Day of Black Sun: srs biznis edition.
Okay, now that the initial :DDDD gushiness has worn off, more thoughts and speculation on Avatar 3.10 and 3.11, and where we go from here.
Book 3: Fire. Well, first of all, going by the pattern of the first two seasons, we can assume some things right off the bat. One, Aang is going to learn firebending. Two, he'll learn it from a firebender who joins his group. And three, the season will culminate in a battle in the capital of the Fire Nation. These three things are givens.
Which brings us to Zuko. He's been destined to join the Gaang since day one, but it's taken him three seasons to finally reach that point. A lot has happened to him, most of it only very recently. He'd thought he was trying to regain his honor, but in reality he was trying to gain his father's love and acknowledgment. But the son that his father wanted him to be wasn't who he wanted to be, and once he succeeded in becoming the former, he finally realized the latter. His arc during the first half of this season finally makes a lot more sense; the whole point was to show that he was finally getting everything he wanted, and ironically enough, that turned out to be the wake-up call he needed to realize that his uncle was right.
When he confronted his father in DoBS, he was very much a changed man; for the first time in the entire series, he was really sure of what he was doing. No more doubting and second-guessing himself at the slightest thing--he took a stand, and it was awesome. I love that he didn't let Ozai bait him into trying to fight him. I love that he told him off for everything, and that the war was wrong and they needed to bring about an era of peace. (I didn't love that he basically wasted the whole eclipse giving his dad a speech instead of trying to find and help Aang defeat him, but that's a minor complaint. :P) The one and only subject that tripped him up was his mother, and that's more than understandable. What's more, it didn't cripple him--when his father tried to hit him with the lightning bending, he was able to redirect it back just like Iroh taught him. That speaks volumes all its own--even when he was still reeling from the news about Ursa, he was still able to redirect the lightning perfectly. What that tells me is that he's finally starting to master the self-control needed to become a master firebender.
Which is good, because he's said he intends to help the Avatar, and if he wants to help Aang in the way Aang most needs right now, he'll need to master firebending, because he needs to be able to teach it.
Every so often I run across speculation that Iroh will be the one to teach Aang firebending, but I've always believed it would be Zuko. He's the one with the destiny; he's the one whose story parallels Aang's; he's the one who needs to redeem himself and start rebuilding his nation. It doesn't matter if Iroh is a better master than Zuko is; Zuko still has room to grow. Just like Katara. He has the potential to become better and better; and he's already not half-bad, incidentally. It's just that he's constantly sized up next to the likes of Azula and so forth, which would make anyone look a little wanting. But he can teach Aang--more to the point, he was meant to teach Aang, because that's what the story has been driving at. It'll be a crucial turning point for both of their characters.
So, Zuko joining the group: pretty much inevitable. But here we run into a whole new can of worms, one that was opened by the season 2 finale. This isn't the first time Zuko has flirted with redemption. In The Crossroads of Destiny, he came very close to joining Aang's side then. But when he chose, it was to side with Azula against the Avatar, and that was a betrayal that stung--not only for Iroh, but also Katara, whose trust he had slowly started to win over. And that's something that is going to come into play when Zuko first tries to join the Gaang. Had he decided to do this last season, he'd have been accepted much less hesitantly, but now I think it's going to be a whole new ballgame. No one is going to trust him, especially Katara. There's going to be suspicion that this is part of a plot to capture Aang or something, and he's not going to be able to easily overcome that. It'll be even worse if he gets defensive and his temper gets the better of him again, but even if he keeps his calm like he did against Ozai, winning over everyone's trust is not going to be an easy task. In the end, I think it will be Aang who stands up for him, oddly enough, and I think it'll be several episodes before he's really accepted as part of the group.
Once he is, though, I think this is where the season will really start to move again. Zuko knows things that could really help the Gaang; chief among them being the existence of the White Lotus group. Sokka still has the Lotus tile that Piandao gave him, and I have a feeling that's going to turn out to be really important later on in the season. For one, I'm almost certain it will be what leads them to Iroh again (because where else would he have disappeared to?). And for another, it will gain them some much-needed allies for their final battle against the Fire Lord.
And since said showdown is the final inevitable thing about this season, my predictions for that: I think the fact that Aang has been helping befriending all these various people across the Fire Nation (from the kids at the dance party to the Painted Lady villagers to perhaps even the people they rescued from Hama) will turnout out to be very important. They already tried to attack the Fire Nation with an outside force once, and failed. I have a hunch it may turn out to be the people of the Fire Nation itself who help Aang in the final battle. Maybe not in the same way the Invasion force did, but they will play a part; ultimately they may even be the factor that tips things in Aang's favor.
