Overanalyzing Avatar: The Library

Halfway point of season 2, and The Library really sets the whole rest of the season into motion. Overanalyzing. I'm doing it.
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[@overanalyzingavatar]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the support on the videos and polls lately. Keep this ball rolling by leaving me a comment and a like, I see a really big difference in numbers when you guys help me out!

[@mcchickenbaptistchurch.org2]

🦉

[@andreistoian2461]

Next time we see The Professor, is when Jinora visits the library 72 years later.

[@Igneusflama]

You definitely deserve the boost. Your content is really fun and entertaining

[@catsaremyfavorit6514]

I think the 3rd one was an axolotl frog

[@alw2839]

Rolling rolling rolling.

[@chivasowle286]

I love this episode so much. The line “Do you think you are the first human to believe your war is justified” is just perfect writing and delivery.

[@robertharris6092]

Id just be like "well were literaly just defending ourselves. So thats irrelevent."

[@ihavenocommonsensebut2008]

I’d mention how there’s a nation about to commit genocide twice

[@turkeygod6665]

@@ihavenocommonsensebut2008 Owl: Source?

[@ihavenocommonsensebut2008]

@@turkeygod6665 Sokka: Trust me bro

[@genieooofuzzy4181]

this is 100% my favourite episode in the show, and a large part of why Earth is the best book. Fire is gorgeous- Water is essential to understand the whole, but Earth has so many little details like that Allilotl head.

[@Thraim.]

The character design on Wan Shi Tong is just amazing. Both when in normal owl-form where his wings look a lot like a professors robe and in angry-spirit-form when his neck becomes super long and he looks scary as fuck.

[@linagonia5653]

Like the evolution of long furby

[@timtsai9285]

Some owls actually do something similar when threatened. Look up evil owl transformation on youtube

[@ilonashumiha]

@@timtsai9285 By the way, Wang Shi Tong was voiced by Hector Elizondo. He is to some extent the calling card of the late director Garry Marshall, having played in almost all of his films(particularly "Pretty Woman"). Hector Elizondo played mostly minor characters, but memorable ones. But I saw him in two films not by Garry Marshall(although I also watched the films “Pretty Woman” and “Runaway Bride”) - “Private Resort” (the future Jack Sparrow played there, and this was his second film after “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, plus this is the only film in which he can be seen naked), where he played a thief named Maestro and in the film "Getting Even with Dad" (where Macaulay Culkin played), and there he played the police chief

[@deep_and_profound_topics]

it’s hilarious that the archaeologist meets aang, the final member of an extinct race, and immediately pulls out his calipers to measure the child’s skull.

[@concept5631]

Gotta be prepared for every situation.

[@puggzwithtwogees]

Think he's an anthropologist. Different to an archaeologist.

[@vizthex]

lmao yup

[@vizthex]

@@puggzwithtwogees yeah, he even says so when introducing himself.

[@deep_and_profound_topics]

@@puggzwithtwogees oh yeah. possibly even funnier.

[@UnclePhil1112]

“You think you’re the first person to believe their war was justified?” I still to this day cannot get over how remarkably deep that line is for a kids show.

[@methuselah8885]

It's really isn't though. Sokka was planning to kill a load of fire nation soldiers with his invasion but those soldiers were also about to wipe out the whole earth kingdom. He thinks he's smart for saying that violence hurts but his solution is for everyone in the world to just lie down and get killed rather than try to stop the firelord.

[@dakotasherman632]

@@methuselah8885 I agree, but remember that Zhao betrayed Wan-Shi-Tong's trust before, and destroyed a part of his library. Would you really trust a bunch of people coming in, and lying to you about their motives, after previously being betrayed?

[@reservoirfrogs2177]

@@methuselah8885 Doesn't matter if theirf side is the "good one" the line represents much more than that.

[@methuselah8885]

@@reservoirfrogs2177 it represents the spirit having his head buried in the sand. He just hates humans but pretends he has reached some enlightenment that the avatar and the others haven't. Even though he clearly believes in justifiable violence. It's literally one of the least insightful things anyone says in the show.

[@StefanVeenstra]

​@@reservoirfrogs2177But then that same “wise” spirit violently tries to bury them alive and tries to kill them to thwart their escape.

[@matuzaato]

I assume that, at some point, an anthropologist or anthropologists studied the swamp people and that's why there are records of them, rather than them writing stuff themselves.

[@christophsouthwell7518]

or Wan Shi Tong himself, or even his knowledge seekers.

[@Human_traain]

Hsyahagnkoooooionoooo

[@vizthex]

yup

[@user-te7ws5sz1f]

@@Human_traain ah, i see. But what about subatomic particles?

