That Time Aang Talked to Big Turtle and Saved the Day: A Video Essay | Big Joel
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- čas přidán 30. 01. 2021
- Let's talk about Avatar the Last Airbender's Last episode, Sozin's Comet. I think it's good! I like the whole team, Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka, Toph, all the characters. Cool.
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Cutie
You are a beautiful man
New big joel just dropped
Can’t wait to watch Big Joel fall off Big Cliff trying to be Big Man
Psst, your Patreon link needs to be redone, the hyperlink 404's.
ayyyyyyyyyy this Avatar show seems pretty cool might give it a go
Yeah, you should do a video on it or something.
I promise that this show will offer you so much of that sweeeeet content.
I knew you would show up here
*proceeds to do hour long video about Azula*
king spotted in the comments
I've always read this scene in the context of the Airbender genocide. Avatar Yangchen was in a position to tell Aang to sacrifice his cultural values because in her day she wasn't the only Air Nomad around. She was allowed to be more worldly because she wasn't holding up an entire culture. But Aang is, and I think it makes perfect sense that he would want to be uncompromising on his cultural values when everything else has been taken from him. As a kid this was really impactful to me, seeing someone take a strong moral stand and not be dissuaded from it. I was so excited when the lion turtle gave him a third option. It set the standard for what a moral character looks like for me, and that's why I love the ending.
I agree very much with this perspective. It's literally called Avatar The Last Airbender.
It's clearly a huge burden that weighs heavily on his mind as well. This is evident from what we're told about adult Aang in korra. This responsibility he has to his people put a massive strain on his family to the point where Tenzin was emotionally scarred and his other kids resented him.
Yeah it was expert cinema to be honest, as well as cinematography and not A McGuffin or ex machinima like a lot of other shows
Due to the show itself, it even sets up a lot of these things low-key but through subtle themes and characters like Ti-Lee
Just wanted to add that Avatar Yangchen's decision was also in keeping with how she would be later characterized in the novels. Yangchen despite being an airbender strongly believed that her duty as Avatar was duty to the world and not the spirit world. So it makes sense that she would advise Aang to focus on his duty to the world as well rather than take into consideration his spiritual needs.
Just wanted to add that Avatar Yangchen's decision was also in keeping with how she would be later characterized in the novels. Yangchen despite being an airbender strongly believed that her duty as Avatar was duty to the world and not the spirit world. So it makes sense that she would advise Aang to focus on his duty to the world as well rather than take into consideration his spiritual needs.
Should have just debated Ozai in the free marketplace of ideas, TBH.
I know? So much for the tolerant left
Facts don't care about your firebending
owning the firelord with facts and logic
I thought airbenders were supposed to be nonviolent and accepting, sheesh.
this comment annihilated any market ventures
"A glue trap!? Theres no way that would work!"
*-Zuko, man who was caught in glue trap 4 episodes ago.*
Lmao I can't believe I forgot about that! No clue what that stuff was in the end but I guess it was non-bendable since they needed those anteaters to eat it off them? Still, good point nonetheless
I laughed way too hard... Thanks
Zuko has seen the horrors of glue traps and decided that no other human should be forced to endure the hellish torment of being stuck with glue.
avatar is about how slamming your body into something is actually the correct solution to everything
this made me laugh out loud
As someone who enjoys mosh pits I can attest to this. My life is perfect.
@@JosetheDopeLPs
RIP mosh pits. Corona claims another victim.
That’s the toph philosophy
This but unironically
I like the idea here that there's a story about a kid being told conflicting morals by all the authority figures in his life until he decides "Nope, I'm going to do what's true to me" and thereby opening the door to doing something that's never been done before.
I think the point is kind of more, it would have been good if he figured it out himself. The main problem for me is the turtle comes out of nowhere. This could have been fixed if he went into the spirit realm and found the turtle himself.
@@Beowulf54Mc yeah I feel like there is less value in it being a diagetic (to him) Turtle instead of a cosmic one. Not even like a turtles all the way down thing, which would have been very cool.
Reject authority, return to turtle
That's because you're poisoned by fake ass neoliberal morality where bad guys that get screen time shouldn't actually be killed by good guys. In real life and real stories, there isn't a magic third path for dealing with real problems like what to do with fascists like Ozai.
and that theres always another way.
people forget that Aang is literally a 13 year old survivor of genocide who grew up in a very different world than his friends did
people also forget this season ended on a cliff hanger and have might gotten a season 4 that answers questions left unanswered
@@sofaking7045 Nope. It ended on an ending.
The show even reminds you every episode: "everything changed when the fire nation attacked"
Aang, locked in ice, did not witness or experience this change in the world.
@@sofaking7045 it ended with world peace (if you ignore The Promise and Search comics). I can't think of a more definitive ending than world peace.
Yeah kinda surprising he has their same accent, let alone their same language
I've just always thought it was fucked up that they were asking a literal 12 year old to commit murder.
Watching this show as a kid, to me the lesson was "if every adult tells you to do something that feels wrong to you personally, you should try to prove them all wrong."
And then Aang does with the energy bending.
I don’t think it’s that fucked up. First off, he’s the Avatar. Second off, he’s asked to kill basically Hitler. I’m sure we would all jump at the chance to kill Hitler.
@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 I think you're missing the point... it's not that simple, psychologically speaking at least.
Killing another human, or even an animal, can traumatize a person, and especially if it's a child. That's why when we hear of "child soldiers", it's horrifying. Because you're asking an underdeveloped child to kill a grown ass man.
And sure he's the Avatar, but it doesn't change that he's just a kid.
I would like to see how well a 12 year old would handle killing, even if it's "Hitler" as you put it.
@@inkonsistency Nope. That’s ridiculous. If I had the opportunity to kill Hitler, I wouldn’t hesitate. Furthermore, killing him would probably be the greatest experience of my life.
If you can’t say the same, then you have some serious issues.
@@inkonsistency 12-year-olds have done worse in the real world, and have probably done far more hideous things in ATLA's. Aang mastered all 4 elements in one summer at the age of 12. He's also killed people before (S01E17, for example). This shows that he's more than capable of delivering justice to Ozai. Don't forget that Azula is 14 and she proudly boasted of coming up with the idea of exterminating every other nation on the planet. Perhaps asking a child to end a person's life would be considered traumatizing in our relatively civilized society. But in the world of ATLA, that's weak sauce. Even for the air nomads, whose philosophy revolves around letting go of earthly attachments and embracing true liberation--freedom from life.
just because people have been forced to do horrible things before doesn’t make them not horrible. Yes, Azula is a living breathing 14-year-old war machine, but that’s…a bad thing. She has a full blown mental collapse at the end of the show because that’s a traumatizing way to exist, regardless of if you’re in a “relatively civilized society” or a war torn one.
The conversation between Aang and Yang Chen has always seemed especially important to me thematically. Aang is being asked to strip himself of his culture in order to make the world a better place but this is a war started by the genocide of his own people. To ask him to finish that same war by essentially "finishing the job." Is awful and it's no wonder Aang searched for any kind of work around.
Oh wow that is a fantastic way to look at it
^ This is exactly the point I use whenever people call Aang weak for not wanting/following through on killing the firelord. Aang resolutely holding onto his cultures belief that all life is precious as its last remaining member and greatly risking himself spiritually to do so is incredibly important.
@@merchantarthurn very true. The show it literally named the last air bender it would be ironic if the show ended by also ending the air benders culturally
Aang believed in himself! Or somethin'.
I dunno, good shit though :D
I looovvve this take
Big Joel:
-seems correct
-gives off correct vibes
the video essayist lewk
He is extrem-uh-ly correct
Also looks very polite
and much like the two wise gurus to which he applied these monikers
he uhh
isn't
Aang’s “power can be good” realization parallels Zukos “fire is life” realization in the dragon episode
YOOOOOOOO WAIT
YOOOOO LETS GOOO
zuko's realization that fire can be good and that it is life also parallels katara's realization that water can be destructive and harmful!! neat
Even taking in the fact that ATLA is technically a "kids show" that aired on Nick, I always felt killing Ozai would've been a cheap cop out ending. Ending Ozai is not only the expected outcome, it leaves Ozai going out as some triumphant, powerful force.
I feel, by leaving him utterly powerless and having to live the rest of his life as a "weak nonbender", it is a worse fate than death for a power-hungry monger like Ozai. Honor comes from going out in a triumphant fight, but it's dishonorable to be captured and made a weakling. That's got to be a striking blow to an egomaniac like Ozai.
Ozai is left powerless, a weak fool, and utterly forgettable. The opposite of what Ozai desires.
That's my two cents anyways.
It also gets into the psychology of fascism, which Ozai uses and represents. Fascists believe they are "right" bc they will themselves to be right and their will is stronger than "the other." Bending can be seen as an extension of a person's will, and in Ozai's case (and the fire nation under him as well), they have explicitly made it out to be. Why do they fight Agni Kai? Why is Azula valued over Zuko by Ozai (yes there's also the stuff from the comics for why he's *so* awful to Zuko, but Azula was shown to be the more valued child outside of that)?
Taking away Ozai's bending is literally taking away his Will, in his own mind and in the mind of those who follow him. Yes it's poetic as well, but it's also representative of the way to combat fascism in the real world. Take away their platforms, take away their fangs, take away their "bending."
@@natahliazaring5291 Forgive him for the genocide of airbenders? Forgiveness is bullshit. It is an excuse propagated to brainwash the victims who should have become an avenger and destroyed their assailants so they may never commit crimes again, to instead pat themselves on the back for doing nothing which equates to most likely just letting the bad guys do it again after a while because if the first time they did it turned out to be profitable, why stop there?
The weak willingly take the stance of "forgiveness" because they are too weak to actually ask for reparations or seek righteous vengeance. Only people on high horses tell the victims that vengeance is wrong and nobody should rock the boat, and the victims should shut up and take it for the sake of "peace" because conflict is always evil :P
According to what the show keeps saying, people should just forgive everything. Implying that they should also forgive an entire nation of murderers and rapists in their rampant military conquest of fire and burning torture. And let them keep all the stuff they stole because victims are all the weaker for it therefore they have no force to compel the pillagers to do the right thing. Let them keep all the riches they took to their homeland, so they can use it to build even greater industries and make themselves richer in the future, with riches that should have been in the hands of the people they stole it from, then tell the victims they were destined to be poorer and hence inferior than them.
