When the worst episodes of a show are still good, that also puts into perspective the quality. After all, one way I put it is if these episodes were in any other show, people wouldn't blink an eye.
I think the headband is an important episode. It's not the best but when your audience is children, the idea is even more important. Showing the audience that the fire nation isn't just an umbrella covering all villains is important. We can figure this out on our own but for a 10 year old, the realization that being from the fire nation doesn't make you evil could be a bit bigger. It's important to humanize the next generation of fire benders because they come after the war.
You could say it does the same thing like in the beginning of book 2. Zuko had seen the other nations as something maybe even inferior to the fire nation after living in his bubble all this time, and then he has to deal with living like everyone else in the earth kingdom. He sees how his scar is related to being burnt by a firebender and he sees people from his country have done that. I feel that the headband and even the painted lady do the same but for team avatar. I feel that all of them feel that the people from the fire nation are all on the same boat, doing their part to win the war, but then we see that kids aren't being shown the full story, that Aang just so happens to know and that those kids are being educated into a rigid system. Then in the painted lady we see the fire nation kinda screws over some of their people to keep the war going. In the end, both Zuko and the Gaang needed to learn that the war involved everyone, taking along people that couldn't care less about it.
I totally agree with there not being enough time in the North Pole. If they had another anthology video like Tales of Ba Sing Se might’ve worked, with Aang discovering the spirit lake, Soka getting more development with Yue, and Katara getting some more training and bonding with Pakku. That would’ve been awesome
It feels realistic to me. Like, sometimes you don't have the time to say everything you want to say to the girl you like before some shit starts happening. That works for me.
@@assordante2205 I mean, yeah that's a really nice sentiment, but it still leaves the finale pulling heavy duty to make us care about a largely undeveloped character and location
seige of the north is so underrated. especially when we later get the scene w iroh and zuko "if his friends hadnt found you you wouldve frozen to death!" we get some of zukos more powerful writing, arguably the best avatar state moment. I still to this day get chills when i hear aang say "NO, ITS NOT OVER"
So many details in this episode for example Zhao mentioning Iroh visiting the spirit world and many scenes referred to this episode later on wether its the line you've mentioned, Koh the face stealer that got mentioned by an old water bending Avatar in sozins comet episode, Zhao visiting the library to get the information of the spirits and many other things.
Thank you for saying this. I could understand the placement with all the other episodes but Siege of the North (at least part 2) totally deserves A tier. Great character development for Zuko, Iroh gets to be a badass, and probably the coolest spirit world stuff in the entire show. @@uncleiroh7
You didn't mention how katara's final move against Azula was a genius but of writing parallels, never seen anyone change state of water just by breathing before. She was using firebending technique with waterbending just like how Zuko saved her by using waterbending technique with his firebending. Her creation of this move was what, a day or two after her and Zuko reconciled?
We don't know that that's the case though, it could easily just be a Waterbending technique that we hadn't been introduced to as we very rarely see Waterbenders that are actually submerged.
I think it's a better parallel in how they were both very talented, hard-working benders and younger sisters with an absent mom, but that Katara had a support system who genuinely loved her and that she genuinely loved while Azula just ruled everyone through fear and ended up alone as a result. Katara, the heart of the Gaang, winning against someone heartless.
I also think Katara's presence in the final fight against Azula was important for character development because of what Azula did to Aang in the S2 finale. The calm and smart way Katara dealt with Azula in the end shows us that she really is maturing, especially after The Southern Raiders episode. Instead of lashing out at Azula because of her killing Aang, Katara actually took some of Aang's philosophy into heart and fought Azula with unparalleled finesse.
Man people love making up scenarios where “this character learned this technique from a bender of a different element” when really it was never meant to be interpreted that way
Jet is Zuko without Iroh, just on the other side of the war. Like seeing how Zuko would be without Iroh is crazy interesting, and seeing how a non-bender reacts to this war and fighting back is doubley interesting.
Not quite though, at least not as far as we can tell - Jet didn't have any character like Ozai that we're aware of which is where the majority of Zuko's corruption and conflict stems from. Jet is more a reflection of Katara than of Zuko.
This is what I truly miss about the avatar episodes on this channel. Reading the comments and seeing genuinely interesting and thoughtful opinions and theories. Heck yeah.