[@thisIsFunnyLolz]

Probably as we anthro people are crack addicts when we find out about a unique culture, behavior or creature

[@woahmama]

2:49 Gotta love how you cut out the joke so it seems like Toph actually saw the library tower. It was so smooth I almost didnt notice 😂

[@overanalyzingavatar]

Today I learned that everyone on the planet knows what an axelotl is and can recognize it when it is fused with another animal. And not just a random cute animal you see in a picture once every two years and forget about

[@mehmehmehmeh]

i mean there was a very similar pokemon, ofcourse we recognize it :D

[@devforfun5618]

@@mehmehmehmeh and he is one of the most popular pokemon, i also know the pangolin because i love sandshrew so i remember it is not just an armadillo

[@jackb.207]

Everything changed when mojang added axelotl to minecraft

[@ntfoperative9432]

All these plebs talking about axolotls in Minecraft. Reply if your an OG who knew about axolotls because of Gravity Falls

[@jackb.207]

@@ntfoperative9432 WEAK! When i was a child i got axelotl plushy, i thought it was funny lizard.

[@jakeklic]

Toph saying “I’ve held books before” before she holds up the entire library was great foreshadowing

[@tonyshum5569]

she held ALL the books at once

[@Anergyne]

I know it's been pointed out a lot of times, but I feel it's worth reiterating what an absolute badass Toph is. She held up a giant building with just her earth bending. While in a panic. And you can see how quickly it started sinking again when she briefly let go to make an attack against the sand benders. And then she all but stopped it again dead in its tracks in less than a second. Toph truly is the greatest earth bender in the world.

[@gamewarrior348]

Not only that, but she was fighting against spirit magic. Like that’s crazy. Toph’s earthbending literally holds up to spirit magic!

[@jackb.207]

@@gamewarrior348 So she in that moment was as strong or stronger than incomplete avatar state.

[@genieooofuzzy4181]

i think she is the greatest bender in the series.

[@jackb.207]

@@genieooofuzzy4181 she probably freaking is

[@genieooofuzzy4181]

@@jackb.207 name a more powerful bender, though. like Azula is a monster but what would she do against a metal suit flying at her?

[@Nomad6763]

4:08 I'd wager Zhao found the treatise on the water tribe, then set a small fire and left before Wan-Shi-Tong could notice. This would also explain Tong's oddly extreme mistrust of humans. 10:48 Even if the Foggy Swamp Tribe doesn't make written or pictographic records there could easily have been a scholar who studied and recorded their bending style.

[@Talisguy]

"How did Zhao or any of his men make it out of there alive?" I mean...we don't know any of his soldiers made it out of there alive. Maybe Zhao left and sent a squad of firebenders into the library to torch the Fire Nation section, and Wan Shi Tong killed them all while Zhao was back at camp?

[@firepuppies4086]

That sounds utterly cowardly. Yeah probs what went down

[@vincentmarcellino7183]

@@firepuppies4086 maybe he suggested it to his former commanding officer and then decided he'd like to ascend rank so he booked it while his CO was being turned into an owl pellet

[@ColdFuse96]

Or better yet, he went down there with his gang and left while they were torching down the library as a distraction for him to get away.

[@fireflymiesumae]

@@ColdFuse96 Cruel but definitely something Zhao would do

[@theopalangel1342]

Yep seems in character for him

[@TheMilitantHorse]

The professor was easily one of my favorite side characters. He ABSOLUTELY knew he was gonna die in that library, but he was so happy to find the library, he just chose to stay.

[@shenles]

Really hoping Wan Shi Tong recognized that and let him just stay and read for the rest of his natural life. Think he had a cafeteria in there? Or wait if he brought the library back to the spirit world then the professor could totally still be there!

[@breawycker]

Isabella Boettcher, creative executive for Avatar Studios, expressed the belief that Zei did not starve to death in Wan Shi Tong's Library but was supplied with food by the Knowledge Seekers until his eventual death. Aww they're besties now

[@chuu0069]

Definitely a top tier side character. I always felt like him saying “I’ve taken numerous trips into the desert.. and almost died each time” (rough quote oops) was kinda a foreshadowing for how he ended up. He had an end game he was willing to die (a few times) to find, when he finally found it it’s almost the most understandable and probable situation that he’d give his life to try to experience even a few seconds of what he was willing to risk hours and days of his life finding

[@leonpaelinck]

​@@shenles agreed. By staying he proved that he had no bad intentions

[@skyechen2673]

Imagine if this video was actually sponsored by Audible. That would've been the coolest segway to a sponsorship I've ever seen. Audible missed this awesome opportunity.

