"Strike me! You've NEVER held back before!" That one line shows you ow broken, how *truly* broken Zuko is from the years and years of torment from his father and sister.
9:15 it's easy to see how Sokka immediately goes back on his promise to give up meat since he immediately asks about it, but if you notice his entire conversation with Aang he's being sarcastic too, going back on the other thing he promised to give up.
There's so much great lore in this episode. The scene where Iroh is teaching Zuko about the four nations is such a foundational lesson for anybody, it's amazing to see a message like that in a kids show. The mechanics of lightning bending is so interesting, both the power and the danger. It's also interesting how Iroh learned to redirect lightning from waterbending, I think it makes sense given how a lot of waterbending is just redirecting water, Katara vs Pakku is a good example of that. On the team Avatar side, the way that mentality effects the different kinds of bending makes it really cool, the amount of thought they put into it all is so great and a lot of it really adds to the themes of the show, especially with firebending.
It isn't even the first time we've seen Iroh use a technique borrowed from another nation. When he stopped Zhao from attacking Zuko during their Agni Kai, Iroh used an Earth bending movement to redirect the fire.
I love that last scene with zuko so much. Granted we don't live in a magic world where I was burned, but my childhood was still very similar to how they show zukos. Having to earn love causes a pretty intense hatred to grow inside of you
That last scene with Zuko breaks my fucking heart every time I see it. It's no exaggeration to say I've watched and rewatched this entire series (and the sequel series) over a hundred times. But no matter how often I see it, that last scene... him yelling his pain and rage and confusion into a world that only ever caused him grief and suffering... man. His character arc is just so damn BRILLIANT. Because going from bad to good, and growing as a person in general... it's not linear. And it's not easy. It's painful, it's difficult, it's discouraging and it really can make you just want to give up. From the very beginning, even as a main antagonist, I've always admired the level of determination that kid has.
This episode establishes that your philosophy and mindset is *crucial* when it comes to bending. Aang struggles to learn Earthbending because it requires not only confidence, but physical & mental fortitude. To literally be as sturdy and immovable as the earth. Which, obviously, clashes with the very passive style/philosophy Aang is used to as an Airbender Whereas Zuko is struggling with the fact that he can't master summoning Lightning like Azula because he simply has too much inner turmoil. He has all the rage & passion a Firebender *should* have, but its not tempered or focused. However, Iroh teaching him about how you can learn different aspects of bending simply by observing the other styles is SUPER relevant because we've *alredy seen* Zuko incorporate them. He's just being made aware of it. We've seen him deflect attacks while standing his ground like an Earthbender, in the previous season we saw him keeping warm in the North Pole using his breath like an Airbender and now Iroh is teaching him how to redirect Lightning using Waterbending techniques. Its both a cool expansion on the lore of Bending and an effective metaphor for *literally* learning from other cultures to discover new things about yourself you wouldn't have otherwise.
And so, just when Zuko feels that he's claimed the tiniest measure of control over his life, a way to dish back the crap that the universe has heaped on to him, it hurts him in an all new way: it ignores him
This episode is 1 of my favourites as it helped understand lightning bending and each of the bending disciplines, bending types aren't just genetic but also a mindset and techniques, which also explains why Aang was so good at waterbending in the beginning, waterbending and airbending have similar movements, techniques and defense being used as offense
Excellent work in this episode its excels at parallel storylines, and "Bitter Work" did just that with Aang and Zuko's stories here. Both challenged the characters to think differently about how to approach their hurdles, and both shed light on some of the subtler intricacies of bending -- specifically elemental opposites and sub-skills. At the same time, this episode offered plenty of comedy for the characters, especially Sokka, whose predicament dovetailed nicely with Aang's earthbending training.
The different yet similar situation between Aang and Zuko here is one of the more noticeable ones in the series. While both go through hard training that forces them to re-evaluate their identities and attitudes, Aang is the one that succeeds, while Zuko supposedly fails (Also yeah, when the infinite pool of wisdom Iroh says someone is crazy, they're just straight-up crazy)
Iroh didn't say this about his own brother who he already knows is a bastard or even Zhao but Azula is depraved enough for even Iroh to want to put her into the ground.
