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edenfallingStill watching Avatar! Here are some thoughts on episode 19:
The Siege of the North, Part 1:
1. I like how they use the equivalent of nifty camera angles; the opening shot moves from underwater up through the surface of a Northern Water Tribe canal to show the frozen city. Very cool!
2. Aang, there are times your age really shows. Making yourself into a snowman instead of training to fight? It's showing. (Don't worry, I love you anyway!)
3. Appa makes everything better. No, really. *grin*
4. And... oh wait, engaged, can't kiss you. *sigh* This, children, is why romance is more trouble than it's worth. But wait, a flurry of ash! Can this be a sign of the approaching invasion fleet?
5. Yes, yes it can.
6. I continue to love how the Fire Nation ships just crush right through small icebergs, whereas Water Tribe ships have to sail around them.
7. The Water Tribe's warning gong is very Pacific Northwest in its design. (Have I mentioned lately that I love the world-building that goes into this series and its various cultures? Because I really, really do.)
8. Random break-up speech is random. Like, seriously. Bad timing, much, Yue?
9. I still want to know why Yue is the only person in the series to be wearing lipstick. It's extremely visually distracting!
10. Oh! Oh, it's the hand-behind-the-back pose from the opening credits, with the pan up to the blazing white sun! Hey there, context!
11. Dramatic firebomb is dramatic! (Oh, hey, is that symbol on the wall the moon-and-ocean? *rewinds* Yes it is. Pretty stylized symbol... *practices drawing it*)
12. The Aang vs. the Fire Nation ship skirmish has the same problems that characterize the whole series: namely, nobody but the main characters seems to have a full range of motion or real-time reactions. Background extras basically just stand there, or make one designated motion. As I've said before, I think this is a time and budget issue, and I forgive it on those grounds. But it does sometimes make me have to work very hard at willing suspension of disbelief.
13. And after all that trouble to incapacitate one ship... look at the rest of the fleet. *evil smile* No, Aang, Zhao isn't kidding at all.
14. Sokka has been paying attention all those times Zuko almost caught them! He knows what Fire Nation uniforms look like. (I cannot believe the Water Tribe didn't think the Fire Nation might change their armor in eighty-five years. Maybe the Water Tribe doesn't change much -- they seem to have hit upon a way of life very carefully balanced with their precarious environment -- but the Fire Nation is industrialized. And industrialized societies tend to change. A lot. And fast.)
15. What is the yellow circle I keep seeing glimpses of on Katara's chest?
16. Hahn basically exists to be hated, doesn't he. Well, I hate him, so good job! *sigh* But you know, while I hate Zhao too, he at least has a bit more depth to him than just 'sexist, immature, xenophobic jerk.' It's like they built Hahn off a checklist of offensive traits and called it a day. I expected better from this show, I really did.
17. Random note: between last episode and this episode, we have now seen both Katara and Sokka have their hairdos disarranged. And I think they're both pretty cute with their hair down.
18. Also, last episode there was a koala-seal (or koala-otter? koala-eel?), and now we have turtle-seals. I love the animal mix'n'match this show does.
19. Go Zuko! Sneak into the city! Use your mad ninja skills! (He should really give up the whole Fire Prince thing and be a freelance ninja. He would kick so much ass. ...But he wouldn't be happy, would he? *sigh* The best laid plans and all that.) I love that he's willing to take a sideways gamble based on observations of local animals. I love that he notices the animals at all; I don't think Zhao would do any such thing.
20. I really, really like the stylized ocean drawing on top of that tiered temple thing we see behind Yue's head for a moment.
21. And randomly, a wooden door? Well, I guess since the pool and its surroundings are warm, an ice door would just melt, but still. If that's not a big hint that Something Is Fishy, I don't know what is.
22. Zuko and the turtle-seals! *squees over the cuteness*
23. Oh, Sokka. *squishes him* I'm sure you'll guard Princess Yue just fine.
24. I love how Zuko melts his way into open air. You know, if you can't get a waterbender to go with you on your mission to infiltrate the poles, a firebender is a really good second choice.
25. Those yin-yang fish seem awfully symbolic. Symbolic of what, I'm not sure, but definitely symbolic of something. Or maybe just Symbolic in general.
