Some thoughts on the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender

[andrewducker]

We 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.

Comments

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I tend to agree. Partly I was watching the last series faster and faster, and maybe didn't give myself enough time to absorb it, but partly, I don't think it was as strong as everything else.

Unfortunately, even otherwise excellent plots seem to fall into the trap of giving a hero a god-mode, and giving them some arbitrary hurdle to turn it on, rather than an emotionally satisfying arc.

I think another reason Aang might have hesitated to invoke the avatar state was because (I think?) he's not really been in control of what happens, and was afraid of killing Ozai without wanting to, but I think he'd accept activating it was the only option if the avatar state was available.

[andrewducker]

tl;dr version:
the final battles should have been illustrative of their competing ideologies.

Zuko/Azula was perfect - he, reformed and working with someone who had forgiven him his misdeeds, saves the life of his friend, and then is saved by her. Azula works through terror, and her fear has reduced to her a state where she is not coping, has pushed everyone away from herself, and can no longer cope.

Ang/Ozai doesn't do this at all. The Avatar is about balance, and Ang is about love/friendship. He should have had an army at his back, led by the members of the White Lotus, containing people from all of the kingdoms (including Fire) who were united against the Phoenix King.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

People tend to either love or hate the ending; I admit I'm in the former category. I disagree that it would have been better if it had been foreshadowed that it was possible for Aang to take away Ozai's bending ability; that it was a surprise made it much more climatic for me, that there *was* a solution to the problem. If I'd known the possibility existed then I'd not have been fussed. It was a given that Aang was going to win; the fact that he found a way to do so without killing was the climatic bit for me, and if I'd known in advance that he'd find a way to do it I'd have been less involved. (this is truly the only series I've seen that's brought up the "I have a vow not to kill!" and not either led to the vow being broken, or wussed out by providing endless cop-outs rather than an actual solution). I don't think the method you suggest would've worked as well for me.

*shrug* As I said, people tend to either love the ending or be disappointed, and rarely does conversion from one to the other happen. I'm glad you liked the rest of the series, anyhow!

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Ang/Ozai doesn't do this at all. The Avatar is about balance, and Ang is about love/friendship. He should have had an army at his back, led by the members of the White Lotus, containing people from all of the kingdoms (including Fire) who were united against the Phoenix King.

Wha? No! Aang is also about peace and finding solutions that don't involve warfare. Having an army at his back would 1) make him the head of an army, which is completely against his monkly principles on every level, 2) still be playing Ozai's game of war rather than finding a way that doesn't involve fighting. War is ultimately a game of Who Is The Strongest. Aang's struggle was not to prove Who Is The Strongest but to find a way to change the game completely.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Also that would have been the same sort of ending as ten million other fantasy stories. The forces of Good are strong because they work together and have loving bonds, the forces of Evil are weak because they are ultimately alone. Which is a good message and one I fully believe, and actually I think that's what the retaking of Bai Sing Sei was about, but boy was I glad to have something more as well.

[andrewducker]

I wouldn't wanted to know ages before. But having him be given a solution, but slightly-off camera so that he knew but we didn't felt like a cheat to me. I'm glad there was a way though.

[andrewducker]

But he doesn't find a way that doesn't involve him being stronger. He still has to beat Ozai to a pulp before he can strip his powers away.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. =)

[andrewducker]

I'd have been happy to have the forces of evil be what took out the attacking fire-fleet, while Ang took on the firelord, to be honest :->

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

He has to play Ozai's game of strength in order to get Ozai into a position where the playing field can be changed, it's true. But it's not followed to the ultimate conclusion. I guess I see it as being the Avatar for most of the battle (even though Avatar state isn't invoked until the end, he's fighting as the Avatar/representative of rest of world/etc), and then Aang rejecting the role and saying "No, this can't go on, we have to do it differently. I know everyone's told me this is how it's supposed to go but no" and turning it into a one-to-one basis--not strength vs strength but philosophy vs philosophy, I guess. And I like that he only figured it out at the last second, that he didn't know going into the battle that there was a way that didn't involve killing; he had to start the battle not knowing if there was a way out of it that wouldn't destroy him. Your method would've meant he'd know he might died/lost his bending/something if he lost the self-bending contest, but he would've still died as himself; knowing that he might...I don't have a good description...lose his soul, I suppose, had more pathos for me.

Would you have been happier if that clip back to the lion-turtle that he remembered, about "once, we bent not the elements but ourselves" had just been spoken in an earlier episode, so that we're left to muse on it? That might have worked for me, if it'd been kept enigmatic enough.

But Aang with an army at his back...no, no, no, no, no, that'd go against everything he is, it'd undo him almost as much as killing would. (sorry, the idea of a monk leading an army is anathema. Can you imagine the Dalai Lama leading an army?)

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Eh. *shrug* I've seen that one before. And I like it but would also have considered it a let-down, because I've seen it before.

[andrewducker]

I'd be fine with him risking losing his soul, in exactly the same way he risked it there. But I wanted it shown in some way, and not sprung on us as it was happening. It should have been based on something visible to us as a character trait, not just a change of colour one way, then the other. As it was I was still thinking "His soul needs to be unbendable? What does that even mean?" by the time it was over three seconds later.

He had a (small) army at his back when they attacked the fire nation citadel. And he's happy enough to have Sokka and Suki destroy the fireships. It's not like he's against having people fight for/with him.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Ah well, fair enough. They could have stretched it out a bit more, it's true, and done more than a color trick. I didn't mind but I can understand why you would.

He had a (small) army at his back when they attacked the fire nation citadel. And he's happy enough to have Sokka and Suki destroy the fireships. It's not like he's against having people fight for/with him.

Doesn't seem the same to me, though I admit I'm having trouble expressing why. Suffice that there are lines I don't think he could cross. The small group of fighters is not really the same as a full-out army, I'd say; the former can use finesse and fine judgement in their battles whereas the latter is capable of only mass destruction. However, I think we must agree to disagree on this point.

[sneakingyoda.livejournal.com]

You put this in better words than I ever could. The ending has always bothered me in regards to Ang and the Turtle.

I've called it "Deus Ex Turtle" for years now.

But you put it so much better.

That was like having someone scratch an annoying itch in the middle of my shoulder blades.

Yay!

[andrewducker]

Thank you!

[d-c-m.livejournal.com]

I loved it, but I do so see your point. For me, it was sad to watch Ang fight the Fire Lord 'cause well, I kinda sympathize with a bigger foe. I think it would have been fun to know more about Energy Bending before the big battle. And hey, I've always wished Katarra had used her Blood Bending too.

Still love the show and am so looking forward to the new one. :)

[andrewducker]

We are both really looking forward to the new one!