in a lot of the post-finale set fanfic I've been reading!
But anyways, other comments. The White Lotus Society is bad ass. I find it intersting Sokka's master Piandao is in there, given he's not a bender. He is a bad ass swordsman though, and I guess the society is about sharing knowledge, there's nothing in there about them having to all be benders. I did find it hilarious that Bumi's first response on why they were together was because "all old people know each other!" But doesn't that seem to be the case in fantasy stories?
Oh, and Ozai trying to attack Aang from behind after Aang spared him. Why doe bad guys do that, don't they know the hero's expecting such a thing and will make them pay for their treachery?! Though I guess it does work some of the time.
Ah, I do like the "rocket boot" concept they've had throughout season 3 (mostly towards the end). Azula seems to use it to move like the Doms in Gundam, though both she and her dad also seem to do the Iron Man thing as well- feet flames for thrust, and then using blasts from the hands to keep the flight pattern stabilized. Ingenious!
But all in all, a really good series.
Were they really just gonna wait for the comet to pass by before Aang faced the Fire Lord?! Even if Zuko didn't tell them his father's plan, surely they wouldn't think the fire nation would waste such an event. They had to know something bad would happen.
Oh, but its easy to forget that less than a year passes over the whole series. Forget Aang learning to master all the elements by the time of the comet's arrival. Like, the Fire Nation must have insane production capabilities! I mean, in just several months, capturing that one war balloon and then learning to build and actually building a fleet of powerful airships?
Though, its good for them Toph's the only Earth bender who can metal bend, because they would get their asses handed to them if it was a common thing earth benders can do, given how many metallic war machines they have. The whole thing where Sokka dumped the crew of the airship they captured out the bomb bay by claiming they were having a birthday party was hilarious- its almost out of Frisky Dingo or the Venture Brothers. I do feel sorry for the poor guy who actually did have a birthday.
But speaking of things that made me sad in the finale, I'm amused that one of the things I was sad about was Sokka having to chuck his "space sword" to save himself and Toph. Its a sword made out of meteor rock! Its not something you can easily make!
But I really like how they had Aang defeat Ozai. Taking away his bending was a good way to stop him without having Aang compromise his ideals. As much as I love the fighting and killing, I respect a hero who refuses to kill, its what I liked about Vash the Stampede, and what I liked about the Doctor. But forget about the whole air nomad respect for life thing, even beyond that he's freaking 12 years old!! They should be glad a kid doesn't want to be killing! He's not a sociopath!
Speaking of sociopaths, Azula's descent into madness was interesting. Banishing her servants, and the Dai Li, and finally Li and Lo (well, one of them, only they weren't sure which, which was a hilarious touch). It was Zuko's job to face her, and I did like the reasoning behind why only Aang could be the one to defeat the Fire Lord. Unless the Avatar did it, it wouldn't bring balance. Even if a good person like Iroh or Zuko assumed the throne by killing Ozai, the world would just view it as internal political strife. Sure, the current leader may be nice, but they'll still prolly feel the fire nation is not to be trusted. So I liked that they added a political component to further complicate things.
Eh, I still would've preferred Zuko and Katara to end up together. Its kinda odd, the movie almost sets it up- she's the one there for Zuko when he's afraid to face his Uncle, he asks her to come with him on his little adventure to defeat Azula. And then when Azula tries to make it a Pyrrhic victory by frying Katara during the Agni Kai, Zuko jumps in front of her and takes the hit! Alas, no Katara getting really pissed and bloodbending Azula and making her pay. Although it seemed she could've easily killed Azula when they ended up fighting, since Azula had gone all crazy and reckless. But she cleverly subdues her, and goes to heal Zuko. That almost seemed like the perfect time for a Zutara kiss, but alas, no.
But he has Mai, and she and Aang kiss at the end. I'm not convinced though! Aang's sure to grow up to be a respectable young man and a really good catch, but as I've said before, other than them "claiming" to like each other and a few glances, there doesn't seem to be that much there. Owel, if they ever continued it, I'm sure a quadrangle between them, the Avatar and the Fire Lord competing for the same girl would make for a juicy story. Hey, they did leave it open with Zuko needing to find his mom. And who better to help him through it than a girl who's lost her mom!
And you could have a whole thing where Mai and Zuko will always feel strongly for each other because they're each other's first loves, but even if their feelings cool and they decide to split amicably, they can't because of protocol. He is a prince, and she's a high ranking citizen, from a family that greatly values political power. And Aang and Katara meanwhile have to deal with the whole mess of her having to share him with the world. Its the classic superhero dilemma, the world needs him! Such concepts seem to show up in a lot of the post-finale set fanfic I've been reading!
But anyways, other comments. The White Lotus Society is bad ass. I find it intersting Sokka's master Piandao is in there, given he's not a bender. He is a bad ass swordsman though, and I guess the society is about sharing knowledge, there's nothing in there about them having to all be benders. I did find it hilarious that Bumi's first response on why they were together was because "all old people know each other!" But doesn't that seem to be the case in fantasy stories?
Oh, and Ozai trying to attack Aang from behind after Aang spared him. Why doe bad guys do that, don't they know the hero's expecting such a thing and will make them pay for their treachery?! Though I guess it does work some of the time.
Ah, I do like the "rocket boot" concept they've had throughout season 3 (mostly towards the end). Azula seems to use it to move like the Doms in Gundam, though both she and her dad also seem to do the Iron Man thing as well- feet flames for thrust, and then using blasts from the hands to keep the flight pattern stabilized. Ingenious!
But all in all, a really good series.
