Overanalyzing Avatar: The Boiling Rock, Part 2
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- Overanalyzing Avatar on the just fine opening to a two parter. The Boiling Rock Part 1.
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I'm so cited
I have lost my pinkie toe
@@kokocreates4166 That's rough buddy. I stubbed my toe, like really hard against a table, and now the nail is cracked
> 3 weeks ago
this boy is now 3 weeks ahead...
it's like watching a star knowing the light is years old and you will never know what it truly looks like...
just... you know... on the internet... and a channel analysing avatar and doing great patreon shoutouts.
You're missing some fonts at the very end
I like the idea of Yue being so new at being the moon that she's still figuring out how to change phases, and the whole time she's going "shit shit shit, it's been a full moon for two months, how do i change it, fuck"
like an old man getting his first iphone
it has more problems than just thought and they honestly should have paid more attention to it in the show. The episode before Yue turns into the moon they establish that water benders get a huge power boost on a full moon. So much so it's a bad idea to lay attack them during a full moon.
LOL that's my new headcanon
The tides must go crazy then lol
@@kvproductions2581fr😭 could not image there just being no high low tide changes
One detail I loved was the warden briefly breaking free to tell his men to cut the wire. One of the guards commenting on how he'd fall too, which another says "He knows", showing the Warden was going to stay true to his word when he said he would rather die than have his record broken.
Yeah in another show the guard woulda said he'd fall too and they just wouldn't cut the line. But the guards aren't stupid here.
I agree that it's a strong moment for the warden, but I think that it's a plot hole that the guards do it considering the Princess of the Fire Nation is on the gondola. I'm sure she would have punished the guards that were trying to cut it under normal circumstances, but she was a little consumed by Mae's betrayal
@@maisymorehead3226 This always bugged me too. Like dude, no way are they going to weigh the orders of their warden over the life of the freakin' Princess.
Yeah that was something i noticed on my first watch thru too! It was really great lol but to everyone saying “fire princess plothole”, they dont follow her orders. Their superior is the warden so it actually makes a lotta sense.
Like sure, they probably thought about it but they’re at work and warden is their boss, not azula. They could also have trusted that azula would have the skill and ability to escape. Its not really a plot hole or anything tbh
@@growingoaks Their superior is the warden, but Azula is the warden's superior, making her their superior as well. Azula is the superior of *everyone* in the Fire Nation with the exception of Ozai, so no. It does not make sense.
Ty Lee's betrayal will always be one of my favorite moments from the show. I was so proud of her. She's much smarter than people give her credit for.
Yeah, I always got the impression that she's actually fairly smart, she just acts ditzy because that's more enjoyable for her and helps her get on with other people (plus she's filling the personality niche that Mei and Azula left gaping wide).
Yeah, they both took a big risk.
I know Azula is just 14, but they know how ruthless she can be.
Seeing Ty Lee finally hit her breaking point and turn on Azlula was incredible.
@@MrMeszaros Azula's ruthlessness is exactly *why* Ty Lee does it. She doesn't want either friend to die, and she knows that doing nothing will probably be the death of both, while popping Mei the same way would have been basically the same as killing her, but with more steps. She took the only course of action that saved both their lives, as she knew Mei would be shocked enough to stop her attack, while Azula would have followed through and roasted Mei as she lay helpless. And Mei, for her part, fully expected nothing from Ty Lee at best, since Ty Lee had always been little more than Azula's pretty pet. And, also, none of this was a conscious decision on Ty Lee's part. Her expression directly after was not one of smugness, or regret, or even guilt. It was pure shock at her own actions. Given even a second more time to think about it, it's probable she would have hesitated, to see which side she should back. Azula's quick temper made her act without thought.
Weird how the nicest villain is the last one to get a redemption ark but then again it just feels right
"You miscalculated"
This line is a perfect burn for Azula because it goes all the way back to her first appearance when she training and she had one hair out of place, leaving her almost perfect. For Azula, *almost* perfect is never good enough for her. She needs to be total, flawless control at all times. Otherwise she really will go insane.
Which she ends up doing at the end.
Yeah, these two words pack hell of a punch in the face for Azula.
I don't remember where, but in a video someone talks about Mai's line, but they only refer to the "I love Zuko more than I fear you", it's the line and sinker, but the hook is definitely the "you miscalculated" bit.
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Also, the line "I love Zuko more than I fear you." Triggers her mind. All this time, she doesn't get love from anybody, her parents, her brother, her uncle even her friends! Her mind is about being a perfectionist to please her father and makes herself emotionless because she thinks if she cries, it show her weakness. Which is kinda fuck up since she was a kid, she already become like that! Even when she was smiling when she heard her cousin, Lu Ten died in the war when she was around, I don't know, 5 years old maybe? So, in Azula's POV,
Cry, Sad, Grief = Weak
Strong, Emotionless = Power
That's fucked up
I feel like the way Azula's next line was delivered shows her first step towards insanity. That wasn't the same cold, calculating (ahh) response she usually gets, she was just shrieking. It wasn't even a clever comeback either, just "no, YOU miscalculated!"
I know it's played for laughs, but I've always just felt really bad for the guy at 4:45. He's trying his best to become a better person, he suddenly gets shoved for no reason, he explains that it hurt his feelings, Hakoda doesn't apologize, mob mentality causes him to revert to his unhealthy mentality, and then he just gets freaking decked.
If there's something this show does better than any other I've seen (among a lot of things) it's making the one-off background characters memorable. There are way too many examples to count, but it does wonders to make the world feel alive, and like real people live in it.
