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ATLA: Setting the Stage on Appa
Book One, Chapter Two: The Avatar Returns
Trigger Warnings: References to past action/violence
Our scene now fades to the iconic long shot, sunset scene of Appa flying through the clouds and carrying the newly-formed Gaang consisting of Katara, Sokka, and Aang. ‘Tis yet another instance of scenery porn, dears. We end many an episode as such:
I believe that the music that accompanies this scene is called Safe Return and you can listen to it here on YouTube. If you grew up with this show, like I did, this shit will make you feel nostalgic. Or it’ll make you cry. Or it’ll make you wish you had a flying bison to wind down on. Or it’ll help you relax. Or it’ll help you get to sleep.
Or just all of the above, really.
A lot of things about ATLA fucks you up in the good way and it just so happens that one of those things is the music, coupled with the scenery porn.
Katara asks Aang about that neat-ass waterbending from earlier, thus beginning the setting of our stage for the rest of the series:
Now, I know this is pretty tropey, to the point of being cliché, yes? The powerful Chosen One never wanted to be Chosen in the first place. They just want to be a normal kid, with normal experiences and a normal life, and just basically blend into the rest of humanity like everyone else. They ain’t signed up for this and they ain’t jumping up for this.
But, as the title of this post states, this is setting the stage specifically for Aang’s struggle and journey as the Avatar. Though it’s cliché, I think ATLA is an excellent example of when this trope is executed well. I really mean that because the show will convey that it’s quite often really, really, really sucky to be the Avatar. You’ll need more than your two hands and ten fingers to count all the episodes where it was merely Aang’s status as the Avatar that gets the Gaang into trouble.
Even when the trouble doesn’t necessarily take up a full episode’s plot, we’re still shown that quite a bit of trouble, misfortune and even just plain discomfort comes Aang’s way. There are people that blame him for shit that’s out of his control; people that refuse to understand that he can’t just wave A Magical, All Powerful Hand and whisk away the Hundred Year War and it’s detrimental effects on the world and the people in it; people that give less than an iota of a fuck about Aang as a human being and only want him for what he can (or what they perceive he can) do for them; people that see him as an unethically unstoppable force that must be contained, if not stopped altogether; and the list goes on and on.
So I think the trope is given its due weight and respect in the series. That’s important, no matter how much it may break our hearts.
A cloud momentarily passes over the Gaang, blocking out the fading sunlight. After it passes, they enter a shaft of sunlight and, like that sunlight…Katara sheds light on an undisputable truth:
This is also part of our stage setting. And this, too, is done quite well, I think. That is, the struggle between the reality that, yes, Aang is a person, a human being that deserves autonomy, respect, privacy, and in general a life of his own vs. the reality that Aang must attend to his duties as the Avatar, particularly an Avatar to a war-torn, ravaged world that actually needed its Avatar a full century ago.
It is a question of when and how to remember that sometimes Aang must put being an individual on the back burner to step up as the Avatar and when Aang must put being the Avatar on the back burner to stand up for himself as a person And, also, when being both is beneficial not only to the people he must serve and protect, but to himself. When? How? Where? And if he’s truly not sure, who should he ask for guidance and who should he not ask for guidance?
And on top of that, when and how can he incorporate everything that he’s learned from his home, from his culture as an Air Nomad into his work as the Avatar? When and how will those combinations of teachings and natural instincts come in very, very handy and when will they have to take a backseat and even be contradicted (for lack of a better word) in order for Aang to accomplish what he’s trying to do? And, again, if he’s truly not sure, who should he ask for guidance and who should he not ask for guidance?
It is a struggle of balance and the theme of balance itself is very, very central in the series.
I think that ATLA portrays the difficulty of balance very, very well, too.
So we now have Aang responding to Katara’s assertion of truth. His response further fucks us up.
This highlights to us that Aang is a young, inexperienced, scared Avatar in a world ravaged by war…and he starts out not having a whole lot of much-needed help in the guidance department and he knows it.
Let’s start with the monks, first: the monks are all dead (currently unbeknownst to Aang). And they relayed this information to Aang over a whole century ago, when he was still the same age that he is now.
Next, we have the fact that Katara uses the word legend. Yes, the Avatars and their power, feats, strength and accomplishments in general are legendary. But I think Katara is using the word “legend” in the context that neither she nor Aang nor Sokka have any other frame of reference for how in the fuck Aang is supposed to properly do this Avatar shit. This is partially because there has been a literal one-hundred year gap between the last Avatar, who is Aang, and the current Avatar…who is also Aang. The other part is because it’ll often prove to be futile at best and highly difficult and dangerous at worst to try to access information that can aid in Aang’s journey as the Avatar.
Like, ya’ll, there are no instruction manuals, no concise powerpoint slides, no FAQ easily in reach for this Avatar business. A lot of this shit is touch-and-go, learn-as-you-go, trial-and-error and, well…that’s part of the journey, that’s part of the story and that’s part of what it makes it such a great, heart-touching story on a meta-level. But in-story, it is quite often equal parts irritating and terrifying just as much as it can be exhilarating and rewarding.
