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Finally, after months of agony, the final episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender have arrived, starting with The Southern Raiders. In this, the 16th episode of Book 3: Fire, we see Katara getting a bit of closure regarding her issues with the Fire Nation killing her mother when she was still a child. We also see her resulting acceptance and forgiveness of Zuko after he helps her encounter the man who killed her mother.
The episode has moments of high drama and tension, given emphasis from the fact that the source of the tension is Katara, a character known for her temperance, rather than her temper. When the character who's normally calm suddenly gives vent to her passions, you tend to pay close attention. There was a GREAT fight scene between Zuko and Azula that showed great promise for what's to come in Sozin's Comet. I'll have to say though, this is one heck of an episode for Zutara shippers. Fans of that pairing will be squealing throughout most of this episode, guaranteed.
Major character moments here revolve around Katara, Zuko and Sokka, with Aang in a largely supporting role. Sorry Toph fans, but our favorite cute earthbender was a non-player for most of the episode.
Let's move on with screenies of what I thought were the best scenes.
After the Fire Nation found and attacked the Western Air Temple, Zuko tackles Katara when explosions start wrecking the buildings. When she irritatedly asked what he was doing, Zuko answers, "Keeping rocks from crushing you." A very good answer. Of course, there are perks to saving a girl in this manner. Check out the position of Zuko's hand in the lower left part of the pic. Note its relative proximity to a certain aspect of Katara's anatomy. Looks like she wasn't exactly complaining about the save.
This one's for the ladies. It's not often that Sokka lets his hair down, in a literal manner. But I've had a lot of girls mention how much better he looks this way. I'd have to say I agree. Looks less silly too.
And THIS one is for the guys. Sokka's not the only one who looks better with their hair down. Azula looks beautiful already. Here she looks a lot hotter than normal. No pun intended. On a side note, this shot came after her absolutely incredible fight with her brother. I'm not posting any pics of that. Still frames don't do that fight sequence any justice. This solo shot of Azula with her unfettered hair blowing in the wind is appropriate though. Makes me wish she wasn't going to get killed in Sozin's Comet (this is my prediction, not a spoiler).
It's the first night of a full moon, and Zuko's wondering why Katara's so upset with him. Was it the joke he just gave at the campfire? Everyone else laughed (first time that's happened). But Zuko finds it's no laughing matter. Katara's got a nasty grudge.
Seems like both Zuko and Suki need to see Sokka. Zuko wants to consult Sokka about his sister ("She hates me. And I don't know why. But I do care what she thinks of me.") What's Suki so embarrassed about? Such tension. Such an awkward posture. It's not something you see often from the leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors. What could be the reason?
Looks like Zuko sees the reason for Suki's behavior. This is an awesome jaw-drop considering it's coming from the show's resident emo-boy. What, you wanna see what he's looking at?
O_O Oooookay. Looks like Sokka was maybe expecting someone else to come into his tent. Seeing him eat that rose was almost painful. But despite the humor in this situation, it underscores a strong suggestion, one which has increased my respect for Sokka a hundredfold. He and Suki are so totally doing it. Off-screen of course, but man oh man, I bow down before the magnificence that is Sokka. No bending powers, acts like a bit of a jerk, is used for comedy relief, but he still manages to get the ladies. Sokka, I salute you! You are DA MAN!
You do NOT want to get Katara angry. Especially if you're on a boat. Or a ship. Even a metal ship as big as this one. She takes out every firebender on the deck with this massive wave, and I believe she could have sunk the entire ship if she wanted to.
And yet, Katara looks really nice when she's angry. She looks great as a ninja too. Too bad for her that her quarry isn't on the boat. Want to know how creepy she can get when she's mad? Remember this thing she can do on a full moon? Sends chills down my spine.
Her mother's murderer looks like he's about to get a chill down his spine as well. A permanent chill. What's even more impressive about this scene as a whole is that all these dagger-like ice shards are all being suspended by Katara in midair. And the ones you see in this shot are only a small number of the rain of icy death she's poised over this poor sap. As suspected, she doesn't kill him in the end, but IMHO the wetness in his pants isn't entirely due to the rain or melted ice.
When asked by Aang if she forgave the man who killed her mother, Katara replies that she'll never forgive him. But then she looks at Zuko and says, "But I am ready to forgive you." There's a short bit of silence as Zutarans everywhere hold their breath.
...followed by the sound of those same Zutarans screaming. Get over it people. They're friends now. That's it. That's all. Move along. The verdict? One of the best Avatar episodes yet. Great lines (Sokka's humor is still the best), great scenes (Zuko vs. Azula rocks), and great character development, even this late in the series. Every moment was well-worth the wait, so bring on the recap episode!
4 comments:
awsome review very humourous. BY the way I agree with u Zatara... ITS NEVA GONNA HAPPEN.
Nice post. Really funny and stuff. Keep it up.
Haha I was lughing so hard at Sokka romantic pose! BTW, you seem to get lots of clear pics from the scenes in the series. Where do you get it? :)
i havnt seen that episode but NOW I REALLY WANNA!!!i loved the pics!!!
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