it looks like we might have made it
Jul. 20th, 2008 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reflectedeveSo I just finished watching the Avatar finale.
I had quibbles about a few things. I guess that I'd hoped for more intrigued from the Order of the White Lotus, although they were still seriously badass. (You have to love a show with a bunch of badass old people; shame there weren't any old ladies included, that I saw.) Also, while I really loved Aang's defeat of Ozai, I would have preferred if the possibility/method hadn't been revealed so abruptly. And lastly, the same gripe that I've always had: Ozai is just not my villainous cup of tea. He's too one-sided to really interest me; it was satisfying to see him defeated, but still.
But. Really, these are quibbles, yes? Show me a series finale that literally could not be any better, I dare you. I can't think of one. Mostly, I wanted to get those out of the way so that I could squee with impunity.
Because seriously, so much squee.
Where to start? Aang's unshakeable reluctance about violence made me happy throughout . . . as did Zuko's attempts to shake him. I love those two so much, their dynamic, their dichotomy (yeah, you can probably see where my mind is going, there).
Toph wanting a lifechanging field trip with Zuko was also generally hilarious. (I love Toph, the way she breaks patterns set by the other characters and deadpans the melodrama and is generally completely badass. She could use a little more focus of her own, maybe . . . if only there were ficcers doing that! *cough*)
Zuko's reunion with Iroh nearly made me cry, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. OMG. ;_;
Azula's crazy was . . . pretty much the only way they could have gone with that character, I think? She was another unsatisfyingly two-dimensional villain, for me (for all that it was sometimes fun just to watch her go, and I loved her sidekicks to pieces). Her best moments have always been when her veneer cracks (hilariously, in the first episode on Ember Island; less comically here). Would be really interested to see more of her as well, in conjunction with the open mystery about Ursa . . . this show did leave itself some serious openings for continuation, didn't it?
I loved the way the girls totally saved the day, as usual. Katara's besting of Azula was great (as was Zuko's sacrificing himself to save her; crazy as their 'shippers are, those two have an interesting dynamic, yet another thing I'd love to see explored . . . if not necessarily in a romantic sense). And Suki saving her boyfriend yet again! Sokka acquitted himself admirably as well, of course--huzzah for "sword" and "fan," it's always nice to see the "normals" kick some ass--and the bit where he was holding onto Toph's hand as she dangled was almost heartwrenching. (I kept expecting someone to die. Maybe this is the Joss/Batman effect? I can't say I'm sorry that it never happened. Everybody lives! ♥)
Aang's method for defeating Ozai was pretty perfect (the execution could have been improved--I'd have liked to see a bit of why he had to struggle not to be "contaminated"--but quibbles!); I assumed that there was no way they'd have Aang actually kill the guy, but it thrilled me anyway.
And the ending. Zuko's speech about love and peace, and also his reunion with Mai (I was very eh on their relationship for a long time, but after "The Boiling Rock?" Yeah). Ty Lee the Kyoshi Warrior! Aang and Zuko's bond, and the future being something for them to accomplish together (OTP OTP OTP)! And most of all, the whole gang, at Iroh's tea shop. Best friends, all of them. ♥ (Katara and Aang were sweet also--I awww'd--though there was also the "you're twelve!", because I'm a bit of a hypocrite.)
From group hugs at the beginning to quibbling over tea at the end . . . they all love each other so much. That's just awesome.
I could ship . . . lots of people, but. Really, more than anything, I want so much epic genfic for this fandom. (World rebuilding! Ursa-finding! And, what happens to the Air Nomads? Surely Aang can't stay the last airbender--balance is being restored, we can't have one element missing! Also, that whole society can't have been made of monks, right?)
It's a shame that Avatar fandom scares me so much. /o\ (Oh the 'shippery rage on deviantART. Tsk.)
I love my show. ♥ Maybe at some point I'll talk about it as a whole, a bit more coherently. (Probably not, given my track record? We'll see.)
