Why The Tales of Ba Sing Se Will NEVER Be Replicated - Avatar The Last Airbender 

The hardest part of watching that episode was "In Honor of Mako."

A point that makes Iroh's story that much sadder is when you view the ages of those he helps. They keep moving up in age with him acting as a dad would to their child. Up until the hill where his son never got to be older than the bandit.

If it doesn't fully break the pacing of a narrative, I say that character building is in no way filler. In a lot of cases, mundanity is the best way to build up a character's flaws, conflicts, and personality

Tearbending, the fifth bending type. It always gets me.

Many people also forget that the gang spent weeks in Ba Sing Se and spending some more calm, slice-of-life moments conveys the amount of downtime and waiting they have to sit through and making the best of it. They wouldn't just sit around doing nothing. Of course a girl is gonna ask Zuko out. Aang would sooner or later stumble upon the zoo. Why not go on a spa day with all this free time? Just makes the characters and the city feel that much more alive.

Even watching videos about Iroh's tale brings me to ters just becasue of both the context in universe and in the real world. In the show, Iroh helps out all kinds of men in different times of their life, just like a father would. So him saying "If only I could have helped you" is like a stab through my chest. And for the RL context. Apparently Mako was already diagnosed with a terminal illnes when he performed leaves on the wind. And his voice cracking is in part because he comes to terms with his mortality. The story goes the entire recording studio wept during the performance...

The tale of Iroh is such a well crafted episode with so much depth. The fact that Ba Sing Se is the city that took Iroh's son from him. And now, gives him a day to be a father to the entire city is so beautiful and tragic at the same time. It completely changes the way you see him and why he is the way he is. This was definitely one of the episodes that solidified Iroh as one of my favourite characters ever.

The very first time I ever saw my dad cry was when iro sang leaves from the vine. Both of them tought me so much on what it means to be a man and I wouldn't be half the man I am today without atla. Thank you so much for doing this review

The transition from Katara and Top to Iroh to Aang is actually pretty cool. Toph and Katara's tale ends on a rather happy note. The Iroh begins happy then ends (devastatingly) sad. Finally Aang eases, not jerks, us into a happier story by beginning sad (looking for Appa) but ending with hope (the zoo).

I like with Zuko’s tale, much like The Beach, we see characters as normal teenagers. Awkward but also capturing sweet moments. We often idealize these characters as superheroes (or villains) with bending and such and we forget that they’re still kids. Kids in a war situation that they are unable to do things that we do. It’s a nice contrast

Something that I don't think gets talked about "Leaves from the Vine" enough is that it gives the conflict another dimension. As much as we'd like to see the Fire Nation as war mongering colonialists, because we always seek simplicity and absolutes where there's actually nuance, their citizens also share in the pain of a war that benefits nobody but a few elite. We experience this plainly in book three when Aang and the team have to coexist and blend in with Fire Nation natives, but this heart wrenching lullaby is our first best look at the other's sorrow. It's incredibly moving because it's so tenderly humanizing.

Personally, I love Iroh's story cause you can FEEL the genuine emotion in Mako's (His original VA's) voice as he's singing to the portrait of his son... a portrait that's actually of a young Mako himself... For those who doen't know, Mako passed away before production of season 3 began to cancer, so it's a two-fold gut punch. You have a son who will never come back, as well as an incredible voice actor who will never return.

To add upon Iroh's tale: The people he helped all had different ages; young kid, teens and an adult. As if he was guiding his own son through different phases of his life, helping him through every step of the journey.

Loved the video as always. The scene where Zuko finally comes back to iroh, crying as he’s apologizing. The way iroh just turns around and accepts him back man🥲

I think this is very realistic too, you are not fighting all the time, nor working all the time, and when tragedy hits, you need your coping mechanisms. A moment of peace amidst a lull of chaos in this very well timed Moment, which in of itself is a struggle for the characters sounds wonderful, and beautiful.

I'm 53 years old. Just thinking about 'The Tale of Iroh' makes me tear up. Actually watching it turns those tears into a stream that will not be denied. That is power of great storytelling.

Godammit korotos now i have to rewatch atla again

The Tale of Iroh is the best short story I ever saw in my entire life. He's also my greatest hero.

