ATLA Rewatch 2x10 & 2x11

I have no particular love for Wan Shi Tong (beyond the fact that we both like books and knowledge), but I do think he was right. He instinctually knew full well that Sokka was lying, but he *still* gave the group the benefit of the doubt by allowing them to explore his collection. They abused his generosity when his parameters were specifically set: do not use my knowledge to advance human war or there will be severe consequences. That was a very fair request considering the extensive and irreparable damage Zhaou did to the fire nation section. If I were WST and someone burned my precious library, I'd close the door to others too. It's his home, his sanctuary that someone decimated in "selfish" desire. Now, the reason I don't entirely side with the owl, in this case, is that he shouldn't have tried to kill the group. That's taking it too far, but it's also understandable considering the last human he let leave destroyed the moon spirit. Again, I don't condone what WST did, but I think that Aang and his group were extremely disrespectful, and they didn't even apologize when caught. They just justified their wrong-doing. This is also the episode where I truly began to like Toph. Though I don't think she'll ever be my favorite of the group, I do respect her character.

Soleil

I think the thing with Wan Shi Tong is the purity of him. He has a purpose and he is here to do it and in the process became disillusioned with humanity. He wanted to provide knowledge for humanity to better ourselves and we ,instead, used it against each other. I think the pull is the loss of that innocence if that makes sense. We've all been there and we can relate so we get attached.

Rachel Keys

well said, and i really appreciate the optimism. sometimes it's too easy to let the worst thoughts get the best of you. i too hope things find a way to work themselves out over time

joe martin

Yeah I feel like I have a much better appreciation for that this time around. Appa is Aang's oldest companion, as you said. And he's also part of the group, makes their whole journey possible, has saved them countless times... I'd be just as upset if something happened to my pets and they're not anywhere near as intelligent or helpful as Appa (as far as I know lol)

Alex G

Definitely, and what makes it extra cool for me is that it all feels connected. She's the one who worries about the group the most it seems and wants to take care of them, and we see the full range of that.

Alex G

"Appa's Day Off" omg yes just him chillin for the day! Relaxin away from the Gaang. 😭 There is no animal abuse in Ba Sing Se, here you are safe, here you are free.

Kotryna

Haha, more similar looking to that one, but it looks like that bar they go in is the same one in Korra that is run by that guy that says Aiwei was right about his drinks being terrible

SS

I guess sometimes it can be hard for viewers to think of things in multiple dimensions as they might in life. Aang's pain is understandable so it's hard for me to judge his behavior, but also his behavior is not ideal and probably not at all connected to who he would like to be. As I've said a bunch, I'm grateful that the characters are real people because that makes their heroic moments all the more so. But maybe there are people who would prefer constant perfection.

Alex G

Yeah that's a problem with anything meant to bind people together in common cause without there necessarily being a face to face encounter with others who have agreed to it. If there isn't that personal reward aspect then what's the actual point. And there can be a personal reward but unless you grew up believing in such a thing those rewards don't always seem to make sense. The rewards and reasons for following the ideology would have to be very self evident or at least very easy to understand when its explained to you the first time. It's an interesting thought how do you basically make a religion without it coming off as a cult / scam or something nonsensical

Cody Taylor

It does seem like politics is now a faith system in many ways. I do think that a common mistake I see is conflating political or policy ideas with values or ideas of goodness. The internet has been kind of disappointing in that way lol. I remember being so optimistic about the potential of the internet for information and new ideas. It hasn't played out that way exactly but I'm still optimistic, long-term. There's a sort of pendulum that always exists moving between extremes, and so my hope is that this is just something that we HAVE to go through to get it out of the way.

Alex G

Nice! Is that where Korra does the "Water Tribe" hand gesture too? Can't remember

Alex G

That's true, they both are over-reactionary to bad experiences they've had. What hurts me about WST (and this is 100% my own mental fanfic), he at one time was just this trusting, slightly naive, but beautiful man-owl just chilling in his library enjoying knowledge, until he opened his world to the wrong people and got burned. :(

Alex G

Lol that's the exact feeling I have after so many of these episodes

Alex G

Thank you both :D That makes me really happy to hear. As for recommendations, feel free to make them anytime, anywhere, including in a message. I used to keep a spreadsheet of recs but now that has become more of a mental list. I will also make a poll soon to decide the next show, and I will either ask for recommendations first or host it on a site that allows write-in options since Patreon does not support that feature, unfortunately.

