Blog Talkback: "Best. Episode. Ever!" Toonzone Talks "Avatar: The Last Airbender"

There's a tradition in Asian painting that an artist would paint something and inscribe a poem on it, and then successive owners of the painting would inscribe commentary on the painting or the poem or commentary on the older commentary. This is why a lot of Chinese paintings have a lot of writing on them in different script styles or handwriting -- they're actually by different people.

So, as the editor of this blog post, consider this my commentary on the painting :).

"The Waterbending Master" - Neo Yi's observations are something that I'd never, ever have come up with on my own in a million years, but I read it all and said, "Huh. Well, of course." If nothing else, I think it's a better justification for Pakku's change of heart than I've ever seen anywhere else.

"Zuko Alone" - I let other people pick their choices before I finalized mine, since I figured if enough people picked my episodes, I could be lazy and not write anything :). Dens Maris took this one and nails everything about it that I like, except that (as I said during the process) I don't think the final shot is a cliche at all. I think "Zuko Alone" is Avatar's take on a spaghetti western, so you can't end with anything BUT the hero riding off into the sunset alone. There are formalities to be observed, as the head of the Mamma Aiutos would say.

"Tales of Ba Sing Se" - Hey! That's TOTALLY what I would have said about that episode! That guy is some kind of GENIUS or a MIND-READER or...uh....oh. Never mind :p. It was kind of hard to pick the video clip for this one, but the only other choice was Zuko's date and I didn't want to give that away. I wouldn't dare try to take any of Iroh's moments out of context.

"The Crossroads of Destiny" - I agree with everything, but man, I get the feeling that this post is something anybody who's seen the show will get but anybody who hasn't will be TOTALLY lost in. But I did lay the big spoiler warning up at the top, so if you're trying to puzzle out that entry, it's your own fault.

"Sokka's Master" - Another one I would have taken if The Huntsman hadn't selected it. One of my favorite things about it is how much genuine martial-arts combat philosophy is left throughout the whole thing. What I'll say about the duel is to watch the difference in how Sokka and Master Piandao fight. The major difference between the two is that Master Piandao isn't as obsessively focused on Sokka as much as he's taking in the entire battleground, in which Sokka is one part. He's taking much, much more into account at once (and handing out the teaching moments as he goes, which is another thing I love to pieces). He also perfectly embodies an "adapt faster than your opponent to win" philosophy. Nothing surprises him because he's expecting to be surprised and is flexible enough to roll with those surprises and reflect them back. On the flip side, I love how Sokka goes highly unorthodox to go much, much longer than he really should against someone like Piandao.

"Day of Black Sun" - It was a blast picking the video clip for this one (the only one that doesn't involve combat or a lot of action). The weird white thing at the start is a byproduct of the video conversion. I find this episode a lot more problematic (for a start, their strategy is awful), but the moments when it works are truly superlative. Plus, Azula being Azula is never a bad thing. Or it's a VERY Bad thing and that's a Good thing. You know what I mean.

"The Boiling Rock" - If "Zuko Alone" is the spaghetti western, this one is the "prison break" episode. And I do love that gondola fight. You can FEEL the impacts between Suki and Ty Lee, despite the fact that they're just drawings. I also love how well Sokka and Zuko work together to reinforce each other so smoothly. Teamwork in action. Gotta love it.
 
Meh, pretty agreeable set of choices for the show, serving as a good reminder of the true iteration of the TLA mythos and not that mutant live action production.

"Jet" and "Lake Laogai" would have been one of my picks now that i think about it.
 
What i really like about all this lists is that there are no clear overall winner.

You ask five people about their favorite episodes and you get five different answers.

Now that's quality. Lots of great episodes and even a fillers have their fans.

