Welcome back for another weekly review of Avatar! This week, we head into the forest to meet up with Jet and his Freedom Fighters. How does the episode hold up? Here are my thoughts.
1. Unsuspecting Extremism.
This week we explore a topic that has only become more important over the twelve years since this episode aired: unsuspecting extremism. Jet and his crew stand for the same things that Team Avatar does, and it’s not until deep into the episode that we even realize the group’s methods are extreme. Katara becomes swayed because of Jet’s romantic aura, Aang becomes swayed because of the fun the group has. Until near the end of the episode, the only skeptic, as always, is Sokka. And (spoilers:) it took the near-death of an entire village to jolt our heroes into turning on Jet.
Note when Pipsqueak says, “Jet’s a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay.” These kids are all castoffs, blindly following whatever sounds like it’s supporting their cause. Essentially, Jet has convinced them all to kill innocents, and you can’t exactly blame them for following. Jet really is supporting the cause — he just doesn’t realize that his methods run counter to the change he wants to see in the world. In a time where social media pervades our culture and News Feeds can dictate the way we absorb information before we have a chance to make up our own opinions, this subject has become more important than ever.
Plenty of TV shows, only few animated, have attempted to cover this topic in recent years, and it’s rare for them to approach it with such tact. But Avatar succeeds.
2. Humor Blends Into Serious Story.
This episode got the greatest number of chuckles out of me since back in episode five. Up until this point, it seems that the episodes have chosen whether they were primarily going to be serious, like “The Southern Air Temple” and “Winter Solstice, Part 2: Avatar Roku,” or comedic, like “The King of Omashu” and “The Waterbending Scroll.” Here I feel we got the best balance so far between a strong, serious story and memorable comedic bits, which thankfully turns into the standard going forward.
3. Themes Prevail Over Action.
There are a few nice action scenes in this episode, but those completely take a back seat to the themes discussed in point one. While Avatar has never been one to focus on mindless action, this episode takes things in the other extreme. It’s a good thing, too: the story is so carefully constructed that we need as much time as possible dedicated to the slow falling into and falling out of trust with Jet. Fortunately, this likely meant a larger budget for the smaller character animation moments, like when Jet takes Katara up the tree the first time, or the scene where Sokka and the Freedom Fighters interrogate the old man in the forest, making those story bits even more successful. This budget surplus likely also led to more attention for the…
4. Visually Stunning Environment.
Man, this forest environment was beautiful. With a lush blend of browns and reds, covered in layers of shadows with small bits of light peeking through, the entire episode had a soft, comforting vibe to it. That vibe also likely adds to the sense of betrayal when Jet’s final plan is revealed. And how could anyone forget the treehouse village? Equal parts of the Ewok village from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the treehouse from Hook, and the Avatar artists’ own creativity, it can evoke a sense of childish wonder in even the most hardened adult. It also helps reinforce something hanging over the whole show: these are kids involved in these terrible, wonderful, inexplicable situations.
5. Endearing Character Designs.
For characters who were originally intended to be in just this one episode, the Freedom Fighters leave a lasting impression. It wasn’t until after watching the episode this time around that I went back and counted how many lines each character had: Pipsqueak and Smellerbee, five each; The Duke, three; Longshot and Sneers, zero. And most of those don’t have much meaning. So much is done visually, and most of those visuals are memorable because of the colorful, varied designs from Ryu Ki Hyun.
Fun fact, again from “The Art of Avatar”: Jet’s design is based largely on Spike from Cowboy Bebop, which Multiversity editor Matt Garcia has been covering for the Summer TV Binge.
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What did you think of the Jet and his crew? Do you agree or disagree about the episode’s relevance to today’s culture? Let me know in the comments!
