Book 2, Chapter 2: The Cave of Two Lovers
In my eyes, The Cave of Two Lovers is perhaps the most poignant and heartfelt episode in the entire series. It is a piece of art depicting the tragic beauty of love through several different yet intimately connected storylines. The love between Katara and Aang, unable to flourish because of his immaturity and their intense mission to end the war. The love between Iroh and his tea, causing him to go to extremes to obtain it (delectable tea, or deadly poison?). The love between Iroh and Zuko, tragic and complicated because of Zuko's dualistic nature ripping him apart. This love is mirrored by the love between them and the earth nation family that healed and fed them. Even though they showed them great kindness, Zuko ended up stealing their ostrich horse. Love can be a one-way-street met with tragedy on every turn. The love between Sokka and Chong... extremely awkward for nearly the entire episode, yet ending in a mutual understanding and a beautiful message of not letting the plans get in the way of the journey. Then there's the love between Oma and Shu, indeed the centerpiece, the Aorta of this intricate network of Love vessels. I'll go into more detail later. π
You know those tunnel of love rides with the swan boats? This is what I think of. The Tunnel of Love, as well as a foreshadowing of the cave entrance (or exit, I suppose).
Ooooooo:
I think I know where this is going... ( ͡° ͜Κ ͡°)
HA! Now this is an interesting parallel to the Book 1 finale where he bends the snow around himself into a snowman (and of course a parallel to the Ocean Spirit, but that was different). Aang is so playful and creative that he turns himself into cute animals from bending. It's uniquely Aang!
Meet the hippies! Chong is the one playing the guitar, his wife Lily is playing the flute on the far left, and Moku is beating his drum between them. Chong is obviously a reference to Tommy Chong, one half of the famous comedy duo Cheech and Chong. They were well known for being green hippies and marijuana rights activists. Tommy played guitar for many smaller bands in the 1960's. The other two gypsies in the group don't have names or voice actors.
"Heyyy... River people!"
Well, is it the white dragon bush "that makes a tea so delicious it's heartbreaking"? Or is it the poisonous white jade plant?
Delectable tea, or deadly poison? Love and beauty are so delicate...
I wish Appa would have kept it for a little while, haha.
Chong: "Woah, sounds like someone's got a case of destination fever."
"OH. MA. SHU!!!" yells Sokka.
"There's an old story about a secret pass. Right. Through. The mountains," Chong explains.
"Is this real or a legend?" Katara asks.
"Oh it's a real legend! And it's as old as earthbending itself..." says Chong. Never fails to crack me up.
SECRET TUNNEL!! THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS!!! SECRET SECRET SECRET SECRET TUNNEL!! yeah... πππ
The Gaang decides to ignore the tale and try to ride on Appa over the mountains. I don't think they were exactly met with open arms...
Secret love cave, here we go.
This fish though:
"These are bacui berries! Known to cure the poison of the white jade plant. That, or maca'ole berries that cause blindness." Wow. When the themes of love and blindness come together... Do you really think the symptom of "blindness" was just randomly selected? Perhaps... but I see it connect to many scenes in this episode. It's up to you to think for yourself:
CURSE?!?! HAHAHA!
Chong finally remembers the rest of the song: "And dieeeeeeeeeeee."
"Hey, someone's making a big campfire!" observes Moku.
Three - d i m e n s i o n a l O B J E C T S:
Now plunged into darkness and trapped in the caves, Sokka takes charge and comes up with a plan to map out the tunnels. The first step, however, is finding a steady light source.
"And we have five torches so that's ten hours!" exclaims Lily. *slaps forehead*
Even in pain, Iroh still maintains his sense of humor.
Iroh: "Yes, my nephew was named after his father so we just call him Junior." The girl's name is Song.
#nocontext
After Iroh heals up, Song invites the weary travelers over for dinner.
