Toph being so open to Zuko joining makes a lot of sense. She was never around when he chased the rest of the Gaang. Her first encounter with him was the fight against Azula.
Yet another example of Toph being the GOAT. She's the only level headed person in their group, she even is attacked, burned, and functionally blinded by Zuko, and even THEN she keeps a level head, and maintains that he isn't a threat to them and that they should give him a chance. Meanwhile all of the others ignore Toph's claims that Zuko was sincere and didn't lie at all while he was with them, despite the fact that the fate of the world depends on Aang learning how to Firebend and a Firebender who is not loyal to the Firelord has just showed up on a silver platter offering to teach Aang.
Katara threatening Zuko shouldn’t come off too much as a surprise considering what happen last time. She was the very first one to trust Zuko but then got betrayed along with losing Aang. She’s justified to feel how she’s feeling.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Also not to mention the fire nation destroyed their village, culture, and family. That's not an easy thing to brush off. As a kid I had a Korean and Japanese friend growing up. And my Japanese friend was not allowed in my Korean friends house because his grandmother would not allow it. I never knew the full details but his grandmother must have experienced something extremely horrible during the Imperial Japanese occupation of Korea to lash out at a child like that. Is it enlightened thinking? Of course not but if youre empathetic about it it's completely understandable. Even my friend didn't blame her. Sometimes because avatar is a children's cartoon and they are limited with what they can do regarding charged topics, like war, death, and colonialism softens the stakes a little.
Don't forget that the choice Zuko made in Ba Sing Se literally killed Aang. It's easy from our POV to know Zuko has changed, but honestly, I don't know how anyone could ever invite someone that literally contributed to the death of the world's last hope. That fight in Ba Sing Se would've been totally different if Zuko sided with the Gaang, because at least then he could've freed Iroh from his earth prison and the odds would be much higher in their favor.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Yeah, the last thing the Gaang remember from Zuko is him choosing Azula and indirectly causing his death. They didn't see his inner torment as a "honorable" son to Ozai, they didn't seem will the courage within himself to stand up for himself and call Ozai out AND deflect his lighting. To them, he's still very much the same person who chased them in Season 1. Heck, they didn't even really see Zuko preliminary work in Season 2 from which is redemption was founded on. So them being hestitant, and Katara being actively resistant, are honestly valid.
People keep taking it being said that Aang "died" a little too literally, lol. The boy wasn't _dead_ dead; he was modern medicine's equivalent to flatlined. You _can_ be revived if your heart and lungs stop working if it's done in a timely manner and the organs aren't too badly damaged, which Katara obviously did.
@@Deinedwe don't know that; the avatar world clearly doesn't work like ours, and both aang and katara make references to aang being "more than hurt" in his fight against azula i mean, this is a world where reincarnation exists lmao
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
@@Thelaretus it's even worse than that, because katara was ready to trust zuko last time. she almost wasted her spirit water on the jerk, and if she had, aang would be DEAD. katara blames herself for that, and naturally she blames zuko for "tricking" her. just take how angry she was at jet and multiply it by a hundred.
@@sirmoonslosthismind Except I think Zuko can take her in a fight, unless she uses Bloodbending. She's a great Waterbender, but not against someone who knows how to use lightning, which I'm sure Zuko can if he can redirect it.
I dont think shes in the right but her feelings are justified. Those arent the same thing. Zuko doesnt understand the extent of how hes hurt them and to a greater extent he doesnt truly understand the trauma the fire nation has inflicted on the world, and the gaang dont understand what Zuko has gone through in his life.
Katara is totally justified in that threat in the end. People forget she was the very first person to trust Zuko, I mean she was so close to healing his scar, and then he turns around and betrays her, assisting in nearly killing Aang. So yeah, the group has very VERY good reason to be apprehensive and on the defense. ESPECIALLY Katara. Also that speech at the end is possibly my favorite moment from the series, I think my favorite Katara moments.
According to the official lore Aang literally WAS killed. It was the Spirit Water and the intervention by the "Moon Spirit"girl, Yue, (You find this out in a video game that was on the Nickelodeon Channels website for awhile after that episode aired) that allowed him to come back to the world of the living. And yeah, if you remember Katara's horrible pained and hopeless expression while she was cradling Aangs lifeless body in her arms and you understand exactly where she is coming from. Thanks for bringing this up. You'd be surprised at how many people are shocked at Katara's reaction when they should remember how she suffered as the Avatar was nearly 'killed for good'.
So Katara is the emotional center of this group right? And she's the person who is the most optimistic, most trusting, and she sees the good in everyone. However if you betray that trust just like how Zuko did in Ba Sing Se, she's the first one to automatically do a 180. Because she's the one on the positive end of the trust spectrum she gets hurt the most by betrayal. And let's be honest. Zuko deserves all this. He was a total dick and it's good that the writers show that he really had to pay for it and earn the team's trust since team avatar didn't see what we saw. They didn't see the growth leading up to Zuko joining the team.
100%. We have the context of Zuko's journey, but Katara doesn't. It was a tough (and bad) decision Zuko made in Ba Sing Se, but Katara doesn't know that. I'm sure it all seemed like part of the plan to her in retrospect. She basically lays it out here, she thought Zuko was manipulating her.
And we've seen her react this way before with Jet. The show does a really good job of balancing out character roles. Here, Toph takes the more empathetic, open approach that Katara would often fill, but it makes sense due to her lack of previous interaction with Zuko chasing them. The same thing happened in the desert episode with sokka and aang switching roles.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
From the beginning of the series, the creators always knew that Zuko would teach Aang firebending. Fun fact: In the original series bible, Zuko was going to join the group at the end of Book Two.
I always imagined what that would've looked like. Would Zuko and Katara developed feelings for each other? How would Aang feel about that? Would Iroh join them? Would Day of Black Sun gone differently?
I kinda wish we got to see the alternative of him joining at the end of book 2 because aang would have had more time to train fire bending. We barely got to see him firebend
I'm so glad they didn't go with that. While it still would have been satisfying, getting to see him finally at home and accepted but know it's not right or who he is is so much more important for the character.