[@Human_traain]

Audible disspointed

[@aridabaginindabag9970]

@@Human_traain I think they are audibly disappointed.

[@MacAndCheeseMan8764]

@@aridabaginindabag9970 NOT THE PUN

[@I_Dislike_YouTube_Handles]

I haven’t seen an audible ad in like years, think they might’ve disappeared into obscurity.

[@skyechen2673]

@@I_Dislike_KZbin_Handles Grian, a Minecraft KZbinr still does regular sponsorships with Audible

[@Captain-lw7fx]

Wan Shi Tong taking the first edition book will forever be one of my favorite moments. It just never fails to make me laugh and I don't even fully know why either lol

[@dinowibisono99]

wan shi tong-worshipping civilization is probably the coolest and most novel avatar headcannon i've ever came across

[@overanalyzingavatar]

All glory to the Owl God

[@devforfun5618]

if hermaeus mora has followers

[@curtiswfranks]

I would be part of this religion.

[@Birthday888]

I mean... The Sand benders had to come from somewhere, right?

[@guydudedudeguy9030]

I don’t know I think he could’ve built it, the way he swiped the book and scroll and stuff, I think he moves in a strange spiritual way that allows him to easily interact with the physical world. But the idea of people worshipping a knowledge spirit also seems equally if not more plausible.

[@georgehunt292]

I slightly disagree with the point about running back being unnecessary, just because I think it functions as character development for Sokka and helps illustrate the stakes of their entire situation better. Despite having no clue how much time they have, and knowing that they might die by delaying their escape, Sokka still thinks it's worth going back cause he knows they'll lose the war if they don't, and he's willing to give his life for that.

[@DominoPivot]

I'd agree with you if they actually won the war thanks to that information, but in hindsight Sokka just risked the Avatar's life for a piece of information that barely mattered in the grand scheme of things.

[@WidelyPlayed]

@@DominoPivot True, but they had no way of knowing they'd win anyway. From their position, they think they need a Hail Mary, and this seems like the closest one out there

[@sack1hacim]

@@DominoPivot But it could've ended the war, and would have if the Earth King hadn't fucked it up. The point is, it was their best option in that moment. Just because a risk doesn't end up paying off, doesn't necessarily mean it should never have been taken in the first place.

[@WidelyPlayed]

@George Hunt good point. It's also the start of Sokka taking the leadership roll of the invasion. Here he's rewarded for a risky stay- something he'll be punished for during the invasion

[@En-cw7cl]

@@DominoPivot you can only say that because you know what happens next, but for the characters in the show, the eclipse meant an actual chance at catching the Fire Nation off-guard and defeating them without needing Aang to master all elements, which he was struggling at the time. It's a perfectly rational, even if very risky decision on Sokka's part to go back and figure out when's the eclipse imo

[@MaxWelton]

I think it’s super interesting how one of the knowledge seekers implicitly betrayed Wan Shi Tong by showing the Gaang the planetarium, thereby indirectly telling them about the eclipses.

[@Nathannbo]

The thing I love about this show is sometimes the attention to detail is so spot on. And then sometimes scary momo

[@Kevinblue035]

my theory is that at one point wan shi tong was once Just A Guy but his dedication to pure knowledge for knowledge's sake eventually transformed him, and the bit about "STUFFED heads of anthrology" was more than just a throwaway joke, and the walrus-ram, lynx-tarantuala, and crocodile-axolotl on the wall were other scholars who were transformed into spirits in a simmilar way who died before him, and he really is warning the professor that if he spends too long reading all the library's books he'll transform into a spirit beast too

[@sinancothebest]

well we see his skeletal remains in Korra but I suppose his soul might have turned into a spirit beast

[@agustinfranco0]

what if the professor IS wan shi tong, we know spirit time works differently, maybe he eventually becomes the spirit and goes back in time through the spirit world

[@LizardOnAMushroom2358]

@@sinancothebest Another example of LoK ruining good writing in AtLA

[@444sho]

@@LizardOnAMushroom2358 nah.

[@lewismartin3430]

@@LizardOnAMushroom2358 the temple was filling with sand. the dude probably suffocated

[@InfiniteGreninja]

A really cool detail that you didn’t mention is that in the introduction of the sandbenders, the Archeologist chases them away from Appa, foreshadowing that they’re gonna steal him later

[@quitkid8727]

Spirits are essentially lawful neutral, or pure lawful, they each have a code, and they EXIST by that code, and if you think about it, that makes sense, they live for thousands of years, and after a while they probably go mad with boredom, so they give themselves a code to give a sense of challenge, to an immortal, life is basically a game, so they give themselves a role, and some rules to play, it's actually what I think an immortal would do IRL.

