ATLA Book One:Water
Chapter Three: The Southern Air Temple
In Which Aang and
Sokka play airball, Katara finds a helmet, and Zuko takes his shirt off.
The episode directly addresses the genocide of the
Airbenders that was hinted at in “The Boy in the Iceberg”, confronting Aang
with his status as the last Airbender in the most traumatic fashion possible,
as he discovers the long lost corpse of his beloved mentor and father figure.
And there’s an argument to be had that the most horrific thing Aang discovers
isn’t Gyatzo’s skeleton, but the Skeletons of the Fire Nation soldiers
surrounding his remains. It’s never confirmed, but the clear implication is
that the peaceful, kindly monk we see raising Aang in flashback at the start of
the episode killed many fire nation soldiers in battle as he fought to the
death. The shot of Gyatzo’s skeleton is, in some ways, an early visual hint at
the biggest conflict Aang faces throughout the show: the tension between the
ideology he has been taught by the monks and the violence of the hundred year
war he has been thrown into, due to both his need to survive and his duty as
the Avatar. What’s more, Aang’s discovery of Gyatzo’s skeleton is arguably the
“Belly of the Whale” moment in Aang’s hero’s journey, the moment he is truly
separated from the world and self he once knew.
The episode starts to define the relationship of the
original trio by making use of the knowledge Katara and Sokka hold that Aang
doesn’t regarding the fate of the Airbenders. This knowledge (and they’ve
presumably heard about the Air Nomad genocide before this episode) gives them a
reason to protect and shield Aang from the truth, a fact the episode pushes further
by having the watertribe siblings discover the Fire Nation soldier’s helmet
before Aang. The show is already beginning to push the idea of a protective,
familial relationship between all of Team Avatar, a fact that becomes crucial
to the resolution of this episode.
Katara’s relationship with Aang is also explored through her
link to the Avatar state, bringing Aang out his rage, just as her voice brought
him into the state in “The Avatar Returns”. And having mentioned the Avatar
State, it is also worth mentioning Roku, who is glimpsed for the first time
here, although for now he positioned as a silent, mysterious figure we have yet
to know about.
Moving away from the Gaang, the Episode takes on Gaang A
plot/ Zuko B plot that becomes something of a default episode structure for
book two, but rarely features in book one. The choice of episode structure is
important: it positions Zuko in a story that is separate from his menacing of
Team Avatar, on the path to redemption. And the episode works as most episodes
of this structure in the franchise work: as they aren’t linked by incident, the
two plots are instead linked by theme, as Aang and Zuko are both confronted
with past traumas, as Aang is made to confront the death of his people, and
Zuko takes on his first Agni Kai (and this episode, while not quite making
things explicit, offers the first hint as to where Zuko’s scar came from).
Interestingly, Zuko’s confrontation is one that he chooses, actively
challenging Zhao to an Agni Kai, whereas Aang’s confrontation is one he
stumbles on without choice, accidentally discovering Gyatzo’s body as he chases
after Momo.
The nature of Zuko’s arc is further clarified with another
first for the episode: the introduction of Zhao. By facing Zhao in an Agni Kai,
Zuko places himself against a villain as well as our heroes, with the obvious
unpleasantness of Zhao making it clear we should root for Zuko to win (and it’s
just as well, seeing as Zhao isn’t a particularly interesting villain, although
I shall attempt to explore how and why this is the case in a later post).
Also repositioned in this subplot is Iroh, who is given a
more obviously serious role in this episode – his denouncing of Zhao’s lack of
honour is presented more seriously than similar moments from the first two
episodes. We also see the validation Zuko gets from Iroh’s support in the “Were
you serious?”/ “Of Course, I love Jasmine tea” exchange, hinting at the source
of hope provided in his arc: his redemption will come if he embraces his
uncle’s conception of honour over his father’s.
Just as Iroh provides support for Zuko, Sokka and Katara
provide support and family for Aang in his grief. Katara relates to Aang’s
grief through her own, highlighting the empathetic nature of her character. In
fact it’s worth pointing out that Katara is, in a way, just as rare as Aang:
just as Aang is the last Airbender left alive, Katara is (apparently) the last
southern waterbender left alive. Over the course of the series, both Aang and
Katara feel the pressure of being responsible to maintain the culture they
represent. And as well as providing a new family for Aang, the episode presents
us with a subtle sense of hope for his nation in Momo. Momo is mostly a cute
companion for the Gaang throughout the series, but at the end of this episode
he is a vital symbol of the remaining hope for the Air Nation, as Aang tells
him about the need to stick together, along with Appa, with what’s left of the
Air Nomad culture. And so the episode ends, with three memories taking one last
look at a graveyard of a fading culture.
End of Part Two
No comments:
Post a Comment