You guys have to remember last time katara trusted zuko, he betrayed her and because of that aang got killed and if she would of used the special water on him well aang wouldn't be here.. so yea its gonna take alot for her to fully trust zuko
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Remember Katara almost trusted Zuko enough to use the spirit oasis water to heal his scar. Zuko's betrayal at Ba Sing Se got Aang KILLED, and everyone else would have been captured had Iroh not intervened. Nobody else in the group knows about Zuko and Katara's private interaction, and it makes perfect sense for Katara to distrust him the most. Toph has no idea what they've been through.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Re: Combustion Man "lore;" since it's never explained in the show: We've known since episode 1 of the series that power from firebending comes from the breath, as Iroh says this to Zuko. Every time Combustion Man gets ready to fire of a beam of sparky sparky boom, he breathes in deeply. It is a form of firebending, just highly focused. The tattoo in his forehead represents the chakra located there, Ajna (the "third eye") which deals with insight. He focuses his chi there and it emits the beam of energy. Sokka's boomerang hitting his forehead physically blocked his chakra, which lead to blowing himself up as he was too disoriented to focus the energy away from himself properly (his metal limbs are a result of early, failed attempts at combustion bending.) Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere *i have a feeling it has lol*
“To a certain degree”!? “Be bigger than 13”? I think someone’s got a case of omniscience-itis. That’s when YOU know everything that’s happened to ALL the characters and forget to see things from just ONE pov. Team Avatar has no idea what Zuko has been through and the realizations he’s come to. It’s perfectly reasonable for them to be mistrustful of Zuko, no matter their ages, when all they know of him is his unending thirst for Aang’s capture and the terrible lengths he’d go to to make that happen. You can see that he’s changed but they’re gonna need a lot more than just his word.
The head writers of this show Aaron Ehasz and his wife Elizabeth are absolutely masterful writers that molded Avatar into what it was. They were the secret geniuses behind this show - they can fill a 22 minute nickelodeon show and make it feel jam packed with things without over-writing so you always wanted more.
Avatar is the rare show that is substantially better every single season. And it started pretty strong. One of the biggest things though is that while it's still nominally a "kids show" (no nudity or graphic deaths), it has no qualms about making complex characters. Zuko's speech deconstructing Fire Nation propaganda is so powerful.
So cool how they made toph the one aware of Zuko since she met Uncle Hiro’s pov. ❤then her sense was lost so never had time to warn her crew from combustion man 👨. Details are awesome everytime I rewatch 😂
I live that they reject Zuko the first time round. I feel like it is Zukos final test of morality. Like its 1 thing to change away from a tortured past, but another thing entirely to accept the rage and pain and judgement without falling into your old combative ways. It is the final test of Zukos strength of character to face the emotional consequences of what he had done, and accept that they are right to feel that way, without arguing to defend his formerly twisted honour.
This temple was built under a canyon overhang making it hidden to any passerby. The hanging buildings were built to harness the power of the wind. The nomads used to host world-renowned Pai Sho tournaments. But the Fire Nation still managed to find it. This isn't Zuko's first visit to the Western Air Temple. This was three years ago-right after Zuko was banished.
Its a shame that you can't see it from the gaang's pov. They are wary, not because they are young, but because they are in fact wise. This episode is very important to show that you must work for forgiveness and trust, people are not obliged to forgive you.
Honestly, to be fair, I don't think them being young has anything to do with not trusting Zuko. If I in real life was on a journey around the world trying to do good and help people and a man I'd never met attacked me and tried to kidnap me then started stalking me and following me everywhere I went and telling me that he wasn't ever going to give up I'd be pretty upset about that. Especially if someone else kidnapped me and my stalker happened to be there and managed to convince me we needed to work together to get away only to imediately, as soon as he realized someone he knew was with our captors, turn around and scream "OVER THERE! THAT'S WHO YOU WANT!" and attack me again. Not to mention that after betraying me, I was shot in the back and died and the doctors were just barely able to bring me back to life and I now had a huge horrible scar on my back and was in a coma for a while and now I'm weaker from my injuries and it's unclear if I'll ever be able to do some of the things I used to be able to. If that guy walked up to me later and was like "hey yeah, I was going through some stuff. Can we be cool tho? Lol." I'd be pretty harsh on him too.
Katara got that serious becuase trust is something she highly values , loyalty , she’s the “mother of the group “ , she trusted zuko once , and he betrayed everyone , also for katara , zuko represents the fire nation royal family and the fire nation , the enemy who caused the war and killed her mother , they don’t know what zuko actually went through
6:50 Yes, 100% he only did it for that xD. He's changed but back then it totally was his goal. This really hurts but it's amazing writing. Of course they wouldn't trust Zuko. Last time they saw him, he was helping Azula kill Aang after having a similar conversation with Katara and they know nothing about the good things he's done and only us have seen. But it's great how Zuko's grown so much that he gets them and response by being humbler and even offering himself as a prisoner, instead of being angry at them not accepting him, which they logically can't do just like that. Not trusting him goes much deeper than being kids. He hasn't really earned it at all up until this point. They're well in their rights not to do so. Zuko is my favorite character of the show but I absolutely understand them. Of course, I've watched this many times, it's only natural you'd feel more conflicted about it on your first watch.
I get so happy and applaud Katara when she threatens zuko because it’s bad ass. She’s the “mother” of the group and once you hurt her and her loved ones, she’s not so nice and I love that for her.
I cried seeing aang felling literally dead at the book 2 finale And Katara crying and doing as much she could to save him and all of that due Zuko betrayed her and you girls were talking when Katara was explaining why she doesn’t want to accept Zuko in the group. She was the first person who trusted in him out there in Ba Zin Ze and due that Aang passed away for a while. Now as you can see It’s really hard for her forgiving Zuko. Thank you for your reaction Girls. I love it.❤
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
@@Thelaretus that’s what it is. It’s really hard to forget all that in a while. Zuko’s fans are thinking in a relationship between then but who remember the past know that it is impossible cause there is so much pain behind that. Wow that’s a great complement of my comment. Let’s see the reaction of the next episode.
The last time Zuko seemed to have "changed" he turned on them and Katara watched Aang get killed and barely managed to revive him so her anger is very much justified.
2:14 Yeah Maple, sorry to do this but; Zuko literally stated his intentions to go teach Aang firebending and help him defeat Ozai during their confrontation the previous episode 🎉
i don’t even think it’s age because i feel like even full grown adults would be distrusting and hesitant like your biggest enemy who’s followed you around for years and kidnapped you is saying “hey i did a 360”
Tbh I don't think it's because they're young at all. I think it would be incredibly unreasonable to trust Zuko so easily, especially for Katara who did trust him and was betrayed and Aang pretty much got killed for a bit as a result.
