Book 1: Water

Chapter 4

The Warriors of Kyoshi

WHAT HAPPENED?

The group travels to an island for R&R, but are captured by local warriors who are named after Avatar Kyoshi. Aang reveals that he is the Avatar and they treat him like a rockstar, which he promptly takes to his head. News reaches Zuko of Aang’s location, and he shows up to fight, causing serious damage to the small island town. A fight breaks out, but Aang decides to leave in order to protect the island and lure Zuko away.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY

I wanted to point out a hilarious moment and one of the things that, despite the weight of the world being on his shoulders, reminds me that Aang is a still a kid and a huge goofball.

Now watch this!

When the group is attacked by the Kyoshi Warriors, where is Appa? He’s a giant, fluffy monster with big teeth and horns who is protective of Aang. Wouldn’t he be there to let out a roar and at least make the warriors think twice about capturing his master? I understand that he walks away while Aang is surfing on the Koi fish, but still. He couldn’t have been so far away that he wouldn’t notice the scuffle. I mention this because, later in the episode, Katara has time to run and stop Appa from eating something while Aang is surfing, and then runs back to the beach while Aang is STILL surfing. I told you I was going to nitpick.

Doesn’t that look awesome!

This episode shows a bit of development for Aang and Katara that continues from what we see at the Southern Air Temple. Aang is in tremendous pain from the realization that all of his people were wiped out at the hands of the Fire Nation. Or it would have been nice to see the continuation of his pain, guilt and regret for the loss of his people. We don’t see Aang show much emotion about this until later in the show, but it would have been nice to have a close follow up to the previous episode.

In this episode, Aang was being a jerk, but Katara is still his friend and concerned for his safety. Perhaps this speaks to Katara’s character since she is a very nurturing figure in the group, but I like to think of it as development between them. Not much happened with Zuko or Iroh, though. Zuko heard the news about Aang being somewhere and he tried to capture him. He failed, and the group moved on.

I… am… awesome!

This episode is decent filler and introduces us to a society that worships an Avatar from long ago. The island is even named after Avatar Kyoshi, and just wait until you hear how it was formed. I did think it was a bit convenient that the story of Aang’s location went in a direct line back to Zuko. I understand that the ‘travelling fish’ goes where the hand takes it, but I still think it was a bit too convenient.

And once again, Zuko used epic breakdancing to gain the upper hand in his fight with the Kyoshi Warriors. I think he’d do well to try out for the next Step Up movie. You know there will be another one. There will always be another one.

Zuko’s audition tape…

I also have to roll my eyes at the ‘women can fight’ subplot between Sokka and Suki. I think it was a misstep for this episode, but not a large one. I understand that the show is meant for a younger audience, but throughout the show, we are shown example after example of how women are not only excellent ass-kickers, but that they can surpass men because they are so awesome. And that’s not just in fighting; there are plenty of strong female characters in this show to go around. Some are even pretty terrifying, but we’ll get to them when we get further along. Some of them don’t need to fight to show how strong they are.

However, that message can be displayed through their actions, and the writers completely negate the ‘women can fight’ message by having Suki kiss Sokka. How long did the two of them spend training? A day? Half a day? A few hours? It’s not clear, but we don’t see enough of their interaction to believe that this badass warrior chick would look twice at this sexist jerk after how he acted when they met.

Give me a break!

I understand that they had time to get to know each other while she was training him, but that just means that she could respect him as a warrior. There wasn’t enough on-screen development for me to believe that they’re attracted to each other. Or even that she was attracted to him. The line ‘I’m a warrior, but I’m still a girl’ leaves a sour taste in my mouth in that respect.

For now, we met the Kyoshi Warriors and saw a society that pretty much has the utmost respect for the Avatar. Next time, we’ll judge books by their cover when we meet the King of Omashu.

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