Avatar Season Three Review (Part 1) [CC]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
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When Zuko re-directed lightning, he purposefully aimed at Ozai's feet. He could have killed him right there but that really enforced Zuko's belief that it was Aangs duty, not his.
Also when Aang says he'd let Zuko teach him and he bows, it's the same bow that he was taught in fire nation school, showing his respect for other cultures. The details in this show never fail to amaze me.
i peeped that bow.
OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH you so right! He did aim at his feet! Cuz it was Aang's destiny to defeat Ozai not his. I had wondered why the lightning literally didnt harm Ozai at all but now that makes sense
I also think Zuko just couldn't bring himself to kill his own father. And, the guards were still just outside. Had Zuko gotten into a drawn out battle with Ozai it's likely Zuko would be facing a dozen guards with weapons within 20 seconds. And, had Zuko killed Ozai at the same time that the Fire Nation was being attacked by people from the other nations, Zuko would have been labeled as a traitor. Azula would become FireLord, and Zuko would be killed or hunted for the rest of his life.
@@IamnotJohnFord apart from the guards ganging on Zuko, the other parts aren't really accurate. Zuko could have redirected the lightning straight at ozai and dip, since it would be a swift kill and the guards were not assisting ozai in killing zuko even though he obviously had the intention to kill him, I assume the guards were not in close range.
"That's a sharp outfit. So sharp that it could pierce the hull of an imperial battleship, sending hundreds of men to their deaths."
*cue Azula chime music*
Probably my favorite Azula line in the whole series
Yes!
leading thousands to drown at sea* sorry I had to correct it lol
sillygirlkc
My favorite is “Don’t flatter yourself. You where never even a player.”
But this is a close second.
Idc what anyone says, his name is “sparky sparky boom man”
Amen
Well, technically, he IS a master Air Bender. That's what the arrows mean lol
For real tho
didn't know that! that's dope.
@@JohnstasBACK It's patterned after the marks of sky bisons who were the original airbenders.
Yeah I've heard somewhere that he was the youngest master Airbender ever! I'm not sure if that's 100% true but it would make sense since each Avatar gains power of all the previous Avatar. *That one* I'm 100% sure on... I think.
Bear Bear yep! In order to get the tattoo and become a master you have to invent a new technique. Aang invented the air scooter technique.
The "original waterbender" was the moon. The waterbenders learned how to bend by watching how the moon moved the tides. It's explained when they are at the North Pole in season 1.
Love to see your comments on this series. It's the best!!!!
PS: If you plan on watching Korra, Merphy, careful with the responses here. It's not a spoiler fest but there is some spoiling debates going on.
Comment so Merphy sees it!
I was about to write this. This show has such amazing lore!!!
Indeed, it was the moon. With the bloodbending episode in the third season this is also basically shown again, and Merphy even mentioned the moon when she talked about that episode.
@@duvan.deschain Then Korra retconned the whole thing. Still don't know which i prefer.
@@wfTitus Well, I like the story in Korra but to discuss it in detail could result in spoilers for Merphy.
“There are so many themes explored in this show I could spend hours discussing each of them”
Ok sounds good
Count me in !
yes please!
I expect one a week on my feed
for the next few months! Let's do this!
I will never get tired of this show or the discussion of it.
Same I'm DOWN
You know the storytelling is absolutely amazing when every time Zuko visited Iroh in his jail cell, it was always shown with Iroh's side being lit up, while Zuko's side was covered in darkness. Making it seem as if Zuko is truly the one behind the bars, because of all of his inner conflicts and imprisoned in his own mind. Avatar truly is a masterpiece of a franchise.
The Final Agni Kai is the most emotional and well thought out fight I’ve ever seen. Everything from the small details of Asula’s hair, moves, and breathing being erratic and showing her mental breakdown, to Zuko using the fundamentals Iroh taught him, to the sad music that added extra poignancy to the fact that these are two scarred children fighting eachother.
One child had love and the other didn’t, and seeing Azula break down made me very emotional at the end, and Zuko’s reaction told it all.
Edit: Jeong Jeong is slept on as a teacher and character.
Jeong Jeongs fire wall always gets me hyped!
Another great thing about that fight was the music. Normally for a huge, climactic battle like this, the music would be intense, like what we see with Aang and Ozai, but it's not intense, its sad. It's sad because this is a brother and a sister fighting, Azula's mental state has deteriorated rapidly, and Zuko knows that he has to fight his sister, but deep down, he still cares for her and he doesn't really want to fight her, but he needs to to keep her off the throne and out of power.
@@undead890 I wish there was some proper closure for Azula. She was my favourite character.
Episode 9 is worth it if only for the line "No, Fire Lord Ozai, *you're* not wearing pants."
I quote this line regularly and I will always remember this episode fondly considering I watched this when I was like 11 so to me it was peak absurdist comedy hahaha.
Momo vs Appa was fun too
@@IamnotfromUSA BEST PART. Momo turned into Usagi Yojimbo!
Plus the Koala Sheep are cute
For me, the mental image of a standing Appa with the rest of the team is nonsense comedy that'll always make me smile
Hahaha that quote just made my day. One of the funniest episodes for sure!
I love that Merphy _needed_ to adress that Aang had hair.
Tales of Ba Sing Se showed that he shawed hes head so its correct.
It was bigger wtf moment than Hama blood bending
Kam I love that Merphy acknowledged that sometimes it’s okay to have a perfect human being character like Uncle Iroh. 😂 21:18
How did you get the italics?
@@jackinthebox1993 Hit the underscore before and after the word you want to italicize, like so _ _ . If there's punctuation like a period or comma right after the second underscore it won't work. For boldtype do the same thing but with asterisks * *
"Hi. Zuko here."
