Something I really love about the writing for Sokka is he never stops making mistakes, but we never see him make the same mistake twice. It's a great character detail for Sokka that is crazy hard to write.
Fun fact: Aang's armor in the shop was the creators making fun of a toy manufacturer who wanted an "Armored Aang" toy to sell. Besides that, this episode is one of my favorites. I love Sokka's mini-arc and Iroh getting swole is a fun subplot. Also, about Piandao's suggestion that Sokka try "Lee" as a nickname and that there's "a million 'Lees...'" Zuko's Earth Kingdom alias was "Lee."
AFAIK it was Nickelodeon who wanted that Aang should wear such an armor, so that they could use it as merchandise. And yes! This was the creators making fun of that idea. 🙂
The (sadly passed) English author Sir Terry Pratchett forged his own meteor sword. he said that every knight required a sword, and as a fantasy author a meteor sword suited him best. He then went and buried it, since swords are dangerous
Not only that but the meteorite he used came from his own front lawn and he built his own micro-forge to make it himself. Just for the authentic feel! Also the sword is no longer buried. His daughter (who herself is an award winning writer) inherited it and even carried it ahead of his coffin. It’s called Thunderbolt Iron btw, after the metal in the Discworld series.
Piandao's design was based on the martial arts consultant for the show and the sword on display in the shop was based on one he got during a major festival at the Shaolin Temple. Piandao's name also comes from an actual type of Chinese sword called a Pian Dao. Also in one of the comics it was revealed that Piandao also trained Zuko and that's why Zuko is so good with his swords. 5:02 the waterfall Sokka had to paint is actually based on the Gullfoss Waterfall in Iceland. The creators spent a bit of time traveling through Iceland to get some inspiration for the landscape of the Fire Nation. With Sokka not feeling like this before, to be fair as he was growing up Katara was the only bender around so he was able to see how normal people can still do just fine in a world of benders. Plus he usually has some usefulness to the team in past missions, mainly with his tactical mind and then adding some support with his other weapons, but here was an instance where he could do very little and even that one time that some fire spread even Momo did more to deal with it than Sokka. It could also be something that has been slowly building up under the surface and only now has finally come out.
Something that wasn't in this video, is that when the doors are closed after Sokka's given the lotus tile, you can see that Piandao's gate door has the same White Lotus symbol on it.
Piandao's design was actually modeled after Sifu Kisu, the martial arts consultant of the show. He's the one who showed the creators and the crew who worked on the show all the martial arts moves we've been seeing.
This episode always reminds me of something my sensei once told me when I first started training in iai-doh(ancient Japanese swordsmanship. He said: "the difference between a master and a student is this: A master has failed far more than the student has ever succeeded".
Truly one of my favourite episodes especially for Sokka, the master described Sokka's qualities all too well because even though Sokka is the weakest and comedy relief of the group, he is by far deceptively smarter and a born leader, these are the traits he took from father which is the reason he was left behind to guard the Water Tribe
love this episodes sokka finally becomes a non bending master of all four fighting styles, learned earthern style from kioshi warriors, hes known water style, he picked up some ideas from the airtemple while inventing hot air balloons, and now finally he properly learned fire style
Fun Fact: Meteoric Iron weapons are a thing and, in fact, date back to the early Bronze Age as a source of pure iron pre-discovery of smelting. In theory, they are meant to be sharper and more durable due to the different bonds in their atomic structure. Also due to their unique compositions, they often have unique patterns appear when forged, usually lines or fractal designs. This is why Sokka's is a black blade instead of a traditional steel. Bonus Fun Fact: This is not the first time we see the Space Sword. WAY back when Season 3 was just being promoted, there's a shot as they explain the Gaang gearing up for the "final confrontation" (Eclipse) that showed Sokka in full battle gear, wielding his Space Sword and screaming "Charge!" And I remember the hype that was Sokka getting a sword circulating a bit, though I don't think a full episode dedicated to him earning/making his own alongside a master was expected.
I said last episode that Katara gets some peak episodes this season. Well, so does Sokka. It's easy to forget this is the guy who, in like, episode 2, stood his ground against a Fire Nation ship, *alone.* He even took Zuko on and managed to get in a solid boomerang hit. He's fought Mai and Ty Lee, taken on benders of every type, and even knocked out the owl spirit, and he did it all without any bending powers or actual training. Sokka is *dangerous* my guys!
