"We are bonded forever." That line in addition to the Avatar State theme playing never fails to give me chills. And I've seen the scene dozens of times :p.
Wan, in addition to sounding like "one", is also Mandarin Chinese for "ten-thousand", as also seen in the name of the knowledge spirit Wan Shi Tong ("he who knows ten-thousand things"). Ten thousand years have passed since Wan's time and Korra's.
How do you know that have passed 10.000 years and not a multiple os that, let's say, 20.000, 30.000, etc? After all in the southern air temple, the statues seems to be more than 100 (Asuming each avatar lived 100 years) I thinks thats an open conclusion.
I find it so weird that some people think that Ravaa bonds to a new human to make new Avatars. She cleared stated that it's Wan reincarnating. My theory is that all benders are reincarnations. Once a lionturtle gives you the power, you have it until it's taken away. Even across lifetimes.
It also works as a beautiful mirror of the relationship between them two: he gave Raava hope in the face of seemingly impossible task (defeating Vaatu during the harmonic convergence with her powers diminished and his powers largely untested); now she gives him hope she will continue this seemingly impossible adventure with his reincarnations (bringing balance to the world).
@@wtimmins The rules of reincarnation are not fully explained though. If they stick to the rules there are in the religions that inspired the world of Avatar, reincarnation doesn't work in some desired ways... and it even doesn't stick to just the human race. In general: reincarnation in some cases is a way for a spirit to learn new things, repair its mistakes and perfect itself until reaching ultimate illumination; once a spirit reaches a full connection with the cosmos, it merges with it and won't reincarnate anymore. It's not limited to spiritual people, because in some teachings it's the mission of every living spirit on earth to go back to the energy of the whole. Now, the way a spirit learns and corrects its mistakes changes from version to version; in some, if you learned and progressed, you won't reincarnate as a human, but a higher life form (for the next stage of learning). But, if you made mistakes and failed the lesson, you will reincarnate in the same level, or even in a lower life form to learn the lesson all over again. We don't have confirmation if only the Avatar reincarnates (due to its connection with spiritual energy), if only benders reincarnate or everyone eventually reincarnates (since it's the goal of every living soul, not only of benders). So... yeah, while reincarnation opens some interesting storytelling possibilities, not all work in the sense of always reconnecting the same people over, and over again.
It's insane how good of an origin story they did. It's always risky af to "explain" the magic behind the "present" of your work... But oh boy did they deliver. It's just perfect.
What truly amazes me about this story, is that in episode 8 of book 1 of ATLA, the Soltice, Roku tells Aang that he must master the elements by summer's end, basically a year. Aang questions himself, saying that it is impossible, and Roku replies: "I know you can do it, Aang, for you have done it before." And here they are showing just that. 8 years later.
What's even more amazing is when Roku was talking to Jeong Jeong, he told him that he has mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now, we know.
Fun fact: Wans death was at the end of a battle. That battle is seen in atla in zuko alone as he walks through. You can see that with the giant circle rocks wedged in the ground.
I think that's a weird decision that the writers made. Why would those stones be exactly the same after 10,000 years? If weather didn't erode them, surely some people would have reclaimed the land at some point.
@@funnylilgalreactsi’m glad these episodes explained why there are airbison that the fire sages saved them from extinction I wonder how aang reacted when they revealed that to him
You're right that the sequence Wan learned the elements from the lion turtles is the same as the Avatar Cycle (Fire, Air, Water, Earth). It was such a neat addition to the lore.
Just so there's clarity, this origin story of the Avatar does _not_ conflict with what we know of the elements from AtLA. Benders learned to _master_ their forms by the "original benders" (the moon for water, dragons for fire, badger moles for earth, and sky bison for air). But it was the lion turtles that _granted_ them the power of bending.
When a lion-turtle grants someone bending, they can use it immediately. We know that when a bender is born, they have to learn to use it. The first generation of benders wouldn't have thought to try to teach bending to anyone because they thought you could only get it from lion-turtles. (My theory is that all benders are reincarnations. Once the power is granted, it persists across lifetimes.) Therefore, people lost the ability to bend once the last of the people from the lion-turtle cities died. But they were teachable. So they eventually got it back when they were taught by the badgermoles and such.