[@j.asmrgaming1228]

I think it is less to make things more challenging and a game, and more so that they simply believe they are right. They have lived hundred or thousands of years and have that many years of knowledge and experiences and are usually isolationists so they don't come into contact with differing beliefs. So over time they become more and more dogmatic about things. Think about humans, a decent chunk of people anywhere from 15-80 are very staunch in their beliefs about one thing or another.

[@StormgemThunder]

"To an immortal, life is basically a game" _The Eternals would like to know your location_

[@simonnachreiner8380]

More of the concept of they are their code. Hei bai is the guardian spirit of his forest and he is in essence the forest itself given form. Thus his wrath at its destruction. Although it doesn’t make sense that a guardian spirit doesn’t know how forest fires work. Ko on the other hand is a collector of faces and steals faces when they express a faces purpose of displaying emotion. Then you have Wan shi ton the collector of knowledge essentially a cross between a collector and hoarder who lives in an ivory tower with his head buried in the sand who exists solely to expand his hoard.

[@callmequaz9052]

I've always thought of them as representations metaphysical concepts, with the Avatar being a spirit themself, one that brings balance and ensures the safety of both the physical and the spirit worlds.

[@jesuschristthesecond]

this is the state you reach with enlightenment. life truly is a literal game and given that ephemeral human material conditions are unimportant from this perspective, dedication to a mission to promote the proliferation of certain values is truly all there is to do.

[@electroninja7419]

Rest In Peace Professor Zei. Died reading vast knowledge only to have his skeleton and clothes discovered a century later.

[@jim8573]

I remember this episode giving me nightmares as a kid.

[@ilikecorndogs]

I feel like that's an axolotl frog at 4:05, but I'm open to suggestions. Maybe it's a bull eagle.

[@AutumnReel4444]

Toothed axolotl toad?

[@blazelightshine2311]

Crocodile frog?

[@kappatalism6969]

I was going with axolotl alligator/crocodile (I can never remember the difference)

[@ethanotoroculus1060]

It's a salligator. =>

[@shylem1039]

@@blazelightshine2311 the frogodile

[@lonemotheo1964]

0:30 the sudden worry is probably from last episode when he was telling Katara what really matters.... Which is taking down the firelord

[@malikpierre-louis3343]

That's headcannony at best.

[@YatzeeWillWearAGreenHat]

Anyone else bothered by the fact that the spirit destroyed so many bookshelf while trying to prevent them from leaving?

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

The shelf’s aren’t the books, and I assume the spirit has red them all already so could recreate them if needs be.

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

We see in Korra that the books are basically all fine. Besides, he's mostly just knocking over the shelves, not melting the books with lasers or anything. Also, he 100% DNGAF, because _he_ won't be the one who has to clean that shit up.

[@KairuHakubi]

yeah he's a classic seemingly well-meaning authority figure who nonetheless is simultaneously so powerful that nobody should be able to escape (especially Zhao) yet somehow still fails, and causes himself more grief in the process.

[@palecaptainwolfkayls8499]

Considering he’s sending his library “out of this world,” it can be presumed that there’s some weird spirit world laws that prevents or circumvents destruction of this kind, somehow Of course, with firebending or total annihilation circumventing the retention of such knowledge.

[@leminer4049]

Yuh, but ig he was really pissed at the time and would have the foxes rebuild

[@henryjensen8172]

There’s a moment when the owl is looking for Katara while she is hiding behind a bookshelf that looks like it was inspired by the kitchen scene with the raptors from the original Jurassic Park.

[@kodamaakemi9758]

3:31 Zuko now hunts them for the Avatar and his nice ass rope back

[@jasonarik8467]

I think them turning around is great character building for sokka. Think about it. Everybody has the standard reaction of „oh no we might die, let’s get out of here“ but sokkas top priority isn’t the immediate danger. He grew up under the fire nation raids. His father actually abandoned him because he was willing to put down his life and fight an impossible war to save the world. But that just inspires sokka to be selfless like him. He believes from his heart that beating the fire nation is more important than his own personal life. So if there is a chance the calendar might help them achieve that you best believe my boy sokka would turn around.

[@lonemotheo1964]

I agree it's a great character moment for Sokka Although I think that would've worked really well if he didn't make out of the library with the rest of the gaang.. If he died there sacrificing himself for that knowledge that would've been a 10

[@EvilStevilTheKenevilPEN15]

@@lonemotheo1964 Avatar if it was rated TV-MA.

[@KittSpiken]

Returning to the Planetarium should heighten the tension as their escape is already perilous, but does drag on. Having Mr. Owl interrupt their search for the Day of the Black Sun so they have to go back to finish it instead of initiating the entire process seems a good way to get that good character moment for Saka realizing they can't leave without that information without slowing the finale of the episode to a crawl.

