2x11 The Desert

[7.8/10] I keep comparing Avatar to three series: Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s not hard to see why. They’re all “Chosen One” narratives that deal with world-building, and the burden on the chosen, and the complexity of rising to your potential and the friends who help you achieve it. They’ve borrowed and even referenced one another along the way, and it makes sense that A:TLA, a series very much in the same tradition, would feel of a piece.

So when Aang loses Appa, and is not only upset about it, but angry, it’s scary, because it reminds us (or least me) of Anakin Skywalker’s reaction to losing someone he cared about in a desert setting. There is a similar frightening quality when the chosen one, the individual imbued with all this power, turns that power into an instrument of vengeance, rather than a tool for justice. His angry demeanor, is worrying enough, but when he starts taking out bees and destroying sand sailboats and threatening human beings, it starts to get serious.

And when Iroh uses his lotus tile and board game to show his allegiance to a secret club, one that can get him and Zuko safely away from the attackers sent by Toph’s dad, it calls to mind the way that Dumbledore always seemed one step ahead, to have unseen connections and angles on everything that opened doors and showed hidden secrets around every turn. There is a sense of hidden depths to Iroh, that beneath his arthritic gait and off-kilter sense of humor, there is a man of great power and wisdom.

Of course, these properties also gave into goofy side stories that didn’t always work as well, and that definitely fits with Sokka tripping on cactus juice. It’s mildly amusing at first, but the gag goes on way too long, and wears out its welcome. Though it does, at least include Sokka’s amusing response to Katara’s admonition that he shouldn’t just lick things on a cave wall when he says that he has an inquisitive personality.

And to that end, this is really Katara’s episode. One of the great things that all three of those properties would do is give the spotlight to the non-chosen characters from time to time, and show both how much they contributed to the chosen one and their journey, but also how capable they were in their own right. Katara does an amazing job at holding everyone together here. Aang is as upset as we’ve seen him; Sokka is high; Toph is out of her element, and only Katara is there trying to get them to safety and willing everyone to keep going.

That, however, is not her biggest win here. That comes in the moment where Aang’s fury is at its peak. It is, again, a frightening moment, when he confronts the people who stole and sold Appa, and begins to enter the Avatar state. It’s been clear for some time that it’s threats to the people he loves that stoke the Avatar state within him, that the possibility of losing a loved one, like the Monk whom he saw as a father figures, unmoors the power within him.

Thankfully, he has Katara to anchor him once more. Without going into specifics, one of the strongest moments in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured one character going mad with power after harm befalls a loved one, and another, a friend who did not possess the same awesome power, standing up and bringing them back from the brink. That sort of moment is just as powerful here. When Aang begins to enter the state, and Katara stops him, embraces him, and eases him out of it, it is an incredible testament to the depth of their relationship, and the fact that she doesn’t run is a testament to her strength.

That alone raises the grade for this one. The earth kingdom lord from the beginning of this season demonstrated that Katara is enough to provoke the Avatar state in Aang, but here, as in those other epic chosen one stories, that loved one is also enough to face that power and bring back the individual who wields it.

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.