the thing about the ember island play is that though it is certainly inaccurate, it is distorted - not false.

the whole point of the play is that the gaang do recognize aspects of themselves - their mistakes and desires and choices - in it! aang is cheerful and traditionally non-masculine, katara is intrinsically hopeful, toph is strong and doesn't conform to social norms of femininity, sokka is comedic, and zuko was obsessed with regaining his honour.

the reason it affects them at all is because it does hold a kernel of truth - because, though exaggerated, it draws upon traits, actions and relationships that genuinely exist. and so having katara call aang her brother and implying real romantic feelings between zuko and katara in this episode where every supposed exaggeration is underscored by reality only lends credence to those implications instead of dismissing them.

after all, if the play was meant to spoof zutara... it can only be because there was indeed something real to spoof in the first place.

Damn, the Ember Island Players were actually kind of radical, weren't they? The more I think about it, the more it feels like the only way it makes sense in-universe is if being Fire Nation propaganda wasn't the point of their play at all. Aside from a barely tacked on ending where Ozai kills Aang, the play is remarkably sympathetic to the Avatar and a bunch of enemies of the Fire Nation, even framing them as being heroes. Even at points in the story where theyre literally killing Fire Nation soldiers, the narrative still seems to be on their side; they're the underdogs, the relatable ones. Its true that the Fire Nation values strength, but still, you'd expect that in a propaganda play they would be portrayed as at least a little bit more sympathetic... And sure, to some extent the gaang's characters could be seen as defamatory caricutures (the slander on Iroh specifically was probably intentional), but that also might be due to the Players getting a lot of their information from the cabbage man, someone who actively hates the gaang and only ever really sees the worst of them. (And notably, that also means that the Players had worked with an Earth Kingdom merchant to produce the play.)

Mocking the gaang is also just clearly not the point of the play or what people are there for. Sokka's actor says that he's constantly being approached by fans; people genuinely love these characters. The gaang have built entire dedicated fanbases in the Fire Nation because of this play. Honestly, the fact that they're on a remote island is probably the only reason they're able to perform the play the way it is. I imagine it would get shut down pretty quickly on the mainland. Considering all the propaganda in the Fire Nation that we've seen so far, I wouldn't be surprised if the ending was only written that way because it's illegal to write a story where the Fire Lord doesnt win. The play reads less like propaganda and more like 'we're doing the bare minimum to get this story past the censors.'

I'm really curious about what it's like behind the scenes for the Ember Island Players. Are their shows just simple, shlocky entertainment, or could they also be deliberate political commentary? With no recording technology, a play is easier to slip under the radar than something like a book: it's impermanent, stays in one theatre, and performances can be easily tweaked if, say, Fire Nation royalty happens to come by. It's interesting to me that Ursa seemed to like them, while young Zuko had a disdain for them, saying they 'butchered' the story of Love Amongst the Dragons; in all likelihood the version of the story Zuko grew up with in the palace was heavily propaganda-filtered itself. Although, to be fair, they're arguably just not very good playwrights. When it comes to the characterization, I do think some of it only seems bad because we know what the actual characters are like, but a lot of it is just bad writing clearly meant for cheap entertainment. For example, they sexualize Katara quite a bit (and there's other, better analysis out there I've seen that examines how they fetishize her as a Water Tribe girl). And, of course, all of the characters are reduced to shallow and stereotypical comedy.

Still, I think they're worth commending for doing their research and telling a story about enemies of the state that's both sympathetic and surprisingly accurate to actual events, if not the characters' personalities, amidst the Fire Nation's rampant propaganda and misinformation. From the little amount of information about them we can extract from the show, they seem like honestly very interesting people. They're walking this tightrope line between being very close to the heart of the Fire Nation but also separate from it; between being cheap, inconsequential entertainment and being a source of actual news for Ember Island citizens; between telling the underdog story about a ragtag group of children and still trying to make it look like Fire Nation propaganda. I'm not trying to make any big argument on whether they were 'actually good people' or whatever, I just want to know more about them. I kind of wish we could see their production of Love Amongst the Dragons now...maybe I'll write something about them someday

No More Live Action Avatar:

Instead of trying and failing to recapture the magic of the greatest animated series of all time, they should make an Ember Island Players movie.

