When google's AI just straight up made up an episode of Avatar.
In reality, "The Secret of the Fire Nation" is actually two episodes combined, "The Serpent's Pass" and "The Drill." I don't know why they were combined and renamed. But wouldn't it be fun if "The Secret of the Fire Nation," the mysterious season three episode that revealed the true nature of the war, should become a thing, Goncharov style. It's also a zutara episode because I said so.
The Previously On segment actually didn't spoil anything for once. Nice.
I do like these tank things. In fact I like all Fire Nation technology. Not what it's used for. But the designs are neat. And more interesting than most actual military tech. You ever look at something techy, and think to yourself 'there was an artist involved here,' because that's the impression FN tech gives me. It's not beautiful, but there's a pleasing toothiness to it.
Excellent sound design on the metal screechy moving bits. And is that tank escort really necessary?
I know this is a kids' cartoon, with characters that are designed to be the audience's age. I know! And usually I can suspend my disbelief and forget that I'm watching children do very adult jobs! But this caught me so off guard I laughed. The Fire Nation's big secret project to break through the wall once and for all, that would be an absolute career making achievement for whoever is in charge, and they've given it to a bunch of teenage girls. This is where my suspension of disbelief stops.
Can you imagine the meeting where this was proposed? The Fire Lord being like "Who can lead the attack on Ba Sing Se? We lost Zhao at the North Pole, does whoever it is who occupies his equivalent rank in the Army want the job? Or even Zhao's second in command perhaps? Or how about: three middle school girls, two of which aren't even members of the military? Doesn't that sound like a good plan?" And of course all his advisors have to agree and be like "that sounds like an excellent plan your lordship; did you have any particular girls in mind or should we go scout out the local Claire's?" because the last guy who disagreed with him got his face blown off. I don't care how viciously talented Azula and friends are; a country that puts eighth graders in charge of invasion plans should have lost the war in year one, not still be winning it in year 99.
Did that random commander guy just smack Ty Lee in the face?
Problem the first of this plan: unless the Fire Nation has invented pocket dimensions or bags of holding, there is no way that that drill, even stuffed full of soldiers, would hold enough people to take a city that seemingly contains every single refugee in the entire Earth Kingdom.
Do you think those refugees got preferential treatment for arriving on an Avatar powered elevator?
"I'm the Avatar. Take me to whoever's in charge." OWN IT BABY!!!
That's one hell of an irrigation system they must have.
"He was quickly expunged." Was he? I got the impression he quit. Of his own accord.
Something tells me like forty guys throwing rocks won't stop that thing.
So... what was Mai doing that whole fight? Hanging decoratively off a rope?
I'd forgotten how stupid Earth Kingdom generals were. Luckily Sokka is there to vicariously express my opinion of them. A reverse beat up Sokka quota fulfillment!
Toph is such a little shit and I love her.
Aang sure does put up with a lot sometimes. Part of being the Avatar. It's a good thing he has such patience. Can we talk about how lucky the world is that Aang is the one tasked with putting up with nonsense like this? Imagine if Sokka or Toph were the Avatar. There would be casualties.
I like complaining too buddy. Nice to see Sokka's worth being recognised. Now can we do that outside of a life or death situation too please?
I joke about Zuko's dumbass behaviour, but let's be honest, it's inherited.
Jet. Fuckboy. You do not make it easy to even slightly like you. Guy is missing the point as much as Zuko usually does. Going straight MEANS leaving the freedom fighters behind. It doesn't mean reforming them somewhere else. And what Fire Nation threat are you going to find in Ba Sing Se for your Freedom Fighters to fight? You know, if this idiot was actually serious about fighting for Freedom rather than blowing stuff up for fun, he'd fudge his age and enlist in the Earth Kingdom Army.
Four points:
How does Katara know Ty Lee's name?
Is this confirmation that waterbending healing cannot remove a Chi block?
I love that the trait that gives away Ty Lee's identity is the fact that she cartwheeled away.
I love Sokka. Just in general.
There is no way this girl is not tripping.
Can you imagine how loud standing right next to that drill must be?
ABS
Normally I'd say that one earthbender trying to slow the drill down with spikes will work even worse than the Terra Team who tried and failed with like 40, but this is Toph we're talking about. It could work.
These children are so polite when they're committing industrial sabotage. Truly, they were raised well.
Do you ever get the feeling that whoever is in charge of designing Fire Nation armour is into a few things that he's trying to repress so hard that they're coming out in all the wrong places?
Jet seems to have lost all the manipulative abilities he had in his episode. Suddenly he's very bad at reading body language and keeps saying the exact opposite of what he should.
New achievement unlocked! 1000% agreeing with something Zuko said! That was a pretty stupid move.
