Nothing ends, only reimagined. -probably Iroh As those who have watched avatar the last Airbender... We are instilled with patience and perseverance for knowing Iroh. We live with the flow of life.
what makes it so good is that he does not just go from bad to good like other redemption arcs. He constantly goes back and forth so it makes it more interesting and realistic.
The perfect example of a redemption arc. They should teach Zuko's arc in writing courses. There's so much his arc gets right what other redemption arcs get wrong.
I've seen it basically spoiled a ton of times. People get over zealous whit their " wait until you see (blank) do (blank). Most people don't understand what is a spoiler and what isnt a spoiler.
As far as Ozai knew the only person that could redirect lightning was Iroh. When the fire lord saw Zuko redirect lightning he was actually scared of his son.
Did Ozai even know about Iroh knowing it? Far as I know, he hasn't talked to Iroh beyond absolute necessity since he became Firelord, and I honestly don't think Iroh would be dumb enough to tell his psychopathic brother how he's able to defend against Ozai's deadliest move -- for multiple reasons.
@@Lycanthromancer1 hard to say, Iroh definitely returned to the fire nation and had a relationship with Zuko who was living in the royal palace with Ozai as fire lord. And Azula witnessed Iroh redirect lightning and she was still in contact with Ozai.
@@PrinceIMC She probably didn't know what happened, since it happened so fast; he grabbed her hand, then kicked her overboard. But if she did know, then yes, Ozai probably did, too. Good point, that.
Ep 9: yep, Hama could have done a lot of things once she escaped. Helped the Water Tribe in war, returned to be with her people, lived quietly. That she chose to reciprocate her trauma by taking random civilians the way she was kidnapped, shows how twisted she became. It also introduces the concept that there are some lines bending should not cross.
Actually, I was thinking... could she have simply returned? I mean, I don't know how easy it would be for a waterbender with absolutely no means to leave the Fire Nation!
Well... live quietly after having all your friends and family being killed or captured, after your home being nearly destroyed, after you've spend a loooong time in enemies prison. Not saying that what she did was right in any way possible, but saying that it would be nearly impossible to live quietly and not to fight back and hate your enemy after this.
It was pretty bad writing imo, they never even tried to explain how a focused, disciplined warrior just goes so bad that they start taking revenge on complete non-combatants, people that they interact with regularly in town and know to be normal people. If she was just some crazy hermit preying on travelers, that’d be one thing. But she was together enough to have a social life, a business, and standing in town, while also being so fucking crazy that she was just caging normal citizens. That episode always left a bad taste in my mouth. The writers messed up. One of the only episodes in the series I’d say that about.
@@spiraljumper74 There are "normal" people in real life who justify civilian casualties in war, soldiers who commit war crimes and come home to live normal lives. It happens. She didn't see them as people anymore, just skins filled with liquid.
The reason Zuko went to go see his father and talk to him, wasn't to try to convince him. It was to confront his abuser and get the closure that he needed for a long long time. I absolutely LOVE this scene and LOVE that they included it. Its very healing. I come from an abusive household and I've never been able to confront my abuser. Something about seeing him confront his is so healing and comforting to watch.
I did it with my mom. She loved me but wouldn't acknowledge for the longest time that the way she treated us growing up was wrong. I didn't even ever call it abuse until I found out my therapist had wrote down childhood abuse in my file. It was a very healing moment for the both of us. Unfortunately my brain still gives me nightmares at times
I really like when Zuko mentions Aang saying they could have been friends. He sorta tried to brush it off at the time but him bringing it up now...I can't help but think that moment has been running through his mind ever since.
About Hama "not making sense" I'm pretty sure Hama was capturing people because they were Fire Nation. Didn't matter whether they were fire benders or not, she just wanted to make fire nation people suffer like she did after they kidnapped her and presumably killed her friends and family. >< Of course not justifying the kidnapping of civilians though! Still messed up!
hey story kills me because it reinforces western ideas of being beyond rehabilitation. i mean the only thing that turned hamma into a monster was being imprisoned by colonizers and then she just ended up exactly where she started. she just needed help.
@@christianaayodeleher trauma makes sense but she doesn't make perfect sense. You can feel bad for someone without justifying their obviously twisted logic.
"Katara would be the one person to have trust issues..." Yeah, remember that sad, despairing horrible look on her face as she's holding Aangs apparently lifeless body after Zuko betrays them and Azula uses her lighting? It makes me sad every time I've seen it. Thank God, Iroh was there.
Yeah! When I was much younger, I used to get so annoyed at Katara for threatening Zuko's life like that. I always felt that way every time I watched that episode. He switched sides and everything But now, I get it. She trusted him before, and she suffered so much for it. You really summed up my feelings now
But seriously, what Zuko did was even more terrible than just a betrayal of Katara. This is a fight against a nation bent on world conquest and colonization. This is a battle for the fate of the world. The Earth Kingdom was the last major holdout and Zuko betrayed them and caused the capital to be conquered. An entire nation brought to its knees off of his betrayal. The last place with an army that could go toe to toe with the Fire Nation...and Zuko betrays them at the worst possible moment. His feeling bad now doesn't change the fact that Earth Kingdom citizens are now oppressed and their towns occupied by an invading army. Also, Aang was dead. Like... They murdered that little boy. Azula shot the lightning but Zuko set him up. Imagine what would have happened if Katara had used that Spirit Oasis water to heal Zuko's face. Zuko would be rid of his mark, have no visible reminder of his shame, the Earth Kingdom capital would've fallen, and Zuko would've been fully accepted. And the Avatar Cycle would've ended...for all time. End of. Zuko's actions would have had such far reaching consequences
@@Kaldurahm1 it also hits very close to home for Katara, since he tribe was almost wiped out by the Fire Nation too. First they came for the Water benders and created monsters like Hama. Then they came for her mother. Katara has lived close and personal the Fire Nation bullying, murdering and betraying the whole world, over and over again. She lost her mother, somehow lost her father, had to grow up in hard ways with her brother as her almost only family. All that because of the Fire Nation, that Zuko doesn't only represent just by being the Fire Lord's son but that he also CHOSE several times. Thus bullying, murdering (or almost murdering) and threatening people (as seen on book 1). He knows now that he was wrong in doing so but Zuko did CHOOSE the Fire Nation in the past and that was yet another betrayal that almost wrecked Katara's entire life
@@Kaldurahm1 Thankfully for Zuko , and everyone, they didn't. I mean there is one sympathy I have for him: He's an abused kid with conflicting feelings (teenage angst is normal, Zuko has extra shit to deal with)suddenly given a chance for the only parent he has left's approval. That he backslid once is understandable. That does not , of course, excuse it morally, nor take away from anything you said about the potential consequences for other people. But in the context of Zuko's age and backstory what he did was understandable. It's probably what most teens or young adults would have done in real life (choose potential family or friends over ethics) although with usually far, far, far less dire potential consequences! So, I sympathize a little with Zuko here, but I sympathize with Katara far, far more. She NEEDED to tell him off, and he needed that verbal spanking.
@@remo27 I think everyone who watches the show has sympathy/empathy for his struggle. I think the gravity of that choice really gets ignored because of it, however. For a little added levity...a joke hashtag: #AnAngstyTeenagerWithDaddyIssuesGotMyCountryConqueredByAnExpansionistImperialPowerAndAllIGotWasThisManacle
SO glad you also see Katara’s resentment and mistrust of Zuko as 100% justified! She gets a lot of hate for that from fans who can’t seem to see from each character’s personal perspective. .
Everyone else saw everything she did and hated him the same way and came through much faster, reasonably. She was being immature still seeing him as her mother's killer, especially considering how she saw a positive side to him first.
@@kevinzhang6623 exactly, she gave him a chance before anyone else and then he almost immediately betrayed her newly found ‘slight’ trust in him which led to her best friend getting shot dead with lightning. Her reaction is 100% justified. Lol. I love that the writers chose to have her go that route because it’s SO realistic. It would’ve been so easy to have her just accept him like everyone else but this show has LAYERS and I love it ❤️
It was 100% unfair to project her resentment about her mother on someone who didn't kill her mother, but at the same time given how the Avatar equivalent of Heinrich Himmler just showed up and asked to roll with them immediately after they just got whooped in their last desperate gamble to win, the fact that they didn't immediately throw him off the cliff before he could get a word in shows a level of self-restraint I don't think I have
Something that was pointed out to me years later was the way Katara blocked Hamah attack. Key word blocked. Water benders redirect. She blocked like an earth bender like Toph would have. That's what shocked Hamah so much. If you watch Korra You will see more blending of the styles of bending.
That's kind of a key lesson across the entire series, that bending (and all things) are stronger when they are shared and in balance. All of the best single element benders in the series share techniques from other elements. Iroh uses earth and water concepts all the time, Azula moves like an air bender, even Bumi uses water bending movements to swim through earth.
