Board 8 > TPLink ranks The Last Airbender episodes

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm at the halfway point of season 3 right now. Just looking at what's left, we've got...

The Blue Spirit (1x13)
The Northern Air Temple (1x17)
The Waterbending Master (1x18)
The Siege of the North, Part 2 (1x20)
The Blind Bandit (2x6)
Zuko Alone (2x7)
The Library (2x10)
The Headband (3x2)
The Day of the Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion (3x10)
The Boiling Rock, Part 1 (3x14)
The Boiling Rock, Part 2 (3x15)
Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters (3x19)
Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno (3x20)
Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang (3x21)

Northern Air Temple, Waterbending Master, and Library are not ones I'd have this high. Can't comment on the last five until my rewatch is complete.

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i think i'd only have blind bandit from everything up through the headband, for my list. and i'd grouo the 3 multipart s3 eps together <_<
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#14: Sozins Comet - Part 2 - The Old Masters (3.19)

Another part of the series finale. This one is above Part 1 because it's not just a 100% set up episode.

Well, it is a set up episode mostly, but it's one that is starting to give out some payoffs. We begin with Aang's friends hiring that bounty hunter from S1 to find Aang. She tries to use her beast's nose, but Aang has left this dimension so it doesn't work. They do, however, find uncle.

Uncle is in Omashu, to the surprise of everyone. Together with the rest of the White Lotus society. We finally get a formal introduction to them after almost the entire show, and a flashback of Bumi single handedly freeing his city in the Day of the Black Sun, which is really one of the most badass scenes in the show. And to boot, he also gives a stab to the kids for not accomplishing anything in that day.

Zuko also finally gets to meet Iroh after betraying here and it's a very emotional scene. He goes in apologizing and uncle just hugs him, and says he was never mad at Zuko, just worried. Based uncle.

We then get some exposition to the finale. Zuko must defeat Zaula, and Aang must defeat Ozai, while the Old Badasses will free Ba Sing Se. Also some interesting discussion on why Zuko must be the new fire lord, not Iroh. As the later would just look like a hostile takeover from a general, while Zuko is a fresh face.

On Aang's side, we get him interviewing previous avatars to ask them for advice about killing or not killing Ozai, and turns out none of them supports his position. Roku and the water tribe guy regret their failures. Kyoshi is proud of having killed her enemy. And the air nomad woman gives the most interesting piece of wisdom: while Aang's culture as an air nomad prevents him from killing, he has a bigger duty as the avatar. He is a citizen of the world, a representative of all cultures, and must protect them all. Not killing Ozai because of the air nomad culture would be selfish of him.

By the way, it's pretty interesting to see how some avatars straight up failed their duties and all had different interpretations to their jobs. In the end, they are all just humans with cool powers, some good intentions, but who are not guaranteed to succeed.

In the end, Aang meets the Lion Turtle, arguably the biggest deus ex machina in the show. I think I'd have preferred if he had have to kill Ozai, but I guess we can't have that in a Nick show. But it's a cool scene nonetheless.

The episode is this high mostly because of the stuff involving Iroh and Bumi, though overall the worldbuilding is pretty solid.

#13: The Northern Air Temple (1.17)

This episode has a bit of a weird placement because it's an obvious filler one. But what can I do, I just like it! It's one of the more fun episodes of Season 1.

The main plot is Aang coming to terms with the fact the world has changed after 100 years, and his air temples won't be untouched sanctuaries forever after the nomads are done. He eventually does, and recognizes the people living in the temple are the closest thing in spirit and lifestyle to the original air nomads they could get. I kind of wish Korra had come back to them, just to see how they developed as a society.

But my favorite part of the episode is the last act. It's a tower defense battle against the FN, and it's super cool. The FN sends waves after waves of tanks, and the temple tries their best to defend with guerrilla tactics. I'm a sucker for big battles involving bending, and this episode delivers.

The other highlight is Sokka's friendship with the scientist. They are both hilarious characters, and having they share silly ideas with each other is pretty fun.

In the end, they also narrowly defeat the FN with their balloon, and then we get an ominous scene as the FN finds the remains of the balloon and prepare to mass-produce it.

I figured people might get confused about this episode's placement, but it was always a memorable one for me from the first time I watched, and it continued to great the second time.

that scene with zuko and iroh reuniting has to be in my top whatever scenes of the series. so good.
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I'm down to four episodes at this point. Once I've completed them, I'll be able to properly critique this ranking. I'm saving the four-parter for one go though, so it'll probably wait until this weekend.

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Inviso posted...

I'm down to four episodes at this point. Once I've completed them, I'll be able to properly critique this ranking. I'm saving the four-parter for one go though, so it'll probably wait until this weekend.

Ooh, same! Just have the four parter left. First time watching though.

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Series rewatch complete.

One thing that is a LITTLE unsatisfying is the conclusion to Azula's arc.

Throughout the series, she's portrayed as this brilliant, firebending prodigy, all the way through Boiling Rock 2. Then we have Katara's revenge, the recap, Aangst about killing Ozai, and just general preparations for the two-part finale. The shift from "super-competent fire warrior" to "losing her fucking mind" is SO quick and without build (largely due to the scheduling of episodes) that it feels like doing her a disservice by the time she gets put down.