Cups made out of leaves are neat.
Katara, you can't have it both ways. You can't look to Sokka to make the plan, then get snippy when the plan correctly plays to all of your strengths. He physically CAN'T bend. Either you come up with a better plan yourself, or you do as the guy you appointed planner suggests.
Points in favour of allowing Katara to murder people, exhibit 1.
Confirmed: Sokka is catnip for girls.
Even in comparison to the others, Ty Lee has a bad case of cartoon physics.
Did Katara just disarm herself? That'll come back to bite her in 3, 2, 1...
Mai gets a second personality trait! Yay!
There is no way this is actually practical armour. This is someone in procurement with a thing for sweaty bulging muscles and puppy masks.
And thus, the log ride was born. Later versions would go on to perfect the concept by introducing a log.
I felt Sokka's mud freakout in my bones. Looks like Katara giving away her water isn't going to be a problem.
Petition to let Katara say bitch. The voice actress said Circus Freak but I know what I heard in my heart.
Remember that time Sokka smacked his forehead so many times that his face was permanently red? My turn now.
Aang. I know you love your friends. But maybe a battle on top of a moving machine of destruction in the midst of an aerial assault from your idiotic allies while facing off with the single most powerful and amoral firebender in existence, isn't a place to bring your pet lemur?
Beat up Sokka quota fulfilled by little sister. It's surprising that isn't the case more often. I know Sokka took it too far, but if you don't want him telling you what to do, maybe you shouldn't have looked to him for a plan?
Toph is here! Day saved.
Finally some sense re: Momo safety.
Time for the Western showdown. There's even something that could stand in for a water tower in the background.
If Azula had just struck at Aang the second he got knocked unconscious, rather than waiting until he woke up for dramatic purposes, she would have won this. I give Zuko Hell for being a theatre kid, but he's not the only one in the family.
I would love to know what they make Fire Nation boot soles out of. They have supernatural traction.
I take back everything I said about pet safety. That was a really cool Momo assist.
Aang invents the pneumatic hammer.
I LOVE that the cut braces had an effect after all. Sokka's contribution counts!
I bet this guy's wishing he'd been eaten by a giant fishman like Zhao right about now. Have fun explaining that one to the Firelord!
HOW is Ty Lee still alive?
HOW does Azula still have knees after that drop?
HOW does Mai have such perfect timing?
ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN
They really ought to put wheels on all but the back car to reduce friction and save energy. Then again, if the Earth Kingdom is one thing, it's stupid.
So... Jet's change of heart lasted a bit less than one episode. Good job fuckboy!
So precious.
So Pretty.
Final Thoughts
This was like 90% action, with the other 10% being split between Zuko & Iroh plot stuff and Sokka playing comic relief. So there's not that much to talk about here really (she says, having found a whole post's worth of stuff to talk about).
Sokka had his bossy pants on, admittedly because he was asked to don them. Aang got to do some proper Avataring. Katara and Toph got to exercise their bending muscles. I'm not surprised that Toph was absent for much of the middle of the episode, because - let's be honest - given the right tools, Toph would have finished the Drill in one move. And then they'd be out of episode.
Actually, Mai got to have a personality beyond Too Bored To Live this episode. This is probably the most personality I've seen out of her so far. She's much more expressive when she's with just Ty Lee, rather than Ty Lee and Azula.
And Zuko! Had! Common! Sense! Iroh had to be a dumbass for Zuko to shine, but Zuko was, once again, the most reasonable character in his little B plot. For future reference: If you want to make Zuko reasonable, all you have to do is nerf his uncle and juxtapose him with a terrorist.
I loathe Jet. Always have, probably always will. But I'm still disappointed in him. His 'turning over a new leaf' - if it was sincere at all - lasted like 10 on-screen minutes. I feel sorry for Smellerbee and Longshot. I don't think their faith in their glorious leader is going to be repaid. He seems to brush off Smellerbee's opinions.
The strangest thing this episode was how few lines Azula had. I guess maybe they were using silence to try to show how calculating and collected she is compared to others, but honestly my first thought was that the voice actress had something going on. A cold? A previous engagement? It felt really weird to hear her speak so little, since previous episodes have shown she's not averse to gloating and dramatic monologues. She didn't even have much in the way of facial expressions.
I think the winners this episode were Mai, who got to have a personality; Zuko, who got a turn with the brain cell; and Aang, who got to work out pretty much all the bending he knows so far and successfully Avatar.
I did notice with some of the shots of Aang moving the big boulders the idiots were chucking down, that there was a kind of fuzziness to the air between Aang and what he was moving. Was I seeing the actual bending energy (Chi I guess) moving?