26. "I'm perfectly capable of protecting him." Oh, Katara, don't you know better than to tempt the universe? Don't give Zuko straight lines like that!
27. "Aren't you a big girl now?" I stand by my previous statement that Zuko has been seeing Katara (insofar as he sees her as anything other than an accessory to Aang) as a kid. He considers himself a... well, sort of an adult, anyway; he definitely has what he considers an adult's responsibilities. (I think he's wrong about his own level of maturity, but we're talking about his own self-perception, not reality.) So he doesn't think of her as an equal, in age, in rank, in power, in anything.
28. And again, a very cool fight. Interestingly, I think Katara does more damage to the garden than Zuko does! Also, based on past evidence, I would not assume that freezing Zuko in ice is a particularly effective end move. He has a tendency to melt things...
29. Yeah, like that.
30. Zuko, great plan to get into the city. Great job fighting Katara. But now that you have Aang, how about a better plan to take him back outside without killing both of you? *sigh* Idiot boys.
31. For the record, I am still not seeing Zutara at all. Apparently, the "You rise with the moon; I rise with the sun" line is supposed to be shippy? I see it as a plain statement of fact about bending strength, and Zuko being all 'ha, I win!' and rubbing it in Katara's face for letting her guard down (because he is still a teenage boy).
-----
*debates energy level vs. need to see next episode*
The Siege of the North, Part 1:
1. I like how they use the equivalent of nifty camera angles; the opening shot moves from underwater up through the surface of a Northern Water Tribe canal to show the frozen city. Very cool!
2. Aang, there are times your age really shows. Making yourself into a snowman instead of training to fight? It's showing. (Don't worry, I love you anyway!)
3. Appa makes everything better. No, really. *grin*
4. And... oh wait, engaged, can't kiss you. *sigh* This, children, is why romance is more trouble than it's worth. But wait, a flurry of ash! Can this be a sign of the approaching invasion fleet?
5. Yes, yes it can.
6. I continue to love how the Fire Nation ships just crush right through small icebergs, whereas Water Tribe ships have to sail around them.
7. The Water Tribe's warning gong is very Pacific Northwest in its design. (Have I mentioned lately that I love the world-building that goes into this series and its various cultures? Because I really, really do.)
8. Random break-up speech is random. Like, seriously. Bad timing, much, Yue?
9. I still want to know why Yue is the only person in the series to be wearing lipstick. It's extremely visually distracting!
10. Oh! Oh, it's the hand-behind-the-back pose from the opening credits, with the pan up to the blazing white sun! Hey there, context!
11. Dramatic firebomb is dramatic! (Oh, hey, is that symbol on the wall the moon-and-ocean? *rewinds* Yes it is. Pretty stylized symbol... *practices drawing it*)
12. The Aang vs. the Fire Nation ship skirmish has the same problems that characterize the whole series: namely, nobody but the main characters seems to have a full range of motion or real-time reactions. Background extras basically just stand there, or make one designated motion. As I've said before, I think this is a time and budget issue, and I forgive it on those grounds. But it does sometimes make me have to work very hard at willing suspension of disbelief.
13. And after all that trouble to incapacitate one ship... look at the rest of the fleet. *evil smile* No, Aang, Zhao isn't kidding at all.
14. Sokka has been paying attention all those times Zuko almost caught them! He knows what Fire Nation uniforms look like. (I cannot believe the Water Tribe didn't think the Fire Nation might change their armor in eighty-five years. Maybe the Water Tribe doesn't change much -- they seem to have hit upon a way of life very carefully balanced with their precarious environment -- but the Fire Nation is industrialized. And industrialized societies tend to change. A lot. And fast.)
15. What is the yellow circle I keep seeing glimpses of on Katara's chest?
16. Hahn basically exists to be hated, doesn't he. Well, I hate him, so good job! *sigh* But you know, while I hate Zhao too, he at least has a bit more depth to him than just 'sexist, immature, xenophobic jerk.' It's like they built Hahn off a checklist of offensive traits and called it a day. I expected better from this show, I really did.
17. Random note: between last episode and this episode, we have now seen both Katara and Sokka have their hairdos disarranged. And I think they're both pretty cute with their hair down.
