So. Just finished watching

[lebateleur]

The Finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!

I HAVE NOT BEEN THIS TRANSCENDANTLY HAPPY IN LIVING MEMORY.

I like to think I'll have something coherent and intelligent to say about it later, but in the meantime

I. ... Just. ... Just. ... GAAAAAAAAH!

I am so, so sad it's over.

これで以上です。

Comments

[amasugiru.livejournal.com]

Eh. I think Katara and Aang are going to get married and enjoy living next to their new neighbors, the Potters.

I was severly disappointed in the ending. I felt they shoved too much in the last four episodes. There were several developments that I felt could've had started a few episodes earlier.

Final boss battle?

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

enjoy living next to their new neighbors, the Potters.

Blasphemy. You know the Potter marriage is going to end in bitter divorce after years of heated arguments over which spouse ended the series more of a shallow parody of themselves.

Whereas Katara and Aang are going to get married .

And yeah, the last four eps were kinda abbreviated, but I didn't mind. (Also: which stuff did you think should have been introduced earlier? Cause I thought one of the series' strengths was the way so much of the story was set up and foreshadowed throughout.)

I'm wondering, though, about the loose threads. We never find out where Ursa is -or- what happened to Azula. Methinks there might be a spinoff in which our disgraced would-have-been Firelord goes off on a quest to redeem her honor find Mom find Mom.

Aang?

[amasugiru.livejournal.com]

Avatar State, yip yip!

Moving on. Maybe I was expecting too much from a kids show. Now, I don't want you to think I don't like what happened. I do. Its just as I said, I wish there had been a few more episodes to explore the following points:

This isn't part of the finale but the "dark and angsty" Katara thing was thrown in there at the end with no time for the other characters' reactions. Everyone is just okay that she ran off to kill a guy?

I liked Azula going crazy but I would've liked to see her lose her mind over a few episodes. Then again, watching four episodes in a row doesn't help my perspective on the pacing.

Everyone loves Zuko. I know this is a kids show but I think Zuko's loyalty should've been called into question more/tested in other ways rather than letting the characters take "Zuko Field Trips".

Ba Sing Se geriatric battle could've been so much more fun. I could've watched a whole episode on it.

Aang's chit chat with the other Avatars? One of them just needed to say, "Pussy! Kill him already!". That part seemed rushed too.

Also, I really wished the directors hadn't tip-toed around Iroh's character after Mako's death. Rather than slowly easing into a new voice actor, Iroh was pushed aside until the end. My one friend reacted really poorly to the new voice. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if he had returned sooner. The episodes prior to the finale were really missing his presence.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Everyone loves Zuko. I know this is a kids show but I think Zuko's loyalty should've been called into question more/tested in other ways rather than letting the characters take "Zuko Field Trips".

See, I loved this - it highlighted one of the strengths of the show for me, that it was about kids saving the world, kids who still acted like kids for all their power and responsibilities. Adults would never have trusted Zuko so easily, never would've given him that second chance. But idealistic kids are willing to be won over - and Zuko himself is young enough to accept their trust and friendship without doubt.

Rather than slowly easing into a new voice actor, Iroh was pushed aside until the end.

Knowing little about the writers, I was wondering if this was the case, or if Iroh's disappearance was always intended to be part of the story. Zuko needed to come into his own on his own, without Iroh. For me, the Zuko-Iroh reunion in the finale was so touching it made up for the sad lack of Iroh previously...

[amasugiru.livejournal.com]

Kids are bastards. I know, I was one(bastard/kid, take your pick ;)). I feel kids shows are supersatuated with the sticky-sweet trope that kids forgive and/or trust easier than adults. Moreover, everyone except for Katara was pretty quick to accept him. I would've appreciated a variety of reactions.

I interpreted the writers' reservations from the way the scenes were constructed. Iroh is asleep when Zuko first enters the tent. Zuko is the first to speak and has more lines... There are other scenes I can't think of right now since Iroh disappeared that seemed to deliberately avoid him.I had also considered that Iroh's disappearance was part of the story but I didn't mention it. I should add that to my list of developments that needed more time... or their own episode. I think Iroh and Zuko had one of if not the most important relationships in the series and deserved more than the 10 minutes they received.

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

idealistic kids are willing to be won over - and Zuko himself is young enough to accept their trust and friendship without doubt.

I gotta admit, though, I thought the kids accepted Zuko waaaaaay too quickly when he first approached them (In just one episode? Really?) and that Zuko's misplacement of his alpha dog tendencies and bitchiness was one of the great unexplained mysteries of the show. Here's a guy who had a hard time trusting Uncle in places, and he's able to just throw himself in front of his former enemies? With his (original) personality?

In fact, I was pretty darn surprised to discover that there'd only be three books--I really thought the third season's story arc was going to be expanded over a fourth.