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Yeah I agree.

Though The Beach gives some hints to it.

Inviso posted...

Series rewatch complete.

One thing that is a LITTLE unsatisfying is the conclusion to Azula's arc.

Throughout the series, she's portrayed as this brilliant, firebending prodigy, all the way through Boiling Rock 2. Then we have Katara's revenge, the recap, Aangst about killing Ozai, and just general preparations for the two-part finale. The shift from "super-competent fire warrior" to "losing her fucking mind" is SO quick and without build (largely due to the scheduling of episodes) that it feels like doing her a disservice by the time she gets put down.

Same. It was quite quick, but the hurt was visible. Boiling Rock 2 happens and not only do her best friends go to jail rather than help her kill her brother, her brother has also joined the avatar and has gone full 'mother's son' that she used to torment, AND REJECTED Azula's warped attempt (of gaslighting and manipulation) to bring her brother back in with her (by lying to father and taking control of his story and truths for her benefit, and seeing no wrong in that).

And then she gets a bit of Zuko mirror when she speaks up at a planning session. Zuko spoke out in favor of honor and got scarred and banished by his asshole father. Azula spoke up in favor of total chaos and crazy fire lord shit, and got abandoned. "Yeah, it was your idea and you wanna come with me, but I don't care. You can be fire lord or whatever kthxbai." And so Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and now her father have abandoned her (not to mention mother issues where was clearly Zuko >>> Azula), and she's having a mental breakdown with something that should be a great day (I'M FIRELORD BITCHES) is just broken by context. The Dai Li being cast away after abandoning their king feels understandable, but it comes after the cherry pit which seems more like a crazy reaction, but crazy is irrational and breakdowns aren't good.

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I think on first watch it felt too fast but on rewatch there is plenty that builds up to it. Boiling Rock 2 being the main turn around.

When she is given the position of fire Lord she does deteriorate a bit too fast in that one episode, but I like that as a representation of the damage Ozai can do even to the child that he likes. She's a victim there too.

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i don't like the implication that being fire lord is meaningless

no one ever spells that out, and being fire lord is very clearly not meaningless. there can only be one monarch of the unified kingdom. she's still ozai's heir.
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SeabassDebeste posted...

i don't like the implication that being fire lord is meaningless

no one ever spells that out, and being fire lord is very clearly not meaningless. there can only be one monarch of the unified kingdom. she's still ozai's heir.

If the Fire Lord is subordinated to a new type of king, then it's way less meaningful than it was before.

Ozai was the king of the world, Azula was a glorified governor.

#12: Zuko Alone (2.07)

This episode is an instant classic.

It does something many modern anime are still afraid of doing, ditching out the protagonist for a while, and focus the entire episode on Zuko. And it works.

The episode has two plotlines. One shows a part of his childhood, not the bit about how he lost his scar that we had seen before, but a sequence showing the FN royal family was already pretty fucked up before then. The Fire Ford is an jerk, Ozai is a backstabbing bastard, and Azula is already a psycho who can make jokes when Iroh's son, or her own grandfather, dies.

(By the way, just how old was this fire lord anyway? Because Sozin, his father, was already old when he started the 100 year war, and Ozai was only fire lord for a few years. Did Azulon live to 140 or something?)

So Azula and Ozai plot while Zuko tries to have a normal life in the royal family, which is impossible because this is the league of evil, not a family.

The other part of the episode, arguably the more interesting one, is in the present, where Zuko tries to survive while a EK family gives him shelter. There is an interesting relationship between Zuko and the kid from the family, who looks up to him because his older brother died in the war. Zuko teaches him how to use double swords and protects his family. But eventually, he has to bend fire in order to succesfully win the fight, and he instantly becomes the enemy of the villagers. And not even the kid accepts him. Poor Zuko. War is rough.

It's a nice episode with a lot of scenes that use more expressions and body language to reflect what ZUko is feeling than words, and does a lot to develop his character. And a nice break between one burst of Toph madness and the other.

#11: The Headband (3.02)

Is this as high as a filler episode can make? Probably. In my first watch I didn't think much of it, but on rewatch, I've noticed this is a masterpiece.

It offers a look at the life and the culture of the FN unlike anything we have seen before. The Fire Nation, being a militaristic, fascist empire, not only opresses the other nations, but its own citizens. And we see that though how they raise their own children, supressing any type of individuality or cultural manifestation. It's a true totalitarian society, not much better than the colonies they rule outside.

But Aand and his friends are here, and they are going to help those children through the power of dancing. The plot is silly, but it's so fun to watch. Seeing the kids learn to dance is organic and fun, and we have a dance number between Aang and Katara that would give even the most hardcore Zutara shipper some pause, with how much chemistry those two have.

And that's not all. We have the Zuko side, where the plot is moving full stop. Zuko is hailed as a hero for killing the Avatar, but it turns out that is a plot by Azula, who knows Aand is alive, so Zuko can be humilliated later. He can't even sleep, and he confronts his sister at the night, but she just teases him like the bitch she is. He then tries to ask for help from uncle, but uncle wants nothing with him. Two episodes in and Zuko is already being punished for trying to recreate his dream royal life that had never actually existed.