Writing: They introduced the bending with sweat thing, to make you think, oh, can you bend other bodily fluids too? And then next ep: bam, payoff, if you thought of blood bending, you instantly feel like a genius
Yeah they do an awesome job of hinting at the possibility of something, to lead up to a bigger lore drop. It makes it feel less like "cheating". It's really easy for a show/movie to just be like "oh yeah, by the way bloodbending is possible now suddenly, so yeah". But they do an amazing job at first presenting it as a creative discovery the main character makes, before then showing how far it can be taken. Also when Toph invents metalbending, and we're hearing the guru talk about how all of the elements are connected/extensions of eachother, or whatever he said. Another good example is how Star Wars was edited. The early cut, before it was released, showed Darth Vader choking the guy as the first time seeing "the force", but then one of the changes that was made to save the editing was to move the scene of Ben Kenobi explaining The Force to Luke, as an energy that surrounds us, before Darth Vaders choking scene. It shows that the force is a good power but can be abused in the wrong hands (watch the "how star wars was saved in the edit" video essay by rocketjump for more context). So HOW you present exposition and lore, especially about abilities that the audience hasn't seen before, is really important in making it feel realistic and logical within the world. It also makes the hero's feel smart and creative, by being allowed to come up with some things on their own instead of just getting all ideas from other people who figured it out first, which would feel cheaper. Anyways, I know I'm a year late on this but I just felt like contributing to the conversation... haha 😅
I feel like the idea around Combustion Man was that he was focusing his firebending through this ajna chakra as symbolized by the tattoo on his forehead. Like that was his specialized school of fire bending similar to lightning, metal, or blood bending. I love the way they just tossed out variations like this with no deep explanation. They trusted us to figure it out
I'm sure there is an explanation somewhere, but I've always had my own little head canon for him. Like he was either weak at/couldn't bend or maybe he lost some ability when he lost his arm. Either way the tattoo was a way around that but it is a fairly unknown/rare and taboo thing to do. (the arm could have also been a cost to learning that way) Because of this stigma he has to work as a mercenary without honor.
I have the art book for Avatar, and they wanted to imply that while learning his method, Combustion Man lost his arm and leg. Someone else pointed out that not only does Combustion Man use his third eye, but that (as Iroh said in Book 1) power in fire bending comes from the breath, and the "camera" focuses on his stomach - where the fire chakra is located and "the sea of chi".
@@biglc034 For me, I think he lost his arm and leg due to how dangerous his Combustion bending was. He probably practiced for many years and lost his limbs from it as well
the beautiful thing is, the writing team and artists probably had a ton of back and forth to create him the bts and documentaries always showed how much the people behind avatar cared about the details and research im always just impressed how a kids show had so much intent put into every episode
Was looking for that comment. Why would anyone talk about that at the beginning of the show. Plus this is one of my fav moments to watch people react to.
@@likethatidea9899 I think it's because some people can't contain themselves, thinking they're being clever/funny for hinting at it.. or they're trolls who intentionally want to spoil. Edit: or, to be a bit nicer and to give the benefit of the doubt, it can also be people who may not have watched it a lot and thus don't remember the timeline of events as well as an avid re watcher
@@deathking1019 That's fair but the reason I didn't initially say best hero arc is because at the start of the show he was the main antagonist and now it's crazy how he went from that to a hero
interesting tid bit about the scene at 15:21. According to the community then an interesting detail is that when Katara blocks the attack she isn't using water style (Flowing and redirecting force), but is instead using an earth technique (Facing the force directly) which is why Hama is unprepared/suprised. Her dodging shortly after is probably also something more close to air style.
I love the fact that we see a waterbender from the southern water trime (arguably the weakest of all the nations) being the villian in the firenation, and that the kids SAVE fire nation civilians, who were very likely fully supporting the war agianst them. It shows that there is alot more going on in war and real life isnt 'good vs evil' . excellent concept for a kids show and well done here
I love that block at 15:22 that Katara does because it shows that Toph's fighting style has rubbed off on Katara. Water benders don't block attacks head on like that. Details like that really breathe so much life into a show.
@@cjjackson2423 don't tell them, show them! I got my nearly 70 year old mom hooked with just the intro (she's now waiting for the reruns to start again to record the whole thing from start to end, I already know she'll binge it in one weekend, two max). Sure, if the person you're trying to convince to give it a shot isn't interested in /doesn't like animated stuff, fantasy etc, they likely won't get excited about avatar, but for everyone of any age who's into that, it really is one of the best things to watch.
34:24 EVERYONE loves this scene, 2 and a half seasons to get the solid realization of yes this 100% has to happen, and i loved the giddyness that comes with it
Earth bender: "I know how to survive in a fire-nation prison." Natalie: "That is assuming they don't just kill you. Well, it is a kids show." -But he says that in front of the kids. He makes them feel at ease. I think that every adult there perfectly knows that they could be killed on a whim.
The most amazing thing about the puppetmaster episode is that it took Hama years to master blood bending but Katara was able to pick up on in it minutes. Just shows how truly powerful she is!
I like “Golden Nuggets”! It fits the channel perfectly! Also, regarding the Puppetmaster episode, I get that fans are really excited for her to react to some things in future Avatar episodes and can’t help bringing stuff up, but can whoever it is please stop spoiling things for her? It slightly ruins the surprise factor for her reaction and the enjoyment factor for people who wanted her to find out on her own. The reaction was still great regardless, but it could’ve been even more enjoyable if she hadn’t known that.
I love love love the detail during the puppet master, whenever the groups is reacting to anything visual, Toph’s face stays the same way. Particularly noticeable and hilarious during the attic box scene.
About that Zuko and Fire Lord meeting, Ozai didn't know that Iroh could defend against lightning let alone train Zuko. He tried to kill his son right then and there.
@@shad4416 man. S2 korra is really good tbh. The avatar lore are all finally explained there. My only problem is korra had been cut off to past avatar.
About Aang not being faster than Azula even though he’s an Airbender, I remember hearing that bending can be affected depending on the season. So for instance, since this season takes place in summer, firebending is more powerful while airbending is weaker. How the seasons affect bending: Summer, due to hotter temperatures and increased sunlight Firebending is stronger, less wind decreases airbending power Autumn, Autumn winds and nature giving into wind (leaf in the wind) causes increased airbending power, nature dying leads to lack of moisture weakening waterbending Winter, ice and snow plus shorter days leads to waterbending being stronger, the ground hardening leads to earthbending being weaker Spring, the ground softening makes it easier for earthbenders to manipulate increasing their power, the increased humidity and nature teaming with life (water) makes things difficult to burn making firebending weaker I don’t know 100% if this true. I just remember hearing about it. According to the wiki the increase in power is at least true for the corresponding seasons, but I can’t find any evidence on the power decreases. It would make sense though
This is total head canon, nowhere in the show is this even implied. However we do know fire is stronger in the day and water at night, and also that water gets stronger and weaker with the moon cycle. So there is precedent in the avatar universe for nature affecting the strengths of bending.
One of my favorite scenes is Katara full on stopping Hana's Waterbending. Waterbending is more about redirecting an attack and Katara acted like an Earthbender and stopped it in it's tracks, it just goes back to Iroh talking about how you can learn something from each of the elements and their styles. As spoiler free as I can give there is this wonderful parallel in Legend of Korra and I hope you watch it.
The Avatar journey continues with The Legend of Korra! The scale may not seem as big as ATLA at first because the protaganists are not travelling. But it’s a bit more mature imo. And the animation and action/fight scenes are better. Just like ATLA the sociopolitical themes explored are intriguing. Season two wasn’t that good but overall, The Legend of Korra is really good. ✨ Oh, and I think you’ll love Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood!! It kinda has a similar vibe and similar themes with ATLA and TLK, but it’s a bit more mature. FMA: Brotherhood is one of the greatest anime series of all time, if not THE greatest! 👌🏼💯
I was trying to think of why the FMA out of no where and tried drawing any connection to avatar and couldn't think of any. Then I remembered it has cool and interesting animal hybrids too!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Such an amazing show. There is a sequel series called The Legend of Korra. It’s not better than Last Airbender but it’s still worth watching. Hope you enjoy it.
She should definitely take a break between them though. Korra is better if Avatar isn't fresh in your mind to compare it too. Because being a sequel to possibly the greatest animated series of all time does not do that show any favors.
Also there’s a theory that Hama is the reason the Fire nation came back to the Southern Water Tribe and killed Katara and Sokkas mom. When Hama escaped, they knew how dangerous she would be so they went back to kill her. When Kaya said she was the water bender, it sort of matched the description of who they were looking for and they killed her.
Katara is a perfect example on how to write a strong female character. They dont shy away from her femininity like they do with all the "strong women" they write nowadays. She has flaws like a real person and her motherly love for the group, and her soft, caring side do not make her weak, in fact it makes her stronger.
they dont write strong female characters now. the (probably) male writers just write a man with a womans body, and then also have the other males emasculated so it beings their "female" character up men dont like that character, and neither do a lot of women. its not how we want to relate to a character onscreen, let alone have represent us its just pandering, marketing, and really condescending virtue signaling for the woke crowd (who have found popular media as a way to assert their influence and abuse as a platform) ... there are plenty of female heroes that i consider to be among the best. they dont have to be sexualized, or tough, or perfect. they can be role models for both males and females, as they navigate their story and take the audience with them. katara, toph, and even azula are great female characters. they have their own agency but still try to find a way to fit into the story. it feels real. and it gives us, the audience, something to feel too. ... ATLA has to be one of the best shows ever made, and i consider the well written roles for the female characters as one of my reasons for it being so
@@uglystupidloser Sexualizing women in writing is tricky since modern media also sexualize men by showing their abs and such. Women can use their charms to capture the hearts of the people (especially men) like Poison Ivy. And men can use their charisma to swoon everyone (especially women) like Kilgrave. It's also a matter of target audience like YA novels and comics for boys. Japan with their manga, anime, and fanfics mastered this stuff that their audience are being proud as "degenerates". What I'm trying to say is....sensuality is fine as long it's in moderation and the writing quality is superb to the point that almost no known cares about the "fanservice". Edit: I forgot to tell that sensuality is also fine as long as no one is being degraded and humiliated.
