Originally posted at the DL June 2015
So last time we noted that Book 2 was probably the most consistent part of Avatar. This phrasing was always meant to preface that I was going to call Book 3 the best season. I have since decided I may have been in error; while Book 2 undeniably is better at having a consistent narrative running through the entire season, the weaker episodes of Book 3 are considerably less weak upon reviewing than my memory credited them. And as such the season as a whole is quite incredible because you have a pretty good beginning followed by, starting a Day of Black Sun, basically the most amazing run of television we've yet covered.
I get why I thought this way though. The last episode of the previous season ended with Aang straight up DYING and having to be revived with a one-of-a-kind resource, an action which also effectively ended the Hundred Year War in the Fire Nation's favor. We establish in the first episode this season the resources Team Good Guys still have and their proverbial last stand is scheduled in advance. So any time spent between that episode and the invasion on Day of Black Sun will come across to the viewer as dithering, a sense which is amplified by Aang's belief he's utterly failed the world and has to redeem himself and the resulting frustration. For an extra layer, while Zuko's lack of turn in Crossroads of Destiny was a believable bit of his character, the early going of this season quickly establishes that he's also mired in self-loathing that we as viewers know is going to end with him fighting for Team Good Guys in the end, so again the buildup feels needless in a meta-narrative sense. So on paper every episode between Awakening and The Invasion except maybe The Avatar and the Firelord are filler... but in practice, isolated from being impatient on a first viewing, most of those intervening episodes are actually quite enjoyable. Actually, let's detour quickly to get this bit out of the way.
Weakest Episode: The Runaway. This is basically the only Toph focus episode the whole season (since she doesn't get a life-changing fieldtrip with Zuko) and it's just not really a good fit for her. The friction with Katara feels forced (primarily because Katara come across as uncharacteristically holier-than-thou rather than being more upfront with her concerns), the breakdown of her issues is too on the nose to feel natural, and despite the overall premise it's just not fun in the way Toph should be.
Meanwhilst I found myself liking The Headband and The Painted Lady a lot more on this viewing than previously in particular. Nightmares and Daydreams was actually utterly hilarious, and the Beach of course is, well, another villain episode in a series known for its villains. So while a bit heavy on exposition and maybe a touch slow the first half of the season is actually good.
The entire rest of the series starting with Day of Black Sun is an unstoppable train of emotion. The series actually has the heroes straight up lose their desperate invasion gambit (because not only were they utterly defeated in Crossroads of Destiny, but the villains casually learned about the eclipse before they even made their move). But the series begins wrapping up, which means everyone finishing their character arcs. And then we have...
Best Episode: "I'm so full of hope that it's making me tearbend. *cries*"
"My stomach is so hungry that it's making me tearbend *sob* I need meat!"
Such a brilliant take on the series recap.
Of course that's a lie.
Best Episode: "My mother lied to you. She was protecting the last waterbender."
"What? Who?!"
"ME!!!"
It's amazing just how closely Katara comes to going over the edge here. In fact, had Yohn Ra not been retired, she would have. Back in The Puppetmaster, she breaks down crying over having to use bloodbending to save her family's lives. Her she uses it as her first line of attack against a dude that she's assumed is the man who killed her mother. She literally forces the dude to his knees before even looking to see if its the right guy. In that moment, without the extra time spent flying back to the Fire Nation, she would have killed him. But I really like the resolution of the episode; she's not sure even in the end if it was right to spare this man, yet she's still a stronger, healthier woman for having faced him.
But actually... that's not my real pick either.
"Your uncle's gotten to you, hasn't he."
"Yes, he has."
See, way back in 2008, the first time I actually watched Avatar was on the day Sozin's Comet came out. They were marathoning it as a movie, I was kinda bored, thought I recognized the title as something I'd heard good things about.
"Destiny is a funny thing, Prince Zuko"
So I just pop it on and it happens to be on a particular scene.
"Yeah yeah, I know you're good now"
"I was talking about my uncle"
After that I pretty much had to watch the whole thing from start to finish.
"I hate you uncle! You smell, and I hate you for all time!!"
"You didn't... really say that, did you?"
"I might as well have."
Then a couple days later I snagged season 1. But in the end, on a fresh watch from start to end, and despite excepting to nod The Southern Raiders for this position, I came back to that scene again.
"Uncle. I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me. But I want you to know... I am so, so sorry uncle. I am so sorry, and ashamed of what I did! I don't know how I can ever make it up to you, but I-"*is pulled into a fierce hug* "How can you forgive me so easily! I thought you'd be furious with me!!"
"I was never angry with you. I was sad, because I thought you had lost your way."
"I did lose my way."
"But you found it again."
Best Episode: The Old Masters
Not bad for an angry jerk and a creepy old grandpa.
Rating-
Well.
See. Rewatching the whole series? Actually managed to raise my opinion of season 3.
So there's pretty much only one way this ends, isn't there?
10/10
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