I agree with your stance on pride. Pride often hides shame and ignorance. A truly strong and intelligent person is humbled by their awareness of what they do not understand. I also think loyalty is viewed similarly. Loyalty is not always a strength or positive. I think our society needs to scrutinize loyalty and how it is used.
One of my favorite details is the not so subtle disrespect from Toph as she used Aang's staff as a blind cane when she has clearly demonstrated she doesn't need it. 😂
One of my favorite episodes in how it contrasts/parallels Aang & Zuko. Also, Foo Foo Cuddlypoops is adorable, possibly the cutest hybrid animal of ATLA. Also, I believe that the title of the episode, Bitter Work, is actually the Cantonese translation of "kung fu." Sifu Kisu, the fighting instruction & consultant on ATLA, has referred to martial arts training in the old-school Chinese tradition as "bitter work." The title is not spoken in this episode but you will hear it said in a latter one.
My favorite part of this episode is that they're both faced with mastering difficult aspects of themselves. Zuko wants to bend lightning but the key is mastering his inner turmoil and clearing his mind, something that would benefit him much more than blasting lightning from his fingers (this is also the true advantage Azula has over him). Aang is trying to earthbend but what he's really mastering is what Bumi told him before, mastering neutral Jing. It is the ability to stop, listen, and analyze, which is something that Aang has struggled with as an impulsive 112 year old (riding koi fish, burning katara, exploring the fire nation ship, etc.)
The Zuko scene on the cliff is an homage to Vegeta just before he achieves Super Saiyan by himself for the first time on his training planet and has almost given up all hope.
6:25 A Squirrel-goat-cow? 😆 that's a fierce Saber-toothed Moose Lion! 13:14 It's almost as if their character traits embodies the element they are bending, no?
Fun fact for those that don't know: The ability to redirect lightning is exclusively a fire bending technique. I know it may seem like any bender can do it based on how Iroh describes it in this episode but Dante Basco (Zukos voice actor) outright confirmed this on the Official Avatar RUclips Channel. And considering that no other kinds of benders in both this show and it's sequel show have ever even attempted to try it, I'm inclined to believe it!!
I believe it as Fire as we seen in various examples is more than just flames, it's the control of energy. I think Firebending has great potential to go beyond as society progresses.
I always thought the little moose was just pulling his hair because kid things right? Actually given that it gave him food I think it's trying to pull him out but is too small to do it. Smart little guy :)
In terms from learning from other cultures, the fire nation nobles were fascinated with air nomad scriptures as they were rare works. Certain nobles read and practiced the teachings. It is theorized that chi blocking that Ty Lee knows stems from air nomad's works of understanding chi and other environmental/body understandings in the spritual level.
Definitely one of the better episodes for expanding the lore of the world and understanding bending as a whole. We get a breakdown on how lightningbending works as a sub-set of firebending, get to grips with earthbending, further define key differences in the cultures and establish that even though each culture and philosophy is different, people can still learn from them, even if they're polar opposites. I've already talked at length here before about the differences in the bending styles so I won't repeat myself too much, but if you take what Iroh says here and go back and re-watch the series, you can easily see how this idea of learning from and incorporating other bending disciplines into one's own style, has been part of the show from the beginning. It's most obvious with how he's been training Zuko this whole time.
Iroh is a cool character. He was a general though, and no doubt has done a few bad things in his day. But he grew as a person, it is sad that it took his son dying for him to essentially change. If his son never passed away Iroh could have been fire lord, but also a conquerer.
Aang knows earth bending lets goo. Iroh definatley knows that Azula is someone to just take down. Zuko really did take care of his uncle even making tea for him. He also doesent go balistic when Iroh makes his jokes just letting him have his moms because he just got blasted by Azula. If we really think about it at least since ep 7 Zuko probably keeps his pride in being the crown prince or well former crown prince because his mother told him never to forget who he is so his pride is one of the few theters he has left to her. In the final moments even the world just completley snubs him after finally having a chance to give somthing back to it after Iroh wisely decided not to shoot lightning on to his nephew. At this point you gonna feel a bit bad for the guy.
She did call him a pussy, your ears just lied to you. Toph is skilled at swearing without actually swearing! I love this episode. Makes you think about how culture informs character, and has some great worldbuilding, teaching us at the same time as the characters. Amazing work from Mako and Dante Basco as Iroh and Zuko, too, you can feel the warmth and respect between the two actors going into their performances.
