Man, you guys didn't show one of my all-time favorite quotes. "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." -Iroh
@@painvillegaming4119 actually, Vegeta is less prideful on Super than in Z, people say that he's weak for that on Super but he's the character with better development
I love Iroh's lesson above how the elements are all connected and how cutting themselves off from the experience of the other Nations due to a misplaced feeling of superiority is hurting the Fire Nation too.
that's literally my life, nothing happens when I need it to. Like when I see an item all the time, everyday but i dont need it, and then the second i need it, it magically disappears and then when i dont need it anymore, it will be right in front of my face😭
Fun fact time! At 4:15 the original animatic/thumbnails for this scene had the hole for Toph’s rock suit over her mouth instead of her eyes (for breathing.) However, there was a miscommunication at some point in the animation, leaving the final product with a-rather useless-viewing slot for Toph Animation errors like that aren’t particularly common in this show due to how much the creators focused on every detail, but some still slip by (as is inevitable)
I’ve been in this fandom since I was a little kid. I’ve met people who hate Aang, I’ve met people who hate Katara, I’ve met people who hate Zuko, etc. etc. I have _never_ met a person who dislikes Iroh.
@@Gipwx that he was a general and seemed happy to be, he took over ba sing se and laughed about it, he was simply okay with what the firenation was doing. I love iroh and he obviously changed but those are the reasons ppl dislike him
It's not even fair to ask the question "Who's your favorite character", nobody stands a chance next to Iroh. He's such a special character in many ways.
About that final Zuko scene: he says "you've never held back before" and the lightning still doesn't come. It's a fear that I think everyone has, because the opposite of love isn't hate, it is indifference. And to think that all the hardship and suffering we go through isn't a test but just indifference from an uncaring world is a thought no one wants to come to grips with. We all want to think we're doing it for something, going somewhere, that hardships are just stop on the way there, but they are not. And learning that lesson is always painful.
Iroh's explanation of how to generate lightning is brilliant; it's also the real-world, scientific way that lightning works (separate the negatively charged electrons and the positive cation, then make them recombine *violently*). Iroh is the OG.
I think that's just a coincidence. Bending in this show isn't based on science, but instead it's based on eastern philosophy. The four elements are philosophical concepts .
It says a lot about Iroh if he isn’t willing to tell Zuko that his tea is… “unfavorable” but will say without hesitation “No, she is crazy and she needs to go down.”
So when iroh said “no, she’s crazy and she’s needs to go down”, i first thought for a second he meant kill her. But through out the series he’s very philosphical and actually can’t imagine him really killing anyone or advising someone to do so. I think he meant its hard to reason with her when she’s in this state. So take her down with out killing her and then reason with her.
I always imagined it somehow like that. Not "go down" as in "die", but as in "lose". Azula's natural talent and prowess have poisoned her mind, she needs to have things not go her way so she can start looking for some balance.
I'm sure he would prefer she not die - but he knows she has to be stopped. Iroh was a soldier and a general. IF the only way to stop Azula was death, he'd be very sad about that and mourn her, and I think he harbors no hate for her at all - but if somebody's on a murder spree stopping them from killing other people is more important than saving them, even if you feel love and compassion for them.
@@iesika7387 I don't think he would be sad he would be happy when azula would have died iroh sees azula as an 8bstacle for zukos throne and he abuses azula for zukos abuse from ozai lit wtf in the legacy of the fire nation we see iroh Was never Fond of azula he never liked her or loved her look in the beginning from season 2 where azula greets them he looks at her with defiance and hate
Well I mean he did fling her out of a ship and into the ocean which could've killed her if she drowned or got eaten by whatever is in the ocean so maybe he did mean kill or at least wasn't opposed to the idea?
Iroh has so much discipline and patience that he's the perfect teacher for the Avatar if Iroh was the Avatar who knows what sort of bending he'll unlock
10:03 my personal belief is that iroh is the closest thing to the avatar that someone could be. In a way the only thing he's missing is ACTUALLY bending other elements. But he's studied all of them enough that he'd be a master if he could bend them
During the little training session with Aang and Toph, Toph makes this kind of rock suit, but she leaves a space open for her eyes, which is a confirmed mistake the animators made because well,,, she doesnt need that
Iroh 1000% is my top S tier. He’s such a wonderful character, if I ever met anyone who didn’t like Iroh I wouldnt be able to trust them cuz how do you hate that beautiful man who’s so kind hearted and gives such great wisdom? He’s the absolute best.
So this episode is about gaining different qualities instead have just one. You can’t only have confidence because it only breeds arrogance. You can’t only be cautious because it only breed fear. You need both. Both in this show and in life. Air = freedom/out of the box thinking. Earth = confidence/ defending what matters to you. Water = patience/being flexible. Fire = desire/ driving to wards something that’s important to you. Life lessons in the show and in life.