PS. Mine would be "Blue Spirit" (yep, no one named this one before and i like that)
 
My favorite eps are The Ember Island Players and Souzin's Comet. They are so awesome...I appreciate them even more every time I watch them on DVD. Oh I hope Nick does bring Avatar back AS AN ANIMATED SERIES and we get to find out what happened with Zuko's mom. And see how Azula and the Fire Lord ended up. There are still more tales to tell. Come on, Nick, you OWE us after letting M. Night mess up the movie!!!! :mad:
 
My favorite Avatar episodes.

*The Storm: Up until this episode premeired I knew that Avatar was a good cartoon. This was the episode that convinced me it was a great cartoon. The fact that a childrens cartoon had taken a time out to explain why the hero and...gasp...the villan behaved in the way they did was awesome.

* The Waterbending Master: I'm with Neo-Yi, this episode was in many ways better than the season finale. It had romance that wasn't to sappy, commentary on gender roles in society, and visuals that were to die for. Great stuff.

*Zuko Alone: The main protagonist don't appear in the episode and it's still gripping, compelling TV. That's a testament to how well written this show was.

*The Serpents Pass/Drill: This was Avatar firing on all cylinders. I really loved the theme of Sokka trying to protect Suki, but then letting himself be vulnerable again...and most importantly accepting that she might get hurt but he can still love her anyway. Wonderful stuff.

*The Earth King: Quite possibly my favorite action sequence in the series.

*The Day of Black Sun: Zuko telling his father off was perhaps the crowning moment of the series.

*Avatar Aang: A kids cartoon that actually ends with a definative ending? Gasp!
 
With recently getting Nicktoons (on June 8), I’ve been glued to the channel. This was the perfect month for me to get it, since they’ve been running a lot of Avatar. I have seasons 1 & 2 on DVD, but haven’t watched them in a long time. So, it’s been really great getting to see those episodes again. I just bought season 3 on DVD today (it is currently $27 on Amazon!) and also have been watching some of those episodes on Nicktoons too.

So reading through everyone’s favorite episode means more after recently seeing all those episodes. The reasons everyone points out for them being their favorite are very good, and it sure does show that this series has many great episodes.

It’s really hard for me to pick a single episode to call my absolute “Best. Episode. Ever!” Each season’s finale, are probably the best episodes in my opinion. “City of Walls and Secrets” is also a very good episode as well, with the creepy Ju Dee (both of them) and the great fight between Jet and Zuko. Lots of funny moments in that episode too, and it all went together very well.
 
Pretty good list, out of the ones that were listed by the staff, I did enjoy Dens', Ed's, Lelouch's, and Huntsman's pick. As for why, here it goes:

Zuko's Alone- love the spaghetti western style with Zuko not revealing who he was, to the focus of his childhood that lead to the events that focused on Ursa, a person that cared more for Zuko than anyone else, other than Iroh.

Tales of Ba Sing Se- I love how it focus on 6 short segments focusing the protagonists time in Ba Sing Se. I say Zuko, Iroh, and Momo were my total favorites. Sokka's was good for comedy aspect for me, I just love the free styling poetry/haiku battle, to where he won the respect of everyone... that is until he used one too many syllables, and got thrown out, by a guy wearing pink.:anime:

Crossroads of Destiny- One of my favorite season finale to Avatar, and it probably ranks high as one of my favorite season finales ever. I love how it had a touch of Empire Strikes Back to it where the heroes had to fall back after losing the battle, and the fight scenes were pretty cool.

Sokka's Master- Sokka is my favorite character in the cartoon, and having an episode centered around him was pretty cool. The only thing that damper my experience was how it came too late in the game for my enjoyment.

As for my Best. Episode. Ever.? I might have to get back to you on that one.
 
Ozai is shown in prison at the end, and according to the creators of the show, Azula's getting treatment in a mental health facility.
 
All good choices. The only one I really don't get for picking as a "favorite" is "Tales of Ba Sing Se". I think a "Best. Episode. Ever!" should represent all that the show does at its best. While it certainly has great humor and heartstring-pulling at the same time, "Tales of Ba Sing Se" lacks much of the kung-fu action, plot progression, world-building that makes Avatar so distinctive. It's a very artistic and unique episode, but that also makes it the most un-Avatar episode, in a good way.

