It's been 11 years since this godawful episode aired on Friday May 20, 2005

It's been 11 years since this godawful episode aired on Friday May 20, 2005

I think it speaks volumes about the quality of TLA that what would be a more or less mediocre episode of another series comes across as terrible to it.

At least it showed that Aang was willing to lie in order to establish peace.

This was the first episode I ever saw. I liked it.

its a perfectly fine world building AND character building episode of a show that was going to have 3 seasons and 60 episodes

not to mention it was in fucking season 1

the worst thing was the season 3 episodes that should have been in season 1

Whats wrong OP? Did a political move that caused peace between two factions bothered you?

Or did you just wacthed the NC top 11 click bait nitpicks it would make cinemasin cringe?

Fuck you man. I actually liked this episode

I can live with a shitty premise so long as you either give it a twist or give it good excecution. This one did both. Its not my favorite (of course) but it aint the worst.

>but it aint the worst.


And the worst is... ?

I started rewatching Atla and skipped this episode today.

Yeah. The story was so-so, but it really helps to bring forth Aang's opinion on peace.

It's definitely the worst. It's still good though.

This episode is totally worth it just to see Mr. Goody Two-Shoes lie through his teeth.

I don't get what everyone had against this episode. It wasn't great but it wasn't really bad either. Just kind of forgettable.

Probably that fucking Toph episode in Book 3. That was when you realized that Bryke had run out of ideas for her.

Outside this one, what are the worst episodes of AtlA, anyway?

The Runaway?

I don't think it was anywhere near the worst. The Great Divide is LITERALLY filler. It has no impact whatsoever on any episode after it. It's THE WORST.

Avatar Day is the only truly weak episode in S2 (The Swamp could be argued is pretty bad, but I disagree)

The Painted Lady

The Headband

Let it go, user.

Funny how they all establish something about either a character, or a nation.

I agree that there are weaker episodes, but A:TLA doesn't have outright 'bad' episodes. It's almost miraculous in that regard.

AND it ended when it intended to. It wasn't cancelled mid-way or prolonged to try and cash-grab it. Well, sorta.

I kinda liked The Headband...

Maybe you'd prefer we talk about Korra?

>but A:TLA doesn't have outright 'bad' episodes.

It's just they feel bad because most of the other episodes are so fucking fantastic.

No thank you.

>The Headband

Are you kidding me

Sorry, not a fan of Avatar Footloose.

The episode did absolutely nothing for me.

Nick even gave them an extra episode to finish the story too, after they realized they'd written too much for just three episodes.

And an extra 4 seasons for them to dump the shit ideas.

I still think the episode was fine.

Aang was right, too.

It's not their fault they're worthless without Aaron Ehasz and Giancarlo Volpe.

>The Painted Lady
>The Headband
These should have been season 1 episodes, they are far too late in delivery to appear in season 3 when there is too many more important plot points going on

Korra wasn't shit, at least not complete shit.

It was a lot more inconsistent than TLA though. It's one of the few shows where I'd come back every week hoping the show would get better, and occasionally it actually did. Season 1 had a lot of cool ideas, Season 3 was actually good, and even Seasons 2 and 4 had some good episodes.

It's just that they didn't edit for shit. No one stopped to think that, hey, maybe ending this entire arc about balance and change and cycles with an unambiguously "good vs. evil" monster fight topped off with an unapologetic deus ex machina was a bad idea".

Did they just not know what to do in the beginning of S3? The second half is fine, but as you said, the first half feels a lot like S1.

I think they got fucked up with Mako dying, because we know for a fact they cut a lot of Irohs story out

I realized the same thing some yesterday and it god dam hurts. I don't even know what I did in the last eleven years.

>Korra
see

While we're looking at what AtlA did badly, is there anyone that actually liked the Aang/Katara romance? Always felt kinda superfluous.

I was never super into it, but the ending kiss always ties my chest up into a knot. It's really sweet.

I liked it, wasn't needed but it also didn't get in the way of the story. It also neatly wrapped up the show without stealing the spotlight of everything else happening in the ending.

It's fine, it just dragged on too much

They should have been "official" in season 2, then season 3 could have focused more on Aang "letting go" to become the Avatar, but instead season 3 was just more of a will they wont they?

it was cute
sometimes it was dumb
i didn't mind it most of the time

They started to show them caving to shippers.

If only we knew what was to come...

>caving to shippers
Wasn't Zutara one of the most popular non-Harry Potter pairing at the time?

Korra Book 2 is my least favorite of the franchise.

Funny thing is, it's Janet Varney's favorite, and she was a fan even before voicing Korra. She loved all the spirits and particularly Wan.

Didn't seem to cave to shippers in Atla, that was in LoK.

Yeah, but I said they were showing signs of STARTING to cave by teasing all that shit that they hadn't previously.

If they had actually gone with Zutara... I don't even know what I'd think.