@@HazbinCovenWitch but they know that toph is gonna show up in korra which is clearly supposed to be a surprise moment in the show, so yeah definetely a spoiler
Aang and Zuko were both training with their natural opposites in this episode. Aang with the literal bending, but also with the martial arts techniques and philosophies of Earth Bending. Though he does eventually get good at those techniques unnatural to him, it isn't until he faces his problems head on that he truly understands the value of Earth Bending philosophy, even though he expressed it via air bending. Understanding the other styles only strengthens a person in their own native fighting styles and bending, no different than for the Avatar, they will just never be quite as powerful. Zuko on the other hand, while he gets the techniques down perfectly, he fails to appreciate and accept the philosophies Iroh explained to him during the 4 elements talk. Had he done so, he would not have tried to seek out lightning, and he would have been able to hold himself together instead of breaking down. Since you cannot pick and choose which parts of waterbending martial arts and philosophy to apply, one works because of the other and by extension so does the bending, if Zuko had gotten struck by a bolt he absolutely would have died. Of course it doesn't help Zuko that firebending itself was watered down to what Jong Jong thought it was, created by rage and made for destruction, instead of what it really is, created by self expression and being an aspect of life itself. Even the connection between Firebending and dance was tightly seperated by the Fire Nation, we see that they banned dancing even though the Fire Nation had the moves 100 years ago. Whenever Zuko is on the backfoot and doesn't know what to do he starts breakdancing, becoming much more powerful than before and winning, he unconcsiously falls back on true self expression instead of the restrictive teachings he was slow to learn but his sis excelled at (made much more evident by Zuko Alone when he breakdanced after remembering his mother telling him not to forget who he is). We also see later that when Zuko and Aang learn an ancient and powerful firebending form from the primordial firebenders, the dragons, it's in the form of dance. The Fire Nation did both likely to better poison the minds of their subjects to keep them in line, violent and waging war. Kind of like the 2 minutes of hate from 1984.
The idea of applying other bending techniques to other elements is such a cool concept, you'll see more of that in future episodes, in fact we already saw Jeong Jeong apply earthbending techniques to his firebending, using it defensively i.e. making a fire wall.
2:08 easily. Each tea has different temperature of water and steeping time. Iroh as a master of tea brewing knows the best. Making tea is an art. You boil water for tea needing 85°C you burn the leaves and it gets bitter af...
So one interesting take I heard is the reason azula can bend lightning is she's so delusional with her world view she genuinely doesn't see anything wrong with herself
I honestly think she does, though. *Season 3 Spoiler:* This is mainly because, in that beach campfire scene in Season 3, she admitted that she was a monster. Now, it's possible that realization came after she first bent lightning, whenever that was. So, that theory is still plausible, but I genuinely just believe her father taught her how to bend lightning.
@@meganlodonspoiler she admitted she was a monster and then laughed it off. Same with how she's able to lie to toph truth and ethics don't have value to her until her world view was shaken to it's core
@@MrPsych77*Spoiler* She knew what she was doing was evil and wrong. She wasn't delusional and ignorant of her own lack of empathy and morality. She knew. She just didn't care.
Love this one also I like how we see zuko cry and that he is only able to cry out of his right eye cause his other one was damaged that he can't cry out of it
This episode is one of my favorites because it highlights the way each be ding style interacts with each other in a physical sense. Each bending style is complimented by a martial arts style. Fire is aggressive and is complimented by an equally aggressive style of Karate with kicks and straight punches. Water bending is more gentle with flowing movements from Aikido. Earth is rigid and stable, with several stances and striking styles from different branches of kung fu. And air appears, from what we’ve seen with our boy, to be a mix of karate on offense and aikido on defense, with movements designed to be fast and precise yet agile and flowing. BUT. There are exceptions. Iroh and his lighting redirection comes from the waterbenders flowing style, but if you look at Tophs earthbending it isn’t as rigid or as aggressive as others we have seen, but is still a branch of kung fu. And I can say this next part because they’ve gotten there already, but it’s also seen in the Sun Warriors style of fire bending in comparison to the normal version. It is far more gentle and has less of the abrupt aggressive movements
Iroh is absolutely my favorite character on this show. I loved him from the start but he cemented himself as my favorite in the third episode. "Uncle, did you really mean what you said back there?" "Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite!"
It's true about the bending mentalities. Earthbending is about standing your ground. Being firm, unmoveable, stubborn. Air is the free spirited feather on a breeze. Uplifting unless you incur it's wrath. Fire is from a place of emotion and self. I won't go too much into that, yet. And water is life, which is probably why they can heal. Yin and Yang. Push and Pull. Go with the flow, as Iroh would say. Water can be gentle, but it can also erode mountains. It can be warm and embracing or cold and deadly. It can find its way around or through most anything. All 4 Bender kids are kind of the base mentality for their perspective abilities. Aang is the free spirit, Katarra is caring to a motherly degree, Zuko is the hot anger, and Toph is Toph.
I mean considering Iroh could have destroyed Zuko's father if his way of life wasn't a peaceful one, does make him the strongest fire bender besides the avatar, but leaving that aside, his character is so well thought and charismatic that honestly I would have loved a gaiden/spinoff with him as the mc.
Avatar has a official RUclips channel. They had a big problem with polls, because everytime they made a poll people used to vote only "Iroh" doesnt matter the question. Whos the greatest Firebender of all Time? Iroh Who made the best Forelord? Iroh Who is the smartest character? Iroh Whos the best strategist? Iroh Who wore the Red dress with the silver stilettos the best? Iroh Just made up questions, but you get the point.
Toph and Iroh are my only true S tier characters for this show. Zuko is super close though. And this episode does a really good job at explaining how each form of bending isnt just different elements. It's different ways of moving, different states of mind, different tactics, etc. This really ties in well with how each form of bending was choreographed based on different forms of martial arts as well.