Probably the BEST scene in the entire series. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yep😂😂😂
no, the best scene is
“that’s rough buddy”
@@scyllari3544 That lemur... he's earthbending
“That’s rough, Buddy.”
Just one word to counter your statement.
“Leaves...”
Rule 1 of Avatar: if you watch this show, you have to stan Uncle Iroh. No exceptions.
I think you need to rewatch Sokkas Master Merphy. It's made pretty clear that Sokka is training for several days at least, just making his sword took more than a day since we see Sokka working on it through the night. I agree that it feels rushed but it wasn't a single day.
Took a moment and realized that my comment sounded more negative than intended. Just wanna make sure to say that I LOVE hearing your thoughts on one of my favourite shows of all time.
I'm not sure, I think the creators intentionally don't show us if it's more than a day or just one, because they know the kids don't have a lot of time to stop for weeks and let Soka train, but also they don't want it to feel rushed...I personally like to think it took more than a day, but it is confusing in my opinion.
I think the master said that tomorrow you will make your own sword or something like that so at least it's two days
I unfortunately agree with Merphy, his "training" took 1 day, then he left and got Space Earth, and made the sword over night, then fought the master the second day. :/ It is unfortunately rushed, but when a show is this great you can suspend your sense of disbelief lol
Yeah, it was either a day of a couple of days, but it wasn’t very long. If they didn’t show Sokka at being so bad in the beginning it would have been ok since he did kind of know how to fight already. They also could have justified more time by saying they don’t have anything to do until the eclipse, too.
The fire lord is a great villain not because of what we see him do but when we see the results of what he’s done, making Zuko and Azula into who they were
But like Mark Hamill though!
Agreed, but he still could've been better
Also, the real villain in this show is war and Fire Nation supremacy, Ozai is just a manifestation of that.
Ozai is a lot like Sauron from LOTR. He is an overwhelming presence of evil that Aang must fight at the end. LOTR has personal villains like Saruman and Gollum, just like avatar has Zhao and Azula. I would say that is what makes Ozai a very good evil presence, not a personal villain. (He’s a villain for zuko of course but zuko ended that when he left the fire nation)
I loved the firelord because if how pathetic he really is. At the end of the day his every action is driven by fear and paranoia.
I really loved that scene between toph and sokka when they talked about his mother. I could empathize with his situation because my older sibling was like that too. My dad was largely absent for my childhood and my brother was there for me. This was the first time I ever heard this addressed in a show. Also I loved how clever they wrote it with Katara, so was able to eaves drop without toph even noticing because she was floating in the water, not on the ground where toph would have definitely noticed her presence. If she noticed her, she wouldn't have opened up and said how she actually felt.
cathartic reverie Yeah, I also feel like that scene only seems forced if you’re an adult. Like, as an older person you know how to act more parental, but kids (usually) have never taken care of someone else, so they wouldn’t pick up on why Katara acts the way she does as easily and adults do. I think spelling it out like they did is a good example of when to tell instead of show. I even remember watching this scene as a kid and when Sokka said she had to be the mother because her own was taken away from her my mind was blown!
Yeah it's funny how it feels different person to person. That scene was always really compelling to me, like almost tear-jerking, but the scene where Katara insists on helping the water village seemed more forced or cheesey.
It's one of the best scenes in the entire series. I feel like Merphy has something against Katara.
@@TheEdwardAlchemist I felt the same way. Whenever I go back and rewatch episodes from the series (which is a lot recently) whether by myself or with friends I always skip The Painted Lady without hesitation. It feels pointless to me. One of the only sub-par episodes this show has IMO
Damn I never thought of that. That’s actually genius. Years later and the show still finds ways to surprise me.
Just a correction. Aang is a master Airbender
Regarding Combustion Man:
The comics explain that he was forced to train as an assassin from an early age (he mistakenly blew his own arm and leg off before he mastered this firebending technique, the metal appendages serve as prosthetics). The show borrows a lot from Hinduism, Buddhism etc. and the tattoo is located on a Chakra point. He possibly requires clarity of the Thought Chakra to combustion-bend.
Also, notice that just before every brain-missle, he compresses his diaphragm because fire is stronger when the bender draws power from their breath. Maybe it's less fatiguing this way as well, rather than relying on your muscles only.
He's still basically just a Terminator that the t.v. show never begins explaining. He's a genuinely dangerous and intimidating character and I never minded his mysteriousness.
Glad someone mentioned this. His forehead is basically just a way to concentrate his chi into producing a concentrated fire bending blast. Hence the name "Combustion Man".
I kind of wish Toph was the one who killed combustion man instead of just Sokka. Toph never really had any big fights against a villain.
@@rhian6459 which other villain did sokka defeat?
Oh, shit! I somehow never thought about how he lost that arm and leg. I feel kind of sad for him now that I know that. It was also nicer to think he does what he does of his own volition, but alas.
r.i.p. Combustion Man
Sparky sparky boom man
Sparky sparky boom man is just someone who trained their firebending differently, and I think it's not stronger, it's just concentrated in single beam. I think the tattoo is just a way to concentrate his chi, like Aang's tattoos. But yeah I guess it could have been explained better.
Also, The first water bender was the moon!
Combustion bending also deals with a secondary chakra, like other specialized bending sub-skills. It combined the fire chakra with the light chakra, which is located on the forehead. When sparky sparky boom man combustion bends, he contracts his stomach, which is where the fire chakra is located, and concentrates his chi through his light chakra to create a destructive beam
I like that it's not explained actually. A little bit of mystery, as long as it's not completely over the top, is good. I think Combustion-man being that mystery fits the story pretty well. :)
I've noticed that when Zuko tried and failed to learn lightning bending in Book 2, he accidentally created an explosion similar to the kind created by Combustion Man. Seeing that Zuko did it accidentally, and Combustion Man has two prosthetic limbs I would imagine that he a accidentally blew himself up trying to lightning bend, and then learnt over time to control those explosions
@@legojedimasterplokoon2173 where is this explained? What secondary chakras are the other bending sub-skills mixed with?
