The Library: Avatar’s Most Underrated Episode

[Music] avatar it's safe to say the show is pretty popular these readings are off the chat avatar huh very nice someone born when the series first aired in 2005 would now be old enough to enlist and yet the vibrant anime inspired epic continues to fuel an entire industry of video essays many of which are pretty dang good i've already talked at length about what i think the show's strongest aspect was but today i'd like to do a less formal video discussing one of my favorite episodes and for fans of my normal content don't worry the super long videos on obscure animal related topics are still in the works hello little weird fox guy it's just nice to take a break every once in a while and make something casual that doesn't require two or three months of research and editing when people talk about the best episodes of avatar a few specific choices usually come to mind zuko alone is a natural front-runner for the uniqueness of choosing to force the former antagonist into a heroic role while not featuring any of the rest of the main cast it's brilliant subversion of the western showdown formula and its powerful and effective use of flashbacks that reveal a great deal about its titular character's past in subtle clever and impactful ways the storm is widely credited as being the first episode to force us to consider the banished prince as something more than a simple villain cleverly contrasting his journey with the young avatars while the blue spirit followed this up with an exciting action-packed episode that builds excellently upon these reveals city of walls and secrets ends on a harrowing cliffhanger in which the city of boss singh say the last bastion of resistance to the fire nation's tyranny the safe harbor our heroes had spent the entire season seeking is revealed to be an orwellian police state and the southern raiders serves as both a surprisingly mature exploration of grief and trauma as well as a moving payoff for the loss that has haunted katara since her first appearance in the series but what if i told you that one of the strongest episodes in the show one in which many of its greatest elements pun definitely intended are played at their strongest is actually the library now i know what you're probably thinking cardinal west you just like this episode because it has a lot of books in it go back to the library and that's true i am a huge nerd but as a matter of fact i don't just read books i actually wrote one it's called winter without end and it's now available for purchase from fenris publishing in both paperback and ebook format a post-apocalyptic adventure story featuring an abandoned dog who teams up with a wounded wolf in order to survive that's right this video is sponsored by me i think i'm actually not sure if this counts as a sponsorship under youtube's policies since i'm the one who wrote the book but if you're a regular viewer who likes xenofiction or you just want to help support the channel i'd appreciate you checking it out details and links can be found in the description how's that for a transition anyway avatar the plot of the library consists of the heroes bumping into an archaeology professor on the outskirts of the vast siwong desert learning of his quest to find the mythical library of won shi tong a great knowledge spirit and then seeking out said library in order to gain information on their enemies the fire nation first off i just want to emphasize how cool of a concept this is a mystical library hidden deep within a massive desert a little enclave of the spirit world carved out in the physical world where all available knowledge has been collected again maybe it's just the book nerd in me but this sent my imagination into overdrive as a kid the idea of stumbling across this vast collection of knowledge from all over the world with who knows how much could be uncovered if you know where to look i've always been a sucker for the secret archives trope both in fiction and real life and this episode manages to integrate that concept into the avatar world in a manner that makes sense puts a unique twist on it and furthers the narrative speaking of integration i love how the writers manage to allude to the existence of the library all the way back near the end of season one when zhao mentions it while explaining how he discovered the identities of the mortal forms of the moon and ocean spirits i was a young lieutenant serving under general shu in the earth kingdom i discovered a hidden library underground in fact but even before the group gets to the library viewers are treated to a unique environment in the vistas of the siwong desert a massive arid expanse of dunes that lies at the heart of the continent as well as the surrounding prairies the earth kingdom is by far the most diverse of the four nations reflecting the traits of its classical element which is composed of a variety of substances and takes myriad forms the society culture and even locales of kyoshi are distinct from those of bossing sei or omashu or the eastern coast and in the library we get to see yet another example of this diversity in the sand benders a culture who has adapted to the harsh climes of the siwang desert by learning to use earth bending on fine grains of sand with clothing inspired by the peoples of the middle east and central asia and sands gifts that they employ to sail the dunes like seas the sand benders always stuck out to me as one of the most interesting and distinctive subcultures in the avatar world even among the numerous other examples also this brief moment when the gang exits the cantina and professor zay shoes away a group of sand vendors who seem a little too interested in oppa serves as a nice setup to what happens in the episode's climax but all in all avatar has always done a fantastic job of integrating the different elements of its world building with bending culture and geography tied together and shaping one another to create so many unique combinations that all help to make the world seem more lived in and real then we come to the aesthetics of the library itself this sprawling