That doesn't necessarily explain the connection between lion turtles and the original benders though. Specifically how the air bison and badger moles naturally have their bending while the lion turtles give said bending away to humans. From what I know it can't be confirmed canonically so it can only be only explained in theories and head-canon which isn't as satisfying. I feel like it wouldn't have to be explained and could be left open if was done a more idk roundabout way but due to how was it kinda does seem like it conflicts a bit with what we knew before Korra at least in my mind, though that could just be me being a nitpicky (I enjoy worldbuilding).
@@neuralinferno1765 I can accept the idea that these creatures have these abilities as some form of adaptation/evolution. Like toph says the moles are blind like her so they use the tremor sense to get around combined with earthbending as a sort of fantasy take on our world's natural evolution. They have gained these traits as a result of existing in this world for a long time where as humans needed to be granted these abilities from a creature like the lion turtle. In my opinion before korra if the assumption is that these original benders just gave the humans the ability to bend then the concept of it falling to just the lion turtles isn't too far off. Especially when we see a lion turtle grant aang his ability at the end of atla. Korras addition just cements the idea that these beings and creatures are masters of what they do because these traits are apart of them. Again just theories but to me the explanation provided in korra gives me a better understanding then atla did.
When these episodes first came out, my friends all teased me since grown up Wan looks exactly how I did in high school 😂 wound up leaning into it and making a Wan costume
Fun fact: the location that Wan dies at is the same place that Zuko passes through during his travels in the episode “Zuko Alone” from ATLA. You can tell by the giant earth coins sticking out of the ground
I remember when this first aired. There was this oddly dedicated cadre of "hate watchers" who felt they were disrespecting the lore from ATLA, where it was said that humans "learned bending" from dragons/badger moles/sky bison/Tui and La, the Ocean and Moon spirits. Here it's established that the lion turtles gave humans the (bare) ability to use an element and then strongly implied that the formal "martial art" of its use and was learned elsewhere, as we see Wan learning firebending from the dragon.
Which is an odd position to take, considering ATLA more clearly established that bending was something from birth, regardless of familiarity with the “teachers”. Katara was able to waterbend without ever knowing someone else who could, nor was she familiar with the ocean and moon explanation. Meanwhile, Yue was very familiar, surrounded by waterbenders, yet couldn’t bend at all.
That's a complaint I also can't really understand. These episodes have so many bigger problems. Why are so many people focussing on the learning bending thing?
Right, I usually agree with some but not all of the hate they give Korra but when they also complain about this story I'm just like ok you're just trying to hate for no reason. Although I do like the idea of Rava and Batu I didn't like the ending with the big spirit fight with Korra and Unaloq it didn't feel avatarish but still not enough to hate on it. Also as someone who usually defends Korra from haters season 2 makes it hard to defend her when the best episodes and just overall best moments were not about her or even had her in the episode 😅
"we are bonded forever" is some iconic shit but Wan saying "I will be the bridge between our two worlds" with that music is one of the best scenes in the series
The Avatar cycle follows the same order that Wan obtained the elements. Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Also, "We will be together for all your lifetimes" always gets me, considering...
Fun facts: *Serena Williams who voices Ming the guard who was nice to Iroh in the original series, voices one of the sages. And another one, Avatar Wan is voice by the actor Steven Yuen, who plays Gleen in the Walking Dead *the 'arrow' tattoo on the air nomads head during wans time is actually a symbol or raava! once the air nomads met their sky bison (whom taught them how to bend air), they thought it would show a sign of respect to their long life companion, by tattooing the sky bison arrow on their own head. *the place that Wan died was the same place we see in Zuko Alone episode from TLA
This episode makes you feel like you finally understand Avatar and this universe and the lore. It puts so much into perspective. I really enjoy how they do that in the following seasons too with certain revelations.
I think the style in these episodes was supposed to mimic old Chinese and Japanese style art. Like the backgrounds feel like they were made with rice paper and watercolor. I absolutely loved the aesthetic of these episodes. And when the original theme hits when they merge?! It was over for me too!! 😢🥰
Love it too bc of this reason, couldn't believe it was done bc they hadn't the budget to animate it like the rest. Would love a whole new avatar show in this artstyle alone tbh! ❤😊
Even though we just got a condensed telling of his entire tenure as avatar, I would like to see it fleshed out as its own series. Especially if it keeps the animation style.