[@dimitra_k]

Oh I can't believe we're now getting into the episodes without appa... This entire arc is great but it always makes me so sad

[@Skarpo89]

Me too 😢

[@BransonGordie]

"Watch this show with me," I said to my wife. "It's... uh... Kung-Fu Jesus and the Planeteers." "That sounds dumb," she said. "Just one episode." That was this episode. "WE CAN'T GO TO BED! WHAT HAPPENS TO APPA?!" She was nearly inconsolable. I went from watching 1-2 episodes a night to watching 4-5 episodes a night. Due to our work schedules, she was able to watch everything up to this point without me before our second watch session. Never would have happened if... like... a human character was taken.

[@yoquincy3731]

Nah it wasnt a misstep by the writers, sokkas decision to go back in the planetarium. The pacing and climax was right because we as the audience know/ see toph struggling to hold up the library while also trying to protect Appa. Meanwhile, sokka doesnt know how much time he has left but we do so it adds another level of uneasy and anticipation for thr viewer. Making the end result even more nail biting.

[@Wrenling]

I think Toph's "there it is!" line is the first of her many quips poking fun at other people forgetting about her blindness. That's one thing I like about how they handle her: the jokes about her blindness are just as likely to be ones she makes at others' expense for being dumb as they are to be a slip-up on her part Compilation of most of them: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emioXndngNuLrqc

[@asianrelations]

How does she see it when she’s not attached to the ground?

[@kemori_]

@@asianrelations edited for the vid to make a joke. watch the video linked above for the original scene.

[@binatlas6620]

​@@asianrelationswith her eyes

[@keeganennis8490]

"Update: this kid goes pretty hard actually lmao - kid nearly killed Zhan for real" subbed lmfao glorious that you snuck this into like three damn frames

[@enderjora]

4:08 that appears to be an Axolotl+Frog mix.

[@dawn8293]

With teeth

[@TheRealMycanthrope]

Axolotlgator

[@MrMendi100]

Might be an axolotl+ alligator

[@FrenchSensei]

@@TheRealMycanthrope I had actually thought Croxolotl.

[@ForrestJWilson]

That archeologist is underground during book 3 eating foxes, rationing his water, really regretting that stupid decision.

[@vizthex]

*anthropologist

[@f.i.r.e.5119]

6:49 I like to think Zhao was the _only_ one who made it out alive.

[@michaeljacksonfanmade87]

5:46 I really like how it feels appa is actually listening and is like "huh neat"

[@frozenoutsideoctober818]

It's been shown before that Appa can understand human speech so he probably is actually listening

[@luisa9999]

The Sandbenders are so cool and we bearly find out anything about them. Their bending is clearly influenced by airbending. I also like the way this one guy stabilizes himself at 10:18 just like Katara did back in season 1 with ice when she fought against Pakku. It makes me wonder if they are also influenced by waterbenders (specifically those from the poles because icebending seemed to be an unknown concept for the waterbenders from the swamp)

[@dungeonmaster4226]

Sandbending isn't the only fusion of two elements, at least if you consider Legend of Korra canon. Lavabending mixes fire and earth, and there are a couple other things that I can't remember right now and will feel really stupid when I remember them in five minutes

[@alastarmullen1072]

@@dungeonmaster4226 Mud is a water and earth element, and cloud/fog/air density is a fusion of water and air.

[@ziqi92]

@@dungeonmaster4226 the fusion of elements can be considered an extension of Iroh talking about how any ordinary bender can take knowledge from other civilizations and use it to create new knowledge and wisdom.

[@dungeonmaster4226]

@@ziqi92 I had actually forgotten that conversation. Thanks for reminding me!

[@wackyanimations3326]

@@dungeonmaster4226 lava is not bendable by fire.

[@LowReedExpert1]

The biggest crime of the library was how in Korra it's confirmed that the prof died. Dude was fully pure and dedicated to knowledge and he wasn't saved

[@vetarlittorf1807]

You expected him to still be alive 70 years later?

[@dryerlynnt6984]

It's worth noting that the move the sandbenders do to root themselves to the ground is the same one Katara does while fighting Pakku.

[@Rocketsnail1000]

5:28 I like how even though you only see it for a second, you still stuck with translating Aang’s wanted poster

[@citrus8788]

Well, if there are anthropologists in this universe, and other types of scientists, then it is quite imaginable that the style of the swamp people has been recorded by them. This of course, if the swamp people themselves did really not document it. But even if not, it is also imaginable that the swamp people have some sort of oral tradition concerning their bending. Who knows, Wan Shi Tong might have travelled the world for field work to research all the bending styles there are.