I post this on every recent reaction to this episode: There is a reaction channel of a couple that reacted to AtLA just like you guys. On this episode for whatever reason the woman adamantly stated that Sokka is useless and his reasonings of feeling useless were correct. The internet absolutely tried to burn their channel down. They turned off all comments on every video of AtLA and soon even their other videos. Like she straight up said "Sokka is useless and I will die on this hill" while her partner was trying his hardest to explain how he is in fact important to the group. I'm glad you remain part of the ones that understand how much Sokka is needed.
We disagree with her take obviously, but damn. The internet can be ruthless. Not sure how she phrased it but it’s tough having to turn off comments for sharing your opinion 😢😱 Again, obviously disagree with her, but still feel bad for them
book 3 of avatar feels like a combination of book 2 and 1, its got light hearted adventures like the first book, but each adventure was a dark or emotional way of ending an episode like the second book
"More like an extra long, really sharp metal arm" I love the suggestion that despite how cool he is, Master Piandao has plenty of Sokka-style goofiness in him.
If i may throw a few out there im sure others have too but Death Note is AMAZING along with a series on Netflix called Fate think that has 4 different shows to that one.
this is my personal favorite episode of the whole show since it puts me in the shoes of Sokka, i.e. being a cool guy surrounded by others who can do things much better than you can. what i took from this episode is that comparison is good, but use it to better yourself.
4:33 This is actually an important part of swordplay in Japanese and Chinese cultures. The movements used to write the characters are similar to the ones you use when wielding a sword. By working on one movement, you improve your ability to perform the other. 12:52 That's actually how Yamcha is among the Z Fighters. Compared to anyone else, Yamcha is a superhuman monster that can level mountains without too much effort. What is a superhuman compared to a god, though?
pian doa is a deserter of the army as well but he didnt need to go into hiding like jeong jeong cuz when he left the amry send 100 men to arrest him and he defeated them all alone after that the army and fire lord left him alone atleast left him alone he was i think ordered to train zuko yes zuko trained years under pian doa that why he is so good with his swords also that waterfall is real its in island so if you ever wanna see that waterfall sokka had to paint in real life go to island
As much as Sokka is the comic relife and the normal guy on the team this episode undeniably shows that he is a integral part of the team. Other than Toph in season 2 kinda ribbing on Sokka for being a non bender there hasent really been any overt signs about Sokka feeling lesser but it probably has been building upp traveling with the avatar and Toph who figured out metal bending. Piandao is a intresting fella as unlike Jeong Jeong who was understandably reluctant to teach Aang firebending especially considering the consequenses Piandao is just ready to train Sokka. As people have said Zuko as reveald in a comic was also trained by Piandao probably because he was so lackluster at firebending and Ozai would not want to have a complete failiure as a son so put him into sword training. Zuko even says when he is training Lee in Zuko alone that the sword is a extension of himself and another arm if I remember correctly. Also of course the Lee cover name althoug I wonder why Zuko was using it in the Earth kingdom well they where also clearly colonized so maybe thats how. Also the white lotus tile. Well that probably won't be a big deal later but still a cool callback. Warden Poon (yeah thats his actual name) just dissing Iroh witch considering he was a legend and now is a traitor who looks completley crazy would be a pretty big shame on the fire nation. Of course Iroh is no fool and is getting ready. Before he was more passive hoping that Zuko would change himself but now knowing that it might not happen he himself is getting ready for something. Is it the war is it just to get out who knows but our man is getting ready for whatever. Well Aang still has minimal rizz to Katara even after ep 2 here. Well hopefully he gets his act together soon.
Sokka's master was interesting by both name and behaviour.....name because Pein dao is referred by Chinese as curved or sabre swords where as Master dao was using a Jian a gentleman or straight sword..... behaviour because he was helping in secret.....oh and gotta love how Irho fooled his jailor how he looked and what he was doing
I understand what Sokka was supposed to learn from this episode, but first of all I think it comes way too late in the series... because we already understood what Sokka's strengths are and Aang and his friends should have understood that too. He is the unconventional one, he thinks "out of the box" and that's how he makes up for his weakness as a non-bender... even if this sword is extremely cool.
