@andrewbloom I agree and thats a interesting observation of the temple being a physical manifestation of the old age. Since most of the fire priests had betrayed him, it was like the Avatar as cutting off a cancer on his legacy.
@juliusspeyton Thanks, Julius! It definitely feels like a clean break for the Avatar after all the trouble that went down over the last century.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-11-17T16:41:58Z
8.8/10. Maybe, just maybe, this is Avatar turning the corner. Or maybe I'm just starting get wrapped up in the awesome mythos of the show. I could be biased by Dave Filoni's involvement, but it feels like there's a lot of very positive Star Wars influence here -- the idea of a young kid with powers he doesn't understand trying to fight against an evil empire that controls the world, while attempting to recapture the powers and spirit of a lost age. I've been conditioned for that sort of thing to appeal to me, as the characters settle a bit, and I get more used to the animation style, Avatar is starting to cast its spell on me.
To the point, the opening sequence where our heroes and Prince Zuko try to run Commander Zhao's blockade is pretty much just empty action, and yet the flaming balls of fire in the sky, Appa ducking and dodging, the smoke billowing out of the back of Prince Zuko's ship, were all pretty stunning images that made for an exciting set piece. The show's started to find a balance of the cool action it's been capable of from early on and the mythos and worldbuilding that are its greatest asset.
There's also some clever writing at play once they get to crescent island. I love the notion of the once noble monks who lost hope and kowtowed the the Fire Nation, but there being one true believer who's willing to go against his brothers for the Avatar. And even the video game-esque plot obstacle of needing to open the giant door was fairly clever. The whole lamp oil plan seemed like kind of a cheat, but then using it as a fakeout to get the Fire Monks to open the door by convincing them Aang's in there and then sneaking in when they do is a very nice way to go about it. Even though the fight, including the renewed presence of Commander Zhao, is cool but a little convenient to getting Aang into the room with Roku by himself, it's a nice progression of events.
Once he gets in there and talks to Roku, things slow down a bit. There's nothing especially novel about Roku's reveals -- there's a big event coming up that will make the bad guy even stronger, it's how he got his powers immediately, and you have to get strong really fast to beat him. That's pretty standard fantasy epic stuff. But still, the comet, the Fire Lord, and the guidance of a voice from the beyond work well enough as hints toward the future, something to direct the trajectory of the series that it works. And Aang coming out as Avatar Roku and destroying the temple had a pretty epic feel in and of itself, something eventful and symbolic of the old era, the era of Roku ending, and a new era beginning.
Overall, these past two episodes have hopefully been the show finding it's groove. They've been exciting and compelling and further developed the contours of the show's world.