@@mangalegends It is expained in book 2 when Aang is learning how to master the avatar state, there we get a walk through of the diffirent chakras
I'm pretty sure the sword training montage was several days, that's also why the rest of the group got so bored. On top of that, Sokka was already a good fighter, he just needed a mentor.
2 days*
I'll kinda have to disagree on the Sokka's fighting montage in one day was very condensed.
The thing is, Sokka's fighting growth for me started from the Kyoshi island. That's where he learned fighting skills and techniques. And if you look closely, Sokka after that episode wasn't a bad fighter at all. He was just at a clear disadvantage against the other benders. Compared to the first episode, he was actually a pretty good, and most importantly a smart fighter.
This episode was more of Sokka finding his niche. His speciality. The Kyoshi warriors weren't really that much of experts in sword-fighting, rather using their fans as weapons, which Sokka doesn't use. This also seems practical, as those fans are clearly metallic and must be hard to obtain. Or would atleast take a long time to weld, which the Gaang doesn't have.
But in this episode, Sokka finally found his own style, his own speciality, his own niche. That sets him apart, and makes him the 'useful' one in the group.
More than that it was about Sokka finding his own worth, when he was feeling down and under-confident. Cause what we all see as comic-relief, from his point of view might have been extremely morale lowering.
Originally I had thought, why not just make Sokka efficient in the boomerang/club thing he uses? But then I realised. The boomerang was of water tribe colours. Of course Sokka couldn't use those. It would have been a dead give-away (gosh the amount of thought the creators have put into this show) and Sokka was too smart to do that.
Now imagine. Your weapon, the one thing that you are so comfortable in fighting with (when you're on the run) you can't use cause duh. Wouldn't that lower your morale more.
Besides that, Sokka having a master and getting praised and recognition by that master was also important. Sokka has always been the overlooked person (even Paku, his potential grandfather, didn't bother gifting him with anything when they left the North Pole).
The episode was short, and I was disappointed by that originally. But it's didn't have to be long.
*In a nutshell:* The episode wasn't about Sokka learning how to fight. He already knew that. It was finding his worth by rediscovering his niche and getting his recognition and praise from a master.
I also dont think it was a day. It looks like more of a few weeks maybe? They show the sun going up and down multiple times and the rest of the gang trying to find stuff to do the whole time he is gone.
@@hoykfnvnnesnxnnensncjforkx1616 It was only two days, they said it. The first with training and the second one we get to see the build of the spacesword and the fight with the master.
Exactly and Sokka may have been trained in a couple of days but his training wasn't done Master Piando told Sokka that he must continue his training on his own.
P
I agree, i thought the same thing about katara and blood bending, she was already more powerful then hama(i think her name was) , she just didnt think about bending blood, and didnt want to after finding out, though i will say for the sokka episode, i agree with what you are saying, i think the intro just makes it feel more rushed by making him look clumsy with a sword, but that gets really nit picky for me
You forgotten my second favorite episode “The Avatar and the Firelord” the backstory for Roku and Sozin!
Was just about to comment this. Would love to know what she thought about the conflict that started everything as well as how it related to Zuko
I thought so too
I forgot that would be in this section
100% agree! This is my favorite episode, too. I really really want to know what she thought... Even a dedicated video.
Yes! I hope Merphy brings up that episode in her next video, because it was the tipping point for Zuko, the moment he learned and chose his own destiny
My favorite character arcs are Zuko’s and Azula’s. Azula goes crazy seeking her father’s and mother’s approval. Zuko starts going crazy for his father’s approval then gets a little taste of it and rejects his approval. He already had his mom’s. I find the differences are so impactful
I can't wait to hear Merphy's thoughts on Azula. Azula is one of my favourite characters from the series.
Azula is in my opinion, one of the best villains in TV. She’s just so compelling. You’re able to empathize with her, but you really don’t sympathize with her for most of it because she’s still just so evil.
Michelle Holmes Three best characters in the series are Zuko, Azula and Iroh.
Daddy’s little girl vs mamma’s boy
Though Zuko also had Iroh as a surrogate father
But then again again Azusa had friends (unless she coerced their friendship even when they were super young)
@@robertdelossantos5844 She didn't have friends. She used her strength and position to coerce people into worshipping her and hang out. She subtly threatened to murder Ty Lee to get her to come with her.
Things I hope you bring up next episode:
- Katara's arc this season. Her episode with Zuko DIDN'T end up with forgiveness, but instead showed that it's okay to not forgive someone as long as you can finally accept what happened and begin to move on. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of message in even most adult shows!
- Finally getting insight into Azula's psyche. Watching her slowly lose her friends and her mind. Her brain literally creating a fake image of her mother, and then making that image tell her she loves her. You can read sooo much into how twisted that was.
- In the last 4 episodes where everyone is telling Aang he needs to kill the firelord. This kid was able to overcome his inner conflict and not abandon his personal morals, even when all the adults in the room (including his friends), told him he had to give up a part of who he was for the greater good. It's one of the best morals I've ever seen in a show, and I think it's really important for kids to learn. The fans that wanted Aang to just kill the fire lord didn't get it.
I love how she’s like, “Iroh is perfect” and Iroh’s over here laying siege to the Earth Kingdom and generally waging war. He only stopped once his son died, and I just think that makes him a better, wiser person because of his extensive life experience. Perfect character? Yes. Perfect person? No. And that is fine by me.