I feel like this was less about him as a person and more about something that’ll come up in a bit. Mostly, Sokka’s spent most of his grown up life thinking his father left him behind for not being good enough to take along to the war, then surrounded by amazing benders for half a year (Book 1 was Winter, and Book 3 is Summer so around 6 months passed), he still thinks he failed Yue (evidenced by the Swamp), and the only real time he seemed happy on his own was when he was hanging out with the Mechanist at the Northern Air Temple. TLDR: Sokka has an inferiority complex that’s been building up for a bit now, and since he doesn’t have the backing of Earth Kingdom generals and the like, the entire invasion plan is falling on his shoulders with a SUBSTANTIALLY smaller group than he wanted. The pressure is mounting and the only thing standing between them and failure is HIS plan. Which just means more pressure on that inferiority complex. So really his humility to Piendao was him admitting he doesn’t think he’s capable of leading the invasion. And Piendao’s teachings were more pointing out “you’re more ready than you think”
Oh and oddly enough you don't water quench a heated metal.....i think depending on material(seen so often in a show called forged in fire) water quenching may cause distortion and cracks
The one thing I’m not big on with this episode is how it starts with them acting like Sokka is suddenly a weak link for the group because he can’t bend, as if he hadn’t already been contributing just as much as everyone else in his own right. Otherwise the rest of the episode is dope, lol
Oh no! Whatever happened to the tight schedule from the Painted Lady? What happened to the bad humor? Looks like the GAANG wrote the Painted Lady without Sokka's help.
Something I really love about the writing for Sokka is he never stops making mistakes, but we never see him make the same mistake twice. It's a great character detail for Sokka that is crazy hard to write.
Never noticed that. Cool details.
Fun fact: Aang's armor in the shop was the creators making fun of a toy manufacturer who wanted an "Armored Aang" toy to sell. Besides that, this episode is one of my favorites. I love Sokka's mini-arc and Iroh getting swole is a fun subplot.
Also, about Piandao's suggestion that Sokka try "Lee" as a nickname and that there's "a million 'Lees...'" Zuko's Earth Kingdom alias was "Lee."
AFAIK it was Nickelodeon who wanted that Aang should wear such an armor, so that they could use it as merchandise. And yes! This was the creators making fun of that idea. 🙂
The (sadly passed) English author Sir Terry Pratchett forged his own meteor sword. he said that every knight required a sword, and as a fantasy author a meteor sword suited him best.
He then went and buried it, since swords are dangerous
I will always upvote comments complimentary towards Sir Terry
@@GreenOfFields +1
One of my two favorite authors.
Not only that but the meteorite he used came from his own front lawn and he built his own micro-forge to make it himself. Just for the authentic feel!
Also the sword is no longer buried. His daughter (who herself is an award winning writer) inherited it and even carried it ahead of his coffin. It’s called Thunderbolt Iron btw, after the metal in the Discworld series.
Piandao's design was based on the martial arts consultant for the show and the sword on display in the shop was based on one he got during a major festival at the Shaolin Temple. Piandao's name also comes from an actual type of Chinese sword called a Pian Dao. Also in one of the comics it was revealed that Piandao also trained Zuko and that's why Zuko is so good with his swords.
5:02 the waterfall Sokka had to paint is actually based on the Gullfoss Waterfall in Iceland. The creators spent a bit of time traveling through Iceland to get some inspiration for the landscape of the Fire Nation.
With Sokka not feeling like this before, to be fair as he was growing up Katara was the only bender around so he was able to see how normal people can still do just fine in a world of benders. Plus he usually has some usefulness to the team in past missions, mainly with his tactical mind and then adding some support with his other weapons, but here was an instance where he could do very little and even that one time that some fire spread even Momo did more to deal with it than Sokka. It could also be something that has been slowly building up under the surface and only now has finally come out.
Loved how Toph made the Nickelodeon symbol with the space rock.
Oh nice! Missed that 😯😀
Something that wasn't in this video, is that when the doors are closed after Sokka's given the lotus tile, you can see that Piandao's gate door has the same White Lotus symbol on it.
😯
Piandao's design was actually modeled after Sifu Kisu, the martial arts consultant of the show. He's the one who showed the creators and the crew who worked on the show all the martial arts moves we've been seeing.
Everything is in Space, therefor everything is from Space
🤯
This episode always reminds me of something my sensei once told me when I first started training in iai-doh(ancient Japanese swordsmanship.
He said: "the difference between a master and a student is this: A master has failed far more than the student has ever succeeded".
In just one episode, Piandao became one of my favorite characters in the show.
I mentioned this in an earlier reaction to remember the White Lotus. This was a connection. And I’m glad you guys reacted to the tile.
😁
Truly one of my favourite episodes especially for Sokka, the master described Sokka's qualities all too well because even though Sokka is the weakest and comedy relief of the group, he is by far deceptively smarter and a born leader, these are the traits he took from father which is the reason he was left behind to guard the Water Tribe
Seeing Sokka get some love was great, but seeing the dragon of the west regain his ferocity is legendary.