I really think y'all underestimate the maturity of our team avatar. The whole crew has EVERY RIGHT to be cautious around zuko. And Its not them being too emotional or too immature to process what Zuko is doing, its because they've LITERALLY BEEN BURNED SEVERAL TIMES BY HIM. We as an audience have seen Zuko struggle to do the right thing, fight, and grow, but team avatar hasn't seen that AT ALL. In fact I'm pretty sure the last time team avatar saw Zuko was when he was betraying them in Ba Sing Se
So if you remember when Zuko was trying to bend lightning it exploded in his face. My theory is they're doing an incomplete form of lightning bending that they learned how to project out instead of it exploding on you.
Combustionbending is a form of heat-bending. Fire Lord Zozin was capable of Heatbending, but he probably couldn't heat the air up for Combustionbending.
Them saying that its because they're young is infuriating. I don't think anyone would automatically trust someone after they've been stalking and hurting them for months.
There is lore behind combustion benders. I'd recommend the Hello Future Me video that discusses it. Basically, it's very very advanced firebending, but it has to be instilled into someone, it isn't necessarily learned or gifted at birth. At least, from what I remember
i mean its frustrating to us as fans cause we know zuko has changed but im glad the crew didnt just accept him. At the end of the day he's done plenty of terrible things and should earn their trust
I know Katara seems harsh but we have to understand that the Aang Gang aren't seeing the development from Zuko that the audience is witness too. Katara is furious because she was the first to trust Zuko and it lead to the actual death of Aang, which would be unforgivable. If it wasn't for the water from the Spirit Oasis, Aang would have died all because of Zuko's betrayal of Katara's trust. Katara almost healed his scar with that water, and thank goodness she didn't because Aang would have definitely been gone and the war would go in favor of the Fire Nation.
I really like all the characters dialog in this episode, especially Toph and Katara's they both give two different perspectives based on interactions with Zuko. I mean Aang would be dead because of Zuko's betrayal and was only saved because of Katara's spirit water, she should be pissed at Zuko
As someone who has an inner monlogue, I know exactly what you mean. It's weird the thought that a lot of people don't have it. My mom doesn't for example.
Aang died in Katara's arms because Zuko joined up with Azula after Katara almost wasted the healing water that saved Aangs life to heal Zukos scar. I can imagine that Katara constantly has to think about what would have happened if she used that water on Zuko. How Aang wouldnt have come back, how the Avatar would be lost forever. I dont think her being so vehemently opposed is due to her being 14 years old or so. Her reaction makes perfect sense.
You guys kept blaming their age for their behavior. It's not even about being young. I don't know about you guys but if someone did several horrific things, including hunting me and my friends down for months, hurting innocent people in the process, and sending a LITERAL ASSASSIN TO KILL ME, I wouldn't be thrilled to have him join my group, regardless of what he has to offer. But maybe that's just me. Maybe you'd be more forgiving. Maybe if you were in Katara's position, faced by the person responsible for getting a loved one of yours killed, you'd welcome that person with a smile and open arms. You guys are better than me, because if someone did that to my partner or my family, they'd be dead.
They put the right emotion on Katara's part in this episode! Since last time she trusted Zuko, Aang get killed by Azula! Book 2 final episode! They could have win that fight if Zuko was team up with them, plus they got Iroh on the latter part of the that fight.
Katara is justified for her feelings and distrust, she is someone who if you cross her she will remember, just like with jet. Her emotions can get the best of her sometimes but every time I see this episode, I'm always so hype when she gives zuko that threat at the end. It more of a promise lol, her delivery is so freaking good I get chills.
It's this good because it's a show that has time to sit with itself. They're able to pack so much meaning in so few words because you have three seasons of context to lend weight to each word. They took their time world-building and gave you consistent characters who grow organically as the show progresses, and the emotional beats build off this. In the first episodes you couldn't get past Zuko's lisp and found Sokka annoying, but in the fullness of time you see Zuko as a tragic figure in one hell of a redemption arc, and realize that Sokka is such a strong supporting player holding it all together. You learn why Katara has such a motherly way to her, you see Toph grow from the petulant and isolated child to a steady presence in her own found family. The creators of this show had trust placed in them by the looks of it, and it pays off so well
It makes a lot of sense Toph would be the one to trust Zuko first and Katara the last. Not just the fact she can sense it with her earth bending. But she's known him the shortest time so she has less to go off of and less bad interactions. She made friends with Uncle and heard stories from him as well about Zuko. So she's the most positively impacted by him. While Katara is probably the most negatively impacted by him, even more than Sokka, and Aang (who is probably most neutral really), and just kind of cool seeing the different thoughts from everyone but especially Toph and Katara who are at odds again clearly
I want someone who's never seen the show to run an experiment where they only watch scenes of the show where the Gaang is involved, and all the Zuko parts are cut out. I need the perspective.
People get confused about why Toph didn’t want Zuko anywhere near her when Zuko accidentally burned her, but imagine how you would feel in the moments after someone accidentally burned your eyes lol
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Yeah, understood, but Zuko would have to defend himself if she lashes out breaking her condition and if she goes down, she goes down, killed, finished.
In case it still isn't clear Combustion Man (aka Sparky Sparky Boom Man) is a firebender. His bending style is a specialized form call combustion bending where he focuses his bending firing from his forehead. But if they can't focus combustion bending can backfire.
You forgot that the avatar team hasn't seen the whole journey that Zuko has been on like you have. They have primarily experienced the negative things, so their thoughts of him is much like what you were thinking yourself before the storm episode.
This episode is what separates okay shows from good shows from great shows. The okay show would introduce Zuko as a villain at the beginning, show his redemption arc with his uncle, and at the end of season 2 he defends Aang and Katara. The good show would still have the betrayal at the end of season 2, but Zuko confronts his father during the invasion and tells him that he is joining the Avatar. Then he shows up to the gang and explains himself and offers to teach Aang firebending and everyone accepts his explanation. This is still satisfying, and many shows would have stopped there, but it doesn't fully respect what the other characters would be feeling in that moment and what they have gone through, it would have only taken care of Zuko. That is why this show is great. They dedicated a whole episode to fully explore how each character feels about this major shift in events and it makes not only Zuko's redemption feel so earned and developed, but it also makes his inclusion in the group later on feel so natural and reasonable despite all of their history. I agree with Maple that the show does a great job at condensed and meaningful dialogue, but it also takes entire episodes to explore character growth which allows for the dialogue to carry more weight. This episode, the fire island episode, and the history of Roku episode being prime examples. I always loved this episode for taking all of these characters that we love so seriously, and really making sure they take care to express how each of them would really feel and react. Great reaction as always and I can't wait to see you guys finish the series!
I love Aang's little reaction after Appa licks Zuko. Aang knows Appa better than anyone else, and also knows that Appa has a great intuition when it comes to judging character. So if he says Zuko is OK, then he must be lol.
