Spoilers will be below!
Choose? I have to choose!?
How am I supposed to do that!? Doesn't anyone realize how difficult that choice is? I mean most of Avatar is so epic that I have a lot of favorite episodes in it!
*kicks dirt*
Fine. I can make a choice....
**SPOILERS** (Highlight to read)
If I had to choose I would be tied with 'The Beach' and 'Ember Island Players.' Yes, they're both filler episodes but they both make me laugh like crazy and hysterical laughter is an important part of the decision making process.
**END SPOILERS**So what about you? What is your favorite AtLA episode?
Tomorrow: Least Favorite Episode
Logging you in...
Minish · 724 weeks ago
@redbeardjim · 724 weeks ago
I guess I'll have to go with "The Blind Bandit" for sheer entertainment, thanks to the razor-sharp (but still affectionate) parody of professional wrestling (I grew up watching the same stuff Mike and Bryan did, apparently), the Water Triiiiiibe Thug Lyfe Crew, and of course Toph!
hpfish13 115p · 724 weeks ago
elenielstorm 70p · 724 weeks ago
This reminds me of a conversation I had with my boyfriend's brother after I finished watching the series:
Brother: What was your favorite episode?
Me: Oh, I dunno, Western Air Temple?
Brother: Wrong. Your favorite episode is everyone's favorite episode: Sozin's Comet.
Me: ..... Yeah, you're right!
It might not be strictly true, but Sozin's Comet IS pretty damn amazing! xD
Depths_of_Sea 88p · 724 weeks ago
Oh, plus the music is just great. I still get chills and tear up a little bit at the ending sequence. That little "pling!" of the chimes when the episode cuts out gets me every time.
nochenne 81p · 724 weeks ago
"Zuko Alone" is fantastic. I love the backstory, the character development, and the writing. It's easily the best standalone episode in the series, and exemplifies why Zuko is my favorite character. He's a complex young man, and life has not been kind to him. Zuko can be so very frustrating, as any Zuko fan can attest, but I think this episode goes a long way in explaining why Zuko acts the way he does. I also like how it once again reminds us that just as not all citizens of the Fire Nation are bad, there are plenty of shady characters in the Earth Kingdom, too.
Then there's the finale, which I love (although I do have some issues with it). Especially in the first three episodes, there's near-perfect execution of the end of many storylines; I particularly enjoyed seeing Zuko and Iron's reunion (so many tears), and the final fight with Azula. And one of the best things about ATLA is that it never takes itself too seriously, and even in the finale, this is true. Sokka gives us a couple of pretty silly scenes (the birthday on the airship and Appa "eating" Momo), but they relieve the tension in such a delightful way. I wasn't a fan of the spiritbending, but I did like seeing Aang as a fully-realized Avatar, and as someone who geeks out over mythology and worldbuilding, I was basically flailing around when Aang called forth four of his past lives to talk about his moral dilemma. Eee ATLA world backstory!
Other episodes I particularly enjoy: "The Storm," "The Siege of the North," "Bitter Work," "City of Walls and Secrets," "Lake Laogai," "The Crossroads of Destiny," "The Avatar and the Fire Lord," "The Day of Black Sun," "The Western Air Temple," "The Boiling Rock," and "The Southern Raiders."
mou issai · 724 weeks ago
There is so much to love about the finale: Melon Lord, all the past characters coming back, Iroh and Zuko's reunion, the airships (tears when Sokka said it looked like the end), the Agni Kai, Azula's deterioration, the epic music etc. Tbh I did a head tilt at the glowy taking away bending part but it made sense afterward. I was more satisfied with Zuko and Katara taking on Azula because she felt like the bigger villain to me.
I'm also looking forward to the review on Appa's Lost Days, such a good episode with ALL THE TEARS. It'll crush Mark's heart so hard.
affableevil 107p · 724 weeks ago
I can do this
After much thought, I guess I would have to award the honor to either Zuko Alone or Crossroads of Destiny. Both are dramatic and powerful and kept me on my seat, even through multiple viewings (I swear, every time I rewatch CoD I expect Zuko to choose differently and am disappointed when he shoots at Aang what is wrong with me).
mkjcaylor 87p · 724 weeks ago
I guess, because I can't recall any of them like I can recall Sozin's Comet, I will pick that one. Get back to me after I've watched through a few more times. :P
echinodermata 118p · 724 weeks ago
Very tough. But some of my favorites, in order of when they aired (and I haven't rewatched in a while, so some of the later stuff, mostly S2 and S3, might be left out because I've forgotten them):
The King of Omashu, The Blue Spirit, The Siege of the North, Part 2, The Cave of Two Lovers, Return to Omashu, The Blind Bandit, Zuko Alone, The Tales of Ba Sing Se, The Beach, The Western Air Temple, The Ember Island Players
Of these, top three are probably Cave of Two Lovers (music!), The Beach (most of my favorite characters all together being hilarious), and The Ember Island Players (I LOVE META).