So, lots to look forward to, at any rate; that's for sure. Now... if only we had a date for episode 12. XD
Book 3: Fire. Well, first of all, going by the pattern of the first two seasons, we can assume some things right off the bat. One, Aang is going to learn firebending. Two, he'll learn it from a firebender who joins his group. And three, the season will culminate in a battle in the capital of the Fire Nation. These three things are givens.
Which brings us to Zuko. He's been destined to join the Gaang since day one, but it's taken him three seasons to finally reach that point. A lot has happened to him, most of it only very recently. He'd thought he was trying to regain his honor, but in reality he was trying to gain his father's love and acknowledgment. But the son that his father wanted him to be wasn't who he wanted to be, and once he succeeded in becoming the former, he finally realized the latter. His arc during the first half of this season finally makes a lot more sense; the whole point was to show that he was finally getting everything he wanted, and ironically enough, that turned out to be the wake-up call he needed to realize that his uncle was right.
When he confronted his father in DoBS, he was very much a changed man; for the first time in the entire series, he was really sure of what he was doing. No more doubting and second-guessing himself at the slightest thing--he took a stand, and it was awesome. I love that he didn't let Ozai bait him into trying to fight him. I love that he told him off for everything, and that the war was wrong and they needed to bring about an era of peace. (I didn't love that he basically wasted the whole eclipse giving his dad a speech instead of trying to find and help Aang defeat him, but that's a minor complaint. :P) The one and only subject that tripped him up was his mother, and that's more than understandable. What's more, it didn't cripple him--when his father tried to hit him with the lightning bending, he was able to redirect it back just like Iroh taught him. That speaks volumes all its own--even when he was still reeling from the news about Ursa, he was still able to redirect the lightning perfectly. What that tells me is that he's finally starting to master the self-control needed to become a master firebender.
Which is good, because he's said he intends to help the Avatar, and if he wants to help Aang in the way Aang most needs right now, he'll need to master firebending, because he needs to be able to teach it.
Every so often I run across speculation that Iroh will be the one to teach Aang firebending, but I've always believed it would be Zuko. He's the one with the destiny; he's the one whose story parallels Aang's; he's the one who needs to redeem himself and start rebuilding his nation. It doesn't matter if Iroh is a better master than Zuko is; Zuko still has room to grow. Just like Katara. He has the potential to become better and better; and he's already not half-bad, incidentally. It's just that he's constantly sized up next to the likes of Azula and so forth, which would make anyone look a little wanting. But he can teach Aang--more to the point, he was meant to teach Aang, because that's what the story has been driving at. It'll be a crucial turning point for both of their characters.
So, Zuko joining the group: pretty much inevitable. But here we run into a whole new can of worms, one that was opened by the season 2 finale. This isn't the first time Zuko has flirted with redemption. In The Crossroads of Destiny, he came very close to joining Aang's side then. But when he chose, it was to side with Azula against the Avatar, and that was a betrayal that stung--not only for Iroh, but also Katara, whose trust he had slowly started to win over. And that's something that is going to come into play when Zuko first tries to join the Gaang. Had he decided to do this last season, he'd have been accepted much less hesitantly, but now I think it's going to be a whole new ballgame. No one is going to trust him, especially Katara. There's going to be suspicion that this is part of a plot to capture Aang or something, and he's not going to be able to easily overcome that. It'll be even worse if he gets defensive and his temper gets the better of him again, but even if he keeps his calm like he did against Ozai, winning over everyone's trust is not going to be an easy task. In the end, I think it will be Aang who stands up for him, oddly enough, and I think it'll be several episodes before he's really accepted as part of the group.
Once he is, though, I think this is where the season will really start to move again. Zuko knows things that could really help the Gaang; chief among them being the existence of the White Lotus group. Sokka still has the Lotus tile that Piandao gave him, and I have a feeling that's going to turn out to be really important later on in the season. For one, I'm almost certain it will be what leads them to Iroh again (because where else would he have disappeared to?). And for another, it will gain them some much-needed allies for their final battle against the Fire Lord.
And since said showdown is the final inevitable thing about this season, my predictions for that: I think the fact that Aang has been helping befriending all these various people across the Fire Nation (from the kids at the dance party to the Painted Lady villagers to perhaps even the people they rescued from Hama) will turnout out to be very important. They already tried to attack the Fire Nation with an outside force once, and failed. I have a hunch it may turn out to be the people of the Fire Nation itself who help Aang in the final battle. Maybe not in the same way the Invasion force did, but they will play a part; ultimately they may even be the factor that tips things in Aang's favor.
So, lots to look forward to, at any rate; that's for sure. Now... if only we had a date for episode 12. XD