Finally, this episode introduces Dad Sokka, and that alone makes it a great episode. Nuff said.

Zuko Alone is heartbreaking. I hope Zuko eventually revisited the village after becoming fire lord and made up with that village. They weren't bad people, just prejudiced due to typical fire nation badness.
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ZeldaTPLink posted...

Ozai was the king of the world, Azula was a glorified governor.

I mean yes, but as long as Ozai was alive Azula was never going to become king of the world. She didn't actually lose anything.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

The other part of the episode, arguably the more interesting one, is in the present, where Zuko tries to survive while a EK family gives him shelter. There is an interesting relationship between Zuko and the kid from the family, who looks up to him because his older brother died in the war. Zuko teaches him how to use double swords and protects his family. But eventually, he has to bend fire in order to succesfully win the fight, and he instantly becomes the enemy of the villagers. And not even the kid accepts him. Poor Zuko. War is rough.

I don't sympathize with Zuko this episode at all. He literally robbed a family who showed him shelter just a few episodes prior to this.

The Headband is neat. I wouldn't have it this high up but I liked it more than some of the rest of the first half of S3, and almost all of S1. Its look at propaganda does feel increasingly relevant the more you learn about history.
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ZeldaTPLink posted...

(By the way, just how old was this fire lord anyway? Because Sozin, his father, was already old when he started the 100 year war, and Ozai was only fire lord for a few years. Did Azulon live to 140 or something?)

Apparently Azulon was born the same year the war started, when Sozin was 82 years old! Sozin had no heirs before that. He lived for another 20 years before Azulon took over, and then Azulon died at age 95, about four years before Aang emerges from the iceberg.

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ZeldaTPLink posted...

If the Fire Lord is subordinated to a new type of king, then it's way less meaningful than it was before.

She's 2nd in command. In the new world there would be no Earth King either, so it's an upgrade either way. Also when Ozai dies she becomes Phoenix King.

There's really nothing backhanded about the position Ozai gave her. It's just that her biggest fear is being alone. She's not ready to be a ruler, but Ozai didn't care about that.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xri9NVEVpZg

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We are finally down to the Top 10! Those are the episodes ranked so far:

high tier

3.02: The Headband
2.07: Zuko Alone
1.17: The Northern Air Temple
3.19: Sozins Comet - Part 2 - The Old Masters
2.11: The Desert
2.16: Appa's Lost Days
2.12: The Serpent's Pass
2.14: City of Walls and Secrets
2.17: Lake Laogai
2.09: Bitter Work
1.19: The Siege of the North - Part 1

mid-high tier

2.13: The Drill
2.19: The Guru
3.16: The Southern Raiders
3.07: The Runaway
1.10: Jet
1.07: Winter Solstice - Part 1
2.08: The Chase
1.05: The King of Omashu
3.03: The Painted Lady
1.12: The Storm
2.02: The Cave of Two Lovers
2.03: Return to Omashu

mid-low

1.02: The Avatar Returns
2.18: The Earth King
1.09: The Waterbending Scroll
3.08: The Puppetmaster
1.03: The Southern Air Temple
3.13: The Firebending Masters
3.06: The Avatar and the Fire Lord
1.08: Winter Solstice - Part 2
3.18: Sozins Comet - Part 1 - The Phoenix King
2.20: The Crossroads of Destiny
2.15: The Tales of Ba Sing Se
2.01: The Avatar State

low tier

1.06: Imprisoned
3.11: The Day of Black Sun - Part 2
3.05: The Beach
1.16: The Deserter
3.17: The Ember Island Players
1.04: The Warriors of Kyoshi
3.12: The Western Air Temple
3.01: The Awakening

bottom tier

2.04: The Swamp
1.01: The Boy in the Iceberg
1.15: Bato of the Water Tribe
3.04: Sokka's Master
1.11: The Great Divide
3.09: Nightmares and Daydreams
1.14: The Fortuneteller
2.05: Avatar Day

#10: The Boiling Rock - Part 2 (3.15)

I like Sokka. You like Sokka. We all like Sokka. So this epic two parter about Sokka lands both episodes in the top 10.

That said, Part 2 is the less Sokka-centric episode of the two. At this point, Sokka has already found his resolve to save his father, and made a first failed attempt at escaping the prison. This is a more practical episode, with the second attempt. Sokka finally finds his father and they make a simpler plan to escape this time, along with Suki and Zuko.

They stage a riot, after a funny scene where they try to push a big guy to start a fight but the big guy turns out to be sensitive. Suki makes a pretty badass acrobatics scene, they kidnap the warden and steal a gondola.

Things seem to be going fine, but then here comes the best part of the episode: Azula, Mai and Ty Lee. The three climb the gondola to chase after Sokka's group and holy crap does this scene have some good action. Sokka can't really fight all those benders but he pulls some weight, and Zuko does most of the work.

Then as they are about to leave, Mai does the ultimate act of love. She betrays her nation to save her boyfriend. It's cheesy, but I loved it, and it's likely the reason why this episode ended so high. It's interesting since the episode starts with Mai integgorating Auko and trying to understand why he did what he did. But in the end, it turns out she just loves him, and might even had joined him in his desertion if he had asked.