There's another character in a later episode I feel even worse for.
@@Vanillastump "I can't believe the captain remembered my birthday. He really does care!"
@@redgeoblaze3752 the worse part is that he died in that episode
@@Vanillastump The Boulder agrees with Vanillastump
My favourite bit of the episode was Zuko and Sokka fighting in perfect sync without a word, especially the way that Sokka waits for a window to attack and then withdraws after losing the element of surprise.
It really shows how this short time has let them learn to be a team. Sokka basically accepted Zuko once Aang and Zuko learned true firebending, but he felt obligated to mess with Zuko a bit like an informal welcome. This directly mirrors his experience with Zuko, he never truly fought him, just kinda saw him from the sidelines all the time so his opinions of him were malleable.
Zuko protects Sokka from the fire, but Azula can't overpower the sword like she does with Zuko's fire... Great scene!
they were also both trained by Pyandao, Zuko was confirmed to train under him when younger, and Sokka was during that episode
Azula was absolutely going to use lightning against Mai. You can tell by how her fingers were shaped. She was going to murder her.
Or possibly torture her by going for a non-lethal shot (which would still permanently cripple her and possibly be worse than death...)
Doesn't Azula two fingertips for fire as well?
@@jf_kein_k8590 Not sure, but the stance is identical to other lightning-bending moments in the show.
@@jf_kein_k8590 yeah, for more ranged attacks usually. I think the general idea is that two fingers is a high level technique for focused fire bending, as opposed to the broader sweeping motions of open hand or the bursts of closed fist, which is also why it's used for lightning, which is a more concentrated and precise technique that requires careful control due to how unpredictable it is by its nature.
@@jf_kein_k8590 yeah she does. I think it'd be more accurate to assume she was going to burn her rather than electrocute her since she normally takes a few seconds to charge up
To be fair Suki has been in this prison for a long time and we see in this episode that she spends a lot of her free time training. It makes some sense that she's gotta better since last we saw her, especially since that was in a fight she lost to Azula and like she says, she's been waiting for this rematch
Besides if you have ever fought in competition you know that the second time you fight someone you learn a lot from the first fight as in their speed and the way they move and you can react better to it
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Also, Suki is an armed fighter who constantly wears, trains, and fights in ceremonial armored dresses- not to mention her weapon of choice being a fan and therefore demanding fluidity and versatility in order to use it both offensively and defensively. The Kyoshi warriors definitely train heavily in hand-to-hand combat considering how close the conflict has to be to the warrior in order for a fan to even be applied to the fight.
Training for years with literal weights in her everyday dress would logically make her stronger, and unsurprisingly much more agile and dangerous while not being encumbered by said armor, so the flips and body weight strength she shows here isn't *too* shocking.
Not to mention, Kyoshi was an AVATAR who lived a hundred plus years and whose fighting style was probably highly respected on her island and therefore carried on through those warriors.
I never really questioned it, but I can see how some people might've.
@@SMFAHgirl98 This is a whole lot of mental gymnastics and even then it still doesn't work.
1) She climbs up sheer metal walls with absolutely nothing to grab onto. That... is a bit of a stretch to say the least. I don't care how athletic you are, that just doesn't happen.
2) All the guards give her ample time to run up to them or run at her despite being firebenders.
If they didn't make the guards incredibly stupid, Suki would've just been horrifically burned here. There's no way she can really close the gap on firebenders when it's just a narrow path like that.
3) The whole running on people's heads things is also wildly impractical. All it takes for her to trip and fall hilariously is someone unexpectedly moving quickly, and considering everybody's fighting I'd say odds of that happening are pretty high. Not to mention her sense of balance has to be impeccable to just run on their heads effortlessly.
4) She's not even a fully grown adult either which just makes this even MORE ridiculous. Ain't no way a 14 year old is just casually doing these superhuman feats with no problem.
Like I get you guys really like the show but cmon now, you can admit that there are some flaws with it.
@@bevvvy1374 there are some flaws with it but this really isn’t one of then
I like how Zuko's firebending is now more controlled and forms waves or spirals. Just like his breathing is more confident and calm, he also manages to keep his fire from sparkling everywhere. It's also much nicer to look at.
Yeah, and it seems like he's starting to bend on the inhale as well as the exhale, using the entire breathing cycle, which may be just something he learnt from the dragons, but I like to think it's actually related to Iroh's lessons being re contextualised: namely fire bending comes from the breath and lightning bending. He's learnt that every part of fire is important, so if it comes from the breath then all of the breath must be important. To bend lightning requires drawing it in and then releasing it, and lightning is pure fire without anger, so fire must be bent the same way, drawing it in as you inhale, before unleashing it as you exhale, which is actually quite similar to the other bending disciplines which seem to use a more defensive movement on the inhale and gather their element to them, then make a more offensive movement on the exhale.
Not only that but he also implements unusual moves like dispelling fire with bare hands. I don't know if firebenders even do that but that seems more like earthbending. Probably wouldn't be too far fetched to say he grasped his uncle's lesson of borrowing wisdom not only from fire nation. Iirc at some point he even redirects fire as Katara usually does with water? And his counterattacks especially are very precise, he only spends the lowest amount of energy it takes for the task. Which is an interesting callback (?) to his and Azula's agni kai when she throws large fire currents at him only for them to be redirected by his smaller currents, every single time. Captivating.
@@Soundwave1900 Zhao's whole signature thing was dispelling fire with his hands so it's not really an earthbender thing.
