#return to omashu

[zukosdualdao]

as many criticisms i have of mai as a character, i really disagree with the idea that her “just letting” azula stop the trade for tom tom shows that she doesn’t care about him or that she’s not afraid of azula. i actually find this to be the moment i feel the most sympathy for mai in the entire series.

don’t get me wrong—i don’t think she originally joined azula out of fear; i think she was more or less being honest when she said she would do anything to get out of omashu because she was bored.

but when azula halts the exchange and compromises tom tom’s safety, something shifts. the music becomes really tense. mai’s expression doesn’t change, but she takes a beat too long to answer, she looks to where sokka is holding tom tom, and then she agrees with azula anyway.

it wasn’t enough for azula for mai to join her because she wanted to—azula wanted mai to join her on her terms and to know that she held all the cards, that she could decide a trade for mai’s brother wasn’t worth giving up bumi as a prisoner and mai couldn’t say anything about it without risking treason.

and this is the moment i think is supposed to show that mai now understands the danger she actually is in, similar to the close-up of ty lee’s face at the circus as azula insists the net be set on fire and wild animals set loose.

ty lee says no originally, but then tries to protect herself by backtracking and claiming it’s the universe who wants her to join the mission. mai protects herself by never saying no at all, displaying a mask of apathy, and (though this is conjecture) maybe even hoping if she shows enough loyalty by not disagreeing, azula will reward her by changing her mind and help her get her brother back later.

#atla rewatch ‘24 #mai #ty lee #azula #azula & mai #azula & ty lee #mai & ty lee #return to omashu #abuse // #tom tom

[azulasnailtech]

ATLA If they were allowed to swear

part 17/??  [suggested by anonymous] [I’d love to hear suggestions for more]

#ifatlacouldcuss #atla #atlaedit #Avatar The Last Airbender #mai #azula #ty lee #return to omashu #mygifs #mystuff

[oneatlatime]

Return to Omashu

Fire nation priorities. Yes, there's a war to win, but first! We must make our colonies aesthetically consistent. Couple of gates, some gold trim, and some spiky bits! Can't forget the gold spiky bits!

Fulfilling the beat up Sokka quota this episode is raw sewage.

That sewer trek must have been long. They went in during the day and it's night now.

I spoke too soon! The quota is in fact filled by tribbles.

"it's so awful I'm dying." I get the feeling that Sokka has been waiting years to use that line. I love how quickly everyone in the Gaang supports each others' spontaneous plans. It's a sign of a good team if you can ream off fake names without blinking and fake the plague without being asked. They all work so well together. Zuko could take some lessons from these guys on lying.

Well this episode's going to land differently post-Covid.

Looks like Zuko Jr.'s going to be in this episode. Bummer. Although tweedledee and tweedledum are intriguing. Who'd ever think to give a teenage girl villain a pair of eighty year old poetry twins? One of the great things so far about this show is how they consistently choose to go with the most out-there option and always make it work. In a show about defeating the firelord, they chose to kill the moon for the finale. And it worked. The plot point, not the killing.

So I'm thinking that orange and yellow must be an acknowledged fashion choice among the four nations outside of an airbending context, because of the number of times fire nation guards have looked right at Aang and not seen him. Also I think his tattoos must have selective invisibility.

It's a crying shame that Hot Topic doesn't exist in the Avatar universe, because this May girl just passed their employment interview with flying colours. I'm siding with what I'm guessing is her mom on this one. Just chill for a bit.

Ok maybe don't chill for a bit. Yeah my bad. This is not a good time to chill.

Reusing the same Naruto run shot literally two seconds later.

How many projectiles can you fit in one pair of sleeves? She's got a whole armoury up there.

Seriously I know she's bored and all but no teenage girl should have access to that many weapons. If I'd had access to an armoury when I was a teenager, people absolutely would have died.

So cute. I'll take 12 please.

Every sentence that Zuko Jr. is saying to this pink girl is some kind of veiled insult or threat. I'd adopt Pink Girl's wilful obliviousness too if I had to deal with that.

Smart Bumi. He knows his people and his element. We've seen more than enough times already that something about being an earthbender makes you too stubborn to quit and unable to change plans even when your original plan is obviously not working (looking at you, Fong). So, knowing that his people are unable to change course, he prevents them from entering on to that course in the first place.

And Aang picks up on this too! Actually, since Bumi knew Aang growing up, do you think he picked up the concept of strategic retreat from airbending?

