Jul 21
I love how the writers amped up the chemistry between these two
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I love how the writers amped up the chemistry between these two
By family you mean distant relatives who all go their separate ways after Grandma dies right?
Because that's exactly what they are. Toph, Zuko, and Katara are the only ones alive in The Legend of Korra and they don't even talk to each other or express a desire to see each other.
In the new movie, many people have stated that the Gaang barely interacts with one another. The comics aren't any better.
How are they the best found family when their own creators couldn't even be bothered with them as a group?
I saw someone mention that TV Tropes has a Fridge Brilliance moment that the reason Katara chose Aang over Zuko was because she realized after seeing Zuko get zapped by lightning that she was much more horrified of losing Aang in that moment than Zuko (or any of her friends) and realized she loved Aang and that was the true point of that entire scene and why Katara came with Zuko and it was meant to show how Kataang was the true ship of Into the Inferno vs CoD. What do you think of that?
(for anyone who isn’t familiar with the trope)
I think that it’s lazy writing.
It does seem to be what Bryke actually claim, though: 98% of Katara’s feelings toward Aang in any kind of romantic light happen off-screen, including the resolution to their last interaction, which was an argument. In fact, the Headband and Cave of Two Lovers were arguably the only episode we’ve seen where K/ataang was portrayed directly and in a positive light, and the latter of those was arguably fairly ambiguous.
Nothing about the actual scene of Zuko taking lightning for her and Katara’s subsequent desperation to get to him to heal him says anything about how Katara feels or doesn’t feel about Aang--this is all about her and Zuko.
But--it’s also not quite how this trope is supposed to work. With the Fridge Brilliance, we typically see the revelation of “Oh. Oh.” that the character has, and then they typically will explain it.
Imagine if this was the intent of that scene. Instead of just an out of place kiss at the end of the series between two characters who had a great friendship but only one character was actually shown to be romantically interested in the other, I imagine we would have something like this:
Katara kisses Aang. Aang breaks it off, happy but also very confused.
Katara: I’m not confused anymore. When Zuko nearly died fighting Azula, it just... reminded me so much of when I almost lost you. I don’t want that to happen ever again.
Here is the actual scene’s dialogue when Katara and Aang are on the balcony:
Katara:
Aang:
There isn’t any. We don’t actually have a Fridge Brilliance moment, because we don’t see anything about why Katara suddenly returns romantic feelings for Aang when their last discussion about it cover her telling him she was confused and ended with her being furious at him for kissing her without her permission.
Contrast this to the conversation Zuko and Aang have before Zuko’s coronation speech:
Zuko: I can't believe a year ago my purpose in life was hunting you down. And now ...
Aang: And now we're friends.
Zuko: Yeah, we are friends.
A little exposition like this could have gone a long way into making us believe that Katara really did have feelings for Aang she just pushed aside for the sake of the war (nevermind that her brother saw two girls throughout and she never had any issue with that, despite it being wartime. And despite Sokka being arguably the more frenetic about focusing on tasks and keeping to serious schedules). Of course, we also saw Zuko and Aang’s friendship develop between them, and it was always very clear where they stood with one another, even when Zuko was questioning everything.
Not so much where romance was supposedly involved with Katara and Aang. All the romantic screentime for K/ataang was devoted to how Aang felt about Katara, from Book 1 through Book 3; we never see it from Katara’s point of view. The only romantic feeling we see from Katara is when she meets Jet and becomes somewhat infatuated with him.
In fact, if we were to actually go off what we explicitly see of Katara’s romantic feelings toward anyone, she would have been very single at the end of the series.
Anti-Mαiko Ramble
So, I got into a debate on a YouTube video where people were speculating about who Izumi's mother was. This is an abbreviated version of that conversation that I'll just leave here, in case anyone cares about my thoughts on Mαiko.
Mαiko supporter: [Izumi's mother] is Mαi. She broke up with Kei Lo and anyone who is against it either ships Zutara or anything else. Zuko loves Mαi unconditionally and she obviously reciprocated it. Azula pointed out in the comics that Zuko was protecting Kei Lo (Mαi's boyfriend at the time) to get on Mαi's good side and try to get back with her, or something like that. They love each other and each other's flaws, neither are perfect. No matter what anyone says.
Me: I would rather Zuko be single forever than be with Mαi, that's how toxic the relationship is. The show and comics tell us that Zuko and Mαi care about each other, but never give us any indication as to why. They have nothing in common, they are incapable of communication, they have different moral codes, and they have no intimate moments.
It's horrible storytelling that insists on telling the audience about the character relationships rather than showing them. And when your partner's "flaws" are making jokes about your death,
helping incite panic in people you are responsible for,
insulting and hindering you at every turn,
and aiding and abetting assassins hell-bent on kidnapping children and killing you and your family,
you should NOT under any circumstances stay with them, let alone love them.
Mαiko supporter: Something tells me you ship Zuko and Suki/Katara. They are capable of communication and they did communicate. Remember the episode where Mαi, Zuko, Azula, and Tai Lee went to Ember Island? Remember when all four of them let go and released their true feelings and emotions? Zuko told everyone his feelings and Mαi did too. They communicated which led to them being back together that same episode. It brought them together and it helped them understand each other.
