#chocomd rewatches atla

[chocomd]

Can't get over the fight in the abbey in Bato of the Water Tribe, with Zuko acting all angry and Aang being all coy, and the way they fight dance over the well

[woodlaflababab]

@chocomd 's rewatch of atla reminded me of one of my favorute details abt the first episode: the symbolism of light in Zuko and Aang's connection

So, Zuko's very first introduction to Aang is a beam of light. Like, can you be any more on the nose? It's an angelic beam of light that represents the end to Zuko's search. Almost painfully obvious foreshadowing in hindsight. I've made a different comparison before that I'll repeat here, but Aang's light is very similar to a lighthouse.

Think about it, a tall light that can be seen for miles around (close to the shore of the land). And Zuko, in his little boat, is the sailor that has been lost at sea for three years. It shows multiple things, 1. Aang is Zuko's way home (though not in the way he expects) and 2. Aang is the symbol/person that beckons Zuko out of the mess within himself and calls forth that little burnt kid that got stowed away.

He is the light in Zuko's darkness.

And then later you have Aang calling to Zuko once again with a light, this time a flare, and I love this because while the first light hints at what Aang will be to Zuko, this one can be seen as hinting at what Zuko will be to Aang. A flare is a call for help, a call for rescue. Even before joining him, Zuko rescues and helps Aang in different ways. He shows up when Aang is the most backed against a wall. (Pohuai, The fight with Azula when Aang is all alone, getting appa out). And then of course, his final rescue in showning up to teach Aang firebending right on time, something Aang couldn't have learned without him bc he didn't really have any other options, at least not ones that wouldn't take forever to track down and Aang doesn't have that kind of time.

Aang is Zuko's lighthouse and Zuko is Aang's rescue.

Also, I love that Aang's story starts and ends with light. It begins with a beam of light, and ends with an all consuming light (the energy bending in case that wasn't clear), and I think it's especially interesting that the first light is a beckon to the very beginning of Zuko's journey, one that will free him from the pain of his past and father, and the last light is Aang defeating, once and for all, the man who caused all that pain for Zuko, laying the final piece in truly freeing Zuko. Aang's light is the beginning and end of his story, but it is also the beginning and end of Zuko's.

[chocomd]

ATLA rewatch: Bitter Work

I’ve never thought of Bitter Work as a Zukaang episode, but rewatching it has made me realize that it is - the entire episode is built around the parallels between these two.

The most obvious parallel is that Aang and Zuko both realize they need to expand their knowledge of bending if they want to achieve their goals. For Aang, it’s mastering the next element in the cycle (earth) so he can end the war before the comet arrives, and for Zuko, it’s learning lightningbending so he can defeat Azula the next time he encounters her, since she's the main obstacle blocking his way to capturing the Avatar.

For both of them, the type of bending they need to learn also requires a mindset that’s the opposite of their approach to life. If Aang wants to earthbend, he’ll need to face things head on, instead of avoiding and evading. If Zuko is to lightningbend, he needs to calm his inner turmoil to achieve the peace of mind that makes lightningbending possible. When they try to learn, they each fall back on their usual way of doing things—and not surprisingly, they fail.

And it’s in their failure that we really see how Aang and Zuko are mirrors for each other.

“Why can’t I do it? Instead of lightning, it just keeps exploding in my face! Like everything always does.” Zuko’s sense of shame is deeply rooted in his failure to attain the flawed ideals of honor that his father (and his society and culture) demands. His failures come from pursuing the kind of honor that arises from the rigid and unbending expectations of others at the expense of his own inner character.

“There’s so much pressure. Everyone expects me to get it right away.” Aang’s shame goes back to his identity as the Avatar, this larger-than-life being that is revered and carries the hopes and expectations of the world. He believes he failed his people and the world with his 100-year absence. Now he’s struggling with learning the elements, which is one of the most basic aspects of being the Avatar, and he feels like he’s failing everyone again.

“It’s the combination of all four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful.” Iroh teaches Zuko that if he wants to be more powerful, he must become more like the Avatar. But Aang is struggling too, and he already is the Avatar. But the key to becoming whole, as Iroh points out, is more than just possessing the power to bend all four elements - it's by drawing wisdom from the other elements as well.

