Toph and Katara - I am nearly always the girl being reluctantly dragged along to participate in beauty culture and grudgingly enjoying it, so I really enjoy this one.
I love how it's not portrayed as a necessary makeover for Toph, and how Katara's not deemed shallow for proposing and enjoying it. It's just a chance for Toph to try something new and different. And then dump some mean girls in a shallow creek.
Iroh - what I truly love about this story is the way it demonstrates Iroh's need to nurture things and people. And the glimpse we get of his grief for Lu Ten. It always seems sad that he doesn't take Zuko with him on this journey. And I wonder how much of his retirement plans secretly revolve around being close to the place where his son died.
Aang - this is a very slight story, but I love the way Aang is good to animals (which is different from being good with animals!), and the evidence that, without Sokka, his planning skills are on a par with Zuko's.
Also, we learn they Dai Li are so evil they DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE. Which is to say, it's interesting that, in addition to being the secret police, their role as cultural guardians seems to extend to managing public facilities. If Ba Sing Se has a library, it's probably run by the Dai Li, although I bet they're even worse librarians than Wan Shi Tong.
Sokka - is at his happiest when he's entertaining giggling girls. I love this one.
It's interesting that we see throughout this episode that the Gaang are spending time apart and doing their own thing in Ba Sing Se.
Zuko - is Sokka's polar opposite when it comes to girls. He is so hilariously awkward and ungracious with Jin, and their kiss is not what you would call the stuff of legends. On the other hand, he firebends for her (which is a moment I love for the way he prepares for it, reclaiming his competence in a skill he's had to repress, and also being a normal teenager and doing something stupid and dangerous to impress a girl), and gives her a coupon. I really wish we had seen more of him and Jin.
Also, first time I saw this, I wondered why Jin didn't immediately realise he was a firebender. Then I remembered - there's no war in Ba Sing Se.
Momo - I suspect I'm a bad person, but Momo's story makes me sadder than Iroh's. I think because Momo is like a child, and can't fully comprehend things. And also, the first time I watched this, I was so very afraid something bad would happen to Momo or the cats.
I really love this episode, because it offers alternate glimpses in characters that we think have already been established. I love seeing alternate sides, as well as seeing deeper into the sides that we already know and love.
To this day, though, I can't watch Momo's. It's way way way too sad for me. I usually just skip to the next episode once his story starts. It just hurts too much to watch. I'm the same way with Appa's Last Days.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-08-14 12:44 am (UTC)Toph and Katara - I am nearly always the girl being reluctantly dragged along to participate in beauty culture and grudgingly enjoying it, so I really enjoy this one.
I love how it's not portrayed as a necessary makeover for Toph, and how Katara's not deemed shallow for proposing and enjoying it. It's just a chance for Toph to try something new and different. And then dump some mean girls in a shallow creek.
Iroh - what I truly love about this story is the way it demonstrates Iroh's need to nurture things and people. And the glimpse we get of his grief for Lu Ten. It always seems sad that he doesn't take Zuko with him on this journey. And I wonder how much of his retirement plans secretly revolve around being close to the place where his son died.
Aang - this is a very slight story, but I love the way Aang is good to animals (which is different from being good with animals!), and the evidence that, without Sokka, his planning skills are on a par with Zuko's.
Also, we learn they Dai Li are so evil they DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE. Which is to say, it's interesting that, in addition to being the secret police, their role as cultural guardians seems to extend to managing public facilities. If Ba Sing Se has a library, it's probably run by the Dai Li, although I bet they're even worse librarians than Wan Shi Tong.
Sokka - is at his happiest when he's entertaining giggling girls. I love this one.
It's interesting that we see throughout this episode that the Gaang are spending time apart and doing their own thing in Ba Sing Se.
Zuko - is Sokka's polar opposite when it comes to girls. He is so hilariously awkward and ungracious with Jin, and their kiss is not what you would call the stuff of legends. On the other hand, he firebends for her (which is a moment I love for the way he prepares for it, reclaiming his competence in a skill he's had to repress, and also being a normal teenager and doing something stupid and dangerous to impress a girl), and gives her a coupon. I really wish we had seen more of him and Jin.
Also, first time I saw this, I wondered why Jin didn't immediately realise he was a firebender. Then I remembered - there's no war in Ba Sing Se.
Momo - I suspect I'm a bad person, but Momo's story makes me sadder than Iroh's. I think because Momo is like a child, and can't fully comprehend things. And also, the first time I watched this, I was so very afraid something bad would happen to Momo or the cats.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-14 07:28 pm (UTC)To this day, though, I can't watch Momo's. It's way way way too sad for me. I usually just skip to the next episode once his story starts. It just hurts too much to watch. I'm the same way with Appa's Last Days.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-14 09:19 pm (UTC)