The absolute worst part of Zuko's backstory Is:. The avatar didn't exist. Everyone though him to be dea/MIA. His dad just basically sent him on an impossible fetch quest he knew Zuko would never come back from.
It had been 100 years since Aang's disappearance, so the assumption was that he was dead and the Avatar had reincarnated in the water tribes. That's why Zuko was searching in the South Pole, because his mission is capturing the Avatar, not Aang in particular.
Airbenders only get the arrow tattoos when they become a master Whether you’re an adult or still a kid The arrow tattoos are based on the natural markings of the sky bison
@@zionthedon7745 1,000 percent needed to say animated. I'd say even be more specific and narrow it down to best nickelodeon show. Once you start getting broader than that it tanks in its ranking.
@@FullMetalB no, it is one of the best shows of all time. In my opinion it’s my favourite show and I would argue it is the best but that’s just my opinion.
The best thing about this show is that they don't belittle being young. The show allows these young characters to have genuinely complex personalities and relationships. All the protagonists and antagonists are BELIEVABLE! Rather than having your characters be slaves to the plot, let your characters have the depth and realism to drive the plot. This show is a masterpiece in storytelling.
@@trevorknapek4998 the problem is people thinking that being a kids show is a bad thing cause like it’s obviously a kids show but that doesn’t take a way from how good it is. kids shows don’t have to be for like 3 year olds i feel like it was meant more for tweens who can still understand serious plots
@@lourdesmarie.m846 there are even some kids shows that just flat out give up on appealing to children. There are multiple episodes in the latter half of Adventure Time that I can't imagine children finding any enjoyment in, and Infinity Train literally got cancelled for being "too mature" even though it was phenomenal. A good show is just a good show
The sets the stage for why Aang has alot of attention issues. He was alienated by his friends for being the Avatar. All of his friends are dead and the only on alive is an old man. So of course Aang would get hype when the people of Kiyoshi was giving him praise, it's literally the only positive feedback he's gotten from being the Avatar. Of course Aang would hide the letter from Katara and Sokka, he is literally the only thing he has and he knows he can beat wanting to see their father knowing how much he wants to see Gyatso.
Fun fact: the voice of the Fire Lord is Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamil. Glad you love this series and hope you watch the rest of it, because it fantastic!!!!
Uncle Iroh is hands down my favorite Avatar character. He's funny, strong, compassionate and empathetic. His backstory is really cool too and it really informs the person he is during the series.
@@fuckbrigadoon5420 I don't remember the name, the username contained muffin and had a ton of fics that were inspired by it. Basically, Zuko is washed overboard in a storm, fished up by Hakota and his crew, Hakota start to realise that Zuko is basically a hurt child.
Book Two is what _really_ elevates Avatar to legendary heights, so I'm excited you've been enjoying Book One. It's an especially *wild ride* from here on out. Much love, Nat!
one of my favorite lines is in the storm. "I'm too young to die!" "I'm not, but I still don't wanna!" but yes, the show gets so, so, so much better in season 2. just about every episode is either setups or payoffs.
@@aksis2133 I personally think Avatar Day is one of the funniest episodes in the series. It's definitely as close as ATLA gets to a filler episode but I love the visual gags in it.
i love that people go from, “pfft, this is a show foe kids.”, to “THIS IS A SHOW FOR KIDS?!” 😂❤️ i’m really happy Natalie is going to continue with the series. i really want to see Natalie react to the character Toph.
@@davidmichaelson1092 I know exactly who you're talking about and it's only because they say they weren't smart enough to understand as kids so they assume all kids are as dumb as them
One of my favorite interpretations of Yue' s sacrifice is the idea of her sacrifice as an act of agency. We know that she deeply cares about her people and she is willing to sacrifice her wants for the good of her tribe ( the arranged marriage), so her choosing to become the moon spirit is a way for her to reclaim power over her life, get out of the arranged marriage, still help her tribe, and even upend the beliefs of her tribe by becoming the most powerful water bender and the source of water bending which was prohibited for women before. It's such a perfect decision for a character like Yue
I never understood the whole "women can't use offensive waterbending, only healing". It's not like swordfighting or some other thing that relies on physical strength. You could be a really small man or women, and it wouldn't affect how powerful your waterbending is.
