Overanalyzing Avatar on the angsty episode. The Beach. TWO EPISODES AHEAD ON PATREON: / overanalyzing TWITTER: / overanalyzinga #ATLA #overanalyzingavatar #avatar #avatarthelastairbender
Remember those chain emails you used to get about a ghost girl showing up at the end of your bed in the night unless you forwarded them? Well, if you don't like and comment on this video then that shit will happen but for real this time.
Honestly I think Azula making a joke about her insecurities is spot on. A lot of people who try to project an image of strength will try and laugh off the weak moments.
You've got the OA tone down. you've got the tone, an accurate description, and a salient point. Its a good post and a I think it deserves the props lol.
"That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea, because it's so sharp."
That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea, because it's so sharp.
That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea, because it's so sharp.
That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea, because it's so sharp.
That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea, because it's so sharp
That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea, because it's so sharp
I imagine that he'd be unable to safely use it. Isn't it an insanely hard technique to control? But seeing him self nuke would probably be just as good.
@@Elzzawright! I don't know if he would be able to shoot it far enough to not hit himself. At least not reliably. First shot sure, but if anyone survives it and starts heading towards him he really can't use it anymore.
@@13vatra i really wonder if he can firebend normally, i dont think he ever does it in ATLA, Zaheers girlfrined in Korra who is from the same clan? (i like to think its some sort of clan with the forehead tatoos and all, doesnt look like a scar or something natural) i think she also never firebent normally.
I think my favorite moment in this episode is one that’s not talked about very much. It’s when Ty Lee says the negative energy is bad for their skin but then immediately shrinks down when she realizes that she’s talking to Zuko about bad skin. It really shows a great moment of remorse and almost fear at making that comment.
I actually liked that Azula's open moment was ended on a joke. She is downplaying her pain, and of course all of it comes rushing to the surface in the final act of the show. It took me rewatching the show a second time to really appreciate this episode.
It absolutely made sense to me. I’ve done that shit before myself. Using sarcasm and snark to deflect people from probing deeper into conversation and REALLY getting those inner demons out. She still got a piece of herself out there before cutting it off with a joke. Sometimes that’s the best you’re going to get out of people. Speaking from my perspective personally, I DID want to vent those inner demons out to people, but I only wanted to do “a little at a time” so to speak. Getting all my shit out there just seemed like it would be too heavy and burdensome for other people. So I’d sometimes make one random comment referring to depression/anxiety/etc before saying some silly shit and segueing out of the topic.
I agree, it was pretty great, I do wish her face would have show some kind of worry or sadness after making that joke when no one was looking at her or something tho
Its like how sometimes i will write a serious text to my friend, but i feel like i just dumped a lot so i add the goofy face emoji at the end. Not a good way to cope, but i constantly find myself doing it
"Maybe they're planning for the Day of Black Sun, but leaving Azula out of that kind of thing seems odd." Foreshadowing for the finale, when Ozai leaves Azula out of his plans to conquer the Earth Kingdom, maybe? It shows that he doesn't think as highly of Azula as she thinks.
Hot take: Ozai was right leaving Azula in the Capital, because if the Capital is unprotected, this could allow the enemy to conquer it and complicate his plans for world domination. This is what happened when Zuko and Katara are there and with them taking over the Capital, an insurrection would be inevitable. Azula was the fool, who ruined her chances to hold the Capital when she banished everyone who could have saved her.
I really like Zuko's line when Ty Lee mentioned bad skin. "my father decided to teach me a permanent lesson, on my face!" I think it's quite an important line because through all the series so far, we see Zuko desperate to gain his honor and make his father proud. This line is the first that represents Zuko acknowledging what his father did to him and that is was wrong.
It makes sense after a whole day of attempted socializing, too. I mean, you think noone accidentally stared too long at the guy with half his face burned off? And while his sister can at least pretend to be your normal teenager appearance-wise, he has a huge eye-catching mark of shame he can't cover up without raising even more questions. It's understandable he would be frustrated with what his father did in that environment.
One line I really adore from the Beach is when Zuko is talking about how he's angry and doesn't know why, and the others grill him by asking who he's angry at, and Azula says "Me." It's a word, not even a full line, but it speaks volumes. The focus is on Zuko, so, it's easily missed, Azula thinks Zuko might be angry at her. She thinks Zuko has reason and cause to be angry at her. It shows how she's self aware of her own actions towards him and how she has actually hurt him and she actually cares about that fact. The line is delivered so well, it's kind of subdued, yet still has the rising intonation as a question. What Zuko thinks of Azula is something that actually matters to her.
