| LondonParisNYC wrote: |
| Axrendale wrote: | | Oh can it already. All we seem to hear from you people is how unsatisfying and cliche the ending was. Yes, its true. Epic legends have endings that are considered "cliche". It happened in Avatar. They did it in Star Wars. The ending of the Lord of the Rings was saturated in it. Harry Potter was not immune either. You would be hard pressed indeed to find a story written in the style that Avatar is written in that doesn't have such an ending. Even the ones that don't end with the heroes happy and celebrating their victory make sure to paint some happy vision for the future. The fact is that Avatar (along with all the stories mentioned above) adheres strictly to the "Hero's Journey" storyline outlined by Joseph Campbell in his book; "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". A major part of the storyline consists of the requirement of a happy ending for the hero. The simple fact is that the two choices we have here for an ending are closure for Zuko's tale, and closure for Aang's tale. And as much as some of the more die-hard Zuko fans out their might insist to the contrary, when all is said and done, Aang is the main charcter that the story revolves around. If there was any doubt about this left when we reached the finale, Zuko confirmed it with his line "The real hero is the Avatar". So when forced to make a choice between wrapping up Aang's major side-story (his love for Katara) or Zuko's (his mother), the writers chose Aang. Live with it. Now I want you to answer me this: In what way was the ending bad writing? Excluding the fact that Ursa's whereabouts were not confirmed, what on earth can possibly justify your statement that the teashop scene was "BAD, BAD, WRITING"? Before you say, there was plenty of evidence that Katara had feelings for Aang. You would have to be blind not to miss the evidence in "The Fortuneteller", "The Avatar State", "The Cave of Two Lovers", "The Desert", "The Serpent's Pass", "The Earth King", "The Crossroads of Destiny", "The Awakening", "The Headband", and DOBS part 1 (subtle but definite). Pretty much the only thing people have got left to throw at it is the scene in EIP. As to that, I would like to point out that Katara never denied having feelings for Aang, quite the opposite, she simply said that it wasn't the right time. Apparently she decided that once the war was over and there troubles with it, the time was right. Actually, if the writers had chosen to leave out the Kataang scene in favor of an Ursa/Zuko reunion scene, that would have been a true example of bad writing, dumping a romance side-plot that has been developed since the series first began. Don't get me wrong; I would love to have found out where Ursa is. But I fail to see where you are coming from when you say that her reunion with Zuko would have been any more meaningful than the kataang kiss. In many ways I think that the cliffhanger was actually beneficial to the series, providing people with an unanswered question, something that could continue to intrigue them, fan the spark of their love for Avatar to keep the flame alive. Personally, I believe that the unanswered question of where Ursa is is tied to the unanswered question of whether or not Azula will be able to heal from her madness. I know that you've seen my thread about that, so I won't start going on about it, but I would like to point out that between "The Beach" and the finale, the writers have paid just as much, if not more attention to Azula's relationship with her mother as Zuko's. With Azula headed at least temporarily for a secure mental facility, the writers, possibly thinking she should have an influence on that storyline, may have decided to delay it. I'll end here to prevent people from complaining that I've done another post that's too long. But I will say this. I have seen nothing in any of the complaints put forth by the complainers that suggest anything other than the fact that they did not like the ending. Well tough. From what I have seen so far, far more people liked the ending than did people who disliked it. You are entitled to your opinion and your right to give it to us, but do please stop harping on about how you didn't like it because you though it was too "sugary sweet". |
wow long post lol. Uhm ok. Well lord, I've argued this many a time. Yes I get the hero basis, it's a good point, every story follows one of 8 topic outlines. I can't recall what they are right now, because my brain is fried because its 2:30 in the a.m. And I've come to accept the whole kiss thing, I don't have a problem with that, it made most everyone happy, it was cute, watev. (obvi zutara shipper, this has nothing to do with that though) OHHH AND THIS ALSO HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH URSA! I HONESLTY COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THAT. You seem to intensly dislike my "bad bad writing" comment. I say that because, to me avatar was better than that ending. It was a very complex show, alot of intricate, intertwining plotlines, and to me, they took the easy way out. I am a writer, but i'm also only 16 so alot people are quick to ask me "what the hell do you know about good writing." I'd like to think I know a few things. I do know while a happy go-lucky renion will make everyone happy, it's also empty. It's dry, predictable writing, The ending didn't resolve anything. Everyone was friends, but what about the aftershock of a centuary long war. I'm sure that kind of post-war world doesn't disapate in a few months. they acknowled "ohhh we're gonna have some work to do" then went on the drinking there tea and laughing over the good times. I guess I felt as if the cut this seriers off by the throat too soon. The plot was cut short, and It was prematurly ended. So there you go. |
I disagree with you 100%.
I'm 16 too, and when I'm not being an amateur historian I also like to think of myself as something of a writer, not to mention an incredibly avid reader of all different genres, so I guess that point is a stalemate.
Your main problem with the ending seems to be that you think it was "cut off", "dry, predictable", etc. You neglect the fact that the series has been leading to such an ending for some time now. All the complex plot points plot points were resolved, because that's what the finale was about; not starting new plot points, ending the old ones in a manner consistent with what we had previously seen. We all saw what direction they were heading; we could predict what was going to happen. Sudden twists that changed everything might have worked great for the season two finale, but for the final one ran the risk of distorting the plot and ruining the show.
It has been brought up many times; we have no idea how much time passed between the coronation and the teas-shop scene. We didn't see the post war reconstruction effort because quite frankly that's not interesting. We know that it's happening, ha we want to see is something to let us know that people are recovering emotionally as well as physically; children have come back out to play in the streets, which are once again safe, and most importantly, we see the heroes taking a long deserved break.
I repeat: For three seasons now we have watched the heroes as they struggled with their destinies. Now they have achieved everything they set out to do; the world is at peace, people are steadily working to put the world back together, the natural balance is reasserting itself. far from being dry and empty, the happy scene at the end is a confirmation, letting us know that the world is leaning towards right now, that good has triumphed and we can cheer for, a moment of sheer joy that we can revel in.
In the final analysis perhaps Avatar's greatest accomplishment was the creation of genuine, real characters whom we can fall in love with and wish the best for. We want them to be happy, because we have cheered them on and seeing their triumph in some way connects with us at a deeper level to become our own triumph.
That is what most people have seen in the finale (or at least I have), and even though you obviously do not appreciate it in the same light, at least know that for many of us what you saw as empty space was not empty at all.
Endings and goodbyes are usually times of emotion rather than rational thought, and this was even more so. It's masterpiece was to fill those who truly appreciated it with overpowering, true emotion. The people who had such an experience did indeed recognize the finale for what it was; a happy ending, not just for the characters, but for the viewers too.
That is as close as I can come to an approximation of how I felt watching the finale anyway. No doubt everyone who watched it recieved a different impression. But any ending that can inspire such strong feelings in not just a few fans but many is anything but "dry and empty".
Edited on 07/30/2008 7:35am
