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Hey hey Patrons! 

We're back with our 5th to FINAL ATLA reaction EVER!! 

And boy is a damn emotional rollercoaster! 

MORGAN WANTED DARK KATARA and hot shit did we get DARKARA!!! 

The staging, the themes, the complex feels, they saved the most emoitonally powerful Zuko class trip for last! 


Follow the password-protected link to hang!! 

https://vimeo.com/555441101

Password: ICantStopThemAllZuko


DISCLAIMER:

We basically agree near the end of the discussion that “GONE” = DEAD in regards to Katara & Sokka’s mother. We’ve never seen this show before and stayed away from wiki’s and everything to no spoil anything, it was a wild, juicy but admittedly dumb twist we decided to explore.

We just latched to some opaque language, a few spots of likely Nick-nerfed ratings issues & inconsistent art renders (a product of the time) and let our imaginations run wild, as we have time and time again on this show.

Things we’re still up in the air and we’re just having our own little mini-Mephisto moment!

Get ready for all the feels yall! And Starting with Episode 18, we will be dropping episodes on a 2 per week basis, one on Wednesday and one that following Saturday until we are finished with Sozin's Comet! 

xoxo, 

Love All Yall

Tank & The Watchers in the Bar

Files

Comments

Avi Chetri

Lol Dustin casually saying, "Crispy" in reference of Katara's mother's death is so dark.

John Cedar

While the "revenge is wrong" message is played to death in a lot of media, it's done very well here. Katara didn't forgive him, because some people truly will never deserve forgiveness. But she recognized that if she took someone's life, she would irreparably change (or damage) herself. She got closure, which is the most you can ask for in a situation like this. And while it was still G-rated Nickelodeon and they had to hold a lot of stuff back, they handled it with a lot of maturity. (I'm guessing they were only allowed to use the word "kill" once, which I've only heard a handful of times in this show...maybe just getting that approved was pushing it.)

Jam

Gone is kids show terminology for dead. Her life was gone basically.

Chelle

“I am about to celebrate becoming an ONLY CHILD!!!” Azula unhinged counter: 1 Also, did you notice how Azula stopped firebending with two fingers like she used to, and is instead using fists? I think it’s a good representation of how her emotional balance has been thrown off, and now she’s beginning to lose the calm disposition she once had that made her so formidable.

Jazz41173

Yeah, the different ways they referred to what happened to Kaya (their Mom) and the fact that it was Nickelodeon. It led to a lot of debate. But she is dead.

Chelle

Right, which confirms that Katara saw her mother’s body. That’s something that probably causes her to feel much differently about the whole thing compared to Sokka, as well as the fact that her existence was basically the reason their mother got killed in the first place.

Anonymous

Kataras mom is definitely dead. Saying shes "gone" is nickelodeon speak for dead. Since season 1, the writers have made the death of her mother a fundamental part of Kataras character. I dont think they'd undo that on the eve of the finale.

Michelle

also since i know you guys are recording those korras now, how far along are you into that series so far?

Mads Peter Hansen

With Sean's whole, this feels very side questy thing, which i get, i'm really interested in what they think of the next episode, that's basically a recap/filler episode.

Anonymous

The scene where Aang and Sokka are trying to convince Zuko and Katara not to get revenge is one of the my favorite pieces of dialogue in the entire series

Isis Peoples

Sean That Ba Sin Se Arc spoils tf outa you. The constant story thread, cliffhanger after cliffhanger, the start to finish arc! This is why for me, Season 2 is my favorite season. Whereas Season 3 is still AMAZING!!!! But for very different reasons. The animation and score got total upgrades. They said hold my tea on these fight scenes. Give it up one time for character development! (i could go on and on) However S3, like S1, is more episodic. So its technically in the Avatar norm. It's just jarring after that Ba Sin Se Arc. That arc is untouched!

David Proby

Sokka making a Lei was an allegory for him getting laid the night before with Suki 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂

Tall Geeky & Cool

Also, at the time of this recording, Sean and company don't know that Aang's plan regarding Ozai has changed and why. Of course, the audience doesn't know yet either so the idea that this is side-questy still fits.

Adam Vialpando

I know the whole "Is she alive?" thing shouldn't bug me, but it does. This is one of those times where I notice adults watching for the first time tend to overthink things. She is dead. They have stated she is dead since Book 1. Not missing, dead. In Katara's flashback it cuts to white right when the tent flap is opened. As a kid I knew that this meant "There's a body here but we can't show it on Nickelodeon" because that was a fairly common thing in shows and movies for kids. And when she said her mom was gone I knew it meant dead obviously. So many shows nowadays kind of make it so that if it isn't explicitly spelled out then people don't buy it. This tends to make people not notice implicit storytelling, stuff that doesn't need to be said because it is supposed to be easy to grasp.

