The Beach - Humanizing the Villains (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

the beach is one of my favorite episodes i feel like i say that a lot but i like it for two very deep and emotional reasons the first one being that it's a beach episode and the second is that there's a lot of azula and as an avid azula stan that shouldn't come as a surprise and as much as i loved the cool fight sequences and inventive bending in this episode i didn't really care what the gang was doing i wanted that sweet teenage angst it's clear that the beach excels because of its characterization in this episode we learn what the fire nation children do when they're not chasing down the avatar we've already seen the gang lounge around and be kids now we get to see the other side of the equation beginning with mei and tai li from the get-go they were never on the same level as azula while allied with the princess i never feared them or considered them as truly evil as i did with azula they never carried that same intensity in this episode we see mei and tylee act in accordance with what we've seen before may being reserved in stoic entirely being happy-go-lucky attracting all of the fire nation guys at the beach the beach does play on the tropes of teenagers and these two fill their roles quite accordingly however where things change is that we get a deeper look into why their personalities are the way that they are may the once only child whose family was rich downplays her personal issues the loneliness and solitude she's had to deal with as a result of controlling parents explains her whole demeanor azula says that she is afraid of caring but she proved over the course of this episode that she does care about zuko but she won't let his hardships justify his behavior as demonstrated in the way that she doesn't put up with his outbursts of anger but she still does stay by his side may might be afraid of caring and expressing herself but she doesn't shy away from expressing love as she proves not only in this episode but in the boiling rock as well moving on to ty lee we see the first glimpse of her past when azula tells her that the guys that have been swooning over her don't actually like her for her which immediately brings her to tears later on in that episode we learned that ty lee chases individuality and because of a lack of it as a result of being a sibling who looks just like her five sisters she craves attention and explains her joining the circus so azula telling her that people don't care for who she actually is goes deeper than just some boys what i also found interesting about tai li is that before she tells this story zuko burns his family photo and she interjects she thinks he does care about that family photo and that she does truly know him tailee and may have been friends with the royal family since childhood entirely being part of a match set not being recognized for her own talents not being given attention considering this maybe she does know a bit about what zuko is going through who is the older weaker sibling to a fire bending prodigy the one who got all of ozai's attention this demonstrated that tai li is someone who is not only cheerful but empathetic as well speaking of zuko this episode was significant for him the beach comes in at the fifth entry in the season and it highlights the fire nation prince a few days after his return to the fire nation zuko should have his life in order the avatar has been killed and his honor has been restored as he said ozai talks to him now he's under the fire lord's good graces and he isn't being hunted by his own family again things should be normal once said that zuko alone saw the fire nation prince at his lowest though after watching the beach again it's so clear to me that this is truly his lowest moment zuko's only ever had one goal in his life and it's been regaining his honor it's been hammered into our brains since episode one and he did it his father says he's proud of him his goal is fulfilled but he's so empty and lost in this episode he's so volatile and fragile he's jealous even zuko is so threatened when mae talks to another guy because mae is the last person by his side zuko is throwing fits of desperation he's holding on to this relationship because it's the last thing that he has ember island this little vacation is just reminding zuko of how much his life has changed how alone he is when he enters their old vacation home the crown prince picks up family photos and he sees memories of a time where his father accepted him he sees his face and he isn't scarred his father hasn't burned him yet he sees his photo and his mother's there this is what normal looks like [Music] he thinks back to his youth the times he spent with uncle iro and lieutenant a relationship that he failed ember island is not a vacation for zuko it's a place of painful memories adding fuel to his anger and he projects all of that guilt and rage and anguish onto everyone around him as we get to the end of the episode they all ask him why and who he's so angry at and of course he says that he is angry at himself as the fire that he built rages he's not angry at ozai because he finally knows that his honor was never taken away by his father but by turning his back on his uncle the one person who's had faith in him from the beginning the one person who's been by his side zuko threw away his own honor that day in the crystal catacombs the crown prince is so angry because for the first time he is truly without honor but by admitting this and understanding this he's turning the corner as he seeks ira's guidance in the very next episode the beach is zuko's first step towards redemption last but not least azula the princess of the fire nation for me brings this episode together because of her much needed humanization after a full season of her relentless pursuit of the gang we've come to associate azula and her chilling theme with evil sometimes even more so than ozai this 14 year old just took down bossing say in weeks she killed the avatar and five episodes later we see her in this new