Since the day you began your Avatar journey way back when where we got to see how much you emotionally connect to what's happening - these are the episodes I was most looking forward to witnessing your reaction to. They're just breathtaking and fantastic in the amount of world-building they do of the whole Avatar world
Love the beginnings arc, truly one of the best and most beautiful world building episodes ever, so ethereal and transcendental. The fact that they're not directly adapted from any written source material and are simply a result and expression of the inspiration, influence and inquiry of the creators speaks volumes of the talent and effort put into the show and makes these two episodes even more impressive and outstanding tbh.
Thank you for saying it. As a aminal nerd, I wanted to say the same, but being late to the game knew someone else must surely also have done so, and am glad I looked. I wish your comment had one of those special likes by the video's creator, because it was correct, and because I love watching people learn about species they weren't previously aware of, and lemurs hit. Yes, even mouse lemurs. And anyone who thinks lemurs don't hit is just wrong and doesn't know what's good. But while we're on that subject, is it wrong to think that Momo was definitely inspired by colugos, or "flying lemurs" (which are in scare quotes because they're not flying, and nor are they lemurs for that matter). They're sort of para-primates the way that lagomorphs are para-rodents (not actual rodents as Mel Blanc's Looney propaganda would have us believe), and we're all sister clades, along with, I guess treeshrews or some shit, I don't know.
The most underrated thing I love the most about these episodes is how it not only explains the lore but also the title of the saga. Avatar - a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher. (Oxford Dictionary) Rava being the deity or released soul
Some people think this doesn't line up with the canon that they learned it from certain animals. like Sky bison and dragons. I think this is how the power came to exist and the animals showed them how to master them. Love this episode =)
Pretty sure that was the implication, especially because it shows a dragon teaching Wan to firebend and after that everyone is talking about how Wan uses fire as an extension of himself
Lion turtles bend energy, bending energy can allow you to change a person’s bending, they gave the, the ability to bend, the animals also got the ability to bend, the animals developed special styles of bending, these styles were learnt by people who could already bend
That's exactly how it works. The Lion Turtle gave them the ability to throw Fire/Air/Water/Earth, and the animals/the moon taught them how to use it. Just like we see Wan train with a dragon in this episode. The reason the lovers from the Omashu story were so terrifying wasn't because they could throw rocks, but because they knew how to do it right. And we see several examples of that in atla as well. Toph herself is the perfect one. All the other "benders" in the arena can throw rocks, but Toph learned bending from the badger-moles, she UNDERSTANDS earth-bending, and she absolutely wipes the floor with ANYONE!
lol it's not that hard to understand. Just because you HAVE fire doesnt mean you can BEND it. Like the farmer gave me vegetables, but only a CHEF can teach me how to cook em! Lion Turtles GAVE the power of the elements, but the animals (and the moon) TAUGHT people how to USE their elements, albeit in a more nuanced way AKA martial arts!
People who think it doesn't line up with the canon should look at episode 10 of book 2 (The Library) more carefully. At some point, Aang look at a scroll with a picture of a person meeting with a lion-turtle. This seems like a foreshadowing of the lion-turtle that appear in book 3, but if you look carefully you can see multiple lion-turtles on the picture, placed in a way that could suggest the character will meet them all in succession. The Avatar's genesis was already being hinted at.
"We will be together for al your lifetimes.." I BAWLED. Ever reaction you had , i also had my first time watching. Glad to be watching it again with someone who resonates just as deeply with the emotion of this.
Coming back to comment again because I've been thinking about the parallels in Wan and Aang's stories. Both had to master all elements & save the world in a short time. They both felt the need to prove themselves after a mistake. (Wan releasing Vaatu, Aang running away from home & being gone for 100 years). Neither could kill in the moment, even if it would have "benefitted" them. And of course, both drew world-saving power from the lion turtle!
Aang and Wan learning to control all elements in less then a year gives rokus like ,,I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before" so much more impact :D
The spirit that gave Wan the name of "Stinky", as he jokingly stated that he viewed Wan as his pet is the Aye-aye spirit. His name and appearance are directly inspired by the Aye-aye, a large species of lemur native to Madagascar. And he is voiced by Jason Christopher Marsden.