[@DaKnightsofawesome]

I find it extremely ironic that the owl would fight to defend his knowledge to be used in way he deems unfit while one of those being to use it to help fight in a defensive war.

[@HexenMeister06]

Professor Zei actually shows up again in The Legend Of Korra, when she (Spoilers) Goes to the spirit world and finds the Sunken Library, she talks to the Giant Owl and states “i could spend the rest of my life reading here” inwhich the owl responds “the last person who said that is still here” and he then points over to The Professor, who is now a ragged clothed Skeleton, surrounded by scrolls and open books.

[@twilightsilver6230]

Wtf Dedicated Man

[@leowulf5280]

I like that this implies that after the library shifted into the spirit world or whatever that Shi Tong just let the professor keep reading.

[@curtiswfranks]

I like that Toph has a little moment with Appa. It really drives her sorrow at the end of the episode home.

[@legacy4626]

I think the best little insignificant detail in this episode is that whenever wan shi tong speaks his beak never matches the words, like he doesn’t actually need to use his mouth to speak and just does it (imperfectly) to try and make himself seem more natural to the humans or something. very tiny detail but honestly one of my favorites in the show

[@TheApoke]

I never understood the professor deciding to stay in the library. He says he wants to spend an eternity reading, buy theres no food or water. He's just going to die in a few days

[@TheMaskedArcanum]

Not that the writers know anything about moon continuity, but in the few months Sokka would have to check for an eclipse date he'd only have to check the days with new moons so really it's only as many as the months plus or minus one until the comet.

[@RisenSlash]

lunar eclipses occur during full moons

[@TheMaskedArcanum]

@@RisenSlash yeah but the day of black sun is a solar eclipse

[@coolcap4328]

1:08 the mini Death Star hanging outside the canteen with a pretty big exhaust port in the side!

[@claytongoswick7384]

Sokkas eyebrows dissapear for a frame at 9:33

[@bluejay43]

ngl, i'd risk getting killed over a misunderstanding to have access to a library of all the world's knowlege. Especially if it was owned by a giant talking god owl.

[@spikeimperial]

Im sad he didnt comment on how adorable appa is when he nods down at 5:48 when toph continues speaking as if he understands what she saying🥺❤️

[@TheKosmotect]

The archeologists always hits. A man knows what he wants.

[@jacobbynum15]

One could argue that then going back to figure out the lunar dates is a big reason why Aang is suffering from losing Appa more so than if they didn’t go back.. them doing something rash like that could have caused Appa’s capture. Making Aang blame himself more than he would otherwise.. I feel when things mess up in real life we can find things like this that makes bad things worse as we find ways to blame ourselves.. idk

[@assordante2205]

I love how you keep acknowledging how the spirits are impartial and weird as shit and do things that don't make sense to us mortals, and are awesome for it.

[@ImpendingJoker]

In the Legend of Korra when Tenzin's daughter finds the Library in the spirit world, she finds the skeleton of the researcher inside. It's another great little detail.

[@goldenrevolver4460]

hey the guy that stayed in the library is the same one that appeared as a skeleton in the library in the legend of khora right?

[@axelschotpoort8088]

Correct!

[@curqo9711]

As a kid, this episode always gave me the chills. Even then, it was still one of favorites then, and even now. Absolutely perfect writing.

[@camerontipton2269]

It is now my head cannon that Aang joined Irohs band after the war

[@countyfacts6920]

Wait... so Katara's lunar eclipse reference is referring to the season 1 finale..? For some reason, and I've seen this like five times, I always thought she was talking about an isolated event that didn't happen in the show. Because I agree, just because the moon turned red, doesn't mean it was a lunar eclipse. Pretty sure it was symbolic and made for a pretty great art style. Also, a solar eclipse blocks the sun entirely, which explains why fire-bending doesn't work. But in a lunar eclipse, the moon is entirely visible. It's not blocked at all. Unless we say the light of the moon gives waterbenders more power? But since the light of the moon is reflected from the sun, that would mean that waterbenders grt their power from the sun! Which makes no sense. It's the gravity of the moon, not the light of the moon, that should give its power. But I'm sure the show just wanted to be symbolic, like having a full moon every other episode.

[@Shnarfbird]

ehhhh magic don't think about it (except I did too)

[@lettuceprime4922]

Every lunar eclipse turns the moon red fam

[@gamewarrior348]

The whole with your theory is that a full moon gives water benders more power, so the light reflected does help to transmit the power somehow. It seemed reasonable that if the reflection is “tainted” (the red light seen during a lunar eclipse), the power to waterbend would be cut

[@countyfacts6920]

@@gamewarrior348 So they get their power from the sun. I guess I'm okay with that, as Guru Pathik said the separation of the four elements is an illusion.