And pls no nonsense about Zhao learning earthbending technique. He wouldn't do that considering he literally calls fire the superior element.
@@bevvvy1374 I... don't particularly remember Zhao doing that but if that was the case then fair point
@@bevvvy1374i wanna add in rq that Zhao’s technique is a lot different than Zuko’s (Zhao puts his hands together in a knife sort of shape and cuts through the fire, while Zuko utilizes a more head on open palmed circular motion)
but both techniques are unique in that they are blocking fire with hands.
7:29 yes, it takes Zuko three kicks to break a steel handle. In season one, he broke a chain cuffed to Iroh’s wrists with just one kick against a rock! I always thought, “How is your leg not shattered?!”
@El Goblin Zuko also trained under Iroh...it's fair to say he's jacked and he knows what he's doing...mostly
Youd be surprised what you can withstand/break using martial arts
Why didn't he just melt it with fire
Yeah but it was a kick with the shoe of his armor
Tbf Zuko was also wearing heavy boots when he broke the chains on Iroh's wrists.
I really like how this episode shows that suki is actually a very capable fighter strong enough to go toe to toe with ty Lee.
I really like how this episode shows that Ty Lee is actually a very capable fighter strong enough to go toe to toe with Suki.
And this episode made Suki become a main character, joining Team Avatar for the rest of the series.
@@DennisTheZZZ Not like she actually does anything for the rest of the series after this episode
@@BomberDX97 she literally takes an airship and crashes it into another one to save Sokka and Toph
@@Jgcolombiano_ Oh my bad I didn't remember that but still it's not much overall
Love that you have a whole point about how Hakota isn’t punished then jumps to complaining about how Hakota got a really small cell. He probably got a small cell as punishment for his actions.
My thoughts exactly
After this there is only 6 episodes left. Can't believe this amazing series is coming to an end soon. Ive been watching since the drill and I love this content, can wait to see what you do next.
Lol same thought the drill was his only over analyzing back then
I wish he did LoK next.
@@p0pst1cle4 dang is he not?
The Drill was picked up by the magical youtube algorythm lol it has 1,6mil views compared to his second most viewed video with only 0,5mil views
wow yeah you're right, dang
Ty Lee's betrayal scene really puts into perspective who is really the strongest member of the trio. From her very first introduction, Azula has always been portrayed as this once-in-a-lifetime firebending prodigy with almost no weakness, an unstoppable monster, until with only two well-placed punches, Ty Lee turns that monster into a mere powerless human. It almost looks surreal the first time you watched it.
it was a sneak attack, that doesn't count
@@duskpede5146point still stands
@@duskpede5146 Yeah, she sneak attacked her... And _then_ kicked Azula's butt
Hmmm
I always loved Chit Sang being completely casual and friendly with the Avatar and his allies. Makes you wonder how he got locked up in the Boiling Rock on the first place.
He probably got into a fight. I always liked him.
Clearly ot was for tax evasion.
I'm new. What's up everybody?
It's my personal fan-theory that he tried (and failed horribly) to assassinate the firelord after a friend died to the plan Zuko spoke out against.
You have to wonder what he did to be put in the Boiling Rock alongside War Criminal leaders, but not the Firelord's traitor brother.
@@redgeoblaze3752 , there''s several fanfics that actually have Chit Sang either be a survivor of the 29th Division or else lost a loved one to it.
It's a great premise and I think it's a darned shame that he doesn't come back save for a one-minute cameo next episode.
A Fire Nation citizen who utterly despises Ozai to the point where he tries to kill him, and is not a member of the White Lotus, would have been great.
Man the Ty Lee vs Suki fight is very interesting, putting two of the most powerful non-benders in the show up against each other is really cool to see, especially since they fight in a very similar fashion, also seeing Ty Lee actually look angry while fighting is unusual
Wow calling Suki and Ty Lee the most powerful nonbenders, just disrespecting Sokka like that lmao
@@bevvvy1374 I mean literally all Sokka has is just two days of training with a sword and then some
Makes sense that ty lee is more serious here, unlike previous encounters one slip up means a very slow and painful death getting boiled alive
Ty Lee is just mad at seeing how Suki, without makeup, could still conceivable be prettier than she is.
@@bbjygmnah she just knew Suki has Sokka’s heart and she’s jealous
This was one of my favorite episodes. Of course nowadays Ty Lee and Mei's betrayal of Azula makes a ton of sense, but it was so mind blowing to me as a kid, and it only got better to me as I got older. God dammit this show deserves all of it's praise.
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Also I realize that Chit Sang kinda left his best friend and his girlfriend behind in the second escape attempt. I mean, they didn’t serve much purpose to the story and could easily have been left out of the first escape attempt, but it is still weird they were completely forgot about after
@@dumpsterDeity So even if they decided to give a good reason to not include them in the second escape attempt, I still have to ask why they were even included in the first. The only purpose they serve at all is to give Sokka a disgruntled look for having them be there and to fill the boat some more.
The fact that they aren't mentioned in the future indicates the show writers also realized how useless they are or that they forgot about them
I read a theory that they ratted out Chit Sang as the mastermind and then the Warden had them executed as an example.
Yea
people are debating if katara can bloodbend without the power of a full moon, i say do we even need that discussion if every moon is a full moon?
no, the answer is no
The more important question is, if Sokka's current/ex gf is the moon, is Katara's blood bending skill actually nepotism?
