Day 20: A character you like but think everyone else doesn't
Um.... I don't know. As far as I can tell, every character gets their share of appreciation. It would be easier to name a character I dislike that everyone else likes.
Oh, but hold on.
Hahaha.
Would anyone believe me if I said I liked Octavian?
Yeah, I know, the manipulative, treacherous, war-mongering augur of Camp Jupiter who called out Percy as a spy after a day of knowing him, who blackmailed Hazel into voting for him as praetor, who is pretty much the driving force behind the Romans attacking the Greeks. How could anyone possibly like him?
But I gotta admit, I really missed him in the Mark of Athena and the House of Hades.
And I also gotta admit, I was really excited when I heard that he got a POV chapter in Blood of Olympus.
Here's the thing about Octavian. He's really unlikeable. Like, really really unlikeable. Even when he was just a benign annoyance in the Son of Neptune, he was still an ass. But what made him such an ass? Well, it was his dedication to tradition.
He asks Percy for a letter of recommendation to join Camp Jupiter in spite of the fact that A) Percy can't remember anything so how could he possibly have a letter of recommendation, and B) Percy walked into the camp carrying a goddess, is that enough recommendation for ya? But he's obliged to ask anyways. It's traditional.
Yes, he met the Greeks already suspicious of them. They are flying to their camp in a big mother warship, for heaven's sake. To be honest, I'd probably be suspicious as well. And when Leo started firing on the camp (while possessed, but Octavian didn't know that), Octavian, as a Roman, sees that the best defense is a good offense. Attack the Greeks. That's the Roman way, the traditional way.
What you have to understand is that Octavian isn't exactly a demigod. He's a legacy. That means that he's the descendant of a demigod. You don't know by how many generations or whatever, all we know is that he's, by some extent, descended from Apollo. Which means, since his family has had multiple generations knowing themselves as descendants of gods, that Octavian is not new to the Roman ways. It would be a fair assumption to think that he probably grew up in New Rome, since they have a whole city that works as a safe haven for demigods and their kids. All Octavian probably knows is the traditional Roman ways.
Of course, that doesn't excuse the power plays and the treachery and all that stuff. And he's still not a likeable character by any stretch of the imagination. But the more I think about him, the more I find myself willing to understand him. None of the other characters at all seem willing to hear him out about anything, and I think that's a mistake. That's why I'm so eager for an Octavian POV in Blood of Olympus. I want to know what the heck that crazy kid is thinking.
Basically what I'm saying is that the only reason I enjoy Octavian is because I have a lot of hypothetical theories about the way his mind works that are barely, if at all, based on what the text actually said.
I am the master at overthinking things.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 19
Day 19: Favourite prophecy
The Prophecy of Seven.
Partly because the suspense about what it means is dragged out through the entirety of the Heroes of Olympus series, but also because the way it's been written means that it can be interpreted in so many different ways, and I think that's really clever.
For instance, on a first reading, it looks like "storm or fire" will end up destroying the world. But, if you take into account that they're fighting Gaea, the earth goddess, then it could actually mean that "storm or fire" must save the world by causing the world - or earth - to "fall".
Also, what's storm and fire? It's been generally assumed by everybody that "fire" must refer to Leo, since, being pyrokinetic, he's kinda the fire guy, but what about "storm", huh? Jason, son of the sky god, can cause lightning strikes and control the winds, but Percy, son of the sea god, can make hurricanes. Either one of those guys could be storm, as far as we know.
Or - as has been suggested by one of the fans - maybe it doesn't refer to either of them at all. One of the wind gods Jason talks to in the fourth book is known as "stormy" in his Greek form and "fiery" in his Roman form. Maybe it doesn't mean Percy or Jason or Leo at all. Maybe it's referring to Greek or Roman.
And what's this oath to keep with a final breath, huh? Could it refer to Leo's promise to Calypso? Could it refer to Percy's promise to return home to his mother? Maybe something that hasn't come up yet? It could be anything, and it's killing me, because it means that one of the Seven are probably going to die and I am going to cry. (It's really set up so that Leo could be it - he made that oath to Calypso, first of all, and also, if the second line's connected to the third one, then pay attention to the word, "or". It implies that possibly "storm" or "fire" won't make it and if Leo is fire, ugh, this is killing me).