Tribbles to the rescue! Given that these are sewer dwelling creatures, this fake plague might turn real.

I love how casual Sokka is about touching other people.

Every street in Omashu seems to have a couple of bundles of twigs propped up against a wall somewhere. It's probably an animation trick to fill up the background.

Love the one guy really committing to the bit who just flops on the ground.

"Pentapox! I'm pretty sure I've heard of that." Humans are so suggestible.

I love that Flopsy remembers him. Aang's propensity to make friends wherever he goes paying off again. Also, exactly how much metal to the fire nation have access to? They're doing the floor, walls, ceilings, of the whole city. There must be some crazy budget surpluses that need using up.

This baby has an absurd throwing arm.

Machine gun Momo!

This is what happens when you don't feed your lemur AANG.

I know cartoon physics is a thing, but can this baby secretly fly or something?

Poor Momo didn't ask for any of this. Guy just wanted some berries. Now he's getting his tail pulled and bitten (hopefully no teeth yet).

Add absurd grip strength to this baby's list of other superhuman characteristics.

Baby apparently weighs quite a bit too.

Flying lemur unintentionally kidnaps baby. Did not see that coming.

Tiny nitpick: the circus master introduces Zuko jr. as "the firelord's daughter" rather than as Princess Zuko jr. Does she not have a title?

Nope. He's calling her princess now. Maybe there are a bunch of princesses in the fire nation and he was just being specific?

Thus begins the bullying of pink girl. Imagine going to school with a bunch of fire nation noble girls? There must have been casualties.

I love Sokka so much. Expert hug administrator.

"everything so clever. So tricky." Actually the avatar forgot to feed his lemur and it kind of snowballed from there. Hands down one of my favourite tropes is when one side in a conflict assumes their enemies are master manipulators, then we learn that actually they're just failing upwards through shenanigans. Love that.

Poor pink girl. The only viable strategy, both for her own safety and the safety of the whole circus, is appeasement.

"The universe is giving me strong hints that it's time for a career change." No blame cast, no fingers pointed, but also not giving Zuko jr. credit for influencing her. That's some fancy talking.

And now they're reusing the campsite shot too?

Poor Momo. That's about the face I make around babies.

I spoke too soon again. This episode's beat up Sokka quota is actually fulfilled by Katara's backhand. Because apparently it's a cardinal sin to prevent a baby from chewing on a potentially bladed weapon? Priorities girl.

Well that accidental kidnapping had some unintended positive consequences. Don't you love it when problems fix themselves?

She even paints her nails black and wears fingerless gloves. Seriously. Hot Topic. STAT.

"Well, Asula called a little louder." Hell of a lot of information in that sentence.

How long is her neck?

Ego much?

Zhao was an asshole and unpleasant, but at least he had some good banter. Zuko jr. is just mean. I hope I see less of her going forward.

Bumi! Hi Bumi! I love Bumi.

Pink girl's loyalty was tested with burning nets and released beasts. Now May's loyalty is tested with her brother's life. Zuko jr. is so good to her friends.

Why is no one able to recognise Aang? He's dressed like an airbender. The only one of those left is the avatar. It's not that hard.

Pink girl is lucky that Sokka is quite prone to friction.

More wood bundles. I guess it's for scaffolding?

Gotta give it to Zuko jr., she has excellent balance.

May has leg knives as well as arm knives?

And shirt knives. How does she not stab herself every time she sits down? And if this place is so boring, why does she feel the need to carry 8 billion knives?

Love the Appa tail slap. Underrated and underused move.

So Bumi has no spine left.

Facebending. Neat.

Neutral Jing is a neat concept, but I'll be damned if any earthbender we've seen apart from Bumi ever bothers with it.

Suddenly the 100 year gap between Aang and Bumi can no longer be ignored. Bumi is still Aang's friend, but he's got a century of learning and a city to protect. This is kind of a sad moment.

Do May and Zuko have some history? Is that's what's being implied here?

Wouldn't expect any less. I wonder how these two are going to explain the return of their son without painting the resistance in a really good light.

Zuko jr. is spelled with a Z.

Final Thoughts

Zuko Jr. gets a girl squad, the Gaang gets a reason to spend a season gallivanting all over the Earth Kingdom, and the audience gets to see Superslide part 2. A weird mix of establishing groundwork and having fun this episode.

I totally buy that the fire nation guards and governor fell for the plague thing. Anyone remember "that lemur! He's earthbending!" These guys are not smart.

