I watched the Netflix series and I liked it.

Is it different from the original? Yes, but does that make it worse? Personally I wouldn't say that.

And all because what is important is not how clearly the story develops in the footsteps of the original, but how logical it is within the given rules of the series.

Shyamalan's film was bad not because it didn't retell the cartoon, but because it was extremely illogical and stuffy (for example, the earthbender prison in the ravine was extremely stupid). Here the given rules were followed, so I think the adaptation was a success.

Did they change any characters or character arcs? If it fits into the events, the experienced backstory, and also creates new arcs, then everything is fine.

Is Katara not as fierce as in the original? But that doesn't mean she's not a character at all. I saw the growth from a frightened girl into a strong warrior, and it fit into story.

Is Sokka not sexist? But he learned to understand what it is like to be a real warrior and what is necessary for this.

Aang isn't making jokes at every turn? But he's a child in a world of war, which is merciless to everyone, including him.

For every change, we're offered an alternative that creates a logical progression for each character with a beginning, middle, and end to the arc. Does this completely change the character? Well, do you need absolutely the same thing that was in the cartoon?

If you want a specific reading of the story, then rewatch the original, it's not a problem. However, the Netflix series gives us something that many adaptations don't have - a different look at the same events. We were encouraged to look at characters and events from a different angle, and I personally loved that angle.

I consider this a competent adaptation, because all the elements of the original worked in the folded mechanism of the new interpretation.

Are there any errors in it? Of course, at the very least, the narrative and conversations into the camera remind me of Shyamalan’s technique, and this sometimes hurts the ears. Some actors sometimes don't finish their performances, and I also didn't really like the piling up of subplots in Omashu, etc.

But here's the thing, having cons doesn't make the show bad. Every adaptation has imperfections, this is quite normal. And to forget about the pros because of the cons is quite pessimistic, especially since the series didn't deserve such condemnation. There's too much effort involved to turn a blind eye to them.

I advise you to take this as fan fiction. And, as for me, this is an extremely well-developed fanfic that can tell the same story in a new way.

The blue spirit is no longer relevant

Blue scarf is now in fashion

1. I judge from the position of my and only my experience, since only it is fully accessible to me. If someone watched the show that way, that's wonderful, but I don't want to make a discount just because of that. After all, my experience is different and I strive to record it.

The fact that the viewer forgot about Chekhov's gun due to temporary pauses between episodes doesn't speak about the quality of this gun itself. That is, no matter how you watched the show, if the script did a bad job of introducing information, then it did a bad job and that's its problem.

If the quality of a script depends on the time it was written, this indicates that it is outdated. And if it depends only on one point of view, then this, alas, isn't a quality work.

2. I already said that Katara could use water for Jet, so the moment with Iroh’s healing isn't the only one.

And for someone with excellent reflexes and a keen desire to save lives, Katara didn't react as well as she could have. Sorry, but unfortunately I don’t believe that she forgot about water when someone’s life was at stake.

To me, this is a writing oversight for the sake of preserving a plot element for a specific purpose, and that's bad. If the show had explained it itself, I wouldn't have said a word. But we all have to invent contexts to justify the behavior of the characters, this is bad. After all, we have to do the writer’s work and fill holes where there shouldn’t be any.

I honestly don't really like spiritual water as part of the plot in book 2.

This is an extremely obvious deus ex machina for the resurrection of Aang, which was introduced into the plot in an extremely ridiculous way. Seriously, saying that Aang could die while in the avatar state IN THE SAME EPISODE where you showed the resurrection holy water is extremely stupid. This very powerfully spoils the ending of the season, while destroying any sense of danger. Why should I worry about Aang if I know that Katara will resurrect him with some fancy water?

It would be better if this water didn't exist and only its healing abilities were in Katara’s hands. After Jet's death, we wouldn't know if the healing would work on Aang, since he could very well die. Maybe at that moment the full moon will rise, enhancing Katara's abilities, and she will save Aang by combining her powers and the spirit of the Moon. I mean, is it really necessary for this to have a deus ex machina that ruins the whole drama and provides clear guarantees of salvation? To be honest, this is just meh.

Beyond that, the obvious purpose of this dull water limits Katara as a healer. Famous question: Why didn't she use it when Jet died? At least they would introduce some restrictions for it, for example, that the healing properties of this water are revealed only during the full moon. And they say Katara couldn’t use it for a reason.

