MY FAVOURITE PLOT TWIST! | Avatar The Last Airbender Book 3 Episode 6 Reaction

[@thiagohayashi9936]

AANG: "Roku, that is the girl that didn't even know you were alive!" ROKU: "Fuck you, Aang."

[@huntersmith1943]

I think that would have happened if this wasn’t a show didn’t have a kid’s rating

[@asurapain9224]

😂

[@Sorel2020]

If you rewatch the scene when they were kids, she looks back with a bit of disappointment when he doesn't say anything to her.

[@TheOfficialPolo]

Fun Fact: Zuko's name is written as 苏科 (sū kè) which is made up of the first and last characters of Sozin's (苏进; sū jìn) and Roku's names (洛科; luò kè) respectively.

[@12DAMDO]

huh, i never knew... that _is_ a fun fact

[@Zartexal]

Fuck, that is far too clever.

[@marcusadrielsalesramos9601]

Ok, i love this show

[@loot5532]

That's some galaxy brain level detail and hinting

[@austinkersey2445]

Where did you find the characters for Roku's name? I can't find them.

[@alejandroalfaro3800]

Cool visual detail: When Zuko is speaking to Iroh, all the camera angles depict him as the one being trapped behind bars in the darkness, while Iroh has a much open space, being closer to the light.

[@parsa1372]

Surprised she missed that :) all cool tho, just that she picked up much more in chainsaw man

[@Good_Hot_Chocolate]

​@@parsa1372 It's harder to notice things from a professional standpoint when you are busy enjoying the story.

[@nelsonv1953]

@@Good_Hot_Chocolate And vice-versa.

[@lorenzodonati8267]

Also, the fact that the bars show one side of his face and then the other when iroh mentions Sozin and Roku

[@matthewwilliams3579]

Don't forget Avatar Rokus' natural element was fire, so like Aang with earth bending he had a hard mastering his opposite.

[@firepuppies4086]

And the pattern of mastering the last Avatar's main element last seems to happen again

[@matthewwilliams3579]

@@firepuppies4086 No offense intended here, but what exactly are you trying to say? Are you maybe trying to say that Avatars master their opposite element last? If that's what you meant then, no you're wrong since earth bending was the 3rd element Aang mastered, fire bending was the last.

[@firepuppies4086]

@@matthewwilliams3579 earth comes right before Fire in the cycle, the last element Roku is shown learning properly, is Earth Fire comes before Air, which element was the last one Aang mastered and learned?

[@matthewwilliams3579]

@@firepuppies4086 Yes, I am aware of that. Again I don't mean offense but your first comment just didn't make much sense so I had no idea what you were getting at. Thank you for elaborating further.

[@firepuppies4086]

@@matthewwilliams3579 my bad there. It just seems to be a pattern that it follows the cycle... Even if Aang wasn't properly told of the order he was supposed to go. Granted he dabbled in fire bending before earth and getting a full fledged water master (Katara was skilled but not at a full on master level just yet) but, that didn't go well so it corrected itself.

[@jfree672]

"did you die during avatar state?" one of the absolute rare alicia brain fart moments lmao. i appreciate it hahahaha

[@Kai_SoCa3539]

fun fact: Roku's earth bending teacher was the original design for Toph before they decided on the current one. this is a fun fact that is always passed around and now we pass it to you.

[@ThePfeffernusse]

He's also the earthbender in the intro.

[@AmericanBrit9834]

@@ThePfeffernusse Always thought that was the Boulder.

[@icaine16]

@@colt1903 No joke, that would be an interesting fact

[@ignaciotaborda6538]

Maybe Sud is Toph's past life?

[@icaine16]

@@ignaciotaborda6538 Toph doesn't get a past life, she doesn't reincarnate like the avatar so Sud being a blood relative would be super cool

[@voinyhelvetti]

What you said about having to have a longer conversation about the whole expansion thing and really actually convincing Sozin to see the error in that line of thinking is so right. You're not gonna change anyone's mind by just going "I forbid it." even if or even especially if it's your best friend. It kind of feels like Roku didn't know Sozin as well as he thought since every denial, warning and threat he made was met as a challenge of Sozin's power and authority, and the leader of the most powerful nation isn't gonna take that lying down.

[@rjai5003]

There’s a pretty cool parallel in the beginning and end of the story: When Sozin and Roku were sparring at the beginning, Sozin caught Roku when he tripped over the tree root, but then decided to let him fall. Years later, Sozin came to help Roku stop the volcano, but then decided to leave him to die

[@bthsr7113]

And it shows that even then, Sozin would still fight a little dirty and look for moments of weakness to exploit.

[@Dakkaface]

One of my favorite throwaway comments in this episode is Sokka just dropping that there are no bathrooms in the spirit world, since he was stuck there for a while in S1.

[@filipvadas7602]

It really says a lot about how *terrified* Sozin was of Roku when he literally waited for him to *die* before continuing his conquest and then attacked the air nomads, hoping to postpone the Avatar's reincarnation for just a little while longer.

[@austinkersey2445]

People dog on Roku for being a "weak" Avatar (this was an older viewpoint in the fandom), but he was still a fully developed Avatar and he still has compelling feats. Sozin was right to fear him.

[@filipvadas7602]

@@austinkersey2445 the guy literally kept an entire nation on a leash just by existing, "fought" a literal volcano at an incredibly old age and was winning and basically was the sole reason Aang knew about Sozin's comet and that he needed to master the other 3 elements within a year. Literally the only reason I think anyone, then or now, would think he was a bad Avatar is because he lived in a time of relative peace.