I had quibbles about a few things. I guess that I'd hoped for more intrigued from the Order of the White Lotus, although they were still seriously badass. (You have to love a show with a bunch of badass old people; shame there weren't any old ladies included, that I saw.) Also, while I really loved Aang's defeat of Ozai, I would have preferred if the possibility/method hadn't been revealed so abruptly. And lastly, the same gripe that I've always had: Ozai is just not my villainous cup of tea. He's too one-sided to really interest me; it was satisfying to see him defeated, but still.
But. Really, these are quibbles, yes? Show me a series finale that literally could not be any better, I dare you. I can't think of one. Mostly, I wanted to get those out of the way so that I could squee with impunity.
Because seriously, so much squee.
Where to start? Aang's unshakeable reluctance about violence made me happy throughout . . . as did Zuko's attempts to shake him. I love those two so much, their dynamic, their dichotomy (yeah, you can probably see where my mind is going, there).
Toph wanting a lifechanging field trip with Zuko was also generally hilarious. (I love Toph, the way she breaks patterns set by the other characters and deadpans the melodrama and is generally completely badass. She could use a little more focus of her own, maybe . . . if only there were ficcers doing that! *cough*)
Zuko's reunion with Iroh nearly made me cry, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. OMG. ;_;
Azula's crazy was . . . pretty much the only way they could have gone with that character, I think? She was another unsatisfyingly two-dimensional villain, for me (for all that it was sometimes fun just to watch her go, and I loved her sidekicks to pieces). Her best moments have always been when her veneer cracks (hilariously, in the first episode on Ember Island; less comically here). Would be really interested to see more of her as well, in conjunction with the open mystery about Ursa . . . this show did leave itself some serious openings for continuation, didn't it?
I loved the way the girls totally saved the day, as usual. Katara's besting of Azula was great (as was Zuko's sacrificing himself to save her; crazy as their 'shippers are, those two have an interesting dynamic, yet another thing I'd love to see explored . . . if not necessarily in a romantic sense). And Suki saving her boyfriend yet again! Sokka acquitted himself admirably as well, of course--huzzah for "sword" and "fan," it's always nice to see the "normals" kick some ass--and the bit where he was holding onto Toph's hand as she dangled was almost heartwrenching. (I kept expecting someone to die. Maybe this is the Joss/Batman effect? I can't say I'm sorry that it never happened. Everybody lives! ♥)
Aang's method for defeating Ozai was pretty perfect (the execution could have been improved--I'd have liked to see a bit of why he had to struggle not to be "contaminated"--but quibbles!); I assumed that there was no way they'd have Aang actually kill the guy, but it thrilled me anyway.
And the ending. Zuko's speech about love and peace, and also his reunion with Mai (I was very eh on their relationship for a long time, but after "The Boiling Rock?" Yeah). Ty Lee the Kyoshi Warrior! Aang and Zuko's bond, and the future being something for them to accomplish together (OTP OTP OTP)! And most of all, the whole gang, at Iroh's tea shop. Best friends, all of them. ♥ (Katara and Aang were sweet also--I awww'd--though there was also the "you're twelve!", because I'm a bit of a hypocrite.)
From group hugs at the beginning to quibbling over tea at the end . . . they all love each other so much. That's just awesome.
I could ship . . . lots of people, but. Really, more than anything, I want so much epic genfic for this fandom. (World rebuilding! Ursa-finding! And, what happens to the Air Nomads? Surely Aang can't stay the last airbender--balance is being restored, we can't have one element missing! Also, that whole society can't have been made of monks, right?)
It's a shame that Avatar fandom scares me so much. /o\ (Oh the 'shippery rage on deviantART. Tsk.)
I love my show. ♥ Maybe at some point I'll talk about it as a whole, a bit more coherently. (Probably not, given my track record? We'll see.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-21 03:13 pm (UTC)I'm not really in the fandom either, mostly because it seems to be so overwhelmingly badficcy. /o\ However, I think that it's immensely ficcable, and would be really excited to read anything good, so. *crosses fingers*
I can't believe it's over, really! But I can't be too upset either, considering how good it was right up until the end. ♥