And add to that Ty Lee helping Mai just because Ty Lee was a good guy all along. Azula may get to arrest those two in the end, but she had a major moral defeat. Her two friends betrayed her for reasons she can't even understand. It's the beginning of her psychological downfall.

#9: The Blue Spirit (1.13)

Next, we have a Zuko episode. This one comes right after The Storm, when we learn Zuko has a sad past and may actually be a good person. So the timing is perfect to show him being a good person in the present!

The episode set up is that Katara and Sokka get sick, and Aang must go on a funny sidequest to find the medicine to save them. Unfortunately, the sidequest is too close to FN territory, so he gets captured.

But then, as Aang is about to get shipped to the FN, the unexpected happens. Zuko turns out to be a good guy! Well, not yet, but Zuko's entire quest to recover his honor depends on him catching the Avatar himself, and having Zhao beat him to it is not in the plans. So he shows his pragmatism, grabs a mash and two sowrds, and gets on to the rescue.

And what a cool rescue it is. Zuko was already shown to be more than capable as a firebender, but he is just as great with two swords. Together with Aang, the two mow down a fire nation squad, climb over the fortress' wall, and almost escape.

But Zuko gets knocked out. Aand then removes his mask and is shocked to find out who he is. But still, Zuko saved his life, so he saves him back, and they both escape.

Later, Zuko finally wakes up, and Aang tells him about how he used to have FN friends, and wonders if the two could have been friends too if not for the war. Zuko responds by shooting fire at him though, so the answer is clearly no. At least for now.

It's a season 1 episode, with the lower scope you expect from season 1. But it's just a greatly structured episode, with very solid action, and also good humor in the beginning, and the way it moves Zuko's character arc to an exciting direction is so entertaining. So this really stands out among other S1 episodes, being my favorite one except for the finale episodes.

Hey! Riot!

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really not into S1 zuko, especially the blue spirit

boiling rock is great stuff though. i associate the two episodes together. don't know that i'd be able to rank either as high, separately.

i do love the show's takes on generic "baddies," like the sensitive prisoner (or even the prisoners in avatar day encouraging aang)
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The Blue Spirit is an absolute classic. Top 10 is extreme but I think it fits.

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bump

#8: The Waterbending Master (1.18):

The first episode of the Northern WT arc. As such, it features some very good worldbuilding. This is not just some snow tribe like the Southern one, it's a huge city made of ice, with bending used to open and close the doors, and a whole "Ice Venezia" theme going on. Good stuff.

The main draw of the episode, though, is Katara's plot. Aang and Katara came here to learn to bend water. Aang is promptly taken to the resident waterbending master to get that done. But Katara, who lacks both an ancient light spirit and a Y gene, is denied of it, as the country's traditions forbid women with superpowers from using them. Except for healing. Hey, healing is cool, and Katara employs it to a great use throughout the whole show. But that's not the only thing she wants to do. She wants to kick ass.

And in good Katara fashion, she decides to solve the issue by kicking the ass of the guy who refused to give her asskicking lessons. The plan sounds dumb because it is. But Katara is just done, and we get to see her doing her best show of bending on the show so far.

And man, did I love that scene. The coreography is some of the best, with that scene where she hides behind a pillar of ice and then starts firing ice blades on the master (which almost kill him!) being a very iconic one. And on top of that, we have the girls of the healing class watching everything and just cheering at her. Katara almost started a feminist revolution in the water tribe.

But in the end, though she is acknowledged to be a great bender, she's still not better than the master (well, duh), and he refuses to teach her, because well, Y genes. Until the mother of all plot conveniences shows up and he turns out to have been promised to marry Katara's grandmother when they were young. This makes the master remember some old feelings, and also realize some traditions can be very dumb. He gives in, and decides to teach Katara, a good decision since she'll later prove to be much better than Aang at it.

Meanwhile, we have the B-plot, which is Sokka falling in love with Yue, flirting with her for a whole episode, then realizing she is engaged, which is done well by showing her necklace which is similar to Katara's necklace. We also have the C-plot, where Zhao arrives at Zuko's ship, seizes it, and then "accidentally" explodes it, apparently killing Zuko in the proccess, but not knowing him and Iroh expected it. The episode ends with the FN preparing for the war, and the season finale about to start, which is a good scene.

But really, the reason this is so high is because I love Katara and this is Katara at her absolute best. I lowkey suspect one reason the master gave in is that he was afraid of being murdered in his sleep by an angry Katara. Because she could do it.

I started writing the post for #7 and accidentally closed the tab. I'll try to do the next update tomorrow, not a week from now.

Was wondering why this one was so high and then I remembered Katara episode.......

They fully suck though

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I think the Katara-Paku fight is probably the best of the whole first season

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#7: The Library (2.10)

The kids are roaming around a desert, looking for a new plot line to follow now that Aang's earthbending training has started. Can't go back to Season 1's format! They bump into a friendly professor, who is going on about an ancient library. They invite him for a ride on Appa to find the library faster, and then they find it in the same day, proving years of arduous research are no match to the power of protagonism and the necessities of plot.

They enter the library, except for Appa, who is too big, and Toph, who has no use for books (braille doesn't seem to exist in this world). I'm thinking if they shouldn't have gone in anyway to avoid having Appa be kidnapped, but then I'm also thinking it would be hard to pull the bison out fast when the owl spirit started trying to kill them.