[@austinkersey2445]

@@filipvadas7602 Pretty much. Call me an asshole, but I find he had better feats in the few showings he had, than Korra had in her entire series. I still find many who put Korra in the top three Avatars of all time. Just . . . no.

[@FriendlyGhost-rf7tq]

@@austinkersey2445as Avatar he was powerful as Avatar can be but he was foolish and made poor decisions

[@Dragonage2ftw]

@austinkersey2445 Couldn’t Korra Spiritbend and Metalbending, both things Roku couldn’t do?

[@drago2drago]

My favorite callback is when aang is getting on the dragon and sokka confirms they don't have bathrooms in the spirit world, goes back to season one when he got abducted by Hei Bai and had to pee when he was freed

[@namecomingsoon9517]

Aang to Zuko “in another life we could’ve been friends” Roku to Aang “some friendships are so strong they transcend lifetimes” When Iroh tells Zuko about both his grandfathers. When Iroh says Sozen Zuko’s face is half covered by the bar and you see his scar. When he says Roku the bar is covering his scar and showing his normal face

[@Miikasae]

“When’s the last time Zuko had an actual friend.” Well, as heartbreaking as it is, other than Iroh the only friend Zuko ever had was Lu Ten. RIP.

[@Drip_Wooper]

yeah I never realized that before, seeing Sozin and Roku playing with their fire bending and those other kids talking about playing Hide and Explode (idk the name lol) in episode 2 made me realize, there's a good part of Fire Nation culture zuko has never learned nor knows exist, he was exiled at a very young age and before that he was never allowed to leave the castle, he doesnt even know how his people feel or do for funs or hell probably doesnt know what his people eat, he knows more about other nations than his own

[@jasenjacobs1365]

What about Mei?

[@ShinigamiRyan]

Where is your source for that? Lu Ten was old enough to serve in the Army. Zuko was a kid.

[@rip4anskiy7]

@@ShinigamiRyan actually you can see that in the Beach episode, Zuko has a flashback of Iroh playing with him and Lu Ten

[@LDIndustries]

If you remember Zuko's dream he had in Ba Sing Se after letting Appa go where he was the fire lord and was being talked to by two dragons, a blue one and a red one. Those dragons looked exactly like Roku's dragon (red) and Sozin's dragon (blue). Not only were they literally showing the struggle between Azula and Iroh in his mind but also the influence of Roku and Sozin.

[@Xenobears]

I just want to hear Sozin say “War. War never changes…”

[@mranonymous00]

Oh My God I never noticed it before...... Toph said "do you think friendship can last more than one lifetime " the foreshadowing

[@The0-2DemonKing]

Impeccable

[@realKhalilG]

It's retroactive. Spoiler: It's more likely that she's in Korra because of this line, than that this line is meant to foreshadow her appearance in Korra.

[@TeutonicKnight92]

@@realKhalilG she is. However she kinda is the only one who gets a moment with Korra that in any way reflects their former friendship. Mostly her calling Korra “twinkletoes”

[@mranonymous00]

@@mitchhamilton64 what's the exact word for it then ? .....I don't know

[@mranonymous00]

@@mitchhamilton64 also it is the last season....surely they must've planned something

[@Some__Guy]

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Zuko." Yeah, he has four. That's how family trees work.

[@SuperSinister55]

Actually he only has 2 😂😂😂

[@Miikasae]

Fun fact: Sud, Roku’s earthbending teacher, is the earthbender in the intro. He was also going to be introduced in season 2 as Aang’s earthbending teacher but it was changed when they came up with Toph. :)

[@bluecoin3771]

I always thought it was The Boulder.

[@loot5532]

You know that a show has you hooked when you're given an entire episode of exposition, and it's one of the best, in a series of bests

[@williamedmonds-gx7sq]

I love that Iroh, who was supposed to be the Fire Lord, not only said that he thinks of Zuko as his son but he also gave the symbol of the Crowned Price to Zuko.

[@princefarron5484]

This is always my favorite "plot twist". As someone who also studied story telling like yourself, I love using the expectations people have to let them draw their own conclusions; only to have it revealed in hindsight the less obvious but still true answer. There are two sides of a family, and naturally you think (and I think it's because royalty and how much Avatar talks about lines of succession) you assume it's Zuko's father's side. It's one of my favorite twists and tricks to use and I wish it was implemented more. The other thing I love is how much Sozins voice, telling the story, speaks on that day with shame and loss. You can hear his heart almost breaking as he recalls that day he betrayed his best friend. Azula said he died loved and peacefully in his sleep, having been arguably the most successful FireLord. But that isn't how Sozin writes his legacy. This is his last testament! His final history of the winner, and it reeks of regret. "He started the great war and led us to victory!" Sozin summed up the whole war with the single line, "I wiped out the air nomads". Not conquered. Not victorious. No great standing air nation army taught in fire nation schools a few episodes back. Wiped out. Just simply, wiped out. Like he can't bring himself to remember or wishes to move on from a horrible mistake. He was obsessed over finding the new avatar for the rest of his days. He never got over what he did. He didn't die peacefully. My only question, if he has found Aang... Do you think he'd have apologized? Would he have stopped the war? If Aang could ask why you killed all my people, would it have broken the FireLord? Love your stuff and sorry for the rant.

[@zoharamitai8719]

"Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes" Screaming, crying throwing up.

[@samuelclayhills3298]

The saddest part is that Sozin at least had some good intentions that obviously where implemented horribly. His succsesors are basically just conquring for its own sake meaning that what ever good this started with has evaporated. Also it does seem like Zuko knows that Roku was his other great-garndfather because he isn't really surprised just wondering why Iroh brought it upp.