cavernous seemingly endlessly layered palace-like building with exquisite architecture containing influences from all over the avatar world towering shelves reach toward the vaulted ceiling each packed with books and scrolls while lanterns cast the darkened hallways in ethereal hues of green and walkways suspended over the central atrium give a glimpse into the shadow depths below this grandiose scale is accentuated by the framing of scenes within the library shots are frequently placed low to the ground and angled upward adding to the sense of being an insignificant mortal who has stumbled upon this mystical place and the inhabitants of the library complete the aesthetic with wanshitang himself being the primary example a giant owl cloaked in black feathers with a few splashes of white to give his form detail the knowledge spirit wields a commanding presence even before he speaks with a melodic echoey voice that seems to carry through the corridors of his domain making him feel almost like an extension of his library [Music] i know you're back there i love how the writers managed to take the two animals most commonly associated with wisdom or wit owls and foxes and incorporate both into the episode with the great owl spirit being aided by fox-like knowledge seekers who traverse the world to bring texts back to add to their master's collection how could i not think that's awesome yeah yeah i know throughout it all the music played with soft instruments and often accompanied by a choir maintains an eerie otherworldly quality to it only heightening the sense that our characters have passed beyond the boundaries of the physical world into a place where human beings don't really belong oh it's breathtaking the spirit spared no expense in designing this place when it comes to the subject of magic avatar the last airbender is primarily known for its hard magic system of bending something so commonplace and thoroughly understood by the inhabitants of the world that they don't really even consider it to be magic it's not magic it's water bending yeah yeah an ancient art unique to our culture blah blah blah certain people are capable of telekinetic manipulation of one of the classical elements and the limits of these abilities are well understood even if their boundaries can be pushed by building upon the core mechanisms by which they operate as in the cases of metal bending and blood bending but one of my favorite things about avatar's handling of magic is that buried beneath this hard magic system of bending is the soft magic system involving the spirits something quite rare for an ordinary person in this world to encounter and something that we as viewers likewise see precious little of throughout the course of the show as saka says when referencing one of aang's mystical experiences that's avatar stuff that doesn't count because the show only gives us brief glimpses into the world of the spirits the writers managed to preserve a sense of it being truly magical mysterious and even dangerous beyond the ability of normal people to comprehend or control from aang's encounter with ko the face stealer to haybai's vengeance field rampage the few times we see spirits or the spirit world in avatar are made all the more special for how out of place they seem in comparison to the rest of the show not that they feel incongruent with the world but more like several degrees off from normal reality one of the most underrated qualities is avatar's extensive use of locations practically every episode takes place in a new locale aside from the odd two-parter and even when the gang returns somewhere such as with omashu the city's circumstances have changed so drastically in light of the fire nation's occupation that it effectively is a new setting but the library has always stood out to me seeming different even when contrasted against the myriad other locations that team avatar comes across in their travels speaking of spirits we can't forget wan shitong himself he who knows ten thousand things the spirit of knowledge and creator of the library despite only being featured in one episode of the original series he makes quite the mark not just because of his distinctive style and presentation but because of who he is as a character the knowledge spirit is quite unique among the antagonists of the show where other minor antagonists who oppose team avatar in some way either end up revealing their true nature for good or evil or eventually reconciling with the group wan shi tong does neither in fact as a spirit he fittingly exists beyond mortal conceptions of morality caring only about the accumulation and preservation of knowledge for its own sake and distrusting humanity because of their destructive tendencies something you can't really blame him for humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans like that fire bender who came to this place a few years ago looking to destroy his enemy that being said he is willing to give the avatar and his friends a chance despite strongly suspecting what their intentions are and only turns on them when they betray his trust again can you really blame him as he says you think you're the first person to believe their war was justified countless others before you have come here seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies wan chitong isn't just some stuffy old aloof spirit or abstract embodiment of the concept of knowledge he is a being with desires ideals and traits we had no choice please we're just desperate to protect the people we love and now i'm going to protect what i love including an endearing cheekiness to his personality befitting such a wise and intelligent being then why have you come here um knowledge for knowledge's sake if you're going to lie to an all-knowing spirit being you should at least put some effort into it it's often said that the mark of strong narrative conflict is when two characters or sides both have good reason to want opposing things and we get a clear case of that in this episode naturally we understand team avatar's desire to uncover intelligence that will help them win the war as we