But it turns out that she forgot about this shit until the moment of plot necessity, which makes Jet's death mediocre.

There is another scene where this water is present: the dialogue between Zuko and Katara in the catacombs. And you know what's the funniest thing? If you cut out the information about spiritual water, the meaning of the conversation will not change at all:

- Maybe you could be free of it.

- What?

- I have healing abilities.

- It's a scar, it can't be healed.

- I don't know if it would work, but...

Actually, it got even better, because Katara needs to rely on her own strength to heal Zuko. And she wants to try not because she has magic water that she doesn’t know what to do with, but because she can at least try to help.

But the point isn't even that, but how smooth the dialogue remains if you cut out a fairly large piece of text from it.

This leads to my theory that this spiritual water was introduced after the script for the season was written. Like the authors didn’t know how to heal Aang at the end, so they introduced this stupidity at the beginning, and then in the scene in the catacombs, to remind the viewer that this shit even exists. Otherwise, I cannot explain why without this water what is happening becomes more logical

Katara using Zuko’s move. It probably doesn’t matter but rewatching clips of Katara and Zuko and this stood out to me.

Katara froze herself and Azula in ice. Then she breathed through her nose and got all, swishy swishy.

It reminded me of when Katara fought Zuko at the North Pole. She froze him. And when the sun rose he melted the ice with his nose too. So like.

Just thought it was cool.

Unpopular opinion, but... Zuko from the 2010 film is not bad. Not comparable to the original, but he is the most alive there among these soulless puppets.

And I'm a fan of this version of the character's backstory, so much so that I consider it canon.

It fits too well into the lore of the series and is too interesting about the emotions of the characters. So good that there is a version with Zuko's series design lol

(orig / book 4 restoration project version)

Basically, thanks for the existence of the film giving rise to this story.

Thank you, now I'm going to cry because of Zuko's faith in Katara.

It's actually funny how subtly the theme of trust runs through their relationship. Katara first trusted his life choices in the crystal caves, and now Zuko trusts her decisions in SR episode. Especially considering that he himself always makes mistakes and chooses the wrong path.

But she made the choice that suits her best and which she will take into account. On the first try, she was able to don't the action that was morally correct, but the one that would cleanse her soul and calm her.

Once again, I'm going to cry because of how beautiful it is

I know people have already talked about this topic, but I want to too.

There are a lot of jokes on the Internet about how Katara constantly mentions her mother as if it were the most important event, but...

Isn't that so? I mean, in the life of a little eight-year-old girl, this is truly the most important event in her life and she wants to share it.

Katara took on the role of an adult too early, and she didn't have the opportunity to work through this problem with anyone, because she's already an adult => she cannot afford to rely on someone. But she needs it, and that's what traveling with Aang gives her: the opportunity to find children like her and share with them the burden that she has been carrying all this time. Note that Haru, Jet, and even Zuko are people who not only have experienced loss, but also have some kind of responsibility for others: for their family or even for a group of people. She doesn't tell adults about this because she isn't looking for care, she's looking for understanding of her feelings.

The problem is that it's not enough for her. Her sadness turns to rage because the further the story goes, the less satisfied Katara becomes.

The closer the heroes get to the end of the war, the more angry Katara gets: first at her father, then more specifically at Zuko. And, in the end, she finds the cause of this anger, as well as the opportunity to satisfy the thirst for understanding of her grief - the murderer of her mother. She needed revenge not just because it was fair, but because from the very beginning of the series, Katara was looking for an opportunity to calm those feelings that were rushing out. And her attempts to do this by expressing the problem were not enough. She needed more, and she got it by facing the biggest monster in her life.

In general, the “monster” metaphor obviously speaks not only about Yon Ra, but also about Katara herself. Or rather about her anger. Judge for yourself: she had to restrain a storm of emotions from the age of eight; she began to reveal her grief only in the first season, that is, at the age of 14. She ignored her pain, pushing it deep inside until it became a raging monster rushing out. And what Katara really needed was to face it. So when she flies to find Yon Ra, she also finally meets the version of herself that she has carefully ignored and hidden for the benefit of others.

