Despite taking place in a large area, "The Desert" is a bottle episode of sorts, with the group trapped in one place for the entirety of it's runtime. And while the desert itself is a fantastic place for a more natural antagonist - the scorching sun, the lack of water, the barren waste - it's really Aang's internal struggles that are the focus here. We've never seen Aang quite like this before, and his anger isn't simply out of character for him. This is a genuine rage, losing the one connection that he has to his prior life 100 years ago, and you feel it. He goes through all five stages of grief here and it's great to see how well the writers portray anger in all of it's ugliness and yet it's necessity.
Zuko's storyline is really good too, as it does some important legwork for future events without making it too obvious. And the way certain storylines are beginning to converge is really clever as well, particularly in how Toph's pursuers interact with the rest of the world. And it still manages to get some comedy in as well, particularly with Sokka who gets some of his best lines here. The show continues to fire on all cylinders and it's only just starting.
Review by LegionWrexBlockedParent2021-01-08T05:58:12Z
Despite taking place in a large area, "The Desert" is a bottle episode of sorts, with the group trapped in one place for the entirety of it's runtime. And while the desert itself is a fantastic place for a more natural antagonist - the scorching sun, the lack of water, the barren waste - it's really Aang's internal struggles that are the focus here. We've never seen Aang quite like this before, and his anger isn't simply out of character for him. This is a genuine rage, losing the one connection that he has to his prior life 100 years ago, and you feel it. He goes through all five stages of grief here and it's great to see how well the writers portray anger in all of it's ugliness and yet it's necessity.
Zuko's storyline is really good too, as it does some important legwork for future events without making it too obvious. And the way certain storylines are beginning to converge is really clever as well, particularly in how Toph's pursuers interact with the rest of the world. And it still manages to get some comedy in as well, particularly with Sokka who gets some of his best lines here. The show continues to fire on all cylinders and it's only just starting.