These episodes hit your straight in the HEART. The lore from every avatar show, book, fanfic, everrr is all coming together!!!! Props to the writers!!!!
Girl you had me crying from your reactions to Juan and Rava, you’ve a beautiful soul, keep pouring your heart in your telecast commentaries and I will be here with everyone else to adore you. ❤️
Also i really love how they used an art style inspired by japanese oil paintings. Friggin beautiful. And we also see why the avatar cycle goes fire, air, water, and earth, in that order. Its because thats the order Wan learned them.
My absolute favorite detail about these episodes is that the battlefield where Wan died in the end is the very same battlefield that Zuko traveled through in "Zuko Alone" in season 2 of ATLA
The avatar is able to combine with the spirit of light because the harmonic convergence is when the spirit and physical world are one. And the portal allows them to combine as one.
Just to clarify why the Fire Sages protect the bison: For hundreds of years, the Fire Nation and the Air Nomads were tightly knit kingdoms. They shared smiles, dances, culture and also bendings. The Fire Nation has always cultivated great respect for the Nomads, but this was corrupted during the Age of Sozin. Sozin feared that the Fire Nation would lose its identity, prestige, and military power, and this became worse when an airbending school was established in the Fire Nation. At the time, both kingdoms believed that the exchange of experiences strengthened the bending (a theory that Iroh later put to the test, as did Zuko), but Sozin didn't want that. He broke up any and all Nomad cultures that existed in the Fire Nation, and began to reinstruct a new identity (which was strengthened over the 100 years). When Sozin announced his plan to exterminate the Air Nomads (and everything related to them, for fear of the next Avatar emerging from there), the Fire Sages were extremely against it (in ATLA we saw some still fair and honored the Air-Fire traditions) , as they knew that this would bring misfortune to their Nation. So on the day of the Ambush of Comet Sozin, many Fire Sages tried to protect as much as they could from the Nomads, be it their culture, relics, flora and even fauna, like the Bison. With the Fire Nation moving further and further away from its spiritual side, the leaders, captains and even the Fire Lord himself stopped attending the sacred temples, so they never even thought about the possibility of anything from the Nomads having been saved. However, to this day, many things from the Nomads reflect on the Fire Nation. Remember that breakingdance move Zuko used to do? That is the result of an airbending emerging from firebending.
I personally love that the origin story "contradicts" the lore from ATLA. And yes, I know people will comment that it doesn't. That the people still learned how to use bending from dragons/moon/bison. But I think those are mostly meant to be taken as creation myths. They might have truth to them, but no one could know. How would it be possible for anyone in that world to know what happened 10,000 years ago? Other than the avatar connecting to Wan, people would have to guess based on stories passed from generation to generation. It was an extremely long game of telephone. There are wild creation myths in our own world. People have always tried to explain the unexplainable, that is what I think happened in the ATLA universe.
I can remember when these episodes first came out their was a lot of speculation concerning the old Fire Shaman lady. As far as I know her name has never been given, but there was quite a few people who thought she might be an elderly reformed Azula. Personally I never bought into that theory, since even if she reformed I have a hard time believing Azula would then chose a life of service but it was an interesting theory. An Azula redemption arc is something a lot of people have wanted to see, so they’d constantly be looking for an opportunity to see one.
These two episodes are one of my favourite's of the Korra series. I really love seeing the Fire Sage using fire to read Korra's aura, to see what's wrong with her. To about to see Fire Bending use for something else other than shooting flames and lighting was freaking amazing. The whole Wan back story was such an important nugget of law that we needed!!!
This was my favorite two episodes episodes of Kora. When first saw this when it premiered on Nickelodeon, I was playing Dragon Age, and going into the Korcan Wilds. I equated the hunters going into the spirit wilds with the Korcarn Wilds, and gave me some awesome experience in the game play.
My favorite part of these: if you've seen a bunch of Studio Ghibli movies, this is full of nods to those. Wan's travel montage like Ashitaka's, spirits that look like kodama, crossing the bridge to the bath, etc.
I'm surprised this is the only comment like this I've seen! Wan's story is suuuuuch a huge parallel to Ashitaka's. I highly recommend that anyone else who enjoys this two-parter to go watch Princess Mononoke.