It’s only when Aang learns to face things head on that he can finally earthbend, and when Zuko learns to go with the flow of the world around him that he can redirect lightning (by thinking like a waterbender), that they are able learn the element that is opposite to their natures—and by doing so, they are another step closer to becoming whole.

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ATLA rewatch: The Storm

Holy crap the parallels between Aang and Zuko in this episode are really hitting deep!!

The episode starts out with beautiful weather and clear skies (not counting Aang's nightmare in the beginning), with no sign of a storm on the horizon. Just like how in the past, the events that would overturn Aang's and Zuko's lives would come suddenly and out of nowhere.

Then we get Aang fearful of the prospect of an impending storm and running away when the fisherman accuses him of abandoning the world, while Zuko wants to plow through and almost ends up dueling his own lieutenant over the issue of respect (until Iroh breaks them up).

When the flashbacks begin, Aang is playing with the other Air Nomad kids, and Zuko wants to join the meeting in the war room and Iroh lets him in. Both are in their usual, everyday settings and nothing seems out of place. Although there are hints that not everything is hunky dory, like Aang being the only master airbender among the kids and Zuko wanting to enter the war room without being explicitly permitted or expected to be there in the first place.

And then the events that lead to their emotional isolation. Aang being told that he's the Avatar, and being set apart by the monks as their savior and being left out from games by the other kids because he's now out of their league. Zuko watching in horror as a general proposes sacrificing an entire division to achieve a greater goal, and speaking out among the men leading the war with an objection that they do not share.

The consequences: The monks decide to send Aang away to make his isolation complete; the Fire Lord isolates Zuko even further by ordering him to fight an Agni Kai against (so Zuko believes) one of the very people in the group among whom he most wished to be accepted.

And what results afterwards is disastrous. Aang overhears the monks and runs away, only to be swallowed up by the storm and wake up one hundred years later in a world where his people no longer exist. Zuko discovers that he is to duel his own father, and submits to him in a sign of respect, which at this point Ozai deems to be the wrong response and burns his face and banishes Zuko until he finds the Avatar - a hopeless and impossible task.

Both Aang and Zuko have lost everything, and not only that - they place the blame on themselves, which gives rise to a deep sense of shame and also anger and intense emotional reactions whenever further loss is threatened (Aang with losing Katara and Appa; Zuko obsessed with regaining his honor through capturing the Avatar).

But when the literal storm worsens, both of them relive the events that led to their isolation in the first place. Aang goes out into the storm again, this time not to run away, but to save someone who needs him (the episode opens with a nightmare about his friends and his people saying "We need you, Aang," which is also repeated by Gyatso in a flashback). Zuko, who Lt. Jee accused of only caring about himself, climbs a ladder to rescue the helmsman from falling.

The storm slams Aang and his friends under the water, just like the time he ran away - but this time, he is able to save himself AND them. Zuko spots Aang flying over the ship, and he has the opportunity to go after him, but instead of risking the lives of his crew to achieve the greater goal of capturing the Avatar, he lets him go. And it's only after Aang and Zuko have redeemed or have vindicated their past actions in this way that they enter the eye of the storm, a place of calm that finally offers relief. And it's in this place where things are set right that Aang and Zuko exchange their first look that isn't one of hostility - they are seeing each other, really seeing each other for the first time.

[chocomd]

This might be a stretch, but is it coincidence that by the end of The Swamp, Aang reaches a place of spiritual enlightenment (banyan tree) and gains a higher understanding of himself and the world, while Zuko dons the disguise of a malevolent spirit (Blue Spirit mask) and sinks to lower depths?

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ATLA rewatch: The Blue Spirit

One of the best Zukaang episodes, if not THE Zukaang episode!!

First off, absolutely LOVING how the intrigue between Zhao vs Zuko/Blue Spirit is threaded throughout all of Book 1.

When Zuko tells Zhao's men that "I have nothing to report (to him)," we see only the unscarred side of his face - this seems like a subtle hint that Zuko is genuinely "showing his face" and telling the truth in this moment, especially in the context of all the intrigue that follows.