On top of all this, Aang needs help and he specifically needs help from Katara, Sokka and a whole slew of other friends and allies. Yes, he needs Katara and Sokka and I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I love how they are dark-skinned characters of color that are integral to Aang’s story, but they still have their own, independent story arcs. I love that shit somethin’ awful.
It’s been quite a while (haha…isn’t it always?), but remember that we talked about how the entire, basic plot of Book One is simply Aang personally flying Katara to the North Pole so that she can learn waterbending. That’s it, that’s the basic plot of Book One.
Remember that, though Aang is the Avatar, this is Katara’s story.
And I think this is asserted here, by Aang himself. That is, when his face lights up at the thought of mastering waterbending at the North Pole, he immediately thinks of how they can learn together.
He immediately thinks of Katara and her need and desire to learn waterbending, her native element, too. Because he’s Aang and that’s the shit he does and because this is Katara’s story.
I love this shit, ya’ll. I love it.
Katara then turns to her brother and advertises a bonus for him in the mix, too.
Ah yes, Sokka. You’ll also get your ass handed to you by “a bunch of girls”, thus aiding in kicking that sexist, misogynist bullshit out of you, too. And a whole host of other things that’ll make me grin in glee. Yes, this shall happen. Yes.
Yes! You are all officially the Gaang, now, with more members to come! Wooo!
Aaaaaand, lastly of this episode, we have Aang demonstrating his love for riding and playing with animals:
-facepalm- Aang, honey…I know you love animals (and, no, you really do love them), but it’s kinda sorta neither nice nor safe to ride animals that do not want to be ridden. Just a thought…just a little thought at the end of this episode.
But otherwise yes, we must have fun during our pursuit of waterbending.
And because I’m so fuckin’ glad that we’re finally at the end of this episode, Imma quote the end credits. Yes, I am. We gon’ close the curtain on this stage. Are you ready? Get ready!
Trigger Warnings: References to past action/violence
Our scene now fades to the iconic long shot, sunset scene of Appa flying through the clouds and carrying the newly-formed Gaang consisting of Katara, Sokka, and Aang. ‘Tis yet another instance of scenery porn, dears. We end many an episode as such:
I believe that the music that accompanies this scene is called Safe Return and you can listen to it here on YouTube. If you grew up with this show, like I did, this shit will make you feel nostalgic. Or it’ll make you cry. Or it’ll make you wish you had a flying bison to wind down on. Or it’ll help you relax. Or it’ll help you get to sleep.
Or just all of the above, really.
A lot of things about ATLA fucks you up in the good way and it just so happens that one of those things is the music, coupled with the scenery porn.
Katara asks Aang about that neat-ass waterbending from earlier, thus beginning the setting of our stage for the rest of the series:
Katara: How did you do that? With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
Aang (sitting cross legged on the bridge of the saddle, a slightly sad expression on his face): I don't know. I just sort of... did it.
Katara: Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?
Aang: Because... I never wanted to be.
Now, I know this is pretty tropey, to the point of being cliché, yes? The powerful Chosen One never wanted to be Chosen in the first place. They just want to be a normal kid, with normal experiences and a normal life, and just basically blend into the rest of humanity like everyone else. They ain’t signed up for this and they ain’t jumping up for this.
But, as the title of this post states, this is setting the stage specifically for Aang’s struggle and journey as the Avatar. Though it’s cliché, I think ATLA is an excellent example of when this trope is executed well. I really mean that because the show will convey that it’s quite often really, really, really sucky to be the Avatar. You’ll need more than your two hands and ten fingers to count all the episodes where it was merely Aang’s status as the Avatar that gets the Gaang into trouble.
Even when the trouble doesn’t necessarily take up a full episode’s plot, we’re still shown that quite a bit of trouble, misfortune and even just plain discomfort comes Aang’s way. There are people that blame him for shit that’s out of his control; people that refuse to understand that he can’t just wave A Magical, All Powerful Hand and whisk away the Hundred Year War and it’s detrimental effects on the world and the people in it; people that give less than an iota of a fuck about Aang as a human being and only want him for what he can (or what they perceive he can) do for them; people that see him as an unethically unstoppable force that must be contained, if not stopped altogether; and the list goes on and on.
So I think the trope is given its due weight and respect in the series. That’s important, no matter how much it may break our hearts.
A cloud momentarily passes over the Gaang, blocking out the fading sunlight. After it passes, they enter a shaft of sunlight and, like that sunlight…Katara sheds light on an undisputable truth:
Katara: But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war.
This is also part of our stage setting. And this, too, is done quite well, I think. That is, the struggle between the reality that, yes, Aang is a person, a human being that deserves autonomy, respect, privacy, and in general a life of his own vs. the reality that Aang must attend to his duties as the Avatar, particularly an Avatar to a war-torn, ravaged world that actually needed its Avatar a full century ago.