Mαi naturally acting like a bitch is a flaw that Zuko has always overlooked in all their years being together as friends or as a couple, he loves her for who she is. And Zuko was always angry and kept a majority of things to himself, which led to him and Mαi's break up in the comics obviously. Mαi still loves him but she's hurt that after everything that they've been through, he couldn't be honest with her.
Too bad Zuko isn't single. After all, he has a daughter and Izumi's mother is very likely Mαi. It is how it is. Kei Lo and Mαi are broken up and it's pretty evident that she and Zuko still obviously care about each other so again, it's safe to assume that they do end up together again.
Me: I don’t deny that Mαi is almost 100% certainly Izumi’s mother. Just because a pairing is canon doesn’t mean that it is good. And my shipping preferences are irrelevant to whether or not Mαiko is a healthy relationship. In my opinion, “The Beach” episode is a perfect example of why Zuko and Mαi should not be together. Their personalities clash for almost the entire episode’s running time, with both of them resorting to deeply hurtful emotional digs at each other.
Even during the campfire scene, after talking about their buried feelings, neither party seems particularly interested in actually dealing with the other’s problems. Mαi’s reaction to Zuko trying to talk about how hard it was to be abused, banished, made into a child soldier, and forced into a life of poverty is to call him “crazy and high-strung”.
That’s not exactly supportive behavior, especially not for a victim of child abuse. Sure, they kiss during this scene, but the lack of reason for the kiss makes it seem like a shallow cover up for a lack of chemistry and relationship development.
This incident does not help them understand each other any better, as “Nightmares and Daydreams” and “Boiling Rock Part 2” demonstrate.
For me, Mαi’s indifferent nature, or “acting like a bitch” as you put it, stems from her biggest flaw: moral apathy. Not once is Mαi motivated by an ethical code, but only by her personal interests (i.e. joining Azula because she is bored, saving Zuko because she cares about him, letting her father escape because she's bitter about her breakup, etc.).
Not only does this make her incompatible with Zuko on a deeply ideological level, but it is a disastrous trait for the wife of the leader of a country to have. Do you honestly think someone guilty of treason should be sitting on the throne of the Fire Nation?
People can forgive and love people who mistreat and abuse them. The fact that Zuko overlooks Mαi’s problems and ostensibly forgives her for what she does in “Smoke and Shadow” does not make her a good person or partner for him, any more than a battered wife going back to her abusive husband makes him a good person or romantic partner.
Zuko keeping things to himself and not trusting Mαi in “The Promise” is just another example of their failure to communicate, and another reason why their relationship will not work in the long run. As though any evidence for that was needed after their three breakups.
You say that Mαi loves Zuko, but can you give me one reason why? I can’t think of one reason why someone like Mαi would be emotionally invested in someone like Zuko; that indicates to me that Mαi is either shallow, or the writing is poor. I’d probably err on the side of the latter.
Even without the comics, I wouldn’t support Mαiko. How could I support a relationship where one of the parties hunts the other down (to be killed or thrown in jail),
blatantly says they don’t care about the other party’s feelings,
scoffs at every attempt by the other party to make them happy,
flippantly reminds them of a time when they were abused by a family member,
and throws objects at their head?
If the genders were flipped in this situation, I think you would immediately see how wrong the Mαiko relationship is.
If you could point out any evidence that Mαi feels more favorably towards Zuko at the end of “Smoke and Shadow” I would love to hear about it, as the comic ends with Mαi guilting Zuko into apologizing to her
and promising to remember her horrible, kidnapping father who wanted to put a genocidal maniac back on the throne as a brave man.
I don’t doubt that Mαi is Izumi’s mother. I just don’t think it makes a lick of sense.
The Avatar Aang movie hasn't even been released yet and there are already reviews from well established review blogs giving their honest opinions.
Here's a link to some to read.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender review: A thrilling return to an action-packed world is only partly scuttled by turning it into a streaming
Our full review of Paramount Pictures and Avatar Studios first feature length film, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender on Paramount+.
After one infamous movie and a divisive remake, Team Avatar returns in a sequel that understands why the original mattered.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is a movie that deserved 100% respect and unfortunately has been relegated to streaming services, but despit
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender reunites Team Avatar for a beautiful, emotional and action-packed adventure that longtime fans have been wai
Flying Bark Productions’ animated film elevates Nickelodeon’s seminal series into a fully realized spectacle of breathtaking animation worth
This latest incarnation of the franchise features returning voices like Eric Nam and Steven Yeun, in addition to Dave Bautista, Taika Waitit
As the debut project of the newly-formed Avatar Studios, 'Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender' has a lot riding on it. Does it live up to the hy
I take back what I originally called Mako.
I jokingly called him Mako Cullen...but what I really should of called him was Mako Swan.
Legend of Korra is so "dark and dramatic" and wants to be taken seriously yet the creators get huffy when the show gets critiqued because it's just a "kids show"...like "omg you gaiz don't think too seriously about Dora the Explorer"
Ummmm...no, if you want to be taken seriously and adult, guess what, you have to deal with getting your show being treated with serious criticism and take it like an adult.
Also just because something is animated or "for kids" doesn't negate it from problems or criticism.
I could point out several Disney movies and other animated movies...and other animated shows that don't talk down to their audience. I can also think of writers who admit their faults when there was some and don't try to make excuses for themselves.
Seriously, you can't pick and choose to when it fits your needs.