And the fourth line - everyone assumed it was referring to Greeks and Romans joining forces to close the Doors of Death, but as of the fourth book, in which they closed the Doors of Death, it actually referred to even deadlier foes - demigods and Titans, demigods and giants. Percy and Annabeth had a Titan on their side as they fought to seal the Doors, and a giant, which is the race of sons of Gaea that they're fighting, even helped them do it.
What this prophecy actually means is anyone's guess.
And it is tearing me apart.
Bravo, Riordan. Bravo.
The Prophecy of Seven.
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call
To storm or fire the world must fall
An oath to keep with a final breath
And foes bear arms to the doors of death
Partly because the suspense about what it means is dragged out through the entirety of the Heroes of Olympus series, but also because the way it's been written means that it can be interpreted in so many different ways, and I think that's really clever.
For instance, on a first reading, it looks like "storm or fire" will end up destroying the world. But, if you take into account that they're fighting Gaea, the earth goddess, then it could actually mean that "storm or fire" must save the world by causing the world - or earth - to "fall".
Also, what's storm and fire? It's been generally assumed by everybody that "fire" must refer to Leo, since, being pyrokinetic, he's kinda the fire guy, but what about "storm", huh? Jason, son of the sky god, can cause lightning strikes and control the winds, but Percy, son of the sea god, can make hurricanes. Either one of those guys could be storm, as far as we know.
Or - as has been suggested by one of the fans - maybe it doesn't refer to either of them at all. One of the wind gods Jason talks to in the fourth book is known as "stormy" in his Greek form and "fiery" in his Roman form. Maybe it doesn't mean Percy or Jason or Leo at all. Maybe it's referring to Greek or Roman.
And what's this oath to keep with a final breath, huh? Could it refer to Leo's promise to Calypso? Could it refer to Percy's promise to return home to his mother? Maybe something that hasn't come up yet? It could be anything, and it's killing me, because it means that one of the Seven are probably going to die and I am going to cry. (It's really set up so that Leo could be it - he made that oath to Calypso, first of all, and also, if the second line's connected to the third one, then pay attention to the word, "or". It implies that possibly "storm" or "fire" won't make it and if Leo is fire, ugh, this is killing me).
And the fourth line - everyone assumed it was referring to Greeks and Romans joining forces to close the Doors of Death, but as of the fourth book, in which they closed the Doors of Death, it actually referred to even deadlier foes - demigods and Titans, demigods and giants. Percy and Annabeth had a Titan on their side as they fought to seal the Doors, and a giant, which is the race of sons of Gaea that they're fighting, even helped them do it.
What this prophecy actually means is anyone's guess.
And it is tearing me apart.
Bravo, Riordan. Bravo.
Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 18
Day 18: Favourite mortal
How many mortals are there in these books? Like, three? Not many.
I mean, I dunno. Percy's mom is caring and loving, but defiant. Love her. Percy's step-dad killed monsters he couldn't even see with his Shakespearean stage-fighting skills, and that's pretty badass, not gonna lie.
But there's really only one mortal that got enough character development and screen-time for me to really like them, and that's Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
She's artistic and outspoken and kind and she's pretty much just made of heart. She actually took off in the middle of her vacation to help Percy and the other demigods fight the Titans, with the price of having to go to some, like, girl's private school "become a proper lady" thing, which was pretty much her definition of hell. And at the end of all that, she became Apollo's Oracle of Delphi, after the position had been cursed by the gods for convoluted reasons that I'm not going to go into.
Also, she pretty much marched up to a battle-ready army of romans unarmed to deliver a message to their praetor, so she's brave as anything.
And to top it off, she once hit Kronos in the eye with a hairbrush.
And if that's not awesome, I don't know what is.
How many mortals are there in these books? Like, three? Not many.
I mean, I dunno. Percy's mom is caring and loving, but defiant. Love her. Percy's step-dad killed monsters he couldn't even see with his Shakespearean stage-fighting skills, and that's pretty badass, not gonna lie.