@@uglystupidloser Lady Olenna is a great strong female character. She also flies in the face of the weak elderly person trope. In fact, Game of Thrones has several strong female character, like Margery Tyrell. Yeah, they have the "manly" ones like Brienne and Arya, but while the Philistine might think Brienna to be a one trick pony, in truth she has some depth to her, some vulnerability, and a need for intimacy, all buried under years of ridicule. Far from just a man with boobs, she was a tragic character, burdened by unrequited love and a years' deep chip on her shoulder. And yet it never fully hardened her femininity, insomuch as it was able to endure after the aforementioned years of mockery and abuse for being so big for a girl.
It's really something that comes with a serious reading of the show, but Aang and Zuko's relationship, dynamic and how they mirror each other really is one of the best written aspects of the show.
I love Katara, but even I have to admit she gets extremely annoying and petty in the coming episodes. I mean, I get why she's so pissed with Zuko and she has every right to be, but her pettiness goes a little over the top in my opinion. The episode where she finally accepts (not forgives) Zuko is great though, and she gets back to being the Katara we've loved all series long.
She is so much better than this one reactor I saw. Making fun of Katara every episode, and calling her weak and pathetic. I'm pretty sure he wanted her to die.
"he was gonna have zuko killed? just for speaking out of turn?" - no it was when zuko was still a child, when iroh's son died, zuko's dad asked the previous fire lord to revoke iroh's throne right and make him the next firelord
my absolute favorite thing is seeing things click for you just before they're revealed in the show, especially with the bloodbending and Zuko teaching Aang firebending reveals!!! it's sooo nice to see you get so excited over things you just realized, it gives people like me who saw this show as a kid an idea of what it must feel like to experience it for the first time
The writing for this show is genius because Hama breaking free and killing all the guards shows why they stopped taking prisoners and started killing whenever they went and killed Katara and Sokka‘s mom
@@vimalraj3030 I believe the most recent podcast, they were talking about how they tiered the shows and while talking about Avatar Eric commented about Natalie's reactions.
@@uglystupidloser need I remind you of her reaction to No way home, I still love Natalia Silver but Jesus that reaction was bad. Btw bananas are a type of berry.
I’ve watched this show about a million times and I just now realized In the runaway why Katara was specifically in water below them, so toph couldn’t sense her as they walked up! Dang Avatar writers thought of everything!
@@alwaysbanned4812 Why do you want to stop people from having the chance to form their own opinions? LoK is not terrible, it has flaws and can never live up to the original, but it's not terrible and most of its flaws come from the constraints nickelodeon put on the creators by only giving them one season at a time. That and the love triangle nonsense. But apart from that it was really good. The movie that shall not be named was terrible, Korra was pretty good in most aspects.
@@alwaysbanned4812 Talk about being a bandwagoner. Anyone who knows anything about TV will know that TLOK is far from being anything close to a terrible show.
@@christophertelles8498 Only s2 was not enjoyable for me except for Wan. Spoilers for Legend of Korra: I don't like that the lion turtles were the original benders. It kind of ruins the concept that the air bison, badgers moles, dragon ls, and moon were the original benders from ATLA.
17:56 The chains around his pants in dream #2 were because he lost his pants in dream #1. Clever, but he needed to realize the overarching theme is feeling unprepared to meet a challenge, hence the math test in dream #2.
I remember me and my bro used to watch this every Thursday after swimming training when we were young. We used to come home every Thursday, still in our wet costumes, and our mom and dad would let us order pizza and watch the next episode on Nickelodeon! It is one of my best childhood memories, so watching your reactions literally makes me so happy! You are so lovely, and funny, and I’m so so glad you’ve enjoyed this amazing series! I’m such a fan of your channel!
Your reaction to zuko practicing, was literally what all the fandom wanted to hear you say, man I started following the channel just to see you react to this last episodes
The freaking parallel all this show between zuko and aang is just gold. I got goosebumb when aang shave his head and zuko lets his hair down before the invasion
I love the little details on this show. Like how Aang uses the proper Fire Nation gesture when saying Zuko should teach him, as a sign of respect. It's a closed fist beneath an open palm, like he learned in Fire Nation school 🙂
The combustion man (TM) has a kind of fire bending that is tied to something chi/chakra thing I can't remember, where he channels the fire to a point which allows his ability
Avatar is probably one of the most rewatchable shows of all time, but the closest thing to watching it for the very first time is seeing someone else experience this incredible journey. Its been an absolute joy to see you so invested and connect with everything so much. Keep smiling and keep being you :)
27:00 the plan that the king revealed was the full invasion with the entire Earth Kingdom military. but since the Earth Kingdom had already fallen and the Avatar is presumed dead, it was fair to assume that the Fire Nation wouldn't be prepared for a small-scale attack on just the capital. of course, Azula being Azula not only knew that they would attack anyway, but that they would find the secret bunker and the Fire Lords chamber in said bunker. Azula is insane, but she's also insanely smart.
Hey. There's a show on Netflix with 3 available seasons, was renewed for an additional 4 short seasons called The Dragon Prince. It absolutely has Avatar: The Last Avatar vibes. You should check it out. You could always wait a few years too. It will always be there.
YES!! Highly recommend she check out The Dragon Prince! It's so underrated but a wonderful spiritual successor to Avatar. Could not get into Korra, but loved TDP, especially as that show got darker.
Natalie I gotta say I've been a fan for a really long time now and this channel has brought me so much happiness more so now than ever watching your reactions to this particular series and seeing you be confused, distraught, happy and elated as I was has brought a lot of nostalgic memories to me, memories that remind me of alot of the good parts of my childhood. Thank you so much Natalie. ♥️♥️♥️
"I do not want this show to end". I think we all felt the same way hehe, though the best stories are always like that. Glad we got to see you react to this
18:01 Mine was always that I didn't know what my next class in high school was and I spent what felt like forever wandering into random classrooms and being told to get out.
Well that was the shortest 41 minutes ever. Time flies when you're having fun. I love getting to re experience this show with someone new. "Really? You're gonna take me out? You're not even wearing pants!" "No Fire Lord Ozai, *you're not wearing pants!* "
I literally looked you up 3 hours ago to see if you had an update for S3 pt 2 and here I am getting your video suggested as it was posted about an hour after my search. Thanks for part 2!
The second half of season 3 might be my favourite, but it wouldn't have been as amazing if the previous seasons would not have been building up towards it. Zuko finally joining them would not be the same if it happened in season 1 or season 2.
Once again, I'm going to recommend "Infinity Train" as a new show to watch. Great concept, fairly easy to watch, depicts difficult subjects in a way both adults and children can relate. It can also get dark sometimes.
So, I recently found out that there’s a comic book story line, where Katara writes on a journal the weeks she spent trying to heal aang after azula shot him. How she wasn’t sure he’d ever wake up. So when she threatened zuko at the end, yeah, it had to do a bit with BaSing Sei, but it had even more to do with the fact that Aang almost died once because of Zuko’s choice and she wasn’t about to let that happen again.
She has some great commentary, but that is probably the best one so far. Really demonstrates absorbing and retaining the entire series, applying past events to current situations. I would also admit it never crossed my mind, but having watched the series several times, remembering the northern tribe episodes, as soon as Natalie said those words, I was pleasantly impressed by the connection she made.
16:45 same. a tooth will become loose and then i'll become obsessed with trying to make sure it doesn't fall out completely. but it just keeps getting worse. usually the dreams feel very real. sometimes i'll realize its a dream and stop caring and pull the tooth out. but most of the time it feels real and i wake up realizing i was worried over a dream.
Seeing you watch an animated show makes me dream of the day when you begin to watch Attack on Titan on your channel. I guess your reaction to this show will be one of the best if not the best one out there.
Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Death Note have to be the holy trinity of anime, right? They are easily the most recognizable and popular. For good reason too.
I do hope you watch through Korra as well. The first two seasons aren't quite up to snuff (but still very good, just not atla level) but the last two are among some of the best stuff in the avatar universe
Omg you remembering hearing about bloodbending right as you headed into that episode was amazing timing 29:31 was so funny, I love little edited bits like that
If Hama needed revenge she could have used her power on her jailers (besides that one she needed to escape) or on regular Fire Nation soldiers (or better yet the Leaders). The Villagers were innocent. Still, I can't blame her for teaching Katara and making her show she could use it. The Southern Water Tribe is facing extinction, and its important for Katara to have every available tool in her toolbox, even if, hopefully, she never has to use it.
I mean look at Jet. The fire nation did horrible things to them, therefore everyone associated with the fire nation is evil. I mean people hated Germans a lot after the world war including innocents that had nothing do with the war who just wanted to live by peacefully. It's sad but it's realistic
i think people arent reasonable so trauma, grief, rage, desperation, frustration, whatever will often be vented more easily through the path of least resistance people exert power and control and agency however they can, especially when emotions are blinding them and trauma over a long period of time will break people down from what people would normally check themselves at sometimes we become stronger in the broken places, and other times we become crippled. and how it defines our actions and character can be for better or worse. ... but this is just a story. and a stage set for an episode to start and wrap up cleanly. funny to see people try to justify their understanding of reality in the context of a story. but it makes people feel something, so it did a good job...