[@DorneysHouseofGames]

Sry for nerding but I think you meant "were" instead of "where"

[@Avenger85438]

His goals still dripped of the "we're doing this uncivilized nations a favor by conqueroring them'" moralizing most imperialists use to justify their wars. Even if it was unintentional.

[@raptarknaighor3860]

Actually Sozin's intentions weren't good and they are as Avenger said another reflection of "we're the enlgihtened ones and it is our right to civilize this barbaric world". The wording of peace and prosperity in fact is very remminicent how Imperial Japan, the nation whose narrative role the Fire Nation takes after, in how they claimed they wanted to free their Asian brothers from western influence and unite them under a single banner... by pillaging, raping and commiting genocide against those very same brothers they now saw as inferior to their race and culture

[@endearinglyconfused3589]

From the writing outside of the show for the time period of Sozin's rule, like the comics, Sozin was in no way a dude worth giving the grace of "good intentions" to. He literally had the history of the Fire Nation before his rule burned so that he would be the inception of their nation. He also, of course, genocide'd a whole world's worth of airbenders and air nomads, just in case that was forgotten. Sozin was a prince who became a king and thought that because those who came before him built him a prosperous nation that he was entitled to turn the world into his subjects. Him, his son Azulon, Azulon's sons (yes, still younger Iroh), and the current generation all are doing exactly what Sozin wanted: a world under his dynasty's rule.

[@LordDaret]

​@@endearinglyconfused3589 To take into account what happened before Sozin actually ran the genocide (we will leave out IRL history cause that is slightly cheating for the sake of argument), he did attempt to discuss his plans on how to proceed with imperial expansion from Roku. That was the opportunity to talk Sozin down or redirect him into a better direction, plus other massive imperial expansions have occured from other nations in the past. Never the less, Roku shut down the conversation and destroyed any influence he had with his old friend. I think that conversation showed the issue with the Avatar in their world. Any attempts to alter the borders of the four nations is shut down, slowly causing the four nations to become "rigid and stale" and become literal caricatures of their own elements.

[@lol0999]

Each element has an opposite, for air it's earth, for fire it's water. Which is why it was easy for Aang to learn water but had trouble with earth initally and Roku had trouble with water initially.

[@robin_the_red_fox4082]

What is more, it was revealed in the offical comics that Azulong, Ozai's Father purposefully chose Roku's granddaughter to be his son's wife, in hopes that the bond would create strong heirs. Little did he know how fateful that choice was.

[@talerius806]

19:35 In an earlier episode it was said that if the Avatar died in the Avatar state, the cycle would end. Which is why people have lost hope. As far as anyone knows, Zuko ended the Avatar permanently. (I know it was Azula that did it, but I'm fairly sure that she wouldn't take any credit since she told Ozai it was all Zuko)

[@revolution2762]

I like how they remembered that sokka got kidnapped by a spirit once and really had to use the bathroom when he got out, which is why he knows there are no bathrooms in the spirit world

[@TeutonicKnight92]

One of the things the sequel missed on, among many others, was this point. We never really to get to see the original gang interact with Korra in meaningful ways. It would have been so interesting to see the orginal crew react to and act with this new young avatar who was once their dear friend and in Katara’s case, husband. In hindsight Monk Gyatso’s relationship with the Avatar is incredibly interesting. He was good friends with one and the mentor/father figure to another. It makes you wonder how much of the love and care he showed Aang was a reflection of or influenced by his friendship with Roku. I have to imagine it would be difficult for everyone involved, after all we’re never quite shown how much of one avatar is left in another, how much influence a past life has over a present one. You could have play it straight or subverted it both to cool effects. Imagine a scene with Sokka where he says something that he knows would get a laugh or rise out of Aang. Then how Korra would have reacted could have been very characterful. You could have had be react as Sokka would have expected Aang to do and have it be the rekindling of a friendship separated by death or you could have had Korra react in a different manner reminding Sokka that no his friend is really gone but offer the potential of a new friendship with this new avatar

[@bluecoin3771]

If you think that’s interesting, you should read up on Avatar Kuruk’s friends, including Kelsang, the airbender which raised a young Avatar Kyoshi.

[@jacobprouty9210]

I’ve always seen the main reason why things went so wrong is that Sozin had to stay behind. The other avatars we’ve seen have a group that travels with them, but that wasn’t possible for Sozin as the crown prince of a nation. If he could have traveled with Roku things probably would’ve been different.

[@bthsr7113]

It would have likely been good not just for Sozin, but Roku. A friend to spread the burdens.

[@LordDaret]

@@bthsr7113 Maybe, however I would like to throw in a bit of food for thought. Think back to what Iroh taught Zuko during his lightning bending arc. Keep the four elements separate, they become rigid and stale. "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations, will help you become whole." When Sozin first proposed the empirial expansion, he was totally open to ideas. He probably did desire to learn second-hand how to achieve this socially and there were probably a thousand ways for Roku to redirect Sozin. Instead Roku just shut down the conversation and forced Sozin to develope his plans alone. Maybe the approach would not be the most peaceful way to achieve literal intergration, but keeping the nations separate by force hasn't been healthy either.

[@Depre666]

24:12 I felt the same like shocked when Zuko and we found out what Iroh Said

[@0rurin]

That's Aaron Ehasz, the lead writer and his wife, Elizabeth at the end there. They wrote some of the best stuff in the show. Both missing from the production of the comics and Korra, while the showrunners remained the same. They went on to write the Dragon Prince. Tells you enough about why the quality of writing dipped so much. The soul of the show wasn't the two execs, it was the writing team.

[@BarnusOwlsby]

The irony that Sozin went from being best friends with the avatar to then being unable to find the next avatar for the rest of his life

[@TheQuassom]

Friendships can last beyond a single lifetime.. but so can they be ruined across lifetimes.

