ATLA Book One:Water
Chapter Seven: Winter Solstice Part One: The Spirit World
In which Katara hangs out with Appa, Sokka needs the Bathroom, and Iroh takes his clothes off.
“The Spirit World” is, of course, the first part of the
oddly shaped “Winter Solstice” two parter. This storyline is probably the least
interconnected of any multi-part Avatar story, hence my choosing to divide the
parts into a post for each episode, in contrast to my essay on “The Boy in the
Iceberg”/ “The Avatar Returns”, two episodes that are not technically a two-parter,
but nonetheless feel like part of the same story in a way these episodes do
not. These episodes are linked by nothing other than the Titular solstice, with
the themes and narrative purposes of the two episodes differing wildly.
“The Spirit World” is also the fourth “Gaang visits a
village” episode in a row, if we bend the definition of that kind of episode to
include “Imprisoned” even though only the first few minutes of that episode
were spent around Haru’s village. I bring this up because these episodes tend
to be the filler-like ATLA episodes in nature, yet they still all introduce
characters and places that will be revisited over the course of the show, even
if not all of these characters are crucial to the show’s endgame, namely Aang
learning to master all four elements to become a fully-fledged Avatar and
defeat the Fire Lord. For example Bumi could be left out of the show without
too much damage to the overall narrative, but his reappearances inform crucial
themes in Aang’s hero’s journey, and allow for a cute pay off to the white
Lotus subplot. Similarly, the spirit world isn’t necessary for the ultimate
ending of the series, but it allows a completely different perspective on the
hundred year war, and the themes and ideas of the narrative. The time spent
fleshing out the world in these apparent filler episodes is crucial to the
shape and nature of ATLA. And this fact tells us something very important about
the nature of ATLA: it’s a show that’s interesting because of the journey, not
the destination.
However, the episode is a little more arc intensive than the
preceding three stories, returning to the “Gaang A plot/ Zuko sub plot”
structure. The sub plot about Iroh’s capture allows a chance to flesh out
Iroh’s backstory, as we learn about his siege of Ba Sing Se, highlighting the
fact that Iroh, like Zuko, is also on a redemption arc, although Iroh
understands the terms of his own redemption far better than Zuko: he
acknowledges his defeat at Ba Sing Se without shame, seemingly now knowing the
siege was not for a worthy cause. Unlike Zuko, Iroh knows that the Fire Nation
cannot restore his honour, which is something he must do for himself. Zuko, by
contrast, is still tempted by an apparent chance to chase after Aang, although
in a crucial turning point for his character, he chooses to save his uncle
instead. This episode also furthers the repositioning of Zuko’s character since
he was framed as an antagonist in the first episode: here, he and Iroh are
pitted against Earth kingdom soldiers, but the conflict is framed in a way that
frames them as the characters the audience should hope will win. Zuko is still
slowly being shifted along the path of a redemption arc, with a little help
from his uncle.
And there are parallels between the Gaang’s storyline and
Zuko and Iroh’s plot: just as Zuko worries for Iroh, we see Katara worry for
Sokka and Aang as she waits for them to return from the spirit world. The episode
does a lot to increase the bonds between the Gaang, as Katara gives Aang hope
and consolation in form of the Acorn, and Sokka goes to help Aang when he first
confronts Hei Bei.
Once again, we return to the theme of damage caused by the
Fire Nation’s war on the rest of the world, as we open the episode with the
Gaang discovering Hei Bai’s burned-down forest. To resolve this situation, Aang
has to begin to understand his role as a spiritual leader as well as the boy
who must master all four elements. And while the spiritual side of being the
Avatar comes, as is often pointed out, more naturally to him than his
successor, it still doesn’t come easily to him: he knows nothing about the
spirit world, or how his role as bridge between the two worlds works, and only
meditates in there by fluke. In fact, he still needs the help of being in the
Spirit Oasis to meditate into the Spirit world at the end of the season. While
he’s remembered as the Avatar who is naturally in touch with his spiritual
side, this episode makes it clear Aang has a lot of spiritual growth to go
through on his own hero’s journey.
On the subject of spirits, this episode starts the depiction
of them that will run throughout the series: it is quite clear they operate on
a different morality to humans. When responding to the destruction of the
forest, Hei Bai doesn’t discriminate between different groups of humans,
attacking an Earth Kingdom village for damage done by Fire Nation troops: this
is a story about nature screaming out in rage at the damage humanity has dealt
it. In this way, “The Spirit World” foreshadows the suspicion the Spirits have
towards all humanity, setting up Wan Shi Tong, a character who is clearly not
evil, but is always pitted against our heroes because he has different wants
and values to any human character in the show. Throughout this episode, there is
a divide not between the spiritual and the fire nation, but between spirits and
humanity, between nature and war.
Aang saves the day by understanding the nature of the
situation, and understanding the link between nature and spirits. Instead of by
fighting Hei Bai or trying to let spiritual communication come naturally to him,
he understands the cause of Hei Bai’s hurt, and starts to understand the wants
and desires of the Spirits, and to empathise with Hei Bai’s pain due to his own
sorrow at the destruction of the forest. It is this understanding, and not his
mastery of spiritual powers, that make Aang a naturally spiritual character.
Our hero is growing quickly.
End of Part Six.
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