Actually no, she did that same thing in The Drill when Aang was passed out and she was about to strike him. She even saw him opening his eyes and still stood there. So, no, she ain't hot shit.
@ Sexay Shie Azula surely jobbed on the drill, but it doesn't changes the fact that the show actually broke the clichee with Azula just killing Aang while he's powering up.
Alex Harris omg I was just thinking that exact thing, I almost find it more fun to just watch him keep no expression when everyone else is so he doesn't give anything away!
If you ask me, aang fell victim to a main protagonist trope lmfao and Azula was the one that trampled him and broke the trope - quite literally. which is why I appreciate that scene so much. The main protagonist trope being the cliche when you're charging or being overcome with power you freeze and just sort of look powerful; gazing into the distance. protagonists in anime fall into this and it leaves them wide open and you're always like "is nobody attacking?!?!?" I actually enjoyed that in that cliche trope moment in which most people would think "well there's your opening" azula fucking shattered him. Instead of gazing in awe like the rest did and as a reaction most antagonists do when the protagonist goes through this classic trope of a scene
Allison Cornell I was just about to say that lol! As much as their hate for her is understandable, you gotta admit that at least she did something. While everyone (including Zuko) stood around waiting for Aang to "power-up", Azula was already a few steps ahead and getting ready to sneak attack him. I always saw that moment as a "I don't have time for silly games *BAM*" xD. She did what others couldn't or didn't do and I love that! I also loved how she, like you said, subverted a cliche.
Allison Cornell it just shows why Azula is one of the best villains I have ever seen, she's so out there compared of the usual bad characters like she just doesn't give a shit (oh your eyes are glowing, oh well time to die) I personally love the ending of season 3 that features her as well just because
In regards to what Aang did to unlock his last chakra, I think its more like he had to come to an understanding within himself that he couldn't put his love of one person over the fate of the world, which is something he might have done once upon a time, but now he has sorta accepted the fact that the world comes before his own happiness. If that makes sense?
CLUELESS man these guys can be idiots sometimes. as well as u commentators. if u love someone or something let it go. if it loves u back it will come back. not that hard of a concept.
This episode was so freaking subversive. Everything had been set up to redeem Zuko. They even had the metamorphosis. Everything looked as if he would change and then whoops still a bad guy. Then we have Aang getting mortally wounded during a moment where he powers up and sacrifices what he loves. Everything was set for Aang to enter the Avatar state and win but then suddenly Azula shoots him down. This is how you subvert expectations. Masterful story telling.
Long Fang :you beat me at my own game Azula: Don't flatter your self,you weren't even a player Yeah that's the line that made me fall in love with azula lol
I was in 5th grade when I saw this and I was like "Dad...is that a burn? I think that was a burn." It was. And my other favorite line from Azula is "The divine right to rule is something you're born with."
The seventh chakra didn't actually involve letting go of katara. It just dealt with learning to be willing to let her go. Also, as a side note, the lightning entered through his foot and all came out of his back. You can see his foot as he's falling, his back as katara puts in the spirit Water. Oh yeah: Aang was 100% dead, but katara's spirit water brought him back. So the avatar cycle was over, but now that Aang's back to life, it will continue.
Yeah people often confuse that. It doesn’t mean stop loving those you cared for, but instead you put them aside to what’s more important and at stake. Aang was too occupied with the idea of protecting Katara and that was what was holding him back. He needed to accept that Katara’s fate can’t be controlled or influenced by him, and even accept whatever might come her way.
DasTemplar 96 which means if it came to a point where Katara's life was weighed against the greator good, Aang would eventually let her go literally for the greater good
Katara crying over Aang's defeat towards Azula is what I imagine how the whole world would react if their one and only hope of ending the war was destroyed right in front of them. The despair on Katara's face speaks volumes.
Krystal Ortiz Honestly, I feel that reaction was more personal to Katara. Seeing one of her closest friends being killed (for all she knew) would do that to her.
Katara is crying obviously because she loves Aang and thinks he's dead. They are deeply connected since the second he wakes up in her arms and share a bond noone else shares in this show. They are friends, soul mates and eventually lovers.
@@softrivius5369 -- "eventually lovers" - I was about to be so mad you didn't tag that huge ass spoiler until I saw you made that comment only 3 weeks ago, lol
yeah as allison said, the avatar state doesn't automatically make you more sustainable to attacks if you get hit in the body. if you get struck by lightning you're DEAD! no matter what state you're in, the avatar state just makes it easier to dodge/block/counterattack as you have the skills and knowledge of your past lives who are all amazing
Bunnitt W I think that some people could survive the lightning strike without doing anything, just as in real life some people have. But yeah, in this case, Aang was DEAD. Only Magical Water combined with Katara's healing powers could bring him back.
Bunnitt W actually avatar state boosts your bending to it's very limit and gives you the knowledge and experience of all the previous avatars that's why Korra's avatar state is so weak her bending is hightened but she doesn't have the experience from the previous avatars
Bunnitt W yeah previous avatars have told Aang multiple times and even the Guru, once you've been killed in the avatar state there's no coming back it's over, but thank god for Katara and her healing water and abilities
The setup to that line ruins it for me. “You’ve beaten me at my own game.” It just sounds inhuman to say that instead of, for example, getting angry and throwing an insult or just being in shock. I feel like him acting scared but saying something like “This is my game we’re playing” as assertively as he can while being afraid would have been a much better setup
One of my favorite Episodes. Especially the Zuko part, you can feel the conflict within him, just when things were going so well for him Azula comes and brings him back to darkness
Arthur Teixeira I know that's what sucked I really hated to see him go back there, I really wanted him to just be good and forget about his past and family and nation
Fake Account That's true and understandable, but Azula was telling him the same thing in the first episode of book 2 and that nearly got him killed, so i wanted like Zuko to realize that Azula cannot be trusted again you know, and he had already cut ties from his family and nation by cutting his hair thats what that means, and still Iroh is more of family to him than the whole fire nation combined he should've never betrayed him, but thanks to Azula... lol, i really get emotional wiht this episode, Zuko is my favorite character and I hated to see how he acted at the end and going back to his old ways and betraying Katara and especially Iroh.
+imaad Uddin I do agree. It was really dumb for Zuko, after all his character development this book, to end up doing the exact same thing he did in the beginning by siding with Azula over Iroh. I mean, WHY does he trust Azula when he obviously had no reason to? More over why is Azula even offering to team up with Zuko when she spent the whole book hunting him? It makes no sense...
ShinobiPXO I know it really doesn't, and especially after his awakening that he had which shows he's a different person you know, I just find it really out of character of him to betray Iroh, like he had a better chance of betraying him in Book 1 when he was obsessed with capturing Aang, but in Book 2 after how they bonded and his awakening he'd still go stab Iroh in the back like that? Like Idk man that's just ooc for me and it hurts me every time to see it.
I've always loved this episode cause it shows that Zuko was just pretending to have found his path when in reality he was even more lost than ever, and the look iroh gave him just gave me all the feels
Shadi Wajed I see it as he was lying to himself, trying to accept that what Iroh was saying was true because it seemed right, but then Azula came along used the exact wording she knew would confuse him, it was only later on that he then found his true path. This is all my opinion not fact 😊
We both just stating our opinions, no facts here :) Well, you can find yourself then lose it, or relapse as I said. I don't think that in real life there's an "Awakening" moment, it's a process that goes on as long as you are alive, and relapsing is just a part of it. and I think the writers of the show wanted to show that exactly, that's why they made the episode of Zuko's seemingly finding his true path very close to the episode of his relapse. and I love this show "and Korra" particularly for treating those themes in a mature way.
A part of me does wonder what Azula stood to gain here in letting Zuko return to the fold. Azula had to know that zuko with his honour restored would be Fire Lord , so why wouldn't she feed Ozai some story and betray Zuko after she had beaten the Earth Kingdom. She only decides to give Zuko credit for the Avatar's defeat, upon suspecting that he's hiding something about the Avatar.Did she genuinely want to help him before that point
Neeta Song I think, being a villain (and a great one at that), the producers wanted to have her that one step further where she doesn't have to make something up to ruin him when she can let him do it himself. I think it just shows how mentally mixed up she has become over the years to point where being idolised (for killing the avatar) is less important to her than Zuko being shamed by the entire nation, thereby NEVER being able to return. This obviously just speculation but it's what I've always thought.
@@insertcringynamehere I know, but he was brought back as the Avatar, not as a normal person, which means the Avatar cycle wasn't broken, which means he never actually died in the Avatar state. This is just what makes more sense according to the lore.
Tomas Roque no, he was killed in the avatar state which meant that for a good few minutes, the avatar cycle was in fact dead. Otherwise, a new avatar would’ve been born during the time aang was dead and he’d be brought back as either a regular air bender, non bender, or simply a bender of all four elements without the avatar state. Since we know that there has never two avatars at the same time (not counting LOK since those circumstances are different) that means that aang AND the avatar state were in fact dead. This also makes sense lore wise, if the avatar is the bridge between the spirit world and the material world then it stands to reason that spirit water in the hands of a prodigious healer would be able to revive the avatar spirit. This makes even more sense if you include the Raava light spirit aspect of the avatar but I personally don’t find that facet of the avatar lore to compelling, but that’s just me.