(That's how Japan, Germany, and Italy worked by the way. And due to the Cold War, America got the Axis powers off scott free and they didn't have to pay half as much war reparations they owed, especially Japan despite their genocides, human experimentation, sex slavery, germ warfare, and invasion of 10 countries. Of the 3 Axis, they are the least remorseful and still blame America for starting Pearl Harbor, while 1 billion other Asians are grateful of the nukes that liberated them from Japan's fascism)
Are you going to forgive unremorseful criminals? And even the remorseful ones, very few of them are willing to go the extra mile and make amends and pay up and fix what they destroyed. So in the grand scope of things, criminals can just exploit everyone and then suddenly ask for forgiveness = which means *_with such gullible forgivers, being a criminal is the most profitable business model ever!_* It's just like doing evil things for personal gain with the final plan to accept Jesus into your heart at the last second!
Ozai didn't conquer innocent people alone. He had armies. How is debilitating a despot who was behind the shadows and let his armies do the vast bulk of the actual conquering anyway, actually going to stop the military campaigns? I doubt respect for Ozai would die among his adoring fire nation subjects, and even if it did, all they are going to do is continue the successful conquests under a new leader to take Ozai's place. It's very gimmicky how Zuko can just take his throne like that. Monarchies are not so absolute, supporters of the old regime can always fight to get their Ozai back.
@@CrabTastingMan uh, nowhere did I talk about forgiveness in my comment?
And the show is actually explicitly against the idea that you should forgive those who have done these kinds of things. Aang *wants* Katara to forgive the man who murdered her mother, but she never does. This could easily be read as Aang projecting his own desire to forgive onto her. The show never validates that position though. Even Aang isn't shown to forgive Ozai or the Fire Nation. He wants to avoid killing Ozai for his own reasons. Not beavsue Ozai doesn't deserve to be killed. But because Aang doesn't want to kill. That's a huge difference.
My point about fascism is that outside of those things in the plot, there is a metaphor of how to defeat fascism. That doesn't mean don't punch fascists; absolutely punch them every chance you get, try them for their horrible actions, even kill them. But doing those things alone isn't how you defeat fascism. You defeat fascism by denying it the ability to be treated as a reasonable part of discourse. You humiliate it and those who are advocating for it. You deplatform it and treat it as the despicable thing it is. You can do all these things while also refusing to forgive fascists and while punching them.
*spoilers for whatever comic it was that featured zuko's mom and the explanation of what happened to her
This is, essentially, what Ursa tells to Ozai when he is thrown to jail. A broken shell of a man, powerless, pathetic. But more that all, a small, small man. She gets out of there while Ozai is ordering her to grovel before him, as if he was still anything worth more than a thought.
It was mad fucking cathartic
Oh, definitely!
He got what he fuckin' deserved. As long as you can ensure he can do no more harm to the world at large, he doesn't deserve the escape death would bring.
He deserves to die powerless, alone, and broken. Killing him solves nothing. It doesn't bring the people he's killed and hurt back. It ends the violence, yes, but with a final act of violence. It almost validates his twisted, proto-fascist worldview - he even says as much when Aang refuses to follow through on his last 'swing.' "All the power in the world, and you're still weak." He wanted Aang to kill him, because that would at least leave Aang corrupted, and his view victorious.
To end it nonviolently, to deny him even that final moral victory, is perfectly poetic (and effective) justice.
So happy to see somebody defending the end of ATLA in such an intelligent and coherent way. Really great stuff.
I do think however, there's one thing you missed - a mistake that actually undermines your ultimate point. When Aang is hit by the rock, he doesn't gain control of the avatar state - he merely regains access to it, in the same instinctual, fight-or-flight, depersonizing manner that was available to him in Seasons 1 and 2. While in the avatar state, he passes judgment on and prepares to kill Ozai, and it's only just as he is about to end it that he terminates the avatar state prematurely, something we've never really seen him do. But he hasn't controlled the avatar state - its interests and his merely aligned for a short amount of time (defeat Ozai).
After the energybending, Aang DOES control he avatar state. He uses it to bend the water and put the fires out. There's a very deliberate beat where we see his face, an inhale, concentration, and then the avatar state. HERE (or perhaps alternatively, when he refuses to kill Ozai) is where Aang gains control over the avatar state - because he has come to terms with himself, and who he is, and that is what the avatar state has always represented. Mastery of oneself.
And so once Aang rejects the call to kill Ozai - rejects the ideas being foisted on him by his friends, mentors, past lives - he is able to come to terms with himself, and as you point out in the video, use power in a way that doesn't destroy or alienate.
Anyway, this was really great and I'm super glad you did a video about ATLA. Can't wait for the next project.
He's no longer in the avatar state when waterbending to put out the fires, though? He doesn't glow anymore
@@PatchworkPS he literally is. Watch the scene again.
Thank you! You put my thoughts into words way more eloquently than I would have been able to do
@@PatchworkPS How are people this confident with being wrong?
@@cptKamina The same way almost everyone always seems to be confident they are right.
absolutely wild that I was more willing to believe the writers of one of my fav shows suddenly turned into dummies who couldn't decide on a theme to go with in the last 2 eps than think it thru enough to see the connection between aang having an "unbendable spirit" and all the conflicting old ppl advice. after relying on masters to teach him thru the whole show, he finally became his own master. pretty sick tbh
aww this is like, the iconic response i was hoping for lol
@@BigJoel Joel, are you going to do a video on the sequel to avatar
mmm Jig Boel
Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
Old Buddhism is like scaling the side of a great mountain...chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and taking faith in the Lotus Sutra is like walking the established path instead.
And very relevant to the world the audience is growing up in.
I think what happens at the end of season 2 between Iroh, Aang and Katara is very thematic. Iroh and Pathik explicitly lay out the two competing ideas (power vs. humanity), and Aang chooses power. He is then immediately wounded by Azula, and it is only through the love and humanity of Katara that he is able to survive. I think it is brilliant, the way they TELL us what the two options are, but SHOW us what the show believes the right option is.
Also, I feel like it carries the sympathy the show has for characters like Jet and Hama forward to Aang.
Neither of them became who they were simply because they wanted power. Jet wanted revenge sure, but also safety and happiness for his friends. Hama didn't have any problems with bloodbending people, but she probably wouldn't have sought it out if she wasn't locked in isolation for months on end.
Aang didn't go in the avatar state to kill azula or become more powerful, he did it to protect katara. Ultimately, preserving their connection more than if he had left anything on the table that he could use.
Violence often necessitates violence.
This kinda leads back to the rock thing, too. When aang is hit by that rock, the memory of Azula's thunder hits him and he's able to master the avatar state
Back then Aang was too invested in power and that's what stopped him from actually entering the avatar state, then this time he gets a sudden memory of almost dies, and the avatar state kicks in as the thing its meant to be: a self defense mechanism, a way to let a godly power solve the problems for you, and you can only control it if you've truly accepted the power of the avatar, something Aang wasn't able to do until he deeply realized he never needed such power in the first place
"I love avatar a lot, that makes me unique and frankly remarkable as a human being." This line, plus your calm delivery, fucking killed me! 4:48
That moment when he just fuckin bats Ozai's hand away will never get old for me
Easily one of the coolest things that's ever been animated, in context
And when he discovers that ozai isn't wearing pants....
Epic
Gets me pumped EVERY TIME
Fr he’s like “bitch? No.”
If Aang says no to his beliefs, then his beliefs are gone. He's the last airbender.
Wait, I just realized that Aang is actually the person the title refers to, since he's the Avatar AND the Last Airbender
@Samuel you probably didn’t mean it the way it sounds, but your comment made me actually laugh out loud.
@@samuelvanamberg9575 I...What?
@@isaacm6052 what's funny about it?
@@samuelvanamberg9575 who did you think it referred to? appa?
I think Uncle Iroh breaking out of prison demonstrated very well why the most powerful firebender alive couldn't just be imprisoned with his bending powers still active.
I believe Iroh broke out during the black son, and as such he trained his physical body so he could overpower the de-powered firebending guards.
@@harrisonw1002nah I just rewatched avatar and he was free already for that. There's that one scene where he helps the white lotus take back omashu during black sun
@@bleh22 After Zuko confronts Ozai during the eclipse, he rushes to Iroh's prison, a still-injured guard says "he busted himself out".
"Wow, you took back your city all by yourself" -Suki to King Bumi.
The White Lotus liberate Ba SIng Se while the comet passes
@@bleh22 That isn't Uncle Iroh. That is King Bumi, who was practicing neutral jin until the day of black sun, when he single handedly recaptured back his city, Omashu. The White Lotus recaptures Ba Sing Se during Sozin's Comet.
@@delrioj17 oh whoops my my bad. I must have gotten them mixed then up
Even as a child, I always appreciated the question of Aang's final battle not that he would win (because obviously) but how, and what more he could have to sacrifice for it. Ty Lee is similar to Aang in appearance and cheerful personality, so her being tied to energy - and regular conversations regarding chi and energy even in non bending fighting (like what Suki says to Sokka in s1) made energy bending feel like a natural conclusion. One of the main themes of the show, embodied most by Aang's existence but also by the spirits in general, is the idea of reclaiming and discovering lost knowledge, so the Lion Turtle fits right in. Him being able to master himself - even in the rage of another trauma induced Avatar state - and instead choose the type of Avatar he wants to be - both the boy in the iceberg and the avatar; the avatar and the last airbender - is about an equal amount of reconciliation, just as much as how Zuko's scar and duality evolves throughout the series.
Appa could have defeated Ozai with his eyes closed.
You don't need your eyes open to eat someone.
Well I dunno, maybe, but I dunno, without I was I being out of the lightning bending or using Sozan’s comet , I think Appa would have a chance
He is the real avatar
Well he nearly defeated Momo in a swordfight
*chomp*
I'm gonna be honest, I also don't think the 'power and perfection are overrated' thread is undermined by Aang trying to let go of Katara for power basically 5 minutes later. I say this because while he's doing that, he's nearly killed and the only thing that saves him IS his connection to Katara. He's very viscerally shown in that moment that trying to sacrifice Katara for power was a bad idea.