38:23 you can actually see that Zuko covers himself with a bubble of fire to protect him from the explosion. I love the attention to details that the animators put into this show
I don't remember if this is explained so early, but you earn the arrows when you become an airbending master. The other kids hadn't become masters yet, so they didn't have them (Aang became a master by inventing the air scooter technique).
@@sirmoonslosthismind From what I heard it was written in the cover jacket of the collector's season one DVD. I don't have that one though so I'm not sure.
It's difficult to see unless you go frame-by-frame, but when the explosions meant to kill Zuko happens, as the fire enters his room, he surrounds himself with a sphere of flame that protects him, so he's ejected out the window instead of incinerated.
I beg to differ. I'd say The Winter Solstice, Part 2 does that, because that's when Aang actually realized the gravity of the situation he's just been thrust into.
Probably a mixture of both. The Storm is generally regarded as the first episode to accentuate that the tone transcends a kids’ show and first details the motivations of characters. I think winter solstice did a great job accentuating the overall narrative and propelled it forward 🤷♂️
@@Wolfeur The Great Divide is basically the showrunners forgetting that a 100 years isn't all that much. Like, stuff doesn't become myth or legend within one generation.
@@Ikajo 100 years a long time, even for someone whos lived that long. so much can happen. its crazy to think that 20 years before i was born that black people basically had no rights. a hundred years women didnt have rights.
what i love about episode 12 is the juxtaposition of zuko's and aang's backstories. the villain's story began with an act of bravery, and the hero's story began with an act of fear
The airbender’s arrow tattoos are earned when one completes their training. However, Aang is an airbending prodigy and earned his tattoos early because he invented a completely new technique: the air scooter (when he conjures that whirling ball of air that he sits and rides around on). The Air people are unlike the Earth, Water, and Fire peoples in that they all have airbending ability due to being more attuned to the natural and spirit worlds, living as either monks or wandering nomads. Glad you’re enjoying the show, the character development and arcs that occur over the series are so excellent. It’s probably due to the fact that the creators had the whole thing planned in advance and would take three seasons to tell the story (unlike the sequel series which doesn’t hold a candle to this one)
@@ger.baltav oh yeah i enjoyed watching korra a lot but i felt disappointed or dissatisfied w a lot of parts of it. it just made me a little sad bc i was so excited for it and it just did not live up to my expectations, which were that it'd be as good as atla
Spoilers to The Siege of the North Part 2 I love how when the moon spirit was destroyed, everything was in black and white except for Princess Yuei's eyes because she had part of the spirit in her. This show has so many amazing little details!! Truly a masterpiece.
Natalie, I watched Avatar in 2020 for the first time as a 30-year-old dude, so I feel like you're going through the same journey as me. Even though I had zero childhood attachment or nostalgia for the series, it honestly became one of my all-time favourites. Aang is honestly one of my favourite characters in all television. I hope you keep watching it! It's worth it. The Legend of Korra is really good too, so I hope you make time for that when you're finished this!
When this series first aired, my son got me interested during the last two episodes of the first season. I went back and watched the entire season as it was rerun. By then my wife and I both were huge fans, and while my son still liked the show, his interest waned a bit. I'm still convinced this is one of the best series ever made.
Im literally reading all comments to find the one person who feels the need to say everything but her format of binging then uploading half a season at a time is actually genius to avoid spoilers because in the long run people are going to spoil. now we only have 6 videos
Love how invested you are. Books 2 and 3 are gonna great to watch with you!! A note about Katara and the Moon Spirit; once Zhao killed the Spirit, all waterbenders lost their bending. No matter how much Katara wanted to, she not longer had the power to heal the Spirit.