@@theapexsurvivor9538 🤔
@@theapexsurvivor9538 i envy your brain
6:48 i like to think that Suki felt useless after her loss to Azula, and that she trained while she was in prison to get better. Like that she could redeem herself in a sense
I mean... when we meet her, she is just on an island practicing a form of martial arts... then she left and must of actually got experience (just look at what we see aang/sokka/katara go trough... they started out at a way lower level then Suki for sure.
Yeah, they show suki doing some practice in her cell, and I felt that it implied that’s pretty much all she’s been doing since getting captured
The graphic novel, Suki Alone, covers her time at the Boiling Rock, and that's exactly what she did. It's a great fill in and exploration of Suki's character. (Minor spoiler below--its on the novel's cover.)
There's also a scene of when she's at her lowest, and the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi appears to her and tells her not to give up hope, and that her friends love her and are coming for her.
@@skilynnclari i’ve read it, it was pretty good
@@skilynnclari I like how Zuko alone was such a loved episode that they go with that naming template when it comes to character driven stories. (Ex. Suki alone, korra alone)
The whole episode is just *chef's kiss* très bien. The plan, the badassery from everyone involved, the warden wanting to die and take everyone with him, the betrayal, the reunion, and Mai's famous quote of "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you." What more could you want in an episode.
Honestly! I think this is possibly my favourite episode even with half the main cast missing. Says a lot about how strong it is for the character focus that I barely even notice Toph Aang and Katara's absence
Very well said its my favorite arc of the whole show
It’s probably my favorite episode, I just love how it was done
And then there's Azula's "no, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" Which I always thought was kind of a dumb line, but also *definitely* sounds like something a 14 year-old girl would say.
Yes! That quote is fantastic, up there with kaiju Aang at the north pole and Zuko redirecting Ozai's lightning, (edit: and of course, how could I forget, Aang and Zuko's dragon dance ritual), on account of sheer badass-ery
I really like the betrayal in this episode, as it makes sense.
Mai realizing that even if Zuko left her and broke her dark heart, she'd rather be with him than be under Azula, as he makes her happy and she makes her more miserable than usual. And now that Mai has defected, Ty Lee knew she wouldn't be alone when she decided to leave Azula.
Absolutely. That, and Azula was about to murder Mai with lightning
The grunting change I think also helps Zuko's bending. In the first episode Iroh told him that "power in firebending comes from the breath, not the muscle." I might be wrong here, but the grunting could have been evidence that he was trying to muscle it; now that he's less anger-driven his breathing is better too.
Yip! Ya beat me to it!
3:53 he has a good point. If we just saw the guards quickly bow down even before Azula's sound effect played, that would be even more powerful a moment.
I don’t know if I’m immature or not but I was thinking about something else while he was replaying this 10:03
My favorite line in fiction, “No you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!”
It’s the first time we see Azula break. She was quite literally going to *BLOW A FUCKING HOLE THROUGH MAI’S CHEST WITH LIGHTNING* until Ty Lee intervened.
I never noticed Zuko's change in firebending. He also seems to take a more defensive approach when in a fight as well, showing how he puts more thought into his moves. Where Azula prefers to dodge his jabs at her, Zuko prefers to straight block her blasts, also showing that his firebending has grown to almost equal strength of hers.
This is one of the few youtube series where I feel absolutely obligated to watch the credits because the traits he assigns to patreons are so damn entertaining in themselves.
It's so awesome how the show can play with your emotions sometimes. In this episode, we feel Ty Lee and Mai's betreyal as a deserved punishment for Azula being evil, but later, when we see, how she slowly but surely sinks into madness it feels like such a tragic scene. The last connections Azula had to the real world snapping under the strain of the polarizing effects of the War.
I really love the moment when Mai and Azula are about to fight. Mai knew that she was probably going to die (or nearly killed).
Then Ty Lee steps in, Mai is shocked. They are friends, but going against Azula? She didn't think that Ty Lee would be willing to do that for her.
Neither really "wanted" to be Azula's friend, they never had a choice. Azula always picked people who could complement her fighting and give her the advantage.
They shared in the trama of being forced to be Azula's "friend".
I really love the "miscalculation" dialogue between Mei and Azula here. It's just the first step of Azula mental breakdown.
Mai’s line “I love Zuko more than I fear you” is also brilliant when you consider Azula’s relationship with Ursa.
I can't wait to binge re-watch these once they are all released!
Imagine watching each of these after each episode or each book of ATLA and extending our annual binging rituals lol
@SlingingLily57 he had 3 out when I started watching so I wasn't really able to binge yet.
5:27 In general blushing is a sign of embarrassment shame or guilt. It's just been used to death as a way to show off being flustered romantically.
I know it wasn't shown very well in this particular video, but does anything else find Tai Lee's blank expression after taking down Azula kind of weird?
It kind of feels like her body reacted to Azula's attack before her mind did. Like if she didn't even intend to intervene, but she did and it took her a minute to realize what she did, and didn't knew what step two would have been besides trying to get out of there with Mei.
I really liked this aspect too, and it makes perfect sense. Adrenaline kicked in and she reacted without thinking about it, I like that they don't escape or have things planned out from there.
Yeh, there was clearly no planning involved in Ty Lee's betrayal. Azula was going straight for the lightning and was going to kill Mai right there in front of her, and Ty Lee just instinctively did the only thing she could think of to stop her friends from killing each other.
That's always sort of made me grin because Ty Lee's just like 'wait what the hell did I just do' and for some reason it's funny to me.
What I’ve also thought about Ty Lee’s betrayal is that it wasn’t really even taking out Azula- it was just to stop the fight. But she also knew she had to take out Azula bc Mai was the only one that would stop
Yep, an instant "What the hell did I just do!?" look followed-up by the cut to Mei's "What the hell did you just do!?" look.