@@briansheehan5256 That's an interesting take. Azula has always been shown being cold toward Zuko or gleeful when she sees him in pain. Still, there are moments when you can see she cares about her big brother; she just has a very twisted view of what family is supposed to be like. It would be very believable if they had included a scene where Zuko was being threatened by someone from the Earth Kingdom and Azula came to his defense because no one is allowed to hurt Zuko without her approval first.
Yep, that's what people don't get about Azula. That's all she has for human moments, these tiny things, cause she was never meant to overcome her insecurities and grow. The entire point of Azulas character is that she doesn't get resolution to a character arc, she doesn't learn and better herself, she simply continues to bottle it all up and simply mashes the corners of her life together until it all falls apart. Her character was meant to be a failure, on all levels, is just not revealed until the end
I think the beach volleyball scene really helps with making them feel like childhood friends. Despite their individual grievances with each other they can still co-operate fluently when it's needed. kinda make them feel a bit more real, sure they clearly don't fit together anymore but no relationship is 100% bad all the time. Hell most of the worse relationships are filled with ups and downs.
It just adds to the tragedy of Zuko and Azula's relationship. When they're not being pitted against each other by their parents and by other circumstances, they get along well. Makes me think of some other world where they could've actually had a good relationship.
I was hoping you'd talk about how Zuko's physique has changed due to the time he spent wandering with little food and time to train. It's a good continuity detail
Omg I get it now! I was always confused as to why he was STACKED at his Agni Kai with Zhao and lean at the beach... he lived in a cave and basically almost starved to death in the earth kingdom.
@@jazzpopPianiste He also puts muscle back on over the course of Book 3 now that he has free time and enough food again - during a training session with Aang where he gets shirtless, you can see he's back to being more or less as muscular as he was when the show started.
Theory: The Firelord met with his advisors alone to plan on becoming the Phoenix King without Azula. Azula didn't know about that until he was about to travel the world and ordered her to stay in the Fire Nation.
The cottage was small because it was Lo and Li’s personal cottage, not the royal families. The royal family‘s place on Ember Island is the big abandoned house they go to later in the episode and that the avatar gang stay in when they are on Ember Island, but as Zuko says it’s been a long time since their family has gone there probably before Zuko‘s mother disappeared, it’s not the place they go to stay at when they come back in this episode. It makes sense more for them to go stay at Lo and Li‘s since they have continued to come here to their cottage.
I think azula making a joke about her insecurities might be a way she is trying to communicate her feelings. She, like zuko has been emotionally manipulated by ozai, so I think she is trying to open up and discuss her insecurities without trying to seem vulnerable. She doesn't truly let her feelings of anger and hurt out until the finale when she starts going crazy though. I don't wana be one of those people but wow this is the first time one of my comments has gotten 1000+ likes.
I have a friend who does exactly this. Some people just undergo circumstances in life that make them think that showing vulnerability is a sign of weakness, as opposed to a strength or virtue.
I always thought she knew at that moment that she exposed herself and admitted to having a weakness so she tried to play it off like it didn't bother her so the wouldn't think she wasn't perfect.
Not to mention that in her joke she actually aknowledges that she is a monster, which means that on some level she knows that what she's doing is wrong.
I think the line read on Ty Lee's "I know you" is really underrated. In three words you suddenly realize that they've known each other their whole lives, and shared the brunt of Azula's abuse. Who knows, maybe they even were closer friends when they were younger.
It's also extremely plausible that even for a brief moment in time, she might've had a crush on him. Honestly I can definitely see her pushing it down when Mai started to show interest if it did in fact happen since she's so caring and such. It's really interesting.
@@rayray_017 she actually has a little moment in this episode that hints that she does. Zuko asks Mai if she’s cold, she blows him off, and Ty Lee excitedly says she’s freezing. Idk it could technically be Ty Lee being her normal bubbly self but it seemed like she had a crush on him to me
The "I'm freezing" line might indicate that she likes Zuko that way, but I'm more inclined to think that the "I know you" line was meant to say that she feels the same sort of conflicted way about their positions in life at the moment. Ty Lee was forced into working with Azula, and Zuko is pondering out loud if going back home was even the right choice. They both deep down want a different life away from Azula, and even the Fire Nation as a whole. Now that I really think about it, maybe they would be a lot better as a couple than Mai and Zuko. Mai swaps sides just because she loves Zuko, but Ty Lee has a lot more going on with her character.
