From the South Pole Iceberg to the Republic city portal: Part Twenty Eight

ATLA Book Two: Earth

Chapter Ten: The Library

In Which Sokka drinks a fruity beverage, Toph Waves her hand in front of her face, and Aang reads about a Lion Turtle that I’m sure won’t be important later.

There are two main themes running throughout “The Library”. The first of those themes is knowledge, and it explores the tensions between different kinds of intelligence and knowledge. The second theme comes in the form of the exploration of peace time and war time, and the tension between the world from before the hundred year war and the Avatar world after one hundred years of war. 

The episode begins with the Gaang choosing to go on holiday, with most of the opening few minutes being spent in the Misty Palms Oasis, which we encounter for the first time. Particularly interesting is the difference between Aang’s idealised memory of the Oasis, and the Oasis as the Gaang visit it, with its run down look, and menacing sandbenders flitting around the area. Aang’s memories are memories of the old world, the world before the war, whereas the misty palms oasis we see is rooted in the present, so represents what has happened to the old world over the course of the war, the way it has been battered and torn down by a century of conflict. But the holidays also demonstrate the Gaang’s lack of purpose at the beginning of the episode. It is a lack that represents a change in direction for the series: Aang has found his Earthbending teacher, and has started to master the element. Now the series needs to go in a new direction.

The response to this lack of purpose comes from Sokka. “The Library” is, in no small way, a significant Sokka episode. This focus is good for his characterisation, as he hasn’t had any focus as anything other than a comedy character since “The Swamp” five episodes ago. The focus on his character begins with him telling the Gaang they should make plans to take down the Fire Nation. He is driving the Gaang to activity, and keeping the plot moving, but through characteristics that are also often used to make him funny. He is trying to find a strategy to win the war by visiting the library: this episode really emphasises the way Sokka is the character who makes plans and organises the Gaang, an episode that focuses on the character point of him as a strategist, and on the way he thinks. This characterisation is also another example of the way his comic moments stem from serious characterisation: the depth of planning and organisation he shows here will be used to comic effect through his fastidiousness and micro managing ahead of the invasion in Book Three.

The other key figure in the episode’s central conflict is Wan Shi Tong. He allows the series to further expand on the way spirits have a morality separate from humans, as he sets himself outside of human concerns, viewing all humans who seek knowledge for the war as ultimately having the same motive. He is opposed to the mixing of knowledge and warfare, an attitude that carries an uneasy tension, when in our world, many important discoveries and inventions are (sadly) made due to war. This is a tension that will remain present throughout the Avatar franchise: the Fire Nation invent Airships for the sake of their final attack, something continued in “Legend of Korra” when Hiroshi invents the plane for the equalists’ final attack on Republic City. Similarly, Wan Shi Tong’s attempts to separate knowledge and warfare are flawed in part because the knowledge he values does, in some cases, stem from violent sources: he has historical artefacts that come from war, and admits to studying waterbending fighting styles. But his arguable hypocrisy doesn’t stop his critique having an uncomfortable weight to it: by lying to him about their reasons for exploring the library, the Gaang are placed in a morally ambiguous position. In this instance, the Gaang are ultimately justified in using the library. Wan Shi Tong’s attitude lacks nuance, refuses to distinguish between different groups of humans to see that they are fighting an oppressive war machine in the form of the Fire Nation, and are clearly putting the library to good use.

And so, the heart of the episode comes in the clash between the ideologies of Sokka and Wan Shi Tong, with an ongoing debate about knowledge displayed through the different kinds of intelligence and knowledge embraced by Sokka, Wan Shi Tong and the Professor. Wan Shi Tong values old knowledge: academic information, museum pieces. Sokka values practical knowledge, information that will be of practical use in the world that he has been placed in. So there is instant conflict between Sokka’s intelligence and the knowledge Wan Shi Tong values:

Sokka: “It's a special knot. That counts as knowledge!”

Wan Shi Tong: “You're not very bright, are you?”

