Why is Avatar book 3 the WORST  

Good video but I heavily disagree with Ty lee and Mai’s betrayal coming out of no where. I’m not sure if I’m alone but I was never convinced that the three of them were actually friends. Azula, even in the flashback when they were young, has always pushed them around and put them down to get what she wants. She’s a bully, and Ty lee and Mai both know that. But what are they gonna do, stand up for themselves? She’s the princess of the Fire Nation. The political fallout and damage to their family names would just worsen. So, instead of that they just deal with Azula in different ways. Ty Lee isn’t obsessed with Azula, she’s just taken to being her Yes-man to curb the abuse, being endlessly encouraging and complimentary which Azula obviously takes to because she loves being the center of attention and soaking up praise. Mai deals with it the same way she deals with her family. Being emotionless and giving no reaction. As long as Mai behaves, she has nothing to fear from Azula. But like Mai says in the scene, she loves Zuko more than she fears Azula. Regardless of if the Zuko/Mai romance is written well, it still made sense to me that Mai would defend Zuko. I never got the impression she agreed with what Zuko was doing. But you don’t have to agree with someone to not want them to die by boiling lake. When Mai gets caught and Azula looks to clearly be about to strike her with lightning, Ty lee isn’t betraying a friend by subduing her. She’s protecting the only one she’s got, the only one who’s gone through the same thing she has.

Sokka getting a sword from a meteor, using it like twice and then losing it along with his boomerang is more of a warcrime than anything the firenation has ever done.

How do you just forget that Azula THREATENED Ty Lee into joining her gang? Like Ty Lee is NOT obsessed with Azula, she is trying to stay on her good side. There is a difference. Nobody but Ursa loves Azula. Azula has the threaten her two "closest friends" to stay around her. I like that we didn't really see Mai and Ty Lee conspire behind Azula's back, because it was unexpected for Azula. She got cocky, she never expected that her friends would challenge her authority.

Aang: *had a dream of himself facing Fire Lord Ozai, both without pants* Also Aang: *actually fights Fire Lord Ozai, both shirtless*

You see, I don't really think Ty Lee was really obsessed with Azula. I always saw her as a yes-woman to Azula. When Azula first tried to recruit Ty Lee for her mission, Ty Lee, while happy to see her old friend again, respectfully declined the offer and said she would much rather stay at the circus. Azula later hijacked her show and forced her to perform under extremely dangerous conditions as kind of a punishment for her rejection. After which, Ty Lee understood that going against Azula was a bad idea and changed her mind pretty quickly. She then went out of her way to compliment and obey any order from Azula to stay on her good side. I'd say it wasn't obsession but fear. Which in my opinion makes her betrayal of Azula a good character moment as she stood up to her fear in order to protect her other best friend Mai.

I still think book 1 has weaker episodes, less powerful emotional moments, and worst animation. Book 3 has such great stories, moment,s and character arcs and interactions.

The White Lotus' liberation of Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation was pure unadulterated awesomeness.

I do sympathise with a lot of your points. However, Ty Lee quite obviously was bullied into following Azula and is more of a genuine friend with Mei. I think that she thought that Azula was about to straight up kill Mei in that moment, or at least go waaaaay overboard, she knows just how dangerous Azula is and does everything to stay on her good side, including flattering her, earlier on. If she has to choose, she always chooses Mei. I agree that it would have been nice to spend a bit more time with them though. The Roku stuff could easily have been cut out and put in the Zuko comic instead, that is true, but it was there for additional advertising of the comic. Ideally we would have all of the comics in the show, as it really shows how Ozai is not the 2D Fire McEvilman the show might lead you to believe him to be. Suki is indeed also just there, it would have been nice to have more screen time for her to balance it out, even if it was just in a supportive role for Sokka. Suki also should have already been standing next to the Gaang at the temple and not been right next to the dad, so that she didn't need to be grabbed like that, but that's quite minor as problems go. I liked Zuko wrestling with trying to kill Aang, before coming to the realisation that he's never going to be happy that way. Although it could have been condensed a bit to expedite his inclusion. Aang should have also had a quest to seek out Dragon Turtles rather than just stumbling upon one because destiny or whatever. It's still not perfect, but it would probably make the pill go down easier. You could have everyone else tell him not to use energy bending as it is too risky, and he should have lost something in exchange for using it - because he didn't kill Ozai when he had the chance, there should have been a consequence to that decision, even though it allowed him to remain true to himself. Maybe damaged his own ability to bend as a result? Or shortened his natural lifespan. I dunno.

I disagree on the point of Azula turning the Dai Li against Long Feng showing how conniving she is. There's NO way some 14 year old from the enemy's side could possible convince an ENTIRE special police force to turn against their leader and country, especially when it's basically just her by herself.

I actually thought Combustion Man was pretty damn cool. He was intimidating, and while we don't know much about him, it created a compelling air of mystery, kinda like Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy. But we ultimately didn't need to know that much about him, because his threatening presence was enough to make him memorable

I appreciate hearing your thoughts, but I think Azula's descent to insanity wasn't rushed. Sure, she's very good at manipulating politicians and a master strategist, but being betrayed by her friends hurts more than just losing a battle. She lost her support system. No amount of genius would make someone keep calm and level-headed when the people they love most leave her.

18:30 did we miss Tai Lee getting literally threatened with death and potential destruction of the circus she was a part of if she didn't join Azula's Mean Girls squad? Tai Lee is optimistic as a character trait, and fawning over Azula is potentially (in headcanon territory) a way to keep Azula placated and not question her loyalty. My best guess is that Tai Lee may have shown deference to Azula, but she actually was friends with Mai and while she never would have said it before that moment, when she saw the two facing off, she knew who she was siding with.