Since this thread seems to be also for users to name their favorites, I'll give my top 5:

1. The Crossroads of Destiny. Great action, plot twists (or perhaps I should say anti-twist, as everyone was expecting the "twist" of Zuko joining the gAang), and a bone-chilling ending.

2. Sozin's Comet. The most epic thing Avatar ever did.

3. The Siege of the North. The second most epic thing Avatar ever did.

4. Zuko Alone. A textbook example of how to focus an episode on a single character's development through his actions and reflection through flashbacks.

5. The Blind Bandit. Toph's kickblubber introduction. What else must be said? (other than the word filter must be changed for words regarding Toph!)
 
All of these were pretty good choices! Although honestly I didn't like Zuko Alone that much... I understand its importance to the story, but... It's on the bottom of the episodes I like to rewatch. It's a tad bit boring, probably because I thought the family and the little boy were uninteresting... It's no where near the worst episode of Avatar for though, so..

As for me, my favorite would definitely be Crossroads of Destiny. When I first watched it on TV (when it premiered) I was just in awe. It had splendid action scenes and the end completely took me by surprise.
 
Well, obviously I don't agree :), but I think the only major element that the episode doesn't include is a big kung-fu action fight scene. Other than that, everything else you're talking about actually is there, only presented in miniature and focused on one character at a time. Momo is the obvious plot-progression story with the closing scene, but I'd argue that Zuko's story is important to the larger plot as well in the same way that "Zuko Alone" is: it's another straw in the pile of his growing dissatisfaction that will ultimately break in "Day of Black Sun."
 
I like Tales of Ba Sing Se if only because of Iroh's tale. Sometimes everything comes together just right to strike a big time emotional cord with me, and Iroh's Tale does it with the "Soldier Boy" song. Iroh's deep sense of loss is palpable, and it hurts. I'm talking Toy Story 3 ending/"Luffy...help me!"/Solty Rei ending/Up marriage montage levels here. The short clicked for me perfectly.

The rest is fine too, but that's the best part of it by far. The rest of the series never hit me the way the way that short did, although a couple of Zuko & Iroh moments are contenders.
 
Not in any paticular order but
1. The storm- this episode really set Avatar apart from other nick animated shows. Aang was given more delvopment and Zuko was shown not to be a one dimensional villian.\

2. Blind Bandit- Toph.

3. Crossroads of destiny- Action, twists, action

4. Sozin's Comet: Avatar Aang- Aang best badass moment. Along with Katara's victory over Azula.

5. The chase- Pure fun. The gaang being chased all over. Aang and Azula duel, then Zuko shows up and it's a 3 way fight. Next everyone comes together to corner Azula.
 
The Puppetmaster.

This is without a doubt one of the darkest and evilest episodes of the series, I saw it at Halloween and fell in love with it. Seriously, if all the episodes of season three could have been made to that degree of mastery... I mean, the story, the mood, the awesomeness of bloodbending! :evil:

It was my favorite episode by far.

Also, any Zuko and Iroh episodes. ;)
 
Guess I have to put my favorites now:

Sozin's Comet - Epic ending to an epic series

Tales of Ba Sing Se - Especially The Tale of Iroh. I often find myself fighting back tears at the end.

The Storm - One of the episodes that proved this show was just as much about Zuko as it was about Aang.

The Southern Raiders - If for no other reason than the bit of dialogue between Zuko and Aang at the end.

And this isn't an episode per se, but I found it very enjoyable. It's a Super Deformed Avatar short "School Time Shipping".
 
thanks, Neo Yi :anime:

well I know the 1st season is considered in some peoples eyes a love it or hate mainly for it's slower pace . I thought at least someone would have said the 1st episode, It feels like a completely different show but it was the pilot , and gave a first glimpse at the characters, and that powerful cliffhanger with zuko breathes a start for a great show, I guess the 1st episodes don't reflect who the characters and traits that they would become and be loved for later on
 
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