[@austinkersey2445]

Here's something to think about. Sozin was basically a negative version of Iroh, as he displayed a clear grasp of the Four Elements and their primary styles of bending and likely visited the Four Nations in his youth as per his duties as Crown Prince. When he asks Roku about if he can demonstrate the Four Elements, he went from his Northern Shaolin inspired Firebending stances and exercises, to Waterbending's Tai Chi like, flowing sequences, to Airbending's Baguazhang styled circular movement and footwork (he just about copied Aang in Episode 1 when he circled around Zuko as he tried to attack he), and ended on Earthbending's strong, staccato, and direct movements that come from Southern Chinese Hung Ga. He had Iroh's knowledge and skill, combined with a much more malicious intellect and a similar level of power. Sozin is probably the third strongest Firebender ever (behind Ozai and Iroh). The only reason he is below them is his short list of feats.

[@austinkersey2445]

Also, I would like to say I appreciate the fact that Sozin clearly looks back on his life with regret and guilt. You can hear it in Ron Perlman's deep, resonant voice. He realizes that he could have done things differently, and probably wishes he could go back and make up with Roku. But, he instead gets to live the last few years of his life with the knowledge that he and Roku could have built something great had both of them been willing to compromise. And, he gets to die knowing that whatever good intentions he may have had going into this conquest fades with him.

[@lukebeich]

As a born fire bender, Roku found water bending especially challenging and a cool detail that enforced that is that even though Roku was dealing with a volcano on an island, he never even thought of using water bending to stop the lava. Something never added up for me about the timeline, though... When Sozin let Roku die in order to resume his old plans of world conquest, yet according to Aang, there was no war during his life time, that means the war didn't start at least for 10 years. I suppose that Sozin waited for the comet, but it still feels strange...

[@Wizard_Lizard_]

And with that, she has officially met everyone who is in the Avatar intro. For those who don't know, the Earthbender in the intro was Roku's Earthbending teacher.

[@mitsukitai2713]

Technically we don't know knkw who the Airbender is from the intro. He's not Aang because he is older and has a mustache but he's not Gyatso either (tho it's a popular fan theory). Iirc the creators never confirmed his identity

[@matthewkreps3352]

Are you sure that is not the Boulder in the intro?

[@yoyo777]

​@@matthewkreps3352its an early design of toph when they didn't think to make her a girl, they used it in this episode as rokus teacher.

[@CesarARodriguez]

Toph: "Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" Me: Foreshadowing be wild these days

[@Saito57G]

As for "Aang getting water-bending quickly", it is about affinity. Usually your primary element, which depends on the nation, will have its polar opposite, which can be hard to learn for the avatar. That's why for Roku as a fire-bender it was hard to master water. While for Aang as airbender he struggled the most with earth but he picked up fire quite quickly (remember when he burnt Katara due to getting so caught up in it?) and water too

[@saltyk9869]

I believe the official explanation is that it's the element that requires a mental/emotional process that is most opposed to the Avatar's natural mental and emotional processes. Aang as an airbender is inclined to think outside the box and adapt, but earthbending requires you to be a bit stubborn and face problems head on. We've seen other Avatars struggle with Spiritual things even with teachers, and yet Aang basically stumbled his way into the spiritual side of the Avatar's duties without a teacher because air benders are the most spiritual group.

[@Saito57G]

@@saltyk9869 Could be, been a while since I watched ATLA but remember something akin to what I described or you described, maybe it just got jumbled up in my mind with the avatar cycle correlating to 4 seasons. It would explain Korra's struggles. Thanks for clarifying my dude

[@saltyk9869]

@@Saito57G Based solely on AtLA, it does seem like opposite elements. It's more extended universe content. Though it would be safe to say that for the most part, the opposite element also has pretty opposite mental and emotional strengths. Fire Benders have passion and drive (something that helps you change the world and environment) while water benders are more adaptable. Which explains why the elements are opposing. Their philosophies don't really mesh.

[@someoneman1737]

Roku had difficulty learning how to bend water, because he is a firebender. Water is the opposite of fire, as well as earth opposite of air, which was hard for Aang.

[@blackheartthedarklord6428]

"Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes" Me: Remember that quote, Alice

[@priest.reviews]

Now you remember that dream Zuko had, when he was sick in Ba Sing Se? One blue dragon and one red that whispered to him. One good and one bad. Red dragon and blue dragon belonged to his grandfathers.

[@parkerwallis211]

Fun fact: when the next Avatar reincarnates, they share the face of the previous Avatar's loved one, which is why Aang's face looks similar to Roku's wife

[@somecallmetim2112]

This was such a bombshell when we watched it on air!

[@josh_miester_x511]

"How did it go so wrong?" Power. Power and ambition. Sozen was so obsessed with power, that he ended up leaving his own best friend, to die.

[@lisboah]

Power truly is a bottomless pit. Sozin was the Fire Lord of a powerful nation, but wasn't enough for him. He felt the need to expand in order to "spread prosperity".

[@ieatrainbows095]

Some friendships, transcend lifetimes. Even with the hardships and bitterness between Sozin and Roku, they are redeemed by their descendants and new selves.

