3x19 Sozin's Comet: The Old Masters (2)

[8.6/10] Now that’s more like it! While a good portion of the last episode seemed devoted to setting the table for the series’s endgame, this one feels as though it’s more interested in tying up loose ends. That, admittedly, is not necessarily any more likely to move the narrative forward than a setup episode is, but “The Old Masters” does a nice job at tying everything toward the larger struggle of fighting Ozai even as it gives us closure for another spate of familiar faces.

I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to not only see King Bumi, Master Pakku, Jeong Jeong, and Piando together, but to learn that they’re all a part of the White Lotus society. The series has been cagey about what exactly the White Lotus crew is all about, but the notion that they’re a collective of individuals who believe in philosophy over national division is a really interesting, communal notion to explore, however briefly.

And in the words of Bender of Futurama -- “Hooray! Closure!” While we don’t get much more from Piando or Jeong Jeong, it’s nice to know that they’re a part of the fight. It’s a treat to learn that Pakku found Gran Gran and he’s Sokka and Katara’s new grandfather now. (Sokka’s immediate embrace of his new “Grandpakku” is adorable.) And as welcome a presence as the amusingly deranged King Bumi is in and of itself, it’s another minor thrill to see the sequence where he used the eclipse (and his “wait for it” mantra) to single-handedly retake Omashu in all his building-flinging glory! That combined with Jun’s small but significant role in the proceedings makes this one feel like the show is taking time out to check in with some of the memorable characters whom we didn’t see in the invasion. (I’m still holding out for another visit from the singing wanderers.)

But the real import of Jun’s presence is that she leads Zuko and company to Iroh, the one man who Zuko thinks could help them defeat Ozai. I cannot gush enough about the scene where Zuko has his reunion with his uncle. For one thing, Zuko psyching himself up for the confrontation only to find his uncle fast asleep and snoring is the perfect sort of Iroh-esque anticlimax. But the ensuing scene, where Zuko is furiously apologizing and at the brink of tears, only to find his regrets met with a wordless embrace from the uncle he thought would hate him is one of the most heart-warming moments in the whole series. The unconditional love from Iroh for his nephew is one of the strongest emotional throughlines in AtLA, and that moment really resonates with all the history and emotional baggage between them.

In truth, the subsequent scenes where Iroh lays out the battle plans for the group aren’t quite as effective, partially because it still throws me a bit to hear a different voice coming out of Iroh, and partly because it feels like more table-setting. Still, there’s a lot of great stuff as Iroh lays out his plan. First, it answers another Comic Book Guy-type question about why Iroh can’t just fight Ozai, and the response is satisfying. He’s uncertain that he could beat his brother; it’s the Avatar’s destiny to defeat the Fire Lord, and Iroh toppling Ozai would only be seen by the world as an intra-family power struggle, not a change from the last hundred years. Is it a little convenient? Sure, but I do appreciate that the show takes the time out to answer these questions.

It also sets out meaningful tasks for everyone in Team Avatar. Iroh is going to fulfill the vision he had long ago about taking Ba Sing Se, realizing that it was directing him to retake it from the Fire Lord. Sokka, Suki, and Toph will go after the Fire Nation’s air fleet. And Zuko and Katara will head to the Fire Nation to fight Azula and have more slap-slap-kiss romantic tension.

That last point leads to a bit of a revelation -- that Iroh believes Zuko needs to become the new Fire Lord, because he is an idealist and a man of honor. That last point is almost the climax of Zuko’s character arc -- his constant struggle to regain his self-esteem and birthright -- one that the man he respects most believes he’s earned despite his mistakes by finding the right path on his own. Again, it’s heartening, endearing stuff within one of the very best relationships of the show.

Pretty much all of that business is segregated from Aang’s part of the episode, where he explores this mysterious island he finds himself on and communes with Avatars past, the other half of the titular “Old Masters.” I like 90% of this storyline, with the episode using some intriguing moral arguments as to why Aang should overcome his resistance to taking a life for the greater good.

That comes through in a series of interesting scenes where he asks these old spirits of former Avatars for guidance and really, reassurance, that he should not kill. Some of them play off what we already know about the former Avatars, but others add new information that add dimension to both the world and Aang’s particular predicament.

The show draws from Avatar Roku’s past, which we saw this season, quite well, with the lesson being that if Roku had been more decisive instead of yielding, he could have stopped this war before it started. When he speaks with Avatar Kyoshi, she tells him that she too engaged in great and terrible acts to stop a conqueror, and most interestingly, that she doesn’t see the difference between killing Chin herself versus allowing him to die indirectly through her actions, and tries to instill the importance of justice.

We also see two (I think?) new former Avatars. There is Kuruk, a water nation Avatar, who talks about he took a relaxed attitude toward his duties, letting problems work themselves out, until Koh the Facedealer(!) took the love of his life! It’s an interesting parable about needing to take an active part in your own destiny.

But my favorite of these visits is the one Aang shares with the Air Nation nomad Yangchen. What I love about the exchange between them is that unlike the other Avatars, she acknowledges the nobility and moral rightness of what Aang is worried about. She tells Aang that he is right, that the teachings of the monks have properly instructed him that a clean spirit means not killing, that such acts stain the soul (though the episode fudges that a bit with his various scraps against his assorted antagonists). But he has a special duty to this world, one that means he has to sacrifice his own spiritual well being because of his responsibilities. There is something tragic and meaningful in that -- the notion that you have to carry the burden of doing terrible things so that other people don’t have to. It’s an idea that I’ve always found very poignant, and the impact of it on Aang and on his inner turmoil is a powerful thing.

Still, there’s that last ten percent that makes me cock my head a bit. As I’ve said, there’s a few anime, or at least anime-inspired tropes in AtLA that never really land with me. (For instance, the characters’ faces getting big and exaggerated in comic moments always throws me off.) As with the Season 1 finale, something about Aang finding out that his island is actually a big, gigantic lion-turtle who offers him more spiritual wisdom is just a smidge too out there for me, even on a show with magic powers and spirit realms. It just scans as corny for me, and weakens the big reveal in my estimation.

It also doesn’t land as well with me because I’m fairly compelled by the arguments of the former Avatars. Again, my moral philosophy tends to be more utilitarian than Kantian, and so the notion of even peaceful Aang having to make this choice for the greater good works for me. The contrary point from the lion-turtle, that he needs to be steady in his belief even when the wisest people he knows tell him otherwise can be seen as either nobly steadfast or ignorantly stubborn. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out, so that’s something. And of course, we get a stinger with Ozai ready to launch his forces, and some interesting visuals of Aang waiting for a cryptic “him” to come.

Overall, it’s a nice entree into the series’ final pair of episodes, with some good material tying things up for characters past and present, some great character beats for Zuko and Iroh leading to the battle plan, and a nicely done exploration of Aang’s moral conundrum, even if I look a bit of askance on where that ended and where it seems to be going.