The fight between Aang Sokka and Toph against Azula is the only part of the show that leaves me disappointed. It's like them have forgotten how to bend and fight. It's a shame Toph or Aang himself couldn't capture her even though she doesn't have firebending.
True, it is easy to write yourself into a corner and damn difficult to write yourself out of it where it makes sense. without a new out of the blue something to save the day. so it can be useful like here just to "do nothing" ;)
Adding 2 or 3 more Dai Li agents to the fight could've fixed this. Would've forced ours heroes to split their attention enough to make it more believable a fire-less Azula could evade them as easily as she does.
I'm pretty sure that's the point, to show how even without her bending she's able to hold her own. Plus there were two Dai Li agents which makes things difficult considering how formidable the Dai Li are.
@@Cinemabu11 Except for the fact they barely used any bending against her. What happened to Aangs air-assisted hyper-speed run. or Toph literally doing any earth bending? Just because there's Dai Li doesn't mean you can't use earth bending to slow her down, or trip her up. They spend nearly the entire fight only running after her. We get the intent of the scene, but the execution makes it all seems rather silly.
I feel myself watching the series for the first time again through your videos and enthusiasm, thank you for this ride! P.S. You could try "The Dragon Prince", same writer, don't know if you would like to see The Legend of Korra since you are almost done with this series, maybe it's too much of the same style...
The Fire Nation War Minister is one of a few side characters to appear in all three seasons. ("The Northern Air Temple", "The Drill", and "The Eclipse".).
PLEASE watch Legend of Korra next! She’s the avatar after aang and there’s a lot of mixed feelings on the show but definitely has its amazing moments. Also Aangs kids are in it :)
"Oh, you guys. Oh, no...You guys. Oh, no. This is SO bad." *Said through huge smile* (Edit) The reason why Hama was still so happy about Katara learning it was cause of how twisted she is. She was kidnapping out of hatred, but that kind of power still corrupts. She lived for at least 2 decades where, even if it's just one a month, she can force anyone to do anything. When Katara rejected the learning, Hama still managed to FORCE her to learn it. So while she'll still be bitter and crazy, in that moment she was in the high of still being able to force someone. Bonus points, cause she managed to use that force to pass on the knowledge.
"She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" on Netflix would be an excellent series for you to react to as a follow-up, maybe if you want a little break from the Avatar universe before heading into Legend of Korra ;) She-Ra is only 52 episodes (four 13-episode arcs), and a complete and very satisfying story. You'd surely spot lots of parallels to Avatar. I'm certain you'd LOVE it :D
@@shikitohno47 /sigh Imagine being this angry because the show did not cater to YOUR specific preference, like 99.9% of all the other shows out there. Its a good show, the ending is fantastic, if you couldn't enjoy that because of the rainbows you're a sad person.
@@shikitohno47 There isn't even any politics in the show lmao. Just LGBTQ people that exist, and they don't even talk about it, push it, or make it a big deal. You're grasping at straws tbh
@@shikitohno47 I can tell you know absolutely nothing about the show because the show isn't what you think it is at all. Yes, it has a lot of female characters and they make up the most of the cast, but it isn't preachy or makes a big deal out of it. The cast is full of women because; surprise, surprise, we exist, and among everything, it's also a show for kids about magical princesses. Also, a lot of people that watch the show being on Twitter isn't an insult considering almost every fandom has a large Twitter presence. Hell, a lot of people in the ATLA fandom are on Twitter.
19:40 actually they didn't kiss before. In the episode "The Cave of Two Lovers" the crystals lit up a second before they kissed, because darkness was the answer and not a kiss (although it wasn't made very clear). So Aang kissing her on the submarine was for the first time.
Even after almost two decades later, I also do not want this show to end.
truth
Nothing ends, only reimagined.
-probably Iroh
As those who have watched avatar the last Airbender... We are instilled with patience and perseverance for knowing Iroh.
We live with the flow of life.
Agree I forget how long it’s been since this show was one, almost 15 years since the last episode
Well, there is Legend of Khorra and on Netflix there is The Dragon Prince, which is also made by Aaron Ehasz and his style is noticeable.
🥲So true.
Hands down, Zuko's character arcs is one of the best.... ever.
Literally **the best arc**.
...weirdly enough yeah..
what makes it so good is that he does not just go from bad to good like other redemption arcs. He constantly goes back and forth so it makes it more interesting and realistic.
Fav story redemption arc ever!
The perfect example of a redemption arc.
They should teach Zuko's arc in writing courses.
There's so much his arc gets right what other redemption arcs get wrong.
Whoever spoiled Bloodbending should feel ashamed...
this
that was my thought too, but Nat had such a great time putting the pieces together and then being horrified by the implications that I didn’t mind
I've seen it basically spoiled a ton of times. People get over zealous whit their " wait until you see (blank) do (blank). Most people don't understand what is a spoiler and what isnt a spoiler.
@@doro626 ty
Biggest pet peeve EVER. Dumb **** ruining someone's first viewing of the show.
I love the running joke of Toph being so capable that people keep forgetting she is blind
She would love reading your kind comments
@@389OpiE lol
this applies to high functioning individuals suffering from mental health issues as well :’s
"She can literally move a mountain. She'll be fine."
As far as Ozai knew the only person that could redirect lightning was Iroh. When the fire lord saw Zuko redirect lightning he was actually scared of his son.
Did Ozai even know about Iroh knowing it? Far as I know, he hasn't talked to Iroh beyond absolute necessity since he became Firelord, and I honestly don't think Iroh would be dumb enough to tell his psychopathic brother how he's able to defend against Ozai's deadliest move -- for multiple reasons.
Hell, I don't think Ozai has talked to his brother period since well before the war at Ba Sing Se.
@@Lycanthromancer1 hard to say, Iroh definitely returned to the fire nation and had a relationship with Zuko who was living in the royal palace with Ozai as fire lord. And Azula witnessed Iroh redirect lightning and she was still in contact with Ozai.
@@PrinceIMC She probably didn't know what happened, since it happened so fast; he grabbed her hand, then kicked her overboard. But if she did know, then yes, Ozai probably did, too. Good point, that.
I doubt he knew Iroh could redirect lightning. He wasn't exactly parading this ability. He even mentions it's a defensive move.
Ep 9: yep, Hama could have done a lot of things once she escaped. Helped the Water Tribe in war, returned to be with her people, lived quietly. That she chose to reciprocate her trauma by taking random civilians the way she was kidnapped, shows how twisted she became. It also introduces the concept that there are some lines bending should not cross.
Actually, I was thinking... could she have simply returned? I mean, I don't know how easy it would be for a waterbender with absolutely no means to leave the Fire Nation!
Well... live quietly after having all your friends and family being killed or captured, after your home being nearly destroyed, after you've spend a loooong time in enemies prison.
Not saying that what she did was right in any way possible, but saying that it would be nearly impossible to live quietly and not to fight back and hate your enemy after this.
How easy would it be to go from the Fire Nation to the North Pole in times of war?
It was pretty bad writing imo, they never even tried to explain how a focused, disciplined warrior just goes so bad that they start taking revenge on complete non-combatants, people that they interact with regularly in town and know to be normal people.
If she was just some crazy hermit preying on travelers, that’d be one thing. But she was together enough to have a social life, a business, and standing in town, while also being so fucking crazy that she was just caging normal citizens.
That episode always left a bad taste in my mouth. The writers messed up. One of the only episodes in the series I’d say that about.
@@spiraljumper74 There are "normal" people in real life who justify civilian casualties in war, soldiers who commit war crimes and come home to live normal lives. It happens. She didn't see them as people anymore, just skins filled with liquid.
I hate whoever mentioned to her about bloodbending, it would have been a great reaction for her to be shock by such technique.
Seriously. Completely ruined the reaction for me.
i think she actually already figured it out on her own
@@DiscusvissenRocken No she said that someone told her
@@Helldog6 dramatic lol
It's an old show
The reason Zuko went to go see his father and talk to him, wasn't to try to convince him. It was to confront his abuser and get the closure that he needed for a long long time. I absolutely LOVE this scene and LOVE that they included it. Its very healing. I come from an abusive household and I've never been able to confront my abuser. Something about seeing him confront his is so healing and comforting to watch.
I did it with my mom. She loved me but wouldn't acknowledge for the longest time that the way she treated us growing up was wrong. I didn't even ever call it abuse until I found out my therapist had wrote down childhood abuse in my file. It was a very healing moment for the both of us. Unfortunately my brain still gives me nightmares at times
I really like when Zuko mentions Aang saying they could have been friends. He sorta tried to brush it off at the time but him bringing it up now...I can't help but think that moment has been running through his mind ever since.
About Hama "not making sense" I'm pretty sure Hama was capturing people because they were Fire Nation. Didn't matter whether they were fire benders or not, she just wanted to make fire nation people suffer like she did after they kidnapped her and presumably killed her friends and family. ><
Of course not justifying the kidnapping of civilians though! Still messed up!
Yeah...