[@Nightmareprinny]

10:07 well, just like earthbending is the opposite of airbending both in mentality and fighting style (something Aang struggled with quite a bit before he got a hang of it) Waterbending is the opposite of firebending^^ hence why roku struggled to master it

[@BB-fx8qo]

Toph: You really think friendships can last more than a lifetime? I forgot she asked this, love it

[@samfisher6606]

This is one of my favorite episodes of the show. I love the line “some friendships are so strong they can even transcend lifetimes,” I love that we see the parallels between Zuko and Aang again. What’s also cool is how the first flashback of Sozin saving Roku from the tree root before letting him fall mirrors the volcano because Sozin came into to help Roku before letting him fall to the volcano. And the replacement voice for Mako is Greg Baldwin, Mako’s protégé. This episode is also the first time that Iroh speaks in the whole season. The writer’s kept him silent for the first third of the season out of tribute and respect to Mako. It's also revealed in the comics that Ozai married Ursa _because_ she was Roku's granddaughter, and that that's the only reason. Also, Sozin is voiced by Ron Perlman, which is just awesome.

[@matthewkreps3352]

Sozin "lets spread our prosperity by starting a war." Me: "That's not how you spread prosperity. "

[@chrisfoley1961]

When Zuko was reading Sozin's history to learn more about his great-grandfather (at about 7:30), the camera fades from Zuko's face (specifically, his right side without the scar) to Roku's. It's such subtle foreshadowing hinting that the great-grandfather he needs to learn about is Roku and not Sozin.

[@tiktaalik7160]

Every time Roku tripped, Sozin would help him up. The only time he didn't was when he betrayed him.

[@Sapphire-Core]

In this episode we really start to see a very fun theory become more clear. Avatars look like the soulmate of the previous avatar. If you look at Ta Min's face, she resembles Aang, avatar Roku looks like Kyoshi's girlfriend Rangi, and Kyoshi looks like Kuruk's lover whose face was stolen by Koh (we see her face during the last few episodes of season 1).

[@sierrasasmartass7755]

This is one of my top favorite episodes! It was so hard when you did the episode "Bitter Work" in season 2 to not tell you to remember that phrase because it comes back in this episode! It's those little things that show how much care the creators put into the show that I live for

[@saltyk9869]

This is one of my favorite episodes. And one of the best to see people react to. No one ever expects the reveal at the end.

[@zannimask]

In regards to whether or not to watch The Legend of Korra; please do. The detractors are mostly just salty that it wasn't exactly what they wanted, but most of that isn't really the showrunners' fault. Either way this franchise is my favourite franchise of all time so like... Hell yeah watch more. Not gonna go into any plot spoilers, but will discuss some thematic differences between A:tLA and Korra so read at your discretion. . . . . . . . . . . Korra is phenomenal but a very different kind of story. I'll fight anyone who says it's bad, because a lot of its biggest flaws come from how Nickelodeon handled the series, always keeping it at arm's length and/or brushing it under the rug because it did so much that wasn't as safe or kid friendly. It's a much more personal story about the characters and their growth rather than a world-spanning quest, with more of a baddie-of-the-season format. The main reason for which was that the creators didn't have the same certainty that there would be a next season every time. That, and each season is almost half the length of the A:tLA seasons. So parts of it may feel rushed, but by the end of the show I think it more than earns a place next to A:tLA. It uses that more limited time very well, but the pacing will feel different. The Legend of Korra does a thing that I really like for big franchises to do, which is take a closer look at the established ideas set up by previous entries and examine/deconstruct them as the story develops. As a big media analysis person I love it when new entries challenge the form of their predecessors. For me, I think A:tLA is the better overall story (if only because it's almost perfectly paced throughout all 3 seasons), but I prefer Korra because it hits more of my favourite things to see in media, a lot of which can only come from a sequel. TL;DR: Korra is amazing and deserves to be watched and anyone who doesn't think so can meet me on this hill. I would die on it but I know I'll win.

[@thunderflare59]

Roku: "See, Aang, you should have asked me for advice on girls."

[@jordanhansen5934]

When I saw the thumbnail for the Blind Bandit episode “The Ultimate Betrayal” I was like “Oh, you have no idea.” What Sozin did to Roku, THAT was the ultimate betrayal. Also, a few details to take note of: while fighting the volcano Sozin used a technique to cool the lava that is similar to Iroh’s lightning redirection technique. Also, Roku’s earth bending teacher was originally meant to be Aang’s. In fact, he appears in the opening sequence when they list the four elements. Lastly, they set up Sozin’s opportunistic and resourceful nature really early on when he and Roku were still young. In their opening fight they were evenly matched until Sozin spotted the tree root and used it to his advantage to win. Same goes with his allowing the volcano’s toxic gas to finish off Roku because otherwise they were too unmatched.

[@alrongar7376]

This episode reminds me of the storm episode in season one when wey learned about ang and zuko backstory

[@AfreenSabah]

Researching this, I always thought this is why Zuko saw himself as the Avatar in one of his fever dreams.

[@matthewbrown9086]

Can’t wait until the comic where they reveal Zuko’s 6 other, equally important great-grandfathers and thieir backstories, as well as his great-great-grandmother who coined the phrase “flameo my hotman”

[@TA-sw5ev]

