ATLA Book Two: Earth
Chapter One: Avatar Day
In which Sokka becomes
ponytail guy, some prisoners admire Aang’s Tattoos, and the Gaang eat some
unsatisfying biscuits.
First, as it is completely removed from the episode’s main
plot, it is necessary to talk about Zuko’s B plot. In contrast to his previous
scene as the Blue Spirit, Zuko engages in increasingly troubling behaviour. The
Avatar Wiki’s episode description is relatively kind to Zuko, describing him
almost as a Robin Hood figure, stealing from the wealthy, though in this case
it is to feed himself, not the poor. But while he does steal from a rich man so
he can buy Iroh’s nice tea set, we also see him steal food from a relatively
ordinary looking couple who don’t seem particularly well off: as Iroh says, he
is giving in to his worst instincts, stealing from those who are struggling
just as much as he is due to a war his father is waging on the world. It is
being called out for the troubling implications of his actions that causes Zuko
to leave Iroh. Rather than accept his uncle’s advice and take responsibility
for the hurtful behaviour he is engaging in, Zuko separates himself from Iroh
and the challenge to his ideology that his uncle brings about.
Leaving Iroh is another example of the way Zuko has been
pushed increasingly to the margins of the plot this season. He and Iroh share
only twelve lines in three short scenes between them this episode, and unlike
in “The Swamp”, where Zuko’s scenes framed the episode, they don’t have any
structural significance within the wider episode. He has lost almost everything
that gives him agency and power within the narrative since “The Waterbending
Master” in the form of his crew, his name and title, and his change in status
from banished prince to enemy of the Fire Nation. Finally, he pushes away Iroh,
his one remaining source of support and connection to the main story. It is a
scene that brings about a particularly lovely Iroh moment, as he gives Zuko the
Ostrich horse even though Zuko is leaving him, another moment that highlights
the unconditional support of his nephew that Iroh displays throughout the series,
and will be the key to his ultimate absolution of Zuko. The next logical step
in Zuko’s steady marginalisation from the narrative is to drift away from the
show completely, and in the next episode, he will be absent from the show for
the first time since “The Northern Air Temple”.
The main plot of the episode gives us the last original trio
story, and suitably gives us the staple book one episode type of the “Gaang
visits a village” plot. It is a last hurrah for Book One style before the last
puzzle piece for the core of Book Two slots into place in “The Blind Bandit”. And
it is worth acknowledging that this is an episode type the creators can do in
their sleep by now: it is very well constructed, with the jokes flowing well
into one another, and being well tied to the main plot: the water tribe money,
the surprisingly friendly prisoners, and Katara repeatedly figuring out the
meaning of the clues before Sokka, are all jokes that are well set up and
structured, building in humour as the story progresses.
Another example of the episode’s confidence is the way
“Avatar Day” pretty much perfectly executes the structure of the “Gaang visits
a village” episode type, where the Gaang discovers something is wrong in a
small community and do what they can to set it right. It’s so confidently done that the writers find
a unique twist on the formula: Aang (or at least his past life) is what is
wrong with the community.
And so, in an episode that is light on Zuko, we are given a
main plot where Aang is keen to defend his honour, an honour Katara explicitly
says the town of Chin the conqueror claim is wrong headed to question. Aang
doesn’t want people thinking of him as a murderer, even if that potential
murder was committed in a past life, by someone with a different personality
and consciousness to him, so he accepts a trial by the standards of the town so
that he can truly redeem himself in their eyes. Aang’s actions in this episode
further establish his pacifist nature, and the importance of maintaining that
pacifism in the face of war that becomes one of his main internal struggles
throughout the narrative.
The Mystery surrounding Chin’s death allows for a more
detailed look at the history of Avatar Kyoshi. As in “Return to Omashu”, we
revisit a Book One location and return to Kyoshi island, getting an origin
story for the island just as we got an origin story for Omashu in “The Cave of
Two Lovers”. As in “Return to Omashu”, we see how the revisited city has
changed since its appearance in Book One, with the Kyoshi warriors no longer
around, having been inspired by the Gang to travel around the world and help
out in the war, in contrast to their previously detached approach to the conflict.
We also learn the most specific details about Kyoshi’s life
as the Avatar, getting a brief glimpse of one of the conflicts she had to deal
with: once again, before we learn about Roku in similar depth. This gives us a
glimpse into Kyoshi’s personality, as we see her ruthlessness and pragmatism
through her lack of guilt about her part in Chin’s death. It is particularly
significant that Kyoshi owns responsibility for Chin’s death, even though he
definitely had time to escape and survive. She accepts that she would have
killed him if he had to, so doesn’t try to sugar coat the fact that her actions
led to his death, and what’s more, she doesn’t regret killing him, seeing him
as a ruthless dictator that had to be stopped. It’s an attitude that contrasts
to Aang, who is desperate to make sure his culture survives, and so strives to maintain
his pacifism as clearly as possible. And while it’s fair to say Bryke probably
sympathise more with Aang’s worldview (it is crucial to the resolution of the
War and the Series), they don’t condemn Kyoshi for hers, presenting her as
making an understandable choice that was shaped by her own personality and
worldview, just as Aang’s actions are shaped by his.
Ultimately, however, for all that this is a funny and well-structured
execution of a classic type of Avatar episode, Sokka’s closing remark that “this
is by far the worst town we’ve been to” provides a sentiment that seems oddly
appropriate for this episode. Because it doesn’t stand as anything other than
reasonably well made: it doesn’t really add enough to the show to justify
carrying on using this episode type, at least for the near future. “Avatar Day”
is a good episode that nonetheless demonstrates most of all why the “Gaang
visits a village” type of episode is a format will need a rest for a while, at
least until the show has had a major shake-up. This episode’s A plot has one
last showcase for Book One, finally making room for Book Two to truly emerge.
End of Part Twenty Three.
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