Hearing Erik going "I don´t trust this new Zuko", while Kelvin keeping himself cool and not giving anything away, was just the final confirmation for me. You guys are amazing!
glad you guys like the heroes lol but come on Azula is sick, she planned every move & killed the Avatar surprised y'all werent that surprised with everything
Hasani Houston yeah lol Azula is sick from making Zuko betray Iroh and Katara to striking Aang with lighting that's all messed up, but that's what makes her awesome and one of the best villains ever
GA y Y AYYAYY YA YY ay y YYAGA Y Gaya yag ay GAYA GAGAYA Ygay yakashi fuck mehard bruh gay ya Or they'll just hate her even more lol, it could go both ways and I'm leaning on the hate Azula more path
I think what makes them (and myself really) hate Azula is not her skill or badassery, because she definitely has that, it's the fact that she's so damn smug about everything she does, it makes her seem so bitchy.
she is an interesting character, but she isn't meant to be a likable character.... that is the freakin essence of her character. That is the concept of antagonists. They can be great characters, but they are supposed to be guys that contrast the likable protagonists. That doesn't mean that antagonists can't be likable in certain ways or become good, but in the end they are still meant to be "evil"
@@Jug_or_not right it's so laughable that people get surprised when people don't like the villains on shows or movies. They're VILLAINS. You're supposed to hate them.
You know what I love about this series is there is always someone saying "This is my favourite episode" Or "They are getting to my favourite episode" Shows how good this show actually is, I don't think I can have one particular episode that's my favourite.
@@TalhaMansoor I disagree with some choices, specially The Waterbending Master, that episode is very good, I did not get Nostalgia Critic's complaints, it is very effective.
i know you guys dont see this but let me comment on the azula thing you mentioned. She struck lightning at his heart, it doesn't matter how strong or weak the fire bender is who would have been the one to have shot the lightning. lightning to the heart is fatal, avatar or not. They mention this with the zuko/iroh training. Nor does being the avatar give you some strength of resistance to attacks. You're just as weak as a normal person, physically body wise. Weak points of human bodies remain unchanged. The same way if someone shot an arrow at the soft part of the back of his head or neck when he did that,the same thing would have happened. He would have dropped like a fly, you feel? azulas strength doesn't come into play here. aang dropped his guard in the avatar state and Azula strategically and maniacally used that to her advantage. A child who could shoot lightning could have taken out aang at that time. A guard dropped is fatal.
Allison Cornell yeah exactly just because he is in the avatar state doesn't mean he's invincible, he's still vulnerable and can be hurt or killed like a normal person as seen in this episode
Very true. *Spoilers for anyone who didn't see Resurrection of F* It's the same concept as when Goku, in Super Saiyan Blue form, was shot through the heart by a ray gun because he dropped his guard.
That's what I also like about the Avatar State, it doesn't make you impervious to attacks. Yes, it heightens your awareness and obviously makes your bending powers far stronger by tenfold, but it doesn't give you heightened resistance, not to mention that he took Azula's lightning in the back (his body still felt it all the same).
This episode is amazing! I love all the characters Azula is smart and powerful but as we saw when she fought Katara she's not unstoppable same thing with Aang in the Avatar state extremely powerful but not unstoppable on any given day any of these characters can lose given the circumstances the good guy's don't just win because there the good guy's. This show is so good.
Amogh Prabhakar Yeah I understand that but they way the whole book was going it looked like Zuko left his nation, which is why he cut his hair in the first episode of book 2, the symbolizes that he has cut ties with his nation and family, i thought he was going to be good for sure, him being my favorite character and all and seeing him betray Iroh and Katara just sucked
What I find really interesting about Azula is despite all of her negative character traits, she is surprisingly very accepting and even reliant on non-firebenders. 1. Her very old firebending mentors, Lo and Li, openly admit in the series finale that they themselves are not actually firebenders. 2. In Book 2, she enlists the help of Mai and Ty Lee in tracking down Zuko and the Avatar, who are non-firebenders. 3. She usurps control of the Dai Li from Long Feng and kept them as her own personal enforcers and bodyguards until she banished them and everyone else in her service during the finale. I just find that really interesting.
And when she revives him on Appa the scene's blocking is identical to the scene at the very beginning of the series when she cracked him out of the iceberg.
They were watching these sequentially, but imagine being a kid when this came out, with this HUGE twist at the end, and the last thing we hear from this show for nearly a whole year is "The Earth Kingdom has fallen". That cliffhanger was on par with some HBO series.
@@protector_of_the_realms LET ME GUESS, it's because Zutara wasn't canon, lol. You left so many comments shouting "Zutara!" on various comment threads, so the salt is palpable, lol
@@ember-brandt ... ... ... ... ... ... yes also because I was hoping for someone to die in a sacrifice but mostly the Zutara thing, this is mostly my fault because when I was 6-12 or something I saw one of the last episodes when Zuko jumps in Katar's way to save her from the lightning, and I've always been a sucker for that stuff so it always made sense to me that there was some romantic thing going on there but I hadn't seen any of the other episodes or the next one which was the finale so I just assumed this was the case and then years later when I for some reason decided to watch the whole series I got worked up about that relationship from the start and with all the hints fueled the fire to a point where I was sure it was going to happen, then I somehow heard about Zutara on the internet but never heard Kataang so I took this as confirmation it would happen and was left shocked when it didn't. Zutara always felt natural to me, the Kataang always has and will feel a bit forced, awkward and weird
I know a lot of people don't like what Zuko did. I don't either, but I totally understand it. This had to be one of the best scenes of atla because it's so real. When I watched the episodes before this, I knew zuko wasn't really at peace and he was he was just trying to cope with the idea of being good and living a normal life, but I knew deep down that he hated the position he was in. Then when he heard azulas temptation, he didn't hesitate to grab it. It's like a smoker who quit 2 months ago, if there is a whole bunch of people smoking a cigarette around him and they offer him it , he will definitely take it. Temptation is so frequent in this world and I love how they displayed it in this episode, showing that people do make mistakes and backtrack. And after this episode zuko became my favorite character on the show and on tv. He's one of the most realistic and complex characters ever to me...and he became hot in season 2 and 3😍😂
Numayam bruh I legit had to read my comment cause I posted that three years ago. But imma say this...did I say it was ok cause he’s hot? Or are you just putting words in my mouth...Please reread my comment with common sense before you talk shit😒.
So...poop got real, huh? ;) Zuko turned on Iroh, Azula basically killed Aang, and the Earth Kingdom has finally fallen...Lots of stuff! I also just loved Azula in this finale! She not only brilliantly came up with a coup by using the Dai Li, but she also played Long Feng like a fool, was able to turn Zuko to her side with *just* the right words (she definitely knows people's weaknesses and when to use it against them lol), *and* she took the initiative and actually did something about Aang while everyone else was standing around waiting and watching him basically power-up. It's a good thing you don't have to wait a whole year for S3, because that wait was so long and dreadful for me as a kid.
It was weird for me because I got busy with other things and didnt even know s3 had come out until much later so i had no catch up. Still when i found out it was out, i died XD
Jonathan Robinson lolol you gotta learn to redirect that lightening otherwise you're screwed, but I believe Aang would've dodged it, he just didn't see it coming
imaad uddin He was now in control of the avatar state rather than it being on auto pilot. I believe he was still adjusting to all that control and didn't see the lighting in time (he's never seen anyone bend lightning before) or the pacifist in him was waiting for them to run away.
STAY Young Yeah i agree, he's never seen a lightning bolt being fired, and i dont think he was 100% in the fight at the time he was going into the Avatar state either
STAY Young lol guys I know he's never seen lighting bending and he was going avatar state, I'm just saying even with all that power durability is zero.
This is a common misconception, but he didn't need to give up on her to open his Seventh Chakra. He just needed to accept the *idea* of letting her go. Aang's love for Katara was very childish at this point, and we all know that those first few times you fall in love as a child usually entail the stupidity of never believing in life without the other person, making them literally the center of the universe for yourself. He had to let that go if he ever wanted to clear his spiritual mind, just as much as we all need to give up on that kind of loving if we expect to grow up. He saw it as a bad thing just because of how young he is.
What the Guru taught Aang was very close to Dalai Lama's teachings, I think. And in those, unlike with the Jedi, love is never forbidden. It is just strongly advised that one should not make love relationships the center of their lives. Aang, being a child, thinks it's a bad thing not to put Katara above everything else, because he thinks that's what being in love is about.
I like how the series shows Aang improving his bending, through fights. When he was being the crystal knight he could not fully commit to standing his ground (earthbending philosophy) and flinched, therefore losing the clash to Azula, but after he got up he charged in with earthbending, looking very determined. Season 3 is the best cartoon season ever.
Just a small explanation. The Avatar doesn't have to "let go" of Katara, he has to "learn to let go". He needs to learn to overcome the urge to help when ever she might slightly be in danger and has to learn to how to focus on what he has to do. This is not a spoiler btw, it is clear by how the guru worded it "You must learn to let go!". It is not a permanent detachment, it is the ability to be able to do it when it is needed.
I feel like Azula is a villain who's easier to appreciate in hindsight. When you're watching for the first time, invested in the journey of the heroes, and she keeps coming in and fucking shit up, it's pretty easy to just be mad at her. On a second viewing, when you already know what happens, it's easier to appreciate how effective she is as an antagonist.
Did you guys know zuko was one of the last characters to be added to the show, the main antagonist was supposed to be the Firelord but he couldn't do much from his throne so zuko was added
I remmeber when I was younger and I first see this finale, I was so fascinated, I loved the scene of Aang in Avatar State being defeated by Azula, I was shocked and fell in love with her character, even if I was worry about Aang. I always loved smart villains who put the protagonist in problems. That kind of things made the story so much interesting and the fact of the "Good Guy" loosing was so crazy. Azula is an amazing villian. I just always hated how she ended...
