Welcome back for another weekly review of Avatar! This week, our team finally reaches the Earth King. Read on to see how the episode holds up!
1. WHAM BAM BIG OPENING FIGHT!!
Unlike most episodes which wait until the third act to deliver the climactic action scene, this episode’s big fight kicks off almost immediately. We get three whole minutes of nonstop action: the Avatar gang versus hundreds of Dai Li agents as they make their way up to the Earth King’s palace! The fact that the team has one clear location they’re trying to reach means there’s a building tension as we get closer, and the fact that there’s a lot of ground to pass before they get there means we’re treated to a variety of locations. As a result, there’s no shortage of new moves to show off, nor any shortage of set pieces to pull into the action.
The sequence was storyboarded by none other than Joaquim Dos Santos, whose skill in fight choreography, as I mentioned last week, is unparalleled. Large sets of stairs are made flat to send the men sliding down, floors are flipped like giant dominos, and it’s all arranged for maximum impact. The most memorable shot for me is actually a static shot that lasts far longer than any other shot in the scene, looking up from foot-level, where Aang and Toph move from side to side, alternating their fight tactics and pushing back the agents. The shot lasts long enough to feel as if we’re sitting right in front of them, and the constant movement and switching tactics keep it interesting. This show’s animation and directing keep getting better and better.
2. The Earth King’s disillusionment.
The middle third of this episode is all about the kids trying to convince the Earth King that the war is real, and that the Dai Li have formed a shadow government under him. Frankly, I don’t think eight minutes was enough to do this story justice.
The Earth King as a character is well developed. We get some nice insights into how he’s had the truth hidden from him, seeing Long Feng literally whisper in his ear and hearing him say he’s never left the palace in his life. Little moments like this make it clear he’s been overly sheltered and lied to since birth, and that he will listen to anything Long Feng says without questioning it. So how can that be changed by some children and a few minor pieces of evidence over the course of a few hours? The Earth King’s process for internalizing this happens so quickly and so decisively, going immediately from curious to devastated.
I think it’s a matter of “too much stuff, not enough space” since pretty much all other subplots in the last few episodes needed the time they were given. Still, in a show that usually takes great care with depicting a person’s gradual growing awareness of a situation — including Zuko in this same episode — it’s disappointing that this story comes off so flat.
3. Misplaced humor?
Another mildly negative point (this is a good episode, just not the show’s best): The humor here isn’t always warranted. That action scene up at the top was so great from a visual standpoint; did we really need the kids to stop every 20 seconds to say “sorry” to the Dai Li agents? It almost felt like the show’s creators saying “sorry” to the network for making something so action-heavy. Did it fit the characters and the situation? Sure. Did it make the scene any better? Nope.
There are a lot of little comedy moments like that, and only some of them worked for me. And I’m usually a fan of the show’s humor! This was just such a plot-heavy episode, really pushing things towards the season finale, and while I can understand the desire to add some levity, it often felt like it detracted from the interesting parts of the episode.
4. Zuko’s metamorphosis.
Over in the subplot, Zuko is going through a deep sickness which Iroh says is because Zuko’s heroic actions last episode are at conflict with how he sees himself. Aside from providing some suitably trippy visuals, this is a great look into the psychology of someone who is trying to come to terms with something. I think most people have been through something similar: you suddenly find yourself doing something, acting some way, figuring something out about yourself, that you had never associated with yourself in your past, and at a certain point, you stop and think, “Who am I?”
Since Zuko refuses to stop and be introspective, his brain does the legwork for him. Real talk, I don’t think anybody knows a sure-fire way of coming to terms with their own conflicting feelings. Even clinical psychologists are there to guide people to answers, not give them answers. So, the visuals of Zuko as a scar-less prince, or of him as the Avatar, or of him being surrounded by two conflicting dragons and being swallowed up by the throne? All those work on a deeper, more subconscious level than any amount of dialogue could.
5. Too good to be true…
This episode’s final third exists solely to set up the two-part season finale. At first, we get a bunch of good news: Katara and Sokka’s dad is touching down nearby! Toph’s mom is in the city! Aang has a spiritual guide waiting for him at the Eastern Air Temple!
…and then we get hit with the cold, hard reality. Just as there were three pieces of hope, we get three pieces of bad news: The Dai Li are still loyal to Long Feng, not the Earth King! Toph’s good news was a trap by those bounty hunters her parents sent after her! And… Azula and her crew have infiltrated Ba Sing Se while posing as the Kyoshi Warriors!
By the end of those final minutes, we have five new plotlines to resolve, all of which promise to shake up the status quo. What a way to lead into a finale.
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What did you think of the episode? Are you a fan of that opening action scene? Did you also find the Earth King’s disillusionment a bit rushed? Are you excited about where things are headed? Let me know in the comments, and come back next week for part 1 of the season finale!