This board would probably still joke to this day about how hard Aang got NTR'd.

>Funny how they all establish something about either a character, or a nation.

This.

Its epísodes like THAT that Korra actually needed.

Strange about liking book 2, though i guess it is generally acceptet that the Wan parts was pretty fun (even if it messed with lore). Have no idea how she could like the rest better than any other season.

Maybe she just has shit taste. These things happen with celebrities.

dude they started "teasing" katara and aang in the first episode, it is immediately apparent that they are endgame from the start of the show

Probably, but would like to know why anyway.

>filler is bad
its called world building and character development

There was neither in that episode.

Come on user, these two tribes were fascinating.

Waaaay better than the movie, anyway.

This was a good episode

What were their names again?

Britishname Complicated

but...it wasn't

I just wanted to let you know that you're wrong.

k

It was pretty funny and interesting. Honestly only see people here.

Cliche and boring. The two had zero chemistry together and only ended up together because Aang was the hero and Katara was the only girl to exist for an entire season.

They did make fun of it in that episode where they see a play of their adventures

>look! The Great Divide
> Eh let's keep going

>Jeong Jeong refuses to teach the Avatar how to firebend
>Says the avatar has to learn the elements in order (but doesn't REALLY explain why)
>Changes his mind when Avatar Roku threatens him in a vision (because the AS was broken beyond belief in Book 1)
>So either the rule about learning the elements in order (which again, largely unexplained) is bullshit or Roku is a fucking idiot, either way one of these two great masters are discredited
>Jeong Jeong sets Aang up with a task that is designed to fail and cause destruction, so to teach him the dangers of firebending before furthering the training
>Sets him up in an isolated spot with supervision so that nothing goes too horribly wrong (he himself is aware of this danger, after all)
>Suddenly, no longer isolated, entire gaang is there, and no supervision.
>Surprisingly, something goes horribly wrong, Katara gets hurt. Aang is scarred emotionally.
>Zuko is tricked into destroying his own fleet from the "lesson" Jeong "taught" him
>Firebending's tendency to destroy well after a firebender attacks is never seen again except for background scenery that was burned intentionally

Sup Forums wouldn't know a bad episode if it slapped them in the face.

It's sad this episode gets so much hate but i think I only feel that way because I like older, large sized barbarian matron as a character type in fantasy

I honestly had no idea that this episode was so hated until I looked at fanboards when I was a kid.

ATLAs ability to test the waters before going full speed, and then to learn from its mistakes is the singlemost reason Korra paled in comparison.

It's not nearly as bad as the "Katara poisons Appa to play Captain Planet" episode.

I still haven't seen Korra because Season 3 had so many stinkers I never finished the series.

>(but doesn't REALLY explain why)


Cause you gotta know Earth beforehand cause that shit is stable and steady and Fire ain't.

>fanboards

I miss when those were still a thing

But user, Toph existed for more than an entire season :^)

Are you telling me that you actually haven't finished ATLA?

Yeah, that is pretty incredible. The worst of AtlA would be considered middle of the road, leaning toward "good" for most series.

Maybe someone used a monkey's paw.

And the downside is the movie and/or Korra.

>Fuck your shitty culture and history, we're going to be eaten by monsters. Fuck you assholes

I wish Aang took that lesson to heart more.

its what happens when everything has to have a point to make to be enjoyable

i thought it was nice

>firebending's wild and dangerous, you have to learn that calm and steady earthbending first!
>meanwhile in the Fire Nation, where thousands of firebenders can't earthbend

Jeong Jeong was not supposed to be infallible. He is a traumatized and bitter old man who believes things that are clearly not meant to be true within the framework of the show, such as that firebending is inherently evil. Why do you think being a "great master" means he should never make mistakes? Especially considering the final arc of the season centers around a "great master" of waterbending who is explicitly portrayed as a giant stupid dickhead.

I smell autism.

That's different. If you're a waterbending or airbending Avatar first, you don't really NEED to keep control of your base element. They're mostly harmless.

Fire is dangerous all of the time. Regular firebenders (I hope) are taught this from the get-go.

If you're a natural firebender, you need to learn restraint beforehand, if you're NOT a natural firebender, you SERIOUSLY, REALLY need to learn restraint.

No. If there was one thing the Avatar series always sucked at, it was romance.

>tfw we will never ever see Iroh's story to its finish as it was meant to be

Were notes ever published? Sucks not knowing at all.

Zhao, not Zuko, dingbat.

I really wish AtlA went the "Mask of the Phantasm" route and did an animated feature with the same staff from the series.

Guess we'll never get that now.

The show had this really horrible inability to write adults as being anything but irrational and self-absorbed. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but it was a glaring flaw.