selina

loool why are you guys so bloodthirsty 😂😂 Even as a kid I thought it was obvious they killed her! we don't need the charred body, Jesus. Disturbing enough to think katara had to see that. which, speaking of disturbing, I love that when katara bloodbends offensively for the first time, she targets the wrong person. pretty crucial and smart beat for the writers to challenge the pro-bloodbending crowd! Morgan gotta reckon with that one. but my favorite moment by far though is katara at the end-- "I'll never forgive him". totally gives this episode the complexity and lack of resolution that the topic needs I think. really appreciated that. (second fave moment is azula's hairpiece. cannot believe you guys caught that on the first watch btw.) gotta give Mae Whitman credit for her excellent voice work too. I really take for granted how much emotion I feel from katara's voice this episode. all the episodes, really. can't believe egg did that. as for Appa refusing to go underground, I feel like his aversion is even stronger after long Feng had him chained underground in ba sing se for like, weeks. :( my boy.

selina

totally agree, I think season 2 is without a doubt the strongest season in ATLA. the entire series has a really good balance between episodic and serialized, but it's a really good point that s3 is more in line with s1 in having less of an emphasis on arcs. which is exactly what we need for those seasons, ain't nothing wrong with episodic adventures. (dunno why people knock episodic when like, basically everyone's favorite atla episodes are--the blue spirit, the southern raiders, bitter work.) but s2's appa+ba sing se arc was truly just a tightly structured marvel that deserves all the trophies.

Ruma Risto

Yeah, this is perhaps the only death the creators didn't have to confirm afterwards because it was so obvious she died. One of the most tragic moments of this episode is when we realize little Katara discovered her mother's dead body. In this show "gone" definitely means dead. Sokka said "she's gone" when Yue died and Aang said he misses his friends from hundred years ago that are now "gone".

Rodrigo Borges

Weird, I can't access the vid for some reason 😕 Vimeo says they couldn't find it

Aidan Pullen

Vimeo link is broken

Geno

They know she's dead they watched the episode. Why is everyone commenting about it? Lol. Anyways great reaction.

Anonymous

what i really love about this set of episodes is how the show takes the time to establish the dynamics between zuko and each of the main gaang members as individuals. he's not just joining the group, he's forming individual relationships, which really makes his redemption/role in the group more believable. it's such smart writing!

rickie woodson

i totally forgot about this episode. i mean i know it exists and the DRAMA but i so forgot it was this season. like zuko is so not a thing for me so i forgot he went with her.........

terieaa

These Zuko field trip episodes may not necessarily make sense in terms of how much time is left in the show, but personally, I think they were meant to be building blocks for incorporating Zuko into the group in a realistic-ish manner? In the gAang's perspective, Zuko has always been the bad guy. They don't know as much as we do, obviously. So for everyone to accept Zuko right off the bat; it would feel disingenuous and convenient. The one-on-one time helps us build a bond with the characters that feel more genuine. (And of course the extra stories we get along the way are awesome)

rickie woodson

it was shitty what he said BUT he's not lying. he killed her mother so all things being equal she should kill his mom EXCEPT he doesnt love his mom so it would be doing him a kindness he is too weak to do himself

Michelle

yeah i think the same too. the guys pointed it out before but its like, in game of thrones you had a lot of characters coming together to face the white walkers, but some of those characters have done a lot of fuck up things to eachother, yet they dont even need to talk about it? thats shoddy writing imo. in here, they actually need zuko to make up for his mistakes and earn the trust of these characters before the final battle actually happens. sole exception being toph which makes sense because she really wasnt around for zuko's worst moments unlike the others.

Anonymous

I just wanted to comment on your guys take on the opening music and scenes of each episode despite seasons. IT totally feels weird it doesnt change but, actually like the show, ages well. In the grand scheme of binge watching/ rewatching the show. The opening is so good in how the music can replay at decisive moments. I would the describe the opening scenes and music as it is more like a book cover or volume comic book cover in how its the the familiar repetitiveness for the episodic/ chapter nature of storyline to follow.

LK

Thiis. Many kids' shows preach about "forgiving" but in truth, you don't have to forgive every person.

Jacob Shaw

So while I do love this episode because water bending is my favorite out of all the elements and I love revenge story lines... The one part about this episode that always bugged me is when Katara just cuts Sokka with the line that he didn't love their mother like she did. And even after that, we never really see her apologize for what she said to him. It was such a rageful moment and I felt so bad for Sokka. But at the same time whether or not it was done on purpose or they didn't have time to give him a scene, it's interesting how that moment was so real in terms of some people handle grief in real life. Some people lash out at loved ones and say hurtful things when they're heartbroken or angry. Things that you sometimes can't go back from.