[@countyfacts6920]

@@lettuceprime4922 But is every time the moon is red a lunar eclipse?

[@sheerdumbluck]

1:08 additional Star Wars reference, a hanging disco like ball outside to look like the death star in the planet’s sky. Awesome detail.

[@jamiegoslin3210]

This was always a memorable episode for me as a kid, mostly because I liked reading and thought the mechanical calendar was so fuckin cool

[@ordelian7795]

1:55 "God, it's a barren, featureless desert out there isn't it?" "It's the other side, sir."

[@indigoimouto3703]

I love the fact that they show the character growth with all of them remembering Toph's blindness in the last scene of the show and even during the comet where Toph tries messing with Sokka like usual but it doesn't work

[@faidheanta2611]

How did she spot the library from Appa's back tho?

[@indigoimouto3703]

@@faidheanta2611 haha

[@redeye4516]

+Faidheanta the video is cut like that for the sake of the joke, in the actual episode she's pointing at nothing and sarcastically quips that it will sound like that when someone finds it. Sokka is the one who actually spots it, Toph was just messing with everyone again.

[@ooaktree]

​@@faidheanta2611how about watching that scene on netflix than back here

[@genericname2747]

What I love about this episode is that the world is changed and nobody really acknowledges it. Wan Shi Tong has left. Nobody will find the library again. (in this series, at least) But these kids are busy focusing on what affects them in the moment, which is getting out of the library, learning how to defeat the fire lord, and GETTING APPA BACK

[@Etaanaru]

Theoretically, if the air is fairly dry (which given the region...yeah it would be), just blowing real hard could dry Aang's clothes I think

[@abbiepancakeeater52]

he can also waterbend so i assumed he did that to pull the moisture out of his clothes too

[@vaughnpapenhausen4141]

I think the reason they couldn't just have them discover the solar eclipse date before the library starts sinking is that then the Gaang would get out *too* quickly, and the sandbenders wouldn't have time to finish stealing Apps. Like imagine how that would go: the Gaang learn the date of The eclipse, Wan Shi Tong goes apeshit, the Gaang books it out of there, and when they come out the sandbenders are still in the middle of stealing Appa so they can stop them. Alternatively the sandbenders could come before the library starts to sink, but then Toph could put up a fight. Either way, there wouldn't be enough time with no one available to defend Appa.

[@kiwaminski]

You make an absolutely fantastic point. Didn't consider the alternatives. This really was the only way to stall for time for everything to happen the way it did

[@candiedskull9841]

Side note first: I'm rewatching the show, and then trying to finish both the comics and Korra, so having these videos available gives my binge more focus and points out things I miss, so thank you for this series. This was always a bit of a frustrating episode for me to watch standalone. It ends on a sad note for a change (the series needs that variation though), and them going back while Appa was being taken was kinda aggravating. However, I love the owl spirit and the way the eclipse (and even Appa being gone) gives the team purpose. I feel an important thing about the spirits is that while the Avatar is the bridge between their worlds, just like not every human is a fan of the Avatar, not all spirits will be (and with that, probably not most of them). Probably to the spirits, unless a human is out there trying to destroy the spirit world, few of them would care about what the Avatar is doing lol.

[@cybersketcher1130]

I think the knowledge seekers would be able to study swamp water benders from a bush and report what they saw to Wan Shi Tang.

[@countyfacts6920]

Not every thing has yo come from a book. And since he's a spirit, I'm sure he could've built the library himself, just like the big tree in the swamp expanded itself. Yet again, it's clearly based on human architecture so I'm not sure, he might be onto something.

[@asparagusoffice]

I'm so glad the quality rope got mentioned, really thought my homeboy got skipped there

[@creedbratton4064]

I like that they go back, it makes us feel even sadder when Appa is stolen because it is kinda Aang and Sokka's fault unknowingly

[@mayhemgambler2454]

I always thought holding a building up made Toph seam extremely power, which helps the idea of her being the first person to bead metal. She is stopping it for sinking into the whole spirt world

[@danielsurvivor1372]

About Sokka and Aang wasting time trying to figure out date, I think it was intentional to make it believable that they failed to escape before Aapa got captured. If they left too early it wo

[@d947]

I love this channel overanalyzing every episode

[@nickelacqua9958]

Ok we need something in the future on Aang just going ham on the Tsungi horn with airbending. Also I feel like 2:20 is another Star Wars nod when Professor Zhei tells the sandbenders to get away from Appa like telling the Jawas to back off.