Aang is so much stronger than toph too, he's just too kind and put up with a lot of shit. He should of dropped her a couple of times considering how mean she was, but that would of probably destroyed her ego and she'd would of stopped teaching him.
at this point Aang is not really stronger. Sure he has an upper hand because of being an Air bender but thats it. Using more elements only benefits in terms of options, but a true master of one element is stronger than someone who can use all 4 on an advanced level. Technically Toph did nothing wrong here. A teacher should usually be strict and teach discipline too. Aang is just a kid and thats why very impatient, not only because he has a time limit.
@@xSpyroTheDragon Yup. To paraphrase Bruce Lee, "don't fear the guy who has practiced 10,000 different kicks once, fear the guy who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
I feel like I'm alone in feeling that Toph genuinely should have listened to Katara and changed her approach. Different students learn differently and I think they wouldn't have needed such extreme circumstances for Aang to learn if Toph wasn't actively antagonistic.
shes like 9 years old they are all kids, should be impressed she is even able to teach at all let alone have an adaptable teaching style of a 60 year old trainer, more canon reason shes head strong like a proper earthbender and is teaching aang to toughen up, each bending style has a certain personality and culture tied to it, air benders are passive and easily can change theyre thinking and ways vice versa to earth benders, they represent theyre corresponding element
Fundamentally I agree with you. Especially in a real life situation. The only issue is that bending really is tied to more than just technique, you really have to learn and adapt a whole new mindset, and for Earthbending that unfortunately involves stubbornness and being uncompromising. So in universe I think that’s the way it has to be, but in reality adapting to a persons learning style is truly key to help them succeed.
I disagree. This was perfect for Aang. He needed to be pushed out of his comfort zone to understand what Earthbending is all about. Standing your ground, physically and mentally. I had a similar thing happen when I started spending more time with my father, but reverse. I had always been very stubborn and passionate. And my dad is very go with the flow "whatever". So he has no issue taking off at 7am unpacked to go hiking, but I would need like 4 hours to prepare in advance and be very preoccupied with my belongings and what to do/eat all day. Him forcing me to go with him has actually helped me become more resourceful, adaptable, and relaxed. Even though the first few times I cried and had a panic attack. It works. It does.
I disagree. that would not fit to master earth bending in the first place to be "gentle". It´s a rough element and should be taught same way. Aang lacks discipline, which was already clear during his water bending training at the water tribe. That´s something every student should learn to be able to learn or even master something at all., especially when it comes to fighting.
@@xSpyroTheDragon Toph wasn't really teaching discipline here. Also you can give positive reinforcement without being too "gentle". Toph 's method here basically made Aang give up on their lesson here multiple times and only came back because Katara actually encouraged him. And that is the thing, rather than trying to antagonize him into doing what she wanted a better teacher could push just as hard while encouraging him and reminding him that he is the avatar. He is an earth bender and he has mastered it before. He has faced that rock head on and can do it again.
"Strike me! You've NEVER held back before!" That one line shows you ow broken, how *truly* broken Zuko is from the years and years of torment from his father and sister.
9:15 it's easy to see how Sokka immediately goes back on his promise to give up meat since he immediately asks about it, but if you notice his entire conversation with Aang he's being sarcastic too, going back on the other thing he promised to give up.
There's so much great lore in this episode. The scene where Iroh is teaching Zuko about the four nations is such a foundational lesson for anybody, it's amazing to see a message like that in a kids show. The mechanics of lightning bending is so interesting, both the power and the danger. It's also interesting how Iroh learned to redirect lightning from waterbending, I think it makes sense given how a lot of waterbending is just redirecting water, Katara vs Pakku is a good example of that. On the team Avatar side, the way that mentality effects the different kinds of bending makes it really cool, the amount of thought they put into it all is so great and a lot of it really adds to the themes of the show, especially with firebending.
It isn't even the first time we've seen Iroh use a technique borrowed from another nation. When he stopped Zhao from attacking Zuko during their Agni Kai, Iroh used an Earth bending movement to redirect the fire.