Why did Azula get so mad during the end of book 3? At the end of Book 3, Azula had lost literally everything. Everything. I won’t attempt to try and diagnose her with anything here, because frankly, people tend to do that far to easily, and I know basically nothing. I’m a bit knowledgeable when it comes to depression and anxiety, because I suffer from that myself, but outside of that, … well … And nobody needs my armchair psychology. But, with that being said, I don’t think you need to be a trained psychologist to realize that something had broken in Azula before the Final Agni Kai; maybe irreparably, maybe forever, but for better or worse, when her father told her she wouldn’t be coming with him, something inside of her - the last thing holding her together - broke. Let’s look at what happened very shortly (a few weeks, at best) before Sozin’s Comet arrived: Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her. For Zuko, no less. Mai and Ty Lee, who she surely thought she had under perfect control, who were her only source of praise and positivy (Ty Lee, who is a fucking badass, by the way) while hunting Zuko/Iroh/The Gaang, who had never before dared to defy her, who she probably actually considered friends, because I doubt these children (her and Zuko) quite understood the meaning of “friend”, betrayed her. For Zuko. Zuko, who, in turn, had himself betrayed their father and country - and so her, by extention - only a short while before that, after she’d lied for him, to get him back home, where he’d wanted to be for the past three years. (To hold this over his head, of course, but she did still get him home.) Zuko, I always thought, was nothing but a negative example to Azula. Sure, their mother may have favoured him (at the very least in Azula’s eyes), but their father made it very clear very early on that he favoured Azula, her way of thinking, her bending prowess - after Ursa was gone, that was arguably worth more, and not only because Ozai was now the Fire Lord. No opinion matters to Azula as much as Ozai’s. And Ozai thought Zuko was weak. Ozai thought Zuko was worth nothing. Ozai would’ve killed the boy without a second thought for the throne, he maimed him for speaking out of turn, and then he banished him, send him on a hopeless hunt for a person nobody had seen in over a hundred years so he wouldn’t have to look at him anymore. And Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her … for him. They chose him over her, just like her mother did. Azula must’ve worked every day of her life to be as little like Zuko as possible, because she had seen what happened to people like Zuko. They got thrown away like chewed gum. She believed herself to be better than Zuko, because she’d been raised to believe she was. How could Mai possibly love Zuko more than (she feared) her? How could Ty Lee possibly be more loyal to Mai than to her? (Because Ty Lee only interferred when she saw Azula threaten Mai. I don’t get Tyzula, man. Not when Mai Lee’s right there. But anyway.) But all that didn’t matter. Not in the long run, right? She still had her father. Her father still valued her, her father still loved her, her father would never betray her, never treat her like Zuko, and never choose Zuko over her. And then, in the Finale, he leaves her behind. He just … dicards her. Like Zuko. And she can’t be treated like Zuko, she won’t be treated like Zuko, she’s worked so hard to not be like Zuko, and still her best friends (who’d previously proven themselves to be so useful to her) betrayed her for him, and her father treats her exactly like him. He leaves, without her. He leaves her behind. That’s what makes her crack, in the end

My critiques / polite personal rebuttals: 1) I didn’t have a problem with chunks of Aang’s firebending being offscreen because we have already seen so much of the bending style and fighting from the rest of the show. Book one introduced us to waterbending, so we watched a lot of it. And they fought firebenders and we also followed Zuko and Iroh. Book two introduced us to real earthbending so we got to see it alongside the group. We watched Zuko, Iroh, and Azula. And they fought firebenders. Then we get to book three, and we are already extremely familiar with firebending. So why go over it all again in the same depth as the others? 2) Although I do agree Zuko should have been introduced to the group over a bit longer period of time, I don’t think Toph is a good example for comparison. When Zuko goes to join the group, he already has interacted with them, and previously fought with them, on multiple occasions. Both in an attempt to defeat Azula, once together and once a betrayal. And before that, Zuko previously saved Aang, and Toph met Iroh. They already had better familiarity with each other upon Zuko wanting to join than when they met Toph. They had never seen her before, never spoke to each other, and knew nothing about her. So we need less time with Zuko because we, and the gaang, are already much more familiar with Zuko, his character dynamic, how he works with most others and his motivations, etc. 3) I disagree on the “we just see Zuko existing” in book 3. Like mentioned, we see him finally come to the position he originally wanted, trying to find and excuse his happiness and contentment. Trying to fit in but he doesn’t. Being unsettled and unhappy with himself, and finally asking himself who he is and what he wants. It tells us a lot about Zuko and his family and friends. It not being quite visually exciting doesn’t out weigh the narrative purpose to me. 4) With the note towards Sokka and his sword training and the others sitting around being bored, that also served a narrative purpose. Lots of the audience during the shows running would argue Sokka’s lack of importance in the group. So giving him a spotlight, setting up his own leadership and humbling growth before leading armies and attacks, and showing how vital he is to the group was also important. The group can often be quite lost without him, or feel empty without him. It helps him earn his moments in the final battle, fighting with his sword, and Toph saying “Aye aye captain” when dangling from his grip, trusting him instead of giving him a snide remark. 5) Most people have already said it, so I’ll keep it short. But yeah, Azula’s friendship with Mai and Ty Lee was never solid, using fear tactics instead of love, so their betrayal doesn’t come out of no where. And her decent into madness does come too quick, but if you also think about the intense pressure she is feeling from becoming firelord early, and having absolutely no one on her side after having taken down a kingdom (ie she easily defeated someone on a throne due to the lack of loyalty in his troops, and now she’s on a throne with no loyalties?) makes the madness make more sense. Still went too quick, but on the whole it is much more valid.