I love the character of Hama, I think she makes perfect sense and I actually feel for her
Exactly. Trauma begets trauma, and once you’ve been dehumanized, it gets easier to dehumanize others as a defense mechanism.
hey story kills me because it reinforces western ideas of being beyond rehabilitation. i mean the only thing that turned hamma into a monster was being imprisoned by colonizers and then she just ended up exactly where she started. she just needed help.
@@christianaayodeleher trauma makes sense but she doesn't make perfect sense. You can feel bad for someone without justifying their obviously twisted logic.
"Katara would be the one person to have trust issues..." Yeah, remember that sad, despairing horrible look on her face as she's holding Aangs apparently lifeless body after Zuko betrays them and Azula uses her lighting? It makes me sad every time I've seen it. Thank God, Iroh was there.
Yeah!
When I was much younger, I used to get so annoyed at Katara for threatening Zuko's life like that. I always felt that way every time I watched that episode. He switched sides and everything
But now, I get it. She trusted him before, and she suffered so much for it. You really summed up my feelings now
But seriously, what Zuko did was even more terrible than just a betrayal of Katara. This is a fight against a nation bent on world conquest and colonization.
This is a battle for the fate of the world. The Earth Kingdom was the last major holdout and Zuko betrayed them and caused the capital to be conquered. An entire nation brought to its knees off of his betrayal. The last place with an army that could go toe to toe with the Fire Nation...and Zuko betrays them at the worst possible moment.
His feeling bad now doesn't change the fact that Earth Kingdom citizens are now oppressed and their towns occupied by an invading army.
Also, Aang was dead. Like... They murdered that little boy. Azula shot the lightning but Zuko set him up. Imagine what would have happened if Katara had used that Spirit Oasis water to heal Zuko's face. Zuko would be rid of his mark, have no visible reminder of his shame, the Earth Kingdom capital would've fallen, and Zuko would've been fully accepted.
And the Avatar Cycle would've ended...for all time. End of. Zuko's actions would have had such far reaching consequences
@@Kaldurahm1 it also hits very close to home for Katara, since he tribe was almost wiped out by the Fire Nation too. First they came for the Water benders and created monsters like Hama. Then they came for her mother. Katara has lived close and personal the Fire Nation bullying, murdering and betraying the whole world, over and over again. She lost her mother, somehow lost her father, had to grow up in hard ways with her brother as her almost only family. All that because of the Fire Nation, that Zuko doesn't only represent just by being the Fire Lord's son but that he also CHOSE several times. Thus bullying, murdering (or almost murdering) and threatening people (as seen on book 1). He knows now that he was wrong in doing so but Zuko did CHOOSE the Fire Nation in the past and that was yet another betrayal that almost wrecked Katara's entire life
@@Kaldurahm1 Thankfully for Zuko , and everyone, they didn't. I mean there is one sympathy I have for him: He's an abused kid with conflicting feelings (teenage angst is normal, Zuko has extra shit to deal with)suddenly given a chance for the only parent he has left's approval. That he backslid once is understandable. That does not , of course, excuse it morally, nor take away from anything you said about the potential consequences for other people. But in the context of Zuko's age and backstory what he did was understandable. It's probably what most teens or young adults would have done in real life (choose potential family or friends over ethics) although with usually far, far, far less dire potential consequences! So, I sympathize a little with Zuko here, but I sympathize with Katara far, far more. She NEEDED to tell him off, and he needed that verbal spanking.
@@remo27 I think everyone who watches the show has sympathy/empathy for his struggle. I think the gravity of that choice really gets ignored because of it, however.
For a little added levity...a joke hashtag:
#AnAngstyTeenagerWithDaddyIssuesGotMyCountryConqueredByAnExpansionistImperialPowerAndAllIGotWasThisManacle
SO glad you also see Katara’s resentment and mistrust of Zuko as 100% justified! She gets a lot of hate for that from fans who can’t seem to see from each character’s personal perspective. .
i feel like most of the community understood katara, we were just so frustrated with her 😂
Everyone else saw everything she did and hated him the same way and came through much faster, reasonably. She was being immature still seeing him as her mother's killer, especially considering how she saw a positive side to him first.
@@kevinzhang6623 exactly, she gave him a chance before anyone else and then he almost immediately betrayed her newly found ‘slight’ trust in him which led to her best friend getting shot dead with lightning. Her reaction is 100% justified. Lol. I love that the writers chose to have her go that route because it’s SO realistic. It would’ve been so easy to have her just accept him like everyone else but this show has LAYERS and I love it ❤️
It was 100% unfair to project her resentment about her mother on someone who didn't kill her mother, but at the same time given how the Avatar equivalent of Heinrich Himmler just showed up and asked to roll with them immediately after they just got whooped in their last desperate gamble to win, the fact that they didn't immediately throw him off the cliff before he could get a word in shows a level of self-restraint I don't think I have
Katara was still overly angry at Zuko even after he risked his life in freeing the Boiling Rock prisoners which included her father.
Something that was pointed out to me years later was the way Katara blocked Hamah attack. Key word blocked. Water benders redirect. She blocked like an earth bender like Toph would have. That's what shocked Hamah so much. If you watch Korra You will see more blending of the styles of bending.
I was looking for this comment to pull it up)
She also uses an earthbender stance and movement right after that to bring Hama down.
That's kind of a key lesson across the entire series, that bending (and all things) are stronger when they are shared and in balance. All of the best single element benders in the series share techniques from other elements. Iroh uses earth and water concepts all the time, Azula moves like an air bender, even Bumi uses water bending movements to swim through earth.
Iroh’s lightning redirecting technique was based on waterbending I'm pretty sure
dont watch korra
Writing: They introduced the bending with sweat thing, to make you think, oh, can you bend other bodily fluids too? And then next ep: bam, payoff, if you thought of blood bending, you instantly feel like a genius
honestly, theyre so clever in how subtle they are 😄👍 and im here for it
Yeah they do an awesome job of hinting at the possibility of something, to lead up to a bigger lore drop. It makes it feel less like "cheating". It's really easy for a show/movie to just be like "oh yeah, by the way bloodbending is possible now suddenly, so yeah". But they do an amazing job at first presenting it as a creative discovery the main character makes, before then showing how far it can be taken. Also when Toph invents metalbending, and we're hearing the guru talk about how all of the elements are connected/extensions of eachother, or whatever he said.
Another good example is how Star Wars was edited. The early cut, before it was released, showed Darth Vader choking the guy as the first time seeing "the force", but then one of the changes that was made to save the editing was to move the scene of Ben Kenobi explaining The Force to Luke, as an energy that surrounds us, before Darth Vaders choking scene. It shows that the force is a good power but can be abused in the wrong hands (watch the "how star wars was saved in the edit" video essay by rocketjump for more context).
So HOW you present exposition and lore, especially about abilities that the audience hasn't seen before, is really important in making it feel realistic and logical within the world. It also makes the hero's feel smart and creative, by being allowed to come up with some things on their own instead of just getting all ideas from other people who figured it out first, which would feel cheaper.
Anyways, I know I'm a year late on this but I just felt like contributing to the conversation... haha 😅
Hear me out, piss bending-
I feel like the idea around Combustion Man was that he was focusing his firebending through this ajna chakra as symbolized by the tattoo on his forehead. Like that was his specialized school of fire bending similar to lightning, metal, or blood bending.
I love the way they just tossed out variations like this with no deep explanation. They trusted us to figure it out
I'm sure there is an explanation somewhere, but I've always had my own little head canon for him. Like he was either weak at/couldn't bend or maybe he lost some ability when he lost his arm. Either way the tattoo was a way around that but it is a fairly unknown/rare and taboo thing to do. (the arm could have also been a cost to learning that way) Because of this stigma he has to work as a mercenary without honor.
I have the art book for Avatar, and they wanted to imply that while learning his method, Combustion Man lost his arm and leg.
Someone else pointed out that not only does Combustion Man use his third eye, but that (as Iroh said in Book 1) power in fire bending comes from the breath, and the "camera" focuses on his stomach - where the fire chakra is located and "the sea of chi".
@@biglc034 For me, I think he lost his arm and leg due to how dangerous his Combustion bending was. He probably practiced for many years and lost his limbs from it as well
the beautiful thing is, the writing team and artists probably had a ton of back and forth to create him
the bts and documentaries always showed how much the people behind avatar cared about the details and research
im always just impressed how a kids show had so much intent put into every episode
Sparky sparky boom man is just badass
We need to punish whoever spoiled blood bending for you.
Was looking for that comment. Why would anyone talk about that at the beginning of the show. Plus this is one of my fav moments to watch people react to.
Yeah, it’s a lazy way to disguise a spoiler. Like, “Wow, could you imagine if Darth Vader was Luke’s father? What a twist that would be!”
@@likethatidea9899 I think it's because some people can't contain themselves, thinking they're being clever/funny for hinting at it.. or they're trolls who intentionally want to spoil.
Edit: or, to be a bit nicer and to give the benefit of the doubt, it can also be people who may not have watched it a lot and thus don't remember the timeline of events as well as an avid re watcher
Point em out, ILL ROLL THERE WHOLE HEAD
right lol ruined it for everyone who was looking forward to her reaction to hamas episode smh
Zukos character arc has to be the most satisfying villain arc ever done.
I cant wait for Natalie to finally watch the tent reunion scene. That scene still breaks me to this day.