As someone who could never get into TLA but looooves TLoK, I am absolutely loving how invested you are in the series so far, especially compared to some other heavy hitter shows you've reacted to. Also greatly appreciate just how much time you set aside to discuss the episodes before AND after you react. You've definitely become one of my favourite reacters that I follow because of this. Keep on keeping on!
Idk how to describe my level of excitement when I open YT and see you made a new video. Thank you so much for your content and consistent flow of videos.
i´ve just discovered you channel and i binged watched the whole Avatar reaccion since yesterday and now im watching korra, and i have to say, i really enjoyed, i have never seen someone appreciate this shows with the emotion and feelings you do, you make it an awesome experience to rewatch this show allongside you
Literally he’s my favorite avatar and aang is second for me, then Roku and then kyoshi. But the fact he became my fav just by like idk I really love his character
I was absolutely blow away by these episodes the first time I watched this. The Avatar cycle is so crazy cool, which is why this is an...intense season. This also doesn't contradict the stories about learning bending from the moon, badgermoles, dragons, and air bison because the lion turtles didn't give out bending when they departed, but also explains why lion turtles are still so important especially to some groups like the White Lotus. But note that Wan also has amber eyes like a certain family of Fire nation royalty...
The creators of this show originally came up with this story all the way back in book two of The Last Airbender, but they couldn't find a way to work it into the story until now. That's why they briefly mentioned the lion turtle in the library episode.
So Wan's name is kinda interesting because it's phonetically similar to the English "one" and he is Avatar number 1, but also in Mandarin Wan means "ten thousand" which is how many years there are between Harmonic Convergences. Also we've seen the battlefield Wan died in before back in ATLA. In "Zuko Alone" Zuko passes through a field with all the rock discs in the ground which is the same place.
These episodes are incredible! Some of the best in Avatar for sure! You might have noticed what appears at first to be a minor conflict in this episode between the story of Lion Turtles giving the ability to use the elements compared to the way it's described in The Last Airbender, where bending was learned from the Moon or from animals such as Dragons or Badger Moles. However, the episode actually addresses this - the people given elements by Lion Turtles aren't bending it so much as just wielding it crudely, and training with the animals (just as you saw Wan doing the Dancing Dragon!) or watching the Moon's push and pull taught the art of bending and mastery of those elements. I never fail to get chills at "We are bonded forever."
7:06 It's the exact opposite for me. In my teens and 20s, I was too guarded and never shared my real feelings with anyone. Now, in my 40s, I try to be more open and direct - not to the detriment of others feelings or well being, mind you, but if my boss tells me to do something obviously ridiculous, I tell her straight to her face, "Thats a bad idea, I won't do it, and here's why:" I'm a lot happier this way 😄😄
Wan reminds me of the Aang, Korra crooked smile thing. There do seem to be some things in common between our main avatars. Wan's another example of wonderful familiarity.
the art style of these episodes is amazing. i believe their intention was to create a look similar to japanese ukiyo-e and/or chinese ink painting styles. it's beautiful and unique
This is one of my absolutely favorite episodes from both ATLA and TLOK both. And your reaction did not dissapoint. It is actually funny how we can relive this amazing journey just through whatching you reacting to the series. I can still get chills at the key moments just like that. Can not wait for the next episode as always
@@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween I'm curious to know why so many people seem to absolutely despise these episodes. I genuinely don't understand the broiling hatred some fans have towards them and Wan as a charachter.
@@patrickwaldeck6681 unlike a lot of people who dislike these episodes, it isn't the lore aspect that frustrates me.. it's the character writing. Hence I'm interested to know why people like Wan as a character. Vaatu vs Raava shouldn't be such a black and white conflict. Nuance is needed here, a concept like Ying and Yang would have worked better. The spirits are not likeable and are just rude. The supposed 'bad rulers' should actually be shown to be bad. The hunters have a point that's never addressed. Then there's Wan...very much a hypocrite. The episodes are pretty though. I wonder if it had a few more episodes dedicated, they'd be able to flesh out the characters more 🤔
@@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween Sometimes a situation is just if you do this something will happen and if you do that something else will happen. These beings raava and vaatu are spirit beings that transcend mortal ties. Them being mean or ignorant I think is perfect characterization not just for the scale these spirits are on but for the purpose of bringing meaning to the avatar itself. A person meant to be the bridge between spirit and human. We see the conflict within the episode itself how spirits devalue humans and how humans fear spirits to the point of hostility. Wan being the person to take this spirit after making a mistake and do his best to make amends by attaching himself to raava in an effort to help raava complete their task while also showing this spirit the value a human can have to me brings true meaning to the avatar being the bridge between the human and spirit worlds.Wan is an imperfect person as most avatars are but that leaves room for growth to which we see unfold and not only do we see it but the spirits that Wan interact with see it and change their perceptions of humans and humanity as a whole creating that bridge. The introduction to these characters are not their final form and as the story progresses these characters change so yes raava was rude and mean given the situation but they definetly changed their tune as the story continued so I don't see why we reduced this character to that.youll have to expand on Wan being a hypocrite cause I don't know where that comes from exactly. I'm sure the rulers who were keeping food and resources away from the poor or those outside their walls have been shown to be bad rulers.Theyre living the good life while their people are scrounging to make ends neat.