But there's really only one mortal that got enough character development and screen-time for me to really like them, and that's Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
She's artistic and outspoken and kind and she's pretty much just made of heart. She actually took off in the middle of her vacation to help Percy and the other demigods fight the Titans, with the price of having to go to some, like, girl's private school "become a proper lady" thing, which was pretty much her definition of hell. And at the end of all that, she became Apollo's Oracle of Delphi, after the position had been cursed by the gods for convoluted reasons that I'm not going to go into.
Also, she pretty much marched up to a battle-ready army of romans unarmed to deliver a message to their praetor, so she's brave as anything.
And to top it off, she once hit Kronos in the eye with a hairbrush.
And if that's not awesome, I don't know what is.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 17
Day 17: A scene you really missed in the movies
Try everything.
The movies suck, okay? They pretty much botched up everything, and as a result, I live in constant fear that other book-to-movie adaptations turn out as bad (please God have mercy on Artemis Fowl, says the silent but constant mantra in my books-rights-activist soul). Between Percy Jackson and Inkheart.... my heart's been broken too many times. How can someone screw up a book-to-movie adaptation that badly? There is literally a plot with developed characters already written out for you. Don't change the story. Change how it's told. That's the definition of an "adaptation". Why is a teenage girl figuring this out before screenwriters at big movie studios? Ugh.
But with the Percy Jackson movies, I guess the thing I missed the most was Ares.
In the first book, Percy crosses paths with Ares, the god of war, and let's just say he doesn't exactly come out of that with a new friend. First Ares leads him and his friends into a trap for his own amusement, and then he gives them something to "help them" on their quest that turns out to actually frame him for a crime against the gods, and it all boils down to Percy duels the god of war - and wins. That was a ridiculously awesome part of the book that they were absolutely insane to not put in the movie.
Especially because Ares's appearance in twenty-first century America is that of a bad boy biker thug, and I think that's golden.
Try everything.
The movies suck, okay? They pretty much botched up everything, and as a result, I live in constant fear that other book-to-movie adaptations turn out as bad (please God have mercy on Artemis Fowl, says the silent but constant mantra in my books-rights-activist soul). Between Percy Jackson and Inkheart.... my heart's been broken too many times. How can someone screw up a book-to-movie adaptation that badly? There is literally a plot with developed characters already written out for you. Don't change the story. Change how it's told. That's the definition of an "adaptation". Why is a teenage girl figuring this out before screenwriters at big movie studios? Ugh.
But with the Percy Jackson movies, I guess the thing I missed the most was Ares.
In the first book, Percy crosses paths with Ares, the god of war, and let's just say he doesn't exactly come out of that with a new friend. First Ares leads him and his friends into a trap for his own amusement, and then he gives them something to "help them" on their quest that turns out to actually frame him for a crime against the gods, and it all boils down to Percy duels the god of war - and wins. That was a ridiculously awesome part of the book that they were absolutely insane to not put in the movie.
Especially because Ares's appearance in twenty-first century America is that of a bad boy biker thug, and I think that's golden.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 16
Day 16: Favourite minor god
In both the books and greek mythology in general, the answer is the same. Pan, god of the wild.
(Who is, coincidentally, the son of Hermes. What do you mean I have a one-track mind?)
Because A) that's where the panflutes came from, and the panflute is a cool instrument no matter what you say. And B) he could be the most anti-social god, and I think that's hilarious. Like, sometimes he was like all the other satyrs (because he was, essentially, a satyr) with the fluting and the flirting and everything, but sometimes he got moody and anti-social and wanted to be left alone. And if someone bugged him while he was like that, what would he do to get rid of them? He would let out this awful scream that would make them take off running. This was legit a power he had. And this power is where the word "panic" comes from. Pan. And if you don't think that's even a little funny, well, you're wrong.