Exactly. She's only 14 but she's so battle hardened by her war-mongering father that she literally cannot function in a peaceful setting. It's actually heartbreaking.
Yep. I've always read that as her trying to play it off as a joke as a defensive mechanism. She can't admit that she's insecure as hell about her mother.
One correction: Azula doesn't know how to fit in because she's been stuck in a palace and doing royalty stuff her whole life. Not because she's a wackjob. Zuko had the (mis)fortune of being exiled and forced to see a perspective of the world his sister didn't. I write this before seeing the end so I do not know if this was addressed later.
On top of being exiled and essentially being forced to see the world, Zuko also had Iroh who even in little ways was there to keep him grounded and not completely lose himself. He knew who Zuko really was and didn’t want redemption to consume Zuko’s life completely.
For the zuko "are you cold thing?" Just because you're mad at someone you love doesn't mean you don't still care about them. When you're able to be like I'm furious with you but are you okay that shows a lot of emotional maturity
One detail I’ve noticed in the Breakfast Club scene is that Ty Lee sort of flinches/shies back after the “it’s bad for your skin” line. She knew almost immediately that line wouldn’t land well with Zuko.
I liked that they expanded a little on Mai and why she is so unexpressive, becasue of her strict family. That actually makes her a good foil to Zuko who was actively punished for expressing himself. The fact that Zuko encourages Mai to express herself more is a wholly good thing. I loved Combustion Man's intro, but sadly this is also where his character peaks. He is never as cool as he was in this episode, his subsequent appearances just being the same thing. He shows up and blows stuff up, but it's never as intimidating as it was in this episode.
@@ShinobiPXO zuko and katara in the catacombs is more enthralling than any aang and katara interaction. even the show seems uninterested in aang and katara (see the ember island players and the fortune teller)
@@Aoloach Could be a early design of a cat-deer, which despite the name, looked more like it had horns like an antelope instead of antlers like a deer.
One thing about the group deciding to just wreck Chan's party is that it actually makes sense psychologically. It's that concept of being in pain and not knowing how to deal with it, and so just f**king up someone else's day as an outlet. They have never been taught that this response isn't okay, because they're all from a ridiculously high social standing, as two of them are literal royalty. This is a common emotional outlet in teens, just scale it up to two people with extra firepower (that was unintentional, sorry), a girl who doesn't have to obey physics for some strange reason, and some emo, wonder who that means. Especially as part of a group, where the less morally restricted one(s) would encourage the behavior in the others. Azula is already a ringleader type, and she picked a "group bonding activity" that would serve to relieve some of that pain. It's fairly realistic for that to occur, just add magic and it lines up fairly well.
"Common emotional outlet in teens" Me remembering when I had a lot of pent of emotions and I lashed out by tearing a door of its hinges and then jumped on it, breaking it in half and shattering the window it fell against, and threw everything breakable I could get my hands on at the walls. Relatable.
This episode really serves to show how Aang has improved on his earth bending and how he'll use it in moments of snap decisions, rather than air bending as he has before. He's starting to get more comfortable with the various forms on an instinctive reaction level.
One of my favourite subtle jokes is how Mai says that only stupid girls would like getting a shell only for Tai Li to appreciate getting the same shell 5 seconds later.
I think that Azula's moment where she breaks it with a joke is actually still strong with the comedy. She shows her weakness and tries to cover her mistake. It shows how she truly believes she is the monster, and that she is ok with that, to a certain extent. And it shows us why she is so broken. The comedy, while being a tone breaker, doesnt just exist for the laugh. It is a tool used to demonstrate her insecurities.
That feeling when you make a comment and then you keep scrolling and you read another comment and you're just like "wow, you said what I said, but better"
I’ve done that exact thing before - like started to open up and covered stuff with a joke. With Azula - she defines herself so much with being a ‘monster’ - even to the expense of proper strategy and stuff - she believes she has to actively enjoy cruelty in order to please her father and what she ultimately wants is her father’s approval (or rather, his love, just the same as zuko. they both have the same realisation - that this is impossible. only for zuko it’s freeing because he was so conflicted while for azula it destroys her because she has has made chasing it all that she is) EDIT: this turned into just my Thoughts about azula but the point here is the joke there highlights both her view of herself, her unwillingness to show “weakness”, and the fact she never thought her mother loved her, which is why she chased Ozai’s approval so much
5:34 That's gotta be one of my favorite TFS line reads ever. This is one of my favorite episodes, honestly. As others have pointed out, Azula's stinger on her vulnerability isn't really meant to be funny. It's her covering up being vulnerable by shielding with a joke. Personally, I do this shit all the time. Trying to be earnest but it's not totally appropriate or not the right time so I hide behind humor. I feel it's not terribly uncommon.
