I really feel slightly responsible concerning the way I rewatch Avatar: The Last Airbender.
I rely the present amongst my favourite tv collection ever. Whilst an grownup, I’m impressed by the way the showrunners used Aang’s journey to defeat the Fireplace Nation to thread collectively a complete tapestry of a world affected by violence and injustice. Its characters’ tales, just like the redemption of Prince Zuko, develop into vessels to craft a narrative that’s suddenly political and private. Simply the mere point out of Avatar can immediate a gush of constructive ideas of why I really like the collection and wish extra. However even given all this, I wrestle to carry myself to watch a overwhelming majority of the present every time I rewatch it, and I find yourself skipping lots of it. Each time I revisit the collection, I begin from Ebook 2, episode 6, an episode referred to as “The Blind Bandit.”
Right here is the place I admit — considerably embarrassingly — that I’ve began three rewatches from this actual level within the collection. At first, it didn’t begin as a acutely aware alternative. I’d rewatch that exact episode as a result of I at all times cherished Toph as a personality and simply wished to rewatch the episode the place she joins the gang. I cherished the motion sequences and the fun that got here with seeing Toph in motion for the primary time, however I additionally appreciated the way she breaks free from her mother and father’ concept that she’s a helpless baby. The factor is, once you get on the Avatar rewatch prepare, even when it’s only for that episode, it’s form of exhausting to get off.
Picture: Nickelodeon Animation Studio
There’s simply a lot of the great things on this part of the collection. Zuko struggles to work out his personal ethical compass as he takes up shelter with an Earth Kingdom household and we get a window into his childhood life. Princess Azula pursues Aang on lizard-something-back and instantly brings a newfound sense of dread and breathlessness to Crew Avatar. Aang lastly learns how to earthbend. Earlier than we all know it, we’re on the spirit library episode, and also you know I’ve to preserve watching till Appa and Aang reunite. It’s really banger after banger.
I’m not saying the whole lot that comes earlier than this is dangerous. A few of my favourite episodes arrive earlier than season 2, episode 6. I really like to see Sokka get his misogynistic ass kicked by the Kyoshi Warriors within the first season and Aang’s reunion with the bumbling King Bumi early in season 2. However I can’t assist however really feel that the showrunners actually discovered the beating coronary heart of the collection. Aang’s mission to confront the Fireplace Nation comes with a stronger sense of path as he learns earthbending and seeks to recruit comrades to combat in the course of the upcoming photo voltaic eclipse. However even then, this portion of the collection exhibits us what distinguishes Avatar as a very nice tv collection. Episodes like “The Tales of Ba Sing Se” don’t do a lot to develop the plot, however they enrich the world with emotional portrayals of its characters and creatures.
Picture: Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Given the significance of episodes just like the aforementioned “Tales of Ba Sing Se” in Avatar, I do really feel a little bit of guilt skipping straight to the juicy stuff. However right here’s the way I see it. Season 1 vegetation the seeds for most of the tales I really like within the present and develops a much-needed basis for understanding the world at massive. The tales of characters like Zuko wouldn’t hit the identical if we didn’t see him operating round being an indignant teen for therefore lengthy, and I’d by no means advocate a first-time viewer begin in season 2.
Nonetheless, by the second season, we’ve a powerful concept of what the world is like by this level, and we actually get to see the present flourish and bear the fruits of so many factors arrange earlier within the story, and even plant a couple of new seeds of its personal! So now, each time I begin a rewatch, I’ll simply begin from there. I think about I’d see one thing new if I rewatched it from the start of the collection, however nonetheless, I can’t assist however really feel that possibly, simply possibly, I intuitively stumbled onto the best way to rewatch Avatar.