!!!Very long text coming up here: Sadly I'm a bit late, but to this day this episode is probably my favourite one from the entire series just for those heavy moments. It always gives me goosebumps when Toph first gets on that island and to the line "there is nothing here" responds with the words "no there is. An entire village, hundreds of houses, all buried in ash" The way she says it, the music the camera angle, even as the wind blows away some of said ashes.....all that already gives you the feeling what a HORRIFIC catastrophy must have happened here back then that left everything like that. No one can see what was there in the past anymore except Toph thanks to her abilities. Sends me shivers down my spine cause if it wasn't for her, the rest of the group would not have known that. (Also just reminds me always of Pompei...a entire city and people buried in ash as well, practically forgotten and erased of history until the city was rediscovered again) For me, this line of Toph always gives me also a sense of a frozen time where nothing moves anymore and everything stands still. And even later when Sozin himself says that he NEVER had seen anything like that and could even feel the earth shaking AND see the smoke and lava from 100 miles or kilometers or what it was away proves even more what a terrifying volcanic eruption that must have been, something that you are lucky if you never have to experience. Also I absolutely love his last lines. He spend the REST of his days looking for the avatar that somehow escaped him. We already knew how that happened but to Sozin he died without ever getting an answer to that mystery. The line of him " i know he is out there somewhere. The greatest threat to our nation. The last airbender." Right as his ship was going over Aang frozen in the ice down at the ground of the water.... Sozin died, never knowing how the avatar could possibly escape him, never knowing where he was and never knowing how close he actually was (right above him) It somehow makes me feel, that even if Sozin died like "peacefully" as it is said, that this was the one thing he could never come to closure with, that it was haunting him even as he was in his final moments. Cause I think it is natural for humans to want to know the answer to some questions, even if we know we could never answer them. Just think of the sentences "what if..." how many times do we ask ourselves that over and over! What would have happened if I did this instead of that.... we can never find the answer and yet we keep asking ourselves that. And so I think Sozin did in some way with the avatar. He died, but could never escape all those questions. How could the avatar escape me? Where is he? Will he ever show up? When and where? What will happen if he does? Will my ancestors be able to stop him and continue my dream? What if not? Ahhhh all those feelings I get from that episode always give me goosebumps and make me tear up cause I am a highly sensitive person sometimes able to pick up even the slightest and most hidden emotions others might not feel in that moment. I can relate with Toph as she is the only one who can "see" what a horrific picture is practically buried beneath her (sure aang saw it with roku) but in that moment, even if she tells the others about it, she is the only one who can "see" it. Something that gives me a feeling of being alone, not really able to share what I can experience with the others. And no matter how good she would describe everything, it wouldn't be the same for the others as her. I can feel the moments of fear and sadness from the few seconds we see rokus wife on the boat, looking back to what once was her home and is noe all lost. She sees all the fire and smoke and knows her husband is there. She is afraid and yet still hoping for some time he will come back to her but at one point realised that this was her last time she saw him and she couldn't even really say goodbye to him. They were separated. She escaped, he died. It is very painful to loose someone you loved so deeply and spend most of your life with...and then you couldn't even say goodbye. I know that as well.... Also the moment with Roku and his Dragon. He was so loyal to him, knowing Roku would die, yet he came back, curled up around him as if he wanted to protect Roku though knowing at the same time it will be useless. Again what a great scene. The dragon flying in, curling up around Roku just as all the ashes roll over them like an avalanche, burying them beneath. (Which now also makes me thin, If someone ever would try to recover all the houses and stuff from the ashes (again just like pompei) imagine the feeling of digging out the remains of a curled up dragon, sharing his last moment with his person in his middle. And then Sozin at the end. He knows his end is near, he gets weaker, tired and yet he still will always have some feeling of restlessness that he will to his last moment never be able to leave behind. A part of his life, his past he will never find closure with, something that for people who are dying is normally very important. Those who know that they are dying normally want to have closure so they can have peace in their final moments. Something that Sozin could never have fully. Actually makes me feel sorry for him cause I can imagine that pain too well... It is probably my own past what made me so sensitive to such small details or words that sting so much within myself as if i was there in the moment, feeling what that person (probably) would feel... I know this is a very VERY long text and I'm sorry for not coming to an end sooner, but I just felt like sharing my feelings and impressions even though most probably won't even get to here with reading. Also for any grammar mistakes I apologise since English is not my first language. Well if anyone made it that far, I would be curious to know what your thoughts on those points I talked about are Anyways, have a great Time everyone who read this :)

[@odolowa1]

Thing I’ll say about Korra is that it’s very much a different show that was trying to do different things. It does suffer from the fact that every season they were writing they thought it would be the last.

[@Gavock]

Actually it's quite the opposite, there was a lot of overlapping in production along the four seasons. If i'm not mistaken, at some point in production they were working on 30 episodes at the same time.

[@nicholaswilkerson4394]

I agree that as a best friend, Roku probably did owe it to Sozin to at least finish hearing him out, and then calmly explain to Sozin why it should not and CAN not happen. At the same time, I also understand Roku being so dismissive. If I was I'm his position, I'd imagine justifying dismissing the conversation would probably just be the shorter and easier route to take, rather than having to talk Sozin out of it. It would make sense, in the moment, that being dismissive is the choice of action simply because no matter what Sozin said or what his reasons are, the answer of "no, don't do that" would not change.

[@chaoscontroller316]

Roku eventually admits this himself, but he was too lenient with Sozin. You were right about that conversation about his plans needing more time and planning. Roku hoped Sozin would just drop it after that day, letting his good faith become ripe for abuse while he was away. And you saw how that mercy came back eventually to bite Roku in the ass.

[@rms7268]

This plot reveal is so great. Like all of Avatar there's so much nuance to take apart. Please watch Korra. I think you'll enjoy it. It's a great show on its own. Avatar is such a great show, that the sequel is naturally going to have a hard time living up to it, but on it's own Korra is still a great show. Plus, I think you'll enjoy her character and how it's developed over the series.

[@Pixel0429]

@@colt1903nickelodeon was pretty dumb to only confirm only one season at time which of course neutered what they could write as a story, since they didnt know if they would get another season.

[@Dacozy]

That is why Gyatso cares about Aang so much because for Gyatso it's just like playing with Roku again. because Roku is part of Aang :(

[@davidmichaelson1092]

I love when they have parallel background stories.

