From the South Pole Iceberg to the Republic City Portal: A Critical Study of the Avatar Franchise: Part Fourteen

ATLA Book One: Water

Chapter Fifteen: Bato of the Water Tribe

So this is the one where June gets creeped on by Iroh. There are no two ways about it, and no excusing it: he’s definitely a creep who takes advantage of a paralysed June at the end of this episode. Twice, actually: early in the fight sequence, we see him revive June from a heavy blow, and his grin is clearly meant to hint he found doing so enjoyable. And it’s not just a character flaw that is condemned by the episode itself: the moments are played for laughs, as if it’s funny. Iroh’s a creepy old man, and our response is supposed to be:

Ha ha ha.

That is not my response to that “joke”.

Of secondary importance is the fact that the moment is completely at odds with the way the show’s trying to portray Iroh, who is supposed to be the responsible and positive role model guiding Zuko towards redemption. Sure, Iroh has flaws and a less likable side that tends to go unaddressed by the fandom: his role in the fire nation’s war campaign, particularly in Ba Sing Se, has already been revealed by this point in the show. But this moment is not intended as part of his characterisation: it’s never brought up again, or treated as the way he would usually behave around women. So it’s sloppy storytelling as well as being incredibly problematic.  

More importantly, the scene is a horrible way to treat June. While I have, and will continue to, praise the portrayal of women and gender issues throughout the Avatar franchise, it’s worth pointing out the major flaw in the representation of gender in Book One of ATLA:

There aren’t many women.

Book One of ATLA is probably the most male-driven the franchise gets. At this point, fifteen episodes in, we’ve only really had significant roles for six female characters that aren’t Katara (who is, of course, wonderfully written): Gran Gran, Suki, the Gan Jin leader, Aunt Wu, Meng, and now June. We were introduced to Smeller Bee, in “Jet”, but her role will only be expanded to something more notable in Book Two. They’re good roles, and between them and many less prominent women such as the sisters in the abbey, the season isn’t lacking for female characters. But at this point, the Avatar world still feels male-dominated to a skewed extent. Which makes June’s treatment especially frustrating: she is a particularly exciting character, brimming with potential. She gets some great lines and awesome action moments, and is a fascinatingly morally neutral character. And the writers decided that her final moment in this episode should be her getting groped by a creepy old man, and that that moment should be played for laughs.

This is poorly thought through, irresponsible storytelling, and is frankly unacceptable.  

It isn’t just that scene that frustrates in this episode, which is full of disjointed, unsatisfying storytelling. It is overly reliant on frustrating tropes, with Aang’s betrayal of Katara needing him to leave the tent just before Katara and Sokka confirm that they will stay with him, and Sokka and Katara leaving Aang to try and inject drama into the episode when the audience knows they will probably return to him at the end of the episode.

However, there is strong material in the episode, too, material that should be noted, most of which is anchored in Sokka’ storyline. It does a lot to flesh out his character, showing more of his bond with his father, and offering an origin for the misguided warrior mindset that he takes on at the start of the series, and learns to make healthier over the course of the series. Furthermore, his storyline is neatly linked to Aang at the end of the episode, as he is able to empathise with Aang’s fear of being left behind because of the time his father actually left him behind.

Water Tribe Culture is also explored in interesting ways through Katara, Sokka and Bato’s bonding: we see their food, their home layout in the animal furs and rugs, including the ceremonial headset. The ice dodging, is a nice demonstration of one of their coming of age rituals. The episode really does create a sense of Southern Water Tribe Culture, arguably even more so than in “The Boy in the Iceberg”/ “The Avatar Returns”. In particular, it expands on the “warrior” side of the culture, with campfire tales and “start of manhood” rituals that offer fascinating glimpses into the traditions of a culture that is deeply affected by, but still surviving, a terrible war.

While his betrayal of Sokka and Katara is frustratingly contrived (why would the messenger leave the map with Aang, who he has no reason to believe knows Bato?), it is rooted in an important part of his characterisation: Aang’s reliance on his friends and the companionship they offer. So it’s natural that he reacts badlyand worries Sokka and Katara are drifting away from him when he feels left out in water tribe culture, partly because elements of it are deeply uncomfortable for him, and run against his own lifestyle as a nomad monk and vegetarian. Ultimately, at the end of the episode, his fears of being abandoned are shown to be unfounded, not because Bato declares him an honorary member of the tribe, but because Sokka embraces the surrogate family of the Gaang, making it a part of the responsibility his father left for him.

Also deftly handled is the development of the plotline of Katara’s lost necklace, as she recovers it after Aang takes it back from Zuko. It’s a really neat moment because it seems to resolve the plotline surrounding the necklace, when in fact the “Katara loses her necklace” plot thread is just set up to establish the necklace as an object of narrative importance for the true payoff in “The Northern Water Tribe”. It’s lovely Chekhovian storytelling that will be analysed in more detail in my essay on “The Northern Water Tribe”.

So, ultimately, this episode contains plenty of good things that add to the overarching story and character arcs. However, in this instance, the good doesn’t outweigh the fact that this is the weakest episode so far, leaning heavily into clichéd tropes in a way the show hasn’t so far, and showing its most severe moral lapse in the portrayal of Iroh’s predatory behaviour towards June. Deeply disappointing.

End of Part Fourteen.