The plague thing did not bother me at all. I thought it would, since the anti-science idiots in the Fortuneteller really annoyed me. I think since the fake plague was treated as a joke the whole way through, and never actually endangered anyone, it didn't bring up Covid memories.

I think Flopsy's pupils are sideways hourglasses, which contributes nicely to his uncanniness.

I think the stuffy that the baby was throwing is the same animal as the beaver bear thing at the circus.

I love Momo the machine gun. I think those are the same berries as the ones Iroh was going to double poison himself with.

Sokka getting to plan the plague and getting to save the day with boomerang was fun. That's two episodes in a row where he's been the plan guy. Katara got to use some of her new and improved waterbending as well, but she was really pushed to the background otherwise.

I think pink Girl, whose name I still haven't caught, is quite good at reading people. I caught more than one 'shallow-on-the-surface-but-actually-way-deep' statement from her. Also she can Vulcan pinch people's bending? I'm guessing it's temporary or else Katara would be really freaking out.

May was just too much. Too overdone. Yes, there are teenage girls like that, but it felt a bit on the nose. Actually, way too much on the nose. I get that she can't show any emotion in front of Zuko jr. for her own safety, but "can I offer you an egg fireflakes in this trying time?" is not exactly an appropriate response to your little brother's disappearance.

I'm still not liking Zuko jr. But I'm someone who never likes the villain anyway, at least not when our heroes are this likeable.

This episode was not easy on Aang. It was an interesting mix of bringing home the reality of the war and the reality of the time passed. Even when he seemingly got to save his friend in the end, he actually didn't because things are more complicated now. He untied the damsel from the railroad track and she tied herself right back on.

Further evidence for my 'entire fire nation is colourblind' theory this episode. Aang was not disguised apart from a hat made from a very incriminating colour. He had a giant blue stripe down the back of his head! Come on!

No Zuko this episode. He was last seen stealing a perfectly nice lady's bird horse, and it'll be a while before I forgive him for that, so good call by the writers to not have him around.

Now that I think about it, there was a lot going on this episode. Sewer break & enter, assassination attempt, fake plague, hostage exchange, water v. knife fight, fire v. air fight, vulcan pinch v. bending fight, Boomerang & bison v. knife fight, earthbending philosophy, girl squad assembly, lemur harassment, and baby restoration. This episode felt long in a good way.

How about, instead of learning the elements, Aang learns pink girl's vulcan pinch and just does that to the fire lord?

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #return to omashu #avatar the last airbender

[juniperhillpatient]

Also, something I thought was really cute in this episode was Mai's little smile at the mention of "seeing Zuko again." Although I do have to laugh that it's in the context of capturing him as a war criminal!

This is actually the first time that we see Mai smile about something other than violence.

#mai #maiko #return to omashu #atla book 2 #atla re watch

[dominik528]

Wednesday (2021-), "You Reap What You Woe" / Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005 - 2008), "Return to Omashu"

#Avatar: The Last Airbender #Wednesday #Netflix #TV series #characters #GIFs #edits #similarities #You Reap What You Woe #Return to Omashu #season 2

[take-that-you-rock]

One Scene from Every Episode

2.03 Return to Omashu

23/61

#avatar: the last airbender #return to omashu #ty lee #mai #azula #princess azula #fire nation #atla #a:tla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #one scene from every episode #my art

[tragedykery]

[ID: two screencaps from atla s2e3 “return to omashu”. mai and ty lee are walking alongside the palanquin azula is being carried in. ty lee teasingly says something to mai, who looks away, smiling. ty lee looks at her smugly. /end ID]

TY LEE: [Turning to Mai] It’ll be interesting seeing Zuko again, [teasing] won’t it, Mai?

MAI looks away as a smile plays upon her face.

while this is obviously meant to just be ty lee teasing mai about her crush on zuko, I love to interpret it as either a) ty lee not knowing if mai has a crush on him and saying that to gauge her reaction, or b) knowing she doesn’t and deliberately dangling that fact in front of her. all while azula thinks she’s just genuinely teasing her about her crush

#ty lee #atla #return to omashu #ok just doing it like this instead of with screencaps. I wanted to do that exchange between mai & michi and the one in which azula #forces mai to call off the deal to exchange tom tom for bumi (bc for some reason ppl interpret that as mai not caring about her brother???) #too but those feel weird like this instead of with screenshots (which netflix won’t let me take) #elli rambles #r #jupiter rewatches atla

[aero-sense]

The game hints at Haru becoming one of King Bumi's guards in the distant future and it's just the perfect way for his character to continue to grow. It would be an amazing experience for him since Haru never got to learn earth bending properly. He was stuck in his village under FN rule, but now he can be taught by his fellow Omashu guards, which are some of the most elite benders in the kingdom. Even better, he can learn from King Bumi himself, who I'm the most excited to see Haru interact with. Haru still carries a lot of baggage from the war, which Bumi can match quite well.