Man really can't get away from this series. So far all his other stuff has been excellent so I'm glad he's diversifying, and he IS making good money from this so that's a plus too
Man needs a consistent theme again. Korra is the obvious choice regardless of whether he's a huge fan of not it's another 4 seasons of relevant content
@@TheGreenScout if it's not something he's interested in doing, it's going to make bad content and he won't be happy doing it. I'd rather see more overanalyzing bigfoot or aliens
Don't disagree PZ, just seems like he's been floundering for a new angle recently, don't want a quality channel to lose steam. Reminds me of Lyle Wrath between Sanity Not Included and Pregame Discharge - got kinda lost in trying new angles before coming home to what he's good at
Man, I got so happy when he was singing the praises of The Painted Lady because I know everybody hates that episode but I think it's fuckin great. I was wounded this day
Zuko Alone, I feel, is definitely the best episode of ATLA when taken as a work without context of the rest of the series. For an episode all about Zuko's character, it gives enough context that someone who's never seen the show before can watch it and still be left in awe.
8:30 honestly this makes perfect sense to me when you realize how the monks probably taught him. One of the possible steps to becoming an airbending master involves you inventing a new technique (Aang became one because of the air scooter) so airbender children were probably very much encouraged to try out random things and be creative with their element. Aang probably did a lot of random and careless stuff with airbending when he was learning and suffered little from it due to air just being so harmless by nature, so him not really grasping the danger of fire and immediately going to try something out that is totally out of his skill level just to see if he can do it makes a lot of sense to me when you connect those dots.
The ingrained airbending teachings is probably also why fire is last for air avatars and why jeoung jeoung was so hesitant to train him- either that or I'm looking too much into it- but hey it's overanalyzing for a reason
@@slaybutton1692 Fire is last because the training order always follows the avatar cycle (i.e. the order in which avatars are reincarnated), starting with your "home" element. Roku learned fire, air, water, then earth, and Korra (ostensibly) learned water, earth, fire, then air (she started learning fire a bit early, and air a bit late, so it all balances out, I guess). This is also the order in which elements are named during the opening (for both shows).
@@slaybutton1692 yeah the order is actually tied to the teachings of the others. Air and Water are so close together that you can lessons from each and use that to hone your skills. Whereas Air and Fire can only come together if you learn to balance between them. Firebenders already know this but airbenders dont
@@slaybutton1692 "The ingrained airbending teachings is probably also why fire is last for air avatars and why jeoung jeoung was so hesitant to train him- either that or I'm looking too much into it- but hey it's overanalyzing for a reason" This is actually a very interesting point that I've not seen anyone consider before, like whether intended or not, this is most certainly what happened in the story, the inherent nature of each element results in the last element the current avatar has to learn being one with a deceptive philosophical contrast to their original element. (most probably because its not the opposition element with the exact opposite philosophy, behavior, nature, and habit) Fire and air both can be "conjured" out of nothing and react much the same to the environment physically, but treat them the same and you end up with very bad habits that cause many issues for the Avatar, an airbender learning firebending before he's ready will do as Aang did and hurt himself or others, which results in guilt especially with their affinity for life philosophy. (without the understanding that fire is life) But if a firebender gets into airbending before they're ready they will be limited by their behavior, habits, and emotions, and almost certainly would not be so creative and free willed. They'd be very likely to never properly manage or use airbending and may even be stuck not being able to do it properly. With earth and water, again they act similar as they cannot be conjured and they generally have similar physical effects (in the case of water being frozen in fact the same) but they have philosophy and a lot of nuance differences. A waterbender is taught to flow and redirect, to use an enemy's attack as a strength against said enemy. In contrast an earthbender is expected to face attacks straight on, rarely deliberately redirecting anything. A waterbender doing earthbending without maturity would most certainly be too avoidant, or more aptly, would be too prone to using all their energy trying to redirect attacks instead of facing them head on. This would wear them down and lead them to be easily defeated especially when they try to treat earth as though it flows when it doesn't and thus causing many issues that could get them or others killed. With water, an earthbender might be too used to the lack of flow and might try to hard to face a direct attack which wouldn't work out well against waterbending since it takes more energy to stop water then it does to redirect it. They would too far believe in water as being static and unchanging (philosophically I mean) and thus would be used