Brenden Gardner to be honest, felt like the show never really goes over his personality before his son died, we don’t know how much he truly changed or how much he was similar/different to his brother either during that time.
We know he got a vision that he was going to conquer Ba Sing Se and he lied about conquering dragons, but that’s about it (and him playing with his son)
One of my favorite parts about this book it that when Aang mentions that the fire nation used to have a huge dance culture that was destroyed as the fire nation moved away form Fire as Life to Fire as Rage.
For Aang and Zuko to rediscover Fire as Life with the Dragon Dance.
Zuko confronting his father is the most satisfying scene ever in anything!
Marla
th-cam.com/video/MyAQiUHh00A/w-d-xo.html
So you can watch it on loop for the rest of your life. It's definitely up there as one of the best scenes. And I love how Zuko intentionally misses, since he knows that it's Aang's destiny to end the war, not his.
Ozai's face when Zuko returned the lightning was priceless.
Zuko: UGH WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD!?!?
Never change Sifu Hotman. Never change
Toph and Sokka one the cliff was one of my all time favorite Sokka moments. His voice actor absolutely killed it and kind of explains why Sokka is less hung up on his mom than Katara because with her help he moved on in a way she couldn’t. Just how I took it
Iroh's prison workout regiment is my quarantine goals. Flameo!!!!!
Hotman
The water benders learned from the push and pull of the moon against the tides.
The earth benders learned from the badger moles.
The air benders learned from the flying bison.
And of course, fire benders learned from the dragons.
Nah that was retconned in Korra. Turtles just granted anyone who asked apparently. I really dislike Korra
@@khavarthompson6200 No it wasn't. The lion turtles give people the ability to bend but actually learning how to do it as in like a martial art and with any form of skill and technique, the 'original' benders taught them. For example Zuko in that episode still had the ability to bend but couldn't produce significant flames. He and Aang then go learn from the dragons . . . I fail to understand why the thing with the lion turtles confuse everyone. Unless I'm the one missing something. Like in the episode of Korra where they explain it the ppl 'bending' were just throwing fire around all willy-nilly. The first Avatar dude learned to properly bend from the dragons who could breathe fire their whole lives. Like if ppl never had the ability to wield fire in the first place how can they learn from the original benders?
@@zoejnobaptiste3332 still it doesn't explain how Oma and Shu are the first earthbenders.
The show clearly stated that they learned that directly from the badgermoles.
@@jeroengaruda4300 True. That story could have just been a legend or something. I mean the stuff with Avatar Wan was thousands of years ago and no one would know that direct info if not for the Avatars having access to their past lives. It's easy for history to get misconstrued. Like how in the fire nation schools they were taught that the air nomads had an army . . . It could be that the whole existence of lion turtles were forgotten as time went on and ppl who found that they had the ability to bend had no clue how it came about. (I think it's actually hinted that ppl don't believe in lion turtles throught the show if I'm not mistaken.) Obviously I don't know for sure. The Oma Shu bit could have easily just been a mistake on the creators' part, or it could be the ppl of the land not knowing all the details on where Oma and Shu came from and such. But I don't think it takes away the fact that the lion turtles giving ppl access to bending is actually practical in the world building and doesn't negate the whole learning to bend from the original benders like dragons, bison etc.
@@jeroengaruda4300 That was just a legend tho. It also said that love will show u the way out of the caves, or something like that but all u needed was to turn off the lights lol. People are to riled up to hate on Korra. I definitely don't say is as good and the last airbender but it's definitely underrated.
Sokka's master episode was more than 1 day lol, you can see the days and nights passing during his training
I basically see each cut as a new day...
I loved the Fire Island players episode.
“HONOOOOOORRRRRR!”
By the way, can we talk about the reconciliation scene between Zuko and Iroh? Because I'm sobbing, seriously.
Im sure shes definitely going to get to it in part 2, especially since she loves Iroh and seems a huge fan of Zukos redemption lol
The amount of vicarious joy I'm getting from this is INSANE. It's like I'm watching it again for the first time
This is as satisfying as watching those "First Time I've ever heard Bohemian Rhapsody" videos
@@MRuby-qb9bd I watched reaction videos by the Normies to the entire series. Watching them see the show for the first time and seeing the greatness was like watching it myself for the first time.
"And then it DOESNT DO THE THING!"
Wait till she gets to Legend of Korra and realised she's quoting Varrik lol
If she watches it. Fans are split on it and the ones that don't like it try to talk everyone out of watching it.
@@CC-of5xl I mean...true. I loathe the Legend of Korra and I was about to suggest that she not watch it lol
I mean, not that you're not allowed to watch it
@@CC-of5xl Fans are not split on it. The haters are only a vocal minority.
Varrick was definitely one of the highlights of LoK. I like the show (recently binged it again) but I didn't like how each villain was compressed into a season of 12 - 14 episodes. The storylines were great but you'd feel cheated that each villain was per season
@@vetarlittorf1807 Nah. I don't think they are minority😂 They are definitely vocal
"I could spend hours discussing each of them individually."
Well, I am ready when you are!
Tiny correction: Hama (bloodbending lady) was from the Southern Water tribe
Yeah, I heard that as well. I'm pretty sure she just misspoke haha. it happens when she's talking through episodes with a ton of thoughts
I think that was just a mix up when she was talking.