Nickelodeon was going to either do 3 straight to DVD animated movies, or the feature film

Guess which one Bryke voted for

You're missing the point. The reason this episode is bad is not because Jeong Jeong taught Aang to burn his girlfriend, it's bad because Avatar Roku came from the spirit world to convince Jeong Jeong to teach Aang how to burn his girlfriend. And THEN, knowing that Aang was going to fail without the other three elements, Jeong Jeong gave him a test that is designed to fail for natural born Firebenders let alone unstable juvenile avatars, and leaves him to his own devices in the process. You can't argue that Jeong Jeong was infallible if he was careless in teaching someone not to be careless.

>Fire is dangerous all of the time. Regular firebenders (I hope) are taught this from the get-go.

Which furthers my point. There's no way Ruko and Jeong didn't know that was going to happen, so for Ruko to actively encourage it and for Jeong to neglect it is ridiculous.

You know as I recalled the episode, I was wondering why Zuko and Zhao were working together.

Guess they weren't, well that explains that.

Absolutely nothing wrong with this episode.

Eh, I honestly hated Avatar Day more

Well shit. Just..shit.

Bumi? Iroh?

I'm not arguing that Jeong Jeong was infallible. Are you really that bad at reading comprehension? Jesus fuck.

Your complaints boil down to "Roku and Jeong Jeong were fallible". I am saying that this is not a valid complaint, and that they were intentionally portrayed as fallible, and that you are autistic or similarly deranged for expecting them to be infallible.

It's pretty meh. I can see them working as a couple a few years down the road but it's just weird. Zuko and Katara honestly had more chemistry, but I like Zuko/Mei more so I'm not peeved they didn't get together.

The feature film wasn't conceptually a bad idea. Season 1 actually lends itself really well to a film length retelling, and I can see it being big if done well.

Of course, it was done atrociously.

>The episode's not bad because it was meant to be bad

Okay, let's assume that the writers contrasted Jeong Jeong and Roku with the intentions of making neither of them right. Let's assume that developing a reason for the avatar to learn the elements in order was not just a cheap cop out to explain the Gaang travel in the order they did. Let's assume that somehow mastering earthbending would prevent Aang from failing the test designed to be failed. Then, let's assume that this episode isn't shit because you're a newfag and you think calling people autistic will make you right even though your argument is, well, autistic.

>Guess which one Bryke voted for

I honestly have no idea. More importantly, why would they have any real input? I can't imagine them being savvy enough to negotiate a contract where they retain any control over their original IP.

>Okay, let's assume that the writers contrasted Jeong Jeong and Roku with the intentions of making neither of them right.

I don't think we need to assume that, since it was clearly demonstrated by the events of the episode.

> Let's assume that developing a reason for the avatar to learn the elements in order was not just a cheap cop out to explain the Gaang travel in the order they did.

It probably was a cop-out. How does that make the episode bad?

>Let's assume that somehow mastering earthbending would prevent Aang from failing the test designed to be failed.

Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. How does that have any bearing on the quality of the episode in question?

>Then, let's assume that this episode isn't shit because you're a newfag and you think calling people autistic will make you right even though your argument is, well, autistic.

Someone's triggered.

>since it was clearly demonstrated by the events of the episode

Showing a situation where everyone involved is wrong and the correct answer is never revealed is bad writing.

>It probably was a cop-out. How does that make the episode bad?

A cop-out is an example of lazy writing, which is what makes the episode bad

>Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. How does that have any bearing on the quality of the episode in question?

Because if it wouldn't there's no point for Jeong Jeong's warning in the first place, which means the cop-out (which is bad writing) is a shitty cop-out at that.

>Someone's triggered

Heartbroken.

I was 16-17 when this came out....god I miss the days when a shitty avatar episode was the only real worry I had. Now i just wish that meteor or Quasar Pulse would hurry up already

The fuck are you on about? Jeong Jeong insulted Aang and by correlation, Roku. That's what pissed off Roku and forced Jeong Jeong to teach Aang, even though they both knew this was the wrong way to go about it. So what does Jeong Jeong do? Well, when you get a 50+ year old elusive criminal who has mastered one of the most dangerous arts pissed off by bullying them into teaching a snot nosed kid who can't even wipe his own ass properly, yeah, shit's going to go down.

How is telling Aang he needs to learn the elements in order for the sake of the world an insult? Sure he wasn't too nice about it, but hey "50+ year old elusive criminal who has mastered one of the most dangerous arts" and all.

For Avatar Roku (who is DEAD, mind you) to be insulted by some good advice, insulted enough to channel through Aang and do something as out of character as bully someone unjustly is still bad writing.

You can look at it however you want, the episode, albeit entertaining, is poorly written and therefore bad.

So we can all agree that

AangxToph

KataraxZuko

was the way it should have gone?


It was so OBVIOUS

HOW DID THEY DROP THE BALL SO HARD

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT


YES still mad after all these years

I didn't watch this show until after it ended, and I loved it enough to binge it pretty hard, but the hate for this episode was so strong I skipped it entirely at first. I went back to it after and eh, whatever. It exists, it's not offensive.