Pan is just cool, in both the books and the myths. So.... yeah. Also, while I have quite an extended encyclopedia of knowledge about the main greek gods and the demigod heroes and stuff, my knowledge of the minor gods is realllly limited. Like, they had a lot of them, so I kinda gave up on learning all of them. As a result, my knowledge of them pretty much amounts to Pan, Hecate (goddess of crossroads and magic), Hypnos (god of sleep), Nemesis (goddess of revenge) and Nike (goddess of victory), so yeah, not that much to choose from. Does Eros count? I know him too (you'll know him more commonly as his roman name, Cupid). But yeah. Not much to choose from.
But even so
Pan is still awesome.
In both the books and greek mythology in general, the answer is the same. Pan, god of the wild.
(Who is, coincidentally, the son of Hermes. What do you mean I have a one-track mind?)
Because A) that's where the panflutes came from, and the panflute is a cool instrument no matter what you say. And B) he could be the most anti-social god, and I think that's hilarious. Like, sometimes he was like all the other satyrs (because he was, essentially, a satyr) with the fluting and the flirting and everything, but sometimes he got moody and anti-social and wanted to be left alone. And if someone bugged him while he was like that, what would he do to get rid of them? He would let out this awful scream that would make them take off running. This was legit a power he had. And this power is where the word "panic" comes from. Pan. And if you don't think that's even a little funny, well, you're wrong.
Pan is just cool, in both the books and the myths. So.... yeah. Also, while I have quite an extended encyclopedia of knowledge about the main greek gods and the demigod heroes and stuff, my knowledge of the minor gods is realllly limited. Like, they had a lot of them, so I kinda gave up on learning all of them. As a result, my knowledge of them pretty much amounts to Pan, Hecate (goddess of crossroads and magic), Hypnos (god of sleep), Nemesis (goddess of revenge) and Nike (goddess of victory), so yeah, not that much to choose from. Does Eros count? I know him too (you'll know him more commonly as his roman name, Cupid). But yeah. Not much to choose from.
But even so
Pan is still awesome.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Percy Jackson Thirty Day Meme: Day 14 - 15
I am ignoring this one completely. Nope. Because I suck at imagination-based casting since it takes a conscious effort for me to actually visualize, like, anything (including real life people who aren't directly in front of me - I wish I was kidding). Plus, I pray to whatever god exists that we will not have to suffer through another movie adaptation of any Percy Jackson books. Torturous. Plus, can you imagine the white-washing that would take place for Heroes of Olympus? I mean, out of the Seven, only three of them are canonically white. Then there's a Cherokee, a Latino, a black person, and a Chinese-Canadian. But you just know that in the movie these people would all suddenly become white. Things like that happen all the time. It will almost certainly happen with Artemis Fowl when that moves out of development hell (between having a brown-skinned fairy and having the badass, kill-you-with-my-pinkie-finger Butlers being Eurasian - yup, the white-washing is definitely going to happen). And it annoys the living bejeezus out of me.
So, yeah, on principle, I am ignoring this one. What's day 15?
Day 15: Favourite olympian
From how the books portrayed them? Hestia, goddess of the hearth. She is, to title drop the fifth installment, the Last Olympian. Keeps the home fires burning and doesn't ask for anything in return. Plus, in mythology, she willingly gave up her seat on Olympus for Dionysus. She's just so kind and royal and untouchable.
In my own explorations of greek mythology, however? Hermes. Hermes all the freakin' way. He is hilarious and awesome in every single myth. I think he's the only Olympian in the history of all myths that manages to just talk his way out of a, shall we say, a disagreement with Hera. What I'm saying is that Hermes is what I strive to be in life. Yep.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
I Am Mentally Nine Years Old: Chapter 47
I know, I know, aside from the Artemis Fowl adoration, aside from the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus love, aside from the insistence on rewatching things like the Spongebob Squarepants movie and rereading things like Inkheart (which, for the record, actually gets better with age), I have yet more to add to this strange phenomenon of being a nine year old trapped in a teenager's body.
I have been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.
I sorta watched this when I was a kid - it used to play on YTV now and then, and what can I say, I dug it. Super-powers, all-powerful evil, impossible odds - it was pretty much everything I loved in all the stories I ever liked or came up with, when I was in elementary school. (Seriously, I had a thing where it wasn't worth it if there wasn't a super-duper-ultra-evil villain.)