Wan Shi Tong doesn’t value Sokka’s intelligence, but Sokka shows that academic intelligence isn’t the only worthwhile way of pursuing knowledge. As Wan Shi Tong proves, academic intelligence can just be used to hoard knowledge like treasure. When he discovers the Gaang are putting the knowledge in the library to use instead of letting it be apolitical and free of human affairs, he tears down the library: he wants to cling to the artefacts he has, hiding them away as knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The ultimate resolution of this conflict comes when Wan Shi Tong lists the waterbending techniques he has studied, only to be knocked out by Sokka’s boomerang to Sokka’s victorious boast of “That’s called Sokka Style – Learn it!”: The quick thinking Wan Shi Tong insults in their first encounter beats the deeply studied knowledge Wan Shi Tong embraces.

Sokka’s search for knowledge on a way to beat the Fire Nation brings about the introduction of the eclipse plotline. The eclipse adds a new ticking clock element for the series, a shift in the Gaang’s apparent goals, as They are no longer solely focussed on helping Aang learn the four elements, but are instead focussed on setting up an invasion of the Fire Nation Capital for the day of the eclipse. The discovery also represents a response to the Gaang’s relaxed attitude at the start of the episode: the plot picks up again just as the Gaang was taking a break. As a result, this is the episode where the focus of the season’s middle act turns decisively towards travelling to Ba Sing Se, with the Gaang now looking to meet the Earth King to enlist the help of the Earth Kingdom in the invasion of the Fire Nation.

While it initially seems to be a background detail, the episode’s exploration of the struggles Toph has with her becomes a key part of the episode’s structure. It is demonstrate in multiple ways in the early scenes, such as her inability to see things while flying:

“There it is! That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it. [Waves her hand in front of her face with a blank grin to remind them of the fact that she is blind.]”

And the fact that she can’t read books:

“Toph: I say you guys go ahead without me.

Katara: You got something against libraries?

Toph: I've held books before. And I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me.

Katara: Oh, right. Sorry.”

Both of these disabilities of Toph’s are things the Gaang forgets, a fact that demonstrates the way her blindness is something the Gaang often takes for granted, not out of malice, but because her Earthbending makes her disability less obvious. But it is still a disability that is obviously there: Toph can see the world in tiny detail, but she can’t do everyday things like reading: a detail that shows the way the writers have put thought and care into representing her disability, and the limitations it would place on her in this world.

Toph’s struggle with her disability is also seen in her fight with the sandbenders. In a moment of bonding with Appa, she admits the limitations she feels trying to use her abilities in sand, limitations that mean she can’t fight sandbenders due to these initial struggles. However, we also see the extent of her power as she holds up the entire library, from a structurally weak spot. The fight with the sandbenders is a moment that simultaneously displays her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, showing the range of Toph’s potential as a character. It is also a way of connecting her to the main plot: she could easily be sidelined in this story, but that’s not what’s going on. The writers explore her blindness to further develop her character’s strengths and weaknesses, while giving her a key structural role, placing her between the two main parts of the story as she holds the plot together.

The other crucial part of the story Toph acts as the bridge between comes in the form of the bandit sandbenders and the opening setting of the Misty Palms Oasis. Just as the sandbenders flit around the edges of the initial setting for the episode, they flit around the fringes of the plot, being a mere distraction until they steal Appa at the end, giving the episode its ultimate kick in the teeth. They come from the misty palms oasis, a place ravaged by the effects of the hundred year war, and now steal Aang’s Bison away from him. The Sandbending bandits take advantage of the war to tear apart peaceful remnants of the world, and they do the same to Appa and Aang, taking away Aang’s only remaining companion from the time the “Avatar” world was at peace.

And so ultimately, while the key conflict of the episode lies in the debate surrounding intelligence, its running thematic point comes in the form of the binary opposition between the old and the new that it presents. This theme is an extension of the theme of interconnectivity that runs throughout the season. The opposition between the past and present is ultimately false: the present is slowly dismantling the past world of peace, and to save the world, the Gaang need to restore the world of peace going into the future.

End of Part Twenty Eight.

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.