Then again, I've always adored the end of Avatar. I think it's thematic and appropriate. And honestly way wilder coincidences have happened in the show than Aang stumbling upon the lionturtle after trying and failing to find a solution for a while. The group accidentally finds their way to a lot of random stuff where if you're trying to use real world logic instead of the show's internal logic then it wildly doesn't make sense.
It also might be because I've seen too many procedural shows where someone saying the exact right random anecdotal story leads to a breakthrough in a case or the discovery of a cure so I'm like, "Yeah, this all is fine. It's not actually all that outlandish. Anyway, you go get 'em, Aang. I'm rooting for you."
to add to this, as soon as he gives up his connection he is immediately punished for it
There was actually a slight foreshadowing of the lion turtle in s2 when they were in the library
@@naomi7918 I completely missed that. Thank you, I am further vindicated.
I agree!
I was gonna say this! After going into the avatar state he is immodestly cut down by azula and if Katara wasn’t there to save him with spirit water he would’ve died
The first Omashu episode after Aang realises who Bumi is - Bumi tells him ‘I hope at the end of all this when you face Firelord Ozai, you’ll think like a mad genius’
And he did! ❤
Bumi was the only one of Aang’s friends / mentors who didn’t tell him to kill Ozai. And of course, Bumi was right, like always :)
I thought the rock was like a PTSD moment for Aang. Being hit in the exact same spot as you did when you were in the Avatar state, when you were at your most desperate, and falling into that situation again is bound to awaken some memories. This is where Aang loses his humanity because he continued down that path of losing himself to once again redeem himself. Idk it makes sense to me.
To me, the rock grounds the avatar state in Aang's physical body, inextricably linked to who he is on that fundamental spiritual level as the avatar. The rock says that while the avatar state is difficult to control, it is not complicated. It is simply a manifestation of his connection to his past lives, his ability to connect to them all of them at once, which is really just his connection with himself, his own spirit. That cannot be taken away. He is, naturally, the only one standing in the way of it.
In that sense, Guru Patik is not entirely wrong, it is just Patik's own belief that this is the best way to connect with your spiritual self, that probably would have worked if Patik were the Avatar. His mistake was insisting on his approach, believing it was the only or the best way for Aang, for everybody. And being too demanding about it when Aang was clearly more than uncomfortable with it.
It was his fear/survivorship chakra, the guru explains it, then Ang in season 3.
it got locked when he almost died by Azulas lightning, then the rock just unlocked it again in a similar situation when he was about to die.
I love the scene with the lion turtle, as goofy as it is. The way his face lights up when he realizes the truth about the island he’s been meditating on, how he excitedly glides to meet the lion turtle face-to-face. Despite the impending battle against the firelord, he’s riding a penguin again. He’s riding the mail chutes of Omashu.
In other words, he’s a cutie pie.
Same. Protect him at all costs.
I love it too because it shows that we have to have something to fight for eg friendship, joy, the beauty of the world.
i think there is an important symbolic part of the "rock thing" contrivance. it hits Aang specifically on the wound he got from Azula killing him while in the Avatar state, right after he tried to "let go" of Katara for maximum power. he survived when Katara was able to heal him with Spirit Water. so the wound is a symbol for the fact that even when Aang did detach himself to gain power, his human bond with Katara was what actually allowed him to survive. just like how having an unbendable spirit let Aang use the most powerful bending, having unbreakable human bonds gives him the most powerful support and sustainability. i think this paradox (even with incredible power you can fall, and need friends to pick you back up to fight another day) is what Iroh was winking at when he said it's wise to choose happiness and love.
YES.
This is correct.
YES! also there's the fact that iroh's power comes from his personhood - just look at how he learned lightninbending by studying the waterbenders! power and tradition are so complicated in the show lol
@@Jacob-gy9ki Iroh is the real GOAT
Yep the rock is also a great source of irony as A) Ozai believes that universe has given Aang to him out of generosity, however the universe also placed one protruding rock exactly at the height of Aangs wound. Signifying that the universe seems to be on Aangs side instead.
B) Ozai unleashed the avatar state by his own doing and which again is irony / poetic justice
Here's what I learned: I am unique and frankly remarkable as a human being.
Congrats :D
Nice! That means you're just like the rest of us! 🤗
1:10 "By a creature we have never seen before"
Technically, a drawing of the lion turtle makes an appearance in the Spirit Library in Season 2 in a book Sokka shows to the group. It's really quick and most people don't catch it on their first viewing.
And I believe that Piandao had a little lion turtle statue in one scene.
Or second or third viewing in my case lol
I've always read the ending as a decision that Aang makes for himself and his philosophies (and because murdering while you are 12 is traumatic) rather than a question about the morality and its themes. Watching your video helped me realise how well that ties into Avatar's general themes as well, which honestly made me love the show even more now.
Same, that's always how I took it too. Not "Ozai, an evil genocidal tyrant, shouldn't have to die" but "Aang, a literal 12 year old child who believes all life is precious, *shouldn't have to kill*"
Doesn't matter, he literally got a power up out of nowhere on silver platter, it's trash writing
@@tutumazibuko2510 What about the avatar state? Isn't that a power up out of nowhere? The only reason you think it's trash writing is because there isn't more show after it.
@@tutumazibuko2510
I don't see it that way. Aang didn't just literally stumble on the lion-turtle, it's heavily implied that it deliberately called out to him in a trance, hence why he didn't even remember how he got on its "back".
The way i see it, the lion-turtle was testing Aang, waiting and listening on how he dealt with his own dilemma, in order to determine whether he was worthy of receiving the power of energy-bending, and he "passed" when he chose to remain resolute to his idea of not killing, when he demonstrated his "unbendable spirit".
Conversely, if Aang had changed his mind and chosen to kill Ozai instead, then the lion-turtle would have seen no reason to give him that power at all. In fact, it would have been *dangerous* for Aang to learn that power under such circumstances, because if he attempted to use it then he would have failed and gotten his own spirit corrupted instead.
Also, someone here mentioned that the lion-turtle had already been foreshadowed as early as the Great Library Ep. in Season 2 (i'd have to check back myself, 'cause admittedly i never even noticed that).
@@tutumazibuko2510 it's not trash writing you'd have to give every deus ex machina and plot device the trash writing card as well. plus all this mystical spiritual shit going on in the show the lion turtle isn't even the biggest out of nowhere that happens. it's also debatable whether it's out of nowhere at all since the lion turtle called out to him. Again more mystical stuff.
A quick addition, when Aang takes that shot to the back he does NOT gain control of the Avatar state, he's just forced into it. He's trying very hard to kill Ozai for a while there and he's framed the same way the avatar state always has been; a terrifying inhuman force of nature. The moment that switch gets flipped it's clear Ozai has no chance of winning.
He pulls himself back.
Always loved that little detail.
i think the avatar entering the avatar state is a plot point in some episodes where it is triggered as self-defence when threatened with death. in korra its also used against her iirc by forcing her to go into the avatar state on purpose to try to break the cycle or something of that sort
👏👏👏
i agree with you but I think after the fight he finally got control over the avatar state as he uses the avatar state to put out the fire by ascending the water surface
@@eduardl.3386 Since the place where the rock hits him is where Azula attacked and temporarily killed him when he was about to go full Avatar State in Ba Sing Se, messing up his energy and cutting him off from the Avatar state, I always saw the rock as basically an accidental acupuncture session that reversed the damage by hitting that sweet spot and opening all the chakras that needed to be open.
i think the "turn your back on power" speech/advice is what iroh knows he wants and what might actually be healthiest spiritually for aang! he doesn't want to have to compromise his values and love and iroh sees that. it's comforting. also, the rock thing is just him regaining access to that state where he had been cut off before. wildly convenient? yes, but he's also not in control and wrests it back only at the last second when he doesn't bring his hand down to murder ozai.
"Power is inhuman" is one of the most catching and compelling conclusions I've ever seen in an essay video or otherwise. That was powerful (but in like, a human way)
At the end of season two, Aang had already entered the Avatar State, but he lost that connection when Azula shot him with lightning. How I had seen it was that the rock hitting him in the pressure point where he was shot wasn't him suddenly gaining control of the Avatar State, but he had REGAINED his lost connection to it
This 👌
EXACTLY I say this all the time. I don’t get how people find it ridiculous that a physical sensation (hitting the rock) gave him back the powers of the Avatar State when it was a physical sensation (getting shot) that took them away in the first place
I wanted to say something like this, but I was only pretty sure that’s what happened and didn’t want to make the effort to go back and check, so thank you for reaffirming my theory.
Yeah he wasn't mastering or gaining control of it, the fact that all the past avatars immediately tried to kill Ozai through Aangs hands shows that. He just went into it.
Yeah I always viewed it more as even though had made the decision to let Katara go that Azula's actions had undercut all of that. Plus we learn in the comics that he was repairing the avatar state while in his coma since he had technically died from the attack.
It's entirely arguable that Iroh's advice is not so much about action but motivation. The Guru asked him to fight in spite of love, Iroh told him he could fight because of love. In the cave, Aang lets go of Katara because he sees it's the only way to protect her, and he has to find the strength to do that. It's also worth noting that attachment, connection, and love are not the same thing.
you nailed it. Aang is able to let go, rather than clinging to the desire to possess the object of his adoration no matter the cost, *because* of love.
So first of all, this video is amazing and has mostly redeemed the ending for me, something in which up until now I've considered a blemish on a near perfect show. Second, I think there's even more evidence for this narrative around power and that it was very intentional on behalf of the writers. One of the last major plots of the show - right alongside Katara's dilemma about forgiveness - is a narrative about Zuko losing his power because he's lost his hatred. Like Ozai and Azula, Zuko's power was fueled through anger and hatred, and the show presents that as a perfectly adequate way to get power. Zuko's family is, after all, incredibly powerful. But upon visiting the original firebenders, he learns a new source for his power, one that is more closely connected to life itself.