For me, the Zuko-Iroh reunion in the finale was so touching it made up for the sad lack of Iroh previously...
I agree 100%. I'd be willing to bet the plot underwent middling to significant rewrites after Mako's death: I really thought Uncle would pave the way for Zuko somehow via Toph. But OMG, that scene in the tent! I even got teary-eyed!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think the "kid's cartoon" factor lets me get over a lot of the accelerated pacing; and I wasn't clear how much time was passing between eps so I was okay with filling in moments we didn't see.

Zuko's personality change really didn't bother me, perhaps oddly considering how much I adored his bitchy emo self - this is partly because I love redemption stories, they make me so giddy with glee that I can't be objective. But also it was that Zuko is a teenager, given to extreme passions and mood-swings, and he threw himself into being humble as much as he did into being bitchy. And then found he liked it more - he was so miserable as emo-boy, and then he grew up. I've seen some people go through the same transformation - it usually takes a lot longer, a few years of high school or college; but under such extreme stress as saving the world...I dunno, it worked for me. But I might be biased, like I said!

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

I was okay with filling in moments, but I still really wanted to see more of Zuko's transformation on screen because redemption stories are a HUGE HUGE HUGE kink of mine, and I would happily have watched an entire season of Zuko coming to terms with things.

Very good point about the mood swings btw, but the issue for me is that because he is a teenager, he's likely to be very image- and self-conscious. And if teenagers hate one thing, it's admitting that they were wrong, even on petty little stuff. So I would have expected Zuko to put up more of a tough guy act. The parts in the finale when he did that--Oh, sure, let's show dad pictures of the good ole days--were the parts I liked best.

But here's the thing: this sort of stuff would usually really, really bug me, especially when it's a flaw in a near-perfect series. But Avatar is so freakin' brilliant and near-perfect that even though I'm intellectually aware of these quibbles and sticking points I don't mind them one goddamn bit!

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

Everyone is just okay that she ran off to kill a guy?
What bothered me even more than this is the fact that she initially got the wrong guy. Katara tortures--ahem, I mean uses advanced interrogation techniques--on this firebender, and he wasn't guilty as charged. And once she found out, the show was like, "Nothing to see here; move along" and completely failed to deal with the implications of everything she'd done: jumped to erroneous conclusions, resorted to sadism, and harmed an innocent.

I thought the Crazula was done well within the available time frame. Because Zuko and Katara could never have fought their way in to see her, so she needed to be isolated before there, so it made perfect narrative sense. How she went about it was believable to me after Ty Lee and Mai's betrayal. And if they'd started heavily introducing it before the finale it would have been too obvious what was in store and screwed with the pacing of the Ember Island Players lolfest.

I agree with you heartily on the kids' reaction to Zuko, but I thought that should have occurred waaaay at the beginning of the season. OTOH, I was resigned to accepting it given the fact that Zuko 1.0 disappeared without a trace at the end of season two. Talk about abrupt. He could have helped Team Avatar and stayed the bitchy, pissy Zuko we'd all grown to love.

A massive Ba Sing Se ep to me would have become DBZ time as well as repeating the seige of the Northern Water Tribe, so I was glad of how they handled it.

I agree with you on Iroh; I'd love to know how many changes went into the initial storyline after Mako passed. And, dude, I know you want to go run your teashop, but putting 16 year old All-I-wanna-do-is-make-out-with-my-cranky-girlfriend Zuko in charge of a country with a century plus of fascism under its belt? Uh...

[amasugiru.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I think they deliberately left that mom question hanging for the spin off series.

Was it just me or were those last few episodes made just to confuse fangirls? There were enough blushes to spawn a thousand fics. TophxZuko What?!?!

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

Apparently the creators followed online fandom (Wait? There was online Avatar fandom?) pretty closely and were screwing with the fanshippers with great glee.

This is all according to FW, though, so take with a grain of salt.

[amasugiru.livejournal.com]

Yay! I wanna draw Avatar now. Recs?

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

Erm. I alas do not have a single one, as I never got into Avatar fandom online. But feel free to draw Avatar anyway. I WILL LOOK!

[metal-dog5.livejournal.com]

Gee, I can't tell if you liked it or not. ;)

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

That's why you're going to have to watch the freakin' series already! to find out for yourself.

[metal-dog5.livejournal.com]

You know I would if it was on a time that I could watch it, or if the show was sold as a complete season dvd set rather than individual dvds with 4 episodes.

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

You know I would if it was on a time that I could watch it, or if the show was sold as a complete season dvd set rather than individual dvds with 4 episodes.

...It's like you've never used The Internets before.

[metal-dog5.livejournal.com]

If you think I would use the Interwebs for anything other than reading fanfic watching gay love stories on youtube dl'ing anima/manga/whatever wholesome activities, you don't know me at all.    [/straight face]

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

It was so gorgeously gloriously EPIC!

