Here’s an interesting point of characterization I’ve seen in TAZ: Taako’s passivity, and how it defines him and his arc.
Now, Taako isn’t lazy. He’s described as “never satisfied” by the judges in cycle 65, he goes out of his way to learn new things - he taught himself magic when he’d forgotten he knew it, he invented surfing, he learned an entire language from scratch on the animal plane. However, he can come off as lazy because of one catchphrase: “Taako’s good out here.”
I would say that isn’t laziness. That’s passivity. Taako does not want to initiate anything. He doesn’t want to start a fight, he doesn’t want to get into trouble, he wants to keep himself safe. That’s perfectly in character for him. It’s set in contrast to “Magnus rushes in.” It makes sense - he stays where he is, he doesn’t move.
Which is what makes his moments of action that much more powerful. Think about Arms Outstretched - instead of remaining passive, Taako takes action, flinging his soul out of his body towards Magnus. Even running across the sapphire mirror to Kravitz is a moment of action that’s special - he cares about these people, so he actively goes to them.
But his most powerful moments are those that the combine action and passivity, and I want to talk about two of them, both in the finale.
The first is when he’s explaining his idea that will save everyone and everything, and he says -
Taako: Listen, all that thing wants on Earth, the thing it wants more than anything else, we have been basically trolling it for a hundred years. The only thing it wants, is to pick us up and absorb us into itself. And I don’t know about you all, but Taako’s good out here. (via @tazscripts)
There it is - his trademark catchphrase of passivity, but here, it isn’t about a lack of action, it’s about staying steadfast and standing strong. What has been a signifier of Taako’s caution and wish to keep himself safe have expanded to a stance of protection - a radical idea, a deconstruction of a world of tar or a world of ash into there’s a third option. They don’t have to choose between running or hiding. Taako’s option - the option, ironically, of rushing into the Hunger - is staying and standing and fighting. Instead of staying back and not engaging, Taako’s unmoving posture here is standing firm and saying no, you move.
Which brings me to the second moment, from the last episode.
Griffin: Holy shit. Alright, here’s the scene. Merle and Magnus, you see Taako step up and say bye, and stick out the KrEbStAr in front of him, and from his glaive, a column of green wind launches outward and connects with John. And you see John screaming and you—it almost looks like he is being peeled out of that portal as this wind is just kind of tearing him apart. But you also see Taako and it looks like the power and fury of this attack is knocking him off of his feet.
[Arms Outstretched music plays]
Travis: I put my hand on Taako’s shoulder to help brace him.
Clint: I throw myself down to wrap my arms around his legs to hold him to the ground.
Justin: I reach into my fuckin’ bag and grab my Immovable Rod. I’m not going fuckin’ anywhere. (via @tazscripts)
Significant in this scene, first of all, is the fact that Arms Outstretched plays over it. As I said previously, Arms Outstretched is a scene of Taako’s action, a scene where he puts himself in danger, throws himself into the fray, so to speak, to rescue Magnus.
This moment is a pinnacle of the combination of that action with Taako’s now-established standing firm. He’s at the front, casting a spell that is destroying the avatar of something they’ve all been fighting for over a century, and he starts to be blown away, but his friends grab on and hold him fast. He holds himself fast.
Taako isn’t running away. He isn’t staying at the back. He’s right there in front, but his power isn’t in rushing in, but standing firm. Taako is Lup’s anchor, and there’s a good reason for that. He knows who he is, and he, in this moment, is fully himself. In this moment, he is the most Taako he could be. He is multidimensional, a fully realized creation, and he isn’t going fuckin’ anywhere.
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