And so, more or less on a whim, I found it on Netflix and started watching it again.
And I am completely, utterly addicted.
The thing is, there's so much to this show that I never really fully appreciated when I was watching it as a kid. (I find that's the case with most things aimed at kids, actually, which is why there shouldn't be any shame in enjoying things like that.)
Like, yeah, they have super-powers, and yeah, they're being hunted by a lot of evil, and yeah, the odds are pretty much impossible. But that's like, only scratching the surface of what the story is.
I think the main reason that I missed the levels of it before is that it was kind of one of those shows you had to really watch. You had to see past episodes and understand context, and I have never been one of those people who could consistently watch something, not even now. I've only ever been able to do that when I've been spoon-fed it on Netflix. As a TV watcher, I'm actually pretty pathetic.
But now, with the chance to see it all as it was, in order, with context, just... wow. This - this had a lot of heart and soul put into it, let me tell you.
The world-building is amazing. I mean, this is like freaking J.R.R Tolkien standards when it comes to world-building. There are four nations, (Water Nation, Earth Nation, Fire Nation and the now extinct Air Nation), and they each clearly have their own extremely defined and distinct culture that actually springs from the element it's centered on. It's so cool. Like, you know instantly where they are, because of the way the buildings in the background look, and there are distinct philosophies associated with each nation (such as, the people of the Earth Nation are unrelenting and immovable - like rock - whereas, at least in flashbacks, people of the Air Nation appeared to be rather more light and unconfrontational and even pacifistic.) Actually, it can pretty much be summed up by the fact that it is the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nomads. Just the fact that they've created it like that already shows you that there is diversity and nuance and layers to these four cultures that they've invented. It's just, it's so cool.
And I absolutely adore all the characters. Sokka, pretty much the only one who isn't some kind of bender (which is what they call people who can summon and manipulate the elements of water, earth, fire or air), never fails to be hilarious, but he's also competent. I mean, it's easy to forget that sometimes because sometimes he does pretty dumb stuff - but he's a fighter and he's moral and he cares and he's usually pretty smart. Katara, his water-bending sister, is awesome as well, just in general. Zuko, the disgraced and banished prince of the Fire Nation, is such a jerk but I feel for him so hard.
And Aang... the Avatar himself. The last airbender left on earth (because of a world-buildingly rich but sorta complicated story that I'm not going to bother to explain). Basically, his entire culture is extinct and he's the most powerful person on earth. He also happens to be this ridiculous, goofy twelve year old kid, which is my favourite thing about the whole show. This is a kid who knows that he's a kid. He also knows that he's the Avatar and has to save the world and stuff, but why should that stop him from penguin-sledding and using Omashu's mail system as a super-slide? I adore Aang so much.
The best thing about Aang is that he is a kid. That is what makes this so great, for me. He's this hugely powerful bender - master airbender, and quickly mastering the other three elements along with it - but he's just a kid. A kid who has to deal with the fact that his entire culture is extinct and that everyone is either hunting him (the Fire Nation) or wanting to use him for something (most of the Earth Kingdom, I think it's fair to say). And also the whole saving the world thing. And this isn't, like, Harry Potter stuff where he's immediately like "Yes, I will save the world I am fine with risking everything what do you mean danger I eat danger for breakfast". This is real, hero's journey type stuff, including the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, crossing the threshold, etc. (Can you tell I've done my research on Campbell's hero's journey? Fascinating stuff, in terms of storytelling). He is a child, and you never forget that for too long.
Which is good. It's not like it's jumping up and down and pointing at Aang and being like, "LOOK AT HIM LOOK HOW YOUNG HE IS FEEEEEEEEEL SYMPATHYYYY" it just sort of keeps throwing in things to remind you. Like, how Aang is consistently, extremely, unironically enthusiastic about simple things, like, "Katara! Look at this airbending trick I made up!" and "Guys, today's the day I learn earthbending! Aren't you excited?" Simple things like that. It's really an extremely well-written show as well as being very well-constructed. Not to mention substantial. There is not a single filler episode that I've seen so far. Everything accomplishes something for either the plot or the characters or both, as well as being extremely entertaining.