"Bitter work" is one way to translate gongfu/kung fu. Outside of China that just refers to martial arts, but really it's any skill that requires a lot of discipline, practice, and patience.
If you guys needed any confirmation, when the Avatar Official RUclips Channel does a poll and Iroh is one of the options, he ALWAYS wins. It's got to the point where they did a poll saying "Try not to vote Iroh this time" and he won anyways LOL
You guys were wondering about the bending forms and stances after the lesson Iroh gave, and the whole thing with learning how to use other bending forms to bend a different element, and that's something the animators pay a LOT of attention to throughout the show actually. If you notice Toph's earthbending style, it's very unique and distinct from other earthbenders in terms of her hand positions, how she moves, how her strikes are less strength based (less punches and jabs) and instead she does things more open handed and with more agility. You can notice that in this episode too when aang finally pushes back the moose lion: He doesnt deflect it, he stands his ground and pushes it back head on. He uses an earthbending stance to airbend. It's a very interesting thing to notice throughout the show that the animators are very deliberate about when doing the fight scenes.
A couple of subtle details about this episode at this point in time only the royal family can shoot lightning so that technique is only useful against two people and toph literally took aang's staff and nuts to tick him off which will never not be funny. Such a tongue and cheek way for the writers to sneak her calling him bitch that i never caught till i was older
The universe realized that Zuko needed a break after shitting on him all his life. Image finally feeling ready to take whatever the universe throws at you and only then does it not screw you over.
I think with the rolling rock test, Topher knew one of 2 things would happen. Either aamg would wuss out like he did, or hed successfully stop it. He wouldn't do nothing so it would've worked if aamg did just "have the guts"
Also i camt believe it took me this long to realize the tree in this episode is the same one he sings leaves from the vine in later & probably where his son is buried. Which is also the same reason ba sing se is where iroh wanted to end up to be close to his son. Iroh is him 😂
It's really interesting you guys talk about other benders using techniques after watching other elements. There's an episode in season 3 that shows one of our characters using a technique in their own bending style that is based on technique from another bending style. I didn't notice it on first watch, but it really takes their opponent aback.
Actually Iroh isnt the first a princess from the fire nation who could not firebend, I think around Sozen’s time studied with the air nomads and created the chi blocking style Ty Lee uses.
Anybody who says Iroh isn’t their favorite character just weren’t watching the same show as the rest of us. That man is 100% the best character in the entire series. 🙏 Also, the baseball story from Boom was funny cuz my little brother actually quit baseball over getting hit literally every time he was at bat lmao. The day that finally did it for him was when the biggest kid in little league, who was also the only kid in the league who could hit a home run at the time, caught him right in the knee. He didn’t even finish the on base, he got a pinch runner and quit on the spot. I felt bad at the time, but damn if it isn’t funny looking back on it lol.
Iroh is absolutely my favorite character next to Toph, it's practically impossible to dislike him Also him coming up with the move to redirect lightning by studying the waterbenders was less him trying a waterbending movement with firebending and more so studying how waterbending moves work, what they accomplish, etc, because basically, most waterbending moves are about redirecting the opponents attacks either safely away or right back at them and Iroh figured out that he could do the same with the energy used for lightning bending in a similar way as to how waterbenders do it with water
I know this is coming quite late, and I'm not sure y'all even read the comments any more, but the DVDs have interviews with Sifu Kisu, who was the reference and fight choreographer for the whole series. He gave each nation's bending a basis in a different martial art. I think some of the interviews are on RUclips, but I don't know if they all are.
Iroh is S-Class. “No, she’s crazy and she’s needs to go down” is one of the best lines in the entire series. Did you realize that Toph motivated Aang by stealing not just his nuts but also his staff? THINK about it.
Iroh is best boi and is definitely viewed as everyone's Dad/uncle. Hell I hold everything he says to my heart and still follow to this day. I wish I had him irl.
Iroh's love for tea feels like something from a 4Kids dub, even though this show was American-made. Like, if this were an anime, "tea" would be wine or whiskey.
Iroh is by far the most loved character in avatar. I follow the Avatar RUclips channel and every time they do a community poll, Iroh always wins at 90% of the votes. They even did a poll that was just “can you resist not picking Iroh?” and Iroh still won.
Iroh is absolutely my fav! But what I love about this show so much is every, and I mean EVERY, character was written so well and so integral, it wouldn't have been the same show if any of them were missing. Even the small roles had a wise word or a comedic quip. God this show rocks.
Iroh is not only in my Top 5 for Avatar, but even when you add Legend of Korra characters, Iroh is in my top 5 favorite of ALL of the Avatar characters!
water's entire thing is pushing and pulling- like the tides. its constantly changing and moving. meanwhile, fire is all about passion and energy. to redirect lightning is to use the waterbending idea of redirecting energy
Iroh is easily the best character in the show, but I think its worth mentioning that he wasn't originally gonna be the wise, kind mentor that he is in this show. Originally Iroh was supposed to be a deceitful and plotting schemer whose ultimate goal was to stage coup against Ozai and take over the fire nation. Originally he was supposed to teach Zuko the wrong way of firebending to ensure he was dependent on him so he can make him into a puppet Emperor after he deposes Ozai, while he himself pulls the strings. Changing Iroh into his current version was not just a "last minute change" cause it would imply they changed it before the show started, but it was actually decided to change Iroh's character after the first episode. Now as we look back at episode one Iroh we see a friendly mentor with a bit of comedy surrounding him, but originally the depiction was aiming for "smug, slimy and gluttonous corrupt noble". Its very interesting how many changes happened to the Avatar characters when it comes to their personalities or even design, some of which were quite literally opposites of what they planned. Toph as you may already know was supposed to be a big buff dude but got turned into a little girl cause crew realized a little girl with personality and skills of a heavy weight pro-wrestler was hilarious. Another interesting thing is how Azula was originally going to be Zuko's older brother and not his sister, a kind of brother that is always better at everything and that Zuko lived in the shadow of.