Haru takes a lot of pride in his identity as an earth bender, but because of how difficult it was to reclaim it, it's a sore spot for his ego as well. He has a lot of pent-up anger towards the Fire Nation without an easy way to resolve it and it manifests his defensiveness. At the same time, Haru has a tendency to devalue himself since he struggled for so long to get to where he is now.

Because of his insecurities, he admires figures of authority, like the Omashu's guards, despite not always deserving it. There's also how class and colonization play into this, like the guards' treatment of Haru since he's from the country, and how Haru admires and even envies how grand Omashu is, unlike his village that had to suffer from colonization and enslavement (in the game's current timeline).

Haru can also be overly stiff and formal even in casual settings, especially with people like Aang and Bumi. He builds a very noble image the Avatar and King, and hopes to be an aide to them, without knowing how help them as individuals, and not as figures of power.

That's why it's good that Haru would end up as Bumi's guard, as he's the most well-equipped to tackle Haru's issues. Bumi is suggested to have a low class background as well, and that he climbed through the ranks of Omashu to the top, earning his title as King and one of the best earth benders around. He's very dismissive of power structures and rules, and prefers when people find their own loopholes. He knows how to play into his image as an senile old man to give people the slip. He understands the importance of having fun and loosening up, and how much that can work to your advantage as a bender. Most importantly, he shares just as much resentment towards the FN and the desire to protect your people when powerless, so Bumi would understand best where Haru is coming from.

I quite like their interaction in the game. Bumi and Haru bounce off each other well:

Haru immediately bows on his knees and recites a formal greeting to the King (like you know he was practicing it since he was a kid...).

Only for Bumi to joke around with Aang and leave poor Haru baffled (look at his face)!

Later on, when they reveal the Consul's plans to the Bumi, he tells them that he was already aware, and Haru reconfirms his faith in the King (like bro you did not know).

They're very cute and I can see them grow into a sort of comedic duo. As Haru strives to become the ideal Omashu guard: a stoic, loyal soldier there to serve the King's needs without question, Bumi sends him on the most nonsensical tasks to show him there's more to being an earthbender than just pretense and rules. Bumi would challenge Haru to think outside of the box and gain confidence in himself.

#im basing a lot of this off the game btw #because there's a lot implied about Haru's psyche #and how he and others perceive himself #the games do a great job setting up his character and future routes his story could take #it's a nice resolution after game if haru returns to his father #knowing there's a future spot for him #next to the king as a distinguished guard #when the boy had to grow up with no future at all #atla the game (2006) #atla #haru #king bumi #omashu #game sense

[foxskip]

Watched an episode of atla for the first time in MANY years and man I think this show was definitely meant to be watched standard definition on a TV from like 15+ years ago and not on a laptop in HD.

#Maybe it was the episode I was watching but I did not remember it looking so dated/janky at times #It was Return to Omashu

[gennianydots]

Ty Lee: Oh! I…uh, I’d love to, but the truth is, I’m really happy here. I mean, my aura has never been pinker!

#avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender quotes #Genni rewatches ATLA #s2 e3: return to omashu #atla: ty lee

[outpastthemoat]

ok I love love love the netflix atla retcon of having zuko's crew being the 41st division but I keep thinking about how after breaking aang out of pohuai, zuko arrives back on his ship with a goose egg the size of omashu and absolutely zero knowledge of the fact that while he was pulling off mission impossible, his uncle was busy divulging his entire trauma history and that his entire crew's opinion of him had done a complete one eighty plus a tony hawk kickflip.

zuko has pulled an all-nighter and returned avatar-less AGAIN and is so heavily concussed that he can't see straight and he has ZERO CONTEXT for his crew's change of heart!!

so in my opinion there's a very good chance that when zuko is slowly walking down the aisle receiving that fifty gun salute from men who, to the best of his knowledge, still cherish fond hopes that he'll perish in some freak sailing accident before he reaches the age of seventeen, he is mentally evaluating the odds that he has incurred permanent brain damage.

lieutenant jee: "our prince has returned 🥲"

zuko outwardly: *nods*

zuko internally: hmm. I appear to be having a near death experience.

