The Runaway. The Puppet Master. Nightmares and Daydreams. These are the three episodes we'll be reviewing today on Avatar The Last Podcast. I see you favor the White Lotus Gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways. Those who do can always find a friend. Then let us play. Try to understand. I need to capture him to restore something I've lost. I wasn't ready. I wouldn't listen. I'm never gonna firebend again.
Thank you for listening to the last podcast. I, as always, am Kellen Scrivens. I'm Stephanie Ives. And I'm Randy Forbester. And so, guys, how's it been the last month? The weather's certainly gotten better, that's for one. It's warmer. We really haven't had that bad of a winter, which is pretty nice. That's true. No, I do just remember the last episode that we did, there was...
It was, like, the middle of a week-long cold snap, and we're all bitching about that. Like, true Winnipeggers do, even though we know it's coming. But it was, like, our only cold snap so far this year. It's, like, plus two out right now for the middle of February, which is...
Pretty awesome. Pretty darn nice, gotta say. Yeah, I only plugged my car in that one week. Besides that, I haven't plugged my car in that often, which you usually have to do in order to keep them running, but not so far this year, which is nice.
Anything else been going on with the rest of the years? We did Winterfest. We did do Winterfest. I didn't get to do as much of Winterfest as I would have wanted because I had another family social I had to go to. So what would you guys say were the highlights that you got to see? It was just like a big anime social. I enjoyed doing the game show for the first time, which was...
a big hit partially because there was nothing else to do at that time and I was usually using the big microphone so there was like nothing else to really pay attention to but me. You were scared to use that microphone at first man. I was scared to use that microphone at first but I got used to it. I also became the...
unofficial music guy for the social and the dance. Before the DJs showed up? Yeah, so that was pretty neat. I got to... Eventually it devolved into Disney music so everyone could do sing-alongs, but I'm pretty sure that those people who did sing-alongs... Had a very fun time doing so. Yeah, and you also played lots of Pokemon music. Yeah, lots of stuff. So it was a good time. I enjoyed my first official event as staff. It was pretty fun.
One other thing that I'm definitely stoked for, and yes, I'm going to plug the other show, because, well, by the time this episode goes up, episode 100 of Animazing Podcast will have gone up. I am so stoked that I actually managed to get that far, and just episode 99, which just came out, well...
for where I am right now a few days ago. It would have been a little over a week at this point. Had the interview with Taliesin Jaffe. Then it's going to be the start of the Beck review. I know I've reviewed Beck a few times, but this is episodic. And it's with Mike Sims, so check that out.
But before you do that, listen to the rest of this episode, because we're going to be bringing some awesome for you. And we'll begin that awesomeness with our emails. Our first email comes from our good friend Arno, who sent this via...
the form mailer at thelastpodcast.net. He says, Hi there. Two months ago I had the idea to send you another email, but for some reason when I was typing I got distracted and forgot the whole thing. Even the stuff that I had actually wanted to mention. But last month's podcast brought it back to me. The music. There are three movies slash series from which the music can really give me goosebumps, and these are The Lion King, The Land Before Time, and, of course, Avatar.
because if you can invent such an amazing instrument as the snoogie horn and let the final scene begin with such a magnificent song, that's truly amazing. Also, the music from the final ag, Nikai, spoiler, fits and describes... the scene perfectly. This said about the music, I have another thing. God, this email's getting long. To be honest, before I heard your podcast, I didn't really like the season two finale.
not in comparison to the other season finales, but now I've heard your guys' commentary, I look at it in a completely different way and like it much more. So thanks for that. So these are things I wanted to share with you. Keep up the awesomeness. Arno. Thanks, Arnold. Thank you for the...
Compliments. Thanks for finishing my sentence there. And in case people are wondering, that was actually part of the email. I'm not commenting on the length of Arno's emails. Make them as long as you want. They're great. I love that we actually have a... you know, Belgian fan. But yeah.
Music, we've talked about that quite in depth at quite a few points right now, so there's no real need to rehash it. For those that may have skipped, I believe it was the last episode actually, we went in pretty... big detail on it. The Agni Kai music he mentions is like my favorite music. Yeah. I love it. But because that is in the future, we will get to that when we get to that. And our second email comes from my future roommate in Chicago, Will Ackerman. Of course, you may know him as the...
co-host of Hey Girlfriend on Earth to Dine at the Show, as well as the Whedonverse podcast Big Damn Heroes. And he says, Hello all, I've been listening from the start and only now realize I've never sent in feedback to you guys, so here goes. I was more than a little surprised that The Beach was Steph's long-awaited Perfect Ten episode. This isn't because the episode was bad in my eyes. It would be a Perfect Ten for me also. No, no, no. I was personally going to bet on the Southern Raiders.
Since more than any episode, I believe this one adds the most fire to the Zutara shipping arguments. And yes, I do realize what an awful pun that was. As is. Glad that you all loved this truly awesome episode. As is, I really enjoy season three because it's very straightforward. Yes, we get some terrible episodes like The Painted Lady, but there are more than a few episodes deserving of nines and tens. The freaking creepy ending of the...
puppet master still gives my spine tingles. Anyway, keep up the good work. I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about the next couple episodes. Hope you all have a mystic adventure. Will. Oh my god. When he sent me the email, I knew exactly what he was doing, even if you wouldn't admit to it. Oh my god. It will be explained in the future, people. Consider this a viral teaser of some kind. Okay, let's not... Okay, yeah, I really like the beach.
Well, we'll get to the southern writers, but I don't like it as much as I think people are going to expect me to like it. I don't like it at all. Really? I just don't like it as much as I think people will think I like it, but it has some issues. It has a lot of issues. Although I have a theory about that episode. The least of which is the pacing.