Alex G

I like the non-aggression principle. Whatever the values might be, I think they'd have to be more than codes as just concepts. It would have to be some kind of faith system that is easy to connect to on a personal level, in a way in which adhering to it is it's own personal reward and incentive. That's a huge challenge though because that would have to be a personal journey.

Alex G

That's true, by the end of the episode the singing prairie dogs scene feels like a different lifetime. I'm sure there are a handful of groups like the White Lotus, but hard to imagine them being as cool without Iroh, Jeong Jeong, and the crew. I probably would not have made the connection that it was Appa that destroyed the boat if you hadn't pointed it out. Something to look out for when we get to "Appa's Day Off."

Alex G

Nice!

Alex G

Technically is Admiral Zhao. He was sucked into the spirit world by the ocean spirit as we see in Korra. Even then, there’s plenty of people in the fog of lost souls so who knows who first did it. And yes Yun did that in the Kyoshi books (:

Alec Campo

Something I really love about what the desert starts is how important Appa is, specifically to Aang. When I first watched the show I remember thinking of him as a pet, and their method of travel, it’s hard to see him on equal level the human characters. But he’s a lot more than that, later episodes have an air nomad describe bison as “companion for life” and that’s really what appa is to aang, we see they met each other at really young ages, he’s literally Aangs oldest companion, someone he’s probably never been far from for any extended period of time. It makes so much more sense to see him lose all sense and rational when Appa is stolen

Kollie123

I think there's this subtle nuance of emotional maturity that I find really interesting for Katara's character - we have for example her emotional bluntness/anger when Toph wasn't helping unload the luggage lol, but at the same time, we have this emotional reservedness/compartmentalisation that helped manage the situation when they were stuck in the desert. It's all situational in real life, of-course, but a nice touch in this instance, and goes to show that she's not always emotional/rash/impulsive but has the great capacity for reserve where it can help.

Yeah seriously, I'm a massive fan of react content everywhere and so I indulge in a lot of the trash loweffort reaction stuff on Youtube and its makes my blood boil seeing these fools get 100k plus views for pretending to be shocked and saying surface level synopsis of episodes after they are over pretending to give insight or opinion. Goodwin's reactions are of the highest quality in actual intelligence and mental effort put into understanding and enjoying the show.

benj

You are spitting facts my friend. If you have to use force/violence to enact your plan on how to benefit society/other people it probably isn't a good idea in the first place. Through voluntary participation in the economy and the protection of private property rights, our world can still move forward even without any universal set of values.

benj

I feel the owl would have taken care of the professor because he proved he entered the library for the correct reason. It would be interesting for the owl too to have discussions with professor.

PS

Katara is 100% the MVP of The Desert, and it's one of my favorites because of it. Katara's one of my favorite characters, so getting to see her shine, and seeing her greatest strength be brought out is nice. Aang's pain throughout the episode will never not hurt me though. I've seen people judge him for it, surprisingly those people exist. Then again there's people that call the 12 year old that just wants to be himself annoying so. One thing I do love about The Desert is Toph's face when Aang goes into the Avatar State. She can't see him or what it looks like so all she can do is hear what was her friend suddenly speaking with the voice of multiple people, in that tone. It must be absolutely terrifying.