It's funny that Zuko is the one who helps her. In general, it was his complete understanding of Katara in this matter that amazed me. He, like no one else, knows what it’s like to face your inner demons and knows how useful it is for knowing yourself. And how dangerous it is when you're alone in it. So he accompanies her to keep her safe. So that she has a person on her side who will be there, no matter what choice she makes. He will support anyone. (I'm crying because of how beautiful it is wasgffv💖)

(A small antikataang insert: this is the reason why their relationship doesn't work. Aang only supports the right decisions, even if they require Katara to sacrifice inner harmony, while Zuko will simply support her for whatever choice she makes. It's funny because Aang has to keep balance and as a monk he knows a lot about that. The show focuses heavily on the theme of yin and yang, that is, the balance of good and evil. In order to achieve internal balance, Katara needed to turn to internal evil, because she tilted this scale towards good. She was imbalanced to begin with, and instead of understanding this, Aang insisted on continuing the preponderance of good. It’s as if he doesn’t understand that the preponderance of good is as bad as the preponderance of evil, and this will only harm Katara. I hope my point is clear)

Finally, Katara finds inner peace when she faced everything that was raging inside her, when she did what she needed and poured out everything she ever wanted. Every word about her mother led us to this moment, as did Katara herself.

And do you know what the point is? Why am I telling all this? It's all a character arc that unfolds linearly over three seasons.

Now think back to the arc of Aang, the main character of the show, in relation to his family. Did he bring them up in seasons two and three in a way that was linear? I mean, the one who constantly grieves over his father's death should have been Aang, because he learned the pain of loss so recently, he didn't have a chance to get used to it. But even in the episode SR, Aang compares the loss of mother not to the loss of his mentor and father, but to the loss of Appa and his people. It’s as if he doesn’t care about the individual connection with Gyatso and it’s nominal.

Katara, on the other hand, has emotions that she smoothly carries throughout the show and resolves in it. She has a huge number of Chekhov's guns, which each fire at its own time. Her feelings about her mother, the development of these emotions and their resolution are the most beautiful thing about this show along with Zuko's arc (even though I have problems with him in book 3).

And making derogatory jokes about it like Katara is whining and annoying is blasphemy. After all, she's the only one of the Gaang who has a single development arc throughout all three seasons, this must be respected

Imho what we need is not canonization, but more of the unique interaction that Zuko and Katara create within the show.

The label “canon” will essentially only give us kisses and touches, and if in kat.aang this worked for the presentation of love, then zutara is about deep feelings, soul-searching and mutual assistance in this introspection.

The characters' good relationships don't depend on the canonization of their romance. Yes, we'd love to see them end up together, but it's primarily because we love the bond they've built, not because we love the characters kissing and hugging.

Judging by numerous metas, people aren't interested only in the physical manifestation of love, but in exploring the possibilities of their relationship.That's what we need. Give us a continuation of their sensual connection, and leave superficial kisses for surface ships.

It's funny to me when antis are like "you have to accept that zutara wasn't canon". Like, okay, acknowledged, I'm gonna keep shipping it anyway.

Another thing I keep thinking about is Zuko watching Katara's bending progress.

Yes, Sokka and Aang witness this too, but Zuko is the only one who reacts to it.

He saw Katara's failures as a bender when she learned from the scrolls. He was angry when she gained combat skills at the North Pole. He felt the full power of her hard work on his ass. He saw her bloodbending and stopping raindrops, and he had a reaction to it.

This is not just passive observation, but participation with a personal attitude. Truth be told, I don't remember the faces of the other Gaang members when they watched Katara bend (especially Toph badum tssss), but I remember all of Zuko's faces when he saw her display of power.

He was truly surprised and admired by her abilities, and he knew what path she had gone through, because he himself had been part of it. Therefore, it's not surprising that he chose Katara to fight Azula. It's not just that she's strong, but that she amazes him.

Upd: Sokka also reacts to her bending. But only at the beginning, when he was just criticizing her. As her skills improved, I don't remember him praising her or showing a developing attitude in any way. He just... fell silent. Zuko is the only one who has reactions throughout all three seasons every time he observes Katara's abilities, this needs to be clarified

I know people have already talked about this topic, but I want to too.

There are a lot of jokes on the Internet about how Katara constantly mentions her mother as if it were the most important event, but...

Isn't that so? I mean, in the life of a little eight-year-old girl, this is truly the most important event in her life and she wants to share it.