Fun fact: a TV movie that took place after Avatar’s finale revolving around finding Zuko’s mom was pitched to Nickelodeon but was rejected, this rejected pitch would later go on to become the graphic novel trilogy titled “The Search” which dives into the backstory of how Ozai and Ursa (the name of Zuko’s mom) met as well as some of Zuko and Azula’s upbringing as well. It’s a fantastic read and I highly recommend checking it out.

You raised some good points but I feel like you're forgetting a crucial detail, that being how book 2 ends. Zuka and Katara had a moment where they open out on another and see that there's more to then what they thought, Zuko had seen the evils his father, grandfather and great grandfather's war had caused on the Earth Kingdoms and thanks to Azula, knew for a fact he had no place back home, heck even then he questioned if that place was what he wanted. But then he chose wrong and betrayed Katara and Aang, siding with Azula. If Zuko joined team Avatar pre-invasion, it would come off as rushed and weird. Sure they could say more time passed from the finale of book 2 to the opening of book 3 but they already set up the time table with Sozin's comet, and even if they didn't, audiences would still go 'wait, what, how, when and why'. Just think of Young Justice seasons 1 and 2 and how different things were in the opening of season 2 to the finale of season 1. Sure they tell us years have gone by, but it wouldn't feel like it. Though, yeah they should habe focused more on Mai and Tai Lee breaking from Azula as she controls thek through fear, thats how sue got Tai Lee to join her, so it would have been fun if we saw her realising this and questioning it, along with Mai seeing Zuko's struggles and wondering where she fits into this, after all this is the same girl that didn't even fight Azula to save her little brother's life, does she start wondering when her acting like she didn't care turned into apathy?

azula wasnt broken by ty lee and mai's betrayal. it was a minor blow compared to being left behind by ozai. also, the reason why aang spent so long with earthbending is because it was the opposite element to earth. aangs issues with firebending were addressed in the episode with dragons. the reason why you dont see him train with it much is actually because he just doesnt train much. zuko talks about how his firebending needs a lot of work and berates him for goofing around

Ok here's an idea. In the comics we learn that Zuko was taught sword fighting by Piandao before he got banished. So what if instead of "the boiling rock" being the big Sokka/Zuko episode, it was "Sokka's master". Let say that we moved "the firebending masters" so that it happened before "Sokka's master" we could have had Zuko wanting to re-learn sword fighting the same way he re-learned firebending.

Imagen zuko joining indeed in episode 6 and traveling the fire nation with team avatar. There has to be atleast one incident where some guy says to him: "Hey, you look like the crone prince." And zuko is like: "Yeah, i get that a lot." nice fanfiction-premise

I think Book 3 *works* as-is, however, I do really like your ideas for Zuko being with the gang more! I would really enjoy seeing a version of Book 3 where Zuko (and Suki) get join the gang earlier and just hang out and partake in the shenanigan episodes! That sounds so nice. Also, I'd like to defend the suddenness of the Azula betrayal and her going insane. You say she shouldn't crack because she's a master manipulator, but that's the *exact* kind of person who would have a breakdown. She thinks she's in charge and controls everything, but when that suddenly turns on its head and deviates from her plan, it shatters her entire worldview. After this, Ozai leaves her behind during the comet and "treats her like Zuko," and then *she assumes the throne of Fire Lord as a teenager.* It all subtly but rapidly builds up stress until her poor little psyche just can't handle it anymore. Mai "saving the jerk who dumped her" tells me she's still fundamentally a good person and realized Zuko's perspective after giving it a little thought. Ty Lee chi-blocking Azula to save Mai is kinda like her version of "I love her more than I fear you." She also is a good person deep down, and couldn't just sit there and watch one of her friends get struck by lightning. This all said, I would still love LOVE to see a redone Book 3 that gives Mai and Ty Lee more screentime to explore their souring feelings towards Azula. Remember that she used to bully them since they were kids, and even in the modern day with sabotaging Ty Lee's circus performance. So the precedent for them taking the opportunity to abandon her is there :)

I’ve never heard Zuko’s redemption arc described as “milling about” before. For someone so critical of things coming out of nowhere, you seem just as unhappy when things take time to develop.

I don't think that the criticism of Combustion man was really warranted. I don't think that he's the best character or anything, but you're trying to make him live up to the standards of other more important villains. Combustion man only shows up two or three times and is barely more than a villain of the week. He's not a secondary villain for the entire season like Zhao and he doesn't need to be because the third season already has a primary villain in Ozai and a secondary villain in Azula. Looking at Azula as the secondary villain, she's much better than the ones in books 1 and 2.