WolfWarrior623

definitely agree with your thoughts on the principles being what binds the white lotus and how humanity now is sort of in a search for something to fill that growing void. unfortunately politics seems to be the front runner -- and i say "unfortunately" while being someone with a BA in political science. even though it's my passion i honestly feel it's an overall unhealthy substitute for something like religion, especially in the context of being a uniter (although religion has historically had political aspects intertwined with it). whatever it may end up being, i hope humanity finds its way. you'd think social media presents such a prime opportunity for camaraderie, but i feel like in the grand scheme of things (especially politically) it is moreso divisive, providing a route toward confirmation bias and detached echo chambers. of course that's not all there is to it, but i find myself sort of becoming a misanthrope when i think of humanity at large lol. welp that's the end of my 2:30am half-asleep spiel about my concerns regarding humanity's future. who would have thought a 'kids show' could invoke such thoughts😂 anyway i love reliving all the shows you're watching through these reactions, thanks for giving me something to look forward to watching pretty much everyday!

joe martin

Just realized that the Misty Palms Oasis is where The Stakeout episode in Korra takes place. That’s awesome :)

SS

Following your comment about Wan Shi Tong being naive, I think that’s what creates this whole mess in the first place. He’s so eager to just *know* things that he never learned how to think critically (which is how he was so easily fooled about little men in radios!). He’s quick to paint all humans as power-hungry and selfish, and doesn’t have the capacity to consider that Aang’s motivations for defeating the fire lord are in fact selfless, and will, in the long run, save countless lives. It’s the same kind of short-sightedness that Jeong Jeong has, I’ve just realised! He’s so fixated on the damage fire can do that he’s not capable of seeing how productive it can be. Maybe that’s why you like our owl friend so much, because he reminds you of our grumpy fire bender friend!

Jamie Morgan

The professor shouldn't have died. Maybe he used the knowledge in the library to live as a spirit in the spirit world. Wan's eternal friend. But nooooooooo...they killed him and made Wan Unalaq's bitch!

Yusuf

It never gets easier watching appa get captured

hasogon

How does this show manage to fit so much into 23ish minutes while spending a full minute on things like singing prairie dogs

Soren Monroe

Man, I just love these videos so much. There's so much food for thought in these that I wish I could just be in this state of pondering these things and watching these videos forever. I think you're the best reactor I've ever seen on any online platform, and you do so much more than the lazy, surface level content that's put out by many others. You have my thanks, for letting me eat the fruit of Goodwin reactions and taste its mysteries. (This has just reminded me of the apple of eden reference you made in your initial reaction to the library. Maybe something there to look at too) Continue doing what you're doing, and I'll see you for the next one. Also, I'd like to make some recommendations for shows I think you'd really enjoy but I'm not sure where a good place would be for that sort of thing. Let me know if there is!

A Suresh

To your point about our generation or society lacking in a universe set of values is so accurate. And i feel like it has only really started to feel that way in the last ten years or so i mean im not the oldest guy but i feel like when i was in high school society at least has something that held it together? Or at least it felt that way but now it days it feels like all those things were just smoke and mirrors all illusions and everyone is starting to see that now and as great as that is it also leaves a void that lots of people can get lots in their is no guide star anymore nobody knows what direction they should head. It would be really amazing if as a great society of people connected by the internet that we should agree on a set of fundamental virtues or principles of how we should interact with each other. Ive mentioned it before but i have been really diving into libertarian/anarchist thought processes and world views and one thing i think that's really great and pretty obvious is the idea of the non-aggression principle. Any hope for an anarchist ideal must be built on the idea that under no circumstances is aggression towards others a viable or justifiable plan of action and that i think is a really great idea to form and ideology around its not just hey let's try this but its self aware enough to understand it won't work unless everyone can agree to this one principle from which everything else can be built on.

Cody Taylor

Wow great catch

Kotryna

The Library starts lighthearted and ends somber. This is what makes the outcome of the Battle of Black Sun so incredibly disappointing. They risked so much and for nothing. They lost Appa, they trekked the desert, they took the Serpent's pass, they dealt with all that Ba Sing Se bs, Aang DIED??? Only for them to lose the battle and have their families separated because Azula already knew for months. Loose lips sink ships, King Kuei. Damn. Good for the story though. That's interesting that you were thinking about the White Lotus so much. I wonder if such a thing you're describing already exists and we regular folks just don't know about it. But no the buzzard wasp was a straight kill I'm pretty sure. And he didn't even need to do that, Momo was already rescued and the thing was flying away. Boat ex machina except it turns out it was buried under the sand because Appa whacked it there.