@@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween Of course there are always some clueless people in this world who just have to hate on everything for no reason, even though it's pure perfection.
My take on Lin is simply that when Mako was in team Avatar she dealt with them in one way, but as a cop under her authority, she is a bit harder on him, probably using Toph’s approach as a guide to mold him into a good cop.
Not to mention she has a terrible politician breathing down her neck constantly because anything that "looks" bad during his first run will ruin his ratings. Especially if the issues are internal like say the police force
Sorry for continuously commenting on my own. I tend to do that when watching cause ill forget by the end. Anyways, the air bison arent the same as appa theyre different but aang found them and asked the sages to keep them safe and raise them. Thats how tenzin has his air bison. And oogie is named after aang and kataras love because sokka used to say oogies when aang and katara showed affection to eachother in the comics. Its quite friggin adorable
You should look into Yangchen. Kyoshi gets credit as the most savage...or blunt. But Yangchen just scared the world straight. All the details aren't known, but she naturally went against some airbender beliefs, which she implies in her chat with Aang. She devoted herself to her role in the best way she could figure, and a balance came about because of it. She's covered in the comics a bit, but she was a force.
These writers are Avatar-level fanservice benders 😄 No matter how many times I’ve watched these episodes, whenever there’s an Easter egg or a phrase from the rest of the show I always have a big Sponge-bob-when-he-found-out-Squidward-liked-CrabbyPatties type of smile on my face.
In regards to the art style. It is very reminiscent of old Chinese and Japanese paintings. And I feel that they did that as a physical representation of how old (far back in time) Wan is. How it's thousands and thousands of years before Korra. Plus the art style gives the episodes a very distinct feel compared to any of the other Avatar stuff, which is what it needed to help it hit as hard as it does.
The music was insane in these two episodes. I loved all the callbacks to the iconic themes in ATLA. Also I loved the concept that the humans on the different Lion Turtles thought that they were the only humans in the world. That, I think is why the Air Nomad-types were so startled by seeing Wan the first time. That was the first time they saw a different type of human. Fun Fact! The battlefield that Avatar Wan dies on, is the same field that Zuko rides through in the episode "Zuko Alone."
There are some folk who think that the story of Wan disrupts the entire mythos and introduces retcons and makes plot holes, i.e. how bending originated. This is, in my opinion, a very silly bone to pick. It's simple to rationalize in a few solid ways, and moreover, Wan is just freaking awesome. Love what you do!
My absolute favourite episode(s) in either Korra or ATLA. Skimmed the comments, and haven't found much praise for the art style, so here it is. The decision to choose that scroll painting watercolour look was perfect. It's very true to the actual art style that you see in the large scenes in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese paintings. But seeing that style animated is a whole new level altogether. I also loved that the introduced fire healing right at the start of the episode. It's like a redemption arc for firebending itself.
So about the Kyoshi novels, if you still havent read them, and you like audiobooks, they are both in the "plus catalouge" of audible that you can access with any audible account, even a free trial. I hope you enjoy the books!
I like how the spirits, who are literally an invasion from another plane of existance, say humans think only of themselves as the take more and more territory segregating the humans. What's the phrase? Divide and conquer.
I have to say as much as I like this episode the whole Yin and Yang being good and evil betrays so much of what the symbols actually mean. Avatar was so good about talking about balance and now they have the black thing evil and the white thing good.