18. Also, last episode there was a koala-seal (or koala-otter? koala-eel?), and now we have turtle-seals. I love the animal mix'n'match this show does.
19. Go Zuko! Sneak into the city! Use your mad ninja skills! (He should really give up the whole Fire Prince thing and be a freelance ninja. He would kick so much ass. ...But he wouldn't be happy, would he? *sigh* The best laid plans and all that.) I love that he's willing to take a sideways gamble based on observations of local animals. I love that he notices the animals at all; I don't think Zhao would do any such thing.
20. I really, really like the stylized ocean drawing on top of that tiered temple thing we see behind Yue's head for a moment.
21. And randomly, a wooden door? Well, I guess since the pool and its surroundings are warm, an ice door would just melt, but still. If that's not a big hint that Something Is Fishy, I don't know what is.
22. Zuko and the turtle-seals! *squees over the cuteness*
23. Oh, Sokka. *squishes him* I'm sure you'll guard Princess Yue just fine.
24. I love how Zuko melts his way into open air. You know, if you can't get a waterbender to go with you on your mission to infiltrate the poles, a firebender is a really good second choice.
25. Those yin-yang fish seem awfully symbolic. Symbolic of what, I'm not sure, but definitely symbolic of something. Or maybe just Symbolic in general.
26. "I'm perfectly capable of protecting him." Oh, Katara, don't you know better than to tempt the universe? Don't give Zuko straight lines like that!
27. "Aren't you a big girl now?" I stand by my previous statement that Zuko has been seeing Katara (insofar as he sees her as anything other than an accessory to Aang) as a kid. He considers himself a... well, sort of an adult, anyway; he definitely has what he considers an adult's responsibilities. (I think he's wrong about his own level of maturity, but we're talking about his own self-perception, not reality.) So he doesn't think of her as an equal, in age, in rank, in power, in anything.
28. And again, a very cool fight. Interestingly, I think Katara does more damage to the garden than Zuko does! Also, based on past evidence, I would not assume that freezing Zuko in ice is a particularly effective end move. He has a tendency to melt things...
29. Yeah, like that.
30. Zuko, great plan to get into the city. Great job fighting Katara. But now that you have Aang, how about a better plan to take him back outside without killing both of you? *sigh* Idiot boys.
31. For the record, I am still not seeing Zutara at all. Apparently, the "You rise with the moon; I rise with the sun" line is supposed to be shippy? I see it as a plain statement of fact about bending strength, and Zuko being all 'ha, I win!' and rubbing it in Katara's face for letting her guard down (because he is still a teenage boy).
-----
*debates energy level vs. need to see next episode*
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-12 02:22 am (UTC)Zutara is apparently one of those things you either grok immediately or will never understand. I think of it as something like opposites attract taken to ridiculous extremes. Even if they don't have anything in common, hate each other, and would get along like a literal house on fire, some people just don't see anything other then pretty faces. Why else would most of their evidence be presented as fanart, photomanips and screencaps?
It's also worth noting here that Katara is a pretty impossible prodigy here. She's better than every other student in a month. Most martial arts have a 5-10 year requirement for gaining that level of mastery for more casual learners. The fastest I've ever heard of a student mastering their art was two years. It's not a matter of learning moves, but committing them to muscle memory, learning to flow one into the next seamlessly, and how to strategically work combinations that lead an opponent into a weakened position from which they can be defeated. Mastering all that in a few months? You could write your own Dojo sign and start your own style. Of course, all the kids with the possible exception of Zuko are guilty of this, and he's only marginally better at being realistic.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-12 04:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-12 04:41 am (UTC)But so is Suki, and Azula wears it too. Maybe because she's a princess? And she doesn't travel, so she has time to do it up and everything >_>
I remember being very pleased about Sokka getting TWO love interests, (Suki AND Yue) when OI first watched this. =)
And you'll be pleased to know that Hahn does get a bit of depth later on. Just a smidgeon though.
I like reading your thoughts on Avatar! You look at things very differently from how I do. It's nice. <3 <3 <3
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-12 04:52 am (UTC)(It also stands out on the green-shirted pirate, but on him it is clearly meant as a joke. It's a joke in debatable taste, but a joke nonetheless. This makes it doubly hard for me to take lipstick seriously on Yue; I keep waiting for the punchline.)