Toph didn’t get to experience being chase by Zuko, that’s why she was more open about him Also keep in mind the last time they encounter Zuko he fought against them, and help Azula kill Aang and conquer the Earth kingdom, you can expect them to trust him after that
This episode is tough because as the audience we have context of Zuko and his change, but team avatar hasn't had the insight to be able to trust him at his word. It makes the team up that we have been rooting for kind of heartbreaking at the same time as satisfying.
Q: How does Combustion Man do his weird third-eye thing? A: Yoga apparently. Iroh explained that power in fire bending comes from heat and breath. Combustion Man uses a breath-control technique ( the Nauli breathing technique) to compress his flames . he shoots it out of his forehead because that is where the extra oxygen goes ( also the third eye is in the same spot as the light chakra), and the fire blast detonates when he exhales
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
That particular bender has an ability called Combustion. It's a combination of fire and air, meaning that somewhere down his lineage, he has a bit Air Bender DNA.
I've noticed with most reactors when they get to this episode it's like their media literacy goes away and they just want everyone to constantly do whatever they think is best for their favorite Zuko
The assassin is known by our group as "Combustion Man", a.k.a., "Sparky-Sparky Boom Man". He has the unique ability to super-heat the air and cause explosions by shooting energy from his tattooed third eye.
Always enjoy your reactions. We all love Zuko but I really like how protective Katara is about Aang at the end. Zuko's betrayal (and the consequence of such) at the end of season two was anything but subjective so Katara's warning is well earned. All episodes from here on out are great, so enjoy!
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
His ability is called Combustionbending. Its a type of Firebending that, well, only so much is known, but its rare, and IIRC, its partially created by forcing a firebender to bend underwater
Zuko is my favorite character of the whole show. He is the most relatable to me. Because we all stick to a bad/wrong decisions for a long time. So it’s an adventure to learn you were mistaken. Then difficult to make different choices.
Yes it's a different type of writing than what we have nowadays... It's called good writing. 😉 It's not a streaming service taking what's supposed to be a 90-minute movie script and trying to stretch it out into an 8 to 10 hour season.
We know the back story of Zuko at this point, because it's a show. You must not be to meta about it all. Think in terms of a one sided story from the point of view of team avatar. Team avatar has history, and even if zuko shows he's actually trying logic and emotion clash. All of this can used in our actual lives. To people whom our friends. And people whom have betrayed us. People can grow and change. Remember this lesson and teach it to others.
One of my favorite animated series, by far! Was SOOOO stoked when I saw the first reaction vid announced. Since I knew it was gonna hook y'all as bad as it did me! And yes, this episode, along with the previous 2, are both doozies! Without spoiling it, its a friggin rollercoaster from here on in!
On top of all the comments pointing out the gaang’s very justified reasons for not trusting Zuko, they also have a good reason to doubt Toph’s truth-sensing ability: Sokka and Aang just saw Azula successfully beat it.
Combustion man does come from a different lore in the avatar world. Its not openly explored but combustion benders go through horrific training to become the ultimate weapon. They essencially go through water torture to unlock their abilities. As such most combustion benders are heavily damaged and often brainwashed people.
its not about them being young or comprehending. You feel the way you do because you've been on Zuko's journey. From any logical pov, the gaang are right in their actions and distrust. Failure to comprehend that and blaming it on them being kids is dumb as hell.
Katara's reaction is completely warranted. They haven't seen what the viewers have. She was the one who trusted and it almost got Aang killed. Also, as it is explored all throughout the show, Katara carries a huge, and justified, emotional wound. This moment and episode 16th episode of this book are my favorite Katara moments.
You're correct, they do manage to put a lot into a short episode. IMO episodes like this pack such a punch primarily due to _everything that came before._ I think we fans are sometimes worried when someone starts this show. Because *we know* where it is going to take the viewer. But said viewer is nowhere close to that point at first. And we all hope they give the show time to take them there. I feel this applies to many stellar shows. I feel this way about *Babylon 5* and *Farscape,* to name only two. 15:35 Love to see you react to your first few *AtLA* reactions. ☺️
Hello, Zuko here 👋
Ribbit 🐸
👍
I literally died when he actually said that 😭
And a meme was solidified
@@barfwizardthen how r u typing this comment
Toph being so open to Zuko joining makes a lot of sense. She was never around when he chased the rest of the Gaang. Her first encounter with him was the fight against Azula.
lol...Gaang...
Medal. Medal this guy.
@@deamoncastle5584 xD sorry to break it to you but that isn't new, that's how the fans have been calling them for ages now
Not only that, but she met Iroh first, and learned pretty much that zuko was misguided and 'lost'.
they're also both the children of wealthy important people who tried to push them to be a certain way
Yet another example of Toph being the GOAT. She's the only level headed person in their group, she even is attacked, burned, and functionally blinded by Zuko, and even THEN she keeps a level head, and maintains that he isn't a threat to them and that they should give him a chance. Meanwhile all of the others ignore Toph's claims that Zuko was sincere and didn't lie at all while he was with them, despite the fact that the fate of the world depends on Aang learning how to Firebend and a Firebender who is not loyal to the Firelord has just showed up on a silver platter offering to teach Aang.
Katara threatening Zuko shouldn’t come off too much as a surprise considering what happen last time. She was the very first one to trust Zuko but then got betrayed along with losing Aang. She’s justified to feel how she’s feeling.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Also not to mention the fire nation destroyed their village, culture, and family. That's not an easy thing to brush off. As a kid I had a Korean and Japanese friend growing up. And my Japanese friend was not allowed in my Korean friends house because his grandmother would not allow it. I never knew the full details but his grandmother must have experienced something extremely horrible during the Imperial Japanese occupation of Korea to lash out at a child like that. Is it enlightened thinking? Of course not but if youre empathetic about it it's completely understandable. Even my friend didn't blame her. Sometimes because avatar is a children's cartoon and they are limited with what they can do regarding charged topics, like war, death, and colonialism softens the stakes a little.
Don't forget that the choice Zuko made in Ba Sing Se literally killed Aang. It's easy from our POV to know Zuko has changed, but honestly, I don't know how anyone could ever invite someone that literally contributed to the death of the world's last hope. That fight in Ba Sing Se would've been totally different if Zuko sided with the Gaang, because at least then he could've freed Iroh from his earth prison and the odds would be much higher in their favor.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Yeah, the last thing the Gaang remember from Zuko is him choosing Azula and indirectly causing his death. They didn't see his inner torment as a "honorable" son to Ozai, they didn't seem will the courage within himself to stand up for himself and call Ozai out AND deflect his lighting. To them, he's still very much the same person who chased them in Season 1. Heck, they didn't even really see Zuko preliminary work in Season 2 from which is redemption was founded on. So them being hestitant, and Katara being actively resistant, are honestly valid.