I think ty lee had plenty of reason to betray azula, first off the first thing azula does is threaten her for disobeying her ty lee wasn't being nice to azula because she wanted to she did it to keep azula from trying to harm her, secondly azula was going to murder mai, thridy ty lee reconize that if she put 1 hair out of place azula would kill her next, and lastly she seemingly did it on instinct as evidently by the fact that shes looking at her hands in confusion afterward

I have a lot of thoughts about Azula's mental state and her reaction to Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal as I believe it's brilliantly written and wonderfully subtle. One thing the series both in the comics and the show demonstrate is how Ozai rules through fear, brutality and ruthless subjugation, something that Azula mirrors as she was taught. She's actually quite nuanced as she clearly cares and trusts Ty Lee and Mai, they are hardly the only choices she'd have for a team to hunt her brother and the Avatar, but she takes steps to ensure they follow her. Notably Ty Lee at first denies Azula but when Azula makes the circumstances in the circus a threat to everyone around she quickly decides to follow Azula and placate her. From their first meeting it's overwhelmingly clear that the threat of force is part of Azula and Ty Lee's relationship, something that Azula herself admits during her breakdown and to Ursa's apparition. "What choice do I have? Trust is for fools, fear is the only reliable way", as she turns away from her mother in the mirror unable to look at her or herself. Azula would never admit it but she did trust Ty Lee and Mai and after that fact she became unable to trust anyone for anything as she sees betrayal in every action. Her mental breakdown is particularly poignant because it stems from an irreconcilable fact with her world view, she believes that in order to get people to do what you want you need to manipulate them or make them fear you. But, Mai is still afraid of Azula, she took her action knowing that at best she'd end up in prison and at worst Azula would just kill her where she stands, but she loves Zuko too much to let Azula kill him, even after he dumped her. Ty Lee took action to save Mai despite her deep fear of Azula because her love of her friend is more powerful than fear. Mai and Ty Lee's actions go directly contradict Azula's world view and shook her to the core. Though I have an obvious bias as someone with an Azula profile pic. I'm also an unapologetic Azula redemption arc believer (like I would seriously bet that she is getting a redemption arc in the coming comics or series/movies) and somewhat apologetic Tyzula shipper.

I always honestly thought that the reason Zuko is so distant and joined really late is because for the majority of the show, he has literally been the bane of Team Avatar's mission. His own decision to betray his uncle words almost got Aang killed. He had a lot of turmoil in him that needed to be solved, as well as needing to befriend team Avatar since he needs to be close to Aang to train him. Plus I know this is no excuse to make the show itself feel rushed but everything happening within the show is rushed, Aang needing to learn all the other three elements before the Fire Nation gets the buff they needed to take over the world is probably very stressful on Zuko as it is to Aang. Plus every moment Zuko has with Kitara and Sokka are moments he can to fix mistakes or help heal wounds that are still present within the people his nation wronged. Especially within Aang's friends since he personally made their mission harder than it needed to be, so he befriends them individually and gains their trust, rather than bond as a team and make it feel like he has completely changed instead having them think he owes them. Just saying it's easy to befriend them one person at a time rather than tell them all to trust him at once. Though I'll admit I wish I saw Zuko train with Aang more. As for Azula's descent into madness, it's because she's used to having control over everything out of fear. Mai and Ty Lee both served Azula out of fear and have been over the longest period of time. So them betraying her starts to break her is because the closest people she called friends betrayed her and let her brother of all people get away. The other push is her father denying her the opportunity to rule with him, but instead he treats her as Azula says, "Like Zuko." Especially since it's her doing all the work and infiltration, it was her idea and Ozai denied her that. She loses control over her peers, has a belief that her own father doesn't love her(even though I'm 100% sure there wasn't any in the first place) and the only person who actually loves her is the person that views her as a monster. So her breakdown wasn't rushed in my opinion, to me she had it coming and not just because she deserves it, but because she held herself so high the moment she even falls even a little bit, she'll do whatever it takes to be the best, since perfect is not enough for her.

I definitely agree with your critiques, especially Zuko joining team Avatar late, but I don’t think they make Book 3 the worst season overall. That’s still Book 1 for me.

I always thought book 3 was weaker and I think you summed up the reasons why really well, I think rearranging things to let Suki and Zuko spend more time with the gang would have made great character building. I would disagree about Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal coming out of nowhere, though. Mai has always displayed some defiance towards Azula's demands, like in the drill where she refuses to go down the sludge pipe thing, "she can throw all the fire she wants, I'm not going down there" and I've thought of Ty Lee following Azula around due to fear based on her how the show introduced their dynamic. Ty Lee wanted to stay at the circus and didn't immediately want to go with Azula, it was only after Azula turned her circus act into an unfortunate accident waiting to happen (basically to say do what I say or else bad thing will happen) that she agreed to come along, so I always her doing whatever Azula wanted and being super complimentary towards her as a way to stay on her good side, doing what Azula wants will make sure she doesn't get punished and the constant compliments to keep Azula calm and to make sure she doesn't take her anger out of her or Mei if something gets to her

Season 3 definitely had its issues. I wish we had more time to have Zuko bond with the team before the finale. A couple of episodes where Zuko is just a part of the group and one episode that focused on Zuko and Toph would've been really good. I also wish we got just one more episode right before the finale called "Azula Alone" as a callback to "Zuko Alone." We could use that time to show more of Azula's mental breakdown happening in real time, and even see that off-screen conversation between Azula and her mom that we didn't get to see in "Zuko Alone." With all that said, it's still BY FAR my favorite season of Avatar and is probably my favorite season of the franchise, including Korra's seasons.

Zuko siding with Katara in “The Runaway” would be a good of way of showing he’s adopted a more cautious and thoughtful approach towards things which would be cool to see I think, showing Iroh’s wisdom had an affect on him, not to say it would be anything *new* necessarily but it would still be nice. Ty Lee and Mai betraying Azula didn’t really feel out of nowhere in my opinion: Ty Lee may the happy one and seems to get along with Azula more, she still had no problem telling Azula that she was content with her life in the circus, she only went because Azula messed with her performance. Mai only joined up with Azula because she hated her life, but in the drill she was perfectly willing to defy Azula because she didn’t want to traipse around in mud.