The seventh chakra is about the willingness to let go. It doesn't mean you have to let go, just that you are willing to if your duty as an avatar requires it of you.
if yall were confused about the whole guru thing u need to look into eastern philosophy and buddaism, which states letting go of earthly attachments as a way of reaching enlightenment. the guru’s concern was that aang wouldnt let go of katara because of his strong attachment to her. aang could do it at any time, but the guru was worried that he wouldnt
Fun fact at 10:36 Katara holding Aang was meant to mirror Pieta (Michelangelo) as an image of symbolism. I can't help but notice despite their differences, Zuko and Azula make a great team. Also all hail Azula, destroyer of tropes where all princesses should act like Disney princesses and the villain has to wait for the protagonist to power up.
@3:15 -- Lol damn, I was hoping that they would remember that was actually a _waterbending_ move that Zuko used xD But it's an easy detail to miss, lol If you re-watch The Seige of the North Pt. 2 and skip to 6:11 - ruclips.net/video/-H-Trm2HIac/видео.html - you can see Katara actually use it to kick Zuko's ass, which is presumably where he learned it, and I find that hilarious lol
Detective Eric knows too much 😩 😩 he has seriously figured out most of the series before it happens Also, Azula saying 'you were never even a player' is the biggest mic drop of that series. She's my evil queen.
You guys are lucky; no nine month wait for you before you can start season 3. Not sure if you should do a reaction to the season 3 teaser trailer or no.
Lebronze Katara is really powerful, she has the ability to beat Zuko and was doing well against Azula too and we just see her get even stronger in book 3
Hama is not better than Katara, Katara is a vastly superior waterbender to Aang and the foggy swamp monster is only better than Katara in the swamp, where he can regenerate his vines indefinitely, Azula would lose to him in the swamp too. That leaves Pakku, who is superior to and would also beat Azula. So Katara is actually the second or third most powerful waterbender in the world. Creators have explicitly stated that no element holds an advantage over the other and the winner of a fight is determined by the skill of the benders involved. Katara is obviously good enough to beat Azula on equal footing with no advantages as this episode quite clearly showed. Azula couldn't touch her and was about to get slammed into the ground before Zuko came in.
I think Azula and Katara are basically on par as far as bending skills go, both are full on masters of their elements; I guess Katara was getting the upper hand just because it was nighttime.
When I first saw episode I was surprised since Azula always seemed to have the upper hand on everyone she fought with. I expected her to have it here as well, which is why I was happily surprised that she was outmatched first by Katara and Aang as a team and Katara on her own winning. I like Azula, but it was a wise decision to have her need Zuko here to avoid her becoming a Mary Stu.
but to be fair Azula keeps underestimating Katara because she has this privileged mind state. (and she apparently never learned her lesson 😉). Actually i think the only people she doesn't' like belittle is Aang, Zuko and maybe Iroh
Dark As Night ikr i was so excited to see their reactions to azulas scenes especially the 'Dont flatter yourself you werent even a player' line which got no reaction :/
I think they know that she's great at what she does, but don't care enough about it for it to overshadow their immense hatred. Eric in particular. I'm not too disappointed by it. I've felt that way before. Sometimes I just don't care how good a villain is when I just want them to die with every fiber of my being. I get that a lot with many GoT characters.
All that matters to me is that Azula is seen as a threat, which is exactly what she is. I really like her now since I know now that she's not really evil, she's just as tragic as Zuko. Sadly we didn't get to see much of that and most seem to not like her. Oh well..
Opaque Anity Idk... she's not as tragic as Zuko, and I think Zuko isnt evil at all my man was just confused and had a difficult pastlol but even though i agree with you Azula isnt fully evil either, she does have a little evil to her, we will see this later on in Book 3 as well
aw, you cut out one of the funniest bits in this episode. "Just take the bear." love that moment. i also like ty lee just randomly teaching the bear to do a handstand because of her circus background. XD
It's your first watch, but this is really a series that benefits multiple viewings. 'Cause there's that hatred like masking the well written aspects of Azula's villainy, but damn, the success of pulling off a dark season finale ending with so much weight felt by both the "light side" and "dark side". Also, I see it as Aang having to let go of Katara being his main priority and taking on the responsibility of being the world's Avatar and let go of the notion of Katara coming before the greater good. Doesn't mean he can't still love her. I woukd not be able to hold it in as good as Calvin haha.
Calvin and Aaron is troopers in the videos. they are up for the marathon, havent slept and been reacting to avatar since episode 18! Great job to both of you especially Calvin who is rewatching the avatar series! THANKS
Epic Eli yeah but like it's just so werid they should be loyal to the avatar I wonder if. They even know that Iam surprised aang didn't take on the form of avatar kyoshi just to take down the di lee which would have been awesome
I have a bit of a weird theory that Katara was originally supposed to be the next Avatar after Aang. I mean, if you line up when Aang probably would have died if he hadn't went under the ice with Katara's birth, along with the fact that Katara was the ONLY waterbender born in the Southern Water tribe in around 50 or 60 years and that she was considered one of the strongest waterbenders of her time, along with the fact that Korra was born in about the same area as Katara. I know its improbable, but its still interesting to me.
This is such an amazing finale. Azula completely playing Long Feng is 1 of my favorite and 1 of her most savage moments. I love the conversation between Aang and Iroh and Zuko and Katara. Or as I like to call it the day Zutara shippers came out in force and started the biggest shipping war before Naruto was a long-running thing. The crucial moment for Zuko and his decision was such an extremely amazing yet disappointing thing for fans. My reaction included a lot of shouted no's and the kind of swears only a kid could come up with. However it also shows how great at manipulating people especially her brother Azula is and how desperately Zuko wants his father's respect. The final fight of this episode is 1 of my favorite fight scenes in the show also shows how well Aang and Katara work together and how surprisingly well Azula and Zuko fight together. The ending is definitely really Star Wars which is awesome but I don't know how much was coincidental and how much was was deliberate considering how influential Star Wars is but how different Avatar is to Star Wars in many ways. And also how an ending like this finale is a very common plot element. I'm also glad that your admitting your hatred of Azula and Aaron is unfair and that you can see that she is a great villain despite your dislike. I also can totally understand why you don't like this type of character personality especially because you particularly expected something else. Awesome reaction regardless. :-)
Supermonaman SuperMonaman yeah but seeing Zuko mess up was really really hard to watch, and this was the episode where everyone thought Zutara was going to happen lol but the writers had to make Zuko mess up..
I`ll give Azula props on taking Aang out before completed the avatar state. How many times have we seen z fighters let frezia and cell transform or the villains let power rangers morph. I love Aang but this is probably the only cliché that has been broken in any medium.
I like imagining as a kid, I had my mouth wide open of pure excitement when Aang entered the Avatar State which turned to my jaw dropping of a shocked twist when Azula struck him with lightning.
To this day, this is still my favorite episode of Avatar. I remember watching this as a kid and Zuko pissing me off when he made his decision to team up with Azula and betraying Iroh. Also why so surprised at Katara beating Azula. Azula is great but not unbeatable, and Katara is a waterbending master and is just as skilled as Azula when it comes to their respective bending elements.
One of my favorite things about the show is how much you can tell other bending has effected the way Zuko bends. You can see the typical way firebenders bend and Zuko starts out doing that, then he adds in a spin he saw Aang do. Or like in this episode when he’s fighting Azula- the way he lifts up his hands to make the fire flow up is pure waterbender. It looks just like something Katara used against him at the North Pole.
I'm so excited for my fav season! c: There's literally so many episodes in season 3 that I am so excited for! xD There's just too many episodes I love :D
It's not about not being able to love anyone, it's about not letting the fear of losing someone control you. Look at what happened when that one Earth General guy buried her, or when they found the sand benders that stole Appa. He went into the Avatar State but couldn't control his rage in it. He can still love Katara, he can still fight hard to protect her, but he shouldn't let anger and sadness control him if he does lose her because he's already prepared for losing her.
Azula's sudden olive branch to Zuko always confused me. Like especially with the Dai Lee, why would she think she needed him? And obviously, she doesn't do anything out of the kindness of her heart. Up until that point she clearly saw him as an (inferior) enemy, and her original orders were to jail him. The only thing I can think of is that she was already planning on pinning Aang's death on Zuko to cover her own ass just in case, but that seems like scheming-overkill.
Calvin's poker face at the start of each episode when the guys predict stuff spot on is incredible. They predicted so much stuff correctly ( and I understand watching parts of the show its a bit obvious what's gonna happen but when I was really young it all took me by surprise haha).
Uh no. Iroh could literally just stand there and dodge everyone of Azula's attacks till she gets frustrated and resorts to mind games, probably bringing up Iroh's son or something 😳
@@BhBc8f8 Hahahahahahahahahah no, Iroh would die in seconds like he already almost did in The Chase. Iroh is so terribly overhyped it's sometimes hard to still love him...
The thing with Zuko is, his entire existence (up to that point) revolved around his honor, trying to please his father, and being accepted. Azula knew exactly where to hit him to get the exact reaction she wanted. Similar to an earlier episode, where we see them meet for the first time (on screen) and she manages to break through the resentment he has against his father with basically a few words consisting of “he wants you back.” All the work Zuko put into bettering himself was worthless as long as this longing for honor and acceptance persisted inside him. So you have to understand that at this point, he was just mentally and emotionally not ready yet, and was very vulnerable prey for Azula’s precise tactics.