The conversation Ruko had with Aang during the winter solstice really hits more harder. Wan had 1 year to learn all the elements before harmonic convergence. Aang also has 1 year to master all the elements to defeat the firelord.
"since the beginningless time darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light". this was no random proverb. that was the entire lore of the avatar
If I had a nickel for every time a protagonist found out about the 10,000 year countdown to the apocalypse with only 0.0001% of that time as notice, etc... Wan and Korra really can't catch a break. P.S. Somebody please make and sell me a Vaatu / Raava kite - that would be amazing!
The scene where Wan dies and Raava leaves his body to be reincarnated is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever produced by the avatar team. Absolutely breathtaking composition ❤
58:02 the idea that you actually just burned through this in a weekend but just did new makeup and changed shirts between episodes is actually hilarious to visualize 🤣
I knew you would love the art style in these 2 episodes! The art style is inspired by traditional Chinese paintings, as one can tell by how the fire, water and clouds is drawn. In the old Chinese cartoons, the effects are also drawn this way. The musical instruments in the chasing action scenes from the Chou and Wan is also exactly how the old chinese animations music would be! It's more commonly known by people who has heard of peking theatre, where they also use these musical instruments.
These two episodes are by far my favorite of LoK. There's just so much here to love! Edit: The spirit calling Wan "Stinky" is based on an aye-aye. Oh, and keep an eye out for Wan's teapot later! Edut 2: Dragon Dance confirmed! Avatar Kuruk and Avatar Yangchen are the ones you're misremembering.
2 of the best episodes ever in the entire series. The people behind these are truly great artists. I'm so sad that the two creators were not allowed to be involved in the live action Netflix series. A real shame.
Season 2 often is regarded as the "weakest" in the series but I'm sorry, these 2 episodes alone are peak Avatar, of ALL of Avatar. It's so cool to learn how the first Avatar came to be and how much impact it has on the viewer in just 2 episodes
My favorite episodes of the season and maybe the korra legend. 😁 " we are bonded forever." 😍 And the oasis with healing water like at the north pole in ATLA. Maybe even the same. Such a perfect story. :)
Girlllll I NEED a show about the second avatar. Avatar Wan seemed to leave the world while a war was still happening, and its so interesting how people might react to a new avatar since there’s no foundation or really knowledge of their lineage yet. Plus they’ll be an air bender avatar!!!!!
"We are bonded forever."
That line in addition to the Avatar State theme playing never fails to give me chills. And I've seen the scene dozens of times :p.
But seeing it the first time, whooo!!whoops!!!
Epic !!!
I came to the comment section to say this same exact thing
The Avatar State theme is like a shot of adrenaline.
sameee, every DAMN reacting that ive seen (and im watching those for about 6 years now) i ALWAYS get goosebumps
Same. It's funny, season 2 of Korra might be my least favorite season of ATLA/LoK... but these are my favorite individual episodes.
Wan, in addition to sounding like "one", is also Mandarin Chinese for "ten-thousand", as also seen in the name of the knowledge spirit Wan Shi Tong ("he who knows ten-thousand things"). Ten thousand years have passed since Wan's time and Korra's.
How do you know that have passed 10.000 years and not a multiple os that, let's say, 20.000, 30.000, etc? After all in the southern air temple, the statues seems to be more than 100 (Asuming each avatar lived 100 years) I thinks thats an open conclusion.
@@giulianoparissewell, assuming that each Avatar lived an average of 100 years, there would have been 1000 Avatars since then.
@@AZDfox You skip maths mate... 100x100=10.000
@@giulianoparisse pretty sure roku was
@@giulianoparisse there are 10003 years between the events of WAN’s battle with Vaatu and The end of Korra, there are 163 avatars
That "we will be together for all of your lifetimes" hits so hard, I cry every time.
Yep, crying again.
I find it so weird that some people think that Ravaa bonds to a new human to make new Avatars. She cleared stated that it's Wan reincarnating.
My theory is that all benders are reincarnations. Once a lionturtle gives you the power, you have it until it's taken away. Even across lifetimes.
@@kryptonianguest1903 Agreed, and 'all benders are reincarnations' would explain a bunch of things, really!