I fully agree that Zuko should've joined sooner. I still find it baffling that there isn't a scene where he tells the gaang how he got his scar.

All I can think is how much material your potential rewrite gives Zutara shippers.

i have not seen Avatar, but i am surprised that Zuko joins so late! XD I thought he was there for a better chunk of the season, haha. I like your ideas for the rewrites of him being there earlier - Katara having to decide to use bloodbending to save Zuko especially! Also just him being there to see her face something like that could probably give him and her something else to bond over?

I agree with some of the reasons but I have to disagree with your opinion on Mai and Ty lee’s betrayal and how this played a part in triggering azula’s downfall. Yes, ty lee praised and complimented Azula many times and had followed every order she was given but she did that out of more out of fear rather than admiration. Seeing mai not back down from azula out of love for zuko showed ty lee that love can overcome fear. You can argue that ty lee attacked azula as a response to protect mai rather than an outright betrayal but I feel that in this moment ty lee’s love for mai was stronger than her fear of azula. Azula’s power comes from her ability to use fear and intimidation to get what she wants. So when her closest subordinates defy her despite knowing the consequences, this throws her for a loop as that she lived her whole life believing fear was the only way to get what she wants. When she loses mai and ty lee, she starts to overthink everything and become paranoid. If her “friends” could betray her, anyone can. She starts to get rid of anyone close to her. Azula doesn’t understand the concept of trust and forming bonds with others because in order to do that she has to become vulnerable which is something azula sees as weakness.

A lot of the points you mentioned made a lot of sense like how we could've seen Azula's dynamic with Ty Lee and Mai more but I think if Zuko chose to leave the Fire Nation that early, it would really downplay his goal of wanting to go back to the fire nation. He spent two seasons trying to get back to the Fire Nation and that was his ultimate goal, so for him to finally get it and realize that it's not what he wanted in five episodes would minimize his effort and the weight his choices had. Honestly, I think if the creators had more time, they probably would've added more episodes to book three. This is just speculation but I feel like TV show runnings and contracts probably weren't as lenient as they might be now, especially for Nickelodeon. I'm sure they were told they'd be given x amount of episodes so they had to fit in what they could but if given the opportunity, I'm sure they would have expanded on many of the points you mentioned.

This is a good critique. Avatar is pretty great, near perfect as a production can get, but yeah, these are good points about how the plot and characters could have been better built up. I'm suspecting that Nickelodeon probably had a lot of executive meddling that the creators had to figure out how to dance around and meet demands for their jokey, fun cartoon quota. At least that's what I think led to the rushed decisions. As I remember they had to design super skimpy outfits for the fire teens' just so they could have them wear what they do, so I imagine they probably had to do a lot of things like that, wasting time developing or designing something to shock or appease the network so they could then reveal the real plan and have it approved. I mean... the network also demanded the live action movie, then killed Book Air, and then Korra... poor Korra. It's honestly amazing that Avatar came out as well as it did, and doubly so for Korra. The executives probably had a lot more to do with why weaker choices may have been made. Although, there could also be, and most surely are, a blend of actual honest, mistakes made by the team that are unrelated to the execs. As much as I might think the studio meddled with stuff, it's probably not fair to blame them entirely, except when it comes to Korra. Regardless of who's at fault for what I'm glad the show exists, especially to see videos like this put together that get me to think even more about a show I consider perfect. It's just hard to see the flaws about stuff I like sometimes, but these videos help me consider new angles and ideas. I also love that creators like you can point out both the good and bad as well as why something does or doesn't work. It's all very much appreciated. Keep on Critter.

I do agree that the pacing could've been a bit better in book 3 and Suki and Zuko could've been introduced sooner definitely agree the could'be rearranged some stuff. Although I actually liked the painted lady and headband because we get a better look into the firenation culture and people though is Zuko were introduced earlier those episodes coul'dve been even better.

Cant argue with most of what you said. I think alot of these hindsight changes could have improved the strength of the story being told, but I'm so mixed on the azula/ty lee bit. Azula's friends betraying her isnt just her losing her only friends, it's also the first time something doesnt go her way (even in other times she loses, like with the drill or in the chase she pivots by infiltrating Ba sing Sei and gets a shot on Iroh before fleeing.) She then attacks the air temple, slightly more unhinged, before getting left behind by Ozai. People dont betray Azula, and if they were going to try, she already knows, so to me its not so hard to believe that this is enough to shatter the worldview of a perfectionist. Could it have been portrayed better, or over a longer period, yeah, but I dont think what we have is too little to be believable. Same with Ty lee. They make it really clear in book 2 Ty Lee was manipulated into joining. She's been loyal yeah, but if she's forced to suddenly choose between Azula, who forced her to abandon her dreams, or Mei, her friend who is far nicer to her and would probably die if she fought Azula I dont think it's that far of a stretch. Maybe these require too many logical leaps but I think I'd like it if these got more build up but im not unsatisfied with how it is.

In the earlier episodes, Zuko was experiencing turmoil and nearly all of those “filler” storylines were necessary for world building, plot development and creating anticipation. Zuko joined the team at the right time and the fact that the comet was so close built a sense of urgency.