Chelle

I think what Katara said probably didn’t affect Sokka the way you might expect because, well, she could have been right? After all, we saw that Katara overheard him confess that he couldn’t even remember their mother’s face. And Katara was always there for him to fill the void that their mother left behind. But of course Katara had a different experience. And Sokka was telling her to forgive, which Katara obviously could never do. She said “you didn’t love her the way I did,” not “you didn’t love her.” So I don’t think it would be hard to come back from that. I do wish we had seen her apologize for that outburst though, because there are some lines you simply shouldn’t cross. I’ll just imagine it happened offscreen

Dojee

Notice how the rain Katara bends forms a dome, it's mirroring the scene in the igloo. Only now the roles of aggressor/victim are reversed.

Jackie

I like how even though Aang was against Katara from taking revenge and tried to talk her out of it, he ultimately didn't stop her. Instead, he understood that Katara needed to face that man and trusted her to do the right thing for herself. That's very mature of him.

Jackie

The theory is that because Hama was so dangerous as a prisoner of war, they could not risk another blood bender escapee. Thus, the Southern Raiders were ordered to kill the last water bender. The reason why they were so hell bent on imprisoning/ killing the water benders was because if Aang was truly dead, then the next Avatar was to be born as a water bender. Since they could not touch the North, they could only focus their attacks on the South.

Anonymous

based on everything said, about her being gone. I get the sense that her body wasn't found. And since he wasn't taking prisoners, Katara's mother was burnt to ashes.

pollyy clunes

i love the beginning of azulas decent, doing something without a real plan honestly. i love zuko being the toxic friend, like hes joined the “good” side but hes still himself~~~ AND sokka w/hair down is Best Sokka. just sayin

Adam Vialpando

I think it really shows how deep their relationship has gotten. Zuko tried to give her what she thought she wanted. Aang gave her what he knew she needed.

Adam Vialpando

It shows that Zuko is still not 100% perfect and can still grow. It also kind of shows that any relationship beyond friendship for him and Katara would probably be really toxic.

witz

Idk I get the sense that he killed her there in the igloo, but not to the point of cremating her. Hakoda (and probably at least Katara) discovered her dead body when they returned. After all, Katara wears her necklace so they got it from her mom's body

T.wiley

The next episode is a banger, best filler ever!

frnknstndrgqn

I wanted more field trips with Zuko, I feel like with him on the team it feels more complete. I'm biased cuz he's my favorite character but yeah they coulda had whole other seasons with zuko i'd be okay with it. He also kinda had to prove himself to the gang that he was on their side. They don't know him the way the audience does. Though point taken Azula could have come at any time. Anymore avatar is good in my book :-) great reaction as always.

Mathies

they've got some time on their hands before the comet comes, and ofcourse Aang is still practicing firebending. There's no reason for the other guys to do some other stuff while they're on it.

HazePack309

1. What a great episode. I love the small ways they always emphasis Katara is a waterbending MASTER. A giant wave to wipe out an entire fleet. 2. Borat Dustin and morgan are relationship goals

Anonymous

You didn't notice Sokka holding the lei necklace in the morning!

Wesley Chapman

Sean confirms my thoughts on season 3 with this episode...too little too late. It's a great episode but we are beyond squeezing in character development at this point. As I said before...season 3 is filled with filler. Kataras arc feels so forced and her dialogue sucks..."oh you better remember" "oh you will" "well...you better not"...season 3 is saved by the finale...but some episodes were so cringe-worthy....I love Zukos reaction when he sees Katara bloodbend...he knows its a powerful yet deadly technique...overall...great episode but think about it...more like this and less Painted Lady or The Runaway...or a Ember Island Players. Just my 2cents.

1yoyoyo2

Gotta disagree. Avatar doesn’t do “filler.” Side excursions all have a purpose, even if they do not contribute to taking down the Fire Lord.

Wesley Chapman

That is more accurately to the point I was trying to make. Not filler but if this episode came after when Zuko joined the group...it might have fit better. I just have always felt that season 3 didn't kick it into high gear until the final stretch. I love this episode too...but yeah we're trying rush to the finish line now.

Isis Peoples

I really think yall will get a kick out of this https://youtu.be/XqWNTMcY1z8

Anesha Davis

Is it still a kids show HUH?

Anesha Davis

she didn’t say you didn’t love mom as much as me but love her the way she does. They clearly had a very close relationship and seem to be very similar people katana and her mom. And the fact katara stepped into her mother’s role in the family taking care of her brother and father. It probably made her feel even closer to her. Sokka has always been very close to his father and they are very similar and have a special relationship. That’s why sokka snuck off to save their father and katara tried to sneak off to get revenge for her mother who it turns out was proctecting katara by giving herself up as the water bender. Imagine if all this time katara kinda suspected that. They both love their parents very much clearly but they are different relationships.

Wesley Chapman

Who said anything about not liking katara?

Anonymous

Fun tidibit! One popular theory suggests that after Hama, the Fire Nation did not want to take chances with anymore Watertribe prisoners of war, hence with Katara's mother, they just started killing any waterbenders right then and there

dannydarko27

"Fire Nation has a cool Camaro" ☠☠