I think firebending itself may be a metaphor for the larger show's narrative about power. Ozai, Azula, Zhao, and the fire nation army all see power as this inhuman destructive ability, like you said in this essay. But Jeong Jeong, Iroh, the dragons, and eventually Aang and Zuko, all see firebending as a source of warmth and life, intimately tied to humanity. Zuko especially has his character split between rage and peace, his royal lineage versus his Avatar linage. And ultimately, the side that draws their power from life always wins. Zuko ends the series stronger than ever. Ozai loses to Aang, and Azula loses to Zuko. Throughout the whole show, Aang has been afraid of fire and scared of his own potential for the inhuman, rage-filled power he experiences during the avatar state. He ends the show with mastery of both, after realizing he doesn't have to become an inhumane monster and sacrifice himself or his morals in order to wield his power.
Really, the issue isn't with energybending or Aang being directed by the lion-turtle, but it's very easy to distill it to those factors because they're directly related to the actual problem, that being that Aang's third option is simply handed to him. He's given an answer to a question that's been haunting him since Nightmares and Daydreams, and the fact that it's been hanging over his conscience for so long kind of shines a light on how abrupt and unearned the power actually is.
And I don't mean that Aang should have been practicing energybending or that it even necessarily had to be clear that it existed before the finale. I don't even mean that he shouldn't have run into the lion-turtle. What I think is the 'fatal' flaw of the finale (insofar as it can be considered 'fatal'; I personally think the overall finale is strong enough that this doesn't really hurt it much at all, but in isolation it's aggravating beyond words because the issue is so obvious and the fix is so simple) is that Aang sleepwalks to the lion-turtle.
He doesn't have any agency in finding this creature. He doesn't have any agency in seeking out its advice. He just falls asleep and swims to it and wakes up on its back and all the answers are there, and because of the way the final fight plays out (chiropractic therapy) he doesn't even truly re-earn access to the Avatar state. Aang takes no initiative in the final fights, and the whole thing could have been fixed if only they had replaced the sleepwalking with Aang meditating and finding the lion-turtle himself.
As written, Aang is just the chosen hero who was always destined to win and the universe basically bends itself to make sure of it. Which is aggravating, as, while Aang is obviously the 'chosen' as the Avatar, he's had to overcome and train and all of his friends have to overcome and train and while they're having to use their powers and wits during the finale, Aang literally sleepwalks to his answers.
I think this more than anything else is why people overall are upset about this aspect of the ending. Nobody really expected him to kill Ozai (if only because it was a Nickelodeon cartoon), but people did want to know HOW he was going to get around it. And this was simply not a satisfying execution.
Yessss, the more u re-watch the ending the worse of a taste it leaves in the back of ur throat
This actually could have been laid out a few dozen episodes back when Zuko was having a journey with everyone. All they needed was to have Aang try to connect with his past lives while meditating to ask about wisdom and advice for what to do about killing Ozai. So he meets one of the very ancient avatars that informs him on the existence of a "lost" bending that may help. Blah blah blah, he finds out about a possibility of helping him and he goes off on his short journey while Zuko is out with Sokka or Katara or whatever.
So he attempts to call to the lion turtle or asks the ancient past life on how to find the lion turtle. Blah blah blah some schenanigans and light talking he figures out probably go to somewhere spiritual to locate them. So he heads off on a short journey dressed as an old man while on his way to the special spiritual place probably it would make more sense to go to the same airtemple that he started the series where he started at. Enters the room of avatars again and meditates in the middle or whereever and he is able to call to the Lion turtle or find where it is.
So he either ventures forth to find it or the meditating instead takes him to a different place where he meets the lion turtle and they talk. Either way he finds the lion turtle and he asks the question and gets the power after a short trial.
I say short trial cause up until now he has had a master teach him for every bending so he should probably have one last test for the use of energy bending. It should be something like summon all the past lives to the room, it should be something worthy and considered legendary of a feat otherwise he should not even be considered to be worthy of the bending. By summon the past lives I am referring to basically bring out the blue spiritual forms of each past life so that each one of them may stand next to him sort of like the meditating scene on the lion turtle, but instead of one of a time it should be all of them. I know this sounds random but honestly if he should have a test to be given the abilities then I am just putting together what I can think up.
Either that or another feat like having to heal spirits or some, but he is told that he could get it and he gets is done then is sent back to his friends with the message like you must practice it with small quantities or it might backfire. Also that if it backfires that he will no longer be able to bend or something, otherwise if he just did it at will then it would too simple. For this warning to make the final battle amazing it would have to emphasize more on the danger of actually using the energy bending otherwise it does not feel worth it. Essentially it has to be the finishing move where all the marbles are being bet.
The alternative for this idea would be that Iroh or the Guru that Aang met gave him a scroll that contained legends of the lion turtles or a story by a previous avatar about a mystical bending. Then Aang asks the ancient past life about it and you get the point.
oh my god i think you hit it square on. this is why this video couldn't really convince me. like, i've never had a problem with the idea of energy bending itself. it doesn't feel out of place in the world, like of course an avatar could do that because they're all about the energy of the world. and of course i never expected him to kill Ozai, and i understand why other people say that it wouldn't even have been a good ending that way either. not to mention the idea and the visuals are fuckin awesome. before i always attributed it to the usual "he doesn't have to make the hard choice, when there's not always an easy way out in real life" which i think is still kind of relevant, but i like this better. *just like the final avatar state*, it doesn't feel earned. the universe is liek "here ya go, precious boi" and just like that, everything is good now. thank you for this.
So does that not count when guru patik puts a note on appa and then hands him the secret to the avatar state? Or the time in the episode avatar day when we got 2 back to back deus ex machinas of avatar kyoshi inhabited his body and the fire nation attacking right when he was about to be sentenced to death. Maybe you already think so because of the rock but if it were seriously about it being handed to him then the avatar state would also be the answer being handed to him even without the rock.
I think its more that people feel like they dont have a 3rd option in real life and thus dont resonate with the shows message.
Personally I never had any of the problems with the shows ending that other people have.
@@GhostEmblem Guru Pathik didn't hand him the answer tho. He guided him, but Aang still had to go to him and had to open his chakras himself. Kyoshi is not a Deus ex machina because she is part of Aang, and generally the avatars show up when they're needed. The fire nation has been chasing Aang, so while it is convenient timing, them showing up is also not Deus ex machina.
I don't think OP ever mentioned the rock, and they said they have no problem with the lion turtle existing, they just wish Aang hadn't sleepwalked to it. It should have been a conscious effort, just like it was for Guru Pathik. Are you sure you read the post and didn't just assume you know what it said?
I never did notice how despite making a big deal about killing Ozai that Zuko and Katara never thought about killing Azula and didn't need to. Weird.
I think it’s because Ozai was much more necessary to kill. He was by far the most powerful firebender, and he was the leader of a giant army which blindly followed him. He just had too much influence and raw power to be left alive. Anything less would be a risk
probs cuz ozai was an adult that has already made his decisions, althrought his life, while azula is a 14 year old that can still change
plus they probs didnt wanna kill a child on-screen lmao
well Zuko was planning on redirecting the lightning and I'm not so sure where he planned on launching it.
Its simple really. They were ready to kill her until it became clear they had an out lol
To be fair Aang not killing him did cause Zuko a lot of trouble later.
This ending is also the perfect affirmation of Aang's character. He's creative and hopeful. He shares qualities with a lot of trickster characters from various mythologies, who weasel their way out of sticky situations using their wits rather than physical force. In universe, characters like Toph and Bumi draw attention to these qualities as distinctly air bender-ish, calling them "avoid and evade" tactics and "trickety-tricks." So Aang's coming up with an alternative solution, that nobody else thought of, fits his character perfectly.
So why not a glue trap
@@booh905 cause they did it already. Can't have two glue traps
by process of elimination, that ending makes sense, but you never really answered why the lion turtle ending itself works! also, iroh's power seems to come from his personhood (he learns lightning bending from making connections with the waterbenders, etc) rather than his power estranging him from personhood. The bending power is different from the opressive power of Ozai or the murderous power of Jet or those other examples (I thought of another one - when aang has to be impartial in the great divide and above the tribalism of each group, there's that scene where he is so alone and lonely and suffering from detachment).
The show is all about struggling against power and against being corrupted by your own power. But it's not that power makes you lose personhood or even that absolute power corrupts absolutely - Aang demonstrates this. Bending is a power that can be a source of connection, community, tradition: the best parts of the material world. The avatar must keep balance with spiritual world, too, so I wonder if the lion turtle ending has something to do with revering the natural world, to which the spirits are shown to be linked. It's the gratuitously comforting kind of ending you would expect in a kids show, but that serendipity might serve another purpose - to inspire awe and reverence. We urgently need to view the natural world as having a giving soul that is greater than us, and spirituality can help.
What's more, the end being so out of the blue at the last minute is effective because aang's real plight is his comittment to pacifism - he looks tirelessly, until the very last minute, for that other option. This commitment must also come from his desperate situation being the last airbender. The fire nation destroyed them in their pacifist temple; Aang cannot let them destroy the last chance of upholding their traditions.
I think that would make sense if he did stumble across that other option, not have it essentially given to him. And he could've been actively looking for other options before that instead of questioning whether killing is bad imo. If he was set on really digging deep for other answers for a while longer instead of settling on this inner conflict for a long time, that would feel more deserved. Rather it just feels like pure luck for this turtle to show up and give him what he wants.
I also think the ending is about not growing up quite yet. Aang is a literal child being forced to make a grown up decision, and finding a childish solution. He's had grown up responsibilities forced upon him the whole show. And he's run from, learned to bear some of it, and continued to fight for some kind of childhood with fun and friendship. Refusing to kill is kind of the better way of doing what he did when he ran away at the beginning of the story.
I think Aang misunderstands Pathik's advice. It's not like he's unable to have any earthly connections with anyone. Avatar Roku had a wife and children. It's that he can't let that connection tie him down to his own emotional folly and distract him. He does master the avatar state at the end of season two, when he lets go of katara, which basically means putting her out of his mind and not letting his concern for her interfere with what he has to do. Because he willingly goes into the avatar state right before Azula shoots him, we can understand his locked chakra as being a physical barrier, not a spiritual one. So, in conclusion...rock good, actually?