That Iroh was actually the one who took the royal kids to Ember Island and not Ozai really makes sense. Ozai doesn't even bother to prepare the old beach house when sending his children and their friends, hence why Lo and Li host them in their much less impressive cottage. It really keeps in with Iroh being a loving family man even when he was busy as a field general, whereas Ozai bummed around the palace and only seemed to be with his family for appearances.
Aang regularly mentions how much he hates being in the Fire Nation and can't proudly wear his arrow. I'm sure she's gotten the hint. And besides everyone by now knows the Avatar is an Airbender and Airbenders have tattoos.
Airbenders only get their tattoos after they've passed a series of trails to prove themselves. These trials include inventing a new airbending move. Aang is actually one of the youngest airbenders in history to earn his tattoos because his invention of the Air Scooter impressed the elders so much that he was basically allowed to graduate early. It's more than just a symbol of cultural pride, it's a symbol of personal accomplishment as a mark of his mastery of airbending.
Yeah I think she really does care. I think she's realized by now that Ozai is not capable of giving her the love she desires and she moves her objective to Zuko. The reason Ozai can't love her is he's afraid of her, and of Zuko, because he killed his own father and as such fears his own children. Zuko, formerly her rival both for her father's and mother's affection is now the only source of familial love she can find and I guess to some extent the idea is to get Ursa' love by proxy by getting the love of the person Ursa loved. Azula is seriously messed up.
It's also one possible explanation for why she tells Zuko she knows about his trip to see Iroh in The Headband. She really has nothing to gain by doing this. Either she was so confident in her plan that she felt she could just tell Zuko she knows without even holding the information over him...or she does care about him, on some level, and is honestly trying to tell him to watch his back because she knows it could get him in trouble. I prefer the second explanation, because it dovetails pretty tragically with this episode. We see she's completely incapable of having a normal conversation, so she can't just warn him. She has to turn it into a mind game. She has to send Mai away, she has to trick Zuko into confirming her suspicions, she can't *not* approach absolutely everything like she's a supervillain because she has no idea how to be anything else. So even when she's honestly trying to look out for him, she does it in a way that pushes him away even further.
@@Talisguyyou hit the nail on the head. When you realise this you can see Azula her true character. Remember when she teased Zuko about Ozai sacrificing him for the throne. I think it follows the same logic. She doesnt wanna warn Zuko or her mom directly so she does it in a mocking way.
It makes sense for the girls to fawn over Zuko. Chad McJacked might be built but Zuko's literally royalty, which means status and wealth. His brooding nature makes him seem mysterious and just waiting to emotionally open up to one of them. Though, they're probably just stand in for Avatar fangirls.
@@dexenationgracey1979 i mean im sure it’s popular knowledge in the fire nation their crown prince was burnt by his own father and banished to find the avatar. we see Lo and Li, the two old twins, announcing Azula and Zuko’s return at the beginning of this season. im sure the whole nation already knows the crown prince, with a large and obvious burn on his face, has returned to the country.
@@violeta373 It's extreemely common knowledge zuko mentioned his name in the earth kindom after saving a kid and using firebending and some random earth kingdom citizen knew that he was the banished prince who was burnt by his father.
Totally understandable to miss, but Zuko and Azula make it clear that the family has not been to Ember Island in a long time and that almost certainly means it was before Lu Ten died and Ozai took Iroh's place in the line of succession. Although later in the season the gang finds a portrait of Ozai as a baby, which you'd think would indicate Azulon taking his children to there too.
I really like how Zuko in Book 1 looks absolutely shredded and buff and here he looks very skinny, really highlights just how bad his conditions were while on the run.
"my own mother thought i was a monster... she was right, of course, but it still hurt" I don't think she trying to put a joke there ruins it, if anything it enhances how tragic it is that azula at some level knows she's a horrible person and can't see herself as anything but the monster she thinks her mother saw too.