I don't think Iroh was being rigidly literal when he talked about learning from the Water-benders. I doubt there is that much overlap between different Forms of Bending to begin with, but more importantly, I think what he meant was that he adapted water bending philosophy, their idea of push and pull, the flow of energy, which he adapted to lightning-bending.
Talking about different bending styles and new bending moves I think back to the swamp water benders. Their style was clearly different from the waterbenders in the north pole and the swamp benders also learned to bend water inside of vines. They bend the same element but just a different environment already changes up their bending style completely. Its intresting
Ah, here it is Let's see how you handle the lightning scene 2:11 too hot or too long makes it so bitter 4:27 love this so much 13:40 lol he's trying to help pull him out 15:40 but turmoil 18:38 except blades
This is one of my favorite episodes because Aang learns earthbending. Also take note of the "it is important to draw knowledge from many different sources" line. It'll come up again.
Time for some training arcs, with more clearer Zuko/Aang parallels While Aang struggles with his elemental opposite, Zuko struggles to learn lightning. We see through the latter's training though how Iroh's knowledge of other cultures has allowed him to enhance his own skills, as well as his own perspective. Zuko has a lot of angst still to get through, but he's on a path. Aang meanwhile managed to stand his ground, thanks in part to Sokka being hilariously stuck in a hole, and like that he's got a basic understanding of 3 of the 4 elements
All bendings movements are based on different fighting styles. Toph has unique fighting style, because she wasn't actually tought earthbending-her style is based on a fighting style created by a blind woman.
Whenever I'm having a hard time, I pull up some Uncle Iroh video compilations and quotes. I also have the Funko Pop version of him, and I keep him around when I'm needing extra motivation. Once ya'll finish the series, I'll send recommendations on some awesome videos that have made about him and his influence and wisdom.
Man, you guys didn't show one of my all-time favorite quotes. "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." -Iroh
Wait they seriously didn’t show it?! Come on!
Végéta Need to learn this lesson
Iroh is a legend
@@painvillegaming4119 actually, Vegeta is less prideful on Super than in Z, people say that he's weak for that on Super but he's the character with better development
@@ivanelugo I know
Iroh is S-Tier not just in Avatar but in general "mentor" roles
I love Iroh's lesson above how the elements are all connected and how cutting themselves off from the experience of the other Nations due to a misplaced feeling of superiority is hurting the Fire Nation too.
Absolutely nothing goes Zuko’s way. My dude is literally trying to get struck by lightning on purpose and failing.
@@valentinkambushev4968man is KAIDO now 😂
@@painvillegaming4119Kaido and Emo Zuko, both at a "Who dies first" contest, who wins?
@@zannchristo I am unsure if lava even done KAIDO in
@@valentinkambushev4968 Well now I need a dark comedy fic like that xD
that's literally my life, nothing happens when I need it to. Like when I see an item all the time, everyday but i dont need it, and then the second i need it, it magically disappears and then when i dont need it anymore, it will be right in front of my face😭
It's sad that zuko truly believes there is some sort of power that does want him to suffer, by shouting at whoever he thinks is listening at the end
it kinda felt like he's yelling at his dad
Fun fact time! At 4:15 the original animatic/thumbnails for this scene had the hole for Toph’s rock suit over her mouth instead of her eyes (for breathing.) However, there was a miscommunication at some point in the animation, leaving the final product with a-rather useless-viewing slot for Toph
Animation errors like that aren’t particularly common in this show due to how much the creators focused on every detail, but some still slip by (as is inevitable)
It’s stuff like this that I kept forgetting her eyes didn’t actually work as a kid.
It's for intimidation lol
I’ve been in this fandom since I was a little kid. I’ve met people who hate Aang, I’ve met people who hate Katara, I’ve met people who hate Zuko, etc. etc.
I have _never_ met a person who dislikes Iroh.
i have. theres a decent amount of people who hate him because of his past
@@MELTEDBUHTTER I don't understand. What do they hate?
@@Gipwx that he was a general and seemed happy to be, he took over ba sing se and laughed about it, he was simply okay with what the firenation was doing. I love iroh and he obviously changed but those are the reasons ppl dislike him
@@MELTEDBUHTTER well, he later went on to reconquer ba sing se in the name of the earth kingdom. What is there to hate?
@@Gipwx I agree. Was just saying what those who don’t like iroh think
It's not even fair to ask the question "Who's your favorite character", nobody stands a chance next to Iroh. He's such a special character in many ways.
Or Zuko, but I think that's because how close they are.
Iroh and Azula at the top
Come on guys, Appa is literally MVP.
Only Toph and Azula can really challenge that spot, but Iroh is still most people’s favorite.