Katara was relying on her skills, that is why she could keep up with Azula and Zuko, she even almost beat Azula until Zuko interfered. Aang was constantly thinking about the Avatar state, so he was doubting himself, which is why he wasn't really effective in this fight.
Avatar state doesn't make him invincible or anything just super powerful a surprise attack like that would be fatal, also Azusa is easily one of the best characters
In that moment, Katara was EXTREMELY vulnerable to attack and could've been taken out if she didn't get assistance from Aang. To 'let her go' he pretty much restrained his attachment to her, and used the opportunity to turn his attention away and to his Avatar State meditation. He literally withdrew from the battle where they were at, where she was in, to meditate on his AS! In my opinion that's enough to signify that he was 'letting her go'. He didn't know how long it was going to take to go in the Avatar State. In fact, he was still in the cosmic state of mind when he got struck by lightning if you see, so I'm sure his body was unconsciously rising at that time. It could've been seconds to minutes for him to reach that meditative state and accomplish it's completion. Which he knew he had to do to risk being able to help Katara, or else they were both going to not make it. I love how they literally visualized this by him saying he is sorry and turning his back to her before he calmly enters his meditative stance! Such a good show!
Technically when Zuko said he had changed, Katara didn't know he had turned "good" these past few episodes, so he is saying he changed back to bad. That's what I think anyways I might be wrong,
I saw it as being more ambiguous like 'I have changed since then, i just haven't figured out what it means and who I am now' like Zuko is in conflict with himself and the desire to have both Ozai's and Iroh's approval. Because they are at completely different ends of the spectrum, thats adifficult line for Zuko to walk
Despite all the treachery, despite her vile nature and her abusiveness it amazes me that Azula still loves her brother. She didn't need Zuko to beat the Avatar, she didn't need to tell everyone Zuko dealt the final blow, it's a toxic and abusive relationship but still based in love. You can see it even clearer in one of the aftermath comic books, that focuses on Azula.
I don't think they understood what actually happened. Aang died and came back to life, Kataras healing was so powerful it brought him back to life, barley though.
I wanna clear up that the attachment of the guru wants aang to give up is not his love for katara but rather than negative attachment that perverts that love. It's the feelings that drove him to steal that scroll from Thier father in season one. It's his desire to constantly save and protect her instead of trusting her to win her own battles. What he had to give up was obsession.
the avatar state is a defence mechanism that is triggered by immense danger and is tied to aangs emotions. to be able to control the avatar state he had to unblock all his chakras. the last chakra was about attachment, he had to be okay with not being able to save everyone, especially the people he loves, sohe wont be consumed by the guilt, sadness and rage which would trigger the avatar state, making him most vulnerable
I think the whole "attachment" thing is more similar to Anakin's struggle. At some point Anakin's ultimate downfall was his crippling fear of losing the people he loved. By "letting Katara go", Aang wasn't chosing to not love her anymore, it was more like rising above that fear. He still loves her, but also understands that losing her is a very real possibility: by choosing to accept that, Aang succeded where Anakin failed.
Yeah that's how I understand the real philosophy. You have to be ABLE to see above base needs and desires so you can make the right choices and keep a healthy perspective but you can't live up there. If Aang went into the Avatar state whenever he was upset he would be a walking nuke but if he didn't give any shits he wouldn't do anything. I think that was also the Jedi order's downfall, they ignored emotions (out of fear of the dark side ironically) and mostly watched until the galaxy suddenly exploded around them. Gotta find that balance
Being willing to let go of attachments is important for the Avatar because they function as spiritual leaders and saviours for everyone in their world. They're not supposed to have preferences. So Aang's love for Katara was actually a hindrance to his path as the Avatar because he chose her safety (in the previous episode) over the good of all humanity. He was willing to put the whole world at risk just to save one person. In this episode he lets that go by sacrificing Katara's immediate safety for the good of all humanity and was thus able to enter the Avatar state.
I always interpreted the "let it go" part as akin to Yoda's advice to Anakin about death. You can still miss someone or love someone but it shouldn't be what your focused on. In that moment he simply chose to not let his love for Katara dictate who he was. He let the attachment go, not the love itself.
For the attachment, what Aang did was basically turn his back on Katara while she was fighting, acknowledging that if he decided to finish the training, she might get captured/injured/die. He had to be okay with that loss, and him being okay with that is what allowed him to unlock the avatar state (since he completed the previous 6 it was only blocked). Azula's attack was meant to kill since the avatar state makes you more powerful but vulnerable, but it only injured. Katara was able to heal that injury with the water from the spirit oasis. Because of the strong connection to the moon spirits it was able to reconnect him to the avatar state (this is what the flash at the end was before he showed movement). At least that is my thought.
Yeah he looked a little irritated :D. I noticed that he got irritated the most when they were being very literal with this entire chakra and "letting go" things and when they didn't tried to understand Zuko, especially those few times when Eric (I think he is Eric, the guy on the left) commented quite rashly about Zuko :)
He doesn't have to fully let go of his earthly attachments to unlock the chakra, it's just that he needs to understand the the world and his duties as the Avatar come first, and everything else is second to that
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Azula gets the job done unlike other villain's who stands there waiting for hero's to power up lol
Actually no, she did that same thing in The Drill when Aang was passed out and she was about to strike him. She even saw him opening his eyes and still stood there. So, no, she ain't hot shit.
@ Sexay Shie
Azula surely jobbed on the drill, but it doesn't changes the fact that the show actually broke the clichee with Azula just killing Aang while he's powering up.
very much lol.
@Teresa Gonzalez i don't think hate is the right word here. but i don't have a better one.
@@jjmmm515 na im in love with her.
I would like to commend Calvin for his poker face being on point during the entire run of this series.
Alex Harris Agreed, I know I wouldn't be able to hold it if I was there watching it.
Alex Harris omg I was just thinking that exact thing, I almost find it more fun to just watch him keep no expression when everyone else is so he doesn't give anything away!
Calvin: *presents Avatar badge*
Eric: I don't want it if this is what it takes....
Calvin: *thinks back to GOT season 3 Ep 9* Yeah... I know.
ikr hes been great
I could feel Calvin holding himself back all series everytime they mentioned metalbending
If you ask me, aang fell victim to a main protagonist trope lmfao and Azula was the one that trampled him and broke the trope - quite literally. which is why I appreciate that scene so much.
The main protagonist trope being the cliche when you're charging or being overcome with power you freeze and just sort of look powerful; gazing into the distance.
protagonists in anime fall into this and it leaves them wide open and you're always like "is nobody attacking?!?!?"
I actually enjoyed that in that cliche trope moment in which most people would think "well there's your opening"
azula fucking shattered him. Instead of gazing in awe like the rest did and as a reaction most antagonists do when the protagonist goes through this classic trope of a scene
same
Allison Cornell I was just about to say that lol! As much as their hate for her is understandable, you gotta admit that at least she did something. While everyone (including Zuko) stood around waiting for Aang to "power-up", Azula was already a few steps ahead and getting ready to sneak attack him. I always saw that moment as a "I don't have time for silly games *BAM*" xD. She did what others couldn't or didn't do and I love that! I also loved how she, like you said, subverted a cliche.
Allison Cornell it just shows why Azula is one of the best villains I have ever seen, she's so out there compared of the usual bad characters like she just doesn't give a shit (oh your eyes are glowing, oh well time to die) I personally love the ending of season 3 that features her as well just because
in that moment azula became my favorite
I like that there's a bunch of us Azula fanboys over here. She's amazing.
In regards to what Aang did to unlock his last chakra, I think its more like he had to come to an understanding within himself that he couldn't put his love of one person over the fate of the world, which is something he might have done once upon a time, but now he has sorta accepted the fact that the world comes before his own happiness. If that makes sense?
MasterfulPaladin n
G
MasterfulPaladin Damn that's deep. It's like Life is Strange all over again.
MasterfulPaladin pin this blind wave
CLUELESS man these guys can be idiots sometimes. as well as u commentators. if u love someone or something let it go. if it loves u back it will come back. not that hard of a concept.
This episode was so freaking subversive. Everything had been set up to redeem Zuko. They even had the metamorphosis. Everything looked as if he would change and then whoops still a bad guy. Then we have Aang getting mortally wounded during a moment where he powers up and sacrifices what he loves. Everything was set for Aang to enter the Avatar state and win but then suddenly Azula shoots him down. This is how you subvert expectations. Masterful story telling.
Aang was actually killed in that state.
Kitara brought him back, though.
It shows what life really is; a battle of choices everyday. That day Zuko lost and gave into his old desires
And that behavior change is not linear. You will slip up but all you can do is to move up
And that redemption and change isn't black and white. And blaming people in perpetuity for finite mistakes is nonsense
Long Fang :you beat me at my own game
Azula: Don't flatter your self,you weren't even a player
Yeah that's the line that made me fall in love with azula lol
That line is so sick. Delivered by a 14 years old psycho no less.
I was in 5th grade when I saw this and I was like "Dad...is that a burn? I think that was a burn." It was. And my other favorite line from Azula is "The divine right to rule is something you're born with."
That line gave me a goosebumps!!!
annoying really. kinda just cop-out of the azula vs. long feng sub-plot.
@ Genestfu
What the hell are you even talking about?
