The Last Airbender

Taking a departure from the childish tone of the previous few episodes, Imprisoned focuses on the pain, suffering, and loss wrought by the fire nation. The creators chose to concentrate on one family's hardships, and this personal level definitely paid off in investing me.   In the opening scenes, the Gaang happens upon a mysterious earthbender who flees into the woods. Katara guesses that there must be a village nearby, and they follow him in search of food. Here's an aerial view of the beautiful earth kingdom village: While shopping for food in the village square, Katara spots the timid earthbender and calls for Aang and Sokka to follow him into a shop. "We saw you earth bending," Aang cheerfully says. Haru and his mother's reactions say a thousand words. Among them: fear, worry, panic, and sorrow. "Fire nation. Act natural!" LMAO! We learn that the fire nation uses slavery, extortion, and taxes to control the poor earth kingdom town...

***Disclaimer: I might be slightly kooky for this review. Oddly fitting, don't you think? Welcome to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu! Frankly, there isn't too much to see or discuss here, so sorry if we have to leaf early... While mostly simply charming and humorous, The King of Omashu  is notable for a few key  things.  First of all:  MY CABBAGES!!!!!!! Witness the birthplace of one of the best memes in the Avatar universe! The creators of the show received such positive reactions from the cabbage merchant that they decided to make him a running gag throughout the show. How hilarious is that? Secondly: The name's Bonzu!  Pipinpadaloxicopolis... THE THIRD!!! ...You're goddamn right 😉   Gosh! How can we forget the lovely and incomparable June Pipinpadaloxicopolis?  Foreshadowing much?? Fourthly, this vertical pan of the entire city is LIT, fam. Man oh man, I love HD screenshots ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) MY CABBAGE...

The Warriors of Kyoshi is a fairly silly episode. It contains whacky animation, is chock-full of goofy humor, and explores themes more catered to children. However, it's important to realize that this is no mistake or "low point" in the show. This episode isn't lacking in moral lessons or great characterization or humor; all the things I've come to love about Avatar are still present. Yes, it would be easy to dismiss the animation as lazy or to write off the setting and tone as childish. But that's simply not the case, because I know the creators to be absolutely meticulous in their craft. They knew exactly what they wanted from this episode because they began with the end in mind.  Here's just the simple fact: our main characters ARE childish. Because he isn't accepting his role as the Avatar, Aang is avoiding his responsibility by traveling the world having fun. Katara, probably the most level-headed of the group, isn't without her flaws. S...