Nonsensical, badly paced writing? Obviously to be expected, since they keep butchering Love Amongst the Dragons. Shallow characterization? Duh, all their information is secondhand at best. Shitty costuming and bending choreography? You have seen Boy in the Iceberg, right?

Lean into the poor quality, make it so bad it’s good, and Avatar fans would eat it up.

If that doesn’t convince you, maybe this will: casting The Rock as Toph

why did the gaang think the ember island katara was accurate. ember island katara preaching about hope and forgiveness bsfr she literally attempted murder last episode and every episode before that. she is literally rage personified the only reason she preaches hope is because she hopes to kill more people in a badass way

do you ever think about how Katara's portrayal in the Ember Island Players' stage play is an in-universe, textual example of an oppressor state adultifying & sexualizing a racialized girl as a form of pro-colonization propaganda

and then do you ever think about how a third of the fandom also participates in that completely unironically

Headcanon that after the gaang saw the ember island play, Toph kept trying to actually release a sonic wave from her mouth which was really annoying to everyone else (this is a bonus for her)

I strongly believe that the Netflix adaption is just the Ember Island Players

Ok, but hear me out. Cornley puts on The Boy in the Iceberg by Pu-on Tim and previously performed by the Ember Island Players.

"Geez, everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual, and that's saying something." | "You don't get it, it's different for you. You get a muscly version of yourself taking down 10 bad guys at once and making sassy remarks." | "Yeah, that's pretty great." | "But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face. My uncle. He's always been on my side. Even when things were bad, he was there for me. He taught me so much, and how do I repay him? With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret, and I may never get to redeem myself." | "You have redeemed yourself to your uncle. You don't realize it, but you already have." | "How do you know?" | "Because I once had a long conversation with the guy, and all he would talk about was you." | "Really?" | "Yeah, and it was kind of annoying." | "Oh, sorry." | "But it was also very sweet. All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud."

Avatar The Last Airbender Rewatch: The Ember Island Players

i know there’s a lot to be said about the ember island players in general, but the whiplash at the ending is SO intense in such an interesting way. katara brings up the fact that it might not be a good idea to go, but they insist it’ll be fine and even when they’re upset with the performance for the insecurities it brings out, it’s all still very mundane upset.

but in the scene where zuko gets killed by azula, suddenly, everything shifts. they all look HORRIFIED. it is a stark reminder that they are in enemy territory, surrounded by people who would cheer their deaths. i think it’s actually very notable that zuko dies first, too, and that this is what triggers the change in tone, because he is FROM THIS NATION, HE USED TO BE THEIR CROWN PRINCE, and now, because they see him as a traitor, because he is on the other side, his death is something celebrated. if that’s how they think of HIM, what will they do when it’s everyone else’s turn?

the answer: nothing good. people are similarly celebratory when aang dies, and then there’s actor!ozai’s whole big speech about how nothing can stop him now and the fire nation’s glory and burning the world to ash, etc. and once again, just, sheer horror on all of their faces. which, fair! who wouldn’t be horrified in their shoes?

it’s also a reminder to our heroes (and, in fact, to the audience) of how deeply-ingrained the proganda in the fire nation is. because that’s fundamentally what this play is, despite the silly overtones. entertainment isn’t actually the point, even before the ending. it’s a byproduct, certainly, but if you look at how every character and interaction is performed, there’s a very clear intention: make these people look incompetent and ridiculous. why the hell would you want to root for these guys when you could root for the honor and glory of fire nation victory? is the point.

the arts can be used this way, to spread dangerous propaganda that warps information, as much as the lessons we see in a fire nation school aang goes to in “the headband.” there are kids YOUNGER than even aang or toph at this play, all internalizing these messages early. and it’s been this way for a long, long time.

it’s, imho, very important to understand that these are the stakes the characters are ending on before the finale.