The Blue Spirit is really a continuation of The Storm, the culmination of the connection that Aang and Zuko made when they shared a look in the eye of the storm. "Stay close to me!" Aang says, followed by Aang going back to save the Blue Spirit from being surrounded by soldiers. The way they seamlessly work together as allies is incredible, but the kind of alliance they have isn't clear until the moment the Blue Spirit holds his swords to Aang's neck - and it turns out it's an alliance that's balanced (literally) on the edge of a blade and is potentially very dangerous.

And then the famous scene where Aang asks Zuko, "Do you think we could have been friends, too?" I am OBSESSED with this scene, and there's so much that can be said that I've already written a meta and a fic about this scene alone.

Also the way that Aang and Zuko can only work together and communicate while Zuko masks himself from Aang is just 🤌🤌🤌 And when Zuko's mask is finally removed (by Aang!!), he can't deal with the vulnerability that Aang offers, and he cannot handle his own vulnerability and can only respond in the way he's always responded to Aang: with violence.

Ok and then Zuko returning to his ship, and Iroh mentions that he had missed music night where Lt. Jee sang "a stirring love song"???

Aang returning to his friends and giving them the frozen wood frogs saying "this will help you feel better" while looking absolutely dejected???

The way Aang turns away from his friends and Zuko turns away from the Fire Nation flag as they both ruminate on their encounter????

UGH IT'S JUST SO GOOD

[chocomd]

Wait, wait, wait - in the episode The Avatar State, the thing that pushes Aang over the edge about not wanting to bring on the Avatar State anymore is a dream about Zuko.

Specifically, he first dreams from Zuko's POV during their fight on Zuko's ship (episode 2), where he watches Avatar State Aang waterbend Zuko (aka dream Aang) overboard. Then he's back in his own POV, still in the Avatar State, and he attacks Zuko, who runs away with a terrified expression (the same terrified expression Zuko had in episode 2).

The Avatar State episode opens with Aang having nightmares about how terrifying he becomes when he's in the Avatar State, but these are more big picture scenes, like "wow I'm really powerful and scary." But his dream about how he terrifies and harms Zuko is much more personal. General Fong wants to use Aang's Avatar State to defeat the Fire Nation, but the dream shows Aang exactly what that would that look like, and it makes him sick.

And then put this all into the context of who Zuko is to him at this point - an enemy with whom he nurtures a complicated relationship marked by vulnerability, betrayal, and hope - and sdlkdkasldjfl it's TOO GOOD

[chocomd]

My ATLA rewatch continues, and so do the zukaang parallels....

In Avatar Day, Aang discovers that the Avatar isn't always venerated as the hero of the world, and he's forced to deal with the fact that one of his past lives (Kyoshi) killed someone in the past. He feels like he has to defend his honor by facing justice for that "crime," which Kyoshi did as a last resort measure for her and her people's survival. Meanwhile, Zuko sinks deeper into shame and despair as his chances of capturing the Avatar seem more and more impossible, since he and his uncle are barely scraping by. "There's no honor for me without the Avatar." So he puts on a mask that allows him to cast off his honor and evade justice, committing crimes that he believes are necessary for him to survive.

In Zuko Alone, Zuko sees first-hand the kind of tragedy that the war inflicts on the world. He also discovers that he isn't welcome anywhere in the world as the Fire Nation prince and (former) heir to the throne, making his physical and emotional exile complete. The only home he has left is with Iroh, mirroring the way that the only home that Aang has anymore is with the Gaang.

The Chase - nothing deep here, just that the three-person standoff between Aang, Zuko, and Azula feels so very zukaang, with Zuko saying "Back off, Azula! He's mine!" and Aang giggling at Zuzu's nickname 🤭

[chocomd]

My rewatch of ATLA commences! Between falling into zukaang last year and watching NATLA this year, I've been craving some good ol' og ATLA.

Be prepared for screaming about kataang and zukaang, but mostly zukaang 🥰

and this time I'm going to try to not write a whole-ass meta after every episode....