@@joeldykman7591 Honestly my favorite moment in atla. It brings me to the brink of tears every time I watch it.
correction it’s the best hero arc
@@Kelpie9423 mine is the last agni kai
@@deathking1019 That's fair but the reason I didn't initially say best hero arc is because at the start of the show he was the main antagonist and now it's crazy how he went from that to a hero
interesting tid bit about the scene at 15:21. According to the community then an interesting detail is that when Katara blocks the attack she isn't using water style (Flowing and redirecting force), but is instead using an earth technique (Facing the force directly) which is why Hama is unprepared/suprised. Her dodging shortly after is probably also something more close to air style.
Ohoo!! I've never thought about it like this before! So interesting
Nice spot! Reminds me of Ayro using water style to redirect electricity
Another example of all four elements truly being one. Both the lesson from the guru about the charcas to master the avatar state and Uncle to Zuko
I love the fact that we see a waterbender from the southern water trime (arguably the weakest of all the nations) being the villian in the firenation, and that the kids SAVE fire nation civilians, who were very likely fully supporting the war agianst them. It shows that there is alot more going on in war and real life isnt 'good vs evil' . excellent concept for a kids show and well done here
I love that block at 15:22 that Katara does because it shows that Toph's fighting style has rubbed off on Katara. Water benders don't block attacks head on like that. Details like that really breathe so much life into a show.
Curse whoever spoiled you on bloodbending! Haha. But I did love that little cut when you were talking about it ahead of time. 🤣
Literally I was so disappointed when she said that 😭
The character arcs in this show are literally better than almost every "adult" show ever made
I try to tell adults this 😭
Jon Snow's story should have been similar to Prince Zuko's.
@@thecaptain3594 Nah, no way. Maybe Jaime Lannister. I don't think Jon Snow ever needed to earn redemption in the eyes of the audience.
@@cjjackson2423 don't tell them, show them! I got my nearly 70 year old mom hooked with just the intro (she's now waiting for the reruns to start again to record the whole thing from start to end, I already know she'll binge it in one weekend, two max). Sure, if the person you're trying to convince to give it a shot isn't interested in /doesn't like animated stuff, fantasy etc, they likely won't get excited about avatar, but for everyone of any age who's into that, it really is one of the best things to watch.
@@thecaptain3594 What?? what are you talking about... Jaime lannister is zuko...
34:24 EVERYONE loves this scene, 2 and a half seasons to get the solid realization of yes this 100% has to happen, and i loved the giddyness that comes with it
Earth bender: "I know how to survive in a fire-nation prison."
Natalie: "That is assuming they don't just kill you. Well, it is a kids show."
-But he says that in front of the kids. He makes them feel at ease. I think that every adult there perfectly knows that they could be killed on a whim.
The most amazing thing about the puppetmaster episode is that it took Hama years to master blood bending but Katara was able to pick up on in it minutes. Just shows how truly powerful she is!
I like “Golden Nuggets”! It fits the channel perfectly!
Also, regarding the Puppetmaster episode, I get that fans are really excited for her to react to some things in future Avatar episodes and can’t help bringing stuff up, but can whoever it is please stop spoiling things for her? It slightly ruins the surprise factor for her reaction and the enjoyment factor for people who wanted her to find out on her own. The reaction was still great regardless, but it could’ve been even more enjoyable if she hadn’t known that.
Golden nugget made me smile, honestly. I have loved watching every minute of your Avatar journey. Can't wait for the finale!!
I definitely screamed out "I'm a golden nugget now!" Upon her saying that lol
I'm mad someone spoiled blood bending for you. It's one of the big reveals of the show that I like seeing reactors see for the first time.
I love love love the detail during the puppet master, whenever the groups is reacting to anything visual, Toph’s face stays the same way. Particularly noticeable and hilarious during the attic box scene.
About that Zuko and Fire Lord meeting, Ozai didn't know that Iroh could defend against lightning let alone train Zuko. He tried to kill his son right then and there.
It's more satisfying to see new people enjoy this show than any other. Glad we've converted another human to this amaizing story. Now on to LoK
Let's go
Let's go x2
Let’s go x3
Kora is highly underrated and people don’t put into perspective how different their journeys are when they try to compare shows
@Floating Heads Media no
Holy crap this came out of nowhere for me. I’m so excited but sad that the journey is almost over!
no worries.... Korra has to be next... at least I hope
There is still Korra after that. Korra S2 and S4 suck but S1 and S3 are really good and I'm expecting great reactions.
@@shad4416 man. S2 korra is really good tbh. The avatar lore are all finally explained there. My only problem is korra had been cut off to past avatar.
@@rayquan-c1n Nah, Korra S2 retcon so many good things from Avatar + ridiculous antagonist + very cringe dialogues and characters
@@shad4416 No it doesn't. You're factually wrong.
About Aang not being faster than Azula even though he’s an Airbender, I remember hearing that bending can be affected depending on the season. So for instance, since this season takes place in summer, firebending is more powerful while airbending is weaker.
How the seasons affect bending:
Summer, due to hotter temperatures and increased sunlight Firebending is stronger, less wind decreases airbending power
Autumn, Autumn winds and nature giving into wind (leaf in the wind) causes increased airbending power, nature dying leads to lack of moisture weakening waterbending
Winter, ice and snow plus shorter days leads to waterbending being stronger, the ground hardening leads to earthbending being weaker
Spring, the ground softening makes it easier for earthbenders to manipulate increasing their power, the increased humidity and nature teaming with life (water) makes things difficult to burn making firebending weaker
I don’t know 100% if this true. I just remember hearing about it. According to the wiki the increase in power is at least true for the corresponding seasons, but I can’t find any evidence on the power decreases. It would make sense though
i wish no wind during summer was true lol
Bruh; this isn’t canon at all Lol
This is total head canon, nowhere in the show is this even implied. However we do know fire is stronger in the day and water at night, and also that water gets stronger and weaker with the moon cycle. So there is precedent in the avatar universe for nature affecting the strengths of bending.
The real answer: the plot needed her to get away
@@uhohmykokoro1616 lmao, this. this is the real reason he just doesnt run at her at full speed
I love how you can see how powerful Ozai is. He just felt a sliver of the sun and bended lightning with both hands at once in a matter of seconds!
big emperor palpatine energy there
One of my favorite scenes is Katara full on stopping Hana's Waterbending. Waterbending is more about redirecting an attack and Katara acted like an Earthbender and stopped it in it's tracks, it just goes back to Iroh talking about how you can learn something from each of the elements and their styles. As spoiler free as I can give there is this wonderful parallel in Legend of Korra and I hope you watch it.
Right? Katara blocking Hama's bending was awesome
The Avatar journey continues with The Legend of Korra! The scale may not seem as big as ATLA at first because the protaganists are not travelling. But it’s a bit more mature imo. And the animation and action/fight scenes are better. Just like ATLA the sociopolitical themes explored are intriguing. Season two wasn’t that good but overall, The Legend of Korra is really good. ✨
Oh, and I think you’ll love Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood!! It kinda has a similar vibe and similar themes with ATLA and TLK, but it’s a bit more mature. FMA: Brotherhood is one of the greatest anime series of all time, if not THE greatest! 👌🏼💯
I was trying to think of why the FMA out of no where and tried drawing any connection to avatar and couldn't think of any.
Then I remembered it has cool and interesting animal hybrids too!
@@tristanpicotte7784 if she really watch FMA and she watched THAT episode, i cant imagine how she gonna recover from that
@@tristanpicotte7784 Ed... Ward?
Completely agree about FMA Brotherhood, if she decides to do an anime, that would be the perfect series.
Yes
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Such an amazing show. There is a sequel series called The Legend of Korra. It’s not better than Last Airbender but it’s still worth watching. Hope you enjoy it.
Yeah, Legend of Korra! Definitely not as top tier as The Last Air Bender, but still an entertaining watch.
She should definitely take a break between them though. Korra is better if Avatar isn't fresh in your mind to compare it too. Because being a sequel to possibly the greatest animated series of all time does not do that show any favors.
I actually prefer Korra, but I know I'm in a minority there.
Personally I found the action had been upped several notches by the end so I felt it was difficult to return to ATLA.
@@DarkKnightBatman420 Yeah, the fight scenes are spectacular and the animation is phenomenal.
Also there’s a theory that Hama is the reason the Fire nation came back to the Southern Water Tribe and killed Katara and Sokkas mom. When Hama escaped, they knew how dangerous she would be so they went back to kill her. When Kaya said she was the water bender, it sort of matched the description of who they were looking for and they killed her.
That doesn't make sense with the timeline, Hama is way older than Katara's mom was
@@dirtyfilthystinky maybe they thought she used blood bending to keep herself young
Katara is a perfect example on how to write a strong female character.
They dont shy away from her femininity like they do with all the "strong women" they write nowadays.
She has flaws like a real person and her motherly love for the group, and her soft, caring side do not make her weak, in fact it makes her stronger.
Same with Toph. I'm really glad I grew up with this show - it matured the way I understood people.
they dont write strong female characters now. the (probably) male writers just write a man with a womans body, and then also have the other males emasculated so it beings their "female" character up
men dont like that character, and neither do a lot of women.
its not how we want to relate to a character onscreen, let alone have represent us
its just pandering, marketing, and really condescending virtue signaling for the woke crowd (who have found popular media as a way to assert their influence and abuse as a platform)
... there are plenty of female heroes that i consider to be among the best. they dont have to be sexualized, or tough, or perfect.
they can be role models for both males and females, as they navigate their story and take the audience with them.
katara, toph, and even azula are great female characters. they have their own agency but still try to find a way to fit into the story.
it feels real. and it gives us, the audience, something to feel too.