@@fredrice8650nah, Iroh and Momo
About that final Zuko scene: he says "you've never held back before" and the lightning still doesn't come. It's a fear that I think everyone has, because the opposite of love isn't hate, it is indifference. And to think that all the hardship and suffering we go through isn't a test but just indifference from an uncaring world is a thought no one wants to come to grips with. We all want to think we're doing it for something, going somewhere, that hardships are just stop on the way there, but they are not. And learning that lesson is always painful.
When people ask about "your favorite character in Avatar" almost always that's followed up with "not including Iroh bc thats obvious"
Iroh's explanation of how to generate lightning is brilliant; it's also the real-world, scientific way that lightning works (separate the negatively charged electrons and the positive cation, then make them recombine *violently*).
Iroh is the OG.
I think that's just a coincidence. Bending in this show isn't based on science, but instead it's based on eastern philosophy. The four elements are philosophical concepts .
@@timrosswood4259 you must be fun at parties. 🙄
It says a lot about Iroh if he isn’t willing to tell Zuko that his tea is… “unfavorable” but will say without hesitation “No, she is crazy and she needs to go down.”
So when iroh said “no, she’s crazy and she’s needs to go down”, i first thought for a second he meant kill her. But through out the series he’s very philosphical and actually can’t imagine him really killing anyone or advising someone to do so. I think he meant its hard to reason with her when she’s in this state. So take her down with out killing her and then reason with her.
I always imagined it somehow like that. Not "go down" as in "die", but as in "lose". Azula's natural talent and prowess have poisoned her mind, she needs to have things not go her way so she can start looking for some balance.
@@KingVasuki agreed
I'm sure he would prefer she not die - but he knows she has to be stopped. Iroh was a soldier and a general. IF the only way to stop Azula was death, he'd be very sad about that and mourn her, and I think he harbors no hate for her at all - but if somebody's on a murder spree stopping them from killing other people is more important than saving them, even if you feel love and compassion for them.
@@iesika7387 I don't think he would be sad he would be happy when azula would have died iroh sees azula as an 8bstacle for zukos throne and he abuses azula for zukos abuse from ozai lit wtf in the legacy of the fire nation we see iroh Was never Fond of azula he never liked her or loved her look in the beginning from season 2 where azula greets them he looks at her with defiance and hate
Well I mean he did fling her out of a ship and into the ocean which could've killed her if she drowned or got eaten by whatever is in the ocean so maybe he did mean kill or at least wasn't opposed to the idea?
Iroh has so much discipline and patience that he's the perfect teacher for the Avatar if Iroh was the Avatar who knows what sort of bending he'll unlock
What you need to know is every AtLA fan is an Iroh stan.
There is no other way
No she's crazy and needs to go down one of the best lines and iroh is absolutely the best characters
Also lightning bending is awesome
Iroh as a character is in a league of his own imo. One of the greatest characters in fiction ever!
Iroh is exempt from all rankings.
It's a universal love ❤️
10:03 my personal belief is that iroh is the closest thing to the avatar that someone could be. In a way the only thing he's missing is ACTUALLY bending other elements. But he's studied all of them enough that he'd be a master if he could bend them
Iroh is definetly S tier and without doubt in top 3 of every ranking of ATLA. Loved your reaction as always
Iroh is absolutely S tier !
@@valentinkambushev4968triple S or Z class
Iroh remembers the simpler times when his son was alive.
"Oh, he's having nightmares."
During the little training session with Aang and Toph, Toph makes this kind of rock suit, but she leaves a space open for her eyes, which is a confirmed mistake the animators made because well,,, she doesnt need that
Even the animators forget, they are truly part of the Gaang
What about the nose?
Iroh 1000% is my top S tier. He’s such a wonderful character, if I ever met anyone who didn’t like Iroh I wouldnt be able to trust them cuz how do you hate that beautiful man who’s so kind hearted and gives such great wisdom? He’s the absolute best.
So this episode is about gaining different qualities instead have just one. You can’t only have confidence because it only breeds arrogance. You can’t only be cautious because it only breed fear. You need both. Both in this show and in life.
Air = freedom/out of the box thinking.
Earth = confidence/ defending what matters to you.
Water = patience/being flexible.
Fire = desire/ driving to wards something that’s important to you.
Life lessons in the show and in life.
Korra:" What was Aang like when you taught him earthbending?"
Old Toph:"Aang got all whiny, and Sokka fell into a hole."
😂
Toph truly is the master of understatement
UH!!! SPOILERS ?!! 🤨
@@adelseifeddine1758 Not really. They don't know the context exactly.
@@HazbinCovenWitch but they know that toph is gonna show up in korra which is clearly supposed to be a surprise moment in the show, so yeah definetely a spoiler
@@AjZ530 I knew about it before I watched it. I didn't consider it much of a spoiler.
Aang and Zuko were both training with their natural opposites in this episode. Aang with the literal bending, but also with the martial arts techniques and philosophies of Earth Bending. Though he does eventually get good at those techniques unnatural to him, it isn't until he faces his problems head on that he truly understands the value of Earth Bending philosophy, even though he expressed it via air bending. Understanding the other styles only strengthens a person in their own native fighting styles and bending, no different than for the Avatar, they will just never be quite as powerful.
Zuko on the other hand, while he gets the techniques down perfectly, he fails to appreciate and accept the philosophies Iroh explained to him during the 4 elements talk. Had he done so, he would not have tried to seek out lightning, and he would have been able to hold himself together instead of breaking down. Since you cannot pick and choose which parts of waterbending martial arts and philosophy to apply, one works because of the other and by extension so does the bending, if Zuko had gotten struck by a bolt he absolutely would have died.