People keep taking it being said that Aang "died" a little too literally, lol.
The boy wasn't _dead_ dead; he was modern medicine's equivalent to flatlined. You _can_ be revived if your heart and lungs stop working if it's done in a timely manner and the organs aren't too badly damaged, which Katara obviously did.
@@Deinedwe don't know that; the avatar world clearly doesn't work like ours, and both aang and katara make references to aang being "more than hurt" in his fight against azula
i mean, this is a world where reincarnation exists lmao
Katara is definitely In the right not to trust Zuko.
He betrayed them and got Aang killed.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
@@Thelaretus
it's even worse than that, because katara was ready to trust zuko last time. she almost wasted her spirit water on the jerk, and if she had, aang would be DEAD. katara blames herself for that, and naturally she blames zuko for "tricking" her. just take how angry she was at jet and multiply it by a hundred.
@@sirmoonslosthismind Except I think Zuko can take her in a fight, unless she uses Bloodbending.
She's a great Waterbender, but not against someone who knows how to use lightning, which I'm sure Zuko can if he can redirect it.
@@darthrodenZuko the weakest bender of the Gaang. Katara surpasses him even without blood bending. Zuko is the weakest bender in his family.
I dont think shes in the right but her feelings are justified. Those arent the same thing. Zuko doesnt understand the extent of how hes hurt them and to a greater extent he doesnt truly understand the trauma the fire nation has inflicted on the world, and the gaang dont understand what Zuko has gone through in his life.
Katara is totally justified in that threat in the end. People forget she was the very first person to trust Zuko, I mean she was so close to healing his scar, and then he turns around and betrays her, assisting in nearly killing Aang. So yeah, the group has very VERY good reason to be apprehensive and on the defense. ESPECIALLY Katara. Also that speech at the end is possibly my favorite moment from the series, I think my favorite Katara moments.
Exactly
yeah they kinda forget that team avatar hasn't seen any of Zukos character growth.
According to the official lore Aang literally WAS killed. It was the Spirit Water and the intervention by the "Moon Spirit"girl, Yue, (You find this out in a video game that was on the Nickelodeon Channels website for awhile after that episode aired) that allowed him to come back to the world of the living. And yeah, if you remember Katara's horrible pained and hopeless expression while she was cradling Aangs lifeless body in her arms and you understand exactly where she is coming from. Thanks for bringing this up. You'd be surprised at how many people are shocked at Katara's reaction when they should remember how she suffered as the Avatar was nearly 'killed for good'.
@@remo27 yeah that's right he did DIE die.
not even nearly. he literally died and was brought back.
So Katara is the emotional center of this group right? And she's the person who is the most optimistic, most trusting, and she sees the good in everyone. However if you betray that trust just like how Zuko did in Ba Sing Se, she's the first one to automatically do a 180. Because she's the one on the positive end of the trust spectrum she gets hurt the most by betrayal. And let's be honest. Zuko deserves all this. He was a total dick and it's good that the writers show that he really had to pay for it and earn the team's trust since team avatar didn't see what we saw. They didn't see the growth leading up to Zuko joining the team.
100%. We have the context of Zuko's journey, but Katara doesn't. It was a tough (and bad) decision Zuko made in Ba Sing Se, but Katara doesn't know that. I'm sure it all seemed like part of the plan to her in retrospect. She basically lays it out here, she thought Zuko was manipulating her.
And we've seen her react this way before with Jet. The show does a really good job of balancing out character roles. Here, Toph takes the more empathetic, open approach that Katara would often fill, but it makes sense due to her lack of previous interaction with Zuko chasing them. The same thing happened in the desert episode with sokka and aang switching roles.
what im saying, i wish people SEE this comment instead of hating on katara
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
She has always been a protecter over the ones she really loves
The only thing better than Zuko's redemption arc is his hair arc
It's not a range of emotions in 23 minutes. It's a range of events, developments and emotions over two and a half seasons. It's all come together.
Finally, this episode is like the start of the whole series (and squad) coming together for the goal of saving the world, can't wait!!
The Gaang if you will😁
From the beginning of the series, the creators always knew that Zuko would teach Aang firebending.
Fun fact: In the original series bible, Zuko was going to join the group at the end of Book Two.
I always imagined what that would've looked like. Would Zuko and Katara developed feelings for each other? How would Aang feel about that? Would Iroh join them? Would Day of Black Sun gone differently?
I kinda wish we got to see the alternative of him joining at the end of book 2 because aang would have had more time to train fire bending. We barely got to see him firebend
I'm so glad they didn't go with that. While it still would have been satisfying, getting to see him finally at home and accepted but know it's not right or who he is is so much more important for the character.
@@consistentlystupid4726I agree. Honestly the only loss for me is just that it meant less Zuko in the group episodes.
I think they changed the end of season 2 because mako died. They needed iroh minimized.
You guys have to remember last time katara trusted zuko, he betrayed her and because of that aang got killed and if she would of used the special water on him well aang wouldn't be here.. so yea its gonna take alot for her to fully trust zuko
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Remember Katara almost trusted Zuko enough to use the spirit oasis water to heal his scar. Zuko's betrayal at Ba Sing Se got Aang KILLED, and everyone else would have been captured had Iroh not intervened. Nobody else in the group knows about Zuko and Katara's private interaction, and it makes perfect sense for Katara to distrust him the most. Toph has no idea what they've been through.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Re: Combustion Man "lore;" since it's never explained in the show:
We've known since episode 1 of the series that power from firebending comes from the breath, as Iroh says this to Zuko.
Every time Combustion Man gets ready to fire of a beam of sparky sparky boom, he breathes in deeply. It is a form of firebending, just highly focused. The tattoo in his forehead represents the chakra located there, Ajna (the "third eye") which deals with insight. He focuses his chi there and it emits the beam of energy. Sokka's boomerang hitting his forehead physically blocked his chakra, which lead to blowing himself up as he was too disoriented to focus the energy away from himself properly (his metal limbs are a result of early, failed attempts at combustion bending.)
Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere *i have a feeling it has lol*
“To a certain degree”!?
“Be bigger than 13”?
