ATLA Rewatch 2x12 & 2x13
Added 2021-02-28 03:27:23 +0000 UTCTimestamps:
00:00 - ATLA 2x12 Reaction
27:46 - ATLA 2x12 Summary
30:00 - ATLA 2x13 Reaction (a note: I did not have much to say for this one, except that it's awesome)
54:01 - Reacting to my reaction
Comments
Every other TV show I've ever seen: We want our Baby's name to be special and unique, let's name it Hope! In all seriousness, I get that it's thematically relevant, and when I first saw this, it was legit the first time I came across this trope(?), but I've seen it done so many times now that it's lost all meaning and I'm just hoping for literally any other name whenever a Baby gets born on a show, sigh. But man, I love "The Drill", probably my favorite episode of season 2. Something about it just speaks to me, idk. Also, I just noticed, but Team Azula and the Gaang don't really cross paths that often, compared to Zuko in the last season, I guess catching the Avatar isn't her first priority after all?
kingafreund
2021-09-28 00:35:46 +0000 UTCGirls get it done in ep 14!
Dorney_Sunraint
2021-03-11 02:26:26 +0000 UTCwatching you cringe at the reactions being so close to your current reactions was soo so funny. probably one of my favorite parts of your re-watch.
Nick Deano
2021-03-01 23:50:55 +0000 UTC@Yusuf People also dislike how Katara falls for him so quickly in the Jet episode but that has nothing to do with Jet being an annoying or shitty character like a loud minority of people say, he's just a chad.
benj
2021-03-01 20:17:17 +0000 UTCYes, so the drill episode was not a 'don't need to watch episode'. It was basically an analogy to Ba Sing Sei itself.
Yusuf
2021-03-01 05:07:35 +0000 UTCI don't know why people disliked Jet. His reaction to the fire nation's brutality, although not a healthy way of dealing with trauma, would have been a very common reaction. His character has that realism to him. It is the lack of screen time that makes him underrated imo.
Yusuf
2021-03-01 05:06:28 +0000 UTCIf Iroh didn't believe in 5th chances, he wouldn't have stuck by Zuko as long as he did.
Aidan Pullen
2021-03-01 05:05:27 +0000 UTCExtremely conformist and rigid systems are always hanging by a thread because they don't give enough space for innovation and change.
Yusuf
2021-03-01 05:01:11 +0000 UTCI love Aang's nodding approval seeing people dressed up like him @ 05:15. It's funny though how Ba Sing Se is all about order & authority and then one day very quickly falls into a free-for-all chaos & anarchy via Zaheer. Meanwhile we have people like that ticket lady who's concerned that giving out tickets is the end of civilization. Katara knew what Aang needed during his grieving and didn't push emotion or anything because she'd been through it herself. Trying to imagine how someone feels is one thing, but truly knowing that feeling is another. Empathy is much more relevant (for lack of a better word?) when you've experienced the same situation.
Kotryna
2021-03-01 04:08:25 +0000 UTCLove seeing other people agree that the Serpents Pass is a Top Tier episode. I've always thought it was the most under rated in the whole show, definitely in my top 15 favorites. It gets better on every rewatch and has aged like fine wine since it released.
benj
2021-02-28 18:49:01 +0000 UTCYessss, Serpents Pass is SO under rated
benj
2021-02-28 18:47:50 +0000 UTCThe Drill really is an extremely well conceived action sequence and I think you struck on part of why it's so satisfying; it's paying off the setup of the Gaang getting to know each other over the first half of this season. It's a resounding triumph that strikes a direct contrast to pretty much everything that follows it in the season. I found that part about personal defenses and vulnerability struck a chord with me too, and that's not something I hear often based on the Passport Lady from The Serpent's Pass. This is the sort of stuff that really sets you aside for me, haha. Great reaction, and as always, see you for the next one! :)
A Suresh
2021-02-28 09:29:34 +0000 UTCAs Iroh says to Korra in the episode the Guide “sometimes to help yourself is to help someone else”(very rough translation/didn’t wanna look it up). Iroh has already gone through his spirtual journey. He met the dragons, began a leader in the white lotus, but never seemed to come to terms with his sons death. I always assumed when he said that line he did the same with Zuko. He helped his nephew to better himself. And kind of gained a new son out of Zuko. When he couldn’t help his son he helped Zuko.