Of course it doesn't help Zuko that firebending itself was watered down to what Jong Jong thought it was, created by rage and made for destruction, instead of what it really is, created by self expression and being an aspect of life itself. Even the connection between Firebending and dance was tightly seperated by the Fire Nation, we see that they banned dancing even though the Fire Nation had the moves 100 years ago. Whenever Zuko is on the backfoot and doesn't know what to do he starts breakdancing, becoming much more powerful than before and winning, he unconcsiously falls back on true self expression instead of the restrictive teachings he was slow to learn but his sis excelled at (made much more evident by Zuko Alone when he breakdanced after remembering his mother telling him not to forget who he is). We also see later that when Zuko and Aang learn an ancient and powerful firebending form from the primordial firebenders, the dragons, it's in the form of dance. The Fire Nation did both likely to better poison the minds of their subjects to keep them in line, violent and waging war. Kind of like the 2 minutes of hate from 1984.
2:45 Iroh is not on the S-Tier... there's the Iroh-Tier and bellow that is the S-Tier
This is one of my top episodes. Love a good training montage, and Iroh is dropping a lot of good wisdom here.
The idea of applying other bending techniques to other elements is such a cool concept, you'll see more of that in future episodes, in fact we already saw Jeong Jeong apply earthbending techniques to his firebending, using it defensively i.e. making a fire wall.
2:08 easily. Each tea has different temperature of water and steeping time. Iroh as a master of tea brewing knows the best. Making tea is an art. You boil water for tea needing 85°C you burn the leaves and it gets bitter af...
So one interesting take I heard is the reason azula can bend lightning is she's so delusional with her world view she genuinely doesn't see anything wrong with herself
I honestly think she does, though.
*Season 3 Spoiler:*
This is mainly because, in that beach campfire scene in Season 3, she admitted that she was a monster. Now, it's possible that realization came after she first bent lightning, whenever that was. So, that theory is still plausible, but I genuinely just believe her father taught her how to bend lightning.
@@meganlodonspoiler
she admitted she was a monster and then laughed it off. Same with how she's able to lie to toph truth and ethics don't have value to her until her world view was shaken to it's core
@@MrPsych77*Spoiler*
She knew what she was doing was evil and wrong. She wasn't delusional and ignorant of her own lack of empathy and morality. She knew. She just didn't care.
Love this one also I like how we see zuko cry and that he is only able to cry out of his right eye cause his other one was damaged that he can't cry out of it
This episode is one of my favorites because it highlights the way each be ding style interacts with each other in a physical sense. Each bending style is complimented by a martial arts style. Fire is aggressive and is complimented by an equally aggressive style of Karate with kicks and straight punches. Water bending is more gentle with flowing movements from Aikido. Earth is rigid and stable, with several stances and striking styles from different branches of kung fu. And air appears, from what we’ve seen with our boy, to be a mix of karate on offense and aikido on defense, with movements designed to be fast and precise yet agile and flowing. BUT. There are exceptions. Iroh and his lighting redirection comes from the waterbenders flowing style, but if you look at Tophs earthbending it isn’t as rigid or as aggressive as others we have seen, but is still a branch of kung fu. And I can say this next part because they’ve gotten there already, but it’s also seen in the Sun Warriors style of fire bending in comparison to the normal version. It is far more gentle and has less of the abrupt aggressive movements
Iroh is absolutely my favorite character on this show. I loved him from the start but he cemented himself as my favorite in the third episode.
"Uncle, did you really mean what you said back there?"
"Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite!"
It's true about the bending mentalities. Earthbending is about standing your ground. Being firm, unmoveable, stubborn. Air is the free spirited feather on a breeze. Uplifting unless you incur it's wrath. Fire is from a place of emotion and self. I won't go too much into that, yet. And water is life, which is probably why they can heal. Yin and Yang. Push and Pull. Go with the flow, as Iroh would say. Water can be gentle, but it can also erode mountains. It can be warm and embracing or cold and deadly. It can find its way around or through most anything.
All 4 Bender kids are kind of the base mentality for their perspective abilities. Aang is the free spirit, Katarra is caring to a motherly degree, Zuko is the hot anger, and Toph is Toph.
"WHAT TURMOIL!?"
- spoken like a person with repressed turmoil
"WHAT TURMOIL!?"
Probably the turmoil you just expressed not even half a minute ago. lmao
I'll just say this : you can't ask an Avatar fan who their favorite character is without adding "other than Uncle Iroh" and expect a useful answer.
True😂😂
I mean considering Iroh could have destroyed Zuko's father if his way of life wasn't a peaceful one, does make him the strongest fire bender besides the avatar, but leaving that aside, his character is so well thought and charismatic that honestly I would have loved a gaiden/spinoff with him as the mc.
Avatar has a official RUclips channel. They had a big problem with polls, because everytime they made a poll people used to vote only "Iroh" doesnt matter the question.
Whos the greatest Firebender of all Time? Iroh
Who made the best Forelord? Iroh
Who is the smartest character? Iroh
Whos the best strategist? Iroh
Who wore the Red dress with the silver stilettos the best? Iroh
Just made up questions, but you get the point.
