Drive Until You Lose The Road

[redbrunja]

Okay, let's make this quick and dirty:

The bad:

I knew they were going to do the shipping that they did, but I still didn't like it. I don't think any of those problems that Mai/Zuko and Katara/Aang have were resolved, so it felt really, really fake to me. Especially the Kataang post-EIP. In Avatar, relationships usually feel so pasted on.

Aang. God, he was fucking annoying. I loved the resolution for the Fire Lord, but I hated that it took Aang three episodes of desperately trying to find someone to give him the answer he wanted while he whined about it to get there.

Forgoing finding out what happed to Zuko's mother so we could see Katara and Aang suck face.

The good:

Everything with Zuko. God, he is so much more interesting than Aang. I loved his fight with Azula, and how Katara dealt with her. The music was heartbreaking.

Fantastic season 2 finale homage. As my mother says upon seeing Zuko in Katara's arms: "Now what are they going to be about Mai?" (meaning, since Katara and Zuko are clearly meant for each other, and mama red loves Mai.)

Speaking of Azula, my heart was breaking. Seriously, Mai and Ty Lee betraying her totally fucked her up. I loved how she was shoving people away in an effort to get control, and just losing it more and more.

I was thrilled that Katara was the one to defeat Azula - I was afraid that Katara wouldn't get much to do in the finale.

Toph and Sokka and Suki (and especially that scene with Toph hanging from Sokka's fingers) was fantastic.

I adored Ty Lee going off with the Kyoshi warriors. That was just perfect.

Comments

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

And she said it was okay to do so, a necessary thing, controlling the nastier types to keep from disrupting the balance of the world.

And Aang did accept that he'd kill Ozai for about ten seconds, before he got the lionturtle loophole. But . . . he was still dodging too much in the fight. Wouldn't the better move to be to overwhelm him, stop him before he built up steam, so to speak, pinned him, and cut off his bending then? Instead of the extended "I'm not running away, no really" fight scene.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I keep changing my mind about this, depending on whose analysis I read.

I'm also kind of feeling like "He's just a kid!" and really, that's enough for me. I can forgive him a LOT because of that. Though that's not exactly a popular "reason" for the people who do OR who don't like Aang.

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean.

And . . . he may be twelve, but he's not a kid anymore. Not really. None of them are. That's what war does to people, it ages them before their time.

Not to mention that he's a powerful bender in his own right, could take in the power of the comet like Ozai was, and has managed more in prior fights.

Like it or not, he's got a huge responsibility, and he can't just run off and go penguin sledding. I don't hate Aang, but I just can't help seeing the blood on his hands while he's saying he won't kill. I accept the blood, know it's there for a damn good reason, but it gets frustrating sometimes.

Also, regarding Katara feeling confused back in Ember Island Players -- she's fourteen. No one feels certain about love when they're fourteen. It's a floaty kind of crush or quiet friendship, but no dead certainty like Aang seemed to be expecting. Not to mention, no one feels certain about the love they had when they were fourteen, ten years down the road. . .

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

but he's not a kid anymore. Not really. None of them are. That's what war does to people, it ages them before their time.

No, but he IS still a kid. Shit can happen to you when you're a child, and you may lose some some of your innocence, but that doesn't magically make you any older, it doesn't give you any higher ability to reason out complex ideas, differentiate between fiction and reality, or make mature decisions. Zuko, Sokka... they're 15-16-17, not kids anymore. Katara? Edging very very close at 14-15. 12-13 is still a world away from 16-17, and he *is* a child. He still thinks, behaves, and reasons like a kid.

In DOBS, Zuko himself said that starting an Agni Kai with a thirteen year old boy was "cruel and wrong", and that he was picking a duel with "a child."

And that is EXACTLY what the final battle was: Ozai dueling a thirteen year old child.

And the thing with kids is... where do you draw the line of responsibility? Yes, he accepted responsibility of being Avatar. As best as he could. Yes, he tried, and yes, he succeeded, but none of that makes him an adult. And ultimately, I don't even know if "accepting" responsibility really means to a 13 year old what it means to a 17 year old.

And if he hadn't succeeded, I don't think I would have, seriously and honestly, held it against him. Because he's not a grown up, but he is fighting a grown up fight. It's not a mistake that with the exception of Toph, every single ally is older than him.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't the better move to be to overwhelm him, stop him before he built up steam, so to speak, pinned him, and cut off his bending then? Instead of the extended "I'm not running away, no really" fight scene.

YES! So much of the problems with the episode are because of HOW they did it, not because o WHAT they did.