Also something to note: she was probably the most powerful waterbender of her generation, second only to Master Paku, and she could still only bloodbend during a full moon when her power was strongest, which is why (LOK SPOILERS) I hated when in Korra they had these guys that could bloodbend entire rooms **in broad daylight** and while not even doing waterbending motions... like dude they're supposed to be waterbending but it looks like they're using the force
@@coconutflour9868 I didn't like it at first either, but it kind of makes sense. You have to remember that ATLA takes place at the tail end of a 100 years war where the Southern Water tribe has been raided to the point that their bending tradition is functionally extinct. There are only two living practitioners: Hama and Katara. Even someone as old as Hama probably grew up without training from true masters. Her teachers were probably the "what was left" after the first 30 years of persistent raids. The southern waterbending tradition as for ALTA has no idea what it's true potential is, and Hama pioneered bloodbending out of necessity. Given a bloodline that is stronger and more powerful to be trained in the technique, I would say that while jarring in terms of power, isn't completely outside of the realm of possibility.
Well she was living in the fire nation at that point, even though she identifies as water tribe deep down
I can actually explain Combustion Man to you: in Hindu mythology, the Third Eye provides the greatest psychic potential to a person when opened, and the tattoo is there to represent that his Third Eye is open, likely through a process of intense meditation. As you open your Third Eye, you supposedly gain very powerful magical abilities, called "siddhis", which is what this guy has done. In myth, there are even stories about people who gain the ability to turn invisible, walk through walls, fly, read minds, you name it. But the path to true Enlightenment is one in which you're supposed to ignore the siddhis and just keep moving on, which Combustion Man obviously hasn't done. It's all based in myth, though. For a fun example, go look up the story of the husband and wife, Shikidwaja and Cudala, who gain Enlightenment and then go flying together. It's kind of cute.
'Siddhis' huh... I can't help but think this word is a part of 'Siddharta'. The Buddha's former name?
@@Den.Vos.Reynaerde Siddha is accomplishment, and Artha means answer or goal. So Siddhartha would mean Successful or Prosperous.
Thank you for this. This felt a bit out of place and you've helped reconcile boom man with the rest of Avatars world-building.
While this is probably the inspiration for combustion man, it doesnot provide a in-world explaination
pukkandan does it really need an in world explanation? A lot of the show is inspired by asain culture/mythology. This individual focused on the the Hindu part of it. Besides, sometime a bit of mystery adds more to the character. Knowing more about his back story wouldn’t have made him more of a threat, which is all he was suppose to be.
My favorite funny zuko moment in this season is when hes talking to the toad and actually gets mad when it doesnt respond
He’s so weird and awkward I love it 😂😂
You didn’t like episode 9? That had one of the funniest moments: Appa vs Momo!
ik, I liked it too. It was crazy!
Zuko: the best example of the best type of character arc, in which the character improves as a person but is still identifiable as the same person.
One of my favorite parts about book 3, is that we got to see that there was victims in Fire Nation who were suffering too.
Viewers: You gotta watch Avatar
Merphy: sure, I guess...
*after watching it*
Merphy: OMG I can't believe how good this show is? Is it even for kids anymore!
I love the scene from the invasion where Toph smashes through a gigantic metal door with ease, and Sokka says "I'm so glad we added you to the group". Me too Sokka, me too.
The whole sword master training thing thing, I would imagine that he was already proficient in fighting but he was holding himself back because he lacked the self worth and the training was more about that than the actual fighttraining
That makes a lot of sense as he had been fighting for quite a while by then.
Wow I never looked at it that way but it makes a lot of sense!
It was also several days
Let's be honest, it was still WAY too fast in any case. But who cares haha
Exactly. The Master didn't teach him how to fight, he Wizard of Oz'd him into realizing that the strengths he had already made him a great fighter.
I love the "Zuko, come dance with me!" scene so much, but people never talk about it so I'm very happy you liked it as well!
What do you call that technique? The fancy dancer?
You know Zuko, I don't care what anybody else says - you're pretty smart.
"Aang was a master of nothing..." D: He was the best air bender alive at that point. That makes him, in my opinion, a master air bender ;) (regardless of the fact, that only master airbenders get to wear those arrow tattoos) But still, he was just a kid, of course he needed help.
Per The Avatar Wiki:
"Combustion Man's primary ability reflected his given moniker, the ability to perform combustionbending. A rare style of firebending that allows him to trigger explosions from a third-eye tattoo on his forehead. This is done by channeling chi energy from his stomach, focused it into his forehead on a third-eye tattoo. This energy created thin transparent energy bolts that cracked like firecrackers as they traveled until exploding violently upon impact with a surface. This ability was mentally driven, requiring only inhalation and focus on his part, making his fighting style much less dynamic than standard firebending, and could be used at great ranges with considerable accuracy.[4] A single energy bolt was very powerful and could disintegrate large boulders or evaporate entire bodies of water with ease. "
A beautiful scene is when Iroh explains to Zuko his ancestry. It's beautiful because it's shot to show the bars in front of Zuko, Iroh may be the prisoner but Zuko is the one still trapped, which was shown beautifully each time Iroh spoke of Ozi’s family line but not his mother’s family line - I know I've used beautiful a lot but it was a very beautiful scene especially the reveal that linked Zuko to the Avatar
"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves." - Yue (Siege of the North, Part 1)
when zuko yells at his father: ”no, i’ve learned EVERYTHING” gives me chills to even think about it. so many feelings rise up when i think of this show and i even cried during your review of the second season because you described it so well and seemed to love it so much that it made me happy and sad i can’t experience it for the first time ever again. this show is undoubtedly a masterpiece.
“And it’s going the way you expect, and then it doesn’t do the thing !”
And I’m just here like Varrick with a cheeky eyebrow raise
Avatar had a perfect beginning, middle and ending
I love Avatar but most of the first season wasn't nearly as good as the other two.