to trying to use it in bursts of attack and defense instead of it being a continuous. They'd also likely be too afraid to use the full potential of the bending out of fear it would harm people beyond necessity when it would rarely ever really do so. As for water and air, they're quite distinct in that one is "conjured" and the other isn't, but they also share an aspect of flow and redirection, but whereas experimentation is safe with air, it is not so possible and safe with water, and it requires a lot more structure and not as much free flow as air. (even if its more then fire and earth) The similarity caused by the element's flow creates a deception that their philosophies are similar and yet they don't share much in common beyond that fact, for which any bender of either would easily fall into the trappings of their respect element's philosophy hampering their mastery massively and likely getting people hurt or their own progress and willingness and control of the element. As for earth and fire, again they do share a similar stand your ground type of mentality just as water and air share a similar flow redirection mentality, but whereas earthbending stands its ground head on, firebending is a lot more deliberate and precise, it seems more about picking its moments and seizing them entirely and not going all out all the time, less brute strength and headstrong, more precise but no less passionate and aggressive. Because they share that mentality of stubborn aggression to an extent, while out of all the cases I can think of, these two seem to share the least similarities, I do think because of their aggressive and natural headstrong stubborn natures it becomes more inciting then specifically deceptive, like an unwanted habit or addiction, for one to use the respect philosophy for the other form of bending even if one knows its wrong. The result of which would almost certainly create a block from bending properly at all. The adjacent bending in the cycle aren't as distinct as their opposite counterparts, but I do think unintentionally the training order has itself some form of synchronicity to a deliberate design regarding philosophy.
While I definitely understand the criticisms of the lion turtle stuff and even the Azula stuff, I will always love Sozin's Comet. It just feels like the perfect conclusion to this wonderful show.
I'd always put the beach in S-tier personally. The scene where Zuko storms out the party and visits his old house is done so well, and then of course the scene around the campfire is one of the biggest turning points for Zuko's character imo
Maybe now you could do Overanalyzing different characters. Like how did certain characters change. Maybe finally go into why you didn’t like Azula going full schizo
I think that's an awesome idea, there's so much going on in the show that it can be easy to lose sight of how far the characters come, Sokka is always the one that springs to mind for me
I would love this, especially since I disagree with his reasoning for not liking Azula's development. I think it actually makes a lot of sense if you look at things from her perspective and in the context of her life
In my opinion, the Beach episode is the beginning of Azula's descent into madness for the following reasons. -Jealous of Ty Lee getting attention from boys -Showing weakness by admitting that to Ty Lee (which must have been like ripping an arm off to her) -Her version of admitting that she has feelings for Chan -Getting turned down/scaring him off If you think about Azula's character, this makes sense. Forcing herself to be in these uncomfortable situations for such extended periods of time, maybe for the first time ever, could have done a number on her. Especially since nothing went the way she wanted or planned.
Personally I interpret that episode as both getting a peek into Azula's psychology to make you sympathize with her despite her cruelty, realizing that she's never had a real childhood outside of her two friends, and seeing how she could have been so different, given that when presented with a social situation and treated like a normal person, she embraces it, not wanting to reveal who she is, and makes a real effort to open up. I'd say her descent into madness was almost entirely brought about by Mei and Ty Lee's betrayal, because they were the only people she had ever been able to call friends, and basically represented her whole childhood. By the end of the show Azula very much deserves what she gets, but I like that the Beach shows a more human side of her and illustrates how in a way, she's just as much of a victim as Zuko. Sure, she was always the bully, but Zuko was fortunate enough to have a positive role model (Iroh), and to be banished so that he could grow as person free of his family (not what he wanted or what Ozai intended, but still). Azula may well have grown in a similar way if she "disgraced" Ozai enough to get banished.
Honestly I feel like they should've dropped an episode like the painted lady, and given us another episode of Zuko with the gaang. I don't really think Toph needed a field trip with Zuko (she already had a talk with Iroh over some tea, which is like 2.5 Zuko field trips), but I would've loved to see an episode that isn't the finale where they're all together doing something (that isn't an elaborate recap). Heck, you can still have the plot be 'the gaang does an eco-terrorism" but take out the whole deal with the village to focus more on how the group dynamic is with Zuko there. Give us a cool action scene with all of them working together.
