Avatar S1E15: "Bato of the Water Tribe"
Aang acts selfishly | Grade: B-
Thanks for tuning in to my fifteenth of 61 daily reviews of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Yesterday, we watched S1E14: The Fortuneteller.
We meet two notable new characters in this episode. The first is Bato, a warrior from the Southern Water Tribe and friend of Sokka and Katara’s father, Hakoda. Bato takes Sokka ice dodging, a meaningful rite of passage that allows the teenaged warrior to prove himself as a fully-fledged man of the Water Tribe. He never had the opportunity for his father to take him, so Bato acts as sort of a surrogate father in this episode.
Things go off the rails though as we follow Aang’s feelings of ostracization throughout the episode. After traveling awhile, Sokka and Katara are ecstatic to meet anyone who belongs to their community and their home. But all their attention is focused on their family friend as he regales them with stories of their father. Aang feels left out, fearing that Sokka and Katara will leave him to reunite with their dad. He doesn’t understand that the moment is not about him, and he lets his insecurities get the better of him when he intercepts and then hides a letter containing Hakoda’s whereabouts. Aang’s loneliness follows sensibly after his behavior in The Warriors of Kyoshi, but it’s a somewhat uncharacteristic betrayal for him.
When Aang finally comes clean, Sokka and Katara are so upset that they decide to leave him on the spot and go find their father after all. It’s way too melodramatic and impractical of a separation. Yes, the two siblings are only teenagers, and perhaps the writers intend to highlight their power to reject their destiny, if they so choose. But even in response to Aang’s severe breach of trust, it feels out of left field for them. And as the adult in the room, Bato barely says a word in protest. The entire drama feels even more contrived by being based on a tired misunderstanding trope: Aang only thinks his friends would leave him in the first place because he walks out too soon to hear them say they won’t. It’s the weakest part of the episode for me.
Things look better in the back half, where the Gaang meets the second new character, June. A bounty hunter hired to help Zuko, her impeccable dark makeup, sarcastic confidence, and fighting prowess lend her a commanding and memorable presence. She’s also notable for her fearsome animal companion, the shirshu Nyla. The shirshu is a unique, four-legged beast with the ability to run extremely fast and track scents over a great distance. Perhaps most dangerously, she can temporarily immobilize enemies with one lash of a venomous, chameleon-like tongue.
June and Zuko capture Sokka and Katara, who have decided to go back for Aang. In turn, Aang comes back for his friends, and a fight ensues. It’s an important fight because it’s the first time Team Avatar stands to face Zuko (and wins) instead of just running away. Their fight feels even more meaningful after the events of The Blue Spirit. The choreography is sharp and creative, and there’s some intentional mirroring between Aang and Zuko’s attacks that highlight their similarities. It’s also incredible to watch Appa, typically a gentle giant, join into the fray. It’s hard not to cheer as Appa absolutely decks the shirshu into a wall with a brutal headbutt. In the end, a newly-anointed Sokka is the MVP of the battle with his brilliant plan to stupefy Nyla, who “sees” by scent, by dousing her in perfume.
Overall, there are some nice details here, but the Gaang’s split is still jarring, and Aang never really owns up to his mistake in the end. There are several different subplots in this episode, and with a different and tighter focus, this episode could be better overall. But based on its title, it seems that the parts of the episode that we’re supposed to make the most of are actually the least successful. Bato himself isn’t a very compelling or fleshed-out character, and besides for the final fight, his eponymous episode isn’t especially memorable, either.
See you tomorrow for Episode 16: The Deserter! Share your own thoughts on this episode in the comments.
Spare observations
Zuko: “Step aside, filth!” Iroh: “He means no offense! I'm certain you bathe regularly!”
According to the Avatar Wiki, Jane’s shirshu is a hybrid of a giant anteater, a wolf, and a star-nosed mole.
As Jane and Nyla track the Gaang, we get cameos from Miyuki and Aunt Wu from the previous episodes.
The messenger who delivers Hakoda’s letter doesn’t seem very good at his job. Maybe don’t just fork it over to some kid who says he knows the guy whose name you just told him?
Bato calls out that Sokka’s “mark of the wise” is the same one his father received.
It’s a nice touch that Sokka is actually the one who decides they should return for Aang, since his own pangs of separation from his family allow him to empathize with the young airbender’s loneliness.
Nyla’s “smell-o-vision” is a really excellent way to illustrate how the shirshu perceives the world and make the effectiveness of Sokka’s plan feel believable.
Aang steals Katara’s necklace back from Zuko, bringing an end to that running subplot.
“Uncle? I didn’t see you get hit with the tongue.” Iroh has a bit of a pervy uncle moment (multiple moments, actually) in this episode. The joke has aged badly and it’s not a great look for such a beloved character.
Katara kisses Aang (on the cheek) for the first time.
Friends of the White Lotus [SPOILERS]
We’ll meet Bato again next season after he rejoins the other Water Tribe warriors.
“So this is your girlfriend. No wonder she left, she's way too pretty for you.” A bit of early wind in the Zutara sails.