I never really considered how much of Book 3 is actually spent with Zuko. When the mentioned the Puppet Master episode, I was stunned. Same with the Painted Lady, but I completely forget about that episode all together until someone else brings it up. While having Aang in the Fire Nation is crucial, it would have been so cool to see a divide in the Fire Nation citizens. Some people think that the eclipse invasion was a sign that Sozin's Comet will end the war and unite the world under their own flag, while others are concerned that seeing the entire world come together to try and overthrow Ozai means that he isn't the great leader that he has made them out to be. Rather than getting Aang fumbling through schooling, Sokka's wacky disguises, and a meta play that means nothing, it would have been cool to establish the black, white, and gray of the people in the Fire Nation and how the war impacts them personally, especially if the former Prince is known to be aiding the Avatar!

you know I never thought about this but you mite have a point, my biggest problems with book 3 that I'm surprised you didn't mention is the finally, while the whole lion turtle thing really just showed up out of nowhere and people have talked about that endlessly I think its also worth mentioning that Aang got hit in the back so hard that he relined his chakras, which is easily the stupidest part in all of avatar. some of your suggestions honestly don't sound like bad ideas, I was super surprised wen Zuko joined the team but I did get the feeling like they were rushing to make the most of it before the finally, and while I did really like the head band dance party episode I think the painted lady felt a bit pointless, but if Zuko was there and he saw that the gang was helping random small towns and he remembers all the places he attacked trying to find Aang, now that episode has a purpose. but the thing about avatar is that its so well made that even its weakest points have something to show its like that old saying goes, no matter how good a show is one episode will always be the worst.

I agree but for some different reasons. I agree Zuko joining the gang was a bit rushed and so was Azula's mental break down. But I think the main reason book 3 is the weakies season is because this season wasn't able to balance both Aang and Zuko's stories. The writers new what they had to do with Zuko mostly across this season but they didn't really know what to do with Aang.

Like several others, I also agree with several of your points especially having Zuko and Suki join earlier and some episode rearrangement, however, I believe Sozin and Roku's episode as well as Azula's breakdown was absolutely necessary. Part of Avatar's message is the fact that no side is truly evil, and I believe that the history of the war is absolutely needed to fully establish that. As for Azula's breakdown and Mei and Ty Lee's betrayal, that was definitely set up. From her earliest moments on screen, it was obvious that Mei never liked Azula. Mei and Ty Lee's dialogue between them also shows that Azula was abusive towards them. The beach episode and the flashbacks also make it clear that neither Mei nor Ty Lee are actually loyal to Azula. Mei throughout her time as Azula's lackey has been pretty useless in general. From the "take the bear" scene to her not wanting to jump in "wall juice". Ty Lee is clearly shown to be far too afraid of Azula to go against her. The way she recruited Ty Lee was by threatening her life. As for Azula, she is a megalomaniac. She simply cannot be wrong. While Mei and Ty Lee hated Azula, Azula genuinely thought they were her friends. I doubt Azula would ever confess to being jealous of somebody else to anyone she didn't consider close to her, especially about romantic topics. When someone Azula can confide that closely in betrays her, it clearly hits her like a punch to the gut. Not only that, she was already shown to have some level of mommy issues in the beach episode as well. So I believe there were no problems with that.

Blood bending is some of the most terrifying shit ever because you can hear the bones breaking and muscles tearing being forced move in unconventional ways all while being conscious and forced to watch while you are following someone random water benders will

I enjoyed that each of the characters (except for Toph) experienced their own episode with Zuko, because they all had been hurt by him in personal ways that he needed to make up for and all of them brought out different sides of his personality. With Aang, we saw him acting as a somewhat wise teacher, with Sokka we saw him as a strategist and leader in a positive capacity while with Katara, he was like a supportive big brother who wanted to help her find closure.

Suki wasn’t and never has been a member of “team avatar”, she solely exists as a love interest/foil for Sokka and is a teen infatuation. There is no reason for the other characters to interact with her and they were never shown to be close in the first place. Sokka himself doesn’t know Suki that well. He met her once for a few days in Kyoshi Island and spends most of the series separated from her for months. In fact, he never really seemed to get over Princess Yuwei.

I always loved how ty lee betrayed azula because she joined the team under duress and ripped from the circus but it is very out of nowhere

While your description of the rearranged book 3 made me drool (seriously, that was some good shit) - I think book 3's potential is being used here as flaws in it, when both its highs and lows are still higher than the respective highs and lows of book 1. Anyways, glad we all agree book 2 reigns supreme

Book three had two plot-significant celestial events occur so Zuko's arc from being accepted by his father to realising he must join the avatar was always going to be incredibly rushed. I agree Combustion Man added nothing, not even redemption for Zuko since it didn't even make sense for the team to trust Zuko just for saving them from the dangerous man he hired to full-on assassinate them. I also want to point out Aangs relationship with Katara was poorly established to end with them together after zero relationship growth or development from the last season, Katara was always more like an older sister, or as Toph says "the mom" of the group. The last we see them interact is in Ember Island where Aang pushes Katatra's boundaries when she says she is confused and not focused on relationships, and then Aang blowing up at her over his own ethical barrier toward defeating Ozai. I would argue they had more chemistry as friends and stick with Aang learning to let go of his feelings from the Guru episode. (I don't ship Katara with Zuko either, she doesn't need to be shipped with anyone)

Toph not having much of a dynamic with Zuko isn’t troublesome, because she didn’t know him as well as the others did at this point and there was plenty of time for bonding post-war. All members of a group do not need to be close. It’s perfectly natural that some will form closer bonds than others. Toph was always more so of an independent outsider anyway and she is still the same in the sequel series.

