Thanks for tuning in to my second of 61 daily reviews of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Yesterday, we watched S1E1: The Boy in the Iceberg.
The back half of this two-part episode picks up where we left off. The villagers are afraid and angry after witnessing the flare that Aang and Katara set off on the booby-trapped ship. This time, Sokka successfully marshals the village to banish Aang for putting them all in danger. Katara almost leaves with him, since he previously promised to help her find a waterbending teacher. But Aang tells her he won’t be the one to separate her from her home and family on bad terms.
Fortunately, Aang doesn’t go far, and so he’s able to come right back to help when Zuko crashes his ship right into the village (destroying poor Sokka’s watchtower). Aang returns just in time to reveal himself as the Avatar and surrender to Zuko in exchange for the safety of the village. After Aang’s selfless sacrifice, the Water Tribe villagers change their minds about him. Katara plans to sneak out to rescue him, only to be caught by Sokka, who wants to come with her. Gran-Gran also brings them supplies for their “long journey”, telling them:
Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his.
This is the first time the script explicitly mentions destiny, a concept that’s closely related to the core philosophy of the series and the questions it likes to ask. The Avatar is destined to master all four elements and save the world. And now, Gran-Gran suggests, Sokka and Katara are destined to help him. But what does it mean to have a destiny? Are the characters free to accept or reject it, as when Aang says he “never wanted to be” the Avatar? Does it matter what they do at all? Over the next three seasons, Avatar will attempt to solidify its own answers.
On Zuko’s ship, Aang demonstrates his raw power and agility by escaping from the hold with his hands literally tied behind his back. His airbending allows him to effortlessly weave around his captors and summon blasts of air from his hands, feet, and breath. But he gets distracted by the arrival of Sokka and Katara, who have figured out the right command to make Appa fly ("Yip Yip!”). Prince Zuko sees his moment and unleashes a barrage of fire blasts. Aang is sent reeling and the animation evokes a sense of finality as he falls overboard with a plop.
The motionless Avatar sinks beneath the waves, calling back to his flashback when he froze himself into the iceberg. But this time, a despairing wail cuts through the water: “AANG!” Katara’s plaintive cry triggers something in Aang. His eyes and tattoos glow white, and he summons a column of water that lifts him back onto the ship and wipes all the Fire Nation soldiers away. Aang doesn’t seem to have much control over himself in this state, later telling an astonished Katara, “I don't know. I just sort of ... did it.” This can feel like a deus ex machina. As the series proceeds, we’ll learn more about the Avatar’s awesome power and his ability to control it.
See you tomorrow for Episode 3: The Southern Air Temple! Share your own thoughts on this episode in the comments.
Spare observations
When asked where he would go, Aang says he’ll go home and try to find the other Air Nomads.
Sokka’s warrior moment dissolves into bathos when Zuko kicks his spear in half and boink-boink-boinks him upside the head.
Aang walks in on Iroh napping, and politely inches the door closed to avoid waking him.
In a showdown with Zuko, Aang is able to escape by brutally slamming him into the wall and the ceiling with his mattress. Zuko immediately follows him out the door. In real life, such blows would kill someone or cause serious brain damage. In the world of Avatar, characters (and especially benders) generally have a superior toughness that allows them to take blunt trauma and fall from great heights without significant damage. Also, it’s still a kids’ show, so while Avatar doesn’t shy away from death, it does avoid depicting gore and excessive violence.
Although she has great difficulty controlling it, Katara pulls off a powerful new trick when she freezes three Fire Nation soldiers where they stand. They are, of course, unharmed once thawed.
Friends of the White Lotus [SPOILERS]
Gran-Gran understands that Sokka and Katara are embarking not just on a rescue mission, but a seasons-long journey to help the Avatar save the world. In the world of Avatar, many esteemed elders have prescient insights, even if other characters ignore them. Identifying and listening to these wise elders will pay dividends when watching the show.
At this point, Aang has no control or understanding over the Avatar State. There’s no generally accepted canon that explains what guides his actions here. (In S2E1, Roku suggests “your past lives [focus] their energy through your body,” but it’s not clear how much control they have, and some details in The Legend of Korra may contradict this.) One interpretation is that Aang is controlled by Raava, the spirit of light and peace, who may represent Fate. I will revisit this idea in future episodes. Since Avatar is, of course, a TV show, there is in some sense true fate, which is willed by the showrunners themselves!