Avatar’s Most Underrated Episode

Comments · 2.3K

• CA

  @CardinalWest · 4 years ago · pinned

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• DE

  @dennisnaffah8733 · 4 years ago

  “You think your the first person to believe their war was justified?” One of my favorite quotes. Really makes you you think.

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• DE

  @Delta_Aves_Mashups · 4 years ago

  The Library marked a turning point in the series. Before the main narrative was having Aang master all four elements before Sozins comet. After the Library, the narrative shifts to actually trying to end the war, which involves actual planning, preparation and execution, so there was that to consider. Its also where the show, to me at least, shifts in tone from light hearted and adventurous to a more dark and serious tone, with a lot higher stakes and some deep conflicting drama.

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• MA

  @maehoden8769 · 4 years ago

  This episode is also a masterclass on suspense. The whole time they’re wandering through the library, it feels eerie, like Wan Shi Tong could be around any corner. And then when the library is being destroyed you’re on the edge of your seat between everyone trying to escape and Toph doing her best in an environment she can’t do much in. Easily an s tier episode

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• DP

  @DPRKSupremeLeaderKimJong-un · 8 months ago (edited)

  One thing I loved about this episode: <br> <br>The owl didn&apos;t understand the plight of the other nations. He didn&apos;t care that the fire nation was the aggressor, and the other nations were committing war in self-defense. <br> <br>One of his fox assistants did though. That&apos;s because his fox assistant actually left the library. On his journeys and trips to retrieve knowledge for the owl, he had probably seen the atrocities of the fire nation. He understood the suffering of the other nations, and he was sympathetic to their cause. <br> <br>So he helped the Avatar. <br> <br>His time spent outside the library enabled him to make an informed choice. The owl on the other hand chose to remain in ignorance and was successful because he didn&apos;t leave the library and see the world. <br> <br>Cool stuff.<br><br>I love how this episode highlights not only Sokka&apos;s creativity but his intelligence. As the series started, he put himself out there as a warrior, though you didn&apos;t think he&apos;d be intellectual. But in fact, Sokka is very book smart for all his sarcasm. He figured out that the tower they found was a part of the library&apos;s main structure just by connected the diagram they had to what was in front of them. He read scroll after scroll and even figured out what the Day of Black Sun was. It shows how much he&apos;s grown, how he realizes to be an effective warrior is not just strength and skill but a sharp mind. We even see this pay off with his plan he made from what he learned at the library itself when the siege of the Fire Nation happens.<br><br>I disagree that Mr. Owl is particularly bright beyond his collection of knowledge, because of how he was unable to see the Avatar&apos;s role in the war. The Avatar is the bridge between the spirits and humans and is also responsible for maintaining balance in the world, which also has implications for the spirits. Mr. Owl, if he were wise, should have been able to deduce Aang&apos;s duty and his need for guidance in order to restore the balance that the fire nation was destroying, the consequences of which would likely reverberate into the spirit world. Because of this lapse in judgment, I only see Mr. Owl strictly as a spirit of knowledge but not wisdom. He knows many things but is unable to apply knowledge or even use existing knowledge to build new knowledge as humans do. This is also why I&apos;m fine with LoK showing that Mr. Owl can fall victim to misinformation since he is not equipped to perform proper research. <br> <br>Appreciate the video and your take on the episode. However, I personally think the most underrated episode is The Swamp to be completely honest. It&apos;s one of the lowest rated episodes on imdb and that episode literally made me see the world differently with the philosophy of how everything is connected. I think that message is beautiful and important. Also, the foreshadowing of Toph, Katara and Sokka both being confronted by their past and learning about vinebending. No way is that episode filler compared to the likes of The Great Divide.

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• 34

  @345boneshoss5 · 3 years ago

  Something I noticed about owls is this: In western cultures, the symbolism of the owl is knowledge and wisdom, while in eastern cultures, the symbolism of the owl stresses the terror of the night. Wan-Shi-Tong represents both perfectly. He&apos;s also perfectly neutral (in a lawful way), preserving knowledge purely for its own sake. Too bad the Legend of Korra screwed him up...

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• GA

  @Galimeer5 · 4 years ago

  &quot;You&apos;ve got something against libraries?&quot;<br>&quot;I&apos;ve held books before, and I gotta tell you, they don&apos;t exactly do it for me&quot;

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• KA

  @kahanebarkenat · 4 years ago

  This episode had one of the best toph moments too. Her losing to the sand benders was a devastating loss for her personally. As far as her bending goes she&apos;s never doubted it before, but not only had it failed her and make her doubt her skill for probably the first time ever, in losing this battle she let down her first ever friends, the kind she thought she&apos;d never have.

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• AL

  @alecchristiaen4856 · 4 years ago

  What&apos;s cool about Wan-Shi Tong is:<br>-In eastern cultures, the symbolism of the owl stresses the terror of the night, which is represented in his horrific rage in the climax<br>-10.000 in some eastern cultures tends to be used as a shorthand for infinity. He calls himself omnicient.

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• MI

  @mikeyp6772 · 2 years ago

  The Library and The Desert are the literal half point of the show. The Library ends the first half and The Desert begins the second half. Even just to say the events in The Library are important would be an understatement. The tone of the whole show shifts, the stakes are raised and Team Avatar takes up a more active involvement in the events of world. Suffice to say, both of these episodes are among the best in an entire series that is filled with great, poignant episodes.

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• HE

  @Hekateras · 2 years ago (edited)

  Additional good things about the episode: it makes Sokka and Toph shine.<br><br>Sokka does a lot of quick thinking: First, he reasons that the planetarium might be able to predict future eclipses. Then takes the risk to go back to the planetarium AFTER the Library starts sinking so they can get that intel. Despite the danger they&apos;re in, he sees how rare a resource the Library is and understands that if there&apos;s a time to take a risk, it&apos;s now. Then he narrows down the days they check for with some gloriously pragmatic strategic thinking - he&apos;s right, the days when an eclipse would even matter to them would be <b>before</b> Sozin&apos;s Comet. And all this after Wan Shi Tong dismissed his intelligence and how little he had to contribute to the library, joining yet another long line of powerful beings who underestimated Sokka.<br><br>And they only have the time to do all that because Toph is using her earthbending to counteract the Library-sinking powers of a literal immortal spirit. It&apos;s a low moment for her because it means she has to let Appa get captured (and we see her anguish at that, too, despite the tough act she puts on most of the time!), but honestly, what a badass.<br><br>There are very good reasons this show&apos;s writing still resonates so much with people.

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• VE

  @VendettaProduction01 · 4 years ago (edited)

  No, no one could ever forget this two parter. All because of this one joke.<br>The gang looking out across the Desert, depressed from their lack of finding anything. <br>Toph: Here it is!<br>Toph points out into the distance. The gang springs forward, life returning to their eyes as they stare out into the Horizon of where Toph was pointing only to see the same nothing.<br>Toph : That’s what it’ll be like when one of you spots it.<br>Sarcastically waving her hand in front of her face reminding both the gang and the audience that she’s blind.

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