Idk I really felt Mai's moment around the fire, how she always sounds so bored and suddenly she EXPLODES at them (for the first time that we have seen). It really felt powerful
I actually love that they always turn azulas human moments into jokes or just 180 the scene after every time, that's no accident, that behavior is a big part of her blow up in her last fight. She repressed every human aspect of herself as a way to keep control by being able to manipulate people, she's been doing it her entire life, so when she finally seemingly fully represses herself, she's no longer Azula the young girl, or Azula, the friend of Tai Lee and other one, she's simply, The Acting Firelord, so when it all falls apart anyway, she completely melts down
@@Eidolon5150 Anybody who just comes right out and states this is someone who in fact has neither of these issues but instead just pretends to because they think it will earn them the attention they're otherwise too uninteresting to garner.
I really liked the Zuko-Ty Lee interaction. "I know you", all quiet, sounding hurt. She has known Zuko since childhood after all, whether or not he chooses to validate her existence in his life. Whether or not he thinks of her as a friend at all.
I'm not typically a shipper but wouldnt zuko and ty lee be a more interesting pairing? Kind of a yin yang thing going on. I donno mei just feels utterly pointless in the entire show and maybe I'm just trying to write her off
@@madcap3450 I don't think it would work as is, because Zuko clearly doesn't understand Ty Lee very well. But at the same time, at their core, all three of these characters are struggling against their parent's expecations and rebelling against the roles they have been forced into in their own way. I also do think Mei serves an important purpose in the show though. She shows the difference between her own edginess and Zuko's real issues. Without a counterbalance like this, I think it would have been easy to see Zuko's struggles as melodramatic and trope-y, but Mei's existence shows the difference off very well.
I think Toph knew about Aang's tattoos because of when he went ham on the sandbenders. Imo id have a metric fuck ton of questions after I heard a demonic voice I couldn't hear. I have a feeling she got shook real bad from that off screen and Katara probably explained it to her.
My favorite thing about this episode are the cracks we see in Azula's facade, and a glimpse at how broken she really is. To her, everything is a battle, every human being is a foe to be defeated. That's all she's been brought up to experience, rendering her incapable of true contact with other people. When her brother and friends find themselves opening up about their issues on the beach, she's the only one who only lets a little crack open, in regards to her mother. Azula can't handle the possibility that she might not have to be a monster, so she still clings to her persona as one. After all, a monster doesn't have to deal with being a flawed human, so to her that's the safer choice.
Damn. That take about Iroh being in all those flashbacks make them so much more poignant. And I think Zuko’s 180 after blowing up on Mai is great writing, I find it super relatable
100% on the Zuko thing. He launches a quip at her but his tone of voice is apologetic and her silence affirms that she knew she was not without fault. Excellent writing and excellent voice acting as usual.
The scene on the beach where Azula holds back Zuko from tearing into Chan & Ronjon gets me laughing every time. Azula doesn't even look back. She knows her angry brother is on his way.
I feel like Azula making a joke at the end of her vulnerable moment was actually really in character for her. She's still not willing to show what she sees as weakness, so when she realizes she's being vulnerable she turns it into a joke to hide her genuine feelings about her mother
Honestly the scene around the campfire at the end where everyone just lets everything out is one of my favorite scenes in the show. I love when ty lee gets to show she’s more than just some bright eyed happy girl. The scene does a great job of showing that all of them are just broken kids that the world screwed up.
I've always loved how the writers show how poorly zuko and azula are in social situations because it shows they were literally raised as weapons of war by their father.
I just love the introduction of Combustion Man in this episode. The way they chose to cut all sounds except for the sounds of Combustion Man's bending. Gives me chills every time.
I love how Azula knocks over the sand castle of two kids who are her royal subjects for no reason. There have to be some private conversations in the Fire Nation where people just say "When Ozai dies and Azula takes over we're fucked".
I love Combustion Man. He just shows up out of nowhere with an entirely new bending style, never says a single word, and very nearly kills the entire gaang several times. Pretty much everything about his character implies a really interesting origin story, and raises a ton of questions, none of which are ever answered: -How does this bending style work? -Why is he apparently the only one able to do it? -Where did he learn it? -Can he not do regular firebending? -What's with the tattoo? -How did he lose his arm and leg? -Why doesn't he talk? Is he actually mute, or is it a choice? -What's his real name? Zuko offhandedly mentions that he knows it, but this is never elaborated on. And most importantly: -What is his workout routine? This guy is built like a brick house combined with a bigger, stronger brick house. A part of me would love these questions answered, but I also love the mystery around him.