Speaking of being well-written, there was literally an episode that revolved around Aang's pet bison and what he'd been doing for the weeks while Aang and Co. were looking for him. And I nearly cried. It was a wordless, wandering animal as the protagonist for twenty minutes and I nearly cried, no joke. It is that well-written.
It just feels so carefully and lovingly put together. How can you not love it? How can you not fall in love with Aang's frequent child-like joy in the midst of a hundred year war that he has to personally put a stop to? How can you not fall in love with the epic fight scenes between the various benders? Katara can whip people with water, Azula can shoot lightning, Aang can basically fly, I mean, the fight scenes are pretty freakin' great. How can you not fall in love with the wit, and the heart, and just, everything? (It's actually so witty. I don't laugh aloud at many shows, but this one, like, all the time).
Also, I know I'm wrapping up and everything, but may I just say that I really appreciate that not everything comes easy to the characters? I mean, obviously conflict is born of stuff like that, but when I said that they have superpowers at the beginning, I was dreadfully oversimplifying what is a really rich aspect of the show. These aren't superpowers. These are martial arts disciplines, (different martial arts disciplines, I might add - firebending and earthbending are shown to use lots of sharp movement and closed fists, while waterbending and airbending are very smooth, open-handed motions) that the characters are often shown working on. Katara talks all the time about how she had to practise hard all the time to master waterbending, and there was an episode dedicated to Aang trying (and, until the end, failing) to learn earthbending. It just makes the show so much more rich and satisfying and I just really love and appreciate what they've done with it.
It's just such a good show. Obviously so much thought and heart and soul was put into making it. It's just such a good story, and such a well-told story. I love it and recommend it to anyone who feels comfortable with finding their inner child - because that is part of the magic, not gonna lie.
Let's just say that the "finding your inner child" thing isn't exactly an issue for me.
I have been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.
I sorta watched this when I was a kid - it used to play on YTV now and then, and what can I say, I dug it. Super-powers, all-powerful evil, impossible odds - it was pretty much everything I loved in all the stories I ever liked or came up with, when I was in elementary school. (Seriously, I had a thing where it wasn't worth it if there wasn't a super-duper-ultra-evil villain.)
And so, more or less on a whim, I found it on Netflix and started watching it again.
And I am completely, utterly addicted.
The thing is, there's so much to this show that I never really fully appreciated when I was watching it as a kid. (I find that's the case with most things aimed at kids, actually, which is why there shouldn't be any shame in enjoying things like that.)
Like, yeah, they have super-powers, and yeah, they're being hunted by a lot of evil, and yeah, the odds are pretty much impossible. But that's like, only scratching the surface of what the story is.
I think the main reason that I missed the levels of it before is that it was kind of one of those shows you had to really watch. You had to see past episodes and understand context, and I have never been one of those people who could consistently watch something, not even now. I've only ever been able to do that when I've been spoon-fed it on Netflix. As a TV watcher, I'm actually pretty pathetic.
But now, with the chance to see it all as it was, in order, with context, just... wow. This - this had a lot of heart and soul put into it, let me tell you.
The world-building is amazing. I mean, this is like freaking J.R.R Tolkien standards when it comes to world-building. There are four nations, (Water Nation, Earth Nation, Fire Nation and the now extinct Air Nation), and they each clearly have their own extremely defined and distinct culture that actually springs from the element it's centered on. It's so cool. Like, you know instantly where they are, because of the way the buildings in the background look, and there are distinct philosophies associated with each nation (such as, the people of the Earth Nation are unrelenting and immovable - like rock - whereas, at least in flashbacks, people of the Air Nation appeared to be rather more light and unconfrontational and even pacifistic.) Actually, it can pretty much be summed up by the fact that it is the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nomads. Just the fact that they've created it like that already shows you that there is diversity and nuance and layers to these four cultures that they've invented. It's just, it's so cool.