I just love Toph just batting around Aang's staff like a waking stick 8:42
I love that last scene with zuko so much. Granted we don't live in a magic world where I was burned, but my childhood was still very similar to how they show zukos. Having to earn love causes a pretty intense hatred to grow inside of you
That last scene with Zuko breaks my fucking heart every time I see it. It's no exaggeration to say I've watched and rewatched this entire series (and the sequel series) over a hundred times. But no matter how often I see it, that last scene... him yelling his pain and rage and confusion into a world that only ever caused him grief and suffering... man. His character arc is just so damn BRILLIANT. Because going from bad to good, and growing as a person in general... it's not linear. And it's not easy. It's painful, it's difficult, it's discouraging and it really can make you just want to give up. From the very beginning, even as a main antagonist, I've always admired the level of determination that kid has.
This episode establishes that your philosophy and mindset is *crucial* when it comes to bending.
Aang struggles to learn Earthbending because it requires not only confidence, but physical & mental fortitude. To literally be as sturdy and immovable as the earth. Which, obviously, clashes with the very passive style/philosophy Aang is used to as an Airbender
Whereas Zuko is struggling with the fact that he can't master summoning Lightning like Azula because he simply has too much inner turmoil. He has all the rage & passion a Firebender *should* have, but its not tempered or focused.
However, Iroh teaching him about how you can learn different aspects of bending simply by observing the other styles is SUPER relevant because we've *alredy seen* Zuko incorporate them. He's just being made aware of it.
We've seen him deflect attacks while standing his ground like an Earthbender, in the previous season we saw him keeping warm in the North Pole using his breath like an Airbender and now Iroh is teaching him how to redirect Lightning using Waterbending techniques.
Its both a cool expansion on the lore of Bending and an effective metaphor for *literally* learning from other cultures to discover new things about yourself you wouldn't have otherwise.
This is in fact my favorite lesson in the entire series
And it's a lesson that can apply in real life too, learning from other cultures and apply those lessons to improve your life.
This one episode itself is an excellent example of why Korra is BULLSHIT.
And so, just when Zuko feels that he's claimed the tiniest measure of control over his life, a way to dish back the crap that the universe has heaped on to him, it hurts him in an all new way: it ignores him
This episode is 1 of my favourites as it helped understand lightning bending and each of the bending disciplines, bending types aren't just genetic but also a mindset and techniques, which also explains why Aang was so good at waterbending in the beginning, waterbending and airbending have similar movements, techniques and defense being used as offense
Excellent work in this episode its excels at parallel storylines, and "Bitter Work" did just that with Aang and Zuko's stories here. Both challenged the characters to think differently about how to approach their hurdles, and both shed light on some of the subtler intricacies of bending -- specifically elemental opposites and sub-skills. At the same time, this episode offered plenty of comedy for the characters, especially Sokka, whose predicament dovetailed nicely with Aang's earthbending training.
The different yet similar situation between Aang and Zuko here is one of the more noticeable ones in the series. While both go through hard training that forces them to re-evaluate their identities and attitudes, Aang is the one that succeeds, while Zuko supposedly fails
(Also yeah, when the infinite pool of wisdom Iroh says someone is crazy, they're just straight-up crazy)
Iroh didn't say this about his own brother who he already knows is a bastard or even Zhao but Azula is depraved enough for even Iroh to want to put her into the ground.
I agree with your stance on pride. Pride often hides shame and ignorance. A truly strong and intelligent person is humbled by their awareness of what they do not understand. I also think loyalty is viewed similarly. Loyalty is not always a strength or positive. I think our society needs to scrutinize loyalty and how it is used.
"I'm not crying! That's just the rain!" And yet, an important moment for him.
if Iroh was real, i'd pay money to have him teach me life itself. hell, we all could have an iroh in life. we probably do and just not realise it.
One of my favorite details is the not so subtle disrespect from Toph as she used Aang's staff as a blind cane when she has clearly demonstrated she doesn't need it. 😂
One of my favorite episodes in how it contrasts/parallels Aang & Zuko. Also, Foo Foo Cuddlypoops is adorable, possibly the cutest hybrid animal of ATLA.
Also, I believe that the title of the episode, Bitter Work, is actually the Cantonese translation of "kung fu." Sifu Kisu, the fighting instruction & consultant on ATLA, has referred to martial arts training in the old-school Chinese tradition as "bitter work." The title is not spoken in this episode but you will hear it said in a latter one.