The pacing of that series is... I know. I will explain. I have a theory about why the pacing's bad. I have a theory. I think I know what your theory is. I agree with that, too. You agree with it? Maybe not. We'll get back. We'll get there. We'll get back there. Anyhow, Will, thank you very much for sending that in. You brought this on yourself. I had no choice. Today's first episode is The Runaway.
This episode begins with Katara turning Toph in to the authorities for reasons unexplained. Via flashback, we see that Toph has been running various scams to provide money for the group, much to Katara's dismay. Toph has a bounty placed on her head, and Katara turns her in to scam more money. The whole thing turns out to be a trap, though, by Zuko's hitman in order to get the group. Katara is able to facilitate an escape for the group thanks to some very creative waterbending. Randy.
What do you think of this episode? This episode is good, but ultimately forgettable. I always gloss over this episode whenever I'm thinking of the show. This is just an episode that's there. It serves a purpose, but it just has nothing lasting in it. I mean, there's a few moments, like Sokka trying to come up with a name for Combustion Man, starting off with Sparky Sparky Boom Man.
And besides that, it's just another Katara Toff episode, and they had already kind of resolved that in the chase. And I don't think they really need to go back to it again. I understand that it's also more about Katara being motherly and taking care of the group and the relationship she has with Sokka about that too. But ultimately it just kind of...
I forget about it in the end. You do make a good point in the sense that it is... forgettable, where it's like, I see the runaway, it's like, I totally forget what happened in this episode, I do not know what this episode is about, and then I start watching it, and it's like, this is actually really, really good, like, why do I forget this one? It is a really, really top-level episode for my money. Just everything that Toph does, I...
It kind of feels like towards the end they're trying to redeem Katara for being such a bitch in certain episodes. Painted lady. And by the end of it, they make you really root for her just because of what she is doing. Yeah, I thought it was, like, I didn't think it was bad that they had another Toph Katara episode, just because, like, even though it got resolved in the chase, like you said, Randy, like, just because one conflict they had gets resolved doesn't necessarily mean, like...
you know, other ones won't come up, especially when they have such opposite personalities. Bingo. No, I mean, you hit it right on the head there. I mean, they don't change their personalities, so those two personality types will obviously come into conflict with one another.
I loved all the scams that Toph pulled in this episode. The first one where they're playing the shell game, it's like, I'm just a blind little girl. How do I play this game? And then... swindles him for like everything he's worth and then they go into slight like the first one was good because you're cheating a cheater and there's some sort of morality to it when you literally just you know you know, cause the wagon to bump and you're lying there.
And then, like, in a Bugs Bunny cartoon motif, you have Sokka there with his, you know, beard disguise, and the money starts appearing in his arms. Yeah. I don't know. Once you pull the, like, oh, you hit a child, give me money. You're just a complete scam artist, and you're not even cheating cheaters, you're just cheating people, which kind of, I don't know, kind of wrote me the wrong way, because they just went so far. Yeah. And, like, into...
basically, like, pure bad guy territory. But that was the only one of them. Like, if they would have explained or if they would have brought back, like, it's, you know, it's obviously a villainous person, but just some random guy. Like, throwing dice in the alley, okay, fine. You know, screwing the guy that's trying to cheat you on the shell game, that's fine. Yeah, that was the one that kind of put it over the top.
I did love the reaction to it, though, when they end up having, you know, Toph has the wanted poster, and they start bringing it back to her. Can you explain this? It sounds like a sheet of paper. Can you tell me what's on it? And then when I think it was socked it just a little bit later, it's like... No, guitar. Oh, no, guitar. Right, yeah, socked it for some guitar. Can you explain this? What is wrong with you people? I can't read! That was funny.
That was one of my favorite Toff moments. Yeah. Hockey. Oh, hockey. The story of Hockey the Hawk. Am I the only one that felt like they were just kind of... parodying a new character syndrome a little bit? Uh... Not really. Not really. I mean, like, it served its purpose in the end, taking the letter to Toph, and Sokka, like, wanted a hawk, too.
And sending the letter to Toff's parents. I don't know. Honestly, it kind of reminded me of the way that The Simpsons did the episode where Roy shows up in the house. Where, like, he's there for the one episode, and he's, you know, brought up and interested, but, like, no explanation is really given. Yeah. I mean, there's more of an explanation. He bought a Messenger Hawk.
But because, especially in this show where the animal characters like Momo and Appa are characters unto themselves, and it kind of felt like they're introducing this character that is not wanted or needed into it, and they're just kind of parodying, you know, like...
You know, like, how Sokka's talking to it like it's an actual person, but it doesn't react like an actual person. The only time it really reacts like other characters would is when Appa pretty much tells him to shut up. Oh, that was awesome. But, yeah, I thought... If it was, I thought it was done pretty well for that. Otherwise, just kind of like, yeah, okay, plot development thing. I don't really care. I thought it was funny. I was okay on it. I mean, no, I liked hockey.
I thought Sokka's interaction with Haki was funny. Yeah. I liked how Sokka's... stereotypical get the two friends to be friends again plan utterly failed. Yeah. Because he's like, we'll send a message to Guitarra from Top, and then... Well, Aang's like, you continue to. Yeah. Saying his good ideas. And as soon as Katara gets, she immediately turns to Toph and says, I know it's from you. Toph can't write.
How do we miss that? Yeah, that was funny. What did you think of the beginning being that cold open of... guitarist throwing the talk to the cops. Oh, I really liked how they did that. I generally enjoy when shows utilize that way of writing beginning... Oh, what's it called? It's called In Media Res. Yes! I feel smart. When they start like in the middle of a story and they just kind of throw you into the plot and then...
