A young traveller and his two companions had reached a great city. Stopped by guards, all three were taken to the city’s palace. The old king was a madman, but could see that the traveler was a true warrior.
“Throw them a feast!”, he ordered, and it was done.
While the traveller ate, the king looked down upon him, and concluded that he was indeed a hero above all others. To test him, however, the king would have to put him through three trials. When the traveller refused this, the king grew cross and took his companions captive until he complied.
First, the boy had to fetch a golden key from beneath a waterfall. The boy succeeded, but when he requested that the king to set his friends free, he refused.
The second task was to find the king’s hare. The boy, thinking this easy enough, found a small hare without any interference. Suddenly, a beast came into view, and charged at the boy, startling the hare and sending it off into a panicked sprint. They boy chased the hare until in escaped into a hole in the wall, and was left cornered by the charging beast. It was only then that the boy realized– the beast was a large hare itself! The giant hare’s manner instantly changed to that of a mild pet’s, and the boy returned it to the king.
“I am ready for the next challenge,” he announced.
For the third task, the king pointed to his right side, where stood a wicked looking man with an iron claw and a scythe, and then to his left, where stood a large warrior with an axe.
“Your final test is a duel,” explained the king. “You may choose your opponent.”
The boy looked from the metal armed man to the the giant, and made his decision.
“I choose you!” he declared, pointing to the feeble old king.
The king’s eyes widened, then fell into a grin.
“Wrong choice.”
The king threw off his robes, and he was fuckin ripped son,,
so anyway that’s the plot of the 5th episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender 1.05 | The King of Omashu
Wow those moves look like someone who’s childhood best friend was an airbender
…Shit, you’re right.
That spin he does. That is an airbendery move.
Literally the exact same move Aang pulls when he gets off his glider (cant find a gif but like… I promise)
This shows attention to detail was unreal.
Even the fall backwards! That looks like the exact kind of thing a fun loving Airbender kid would do while showing off gliders and airbending proficiency.
the best benders in this show tend to be the ones who adapt elements of other bending techniques. Bumi has some airbender-y movements, Zuko and Iroh use some Air and Water movements, even Katara tends to use some earthbender looking moves when bending ice
Meanwhile Toph just took earthbending and cranked it all the way up to 11.
Everyone else: The spice of variety! The four elements make mine stronger! Ballerina time!
Sokka’s character growth is nowhere as apparent as the way he treats Toph. This little brat who comes into the group sure that she is the greatest earthbender, feels very pitying about non-benders - and definitely treats Sokka as the weakest link in the group. But for all her genius, Toph does have limits because of her blindness, and Sokka low-key is there to help her without being pushy or self-congratulatory about it. He celebrates her strength, supports her when she needs it, and protects her.
Toph learns that there is more than one kind of strength, beyond powerful bending, and Sokka has plenty of heart and courage. And while at the beginning of the series he constantly felt compelled to prove his power, Sokka by the end is free of all that competitive crap. He knows his own strength and happy to pitch in whatever way he can. He’s the most understated hero in the finale. But he also changes fundamentally Toph’s perception of non-benders.
I know “Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?” is super overdone at this point, but I just really really appreciate how so many characters have inter-generational connections in this show.
There are dozens of examples like this, but if I included all of them, this post would’ve longer than it already is…
how non-linear zuko’s recovery is. it would’ve been easy and dramatic to have zuko do his heel-face-turn at the end of series 2, because the whole season was dedicated to him finding a new place in the world and realising the wrongs of the fire nation. the fact that he actually hits rock bottom at the end of season 2 feels far more real, as well as sending a more important message. when zuko decides to help aang in season 3, it’s a decision he has made completely by himself, not because of circumstance or Iroh’s advice. he’s separated from his uncle, has regained his title of crown prince, and has his father’s (conditional) respect. he’s no longer outcast and making the best of a bad situation, nor doing what his uncle suggests. his time in the earth kingdom with Iroh informs his character development, but at the end of the day, he is the one that manages to get himself out of his toxic mindset, which is one of the most powerful messages about recovery I’ve seen in fiction.
the way aang and katara’s relationship is handed in season 3. while ‘the day of black sun’ does fall into the trope of aang kissing katara out of nowhere as a bold romantic gesture, I adore that in the ‘ember island players’, when aang tries to kiss her again, they actively challenge it. katara rightfully says that she’s confused and there’s too much going on for her to make sense of her feelings, aang kisses her anyway, and she pushes him away. it’s made clear that aang is in the wrong for disregarding her feelings. when they finally kiss again, it’s katara who initiates, and that teaches a subtle but hugely important message to children about consent.