My favorite part of this episode is that they're both faced with mastering difficult aspects of themselves. Zuko wants to bend lightning but the key is mastering his inner turmoil and clearing his mind, something that would benefit him much more than blasting lightning from his fingers (this is also the true advantage Azula has over him). Aang is trying to earthbend but what he's really mastering is what Bumi told him before, mastering neutral Jing. It is the ability to stop, listen, and analyze, which is something that Aang has struggled with as an impulsive 112 year old (riding koi fish, burning katara, exploring the fire nation ship, etc.)
Awesome reaction of my favorite Avatar The Last Airbender episode!!!!!!😊😊😊😊😊😊
This one of my favorites too. Time to level up
The Zuko scene on the cliff is an homage to Vegeta just before he achieves Super Saiyan by himself for the first time on his training planet and has almost given up all hope.
I don't think they saw that from the abridged. It was just "I wanna be a super saiyan!"
When was that confirmed?
@@RedKing12000 It is obvious. Just like the final fight has shots that are ode to the first Goku v Vegeta fight.
“i wanna be a super saiyan!!!!”
@@TerxdAnims"I WANNA, I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA I WANNA!!!"
8:22 there's actually an edit of exactly what you're talking about, and it sounds scarily accurate! look it up sometime
6:25 A Squirrel-goat-cow? 😆 that's a fierce Saber-toothed Moose Lion!
13:14 It's almost as if their character traits embodies the element they are bending, no?
Squirrel Goat Cow would’ve been epic though 😜
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2but what would it sound like?
Toph is Tough!
Another really great episode and that little moose donkey cub thingy.. i want one. 😊
Cute until it grows up though 😯 gonna need to build a big barn
Fun fact for those that don't know:
The ability to redirect lightning is exclusively a fire bending technique. I know it may seem like any bender can do it based on how Iroh describes it in this episode but Dante Basco (Zukos voice actor) outright confirmed this on the Official Avatar RUclips Channel. And considering that no other kinds of benders in both this show and it's sequel show have ever even attempted to try it, I'm inclined to believe it!!
I believe it as Fire as we seen in various examples is more than just flames, it's the control of energy. I think Firebending has great potential to go beyond as society progresses.
Spoilers.
Aang does it but I guess he gets the avatar pass.
@@samuelclayhills3298aang is a firebender
When ever I’m at the gym I always think about this episode
Another such a good episode. Lighthearted times, deep moments, character growth. And there's still more to come
Great reaction and discussion as always!
Appreciate that 🤗
"Mock my pride" Vegeta Abridged.
I always thought the little moose was just pulling his hair because kid things right? Actually given that it gave him food I think it's trying to pull him out but is too small to do it. Smart little guy :)
Iroh is just the absolute best
In terms from learning from other cultures, the fire nation nobles were fascinated with air nomad scriptures as they were rare works. Certain nobles read and practiced the teachings. It is theorized that chi blocking that Ty Lee knows stems from air nomad's works of understanding chi and other environmental/body understandings in the spritual level.
This is where the fun begins!!!! 🙏🏽💪
Iroh is the goat... but Toph is a close second
😎🤘
Easily one of the best book 2 episodes… aang and zuko paralleling eachother 🤤
If you don't already love Toph at this point, this episode will make that happen :D
Definitely one of the better episodes for expanding the lore of the world and understanding bending as a whole. We get a breakdown on how lightningbending works as a sub-set of firebending, get to grips with earthbending, further define key differences in the cultures and establish that even though each culture and philosophy is different, people can still learn from them, even if they're polar opposites.
I've already talked at length here before about the differences in the bending styles so I won't repeat myself too much, but if you take what Iroh says here and go back and re-watch the series, you can easily see how this idea of learning from and incorporating other bending disciplines into one's own style, has been part of the show from the beginning. It's most obvious with how he's been training Zuko this whole time.
Toph: You got to be like a rock.
Aang: Like a rock, got it.
Ken: Just like Bob Seger said
Me: 😂
4:02 the all mighty Iroh in action
😁
Iroh is a cool character.
He was a general though, and no doubt has done a few bad things in his day.
