So after taking a little break, I'm back to watching Avatar and have finished the first half of Season 3
! The Awakening - So after the drama of the 2nd season finale, we find that Aang's been asleep for a few months and now has a full head of hair (huh, weird). Meanwhile, Zuko has been welcomed back to the Fire Nation as a hero and we get our first look at Ozai. Pretty cool, and it's nice that they didn't make him a straight up evil-looking dude. Oh, and of course Azula's always playing the long game. Oh, and I guess was upset about something, but I kind of forget. And there was something about Katara and her dad, which was nice I suppose.
! The Headband - So Aang goes to a Fire Nation school and tries to get everyone because it's outlawed now for some reason (hey Wagomu, isn't this kind of the same thing you gave Katara shit for?). So the episode is basically Footloose, and it's kind of goofy like it too (or I assume, since I haven't seen it). One thing though, I thought Sokka and Katara were opposed to Aang going to the Fire school, so why did they suddenly (offscreen) agree to act as his parents?
! The Painted Lady - Oh, was this the episode you were talking about Wagomu? Because, yeah, wow, this episode really didn't do Katara's character any favors. I mean, it raises an interesting moral dilemma: can you ignore the strife of one city to better your chances of saving an entire nation? So Katara decides no she can't and everyone pats her on the back for it without bringing up the fact that they just wasted three or four days. The old guy was pretty funny though.
! Sokka's Master - And finally Sokka gets a lesson in badassery….well, more or less. From what I can tell, it seems not to have much too much of a change in the subsequent episodes. But anyway, this is still a pretty good episode. Nothing amazing, but good. I like that Sokka's Master turned out to be a pretty cool guy. Oh, and he was voiced by the guy who played the T-1000. Neat. And wow, Iroh got ripped.
! The Beach - Yeah, kind of a fluffy and filler episode, but it was fine for the most part. And yeah, that campfire exposition scene at the end was kind of forced. Not a whole lot to say about this episode, I guess. Just a chance to get to know these characters a little better. Oh, and heat beam guy gets to show his stuff.
! The Avatar and the Firelord - Oh, so I guess Aang and co. just escaped from the heat beam guy offscreen? Eh, whatever. This episode is honestly really great. A classic Cain and Abel story that gives us some good info and backstory on Ruko and how the Fire Nation started the war. Road to Hell. Good Intentions. Et cetera, et cetera. But as I said, it was told very well.
! The Runaway - Toph takes to hustling, Katara disapproves and...actually I quite liked this episode. At least, I liked how it developed Katara and Toph's relationship. Just, I don't know. It was really nice. And heat beam guy returns (or Combustion Man, whatever).
! The Puppetmaster - A creepy horror mystery with a twist you can see coming a mile away. And yet, I actually liked this episode. Not the best, but it raised some interesting ideas about water-bending and the old woman did become genuinely creepy at the end.
! Nightmares and Daydreams - So an entire episode about Aang being angsty (Aangsty?) about the upcoming battle against the Fire Nation. Well, maybe I just love seeing Aang suffer, but I rather enjoyed this episode. But no, really, this episode did have quite a few funny moments (though perhaps that hallucination towards the end went on a bit too long) and...yeah, Aang actually was pretty amusing to me in this. I guess I like him best (or at all) when he's in his goofball mode.
! Day of the Black Sun - And the long-awaited eclipse has arrived. And since there's still half a season left, I know they're not going to defeat the Fire Nation, but these episodes should still hopefully be good regardless. And yes, they are. First off, it's great seeing all those one-off characters making a return and being just as entertaining as ever. Then we get Zuko who finally comes to the realization that, yeah, maybe winning the favor of a father who burned half your face off, probably isn't worth having. And he's going to join the Avatar. Cool. We also finally get the payoff of those hot air ballons from Season 1 (seriously, I was starting to wonder if they'd ever get back to those) and, of course, Azula being the biggest bitch imaginable (can we please have them get ahead of her just once! Please!). So yeah, lots of stuff going on and pretty much every character contributes something so I couldn't possibly include everything here. Suffice to say, it was a pretty awesome mid-season two-parter.
! So yeah, I was starting to have some hard feelings with this show (partly due to some hard feelings I had during an exchange on this forum), but you'll be happy to hear I've mellowed out a bit now, and yes, I think the first half of season 3 was pretty darn good. Really, aside from maybe Painted Lady, I don't think there was a single stinker in the whole bunch. And it's an interesting change of pace for them to have to go incognito in the Fire Nation.
! Well, I guess my next review will be the last one as I've only got the second half of season 3 left to go, which will finally bring the show to its finale. Looking forward to it!