And I absolutely adore all the characters. Sokka, pretty much the only one who isn't some kind of bender (which is what they call people who can summon and manipulate the elements of water, earth, fire or air), never fails to be hilarious, but he's also competent. I mean, it's easy to forget that sometimes because sometimes he does pretty dumb stuff - but he's a fighter and he's moral and he cares and he's usually pretty smart. Katara, his water-bending sister, is awesome as well, just in general. Zuko, the disgraced and banished prince of the Fire Nation, is such a jerk but I feel for him so hard.
And Aang... the Avatar himself. The last airbender left on earth (because of a world-buildingly rich but sorta complicated story that I'm not going to bother to explain). Basically, his entire culture is extinct and he's the most powerful person on earth. He also happens to be this ridiculous, goofy twelve year old kid, which is my favourite thing about the whole show. This is a kid who knows that he's a kid. He also knows that he's the Avatar and has to save the world and stuff, but why should that stop him from penguin-sledding and using Omashu's mail system as a super-slide? I adore Aang so much.
The best thing about Aang is that he is a kid. That is what makes this so great, for me. He's this hugely powerful bender - master airbender, and quickly mastering the other three elements along with it - but he's just a kid. A kid who has to deal with the fact that his entire culture is extinct and that everyone is either hunting him (the Fire Nation) or wanting to use him for something (most of the Earth Kingdom, I think it's fair to say). And also the whole saving the world thing. And this isn't, like, Harry Potter stuff where he's immediately like "Yes, I will save the world I am fine with risking everything what do you mean danger I eat danger for breakfast". This is real, hero's journey type stuff, including the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, crossing the threshold, etc. (Can you tell I've done my research on Campbell's hero's journey? Fascinating stuff, in terms of storytelling). He is a child, and you never forget that for too long.
Which is good. It's not like it's jumping up and down and pointing at Aang and being like, "LOOK AT HIM LOOK HOW YOUNG HE IS FEEEEEEEEEL SYMPATHYYYY" it just sort of keeps throwing in things to remind you. Like, how Aang is consistently, extremely, unironically enthusiastic about simple things, like, "Katara! Look at this airbending trick I made up!" and "Guys, today's the day I learn earthbending! Aren't you excited?" Simple things like that. It's really an extremely well-written show as well as being very well-constructed. Not to mention substantial. There is not a single filler episode that I've seen so far. Everything accomplishes something for either the plot or the characters or both, as well as being extremely entertaining.
Speaking of being well-written, there was literally an episode that revolved around Aang's pet bison and what he'd been doing for the weeks while Aang and Co. were looking for him. And I nearly cried. It was a wordless, wandering animal as the protagonist for twenty minutes and I nearly cried, no joke. It is that well-written.
It just feels so carefully and lovingly put together. How can you not love it? How can you not fall in love with Aang's frequent child-like joy in the midst of a hundred year war that he has to personally put a stop to? How can you not fall in love with the epic fight scenes between the various benders? Katara can whip people with water, Azula can shoot lightning, Aang can basically fly, I mean, the fight scenes are pretty freakin' great. How can you not fall in love with the wit, and the heart, and just, everything? (It's actually so witty. I don't laugh aloud at many shows, but this one, like, all the time).
Also, I know I'm wrapping up and everything, but may I just say that I really appreciate that not everything comes easy to the characters? I mean, obviously conflict is born of stuff like that, but when I said that they have superpowers at the beginning, I was dreadfully oversimplifying what is a really rich aspect of the show. These aren't superpowers. These are martial arts disciplines, (different martial arts disciplines, I might add - firebending and earthbending are shown to use lots of sharp movement and closed fists, while waterbending and airbending are very smooth, open-handed motions) that the characters are often shown working on. Katara talks all the time about how she had to practise hard all the time to master waterbending, and there was an episode dedicated to Aang trying (and, until the end, failing) to learn earthbending. It just makes the show so much more rich and satisfying and I just really love and appreciate what they've done with it.
It's just such a good show. Obviously so much thought and heart and soul was put into making it. It's just such a good story, and such a well-told story. I love it and recommend it to anyone who feels comfortable with finding their inner child - because that is part of the magic, not gonna lie.
Let's just say that the "finding your inner child" thing isn't exactly an issue for me.
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