I think on my second watch I interpreted the advice as him learning to trust her to take care of herself, so he can focus on what he has to do. I do also like the angle of older ways of thinking just being limited though.
@@sleepinbelle9627 yeah something along those lines. I think he always trusted her to take care of herself, but he was distracted by his love for her. I really like Joel's interpretation of how the advice conflicts
honestly i think the Guru just did a shit job explaining the last chakra to Aang. He didn’t explain it in as great a detail as the others, but instead tried to push a ‘muted’ version of it on Aang, instead of the real meaning and requirements of it.
@@Closer2Zero yeah if you think about what he says for two seconds it makes no sense. It seems like a small point but again: Roku had a wife?? Clearly you don't have to give up all your relationships as the avatar so I think they made him say it in a vague and confusing way to challenge Aang. It's kind of clever actually but then everyone thinks Aang was wrong or the rock thing is illogical
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if spiritually, Roku had to accept his wife and child as secondary in his life. I think Aang was not willing to put Katara on the sidelines. Of course he will always care about her, but I think Pathik's point was that his power and responsibility must always come before anyone else.
As mentioned in the video, there are these examples of "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and you see that with Hama, Jet, Azula, Ozai etc. Being that the avatar is supposed to be the most powerful person in the world, you would figure that there would be more corrupt avatars because they would become more corrupt as they establish their powers. Aang shows that even with all the power in the world, he won't be corrupted because he chooses to stay true to who he is first. That loyalty to his character IS what makes him the avatar instead of another Ozai. The moment he chose to not kill Ozai was when he became the avatar, not when he was able to bend all four elements, not when he was able to master the avatar state but when he established that his character and values are unbendable even when the whole world is telling him he is wrong.
That's why I think the last episode's title "Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang" is so significant.
niceeee
Really says something about them that we have never heard of an openly evil Avatar, not even one that was a full-on asshole for a little while.
Power reveals who people are when all choices are made equally valid. Ultimately,at that point all that's left is the judges preference
@@christopherb501well they are all the same person fundamentally
"Oh, so it was a joke."
*saying this, she casually threw aside a large rock*
i think you missed something about zuko dismissing the glue trap idea. he's not saying that some form of imprisonment could never work for any period of time; after all, aang basically does exactly that by trapping ozai's hands in stone. what zuko is saying is, what do you do *after* you have him imprisoned? he can't be rehabilitated, and he's too powerful to be held indefinitely, so even if you do get him imprisoned, there's nothing you could do that wouldn't just put you back in more or less the same situation later when he inevitably escapes
6:18 the juxtaposition of Aang catching snacks in his mouth with "Will I kill a man today?" fucking killed me
"she was dehumanised by power, so now she dehumanises *with* power"
bro.
Im 14 and this is deep
Reminds me of simone wiel
The turtle is presented when they are in the library, It wasant from nowhere, you just didnt saw it comming. 😊
The thing about this ending is that, it doesn't work on paper but in terms of execution, I adore it absolutely. He had so much agency in this dilemma, you can't tell me otherwise.
A turtle approved the end of Avatar
I just wanna say, you have impeccable taste Mr. Turtle 🐢
The turtle we needed, but not the turtle we deserved
Ah yes 🐢
🐢
A turtle should retire, because it’s all downhill from the halcyon heights of this comment.
Big Joel: Aang can't kill anyone, it's a kid show on Nick after all!
LOK: gets sent to streaming bc villains are being explicitly killed.
Some of those deaths were... _mindblowing!_
@@LucasDeziderio One of them was legit breathtaking.
Now I wonder what might've changed about Avatar if it was possible to stream o. The same scale back then.
that's not why it went to streaming at all though
@@r_bear Yeah. I seem to remember the endgame couple being a part of that decision.
I watched this ending when I was 14 (the time it came out) and it impressed me deeply. I had never seen something like this in a show before, but being still almost a kid I think I got how important it was. To me, it represented two things.
First, the choice between "killing vs. being defeated", was false. Even when every adult (everyone, but most importantly adults) told him he was wrong, Aang continued to search for another solution until he found it. Being a confused pre-teen, I think this was probably a very important message to me.
The second thing I got, is that it wasn't about killing Osai, but taking away his power. To me that was a very meaningful message for real life (I was a pacifist kid) but also a lesson on how to build a story. A story doesn't need to end with the protagonist -willingly or accidentally- killing the antagonist. There's always another way: instead of destroying the person, take away their power.
I can still remember how this thought accompanied me for years, and every time I finished a great story that ended with the destruction of the antagonist I would think to myself "still not as good as Avatar's ending". God what a great show. Thank you for reminding me all this.
The final note of your essay is so powerful, and I really love how you've taken this seemingly random cop-out ending to the show and traced its steps to figure out how it thematically fits with the rest of the narrative, and I ADORE that in that final moment, the rock jabbing into his back essentially tells us that we do NOT need to strive for detachment and inhumanity. It's also amazing to me because lots of stories have that type of message, that you gain more power if you abandon your worldly attachments (just look at any 'For Science' type villain ever), but there's an alternative means of gaining incredible power in many of these stories, and it's THROUGH love and determination to protect what you love. And holy shit that never gets old x33
I think this is why people liked Kyoshi so much. She straight up said “yeah I killed him, and I’d do it again” about that other tyrant.
(btw, there are kyoshi novels out there, and they are amazing uwu)
kyoshi has a firebender girlfriend and let me just say, the avatar is not the top lol
Exactly. She carries herself like an avavater. A force of nature that is that not to be trifled with
I love the way Joel puts it, "Ozai cannot die unless Aang wants him to."
Ozai didn't conquer innocent people alone. He had armies. How is debilitating a despot who was behind the shadows and let his armies do the vast bulk of the actual conquering anyway, actually going to stop the military campaigns? I doubt respect for Ozai would die among his adoring fire nation subjects, and even if it did, all they are going to do is continue the successful conquests under a new leader to take Ozai's place. It's very gimmicky how Zuko can just take his throne like that. Monarchies are not so absolute, supporters of the old regime can always fight to get their Ozai back.
Forgive him for the genocide of airbenders? Forgiveness is bullshit. It is an excuse propagated to brainwash the victims who should have become an avenger and destroyed their assailants so they may never commit crimes again, to instead pat themselves on the back for doing nothing which just equates to just letting the bad guys do it again after a while because if the first time they did it turned out to be profitable, why stop there?
The weak willingly take the stance of "forgiveness" because they are too weak to actually ask for reparations or seek righteous vengeance. Only people on high horses tell the victims that vengeance is wrong and nobody should rock the boat, and the victims should shut up and take it for the sake of "peace" because conflict is always evil :P
According to what the show keeps saying, people should just forgive everything. Implying that they should also forgive an entire nation of murderers and rapists in their rampant military conquest of fire and burning torture. And let them keep all the stuff they stole because victims are all the weaker for it therefore they have no force to compel the pillagers to do the right thing. Let them keep all the riches they took to their homeland, so they can use it to build even greater industries and make themselves richer in the future, with riches that should have been in the hands of the people they stole it from, then tell the victims they were destined to be poorer and hence inferior than them.
(That's how Japan, Germany, and Italy worked by the way. And due to the Cold War, America got the Axis powers off scott free and they didn't have to pay half as much war reparations they owed, especially Japan despite their genocides, human experimentation, sex slavery, germ warfare, and invasion of 10 countries. Of the 3 Axis, they are the least remorseful and still blame America for starting Pearl Harbor, while 1 billion other Asians are grateful of the nukes that liberated them from Japan's fascism)
Are you going to forgive unremorseful criminals? And even the remorseful ones, very few of them are willing to go the extra mile and make amends and pay up and fix what they destroyed. So in the grand scope of things, criminals can just exploit everyone and then suddenly ask for forgiveness = which means, *_with such gullible forgivers, being a criminal is the most profitable business model ever!_* It's just like doing evil things for personal gain with the final plan to accept Jesus into your heart at the last second!
Kyoshi: (kills Chin the conqueror)
Kyoshi: And I'd fuckin' do it again.
I haven't seen this show in a while but I never thought it was dumb. I always read is Aang breaking a cycle. All the previous avatars wanted Aang to kill Ozai but they were all warriors and obviously failed at the whole bringing together the world thing by the obvious fact that the world was at war during Aang's lifetime. Even if there wasn't any actual physical violence, hateful ideologies stuck around. If Aang really wanted to change the world, he had to change something.
what about the other avatar show after this one? does it mean that aang failed too? idk I've never seem the legend of korra
@@sena167 yeah idk. Same thing with Star Wars.
@@sena167 yea, but legend of korra has A LOT of problems
I was very much conflicted with Legend of Korra. The source of the problems comes from Nickelodeon. It took a long ass time but I am beginning to understand and settle on Legend of Korra even with its flaws.
I don’t think the other avatars failed because they couldn’t prevent future wars. The point of the avatar cycle isn’t to cycle through people to find the one best chosen one who can finally defeat evil for good. That’s just not possible. The avatar cycle ensures that there is an avatar to maintain the balance when new threats emerge - which is inevitable. Aang’s choice wasn’t the right one because it finally ended a cycle, but because it was a way for him to be the avatar without compromising himself. In another story about a different avatar, killing Ozai would have been the right choice. Either way, the struggle to keep the peace would continue.
Perhaps one of the biggest Joel videos. I’ve tried to explain why I actually really like but understand frustration with this ending for years with countless people. Maybe I’m just happy to hear someone else tell me I’m right and make me feel smart for just feeling but. Well yeah just that
Juiciest analysis I’ve ever heard of any work of art. It truly amazes me how much insight you can gain into almost whatever you choose to look into. Keep it up.