I guess they go back and show you everything that happened in the beginning to get to that point. Does anyone remember the show Grounded for Life? Where they pretty much, their entire format, like every episode followed that format? Oh, I never watched that show. The OC did that a couple times in season four. Yeah, where you get to like, okay, here's the end. Wait, how did we get from where we know to this? And just pulling that whole thing. And it worked really well here. There was...
I think it was the late Mr. Kent was an episode of Superman that did it really well, too. I mean, it's a plot that tends to lend itself towards good episodes because you want to see how you're getting to where you're going. Yeah. And... The ending, I really, really liked it. Okay, I remember way back in season one, whenever they'd have a new way for Aang to use his airbending, and I'd usually give the episode score another point, because like, ooh, they're being creative, they're being creative.
Between this and the next episode, Katara and the waterbending is awesome. Yeah, that's why I kind of thought this episode was a little weird because they show Katara with her creative waterbending and they're like, oh, Katara, it shows us that, oh, Katara can be creative with her waterbending. But then the next episode just kind of reiterates that even more.
more, so it kind of makes this one a little useless. It's a lead-in, though. I'll get into it a little bit more when we actually go over that episode, but it definitely does lead into it. Um, and I kind of do, like, a seamless lead, and especially with the last season of this, where, and you do tend to get more of that. Yeah. I guess it just kind of makes the Puppet Master overshadow.
Any progress made in this one. And you know what? You may have a good point in that because, once again, Randy said it off the bat and... I would say it again, too. This episode does get forgotten. I think it's a really, really great episode, but it does kind of get forgotten because of the two episodes before it and the episode after it. I agree.
Definitely agree. I think that's part of the reason why this episode kind of gets overlooked, too, is because there's no real progress in it. We see Combustion Man again, and this is where he gets his name, but aside from that, there's nothing else that...
moves the story forward. Well, no, I mean, it moves Toph's character forward a little bit, where she admits that she misses her parents and sends them. So it shows a little character growth for her. Yeah, it moves the characters forward, but it doesn't move the plot forward. Whereas, like, the beach...
It moved the characters forward in a very plot-related sense, because Zuko's characterization is directly related to the plot, and seeing Zuko question himself and question why he's unhappy... is directly related to what happens to him in Day of Black Sun. Whereas nothing that happens in this episode is relevant later on.
Except maybe the sweat bending. And that's related to the very next episode, so it doesn't even really matter that much. Yeah, that's true. What do you think of Combustion Man's weakness being outed pretty easily? attack the third eye and he pretty much blows himself up.
I think it was necessary to put it here, like, so that it didn't come out of left field when it was time for him to be defeated. Yeah, to establish it. Yeah, it had to be established. And, you know, I thought it was a little weird how it was established in that... The characters didn't really notice what had happened. Like, he basically did it to himself. Yeah. So... It was established for the audience. Yeah. Basically. I guess.
What I'm about to show you I discovered in that wretched Fire Nation prison. The guards were always careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air and had us suspended away from the ground. Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with cruel retribution. And yet each month I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy.
There had to be something I could do to escape. Then I realized that where there is life, there is water. The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid. And I passed years developing the skills that would lead to my escape. Blood bending. Controlling the water in another body. Enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I had mastered the rats, I was ready for the men. And during the next full moon...
I walked free for the first time in decades. My cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything or... Anyone. But to reach inside someone and control them? I don't know if I want that kind of power. The choice is not yours. The power exists.
And it's your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war. Katara, they tried to wipe us out, our entire culture. Your mother. I know. Then you should understand what I'm talking about. We're the last waterbenders of the Southern Tribe. We have to fight these people whenever we can, wherever they are with any means necessary.
Our next episode up today is The Puppet Master. In this episode, the gang comes across a mysterious village where many disappearances have occurred. They meet an old innkeeper named Hama, who reveals that she is a waterbender from the southern tribe who was captured by the Fire Nation.
Hama teaches Katara new techniques and reveals to her that she is the one behind the kidnappings. In the resulting battle, Katara is forced to use blood ring against Hama, who is then imprisoned, but not before showing her delight that her dark practices have been passed on to a new generation. Steph, what do you think of the episode? I thought it was really creepy. I agree. I thought it was super creepy, and I really, um...
I don't know, I really didn't like how they were snooping around the house, actually. That part of the whole episode, that's the part that really stands out for me, which is weird. But I just thought that was so rude. It was just Sokka. And if there's any one person that might actually act like that, I don't think it's too far to Sokka's character. And the whole time Katara was like, don't do this. No, no, no, no. Until the very end when the box got unlocked.
Yeah, and then she's right back in there. But then because of what it was, it makes sense that she would be interested in it. But she didn't know what it was. Because I was like, I got it open. And then Katara was walking away, immediately runs back, and all four of the faces are crammed. Yeah. Right. I think that was just more for a sight gag than anything. I think so, too. It was funny. But yeah, this episode was super creepy, and that Hama lady...
Now, when you say creepy, because I do agree, but when you say creepy as in creepy off-putting or creepy, it draws you in. Um... I thought it drew, I guess it draws you in. Like, I thought, I don't know, like, the concept of the episode kind of bored me a little, honestly. I know, I know that's so, like, what? Because the episode is and introduces an interesting concept. I don't know. I just, it is, the creepy element to it I thought was utilized well, though.
Yeah, I think that this was like the horror episode of it. Yeah, that's what I mean. And it's immediately introduced with... them telling horror stories around the campfire. Which is probably why I wasn't too into it, because I'm not interested in horror movies at all. And I am, so this is probably why I liked it a little more than you. I'm not a horror guy by any stretch, but I freaking loved...
Let me reiterate, I loved the second half of this episode. The first half was... Yeah, I agree. The second half is way better than the first half. I disagree, because part of the horror... Setup is that you need to get the suspense up before you make your reveals. What suspense, though? Until we see the comb. The coma's in the first act break. That's like the first... Okay, that's still like seven, eight minutes into the show. Yeah.