I loved all of it, except for the very last scene. Not for shipping reasons, but because in my eyes, a story about friendship should end on an ensemble scene. Big passionate kissing scenes are good endings for romance series/novels/films, but a story about friends should end with friends. They should have ended on the second to last scene, either by moving the final scene with Aang and Katara to take place just before that scene or by removing the Aang/Katara scene altogether.
It could have done better at the beginning
Perfect middle and ending, the beginning was far from perfect.
@Atharva Deshpande It was?
Do you think you could touch on “The Avatar and the Firelord” episode twist that Zuko is the great grandson of Roku as well as Sozin? I think it’s a very interesting plot point that illustrates Zuko’s inward struggle. Thanks for the cool videos!
"And then it doesn't do the thing!"
And thus Zhu Li was created for the sequel.
Oh man, I really loved Toph and Sokka’s scene. It really shows something about Sokka and how he sees Katara, to the point he doesn’t remember his mum’s face. And in someway it explains why Sokka was more obsessed with his father.
And I think Combustion Man is more powerful because his fire is destructive. Firebenders always use flames, as I understand it, and maybe sometimes can make it to become as destructive. I am not even sure I can assume other Firebenders can easily make their fire like Combustion Man. Even in the finale, Fire Lord Ozai seemed to use the comet only to (intensify? Correct me if I’m wrong) his fire.
Azula vs Zuko, hands down the best fight in Avatar and maybe in television history.
Momo vs Appa. Fight me.
Easily agree! I rewatch just that fight put together in one sequence repeatedly and the way the music and scene flows around them and go so well together and so much emotion is just the best there is :D
pretend there's a name it’s no even close
Maybe you're not counting the next series, but Korra vs Zaheer (final fight) is better imo.
@@restfulori212 I agree and the music is not only sober, it's sad, because that was a sad fight. A brother against a sister
When Zukko confronted his dad, I loved that he redirected the lighting to his feet instead of the chest. He had a good chance to kill him, but he chose not to. It shows he has grown a lot as a person and I see a lot of Iroh's compassion in him.
"i didnt expect this from a Nickelodeon cartoon"
I loved how crazy she was going🤣
"Then it doesn't do the thing!"
Well, I know know who will be the favorite character in Legend of Korra.
Flamio hotman!!
Edit: Now you know why everyone is obsessed with the redemption arc. 😉
13:46 Aang was a master of airbending. Only airbender masters have the arrow tattoos. He also invented the air scooter technique.
He’s a jack of all trades. Since the avatar needs to master every element, they are never as solely focused on one as the other masters. If the air nomads were still around, I’m sure there’s be tons of friends who had grown to his level or surpassed him while he was learning the other elements.
It always bothered me that he was mean to start off as a master of airbending but could still barely best the pretty much beginner fire-bender Zuko in a fight. Like, shouldn't be just be able to send him flying??
@@bencarter5563 I think he was just very inexperienced in actual fighting at that point. He could have been an Air bending master but just not a fighter, like Jinora later on. I think to get the tattoos you have to do a series of trials and techniques and also invent a new move.
@@seanberdo5380 Plus: air nomads were known to be pessifisctic. Air bending is based on circular motion and evasion, not on fighting back per se.
Similar to Tai Chi being the inspiration for water bending and it is based on using your opponent's power against themselves air bending is based in Ba Gua Zhang. A very defensive style of Kung fu. Coincidentally, it's also the place where the idea of the Ying comes from (you know, the fighting options mentioned by Boomie).
I like to look at inspirations for stuff like this
@@alliew31 it's also like when MMA started. Kung fu masters getting their asses kicked by combat oriented styles. The air style isn't about fighting others, but fire bending at that point had been trained for at least 100 years directly as an offensive tool. It's amazing that an air bender could win a fight
"Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"
"Yes... he has."
Character development at its finest
"That's rough buddy." Something that just needs to be said for someone who just wants someone to listen. And OMG you haven't even talked about Zuko reuniting with Iroh yet!
But I recommend on watching Legend of Korra as well. Yes, it's not as strong but it shows world progression, great character work, and history. Seasons 3 & 4 are great with season 3 being the best
Fire bending is done via manipulating chi.
Combustion man concentrates his chi in a single concentrated chi wave that detonates on impact.
Also it's a dangerous technique to learn as can be seen on combustion mans body.
No comment on one of the best episodes of ATLA "The avatar and the firelord" ????
niels verschueren right? That’s one of the best of the entire franchise.
this is only part 1. she probably gonna discuss that for part 2
@@johans3164 Aaaand it's not in there lol... apparently roku being zuko's great grandfather doesnt matter to her xD
When she said “my Iroh”, I gained a newfound respect for humanity.
I think we need some prequel like
"The Legend of Iroh" because he is a legend
Everyone should watch this show.
I don't know a single person who's seen it and didn't love their experience with it.
For sure the best show of all time
Unfortunately, my brother fits into that category :'(
Combustion bending is similar to lightning bending, in that it's a specialized technique that very few people can do (in Avatar, legend of Korra and rise of Kyoshi, we only see two people who can do it). I always assumed it was some kind of secret mercenary training, and that the eye is more of a status symbol than an actual focus for the magic. But it's one of those situations where they break the rules of the show in a way that provides extra world building and shows how powerful this character is (specifically that he hardly has to move to create fire, and that he creates explosions rather than regular fire). As to why it's more powerful, any explosion will be more powerful than just fire (like how small firework would cause more damage to someone than a lighter), and on a more meta level, there'd be no reason to train to do it if it wasn't more powerful. That's always been my opinion at least.
Edit: SPOILERS for Legend of Korra in the responses
Oh hey cool, I'm gonna go re-read one piece until I pass out now.