So they go in, and meet that owl spirit, who is already down on humans. The last human in there was Zhao, and he tried to use the library's knowledge to destroy the fucking moon, so I understand the prejudice. The kids insist, and promise not to use the knowledge for war, which is an obvious lie since their entire party's reason to exist is to overthrow the FN. If they even research a method to make food last longer, it's for war. They then make offerings to the library, which are of very mixed quality, but the owl swallows them. At this point I think the owl just wants to give them the benefit of doubt to prove a point and sink the building back to the Spirit World already.

So they start researching. The library is a big, and cool place, and it has cute little foxes who collect knowledge. Imagine having your home ibvaded by a fox who wants to steal your books or scrolls, apparently this was a thing in the Avatar-verse for a while. But the kids sink the library, so I guess they also vanquish the fox menace as a side-effect.

Meanwhile, Sokka looks for knowledge he can use for war, while the owl tries to sneak on him and catch him red-handed. The foxes actually help the kids though, showing they are not the most loyal (or bright) underlings. They find out about the Day of Black Sun, which is a clever piece of worldbuilding this show made up (I imagine the fandom would flood the internet with "what happens if there is an eclipse?" questions if this wasn't in the show). Sokka finishes taking note of the date, and then starts gloating like a maniac. The owl hears it, decides his point has been proven, and proceeds to sink the building in classic Aladdin fashion.

The kids rush to escape, and narrowly pull it off. But the professor decides to stay in the library, choosing to die along with that mountain of knowledge. You gotta give it to the man, he is commited to Science (minus the part about publishing your discoveries, I guess). I wonder if he was allowed to spend the rest of his life reading or if the owl slaughtered him immediately. Did he have food to eat there, either? Questions upon questions.

As they are leaving Toph is attacked by a bunch of sand bandits. She could kick their asses, but sand is not her element, and bending it while trying to prevent the giant library from sinking is hard. In the end, she accomplishes the later, but Appa is kidnapped. Poor Toph, she tried her best. Fast-forward to the series finale and Toph will be building a sand castle though, showing she made sure not to let sand hinder her again.

This was a long text, because this episode is just full of stuff. It's a worldbuilding feast. This show really shines when it gets into spirit stuff, and The Library takes full advantage of it. It's not a coincidence we see the library again in Korra, it deserved a second run. An absolute classic of ATLA.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

They invite him for a ride on Appa to find the library faster, and then they find it in the same day, proving years of arduous research are no match to the power of protagonism and the necessities of plot.

Being able to see from the sky, something the world was only just starting to develop the technology for, would make a massive difference in a search like that.

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#6: The Blind Bandit (2.06):

Toph.

I could finish the write-up with just that word and the position would be justified.

I can't understate how much this little blind 12 year old did wonders for the show. The main cast was already cool, but she drove the coolness to high drive. Toph is strong, she is talented, she is the best earthbender in the planet and knows it, might even be the best bender overall. She doesn't waste time, she knows how to look at the big picture, and she also comes with a set of flaws that just happen to match the original three kids' strenghts, which rounds the party up. Before Toph, they were a party of strong benders, but after Toph, they are now an elite batallion, so the threats that come after them had to get stronger after this episode. And they do, with things like Azula, Combustion Man, Dai Li and family issues.

The episode that introduces Toph is blast itself. Aang tries to enroll a random earthbending academy, but it kind of sucks. It's amazing how the FN's conquering campaign managed to put all 4 types of bending in a state of suckiness. So the kids go for plan B, which is to look for a teacher in the fighting rings. They go in there and start wathching as The Boulder kicks everyone's asses. Sokka is a fan for life, but Aang is not impressed, with Bumi's words about what an earth teacher really needs lingering in his mind. In the end, the Blind Bandit appears, being announced as the champion. The kids are just wondering how that little girl became champion and she proves it... by taking the Boulder down with two moves. Aang realizes this is the one, thanks to Bumi's instructions and the convenient visions he had in the swamp two episodes ago. He then jumps in to challenge Toph, and beats her by cheating with airbending, but what he really wanted was to talk to her.

They go after the girl, after Katara kicks some asses for information. Then we get a funny dinner scene, with Aang trying to prove she is an earthbending master to her parents who apparently are not aware of it. It doesn't work, so Aang chases after her in the garden and finally proves it. But then they are captured by the owner of the fighting ring, who is less than pleased with Aang's cheating and thinks Toph is in it.

What happens next is one of the coolest fighting sequences of the show. Toph must fight to get herself and Aang released, and boy, does she just kick major ass. She beats all of the fighters one after another, then the Boulder, then the fighting ring owner, all effortlessly. During Season 1, you might think earthbending was unimpressive compared to the other elements, but it turns out it was all being saved for Toph.

She finally agrees to join Team Avatar and become Aang's teacher, though the specifics of what that means would have to be dealt with in 2.08 and 2.09. And we get a scene of her parents apparently not being impressed by her daughter's baddassery, and hiring the fighting ring owner and the earth teacher to catch her again, a plot hook that would later allow Toph to develop metalbending.

