Ron Does Stuff

It’s the last episode of this season! Yes, I’ve had an up and down relationship with this show, but I have to say that all in all, I think I genuinely liked it. I’m looking forward to the next two seasons!

But before we do that, we need to finish this season first! Let’s jump right in!

At the end of the last episode, the Fire Nation armada led by Zhao has finally made its way to the North Pole. How the Northern Water Tribe is going to repel them is up in the air because at this point in the season Aang still hasn’t learned any other form of bending.

But at least we do finally get some payoff for the constant refrain of “No I will stand by my friends and not be a lone wolf” that’s been drummed into us since the start of the season. The gaang manage to put one Fire Nation ship out of commission through the power of teamwork! But it’s just one ship in a literal armada.

And it’s not just the armada they have to worry about, as the show now pays off the Omashu spies storyline from the earlier season as well. There’s also going to be an airship attacking the Northern Water Tribe and I don’t know how they’re going to fare against it because this wasn’t in the animated series!

The siege of the Northern Water Tribe starts and while it’s a little muted compared to, say, the siege of Helm’s Deep, this show isn’t operating on a blockbuster movie budget? As it is I actually found it compelling, and the scene of Katara bringing along all of the Northern Water Tribe’s female waterbenders actually moved me. And I honestly think it’s a better way to show how Pakku changed his ways, not just because he wants to get it on with Gran-Gran again.

Yue and her synthetic wig also appears at the Northern Water Tribe’s ice wall and I worry for her because that wig will catch fire so quickly. And it’s not time for you to become the moon just yet! She gets shuffled away together with Sokka, while Katara and the other female waterbenders are sent to reinforce the walls that the Fire Nation is attacking.

Meanwhile, Zhao and Iroh are puttering into Agna Qel’a on their airship, with Zhao explaining that he knows that he can gain the upper hand if he kills the moon spirit that is empowering the waterbenders during this battle. While the added lore is interesting…I don’t think it was really necessary? But it’s just a minor complain I don’t think it fully messes up the story.

Another unnecessary thing they’ve added is Momo’s whole heroic sorta sacrificing his life. Like…girl. I didn’t need that heart attack. There must have been a better way to get Sokka and Yue to the grotto other than this. Also what happens to the other citizens of the Northern Water Tribe you were guiding to safety now that you’ve left them all alone?

Anyways! The airship lands in the sacred grotto and Zhao makes Iroh help him look for the form the ocean and moon spirits will take. Somewhere else in Agna Qel’a Zuko is finally able to track down Aang, but is once again unable to catch him as Katara manages to hold him off quite satisfyingly I may add.

Meanwhile, Zhao is finally able to figure out what form the moon spirit came in and I have to admit that the moon turning blood red and the accompanying music score? It was really good and I was legitimately awed!

Also, the fact that they made Zhao even more ambitious than in the animated series? Not bad! And him telling Aang that actually what use are you with just airbending? I laughed in a good way! But the whole scene where he kills the moon spirit and Iroh is reacting hilariously slow? I laughed in a bad way!

But here again is the show making me go through a rollercoaster of emotions because after laughing at that joke of a scene, it gets good again with the color draining from the world and the Fire Nation ship breaching the ice wall. Hahn even gets a cool scene where he fights off Fire Nation soldiers and I hope he makes it out alive.

And then we get Koi!Aang and it really is so good to watch and such a vast improvement over the last time this was adapted into live action. Sure, it could have been done without the whole ocean spirit babbling and just say it’s the Avatar State but again I think this is a minor nitpick for me once the bigger picture is considered.

I also really liked the final confrontation between Zhao and Zuko, where Zhao reveals that Zuko was just “the fire that forged” Azula into the terror she is going to be in the next two season. Dallas Liu puts in the work and I like his acting in this scene!

And I know I’ve been making fun of Yue’s synthetic hair for most of the episode and I will still make fun of it but I was also moved by her sacrificing herself to revive the moon spirit, even if I knew it was coming.

The Northern Water Tribe prevails against the Fire Nation, but now we get to see something that was understandably left out of the animated series. We get to see the aftermath of the attack and unfortunately, Hahn did not make out of his fight scene. Aang takes stock of the damage and almost loses himself to all the pain his absences has brought to the world. BUT, as much as it leans a little into the Ember Island players’ characterization of Katara, she does bring him renewed hope to move forward.

And the production leaves something for the viewers as well, making a callback to the first episode and revealing that the attack on the Northern Water Tribe was actually just a distraction so Azula could conquer Omashu. Exciting stuff to look forward to!