#zuko #atla #natla

[zukosdualdao]

it’s interesting that when azula first approaches ty lee, she tells her she’s hunting a traitor—and only mentions iroh, despite fact she’s actually hunting zuko as well.

part of that is, i think, because she sees zuko as so far beneath her and such a little threat—after all, in the avatar state, he believed her lies and manipulations, and if iroh hadn’t been there, she likely would have succeeded at capturing or killing him. iroh is the one she sees as a threat, and the reason she needs to change strategies and bully her friends into joining her.

but i also wonder if she thought ty lee would be less likely to go along if she knew they were also hunting zuko? on the one hand, in flashbacks, it’s clear mai and ty lee are azula’s friends first and foremost, and any time he spends with them is incidental. but later, in the beach, ty lee will quietly remark that she does know zuko, that she understands him. there’s an implication there that even if he didn’t really see her as his friend, she at least wanted to see him as hers.

of course, later ty lee will tease mai about how interesting it will be to see zuko because of her childhood crush on him, so by that point she knows and is clearly not expressing any immediate hesitancy about trying to capture zuko—but this is after azula has already successfully coerced her into joining her on her mission. i think ty lee knows better than to show her hand at that point.

#atla rewatch ‘24 #return to omashu #ty lee #azula #zuko #mai #ty lee & azula #zuko & ty lee #zuko & azula #azula & iroh

[azulasnailtech]

ATLA If they were allowed to swear

part 19/??  [suggested by anonymous] [I’d love to hear suggestions for more]

#atla #atlaedit #avatar the last airbender #mai #michi #tom tom #return to omashu #ifatlacouldcuss #mygifs #mystuff #TVedit #cartoonedit #usernaureen

[evilprincesss]

it's really interesting to me how you can tell the level of respect azula has for mai, ty lee, and zuko through how she directs them within the confines of the fire nation's expectations of them all.

azula is someone who really values and upholds the fire nation's expectations of conformity, especially in regards to court. she herself plays her part as she's expected to. she plays by the rules her father sets for her, parrots his beliefs, renames omashu "new ozai" for her father, tasks herself with finding the avatar (zuko's fool's errand) and conquering ba sing se (iroh's greatest military failure), and is consequently ultimately hurt and betrayed when her father punishes her despite this by refusing to let her come with him during sozin's comet and giving her a meaningless title to mollify her. to her, playing by the rules that are set out for them within the fire nation, whether spoken or not, is essential, and to not play by them results in punishment. this mindset was already instilled in her before zuko's agni kai, but it was no doubt fully solidified by witnessing her brother pay for his inability to play the role he was assigned as a dutiful son and strong heir.

as a result of this, zuko is the most obvious liability of the fire nation kids in azula's eyes. he has already failed to abide by the rules once and is likely to do so again if she doesn't stop him from doing so. make no mistake, azula does not want zuko to stumble again. she manipulates him into coming home despite his wavering resolve by reminding him of what he could have and what he's always wanted (their father's respect, his honor and birthright restored, the return of a feeling of normalcy/familiarity) because she loves her brother and wants him to play the role he's supposed to successfully. if she didn't love him, she could easily have taken him home as a prisoner like her father wanted her to initially or killed him. i won't even entertain the notion that she brought him home specifically to take the heat if the avatar wasn't really dead; that is a deeply stupid thing for her to do which would result in her judgment and honor being called into serious question as she's the one who vouched that zuko killed the avatar which would be a failure in her role as the dutiful daughter and honorable princess.

so azula appeals to zuko's weaknesses to get him home because she loves him. but she still doesn't respect him because of his prior failings, so she tries to keep him on the straight and narrow within the confines of their roles in the fire nation. she confronts him about visiting their disgraced uncle in prison, tells him his actions could be misconstrued (although she knows exactly how zuko means them; she wants to remind him to play his part or suffer the consequences once more). she shuts him up in war council meetings by speaking over him so that he won't say something that would result in their father punishing him once more. she attempts to prompt him into letting her know if they should be worried about the avatar still, although he doesn't confide in her since he doesn't trust her and instead takes matters into his own hands by hiring combustion man. azula does not threaten to harm zuko herself if he fails in his role; she instead manipulates him with her knowledge of his personality and reminds him of the harm that their father will cause him if he fails.