And it could have been more interesting to get to that point. It was pretty boring to begin with. And we're still trying to figure out what Hama's secret is. And her secret is, like, the first part of that is trying to figure out what this scary lady is up to. And you need the setup.
that town people have gone missing. You need the setup that they find this old lady and she's a little too trusting. You need to get them looking through the house and getting the creepy stuff before you get your first reveal, which is that she's the waterbender. Instead of creepy. Which kind of brings your guard down before it goes back up with her being creepy again. You can let my guard down without it approaching painted lady levels of boring. Oh, that's true.
No, not even close. There was, there was, the town was, was, like, was creepy enough to, to keep building up that suspense. for the reveals. I thought that you need a slower pace for a horror episode homage, which this was. If I can draw the comparison, okay...
Townsfolk being secretive about some mysterious force. Same thing happened in Painted Lady. Only this time it turned out to be something ridiculously awesome, and the other it was Katara being on like... Yeah, I'm right! But Painted Lady was... wasn't setting up suspense for a suspense story. It was setting up suspense for a mystery story. This is a suspense story where you need...
where you need the long, dry-out stuff to make the genre work. I honestly never got a real sense of where it was going, though, until we start seeing Hama talking about her... You know, the past in the prison camps. And that's when the episode starts going, going, going, going, going. Yeah, I agree. It really starts gaining momentum at that part. Yeah, but there's... But the backstory's necessary. But the first part still has merit.
it like you still need the town the story of the town the the surrounding issue of the town which is the people are missing to make any of the other stuff work. Yeah, I'm not saying that you don't need it. I'm just saying that the way that it was made out was a little boring. I still don't call it boring. I think it was necessary. Anyhow, I don't think we're going to sway any three of our opinions on that, so moving on. Yeah. Once we really get into it...
Hama may be one of my favorite one-off characters ever at this point. And Tress McNeil does an amazing job with that voice work. Yeah, the voice work on her was really good. She was really believable. And Tress McNeil, I mean, if you don't recognize the name, just look her up. She's done everything. She's been Dot Warner. She's been on Futurama. She's...
You know, she's been a regular, you know, backup voice for a lot of places, and she's one of those people that she can put her voice just about wherever you need it to be. And everything about her just... From the second she realized that she has a pupil to teach in Katara, and you can just see the gears turning in her head, and you can just see where the character's coming from, the way that they build her from being, you know...
She was from the Southern Water Tribe, so you got that empathy there. You know exactly what happened, and you get to see what happened to her, and then you get to see the prison camp. I can't honestly hate this character after seeing what she went through, despite what she did. And honestly, like, if it wasn't for the fact it was on, you know, Nickelodeon and a kids show, like...
I kind of have it in my head, like, this is the way they show it, where, you know, she's walking out and she slams the guy's face back into the floor. I'm thinking in my head, like, I'm willing to bet that if this wasn't a kid's show, she just... Totally turned his head around on his neck. Oh, God. I think that you should.
think that she's a villain for what she does. Because she's not doing this to prison guards. She's doing this to everyday Fire Nation citizens. Which makes her a villain. There's no two questions about it. Once you start... enacting your revenge on innocent people, you're a bad guy. She got so power hungry, right? Yeah. She's no different than Fire Lord Ozai. Exactly. She's messed in the head, though. It doesn't matter if she's messed in the head. She shouldn't.
She still becomes evil. It's not forgivable for what she does at all. We can go into a huge discussion about mental states and what have you. She doesn't belong... I'd be of the opinion she doesn't belong in a prison. She belongs in a mental war. She belongs in an institution. Like Azula. Yeah. Yeah. Now, granted. Now, granted. different things afflicting them. Azula is just crazy from birth.
Hama, okay, for all we know, she was, but from what we see here, she was driven insane because of the conditions that she was put through. Right, and she started out learning, like, doing the bloodbending. She started out to only save herself, and then she got out, and I guess... Maybe she was bitter about the fact she got captured, and so she's attacking anyone and anything that's Fire Nation, which she took it too far. Once again, I'd almost go so far as to say, like I said, it's...
It's an in-her-head thing. Her brain is damaged. If she was of sound mind, she would not be doing these sort of things. That's true. So there is an element of sympathy. Granted, this is just... I'm kind of revealing myself, you know, Kellen here in the way I feel on certain issues, but it's more you should feel sympathy for her than rage. Yeah, but I...
I don't really, I feel bad that that was the conditions that she was imprisoned in, but I don't feel bad that that's what she did. Like, she could have just gone on and escaped her. whatever made her life, but instead she decides to start, like, bringing people into this place and killing him, basically. Now, regardless of how we see this character, I still love this character. The way that she teaches guitar, even when we haven't revealed, just the way the voice work is done, you can see this.
tinge of evil in it, just in the imagery of killing all the flowers to take the water out for a demonstration. And, you know, just, you know... reassuring guitar, you know, you're a very resourceful person, you're a person that I can teach this stuff to, da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah. And then when we finally learn, you know, what the bloodbending is, it's like, okay, now that is innovative and pretty cool shit. Yeah.
It was a cool idea. It was also like, the fandom had that idea. Yeah, I had read about that. And it had been used in fiction, fan fiction a lot. A whole bunch. Same with like... Same with any extreme of bending, like air could be used to suffocate someone, everything like that. Yeah, that's a big theory in fandom, right?