[chocomd]

ATLA rewatch: The Siege of the North

Or ATLA rewatch, Zukaang edition 😂

The Book 1 finale is the second time that Aang and Zuko meet after The Blue Spirit, and the Zukaang events in the finale mirror the events of The Blue Spirit - only this time, they're inverted.

We start out with Zuko almost being killed by the pirates, but then surviving and infiltrating Zhao's ship, complete with the Blue Spirit theme music. He uses stealth to sneak into a stronghold (the fortress-like NWT), winging it with no real plan except to get the Avatar out. Only this time, he's not saving Aang from anything. Instead, Aang is in a position that is critically important to helping the NWT fight off the Fire Nation attackers, and Aang himself is left vulnerable to attack while he enters the spirit world.

So Zuko fights Aang's allies (as opposed to Aang's captors in The Blue Spirit) and snatches him away for his own gain. This time, Aang is the one who is unconscious, and Zuko is the one carrying him away. But instead of carrying Aang away to safety (as Aang did with an unconscious Zuko), Zuko is carrying them both to increasing danger, as the ice shelf he walks on collapses under him and he's forced to find shelter in an ice cave to survive a raging blizzard.

And it's only while Aang is still unconscious that Zuko opens up about himself. Zuko is unmasked at this point, and he can only let himself be vulnerable with Aang when Aang can't hear him. This is the opposite of what happens in The Blue Spirit, where Aang waits for Zuko to wake up (also unmasked) before he opens up to him.

When Aang does wake up, he finds himself tied up and it's clear that he's waking up to an enemy in Zuko. He has no illusions about a potential friendship at this time, and he immediately airbends at Zuko and tries to escape.

But after Katara knocks out Zuko and the Gaang is about to leave him behind in the blizzard, Aang decides to bring him with them. Aang isn't saving Zuko's life just because he's a kind person (and he is kind) or because he has forgiven Zuko (he hasn't, yet). Aang chooses to save Zuko's life because Zuko once saved his life, and this feeling of being indebted to Zuko is rather profound and not easily dismissed. And, as we eventually see in Book 3, he still holds onto the hope that he and Zuko don't always have to be enemies, and that one day they could even be friends.

It's this display of mercy, of kindness extended to an enemy because even enemies have inherent worth, that allows Zuko to offer his hand to save Zhao from the Ocean Spirit. Zhao tried to have him killed and has antagonized Zuko throughout all of Book 1. But Zuko has been slowly (re)learning that all life has value, and it's in this way that Aang begins to change him, bit by bit.

(Btw I also love how Zhao says to Zuko: "You're the Blue Spirit, an enemy of the Fire Nation. You freed the Avatar." And Zuko responds by saying "I had no choice." The that way Zuko thinks he's devoting himself to capturing the Avatar to regain his nation, when this is really the beginning of him abandoning his nation to gain the Avatar!!! The foreshadowing!!!! The Zukaang of it all!!! I'M JUST ALSDKFDSSKDJFF)

[chocomd]

ATLA rewatch thoughts, Book 3 (ep 2)

We go from The Awakening right into The Headband...a totally different vibe, but still SO GOOD!

2) The Headband

I’ll talk about Zuko first, since he only has a few short scenes. He keeps visiting Iroh in prison and he’s clearly in conflict with himself. Iroh is the conscience in Zuko’s internal struggle, but he’s still human, too. Iroh so disappointed and hurt by Zuko’s actions, and it hurts him to see Zuko losing his way after showing so much promise, that he can’t bring himself to face his nephew. Zuko is very angry in this episode, and we’ll see this anger come to a boil in The Beach. He’s having a very hard time living with himself, and he can’t figure out why - he thinks it’s because the Avatar still being alive mean that he could lose everything he has regained. But Zuko is at least a little aware of why he’s having so much angst: “I have everything I always wanted, but it's not at all how I thought it would be.”

Azula breaks up Zuko and Mai’s little picnic, and Mai plays along - but the cracks in her relationship with Azula are getting wider.