ty lee is another problem azula thinks she needs to solve. once more, she loves ty lee, but ty lee has shown azula that she is not a reliable person to play her role as she's meant to. azula believes ty lee's failure to be even worse than zuko's, though. zuko said the wrong thing in a war council meeting because he didn't understand the rules; ty lee understood the rules, and she chose to run away anyway. this is not just ty lee being oblivious, but her choosing to intentionally disobey the rules.

so when azula comes to collect ty lee to resume playing her role, azula is initially friendly, perhaps giving ty lee the benefit of the doubt that she might have wised up, but the moment ty lee demonstrates that she is still refusing to play by the rules azula is convinced they all have to play by, azula turns to manipulations and threats of harm to pull ty lee back into line. like with zuko, azula loves ty lee but does not respect her. she knows that ty lee will not play the role society says she must unless azula coerces her into doing so. unlike with zuko, ty lee does not require multiple corrections from azula. the threat of harm once is enough for ty lee to return to her duties. noticeably, ty lee also manipulates azula a lot when she does so, showcasing her awareness of the roles they're all playing and her ability to play with the best of them.

but mai is different from zuko and ty lee. azula both loves and respects mai. yes, azula has to go out of her way to collect mai as well, but mai has moved to omashu with her parents. she never stopped playing her role. azula does not believe mai would ever stop. she respects mai's intelligence in a way she doesn't with zuko and ty lee because mai respects the rules of the game. so azula not only never utilizes threats or manipulation with mai, but she treats mai as almost an equal and allows mai to treat her as an equal. she asks mai to come along with her, and mai agrees. she promotes mai to a position of power above that of her parents, and mai obliges. she says that the trade of bumi for tom-tom is unfair, and mai calls it off. but it's not only when mai plays by the rules of the game that azula respects her and does not threaten or manipulate her to keep her in line. even when mai blatantly disobeys azula's orders, azula allows it. even when mai screams at her during the beach, azula allows it. mai knows that azula will allow it, too. she openly scoffs at the idea of azula lightningbending at her. why? because azula respects mai and her judgment. she sees mai as an equal because mai plays the game as well as azula does, including her moments of rebellion (this is undoubtedly what azula disobeying ozai by bringing zuko home under false pretenses and directly lying to him is, albeit a much higher stake rebellion than mai's refusal to search the sewers).

notably, while azula declares her intent to kill zuko after he commits treason and tells ozai that she lied to him, even when mai and ty lee take the ultimate step out of line with their roles, she doesn't allow them to be executed. i say "allow" here because she's not the fire lord, so it wouldn't be her personal decree to have them executed but rather her father's. they committed high treason. they not only aided and abetted in a prison break and the escape of some of the fire nation's most wanted but physically attacked a member of the royal family and the crown princess at that. this is a crime that's punishable by death, and yet mai and ty lee stay in their cells in boiling rock, seemingly unharmed given mai's unscathed appearance at the end of sozin's comet. ozai would have no reason to not simply execute them, but azula would since she loves them. it's entirely possible, she was on some level holding onto hope that she could coach them back into line again somehow.

but why does she hope to rehabilitate or at least preserve her friends while aiming to kill zuko? it's pretty simple: when zuko failed to play his part he did so in a way that meant azula was punished for having failed in her role as the dutiful daughter and honorable princess because she chose to play a different role that she gained nothing from playing: the role of zuko's sister. so in azula's eyes, zuko went out of his way to not only lapse in his role as the dutiful son and strong heir but to purposefully fail to play the role of her brother in a way he knew would cause her harm. do mai and ty lee also fail to play the roles of her friends while instead revealing their loyalty to someone else entirely when they betray her? yes, but them doing so does not result in ozai's wrath.

#atla #azula #zuko #mai #ty lee #fire hazard siblings

[juniperhillpatient]

Return to Omashu Re-watch

No thoughts, only mean teenage girls who could & would kill me

This is the episode where we get to see the formation of the Dangerous Ladies™ & it's exactly as iconic as I remember it. (To be fair, this is another episode that I've re-watched pretty frequently on its own.) The Girls Are Fighting & you should be scared!