Only ATLA can have filler episodes and still have them be so memorables. Will never be another ATLA

One thing that I found really cool, yet from what I can tell didn't get picked up, is how zuko really did become a mirror to iroh in more subtle ways. Those that encountered Iroh (here, and team avatar) were helped by his presence and advice. When Zuko joins team avatar, he ends up doing the same for each of them. Heck, to the point that I think it was toph that said "I want a zuko moment". It was him, having learned the lessons from his uncle even after he abandoned him, still channeling him.

Sages rain does a beautiful exploration on Iroh's past, pain, and path to peace. And your take on Iroh was also great imo.

22:40 Why do I always cry whenever I watch those scenes, even a bit out of context... That's a youth trauma right there, since I was 7 years old. For info, I was part of the (very) young kids who watched the series as it aired. The Library was used as a mid-season finale of Book 2 here in the Netherlands, meaning I had to wait about half a year until new episodes came out. I was absolutely traumatized after The Library came out and probably cried hard.

This is a growth episode, we are following these people through a very difficult time, a lot is changing and we need time to get reintroduced to the characters

I choked up and cried so many tears the first time I watched that. The day that Iroh is having is so serene and so peaceful. You can feel that tranquility that Iroh feels in his life every day. And you’re watching it and you think, I want to live like this man one day. And then you get to the end and he’s mourning the loss of his son like it was yesterday for him. You realize the weight that Iroh carries with him every single day, and he still finds a way to be a shining light to everyone around him. It just makes me want to cry every time. Such a special episode and piece of art.

So I was at a convention cosplaying iroh walking through the halls playing leaves from the vine ppl were crying so much and hugging

The filler episodes made it feel a lot more realistic. It was a way to show the audience that no, not every stop on the gaang’s, or Zuko and Iroh’s journey had earth-shattering significance. Sometimes, they were just normal people trying to get along in the world. Without episodes like this, the beach, ember island players, the great divide, the fortune teller etc., this show wouldn’t quite hit the same. Because I see how they behave in relatively low stakes situations, I appreciate them that much more as well-developed characters.

iroh's tale makes me cry every single time without fail. it's so powerful.

This episode was also released right after Iroh's voice actor the amazingly talented Makao passed from cancer, which makes it hit that much harder.

It just clicked for me in this video that Toph didnt get a Book 3 adventure with Zuko because she got the better adventure in her moments with Iroh in Book 2.

the feeling I get from the episode is "The calm before the storm" there's always a calm point before the war happens, people say their goodbyes, and the place becomes almost a ghost town, things get a bit heavy, however the resolution to the storm is then built and resolve is steeled then, "it begins".

broooooo. im crying. Iroh's tale still hits

“Leaves from the vine Falling so slow Like fragile tiny shells Drifting in the foam Little soldier boy Come marching home Brave soldier boy Comes marching home” May Mako Rest In Peace.

I have never seen ATLA, I know almost nothing about these characters or the story. But that scene, that song, always has me in tears. Even the memory of it. It's such a testament to the writing and the performance that you don't need to know anything to feel for this character.

Iroh was always/is still my favorite character. This portion of his story still brings me to tears. Not only for the character, but also for the voice behind the man. The first time I saw that dedication image, I fully cried, because I had no idea. It just added/still adds to the weight of the scene. Well done! Fantastic writing and world-building. Great video! ❤

Iroh's tale reminds me of a character from one of the most important novels in Italian literature, The Betrothed (1834). One of the supporting characters in the story is Father Christopher. In his youth, he used to be the son of a rich noble, and one day his hot headed self ended up killing a man out of his own warped idea of justice. From that moment on, struck by grief and regret, he abandons all earthly pleasures and riches, becomes a friar and devotes all his life to repenting for his sins by being the most compassionate and selfless he can be; he eventually becomes the father figure to the main characters that we know and pretty much the moral compass of the entire novel. Listening to your video made me realize how similar he and Iroh are

Sokkas story starts with Yue. He has lost someone he cared about deeply and he was definitely still struggling with it when they ran into Suki again and traveled the Serpents path. But he appears to be at a point where he can look back and see the love and joy not just the pain.