Ooohh an ecoterrorism episode where it’s Gaang against zuko on whether to help the people. Zuko is much more focused on the big issue/training while the Gaang wants to help the people.
I honestly don’t know why the painted lady is so overhated. It shows greats worldbuilding and how there are innocent fire nation people who struggle within their own homeland. It shows how they are victim to the firelords cause, and I’d say that the painted lady expands upon the universe of atla. In comparison, the great divide is about two irrelevant families that are never mentioned again and do not push the narrative whatsoever and has no good character moments. At the very least, the painted lady had great katara moments which show her conviction and compassion.
Hot take: I think The Storm and The Blue Spirit are essentially a 2 parter episode and when watched together is the highest peak of season 1. Establishing Zuko and Aangs similarities via backstory and then forcing the audience to recontectualize their villain/hero dynamic after seeing them work amazingly well together is THRILLING television.
Both episodes do a great job depicting the yin and yang their two characters represent while also foreshadowing the balance they bring when working together. Of course we don't learn until much later that Zuko is a descendent of the Avatar and is spiritually kin to Aang, but it feels like the writers had this planned very early on.
So hey this might be one of those "Duh, everyone noticed/knew that" but I really like the way that Zuko's lightening scar mirrors Aang's being on his chest instead of his back.
I like the painted lady. I enjoy soft magic throughout the show that caters more to the characters and story, the people of the town owing their good fortune to the painted lady which was katara all along, followed by the real spirit thanking karara for her actions is an interesting moment. Implies the reach and impact of spirits to include the actions of their influenced, good stuff
28:27. That, RIGHT THERE, that tear filled hug. Best moment of the show for me. I've almost never cried at a piece of media but this does it for me. Even more so than Tales. I'm getting a little misty just thinking about it.
You criminally underrated the King of omashu! The GoatedBloatlord that Bummi turns out to be in The fight, the cabbages joke, the tie in to Ang's past that helps heal his heart a little bit. The hilarious double fake out that the creeping crystal is harmless and edible. The double fakeout of the small animal not being the true Flopsy, and Flopsy not being dangerous. Come to think of it, this episode had a least three major double fakoeouts to show just how damn wiley Bummi truly is. He's like the Joker of the Avatar world.
I actually really like The Swamp. It’s a really pretty animation, and has some pretty nice wisdom at the end. I also think it’s cool to see waterbenders originate from a not cold place lool.
Bit late to comment but I also really enjoyed the swamp. The swamp environment has an interesting vibe to it, and the wisdom towards the end of the episode is easily on par with Iroh’s wisdom throughout the series. Not that much happens overall, but it’s still a very enjoyable episode to me!
lets get a moment of silence for the people in live chat who legit thought a premiere turned into a livestream, and that it was live in the final re-arranging section. Truly a tragedy 😞
i cant believe that after i watched this series idk how many times and watching possibly every analysis of this show, i still get goosebumps at certain episodes that are mentioned in a fucking tier list... MAN I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH
25:00 To everyone who thinks “Nightmares and Daydreams” is too silly or unrealistic: it’s not. Not in the slightest. As someone who has stayed up for almost a full 96 hours (minus a couple of short naps), I can honestly (and somewhat shamefully) say that I have NEVER related to an episode of television more than I relate to “Nightmares and Daydreams”… especially in college. I’m pretty sure I actually saw a hallucination (and yes, those do happen if you haven’t slept in a while) saying “you’ve got to get a hold of yourself” to me at one point.
I didn't realize that some people dislike the hippies in Cave of Two Lovers. It's always been one of mine and my sister's favorite episodes, due in large part to them and their music.