But he grew as a person, it is sad that it took his son dying for him to essentially change. If his son never passed away Iroh could have been fire lord, but also a conquerer.
Zuko literally cursing at God at the end of the episode lmao
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, what a shirt!
"Pride is not the opposite of shame, but the source".
TFS Vegeta: BULLSH*T!💢
😂
@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 Zuko is Vegeta
Cute dog.
Aang knows earth bending lets goo.
Iroh definatley knows that Azula is someone to just take down. Zuko really did take care of his uncle even making tea for him. He also doesent go balistic when Iroh makes his jokes just letting him have his moms because he just got blasted by Azula. If we really think about it at least since ep 7 Zuko probably keeps his pride in being the crown prince or well former crown prince because his mother told him never to forget who he is so his pride is one of the few theters he has left to her. In the final moments even the world just completley snubs him after finally having a chance to give somthing back to it after Iroh wisely decided not to shoot lightning on to his nephew. At this point you gonna feel a bit bad for the guy.
She did call him a pussy, your ears just lied to you.
Toph is skilled at swearing without actually swearing!
I love this episode. Makes you think about how culture informs character, and has some great worldbuilding, teaching us at the same time as the characters. Amazing work from Mako and Dante Basco as Iroh and Zuko, too, you can feel the warmth and respect between the two actors going into their performances.
Aang is so much stronger than toph too, he's just too kind and put up with a lot of shit.
He should of dropped her a couple of times considering how mean she was, but that would of probably destroyed her ego and she'd would of stopped teaching him.
at this point Aang is not really stronger. Sure he has an upper hand because of being an Air bender but thats it. Using more elements only benefits in terms of options, but a true master of one element is stronger than someone who can use all 4 on an advanced level. Technically Toph did nothing wrong here. A teacher should usually be strict and teach discipline too. Aang is just a kid and thats why very impatient, not only because he has a time limit.
@@xSpyroTheDragon Yup. To paraphrase Bruce Lee, "don't fear the guy who has practiced 10,000 different kicks once, fear the guy who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
I feel like I'm alone in feeling that Toph genuinely should have listened to Katara and changed her approach. Different students learn differently and I think they wouldn't have needed such extreme circumstances for Aang to learn if Toph wasn't actively antagonistic.
shes like 9 years old they are all kids, should be impressed she is even able to teach at all let alone have an adaptable teaching style of a 60 year old trainer, more canon reason shes head strong like a proper earthbender and is teaching aang to toughen up, each bending style has a certain personality and culture tied to it, air benders are passive and easily can change theyre thinking and ways vice versa to earth benders, they represent theyre corresponding element
Fundamentally I agree with you. Especially in a real life situation. The only issue is that bending really is tied to more than just technique, you really have to learn and adapt a whole new mindset, and for Earthbending that unfortunately involves stubbornness and being uncompromising. So in universe I think that’s the way it has to be, but in reality adapting to a persons learning style is truly key to help them succeed.
I disagree. This was perfect for Aang. He needed to be pushed out of his comfort zone to understand what Earthbending is all about. Standing your ground, physically and mentally.
I had a similar thing happen when I started spending more time with my father, but reverse. I had always been very stubborn and passionate. And my dad is very go with the flow "whatever". So he has no issue taking off at 7am unpacked to go hiking, but I would need like 4 hours to prepare in advance and be very preoccupied with my belongings and what to do/eat all day. Him forcing me to go with him has actually helped me become more resourceful, adaptable, and relaxed. Even though the first few times I cried and had a panic attack. It works. It does.
I disagree. that would not fit to master earth bending in the first place to be "gentle". It´s a rough element and should be taught same way.
Aang lacks discipline, which was already clear during his water bending training at the water tribe. That´s something every student should learn to be able to learn or even master something at all., especially when it comes to fighting.
@@xSpyroTheDragon Toph wasn't really teaching discipline here. Also you can give positive reinforcement without being too "gentle". Toph 's method here basically made Aang give up on their lesson here multiple times and only came back because Katara actually encouraged him. And that is the thing, rather than trying to antagonize him into doing what she wanted a better teacher could push just as hard while encouraging him and reminding him that he is the avatar. He is an earth bender and he has mastered it before. He has faced that rock head on and can do it again.