It is a question of when and how to remember that sometimes Aang must put being an individual on the back burner to step up as the Avatar and when Aang must put being the Avatar on the back burner to stand up for himself as a person And, also, when being both is beneficial not only to the people he must serve and protect, but to himself. When? How? Where? And if he’s truly not sure, who should he ask for guidance and who should he not ask for guidance?
And on top of that, when and how can he incorporate everything that he’s learned from his home, from his culture as an Air Nomad into his work as the Avatar? When and how will those combinations of teachings and natural instincts come in very, very handy and when will they have to take a backseat and even be contradicted (for lack of a better word) in order for Aang to accomplish what he’s trying to do? And, again, if he’s truly not sure, who should he ask for guidance and who should he not ask for guidance?
It is a struggle of balance and the theme of balance itself is very, very central in the series.
I think that ATLA portrays the difficulty of balance very, very well, too.
So we now have Aang responding to Katara’s assertion of truth. His response further fucks us up.
Aang (looking down sadly): And how am I going to do that?
Katara: According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?
Aang: That's what the monks told me.
This highlights to us that Aang is a young, inexperienced, scared Avatar in a world ravaged by war…and he starts out not having a whole lot of much-needed help in the guidance department and he knows it.
Let’s start with the monks, first: the monks are all dead (currently unbeknownst to Aang). And they relayed this information to Aang over a whole century ago, when he was still the same age that he is now.
Next, we have the fact that Katara uses the word legend. Yes, the Avatars and their power, feats, strength and accomplishments in general are legendary. But I think Katara is using the word “legend” in the context that neither she nor Aang nor Sokka have any other frame of reference for how in the fuck Aang is supposed to properly do this Avatar shit. This is partially because there has been a literal one-hundred year gap between the last Avatar, who is Aang, and the current Avatar…who is also Aang. The other part is because it’ll often prove to be futile at best and highly difficult and dangerous at worst to try to access information that can aid in Aang’s journey as the Avatar.
Like, ya’ll, there are no instruction manuals, no concise powerpoint slides, no FAQ easily in reach for this Avatar business. A lot of this shit is touch-and-go, learn-as-you-go, trial-and-error and, well…that’s part of the journey, that’s part of the story and that’s part of what it makes it such a great, heart-touching story on a meta-level. But in-story, it is quite often equal parts irritating and terrifying just as much as it can be exhilarating and rewarding.
On top of all this, Aang needs help and he specifically needs help from Katara, Sokka and a whole slew of other friends and allies. Yes, he needs Katara and Sokka and I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I love how they are dark-skinned characters of color that are integral to Aang’s story, but they still have their own, independent story arcs. I love that shit somethin’ awful.
Katara: Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending.
Aang (now smiling): We can learn it together!
It’s been quite a while (haha…isn’t it always?), but remember that we talked about how the entire, basic plot of Book One is simply Aang personally flying Katara to the North Pole so that she can learn waterbending. That’s it, that’s the basic plot of Book One.
Remember that, though Aang is the Avatar, this is Katara’s story.
And I think this is asserted here, by Aang himself. That is, when his face lights up at the thought of mastering waterbending at the North Pole, he immediately thinks of how they can learn together.
He immediately thinks of Katara and her need and desire to learn waterbending, her native element, too. Because he’s Aang and that’s the shit he does and because this is Katara’s story.
I love this shit, ya’ll. I love it.
Katara then turns to her brother and advertises a bonus for him in the mix, too.
Katara: And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way.
Sokka (somewhat dreamily): I'd like that. I'd really like that.
Ah yes, Sokka. You’ll also get your ass handed to you by “a bunch of girls”, thus aiding in kicking that sexist, misogynist bullshit out of you, too. And a whole host of other things that’ll make me grin in glee. Yes, this shall happen. Yes.
Katara: Then we're in this together.
Yes! You are all officially the Gaang, now, with more members to come! Wooo!
Aaaaaand, lastly of this episode, we have Aang demonstrating his love for riding and playing with animals:
Aang (producing a scroll): All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to (he airbends himself over to them and opens the scroll to reveal a map) here, here, and here.
(He points to two spots in the Earth Kingdom, and one spot on the southern Air Nomad islands in quick succession.)
Katara: What's there?
Aang: Here (pointing to the eastern Earth Kingdom) we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then waaaay over here (pointing to a spot on the southern Air Nomad islands) we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!
(Cut to a long shot of Appa flying through the clouds at sunset, shafts of the suns fading light breaking through the clouds, then fade to white.)
-facepalm- Aang, honey…I know you love animals (and, no, you really do love them), but it’s kinda sorta neither nice nor safe to ride animals that do not want to be ridden. Just a thought…just a little thought at the end of this episode.
But otherwise yes, we must have fun during our pursuit of waterbending.
And because I’m so fuckin’ glad that we’re finally at the end of this episode, Imma quote the end credits. Yes, I am. We gon’ close the curtain on this stage. Are you ready? Get ready!
[End Credits]
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