I gotta love how simple starting a riot was. Like, one guy just shouted for everyone's attention, said "Riot!" and everyone was just like, sure sounds good to me. Considering how chill a bunch of the prisoners have been, I could kinda see that happening.
There's 2 aspects to this episode I'd like to try and justify in my own way:
The first is Azula and the Rocket Jumping. We see Azula use this kind of technique, which I refer to as Fire Propulsion, a few other times in the series. The first time is here, to blast herself up to the line, then propel herself to the Gondola on the handcuffs. The next time is when she's free-falling near the Air Temple, and then the last time is when she's empowered by the Comet. This first time, we notice that she has to do a whole windup to blast herself, perhaps this is indicitive of an advanced technique. But the most important thing I want to point out about these first two uses is that when she uses it, she's propelling herself in a single direction: UP to the wire, FORWARDS towards the Gondola, then INTO the wall.
But then we have the Comet, where she uses this technique to encircle Zuko, and we can see that she has the ability to control it... a bit. Something important to note is that Azula never leaves the ground while using it during the comet. But someone else does: Ozai.
What this shows to me is that Fire Propulsion is an advanced Firebending Technique, one that you can use more effectively the stronger your firebending is. Azula, who could only blast herself in one direction, could have some manuverability. Although we never see Ozai in his base form, it's believable that he might not have had the control over his flight that he had while empowered by the comet.
The second point I'd like to touch upon is why Sokka didn't go for the killstrike on Azula on the Gondola. My explanation is this: in the shot, his arms are almost fully extended, meaning that further extension of it *might* have hit Azula or forced her back, but more easily she would just dodge in any other direction, and Sokka could be retailated on for his overextension. At the point they were at, one small mistake could lead to their death, and I feel that Sokka prioritized getting across the boiling lake more than risking a killshot on Azula. Sokka steps forward? Azula goes for the legs and knocks Sokka down, Sokka goes for a slash? She retaliates with fire. It is a strange shot through, I suppose to show that Azula isn't invincible, and that the gap between Azula and the rest of the team is shrinking.
There is one other instance of it where it is completely controlled, by Korra in the avatar state. and it's VERY controlled. Sadly, it's after season 2 so you can't headcannon that a previous avatar could do it at will whenever, it's just from the power boost. Man.
The last part about Sokka makes a lot of sense. I always find it cheap when the main villain escapes death despite losing a major battle, but you bring up some good points. Sokka who is now a "master" swordsman would know the risks of his stances, and I appreciate how the artists wrote Sokka in a defensive stance here.
Another reason why Sokka might not have gone for the kill is because it isn't his place. She may be the enemy and has been chasing them for months at this point. But now that Zuko has joined the group there may be some mixed feelings about killing his sister. With his respect for Zuko in mind, I think Sokka would let him deal the final blow.
The first time that Azula uses that fire propulsion technique is in the season two finale, when Aang incases himself into crystals and they both go for a head-on collision, before Aang is blasted off by her.
@@easyandy1337 Also, he's a good guy, and heroes doesn't kill. If he was an anti-hero, he'd probably cut her leg or something similar.
I’ve seen somewhere that Mai’s line, “I love Zuko more than I fear you” triggers Azula so much because that’s exactly how she thinks her mother sees her.
A little detail that always makes me feel good is that smile Zuko has when Sokka is being pulled into the hug by Katara and Hakoda. Even though he has the worst father in animation, he’s just happy that his friends have a great relationship with their dad; no jealousy detected. I just think that’s a selfless moment for Zuko
Okay, the absolute payoff of the last Overanalysis episode having Zuko ask "How did you know who I am?" With the scroll-by listing all the very logical reasons why the Warden would know who Zuko is and what he looks like EXCEPT the one the Warden gives, which is that Mai is his niece. And now in this one having Zuko to ask a similar question "How did you know I was here?" only for the scroll-by to directly quote Mai's "The Warden's my uncle you idiot" line almost word-for-word is comedy gold and I don't think it's gotten enough attention.
3:13 "Why did the animators bother to animate this thing I'd love?"
They knew you'd love it. That's the point.
Never noticed the 3 power houses of the team were missing. It definitely upped the tension without lowering the stakes at hand.
Fuck yeah man seeing Mai stand up to Azula was such a great moment
I don't know how this hasn't been noticed, but at 9:26, three of the men in the gondola just disappear as Azula lands on it.
Azula is so scary they'd rather be wiped from existence.
"Oh shit it's Azula - better disappear!"
I honestly believe that if Ty Lee hadn't chi blocked Azula, Azula and Mai would have both died. Since Azula was presumably about to shoot fire/lightning at Mai, Mai would then have had time to fling a knife thingy at Azula, and they would likely both have been severely injured if not mortally injured.
So yeah, I love Ty Lee.
From what I saw, it looked like Azula was not planning to kill Mai, she was planning to beat 'sense' into her. If things were let be Azula's plan would have been to easily outclassed Mai and after beating her up, left her imprisoned until she realized her 'mistake', followed by Azula offering her 'kindness' to Mai to sway her back. Azula clearly has a massive soft spot for the pair (despite how abusive she is of them), so would have tried to 'correct' her.
Things only ended up like they did because Azula couldn't handle the mental strain of both of them turning on her at the same time.
Beyond that, Mai is talented but she is clearly the weakest of the 3, but even Ty Lee only won because Azula was too focused on beating down Mai, outside of surprise attacks both Mai and Ty Lee are far outmatched.