It's sort of ironic how early in Legend of Korra, we see that lightning bending is something people have factory jobs in. I hated seeing that tbh; you have this really cool ability that we got expositioned to us by one of the most memorable characters ever written, and then just one generation later it's basically a commodity. I don't know if that was intentional allegory for industrial capitalism, but like many other things that made Legend of Aang great, the sequel really cheapened it and removed much of its meaning. I guess we should be glad combustion bending didn't make for very exploitable labour beyond assassination :p
@@TimCools_WithALongO
Well, even in the original, it was shown that Lightning bending was well understood, & had a set method for teaching it.
I feel like the only reason that lightning bending wasn't more common in the fire nation was that its ruling class kept its secrets... secret.
Once republic city got going, it would make sense that those secrets be shared, just like with metal bending... maybe that's just my head-cannon tho, Idk.
@@TimCools_WithALongO it does make it somewhat less impressive, but it's a fairly realistic view of the broadening of skills. For a long time, being able to improvise to John Coltrane's 'Big Steps' was considered the height of jazz music ability, now it's fairly common to be able to do it. If we go back to Rise of Kyoshi we see that lightning bending is so rare that most people don't even think it's real, with that extra bit of context I think it's kind of cool how we see it slowly become more commonplace in the world over a period of a few hundred years. But then again, having a few people in proximity who can do the same thing doesn't necessarily mean more people can do it, just that all those people were in the same place, if that makes sense.
@@Rowan_A_Boat good idea! I'll let you know when I become King of the Pirates!
Comments in book 2 review:
"Sounds like someone is going to love season 3!"
Murphy: "I finally finished, and I'm hurting"/"book 3 is my favorite season"
- We knew it 😏
"Legend says that the moon was the first water bender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves."
-Princess Yue, Season 1.
The moon was the first water bender.
For me Book 3 can be described in 2 words: "Flameo Hotmen!"
Yesssssss😂
Katara , aang and toph are prodigy’s that’s why katara learns things fast and toph finding a new type of bending and aang invented new airbending moves
(I forgot azula with her blue flames)
cartoon freak I would argue that Katara is the only prodigy of those 3. Toph had to learn a specific way out of necessity, and therefore develops and adapts differently, and I felt Aang learned Air so quickly because his personality and general demeanor latched onto Air really well. Katara, though, I felt simply had a natural affinity for creativity and ingenuity that she shares with Sokka and their father, and because of that really grew exponentially from her own experimentation and personalization. There seems to be a direct correlation with strength and creativity/personalization. Like how when Zuko duels Zhao he only turns the tide after using his own move, the break dance/capoeira style sweep, and then two seasons later does the same thing to the far more powerful Azula.
Toph, I would say, gets a little more justification because she learned directly from the original benders and took more keenly to it due to her lack of sight. Aang also has centuries of subconscious wisdom. Katara doesn’t really have much explanation for being so good she just happens to be a prodigy.
MrFreeForAll25 You literally posted that while I was typing so you can pretty much disregard my comment.
Allison Watts the showrunners wanted katara en sokka too be paku’s biological grandchildren so I would say that but idk if that counts as canon and for aang it’s true about his subconscious wisdom i would still say that his talent of airbending is of his own merit like how he invented the airscooter
If you remember, when Iroh was teaching Zuko how to bend lightning the chi kept exploding in front of him.
Combustion bending stems from control of positive and negatice energy similar to lightning bending. Except it is more of a controlled/chaotic release.
Benders need exceptional control and focus to do it. Combustion man has several injuries from when he tried to master his technique. Presumebly like Zuko, his chi exploded around him at first.
Also he gathers his chi from his stomach, like Iroh says, its why he takes a deep breath when he does it. Fire bending strength comes from the breath.
It comes out of his forehead because that is a chakra point, related to will power and focus in the show.
The tattoo is just asthetic, probably a ritual of some sort like the Air Bending arrows.
Ultimate drinking challenge
Take a shot whenever Merphy says "I loved that..." about Avatar the Last Airbender
The First Walter Bender was the moon and they learned by watching the tide
Them damn Walter benders. Leave Walter alone
listen to @@ParadoxX-lt1vu
I like to think of it as that koi fish spirit (I know that spirit is technically the moon spirit, but thinking of it as a animal makes it more consistent with the other bending
My copy / paste button hurts,. This is close to right, but technically a bit off
The Earth, The Sun, The Moon, and The Sky are the "sources of bending"
The moles, the dragons, the koi, and the bison are the animals that taught humans
The animals learned from the "source", the humans learned from the animals
i would love a review on the avatar movie but then i remembered "there isn't one" :))
What movie.
There is no movie in Ba Sing Se. Here we are free. Here we are safe
The bending in that (non-existing) movie was so bad, I'm still not over it
The only avatar movie is the Ember Island Players
I thought James Cameron made one. Isn't he working on a sequel for it too?
I don't understand why she says this a "soft magic" system, when most people consider avatar a hard magic system. She even says that Everytime they do something new, it always stays within the limits of the system
yeah that confused me too. soft system would be something like the force or Harry Potter, not ATLA
I don't think Sokka's training episode happened in a day, it was a single episode, but I believe it represented several days if not weeks if I recall correctly.
Everybody Loved the Volleyball Scene😂
for real! and its more of a modified sepak takraw
Aw you missed my favorite bit of humor in the whole series.
Zuko "We're the fire prince and the Avatar, I think we can take them."
Aang, see's giant snarling dragons, "Still think we can take them?"
Zuko, "Shh, I never said that."
Iroh is the supportive father figure we all need
I laughed when you said “ do the thing” harder than I should’ve. Great review
for the original water bender it was explained in the north pole that it was the moon, they observed how it would push and pull the tides
Oh yes, when those Dragons made their appearance my heart was pumping!!! Such an amazing reveal, the music, the animation, everything is just PERFECT. Just thinking about the show as you talk gives me goosebumps, that's how good it is.