So basically I go for humor on this show. Solidarity, ELSOS.
hpfish13 115p · 724 weeks ago
evelinawhite 60p · 724 weeks ago
So... I used to be a semi-regular commentator during the Mark reads Harry Potter days, and then real life overtook me and I went back to merely lurking. I love the idea of this meme, though, so I'm going to be participating. *waves*
I've actually found that picking a favourite whatever is just so ridiculously hard that I'm actually completely unable to do so, and I tend to default to one of the episodes I most recently watched. So for this meme, I decided to go with the Boiling Rock episodes (they can count as one, right? ;) )
I'm a sucker for break-out stories, and the tension of going undercover to sneak into the best Fire Nation prison still has me on edge. I do love quiet character development-y episodes, as well, but these two episodes have so many cool little moments I think I ultimately want to rank it higher than episodes like Zuko Alone or The Storm.
So let me recount my top 5 moments from these episodes for you:
1. The return of Suki, and consequently Suki being BAD-ASS. Seriously, the way she climbs that watch tower and takes out the warden? AWESOME. Suki is really one of my favourite minor characters and I was so happy to have her back on the team!
2. Sokka. These episodes are all about Sokka, obviously, and I love it. From his goofy interactions with the other guards to the awesome escape plans he comes up with, Sokka really rules these episodes. Also, the parallel between Sokka and Zuko comes up very clearly here again, and it really makes me feel for Zuko as well as Sokka.
3. Mai and Ty Lee defying Azula. "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you." When I first watched these episodes it genuinely came as a shock to me that they would betray her. I know they'd been foreshadowing it before, but it still took me completely by surprise. I also love the way Azula reacts. She's already cracking...
4. Zuko trying to cheer Sokka up, which I'm going to quote because it's just too awesome.
Zuko: "Sometimes, clouds have two sides, a dark and light. And a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich. So, when live seems hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich."
Sokka: [runs up to the railing] "Maybe we haven't failed after all."
Zuko: "That's the spirit. I can't believe that worked. I didn't even know what I was saying."
Sokka: "No, what you said made no sense at all. But look!" [points to Suki]
5. The family reunion at the end. OK, guys, I'm sorry, but I'm just a sucker for shit like that. I love Katara's joy at having her father back. And it simultaneously makes me feel so sad for Zuko who's really lost everything. I also think this moment makes the eventual Iroh/Zuko reunion even more satisfying for me.
Anyway, I also have a soft spot for filler episodes like "The Fortune Teller", "The Beach" and fan-favourite "The Ember Island Players". And honorary mentions go to "Tales of Ba Sing Se" for never failing to make me cry at Irohs tale.
dreining · 724 weeks ago
City of Walls and Secrets, hands down. It was the first episode to premiere after the summer in when Nickelodeon aired the two ATLA "movies" (Which consisted of 2 episodes each: The Library and The Desert as "The Fury of Aang" and The Serpent's Pass and The Drill as "The Secret of the Fire Nation"), and I had invited my other ATLA fan friends over to watch. Boy, were our middle school brains blown. I hadn't yet read Nineteen Eighty-Four, so the whole concept of a dystopia was entirely new to me.
Everything about CoW&S works for me. So action-packed (Zuko vs. Jet!)! So funny ("Just... bear." "Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty, your Momoness." "The secret ingredient is ~LOVE~")! So gorgeously drawn (I WANT TO LIVE IN BA SING SE, MINUS THE HEAPING HELPING OF CREEPSAUCE)! So terrifying (Seriously, I don't even need parentheses to specify this statement, and yet I use them. That's how terrifying it is.)!
I also retroactively love this ep even more because it sets up the entire last third of the stellar Book 2. After almost two seasons of world-traveling, the switch to one location really set the Ba Sing Se arc apart. Unfortunately, when they tried to have the Gaang stay in one place in the Western Air Temple/Zuko Field Trip arc, it just didn't stack up to THE GREATEST CITY ON THE PLANET THERE IS NO WAR IN BA SING SE THERE IS NO WAR IN BA SING SE
Some of my other favorites include: The Deserter, The Waterbending Master, The Swamp, The Blind Bandit, Zuko Alone, The Chase, The Library/The Desert, Lake Laogai, The Guru/The Crossroads of Destiny, The Beach, The Southern Raiders, and The Ember Island Players.