[@linrayzou5952]

3:00 evidence of NORMAL FOX

[@theyoutubeplague3383]

Thats... not... that's not a normal fox

[@567secret]

1:08 if it is meant to be a Star Wars reference, I feel you missed the stand-in for the death star that's hanging from one of the buildings.

[@MinaFentany]

4:27 *war flashbacks to Hello Future Me's The Last Airbender movie video*

[@frozenoutsideoctober818]

aS yOU kNoW

[@catsinwonderland7473]

AHAHAHAHA I WAS THINKING OF THAT There's no way that guy conducted a raid on The Great Library AHAHAHAH

[@vision-dz6cm]

8:05 I think she's talking about when Zhao captured the moon, not when he killed it.

[@Simon-yp7rv]

I mean that was basically the same event

[@cirinocisneros9286]

I think they paced the ending that way was because if they did it later it wouldn’t have made sense that the sand benders stole Appa in so little time and the gang didn’t come out in time to help save him

[@Armin00]

I know I’m late with this, but Katara’s lunar eclipse argument probably referred to when Zhao put the moon spirit in the bag before killing it. The scenery turned red and so did the moon, which probably was an eclipse since a lunar eclipse in real life can have a reddish colour (which is where the “blood moon” name comes from).

[@TheShadoDev]

Yep, this is definitely what she meant. The waterbenders lost their bending when the moon turned red.

[@flatpigeon9349]

Wan means 10,000. Wan Shi Tong knows 10,000 things and Wan was the first avatar lived 10,000 years ago. I'm pretty late but I didn't see people bring this up.

[@Beem0b0t]

I think the last head was an axolotodile. Axocrocl? Axocrocodile?

[@Slender_Man_186]

Axolotl gator, Avatar doesn’t mesh names like that, a Platypus Bear isn’t a Platybear.

[@rayray_017]

4:06 it's an axolotl toad Something heartbreaking about this episode: It's possible that if Aang and Sokka hadn't turned back to figure out the eclipse thing, Aapa might not have been kidnapped because they might've made it out before the sandbenders had the time to capture him.

[@alexkeawe]

To any of my star wars nerds out there, the guy at 1:36 is also the voice of Carth Onasi from the Knights of the Old Republic series

[@jooj3699]

That third stuffed head is absolutely some kind of frog/axolotl hybrid. Those face tentacle feather ruffle things are super distinctive. And the frog eyes and chin flab make sense. Now where the teeth come from is the real question.

[@rubiks8975]

1:43 what was the primary agricultural product of the southern air temple?

[@kevins4109]

I LOVE Héctor Elizondo as the voice actor of Wan Shi Tong.

[@alkyri9254]

How in the WORLD did Zhao of all people find the library? That's a question that really needs answering.

[@Mantaur104]

He's actually pretty intelligent, actually. It's not unexpected of him to go look for info for a master plan.

[@jacobcorturillo6537]

4:01 axolotl toad

[@fis001r]

You just made me realize how katara and toph are also opposites. Katara uses her environment to get more water while toph is mostly hindered by her environment because of her lack of sight. Makes the scenes of them arguing a bit more enjoyable

[@craigpeoples9883]

Aang and Toph are opposites please Katara is more opposing of Toph than Aang ever was

[@blakeshumake5821]

If the owl spirit is “He who knows 10,000 things”, then knowing that he knows 10,000 would be 1 of those and if you think about it deeper, then it is an infinite paradox of knowing that he knows that he knows 10,000 things.

[@Dueiso]

10:08 When Sokka cheks for the day of the eclipse, you can see he missed a few times, and I guess It easy to look the positions of the moon and the sun, so you can narrow the search.

[@Nathouuuutheone]

"Kid nearly killed Zhan" Lmao

[@Seanthaniel]

I'm 2 years late and i don't know if anyone else has caught it but i saw that at 2:57. You ain't slick, OA, i'm onto you.

[@matthewwylie2735]

7:13 I just immediately thought of this Kid Icarus: Uprising, Chapter 5 Pit: What's an Exo Tank doing here anyway? Pandora: I wanted to get my driver's license. So I whipped up a little parking lot to practice in. But then it hit me. _How am I supposed to steer without hands?_ Pit: How'd you build a parking lot without hands? Pandora: Hard work and determination.

[@gizzythegray]

Aw man! I first watched the show about 2 years ago, and when I heard Toph ask for something to listen to, I thought of the same audible sponsor fake out, but never got to use it in any of my videos. You beat me to it! lol

[@CommanderWolf888]

I thinking that either Zhao went into the library alone and escaped alone, or he went in with some men, and he was the only one to escape. For my headcanon, I choose the latter since it makes Wan Shi Tong more threatening.