Katara took on the role of an adult too early, and she didn't have the opportunity to work through this problem with anyone, because she's already an adult => she cannot afford to rely on someone. But she needs it, and that's what traveling with Aang gives her: the opportunity to find children like her and share with them the burden that she has been carrying all this time. Note that Haru, Jet, and even Zuko are people who not only have experienced loss, but also have some kind of responsibility for others: for their family or even for a group of people. She doesn't tell adults about this because she isn't looking for care, she's looking for understanding of her feelings.

The problem is that it's not enough for her. Her sadness turns to rage because the further the story goes, the less satisfied Katara becomes.

The closer the heroes get to the end of the war, the more angry Katara gets: first at her father, then more specifically at Zuko. And, in the end, she finds the cause of this anger, as well as the opportunity to satisfy the thirst for understanding of her grief - the murderer of her mother. She needed revenge not just because it was fair, but because from the very beginning of the series, Katara was looking for an opportunity to calm those feelings that were rushing out. And her attempts to do this by expressing the problem were not enough. She needed more, and she got it by facing the biggest monster in her life.

In general, the “monster” metaphor obviously speaks not only about Yon Ra, but also about Katara herself. Or rather about her anger. Judge for yourself: she had to restrain a storm of emotions from the age of eight; she began to reveal her grief only in the first season, that is, at the age of 14. She ignored her pain, pushing it deep inside until it became a raging monster rushing out. And what Katara really needed was to face it. So when she flies to find Yon Ra, she also finally meets the version of herself that she has carefully ignored and hidden for the benefit of others.

It's funny that Zuko is the one who helps her. In general, it was his complete understanding of Katara in this matter that amazed me. He, like no one else, knows what it’s like to face your inner demons and knows how useful it is for knowing yourself. And how dangerous it is when you're alone in it. So he accompanies her to keep her safe. So that she has a person on her side who will be there, no matter what choice she makes. He will support anyone. (I'm crying because of how beautiful it is wasgffv💖)

(A small antikataang insert: this is the reason why their relationship doesn't work. Aang only supports the right decisions, even if they require Katara to sacrifice inner harmony, while Zuko will simply support her for whatever choice she makes. It's funny because Aang has to keep balance and as a monk he knows a lot about that. The show focuses heavily on the theme of yin and yang, that is, the balance of good and evil. In order to achieve internal balance, Katara needed to turn to internal evil, because she tilted this scale towards good. She was imbalanced to begin with, and instead of understanding this, Aang insisted on continuing the preponderance of good. It’s as if he doesn’t understand that the preponderance of good is as bad as the preponderance of evil, and this will only harm Katara. I hope my point is clear)

Finally, Katara finds inner peace when she faced everything that was raging inside her, when she did what she needed and poured out everything she ever wanted. Every word about her mother led us to this moment, as did Katara herself.

And do you know what the point is? Why am I telling all this? It's all a character arc that unfolds linearly over three seasons.

Now think back to the arc of Aang, the main character of the show, in relation to his family. Did he bring them up in seasons two and three in a way that was linear? I mean, the one who constantly grieves over his father's death should have been Aang, because he learned the pain of loss so recently, he didn't have a chance to get used to it. But even in the episode SR, Aang compares the loss of mother not to the loss of his mentor and father, but to the loss of Appa and his people. It’s as if he doesn’t care about the individual connection with Gyatso and it’s nominal.

Katara, on the other hand, has emotions that she smoothly carries throughout the show and resolves in it. She has a huge number of Chekhov's guns, which each fire at its own time. Her feelings about her mother, the development of these emotions and their resolution are the most beautiful thing about this show along with Zuko's arc (even though I have problems with him in book 3).

And making derogatory jokes about it like Katara is whining and annoying is blasphemy. After all, she's the only one of the Gaang who has a single development arc throughout all three seasons, this must be respected

Bingo "Aang Presses Guilt" from this episodes:

- He has lost a lot more than Katara has, and he sorta gently reminds her of this; he's like, "hey, my whole culture was wiped out, everyone I've ever known was-was wiped out" during Katara's greatest moment of grief in the entire series.

- We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we're not.

- Why don't you know?

- Well, when is the right time?

I was thinking about "Ember Island Players" again and the kiss and how KA shippers often justify how we go from Katara vehemently not wanting to be kissed by Aang to enthusiastically eating his face in the finale with no input from her on why her feelings changed by bringing up what she says to Aang about how "there's a war going on."