The airbenders, when the firebenders came in to try and take the air temple, that they would take the air out of their lungs? Yeah, stuff like that. So it wasn't a preposterous idea that the bloodbending would happen. I think that overall this episode is great. And I think that especially the end fight, like the lighting. Oh yeah, the lighting is good. Everything in that fight. If the lighting wasn't as good as it was in the episode, we wouldn't get the...
the suspense that we got in that last scene. We wouldn't get, like, any of the real impact, like, as if it were, like, if it had been, like, daylight or something. Yeah. Because those shadows and the shadow work they did on the characters really worked. It had to be Moonlight. That fight scene, if not for one thing, may have been my favorite fight scene in the entire show. Sokka and Aang can talk.
They shouldn't have been able... Like, it's not only... Okay, number one, they talk, which they shouldn't be able to if their bodies are being fully possessed. Like, no, I'm going to leave just the facial muscles available so that they can make quips. Like, sorry, Aang, don't worry about it. It's like, okay, that really, like...
It's not, like I said, not only the fact that they actually can, but the fact that they're making these, you know, lighthearted jokes and what is it, you really darkly lit booty fight. But the thing is, how do you think that scene, like, how dark do you think that scene would have been had Sokka and Aang not been making...
like super dark and I would actually argue that it might have been too dark for Nickelodeon oh I agree completely so they had to they had to lighten it up like this is Avatar I don't disagree with you I'm just saying that But, like, again, like, this is Avatar, and, like... It's a quippy show. It's a quippy show. Like, you can't... This show can't ever go... Can't ever go full... Full dark on... Dark, like, like... Yeah. If they weren't going to talk, it would've. Like, the talking...
Like, alleviated the mood enough so that it wouldn't terrify the younger viewers more than it already was. Yeah. I want to be terrified. I was a little kid. I was terrified a bunch. Yeah, but you didn't watch this as a little kid. But you didn't watch this as a little kid. Like, even, like... I don't know, the horror shows we grew up with, even Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark still had...
quips. Like they had to tone down Lord Zed because he was too scary. Like that actually happened. And that's when everyone of this generation pretty much agrees that's when he started sucking. No, he got so funny. Anyway. My point is that this show is designed for children or younger audiences, so it can't be full-on scary.
that just isn't appropriate for the age group that they're going to stand for. I'm pretty sure that it was, what, Y7? Probably. Yeah, so they can't go full-on scary, so the humor was kind of needed. Also, if... the bloodbending really worked the way that, like, really worked, then, like, stopping all blood flow would probably kill you. Mm-hmm. So, like, that would be some blood flow.
which would give them not full control over their bodies, over, like, their heavy things like their arms and stuff, but, like, which is what she'd be focusing on. It would be their arms and stuff. And probably would give the mouth muscles and the mouth blood and the tongue blood still... room to move, because that wouldn't be what she was focusing her bending on. Oh, and once again, we can keep going down this road. Okay, if Sokka, you can write off.
Aang having control of any part of his body, you know he'd be able to air bend something up to defend himself with. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah, but also, like, I mean, that's not how... the story was going to work. The story only works if both Aang and Sokka are fully controlled, and the only way to stop it is Katara Bloodbent, which is how it has to work, which is how the episode has to end.
It can't work. I get what you're saying, but you're forgiving plot holes. You're just out of hand forgiving. Things that don't necessarily make sense even in this universe. There's lots of times that Aang probably could have done bending to get himself out of a situation and he doesn't. I think that's happened. I think there's a few other times in the series where you can say, oh, well, he could have bent with his mouth and been like...
Yeah, there's a bunch of those times. And, like, even then, like, his arms are stuck, and you can only do a lot of your bending when you have the full control of your arms and you do the movements, too. Like, the movement is kind of directly related to the martial arts. The most Aang could have done is, like, how he does in the first episode when he, like...
blows away the guards with his hands behind his back. So say when Sokka's being charged at him at full force with a sword hanging out, he couldn't do the same thing to avoid being mailed? But I mean, even then, you don't know if he... He's probably... more focused on that his arms aren't moving than the fact that he could blow someone. That he could blow someone.
we're children best line since cares deeply for dick on r2.net 2012 awards we're coming that he could blow someone away with his breath Right? Yes. I really, I don't think that, that, I don't see it as a pothole. Apparently I'm the only one who can keep talking. So how about Katara, you know, she's normally graceful and what have you. She can be bitch rage, but she's not usually like rage rage. And now she is. She shows that she can be. She was horrified.
Yeah. And, like, it's just, like, the last shot of this, the last, like, scene of this episode. It's pretty powerful. Where, yeah, it really is. Where it shows the moon.
And she's crying. She's crying, and Hama's proud that she passed on this bloodbending to another generation. And just everything really has this... creepy thing and like now Katara knows that like she knows this art now and that there's no time what kind of situation could arise that could force her to use it whereas if she didn't know about it she would
Or she didn't know how to do it. She would find a different way. She would find a different way. Yeah. Which obviously will come into play in a much later episode. Yeah. Invasion. All aboard for the invasion. You don't look so good. You sure you can't just lie down for a little nap? I told you, I can't go back to sleep. Aang, staying up all night can't be good for you.
Actually, staying up all night has given me some time to think. And I've realized some big things, Katara. What big things? I see everything so clearly now. What really matters? Why I'm really doing this? I'm doing it to save the world, but more than that. I'm doing it for the people I love. I'm doing it for you, Katara. Aang, what are you saying? I'm saying I love you.
What our hearts have been telling us to do for a long, long time. Baby, you're my forever girl. Aang? I was just saying you should take a nap. I guess I kind of drifted off into a daydream. What was your dream about? Uh, living underwater? Sounds neat. Our final episode today is Nightmares and Daydreams, in which Aang is plagued by nightmares about the upcoming invasion and is unable to relax. Meanwhile, Zuko thinks he has not been invited to an important war meeting.