This episode is just a high quotient of baddassery while introducing the best non-Iroh character in the show. ATLA would not be the same without it. All hail Toph Beifong.

don't care for waterbending master or library much

blind bandit definitely belongs up here though. totally changed the tenor of the show for the better.

looks like all the top 5 are multi-part action episodes, so blind bandit is a very deserving #1 among standalones
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#5: Sozins Comet - Part 3 - Into the Inferno (3.20):

The penultimate episode of the show, and the first half of the show's ending. As second to last entry, it needs to be about the bad guy winning.

One weakness about ATLA is that it didn't seem to have a lot of time to develop its main Antagonist, Ozai, instead to focus on his right-hand woman, Azula. Ozai is a pretty flat character. We know he's a psychopath and he wants to rule the world, but not much more.

This episode doesn't do much to develop Ozai's character, but it does a lot to sell him as a villain. Let's be clear: Aang doesn't stand a chance. He makes an epic entry into the battle by standing on a mountain and silently challenging Ozai to come at him, but ultimately, when the two clash, Ozai just wipes the floor with him. The Sozin comet is certainly helping, but what we are watching here is the most gifted firebender of the series. He can do everything with fire and it takes Aang his full mastery of all four elements just to stay alive. Barely. It's a simple thing, but watching a long montage of Ozai terrorizing Aang is just so fun.

Of course, since this is the end, we have a bunch of other final plot thread to do. First, Zuko must defeat Azula to take over the throne and force the war to end. Azula, meanwhile, is not taking well her father's refusal to let her join in his world conqueror, and still haven't recovered by Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal, so she lashes at all of her servants in an asuming way. Then Zuko finally arrives, realizes she is not at her best, and challenges her to an Agni Kai. It seems the plan is going to work and Zuko does very well, but of course, Azula won't play fair. She attacks Katara who is just watching, which causes Zuko to jump to protect her, getting badly burned in the process. Now it's up to Katara to save the day.

Next, we have Sokka, Toph and Suki, who are tasked with arguably the most important job, destroy the FN's genocide machines. Sokka comes up with one his best plans: infiltrate an airship, fake a birthday party announcement to make the crew leave (I felt bad for the guy who was actually having a birthday, lol), and ram the airship into the others, a plan so crazy it... almost works.

Finally, we have arguably the best bit of the episode, which is White Lotus pwnage. If you thought Bumi retaking his city was cool, the entire squad of old masters retaking Ba Sing Se is just amazing. They should have sent those guys to fight Ozai instead of Aang! Bonus points to Iroh FINALLY conquering Ba Sing Se, though against the FN this time.

It's the first part of two, so nothing gets resolved (except the White Lotus part, arguably). But it's really good action from start to end, especially the main fight. They needed to sell Ozai as a threat and manage to do in a single episode after neglecting it for the entire show. Good job.

#4: The Siege of the North - Part 2 (1.20):

I said before the show is at its strongest when it goes into spiritual stuff, and this is perhaps the most triumphant example of that. Aand goes into the spirit world to find wisdom about how to find the Sea and Moon spirits. The spirit world is full of cool stuff, but the coolest of all, the Face Stealing Spirit, Koh.

I don't know if the creators never intended to use Koh again or if they changed their mind about it lately, but the fact Koh never appears again arguably increases his hype. He's the sole undefeated villain of the avatar series, one who once crippled an avatar's wfie and got away with it, and who almost does the same to Aang in the one scene he appears. He does provide the intel, though, and Aang realizes he had the two spirits in front of him a few minutes ago.

But there is a problem, Zuko kidnapped his body. And his friends must go looking for him. But in the meanwhile, Zhao breaks into the spirit chamber and does one of the most evil deeds in the series. He kills the freaking moon. You can't ever say the FN takes half measures. They might have ended life on Earth if they were allowed to continue the war, with how much they like to meddle with fundamental laws of nature. But it works, and the Water Tribe is on the brink of defeat.

Aang's friends eventually find and take him back, because Zuko's plan was actually pretty dumb (plan how to capture the avatar, but not how to return alive. Yeah). It's so dumb it arguably causes the begginning of Zuko's redemption arc because it shows how much his quest to capture the avatar is a futile and misguided one. Aang wakes up, and he tries to come back to save the moon, but it's too late. But it's not too late for vengeance.

In a signature cool moment of the series, Aang fuses with the Sea Spirit and starts soloing the entire FN fleet. Let's see if you can fight against the ocean itself, losers! Meanwhile, in a less-signature-y but still very cool moment, Zuko has a final duel against Zhao. He wins, and we watch the Sea spirit coldly execute Zhao for his crimes against nature. Zuko may not have won, but he got to be the one to take down the S1 villain.

Finally, in another signature moment, Yueh realizes it is her destiny to save the planet from a life without a moon, and becomes the moon herself. A big moment in Sokka's arc, because he loses his first love (though it's the love of a few weeks), and gives us a sad ending with Sokka and her father murning her together.

Finally, we skip to a few days later as Team Avatar has to leave. Aand's training is not complete, though. But Katara's is, and she finally becomes a Waterbending Master, being now Aang's teacher for the rest of the series.