[@27westwest]

Since everyone is throwing theres out. Fun Fact. In this episode you see that Sozins and Roku both have dragons and they are Blue, and Red. When Zuko is so dramatic that a good deed gives him the flu the dragons trying to influence him are Blue and Red. Though I cant remember if Azulas voice was coming out of Sozins dragon though.

[@HK-hz5jr]

Man this series is amazing 3 time I have watched the avatar. One when I was a child. Second in college And this with Alicia an all the homies And wooow is just amazing. I’m been learning and healing systemic patterns or generational healing. And It just deal with resolving issues in the family that also is a conflict within yourself. Is been a complex process but so beautiful also. I’m amazed that avatar have so many layers that even if I rewatched is like a whole new series. That also happens with FMAB ❤ so coool Thanks you Alicia for great videos and I love your analysis 🙏

[@lordscolipede7092]

Fun fact, Sud, Roku's Earth bending master, is actually Toph's original design and was going to be Aang's master until the creators (correctly) figured a blind little girl would be more fun. My headcanon and little pet theory is that the reason it was Toph specifically who asked "do you think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" is that, like how Sud is Toph's previous incarnation irl, Sud is also Toph's past life during Roku's era. Roku's and Sud's friendship lasted beyond their lives and was reborn again in the form of Aang and Toph.

[@calistodorren]

Surprised no one's mentioned it (at least that I've seen), but a couple of the characters from the show are actually in the intro sequence: The Water-bender is Paku, The Earth-bender is Roku's master's Sud, who is based on the original concepts for Aang's Earth master (they swapped him to Roku last minute because they didn't feel it was right to have it be an adult since the majority of the cast were young teens, so they made Toph instead), the Fire-bender is a young Azula (it's tricky to tell because the fire's not blue), and the Air-bender obviously is Aang.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

Fun fact about this episode: it unintentionally implies that sozin lived to be ridiculously old. Putting it all together, Sozin had to have been at least 140 when he died, and possibly older than 150. To explain: We know from the episode "Zuko alone" that Azulon, the fire lord directly after Sozin and zukos grandfather, ruled for 23 years. Zuko is meant to be 10ish in the flashbacks of that episode, making them about 6-7 years before the Aang was found in the iceberg. Aang returned on the 100th year of the war, so putting that all together Sozin must have lived until the war had been going on for at least 70 years. Then from this episode, we see that Sozin was the same age as Roku and was old as fuck when he started the war. They were both 28 when Roku returned from avatar training, they fought some years after that, then diddnt see each other for 25 years. Let's be generous and assume that A) Roku confronting Sozin about the colonies was only 5 years after the wedding, putting them both at around 33 B) the new avatar is born almost immediately after the death of the last one So Sozin is 58 when Roku dies, then Aang was 12 when he was frozen, so that puts sozins age at the start of the war as at least 70. So adding those together, we get Sozin living until 140 at minimum. Most likely older, as Roku and Sozin Look at least in their late 30s during their fight, and at least in their late 60s when Roku dies.

[@nateklempner561]

10:15 - Keep in mind, that the idea of Balance is usually a subtle inclusion in this show. The Avatar has to spend time and energy learning all 4 elements, and will always have 1 element that they have a higher affinity to (usually the element they're born into) and 1 element that they struggle to get the hang of (usually their birth nation's opposite element). Aang struggled to learn Earth because it's the opposite of Air, and Roku struggled to learn Water because it's the opposite of Fire. Balance.

[@leafblade3T9]

Makes sense that aang and gyatzo were so close. To gyatzo, that's still his friend

[@TheObsidianX]

There are kind of two forms of avatar state, there’s the main one where the eyes stay glowing and the avatar isn’t really in control which is what we’ve seen Aang use, and there’s the form where the eyes just flash which seems to boost bending but keep the avatar in control. I don’t think dying in the second form ends the cycle like in the first form, but I could be wrong.

[@Sairin13]

"You've been stomping around thinking you had no choice, when you got all the choice in the world. You thought it was your destiny because of your Great Granddaddy, but you got two Great Granddaddies. You get to choose how the story ends, Zuko." "Why didn't you tell me this before?" "Because you weren't ready to hear it. I've been working on helping you get your head out of your ass for a while, but it was wedged in there good and tight."

[@Thefootqueen]

I’m surprise you didn’t realize that the reason Roku struggled with water bending is because water is the opposite of fire.

[@Glumsage]

At first Sozin was really gonna help him but once he realized that Roku had no way of stopping him he made his choice.

[@thedoctor4370]

It finally makes sense. Remember Zuko’s vision when he washed his face and he saw that he look like Ang? I think that his inner self is telling him that he was part of Roku that he was part…. Of Ang.

[@TheOnlyDweeb]

14:11 Yes, but It I think of these flashback as representation of the key aspects, if not a direct reenactment

[@Heavenly_Dragon_King]

The volcano erupted on it's own. Natural disasters are still a thing. Hence why Sozin called it a catastrophe. Also, the fact that Aang is the Avatar means that no Avatar before him died whilst in the Avatar state. If an Avatar dies in the Avatar state then the cycle of reincarnation is broken and the Avatar will no longer exist.

[@Gunsblazin94]

This is also the first episode where they reveal the new voice for Iroh after having Mako pass during season 2. You may have noticed that while Iroh had shown up a few times before this episode, he never spoke. That's not just because of the situation he was in as a prisoner, and his disappointment in Zuko, but because they were also searching for another voice actor.

[@chazo1367]

This is a late comment but that isn't correct. Greg had filled in for him before during Book 2, specifically in part of the Tale of Iroh, where says "Not in this case, run!" after the kids break a window and the big guy comes out to hurt them.