Minor nitpick with the video: I feel like Aang's conflict was less about whether he MUST kill the fire lord, and more about whether he is PREPARED to kill the Fire Lord. All the other characters seem to at least be prepared to kill another person if it is necessary. Obviously when Azula and Zuko (and Katara) were fighting, it's not like they were using non-lethal force. The intent of the agni kai is for Zuko to use for to at least seriously maim Azula. The way the fight ended, with Katara chaining up Azula while Azula could not move, was an improbable conclusion to the fight that none of the characters could have expected to happen, but once Azula was neutralized, there was no need for further violence. Clearly Zuko straight up burning Azula to a crisp was never going to happen in a kids show, but that is less important than him being prepared to do that if necessary. This determination causes the stakes of the fight to feel higher in the moment, because either character is absolutely willing to end the other person's life.
Imagine a conclusion where Aang and his crew concoct a convoluted plan to detain or somehow capture the Fire Lord. No matter how the scene plays out, there can never be any tension because Aang, the only character that can reasonably fight him, would not be willing to kill him if the plan goes wrong. If the plan goes sideways Ozai would not hesitate to kill Aang and everyone around him, and Aang should be prepared to return to take him down to prevent that situation. If Aang is not clearly shown to be at peace with the idea of killing the Fire Lord it places an immense risk on the world. Therefor, the plan must succeed, or if it fails, the resolution would need to be impossibly contrived. This is likely what the argument between Zuko and Aang was about. It was not whether it is possible to capture the Fire Lord, but about Aang being unprepared for a likely outcome of the situation.
Interestingly, when Aang achieves the Avatar state (even if accidently) he absolutely nearly kills Ozai at multiple points. This is more or less in line with how the Avatar state is presented throughout the rest of the show. But this time Aang manages to very temporarily capture Ozai in some rocks. In that fleeting moment, the entire cumulative effect of the arc hits at once. Aang has the perfect opportunity to guarantee Ozai's death. Any other character in Aang's place would likely not have hesitated to take that opportunity. But ONLY because of Aang's unwillingness to kill is another outcome presented, like you stated in the video. I thought the conflict, arc itself, and the resolution all felt natural to the characters and the story.
The rock was hilariously convenient though, I'm not sure how anyone could justify that one.
I will try to justify the rock as a concept, not in terms of presentation, though, and I will explain why later:
At the beginning of the final fight Ozai says one very important thing. He says that destiny gives him Avatar as an act of providence. And then at some point after being hit with Ozai's lightning Aang has Ozai basically in the crosshair, but doesn't kill him. It is at that moment that Ozai has the last chance to stop and actually realise that he was wrong - but since it's Ozai, of course he doesn't do it. He continues his attacks - and then destiny (which is an important thing in the Avatar universe) hits back in the weirdest possible way.
Now, maybe this was the idea behind the rock, maybe not. But I still think that it doesn't work properly for one reason: there is no pattern in here. For this idea to work properly, the final fight should have been closer, and Aang should have had several clear chances (I would prefer three for obvious reasons) to take Ozai's life and not take them. Then, when even after three close calls Ozai doesn't get the idea, destiny's interference looks more justified.
I saw the rock thing as irony. Ozai forced Aang against it and he was hit in the same exact spot his daughter struck him with lightning.
I agree with this comment so much. I'm surprised Joel missed that. I wouldn't call it a minor nitpick either. Sokka, katara and zuko would've been willing to go to whatever means to secure victory, and not only this but apprehending the most powerful and dangerous person in the world is near impossible with everything we knew in the show to that point. Capturing would be much harder and would take more time to concoct a plan when they were already on limited time
@@serhibei no
I’ll give my two cents on the rock
I think that it isn’t the fact that the rock hit Aang in the right spot, but rather that it caused incredible pain. Pretty much every time we see the avatar state it’s because Aang is distressed, so this is no different. Like Joel said, the guru was wrong, and Aang never needed to give up Katara and he made the right decision not to.
I don't mind that energy bending wasn't discovered until the end. Ozai was a coward that would never have faced Aang one-on-one unless he was completely convinced he would win. If they had known about energy bending long enough for Aang to practice it, the fire nation absolutely would've found out about it. Ozai would hide behind every person in the fire nation to ensure his safety. Also, the lion turtle is essentially a God. Every avatar before Aang chose death where Aang did not; the past avatars didn't need energy bending. The lion turtle knew this.
I mean to be fair, Ty Lee can do the exact same thing, it's just not as cool or permanent
That's how I interpreted it too, that the Lion Turtle felt the Avatar spirit being in such conflict and desperation for a way out of it and came to help. The previous Avatars were never in such a conflict of refusing to kill but having to, so he just let them do their thing and chilled.
I'm not one of the people who complains about the finale. But I think the alternative way it could have been done is to just have an earlier episode where it is suggested that spirits or whatever can take people's bending permanently, and then just not do anything with it until the finale. Don't have it be something that everyone in the show's universe would know about, and don't have it be a concept so prominent that viewers could easily guess it is going to be the solution, but something that viewers have at least seen hinted.
@@TheJadedJames That, and one or more direct references to lion-turtles, if not by people discussing them, then by having a few more instances of their image in obvious view somewhere.
I also think it made for a better watch rather than having something we know can happen, and its the way aang gets what he wants so thats how the show will end kind of ending
I haven't watched a single episode of this but now it's my favourite animated series ever
I've always loved ATLA so much, but this video just gave me an even deeper appreciation for it. Thank you so much for this!
As someone who generally considers herself a pacifist, I feel like the end of the show supports how I view the topic. I think pacifism isn't just about the choice to fight or not fight, kill or not kill, but a dedication to try to find a solution that doesn't involve fighting / killing. There's a distinction there, and the distinction is in your impact on the world. Pacifism that simply fails to fight allows for evil to continue. Pacifism that crumbles when pressed was hollow. But when someone works to find some solution previously unthought of in pursuit of that goal, that is what is extremely laudable.
Will that always work? Of course not. Sometimes, the harm being done in the world is too urgent to find what solution there may be. It may be possible that sometimes, these solutions don't exist. Sometimes you fail, and have to fight. But to me pacifism is more about a dedication to finding another way. Even if you are forced to fight, you keep searching.
In that regard, it's actually extremely important that the Lion-Turtle only appeared so late. If it had appeared earlier in the story, it would have been worse. Because the best thing Aang did was to keep searching for that path, even with everyone he knew telling him otherwise, even with the final deadline approaching so soon.
I like how it is the Air Nomads who are pacifists, because airbending is described as being based on lateral thought, finding new angles, finding new solutions. Their culture, their pacifism, and their abilities tie in together very well.
I love and agree with everything in this comment. Not much to add, other than that.
this should be pinned!
This was beautiful and well articulated.
@@leilanidru7506 Awww thanks, that's very sweet of you.
Lovely perspective and thought. You're someone I would love to befriend.
When I first saw the last season of Avatar, I really got the vibe that it was about finding your own way to deal with things in life. Not just with Aang's conflict, but with everyone's. Everyone has different experiences, traumas, and conflicts, and there isn't necessarily one "right" way to deal with any of those things. And you might also change your mind about what is right for you. Aang gets a LOT of advice about how to master the Avatar state and defeat Ozai, and like you said the show never really frames any of the advice as "bad" even if it is sometimes conflicting with other things that were said. None of it is quite right for him, so in the end he's able to come up with another solution. But at the same time, he also couldn't have gotten there without all of that knowledge and advice.
Sometimes in life you have to take what you're given and carve your own path, and that is totally valid. And I think that's a pretty cool message for both kids and adults.
That sentiment also mirrors Zuko's arc. It was about redemption, not by following a "good" or "right" path prescribed by some authority, but by making your own path. Just like everything else in the universe, our perspectives and our lives are ours to live. What do you want to do? Why? How? If you're honest with that, goodness/righteousness will often be a natural side product.
Exactly, yes.
And all the "contradicting" advice that Aaang gets from old and wise people just shows us that even old and wise people are not in possession of the one truth.
You basically have to consider all of the advice and find balance between these different approaches.
@@johannageisel5390 As Iroh himself states (paraphrased), true wisdom comes from many different places.
@@christopherb501 Yes, exactly.
Guru Pathik wasn't wrong lol. Aang was supposed to let go of Katara but that plan was scrapped when they also decided against Zuko joining them in the Book 2 finale (so these two plot points must have had some connection to each other). Zuko also wasn't originally planned to Roku's great grandson until they made it up for Book 3, so they went from "Zuko is able to make his own choices in life regardless of his ancestry" to "Zuko can't decide between right or wrong because of his ancestry".
I love ATLA, even the convenient finale. But yeah, I've never understood why Zuko turned up his nose at Aang's glue idea--Zuko was with Aang when they encountered the sun warriors and their glue trap. I guess he forgot how effective it was at neutralizing even elite benders like himself and Aang.
Hmm, maybe it was less about the glue trap, and more about what he says next, "Then you can show him his baby pictures and all his happy memories will make him good again."
Maybe Zuko's point is more of, "Even if we capture him, then what? He's still an extremely powerful figure backed by an entire nation. Killing him is a message that signifies the end of the war."
If Ozai were captured, the Fire Nation military would only have to find a way to recover him to continue the war effort. By taking away his bending, Aang removes that option. The Fire Nation followed Ozai as an absolute power, but Aang's energy bending is an act that shows them that Ozai isn't an absolute power anymore, now he, the avatar, is. Which is why removing his bending works, but simply catching him in a trap wouldn't.
I don't know, it might be a bit of a stretch, but I think it at least makes a bit of sense.
@@SeeMyDolphin I think you’re spot on with this. I had the same thought
@@SeeMyDolphin I agree. As far as they know, Ozai may well be the most powerful bender who has ever lived, with only Aang possibly being able to even match him (and even that is close). He also would rather see the entire world burn than cede any power to anyone. Capturing Ozai would be extraordinarily difficult, harder than killing him, and it would unnecessarily endanger many lives, including Aang's. Even if you could pull it off, you would have no chance of changing who he is or guaranteeing that he never escapes.
Azula could be captured because (impressive and fucking scary as she is) she's simply not on Ozai's insane level of power and desire for destruction.
Tbh I thought Ty Lee's chi blocking and Guru Pathik talking about how spiritual energy was important to achieving the avatar state (big bending) was the setup for being able to take away somebodies bending by blocking their connection to spiritual energy. Stopping somebody from bending never felt like it came out of nowhere to me. They also talk earlier in the show about the Lion Turtles but that big ol guy did kinda literally come out of nowhere.