@@FastForwardPlans I am not so sure about Azula not wanting to kill Mai because the form she was taking was to summon lighting which would be fatal
@@acat6145 I mean I agree it looks like she’s about to shoot lightning but it would kinda seem more likely and in line with her behavior to scar Mai like zoku. It just seems like the kind of twisted abusive thing she would do, Mai chose zoku over her and therefor Mai should get the same punishment as zoku. Or something like that.
Azula lightning 🌩 too slow
@@dumpsterDeity the original comment wasn't that funny but you saying just "zoku" had me dying
I love this episode especially Chit Sang. He’s so odd yet lovable especially how he didn’t rat out the gang to the Warden
As a swordfighter irl I wanna add that I really love the way you can see a change in Sokkas Fighting style now that he has trained with a master. Before he was pretty aggressive and careless, which lead to him being countered very easily many times. In the fight vs Azula he knows the terrain is dangerous and he knows that azula is a very skilled opponent so he attacks and moves in a very controlled manner that shows a lot of restraint and technique.
I always loved the shot of Mai sliding and firing off her arrows. Also you got to love how in this episode Azula reads the guard and says “I am a people person.” Then she get betrayed by her squad shattering all that confidence she had in being able to read people.
Azula has also shown herself to be extremely good at reading people, and can apparently fool TOPH, so I assume she can tell the guy isn't lying.
Oh yeah, this was definitely one of my favourite episodes. Mai turning on Azula (despite being ditched by Zuko AGAIN) to save him, and then her getting saved from getting literally murdered by Azula by Ty Lee ALSO changing sides (and looking legit surprised at herself for doing it)? Absolute brilliance.
I’m glad that after Ty Lee’s betrayal, Azula went from clearly wanting to kill Mai to just wanting them throw in nice safe jail till the end of the show.
On one hand, it could be that she wanted to do it herself but couldn’t due to being chi blocked, and by the time she recovered her bending the initial anger passed.
On the other, do we know what stance the fire nation has on on the death penalty ? Because I'm sure that Azula murdering someone for her betrayal in the moment could pass off (maybe with a tap on the wrist by his father), but killing her in cold blood would be more hard to defend ?
They did come from prominent families so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she was told not to execute them.
I just noticed that Azula was about to blast May with lightning instead of fire based on her hand sign at 10:35
5:14 probably the funniest moment in the whole show IMO. The timing is perfect for everyone just deciding to go nuts, and the fact he's tossing a dude up and down to show he's serious is the icing on the cake.
Dude, Zuko not grunting while firebending is a crazy observation. Seriously too good what the hell
I really love this episode, especially the second half, from Hakoda trying to start a riot only to stumble upon the chillest dude in the prison, and then the other guy just fucking throws a dude in the air saying "riot, riot!" and 0 seconds late the whole prison is in chaos, the escape on the gondola and the fight on the roof, and finally Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal.
One of my favourite episodes from way back when I first saw this show, up until now.
By the way, you chose the coolest image for the thumbnail, well done
He should do the one with kora. Its not my fav but i don't want this to end. It become like a show to me. Even after that ill probably stick around with whatever show he does. Much love bro and great work
I’ve never watched the kora series but I would totally watch the actual series week by week if he did recaps of them!
In my headcanon for this episode, Mai doesn't only betray Azula because of her love for Zuko. See, in the cell she says that Zuko is betraying the Fire Nation and Zuko says that's not how he sees it and then, presumably, he explains to her why he did what he did. And, having been to the Earth Kingdom herself (remember her parents were colonial governors of Omashu) and seeing what the Fire Nation did there, she probably understands and maybe even agrees with him. I think that would be awesome, so that's why it's my headcanon.
Can't wait to watch, just wanna say, I started watching after the 5th/6th episode and I appreciate the hard work you put into these videos.
It's been really cool to see your subscriber count rise too, well deserved.
Also, my favorite line in the whole series is when Mei says:
"You miscalculated, I love Zuko more than I fear you."
Not only does it start Azula's descent into madness, but it also shows the avatar message of peace and love and how that's how the world should be, the world should be peaceful not overcome with fear and hate. Ironically, it's the same lesson Zuko learns both from his redemption ark and from the dragons. The difference it Zuko accepted that fact, Azula never truly understood it.
Anyone ever noticed when Mai says if you're going to rip out my heart look me in the eyes and do it, then when Zuko locks her in the cell he looks her in the eyes before he runs off.
I was always kinda confused on why the prison guards tried to cut the gondola line. Yeah, the warden told them too, but Azula was on the gondola too. If they cut the line and azula died, I don’t think the fire lord would be too happy
I agree with you. The only assumption that could be made is that after seeing Azula do that rocket boost they then had confidence that she could escape. Mai and Ty Lee though? Nah they woulda been dead which would have enraged Azula and then those guards would probably be severely punished or executed.
Honestly Ozai doesn't strike me as the caring father type. If she died from something like that? Ha, good riddance to that pathetic excuse for a firebender.
@@dontmisunderstand6041 it's not about being a caring father at that point. It would be politically unwise to not care about your only current legitimate heir to the throne dying.
@@easyandy1337 We already know for a fact that he doesn't care about that even slightly. It's literally the first thing we learn about the man.
@@dontmisunderstand6041 how is it the first thing we learn about him?
I hope you keep making content after you're finished with this series, its been awesome to see how much the channel has grown! Even if its a different channel, I just like you're personality.