So, Omashu has been taken by the Fire Nation & the Gaang are horrified. I think it's interesting that Katara & Sokka were basically like "Bumi is probably dead. Oh well, let's move on." Sokka is practical & always focused on moving ahead so it's not a surprising reaction for him but it's a little surprising from Katara. The trend for her character is to try to help everyone who might need it, & that would include a potentially lost or hurt Bumi. I'm theorizing that Katara's lack of interest in this project is a combination of her belief that Bumi is dead (although Katara is often more of an idealist) & her heavy focus on finding a new earth-bending teacher now. Also, this mission is personal to Aang. He's had so much taken from him. All he has left of his old life are Appa & Momo. So, of course, he wants to find the only friend he has left from the life he left behind.

Sokka's plan to fake 'Pentapox' is pretty funny & smart. Also, the Fire Nation guards yelling "PLAGUE!" when the earth kingdom citizens were heading toward them holding their hands out and groaning hit a LITTLE too close to home in light of recent years 😂

Azula's manipulative prowess is targeted at someone other than Zuko & Iroh & it's fascinating to watch. Azula's recruitment of Ty Lee is such a mind game. The audience is getting an ongoing introduction to an entirely new & much more dangerous type of villain than anything we had last season.

We would never see Zhao or Zuko subtly threatening someone the way Azula does Ty Lee, having the net set on fire at her show & the animals released then talking about excitement for the "next show." No, the other two main antagonists of the show thus far - Zuko and Zhao - are much more in your face. Azula could have ordered Ty Lee to join her, or she could have outright threatened to set her on fire, but she took a more careful and calculated approach. The only other character I could see taking a more subtle approach like this is Iroh.

In light of later revelations - that Azula believes "fear is the only way" to relate to people & that "trust is for fools" - as well as the knowledge that Azula does view Ty Lee & Mai as friends (I think this is shown clearly in their dynamic, but it's also proven by Azula's hallucination saying "your friends, Mai and Ty Lee") - I think that in a twisted way, Azula wanted this to seem like Ty Lee's choice. She didn't want to order Ty Lee to join her, she wanted this to feel like a friendship. Could she have understood that about herself or articulated it? I highly doubt it, but sometimes we don't understand our own emotions & motives. And of course - a disclaimer that this is my interpretation/theory.

Mai's recruitment is much more straightforward. Mai is miserable in Omashu. Her parents are busy doting on her baby brother, and she's constantly expected to act like a quiet good girl. She's bored, & she doesn't say it but probably lonely. Also - Mai loves violence. Mai's first encounter with the Gaang isn't even with Azula & Ty Lee, it's on her own, & she is excited to fight. Another interesting aspect of Mai's character is that she's 100% onboard right away with abandoning Tom Tom. I could see an argument that Mai was afraid to argue with Azula, but I don't buy it because there is no evidence for it. Ty Lee has clearly been intimidated into joining Azula, but we haven't seen that with Mai. So, I think that Mai just doesn't seem to care about her brother at all. This isn't a moral judgment on her by the way, just an observation.

The Dangerous Ladies Vs. The Gaang has to be one of the most exciting fights we've seen so far. Everyone's different styles are showcased & it's just amazing to watch. I think it's super interesting that Ty Lee almost kicks Sokka & Tom Tom off a building. She was ready to murder a baby & it's only cartoon logic & luck that she didn't!

Speaking of ready-to-murder - I'm fascinated by the different Fire Nation characters' approach to fighting Aang. I can't recall Zuko ever trying to kill Aang. He's been set on the whole "capture" thing. Zhao spells out to Aang that he won't kill him because it would just trigger a new Avatar. But there's no argument I can see that Azula is not trying to kill Aang during their fight in this episode. She is actively shooting fire at him, again & again. So, does she know that if he dies a new Avatar will be born? If Zhao knew, I have to assume Azula does. Of course, she does kill him (sorta) later, but we'll analyze that when we get to it. For now, I'm just saying that this is interesting. Azula is capable of a fighting style that doesn't go for the kill, or Zuko would've died during their last encounter. But, she chooses to go after Aang by shooting him with fire which would kill him if he failed to block or dodge her attacks. Super interesting to me.

Anyway, Aang's conversation with Bumi is very interesting to me. We learn about three of the apparent eighty-five 'jings.' Fighting is positive jing and retreating is a negative jing. Aang knows this, probably from his teachings with Gyatso, but Bumi explains that there's a third jing - neutral. I'm not sure how I feel about the argument that "doing nothing" is sometimes the best call. Bumi is a very interesting morally gray character. I understand what he was trying to say, & what the narrative was getting at, but still, Bumi abandoned his people when they needed him. I have a feeling I'll come back to the quote: "Your teacher will be someone who has mastered neutral jing. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking." For now, though, those are my thoughts on the episode!