Idk if I’m alone in this but I love how you upload all your videos in the exact screen ratio of the show you’re reviewing. So many channels woulda uploaded their reviews of ATLA in 16:9 just making the blank space either be black or a blurred version of the footage and I have so much respect for you for not doing that. I noticed it in the Love, Death, and Robots video too and it’s so cool
I feel like i'm getting into "cheating territory", but hey, you really should bend your own rules for the final 4 episodes. Can't help but feel that ranking the "sozin's comet" episodes all together is a bit unfair, given the last two are definitely S tier material. I mean, we're talking about "last agni kai", Ozai's defeat, Zuko's Coronation, Aang and Katara finally expressing their feelings towards each other in an appropriate moment, The White Lotus reclaiming Ba Sing Se, and the list goes on! Sure, there are some minor hiccups, such as Aang accidentally tapping into the Avatar State , but I guess if you can consider the "energy bending" technique taught by the Lion Turtle as something that Sozin's Comet part 2 failed to properly introduce (once again, a bit of cheating territory), then episode 4 is nearly flawless!! S rank for both "Into the Inferno" and "Avatar Aang" (9.8 and 9.9 on IMDB, respectively)
It's hard to rank multi parters as seperate episodes because they're telling one story. The start, middle, and end is divided over several episodes so ranking one episode without the others won't really be fair.
I actually love Avatar Day specifically because it’s a nothing episode. There’s no moral, no verdict, no point. The ultimate thesis statement is “This is the worst town we’ve been to” and that’s hilarious.
I'm amazed how you never run out of hilarious things to compliment your top tier patreons with. Also, even though you didn't want to make it initially and I personally am not a fan of tier list videos, this one was very entertaining to watch!
22:54 “The Beach” This is a very underrated episode imo, you really get to see how it’s impossible for Azula not to make every aspect of her life a competition, or a challenge she has to overcome. You see how deep her disconnect goes on a different level than it’s been presented to us before. And it is played for comedy for a lot of the episode, but I genuinely think it’s essential to understanding her character. Zuko’s interaction with everyone at the end is fantastic writing as well. Just a reallllllly solid episode for me.
Would have definitely seen Crossroads of destiniy in S Tier. It is such a beautiful season finale, with twisting expectations, great character moments and finale-worth action scenes + a cliff-hanger ending which is not too cliffhanger-like, but well presented to imagine the situation the gang is in in beginning of S3
28:46 I still stand by the logic of Azula cheated the Agni Kai by attacking a third party, and thusly Zuko wins by default. He was dominating until that point so I think its fair
ive always loved The Chase but i’m constantly shocked and how nobody ever mentions some of the really weird animation moments in it, like the two jarring off model frames of iroh belly bumping azula , or the kinda silly moment of everyone attacking azula at once but toph is just kinda throwing dust at her? it’s such a good episode but i feel like nobody mentions the silly bits!
I love how he mentions that the setup from the finale of season 2 and the first on season three set up a picture of emotion along with how that is what fire as an element is based off of
This show and Gravity Falls are my absolute favorites. And they have in common that both were made as a finished story and didn't drag on after the show success.
ATLA Episodes ranked from best to worst: 1. All 2. Episodes 3. Deserve 4. Top 5. Spot 6. Because 7. There 8. Is 9. No 10. Bad 11. Episode 12. In 13. ATLA 61. The great divide
is that a youtube automatic thing? I thought that was the joke, that he put the phrase "like this video" in there under a different context, and had the like button light up anyway.
Honestly the boiling rock 2 part probably are 2 of my favorite episodes I really wanted to know what happened to the dad (can’t spell any of the names so I’m not gonna try) and dudes chick and them breaking out together was awesome for me as a kid and watching it now. But I didn’t even think about how the broke in or how they got the cooler out but it’s always got a place in my heart lol
Wow, this is really good! You should, like, make a whole series where you go episode by episode and give a thorough review of each one! idk just an idea, keep up the great work.
It always makes my day when you post a video. I'm glad you made this, I like hearing your brief summaries on each episode. It's kinda like bite sized Overanalyzing Avatar. I've also always said the Firebending Masters is my favorite episode as well. The scene with the dragons is probably the most epic scene in the show, plus I love the dragon dance. Just amazing
@@Luke_SkywaIker yeah katara ticked me off in that episode. (Especially where she thought jet attacking an old man was okay by virtue of him being fire nation.)
I wish some of the more "filler"-ish episodes from the start of book 3 were cut in order to have Day of Black Sun earlier so that Zuko could join the group sooner and give him more time to sort of fit in/let the rest of the characters start to trust him more naturally and maybe have more Azula content so we can see her mental state deteriorate more naturally and gradually.