😎💪
love this episodes sokka finally becomes a non bending master of all four fighting styles, learned earthern style from kioshi warriors, hes known water style, he picked up some ideas from the airtemple while inventing hot air balloons, and now finally he properly learned fire style
And forging skills which will come in handy shortly
Fun Fact: Meteoric Iron weapons are a thing and, in fact, date back to the early Bronze Age as a source of pure iron pre-discovery of smelting. In theory, they are meant to be sharper and more durable due to the different bonds in their atomic structure. Also due to their unique compositions, they often have unique patterns appear when forged, usually lines or fractal designs. This is why Sokka's is a black blade instead of a traditional steel.
Bonus Fun Fact: This is not the first time we see the Space Sword. WAY back when Season 3 was just being promoted, there's a shot as they explain the Gaang gearing up for the "final confrontation" (Eclipse) that showed Sokka in full battle gear, wielding his Space Sword and screaming "Charge!" And I remember the hype that was Sokka getting a sword circulating a bit, though I don't think a full episode dedicated to him earning/making his own alongside a master was expected.
Thanks for sharing those fun facts 🤩
9:20 Obi-Wan would be proud.
I said last episode that Katara gets some peak episodes this season. Well, so does Sokka. It's easy to forget this is the guy who, in like, episode 2, stood his ground against a Fire Nation ship, *alone.* He even took Zuko on and managed to get in a solid boomerang hit. He's fought Mai and Ty Lee, taken on benders of every type, and even knocked out the owl spirit, and he did it all without any bending powers or actual training. Sokka is *dangerous* my guys!
I post this on every recent reaction to this episode:
There is a reaction channel of a couple that reacted to AtLA just like you guys. On this episode for whatever reason the woman adamantly stated that Sokka is useless and his reasonings of feeling useless were correct. The internet absolutely tried to burn their channel down. They turned off all comments on every video of AtLA and soon even their other videos. Like she straight up said "Sokka is useless and I will die on this hill" while her partner was trying his hardest to explain how he is in fact important to the group.
I'm glad you remain part of the ones that understand how much Sokka is needed.
Facts. He's my second favorite character behind Zuko. I have no respect for Sokka haters. All smoke 😤
We disagree with her take obviously, but damn. The internet can be ruthless. Not sure how she phrased it but it’s tough having to turn off comments for sharing your opinion 😢😱 Again, obviously disagree with her, but still feel bad for them
As awful as her take was, that is not a normal reaction to someone having a questionable opinion about a cartoon💀
Enjoyed your reaction/discussion. Love that Sokka got this episode and love the space sword. And Momo twirling by on the ice is peak Momo comedy.
book 3 of avatar feels like a combination of book 2 and 1, its got light hearted adventures like the first book, but each adventure was a dark or emotional way of ending an episode like the second book
"More like an extra long, really sharp metal arm" I love the suggestion that despite how cool he is, Master Piandao has plenty of Sokka-style goofiness in him.
I love the checking in with Iroh in prison fooling the guards
Iroh taking off the pump cover never gets old
Uncle Iroh's workout in prison is always so badass.
T-1000 teaching the youth instead of trying to delete them this time around
Robert Patrick the 🐐
JUST A FEW MORE TILL WE GET TO ONE OF MY TOP EPISODES!!!! So happy yall are enjoying this series!
We are glad it was recommended to us by the community 🤩
If i may throw a few out there im sure others have too but Death Note is AMAZING along with a series on Netflix called Fate think that has 4 different shows to that one.
Fun fact: This was never mentioned in the show Piando also trained zuko in sword fighting that’s why he’s became so good at it.
One of my favorite episodes.
this is my personal favorite episode of the whole show since it puts me in the shoes of Sokka, i.e. being a cool guy surrounded by others who can do things much better than you can. what i took from this episode is that comparison is good, but use it to better yourself.
Sokka is a back bender 😏 IYKYK
Sokka more riz than everyone in the show
Uncle Iroh wasn’t getting ready to fight. He was getting ready to grate some cheese with those abs.
4:33 This is actually an important part of swordplay in Japanese and Chinese cultures. The movements used to write the characters are similar to the ones you use when wielding a sword. By working on one movement, you improve your ability to perform the other.
12:52 That's actually how Yamcha is among the Z Fighters. Compared to anyone else, Yamcha is a superhuman monster that can level mountains without too much effort. What is a superhuman compared to a god, though?
"Yet what is a god to a non believer!"