#return to omashu #atla book 2 #atla re watch #image ids in alt text #long post

[the-badger-mole]

Father of the Bride

Hakoda swallowed hard against a lump in his throat. He had imagined this day so many times since Katara's birth. The details were different, though. She wasn't marrying a proven warrior from among their people. That was fine. She had spent so much time traveling the world, expanding her horizons, creating her own paths. Hakoda didn't think there were one in a thousand men at home who could keep up with the woman his daughter had become, and he had resigned himself to the fact that she might not end up with a Southern Tribe man years ago.

But he hadn't considered that her marriage might take her so permanently from home. A foolish oversight on his part, he admitted. And at least she would have the means to visit her family a few times a year. Still, he felt a pang. Same one he felt when he left his children behind with Kanna to go fight a war too big for him. Now that pang was tempered with bittersweet happiness as he watched the final preparations being made on Katara's wedding gown-a stunning piece of art even to Hakoda's untrained eye. All silks and linens in shades of blue and silver that recalled the bridal outfits of her homeland. Furs and leathers would be too hot for the climate, but Katara wanted to tell everyone up front how she would bring her own culture to merge with her new people. Her groom-to-be not only supported this decision, but had come to Hakoda and Sokka to ask them how he, too, could incorporate the Southern Water Tribe into the wedding on his end. That had been a long night, with strong drinks and stronger emotions, but at the end of it, Hakoda had decided that despite his initial misgivings about the marriage, he couldn't have picked a better son-in-law than Zuko.

Fire Lord Zuko. Fire Lord Zuko was going to be his son-in-law. Sometimes the thought made Hakoda chuckle. Sometimes it sent a chill down his spine. Not that he was worried about Zuko himself, but Katara's proximity to his throne. The crown. She would be coronated the next night in a ceremony as lavish as the wedding. She would become the Fire Lady. Co-ruler of the country that had spent a hundred years ruining countless lives with a war over something as silly as imperialist pride. Hakoda didn't think they deserved his daughter. If Zuko had earned his trust and respect, the rest of the Fire Nation certainly haven't. Not the nobles, anyway. When he brought them up to Katara, she laughed, though it didn't reach her eyes, which were flint hard and grimly determined. She told him no matter where she went in the world, she would have to fight for any respect she got. At least here she would have Zuko fighting beside her. Hakoda wasn't sure he agreed that was a worthy trade off, but he knew better than to try to talk his daughter out of it.

The Fire Nation had already benefited from her presence. As a foreign advisor, she had fostered trade and exchange agreements between the Fire Nation and all of the Water Tribes, Omashu and Gaoling. As an ambassador, she'd helped negotiate reparation packages that have helped the parts of the world hit hardest by the war recover. As one of Zuko's most trusted counselors, she'd helped him work the Fire Nation's budget so the government could provide for education, health and services for returning soldiers. The same kinds of programs she'd helped Hakoda and Sokka build in the Southern Water Tribe. It suddenly struck Hakoda that she had been acting as Fire Lady for a long time. Before she and Zuko had even realized they were in love, maybe. Today and tomorrow would just make it official. Hakoda still didn't think the Fire Nation deserved a Katara, but any chance he had of talking her out of it had long since slipped by him. And he now he wasn't sure he would talk her out of it, even if he did have the chance.

The final touches were done. The maids stepped back in a flurry of excited chatter. Kanna stepped forward, moving stiffly in her old age, smiling up at her granddaughter through tears. She had had this moment with Kya years ago, and Kya should be standing in her place now. Kanna reached out and ran her fingertips over the necklace she had passed to her daughter, and her daughter had passed on to Katara. Kya was here, Kanna assured herself. And Kya would be here with Katara as she made these next steps, first as a wife, then as a queen, then someday as a mother and grandmother herself.

"She would be so proud," Kanna told Katara. The two women embraced. Then Katara stood up, head high and looking as regal as any queen in any nation ever had, and turned to Hakoda.

"Are you ready, Dad?" she asked. Hakoda shook his head.

"I was never going to be ready for this," he confessed. "But it doesn't matter. You are ready."

#atla #zutara #fire lady katara #hakoda #father of the bride has a moment