I often see these arguments as two-fold because even though I dislike KA, I think it needs to be acknowledged that Katara can want to be kissed by Aang in a general sense and still not want to be kissed by him in that moment and be uncomfortable with him ignoring her lack of consent. You shouldn't have to be antikataang to acknowledge that.

But also, zutara shippers are the ones who often argue that Katara's line about the war is an excuse, and sounds like what a girl says who is trying to let down a guy gently when she's uninterested. And the reason zutara shippers argue this is not because they are blinded by their ship, because they are right that the line feels like an excuse.

It feels like an excuse because we already know the reason Katara is uncomfortable with kissing Aang. We already know that the play had a lot to do with making her uncomfortable throughout the episode, and Aang's pushiness and his internalization of the portrayal on stage and attempts to blame Katara for it make her even more uncomfortable.

I think there is some truth to the "there's a war going on" line. I think that's a big reason why we saw Katara upset after Aang kisses her before the battle in "Day of Black Sun." We do see in that episode Katara's fear and uncertainty, her sadness when Aang flies away because she might never see him again. So I think she brings up those concerns again in "Ember Island Players," and there is some truth to them, but it feels like a girl trying to make excuses to a guy who won't take no for an answer because Katara can't tell Aang that the real reason she's uncomfortable in this particular moment is because of how he's treating her, because when she tried to tell him that, he wouldn't listen. And that's precisely why a lot of female fans come to Katara's defense here and take the narrative to task for not giving her a voice in how her relationship developed with Aang. That's also why "well, the war is over now," doesn't actually solve the issue between Katara and Aang, because the last time they fought over their relationship, it was at most a secondary issue, and the real issue - the issue of Katara's consent and need to feel respected - never gets addressed.

Oooh this episode... I want to throw in my two cents.

I know people are talking about the kiss and the conversation with Katara and how uncomfortable it all feels. You don't have to be a zutarian to feel Spanish shame about all this.

But my favorite part of this episode is its chronology in relation to all the episodes in the series. Think about it, all this nonsense with Aang's unrequited feelings happens... after "The Southern Raiders".

That is, just yesterday, Katara experienced the most difficult moment in her life, and she's RIGHT NOW thrown into the whirlpool of experiences of a child who has feelings for her.

I get a shock when I realize that these episodes are back to back.

Firstly, Aang’s attitude looks hypocritical, because after he saw the enormous stress of his beloved girl, he puts pressure on her with his impatience in the question of where he can be patient at least until the end of the war.

Secondly, it's disingenuous of the writers to immediately focus on Aang's romantic feelings for her after the powerful climax of Katara's arc, rather than showing the impact of the whole experience on the characters. Will we see Katara and Sokka talking after that night's outing? Maybe she could contact her father and talk to him about it? Oh no, sorry, I forgot that the main character is Aang and his feelings are more important because he's the main character -_-

I admit that my opinion is now subjective and you may not agree with me on this issue. It just always confused me that Aang’s pressure is directed not just at Katara, who is always working for his well-being, but at a person who has experienced enormous stress.

Wow, that's just ugly

I was thinking about "Ember Island Players" again and the kiss and how KA shippers often justify how we go from Katara vehemently not wanting to be kissed by Aang to enthusiastically eating his face in the finale with no input from her on why her feelings changed by bringing up what she says to Aang about how "there's a war going on."

I often see these arguments as two-fold because even though I dislike KA, I think it needs to be acknowledged that Katara can want to be kissed by Aang in a general sense and still not want to be kissed by him in that moment and be uncomfortable with him ignoring her lack of consent. You shouldn't have to be antikataang to acknowledge that.

But also, zutara shippers are the ones who often argue that Katara's line about the war is an excuse, and sounds like what a girl says who is trying to let down a guy gently when she's uninterested. And the reason zutara shippers argue this is not because they are blinded by their ship, because they are right that the line feels like an excuse.

It feels like an excuse because we already know the reason Katara is uncomfortable with kissing Aang. We already know that the play had a lot to do with making her uncomfortable throughout the episode, and Aang's pushiness and his internalization of the portrayal on stage and attempts to blame Katara for it make her even more uncomfortable.

