Nickelodeon (ended 2008)
| -TheSecondSign- wrote: |
I have to say I gotta give props to Azula for her ability to manipulate people. |
She can also molest Song in less than a minutes!
(Sorry.. Crack RPing. XD)
Yeah, Azula is probably a little too smart for a fourteen-year-old.
| DeeDuck33 wrote: |
| You can never really hate a character on the show. Everyone has this trait that attracts you. You may not like the overall personality but someone's determination or trustworthiness is what keeps you from completely hating them. Notice how in almost every other television show, there is that one guy that is potrayed as the definiton of evil and it never goes any deeper than that. In Avatar, not one person is all good, no one is all bad (even Ozai has a likeable trait -- cunning; and I don't actually hate Haru, I'm just annoyed with his presence). I don't think any one person is the carnate of evil... they're choices just so happen to hurt others. There is no one line between good and evil, in Avatar, it all depends on perspective. Ozai probably thinks he is doing the right thing. I doubt he does what he does solely for kicks (though he probably does enjoy torturing people). Sure, there are viewers who run around saying such and such should die, but they only look at the show at face value. |
| MaddoKos wrote: | ||||||
And notice in "The Awakening" when Aang tried to go it alone he failed miserably. While we're on the subject of Combustion Man there's something I've been wanting to get off my chest: I think CM is based in part on the Hindu god Shiva. There's one myth about Shiva where he blows up Kama, the god of desire, with a heat ray from his third eye. If CM is Shiva then perhaps the close knit comradeship of the Gaang represents Kama (and I mean that in the least pervy way possible). Also Shiva is the god of asceticism, and CM is very ascetic in a way - always by himself, never speaking, etc. I doubt the writers meant to draw a direct parallel, but did draw inspiration from Shiva. |
Okay, to add what I said before (and to bump this thread) I noticed something today that clinches the Combustion Man/Shiva connection (in fact, I can't believe I didn't notice it before).
Check out this picture of CM's third eye:
Notice the three parallel, horizontal lines that are "behind" the eye, so to speak.
These three lines are very close to Shiva's symbol. Notice the three horizontal lines on his forehead here:
This mark is also worn by Shaivite devotees:
Now, Shiva is not the only Hindu god alluded to in ATLA, in realtion to the fire nation. A fire nation duel (the type of duel in which Zuko was scarred) is called an "Agni Kai." Agni, of course, being the Hindu god of fire.
Now I find this subtle use of Hindu "imagry" (for lack of a better term) in relation to the FN very interesting when opposed to the distinctly Buddhist flavor of the Airbenders.
I better stop here. One of my majors is Religious Studies (emphasis on eastern religions) so I could geek out over this stuff all day.
| -TheSecondSign- wrote: |
| I don't know if this counts or not, but notice how in the show noone is undefeatable? That a scrawny kid with a boomerang who could plan out predictable trajectory pretty much killed a a seven foot tall man who could make explosions with his mind? I've noticed that throughout the show, that everyone could easily beat everyone else. No matter how much power you gather, you are still human. There is no level or tier. You could generate all the power you want, but a person with a bent piece of metal can kill you while he hides behind a wall. Really brings about a "David and Goliath" feel, doesn't it? Does that count at all, or was this post stupid and pointless. |
Your point is accurate. The fact is, no matter how much power one obtains without the right intelligence they are weak. You can blow things up with your mind but if you do have a battle plan then there is no possible way you can win. No one in their right mind would rush into a deadly battle despite their power. Take the season 2 finale. While the rest of the characters were scared to death of the avatar state azula planned a strategy to attack from behind. Because of her superior intelligence she was able to defeat the power of 1000 past avatars.
| tomtitan wrote: | ||
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| carlsonem wrote: | ||
Your point is accurate. The fact is, no matter how much power one obtains without the right intelligence they are weak. You can blow things up with your mind but if you do have a battle plan then there is no possible way you can win. No one in their right mind would rush into a deadly battle despite their power. Take the season 2 finale. While the rest of the characters were scared to death of the avatar state azula planned a strategy to attack from behind. Because of her superior intelligence she was able to defeat the power of 1000 past avatars. |
Also, keep in mind that CM had basically lost his cool by the third encounter. He hadn't been able to take down a bunch of kids even after two attempts (the second attempt in "The Runaway" being very well planned out) and was pretty pissed about it. Zuko offered to pay him double if he called off the hit, but for CM, it was personal by that point. That's a main reason why he got beaten: he let his emotions overule his judgement.
Like when Aang chose to chase after Katara rather than mastering the Avatar state.
That's really been the key to Azula's success thus far, I think: emotional detachment. When she lost her cool in "Boiling Rock," she suffered her first real defeat.
| MaddoKos wrote: | ||||
Also, keep in mind that CM had basically lost his cool by the third encounter. He hadn't been able to take down a bunch of kids even after two attempts (the second attempt in "The Runaway" being very well planned out) and was pretty pissed about it. Zuko offered to pay him double if he called off the hit, but for CM, it was personal by that point. That's a main reason why he got beaten: he let his emotions overule his judgement. Like when Aang chose to chase after Katara rather than mastering the Avatar state. That's really been the key to Azula's success thus far, I think: emotional detachment. When she lost her cool in "Boiling Rock," she suffered her first real defeat. |
| Alpha1Niner wrote: | ||||||
It was kind of fun to see Azula p.o.'d like that in The Boiling Rock and it also shows that she is not perfect. She has a weakness. somewhere.......??? |
| MaddoKos wrote: | ||||||||
Hells yeah. I was pointing and laughing at her through that whole scene. |
| carlsonem wrote: | ||||||||||
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She doesn't think people around her are capable of betrayal. She is so dependent on controlling them through fear, she has no way of knowing to treat people if they're not afriad of her.
Which is why she lost her cool.
She thought that Mai would take her own safety and life our of fear over Zuko's (As she was very willing to brutally murder either of them with either lightning or boiling water, whichever had to happen).
| -TheSecondSign- wrote: | ||||||||||||
She doesn't think people around her are capable of betrayal. She is so dependent on controlling them through fear, she has no way of knowing to treat people if they're not afriad of her. Which is why she lost her cool. She thought that Mai would take her own safety and life our of fear over Zuko's (As she was very willing to brutally murder either of them with either lightning or boiling water, whichever had to happen). |
| MaddoKos wrote: |
| I figure Azula's mental state will gradually unravel from here on out until she ends up losing control and burning or blowing herself up. Speaking of CM's third eye The third eye is mainly associated with clairvoyance, or "second sight." I was thinking, since CM had obviously such a highly developed third eye, it would make sense that he was at least somewhat clairvoyant. That would explain how he was able to track the Gaang so well; he psychically knew where they were or where they were going to be. In other words he had "remote viewing" capability. Also, to go back to the horizontal line marks, I wonder if it is significant that CM's marks are dark as opposed to Shiva's which are white. |
| carlsonem wrote: | ||
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