Katara is wrong. Earth is in space
pian doa is a deserter of the army as well but he didnt need to go into hiding like jeong jeong cuz when he left the amry send 100 men to arrest him and he defeated them all alone after that the army and fire lord left him alone atleast left him alone he was i think ordered to train zuko yes zuko trained years under pian doa that why he is so good with his swords also that waterfall is real its in island so if you ever wanna see that waterfall sokka had to paint in real life go to island
2:09 I LOVE THAT ARMOUR!😍 It's my dream coming true🥰
8:54 yes! Beast Warrior Iroh is here!
10:21 wisdom
As much as Sokka is the comic relife and the normal guy on the team this episode undeniably shows that he is a integral part of the team. Other than Toph in season 2 kinda ribbing on Sokka for being a non bender there hasent really been any overt signs about Sokka feeling lesser but it probably has been building upp traveling with the avatar and Toph who figured out metal bending.
Piandao is a intresting fella as unlike Jeong Jeong who was understandably reluctant to teach Aang firebending especially considering the consequenses Piandao is just ready to train Sokka. As people have said Zuko as reveald in a comic was also trained by Piandao probably because he was so lackluster at firebending and Ozai would not want to have a complete failiure as a son so put him into sword training. Zuko even says when he is training Lee in Zuko alone that the sword is a extension of himself and another arm if I remember correctly. Also of course the Lee cover name althoug I wonder why Zuko was using it in the Earth kingdom well they where also clearly colonized so maybe thats how. Also the white lotus tile. Well that probably won't be a big deal later but still a cool callback.
Warden Poon (yeah thats his actual name) just dissing Iroh witch considering he was a legend and now is a traitor who looks completley crazy would be a pretty big shame on the fire nation. Of course Iroh is no fool and is getting ready. Before he was more passive hoping that Zuko would change himself but now knowing that it might not happen he himself is getting ready for something. Is it the war is it just to get out who knows but our man is getting ready for whatever.
Well Aang still has minimal rizz to Katara even after ep 2 here. Well hopefully he gets his act together soon.
Sorry bud but Sokka's spoken for.... And you've already met her.
Sokka's master was interesting by both name and behaviour.....name because Pein dao is referred by Chinese as curved or sabre swords where as Master dao was using a Jian a gentleman or straight sword..... behaviour because he was helping in secret.....oh and gotta love how Irho fooled his jailor how he looked and what he was doing
I understand what Sokka was supposed to learn from this episode, but first of all I think it comes way too late in the series... because we already understood what Sokka's strengths are and Aang and his friends should have understood that too.
He is the unconventional one, he thinks "out of the box" and that's how he makes up for his weakness as a non-bender... even if this sword is extremely cool.
I feel like this was less about him as a person and more about something that’ll come up in a bit. Mostly, Sokka’s spent most of his grown up life thinking his father left him behind for not being good enough to take along to the war, then surrounded by amazing benders for half a year (Book 1 was Winter, and Book 3 is Summer so around 6 months passed), he still thinks he failed Yue (evidenced by the Swamp), and the only real time he seemed happy on his own was when he was hanging out with the Mechanist at the Northern Air Temple.
TLDR: Sokka has an inferiority complex that’s been building up for a bit now, and since he doesn’t have the backing of Earth Kingdom generals and the like, the entire invasion plan is falling on his shoulders with a SUBSTANTIALLY smaller group than he wanted. The pressure is mounting and the only thing standing between them and failure is HIS plan. Which just means more pressure on that inferiority complex.
So really his humility to Piendao was him admitting he doesn’t think he’s capable of leading the invasion. And Piendao’s teachings were more pointing out “you’re more ready than you think”
Lookin' like Aang-badon the Despoiler in that armor.
Oh and oddly enough you don't water quench a heated metal.....i think depending on material(seen so often in a show called forged in fire) water quenching may cause distortion and cracks
Sokka is Batman confirmed. =D
Team Sokka 🗡️ 🪃!!!
It's time for a new world of warcraft reaction!!
True. We need to catch up on the new expansion 😅
The one thing I’m not big on with this episode is how it starts with them acting like Sokka is suddenly a weak link for the group because he can’t bend, as if he hadn’t already been contributing just as much as everyone else in his own right. Otherwise the rest of the episode is dope, lol
The order of the white lotus pops up again
😯
So you're saying sokka is batman. Btw i really wanna see you guys react to the latest episode of the digital circus. It is so good
Oh no! Whatever happened to the tight schedule from the Painted Lady? What happened to the bad humor? Looks like the GAANG wrote the Painted Lady without Sokka's help.