have all of the context to know that the fire nation has invaded the other nations and committed atrocities but to an immortal spirit this is just yet another war between members of a species that cannot seem to keep themselves from violence and destruction individual human lives might mean everything to other human beings but to the immortal spirit they might as well be insects and as such he chooses to value the preservation of knowledge over bothering to become embroiled in yet another one of countless human conflicts and risk his library especially after his experience with zhao who torched a significant portion of his collection rather than let an enemy stumble upon it and gain an advantage over his nation and that's what i find so interesting about him rather than being yet another evil minor antagonist wan chitong is more of a lawful neutral type if anything whose principles and stern code clashes with that of team avatar because of how alien they are good thing in the sequel series the writers knew to leave well enough alone the last human who said that is still here oh well at least they handled his character respectfully right ah no for some reason when the writers brought wan chitong back in season 2 of legend of korra they decided to take this interesting nuanced principled character and make him stupid and evil yes i am well aware of the radio but do you know how it works of course i do there is a box and inside the box there is a tiny man who sings and plays musical instruments actually look how they mess with my boy an ancient spirit who lives above mortal concerns hates the violent destructive power-hungry nature of humanity and cares only about preserving knowledge for its own sake well in the sequel series owlboy is so mad that humans tried to use his knowledge to obtain power that he sides with a human who is trying to fuse with the literal incarnation of absolute evil in order to conquer the entire world and initiate in his own words ten thousand years of darkness but why why would you do that why would you do it with you out of the way i will be the one true avatar what is going on with you what are you talking about they didn't even get his voice right and it's the same voice actor those are the old rules besides what is the little girl going to teach one chi-tong mortals are so predictable and such terrible liars and that's ignoring the fact that in the eastern asian inspired mysticism of the avatar world there shouldn't even be a literal incarnation of good and evil the unambiguous dualistic good versus evil cosmology is a very western and specifically abrahamic metaphysical worldview it's completely out of place here yeah season two of legend of korra is shall we say not great however these problems are not the fault of the original series speaking of which another thing avatar is known and loved for is its careful balance of comedy drama and action the show isn't afraid to fully lean into any one of these from the goofiness of the hippie caravan in the cave of two lovers or the headband serving as an homage to footloose to the character drama of the avatar and the fire lord or zuko alone to the persistent action of the day of black sun and the chase but more often than not episodes frequently jump back and forth between these different narrative elements which has likely done a lot in terms of keeping the series accessible to children while remaining engaging for teens and adults the library is no exception with an adventurous pulp archaeology inspired main plot plotline intrigue and investigation drama and tension and a thrilling action sequence during the group's escape all interspersed with plenty of great comedic moments with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers oh so this spirit has attractive assistants huh i think he means they look like actual foxes saka you're both right handsome little creatures one of the things i appreciate most about avatar's writing is that the comedy is usually very intertwined with the show's characterization the writers don't just present something funny or have characters randomly act goofy for no reason as a lot of western animated shows do but play off of who these characters are and the situations they find themselves in if only there were a way to repay you for what you've done you could give us some supplies and some money saka what we need stuff from wanshitong's witty dialogue i'm professor zay head of anthropology at bosting you should leave the way you came unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology to the sarcastic sakas amusing comments on the unusual nature of the library saka try entering that date from the parchment you took katara not in front of the fox he's with the owl and from tof's disinterested snarkiness ah does this place even exist some say it doesn't shouldn't you have mentioned that before to the intellectual but socially clueless dr zay fumbling through interactions tell me which of the air temples do you hail from the southern temple oh splendid now tell me what was the primary agricultural product of your people this episode even for all its other strengths never loses the show's trademark endearing levity so who are you trying to destroy what no no no destroying we're not into that then why have you come here um now the last remaining major element of the show's overall quality that i believe this episode serves as a great example of regards the use of coincidence in storytelling generally speaking coincidence or unlikely events occurring within a story in order to further the narrative has a long history in the art of storytelling especially given older views on the nature of fate destiny preordained events etc etc but as our understanding of reality has evolved and become more based in rationalism and empiricism these tropes have come under increasing fire because at the end of the day what can't a writer justify with fate or destiny of course anakin would turn on a dime and kill those kids he was destined to fall to the dark side of course daenerys would abandon all of her principles and slaughter thousands of innocent people