Kotryna

Did anyone peep the phoenix statue at 14:14? Literally the dragon bird spirit that saves Korra in season 2. Not sure that I have ever noticed it.

TJ Frangie

That's fitting since it was largely her willpower that started the adventure in the first place

Alex G

Or writing on whiteboards

hays collins

The Library and The Desert episode pairing is one of my favorite episode pairings in any show. They have some of the best character work. Every character gets thrown into difficult situations that undermine their strengths, everyone except for Katara that is. Her strength is only highlighted as it's her pure willpower that keeps the show from ending a season and half early with the tragic deaths of the entirety of Team Avatar lol

Alex Begley

Something I think is easy to miss in the show is how close Katara and Momo get. Seems like he hangs around with her the most in the show, especially when they split up. In a way it's kind of like a part of Aang is always with her if you wanted to think of it in that route. I think the picture of them as adults in Korra also has Momo hanging on Katara's shoudler

Alex Begley

The pairing of Aang and Sokka never ceases to create some of the best moments of comedy in the show. When those two are left alone it feels like two childhood friends just goofing around with no concern for anything haha

Alex Begley

LEFTIES UNITE LETS GO! And bro...don't even get me started on writing in Notebooks with rings for school or scissors.

benj

You make a good case

Alex G

I would have explained to Wan Shi Tong that the fire nation killed one of the spirits in the North Pole using knowledge from your own library. They are a danger to the spirits as well and this must be stopped. Wan is in part responsible! Plus if the fire nation are not stopped they will abuse your knowledge far more than ever before!

Yusuf

YES!!!!

hays collins

We can form a club where we complain about scissors and can openers :D

Alex G

Oh yeah! Totally forgot about that

Alex G

YES LEFTIES UNITE!!!!

hays collins

This rewatch has given me a new appreciation for her character, and a lot of that was from watching the first few episodes again and realizing what a big leap it was for her and the risks she took leaving home... she basically has made all this possible from the beginning.

Alex G

Yeah but that didn’t help Katara in the least bit haha.

hays collins

Yep when Jinora led Korra into the spirit world Jinora went to the library and wan shi tong contacted Unalaq and said “Unalaq is a friend of spirits”...I know this show like the back of my hand haha

hays collins

I love you love of Katara. I hate the hate she gets. She’s my fav charecter. The left her entire life to help Aang and along the way she grew into a very powerful and wonderful charecter.

hays collins

Plus it’s tophs first time expericing Aangs full power and you can she she’s terrified

hays collins

Was he a part of that? I forgot. That would be disappointing to me as a huge Wan Shi Tong fan.

Alex G

To me the cactus juice was pretty smart. It was the quenchiest, and he managed to turn one of the worst situations into one of the best (with help from Katara of course).

Alex G

That scene where aang goes into the avatar state and Katara calms him down is the best scene in the entire show. It’s just so beautiful especially if you love Kataang. I have no words

hays collins

Now that I watched the Desert episode I stand by my statement even more. Sokka just randomly drinking cactus juice then eating cave wax haha

hays collins

Yeah but then the Wan Shi Tong joined Unalaq and almost got Jinora Kille so he’s a dick

hays collins

Is Professor Zhang technically the first person to enter the spirit world as a person instead as a spirit after Wan. Or didn’t Yun do that in the second Kyoshi book. I forgot

hays collins

Yeah its a common theme that Sokka is scientifically intelligent or kinda book smart in a way but dumb as rocks when it comes to everything else. Although he randomly becomes a rhyming genius when he needs to impress ladies so anything's on the cards for him and his brain I guess.

benj

You know Sokka is very smart but I feel his common sense is lacking. You know when Aang and Sokka get together they are the biggest idiots in the world haha

hays collins

There are many moments in this show that have made me tear up or cry, but the only two that get me every single time are the ending of The Desert and The Tale of Iroh. Goodbye Appa :(

benj