In firebending masters, when aang first bends fire out of himself, he has the same look and it mirrors when he tried to firebend when he burnt katara. Except this ended with happiness and not with Kamara being burnt.
The Beach was one of my favorite episodes only because of that ending campfire scene the music the emotion and Zuko having to accept he’s not happy all just worked for me but I do understand it’s placement as the rest did kind of fall short of my expectations
Its unbelievable how each added episode, intensifies my heartbeat and excitement for the next. This amazing show and your awesome way of presenting and analising it, is incredible.
Funfact, We all know that Roku is a fine name, and when I hear it spoken it's fine, but when I read it I always pause because in my language (Czech) Avatar Roku literally means "Avatar of the year", then I always chuckle.
i was already thinking of rewatching your overanalyzing series as a spiritual rewatch of ATLA. but now ill be doing that and then actually rewatching the show in Ranked order
Enjoyed the live resorting, kept it more interesting than the typical tier list video. Great vid as always, would really love some more cryptid stuff in the future. Keep it up!
My favorite part of Bitter Work is that it focuses on Avatar training for both Aang and Zuko, and that it's a direct quote from Roku when he was explaining his Avatar training to Aang during the solstice, saying "It was bitter work, but the results were worth it"
I've heard the tip of cutting in the middle of a sentence when you do multiple attempts at saying a sentence. It's unintuitive, but seems to work really well! In your videos, I can occasionally hear a change in speed/volume/pitch/… when you have apparently cut multiple attempts together. (Or you didn't and you just talk like that, in which case nevermind.)
I think it's funny that it feels like each season progressively gains more finale episodes, leading to the 4 part Sozin's Comet (The Earth King, The Guru, and Crossroads of Destiny absolutely feel like one connected finale plot to me)
Thing for some of these episodes is definitely that even though it was 15 years ago, I do remember how I first felt when I saw some of these episodes. "fallen out of love" with things like the storm and sokka's adventure in the desert makes sense, but when I think about the first time that I watched these episodes I feel like I want to put them higher.
I think the thing I like the most about the art style of ATLA is how it subtlety evolves even between episodes and you don't notice it until you start at the beginning again. It makes you think
I get that it has some structural issues and, while I personally don't think it's that bad, it kind of mishandles Zhao, but The Deserter is probably my favorite S1 episode besides The Blue Spirit. Jeong Jeong kicks ass. He's got some really great lines ("To master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself. But you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you!"), Roku gets to throw his weight around, the whole thing is an homage to Apocalypse Now. It's just good. Also, I've really enjoyed your other videos. I hope things work out so that you can keep doing deep dives into other subjects.
As much as I love ATLA I've honestly been loving your other videos. I genuinely do really like listening to you talk. You should change the channel name to "Overanalyzing Everything" but always keep the same profile photo so it has the Avatar element. Then just do vids on anything that interests you. Maybe move into full on long form video essays. You bring something unique to the table that I absolutely love.
I miss when these overanalyzing episodes were coming out every wednesday and i would always get excited for them. kinda puts me back in the childhood glory i had when the actual show was airing
loved the way you promoted you own videos. made a great atla video cuz you knew it would pull in your fans and show some of what else you been up to. love your work. I saw the alien one it was great. over analyze LOK please!!!
Katara finishing the fight with Azula is also important because one of the big parts of Zukos arc is learning to rely on others. I think it emphasizes his growth in many ways, and is way better than if he did actuslly just beat Azula.
Honestly, yeah. Introduces Iroh as being a well respected ex-general and a skilled master who effortlessly dispatches the cheap shot Zhao takes. Zhao, being a serious military man, and a bit of a conniving dick at that. Shows his respect to his superior officer. Shows how little respect Zuko gets from the entire Fire Nation(atleast within the military) after his banishment. Shows Iroh either not speaking up against such disrespect because either its warranted and he agrees to a degree or because he is just practicing some neutral jin. Shows his love of tea. A lot of good stuff if you think it over.
Honestly, I think the point of Sokka and Aang doubling back to the planetarium in the library is to feel the loss of Appa more. If they hadnt gone back to get the information, they would’ve been able to save Appa but then we wouldnt know about the eclipse, if it played out the more concise way it could feel sorta arbitrary that aang didnt make it in time. I dunno.
