2x09 Bitter Work

[9.2/10] I've said before that I am particularly receptive to episodes of these mythos-heavy shows that get a little spiritual and philosophical about their worlds. I don't know why it appeals to me exactly, but maybe it's because it's the show doing what reviewers often do -- try to extract the deeper meaning and symbolism of the proceedings. So having Aang trained by Toph and Katara on the one hand, and Zuko trained by Iroh on the other, with lots of parallels and maxims and spiritual interludes really scratches an itch for me.
I particularly like the way that the episode compares and contrasts Aang and Zuko. Both of them are trying to learn a new skill to complete their challenges, both of them struggle with it because it calls upon them to do something unfamiliar and outside their natural skillset and mindset, and both of them connect these new skills with personal connections.

But what distinguishes them rather than unites them is the way their specific difficulties are different, even if they take the same form. Aang has proven to be preternaturally adept at each new form of bending (as you’d expect The Avatar to be) so the fact that earth-bending, which Katara explains must be air-bending’s opposite, is so unintuitive and hard for him is unusual. Zuko, on the other hand, has always struggled to learn how to use his powers, as we’ve learned from his flashbacks, so his inability to perform lightning-bending is just one more frustration on top of his usual struggles.

The reasons for their difficulties are also distinct. Aang is used to the malleable, adaptive nature of air, so the ethos of earth-bending, which requires standing your ground, facing your challenge head on, and simply out-willing it rather than finding a creative solution is unnatural and unintuitive for him. He starts to wonder if he has the mettle in him for earth-bending, if he will ever be able to call upon that instinct. Zuko, however, has a near-opposite problem, where he cannot find balance or peace or humility sufficient to learn how to bend lightning. Rather than being unable to stand his ground, Zuko feels the ground constantly shifting underneath him, and so, oddly enough, lacks the stability to control something as mercurial as lightning.

But their solutions are different. What allows Aang to break through his struggles is what always pulls him through in difficult times – his connections to his friends. The fact that Sokka’s life is at stake in the face of a charging saber-toothed moose lion (???) is enough to make Aang stand his ground. A bare rock hurtling toward him just prompts the usual ways of sidestepping for Aang (which is reductive of his past, but works for the story the episode’s telling), but one of his best friends being at risk changes the stakes and gives him the courage to stand his ground.

Zuko’s only connection is to his uncle, who offers one of those creative solutions that Aang is trying to avoid. There’s such intrigue in the notion that Iroh is interdisciplinary in his bending. Again, there’s a thematic contrast, where Aang is trying to learn to hold firm so that he can earth-bend, where Zuko is trying to learn to be balanced and use defense as offense, by learning Iroh’s lightning-channeling technique. But unlike Toph (who probably had control of the situation if things had started to get bad, though who knows) Iroh is unwilling to put his pupil at risk.

And yet, Zuko seeks it out on his own. Zuko standing on that mountain, offering angry pleas at the heavens for lightning to test him, is a heightened emotional moment, bundling up Zuko’s passion, his regrets, his insecurities, his anger, and his pain in one grand gesture. Zuko doesn’t get that lightning, merely prostrating himself against a sky that is as uncaring as his father, but something tells me he’ll have his chance before the season is over.

But even apart from the larger Aang-Zuko parallels, the episode is supremely enjoyable and compelling. For one thing, the discussions from Iroh, Toph, and Katara about the different natures of the four elements and their practitioners is fascinating. Iroh’s descriptions of the four disciplines fall a little too much into the often reductive Hogwarts House phenomenon, but still does a good job at tying the qualities of the elements themselves with the qualities of those who wield them. And the fact that he promotes the idea that understanding all four and taking things from each is important helps sand down the edges of some of the categorization. From last season’s reveal that Iroh can see into the spirit world, there’s always been hints that he’s more attuned to these things than others, and it’s nice to see that explicated a bit.

There’s also a nice contrast drawn between Toph and Katara. Rather than the pair of them butting heads, it shows the two of them as essentially parents with conflicting styles who both want the best for the kid they’re “raising.” Katara’s encouraging style, focused on positive reinforcement and motivating Aang through compliments and gentle correction have gotten him far, and Iroh’s speech implies it’s the correct technique for learning water-bending. But Toph’s hardnosed, Rocky-montage routine seems to be equally appropriate for learning earth-bending, where her subtle nods and harsh tones eventually effect the right change in Aang to make him able to move rocks.

And I haven’t even gotten to the great comic relief from Sokka being stuck in the ground! (Shades of the Robot Chicken “Giraffe in Quicksand” sketch!) First of all, the saber-toothed moose cub is the most adorable creature A:TLA has offered thus far, and Sokka’s name for it only added to that. But just seeing Sokka, in a comic mirror of Zuko, plead with the heavens for salvation, promising no more meat-eating or sarcasm in exchange, was hilarious. The comic writing for Sokka has improved by leaps and bounds, to where he is a consistent highlight and great break from the more serious side of Avatar.

Overall, this is one of the show’s best episodes so far, even as the batting average for A:TLA has much improved in its second season. The thematic parallels and distinctions between Aang and Zuko provide a nice spine for the episode, and the philosophical discussions about the various elements make for an interesting look at the spiritual side of the Avatar world. “Bitter Work,” and the show as a whole, offer the story of two young people, trying their hardest to achieve something that doesn’t come naturally, and finding very different choices and different outcomes based on who they are, and who they have helping them along.