I think they could've had aang consider the possibility on screen a little more, have him mention her chi blocking to guru pathik, question if that could be done permanently and have his questioning dismissed before ultimately proving himself right in the climactic battle.
@@cptKamina I don't think it's that out of place especially when Aang is grasping for things. Maybe if they introduced it a little earlier too
@@cptKamina all the time
Ooh, good point! Subtle, but the precedent did exist.
i think if the order of the white lotus explained the energy bending instead of the lion turtle, it would have been better. all these old masters of all the different forms of bending, coming together to inform aang of this alternative way to violence. iroh could have been the lion turtle. the order of the white lotus would have a better payoff than, dudes who beat up random mooks at the end.
this would also have introduced something i really wanted: non-genetic bending. if aang could take away bending, the ending could have been him giving bending to people. that way he wouldn't have to worry about breeding a new race of air benders. would have ended the "last airbender" better if he wasn't the last by the end of it.
Another thing. When Aang lets go of Katara to enter the avatar state he gets nearly murdered almost immediately. Also that choice doesn’t seem to have any long term impact to his relationship with her. He certainly isn’t detached from her by the end of the show.
Not only does he almost die, but it's Katara that saves him. If he didn't have her he'd be dead. In retrospect that's a pretty strong indicator that "cut yourself off from the people you love" was a bad idea all in all
@@sleepinbelle9627 I agree but, to be fair, if he had gotten rid of his attachments earlier, they probably would have won that fight before a point where his life needed to be saved.
@@BlueBasherStudios Maybe, though it's made clear that Azula's plan was to hit him in the avatar state, so she might've been prepared for it
@@sleepinbelle9627 I wonder if the avatar state can be used whist Lightning bending or lightning redirection, if so, then that’s pretty darn cool, but it is risky business
@@sleepinbelle9627 Well NOW I have to point out she only managed to make the lightning strike while he was going through the process of being able to attain the Avatar State at will.
I would think already being able to enter it at will would afford less of an opportunity.
I have a headcanon to cope with this. Stay with me now. Energy bending isn't a new form of bending. Rather it's a pure form of all 4 elements together that Aang was already capable of. The lionturtle just helped him figure that out rather than grand him this power. I think this because
1. the visual resemblance of the beacon at the end of the Ozai fight, the beacon when Aang went to the Avatar state at the end of book 2 and the beacon when Aang got out of the iceberg.
2. It adds up with what guru Pathik said about everything is connected (the energy bending being a representation of the whole that is the 4 elements).
3. It would explain how Aang found Katara and Sokka in the swamp by finding their Energy (kinda like seismic sense but for energy).
4. I just want the ending to make sense 😭
I think that the rock giving Aang his avatar state back is actually a good piece of symbolism. We've already seen Aang master the avatar state by giving up Katara, so he isn't getting a new power. He's rediscovering an old one. The thing that lets him reconnect with that power he had already worked and sacrificed to earn? Ozai's own excess. Ozai had been shown the entire time to be wasteful, sadistic, and excessive with his power and here he gives Aang the tools of his own destruction through that very same overindulgence. That is very satisfyingly poetic.
In addition, the avatar has been shown repeatedly to need a connection with this material world. They cannot achieve true enlightenment because they must remain connected to this world in order to serve as a bridge between it and the spirit world. You point out yourself that the idea of him separating himself from the material is inherently conflicted with his duty as the avatar. So what is it in the end that grants him the avatar state? A literal connection with the earth.
I don't think it matters how poetic something is if it feels very contrived, coincidental and undeserved. He did nothing to gain back that power even if he gained it before, also even if you say it's Ozai's overindulgence that caused this directly, honestly not really imo. He's trying to kill the avatar, of course he should go all out. It's not like he was gloating in the moment about it, he's not going overboard in the context of his own goals in the current moment, to defeat the avatar. And if they were trying to go for a literal connection with the earth metaphor, I think that sounds like a joke, like that makes it even worse if that was the purpose.
@@plipplop1769 theres no way i could in good faith use terms like "gaining back power" to describe that scene, and i dont think you should either. when you say things like that in literature, when you describe a moment in a story as a character " gaining a power", it has to be... yknow... good for them and their goals? which this definitely was not??? in the avatar state he nearly kills ozai easily in like three different occasions, the one thing he wants to absolutely not do. of COURSE he didnt "do anything" to become "worthy" of the avatar state there, HE DIDNT WANT IT. only by the most strenious association was going into the avatar state there helpful to aang and aang's character because in the end, sure, it technically ends up helping him restrict ozai. but thats _IT._ otherwise it was a complete bust for aang, so why would you ever observe it as if the ability to go avatar state is like some kind of fighting game super that aang needs to personally build character points for for you to accept that he does it? it's a complex moral situation happening at a rapid pace during a fight to the death, it fits perfectly.
@@lapotato9140 uhhh, what? The power that Aang recieved is very obviously beneficial to him, he is able to take away other's bending. This removes the need for him to continue pondering over the moral dilemma presented to him, if he should kill Ozai or not.
@@plipplop1769 wow, the rock hitting him in the back that triggered the avatar state is what lets him control other people's ability to bend? that's sooo crazy!
@@lapotato9140 oh nvm lmao I was confused, didn't watch this shiz in ages. Ignore my previous comment lmaoo. But anyways I do feel it is a bit contrived still, it's a sudden boost of power that allowed Aang to secure this victory, without prior thought, planning, and effort on Aang's part. It just pales in comparison to what feels like what was all built up beforehand. And it is still a gain of power, even if you say that Aang didn't want it, it is for the benefit of him and his side, it allows him to secure and win the fight against Ozai. If ur gonna harp on about the phrase "gaining a power" then you should say that to the original commenter as well, since they mentioned "power" as well.
like the rest of us, Big Joel has rewatched ATLA during quarantine
I just watched it for the first time last week.
"I am the Phenix king! ... cuckah!"
I don't know why but I found that particularly hilarious.
Same!
Same lol
Phoenix Person
One of the most interesting and well articulated avatar video essays ive ever seen, about a topic that I thought was already conversed to death. Excellent vid :)
Every video by Joel never seeks to astound me. I can honestly say that you are an inspiration and an impressive force of valuation for our modern conundrum, and it honestly helps me get through the day. Keep the great stuff coming!
"Two old people telling Aang how to do his shit... One says to do X and one says to do not X." Too relatable 🤣
I always interpreted the rock thing as triggering his trauma from getting shot by Azula and that jolts him into the Avatar state. And there's nothing to say that he's in control of the avatar state in that scene either.
I think it’s symbolic of how you have to be attached to Earthly things to make a difference in the world. (I mean, it’s literally Earth he bumps into.)
I mean that is quite literally what happens, but it's still coincidentally convenient
Thanks for that wonderful video and for those well thought, compelling and coherent views. I agree with everything you say. Also, you give me more perspectives into this masterpiece of a show and into the problem of power. Thanks for that!
I love that the show seems to be showing (no pun intended) that there's not such thing as "The Wisdom", with capital letters, but multiples ways to view, understand, face and tackle this thing we call 'life'; there are various wisdoms, each one having there own worldviews, assumptions, beliefs, scales of values, preferences, ways of discriminating contexts, views on power, and criteria for choosing what's preferable over something else.
I see the advice Iroh gave to Aang as telling us the values Iroh have: before any role you could be assign (by yourself or by others), you are a human being, and you deserve to take care of your inner world as well; the World is important, but so is your personal world. It seems almost a way to balance the advice given by Patik, and to give Aang more point to consider to allow him to get to his own view and decisions.
Kind regards from Chile!
I always read the "rock" as a trauma response of sorts.
Aang *isn't* in control in that moment, nor the following ones. Maybe he *lets* it take control as he fears for his life, accepting and wielding power out of fear. He is dominated by the avatar state up until the moment he forms a javelin of four elements and almost skewers Ozai with it.
I don't think there would have been that "fake out" if Aang was totally in control of that moment.
I think there is more to say about Ozai’s fire bending powers. They are not just a metaphor for his political powers, they are a reflection of the hierarchy he has created. Ozai believes the most violent and powerful person should be in control. Taking away Ozai’s fire bending doesn’t only pacify him it also destroys his philosophy and the world he wanted to create.
I’ve always loved the ending. I interpreted it as autonomy. To put it simply, the grown ups aren’t always right, and that was really important to me as a kid. It told me to think for myself, to think critically, to listen to the advise of people who probably know better but not take it at face value. I think that idea works pretty well with this really wonderful and touching analysis, and Id go as far as to say that those perspectives make each other better. The relationship of power and autonomy is fascinating and I think crucial to both, so they play really nicely together. Basically, thank you for making my single favorite piece of media that much better with the power of theeeems
I’ve never interpreted Guru Pathik’s advice as being an either-or choice, but rather about accepting the powerlessness that one has over the outside world. Aang doesn’t have to forsake Katara, cut her from his life, and renounce his ideological values to achieve control over the avatar state, but he does have to be open and able to accept the loss of those things should they occur. I’ve always interpreted it less about absolute physical detachment and more about reckoning with the limits of our ability to control the outcomes of our reality.
"The rock" doesn't invalidate guru pathik, when aang was shot with lightning his ability to access the avatar state was taken away and the rock brought it back. He already had mastered the avatar state when he let go of katara in the end of book two. Had it not been for pathik he wouldn't be able to enter the state at will
I don't remember exactly how it's explained in the show, but it seems like the avatar state is the combination of all of your past lives. I think it would make sense if detachment is the way you allow them to take over at will. You still don't control the state, you surrender control to your past lives whenever you need a power boost.
In the finale, Aang found a way to not only go into the avatar state at will, but also not relinquish control by staying true to his "humanity."
To clarify, I don't think this is how it was planned to work in the show, but I don't think the concept is disproven either since Aang doesn't get a chance to use the avatar state again after mastering it in season 2. It doesn't seem like he has to relearn the detachment that allowed him to go into the state in book 2, yet he doesn't have control in the finale until the end. This might be an explanation of that.