... ATLA has to be one of the best shows ever made, and i consider the well written roles for the female characters as one of my reasons for it being so
@@uglystupidloser Sexualizing women in writing is tricky since modern media also sexualize men by showing their abs and such. Women can use their charms to capture the hearts of the people (especially men) like Poison Ivy. And men can use their charisma to swoon everyone (especially women) like Kilgrave. It's also a matter of target audience like YA novels and comics for boys. Japan with their manga, anime, and fanfics mastered this stuff that their audience are being proud as "degenerates". What I'm trying to say is....sensuality is fine as long it's in moderation and the writing quality is superb to the point that almost no known cares about the "fanservice".
Edit: I forgot to tell that sensuality is also fine as long as no one is being degraded and humiliated.
@@uglystupidloser "They dont write strong female characters now"
Arcane: * laughs *
@@uglystupidloser Lady Olenna is a great strong female character. She also flies in the face of the weak elderly person trope. In fact, Game of Thrones has several strong female character, like Margery Tyrell. Yeah, they have the "manly" ones like Brienne and Arya, but while the Philistine might think Brienna to be a one trick pony, in truth she has some depth to her, some vulnerability, and a need for intimacy, all buried under years of ridicule. Far from just a man with boobs, she was a tragic character, burdened by unrequited love and a years' deep chip on her shoulder. And yet it never fully hardened her femininity, insomuch as it was able to endure after the aforementioned years of mockery and abuse for being so big for a girl.
It's really something that comes with a serious reading of the show, but Aang and Zuko's relationship, dynamic and how they mirror each other really is one of the best written aspects of the show.
I really appreciate how much you value and love Katara as a character, feel like she gets unnecessary hate from some people!
I love Katara, but even I have to admit she gets extremely annoying and petty in the coming episodes. I mean, I get why she's so pissed with Zuko and she has every right to be, but her pettiness goes a little over the top in my opinion. The episode where she finally accepts (not forgives) Zuko is great though, and she gets back to being the Katara we've loved all series long.
She is so much better than this one reactor I saw. Making fun of Katara every episode, and calling her weak and pathetic. I'm pretty sure he wanted her to die.
Though she is my least favorite of the BoomerAang squad I still really like her character. I don't think she deserves all the hate either.
@War Band Well written or not, it doesn't mean that we have to like her though.
@@brettdiving2744 she literally does forgive him you knob. he deserved every bit of that pettiness.
Fun fact: Katara used an earth bending stance when fighting Hama, it was when she shielded herself from Hama's attack.
And when she brought her down immediately after
Also the way she jumped through Ang and Sokka was pretty airbendy.
"he was gonna have zuko killed? just for speaking out of turn?" - no it was when zuko was still a child, when iroh's son died, zuko's dad asked the previous fire lord to revoke iroh's throne right and make him the next firelord
The sentence you quoted is referring to Firelord Azulon, I'm pretty sure. Ozai very much spoke out of turn, as you explained.
my absolute favorite thing is seeing things click for you just before they're revealed in the show, especially with the bloodbending and Zuko teaching Aang firebending reveals!!! it's sooo nice to see you get so excited over things you just realized, it gives people like me who saw this show as a kid an idea of what it must feel like to experience it for the first time
The writing for this show is genius because Hama breaking free and killing all the guards shows why they stopped taking prisoners and started killing whenever they went and killed Katara and Sokka‘s mom
Natalie's so loved that even Blindwave have mentioned her and her Avatar reactions.
In which video?
@@vimalraj3030
I believe the most recent podcast, they were talking about how they tiered the shows and while talking about Avatar Eric commented about Natalie's reactions.
@@ArlanKels Thank you! (It's at 6:08 on Podcast #205 for anyone wondering)
how can natalie gold not be loved by all, especially the reaction community of yt? 😅
@@uglystupidloser need I remind you of her reaction to No way home, I still love Natalia Silver but Jesus that reaction was bad. Btw bananas are a type of berry.
I’ve watched this show about a million times and I just now realized In the runaway why Katara was specifically in water below them, so toph couldn’t sense her as they walked up! Dang Avatar writers thought of everything!
I'd love to see you react to the sequel series "Legend of Korra" 😊👍
Why do you want someone to suffer watching that terrible show?
@@alwaysbanned4812 Why do you want to stop people from having the chance to form their own opinions? LoK is not terrible, it has flaws and can never live up to the original, but it's not terrible and most of its flaws come from the constraints nickelodeon put on the creators by only giving them one season at a time. That and the love triangle nonsense. But apart from that it was really good. The movie that shall not be named was terrible, Korra was pretty good in most aspects.
@@alwaysbanned4812 Talk about being a bandwagoner. Anyone who knows anything about TV will know that TLOK is far from being anything close to a terrible show.
@@christophertelles8498 Only s2 was not enjoyable for me except for Wan.
Spoilers for Legend of Korra:
I don't like that the lion turtles were the original benders. It kind of ruins the concept that the air bison, badgers moles, dragon ls, and moon were the original benders from ATLA.
@@alwaysbanned4812 there’s no way you have unironically watched season 3 of LoK
17:56 The chains around his pants in dream #2 were because he lost his pants in dream #1. Clever, but he needed to realize the overarching theme is feeling unprepared to meet a challenge, hence the math test in dream #2.
I remember me and my bro used to watch this every Thursday after swimming training when we were young. We used to come home every Thursday, still in our wet costumes, and our mom and dad would let us order pizza and watch the next episode on Nickelodeon! It is one of my best childhood memories, so watching your reactions literally makes me so happy! You are so lovely, and funny, and I’m so so glad you’ve enjoyed this amazing series! I’m such a fan of your channel!
Your reaction to zuko practicing, was literally what all the fandom wanted to hear you say, man I started following the channel just to see you react to this last episodes
I nearly cried at Aang thanking everyone he left behind for being so brave and so strong. Ugh, that choked up delivery was perfect!
Arcane is definetely something you should watch next, Natalie!
The freaking parallel all this show between zuko and aang is just gold. I got goosebumb when aang shave his head and zuko lets his hair down before the invasion
I love the little details on this show. Like how Aang uses the proper Fire Nation gesture when saying Zuko should teach him, as a sign of respect. It's a closed fist beneath an open palm, like he learned in Fire Nation school 🙂
The combustion man (TM) has a kind of fire bending that is tied to something chi/chakra thing I can't remember, where he channels the fire to a point which allows his ability
I've read somewhere that the eye tattooed on the forehead resembles the eye of Kali, the Indian Goddess of Destruction.
And we arive at the most amazing part of ATLA!
So glad that Nat finally decided to give this "Kids show" a chance after all of us pestering her :P
Golden nuggets is great 😂 And I’m so excited to watch this video!!! Seriously one of the best animated shows, if not one of the best shows ever.
Avatar is probably one of the most rewatchable shows of all time, but the closest thing to watching it for the very first time is seeing someone else experience this incredible journey. Its been an absolute joy to see you so invested and connect with everything so much. Keep smiling and keep being you :)
27:00 the plan that the king revealed was the full invasion with the entire Earth Kingdom military. but since the Earth Kingdom had already fallen and the Avatar is presumed dead, it was fair to assume that the Fire Nation wouldn't be prepared for a small-scale attack on just the capital. of course, Azula being Azula not only knew that they would attack anyway, but that they would find the secret bunker and the Fire Lords chamber in said bunker. Azula is insane, but she's also insanely smart.
love your reactions to avatar ❤️ it’s so fun reliving this show with you
Hey. There's a show on Netflix with 3 available seasons, was renewed for an additional 4 short seasons called The Dragon Prince. It absolutely has Avatar: The Last Avatar vibes. You should check it out. You could always wait a few years too. It will always be there.
*airbender. Oops. Little mistake.
It's by the head writer of Avatar, it can't help feeling similar.
Fun fact, the main male character is voiced by the "Sokka". :P
YES!! Highly recommend she check out The Dragon Prince! It's so underrated but a wonderful spiritual successor to Avatar. Could not get into Korra, but loved TDP, especially as that show got darker.
Super underrated show
Amazing show . No words to accurately describe the emotions it gave me . I’m glad you enjoyed it 🥺
Natalie I gotta say I've been a fan for a really long time now and this channel has brought me so much happiness more so now than ever watching your reactions to this particular series and seeing you be confused, distraught, happy and elated as I was has brought a lot of nostalgic memories to me, memories that remind me of alot of the good parts of my childhood.
Thank you so much Natalie. ♥️♥️♥️
"Baby, you're my forever girl" is absolutely the best line from the entire series
Thats rough buddy
Arcane pretty please! I’m really looking forward to seeing your reaction to strong emotional moments in the show, and it’s on Netflix!
I love 11:05. Everyone is freaking out and Toph is just like "meh i felt Hama approaching already, chill out" lol.
"I do not want this show to end". I think we all felt the same way hehe, though the best stories are always like that. Glad we got to see you react to this
18:01 Mine was always that I didn't know what my next class in high school was and I spent what felt like forever wandering into random classrooms and being told to get out.
I have been loving these reactions. I've rewatched this show 20+ times and still love watching others get to experience it.