I will never get tired of watching people get into Avatar and discovering what an amazing show it is, in particular seeing how their opinion of Zuko changes over the course of the show, best redemption arc ever.
I always took Zhao rejecting Zuko’s hand to be out of pride. He just couldn’t accept help from Zuko, of all people. And so it was pride that led to his death. Fitting.
Fun fact: In the context of spirits, moon is pull and ocean is push. It also makes sense for us. But that's why in the end fight, the Avatar spirit combo with the ocean spirit is shown to only push water and not pull it as the moon is no longer there to pull. Details like these are incredible and really make the series timeless.
I can't wait to see how she reacts to Appa's Lost Days. I suspect there will be many tears, but it does have a happy ending, thank God. Pretty sure there would have been thousands of angry fans if anything lethal ever did happen to him.
@@adrianrocha49 It is gonna wreck her tho considering how worried she is about him now. I'm still a sobbing mess for rewatching that episode...and I know how the story turns out!
As an older brother myself, my respect for Sokka went up immensely during the deserter episode. My manz did not hesitate to rush Aang after he burned Katara. We forget because Aangs a cute, goofy lil kid but thats essentially a non bender v. A goddamn PHYSICAL GOD. If that kid lost his temper he could become a literal natural disaster; yet Sokka was still just like "nah, fuck that; im running his fade, expeditiously. (ง'̀-'́)ง" 😂 He loves his kid sister like I love mine. Sokka is best boy.
@@zrc1514 considering what the fire nation did to his mother, I think its only the fact that this is a kids show that needed a resolution in only 20+ minutes that stopped him from going farther. Imagine your mom was burned to death by people with dangerous fire magic and then your buddy whose trying to learn said dangerous fire magic but was specifically instructed to master the basics before using it, said "fuck it we ball" and then immediately burned your sister; who looks like your mom. 🤨
FINALLY! Please don't make us wait another 2 weeks for book 2 lol. The "hard" part of Avatar is the first half of season 1, after that everything is smooth sailing. You have reached the point where the show becomes GOATED.
@@Melkac These videos take a lot of work. She doesn’t just spend all her days watching Avatar, she has other things to do and other movies and shows to watch. Her editor also needs to put in a lot of work, especially in this format with multiple episodes because he needs to decide what to keep and what to cut because you can only have so much footage of a show or movie before you get a copyright strike.
"That'll be exciting to see another girl character." Yes, Azula is definitely an interesting character to say the least. There will be some very interesting girl characters to come next season. I'm so excited to see you watch more of this. Season 2 is amazing and season 3 is epic. Soooo much to come!😊
Love that when the moon is dead the only things with color is the water that Aang and the ocean spirit are using, the firebending, and Yue's eyes. Also yes Zhao was pulling his hand back, he was too proud to allow himself to be helped by Zuko.
The reason He refused to teach Aang flat out at first is because of the Avatar Cycle. Aang right now only knows Airbending. He NEEDS to follow the cycle EXACTLY. EVERY Avatar does. THAT is how they progress from one element to the next. The cycle is designed for this reason, so that the Avatar learns what he NEEDS at each new element to prepare for the next. Aang's NEXT Element is WATER Water teaches calm, serenity and going with the flow. At this stage he's too impatient and easily distracted. He's NOT ready for Fire. That's what Jeong Jeong was trying to tell him.
This is considered by most to be a “perfect” series by the fans. It’s so well rounded and it only gets better as it goes on! I look forward to your reaction of the next book!
"i don't think the other firebenders have to learn water and earth." it's more that aang's airbender mindset is particularly dangerous. he can't treat fire the way he treats air.
Azula is THE best villain in this entire show, every time she is on screen she steals the scene. Cannot wait for you to watch her in the next two seasons!!
this show is a masterclass in how to write great female characters. also, i hope that, as you get to the final season, you might think about putting the finale episodes into their own videos. those have so much going on in them that you could definitely put them into standalone reactions. something to consider, anyway!