I respect that you are willing to criticize a show like this; not just for the sake of raising controversial points but to genuinely find way it could have been done better. I like the idea of Suki and Zuko joining the Gaang earlier, but I also think episode 6 is too early for Zuko to join. That would only give Zuko three episodes to settle home and come to terms with how he despises everything he thought he always wanted, while also depriving Zuko's betrayal in season 2's finale of real meaning. I think there is a happy medium between what the show did and what was suggested. Additionally, I think a fundamental misunderstanding of Azula's psyche is demonstrated here. Ty Lee and Mai's betrayals weren't really what broke her, it was how those betrayals shattered her world view that broke her. Azula was raised in an environment where fear was used to control everyone, from her servants to the peasants to even her own family in Zuko and Ursa. She adopted this philosophy and used her belief that fear is the only reliable method to control people to build a position of power for herself. Time and time again, Azula's ability to sense just how fear could control any individual she faces gave her the mental upper hand and, though she faced inevitable resistance, there was nothing that suggested to her that her philosophy was wrong. Until Mai betrayed her and told her that she loved Zuko more than she feared Azula. Azula simply could not understand and, initially, simply blamed Mai for deviating from the pattern everybody else in her life had followed up until this point. But then Ty Lee betrayed her, too. All of a sudden, Azula saw the cracks. If fear did not keep her two most trusted allies by her side, why would it keep anyone else there as well? Her trust in fear's ability to conquer all unraveled and she started banishing everyone, suddenly afraid she could not control them. That also lead to the scene where she hallucinated seeing her mother, where her mother's insistence that she loved Azula over fearing her sending Azula over the tipping point. I think the show handled that beautifully. It did not need a long process. In fact, seeing how quickly Azula's life crumbled once her world view was shattered made the whole process more chilling and more effective.

18:31 well Ty Lee only joined Azula after she basically threatened her to make her circus life more chaotic and stressful until she joined.

Aang’s decision to not kill Ozai is a cop out.

Interesting take that I never heard of which is funny a lot of people in that fandom obviously love book 3 and think it's perfect just the way it is. Although a lot of some people did not like the ending. I find that interesting.

I also agree that azula’s breakdown while cool and expertly shown in multiple scenes should have been more built up instead of cramping it into the series finale which I will always and forever love and I think is a beautiful ending to an amazing series is way to over stuffed I mean seriously you have the fire lord fight azula’s breakdown team avatar searching for aang meeting with the white lotus and the Agni Kai all thrown into two 30 minute episodes and I didn’t mention the other plots like the white lotus freeing ba sing sei back to azula I always felt she had “friends” in her own twisted way but they were more puppets because just as much as zuko’s mom leaving effected him it effected azula as well giving her extreme abandonment issues on top of that knowing your mother hated and feared you because you were like your father didn’t help not to mention the travesty of fatherhood that is ozi really f*cked azula up and while she is absolutely responsible for her choices just like zuko her environment played a big role in what she became I mean at zuko had iroh azula was literally stuck with ozi and no one to be her iroh

I agree with almost everything you said. I just finished it for the first time and I am slightly disappointed at how the last book was. Still an incredible animated show.

I agree with your opinion that season 3 is weak I feel like how it is with season 1 as you mentioned sure we get stuff like the headband but we get soka’s master and while I am sad we didn’t get a toph field trip and we could have replaced the painted lady with a toph or sukki episode but I still loved it not saying you or others don’t I just feel like all the seasons were good even if they have there flaws

Two things: firstly, ever since watching the video with you bf, I can't unhear scaring cows Secondly, whether or not I agree or disagree I will die on the hill that in the last agni ki went the sound goes out and all you hear is the flames is one of the best things to ever exist

Honesty, I still think book 1 is the weakest

Ty Lee betraying Azula inspired Emerald from RWBY to betray Cinder.

Yeah right! Glad someone tried to explain, don't think I ever really heard anyone discuss about how rushed and mismatched it feels compared to the first two seasons.. Oh hope you're doing well JC! 👍⭐

🔴 @8:11 Sorry to bring up Rwby in a lab video but that's how I feel about Oscar Like his character he my favorite next to Ozpin and Nora But it feels like if we get Rwby back and they do make more volume and try to get Oscar to feel like he's in the team it feels like it's to late especially now that we're going to vacuo with a lot of the v1-3 cast ppl love Oscar going to feel like he just there sadly and only needed when Salem shows up Pll have said they hope everyone has a big reunion episode in V10 with rwbyjnr and all the v1 cast and if they do Oscar not going to be there or if he there be out of place Again sorry for a Rwby comment 😅

Combustion man isn't the sub villain. It's Azula. Did her becoming fire lord not give that away? She's the main threat beneath Ozai.

Adam (Hazbin Hotel): “Hmmmmmmmmmm. No.”

I feel book 3 was necessary regardless of quality because it humanized the fire nation. Some people didn't like that, but I feel those people are at best wrong and at worst lack empathy.

interesting take on this beloved series did you know originally, they were going to make a season 4 for the show but didn't for different reasons. if they stick with the season instead of a live action movie maybe what you said had a valid point it wld've give more time for the characters

Are you doing any more Korra reviews I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on them and I thought The Run Away was a great episode for Katara and Toph

Actually just finished rewatching book 3 last night and I was feeling that it was rushed because four episodes after zuko joins the gang then there's the finale

Fun fact, Dave Filoni, the director of the cg clone wars, directed the Blue Spirit.