The seventh chakra didn't actually involve letting go of katara. It just dealt with learning to be willing to let her go. Also, as a side note, the lightning entered through his foot and all came out of his back. You can see his foot as he's falling, his back as katara puts in the spirit Water.
Oh yeah: Aang was 100% dead, but katara's spirit water brought him back. So the avatar cycle was over, but now that Aang's back to life, it will continue.
I know this might not be answerable but does spirit water/revival mean that Aang is connected to the moon spirit like Yue?
And actually the lightning entered his back and exited from his foot :D. But otherwise correct!
ObligedUniform Fun Fact: Lightning sometimes goes towards the ground so when Aang was struck by lightning in the back, the lightning left the foot.
Raiguard yeah you're right
And it left through the left foot to.
The last chakra wasn't him not loving her anymore but him being willing to let her go for the greater good
Yeah people often confuse that. It doesn’t mean stop loving those you cared for, but instead you put them aside to what’s more important and at stake. Aang was too occupied with the idea of protecting Katara and that was what was holding him back. He needed to accept that Katara’s fate can’t be controlled or influenced by him, and even accept whatever might come her way.
DasTemplar 96 which means if it came to a point where Katara's life was weighed against the greator good, Aang would eventually let her go literally for the greater good
Katara crying over Aang's defeat towards Azula is what I imagine how the whole world would react if their one and only hope of ending the war was destroyed right in front of them. The despair on Katara's face speaks volumes.
Krystal Ortiz Honestly, I feel that reaction was more personal to Katara. Seeing one of her closest friends being killed (for all she knew) would do that to her.
Zutara!
Katara is crying obviously because she loves Aang and thinks he's dead. They are deeply connected since the second he wakes up in her arms and share a bond noone else shares in this show. They are friends, soul mates and eventually lovers.
@@softrivius5369 -- "eventually lovers" - I was about to be so mad you didn't tag that huge ass spoiler until I saw you made that comment only 3 weeks ago, lol
@@ember-brandt it wouldn't have mattered they don't read comments, especially threads
yeah as allison said, the avatar state doesn't automatically make you more sustainable to attacks if you get hit in the body. if you get struck by lightning you're DEAD! no matter what state you're in, the avatar state just makes it easier to dodge/block/counterattack as you have the skills and knowledge of your past lives who are all amazing
Bunnitt W don't forget that the Avatar State also amplifies your bending powers immensely
Bunnitt W I think that some people could survive the lightning strike without doing anything, just as in real life some people have. But yeah, in this case, Aang was DEAD. Only Magical Water combined with Katara's healing powers could bring him back.
Bunnitt W actually avatar state boosts your bending to it's very limit and gives you the knowledge and experience of all the previous avatars that's why Korra's avatar state is so weak her bending is hightened but she doesn't have the experience from the previous avatars
You mean weak after season 2 or weak over all the seasons?
Bunnitt W yeah previous avatars have told Aang multiple times and even the Guru, once you've been killed in the avatar state there's no coming back it's over, but thank god for Katara and her healing water and abilities
"Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player."
Screw secret tunnels and giant mushrooms, that was best line of avatar ever!!!
But...but secret tunnel 😥
But...but giant mushroom worthy of worship 😢
The setup to that line ruins it for me. “You’ve beaten me at my own game.” It just sounds inhuman to say that instead of, for example, getting angry and throwing an insult or just being in shock. I feel like him acting scared but saying something like “This is my game we’re playing” as assertively as he can while being afraid would have been a much better setup
Nah, Iroh's lines are the best ones ^^
@@edgymoji8260 Fuck that tunnel.
One of my favorite Episodes. Especially the Zuko part, you can feel the conflict within him, just when things were going so well for him Azula comes and brings him back to darkness
Arthur Teixeira I know that's what sucked I really hated to see him go back there, I really wanted him to just be good and forget about his past and family and nation
imaad uddin
well I mean think about it,youre asking him to forget about HIS FAMILY, thats not simple.
Fake Account That's true and understandable, but Azula was telling him the same thing in the first episode of book 2 and that nearly got him killed, so i wanted like Zuko to realize that Azula cannot be trusted again you know, and he had already cut ties from his family and nation by cutting his hair thats what that means, and still Iroh is more of family to him than the whole fire nation combined he should've never betrayed him, but thanks to Azula... lol, i really get emotional wiht this episode, Zuko is my favorite character and I hated to see how he acted at the end and going back to his old ways and betraying Katara and especially Iroh.
+imaad Uddin I do agree. It was really dumb for Zuko, after all his character development this book, to end up doing the exact same thing he did in the beginning by siding with Azula over Iroh. I mean, WHY does he trust Azula when he obviously had no reason to? More over why is Azula even offering to team up with Zuko when she spent the whole book hunting him? It makes no sense...
ShinobiPXO I know it really doesn't, and especially after his awakening that he had which shows he's a different person you know, I just find it really out of character of him to betray Iroh, like he had a better chance of betraying him in Book 1 when he was obsessed with capturing Aang, but in Book 2 after how they bonded and his awakening he'd still go stab Iroh in the back like that? Like Idk man that's just ooc for me and it hurts me every time to see it.
I've always loved this episode cause it shows that Zuko was just pretending to have found his path when in reality he was even more lost than ever, and the look iroh gave him just gave me all the feels
He wasn't pretending, he was still struggling. you can consider it a relapse.
Shadi Wajed I see it as he was lying to himself, trying to accept that what Iroh was saying was true because it seemed right, but then Azula came along used the exact wording she knew would confuse him, it was only later on that he then found his true path. This is all my opinion not fact 😊
We both just stating our opinions, no facts here :)
Well, you can find yourself then lose it, or relapse as I said. I don't think that in real life there's an "Awakening" moment, it's a process that goes on as long as you are alive, and relapsing is just a part of it. and I think the writers of the show wanted to show that exactly, that's why they made the episode of Zuko's seemingly finding his true path very close to the episode of his relapse. and I love this show "and Korra" particularly for treating those themes in a mature way.
A part of me does wonder what Azula stood to gain here in letting Zuko return to the fold. Azula had to know that zuko with his honour restored would be Fire Lord , so why wouldn't she feed Ozai some story and betray Zuko after she had beaten the Earth Kingdom. She only decides to give Zuko credit for the Avatar's defeat, upon suspecting that he's hiding something about the Avatar.Did she genuinely want to help him before that point
Neeta Song I think, being a villain (and a great one at that), the producers wanted to have her that one step further where she doesn't have to make something up to ruin him when she can let him do it himself. I think it just shows how mentally mixed up she has become over the years to point where being idolised (for killing the avatar) is less important to her than Zuko being shamed by the entire nation, thereby NEVER being able to return. This obviously just speculation but it's what I've always thought.
I don't think you realized Aang was dead for a few minutes.
If that was true, the avatar cycle would've been broken and he would've been reborn as a normal person.
Tomas Roque He got brought back dipshit.
@@insertcringynamehere I know, but he was brought back as the Avatar, not as a normal person, which means the Avatar cycle wasn't broken, which means he never actually died in the Avatar state.
This is just what makes more sense according to the lore.
Tomas Roque no, he was killed in the avatar state which meant that for a good few minutes, the avatar cycle was in fact dead. Otherwise, a new avatar would’ve been born during the time aang was dead and he’d be brought back as either a regular air bender, non bender, or simply a bender of all four elements without the avatar state. Since we know that there has never two avatars at the same time (not counting LOK since those circumstances are different) that means that aang AND the avatar state were in fact dead. This also makes sense lore wise, if the avatar is the bridge between the spirit world and the material world then it stands to reason that spirit water in the hands of a prodigious healer would be able to revive the avatar spirit. This makes even more sense if you include the Raava light spirit aspect of the avatar but I personally don’t find that facet of the avatar lore to compelling, but that’s just me.
@@alexrusso9221 Yeah, I guess that's also possible. Has this ever been confirmed?
Hearing Erik going "I don´t trust this new Zuko", while Kelvin keeping himself cool and not giving anything away, was just the final confirmation for me. You guys are amazing!
glad you guys like the heroes lol but come on Azula is sick, she planned every move & killed the Avatar
surprised y'all werent that surprised with everything
Hasani Houston yeah lol Azula is sick from making Zuko betray Iroh and Katara to striking Aang with lighting that's all messed up, but that's what makes her awesome and one of the best villains ever
GA y Y AYYAYY YA YY ay y YYAGA Y Gaya yag ay GAYA GAGAYA Ygay yakashi fuck mehard bruh gay ya Or they'll just hate her even more lol, it could go both ways and I'm leaning on the hate Azula more path
I think what makes them (and myself really) hate Azula is not her skill or badassery, because she definitely has that, it's the fact that she's so damn smug about everything she does, it makes her seem so bitchy.
she is an interesting character, but she isn't meant to be a likable character.... that is the freakin essence of her character. That is the concept of antagonists. They can be great characters, but they are supposed to be guys that contrast the likable protagonists.
That doesn't mean that antagonists can't be likable in certain ways or become good, but in the end they are still meant to be "evil"
@@Jug_or_not right it's so laughable that people get surprised when people don't like the villains on shows or movies. They're VILLAINS. You're supposed to hate them.
You know what I love about this series is there is always someone saying "This is my favourite episode" Or "They are getting to my favourite episode" Shows how good this show actually is, I don't think I can have one particular episode that's my favourite.
The Nostalgia critic made a top 11 best and worst avatar episode list featuring Dante Basco it is great list check it out
@@TalhaMansoor I disagree with some choices, specially The Waterbending Master, that episode is very good, I did not get Nostalgia Critic's complaints, it is very effective.
i know you guys dont see this but let me comment on the azula thing you mentioned.