"And that's why the end of avatar is genius. My name is giant Joel, have an enormous day"
it's bigger than that, kyle, it's large
"Guinea pigs, important little men, essential in these trying times." Avatar analysis was great, but this hot take was just right. Love the patreon Q&As.
I love this video essay so much. I even come back to watch it every once in a while because it is so enjoyable.
Though Aang is presented with a clear choice between kill and not kill, he struggles with it until he finds a third way. That's a recurring theme in ATLA: Aang and his friends consistently finding ways to be resourceful and work around their problems to find their solution. Time and time again, when they try the planned, prepared way, 'making the choice' as presented to them, they are shown to fail. When things are going according to plan, suddenly they're not. When they are forced to find another way, a better way, that's when they succeed.
The rock is also symbolic: if not for Ozai's furious onslaught, Aang doesn't hit that rock and doesn't unlock his avatar state. Ozai has sown the seeds of his own defeat. In that desperate moment when Aang is backed up against the wall, he's blasted with fire and we see his clothing peeling away, burnt to cinders. This is also symbolic: he loses his 'self' and becomes what he needs to become in order to defeat Ozai.
I think the Lion Turtle Energy Bending coming out of nowhere actually fits the themes of the show perfectly. Aang and the audience are told that the Avatar state and inhumanity are the only solution, but it turns out that there was an alternative and really easy solution that no one even considered because they had convinced themselves that the power = inhumanity thing was how the world worked.
True. Also Avatar is not meant to be a show like (early) GoT or Breaking Bad. At it's core it's a fantasy story for kids. The ending fits that perfectly.
Plus there was the whole arc in season 2 with the Chakra Guru, which doesn't really explain the Lion Turtle, but does give us the ideas of the Chakras and how they interact with bending. So there IS some setup there, its just not very explicit
As much as a show should stand on its own 2 feet. I find the repercussions of this lion turtle really interesting considering LoK’s use of lion turtles. It’s almost like energy is this fifth element that the original avatar never collected
Theme wise its great but like.. Random Deus Ex Tortuga..
So, canonically speaking, Ozai actually IS the strongest fire bender in the world. By this point in Fire Nation history, the family of the Fire lord is a personality cult of power. And the show reinforces this by demonstrating that even Ozai’s teenage children are significantly stronger than fully grown, high-ranking military figures (Zuko beats Lt (and soon to be Admiral) Zhou in the third episode!)
Lol I mean yeah I get that!
I don't think that really was his point. In real life, rulers are never the strongest, smartest or bestest at anything, they're just the people with the most authority. His firebending power is just a narrative representation of his authoritative power. He has the most power in the fire nation = he has the most fire power.
Yes but one doesn’t become the fire lord by being the greatest fire bender. You can’t go up to ozai and challenge him to an Agni Kai and if you win you’re fire lord. He firelord because of his lineage, so he’s still firelord if he loses the bending. That’s what the vid was getting at
I understand the "dog eat dog" thing, but also maybe the cause and effect are actually switched.
As in, maybe the "magic" of fire bending is drawn towards people in power, so the more powerful someone is in a firebending society, the more powerful their abilities will naturally become. IDK if this theory is canon at all but I think it'd be a neat way to explain how Ozai and his family are so powerful. Though I guess it falls apart considering that Zuko's powers weren't drastically reduced when he was exiled.
On the point of "firebending prowess = authority", I'd argue it works the other way around. Members of the nobility have more leisure time (while Iroh was off winning his father's war, Ozai was in the imperial palace training his bending), which means that instead of having to work for a living, they can hone their bending techniques.
Bro I found your channel yesterday but you’re already one of my favorite channels. Awesome stuff dude.
I will never in my life pass up the chance to watch a solid Avatar video essay. Great work!
Everyone: kill Ozai
Aang: no
*Ozai accidentally unlocks Aang’s avatar state*
Kyoshi: _now we do things my way!_
Aang: No
Ozai: Makes Aang bite the dust.
Kyoshi: Ok, my turn
Aang:"No"
Kyoshi:"Can we turn back time? This ending sucks."
The energy bending always just kinda made sense to me when I watched it because the show does introduce and emphasize the concept of energy and how it flows through everything so the idea of being able to bend that energy just kinda made sense as a final blow. Idk if thats just me
exactly!
Also you touch 2 important chakras when u do it, one which is the one Combustion man had his tattoo over which allowed him to focus his energy into his combustion bending. So like 😃
Here is my long, unnecessary, but also very inspired and loving critique of just the final moments of your video.
I agree with nearly everything you say. However, The rock stabbing Aang in the back is not a meaningless or half-assed plot device.
The rock, imo, actually perfectly completes the narratives you lay out of dehumanizing power and the greatness of Aang. Aang was shocked (literally images of lighting) into the avatar state when he hit the rock. He did not choose or embrace this power. Rather, as Aang was faced with death, the power of the avatar spirit was forced upon him.
The rock was chance yes, but it represents a near death moment which undoubtedly would have happened eventually. Aang could never keep running from Ozai and eventually he would be faced with death. In that moment, in complete disregard to the feelings of Aang, the avatar spirit and all of its power would come bursting out to save Aang and, much more importantly, save itself. The avatar state had been shown again and again to be something within but also independent from Aang. A wild, primal, and unbelievable power which happens to reside in this child’s body. So it is not a stretch nor surprise that it would overpower Aang in an act of self preservation.
Because of this, you are wrong in stating that Aang is in control of the avatar state during the final battle. During the battle’s finale, it is the avatar spirit itself which pursues down Ozai, not Aang. This is proven when, as it prepares the killing blow in the final moments of the bout, it speaks to Ozai in a booming voice which combines all past avatars. It is the avatar spirit which speaks to Ozai here, not Aang.
Aang is not in control up until the VERY last moment, when the final strike falls apart and splashes onto Ozai. Aang gains control of the avatar state and calms himself as he peacefully sets himself to the ground. Aang, for the first time in the entire show, overcomes the avatar state, rather than it overcoming him.
This moment, in combination with the lion turtle and the rock, is PERFECT. Because in that moment, the climax of the show, Aang overcomes his greatest enemy. Not Ozai, but rather the overwhelming burden and dehumazing power of the avatar state. And he did it while the avatar state was at the height of its power. In a way, he became “incorruptible” of something inherently within him. He conquered his internal adversary which pulled him apart and made him turn away from himself during the entire show. The show did not end with him turning to the avatar state and its power, but rather turning away from it and controlling it. In a way, another kind of conflict was defeated here. Aang conquered the divide between who he was expected to be and who he wanted to be, a theme for most characters throughout the show.
This all is in perfect alignment with the narrative you set up in this video. The finale of Avatar is perfect, as what prevails is not the necessity of power despite its inhumanity, but rather the authenticity and unrelenting goodness of our hero. Aang’s pure-hearted willpower won against the show’s theme of power’s ability to destroy and dehumanize.
Thank you for such an interesting, well made, and thought-provoking video!! I saw my all-time favorite show in new ways today :).
I really enjoyed your analysis; As a kid I didn't put much thought into the ending and its themes - I was just invested in the characters. But I really like this perspective, and the connections in previous scenes on the nature of power, and what Aang's destiny is.
My jaw dropped watching the depth of zuko's character and iroh's wisdom when I rewatched the show last year.
I love the way you handle all of your topics, so you covering this show that is so dear to me and I know inside out is really amazing
There is something about the ending that I just thought of. The way, that the Guru told Aang, was only one of several ways to master the Avatar-State. Like in that episode, when Aang and Zuko found out, that you can do fire-bending with love and compassion, instead of anger and agression. Basically the Avatar-state is a hive mind. All the former Avatars are involved and they were all indivduals with different values. Disattaching himself from himself would have placed Aang outside that whirl of oppinions, since he wouldn't really have had any anymore.
On the other hand, rejecting the Avatar-state distensed him from the former Avatars, making him not the Avatar anymore, but just a guy with several superpowers. When he regained access to it through accident, it was just another power to wield, without all the commitment, thus allowing him to wield it, instead to be wielded by it.
what an amazing video, never appreciated it until watching it a second time, but now im enthralled
Irohs advice makes a lot of sense in context, as hes also been broken by power and actively tries to escape from his responsibilities and live a quiet life since the loss of his son. It isnt until season 3 that he retrains himself and takes a more active role in the ongoing conflict.
I also disagree with the back rock thing. It was shown several times that when Aang is under great stress the Avatar state will take command of him, and thats what you are watching happening again there. It isnt until the Avatar state* is about to summarily execute the fire lord that Aang finally gains control of it. Shortly after the series shows what a true mastery of the Avatar state really is, as he glows for a moment to draw in the water and put out the fires.
Probably goes without saying that I dont think it makes the show worse to watch, I think it both makes sense and is incredibly cathartic without ultimately sacrificing who Aang is due to his gaining control of it at the last moment. I think without it, if Aang had just whipped away the power of the firelord it may have held the same lesson, but in an anticlimactic way thatd probably make you less receptive to it.
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*For want of a better way to describe it. Its voiced in choir like form and clearly speaks like the combined Avatars of the past, but not specifically Aang.
Correction. Aang was not in control of the avatar state after the rock. Remember, he was about to kill ozai (like LITERALLY about to. He had an attack coming at ozai) and then he left the avatar state. The rock just unblocked his chakras, which were closed after he abandoned his “opening chakras” process midway through
My reading was always that Aang had actually taken the spiritual steps laid out by Guru Patik during the fight with Azula and Zuko when he sealed himself in the crystal. He made contact with the huge spiritual energy version of himself and activated the avatar state then and there. the problem was that since Azula fatally injured him then, his connection to the chakra in his back was locked in scar tissue and the emotional trauma of the wound. while the rock perfectly hitting his back during vs Ozai was definitely a plot contrivance, I don't know that it actually invalidates Guru Patik's teachings.
That said I absolutely agree that this solution was the best one they could have chosen, lack of setup or no. It validates Aang's spiritual beliefs, and gives him the power to stop the person who represents the death of his people, all without compromising the philosophies that his people imparted on him.