Great video! You have some great criticism that I have never thought about before. If they had Zuko join the gaang sooner it would make his friendships feel more earned and meaningful. I loved the suggestions you had like Zuko siding with Katara in the scam episode, or having him be a part of the Painted Lady plot. His presence just adds a new layer to any situation. I never thought of it but it makes perfect sense once you brought it up. I do agree it is a little rushed and I assumed that would be your main critique. I still think it is better than season 1 even with those writing flaws. The stakes are higher, the animation is top notch, and the emotional weight and storytelling is fantastic. P.s. I love the Ruko and Sozin episode lol

Two other quick things I feel like mei and ti lee’s betrayal didn’t come out of nowhere or is flimsy only because it’s shown to us multiple times in the series that they don’t care about azula as much and sort of vice versa with azula for example ti lee only joined azula after she burned the rope net for her performance and caused chaos during her show turning the place she felt at peace into a nightmare and it’s implied ti lee knows this because of her face during the performance and how she speaks to azula when she decides to join her she’s very monotone still acting happy but not bubbly because she is being forced to follow azula and it feels like some big reasons she is obsessed with her is because she is like an abused person believing the abuser is the only person that cares about her azula is always either giving back handed compliments or ordering her around and mei is a kundere at least they get some bonding though and with when she betrays azula she literally says I love zuko more than I fear you which does imply she followed azula because she feared remember she terrorized them as kids with azula she using Mei as target practice by setting an apple on fire dunked her and zuko in the fountain and made fun of them for that and mei’s crush and when mei’s little brother got “kidnapped” in book 2 when Mei wanted to get her brother back azula said no because boomi was to valuable a prisoner and would have let her brother die or stay captive if not for aang I can totally see where you are coming from a lot of the build for character decisions comes from context clues as well as the show stating/showing it so you got keep a lot of stuff in the back you mind while watching

Hey critter! I really miss your korra review videos! I know you kinda put it on hold for now and still reviewing season 1 episodes but id loooove to hear you review book 3, especially who i think are the best villains the red lotus

I almost completely agree, Book 3 is definitely the season I’m the most critical of, though as I’d still choose to rewatch it over Book 1 in a heartbeat, I can’t exactly call it my least favorite, either. A real case of peeks and valleys. I agree that Ang’s Fire Bending could have been spaced out better, but hot(heehee) take, I kinda felt that way about Earth Bending as well. They make such a big deal about how as the elemental opposite of Air, Earth doesn’t come naturally to Aang, but we only get one episode dedicated to that idea, after which Aang never again struggles to Earth Bend in practice. Even if Toph implies he’s still got further to go, it’s not really shown. Lastly, while Zuko and Suki’s integration into the gaang does ultimately suffer from the poor pacing, at least in the former’s case I love every story told after he joins. So if I had to point the finger at an element that I think is paced poorly and does NOT make the most of it, back away from the hornet’s nest folks, because I think KatAang is one of the weakest aspects of Avatar, and it’s implementation in Book 3 is a big part of the reason why.

You have some really great ideas on how to improve book 3 and the character development.

Book one also had Jeong Jeong the Deserter. Which was one of my personal least favorite episodes. Between that, the Great Divide, Bato of the Water Tribe, and The Fortune teller. Book one had way more bad and mid episodes than in book 3.

WHAAT book 3 was the best

I agree that Book 3 was the weakest, but not for the same reasons you mention.

I will disagree with you on the fact their isn’t a big bad of the season I feel like the fire lord was supposed to be the sub villain and main villain he just gets the development and build up in the other seasons

Hmm didnt think about 3 being the worst but i think 2 is my favorite

The whole Lion Turtle idea was a cop out and why did the White Lotus attack Ba Sing Se and not the Fire Nation Capitol to help Zuko get to Azula?

It would have been interesting if Book 4 would adapt the comics and expand more of them in the epsiodes.

And I do think disagree with you on some things like sure combustion man isn’t deep but I feel like he’s supposed to be the t 800 of the show sure the terminator didn’t have a deep motivation it really didn’t feel like he needed to though I will agree that zuko joining team avatar right did feel forced

Doing the filler episodes with Zuko and Suki would be great

book 3 is best to me

16:54 That's actually a good point. Ty Lee's betrayal honestly should've been fleshed out. At least Mai had an actual reason

I love Boom Three, but I can see Critter’s points and the alternatives she offers. They are actually very good.

Dancing on thin ice with a title like that.

Have you watched Netflix's Avatar the Last Airbender live action show, The Judgemental Critter?

"still consideed one of the best" uhm, sorry, it is The best of the best and "still" - what changed? did I miss Dostovsky's return or smth? Admitedely, I'm not the biggest fan of ATLA, just think it's great, but I don't make a habbit of comparing. Just wanted to be lil toxic today

Now this is how you piss off a fan base lol

It's the shortest. Case closed.

Wow! There was so much I disagreed with I kind of want to make a response video just to say it all. Great video though.

Book 3 is my personal favorite

NO but thanks for sharing.

Nah you're buggin

i know u gotta eat so thumbnail and title be like that as youtube normal but man that title makes me sad. but i get what u mean.

The parents stayed behind and sokka took suki cuz shes a kid, all the other prisoners with them escaping were adults Hakota sent the kids away to begin with after the invasion. It actually nice that it is consistent

ooooooh what a hot take (pun intended)

show i like it

trash take too much rwby ruined your taste

Man a lot of these new atla fans really misread the story