Also, I love the nightmares, they gave us Samurai Appa 🔥♥️
I rewatch this show every year, and every year I remind myself that it's over. I get emotionally attached to these characters and this world that it's hard to just let it go.
As a kid growing up with the show I was never confused about Combustion Man. He's a master at a special type of fire bending. You can tell by the way he sucks in his stomach before he shoots out of his forehead. It's like how water benders can bend blood and earth benders can bend metal.
Maybe it was just me pretending that it's different, but in my head the training montage Sokka had was for longer than a day, that's why, if I remember correctly, the group started missing him so much. Because he was gone for a while.
Combustion Man's tattoo is the Third Eye, which features prominently in Hinduism, particularly Shiva, the Aspect of Cosmic Destruction. The third is a focal point of mental power, and if someone has "opened" their third eye, then they have awakened greater psychic powers. For Combustion Man, this power is all about focus. As Iroh explains in season one Firebending is based on converting breath into energy, just as fire needs oxygen to burn. Most firebenders channel that energy through their body motions and use that physical exertion to project, spread, and focus where their fire goes. Combustion man takes a big breath, and then converts it entirely into energy, which he focuses into a tiny point based on his third eye, and projects it outwards. It's obviously very powerful, but it also takes a ton of concentration, so a little disruption badly destabilizes it. You may notice he has a mechanical leg and arm, and it is implied it is because he lost them due to the hazards of developing this power.
Zuko's arc is so goood, your discussion of the scene with him and Ozai gave me chills from remembering it, what a great scene. Some things you didn't mention in the video, but I'll drop here because I love it too much not to: the history between the previous Avatar and the Fire Lord, and finding out Zuko's a descendant of both. And Iroh busting out of the prison! "He was like a one man army" was a reference to a popular funny fan-animation someone made back then of Zuko breakdancing and firebending.
The dream episode was the worst for me too lol.
Looking forward to the next part!
If Merphy doesn't address Zuko and Iroh's reunion I'm throwing fists xd
OMG! I'm in tears just listening to you talk about this show.
The original waterbender was the moon, the waterbenders learned how to bend by studying the way the moon moves the tides. This is also why the moon spirit and the ocean spirit are in harmony at the north pole: both are necessary for waterbending.
As for Sparky Sparky Boom Man: his firebending isn't *stronger* per se, he's just producing his firebending in a different way for different effects. Combustion bending is a sub-category of firebending - just like lightning bending is - that can only be achieved through proper chi flow and the alignment of your chakras (what Aang did at the end of season 2) as well as years of specialized training in this specific technique. Similar to how lightning redirection is a form of firebending developed by studying the waterbenders, combustion bending is a form of firebending developed by studying airbenders.
Combustion benders are heavily inspired by Hindusim.
-
Per the explanation of Guru Pathik in season 2, most firebenders generate their flame from the chakra in their stomach - this chakra is called the Solar Plexus in Hinduism. For this reason, it's called the Fire Chakra in the Avatar mythology. This chakra deals with willpower and motivation. Incidentally, this is also why Zuko loses his ability to firebend when his motivation changes and he joins with Aang. This chakra is blocked by feelings of shame, hence Iroh's lesson when Zuko was having trouble bending lightning in season 2: "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source."
-
Combustion benders, on the other hand, use a different chakra to fuel their firebending: the chakra in their forehead, which is called the Third Eye in Hinduism. In Avatar mythology, it's referred to as the light chakra. This chakra deals with insight, and is blocked by illusion. If you can overcome the many illusions of the world, then this chakra will be cleared. To quote Guru Pathik again: "The greatest illusion in the world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one in the same. Like the four nations. We are all one people, but we live as if divided. Even the separation of the four elements is an illusion. If you open your mind, you will see all of the elements are one: four parts of the same whole."
Hence combustion benders: by devoting themselves to the chakra of insight and learning the ways of a different people, they have unlocked mastery over a different aspect of their own element.
15:13 “...and it doesn’t do the THING!”
“Zhu Lee! Do the thing!”
The best part of the Zuko and Iroh scenes is the camera being positioned in a way so that it always looks like Zuko is the one behind bars.
I love The Last Airbender so much.
Episode 6 "The Avatar and the Firelord" is amazing, one of the best of the season. Just the importance of the backstory and how it's connected to Aang and Zuko's arc is brilliant. And the last scene when Aang says "Everyone is worth a chance" it's so good and reflects the entire soul of the show.
In season one finale we get to know that the first "waterbender" is the moon.
I've had a bit of experience regarding dreams and the interpretation thereof from the point of psychologists and how they think the brain works when it comes to them. Seeing Aang's dream, even though they put a funny twist to it, actually showed a lot of how his mindset is and really set up for the end of the season and how he could not kill the fire Lord. It was a necessary episode, And will automatically ring true with anyone who has ever been unable to sleep due to even something (major or minor) scheduled. You don't have to like it, but I think it's deeper than you give it credit for.
Sparky Sparky boom man. I will forever a like the character simply because of that name. ^^;
There was a lot of growth in the season, I do agree that it was rushed and I wish they'd had more time to tell it. It's not something they fixed and Legend of Korra and that is part of Korra's problem. The other part being the complete mess that was season 2…
Hama's was a terrifying episode. Loved it. Was my favorite episode in the first half of the season. ( I tend to split it up into parts before the Day of the Black Sun, and after, personally).
I get where your coming from about dreams and nightmares, it's an interesting story that doesn't told a lot, but it may have something to do with how animating works. it's much easier to make a goof episode than an action scene, much more to drag out a full battle sequences that was the invasion of the fire nation, and subsequently Azula