I love how this debrief is longer than the actual episode itself. That’s honestly so funny and I enjoyed every second of it

You still made me cry, even that one line where he said 10:00 still made me shed tears

Back when i first watched it when it aired on TV i recalled this "ark" being much much longer, like i remembered them to be the whole summer time in the city but in reality it is just few episodes. These are my favourite episodes because of Iroh, he is my favourite character of the whole show.

If they manage to pull this off right in the live action series (if they ever make it that far) I know I'm gonna need a whole box of tissues for this part. Great video.

The "not caring about what people say" part has another dimension to it, because she's happy when Katara calls her beautiful, so she does care about others' opinions, it just depends on who the other person is. She rejects the expectations of people at large, but she does care about the opinions and feelings of the people who are important to her, that means her family (despite their differences) and the friends she makes throughout the story. Also I think it's kinda sweet that Katara confidently compliments Toph when Toph can detect lies and Toph asks her if she truly means it and believes her. This also doesn't even factor in how Toph not being able to appreciate her own beauty even knowing what she looks like impacts her outlook on maintaining her appearance.

Man that Iroh moment goes up there with mufasa's death for me. So hard to watch and I always still cry

I've already watched overanalizing avatar but i would easily watch your version of it too. Your videos are amazing

Everytime I have a lot of feelings that are just too much but I still can't get myself to cry I watch the tale of Iroh

First time I’ve seen someone talk about mushi-shi. It is one of my favorite animes!!!!!

Avatar being so good folks write video essays on it

Was doing alllllll okay, then you started talking about Momo's Tale and I nearly started crying (i don't cry guys)

Dude, love your content! And now finding out you're also Latvian just adds more to your greatness! Veiksmi darbā!😊

This was the episode that got me into the series. My wife was watching it back in 2020 and fell asleep. I mindlessly was on my phone and was glancing at the tv. Then the Tale of Iroh played and I was HOOKED! Lol

it never should be replicated. for an episode to hit like the tales of ba sing se, it needs to be a totally unique experience. But also, Iroh at this point had been a staple character for years, and always a person of happiness, wisdom, courage, bravery, and integrity. That finaly 2 minutes of that episode show us where all of that came from, how the loss of his son broke him as a man and he became determined to help as many people as possible avoid the same suffering and to be as much of a father as he could to anyone who'd need him to be.

Exquisite presentation Korotos/ Your videos are such a massive pleasure to watch. Loved the dissection of the Tales as a whole and the exploration of Loss in each story. Never seen the Loss angle before

Your editing is always so enjoyable to watch.

I don't think anybody could've analysed this episode better than you did I might be too drunk/high but still I feel you brother 👏👏👏

One of my favorite things about Iroh is he is truly one of the most powerful firebenders in existence, and he knows this, yet he chooses tea over war when he can

Get rid of the "" around filler mate. This episode IS filler, but that's part of why it's great. We need to get out of the habit of using "filler" as a bad word, it's a neutral phrase. Filler episodes are important for shows since they give us a chance to spend time with the characters without worrying about the plot. Game of Thrones has made everything too plot focused in shows these days I think.