Kellen, what do you think about this episode? That's about it, really. That is! It's an okay episode. It's fun to see what they do in the dream space that Aang has. Oh, God, I love Dragon Ball Aang. I think it was because, like... Correct me if I'm wrong, because when he does his, like, introduction, when he's, like, dressed as Goku pretty much in the first dream, and he's doing, like, all, like, the hand motions, like, I'm thinking more, like, his Dragon Ball look, but Sailor Moon acting.
Yeah, that's true. Or like just anime actors. Yeah, in general. It was exaggerated anime. It is definitely a love letter to the anime influence. I mean, then the second one, that's Bash the Stampede, right? Yeah, I think so. And, of course, you have, like, the general dream issues. Okay, what was the first one? You're not wearing any pants. Like, crap, I'm not. Second one. Now, did you study for your math test?
The third one, the I slept through the invasion, which, by the way, for someone that works for an anime con, happens way too much. I slept through the important event I was supposed to be there for. That's my worst fear, this great icon. Sleeping through the entire convention. is the most irrational thing ever, but it's, I still get, like, two dreams of it every year. It's like, I slept the entire weekend. I'm sure I'll wake you up, Randy, don't worry. Um, yeah, um, yeah.
So yeah, I've flipped through the invasion and then Ozai's riding on a flying grunty from .hack is the closest thing I could... Hippo elephant. Yeah, close enough. That's pretty much what a grunty is. Yeah. Then there's the actual prophetic dream that he has. Yeah, which is, okay, that one was creepy. It was creepy. And it does actually play into the rest of the series. And then there was the daydream.
Is that what happened to Nancy? Oh my god. You know what? That part is so funny. Where he's like, baby, you're my forever girl. That's the greatest cheesy one ever. It is. It starts off so realistic. Because the whole time... the rest of them are worried about Aang not getting enough sleep. And it starts off with Katara being worried about Aang. And then Aang starts like... talking to her about his feelings and how he loves you and how he loves her. And then Katara is...
is taken aback at first, and then Aang starts going a little bit too far with his speeches. He starts to sound like he's actually saying a speech, and then, baby, you're my feral girl. And by that point, you know. But, like, it starts off, like, even up to, like, when he says he loves her, it's realist. But, like, after that...
It's just, it goes too far. I think the first time that I watched this episode, I didn't realize that it was a daydream, like, at all. At first? At all? Even the daydream? I don't think so. Honestly, it... I don't remember. That was the thing that snapped. I think it was like... Okay, now that's going to, and then it's like gone. I remember the first time I watched it when I actually went down this route, it's like...
This is too sudden. Please tell me this is a mulligan. Please tell me this is a mulligan. Okay, it's a mulligan. They can do it right later. But they never did. Well, they kind of did. They never did. They never did. You people? No! They never got it raped. We'll get to it. Anyway. We'll get to it. I hope that Aang seriously calls Katara his forever girl in the comics. That would be amazing. First off, again, the sheep koalas. They look cute. Yes.
plushies. And then at the end when they're all sheared and they're all sheared. And they were all cold, yeah. I felt so bad for them. But Angie did his sleep. Yeah. But... I really enjoyed this. This was a really enjoyable episode. I thought out of the three that this was the strongest one. Me too. It's hard to... It's very hard to make dreams realistic. It is. I think the only one that has gotten it completely right was Buffy.
Oh, I knew you were going to say that. It's the only one that has gotten the dream sequence right. You know what I have to counter you with? Is that dream sequence at the end, the one that you said was prophetic? The whole time I was watching it, I could not stop thinking about the Buffy season 4 finale. I agree. It's the same. Because in that one, there's moments when Aang comes out of the rocks, and then it's a quick cut, and he comes out of the rocks again.
Yeah. Like, stuff like that. Like, that's very dreamlike. All I could think about was Faith being like, five by five, counting down. I was like, ugh. Yeah. And then be back before dawn. Yeah. We've lost everyone who hasn't watched Spider-Man. We've just pushed all of our people over to Will and Hannah's show. The movie season 4 finale is the best thing I've ever seen, the best way I've ever seen Dreams done.
And this episode, besides the perfect dream, the rest of the dreams are kind of like the stereotypical dream sequences. But they're still done really well. They're fun. I like the different art styles. I like some of his delusions, like how when... Appa and Momo had the samurai fight. That was so awesome. Momo Usagi Yojimbo was hilarious. It was. Especially when Momo starts talking.
And then he realizes it, and, like, everyone comes up to him, and, like, it goes from a pen from, like, Toph to Katara to Sokka, and then to Appa, and then he also talks, and then... It throws you out of nowhere. It comes out of nowhere. You're expecting him to be out of the daydream by that point, but then Appa's talking. Yeah. And then the guru shows up looking like Ganesh.
Yeah, that was so weird. When I saw the Gruber, I was like, that's the cheese guy. Yeah. That one random thing that really has no meaning. Yeah. I wear the cheese. It does not wear me. Little high five. We've lost Kelly. We have lost Kelly. Anyway. The prophetic dream was actually really interesting, too. Because everything that happens in that dream does more or less come into play.
Yeah. Like, in the rest of the series. You're right. Like, there's Toph having no eyes, not being able to see. That happens in the Western Air Temple when Shuko burns her feet. There's Katara being engulfed in flames, which you can also see the flames as being the hatred for the Fire Nation, which happens in Southern Raiders. There's the meteor, obviously. There's Sokka being captured.
by the fire nation which happens in boiling rock and uh there's ang is under the water there's a sheet of ice and zuko's on top uh and i i kind of see that as like zuko is his only way to break free and finally win instead of staying where he is. He said Zuko was the only person who could help him. Yeah, and Zuko needs to break through and get to him. Because Zuko's the only one that can help him. Interesting!