In interesting ways, the creators drop subtle hints that certain characters are connected. For instance, check out how Iroh slurps up the noodles. Master Paku does the same thing with his food in The Waterbending Master:
Another example is when the Deserter pours himself tea. Now you may be wondering, "Wait, this is such a common thing. How could this possibly mean anything?" Actually it's not. Someone pouring tea in the absence of Iroh only happens once in Book 1, right here. Pouring tea in general is pretty rare. In fact, the only other time I can remember it happening in Book 1 is when Iroh and Zhao toast to the Fire Nation in The Waterbending Master. Interestingly, the deserter pouring tea comes as a direct fade-in transition from Zhao. I assure you that the creators intentionally did this. There are many examples of this in great works of film, so this isn't something new. But it's definitely well done. All of these connections brew just beneath the surface, burrowing into our subconscious. It's the unspoken reason why the imagery and the characters affect us so deeply.
Now back to the dinner table. This screenshot sure makes my stomach rumble:
What is that sound?
Wolf bat! Creepy looking thing:
The following sequence of screenshots shows how the group became separated due to the vicious wolf bat. Of course it was meant to be:
Now separated, Chong tells Sokka, "Hey, at least you have us!"
"Your future is full of struggle and anguish. Most of it, self-inflicted." (Aunt Wu's reading of Sokka in The Fortuneteller π)
The architecture and lighting are impeccable:
This is a touching scene. For the first time in his life, Zuko starts to rethink his views on the fire nation. He's finally seeing the war from the other side:
"Annoyed" doesn't even cut it at this point, lol:
Katara and Aang happen upon an ancient burial tomb, Indiana Jones style:
I really like the mood of this one:
The music swells and blossoms as we begin the tale of Oma and Shu, the first earthbenders:
I'm a big fan of this art style; it's perfect for illustrating this ancient story.
This Chinese character is dripping like blood, foreshadowing and symbolizing the tragic nature of love. Little animation decisions like these breathe life into the story, and I really appreciate it.
"The two lovers learned earthbending from the badgermoles; they became the first earthbenders." This is not at all in conflict with future lore updates in ATLA or Legend of Korra. They had the innate, untapped ability, but the badgermoles taught them the technique to harness and control it.
"Anyone who tried to follow them would be lost forever in the labyrinth."
"One day the man didn't come. He died in the war between their two villages." Poignant imagery:
"Devastated, the woman unleashed a terrible display of her earthbending power. She could have destroyed them all!"
"But instead, she declared the war over. Both villages helped her build a new city where they would live together in peace."
What is this but symbolism for the avatar? As the world's first earthbender--and a powerful one at that-- the woman was basically a god. She could have destroyed the entire village by letting her rage consume her. Let's think back to Book 1, Ep. 3, The Southern Air Temple. Aang was in a similar situation after learning that everyone he knew and loved had been wiped out. He saw the remains of his former master and mentor Monk Gyatso, slaughtered at the hands of Fire Nation troops. Remember that the man in this story, Shu, also died in a war between two villages. Now Aang could have turned "evil" right then and there. He could have vowed to hunt down every last citizen of the Fire Nation (innocent or not) until his dying breath, just like the Fire Nation had done to his people. He possessed all the power to do so. If he wasn't already raised by monks to be a pacifist, I believe those traumatic events could have shaped him into a dark avatar.
What's important is this parallel between Oma and Aang. Both were basically gods of their time. Both suffered a great personal loss and lashed out in a terrific display of power (Aang went into the Avatar State and lit all the spiritual temples, signaling his return).
SPOILERS: [But in the end, both served as the bringer of Salvation. They brought peace and guided their culture forward. Both founded a new city that brought people of many different creeds together in peace. They were both The One. Neo. The Avatar.]
Sorry first timers, this won't make sense to you. Just skip this paragraph and pic.
I thought those rocks looked familiar... Wait, holy shit. Are you guys getting this?!?! Is it crystal clear now? You've been duped! Your whole life is a lie! ;)
P.S. I'm not going to spell it out for you, but also think about the parallels between Oma and Aang in the finale, regarding Aang's final decision.
O-Ma-Shu. The city was named as a monument to their love:
"Love is brightest in the dark." Think about that for a minute. Is that statement true? Where does it apply and where does it not? What about in your own life experiences? Is that reflected in ATLA as a whole? I really think it does.