I remember reading somewhere that he blew off his own arm and leg while developing this ability, but then I read something contradictory from official sources, that it was a military wound or whatever.. but now I look at the wiki and it says the first thing again. Either way imagine a guy this big having to get prosthetic limbs made when they don't even seem to exist in this setting aside from his. The tattoo at least is easy enough to suss out, it's on his chakra and twice we see his explosionbending misfire when he's struck there, a la Goliath.
something i noticed that always got to me was when zuko and mai are fighting loudly at the party, mai says zuko's name and no one realizes he's literally the prince of the fire nation right then and there
You'd think Mai shouting "Zuko! What is wrong with you?!" would clue the partygoers into the idea that that's the royal family. Can't be a ton of scarred folks in the fire nation named Zuko, right?
The Ozai meeting with his advisor in the early scene night be him discussing about being the Phoenix King ruler of the world stuff that even Azula didn’t know about?
I think them trashing the party at the end fits in really well, as they just went through their insecurities and wanted to feel powerful again so the only way they knew how to do that was go trash the party. I think that's quite realistic (minus the martial arts and bending of course) as teens often bully other teens for seemingly no reason just to feel strong.
To your first point about Ozai wanting to meet with his advisors alone, this is probably when his plan to take on the role as Phoenix King came to be. And Azula was in the dark on that
Azula's soft "why" to Zuko when he's trying to get across why he's so angry just really hits me now, like when I first watched atla years ago I liked this ep in general and loved these guys most definitely at this point, but now that I'm older and can look at this ep for the upteenth time but with the mentality of someone who knows there are fucked up ptsd kids out there and so on and so forth, Azula's simple soft "why..?" sounds so.. SO openly confused even if her next response is an instant "recovery" once he explains. She knew Zuko was changing, as well as likely a couple other things but.. she is flat out confused, likely starting to believe she is the only one still believing in her father's plans and hopes of conquest. Out of all of them, Azula never really got her shit out on the table like the others did. She could have, from the POV of everyone else who CAN spill their guts, but yet she couldn't. She didn't KNOW she had issues. She thinks being a "monster" as she assumes her mom thought she was is the best thing at this point to be... And in a sense, it is because she probably wouldn't survive, she would be cast out, she would be suddenly "weak" in her father's eyes and who knows what would happen. Molding herself to being like almost a Mini Ozai was a coping method really. :(
I personally always saw the group trashing the party was their way of “bonding” with each other, not necessarily being dicks. Like all of the scenes we see the princess fire trio they’re always trying to *wreck* things. Omashu, Ba Sing Se, other examples I can’t think of. They’ve all pretty much bonded over stuff by breaking stuff and dominating their enemies, so that’s the only way they can really “have fun.”
I really liked this episode. Humanizing the villains and reminding you that they're still teenagers with complex feelings and emotions. It's really well done.
I like the little flowy bits on Ty-lee's outfit. That was extra work for the animators to make that move every time she does and it makes her visually display her outgoing energy. Mei usually has these loose sleeve looking outfits that just kinda hang in place, also matching her energy. Character design in the show is great in general, you could probably pick out any of the characters just from a silhouette.
I feel like a lot of this episode was just expanding on little hints of their characters throughout the show, but I guess it would be a little harder to pick up on those if you're just a casual watcher or a little kid. definitely one of my favorite episodes, always loved seeing the characters just hanging out. also the combustion scene is always sick
I actually freaking LOVE your very salient relationship analysis, followed immediately by your excellent editing and good joke about how short their on-screen time together has actually been, to get the audience to care all that much when she breaks up with him at the party. Your content is so funny, man. Keep it up. Also, I think “She just called your aura dingy, are you gonna take that?!” Doesn’t get enough cred. I love that line.
I always thought the first line where Azula says not to take it personally about the fire lord wanting a meeting alone was actually her reassuring herself in a way, because you could imagine she would be a little miffed about not being invited
I think the ending with the group crashing the party is meant to be them having “fun” and taking back control of their lives. Being in a social setting made them feel insecure so they decided to do away with it instead of actually dealing with their problems.
Also shows off how screwed up it is to train your children to be warriors from a young age. They've been taught over and over again to use violence to move forward in life and that's what they do here. Not going to lie though, it makes me laugh every time as well; of course the villainous best friends are going to destroy things and have a good time at someone else's expense.