She struck lightning at his heart, it doesn't matter how strong or weak the fire bender is who would have been the one to have shot the lightning.
lightning to the heart is fatal, avatar or not. They mention this with the zuko/iroh training.
Nor does being the avatar give you some strength of resistance to attacks. You're just as weak as a normal person, physically body wise. Weak points of human bodies remain unchanged.
The same way if someone shot an arrow at the soft part of the back of his head or neck when he did that,the same thing would have happened. He would have dropped like a fly, you feel?
azulas strength doesn't come into play here.
aang dropped his guard in the avatar state and Azula strategically and maniacally used that to her advantage.
A child who could shoot lightning could have taken out aang at that time.
A guard dropped is fatal.
Allison Cornell yeah exactly just because he is in the avatar state doesn't mean he's invincible, he's still vulnerable and can be hurt or killed like a normal person as seen in this episode
Very true. *Spoilers for anyone who didn't see Resurrection of F*
It's the same concept as when Goku, in Super Saiyan Blue form, was shot through the heart by a ray gun because he dropped his guard.
Adam Kruszynski he did die the healing water brought him back
Well said Alison
That's what I also like about the Avatar State, it doesn't make you impervious to attacks. Yes, it heightens your awareness and obviously makes your bending powers far stronger by tenfold, but it doesn't give you heightened resistance, not to mention that he took Azula's lightning in the back (his body still felt it all the same).
season 1, a new hope
season 2, the fire nation strikes back
season 3, return of the avatar
This episode is amazing! I love all the characters Azula is smart and powerful but as we saw when she fought Katara she's not unstoppable same thing with Aang in the Avatar state extremely powerful but not unstoppable on any given day any of these characters can lose given the circumstances the good guy's don't just win because there the good guy's. This show is so good.
Keaton yeah this episode was amazing I loved it but it also sucked at the same time seeing Zuko mess up and all and betray everyone
Amogh Prabhakar Yeah I understand that but they way the whole book was going it looked like Zuko left his nation, which is why he cut his hair in the first episode of book 2, the symbolizes that he has cut ties with his nation and family, i thought he was going to be good for sure, him being my favorite character and all and seeing him betray Iroh and Katara just sucked
What I find really interesting about Azula is despite all of her negative character traits, she is surprisingly very accepting and even reliant on non-firebenders.
1. Her very old firebending mentors, Lo and Li, openly admit in the series finale that they themselves are not actually firebenders.
2. In Book 2, she enlists the help of Mai and Ty Lee in tracking down Zuko and the Avatar, who are non-firebenders.
3. She usurps control of the Dai Li from Long Feng and kept them as her own personal enforcers and bodyguards until she banished them and everyone else in her service during the finale.
I just find that really interesting.
Something something ostracized from her own people/group something.
Congratulations Long Feng, you played yourself.
Fun fact: When Katara holds Aang after he falls the pose is almost a mirror image of Michelangelo's "Pieta", a.k.a. Mary holding Jesus.
And when she revives him on Appa the scene's blocking is identical to the scene at the very beginning of the series when she cracked him out of the iceberg.
Poetic cinema.
They were watching these sequentially, but imagine being a kid when this came out, with this HUGE twist at the end, and the last thing we hear from this show for nearly a whole year is "The Earth Kingdom has fallen". That cliffhanger was on par with some HBO series.
We atleast had a short series of comics that covered what happened while aang was in a coma. That was actually my first exposure to the series.
ahhhhhh I can't wait for you guys to watch season 3 it's so cool 😊😊😊
Don't you mean it's so *coup?*
Eh? Ehhh?
...I'll see myself out.
goddamit
I loved all of season 3 except the last episode. To me that was a total letdown
@@protector_of_the_realms LET ME GUESS, it's because Zutara wasn't canon, lol. You left so many comments shouting "Zutara!" on various comment threads, so the salt is palpable, lol
@@ember-brandt ...
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yes
also because I was hoping for someone to die in a sacrifice but mostly the Zutara thing, this is mostly my fault because when I was 6-12 or something I saw one of the last episodes when Zuko jumps in Katar's way to save her from the lightning, and I've always been a sucker for that stuff so it always made sense to me that there was some romantic thing going on there but I hadn't seen any of the other episodes or the next one which was the finale so I just assumed this was the case and then years later when I for some reason decided to watch the whole series I got worked up about that relationship from the start and with all the hints fueled the fire to a point where I was sure it was going to happen, then I somehow heard about Zutara on the internet but never heard Kataang so I took this as confirmation it would happen and was left shocked when it didn't. Zutara always felt natural to me, the Kataang always has and will feel a bit forced, awkward and weird
That line about long feng isn't even a player is such a BEAUTIFUL line
mysticshinee24 amen
One of the best season endings EVER
Itachi Uchiha yeah for sure!
I know a lot of people don't like what Zuko did. I don't either, but I totally understand it. This had to be one of the best scenes of atla because it's so real. When I watched the episodes before this, I knew zuko wasn't really at peace and he was he was just trying to cope with the idea of being good and living a normal life, but I knew deep down that he hated the position he was in. Then when he heard azulas temptation, he didn't hesitate to grab it. It's like a smoker who quit 2 months ago, if there is a whole bunch of people smoking a cigarette around him and they offer him it , he will definitely take it. Temptation is so frequent in this world and I love how they displayed it in this episode, showing that people do make mistakes and backtrack. And after this episode zuko became my favorite character on the show and on tv. He's one of the most realistic and complex characters ever to me...and he became hot in season 2 and 3😍😂
Yeah he's hot so it's okay what he did smh
Numayam bruh I legit had to read my comment cause I posted that three years ago. But imma say this...did I say it was ok cause he’s hot? Or are you just putting words in my mouth...Please reread my comment with common sense before you talk shit😒.
So...poop got real, huh? ;)
Zuko turned on Iroh, Azula basically killed Aang, and the Earth Kingdom has finally fallen...Lots of stuff!
I also just loved Azula in this finale! She not only brilliantly came up with a coup by using the Dai Li, but she also played Long Feng like a fool, was able to turn Zuko to her side with *just* the right words (she definitely knows people's weaknesses and when to use it against them lol), *and* she took the initiative and actually did something about Aang while everyone else was standing around waiting and watching him basically power-up.
It's a good thing you don't have to wait a whole year for S3, because that wait was so long and dreadful for me as a kid.
Lalisa T lmfao yes I know I hated that wait... it was so cruel haha
I remember nearly screaming when the S3 trailer came out
It was weird for me because I got busy with other things and didnt even know s3 had come out until much later so i had no catch up. Still when i found out it was out, i died XD
dude just say shit got real, lol saying poop
Kevin Lazaro Lol I'm quoting Bryan Konietzko xD
Calvin's dead eyes of knowing throughout. So unfamiliar.
Looks like bending all four elements doesn't make you lightning proof.
Jonathan Robinson lolol you gotta learn to redirect that lightening otherwise you're screwed, but I believe Aang would've dodged it, he just didn't see it coming
imaad uddin He was now in control of the avatar state rather than it being on auto pilot. I believe he was still adjusting to all that control and didn't see the lighting in time (he's never seen anyone bend lightning before) or the pacifist in him was waiting for them to run away.
STAY Young Yeah i agree, he's never seen a lightning bolt being fired, and i dont think he was 100% in the fight at the time he was going into the Avatar state either
STAY Young lol guys I know he's never seen lighting bending and he was going avatar state, I'm just saying even with all that power durability is zero.
Jonathan Robinson Of course, I agree with you, just because he's the Avatar doesn't mean he's invincible.
This is a common misconception, but he didn't need to give up on her to open his Seventh Chakra.
He just needed to accept the *idea* of letting her go.
Aang's love for Katara was very childish at this point, and we all know that those first few times you fall in love as a child usually entail the stupidity of never believing in life without the other person, making them literally the center of the universe for yourself. He had to let that go if he ever wanted to clear his spiritual mind, just as much as we all need to give up on that kind of loving if we expect to grow up.
He saw it as a bad thing just because of how young he is.
What the Guru taught Aang was very close to Dalai Lama's teachings, I think.
And in those, unlike with the Jedi, love is never forbidden. It is just strongly advised that one should not make love relationships the center of their lives. Aang, being a child, thinks it's a bad thing not to put Katara above everything else, because he thinks that's what being in love is about.
Accurate depiction of a twelve year old in love for the first time, who just so happened to be the Almighty saviour of the world.
Kind of like how Roku let go of his wife so he could save the people from the volcano
10:00 That tension build up... Just when you think everything's about to be okay... Bam! Lightning strike.
I like how the series shows Aang improving his bending, through fights. When he was being the crystal knight he could not fully commit to standing his ground (earthbending philosophy) and flinched, therefore losing the clash to Azula, but after he got up he charged in with earthbending, looking very determined. Season 3 is the best cartoon season ever.
It would have helped if Zuko and Katara's mothers had the same name.
Martha :P
KafkaIs Chaznable WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!
KafkaIs Chaznable MARTHA!!!! SAVE MARTHA!!!!
Just a small explanation. The Avatar doesn't have to "let go" of Katara, he has to "learn to let go". He needs to learn to overcome the urge to help when ever she might slightly be in danger and has to learn to how to focus on what he has to do. This is not a spoiler btw, it is clear by how the guru worded it "You must learn to let go!". It is not a permanent detachment, it is the ability to be able to do it when it is needed.
