First, let me say that I always have questioned Nickelodeon's handling of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
However, that does NOT take away from the beauty that is Mike and Bryan's creation.
That being said, here goes.
These four concluding episodes were the best Avatar episodes ever, period end of story. The animation was beyond gorgeous (the shot of Katara and Zuko fighting back-to-back, the lion turtle's head, the fire elements and the comet, Azula's blue flamees and her facial expressions). The list goes on and on.
The music by the Track Team was the best. The quiet string solos during the Agni Kai and the chanting monks during Aang's meditations were the best music these guys have put out for the series.
The writing was also top notch from the plot all the way to the characters. This story is about the hero's journey. This story is as rich as Frodo's, Luke Skywalker's, and Neo's. Yes, Aang is the principal character but Aang has his Katara, Frodo has his Sam, and Luke has his Han. In other words, this was an ensemble peace and everyone has their due.
We get to see the humanness in everyone.
Up until now, we all assumed The Gang had an urgency to fight the Firelord. Only until Zuko talks about it do we see that the Gang made a mistake despite Roku's warning in the Winter Solstice "You must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives or even the Avatar will not be able to restore balance to the world." All of us play "what if" in our head and often change our plans when we think something won't go well.
We see the Zuko, despite his transformation, still thinks that he has something to prove to Uncle Iroh. He sobs to him in a heartfelt apology that is unnecessary in Uncle's eyes because Iroh love Zuko unconditionally. We all are afraid of disappointing those people whom we look up to even if they accept us no matter what.
Azula shows us how feeble her mind is. All it took was her perceived "miscalculation" and then her world fell apart. She was a perfectionist. And her world was turned asunder by one mistake that she perceived, perhaps unconsciously, to be the undoing of her plans. Even though she never counted on Zuko switching sides, she somehow could deal with that better than Mai and Ty Lee's treachery. Probably because she already knew Zuko hated her from childhood and Mai and Ty Lee were her buddies since they were kids. She trusted Mai and Ty Lee more than Zuko, so she expected Zuko to be her enemy from day one, but not so with Mai and Ty Lee. How many times have we been thrown into a tizzy when something happens we don't plan on: a betrayal, a breakup, or a let down that sends our world into chaos?
Aang goes on his spirit quest away from everyone, and then does something that no one expects. He shows that heroes don't do what normal people would have done, and he stands up for himself despite what his elders and past lives say. Yes, he could have rightly so done away with Ozai. But if he kills Ozai, people would live in fear of the Avatar. Should the Avatar be feared by his people? If so, he's no better than Ozai or Azula. How many times do we pride ourselves on "thinking outside the box" and doing something amazing.
The point that Mike and Bryan are making with Avatar is that the kids in the next generation do not have to do things the way they were taught by their parents. They don't have to do things traditionally. They don't have to raise 2.3 kids and drive 3.5 cars or watch 5.7 televisions. They can dream of driving electric cars, and being stay-at-home dads, and falling in love with whom they choose, and being an artist or musician or CEO or priest/pastor and be whatever they dream to be. If Aang had done what the monks wanted him to do, he probably would have been killed during the first raid Sozin did with the comet. If Zuko had done what his father wanted, he wouldn't have brought balance to the world. If Katara and Sokka had stayed at home, Aang would have died on his journey.
Mike and Bryan are showing us their world to change ours. Either we get it or we don't. We either get the beauty of it or we don't. We either get the overall beauty of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Matrix, the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, or we don't. Too many of us fail to see the forest through the trees blocking our view. Too many of us focus on the microcosm of one aspect of our own little world and fail to see the big picture.
Mike and Bryan, thank you for the past three years of entertaining and enlightening my family.
You are the next Tolkien, the next Lucas, the Buddhas of our generation.
Thank you both very much.