light of course the first half is the princess in typical azula fashion dominating the volleyball game but as we get to the party she's so out of her element the princess can barely speak without it sounding horribly awkward and she needs to learn how to be a teenager though when she does manage to get chan's attention and a kiss she ruins it moments later yeah she's a terrifying firebender but this reminds us that azula is still a kid she makes bad jokes and she gets jealous just like any other teenager just like any other person but aside from her clumsy interactions azula shows her heart when she gets jealous of tai li she makes her cry and immediately apologizes after seeing how her words affected tai li later when zuko is taken back by the memories of their former home azula actively looks for him and invites him back down to the beach removing him from the depressing memories of that place azula knows what happened to her brother what those pictures are reminding him of how things used to be finally when she laughs at zuko calling tyler a circus freak azula genuinely seems to feel bad about it all of these moments help inhumanizing her showing that she is a person who does feel guilt and sympathy however she contradicts this by calling zuko pathetic laughing at tai li making fun of mei and claiming that all of their issues were sob stories as if she isn't a victim herself in azula's revelation that her mother thought she was a monster it made me think back to those clumsy and awkward exchanges at the party the princess of the fire nation can barely interact with others if it isn't about fire nation politics when she's not cutting into long fang with terrifying precision she's just awkward azula doesn't know how to be a teenager all she knows is how to conquer and it even leaks into her moment with chan it was funny in the moment but in retrospect tragic she doesn't know how to talk to people when she's not trying to manipulate them more than that this episode highlighted that azula doesn't have her own identity aside from what other people have deemed her as azula believed that her mother thought she was a monster and because ursa wasn't there to mend that relationship that's what she became she felt like her mother loved izuko more than her because of that zula sought out her father's acceptance and love and he loved power and domination ozai wanted a winner a perfect monster so that's what she became zuko tai li and mei all have their own identities we saw from tyler's story that it's clear she craves individuality may seems to be comfortable with who she is and zuko is currently cultivating his own identity tai lee calls azula beautiful smart and perfect but at this point it's too late no one tells her that she isn't a monster that she doesn't have to be perfect to have worth azula instead accepts and agrees that she is indeed one because that's the only thing she's ever seen herself as and it has invaded her personality i think the worst part is is that she knows it but she doesn't fight it she can't fight it so she accepts it because in accepting that it will bring her what she desires love even if it is from ozai the fact that she didn't feel her mother's love and brushes it off is so telling at the same time zula is being manipulated by ozai the very same way she manipulates others it's why she calls their stories sob stories and why she calls her brother pathetic zuko is coming to the realization of who their father truly is and what he'd done to them but she hasn't how could she her father has molded his daughter into a monster built to fight built to win it's an obsession and it's even more tragic when she loses the final fight with zuko because when azula loses who exactly is she then what is she those final 10 minutes not only for the fire nation royals but for the gang as well brings us back into reality both parties have spent the day relaxing being kids having fun for once but as the night rolls around the reality of war settles in physically and emotionally the gang gets attacked by combustion man and the fire nation kids are all opening emotional wounds particularly ang katara and saka as well as zuko and azula they are victims of this war they're not all equal but they've all been hurt by it in some way or another whether it be a physical scar or a loss of identity each of them between 12 and 16. the beach for me was a longing to sit with the awkward zuko the bubbly thai lee the reserved may and the socially inept azula just for a little bit longer i wanted to see these kids all of them just be kids but it's clear that for both parties the war has taken that away from them this video has been sponsored by audible audible and their thousands upon thousands of audio books changed the game for me at the beginning of my search for new books to read i found it difficult to find time to sit down and actually read listening to audiobooks while i'm doing other things just makes life a whole lot easier for me right now i'm listening to audiobooks of my favorite titles and it has become a new experience for me i just finished listening to rick riordan's the lightning thief and now i'm on to the sea of monsters jesse bernstein's percy makes a lot of sense to me and it breeds new life into the series that i already love audible has a bunch of genres and like i said thousands of titles in a bunch of different languages too so if you are interested in audio books visit audible.com sagesrain or text sagesrane to 500 500 to start your 30-day free trial again that's audible.com sagesrain or text sagesrain to 500-500 who knows maybe one day you'll hear me on the other side of one thank you for listening and i'll see you all soon [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Sage's Rain

Views: 209,657

Keywords: tv, avatar the last airbender, atla, zuko, prince zuko, mai, ty lee, azula, princess azula, redemption, iroh, uncle iroh, general iroh, fire lord, firebending, fire nation, aang, katara, sokka, honor

Id: sKjB19FKhHI

Length: 14min 33sec (873 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 05 2021