Only master airbenders have the arrows. Aang was considered a master after inventing the air scooter, if I'm not mistaken. He's also an airbending prodigy (because he's the avatar), so he mastered it before anyone else of his age.
@@jameswg13 no false in order to be a master you have to master 13 air bending forms Aang mastered 12 and than after creating the air scooter he was given the rank of Master
Given her comments throughout S1, I'm really excited to see her reaction to the middle of S2. There'll be stress and anxiety, but the payoff will be totally worth it, haha.
The arrows the elder monks and Aang have signify their level of mastery to Airbending. Aang is a natural prodigy and mastered the arts by age 11. Which also explains why the other kids don't have them.
@@DeathIsSweet22 which is the last step in airbending mastery. Completing the 36 tiers and the last being to create your own. Which was indeed when Aang invented the airscooter and achieved mastery status and his tattoos
@@alarrim29574 You become a master from mastering all 36 airbender forms, or mastering 35 and creating your own move. Everyone seems to think making a new move is a must but it'd be like impossible for airbenders to become a master if EVERYONE had to make up a new move.
I'm rewatching avatar for like 15 times already lol and I just found out about something new (again and again everytime, this show is amazing). When you said "maybe it's better for you to be frozen in an iceberg", knowing that the avatar state is all the previous avatar controlling the current avatar, they probably found out -especially Roku- about the fire nation will eradicate the air nomads and that's why Aang froze himself in an iceberg for a 100 years instead of just fleeing, cause obviously he can just do that. So the previous avatars are protecting him cause he could die, brb crying.
Aang's normally goofy nature actually makes those moments when he makes mature choices as the avatar a lot more intense. Can't wait for you to meet Toph by the way. She's the best.
Honestly, Zuko is one of my most favorite characters because I’m a absolute fanboy of character storywriting. And Zuko’s character storywriting is one of the best I’ve ever seen in any show or movie.
Some people really dislike the Bato episode, but I think it gives Aang a lot of dimension. He is, after all, a kid. And he's lost so much. Also, it has some AMAZING fight choreography.
I love that more and more people are watching this show now. I saw it when I was a kid and it aired on Nickelodeon. Since then I’ve rewatched it more than I can count, it helped me when I was going thru some really rough times and has thought me some real life lessons that I carry with me till this day. I can’t wait to see her reaction to the rest of the show because the best parts are yet to come.
I didn't expect to love this show nearly as much as I do, but it's a VERY good show. You're absolutely going to love this show. Honestly, one of my proudest moments is when my child told me that that Uncle Iro reminds them of me. I seriously choked up, because Iro is so incredible. To be compared to him was humbling.
Being compared to Iroh is the single greatest complement one could receive. Every kid has a father (present or not), but every kid NEEDS an uncle Iroh.
Airbenders don’t get their tattoos until they are considered a master. Aang getting his earlier than his peers is a testament to how powerful he actually is. It’s also why zuko never really beat aang in a fight, beginning of this season he’s still going through basic forms with iroh.
I was 25 when Avatar came on the air, and I was in my 30's when I watched it for the first time. Even as a grown man I was impressed by the quality and emotional depth of the story.
Few things make me happier than watching someone discover how amazing ATLA is as a show. I really enjoy this channel but these Avatar episodes have been my favorite. I can't wait for Natalie to continue her Avatar journey.
The thing is my dad used to try and make me watch movies and shows he grew up with, but I would always find it boring and annoying, compared the the what was currently airing
The best part about finishing Book One is realising that there's still two seasons left! So much went into this show from the writing, the fighting styles, the location design, and the music, you can really tell it's a labor of love.