I think someone’s got a case of omniscience-itis. That’s when YOU know everything that’s happened to ALL the characters and forget to see things from just ONE pov. Team Avatar has no idea what Zuko has been through and the realizations he’s come to. It’s perfectly reasonable for them to be mistrustful of Zuko, no matter their ages, when all they know of him is his unending thirst for Aang’s capture and the terrible lengths he’d go to to make that happen. You can see that he’s changed but they’re gonna need a lot more than just his word.
The head writers of this show Aaron Ehasz and his wife Elizabeth are absolutely masterful writers that molded Avatar into what it was. They were the secret geniuses behind this show - they can fill a 22 minute nickelodeon show and make it feel jam packed with things without over-writing so you always wanted more.
ex-wife*
@@sirmoonslosthismind oh man, dang, had no idea
Avatar is the rare show that is substantially better every single season. And it started pretty strong. One of the biggest things though is that while it's still nominally a "kids show" (no nudity or graphic deaths), it has no qualms about making complex characters. Zuko's speech deconstructing Fire Nation propaganda is so powerful.
So cool how they made toph the one aware of Zuko since she met Uncle Hiro’s pov. ❤then her sense was lost so never had time to warn her crew from combustion man 👨. Details are awesome everytime I rewatch 😂
I live that they reject Zuko the first time round. I feel like it is Zukos final test of morality. Like its 1 thing to change away from a tortured past, but another thing entirely to accept the rage and pain and judgement without falling into your old combative ways. It is the final test of Zukos strength of character to face the emotional consequences of what he had done, and accept that they are right to feel that way, without arguing to defend his formerly twisted honour.
there's not enough avatar, i want more
Trust us we feel the same 😭🫶🏼
That's, why we're here.
I want more, too, but I am sooo glad the show didn't go too long and run itself into the ground.
This temple was built under a canyon overhang making it hidden to any passerby.
The hanging buildings were built to harness the power of the wind.
The nomads used to host world-renowned Pai Sho tournaments.
But the Fire Nation still managed to find it.
This isn't Zuko's first visit to the Western Air Temple.
This was three years ago-right after Zuko was banished.
Its a shame that you can't see it from the gaang's pov. They are wary, not because they are young, but because they are in fact wise. This episode is very important to show that you must work for forgiveness and trust, people are not obliged to forgive you.
Honestly, to be fair, I don't think them being young has anything to do with not trusting Zuko.
If I in real life was on a journey around the world trying to do good and help people and a man I'd never met attacked me and tried to kidnap me then started stalking me and following me everywhere I went and telling me that he wasn't ever going to give up I'd be pretty upset about that.
Especially if someone else kidnapped me and my stalker happened to be there and managed to convince me we needed to work together to get away only to imediately, as soon as he realized someone he knew was with our captors, turn around and scream "OVER THERE! THAT'S WHO YOU WANT!" and attack me again.
Not to mention that after betraying me, I was shot in the back and died and the doctors were just barely able to bring me back to life and I now had a huge horrible scar on my back and was in a coma for a while and now I'm weaker from my injuries and it's unclear if I'll ever be able to do some of the things I used to be able to.
If that guy walked up to me later and was like "hey yeah, I was going through some stuff. Can we be cool tho? Lol." I'd be pretty harsh on him too.
Their reactions make PERFECT sense, especially Katara, since she did start to trust him a little in Ba Sing Se and he betrayed that.
Katara got that serious becuase trust is something she highly values , loyalty , she’s the “mother of the group “ , she trusted zuko once , and he betrayed everyone , also for katara , zuko represents the fire nation royal family and the fire nation , the enemy who caused the war and killed her mother , they don’t know what zuko actually went through
Plus, it is consistent with her character, such as her response to the return of jet.
6:50 Yes, 100% he only did it for that xD. He's changed but back then it totally was his goal. This really hurts but it's amazing writing. Of course they wouldn't trust Zuko. Last time they saw him, he was helping Azula kill Aang after having a similar conversation with Katara and they know nothing about the good things he's done and only us have seen. But it's great how Zuko's grown so much that he gets them and response by being humbler and even offering himself as a prisoner, instead of being angry at them not accepting him, which they logically can't do just like that. Not trusting him goes much deeper than being kids. He hasn't really earned it at all up until this point. They're well in their rights not to do so. Zuko is my favorite character of the show but I absolutely understand them. Of course, I've watched this many times, it's only natural you'd feel more conflicted about it on your first watch.
I get so happy and applaud Katara when she threatens zuko because it’s bad ass. She’s the “mother” of the group and once you hurt her and her loved ones, she’s not so nice and I love that for her.
I cried seeing aang felling literally dead at the book 2 finale And Katara crying and doing as much she could to save him and all of that due Zuko betrayed her and you girls were talking when Katara was explaining why she doesn’t want to accept Zuko in the group. She was the first person who trusted in him out there in Ba Zin Ze and due that Aang passed away for a while. Now as you can see It’s really hard for her forgiving Zuko. Thank you for your reaction Girls. I love it.❤
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
@@Thelaretus that’s what it is. It’s really hard to forget all that in a while. Zuko’s fans are thinking in a relationship between then but who remember the past know that it is impossible cause there is so much pain behind that. Wow that’s a great complement of my comment. Let’s see the reaction of the next episode.
The last time Zuko seemed to have "changed" he turned on them and Katara watched Aang get killed and barely managed to revive him so her anger is very much justified.
2:14 Yeah Maple, sorry to do this but;
Zuko literally stated his intentions to go teach Aang firebending and help him defeat Ozai during their confrontation the previous episode 🎉
Yeah it's like why else would he join their group?
i don’t even think it’s age because i feel like even full grown adults would be distrusting and hesitant like your biggest enemy who’s followed you around for years and kidnapped you is saying “hey i did a 360”
Did a 180
A 360 would mean he's still evil but nice try
Tbh I don't think it's because they're young at all. I think it would be incredibly unreasonable to trust Zuko so easily, especially for Katara who did trust him and was betrayed and Aang pretty much got killed for a bit as a result.
I really think y'all underestimate the maturity of our team avatar. The whole crew has EVERY RIGHT to be cautious around zuko. And Its not them being too emotional or too immature to process what Zuko is doing, its because they've LITERALLY BEEN BURNED SEVERAL TIMES BY HIM. We as an audience have seen Zuko struggle to do the right thing, fight, and grow, but team avatar hasn't seen that AT ALL. In fact I'm pretty sure the last time team avatar saw Zuko was when he was betraying them in Ba Sing Se
So if you remember when Zuko was trying to bend lightning it exploded in his face. My theory is they're doing an incomplete form of lightning bending that they learned how to project out instead of it exploding on you.