@@unkindled6410 They were being jerks, but that earned maybe some verbal hostility at most. Honestly, irl I wouldn't even think that much is worth it. But at the same time, these four have conquered Ba Sing Se, traded siblings for ransom, defeated dozens of military men singlehandedly, and even traveled the globe hunting down the most powerful human alive. Of course they should have better self control, and of course they didn't. Still love how it ends though XD My favorite part of a great episode.
The run down little place you mention in the beginning is owned by loe and Lee not the royal family. Zuko breaks into the home owned by his father later after leaving the party.
@@goldeneaglearbor614 I guess if they can be fired that makes sense Maybe I just had Koume and Kotake on the brain, being the Dorf's surrogate mothers.
Definitely one of my favorite episodes. Also I think the house they go to at first is Lo and Lee’s house, not the actual royal residence, which is the empty house Zuko breaks into
I love the action in the sparky sparky encounter. After aangs initial block, you can do a frame-by-frame pass and see Sokka and Momo roll by, Toph rotating to land in a stable stance, last goes Aang, switching with toph for defence and lastly katara swapping in. Such amazing teamplay
I always read Azula's beach moment as her turning it into a joke, not the writers. She initially gets drawn into the vibe of vulnerability, but finds she really doesn't like it and backpedals as hard as she can. It's another version of her looking sympathetically at Ty Lee for a moment.
I wish we could’ve seen more scenes with Azula actively not fitting in or being conflicted with herself. Even if she ultimately ended up still siding on Ozai’s side and such, it would’ve been interesting being reminded that yeah, she’s still a 15 year old girl that’s caught in the middle of a war that’s lost a lot that we can’t see because of it
I really find it sad you oversaw one scene with Asula. It is the scene I find to be the most showing of her true character. Her talking to Zuko and taking him down to the others by the beach. She seems genuinly concerned for her brother in that scene. There isn't a scheme behind it, she doesn't win anything by trying to get him down to the others and even she admits to finding the place "depressing". It is one of the few times we see her just do something for another person without any real reason behind it. What does she win by getting Zuko down to the others and get him away from some obviously painful memories? Because I sure as hell can't see any benefits to her. At that one moment..she just sounds like a concerned awkward little sister unsure of what to do but wanting to help her obviously unstable brother.
Totally agree. It feels like until the finale, she never seriously entertained the idea of being Fire Lord. Which means a part of her always believed (hoped?) that Zuko would end up being the ruthless leader her father wanted him to be. A family ruling together... maybe she got that from her mother.
As someone with a sibling who grew up in very different abusive situations, with one being the favorite and the other the escape goat, this moment is spot on. There are just these small moments where even when you can't ever really bond because of how your parents pitted you against each other and isolated you, sharing that experience is still a very strong thing to go through. There's an underlying understanding of certain aspects and moments when you are alone together and can admit to each other that things were not okay growing up - that your family is not functional or healthy without many words, or with just a look. That's what I see, specially when she says the place is depressing. It's the first time we see Azula share with Zuko the sense that their bringing up was toxic as hell, and that they shared the experience. It's the first time we see Zuko not be alone in that perspective even if Azula would never admit to it fully or understand it completely, and it's very accurate.
I remember someone pointed out that iroh mentioned that the most chi exists in the stomach and the fire Chakra is also in the stomach, and that area is the place that Combustion man contracts before he firebends.
Also the stomach is where you need to hold lightning while you redirect it. And combustion man contracts it in a way that looks super unnatural, like he's minmaxed it.
@@josephwodarczyk977 P'li in TLok also does that sort of movement, a very quick tensing of their body while focusing intently on their target. it's pretty earthbendery for a firebending technique.
I think the statue of the normal deer might actually be some kind of fox gazelle hybrid. You get to to see some grazing on the first episode they get to ba sing se when they get on their first rail cart. They look like normal gazelles but they've got a fox tail.
Consider: The flashbacks ARE of Ozai except for the one that is clearly Iroh, but in Avatar State Zuko connects the one of his father giving him a paternal hand-to-shoulder touch with Iroh because he sees Iroh replacing his father in that moment as the real paternal figure in his life that loves and supports him.
9:24 the fact is, Ty Lee had been coming to the palace for years, she actually knew Zuko, and she had been seeing him for a long time since he had go back to the fire nation, alongside her being quite good to understand peoples
Oh yeah she does, she sees the significance of him burning the picture of his family at once. If Azula has been more sharp eyes she might have seen something in that.