Well that was the shortest 41 minutes ever. Time flies when you're having fun. I love getting to re experience this show with someone new.
"Really? You're gonna take me out? You're not even wearing pants!"
"No Fire Lord Ozai, *you're not wearing pants!* "
Sweet! caught this as soon as it was uploaded :) really needed a Natalie video to boost my day. Been feeling kinda down lately
After you finish avatar there’s a sequel series The Legend of Korra where there’s aangs son, daughter and it is a great show
Nah it’s buns
@@Jclarkis False.
@@gracehiggins2666 ruclips.net/video/3131tUSlaFQ/видео.html
I literally looked you up 3 hours ago to see if you had an update for S3 pt 2 and here I am getting your video suggested as it was posted about an hour after my search. Thanks for part 2!
Look how powerful ozai's lighting bending is, just a little glimpse of the sun and he generates that much power from sitting down is incredible,
The second half of season 3 might be my favourite, but it wouldn't have been as amazing if the previous seasons would not have been building up towards it. Zuko finally joining them would not be the same if it happened in season 1 or season 2.
Once again, I'm going to recommend "Infinity Train" as a new show to watch. Great concept, fairly easy to watch, depicts difficult subjects in a way both adults and children can relate. It can also get dark sometimes.
you should definitely watch the legend of korra! it’s the second show of the avatar universe and it’s pretty good
ooooh could you call us gold stars pls? also that first shirt with the sweetheart neckline was so prettyyyyy
So, I recently found out that there’s a comic book story line, where Katara writes on a journal the weeks she spent trying to heal aang after azula shot him. How she wasn’t sure he’d ever wake up. So when she threatened zuko at the end, yeah, it had to do a bit with BaSing Sei, but it had even more to do with the fact that Aang almost died once because of Zuko’s choice and she wasn’t about to let that happen again.
"The moon likes her more than you, Hama."
I've never thought of it like that but it is absolutely true lmao
She has some great commentary, but that is probably the best one so far. Really demonstrates absorbing and retaining the entire series, applying past events to current situations. I would also admit it never crossed my mind, but having watched the series several times, remembering the northern tribe episodes, as soon as Natalie said those words, I was pleasantly impressed by the connection she made.
We all feel that way after watching this show; you just can't get enough of it.
But that's why Korra exists!
But then you get enough of it
And the comics… and the books.
@@rainbowrose8802 😂😂
And the new stuff coming out in the next few years from Avatar Studios!
To make you go "you know... After all it's not that bad that they stopped."
Gotta love how much avatar fans love to be so WINK WINK spoiler-happy all the time with new reactors...
16:45 same. a tooth will become loose and then i'll become obsessed with trying to make sure it doesn't fall out completely. but it just keeps getting worse. usually the dreams feel very real. sometimes i'll realize its a dream and stop caring and pull the tooth out. but most of the time it feels real and i wake up realizing i was worried over a dream.
Just wanna say I've been hella sick the last few days and this was a bright spot in all the crazy. Thanks for all you do.
Seeing you watch an animated show makes me dream of the day when you begin to watch Attack on Titan on your channel. I guess your reaction to this show will be one of the best if not the best one out there.
yes & FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood
I find an unhealthy joy in people reacting to Nina and the Rumbling for the first time
Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Death Note have to be the holy trinity of anime, right?
They are easily the most recognizable and popular. For good reason too.
she would also like Inuyasha I think
@@caitlinbrooks1085 thats a classic. i think that was my first anime. wow. took me back there. lots of memories
I'm happy with being called a Gold Nugget, but as someone who lived in DC most of their life I think that the Nats sound good as well.
I do hope you watch through Korra as well. The first two seasons aren't quite up to snuff (but still very good, just not atla level) but the last two are among some of the best stuff in the avatar universe
Really? The first season for me is on par with the third as just up there with Avatar.
I did actually enjoy S1 and S3 the most. But S2 drags down the show so much that i am actually hesitant to recommend it.
Imagine sitting thru 2 boring seasons yawn
@@Hunterfalke Wan thing makes season 2 worth watching and it’s Wan and Iroh
@@Hunterfalke Wan thing makes season 2 worth watching and it’s Wan big reason
It feels reaaly good to relive this series again through these videos. thanks for doing this Natalie.
Omg you remembering hearing about bloodbending right as you headed into that episode was amazing timing
29:31 was so funny, I love little edited bits like that
If Hama needed revenge she could have used her power on her jailers (besides that one she needed to escape) or on regular Fire Nation soldiers (or better yet the Leaders). The Villagers were innocent. Still, I can't blame her for teaching Katara and making her show she could use it. The Southern Water Tribe is facing extinction, and its important for Katara to have every available tool in her toolbox, even if, hopefully, she never has to use it.
I mean look at Jet. The fire nation did horrible things to them, therefore everyone associated with the fire nation is evil. I mean people hated Germans a lot after the world war including innocents that had nothing do with the war who just wanted to live by peacefully. It's sad but it's realistic
i think people arent reasonable
so trauma, grief, rage, desperation, frustration, whatever will often be vented more easily through the path of least resistance
people exert power and control and agency however they can, especially when emotions are blinding them
and trauma over a long period of time will break people down from what people would normally check themselves at
sometimes we become stronger in the broken places, and other times we become crippled. and how it defines our actions and character can be for better or worse.
... but this is just a story. and a stage set for an episode to start and wrap up cleanly.
funny to see people try to justify their understanding of reality in the context of a story.
but it makes people feel something, so it did a good job...
The fight between Aang Sokka and Toph against Azula is the only part of the show that leaves me disappointed. It's like them have forgotten how to bend and fight. It's a shame Toph or Aang himself couldn't capture her even though she doesn't have firebending.
True, it is easy to write yourself into a corner and damn difficult to write yourself out of it where it makes sense. without a new out of the blue something to save the day. so it can be useful like here just to "do nothing" ;)
Adding 2 or 3 more Dai Li agents to the fight could've fixed this. Would've forced ours heroes to split their attention enough to make it more believable a fire-less Azula could evade them as easily as she does.
I'm pretty sure that's the point, to show how even without her bending she's able to hold her own. Plus there were two Dai Li agents which makes things difficult considering how formidable the Dai Li are.
@@Cinemabu11 Except for the fact they barely used any bending against her. What happened to Aangs air-assisted hyper-speed run. or Toph literally doing any earth bending? Just because there's Dai Li doesn't mean you can't use earth bending to slow her down, or trip her up. They spend nearly the entire fight only running after her. We get the intent of the scene, but the execution makes it all seems rather silly.
I feel myself watching the series for the first time again through your videos and enthusiasm, thank you for this ride!
P.S. You could try "The Dragon Prince", same writer, don't know if you would like to see The Legend of Korra since you are almost done with this series, maybe it's too much of the same style...
16:49 Mine too. But I always thought that was because I'm terrible at remembering to brush my teeth.
The Fire Nation War Minister is one of a few side characters to appear in all three seasons. ("The Northern Air Temple", "The Drill", and "The Eclipse".).
PLEASE watch Legend of Korra next! She’s the avatar after aang and there’s a lot of mixed feelings on the show but definitely has its amazing moments. Also Aangs kids are in it :)
"Oh, you guys. Oh, no...You guys. Oh, no. This is SO bad." *Said through huge smile*
(Edit) The reason why Hama was still so happy about Katara learning it was cause of how twisted she is.
She was kidnapping out of hatred, but that kind of power still corrupts. She lived for at least 2 decades where, even if it's just one a month, she can force anyone to do anything. When Katara rejected the learning, Hama still managed to FORCE her to learn it.
So while she'll still be bitter and crazy, in that moment she was in the high of still being able to force someone. Bonus points, cause she managed to use that force to pass on the knowledge.
reminds me of a lot of parents, actually. poor hama. she must have been so lonely, angry, and scared.
i feel bad for the fictional granny, man
"She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" on Netflix would be an excellent series for you to react to as a follow-up, maybe if you want a little break from the Avatar universe before heading into Legend of Korra ;)
She-Ra is only 52 episodes (four 13-episode arcs), and a complete and very satisfying story. You'd surely spot lots of parallels to Avatar. I'm certain you'd LOVE it :D
Twitter feminist garbage lul
I remember that, it's a good show
@@shikitohno47 /sigh Imagine being this angry because the show did not cater to YOUR specific preference, like 99.9% of all the other shows out there.
Its a good show, the ending is fantastic, if you couldn't enjoy that because of the rainbows you're a sad person.
@@shikitohno47 There isn't even any politics in the show lmao. Just LGBTQ people that exist, and they don't even talk about it, push it, or make it a big deal. You're grasping at straws tbh
@@shikitohno47 I can tell you know absolutely nothing about the show because the show isn't what you think it is at all. Yes, it has a lot of female characters and they make up the most of the cast, but it isn't preachy or makes a big deal out of it. The cast is full of women because; surprise, surprise, we exist, and among everything, it's also a show for kids about magical princesses. Also, a lot of people that watch the show being on Twitter isn't an insult considering almost every fandom has a large Twitter presence. Hell, a lot of people in the ATLA fandom are on Twitter.
Omg we need more as fast as possible plz!!!
19:40 actually they didn't kiss before. In the episode "The Cave of Two Lovers" the crystals lit up a second before they kissed, because darkness was the answer and not a kiss (although it wasn't made very clear). So Aang kissing her on the submarine was for the first time.
Except the creators said they did so..