Seeing Zuko FINALLY getting his head straightened out makes all the angst of the last two seasons worth it, eh?
Well, the angst of the first two seasons was really it's own reward, imho. But it make the pain of the first 10 episodes totally worth it.
Yes, Sokka's picking up swordplay so quickly was a bit much, although that seemed to take place over more than a single day, but I can sort of handwave it away as he's already had a lot of training in different weapons so it's not like he's coming from a completely cold start. And once again, more teasing hints about the White Lotus Society, whee!
Good point. I can handwave it for a variety of reasons (they have to end the series before the summer ends, they don't have time to have him study the sword for years!) But my inner nit-picker just had to mention it.
I did have mixed feelings about "The Beach" -- I liked seeing hints of a more human side to Azula, and seeing that there is at least ONE area of her life where she isn't scarily precocious and beyond competent (and per the AU talk my fanon has been that she's a little backwards emotionally, so that really works)
I liked what it said about Azula, but I think it was totally in character that she doesn't know how to deal with people who don't know who she is.
and so much love for seeing that Ty Lee does have a brain beyond that ditzy.
Yes. I'm really enjoying Ty Lee at this point, and I loved that she seemed a little more self-aware. Also, finding out her backstory was fun. ("Circus freak is a compliment!")
..a chance to see Azula and the Dangerous Ladies interacting a bit more as friends and less as mistress-and-servants. (Not that any of them ever forget just who has the highest status here...but there is still something of a more intimate bond there, they can get away with more familiarity than anyone else.)
Can I just say that I love when the ladies drop their dresses and Mei holds up her hand to shield Zuko's eyes? *snickers* It was a nice repeat of that scene with Zuko and Iroh.
I don't mind the Zuko/Mai thing the way you do, but in my mind the way it's shown here is like Kataang less inspiring to my imagination for just the same reasons; they're too much alike, it's a little too easy. (Now, back when he was a fugitive and her primary loyalty seemed to be to his sister, that was another story; that was pushing all my "we shouldn't trust each other, we shouldn't be doing this" enemy-ship buttons. Now? Too fluffy. Although if he's going to be siding with the Gaang now and Mai still remains Azula's loyal sidekick, this could change.
Yeah, I think this might be a pairing I enjoy more in fanfic than on the show itself. And it's really a shame, because some of there dialogue was killer. ("You're beautiful when you hate the world.") And I know that if it had been anyone else and Mei I would have been all over that ship like white on rice. But I really didn't like the relationship arc (Mei loves her friend brother as a child, he grows up, and they get together and he orders the servants to bring her things). Plus, since this was the height of Zuko's pod!Prince behavoir... i kept having to remind myself that it wasn't Mei's fault that Zuko was acting like that, because I don't want to be one of those fangirls who's like, 'Bitch must die for running him! *stabby stabby*!'
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Seeing Zuko FINALLY getting his head straightened out makes all the angst of the last two seasons worth it, eh?
Well, the angst of the first two seasons was really it's own reward, imho. But it make the pain of the first 10 episodes totally worth it.
Yes, Sokka's picking up swordplay so quickly was a bit much, although that seemed to take place over more than a single day, but I can sort of handwave it away as he's already had a lot of training in different weapons so it's not like he's coming from a completely cold start. And once again, more teasing hints about the White Lotus Society, whee!
Good point. I can handwave it for a variety of reasons (they have to end the series before the summer ends, they don't have time to have him study the sword for years!) But my inner nit-picker just had to mention it.
I did have mixed feelings about "The Beach" -- I liked seeing hints of a more human side to Azula, and seeing that there is at least ONE area of her life where she isn't scarily precocious and beyond competent (and per the AU talk my fanon has been that she's a little backwards emotionally, so that really works)
I liked what it said about Azula, but I think it was totally in character that she doesn't know how to deal with people who don't know who she is.
and so much love for seeing that Ty Lee does have a brain beyond that ditzy.
Yes. I'm really enjoying Ty Lee at this point, and I loved that she seemed a little more self-aware. Also, finding out her backstory was fun. ("Circus freak is a compliment!")
..a chance to see Azula and the Dangerous Ladies interacting a bit more as friends and less as mistress-and-servants. (Not that any of them ever forget just who has the highest status here...but there is still something of a more intimate bond there, they can get away with more familiarity than anyone else.)
Can I just say that I love when the ladies drop their dresses and Mei holds up her hand to shield Zuko's eyes? *snickers* It was a nice repeat of that scene with Zuko and Iroh.
I don't mind the Zuko/Mai thing the way you do, but in my mind the way it's shown here is like Kataang less inspiring to my imagination for just the same reasons; they're too much alike, it's a little too easy. (Now, back when he was a fugitive and her primary loyalty seemed to be to his sister, that was another story; that was pushing all my "we shouldn't trust each other, we shouldn't be doing this" enemy-ship buttons. Now? Too fluffy. Although if he's going to be siding with the Gaang now and Mai still remains Azula's loyal sidekick, this could change.
Yeah, I think this might be a pairing I enjoy more in fanfic than on the show itself. And it's really a shame, because some of there dialogue was killer. ("You're beautiful when you hate the world.") And I know that if it had been anyone else and Mei I would have been all over that ship like white on rice. But I really didn't like the relationship arc (Mei loves her friend brother as a child, he grows up, and they get together and he orders the servants to bring her things). Plus, since this was the height of Zuko's pod!Prince behavoir... i kept having to remind myself that it wasn't Mei's fault that Zuko was acting like that, because I don't want to be one of those fangirls who's like, 'Bitch must die for running him! *stabby stabby*!'