I always feel for ty lee when she says that. She's clearly hurt that zuko is angry and can't see that she's known him most her life and knows the person he is, the person his mother knew him to be
@@elzar5987 obviously. She knew a happier Zuko, but there is also the fact than she is very perceptive, and so she understood the issues with him. But obviously, Zuko don't think the same. Honestly, it make me want to see more of their relationship, Zuko and Ty lee as friends is underrated as a idea.
Azula was always one of my favorites in the show, even as a child, and still absolutely is. But I do have to agree that rewatching the show now as an adult has me realize too that the show missed lot of little moments to make Azula more than this threatening force of perfection for 95% of her screen time. She is such a fascinating character to analyze and yet it does feel like the show never quite managed to tie together all these significant character moments, details and narrative set ups to make it properly pay off in the end as a round story. For me, not one part of her characters story/ narrative is "wrong", I don't mind any of this. But I agree, the execution could have had been better, but you know what? In a show like THIS, that had to manage to juggle so much at the same time I can absolutely forgive this.
Can we just appreciate how HELLA strong Zuko is? He destroys chains with one doward kick, one-inch punch someone across a room and kicks down a door without moving a little bit
The glimpses into Azula's insecurities here always made me wish they delved deeper into her feelings before the showdown with Zuko. As awful and conniving as she is, there's a reason she is that way and we really only get vague clues. Like yeah, her dad raised her more than her mom, but what was it really like for her?
According to The Search, her dad was attracted to her potential in the sense that he saw a powerful weapon in Azula, so Azula was entirely controlled by her father. Furthermore, to protect Zuko his mom basically pulled a divorce to ensure that Zuko would not be further abused by essentially being forgotten by his father, so even if Azula and Zuko’s mom loved both of them and did the best she could, she technically took a side. Azula never had a chance to be a normal person.
Also, Hello Future Me has an interesting psychological analysis video on her. I think the diagnosing gets to be a little much but it delves deeper into her life and why she might be the way she is.
Ehasz, the head writer of this series, wanted to explore her more in a potential season 4. Giving her a path to redemption with Zuko playing an Iroh-like role for her. We didn't get a season 4 due to Shyamalan's Last Airbender, but it might've been for the better.
There's is a fanfic that does exactly that, in which Ozai's abuse of her is depicted in more detail. Not pretty, but it's a good read! It's called "Dominion".
Alright. So theory: Toph can see Aang's (and other people's) tattoos because many tattoo inks are made of various metal oxides. This doesn't explain why she can't read, though. Maybe because paper is rarely just sitting in direct contact with the ground? Or, even more fucked up, she _has_ the capacity to learn how to read and can sense the inks on the paper, but her parents just never believed her when she said she could feel the ink and so refused to teach her. More likely: the creators decided to make her unable to see ink on paper because they wanted to avoid just having her be "Daredevil with elemental magic powers"
I never thought it was Ozai in those flashbacks because they literally never show a good side to him. it’s probably safe to say that he was never a gentle father, only believing in the fire that Azula has and only “caring” about her to train her for war or whatever
Azula opening up and then immediately making a joke out of it is very in character. She doesn’t want to show any weakness. Of course she would cover it up and play it off as a joke. You can still tell how genuine her grievance over it was with the initial line delivery.
8:07 Never once noticed Aang earth-bend in this scene it all happened to fast. Always thought Combustion man missed or wanted to kill the group with rock shrapnel or a rock slide.
I love how good this show is at catering to a wide demographic of kids, the difference between this episode and the Headband is pretty evident that this episode was targeted towards teens while the Headband more for kids. It's stuff like this that let the show hit such a wide target audience and feel relatable and interesting to so many people growing up who watched it.
Maybe when Ozai wanted to plan something without Azula he was planning the whole Pheonix king transition. He may of not wanted Azula to know that he was going to leave her behind at home just yet as to avoid her nagging, he tells her litterally at the last minute; right as he’s leaving on campaign.
1:14 Aang's tattoos needing to be hidden came up a lot in "The Awakening" and "The Headband," Toph probably learned that air-bending masters had tattoos in her upper-class tutoring, and yeah, it would seem illogical for the tattoos to _not_ be mentioned at some point by the Gaang.
All Azula's life she has been told that strength comes from power and dominance. Her showing a sliver of emotional vulnerability only to immediately hide it with a joke is completely in character. They did an excellent job with her
when zuko is trying to learn lightning manipulation, he keeps cxausing explosions that look suspiciosly like combustion mans attacks. I wonder if the techniques are related?