I think these scenes do a great job at breaking down aspects of their characters in ways that just often aren't gotten to see on a more common level. Toph we know is strong willed and strong mouthed. She knows who she is and doesn't mind breaking out of femininity she was forced into for so long-- but she's still a person. Toph does care about how she is perceived to some level like everyone is, but she wants to make her own way by the culture's stance on being a girl/woman and know who she is. She likes being validated, just like so many other people even if being confident in themselves which Katara is able to do. And I think her being able to relax at the spa highlights parts of this, Toph doesn't need to change who she is to be girl and enjoy parts of femininity that were once forced on her, and she can want to look nice/feel validated in her looks without it being her defining self. Katara is who we know she is but on a smaller scale-- she is feminine and likes that as part of herself in a powerful way, and through all this she cares more about experiencing things with those she cares about. She sticks with and joins in with Toph when it comes to defending someone she cares for, and yet is still motherly in her final actions. Iroh is a father, that's what is character is all about and yet we hear Zuko talk about it in a sense of how he cared for him but it's more than that. In this episode we see how grief, loss, and introspection deeply changed Iroh. He parents everyone in the episode in little ways, by the silly run and joy that came from the boys playing/getting into trouble to the way he parents the thief in conversation. Similarly it forces the parallels of Ozai and him; when you see the big picture you lose the details. Iroh seized Ba Sing Se and played time a focusing as the big picture which made him lose the the only thing that mattered to him, his son. From then on you see him caring and celebrating smaller things like the flowers or tea and its through this loss/connect we see what has made Iroh into who he is. Edit; I want to come back and mention Sokka; as you mentioned it showcases his personality well-- someone who is genuinely smart and skilled. He was able to at least participate in a fine art and prove that even if he fails he always he at least tries. But I also think part of it shows he growth in willingness to participate in things that might have been culturally girly, such as a poetry class clearly designed for women. While it might have been brief it does mirror Sokka doesn't feel constrained by those defining aspects and is willing to makes parts of it his own regardless to it leans to in masculinity or femininity-- he can do both and still just be Sokka.

I loved the short story format, switching perspectives as we go through the episode. It was a great look into character's daily lives outside the dramatic plot. Not to mention the stories they chose perfectly matched and gave great insight into the characters. T_T

This explanation video of a " children's show" made me burst up in tears and at the end of "the tale of momo" part i had to pause and cried 15 minutes straight. I always knew these were not just "fillers" but important insights to the characters we love and insight to our childhood or later struggles. I never knew how deep and hard they could hit us in our emotions though. Thanks for explaining it so well that I personally felt those sometimes forgotten sometimes suppressed emotions.

This was really insightful and I enjoyed it. Thanks for posting it.

this was so well done! i'm glad you didn't scrap this!

Great video, this is one of my favorite episodes of airbender. Thanks for your insights

The last shot of Momo in Appas footprint is very reminiscend of "A Land Before Time"'s Little Foot sleeping in the footstep of his mother after losing her.

What a wonderful video this is I truly enjoyed watching it a listening to your voice thanks for the great 26 minutes spent

*Tale of Iroh plays No I'm not crying!! I... Just just caught something in my eyes. ("what did you catch") TEaARrS!!!

Mushishi is an anime I watched so long ago I sometimes forget it exists. This is the first time I've ever heard someone else talk about it. I remember it fondly and definitely need to re-watch.

Now I really want you to talk about Mushishi! Watched this anime just last year and it quickly became my favorite within the medium. Love to hear you talk about this masterpiece of a show :)

I think tophs episode was actually meant to fortify us going into irohs, it had to be wholsomely fun so it wouldnt be too jaring and we are supposed to remember to have strength even in loss

I love episode/movie deep dives. Thank you

Loved this video, so well written. Please please please, do the half hour video on Iroh.

Great take. I think u did a fine job explaining it.

Ahh on that tree on the hill. (near a wall no less 😜)

A similar style of episode from a different show is "Knock Knock Knocking On Hooty's Door" from The Owl House. It looks like it's going to be a filler episode with three little short stories, but then each little short story massively advances the plot. 3 huge things happen in what looked like a cute little slice if life episode

Great Video !

love ur aot content but i also love when u make videos on shows outside of that

Just watched this episode last night with my partner, and man does it still stab me in the heart every time. For me, its the weight of Iroh's sadness that hits me as a parent who often fears failing my own, whether to their direct harm or my own. For my partner, what hits harder is the "In Honor of Mako" bit.

This show made me unexpectedly cry so hard, first with Momo's sad little search in the beginning chasing after a cloud and then ending with him curled up in Appa's footprint holding on to his fur and then they followed that up with Appa's Lost Days with his desperate search for his friends and seriously I haven't cried like that since I first watched Homeward Bound. I mean I was sad and moved during Iroh's story but I bawled like a child watching Momo and Appa.

