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edenfallingHappy discovery! Netflix has book 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender available for streaming play.
A few random observations on episodes 1-3 (The Boy in the Iceberg; The Avatar Returns; The Southern Air Temple):
1. I have not laughed this hard in weeks.
2. Zuko cannot lie for shit. It's weirdly adorable.
3. Actually, all the named characters are adorable so far. Except for Commander Zhao. He's just creepy. Suave, in a shallow way, but basically creepy.
4. I am not anything like objective, since I know what happens in the end, but I have to say it is obvious from as early as episode two that Zuko is not really a bad guy. There's too much menace in the basic setup of the story for it not to have a villain, but Zuko is far too sympathetic -- and in ways that are clearly intentional on the storytellers' parts -- to be evil. This is made even more obvious by the introduction of Zhao, who serves as a foil against whom Zuko can be the underdog.
5. I am oddly surprised that I am not suffering mood whiplash. The show flips from deathly serious to slapstick and back again on a dime, and you would think each mood would deflate or negate the other, but for me they don't. I am not at all sure how the writers pull that off -- I would like to learn the trick!
6. Predictably, I like Zuko best so far. This is not to say that I do not also like Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Iroh -- as previously mentioned, everyone is adorable! -- but, well, yeah. I like honorable characters with lots of implied angsty backstory, I like awkward well-meaning dorks, and I like impetuous hotheads; Zuko fits all three categories. The shirtless fight scene doesn't hurt at all. *pets Zuko, carefully* *leaps back to avoid outraged flames*
7. For the record, I still fail to see the appeal of Zutara. Honestly, I think at this point I could make better cases for Zukka or... whatever Aang/Zuko is called (Zukaang? Aangko? probably Zukaang), let alone Kataang. Obviously, many people's mileage varies!
8. Probably I will have more to say later on, though, this being me, I may never get around to writing it down. Oh well.
A few random observations on episodes 1-3 (The Boy in the Iceberg; The Avatar Returns; The Southern Air Temple):
1. I have not laughed this hard in weeks.
2. Zuko cannot lie for shit. It's weirdly adorable.
3. Actually, all the named characters are adorable so far. Except for Commander Zhao. He's just creepy. Suave, in a shallow way, but basically creepy.
4. I am not anything like objective, since I know what happens in the end, but I have to say it is obvious from as early as episode two that Zuko is not really a bad guy. There's too much menace in the basic setup of the story for it not to have a villain, but Zuko is far too sympathetic -- and in ways that are clearly intentional on the storytellers' parts -- to be evil. This is made even more obvious by the introduction of Zhao, who serves as a foil against whom Zuko can be the underdog.
5. I am oddly surprised that I am not suffering mood whiplash. The show flips from deathly serious to slapstick and back again on a dime, and you would think each mood would deflate or negate the other, but for me they don't. I am not at all sure how the writers pull that off -- I would like to learn the trick!
6. Predictably, I like Zuko best so far. This is not to say that I do not also like Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Iroh -- as previously mentioned, everyone is adorable! -- but, well, yeah. I like honorable characters with lots of implied angsty backstory, I like awkward well-meaning dorks, and I like impetuous hotheads; Zuko fits all three categories. The shirtless fight scene doesn't hurt at all. *pets Zuko, carefully* *leaps back to avoid outraged flames*
7. For the record, I still fail to see the appeal of Zutara. Honestly, I think at this point I could make better cases for Zukka or... whatever Aang/Zuko is called (Zukaang? Aangko? probably Zukaang), let alone Kataang. Obviously, many people's mileage varies!
8. Probably I will have more to say later on, though, this being me, I may never get around to writing it down. Oh well.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-31 09:49 pm (UTC)Yeah, Aang and Katara do have a maturity mismatch at this point, but right now their interaction is 99% platonic (and he is teaching her to relax and have fun just as she is teaching him to be more thoughtful and considerate), so I am not bothered at all. *grin*
*returns to Netflix and opens episode 7*