I think there is some truth to the "there's a war going on" line. I think that's a big reason why we saw Katara upset after Aang kisses her before the battle in "Day of Black Sun." We do see in that episode Katara's fear and uncertainty, her sadness when Aang flies away because she might never see him again. So I think she brings up those concerns again in "Ember Island Players," and there is some truth to them, but it feels like a girl trying to make excuses to a guy who won't take no for an answer because Katara can't tell Aang that the real reason she's uncomfortable in this particular moment is because of how he's treating her, because when she tried to tell him that, he wouldn't listen. And that's precisely why a lot of female fans come to Katara's defense here and take the narrative to task for not giving her a voice in how her relationship developed with Aang. That's also why "well, the war is over now," doesn't actually solve the issue between Katara and Aang, because the last time they fought over their relationship, it was at most a secondary issue, and the real issue - the issue of Katara's consent and need to feel respected - never gets addressed.

I honestly don't really like spiritual water as part of the plot in book 2.

This is an extremely obvious deus ex machina for the resurrection of Aang, which was introduced into the plot in an extremely ridiculous way. Seriously, saying that Aang could die while in the avatar state IN THE SAME EPISODE where you showed the resurrection holy water is extremely stupid. This very powerfully spoils the ending of the season, while destroying any sense of danger. Why should I worry about Aang if I know that Katara will resurrect him with some fancy water?

It would be better if this water didn't exist and only its healing abilities were in Katara’s hands. After Jet's death, we wouldn't know if the healing would work on Aang, since he could very well die. Maybe at that moment the full moon will rise, enhancing Katara's abilities, and she will save Aang by combining her powers and the spirit of the Moon. I mean, is it really necessary for this to have a deus ex machina that ruins the whole drama and provides clear guarantees of salvation? To be honest, this is just meh.

Beyond that, the obvious purpose of this dull water limits Katara as a healer. Famous question: Why didn't she use it when Jet died? At least they would introduce some restrictions for it, for example, that the healing properties of this water are revealed only during the full moon. And they say Katara couldn’t use it for a reason.

But it turns out that she forgot about this shit until the moment of plot necessity, which makes Jet's death mediocre.

There is another scene where this water is present: the dialogue between Zuko and Katara in the catacombs. And you know what's the funniest thing? If you cut out the information about spiritual water, the meaning of the conversation will not change at all:

- Maybe you could be free of it.

- What?

- I have healing abilities.

- It's a scar, it can't be healed.

- I don't know if it would work, but...

Actually, it got even better, because Katara needs to rely on her own strength to heal Zuko. And she wants to try not because she has magic water that she doesn’t know what to do with, but because she can at least try to help.

But the point isn't even that, but how smooth the dialogue remains if you cut out a fairly large piece of text from it.

This leads to my theory that this spiritual water was introduced after the script for the season was written. Like the authors didn’t know how to heal Aang at the end, so they introduced this stupidity at the beginning, and then in the scene in the catacombs, to remind the viewer that this shit even exists. Otherwise, I cannot explain why without this water what is happening becomes more logical

This is almost the same as what my friend suggested while watching this show together, because the concept of the avatar as the only one who can save the world is too simple for the complex world of war and philosophy

Hi! The discussion about an AU where Zuko wasn't being banished and a possible succession crisis was really interesting, and it made me wonder what other canon divergent scenarios you like exploring? Personally I've always been interested in AUs where Aang isn't found and what that would mean for the characters, especially Zuko and Katara, who Aang is a kind of catalyst for re: their narrative arcs. And not that I don't like Aang but scenarios where the "Chosen One" is absent for some reason and the world has to figure something else out are always really interesting to me.

I read a post recently that was about Aang never being freed and people thinking Katara is the Avatar reborn, and Katara keeping up the charade and becoming her own hero. The post didn't talk about Zuko trying to capture her but...Zuko tries to capture her, realizes she is not the Avatar but that he has to keep her secret so he can convince Ozai to let him back home, then eventually ends up joining her and Toph and Ty Lee (who discovers she is an airbender) and the theme is about how no one person should have all the power but that even though the Avatar is gone, they themselves can restore balance by working together.

Also, because it's me, zutara.

I believe that ATLA shouldn't have a main character.

Basically the only thing that holds this story back is the centralization on Aang.

The role of the main character greatly limits Aang in terms of moral choices; he cannot behave differently than a role model. Take the episode "Return to Omashu" for example. Have you ever thought that the baby very successfully fell into the hands of Aang and his family very successfully offered a ransom for him? I mean, this is one of the many deus ex machina that prevent Aang from doing wrong but interesting things. After all, if he had kidnapped the baby or himself offered a ransom for him, he wouldn't have been the pure and innocent angel that authors always try to show us as.