I really do think that Azula cares about Zuko...they have a (sometimes vicious) sibling rivalry, but they’re also family and...yeah it gets complicated in the way that only family can get complicated 🥲

This ep is best known for the Kataango, but it’s really an Aang-centric episode more than anything. It’s all about Aang learning how much the Fire Nation he once knew has changed--from the “flameo” and “hotman” jokes to the propaganda against ANs in the FN school to the rigid control that the FN seeks to maintain over its citizens. Aang sees all this from the POV of kids growing up in the FN, and he’s the one to bring joy and fun and freedom to his classmates, the same way he does with the Gaang. He knows what the FN used to be like before the war, and he knows that winning over the hearts of the FN kids is how real change begins.

I will always adore Aang’s “fight” with Hide...well really, only one of them is fighting and the other is avoiding and evading 😂 Aang is such a little sh!t here and I LOVE IT!!!

The way Aang keeps pushing to stay at the FN school for a few more days because he wants to feel like a normal kid for a short while, because nothing has been normal for him ever since the monks revealed that he is the Avatar...ugh I really feel for him 😭

And of course, how can I not talk about the Kataango??? THE KATAANGO!!! Aang so confident in asking Katara to dance, Katara all flustered (and jealous earlier) and not knowing how to answer and making excuses, Aang saying “Take my hand” 😍 Watching them dance made my Kataang heart go all pitter patter 😍😍😍 Ugh I’ve been thinking about writing a canon divergent fic where they get together after the Kataango, ever since I saw @pottyospanna‘s Valentine’s Day Kataang art...idk, this rewatch might just push me to do it...

[chocomd]

ATLA rewatch thoughts, Book 2 (ep 20)

Two years and three watches later and I am still OBSESSED with this episode!!!!

20) The Crossroads of Destiny

So many iconic moments...Azula’s speech to the Dai Li, Iroh’s “demonstration” as the Dragon of the West, Zuko challenging Azula to an Agni Kai (and she refuses lmao)

King Kuei relies on Bosco’s instincts because he has no idea how to read people...guess it’s not really his fault though, since people have been manipulating him all his life. 

LOL Sokka, talking to Iroh about Zuko: “"Good inside him" isn't enough! Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay?” 

Aang’s heart to heart with Iroh as he earthbends a tunnel to the crystal catacombs 🥺

There’s so much going on in the scene where Katara almost tries to heal Zuko’s scar and I don’t mean from a shipping standpoint lol. After Katara finds out that something happened to Zuko’s mother because of the FN, she starts to see the human side of him and she’s willing to talk instead of yell at him. When she says “whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face,” Zuko touches his scar. He says the scar is a mark and a curse, and even if he chooses his own destiny (ie chooses “good”), he’ll never be free of his mark. Then Katara says, “Maybe you could be free of it.” Zuko wants to be free of this darker side of himself, and Katara’s solution of using the spirit water seems too good to be true. And we find out that her solution (simply getting rid of his darker side) really is too good to be true, because once Aang shows up, Zuko begins to revert to his angry Fire Prince self. Having the Avatar--and his honor--right within his grasp is too great of a temptation to give up.

Katara: “I knew you would come!” Aang really made the right decision in “The Guru” and he lives up to Katara’s unwavering trust and hope in him 🥺 

The voices of Iroh and Azula pulling at Zuko to make a choice...this was foreshadowed in his dream (brilliant!) and we see the burned and unburned sides of his face as he struggles to choose which side to follow.

Katara: “I thought you had changed!” Zuko: “I have changed!” But not in the way she had hoped 🥲

Even though the obvious crossroads in this episode is Zuko’s choice, this is a crossroads for Aang as well. When the Dai Li outnumber him and Katara, Aang is forced to choose--again--between Katara and the Avatar State, ie his last airbender side vs his Avatar side. As with Zuko’s case, Aang has not yet found a way to balance these two sides, so he makes what seems to be the obvious choice with the greatest benefit (the Avatar State). But for Aang (and for Zuko), the choice he makes carries terrible consequences.