The rashomon job is the ember island players of leverage

Every time they try to make an adaptation of atla the Ember Island Players just gets funnier

The Ember Island Players Re-Watch

I feel like this episode gets a lot of hate & I totally get why but for the most part, it's just funny to me. I'm not entertained by overanalyzing this one too much, it's just a silly little meta parody. I like Zuko's reference to his mother taking him & Azula to see the players "butcher 'Love Amongst the Dragons'" when they were kids. I like to think of the three of them - Ursa, Zuko, & Azula, having fun tearing the performances apart & having a good time together being hyper-critical theatre nerds. And Zuko & Azula re-enacting the play together as kids <3 Zuko doesn't mention his father, but I wonder if Ozai ever went with them? I wonder if the Fire Family had some really good times like that before it all went bad....

I enjoy the throwbacks & parodies of past interactions, a lot of it makes me laugh. I especially enjoy Toph's utter delight with her own portrayal & savagery toward everyone else. Sokka helping out the actor who plays him & Suki using her warrior skills to get them backstage is also fun.

I have a love-hate relationship with the "did Jet just...die?" moment because it IS pretty funny & I now like to almost kill Jet in my fics but not quite & see if people will comment with that line. BUT - I mean, how many times can I really say "fuck the writers" for how fucking useless to the plot & narrative Jet's death was that the only mentions of Jet afterward are either in reference to the bad things he did (so why even have him show up again at all let alone die trying to help Team Avatar?) & a throwaway meta joke? I've surely said it enough by now, right? Wrong! I can never say it enough. Fuck them.

BUT.....Even though it's terribly written, I WILL take my Jetko crumbs where I can get them. Zuko sounded pretty sad by this realization & in the Good Canon that lives in my head, Jet's death did mean something to him we just didn't see more of his grief 'cause it was off-screen. No, I will not take criticism on this.

I'm sorry but I cracked up at Zuko's actor shoving Iroh's actor to the ground & saying "you smell! I hate you forever!" Again - this episode is kinda stupid but it makes me laugh a lot. I really genuinely enjoyed Zuko & Toph's talk about Iroh though. Toph can be surprisingly emotionally intelligent for how brash she is. I thought it was really cute that Toph was able to make Zuko feel better about himself & hopeful about a reconciliation with his uncle. I love their friendship.

Alright. Ugh. The Katara/Aang kiss....I literally have no idea why the writers would have a scene like this where Katara is so ambivalent about her feelings for Aang & definitely seems to still view him as a little brother (& I want to be clear I LIKE their friendship - I enjoy both characters - I just do NOT see the romantic chemistry, I see a one-sided crush 'cause that's what we were fucking shown lmao) SO close to the end & then.....still have it as endgame? The writing for this "romance" (if you can call it that) is a mess. I'm not interested in arguing about this. If you like the pairing, good for you, but we will never agree lol

Sorry for the rant.

Ahem. Anyway......

Wow, I really have just about nothing else to say about this episode. I mean, it's funny, but it's not exactly rich with scenes to analyze. I feel like this review is coming off more negatively than I intend it to because legit I do crack up every time I watch this episode. I think it's fun, there's just not much to say about it.

The foreshadowing of the final battles & the Fire Nation crowd cheering for the Avatar's downfall was interesting. I laughed when Zuko said "that was not a good play" at the end. That's all I have! No one earned any iconic behavior points in this episode.

OH wait. I'm petty as fuck. Zuko earns +100 for sitting between Katara & Aang. Good for him. Ok, & I guess Suki also gets +100 for getting her & Sokka backstage, that was neat.

Had to come out from underneath my rock to post this

it's been so many years but I've finally realised why the ember island theatre troupe cast avatar aang with a female actor (which was obviously for comedy, etc.). the play is based on civilians testimonies with creative liberties taken at every turn but at the earth kingdom tournament when aang challenges the blind bandit, toph calls him a little girl (which is a reasonable assumption to be fair). did your brain just explode or was this smth everyone knew...?