Alexander · 724 weeks ago
One favorite? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
I think it'll have to be "The puppetmaster". I loved the exploration of water-bending and the final duel between Katara and Hamma was EPIC!
Honorable mentions go to "Into the Inferno" for the Order of the White Lotus attacking Ba Sing Se, "The avatar and the firelord" for the sheer amount of YANA contained in those 25 minutes and "The headband" for the way Aang is completely unimpressed by bullies and strict teachers but instead looking at them like a curious kid at a bug.
Sparkie · 724 weeks ago
I'm not sure I did a very good job explaining that, and maybe I chose them just because I've seen them fairly recently, but I think they were two pretty awesome episodes!
lossthief 111p · 724 weeks ago
I have to say that my absolute favorite is "Sozin's Comet Part 3: Into The Inferno" and it's entirely because of the music. The Track Team deserve every award possible for the absolutely brilliant score done for that episode. I don't think I need to really point out what was so great about it, since the intensity basically speaks for itself. I also love the action, how we see two fights that have been fated to happen for years now, finally coming to a head, and the way the episode LOOKED was practically the definition of beauty.
Other episodes I liked were "The Deserter" "Return To Omashu" "The Blind Bandit" (TOPH!) "Tales of Ba Sing Se" "The Crossroads of Destiny" "Sokka's Master" (TBH, this is only here because of Sokka giving the Meteor chunk to Toph at the end.) "The Firebending Masters" and "The Southern Raiders"
Dragon Elexus 124p · 724 weeks ago
Spoilers for all three seasons, but I've kept it mostly ambiguous.
Favourite Episode? Oooh, that’s a tough one.
Instinctually, the first one which comes to mind for me is Zuko Alone. Its a combination o all sorts of things which makes that episode have such an impact. Firstly, I love the character of Zuko, and its simply wonderful to get an episode which focuses solely on him; we see his moral dilemmas, him bonding with the people he’s oppressed as a member of the Fire Nation, and coping with the fact that as effectively a refugee from the Fire Nation, he’s not entitled to any riches. Its delicious character stuff, and a real landmark in his development. Along with seeing him change in the present, though, we get such beautiful flash backs to his life in the palace. I love back story more than is probably healthy, and here we see the complex interactions of royal life and some wonderful cloak and dagger stuff. Plus, it makes me want to cuddle Zuko, even if he’s probably try to burn my face off.
But there are so many great episodes in the show, that I’ll list some of my other absolute favourites.
-The Storm. More character and flashbacks, so no surprise there.
-The Waterbending Master. We get to see the Northern Water Tribe for the first time, with some wonderful feminist plot, awkward romance from Sokka and a kick ass bending battle.
-The Blind Bandit. Toph; what more can I say?
-Appa’s Lost Days: I’d explain why, but I’m too busy giving Appa a hug.
- All of the season 2 finale. I mean, come on, that is one of the most epic finales I’ve ever seen. Ever.
- Day of Black Sun is condensed epic.
- Western Air Temple: Lol, awkward Zuzu is awkward.
- The Boiling Rock: ....so much happens in these episodes, so much that in this small space I can only describe it as EPIC.
- The Southern Raiders: NINJAS!
Medli 141p · 724 weeks ago
SPOILERS.
Book One: THE STORM. The Blue Spirit. The Waterbending Master. And The Siege of the North Parts I & II. Edit: And King of Omashu!
Book Two: The Blind Bandit, Zuko Alone, The Desert (just for Sokka hopped up on cactus juice, that will never not be funny), Tales of Ba Sing Se, Crossroads of Destiny.
Book Three: The Beach, The Avatar and the Firelord, The Puppetmaster, Day of Black Sun Part II: The Eclipse (I can watch Zuko's verbal smackdown of Ozai over and over, seriously), and... really, everything after that is just golden. Because ZUKO IS PART OF THE GROUP AND IT'S SO AMAZING. Special props to Ember Island Players, for being hilarious and meta and still having awesome character moments.
MichelleZB · 724 weeks ago
TDM · 724 weeks ago
@redgarlic68 · 724 weeks ago
My favorite episode is "Lake Laogai".
I loved the storylines (partially) coming together, the first glimpse at Zuko's remorsement and disposition to help Aang, Jet (OMG THEY KILLED JET??????), Longshot and Smellerbee being awesome, the fight at Lake Laogai, the Joo Dee army, Toph being snarky about her own blindness... There are other episodes that I like (The Western Air Temple comes in a close second) but none like this one.