Aang struck by lightning and Katara escaping with his body, and then bringing him back to life with the spirit water and her love 😭😭😭 I shipped Kataang before this point but THIS was the moment when I was all in, 100%, and never coming back out 😂

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More thoughts on ATLA rewatch, Book 1:

Sokka, about the burned patch of land near Senlin Village: "It's like a scar..."

Aang was talking to Hei Bai about being sad and upset that his home was burned down...ooooof

Roku taking over Aang's body and blasting the Fire Temple apart gives me the chills EVERY TIME (and Aang saying "I'm ready" BRRR)

I'm sorry but the part where Aang kicks Zuko down the stairs in the Fire Temple always makes me cackle and makes me think of @doodlaang's art of that scene

Funny how Aang and Zuko happen to end up in the same random Earth Kingdom town in The Waterbending Scroll....🤔 Coincidence??

Watching "Jet" again reminds me of how much I love the episode and his character. And it makes me think of TSR, when Sokka says to Katara, "You sound just like Jet." Can we say OUCH?

(The Great Divide is up next, debating on whether to watch it or not....)

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ATLA rewatch thoughts, Book 3 (ep 1)

No matter how many times I watch The Awakening, it is so, so, SO GOOD! Every time! I have so many feelings right now 😭 Yeah I think it’s fair to say that it’s my favorite episode in the series...guess it’s no coincidence that this ep has inspired a number of my fics 😂

1) The Awakening

Aang wakes up in a Fire Nation ship and has no idea what’s going on...the confusion and fear, the aangst, the whump, the KATAANGST!! Not to mention Katara being so much more open with her feelings (she almost lost him, and now he’s finally awake 😭) and you can just FEEL how deeply they care about each other 🥺🥺🥺

Zuko is right to be worried about returning home, because he knows deep down that defeating the Avatar won’t make things go back to the way they were before. He thinks that not capturing the Avatar (since Katara escaped with Aang’s body) is the only thing that might stand in the way of his redemption and regaining his honor. But of course, that doesn’t ring true either, and he senses that. And I think this is why when Mai asks him if he’s cold and he goes on a brooding soliloquy (because all of the above are eating away at him), she doesn’t quite relate and tries to do her best to take his mind off his worries. Zuko’s thinking is starting to shift because of his experiences in the Earth Kingdom and the times the Gaang has offered him sympathy and grace even aid (Aang especially). Whereas Mai’s mindset is similar to what Zuko’s used to be - the conventional Fire Nation views of honor and reasons for fighting the war. To her, everything will be fine because the FN defeated the Avatar and the EK and Zuko is finally coming home. But Zuko has changed, and Mai hasn’t (yet). So there’s a disconnect between them...for now.

Damn Katara, when did you get so pro??? She was BADASS in that fight with the other Fire Nation ship!!

I don’t love that the writers had Aang talk about redemption and honor, since he has never focused on these things before. But I DO love that this episode is about Aang and Zuko both believing they’ve failed in a big way and are struggling with the meaning of redemption and honor, which they don’t yet realize come from within and are not determined by the expectations of society and other people.

Man, Katara’s tearful outburst to her father never fails to hit hard 😭 The way she is so emotional about Aang and Hakoda leaving her behind when what she really needs is them and they need her too...aaahhHHHH my heart!!! 

Also, when Hakoda tells Katara that Aang leaving to fight the FL alone is “Maybe that's his way of being brave,” and then the narrative goes on to deconstruct that (typically macho) idea by showing that that kind of “being brave” is actually empty and reckless....I canNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE THAT!!!

The way Aang slowly loses his hold on his Air Nomad identity in this episode is heartbreaking 😭 He can’t go out in the FN-occupied town without hiding his arrow with a headband. When he gets upset about the invasion plan, he tears down the FN wall hanging, which covers his glider on the floor. Then as he’s parasailing in the ocean, a wave knocks him over and his glider flies out of his hands. Finally, his glider washes up on the shore of Crescent Island and he himself makes the decision to let go of this last piece of his identity by burning it in the lava trails. Yes I know this is part of Aang’s journey to bring his AN and Avatar (and firebender) sides into harmony but omg someone please give him a hug 😭😭😭

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ATLA rewatch thoughts, Book 3 (ep 3)

This wasn’t my favorite episode when I first watched it, but it’s definitely grown on me since then. 