Newer knew you were Latvian, Love from Lithuania

If only Eren had a father figure like Iroh 😭

What’s great about Iroh is that, yah, he did horrible things in his life, but no matter how much is revealed, we see him throughout the show obviously putting on a facade of loyalty to the Fire Nation, in reality we see his loyalty is to guiding Zuko no matter what, this is made solid when we see he’s part of the Order Of The White Lotus, a secret group clearly dedicated to world peace. Iroh did bad, but his redemption is through guiding Zuko, and eventually we get the irony of the finale where he does break through the walls of Ba Sing Se, but not as a conquerer, but a liberator.

Every time someone brings up Mushishi a little part of me that would be excited feels this intense zen from how perfectly that show encapsulates that genre. I didn't know before today that was a whole genre and now I have a rabbit hole of anime to fall down.

This video, at least the Tale of Iroh part, pairs well with the most recent Cinema Therapy video about Iroh.

I think what gives more context that the previous episode zuko alone where the flashback of know the information of lu ten’s death and Iroh coming back is when young Zuko says, “he’s probably sad that his only son is gone…forever.” That pause in Zuko’s words that even though we don’t know much about Lu Ten at all. It was enough that Zuko as a young child understands death and knows what could happen as he of course being royalty and brainwashed by fire nation propaganda. He still understands his cousin and technically, the main person in line to become fire lord. Lu Ten’s death is a hole in the family and Zuko had a neutral relationship with him.

man, you even getting to the topic "Tale of Iroh" made me tear up. What a craft of an episode.

Love the music you used in Zuko's tale. I'm a big fan of Tsuro: Game Of The Path.

LETS GOOOOO!!!!!!!! LOVE THESE AINT EVEN WATCHED 10 SECONDS YET BUT POGGGGGG

honestly the first time i watched the episode and i was like "oh that's a random filler" so i wasn't paying a lot of intention. it's only once i heard so many people talk about it that i rewatched it and saw the actual emotions of the episode and i love it now

Filler is content that could be discarded, and nothing would be lost for having lost it. This? While not crucial to the main or even tertiary storylines, added a richness to them that the series overall would have suffered had this been lost. It wasn't crucial, but in a way, its own way, it was indisposable.

Yes, this episode was like no other. The fact there are a lot of incredible episodes in the ATLA series like when team Avatar watching a play about themselves on Amber Island is just a summary of books 1-3 before they face Ozai

Even seeing an image of Iroh kneeling at his shrine for Mako chokes me up without fail.

Damn this one hurt

Uncle irohs story made me cry real quick im crying rn....it gets sadder when you have experienced it irl:(

it was actually a really fun episode, up to Iroh' tale, that was heartbreaking (I was not a father the first and second times I watched ATLA, by the third I was, it hit very differently)

amazing video now i’m forced to rewatch the whole show again

I think a lot of the times people complain about filler, it's becaus eof the old non-canon anime filler episodes, back when they had to make 50 episodes a year and would regularly catch up with the source material. While fillers universally don't advance the "plot", these non canon fillers also could not develope the world or tge characters in a meaningful way, as it could get in the way of future canon events. In contrast filler in canon material often holds important character and world development, but is often maligned because most peoples' first experience with serial animation was these 90s and 2000s shonen anime. And for those that did grow up later, they may still pick up these attitudes from their elders

I'm not even sure I'd count this episode as 'filler'. Sure, there's nothing plot relevant, but we are getting an indepth incredibly personal look at each and every major character. Can it be 'filler' when we learn so much about them all? Each character focus gives us something integral to them. Katara and Toph needed a bonding moment, to see each other and develop a healthy friendship. Zuko shows us that he is in fact growing as a character. Iroh's story is. . . basically explaining Iroh. In Aang we see that yes, even he gets demoralized, but he's willing to get back up. Sokka shows that he's capable of putting his mind to anything, no matter how quaint and that's he's letting go of the whole 'male warrior doesn't do this sort of thing' vibe that the series gradually nudges him out of. All of this important, its just doled out in bite sized pieces all lumped into one episode. Any one of these could have been their own episode and still held up.

Hey I'm Latvian too and your English is really good

Leaves from the vine, falling so slow~

No cause Irohs story absolutely murdered my soul. I cried and cried and if/when I watch it again I will bawl... his little soldier boy 🥺🥺🥺

4:31 DID SOMEBODY SAY FOR ROCK AND STONE?

I was not ready to cry today 😭😭