Oh, man, I could not have been happier. The awesomeness of the fights! Azula in all her mad glory! White Lotus! Zuko & Iroh's reunion! "Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka!" Sokka & Toph & Suki! Katara & Zuko! Aang in that little ball within the stone! That I actually did not see the sealing-his-bending coming (sue me, I was so distracted by the epic going-of-to-war-ness that it didn't register as the obvious solution and homg so cool and I wonder if Aang invented a new technique there just because he was so young and naive and idealist that he wouldn't do what any adult would do and accept the sacrifice of his soul and it's not even wrong or right but it worked here and OH!)

...Yes. Wow.

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Hah, Yes! Yes & Yes & Yes! Yes! and Yes! And the awesome part about the bending-sealing (and I mean EPICALLY AWESOME) is that for someone like Phoenix Lord Ozai, that fate is actually a much greater punishment than death. I mean, I figured Aang would incapacitate him and throw him in a dungeon, but to emasculate him first? A fitting punishment to satisfy the adult viewers and one that doesn't go against the ethic of this (kids') show. How elegant can this writing get!?

I thought the Fu Turtle had explained the technique to Aang though--the one potentially annoying Deus Ex in the finale. Although, I'm going to have to rewatch Aang's chakra training, because if it was foreshadowed, it would have been in there.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

It really was even more fitting a punishment than death, to see him in the dungeon in the end - yes. Satisfying for all! The writers must have planned it from the start, for it to come together that well - and I don't know how they did it, really, because it's an obvious solution, and yet it didn't occur to me. But it didn't feel all that deus ex, either (I wasn't clear if the Turtle explained the technique exactly, or just gave Aang the roots of it, showing him how to bend chi? And animals teaching bending is a long-established trend in the series, with the badger-moles teaching the original Earth Benders.)

I was also wondering if it might be used in reverse - if Aang can take someone's bending, can he also make a new bender? Would be useful in refounding the Air Nomad line...otherwise he & Katara have to start getting busy soon!

Re: kids' show ethics - I was pretty impressed that every one of Aang's past lives consulted told him to kill Ozai, made it clear that many Avatars have killed. It impressed me when Kiyoshi confessed, "I killed Chin the Conqueror" and it did here, too. The series may not go as dark as a lot of anime, and it sidesteps when it can; but it doesn't back down when it has to.

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

I know! I think by failing to do what most series do: laying out the horrible climax way before the story reaches its conclusion in order to build dramatic tension, e.g. Harry Potter *MUST* fight Voldemort and one cannot live while the other survives dun-dun-DUN!!! Sure, it creates tension when it's first introduced, but it also creates awareness of all the issues, pitfalls, and potential solutions well before the final battle.

Whereas in Avatar, the characters never really thought about what Aang and Ozai's inevitable confrontation actually meant, so neither did we. Then when Zuko's like, "Dude, what exactly are you gonna do when you face him?" both Aang and the audience go "...Aw, CRAP!" because although we all know the climax, no one's ever considered its implications and we confront it not knowing how Aang can possibly resolve it. TENSION.

Hee! Maybe Aang could finally give Sokka his long-coveted bending ability. Airbender with a boomerang--watch out! (Nonetheless, I'm sure he and Katara will get busy soon regardlessXD)

Kiyoshi's confession was neat, because sometimes you really do have to remove threats in the name of the greater good, but then so many other aspects of the series are, too. I was impressed when the show made it clear that Aang really was the last Airbender, and that there wasn't a sekrit community of Air Nomads who'd chosen to withdraw from the world on whom he could call for backup. And Azula really did lose her shit--I thought it was dramatic as an adult; I can't imagine how creepy it would have been for younger viewers. And so on.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, yes, I think not laying it out directly sooner helped - keep the suspense going, and yes, if we'd had longer to think about it we might've figured it out. I also think the writers were also brilliant about where they put the question. With Harry Potter, 'one must die' isn't that dramatic, really, because you know it's not going to be Harry. If they both might die, yeah, maybe it's a question; but there's no way a fantasy series is going to end with the villain winning. But Avatar didn't spend much time wondering if Aang would win - the bigger question was how he was going to win, how much of himself was he going to sacrifice. I genuinely didn't know if he was going to kill Ozai - I thought not, but the show is dark, and Ozai was an adult char, so not off-limits like the kids...yeah. Wow, I'm so impressed by the storytelling here. I know of so few non-anime shows this tight from start to finish (Babylon 5 is one of the only others I know that had a clear end from the start, and even that one had problems reaching it...)

Gah, I wish I could've watched this as a kid. There's so much about it that thrills me now even when I'm experienced with and jaded to the tropes - I can't imagine how in love I would have fallen if it had been my first...!

[fragilistikal.livejournal.com]

A month late but I just finished watching the last 10 eps of Avatar. Hoshit.

...Why didn't they have another season? T.T

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

I know! Where is the "Air" book? And how dare they end the series before it's way, way past its prime.