hays collins
2021-02-28 07:28:39 +0000 UTCI think that's a good point. We rush to stereotype and label based off past experiences because we don't really have the time to figure out the complexities of every individual we see throughout the day, especially those we see for the short period of time we're getting something at a store or restaurant. Would just be a little better if there weren't so many negative leaning tendencies, I think
Alex Begley
2021-02-28 06:46:18 +0000 UTCSerpent's Pass is easily a top 5 episode for me. I'd love to know if they upgraded their art pipeline or animation tools at around this point, because the bending in Serpent's Pass & The Drill is especially fluid and detailed. As an example: at 49:05, Aang does a little hop into his stance before moving the bolder into place. It's a very small and inconsequential thing, but for some reason it's always stuck with me.
Snarfield
2021-02-28 06:41:32 +0000 UTCThat's a great point, it cuts both ways and is probably just a universal thing of extrapolating experiences too broadly. Everyone has baggage and thinking about the complexity of individuals is difficult when you deal with lots of people.
Alex G
2021-02-28 06:38:07 +0000 UTCThe reaction to Ty Lee is great all around. I love the fact that her cartwheeling away is the revealing detail for Katara. I'm surprised to hear that these episodes are not given credit for being great. I guess I also underestimated the Serpent's Pass episode but I'm not sure why after watching it again. And the Drill is just so much fun. Yes it's an action episode but it's also full of humor, great character moments, etc.
Alex G
2021-02-28 06:24:10 +0000 UTCDamn, that's scary but awesome lol
Alex G
2021-02-28 06:20:47 +0000 UTCThe more I see and think about Jet the more I like him. His story is tragic to me now. I can't help but see parallels between him and Zuko, even though my initial guesses into their relationship were wrong, and in that light he didn't get the heroic ending Zuko got (although I'll have to see his last episode again)
Alex G
2021-02-28 06:19:36 +0000 UTCEven Alex finds therapy and wisdom in listening to what he says haha Also have to appreciate how he can get himself to laugh at his own jokes haha To the point about order and rules, having worked in fast food for many years, I think that it goes both ways with workers and customers. Workers carry the baggage of past experiences with customers that have no attachment to their current customer but customers do the same. I would constantly get frustrated with customers for some things they did because to me it was common (Luckily I don't think I let it impact my interactions with customers too much. I just complained once they were gone haha). But on the flip side, so many customers would be short tempered or even not give us a chance and treat us terribly because of something some other fast food worker at some other fast food place did. I tried to be open minded and give customers some leeway and- connecting back to the ticket lady- I would hear out people requesting special treatment, mostly because I generally trust my intuition and emotional intelligence to allow me to gauge how genuine they were being. It also helps that I recognize even if I'm wrong, my intentions are at least good. I can't control what they do only what I do. It sounds stupid, but I think working fast food can be a great way of learning how humanity works in some ways. I think it really represents how people are quick to broadly assume things about people without ever giving an effort to really connect and let the person be who they are as an individual
Alex Begley
2021-02-28 06:12:23 +0000 UTCI love how the guy on the wall shouts "WE'RE DOOMED!" not when he sees the drill, but when he sees Ty Lee. She's terrifying. I think both these episodes are really underrated, there's more to say than most people give them credit for (as we see in Ember Island Players, when the audience yawns). I really like how Serpent's Pass highlights how both Sokka and Katara are burdened with all the expectations of adulthood. For Katara, she just finished carrying the whole team through the desert on her back and personally talking Aang down from going full-destruction. It'd be totally understandable if she needed a break, if she finally snapped, but here she still continues to showcase her full range of skills, from parting the sea, to ice surfing, to taking on a