Yeah. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. So, like, that dream, well, like, at first, like, you don't really know what it's about. It seems random. It does actually play into it a bit besides the Momo stuff. Momo really didn't have a... at one point. Momo was always there. He was there at the ending part. It was a big fan theory that Momo had something big to do with the finale but it never happened because of the dreams and it ended up never happening.
Yeah, but the dream stuff, I thought it all worked really well, personally. I know for some reason you think that this is the weakest of the three. Of these three, yes. It doesn't mean it's bad. We're talking Avatar Season 3 here. I mean, you can still be excellent and be the worst of a group of three. That said, I wouldn't count this as excellent. It just kind of felt...
I don't know. There's a few things that just kind of bugged me about it. The fact that, I mean, we mentioned this before, they get to the rendezvous point four days ahead of time. Pretty much just, you know, making Painted Lady even stupider now. And just the fact that it pretty much is them acknowledging that, you know, we just abandoned this whole plot arc and it was for this stupid episode. I didn't like that. Okay, the most, aside from the one dream...
It really was kind of a pointless episode, other than to just kind of, you know, reiterate, you know, Aang is still young and worried and blah, but it doesn't really... aside from the one prophetic dream, none of it really plays into the next episode all that much. See, I disagree, because Aang needs to...
feel unsure of himself before we can go to Day of Black Sun where he gets fully sure of himself. And he does, but... He needs to fully question himself, and I think that you kind of need... a full episode, or at least an episode with an A plot and B plot, to have that work, to have Aang overcome his...
But it came out of nowhere. I don't think it came out of nowhere. It could have done a much better job during the season of building up the fact that this final battle is coming and I've got to be ready for it, and all of a sudden it's like, okay, we're here. Four days until we're going to... Four days! Oh no! Because the gravity of it is setting in. Because the gravity is finally setting in. They had another goal in the way. They had goals on the way.
do the runway. They're in town. They're fighting off an evil bloodbender. They're being the painted lady and saving a river. There's things for him to keep his mind on. But when they're finally at the rendezvous and nothing else is going to happen. This is the last piece and what it was all leading up to. That's when his anxiety would finally sit in and where he would realize. the gravity of a situation that he's in and like they need to address that like they never address that like is he ready
for it. Like, they've addressed that, like, this plan is happening, but they've never really addressed, like, is he ready for this? And that's what this whole episode is about. Well, I wouldn't say they have not addressed is he ready in a training sense, but not in a mental confidence sense. Yeah, and once again, I think that's something that they...
should have done, that it could have been done better to actually, like, it doesn't have to take up the plot of every episode, but it could be a running subplot easily. I don't think it could have been so easy. Like, I really can't think of any of these episodes where, like, they could introduce that... plot and have it not affect the episode as a whole, which would change every other episode if he had some anxiety issue. Instead of just being Aang and having this anxiety when the day is...
there, like, when it's in front of him, and he's finally realizing that he's going to have to be the one that fights Fire Lord, and it's going to be one-on-one, and he's going to have to do it. Or even if it was brought up in this way, and it was integrated into David, of Black Sun, if Day of Black Sun was a three-part episode and they just jettisoned this and incorporated some of that in...
I mean, this is like a prologue to Day of Black Sun. Yeah, this is what happens before that. You can't have him having... But it feels like there's too much of a bow on it at the end of this to go into Day of Black Sun. There isn't a bow. The bow is that he's... confident, that he finally feels that he's confident to do it. And Day of Black Sun takes place directly, like...
The next day, the next morning. I get that. That's made very clear. This episode ends with him smiling at night because he's finally over his anxieties, and the next day is the invasion. There's no time to. have a plot line in Day of Black Sun where he's feeling unsure of himself. He needs to feel he's sure of himself from the very start of Day of Black Sun, from the very start of the operation before anything else takes place. He needs to know that he's ready.
to do it before. And they needed to address it, and that's what this episode was for. Well, that's like, they needed to address Aang, right? Because he would take longer. But they did address the fact that people were not confident in Day of Black Sun. They addressed Sokka. That he was not confident. Right? Was that Dave Blackson? No, I think... I don't know. I really don't know.
When he was laying out the invasion plan to everybody and he... Well, he wasn't sure of himself being the leader in Day of Blackstone. Right, okay, so that's still a lack of confidence and not sure of yourself. Because his task is different than that. Well, that's a different...
But it ties into what you're saying, is that they needed to have that plot thread in Day of Black Sun, and they did, but they needed more time for Aang, and I think that's why the episode beforehand fits. I still don't think it fits, because if you remove this, okay, aside from the one... I wouldn't say you feel like you're missing anything. I would...
I would say, because it's not just the dreams, it's what happens in real life too. How he's, how the whole time he's like, I need to train more, and he's, and he's... consistently getting more because he's getting less sleep he's getting more and more anxious and all of his feelings are coming to the light and he's trying but then he gets a good night's sleep and he's back to good but he's getting a good night's sleep because he because
His friends have seen what is wrong. They've all tried helping, and then they take it, they share all the koala sheep, they make a bed for him, and they all tell him that he can do it. Yeah, it wasn't the fancy bed that made Aang able to sleep. It was the speeches they gave him at the end where they sat down and said, you can do this. We've been watching you train since day one. The dreams were just a... a way to make Aang more anxious and more anxious
for his friends to finally come in and give him the confidence that he needs. Like, the daydreams, they may be pointless, yes, besides the prophetic dream, but they're not the point of the episode. The point of the episode is that he's feeling... Like he's not prepared for this. Even though he is. And that his friends need to help him with this. And his friends need to... Like they tried...
The hot yoga, which didn't work. They tried the bed. They tried the psychology. And eventually, like, you just need them to say that it was all right. It was all going to be okay. And you need him to keep getting... more and more, you need him to keep escalating to the point where he's at his wit's end for his friends to come in and say it's going to be okay for it to work. And I mean, this isn't even mentioning...