7:28 Absolutly loved that subtle shade you threw at the Death Battle / power-scale obsessed fanbase! Although, you should really get along with your fellow overanalyzers lol
I liked that zuko and sokka were working together to compliment their strengths:
Zuko can block azula's fire, but wouldn't be able land a hit against her.
Sokka can't do anything about azula's fire, but she can't really block a sword strike.
It subtly shows that they have learned to work together
I’m so glad I was recommended the drill because this is one of my favorite channels and fully look forward to these videos every week
Ty Lee and Mai's betrayal is the catalyst to Azula going psycho. Definitely my favorite moment of the show 😊
I think the weird physics with Mai's knives and the guards have to do with the material of their clothing. I'd think the guards' armor would be some sort of very strong (and highly heat resistant) leather or ballistic fiber of some sort, so the resistance combined with the force of Mai's throws would move them before it makes all the way past the halfway point of the blade, where it'd be easier to just continue through.
And she can throw knives with the force of a cannon?
I was about to comment the exact same thing!
What we need to talk about is how her knives seem to pierce solid steel
I kid you not, she pins that female guard to _the steel floor_
@@KyriosHeptagrammaton She can throw arrows hard enough to bury the arrowhead into sandstone. Granted, Omashu is probably made of sandstone, a weaker stone, but still a stone nonetheless. With the added weight and efficiency of throwing knives and her general grace and skill, yeah. Pretty cannon-like.
@@longshot9757 MaYbE tHeY'rE mAgNeTiC
Sokka and Mei really make me wish that there would eventually be an Avatar series that doesn't hold back on violence. I want to see how dark this series can get, and how threatening non-benders could actually be.
Just look into our own world for that, other then being a little bit stronger and implausibly durable, the humans of the avatar world are about the same as the people of our world. The impossibly far jumps I think are just because the artist and writers didn't think about how big those jumps were. Otherwise non-benders have not really done anything super human.
As far as benders, if this was not a cartoon where they can't openly kill people, given how the least outright violent element, air, is based on something that in our own world is often used to carve through metal, how in the show itself Katara can freeze people solid, and Toph can throw small islands at people, and Zuko can melt his way through solid chunks of metal, I imagine it would lead to lots of the losing fighters turning into piles of meat at best, and a slight blood smear on the ground with nothing else left at worst.
The issue is that most of the characters would become far less relatable and likeable if they were constantly murdering people.
I mean what would make Mai better than Azula if Mai literally killed like 8 guards to save her ex
Blush = flustered. It's just blood rushing to your face, which usually happens when caught by surprised, scared or embarrassed.
10:00 nah man, that shot is just to showcase mae giving this guy the most down right diabolical sloppy toppy he's ever received
10:31
Actually, no, it's right
Aang made a left fist and pressed his right hand flat against it
Angie (however you spell that) and the guards make _a right fist_ and press their hands slightly above it
Not directly on top of it, because we see so many others avoid placing the flat left directly atop the right fist. It's elevated slightly, but not quite
I believe it was spelled Onji in the credits. But yeah I know who you’re talking about :)
Was looking for this exact comment. I was very confused when he pointed out it was wrong, but then showed a clip of literally the same hand placement
Also really cool detail, when warden visits Chi-Sang or whatever, he says the he would rather jump in the boiling lake himself then let the record break. Afterwards when they are escaping, he told them to cut the ropes so that he would fall with prisoners not to let the record break.
Suki's development came out of left field because we've spent most of our time on the right. Suki grew during her own time. Its like when someone rejoins the party later in the game and their levels are scaled up.
Yeah Suki I know we're almost there; I have eyes
I love that because I never noticed how unlogical it is to mention that you're close to reaching a point that will safe your life while you're still running towards it.
I believe Hakoda got such a tiny cell because of the Warden blaming him for tripping, it was just him getting revenge without looking like a crybaby to the new prisoners and guards.
I mean yeah primarily cause hakoda was literaly groveling you'd look like such a wuss and kind of a moron for openly punishing a guy doing that
I like how in an earlier episode you were willing to count every soldier in the intro, but counting the coolers in a very set grid with extremely less variations, was way too difficult. Proud of you!
His own character arc.
I would have wanted for Appa to react to Suki the same way he did to Zuko when he joined the gaang, but thinking it, the only two times Appa saw her was in B1E4 and during Appa Lost Days so maybe he didn't recognized her without make up on, but if that was the case couldn't he just remembered her by her smell? Suki deserve some recognition
I don't know if this is anyone else's interpretation but I really like that Ty Lee looks genuinely surprised when she chi blocks Azula. Like the idea that even she didn't know she was going to betray her until she actually did is just, I don't know, really cool.
I just have to say this: there's absolutely no way Ty Lee isn't at least part Air Nomad. Fight me.
Parking lot, 2AM, no weapons.I'll be waiting.
Can I ref so no one gets killed?
I'll bring the popcorn!!!
How’d this fight go?
I read somewhere she is probably a descendent. The Air Nomads travelled between temples (apparently) and as with the other nations not everyone has bending powers. So it would be a real possibility that there are Air Nomades in her lineage.
In the brief couple seconds around 2:42 , zuko has the most anime looking eyes of any character in the entirety of this show.
The "top 10 anime betrayals" moment caught me off-guard
This episode is great. The scene where he picks up the guy and just says riot is one of my favorite moments in the show. Also I thought you would show how as soon as Suki gets to the warden the rest of the gang were just magically there as well. And yes people do blush when they are embarrassed in general so he was probably being portrayed as embarrassed since he is the one that got talked into letting the prisoners into the yard. Also for the reason they go to the same cooler could be something simple like it is the closest one and they don't get used often.