Combustionbending is a form of heat-bending. Fire Lord Zozin was capable of Heatbending, but he probably couldn't heat the air up for Combustionbending.
Them saying that its because they're young is infuriating. I don't think anyone would automatically trust someone after they've been stalking and hurting them for months.
Yeah it's stupid. Why the hell would anyone trust Zuko at this point? Zuko may be changed now, but they don't know that.
There is lore behind combustion benders. I'd recommend the Hello Future Me video that discusses it. Basically, it's very very advanced firebending, but it has to be instilled into someone, it isn't necessarily learned or gifted at birth. At least, from what I remember
i mean its frustrating to us as fans cause we know zuko has changed but im glad the crew didnt just accept him. At the end of the day he's done plenty of terrible things and should earn their trust
I know Katara seems harsh but we have to understand that the Aang Gang aren't seeing the development from Zuko that the audience is witness too. Katara is furious because she was the first to trust Zuko and it lead to the actual death of Aang, which would be unforgivable. If it wasn't for the water from the Spirit Oasis, Aang would have died all because of Zuko's betrayal of Katara's trust. Katara almost healed his scar with that water, and thank goodness she didn't because Aang would have definitely been gone and the war would go in favor of the Fire Nation.
Hello Zuko here. One of his two most iconic lines.
I really like all the characters dialog in this episode, especially Toph and Katara's they both give two different perspectives based on interactions with Zuko. I mean Aang would be dead because of Zuko's betrayal and was only saved because of Katara's spirit water, she should be pissed at Zuko
Why am I so bad at being good? -Zuko
Yaessssssss I’ve been waiting for this one, „Hello, Zuko here 🙂👋🏻“ is probably one of my most quoted Avatar moments
R.I.P. Sparky Sparky Boom Man
As someone who has an inner monlogue, I know exactly what you mean. It's weird the thought that a lot of people don't have it. My mom doesn't for example.
I can't help but love seeing how protective of Aang Katara is.
Aang died in Katara's arms because Zuko joined up with Azula after Katara almost wasted the healing water that saved Aangs life to heal Zukos scar.
I can imagine that Katara constantly has to think about what would have happened if she used that water on Zuko. How Aang wouldnt have come back, how the Avatar would be lost forever. I dont think her being so vehemently opposed is due to her being 14 years old or so. Her reaction makes perfect sense.
Was anyone else f***ing terrified when Katara spoke to Zuko at the end of the episode? She basically says, "If you hurt Aang, I'll kill you."
You guys kept blaming their age for their behavior. It's not even about being young. I don't know about you guys but if someone did several horrific things, including hunting me and my friends down for months, hurting innocent people in the process, and sending a LITERAL ASSASSIN TO KILL ME, I wouldn't be thrilled to have him join my group, regardless of what he has to offer.
But maybe that's just me. Maybe you'd be more forgiving. Maybe if you were in Katara's position, faced by the person responsible for getting a loved one of yours killed, you'd welcome that person with a smile and open arms. You guys are better than me, because if someone did that to my partner or my family, they'd be dead.
Combustion bending is an advanced firebending technique
They put the right emotion on Katara's part in this episode! Since last time she trusted Zuko, Aang get killed by Azula! Book 2 final episode! They could have win that fight if Zuko was team up with them, plus they got Iroh on the latter part of the that fight.
Katara is justified for her feelings and distrust, she is someone who if you cross her she will remember, just like with jet. Her emotions can get the best of her sometimes but every time I see this episode, I'm always so hype when she gives zuko that threat at the end. It more of a promise lol, her delivery is so freaking good I get chills.
It's this good because it's a show that has time to sit with itself. They're able to pack so much meaning in so few words because you have three seasons of context to lend weight to each word.
They took their time world-building and gave you consistent characters who grow organically as the show progresses, and the emotional beats build off this.
In the first episodes you couldn't get past Zuko's lisp and found Sokka annoying, but in the fullness of time you see Zuko as a tragic figure in one hell of a redemption arc, and realize that Sokka is such a strong supporting player holding it all together. You learn why Katara has such a motherly way to her, you see Toph grow from the petulant and isolated child to a steady presence in her own found family.
The creators of this show had trust placed in them by the looks of it, and it pays off so well
It makes a lot of sense Toph would be the one to trust Zuko first and Katara the last. Not just the fact she can sense it with her earth bending. But she's known him the shortest time so she has less to go off of and less bad interactions. She made friends with Uncle and heard stories from him as well about Zuko. So she's the most positively impacted by him. While Katara is probably the most negatively impacted by him, even more than Sokka, and Aang (who is probably most neutral really), and just kind of cool seeing the different thoughts from everyone but especially Toph and Katara who are at odds again clearly
I want someone who's never seen the show to run an experiment where they only watch scenes of the show where the Gaang is involved, and all the Zuko parts are cut out. I need the perspective.
Zuko accidentally burned Toph, just like Aang accidentally burned Katara.
Each episode gets better and better and then even better.
This episode Katara declares she's "ride or die" for Aang.
The charackter developement throughout the series is crazy
People get confused about why Toph didn’t want Zuko anywhere near her when Zuko accidentally burned her, but imagine how you would feel in the moments after someone accidentally burned your eyes lol
That threat of Katara’s is one of the most believable and chilling in the show.
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Yeah, understood, but Zuko would have to defend himself if she lashes out breaking her condition and if she goes down, she goes down, killed, finished.
In case it still isn't clear Combustion Man (aka Sparky Sparky Boom Man) is a firebender. His bending style is a specialized form call combustion bending where he focuses his bending firing from his forehead. But if they can't focus combustion bending can backfire.
You forgot that the avatar team hasn't seen the whole journey that Zuko has been on like you have. They have primarily experienced the negative things, so their thoughts of him is much like what you were thinking yourself before the storm episode.
This episode is what separates okay shows from good shows from great shows.
The okay show would introduce Zuko as a villain at the beginning, show his redemption arc with his uncle, and at the end of season 2 he defends Aang and Katara. The good show would still have the betrayal at the end of season 2, but Zuko confronts his father during the invasion and tells him that he is joining the Avatar. Then he shows up to the gang and explains himself and offers to teach Aang firebending and everyone accepts his explanation. This is still satisfying, and many shows would have stopped there, but it doesn't fully respect what the other characters would be feeling in that moment and what they have gone through, it would have only taken care of Zuko. That is why this show is great. They dedicated a whole episode to fully explore how each character feels about this major shift in events and it makes not only Zuko's redemption feel so earned and developed, but it also makes his inclusion in the group later on feel so natural and reasonable despite all of their history. I agree with Maple that the show does a great job at condensed and meaningful dialogue, but it also takes entire episodes to explore character growth which allows for the dialogue to carry more weight. This episode, the fire island episode, and the history of Roku episode being prime examples. I always loved this episode for taking all of these characters that we love so seriously, and really making sure they take care to express how each of them would really feel and react.