Removing Aang from his pedestal will remove the need for his moral purity, as well as convenient scenario moves for his safety. And he, like the others, will be capable of doing controversial things.

This will give the rest of the characters a free hand, especially Katara. After all, she won't be someone’s prize and a damsel in distress, she'll be able to reveal herself to the full extent of her capabilities. The same goes for Toph and Sokka.

In general, if you think about it, besides Aang and Zuko, only Katara has a character arc, and even then it’s unplanned, because she was originally invented as Aang’s love interest. Sokka doesn't really go through much of a journey after Princess Yue's death, and Toph doesn't really develop as a character. All this while they had the potential to do so: Toph could improve as a bender and friend, and Sokka could go through a complex emotional arc and learn normal martial arts outside of bending.

It would essentially be a story of several arcs without highlighting any particular one over the others.

But since the series vehemently singles out Aang, it simply doesn't pay attention to others. And everyone is fine, because the characters are charismatic, which means everything is ok.

No, it's not ok, because in many episodes it's very difficult for Aang to maintain the bar of quality as the main character ("The Great Divide" or "Avatar Day"), and in such moments, instead of filler, the series could simply develop other character arcs. Thanks to this, the feeling that Aang has to wait for end-to-end episodes to continue his arc would disappear, and his surroundings wouldn't be pushed behind, but would simply fully develop.

It would be possible to put Katara in the role of the main character, but she doesn’t need it. She's a great character even without centralization, but she's rather hampered by having to stand in Aang's shadow.

Therefore, I believe that there shouldn't be one main character, there should be several of equal importance.

https://www.tumblr.com/longing-for-rain/738055934917607424/what-exactly-is-aangs-toxic-masculinity-that

found my new fav aang stan smackdown. op went off

Thanks for the link to such an interesting discussion. It's extremely interesting to read different interpretations of the same plot.

Personally, my opinion regarding Aang is a little different from what I see in the hashtags. It’s difficult for me to condemn his actions from a moral point of view, because I love when the boundaries of this very morality are tested in a work. I love it when characters aren't representative of everything that's right. It's the reason I love Zuko and Katara as individuals, and the reason I don't judge Aang's mistakes.

His mistakes are the most interesting thing for me in terms of drama, because I'm interested in the emotions that the situation evokes.

My problem starts when the plot itself justifies it. When Aang's mistakes in behavior are shown either as a virtue, or they are conveniently forgotten about. And this happens quite often, and it annoys me because it deprives me of really interesting conflicts with the plot.

For example, his relationship with Toph is insultingly unrevealed, and he's extremely poorly integrated into the concept of the world etc. That is, I don’t like Aang not because he’s a bad person, but because it’s like I’m being limited from his really dark sides that I want to explore.

Yes, he makes mistakes within the plot, but only safe ones. He won't rob people like Zuko or take revenge on someone like Katara. He's the main character, which means he must be perfect. And it would be easier if I was infuriated by his perfection. No, it infuriates me that he isn't perfect, but the plot is trying to pretend that this isn't the case, that he's the purest child in the world.

But for the same reason, I don't condemn his negative actions. Rather, I blame the writers for not allowing these actions to truly impact Aang and his relationships with people, which makes me feel like I'm looking at a fanfiction, and the original story exists somewhere out there, we just weren't told it well.

Therefore, I don’t know if I can call myself a supporter of this very interesting, but not close to me, opinion. After all, it’s precisely those mistakes that are condemned in this post that make Aang an interesting character for me personally. And I think it’s a huge omission that they're abandoned by the plot, ignored or justified by the authors

What does Katara's weakness have to do with it? I talked about how people around don't care about her. This isn't an indicator of her strength or weakness, but an indicator of not caring about Katara.

Moreover, caring for others is strength, Katara’s character herself is proof of this. When she cares about someone, she doesn't question his independence and strength, but wants to help because this person is dear to her.

Worrying about people dear to us doesn't depend on their self-sufficiency; we'll always worry about our family and friends because we don’t give a damn. And, as you can see, the Gaang generally don’t care

And I wanted to point out this problem because the comic cultivates this attitude towards Katara, passing it off as respect for her strength. Abandoning a friend/sister/beloved for the sake of self-affirmation in the eyes of a random person ≠ respect, no matter how strong this person is

My "favorite" part of the kat.aang from the comics was when Aang gave up searching for the missing Katara in order to convince ONE dude that the Avatar is not evil. Like... Man, your BELOVED is missing, maybe you could put her a little higher in your value system?