3) The Painted Lady

The tension between the Gaang being on a tight timetable versus Katara’s desire to help the people of Jang Hui village is what drives the story in this episode. Katara says, “These people need our help,” but Sokka tells her that defeating the Fire Lord is what will help them the most. Sokka positions himself as being realistic, implying that Katara is being too idealistic. 

But Katara can’t turn her back on people who need her help, particularly when the cause of their suffering is a factory that was built nearby without any regard for the town’s needs or safety. And we know that Katara can’t tolerate injustice of any kind - which is why we love her!

I LOVE the lore of the Painted Lady (a benevolent water spirit in the FN???), and I wish we knew more about her...I’ve been itching to write a fic with the Painted Lady, but I just need the right inspiration...

Ok, the Kataang in this episode is just chef’s kiss and makes it even more worth watching!! Aang pursuing the “Painted Lady” not knowing it’s Katara in disguise, “You’re really pretty for a spirit” 🥺, Aang calling Katara a secret hero and then helping her destroy the factory??? Nothing like going on a date to commit some ecoterrorism 😂

Sokka is very much the realist in this episode, and in some ways he’s right - leaving the village and going on their way would have been the simplest and least complicated thing to do. But Katara sees a situation where the people don’t have the means to help themselves (they can’t get rid of the factory on their own), and she sees an opportunity to make a real difference. Destroying the factory resulted in the FN soldiers blaming and almost destroying the village, but Katara recognizes that she has a responsibility to protect the villagers from the consequences of her actions. She’s in too deep at this point, and she is determined to see it through to the end.

The villagers are understandably upset that Katara had been tricking them as well, and on top of that, she had been impersonating their guardian spirit for her own ends (even if it was to help the village). But in the end, everyone reaches an understanding and all’s well that ends well.

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ATLA rewatch thoughts, Book 2 (ep 17)

17) Lake Laogai: 

Iroh gets an offer to start his own teashop, and Zuko is...not excited. It’s his uncle’s dream, not his. Right now, Zuko is traveling his uncle’s path. Iroh may see his path as a desirable one, but he still recognizes that Zuko needs to find his own. Iroh: “There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life and why.” Zuko: “I want my destiny.” Iroh: “What that means is up to you.”

Joo Dee, Long Feng, and Lake Laogai...the intrigue goes deep, and it’s one of the things that make the Ba Sing Se arc so amazing

JET!!!! Finding out with the Gaang that Jet has been brainwashed is so good every time, even though I already know what’s going to happen.

The Blue Spirit reappears, this time to capture Appa. The theme of yin/yang is very strong in Zuko’s character (dual swords, the burned and whole sides of his face, being the great-grandson of Avatar Roku and FL Sozin, eventually switching sides). The Blue Spirit seems to represent the yin (dark) side - he does shady things at night that Zuko the Fire Prince/fugitive would never be able to get away with. And it’s all in the name of fulfilling what Zuko thinks is his destiny, rather than what his destiny truly is. When Iroh angrily confronts him about trying to capture Appa, he says, “Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you? Who are you, and what do you want?” Zuko has an internal crisis at this point, but he ultimately decides to set Appa free and throws away his Blue Spirit mask, in an attempt to discard that side of him. But as we see later, rejecting his “dark” half isn’t the answer - he must accept both halves to become whole.

We also see yin/yang in Jet, who tried to cast off his vigilante life for a fresh start in Ba Sing Se. But war and personal tragedy keep him from being able to let go of that part of himself, and him trying to recklessly fight Zuko in BSS gets him caught by the Dai Li and brainwashed. Now his dual identity shows up as Jet the reformed and Jet the brainwashed fighter. When Aang tries to get Jet to snap out of it, Long Feng says “He has no choice.” This is Jet’s ultimate tragedy - his life has been so scarred by war that he will never be free from the pain and anger that so relentlessly drive him. When Aang finally gets him to snap out of his brainwashing (“You don’t have to do this!”), Jet is punished for trying to break free.