It's a perfect ending for Season 1, one that raised the bar of quality for the show (which S2 managed to keep), with good amounts of worldbuilding, development and action. It's interesting how 18 is about Katara, 19 is about Sokka and 20 is about Aang, and they all do well to give the cast members good challenges and develop them.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

Finally, in another signature moment, Yueh realizes it is her destiny to save the planet from a life without a moon, and becomes the moon herself. A big moment in Sokka's arc, because he loses his first love (though it's the love of a few weeks), and gives us a sad ending with Sokka and her father murning her together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vr9xPqGD8o

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I like how Ozai isn't just a mindless powerhouse too. He uses firebending and the comet's power in interesting ways, and even just intimidates Aang verbally in a way that feels really well earned. Aang was preparing all year for this fight but so was he.

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ozai on a non-sozin's comet vs non-avatar state aang would've been awesome!
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Bump

Ok let's finish this.

#3: The Boiling Rock - Part 1 (3.14)

This one is higher than Part 2 for a simple reason. It does so much more for Sokka's arc. By the end of the episode Skka's arc is complete so the next part has to focus on other people.

I've talked about Sokka's progression a few times already. This is when he becomes a hero.

Now what does that mean? Well, Sokka was already someone who was willing to risk his life for his nation and the world, and capable to lead the water tribe army.

But here, he's not fighting for his tribe. He's fighting for a smaller cause, to save his father. It's not a good strategical decision considering his father allowed himself to be captured to save Team Avatar. But here is what makes a hero: they will do whatever is right, logic be danmed, because they won't feel right until they do it. Sokka is not the strongest member of his team, but it stopped being about strength a long time ago. Now he just wants to do whatever he can to save everyone.

And the episode makes Sokka struggle with it. He is given the option to give up and come back to safety, multiple times, but he continues insisting. He meets Suki and is given the option to leave with just her and abandon his dad, but then hears there will be new prisoners, so he decides to abandon their escape plan and stay. And fate rewards him by showing that escape plan with the boat was a terrible one. A better one would reveal itself next episode. I loved how that plot worked.

Meanwhile, shout out to Zuko for being the best sidekick. He really wants to make up for the months trying to kill Team Avatar, so he compensates by being empathetic and helpful to the kids in their personal quests. And he is pretty cool with this episode, getting himself sent to The Cooler just to break it and push their escape plan.

It's solid character driven story overall. The show can't do better than that when it comes to testing a character's moral fiber and having them come out on top. Good stuff.

#2: The Day of Black Sun - Part 1 (3.10):

Months ago, I told you I ddn't like Part 2 because it was mostly Azula tricking the kids and the plan failing for dumb reasons. This episode is when the plan works.

It's an absolutely glorious showing of fanservice, as we get a lot of supporting characters from previous seasons coming together to kick some FN ass. And then it's a perfect episode of action, military strategy and showing off the bending skills of each character.

But this is just the first half. Eventually they manage to infiltrate the FN, and the main action begins. Aang went ahead to carry out the fire lord breating plan (btw, it's kind of a plot hole how that plot about whether he must kill Ozai is non-existant here, just because the writers knew the confrontation wasn't going to happen yet) and the rest must stay behind to beat the FN's defense forces and get into the capital. In the fight, Hakoda gets gravely injured, denying the good guys of their general.

Well, that's not a problem, because Sokka is here! This is the penultimate point of his character arc. Having become a WT soldier in 1;19, he is now ready to take the next step and become a general like his father is. And the episode gives us a good setup of that, with Sokka first meaning to give a speech about their strategy before the battle but getting scared and leaving it to his dad to do it. But this was always Sokka's plan, and when the need arises, he gets to be the one who executes it.

But there is more. As shit is going down outside, Uncle uses the chance to escape. He warns the solder who is feeding him to take a day off, and in the next day, beats everyone and escapes, showing he was basically just waiting for the right time. You can't keep a White Lotus member imprisoned, it seems.

Finally, the episode escapes on a dramatic note, as Aand arrives in the capital and realizes Ozai was one step ahead. "FIRE LORD OZAI, WHERE ARE YOU?" A cheesy line, but very memorable.

#1: Sozins Comet - Part 4 - Avatar Aang (3.21):

Yes, I've made you folks wait 5 months to tell you that my favorite ep is the final one. Well, taking 5 months wasn't originally in the plan (I'm really sorry about it), but this being the #1 was.

Look, I'm just a sucker for great pay-offs. And holy shit. This episode is some pay-off. For 60 episodes, we heard tat Aang had to master the four elements to save the world. This was told us from a bunch of characters who had never seen the Avatar do that. Nobody knew why the Avatar was such a beacon of hope, except the creators of the show. We knew of course that bending 4 elements was a great asset, but that had never made Aang invincible. we had never gotten to see what being the Avatar actually meant.

Until now.

In a stroke of luck, Ozai hits Aang just in that spot Azula had hit one season ago that had prevented him from going into the Avatar State. And remember, Aang already mastered the AS in 2.20, having let go of emotions. This is the last time Ozai ever manages to hit anyone, as a few seconds later, a glowing hand grabs his beard.

What ensues next is amazing, glorious, cathartic asskicking. 9900 years of bending mastery rise into the sky, surround themselves by spinning 4 elements as some kind of religious figure, and procceed to beat the everlasting crap of Ozai. The tables have turned, and Ozai is being chased and running for his life, the opposite from the previous episode. I couldn't do much but post more adjectives. The scene makes the whole show worth it. All hail the Avatar.

