3x04 Sokka's Master

[9.5/10] I just keep coming back to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Wars with this show, and that is definitely not a bad thing. One of my favorite episodes of Buffy is “The Zeppo,” which focuses on the member of the gang without any magical powers or special knowledge and yet who still goes headlong into all these battles.

This was basically Sokka’s “Zeppo” and it was extraordinarily well done. Admittedly, some of the theme is a little rote -- the fact that someone has an untraditional way of doing things turns out to be an asset rather than a liability -- but it’s as effective as it is trite. I love the notion that presented with all these tasks -- calligraphy, landscape painting, rock arrangement, Sokka offers typically Sokka twists like smashing his face on the parchment, adding a rainbow, and building himself a little relaxation spot.

Naturally, in his final battle with the master swordsman training him, despite using those untraditional methods, it’s clear that Sokka picked up the lessons, finding ways to be distinctive as a swordsman, recognize his surroundings, and use the environment to his advantage. It’s straightforward, but set up well. Most people seek this master’s training fully of haughtiness and pride -- Sokka comes in feeling unworthy, but in that shows that he is willing to learn but also brings his own unique flair that gives him greater potential than anyone else.

I also love that he builds his own sword out of a damn meteorite. For any Star Wars fan, including those who watched Dave Filoni’s subsequent work after AtLA, the notion of a warrior in training constructing a unique sword that reflects them is a seminal moment. This episode does that right, with the meteorite representing Sokka’s own uniqueness well.

I also enjoyed Sokka’s back and forth with his master. Maybe it’s just that I recently watched Bridge to Terabithia where the voice actor for the master (Robert Patrick) also plays a father figure who eventually sees a young man’s potential despite his idiosyncrasies, but his turn as Piando really worked for me. By the same token, it may be my appreciation for Kill Bill (and it and AtLA share a certain affection and homage to old kung fu movies) but I am a sucker for these sorts of training vignettes.

But the parts away from Sokka’s journey were just as good. I laughed my head off at the rest of Team Avatar trying to cheer Sokka up and then feeling listless and lost without him. It’s a nice way to show how much they need him despite the fact that they’re all great benders. Without his map-reading, scheduling, outside the box thinking, and even his sarcastic aside, the Aang Gang is out of sorts, and that’s a nice way to show his importance to the group.

There’s even some nice parallels in the B-plot with Iroh working out silently in his sell while deceiving the guard into believing he’s a doddering old codger. I’m not sure I buy Iroh getting buff in a couple of days, but like Sokka becoming a semi-master swordsman in 72 hours or so, the training schedule of AtLA has always been a bit compressed, and I’m willing to cut it some slack and willing suspension of disbelief on that front.

But there’s a commonality between Iroh and Sokka the episode doesn’t belabor. Both are underestimated or underestimate themselves; both have a jocular bent and unorthodox styles, and yet both posses a great deal of power, a talent and uniqueness that makes them formidable in their chosen art. The fact that Sokka gets a white lotus tile to seal the connection is the perfect button to put on the story.

Overall, this was a lovely showcase for Sokka that told a compressed but effective story about what he brings to the table, and how indispensable people like he and Iroh are -- because they do things in ways nobody else would.

It's interesting how this episode frames Sokka as a character cause despite being a non-bender, Sokka has always clearly been an essential part of Team Avatar. And yet, sometimes the obvious truth is unreadable to us, and Sokka's own feelings of insecurities feel much more real because of that. Paidao himself ends up being a great foil but also a great teacher for him because of that, less focused on what he can't do but what he CAN do. Sokka is a thinker, he's a planner, and he's unconventional - these qualities are what make him a great swordsman. His final fight with Paidao is a great one on one sword duel that's both wonderfully animated but also profound. It's a moment we really get to see Sokka as his own fighter for once and while it's easy to mock him as "the non-bender guy", he's the guy who grounds the team and the show, as seen through the rest of the cast, isn't really the same without him.

And it's also great that he's paired with Iroh here, another equally unconventional warrior who is slowly training to get out of prison. His scenes are done with little dialogue and yet say everything they need to just by his body language. It's stellar visual storytelling and continues the strength of the show in pretty much every regard.