I feel like Azula is a villain who's easier to appreciate in hindsight. When you're watching for the first time, invested in the journey of the heroes, and she keeps coming in and fucking shit up, it's pretty easy to just be mad at her. On a second viewing, when you already know what happens, it's easier to appreciate how effective she is as an antagonist.
i loved her as a villain on my first viewing. i loved that she posed a real threat against the heroes and always leaves a nasty taste in their mouths.
Oh yeah, I loved her on my first viewing too. I'm just saying I can see where they're coming from.
10:04 that whole scene is just epictecular and the music is perfect it gives me teary eyes just like calvin.
Did you guys know zuko was one of the last characters to be added to the show, the main antagonist was supposed to be the Firelord but he couldn't do much from his throne so zuko was added
I remmeber when I was younger and I first see this finale, I was so fascinated, I loved the scene of Aang in Avatar State being defeated by Azula, I was shocked and fell in love with her character, even if I was worry about Aang. I always loved smart villains who put the protagonist in problems. That kind of things made the story so much interesting and the fact of the "Good Guy" loosing was so crazy. Azula is an amazing villian. I just always hated how she ended...
The seventh chakra is about the willingness to let go. It doesn't mean you have to let go, just that you are willing to if your duty as an avatar requires it of you.
if yall were confused about the whole guru thing u need to look into eastern philosophy and buddaism, which states letting go of earthly attachments as a way of reaching enlightenment. the guru’s concern was that aang wouldnt let go of katara because of his strong attachment to her. aang could do it at any time, but the guru was worried that he wouldnt
Fun fact at 10:36 Katara holding Aang was meant to mirror Pieta (Michelangelo) as an image of symbolism.
I can't help but notice despite their differences, Zuko and Azula make a great team.
Also all hail Azula, destroyer of tropes where all princesses should act like Disney princesses and the villain has to wait for the protagonist to power up.
@3:15 -- Lol damn, I was hoping that they would remember that was actually a _waterbending_ move that Zuko used xD But it's an easy detail to miss, lol
If you re-watch The Seige of the North Pt. 2 and skip to 6:11 - ruclips.net/video/-H-Trm2HIac/видео.html - you can see Katara actually use it to kick Zuko's ass, which is presumably where he learned it, and I find that hilarious lol
Hearing Eric talk about Chakras is fun. He is so damn literal.
Detective Eric knows too much 😩 😩 he has seriously figured out most of the series before it happens
Also, Azula saying 'you were never even a player' is the biggest mic drop of that series. She's my evil queen.
You guys are lucky; no nine month wait for you before you can start season 3. Not sure if you should do a reaction to the season 3 teaser trailer or no.
Dylan L No no trailers lol- imo the season 3 trailers give too much away, particularly the second half one
Dylan L No no trailers lol- imo the season 3 trailers give too much away, particularly the second half one
Dylan L I know that wait was horrible, like we just wanted to know what happens next no need to make everyone wait almost a year haha
They don't react to any series trailer.
Just movie trailers.
Early access subscriber.
Why is it surprising Katara had the upper hand on Azula here? The girl is a badass, and the real MVP in that fight.
Lebronze Katara is really powerful, she has the ability to beat Zuko and was doing well against Azula too and we just see her get even stronger in book 3
Hama is not better than Katara, Katara is a vastly superior waterbender to Aang and the foggy swamp monster is only better than Katara in the swamp, where he can regenerate his vines indefinitely, Azula would lose to him in the swamp too. That leaves Pakku, who is superior to and would also beat Azula. So Katara is actually the second or third most powerful waterbender in the world.
Creators have explicitly stated that no element holds an advantage over the other and the winner of a fight is determined by the skill of the benders involved. Katara is obviously good enough to beat Azula on equal footing with no advantages as this episode quite clearly showed. Azula couldn't touch her and was about to get slammed into the ground before Zuko came in.
I think Azula and Katara are basically on par as far as bending skills go, both are full on masters of their elements; I guess Katara was getting the upper hand just because it was nighttime.
When I first saw episode I was surprised since Azula always seemed to have the upper hand on everyone she fought with. I expected her to have it here as well, which is why I was happily surprised that she was outmatched first by Katara and Aang as a team and Katara on her own winning. I like Azula, but it was a wise decision to have her need Zuko here to avoid her becoming a Mary Stu.
but to be fair Azula keeps underestimating Katara because she has this privileged mind state. (and she apparently never learned her lesson 😉). Actually i think the only people she doesn't' like belittle is Aang, Zuko and maybe Iroh
And, of course, Azula is still given no credit for her role as an antagonist. Why am I not surprised? Lol.
Dark As Night ikr i was so excited to see their reactions to azulas scenes especially the 'Dont flatter yourself you werent even a player' line which got no reaction :/
Dark As Night lol it's because they don't really like Azula I think which is why they don't give her enough props as an amazing villain
I think they know that she's great at what she does, but don't care enough about it for it to overshadow their immense hatred. Eric in particular. I'm not too disappointed by it. I've felt that way before. Sometimes I just don't care how good a villain is when I just want them to die with every fiber of my being. I get that a lot with many GoT characters.
All that matters to me is that Azula is seen as a threat, which is exactly what she is. I really like her now since I know now that she's not really evil, she's just as tragic as Zuko. Sadly we didn't get to see much of that and most seem to not like her. Oh well..
Opaque Anity Idk... she's not as tragic as Zuko, and I think Zuko isnt evil at all my man was just confused and had a difficult pastlol but even though i agree with you Azula isnt fully evil either, she does have a little evil to her, we will see this later on in Book 3 as well
aw, you cut out one of the funniest bits in this episode. "Just take the bear." love that moment. i also like ty lee just randomly teaching the bear to do a handstand because of her circus background. XD
It's your first watch, but this is really a series that benefits multiple viewings. 'Cause there's that hatred like masking the well written aspects of Azula's villainy, but damn, the success of pulling off a dark season finale ending with so much weight felt by both the "light side" and "dark side". Also, I see it as Aang having to let go of Katara being his main priority and taking on the responsibility of being the world's Avatar and let go of the notion of Katara coming before the greater good. Doesn't mean he can't still love her. I woukd not be able to hold it in as good as Calvin haha.
Tony LeeIm yeah you have to watch this series multiple times to fully grasp and understand everything fully
imaad uddin
Yess, it's just one of those special shows.
Tony LeeIm Yeah I agree 100% you always find something new after a rewatch, and be like woah i never realized that before
Calvin and Aaron is troopers in the videos. they are up for the marathon, havent slept and been reacting to avatar since episode 18! Great job to both of you especially Calvin who is rewatching the avatar series! THANKS
So ironic cause the di lee cause was created by avatar kyoshi
Epic Eli yeah but like it's just so werid they should be loyal to the avatar I wonder if. They even know that Iam surprised aang didn't take on the form of avatar kyoshi just to take down the di lee which would have been awesome
I have a bit of a weird theory that Katara was originally supposed to be the next Avatar after Aang. I mean, if you line up when Aang probably would have died if he hadn't went under the ice with Katara's birth, along with the fact that Katara was the ONLY waterbender born in the Southern Water tribe in around 50 or 60 years and that she was considered one of the strongest waterbenders of her time, along with the fact that Korra was born in about the same area as Katara. I know its improbable, but its still interesting to me.
That's pretty interesting
Nice one
Nah, that theory suits Yue more. The moon spirit chose her of all people to give life to.
This is such an amazing finale. Azula completely playing Long Feng is 1 of my favorite and 1 of her most savage moments. I love the conversation between Aang and Iroh and Zuko and Katara. Or as I like to call it the day Zutara shippers came out in force and started the biggest shipping war before Naruto was a long-running thing. The crucial moment for Zuko and his decision was such an extremely amazing yet disappointing thing for fans. My reaction included a lot of shouted no's and the kind of swears only a kid could come up with. However it also shows how great at manipulating people especially her brother Azula is and how desperately Zuko wants his father's respect. The final fight of this episode is 1 of my favorite fight scenes in the show also shows how well Aang and Katara work together and how surprisingly well Azula and Zuko fight together.
The ending is definitely really Star Wars which is awesome but I don't know how much was coincidental and how much was was deliberate considering how influential Star Wars is but how different Avatar is to Star Wars in many ways. And also how an ending like this finale is a very common plot element. I'm also glad that your admitting your hatred of Azula and Aaron is unfair and that you can see that she is a great villain despite your dislike. I also can totally understand why you don't like this type of character personality especially because you particularly expected something else. Awesome reaction regardless. :-)
Supermonaman SuperMonaman yeah but seeing Zuko mess up was really really hard to watch, and this was the episode where everyone thought Zutara was going to happen lol but the writers had to make Zuko mess up..
2:47 I love the smirk Zuko did
I`ll give Azula props on taking Aang out before completed the avatar state. How many times have we seen z fighters let frezia and cell transform or the villains let power rangers morph. I love Aang but this is probably the only cliché that has been broken in any medium.
I like imagining as a kid, I had my mouth wide open of pure excitement when Aang entered the Avatar State which turned to my jaw dropping of a shocked twist when Azula struck him with lightning.
To this day, this is still my favorite episode of Avatar. I remember watching this as a kid and Zuko pissing me off when he made his decision to team up with Azula and betraying Iroh.
Also why so surprised at Katara beating Azula. Azula is great but not unbeatable, and Katara is a waterbending master and is just as skilled as Azula when it comes to their respective bending elements.