And the other plots? They also deliver. Zuko is down, so now it's Katara vs Azula, and Katara seems outmatched against the what is probably world's most talented non-Toph bender. But the best battles allow for tactics and ingenuity, and Katara manages to trick Azula into running over a water drain, then immediately freezes, chains and captures her, in another very iconic scene. Atta girl.

Sokka, meanwhile, is struggling to take down those FN airships. But all works out as Sukki shows up for the rescue, the space sword and the boomerang are sacrificed and the day is saved.

And we also have room to see the end of out D-plot, the White Lotus finishing their asskicking and the Dragon of the West conquering Ba Sing Se once and for all.

Once the plots are over, we go back to the main fight, as Aang has the fire lord on his ropes. He then... pulls off a deus ex machina. Yes, I admit this plot is contrived. But you know what, I don't care. They could have build an ice prison for Ozai, like the one in Korra, for all I know. Aang uses this new bending form that has never been mentioned before, has a cool cinematic where his soul almost gets taken over by Ozai but then he comes back and wins it, and we get a pretty fun scene as Ozai is stripped from his powers and then gets humulliated by all the kids. Serves him right.

And good has won. The kids and uncle now get to relax in a FN palace before Zuko is conorated. The coronation itself is even more catharsis, because we know how much the kid has suffered, and we can feel what it's like to finally have peace in that world after 100 years. And to top it all, we get a very heartwarming kiss scene with Aang and Katara as some fantastic movie plays. An American movie cliche? Fuck yeah it is, and I loved it.

Finally, the show finishes with one of my favorite ending songs in fiction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iQU45_EV08

The best western cartoon ends with its best shot and I'm glad I was able to witness all of that.

Thanks for reading this topic, my friends.

top tier

3.21: Sozins Comet - Part 4 - Avatar Aang
3.10: The Day of Black Sun - Part 1
3.14: The Boiling Rock - Part 1
1.20: The Siege of the North - Part 2
3.20: Sozins Comet - Part 3 - Into the Inferno
2.06: The Blind Bandit
2.10: The Library
1.18: The Waterbending Master
1.13: The Blue Spirit
3.15: The Boiling Rock - Part 2

high tier

3.02: The Headband
2.07: Zuko Alone
1.17: The Northern Air Temple
3.19: Sozins Comet - Part 2 - The Old Masters
2.11: The Desert
2.16: Appa's Lost Days
2.12: The Serpent's Pass
2.14: City of Walls and Secrets
2.17: Lake Laogai
2.09: Bitter Work
1.19: The Siege of the North - Part 1

mid-high tier

2.13: The Drill
2.19: The Guru
3.16: The Southern Raiders
3.07: The Runaway
1.10: Jet
1.07: Winter Solstice - Part 1
2.08: The Chase
1.05: The King of Omashu
3.03: The Painted Lady
1.12: The Storm
2.02: The Cave of Two Lovers
2.03: Return to Omashu

mid-low

1.02: The Avatar Returns
2.18: The Earth King
1.09: The Waterbending Scroll
3.08: The Puppetmaster
1.03: The Southern Air Temple
3.13: The Firebending Masters
3.06: The Avatar and the Fire Lord
1.08: Winter Solstice - Part 2
3.18: Sozins Comet - Part 1 - The Phoenix King
2.20: The Crossroads of Destiny
2.15: The Tales of Ba Sing Se
2.01: The Avatar State

low tier

1.06: Imprisoned
3.11: The Day of Black Sun - Part 2
3.05: The Beach
1.16: The Deserter
3.17: The Ember Island Players
1.04: The Warriors of Kyoshi
3.12: The Western Air Temple
3.01: The Awakening

bottom tier

2.04: The Swamp
1.01: The Boy in the Iceberg
1.15: Bato of the Water Tribe
3.04: Sokka's Master
1.11: The Great Divide
3.09: Nightmares and Daydreams
1.14: The Fortuneteller
2.05: Avatar Day

Also might as well most my final character ranks, which are more clear after writing this.

Iroh > Toph > Sokka > Katara > Aang > Zuko

Though all 6 of them are great.

great series! not really surprising that multi-parters take the top few slots (though i'd combine them - they don't feel like they stand on their own as much)

really enjoyed the writeup about boiling rock part 1. also not enough "that's rough buddy"
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Just a question, that energy bending in the final episode wasn't literally out of nowhere was it? Didn't aang receive guidance on how to do it from like a giant island turtle or something? Like that was the mechanism that finally solved his "I don't want to kill ozai" dilemma.

Great writeups though, the payoff in that final ep is indeed fantastic.
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Emeraldegg posted...

Just a question, that energy bending in the final episode wasn't literally out of nowhere was it? Didn't aang receive guidance on how to do it from like a giant island turtle or something? Like that was the mechanism that finally solved his "I don't want to kill ozai" dilemma.

Great writeups though, the payoff in that final ep is indeed fantastic.

I mean, it's set up. But...it's like, only set up two or three episodes before the finale, so it still feels like a "we need to find a solution and haven't done so until now" sort of deal.

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