#which is the point of the train duh its the plot of the season n shti but its just

[the-golden-ghost]

Top 10 avatar episodes? (ATLA or LOK)

I've never seen LOK so... A:TLA it is!

The Siege of the North: (technically this is a two-part episode but shh) anyway WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH?! Siege of the North is flawless. Amazing Showstopping Impeccable. The scene where ash starts raining from the sky, changing the tone of the scene from peace to tension? The glimpse of the rows upon rows of Fire Nation ships and the sinking dread it brings? The waterbenders in action? The part where Arnook is going “some of these faces will disappear from our tribe for good” and it flashes to Han, Yue, and Pakku, all of whom did indeed leave but for different reasons? The part where Zhao traps the Moon Spirit and the WHOLE WORLD goes red? And then gray after he kills it!??! And the only color left in the world is the glow from the fire and YUE’S EYES!? Koh? Iroh’s confirmation that Zuko is son in all but technicality? Yue’s sacrifice? There is just SO much good stuff in this episode and I’m not even listing all of it I’m just listing what I can remember. Peak season finale 10/10. Outstanding.

The Tales of Ba Sing Se: Okay it’s pretty obvious why I like this one and the answer is “because it owns, duh” but beyond that it’s just a nice episode. It’s not big, and intense, but there’s plenty of Big Intense Episodes. This one’s just everyone going about their lives and we get a lot of quiet reminders that while these are the Saviors of the World they’re also just people (and a lemur) with their own problems and desires and wants. It’s just kind of nice to have a slice of life episode that doesn’t... feel like just an odd shoehorned plot (like some of the season 1 filler episodes I could name...) but actually feels like it’s about the characters.

The Deserter: GOD this episode is so pretty. I’m talking about the lighting and art design. Seriously go watch one of the other earlier episodes of s1 and then watch this. The soft filtered lighting with a subtle gold/orange tint to it, hinting at the element we’re covering in this episode? Gorgeous. The foreshadowing is also glorious. Magnificent, even. When I rewatched the show a few months ago I was catching little subtleties that went over my head as a kid. It works beautifully as a self-contained piece and also in tandem with its sister episode, the Firebending Masters. It’s also got the ONLY Zhao vs Aang battle in the entire season. I could go on about it more but I won’t, it’s just a SOLID episode and I think it’s underrated.

The Southern Raiders: Okay I know everyone likes this episode for the part where Katara makes the rain stop and that’s also why I like it. That was one of the most memorable moments of the whole SERIES for me. Beyond that there’s the flashback to Kya’s death which... we’ve known about it. We’ve known about it for the whole series. It’s affected Katara and Sokka deeply and we see it through their actions, but we’ve never really known what happened. Here, we do. And we get to see it from three perspectives, three times over. And then there’s Aang’s and Katara’s conflicting ideas of justice and vengeance and whether violence is ever necessary or justified. It’s just... a good episode.

Sokka’s Master: The Only Sokka Episode (but really why did it take until season 3 to give him one!? He deserves better) Anyway Piandao is the best teacher character in the series bar none so there’s that. For another thing we actually get to see Sokka at his best and realize just how necessary he really is. He sort of gets written off (even IN the show) as pure comic relief or just the One Nonbender Who Hangs Out With All The Cool Guys but here we have a Justice For Sokka episode that goes ‘you know what? Nah’ and points out that he’s a strategic genius who carries the team from behind. AND that he can be a badass, too.

The Runaway: First of all the episode opening with the END of the events was kind of a fun gimmick. I mean it’s not hard to see where it’s going but it was different. Secondly it’s about time we got a Toph episode that isn’t just about her not getting along with her teammates or about being blind. For example, in this one she becomes a career criminal. It’s what she deserves. Also the stuff about them all missing their parents and driving home the fact that this is a group of lost children is surprisingly heartfelt. (I’m not describing it well but I love this episode)

The Blue Spirit: This episode gives us some of our first inklings of Zuko As Good Guy and boy does it deliver. The thing that gets me about this one is the tension of the situation. I remember being a kid and seeing Aang trapped and alone and being like “oh shit” because for the first time, he doesn’t have his friends. Except he had a ~friend all along~. Also the herbalist is an icon.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord: We Love a Flashback Episode and we especially love one that comes with the caveat that “friendships can last more than one lifetime”. We also love to be sappy. We also love to make fun of Roku for not realizing that he was in love with Sozin.

The King of Omashu: Bumi is The Character Of All Time and I think I appreciate him more than any other minor character on the show so jot that down. This episode is so goofy and so much fun but it feels organic and light because we’re still early and we haven’t hit the point yet where the goofy episodes are annoying and out of place (looking at YOU, Nightmares and Daydreams...) also when I was a kid I totally missed the idea that Bumi was testing Aang not to see if he was smart n’ talented but to actually find out if he’d learned any of the other 3 bending episodes. “Don’t you have any surprises for me?” And Bumi’s earthbending having airbending elements that are specific to his bending... because he’s one of the only earthbenders alive who knew and trained with airbenders... I die. I feel similarly to Jeong Jeong’s firebending taking after waterbenders because he’s envied them and giving him a unique style of his own... I LOVE when the show gives minor characters these little details that make them stand out okay I ADORE it

The Blind Bandit: Okay this one’s just a fun episode and the character designs slap. The Final Battle (tm) also slaps. Toph’s bending style? The dinner scene? The reference to Dwayne Johnson? It’s all good and the animation for Earth Rumble XI was off the charts.

#a:tla #I spend like two hours writing all this out but I don't think anyone will read it #alas alas