Iroh and Zuko thank Song and her mother for the meal. Again, beautiful lighting and scenery:
I grew up in the southern United States where fireflies are abundant. It looks just like this:
Zuko's actions raise an important question. Can anyone go too far to be considered irredeemable? As Zuko continues to make more and more mistakes, that question is explored in more depth and nuance.
You start to sense a subtle shift in his decision making. In Book 1, Zuko wouldn't have made this look, and he probably would have burned down the house on his way out for good measure. But there's consideration. There's hesitation. He acts tough, but there's a softness in his voice:
Iroh chose to ride with Zuko. He could have told Zuko to put the ostrich horse back... but he knew that they may not survive without it. They had no supplies, no food, no water, and a long journey ahead. This is tricky ground here. No decision is simple. No decision is easy. And all decisions have far-reaching consequences:
This is it. The last light.
Love is brightest in the dark:
Did love truly lead the way? I mean, technically speaking there's no way to prove...
The hippies and Sokka unexpectedly run into a pair of colossal badgermoles. These creatures were the original earthbenders, and they provide an awesome way to tie into Oma and Shu's story.
"Those guys are music lovers!" observes Chong. Yes, badgermoles are blind, so I'm sure they have a keen sense of hearing:
♬ "The big bad badgermoles who earthbend the tunnels, hate the wolfbats, but love the sounds!" ♬
Fans of any other "ships"? Get the fuck outa here. You basically have to ignore this episode (and a whole lot more) to even consider anything else.
Appa is a lot more emotive this season:
Sokka and the hippies make it out of the caves in style:
This next part is so funny. Just imagine the conversation they're having! I'm glad these smart animals are given such an integral part in the story:
"Those humans are CRAZY!!! I never want to go underground again!!"
"Yeah, tell me about it..."
"Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you. I think that kid might be the Avatar!" πππ
"Sokka, I hope you learned a little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey." Awww, I hope you did too! I think we all should learn to slow down and not take life so seriously. After all, none of us are getting out alive. ;) Happiness comes from the journey, never the destination. Oh, and spoiler alert for your life, the greatest stories (experiences). The greatest friendships. The greatest love. Everything worth living for is in the now.
"Just play your songs..."
πΆ Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love because it's in your heart. πΆ
There's just something about the music in this episode... It's totally believable that a traveling hippie wrote it, but there's something so sincere and loving about it. I wouldn't expect anyone to think it special the first time they heard it. Or the second. Or third. But as a musician, there's something fairly rare to witness here. I can feel it. The love and care are tangible. Impossible to 'put a finger on' with language, but easy to emotionally. Trust me, it's something that most musicians have tried and failed to capture. If that makes any sense...
Hmmm... I think Sokka knows something's up:
"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about," says Sokka.
Sometimes the destination isn't what it's cracked up to be! *cue fire nation theme*:
Conclusion: Do you see it now? What you once thought of as a simple but cute (or annoying) episode has now become an intricate labyrinth of love stories, metaphors, and underlying wisdom on the human condition. Am I reaching? No. I'm just telling you what I see. I'm only interested in the Truth (correct big picture, but subjective and open to radical interpretation), and I'm definitely not interested in hyping up ATLA to be something its not. I love and respect it way too much for that. I have no qualms about criticizing it where it fails (many parts in early Book 1). But I have to be honest here... this rewatch of The Cave of Two Lovers blew my mind. I poured my heart and soul into this review; I hope some of that shone through to you.
I rate The Cave of Two Lovers a 10/10. It truly deserves it. When I started the blog, this was around an 8/10 in my mind. So now I'm kind of speechless. Basically everything I wrote up there was a new insight racing into my mind. Going frame by frame allowed me to see the episode in an entirely new light, and after several "aha" moments I was able to piece together the greater picture... And that great painting I saw was love.
Thank you so much for reading, and until next time, be kind. Be gentle. Be understanding of others. And most of all, respect the journey. ππ
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