Avatar S1E10: "Jet"
What makes a good leader? | Grade: A-
Thanks for tuning in to my tenth of 61 daily reviews of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Yesterday, we watched S1E9: The Waterbending Scroll.
Jet is in some sense our first true Sokka episode. This chapter begins with Sokka struggling to assert his authority as a leader. Throughout this first season, Sokka has often been sidelined into the role of comic relief. Even when he’s getting character development in The Warriors of Kyoshi, the show still doesn’t really take him seriously. And neither do the other characters, especially his sister, who clowns on him and his instincts.
Katara: You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!
Sokka: I'm the oldest, and I'm a warrior! So I'm the leader!
Sokka wants to lead, but as a nonbender he’s the least powerful of the trio, and he’s unable to give a compelling reason for why he deserves that duty. And amidst this struggle, enter one of the most memorable minor characters in the entire series: the suave and handsome Jet. Unlike Sokka, Jet is already a leader, the chief of a ragtag band of forest-dwelling freedom fighters. He’s a skilled fighter, even without bending. And he’s charismatic, able to quickly earn Aang and Katara’s admiration and allegiance. In other words, Jet is everything Sokka wishes he could be. Katara puts it cruelly and succinctly:
You know what I think? You're jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader!
Jet is a classic foil for Sokka, who is painfully aware of all the ways he falls short in comparison. And this awareness manifests as resentment and jealousy. To be clear, Jet never does anything to malign Sokka — it’s only the Water Tribe teen’s insecurities that fuel his passive-aggressive behavior towards Jet.
Sokka’s victorious moment in this episode is not that his instincts are right after all. We’ve seen him mistrust strangers before, and be wrong (i.e., with Aang in the beginning of the season). Actually, it’s his moral judgment in the end that flips the foil and elevates him over Jet as a righteous leader. Sokka’s conscience cries out at Jet’s treatment of the elderly Fire Nation traveler, and he remains steadfast even after Jet gaslights him and his companions side against him.
And after sleuthing out Jet’s plan to destroy the dam and flood the nearby occupied town, Sokka steps up to the moment and executes his plan perfectly. He stages a skillful escape from his captors, makes the intelligent call to warn the townspeople (rather than try to stop Jet directly, which would have failed), and ultimately saves dozens or even hundreds of innocent lives.
What makes a good leader?, this episode asks. Charisma, cunning and strength, yes; but more importantly, virtue. When the Gaang flies away at the end, it’s with Sokka at the reins. He carries himself with confidence after earning the respect of his companions, the audience, and himself. His instincts may be taking him the wrong way, but this time, he’s not sensitive about it. “Sometimes they’re wrong,” he grins, and we can’t help but smile along.
Besides providing his most significant character development yet, Sokka’s choice asserts a broader principle about what’s acceptable in the name of resistance. Jet and Sokka ultimately have the same goal, which is to free the nearby village and ultimately the world from Fire Nation occupiers. And they both know the price of flooding the town. But do the ends justify the means?
The Fire Nation killed Jet’s parents, and he’s motivated by revenge — he appeals to that motive with Katara and Sokka, imploring them to “remember what they did to your mother.” Jet lives in the past, shaping his fundamental understanding of the war. But Avatar is a show that cares less about dwelling on past injustice, and more about building a just future. When violence begets more violence, it’s ultimately common folk who suffer. Sokka rejects the Faustian bargain and sums up his decision eloquently:
Who would be free? Everyone would be dead.
Outside the tidy world of Avatar, and in light of current events, many would disagree with the show’s stance. But the question is certainly as relevant as ever.
See you tomorrow for Episode 11: The Great Divide! Share your own thoughts on this episode in the comments.
Spare observations
“I've kissed a girl, you just haven't met her,” Sokka says. To get pedantic, it’s still a lie. Suki kissed him on the cheek; he never kissed her.
While any attraction between Katara and Haru was unclear, Katara definitely has a crush on Jet. The animation makes this clear with a lingering, gold-tinted shot of her blushing as she rides to the top of the treehouse in his arm. According to the Avatar Extras, they shared a kiss offscreen. This only makes his heel turn all the more painful for her, and she channels those feelings when she slams Jet repeatedly into a tree and freezes him there.
It’s a nice touch that Jet’s abuse of the old man ultimately backfires since he vouches for Sokka.
“Hey, Smellerbee. You gonna eat your lychee nuts?”
“No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people.”
Friends of the White Lotus [SPOILERS]
Jet will return in Season 2! Presumably, after his plan to blow up the dam was thwarted, the Fire Nation drives his band of rebels out of the forest, forcing him to travel to Ba Sing Se as a refugee. Next time, it’s Katara who has the hardest time trusting him.
Avatar will return to the question of revenge and whether resistance by any means necessary is justified in The Southern Raiders, where Katara is faced with an even more difficult choice.