Toph and Iroh are my only true S tier characters for this show. Zuko is super close though. And this episode does a really good job at explaining how each form of bending isnt just different elements. It's different ways of moving, different states of mind, different tactics, etc. This really ties in well with how each form of bending was choreographed based on different forms of martial arts as well.
9:00 🎼Crawling in my skin...! these wounds I can not heal...🎵
People remember this show for zuko and iroh.
It would not have been the cultual icon that it is without them
"Bitter work" is one way to translate gongfu/kung fu. Outside of China that just refers to martial arts, but really it's any skill that requires a lot of discipline, practice, and patience.
If you guys needed any confirmation, when the Avatar Official RUclips Channel does a poll and Iroh is one of the options, he ALWAYS wins. It's got to the point where they did a poll saying "Try not to vote Iroh this time" and he won anyways LOL
You guys were wondering about the bending forms and stances after the lesson Iroh gave, and the whole thing with learning how to use other bending forms to bend a different element, and that's something the animators pay a LOT of attention to throughout the show actually.
If you notice Toph's earthbending style, it's very unique and distinct from other earthbenders in terms of her hand positions, how she moves, how her strikes are less strength based (less punches and jabs) and instead she does things more open handed and with more agility. You can notice that in this episode too when aang finally pushes back the moose lion: He doesnt deflect it, he stands his ground and pushes it back head on. He uses an earthbending stance to airbend. It's a very interesting thing to notice throughout the show that the animators are very deliberate about when doing the fight scenes.
A couple of subtle details about this episode at this point in time only the royal family can shoot lightning so that technique is only useful against two people and toph literally took aang's staff and nuts to tick him off which will never not be funny. Such a tongue and cheek way for the writers to sneak her calling him bitch that i never caught till i was older
The universe realized that Zuko needed a break after shitting on him all his life. Image finally feeling ready to take whatever the universe throws at you and only then does it not screw you over.
2:16 when even Iroh believe your a lost cause your are a lost cause
I think with the rolling rock test, Topher knew one of 2 things would happen. Either aamg would wuss out like he did, or hed successfully stop it. He wouldn't do nothing so it would've worked if aamg did just "have the guts"
2:17 Another reason why I love Iroh! 😂
Also i camt believe it took me this long to realize the tree in this episode is the same one he sings leaves from the vine in later & probably where his son is buried. Which is also the same reason ba sing se is where iroh wanted to end up to be close to his son. Iroh is him 😂
"the people that don't like iroh"
dude, such thing doesn't exist LOL
Same of Azula's girlfriends do💀
Iron is the pinnacle of father figure
I like to imagine Mako ad-libbing "No. She's crazy and she needs to go down."
There was a poll that was "Whats your favorite ATLA character"
Options were Iroh or Literally Anyone Else.
Iroh won with 70-80%
One of my favorite running gags after Toph joined the group is that the rest of them regularly forget that she's blind because of how capable she is
The way it’s formatted like where the cameras of your faces are is so much better.
Ruff: "Yo, where my Iroh stans at?"
The Chat: WE ARE LEGION
Iroh sloshed the tea out of the cup, out of the window over his shoulder, he didn't burn it lol
It's really interesting you guys talk about other benders using techniques after watching other elements. There's an episode in season 3 that shows one of our characters using a technique in their own bending style that is based on technique from another bending style. I didn't notice it on first watch, but it really takes their opponent aback.
3:40 to explain to you boom toph pretty much has daredevil radar
Actually Iroh isnt the first a princess from the fire nation who could not firebend, I think around Sozen’s time studied with the air nomads and created the chi blocking style Ty Lee uses.
By the end of the series Iroh is just a top 5 character in anything 🔥
Anybody who says Iroh isn’t their favorite character just weren’t watching the same show as the rest of us. That man is 100% the best character in the entire series. 🙏
Also, the baseball story from Boom was funny cuz my little brother actually quit baseball over getting hit literally every time he was at bat lmao. The day that finally did it for him was when the biggest kid in little league, who was also the only kid in the league who could hit a home run at the time, caught him right in the knee. He didn’t even finish the on base, he got a pinch runner and quit on the spot. I felt bad at the time, but damn if it isn’t funny looking back on it lol.
Iroh is absolutely my favorite character next to Toph, it's practically impossible to dislike him
Also him coming up with the move to redirect lightning by studying the waterbenders was less him trying a waterbending movement with firebending and more so studying how waterbending moves work, what they accomplish, etc, because basically, most waterbending moves are about redirecting the opponents attacks either safely away or right back at them and Iroh figured out that he could do the same with the energy used for lightning bending in a similar way as to how waterbenders do it with water
I know this is coming quite late, and I'm not sure y'all even read the comments any more, but the DVDs have interviews with Sifu Kisu, who was the reference and fight choreographer for the whole series. He gave each nation's bending a basis in a different martial art. I think some of the interviews are on RUclips, but I don't know if they all are.
Iroh is S-Class. “No, she’s crazy and she’s needs to go down” is one of the best lines in the entire series. Did you realize that Toph motivated Aang by stealing not just his nuts but also his staff? THINK about it.
Iroh is best boi and is definitely viewed as everyone's Dad/uncle. Hell I hold everything he says to my heart and still follow to this day. I wish I had him irl.
Iroh is one of the highest S-Tier characters in all media.
