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andrewduckerWe were disappointed.
Not with most of it. The reunion of Zuko and Iroh was great. Zuko protecting Katara and Katara then defeating Azula was great.
My two problems were with the battle between Ang and Ozai, and the attack on Ba Sing Sei.
I'll tackle the latter first, because my problem with it is pretty simple. It's pointless. Either Ang defeats Ozai and Ba Sing Sei is freed anyway, or Ozai defeats Ang and it doesn't matter that it was retaken, it will be destroyed along with the rest of the Earth Kingdom. I could also quibble that the firebenders defending the city don't seem to have increased powers, and that it would be nice to see the remainder of the earth benders in the city come help the five people that seem to be capable of taking on the massed legions of the Fire Lord's army, but those are comparatively small quibbles.
My latter problem, with the Ang/Ozai battle is bigger. This is the big one - the combat that we've been building up to since the middle of season one. Ang is unprepared, without enough skill/power to defeat Ozai, and unable to use the Avatar State. He's unable to do so for two reasons: (1) if he uses it and is killed, then the avatar cycle will end (2) he's been locked out from it by being (briefly) killed by Azula. However, he doesnt seem to be looking for a way to reactivate the Avatar State - he's just going to go in and fight Ozai.
So what we get is, initially, a straight up combat. Which is kind of fun, but not terribly emotionally engaging. Ang hasn't really earned his victory by learning something new, or through emotional growth. He has been doing some soul-searching, with his refusal to take another person's life, even if that person is a genocidal maniac, but that hasn't had any resolution.
So, midway through the combat, when things are at their worst, he regains the Avatar State. But not through any skill or wit of his own, just because he's injured in the same spot he was previously shot by Azula. And then we get a few minutes of Ang showing off his Phenomenal Cosmic Power. And then it turns out that during an earlier scene, where Ang talked to the Lion-Turtle, he was given the power to take away Ozai's bending ability. Which is, I admit, a great resolution to his problem. But would have been about 500 times better if they had _shown us_ that he was going to have to do this. Oh, and apparently this is mind-numbingly dangerous, and if Ang's spirit isn't "unbendable" then he'll be destroyed by the attempt.
So, how about this - why not show us that Ang is going to be trying to do this whole Energy Bending thing up front, but that this is harder than normal fighting, and that Ang is going to try and do something even more epic and risky than just fighting Ozai, because his morals demand it. And then...you could explain that his heart has to be pure, have him wrestle with that emotionally, and then display it on-screen for us, rather than just having him almost turn red before turning blue again. Heck, have this be the point where Ang discovers how to balance his duty to the world and the necessity of detachment from ordinary emotions with his love for his friends, and have _that_ unlock the Avatar State for him. You know, take the various moral puzzles that have been thrown up and use them to progress the plot?
The annoying thing is, if the series had been less awesome in general then none of this would have mattered at all. It's only because the series has managed to juggle emotional growth with exciting action so well up until this point that the final showdown grated. I'd still happily recommend the show to absolutely everyone. And I'm willing to bet that most people were fine with the ending as well.
Not with most of it. The reunion of Zuko and Iroh was great. Zuko protecting Katara and Katara then defeating Azula was great.
My two problems were with the battle between Ang and Ozai, and the attack on Ba Sing Sei.
I'll tackle the latter first, because my problem with it is pretty simple. It's pointless. Either Ang defeats Ozai and Ba Sing Sei is freed anyway, or Ozai defeats Ang and it doesn't matter that it was retaken, it will be destroyed along with the rest of the Earth Kingdom. I could also quibble that the firebenders defending the city don't seem to have increased powers, and that it would be nice to see the remainder of the earth benders in the city come help the five people that seem to be capable of taking on the massed legions of the Fire Lord's army, but those are comparatively small quibbles.
My latter problem, with the Ang/Ozai battle is bigger. This is the big one - the combat that we've been building up to since the middle of season one. Ang is unprepared, without enough skill/power to defeat Ozai, and unable to use the Avatar State. He's unable to do so for two reasons: (1) if he uses it and is killed, then the avatar cycle will end (2) he's been locked out from it by being (briefly) killed by Azula. However, he doesnt seem to be looking for a way to reactivate the Avatar State - he's just going to go in and fight Ozai.
So what we get is, initially, a straight up combat. Which is kind of fun, but not terribly emotionally engaging. Ang hasn't really earned his victory by learning something new, or through emotional growth. He has been doing some soul-searching, with his refusal to take another person's life, even if that person is a genocidal maniac, but that hasn't had any resolution.
So, midway through the combat, when things are at their worst, he regains the Avatar State. But not through any skill or wit of his own, just because he's injured in the same spot he was previously shot by Azula. And then we get a few minutes of Ang showing off his Phenomenal Cosmic Power. And then it turns out that during an earlier scene, where Ang talked to the Lion-Turtle, he was given the power to take away Ozai's bending ability. Which is, I admit, a great resolution to his problem. But would have been about 500 times better if they had _shown us_ that he was going to have to do this. Oh, and apparently this is mind-numbingly dangerous, and if Ang's spirit isn't "unbendable" then he'll be destroyed by the attempt.
So, how about this - why not show us that Ang is going to be trying to do this whole Energy Bending thing up front, but that this is harder than normal fighting, and that Ang is going to try and do something even more epic and risky than just fighting Ozai, because his morals demand it. And then...you could explain that his heart has to be pure, have him wrestle with that emotionally, and then display it on-screen for us, rather than just having him almost turn red before turning blue again. Heck, have this be the point where Ang discovers how to balance his duty to the world and the necessity of detachment from ordinary emotions with his love for his friends, and have _that_ unlock the Avatar State for him. You know, take the various moral puzzles that have been thrown up and use them to progress the plot?
The annoying thing is, if the series had been less awesome in general then none of this would have mattered at all. It's only because the series has managed to juggle emotional growth with exciting action so well up until this point that the final showdown grated. I'd still happily recommend the show to absolutely everyone. And I'm willing to bet that most people were fine with the ending as well.