PLEASE continue with the series, it only gets better, and your reactions and insights are fantastic. I’m struggling with my health conditions right now, and seeing you go on this ATLA journey made me fall in love with the series all over again. Thank you. It made me realise ATLA is what I need right now. I’m going to start Book 2, and would love to see your reactions to it in the future.
Need your season 2 and 3 reactions asap! 🤣 I always love seeing RU-vidrs react to this show for the first time lol. It’s like I’m experiencing it for the first time again
I legitimately fell in love with this show since it first deputed. It was completely different then any other show on Nickelodeon because it was like a cinematic masterpiece.
Fun fact! The character of Admiral Zhao was inspired by the evil cavalry commander, played by Jason Isaacs, from Mel Gibson's The Patriot. The casting director took it upon herself to get all the right actors that she got the man himself whom they were inspired by, Jason Isaacs, to voice Zhao.
The amount of quality stories and world building from this show is amazing, it's playful but still mature. Definitely one of my favourite animated shows of all time.
It's so so good, and seasons 2 and 3 are honestly quite a leap ahead again in my opinion! Still a top 3 show of all time for me loving your reactions!:)
Noticing Azula in that scene is one of the things I watch for in reactions to Avatar. It speaks volumes of the level of engagement from the watcher. And with this one especially, OH how you are rewarded.
So happy you're doing these Avatar videos. It's been my favorite show since it first aired when I was a literal toddler. Aang is one of my favorite characters. He grows so much, just you wait!!
43:40 that moment when you realize someone is on a countdown until they see tales of basingse and you can't stop it. Season two hits like a freight train right in the feels.
I love the way that you’re releasing these videos, doing half the season all at once. It makes it so easy and entertaining to watch! You might want to split season 2 into three videos and season 3 into four or five, just because those seasons are a lot more dense and you won’t want to blow through them as quickly. For season 1 though, it was absolutely perfect!
Probably one of the greatest shows of all time. Narratively complete and satisfying, and philosophically showcases the lowest and highest points of humanity through the eyes of children who have to grow up too quickly in a cruel world. But never losing its lightness, humor and joy.
I laughed when you said Aang "was really getting into the thick of it." When fighting the fire nation ships, because sang on The Backyardigans song "Into The Thick of It", as Pablo the Penguin. 😂
Roku: I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes, now I must do it once again. Me: I have watched reaction to this show a thousand times on a thousand channels, now I must do it once again.
Keeping the hype, don't miss the sequel, Legend of Korra! As you said about this being a kids show, Korra takes it to some more adult and serious matters, less good vs. evil duality and more gray areas or understandable villain motivation. Both shows are awesome, with different approaches, of course. Totally worth watching!
What I love about your reactions is you're so quick to pick up on things even when not explained on the spot, you genuinely feel engaged and understanding on events or thought processes that others wouldn't even bother to realize is important to put on the reaction. And when you don't and have a brain poot youre funny and genuine which makes me feel like im watching with an acquaintance! I'm just a new fan of yours that finds himself listening while making essays and possibly stopping every now and then to rewatch in depth. Keep up the amazing work! You earned my subscription... after many movies and shows of me lurking....youre awesome and I can't deny it any longer!
Nice little detail, even though the moon spirit died, since some of it's life remained in Princess Yue, her eyes had color while everything else around her didn't. You can see that her eyes are still blue.
We really see how Sokka's sexism early in the show was built on his cultural gender roles, if it hadn't been for meeting Suki and the Kyoshi warriors he might have ended up like Paaku. I think Admiral Zhao pulled his hand back out of pride. He couldn't bare the humiliation of being rescued by Zuko or living with the disgrace of his failed invasion (like he said talking to Iroh).
When Zuko got banished and sent to capture the Avatar, you have to remember that nobody ever saw him for a hundred years, let alone to capture him. Zuko was sent to an Impossible task, and was banished for good. BUT, not until Aang as the Avatar did show up and gave Zuko hope to get back home. Zuko's so obsessed to capture Aang because he thinks it was the only way to restore his honor as a prince.