dragon head-on, to helping birth a child, all while knowing exactly what Aang needs to hear. And for Sokka, he still feels like he's coming off the exact kind of failure that he feared would let his dad down. I get the sense that he's looking for ways to prove himself, as a way to stress-test his own strength and prove to himself that he's not defined by what happened at the North Pole. Of course it's dumb since we know Suki is hyper-competent, but this episode is so poignant in how it literally places Yue between Sokka and his future. And I know The Drill gets a lot of crap for being all action, no meaning. But I think the most important thing it does is define exactly what kind of villain Azula is. Throughout the episode, we see her actively dodging every "incompetent cardoon villain" trope she can. She delegates work when it's appropriate, but she also doesn't hesitate for a second when it's go-time. Notably, she doesn't even make any remarks like, "Fine, I guess I'll do it myself." And all throughout her fight with Aang, note that she never brags, she never taunts him, she is 100% business. Aang is probably the first opponent Azula's ever had that's been a match for her, so she refuses to underestimate him. And in return, Aang never attempts any shenanigans like he did against Zuko and Zhao, he gives her the same respect right back. Also, I'm pretty sure it's been said, but Team Avatar's strategy against the drill is exactly what Azula does to Ba Sing Se. A lot of people give her flack for being "too perfect" as a villain, like she always knows everything. But Azula doesn't know all the answers, she simply knows the methods to find them. She didn't know who to target when she entered Ba Sing Se. But she knew she'd have to sneak in, identify the weak points, nudge them all into being unstable, and then... BOOM.
Rachel Espiritu
2021-02-28 06:01:52 +0000 UTCI find it kinda funny that Azula ends up stealing team Avatar’s idea by taking the drill down from the inside. It’s exactly what Azula does with Ba Sing Se. She hits the right pressure points, and brings the whole city down.
Alec Campo
2021-02-28 05:18:55 +0000 UTCI think it’s a good positive moment the team needed. Especially after the desert, and considering after this everything goes wrong. I think it makes sense narratively to show them working great as a team, while also giving the, a huge win and rising their morale. And like you said, later on this is the only reason the king believes a war is happening. It’s also meant to show how desperate the Fire Nation is to break into Ba Sing Se.
Alec Campo
2021-02-28 05:17:49 +0000 UTCTy Lee and Mai are defintely highlights for me. Sokka's the true ultimate chad. getting every female in this show never even having to try, it never fails to make me laugh. Its one of the things they obviously copy with Bolin for Korra where he gets all these hot chicks season after season and its equally as hilarious.
benj
2021-02-28 04:57:14 +0000 UTCNot what I meant 😅
hasogon
2021-02-28 04:54:20 +0000 UTCGlad to see katara having fun at the start
hasogon
2021-02-28 04:47:28 +0000 UTChad to pause and say this while watching, you’re analysis on Jet’s character is absolutely spot on and it is by far the best explanation of his character arc and the tragedy that is his life that I have heard. You could seriously make Video Essays exploring characters/themes in this show and have genuine original and insightful things to say about 16 years after it aired. Always believed Jet was an under rated character, gets hate cause he’s too cool imo.
benj
2021-02-28 04:37:53 +0000 UTCYeah I think that it is an action payoff after a lot of great character development. It's an awesome episode for sure. Very fast paced, everyone is useful, we get a more detailed glimpse at Ty Lee & Mai's relationship with Azula, Aang utilizing Toph's teachings, lots of humorous moments that don't break the action, etc.
Alex G
2021-02-28 04:31:12 +0000 UTClol there isn't much to say about the drill tbh. Great action, not much behind it. It just kinda happens and then everyone moves on forgetting it ever happened, only comes back for a minor part of The Earth king episode plot. I love the episode don't get me wrong but I think its very over rated just for its astounding action when other than that their isn't much going on, it honestly feels like a cool side OVA before they get to Ba Sing Se tbh.
benj
2021-02-28 03:59:01 +0000 UTC