the magic system is more than just a bunch of cool powers. each element is tied to a specific philosophy and way of thinking. we get the sense that aang achieving ‘balance’ is about more than mastering powerful abilities - it’s about spending time with multiple cultures, studying multiple perspectives on life, and finding harmony between them.
while the energy bending introduction was a little bit of an ass pull, the final episodes raised an incredibly complex issue - namely, the debate of whether it is ever right to kill. given that it’s a kids’ show, I’ve never been in the camp of thinking that aang should’ve killed ozai, and think there’s a poetic beauty to the fact that - as the last airbender - he refused to relinquish the philosophy of his culture. but the fact that they broached such a controversial topic at all was incredibly bold.
the fact that the characters change appearance throughout the show. it makes them feel far less static, as well as being a great device for conveying the passage of time.
starting from season 2, they introduce much more variety in motivation among the villains. the fire nation aren’t the only antagonists. we see earthbenders who forcefully trigger the avatar state because they want to end the war as quickly as possible, waterbenders with personal, indiscriminate vendettas, spirits who are removed from human conflicts and wish to protect their own interests. throughout the whole series, we see conflicts between the villains - zhao and zuko competing to catch aang, azula and long feng competing for control over ba sing se. it adds so much complexity and intrigue to the story.
azula is a hammy, fun-to-hate villain who also manages to feel raw and human. her backstory explains her actions without justifying them. even though we start the series with the utmost sympathy for zuko, by the final series, we come to the realisation that his imperfections and exile are the only things that saved him from becoming like azula. they could’ve made azula’s takedown into a kickass moment full of schadenfreude, but instead it was harrowing, dark, and undeniably tragic.
every single member of the gaang has their own strengths and weaknesses, such that the group would never be able to function without any of them. I particularly appreciate that sokka is never merely delegated the role of dumb comedy side-kick. while we do laugh at his misfortune a lot, his insecurities are thoroughly explored and his tactical skills are crucial throughout the series. he also undergoes a huge character arc rivalled only by zuko’s.
the writers don’t forget previous events and characters. aside from bringing them back for the invasion in season 3, previous characters are continually addressed, even if just via off-hand comments. I love that aang keeps mentioning hei bai despite them only appearing in one season. I love that kyoshi returns in the season finale to talk again about her conflict with chin the conquerer - as does the avatar who tried to slay ko. I love that Iroh’s redirection of lightning in season 1 becomes hugely relevant in season 2, along with his white lotus tile. I love that the library in which zhao discovered the name of the moon spirit becomes a key focus in the second season, rather than just being a vague plot device. it makes the whole avatar universe feel so much more real, precise and consistent.
iroh feels genuinely wise. he’s not just a tropey old man whose generic advice is treated as incredible wisdom. even though I first watched avatar as an adult, so much of what iroh says in the series genuinely resonated with me - particularly his point that pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. he also has his own distinct history, goals, and personality. you get the sense that his wisdom has come from many years of setbacks and self-discovery.
toph’s relatively unchanging character. while many of the characters undergo huge arcs, toph remains fairly unchanged throughout. she grows more comfortable among her companions and realises she doesn’t have to do everything herself, but, at the heart of it, she remains the blunt, stubborn, self-important little goblin girl that she was at the beginning of the series. given that toph has spent most of her life hiding her real desires and talents, this is exactly what her character deserved. it’s also an excellent metaphor for the unchanging nature of her element, earth.
the gaangnever insist that they’re not children. one of the most annoying tropes in children’s shows is when the young protagonists constantly claim they aren’t kids (looking at you, storm hawks), but it is completely absent from avatar. the characters never try to prove that they’re more mature than they are - aang openly acknowledges that he’s just a kid, multiple times. okay, katara does sometimes take it upon herself to be the mother of the group, but the writers explore why that is, as well as making it clear that she’s just as much a child as any of them. I think it’s so important for young viewers to get to watch heroes who are every bit as silly and childish as they are, but who still have real complexity. I also think it adds huge appeal to older viewers, because we never have to roll our eyes at a bunch of bratty kids insisting they’re aren’t children.
tl;dr: avatar: the last airbender is a fantastic show and everybody knows it
Avatar Instagram AU. Everything is the same, but there is Instagram somehow. Partially did this because I wanted to make the “followed by prince Zuko” joke.