One of my favorite things about the show is how much you can tell other bending has effected the way Zuko bends. You can see the typical way firebenders bend and Zuko starts out doing that, then he adds in a spin he saw Aang do. Or like in this episode when he’s fighting Azula- the way he lifts up his hands to make the fire flow up is pure waterbender. It looks just like something Katara used against him at the North Pole.
I'm so excited for my fav season! c: There's literally so many episodes in season 3 that I am so excited for! xD There's just too many episodes I love :D
It's not about not being able to love anyone, it's about not letting the fear of losing someone control you. Look at what happened when that one Earth General guy buried her, or when they found the sand benders that stole Appa. He went into the Avatar State but couldn't control his rage in it.
He can still love Katara, he can still fight hard to protect her, but he shouldn't let anger and sadness control him if he does lose her because he's already prepared for losing her.
Azula's sudden olive branch to Zuko always confused me. Like especially with the Dai Lee, why would she think she needed him? And obviously, she doesn't do anything out of the kindness of her heart. Up until that point she clearly saw him as an (inferior) enemy, and her original orders were to jail him. The only thing I can think of is that she was already planning on pinning Aang's death on Zuko to cover her own ass just in case, but that seems like scheming-overkill.
legit my favorite episode of the series, I've been waiting for you guys to watch it
I broke the sound barrier clicking on this button ✨
This is the best episode of this show. All the twists, turns, heartbreak & betrayal leave you wondering where the "Gaang" & Zuko go from here
Season 3 is gonna be a lot harder to edit lol
Calvin's poker face at the start of each episode when the guys predict stuff spot on is incredible. They predicted so much stuff correctly ( and I understand watching parts of the show its a bit obvious what's gonna happen but when I was really young it all took me by surprise haha).
My reaction was exactly like them after the episode
I'm sooo excited to see how you guys reaction the the coming uploads of the season it's an amazing show childhood gem
sorry guys, Azula is the real MVP...she's on par with Iroh in greatness.
Power alone does not make anyone great. She may be powerful, maybe as powerful as Iroh, but she will never be as great as the Dragon of the West.
Uh no. Iroh could literally just stand there and dodge everyone of Azula's attacks till she gets frustrated and resorts to mind games, probably bringing up Iroh's son or something 😳
Black Bishop tea bribe maybe :p
@@BhBc8f8 Hahahahahahahahahah no, Iroh would die in seconds like he already almost did in The Chase. Iroh is so terribly overhyped it's sometimes hard to still love him...
The thing with Zuko is, his entire existence (up to that point) revolved around his honor, trying to please his father, and being accepted. Azula knew exactly where to hit him to get the exact reaction she wanted. Similar to an earlier episode, where we see them meet for the first time (on screen) and she manages to break through the resentment he has against his father with basically a few words consisting of “he wants you back.” All the work Zuko put into bettering himself was worthless as long as this longing for honor and acceptance persisted inside him. So you have to understand that at this point, he was just mentally and emotionally not ready yet, and was very vulnerable prey for Azula’s precise tactics.
Katara was relying on her skills, that is why she could keep up with Azula and Zuko, she even almost beat Azula until Zuko interfered. Aang was constantly thinking about the Avatar state, so he was doubting himself, which is why he wasn't really effective in this fight.
To be fair, Azula jobbed like crazy and Zuko stalemated her(the creators rly just wanted to create more tension).
The end of this episode literally made me cry as a kid. I imagine it's how some people reacted to Empire Strikes Back.
Avatar state doesn't make him invincible or anything just super powerful a surprise attack like that would be fatal, also Azusa is easily one of the best characters
3:16 I like that he learned that move from watching Katara when they fought in the first season
Damnn I never noticed that
I think "letting her go" meant accepting the fact that she could die.
And to think people had to wait for an entire year to find out what happened next. This series knew how to execute season finales.
Best cliff hanger of my life
I love azula so much. Just imagine being a 10 year old kid and you thought that aang was dead. We had no idea how it was going to go
In that moment, Katara was EXTREMELY vulnerable to attack and could've been taken out if she didn't get assistance from Aang. To 'let her go' he pretty much restrained his attachment to her, and used the opportunity to turn his attention away and to his Avatar State meditation. He literally withdrew from the battle where they were at, where she was in, to meditate on his AS! In my opinion that's enough to signify that he was 'letting her go'.
He didn't know how long it was going to take to go in the Avatar State. In fact, he was still in the cosmic state of mind when he got struck by lightning if you see, so I'm sure his body was unconsciously rising at that time. It could've been seconds to minutes for him to reach that meditative state and accomplish it's completion. Which he knew he had to do to risk being able to help Katara, or else they were both going to not make it.
I love how they literally visualized this by him saying he is sorry and turning his back to her before he calmly enters his meditative stance! Such a good show!
Technically when Zuko said he had changed, Katara didn't know he had turned "good" these past few episodes, so he is saying he changed back to bad.
That's what I think anyways I might be wrong,
I saw it as being more ambiguous like 'I have changed since then, i just haven't figured out what it means and who I am now' like Zuko is in conflict with himself and the desire to have both Ozai's and Iroh's approval. Because they are at completely different ends of the spectrum, thats adifficult line for Zuko to walk
Despite all the treachery, despite her vile nature and her abusiveness it amazes me that Azula still loves her brother. She didn't need Zuko to beat the Avatar, she didn't need to tell everyone Zuko dealt the final blow, it's a toxic and abusive relationship but still based in love. You can see it even clearer in one of the aftermath comic books, that focuses on Azula.
Marathon of AVATAR book 3
i wish. lol
The Dragon of the West reaction was priceless!!
I don't think they understood what actually happened.
Aang died and came back to life, Kataras healing was so powerful it brought him back to life, barley though.
I wanna clear up that the attachment of the guru wants aang to give up is not his love for katara but rather than negative attachment that perverts that love. It's the feelings that drove him to steal that scroll from Thier father in season one. It's his desire to constantly save and protect her instead of trusting her to win her own battles. What he had to give up was obsession.
The absolute dread I feel seeing aang fall from the sky is too real.
the avatar state is a defence mechanism that is triggered by immense danger and is tied to aangs emotions. to be able to control the avatar state he had to unblock all his chakras. the last chakra was about attachment, he had to be okay with not being able to save everyone, especially the people he loves, sohe wont be consumed by the guilt, sadness and rage which would trigger the avatar state, making him most vulnerable
and dangerous
The avatar has to forgo individual attachements, meaning everyone they know that way he can 'serve' humanity as whole. If that makes sense.
10:07 I remember watching that as a kid and being so proud of him lmao but then sad asf when Azula struck him with the lightning :(
Stop finding small flaves in the series, Calvin is getting very upset. =D
I think the whole "attachment" thing is more similar to Anakin's struggle. At some point Anakin's ultimate downfall was his crippling fear of losing the people he loved.
By "letting Katara go", Aang wasn't chosing to not love her anymore, it was more like rising above that fear. He still loves her, but also understands that losing her is a very real possibility: by choosing to accept that, Aang succeded where Anakin failed.
Yeah that's how I understand the real philosophy. You have to be ABLE to see above base needs and desires so you can make the right choices and keep a healthy perspective but you can't live up there. If Aang went into the Avatar state whenever he was upset he would be a walking nuke but if he didn't give any shits he wouldn't do anything. I think that was also the Jedi order's downfall, they ignored emotions (out of fear of the dark side ironically) and mostly watched until the galaxy suddenly exploded around them. Gotta find that balance
I LOVE Azula, she so awesome! Favorite character by far. And she's the one who literally almost kills the avatar.... forever.
Being willing to let go of attachments is important for the Avatar because they function as spiritual leaders and saviours for everyone in their world. They're not supposed to have preferences. So Aang's love for Katara was actually a hindrance to his path as the Avatar because he chose her safety (in the previous episode) over the good of all humanity. He was willing to put the whole world at risk just to save one person. In this episode he lets that go by sacrificing Katara's immediate safety for the good of all humanity and was thus able to enter the Avatar state.
Poor Zuko fell victim to Azula's lies once again.
what do you mean? she was right about everything and kept to her word.
I always interpreted the "let it go" part as akin to Yoda's advice to Anakin about death. You can still miss someone or love someone but it shouldn't be what your focused on. In that moment he simply chose to not let his love for Katara dictate who he was. He let the attachment go, not the love itself.
Iroh is the real Dragon of the West 🔥
For the attachment, what Aang did was basically turn his back on Katara while she was fighting, acknowledging that if he decided to finish the training, she might get captured/injured/die. He had to be okay with that loss, and him being okay with that is what allowed him to unlock the avatar state (since he completed the previous 6 it was only blocked).
Azula's attack was meant to kill since the avatar state makes you more powerful but vulnerable, but it only injured. Katara was able to heal that injury with the water from the spirit oasis. Because of the strong connection to the moon spirits it was able to reconnect him to the avatar state (this is what the flash at the end was before he showed movement). At least that is my thought.
Why does Calvin look so pissed?
This was filmed not long after the 24 hour stream so he was just tired.
ahh thats right
Yeah he looked a little irritated :D. I noticed that he got irritated the most when they were being very literal with this entire chakra and "letting go" things and when they didn't tried to understand Zuko, especially those few times when Eric (I think he is Eric, the guy on the left) commented quite rashly about Zuko :)
He doesn't have to fully let go of his earthly attachments to unlock the chakra, it's just that he needs to understand the the world and his duties as the Avatar come first, and everything else is second to that