Great reaction as always and I can't wait to see you guys finish the series!
I love Aang's little reaction after Appa licks Zuko. Aang knows Appa better than anyone else, and also knows that Appa has a great intuition when it comes to judging character. So if he says Zuko is OK, then he must be lol.
The Firebending Masters episode is up next, one of my absolute favorite episodes. Can't wait to watch your reactions!!
Toph didn’t get to experience being chase by Zuko, that’s why she was more open about him
Also keep in mind the last time they encounter Zuko he fought against them, and help Azula kill Aang and conquer the Earth kingdom, you can expect them to trust him after that
I love when Zuko practicing to introduce himself, even i customized my toll card with hello name tag and written "Zuko Here!" 🤣
This episode is tough because as the audience we have context of Zuko and his change, but team avatar hasn't had the insight to be able to trust him at his word. It makes the team up that we have been rooting for kind of heartbreaking at the same time as satisfying.
Sokka and Katara never knew about the time Aang was saved by the Blue Spirit.
Q: How does Combustion Man do his weird third-eye thing?
A: Yoga apparently.
Iroh explained that power in fire bending comes from heat and breath. Combustion Man uses a breath-control technique ( the Nauli breathing technique) to compress his flames . he shoots it out of his forehead because that is where the extra oxygen goes ( also the third eye is in the same spot as the light chakra), and the fire blast detonates when he exhales
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
10:30 lol omgosh, he's a darn FIRE BENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol
That particular bender has an ability called Combustion. It's a combination of fire and air, meaning that somewhere down his lineage, he has a bit Air Bender DNA.
Gotta love when reactors get mad at Aang's group for not immediately forgiving Zuko because he's their favorite character.
I've noticed with most reactors when they get to this episode it's like their media literacy goes away and they just want everyone to constantly do whatever they think is best for their favorite Zuko
The assassin is known by our group as "Combustion Man", a.k.a., "Sparky-Sparky Boom Man".
He has the unique ability to super-heat the air and cause explosions by shooting energy from his tattooed third eye.
This why Zuku my favorite he's the most developed
Always enjoy your reactions. We all love Zuko but I really like how protective Katara is about Aang at the end. Zuko's betrayal (and the consequence of such) at the end of season two was anything but subjective so Katara's warning is well earned. All episodes from here on out are great, so enjoy!
Katara is eager to defend the boy she loves. She lost her mother to the Fire Nation and blames herself for it. Then she held Aang's lifeless body, due to Zuko's treason, and she blamed herself for it. Then her dad was captured, and she blames herself, and she is sacred by the prospect that she almost wasted that water on him. So trusting Zuko again and risk losing Aang is something she can't afford: she has severe loss trauma.
Combustion man has a unique style of firebending that is rare.
His ability is called Combustionbending. Its a type of Firebending that, well, only so much is known, but its rare, and IIRC, its partially created by forcing a firebender to bend underwater
Zuko is my favorite character of the whole show. He is the most relatable to me. Because we all stick to a bad/wrong decisions for a long time. So it’s an adventure to learn you were mistaken. Then difficult to make different choices.
I have rewatxhed avatar from the ending of book 1 to the finale sooooooo many times through different react channels.......and it never gets old😂
"I have mastered the series a thousand times over a thousand react channels and now I must do it again"
This is the point when the world starts getting saved
Yes it's a different type of writing than what we have nowadays... It's called good writing. 😉 It's not a streaming service taking what's supposed to be a 90-minute movie script and trying to stretch it out into an 8 to 10 hour season.
We know the back story of Zuko at this point, because it's a show. You must not be to meta about it all. Think in terms of a one sided story from the point of view of team avatar. Team avatar has history, and even if zuko shows he's actually trying logic and emotion clash. All of this can used in our actual lives. To people whom our friends. And people whom have betrayed us. People can grow and change. Remember this lesson and teach it to others.
One of my favorite animated series, by far! Was SOOOO stoked when I saw the first reaction vid announced. Since I knew it was gonna hook y'all as bad as it did me! And yes, this episode, along with the previous 2, are both doozies! Without spoiling it, its a friggin rollercoaster from here on in!
I’m so glad you guys started posting these again. Lol I was worried you stopped watching before the absolute best part of the series started
On top of all the comments pointing out the gaang’s very justified reasons for not trusting Zuko, they also have a good reason to doubt Toph’s truth-sensing ability: Sokka and Aang just saw Azula successfully beat it.
Combustion man does come from a different lore in the avatar world. Its not openly explored but combustion benders go through horrific training to become the ultimate weapon. They essencially go through water torture to unlock their abilities. As such most combustion benders are heavily damaged and often brainwashed people.
Yes it's very good indeed and it's still getting better and better.
The writing is God tier
its not about them being young or comprehending. You feel the way you do because you've been on Zuko's journey.
From any logical pov, the gaang are right in their actions and distrust.
Failure to comprehend that and blaming it on them being kids is dumb as hell.
And now the Gaang is complete
Missing suki
Oh these next few episodes? I. CANNOT. WAIT.
"Is it your turn to go on a life changing journey with zuko?"
Arianna melting over zuko's awkwardness is so wholesome
It's always nice to see how people's opinions about Zuko change as the series goes on.
The guy with the third eye is known as a combustion fire bender.
Katara's reaction is completely warranted. They haven't seen what the viewers have. She was the one who trusted and it almost got Aang killed. Also, as it is explored all throughout the show, Katara carries a huge, and justified, emotional wound. This moment and episode 16th episode of this book are my favorite Katara moments.
Okay everyone, last call - make sure you hand in your permission slips or no field trips for you!
10:25 He's a unique form of Firebender called a combustion bender.
0:45 my favorite temple, is amazing
You're correct, they do manage to put a lot into a short episode. IMO episodes like this pack such a punch primarily due to _everything that came before._
I think we fans are sometimes worried when someone starts this show. Because *we know* where it is going to take the viewer. But said viewer is nowhere close to that point at first. And we all hope they give the show time to take them there.
I feel this applies to many stellar shows. I feel this way about *Babylon 5* and *Farscape,* to name only two.
15:35 Love to see you react to your first few *AtLA* reactions. ☺️