she was destined to go crazy of course 343 would release an unfinished halo game they were destined it's something i appreciate about this show for all avatars talk of destiny and fate one of the main themes conveyed through the stories of both aang and zuko is that your destiny is ultimately in your own hands but coincidence itself is a bit different from destiny or fate because coincidences do in fact happen in real life just look at the crazy circumstances surrounding the assassination of archduke franz ferdinand which set in motion geopolitical developments whose shockwaves are still being felt around the world to this day coincidence isn't so much a thing to be avoided altogether as it is a writer's tool and a double-edged one at that using coincidence to get characters out of trouble or quickly resolve plot threads is something i'd generally strongly recommend against since it can easily cheapen and undermine all that came before hence why so many people myself included are critical of this show's resolution of the aang vs ozai fight but using coincidence to begin a story is extremely commonplace much like how plenty of real life events are set in motion by happenstance and sprinkling coincidence throughout a narrative in order to generate further subplots and conflicts can result in some great storytelling provided these coincidences are implemented and handled with care and purpose in this episode we get two main coincidences the first is that the gang happens to stumble across a scholar looking for the library which they had never heard of before upon arriving at the oasis pretty lucky for the group but it's used to kick off this mini adventure which in my view justifies itself it's not a payoff only a setup and nothing about it violates what we know about this world the other coincidence is a lot bigger and that is the fact that in the library saka learns that a solar eclipse which will briefly render firebenders unable to bend is going to occur in a few months shortly before the return of sozin's comet that seems awfully convenient this is quite literally an astronomical coincidence but it isn't as simple as just giving the heroes a victory because of the information team avatar learns here they begin to plan an invasion of the fire nation on the day of the eclipse but as this happens oppa is kidnapped by sand benders something foreshadowed earlier in the episode with toff being helpless to stop them something that was also foreshadowed as a result the gang must endure significant hardship to escape the desert and later follows the trail of the captured sky bison to bossing sei where they learn that the city presumably the last remaining safe haven from the overwhelming might of the fire nation is actually a dystopian police state run by a man who has no interest in their invasion plans and when the gang finally manages to expose this conspiracy and reunite with oppa azula then arrives to lead a coup seizing control of the city and forcing them to flee at which point the heroes plan an altered form of their invasion which ultimately ends up failing due to the fire nation having been forewarned now if the writers had had team avatar learn about the eclipse in this episode and then in the very next episode the eclipse occurred and aang defeated the firelord that would be a problem but when judging coincidences it's important to take them into account from a meta standpoint and this one despite being quite improbable ends up adding layers to the story without simply removing an obstacle for the heroes in fact interestingly enough in the end learning about the eclipse actually sets the heroes back in their quest to defeat the fire nation and even within this very episode the capture of oppa the group's primary means of transportation occurring just before the others narrowly escaped the library serves to balance the hope of learning about the eclipse with a heaping portion of dread our heroes are now stranded in the middle of a vast desert and if they die out here what they learned will help nobody which come to think of it is yet another staple of the show's writing a grim cliffhanger ending that leaves viewers desperate to know what happens next it's a pretty brilliant trade-off narratively speaking almost like the writing version of using a carrot and stick approach with your audience that may be a weird way of thinking about it but hopefully it makes sense also one other little point about the ending i've always found something really poignant about professor zay choosing to stay behind when the others escape that final line he gives despite being so brief manages to capture so much about who he is as a person i'm not leaving i can't i've spent too long trying to find this place there's not another collection of knowledge like this on earth i could spend an eternity in here and in a weird way i understand his decision he has literally dedicated his entire life to finding this place and so fittingly he is content to let it become his tomb all in all it may not have the depth of the storm or the impact of zuko alone it may not contain the character drama of the blue spirit and the southern raiders or the intrigue and reveals of city of walls and secrets but nonetheless the library has always stood out to me as a special episode in an already special series and if you want something to add to your own personal library you can pick up my debut novel which is available for purchase from fenris publishing as i mentioned earlier details and links are in the description if you want to help the channel in other ways you can always leave a like comment subscribe to see more and support me on patreon if you have a little spare cash anyway i've got to get back to working on the next big video so i guess i'll see you when i see you probably sometime in mid-july [Music] it feels like somebody wants to sell me something i told you he was on to us

Channel: Cardinal West

Views: 1,055,190

Keywords: Avatar The Last Airbender, Animation, Anime, Wan Shi Tong

Id: 6fgz2JFDHT0

Length: 25min 26sec (1526 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 05 2022