Also. One thing I like in the fight Sokka took cover behind Zuko between fire blasts
5:34 Mai had to train at one point in her life. Especially when she's this good at fighting. Maybe Zuko saw Mai practicing her skills?
I would love to see an over analyzing legend of korra, and also other series! These have been wonderful to watch
1:35 I worked in a prison, yeah that'd 100% be what happens. The officers would look at you like "wtf are you casually chatting with the inmates for?" then there'd be paperwork, lots of it lol
5:25 probably an "oh shit that's me" moment of nervous shame. people blush for just about any reason. excitement, flusteredness, joy, anger, embarrassment, frustration, ..."excitement"... so, this feels natural. i think it's implying that he's the one who let the prisoners into the yard, and is feeling called out and embarassed
Zuko and Mei were friends for ages before they started dating and I think (not sure) he knows she's on Azulas team. Zuko definitely knows Mei can fight
this has probably already been said, but this series feels like a more fleshed out version of the "avatar extras" annotations nick had when doing reruns of this show back in the day. great stuff altogether!
Not gonna lie, I’m a little disappointed you didn’t mention the wardens line to “cut the line” in reference to last episode when he said he’d rather go in the boiling water himself than let his 0 escape record be broken and then he proves he was serious in this episode. As always, great analysis otherwise.
Nothing to over analyze there. In fact, it's something pretty obvious to notice.
It does leave the question why they didn’t knock the Warden out or something to prevent him from telling the guards to cut the cables. You’d think they’d know he’s more than willing to risk his own life to keep his perfect record.
Well, OA literally *cut the line*
I never noticed zoki stopped emoting when he fire bends Thats honestly awesome. Ive watched this show countless times and never noticed that and that is such a nice touch.
Ngl kinda upset he didn’t mention the shear amount of strength and coordination it takes to do a planch (the plank without feet on the ground for anyone who doesn’t know) let alone jump/fall/dodge into one then stopping your momentum completely to hold yourself, then just look like a badass like you’re fucked now
One thing I really like about the Warden is he was not lying about his willingness to fall into the boiling lake to keep his record clean
This was the beginning of Azula's descent into madness, her two best friends betraying her. The first splinter that would drive her to be truly crazy. It happens very quickly, considering there's only 6 episodes left in the whole show.
7:56. "That's not flying, that's just falling. With Style"
7:23 There's no reason zuko shouldn't have used some level of fire bending right here it would make breaking the Pole more believable. And I can't imagine it would be too difficult or, expensive to throw on top of the existing animation.
Seeing Sokka and his dad must have been weird for Zuko. Both have missed their father (I think for the same amount of time), want(ed) to get their father's respect and both have done something to lose their honor. Zuko was horribly punished and given an impossible task to redeem himself by Ozai. Even though what he did was kind of right. Sokka messed up terribly with the invasion, but when Hakoda sees him, he immediately accepts him again. He trusts his escape plan and Sokka's judgement that that Zuko is okay. This is what Zuko always wanted and when he sees Iroh again, he receives. I just love how these two seem to be the same type of kid with different types of fathers.
Also, Suki has one hell of a way to introduce herself to her boyfriend's father.
I was once a long time chaotic watcher who never subscribed, didn’t have an account and didn’t feel the need with RUclips customizing my app still but content creators ( if that even does it justice) such as your self are one of the reasons I started subscribing and started clicking notifications bells and commenting and engaging, and I really hope what you do next is something that I’ll be just as excited about.
If you like chaos, check out alpharad
Acknowledging a reference to a band you don't listen to but you know your audience will appreciate it.
That's Youtubing
Mai:"I don't need any protection"
Zuko:"Trust me she doesn't"
OA: analyses whether or not she demonstrated herself to zuko
did you just, miss the joke?
I very much doubt that that innuendo was intentional by the writers. Funny as fuck in hindsight, but it was 100% meant as him saying she can physically defend herself just fine
@@ZHL242 were it not for how zuko said it, maybe. Could be the voice actor madlibbing though.
"Unintentional" maybe if the authors are terminally lacking in self-awareness. Fire Nation is clearly modeled after USA AND Japan, and anyone other than a child would have the realization over key differences between American and Asian modesty. Especially while including the Beach episode with underage kids throwing themselves at each other, JUST LIKE in America, and what it IN REALITY entails IN America.
You know what "hooking up" means these days, it's not only innuendo to protect the children, it's the ONLY thing adults allow such words to mean. Same as "dating", if you MEANT dating, it wouldn't be "cheating" to go on a date. The spillover from an oversexualized country does show up sometimes. It doesn't do you any favors to ACTUALLY throw these things at children all the time and just pretend they wouldn't get it, the one time it happens in a TV show.
@@VladTerrible I think you guys are making up a joke that no one intended to be there
@@sboinkthelegday3892"protection" being contraceptives is not the only meaning "adults allow such words to mean," so I agree that I don't think this was an innuendo
Mai's betrayal of Azula was more foreshadowed, but the cool thing is that Ty Lee's makes just as much sense, if not more. Ty Lee has been Azula's primary punching bag when Zuko isn't around (and sometimes even when he is). She treated her so horribly. I mean, in Ty Lee's literal first episode, Ty Lee would have straight up died if she wasn't as skilled of an acrobat as she is. Azula would have murdered Ty Lee, for like no reason if things had gone a bit differently. Ty Lee is so chipper most of the time that it doesn't really come across, but realistically, Azula would be Ty Lee's sleep paralysis demon.