I'd just like to say I feel like smashing my computer onto the asphalt of my street right now because I had written a VERY long post and for some reason the piece of crud went back a page when I tried to type and my enire post was deleted. And no, I didn't press the backspace. So, anyway. this is a shorter, immensely INFERIOR version of my original post. I hate my computer. Moving on;

This isn't about revenge, but the tone of the series. I have no feelings about getting even, my focus is on continuity in the themes of the show. Think about the effects of the war we've seen in the past 3 seasons.

The genocides, decimations, and wiping out of the air nomads and the southern waterbenders, the seizing of control over villages and suppressing populations into submission, imprisoning all potential threats, the many prisons holding war prisoners, traitors to Ozai, or those who's crime was only that they bent an element other then fire, vigilantes who've had their families and lives taken away by the fire nation and are thus hell bent on spending the rest of their lives dealing vengeful retribution against anyone of the fire nation, the third-reich-esque regime and the air of domination and superiority existing among the military, and the similar attitude among the civillians who cheer on this domination of other nations, and the propaganda machine that shapes public schools into factories of future soldiers and lovers of war, the families separated by the war for years, the outcast status of anyone fire nation who sees the madness of the war, the mass migrations of refugees who've had everything but their hope destroyed, and often that hope destroyed as well, the refugees who find shelter in the former homes of those even less lucky; the exterminated, the seiges, the destruction, the scarred memories that will be around forever, the desperation of the defending militaries who are so used to war, the towns that were once Earth Kingdom years or decades ago, but are now Fire Nation, the assassins and the terrorists, those violent ambitions that have worked for years or decades to achieve what they need only for their missions to have been a waste in a day's time and in that time they're expected to forget it, the cities that have been driven to conspiracy, brainwashing, treason and corruption to hide the scars of the war, the destruction of cities simply by the presence of Fire Nation cities and factories and the Fire Nation soldiers who have been used to these rights of superiority all their lives, the people who've had family members killed by the fire nation and their murderous vendettas against the guilty party . . . a war of this magnitude is no less then a climate to be adapted to, an atmosphere that fills the day to day life, the tone of a story. Over many episodes over the whole of the series, many dark themes have been discussed. I always felt that, in a kid-friendly way, the show revealed almost all the faces of war with refreshingly realistic darkness.

The dark themes present in almost the entire show previously was not present in the defeat of the fire lord OR the aftermath. Instead, Aang refuses to sacrifice his spiritual well-being to defeat the fire lord and instead we get a light-hearted light show of magic and fantasy that seems totally out of the blue like the writers just jotted something down on the script at the last minute because they couldn't think of anything more clever. Ozai's fate did not seem to fit with the more realistic themes of the rest of the series, IMO. And following that it seemed like all the problems were automatically solved. After 100 years of war . . . peace in a single day? After 3 generations of dedication and ambition to an epic cause . . . it's forgotten in a matter of hours? Friendship and carefree, perky feelings came far too quickly, creating what came off to me as a cheesy happily ever after.

In the original post I went into a lot of detail about the lingering effects of the war. Many who had adapted to a life in a war climate would be ill-adapted to peacetime and would attempt to continue the war as they'd been doing all their lives, lest a massive chunk of their lives be wasted and amount to nothing. There'd be loyalists, terrorists, assassins, etc. What of the Zhaos of the Fire Nation Military? What of the Hamas and Jets of the world? The aftermath of a war I see as not one of celebration but one resembling the aftermath of a natural disaster; people trying to find loved ones (and what of war prisoners released from prison with no family or home existing any longer to return to?), healing wounds, etc.

War is a climate, and the finale's last 8 minutes seemed way to drastic a climate change to adapt to.

Your thoughts?

A number of people are saying that imprisonment was a worse fate for Ozai then death. I don't dispute that but it is irrelavent. Do you believe taking away his beinding was actually a darker ending then death? Seriously? I don't think so. And the idea that simply because his bending was gone, so was all his political power, was a little too simple for me. Plus, Aang's bending-removing power seemed completely out of the blue, like it was fresh out of the writers ass. A few people say they predicted it. I'm curious; how?

Although, I admit he didn't NEED to die (or even if he did, Aang didn't need to kill him. If he braught about his own death somehow that'd be great as well). If he had been rendered insane as Azula had but beyond the mental capability of ruling the fire nation, or if he had taken such brain damage that he was rendered a vegetable, or any number of other endings that didn't sould like some on-the-spot new superpower the writers made up because they'd written themselves into a corner with the end of TSR.

Now that I think about it, I agree with another poster that Azula may have been the greater villain. She was, and the fire nation considered her, heir to the throne. Why would her nation turn her back on her like that just because Katara had chained her up? I felt it was too simple, too easy. I would've preferred to see more of the reactions of the FN government, military and civillians and why they made the decision to simply forget about the leaders they had claimed loyalty in favor of those whom they were taught to see as enemies of the state?

One person said something along the lines of "After 100 years of war, weren't they all just want peace?". Well, here's the thing. In ThE Seige of the North,, how do you think Zhao would've reacted if he'd suddenly recieved news that the war was over, just as he was riding a rhino through the northern water tribe? Would he have said, "Well, I'm glad all that needless violence is over and we can live happily now" and gone home? How would Jet and Hama have reacted had the end of the war abruptly been announced just as they were about to blow up the damn/imprisoning a new batch of FN civillians into a cave. Would they have said, "Well I'm glad we can finally all just hold hands and no longer have to fight each other."? How would the Warden of the Boiling Rock felt upon recieving a messenger hawk saying that almost every single person in the prison was no longer considered a criminal and was to be immediately released? Granted, I can see him complying but I doubt he'd be feeling, "Oh goody, now I don't have to control all these poor people and keep them locked up and away from their families!" Upon the announcement of the end of the war, do you think that little kid in Zuko Alone would say, "Yay, now the fire nation's good and we can hold hands and I no longer hate them!"? How would the audience members in Ember Island Players who cheered on the deaths of Aang and Zuko and the victory of the fire lord percieved it if as they walked out of the theater they learned that Zuko had just taken down Azula and taken the throne and the fire lord was just defeated by the Avatar. Do you really think it'd be happiness and relief after that standing ovation they gave to a vision of just those character's demises and of the victory of Ozai and Azula? How do you think Mai's parents and the civillians of Omashu, and the civillians of any other town (the one from Jet, Imprisoned, even maybe the village from Puppet Master) would've reacted to hear they were being removed from their new homes, the governers removed from power and the civillians having to be re-located back to the Fire Nation because their homes and cities are declared Earth Kingdom once more? How would old Iroh (the Iroh we saw in that letter home in Zuko Alone, not the Iroh that became when his son died), would've felt if, after the 600th day of the seige he was informed his troops had been fighting for nothing for the past 600 days and they were to retreat? Now, I'm sure Iroh wouldn't have rebelled but I doubt he'd feel nothing but relief and joy. Heck, how do you think Iroh would've felt when his son died if a messenger hawk came with a note saying the war was declared officially over just hours or a day before his son died, realizing he did die for absolutely nothing. Heck imagine all the people that recieve news of the death of loved ones and the end of the war on the same die; sure there'd be relief but there'd also be the realization that they died for nothing. The dust clearing after 100 years of turbulance; I foresee shock and confusion amidst any relief. I see people who revolved their entire lives around something only to realize it was all for nothing. I see people unable to adapt from war mode to one of peace. I just don't see the end of a war as being nothing else but celebration and relief and cookies and cream.