Avatar: The Last Airbender Fan Club

So about last night's episode:

I loved the cameos we got. It almost felt like fan service, but it moved the storyline along smoothly. It was good to see the original Iroh and Wan Shi Tong again! Keep this up show and I probably will go back and marathon all of the episodes from A:TLA again. I don't mind.

Jinora, nooooo! ;O;

Where last week's episode was mostly setup, tonight's really kept things moving. It's obvious Vaatu will get out, but does anyone else get the feeling he might merge with Unalaq like Raava did with Wan in "Beginnings"? It's clear we're going to have a pretty epic battle between Korra and him.

As much as I like Asami, Mako, and Bolin I didn't miss them here. I just really need their plotlines to tie into the overall spiritual one, because right now they feel unnecessary.

OMG OMG OMG AAAAAAAAAAAAH IROH IS BACK AND JUST AS I REMEMBERED HIM! HE HASNT CHANGED AT ALL OMFG! #fangirling

Well atleast Iroh's spirit had helped mold this storyline <3

AND NO JINORA! MEANIES! ;o;

The finale was absolutely stunning, as were the episodes before that. This season has been so much better than the first and it's introduced some of the best characters. :) Verick (or is it Varrick..? the wiki says it is) was hilarious and I'm still pretty stunned at his schemes but can't help but love him anyway. Who doesn't love his "Zhu Li, do the thing"?! Has to be the best thing I've ever seen in Avatar period, haha.

There were so many moments in the finale that made me want to bawl. Such a good story, yesss. Jinora played a great part and oh my gosh, Iroh! I can go on forever.

Interesting though how they're leaving the broken cycle though, I thought that would've somehow resolved in the last minute or so, but it didn't.

I can't believe it's over! I loved the fights leading up to the finale, especially between Tonraq & Unalaq. I also liked Bumi's rescue scene, the scene in the fog of lost souls and Iroh's involvement, all of Wan's story, Mako and Bolin helping out Korra, ugh just all of it. I liked Jinora's role this time, but I think her saving Korra in the end was quite sudden or unreasonable, hnng. Events were looking rather doomed, anyways.

Asami is just... tragic. They included more relationship drama and Asami loses again. She'll never have a break from her parents absent and her broken business.

What's sad is that with Vaatu destroyed, he now exists within the Avatar the same way Raava existed within Unalaq. I'm left distraught with wondering if they will ever find a way to restore the connection to the past Avatars. :( Things really may change in Book 3 now.

First off, while I absolutely loved the finale, I felt like the final fight wasn't as personal as it could have been. Korra wasn't just fighting Vaatu, she was also fighting her uncle and her father's brother. The silence between the two of them in the end only made it feel more impersonal. I felt like a lot of this could have been done a bit better if that family relation wasn't pushed back in favor of other subplots this season.

Also, I loved Jinora's role although it did feel out of nowhere.

I think the highlight of the finale and the season as a whole though was Tenzin's story. Having him come to realize that he is his own person and not a mirror of his father was done really well. The Fog of Lost Souls was utilized perfectly for this, and the inclusion of Tenzin's siblings really elevated his entire journey throughout Book 2.

Watching every past spirit of Avatars get destroyed was both mortifying and phenomenal. Every time another one disappeared, was every time it hurt even more. I'm really glad the writers didn't change this with one easy fix. It'll be interesting to see Korra discover herself later without the help of past Avatars and the link she has with the Spirit World. Part of me hopes they'll fix this bond in the future, but another part of me hopes they don't.

Two things I'm left wondering:
- Will some people have spirit partners in the next book?
- Will a new Dark Avatar be born or is Vaatu's spirit gone for another 10,000 years?

Change

Sooo, the finale was very good but bittersweet.

- Korra losing her connection with the past Avatars was a nice way of letting of the past as well as implying that fans should stop comparing LoK with TLA and view the two for what are they are individually.
- Spirits living alongside humans is going to change up things quite a bit. I like it.
- I love that Varrick did a prison break. He's a great character and I hope we see him more later.
- Wan's episodes were probably the best in the entire series.
- Asami is very unlucky.
- BUMI.

Apparently Book Three will focus on the Earth Kingdom. I bet each Book will be based on each element like TLA (Book One: learning airbending and spending time with the last airbenders, Book Two: fixing the conflict between the two Water Tribes, Book Three: Earth Kingdom, Book Four: Fire Nation and ZUKO).

As for the episodes, what struck me the most was the artwork. The atmosphere was so open and dream-like that it almost didn't seem like reality. I felt the more traditional approach to it felt both appropriate and inappropriate. I liked that it tied into the time period, but it felt off when you know what the universe normally looks like and then they present this completely different look that we're supposed to believe is in the same universe. I thought the episodes as a whole were good, but not nearly as amazing as people make them out to be (the real star episode was A New Spiritual Age).

For Wan's story, I enjoyed that the Avatar wasn't a spiritual construct, so to say, but rather that it was through Wan's determination to right his wrong that resulted in this figure to be born. From the original ATLA, we are given the impression of the Avatar being this divine and destined being, when in reality he or she is just a human when everything is stripped away (this was also an important aspect of the Book 2 finale).

I also loved how the origins of the Avatar ties into the ideas of balance. The Avatar was never meant to destroy evil, but rather contain it, since one cannot exist without the other. It's such a unique perspective from the traditional good vs. evil approach to entertainment, which says "the good guys win and we all live happily ever after." The Avatar franchise brings more complexity to its relationship and shows how intertwined these are.

So it is confirmed that Lin would have a bigger role in Book 3 and according to this, 2014 will be the last year of production so we may see Book 3 and Book 4 releases sometime faster than Book 2 did.

Also, here's a pic from Book 3



I'm hoping that Bolin would have some deep connection to the animals this time :]