The Zuko stuff, which is also... We haven't even touched on the Zuko stuff. Let's move on to that. Yeah. But the Zuko stuff, it's... significantly less complicated. And it gets fairly straightforward. Yeah. But part of the... Especially the first time I watched it, I was much more interested in the Zuko stuff because...
You come off the beach, and you come off the Avatar and the Fire Lord, and then you get two episodes of nothing with them. Which I was actually talking with several of us earlier. I feel that that's pretty...
Like, it's necessary for... Well, no, it's good to let it... Yeah, because his character arc, for the moment, like, in the beach, it is done. And his character arc gets... gets reintroduced and this is again a precursor to what happens the day of black sun where you realize like he's he's feeling this this descent because like even though he's even though he
is feeling bad about not being accepted by his father, even when he is accepted by his father, and he comes out, he realizes that that's not what he wants to be. Well, no, I definitely get that, but I was saying more from a case of...
Just the way that I react to it, because like I said, you go two episodes without it, that means you're going, assuming that they did, you know... each episode was a week to a week to a week to a week, which I'm pretty sure it wasn't, but even in that case, you're still looking at three weeks of, you know, you get all this stuff about Zuko and...
I don't know about you guys, I was freaking salivating for more, and then they give you episode one without it, and episode two without it, and by the time they, even if it is this simple, you know, am I supposed to be at this war meeting? Turns out I was the whole time, and Azul was just trying to get in my head. It's still something to sink your teeth into that you wanted to see for those three weeks. And this definitely does fit for that. And it definitely does show off his character to an...
In some, you know, different ways, like the, you know, would you like, I forget what it's called, like the, you know, the carriage. Tart. Yeah. No, no, the carriage. It's like, I'm just going to Mays. It's like, no, we insist. And it's like right across the street. Like, it's a five-second walk. Yeah. Also, the Zuko fangirls who get taken away by security. Yes, I liked that. That was... That was almost a prelude to Ember Island for the thanks fan service kind of stuff.
I don't know. There wasn't much Zuko stuff. Like, the whole time he was so unsure of himself and so, like, oh, did I get invited to this world? He was kind of season one Zuko in this episode. Actually, like, my father doesn't love me. Well, that's kind of the thing. He's regressing. That's the point. Well, yeah, because he wasn't, like, the whole time he was, like, even, like, Azula even told him flat out, yeah, you're supposed to be there because you're the prince. And, like, like...
Even, like, when he asked, like, well, did you get an invitation? And then she said, yes, because I'm a princess. And, like, even, like, you could even take that as, like, her invitation is that she's the princess. Like, she didn't actually get a real invitation because she's the princess, and she knows that she's invited already.
Yeah, but I feel like she might have... That might have been true, but she probably worded it that way to get into his head. I think so. She probably didn't actually get an invitation. No, I don't think she did. I don't think she did. But, like, that stuff was all... Really interesting, too. It's weird. I think this is one of the few episodes where the stuff that happens to Aang is more compelling than the stuff that happens to Zuko. Really? We're all starting to get a little worried about you.
You've been awake too long. And you're acting downright weird. You've got to take care of yourself. You can't go on like this. On to the scores for the three episodes that we reviewed today. First up, Randy, what did you think of The Runaway? I gave The Runaway a 7. I thought it was basically just... Good, solid, but nothing special about it at all. Like I said, it's solid, but ultimately forgettable.
And that's why it's a 7. Yep, I agree. I gave it a 7 for all of the same reasons. I actually gave it an 8. I mean, it is forgettable, but I was enjoying the episode the whole way through. Katara is a bit of a bitch, as I was saying, but this is the episode where it starts to turn around, and I really did enjoy this one. For the Puppet Master, Randy. I'm giving the Puppet Master an 8. I thought that, well...
First off, I'm a big fan of horror, so I think that's why I liked it a bit more than most of you guys did. I thought the creepiness was good, and the ending was the darkest ending that Avatar had. So I think that it gets an 8 for me. I give it a 7, I guess, just because I'm not really into horror stuff. So I appreciate what it was trying to do, but it's not really my thing. But it was really well done, and the animation was really good.
I'm with Randy. I gave it an 8 as well. The only two knocks I had against it were, as I was saying, I still find the beginning to be a little bit boring and the whole, you know, they can talk. even though they're under control. Those were the two markdowns for me. And finally, Nightmares and Daydreams. What did you score this one, Randy? This might be an episode that I'd have to go back and watch again, but I'm giving it a nine. I thought that it was a very solid episode. I thought that...
The way that Aang kept escalating to his breaking point was really good. I liked seeing that Katara, Sokka, and Toph all really... cared about him and they all really wanted him to focus and try to calm down. And all the dreams were really cool, especially in the Momo Ujimbo, as I called it, and the...
Oppo were both really cool. And I like the Zuko plotline too. I think it's a really good setup for Day of Black Zone. I gave it an 8. I really liked all the pieces of it. You know, just the little funny pieces. The dumb little dreams, the prophetic dream. And the Momo and Appa fight was amazing. The Zuko plot kind of annoyed me. Yeah, that's why it's a little old. I'm going to give this one a 6. Once again, I found it to be very middle of the road.
The only thing that bumps it up from above average is that, like I said, and it might have to do with the fact that the previous two episodes were letting me whet my appetite, but it was just that little Zuko stuff that gave it that extra bump over average. If you wish to get in contact with The Last Podcast, there's always a number of ways to do so. The first is by sending us an email at thelastpodcast at earth2.net. That's thelastpodcast, all in word, at earth2.net.
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Next time on Avatar The Last Podcast, we sit down to review the two-part epic, The Day of Black Sun. For Randy and Steph, I'm Kellen. Thank you very much for listening, and have yourself a good night.