Iroh's love for tea feels like something from a 4Kids dub, even though this show was American-made. Like, if this were an anime, "tea" would be wine or whiskey.
this is why the avatar is special, as the intro says "only the avatar, master of all 4 elements can stop them"
Iroh is by far the most loved character in avatar. I follow the Avatar RUclips channel and every time they do a community poll, Iroh always wins at 90% of the votes. They even did a poll that was just “can you resist not picking Iroh?” and Iroh still won.
Iroh is absolutely my fav! But what I love about this show so much is every, and I mean EVERY, character was written so well and so integral, it wouldn't have been the same show if any of them were missing. Even the small roles had a wise word or a comedic quip. God this show rocks.
Iroh is not only in my Top 5 for Avatar, but even when you add Legend of Korra characters, Iroh is in my top 5 favorite of ALL of the Avatar characters!
2:16 as Master Splinter would say “I am compassionate, not insane”
Yeah, when people ask about favorite Avatar character, "besides Iroh" is always implied.
water's entire thing is pushing and pulling- like the tides. its constantly changing and moving. meanwhile, fire is all about passion and energy. to redirect lightning is to use the waterbending idea of redirecting energy
Whoever doesn't like Iroh probably needs an Uncle Iroh in their life the most
Uncle Iroh is wise beyond his years
i loved Iroh before this episode, but this one is what solidified him as my favorite character. his quotes , even as a kid, stuck with me. 🤭
Iroh is easily the best character in the show, but I think its worth mentioning that he wasn't originally gonna be the wise, kind mentor that he is in this show.
Originally Iroh was supposed to be a deceitful and plotting schemer whose ultimate goal was to stage coup against Ozai and take over the fire nation. Originally he was supposed to teach Zuko the wrong way of firebending to ensure he was dependent on him so he can make him into a puppet Emperor after he deposes Ozai, while he himself pulls the strings.
Changing Iroh into his current version was not just a "last minute change" cause it would imply they changed it before the show started, but it was actually decided to change Iroh's character after the first episode. Now as we look back at episode one Iroh we see a friendly mentor with a bit of comedy surrounding him, but originally the depiction was aiming for "smug, slimy and gluttonous corrupt noble".
Its very interesting how many changes happened to the Avatar characters when it comes to their personalities or even design, some of which were quite literally opposites of what they planned. Toph as you may already know was supposed to be a big buff dude but got turned into a little girl cause crew realized a little girl with personality and skills of a heavy weight pro-wrestler was hilarious. Another interesting thing is how Azula was originally going to be Zuko's older brother and not his sister, a kind of brother that is always better at everything and that Zuko lived in the shadow of.
I don't think Iroh was being rigidly literal when he talked about learning from the Water-benders.
I doubt there is that much overlap between different Forms of Bending to begin with, but more importantly, I think what he meant was that he adapted water bending philosophy, their idea of push and pull, the flow of energy, which he adapted to lightning-bending.
I may be wrong but I think Zuko can't cry out of his burned eye. I think Ozai damaged the tear ducts.
The 'a lot of millenials dad' joke about Iroh KILLED ME oh my God
Everyone loves Iroh, however, Toph will always hold the top spot for me. Excluding Appa who automatically get #1.
Talking about different bending styles and new bending moves I think back to the swamp water benders. Their style was clearly different from the waterbenders in the north pole and the swamp benders also learned to bend water inside of vines. They bend the same element but just a different environment already changes up their bending style completely. Its intresting
You can boil tea, steep it too long, or sometimes even just using water that’s a little too hot can make it bitter.
Pretty sure EVERYONE is an Iroh stan. "Who's your favorite Avatar character, besides Iroh,, of course?" Is a thing I've heard more than once,
Whenever I hear people ask “who’s your favaroite atla character” it’s always followed up by “that’s not iroh”
Ah, here it is
Let's see how you handle the lightning scene
2:11 too hot or too long makes it so bitter
4:27 love this so much
13:40 lol he's trying to help pull him out
15:40 but turmoil
18:38 except blades
Iroh is the top liked character in the show, and it’s not close
Iroh is everyones favorite character. Usually people ask "who's your favorite character (after iroh, of course)" lol
This is one of my favorite episodes because Aang learns earthbending. Also take note of the "it is important to draw knowledge from many different sources" line. It'll come up again.
little canon fun fact toph actually knew that soka was stuck the entire episode
Im not sure whose my favorite character in avatar, for the most part i love all of them, good or evil. But yes Iroh holds a special place in my heart.
Time for some training arcs, with more clearer Zuko/Aang parallels
While Aang struggles with his elemental opposite, Zuko struggles to learn lightning. We see through the latter's training though how Iroh's knowledge of other cultures has allowed him to enhance his own skills, as well as his own perspective. Zuko has a lot of angst still to get through, but he's on a path.
Aang meanwhile managed to stand his ground, thanks in part to Sokka being hilariously stuck in a hole, and like that he's got a basic understanding of 3 of the 4 elements
All bendings movements are based on different fighting styles. Toph has unique fighting style, because she wasn't actually tought earthbending-her style is based on a fighting style created by a blind woman.
This episode is among my favorites! The A,B, and C plots of this episode are amazing.
Most people who know about Iroh usually have him as an SS tier character in any media.
Whenever I'm having a hard time, I pull up some Uncle Iroh video compilations and quotes. I also have the Funko Pop version of him, and I keep him around when I'm needing extra motivation. Once ya'll finish the series, I'll send recommendations on some awesome videos that have made about him and his influence and wisdom.