[@Gunsblazin94]

@@chazo1367 Ah shit, that's right! I meant I thought this is where he officially took over as Iroh

[@chazo1367]

@@Gunsblazin94 this is where it was full time yeah. But he did a bit back in Book 2 like that scene and others when Mako wasn’t available, it was sort of necessary because of him not always available due to his illness. I believe he was in and out of hospital multiple times. Greg did wonderful though and kept the spirit of Mako alive.

[@vice166]

legend of korra is very flawed, especially s1 and s2, but i still think it's worth watch especially for s3, which has imo, the best villain in the avatar franchise

[@priest.reviews]

Looks like Azula was right. Sozin indeed died piecefully in his sleep. Azula always precise.

[@lisboah]

"Peacefully" He most likely died filled with regrets. He started a war, left his best friend to die, commited genocide, and for what? He ended up accomplishing nothing good.

[@QMS9224]

Water bending was hard for roku bc it’s his opposite element, just how earth was hard for aang to learn

[@potitishogun2961997]

Katara: "Do they have bathrooms in the Spirit World?! o.o" Sokka: "As a matter of fact, they do not!" Sokka would know, since Hei Bai showed him xD

[@booshkie]

I just realized that Roku earth bending to save Sozin on the volcano was the first time we saw Roku catch Sozin from falling 🥺

[@Drip_Wooper]

"Sozin didnt cause the eruption, but he capitalized off of it" yeah pretty much, shows the fire nation's nature, every battle they won against other nation thus far was either by ambush or by taking advantage of a situation to stomp their enemies without resistance, they only attack when they're at their strongest and when their enemies at their weakest, its smart, war is war and tactic is still tactic, but it does shows how coward the fire nation can be

[@MohamadNadi]

This episode was the debut of irohs' new voice actor greg Baldwin

[@nemasisdemarini8339]

A note. What was happening to Roku's island was a volcanic eruption. Quite possibly the worst natural disaster ever. People don't just cause those.

[@ShinigamiRyan]

For real, I was mentally facepalming when she thought Sozin caused it. Like how.

[@crowhaven895]

I got so much enjoyment from seeing Alicia's reaction to the twists and the messages. Another great episode

[@vteccomplex]

10:00 Roku struggled with Waterbending because it's his elemental opposite. Like how Aang struggled with Earthbending.

[@skyla1884]

at 7:41, Sozin mimics the other bending styles

[@bthsr7113]

Time to tap a lore vein and learn old secrets. The Fire Nation islands have a lot of volcanic history. Volcanic islands can be wonderful homes, but when the mantle decides to redo the landscaping... We've already seen that the history of the opening act of the war has been rewritten in the Fire Nation schools. Dragon. Bone. Catacombs. Now that just sounds like a whole big pile of nope! In a better time, Aang would have gotten another 5 years of normality. Sozin cares for Roku as a friend, but even back then, Sozin showed more hard edges, tripping up Roku and thinking about the power of an Avatar. The element opposite their starting one is usually the hardest to learn for an Avatar. Every mentor should be so lucky as to see their students surpass them and remain respectful. On some level, I can agree with how Sozin presents his argument. The Fire Nation is making the first steps towards new technology in a very VERY long time. And technology can be an amazing tool. That said, expanding an empire isn't sharing prosperity. It's leveraging your ascendancy to force your will on others. For all the Avatar's power, they can't be everywhere at once. They can't track every possible scheme that threatens peace. They can't stop every disaster. They can't contain all the damage. Sozin was powerful, but triggering a volcanic eruption was far beyond him. This was not plot, merely a natural eruption. The other unfortunate part of the Avatar's limitations. No matter how good a job they've done as ambassador and peace keeper, if the world's balance doesn't naturally remains stable for a decade or two, there is plenty of time for a new crisis to upset the balance as the new Avatar grows and trains. Any trouble spots that the current Avatar doesn't resolve can escalate without that attention, possibly escalating into wars that the next Avatar has to intervene in with far more force. Sozin really did pass in his sleep. How peacefully he went is up for debate without knowing where the souls of deceased war mongers usually end up in this world, and given that Sozin felt his work was unfinished while Aang was unaccounted for. How did Iroh find the hair piece? I don't believe it was ever went into detail. It could not have been easy though. If one lives to see two avatars, yes. Friendships can transcend lifetimes. I look forward towards your Korra reviews. The debates in the comments, not so much.

[@RWBYKnight4142]

I can't wait for the rest of this series, it was my top three tv shows I was watching as a kid.

[@nightmareman9960]

The reason why Aang mastered water bending faster that Roku is because air bending and water bending are similar while Fire and Water are vastly different. The the same reason why Aang struggled with earth bending

[@yujirohanma7470]

I feel like this episode does a good job of showing the power scaling. Sozin was THE strongest fire bender in history, and Roku absolutely FOLDED his ass

[@LorgeDelta]

Alicia forgetting that if Roku died in the Avatar state, Aang wouldn't even exist, is pretty funny cause she was yelling that like it was happening.

[@ultimateninjaboi]

All the obvious good shit about this episode aside, i love that its one of the few animations ive seen that includes other aspects of volcanic eruptions besides lava. We get to see the instability of the mountain, itself. We see and hear about the toxic smoke and gasses. And we even get to see volcanic lightning.

[@kylieeilyk9818]

Spoilers for the ATLA prequel novels According to Rise of Roku, Sozin’s father gave him the idea to gift Roku the artifact “as a leash of sorts” to remind him he was Fire nation first and where his loyalties should lie. I don’t know if Sozin was aware of that symbolism at the time but it definitely paints that whole scene in a different light

[@Cola-Clown]

Everybody is always talking about how sad appas lost days is but the fact that Fang decided to die with Roku always breaks my heart as bad