I also don't like how the rest of the Gaang are starting to justify this action. Sokka is very concerned about his sister's disappearance just until Aang needs to stroke his ego.

I don't know why this insert is needed. To show how no one really cares about Katara? Ugh...

Please read my post more carefully and don't take phrases out of context.

I'm not just talking about the war as an event, but about the HUNDRED YEARS WAR. These are different things, because one hundred years of agony is different from, for example, five.

And in my post I said that in Aang’s arc one feels just a short period of war, I didn't mean that there is no war as such there at all.

Please read the entire paragraph before accusing me of anything:

All the villages that Aang visits in his episodes in Book 1 are as far from the given realities as possible: “The Great Divide”, “The FortuneTeller”, “The Winter Solstice (two parts)”. All problems are local, and most importantly, there's no war there.

I'll explain what I wanted to say specifically in this piece of text, since it isn't clear. In the above episodes, there is no world immersed in a hundred years of war. I specifically listed which ones specifically to avoid misunderstandings.

Please note that I didn't touch episodes such as "The Northern Air Temple", where the problem of the HUNDRED YEARS' War was actually raised. However, there are fewer such episodes than fillers, where the concept of a hundred-year gap can be reduced to 5-10 and nothing will change. That's what my post is about.

Aang's problem is that he doesn't live in the world of the hundred years' war. His conflicts aren't related to war, they are more local. Basic example: he needs to defeat the Fire Lord to stop the war. As if it depends on the actions of one dude, and hasn't been the usual routine of the whole world for a hundred fucking years.

All the villages that Aang visits in his episodes in Book 1 are as far from the given realities as possible: “The Great Divide”, “The FortuneTeller”, “The Winter Solstice (two parts)”. All problems are local, and most importantly, there's no war there.

All people there live as if it hasn't yet overtaken them and everything is fine. Yes, there's many episodes showing the problems of war, but they're focused on Sokka, Katara and Zuko.

Especially Zuko, because he's the one who faces the consequences of his people's ambitions, where the world is dying of exhaustion. Aang never faces this exhaustion; rather, he observes from the sidelines in the episodes of his friends (unless other characters point out the consequences of the war themselves, like in "The Storm" or "The Avatar State". But he never interacts with war victims on his own initiative). The only time he took part in military operations was at the North Pole, where he destroyed ships. But that's all, otherwise it's as abstract as possible. Even during the invasion in Book 3 he doesn't participate in the battle and only has to defeat one dude, meh

And since he's the main character of the story, there's the most such abstract episodes, at least in Book 1. This creates the feeling that the war lasts not a hundred years, but about five.

Indeed, if the war had just begun, many things would make sense. Why, among the many victims of war, is only one person blaming the avatar for his disappearance? Because the war has just begun and people haven't yet lost hope. Why do many cities on the border with the FN still have comfortable living conditions? Because the war has just begun, the enemies haven't yet had time to destroy their settlements. Why does ending the war depend specifically on defeating the Fire Lord, and not on careful, painstaking work on mentality and diplomacy? Because the war was the initiative of only one person and didn't have time to influence the minds of generations. That is, if you change Ozai to Sozin, the avatar's mission for the entire series will become logical.

But here's why Aang is bad as the main character: it only works when the world adapts to his actions, mentality and conflicts. He needs to save the weak and defenseless Katara in order to at least somehow invest himself in their relationship and give her something as a partner. Katara needs to expose herself to fire and forget that she's a waterbender to provoke Aang's guilt. The world has to create a lot of deus ex machina for Aang to actually reach the end and defeat the Fire Lord (the avatar state itself, Katara's spiritual water, lion-turtle). He has to pretend the world isn't in agony in order for his shallow mission to take down one dude to have any weight.

Moreover, the further the other characters are from Aang, the more alive they become.

Why is Zuko's arc so good? Because it exists separately from Aang and reveals the character on his terms. Why are episodes centered on Katara and Sokka good? Because they throw Aang into the background and reveal the realities of the world as they are.

That's why I don't believe in him, no matter what conflicts he has. After all, no matter what he feels, it all exists separately from the world in which he lives. And for him to start working as a character, he has to adjust the environment to suit himself, which creates a feeling of theatricality and decorativeness