LogFAQs > #937452279

#50: The Ember Island Players (3.17)

This episode kept being bumped up as I worked on the list, but eventually I had to draw a line for this obviously filler episode. It's the quintessential breather episode before the final battle.

It's pretty funny, actually. Its whole point is to show exaggerated versions of the protagonists, that are not entirely honest but are not completely wrong either. Katara is very emotional, even if she isn't really a drama queen. Aang is a clown. Sokka can't stop making silly jokes. Zuko in Season 1 was veeeeery monothematic. And Toph might as well be a 2 meter tall hulk. I loved how Toph actually enjoyed it though, and so did Sokka, once his actor started using "real Sokka jokes".

In the middle of it, we get Aang awkwardly trying to get shipping closure from Katara, only to hear a "maybe after the war is over, kid". Not one of the best romance scenes of the show. And Zuko angsts over his guilt about what he did to Iroh, which is well done but not very novel since this is like the 4th time he does that.

The end of the episode features a clever moment in which Ozai and Azula win the final battle, and the crowd cheers. That's when you remember that for the Fire Nation, the good guys are their royalty, while the Avatar is the bad guy. Really puts things into perspective.

This episode is entirely skippable, but it's good overall. Just felt unfair to put it above episodes that actually move the plot or character arcs forward (except for the Aang/Katara scene, but I can do without it).