It also works as a beautiful mirror of the relationship between them two: he gave Raava hope in the face of seemingly impossible task (defeating Vaatu during the harmonic convergence with her powers diminished and his powers largely untested); now she gives him hope she will continue this seemingly impossible adventure with his reincarnations (bringing balance to the world).
@@wtimmins The rules of reincarnation are not fully explained though. If they stick to the rules there are in the religions that inspired the world of Avatar, reincarnation doesn't work in some desired ways... and it even doesn't stick to just the human race.
In general: reincarnation in some cases is a way for a spirit to learn new things, repair its mistakes and perfect itself until reaching ultimate illumination; once a spirit reaches a full connection with the cosmos, it merges with it and won't reincarnate anymore. It's not limited to spiritual people, because in some teachings it's the mission of every living spirit on earth to go back to the energy of the whole.
Now, the way a spirit learns and corrects its mistakes changes from version to version; in some, if you learned and progressed, you won't reincarnate as a human, but a higher life form (for the next stage of learning). But, if you made mistakes and failed the lesson, you will reincarnate in the same level, or even in a lower life form to learn the lesson all over again.
We don't have confirmation if only the Avatar reincarnates (due to its connection with spiritual energy), if only benders reincarnate or everyone eventually reincarnates (since it's the goal of every living soul, not only of benders).
So... yeah, while reincarnation opens some interesting storytelling possibilities, not all work in the sense of always reconnecting the same people over, and over again.
It's insane how good of an origin story they did. It's always risky af to "explain" the magic behind the "present" of your work... But oh boy did they deliver. It's just perfect.
beats the hell out of midichlorians, that's for sure
They could’ve made a series about wan
The moment Wan fully becomes the Avatar and they bring in the Avatar theme still gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it.
What truly amazes me about this story, is that in episode 8 of book 1 of ATLA, the Soltice, Roku tells Aang that he must master the elements by summer's end, basically a year. Aang questions himself, saying that it is impossible, and Roku replies: "I know you can do it, Aang, for you have done it before." And here they are showing just that. 8 years later.
What's even more amazing is when Roku was talking to Jeong Jeong, he told him that he has mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now, we know.
Closeups of their eyes, too, same color.
Fun fact: Wans death was at the end of a battle. That battle is seen in atla in zuko alone as he walks through. You can see that with the giant circle rocks wedged in the ground.
I think that's a weird decision that the writers made. Why would those stones be exactly the same after 10,000 years? If weather didn't erode them, surely some people would have reclaimed the land at some point.
@@SouthpawHare unless the land was deemed historic and was left to preserve what ever battle took place there
Not only by far the best episodes of the season, but also some of the best episodes of the entire Avatar saga.
Not having seen season three or four I kinda want to hold judgment back on that, but damn, I love Avatar Wan
@funnylilgalreacts Season 3 and 4 are really really great but the animation alone in these episodes is absurdly breathtaking.
@@funnylilgalreactsi’m glad these episodes explained why there are airbison that the fire sages saved them from extinction I wonder how aang reacted when they revealed that to him
Idk about entire "Avatar Saga"
The beautiful animation makes up for the fact that wan is such a frustrating character for me
You're right that the sequence Wan learned the elements from the lion turtles is the same as the Avatar Cycle (Fire, Air, Water, Earth). It was such a neat addition to the lore.
Just so there's clarity, this origin story of the Avatar does _not_ conflict with what we know of the elements from AtLA.
Benders learned to _master_ their forms by the "original benders" (the moon for water, dragons for fire, badger moles for earth, and sky bison for air).
But it was the lion turtles that _granted_ them the power of bending.
THIS. I've seen so many people trying to hate on these episodes cause " it changes the lore" but they can't seem to wrap their head around this.
Seems backed by the facts the lion turtle gave aang the ability to take it away also
When a lion-turtle grants someone bending, they can use it immediately. We know that when a bender is born, they have to learn to use it.
The first generation of benders wouldn't have thought to try to teach bending to anyone because they thought you could only get it from lion-turtles. (My theory is that all benders are reincarnations. Once the power is granted, it persists across lifetimes.)
Therefore, people lost the ability to bend once the last of the people from the lion-turtle cities died. But they were teachable. So they eventually got it back when they were taught by the badgermoles and such.
That doesn't necessarily explain the connection between lion turtles and the original benders though. Specifically how the air bison and badger moles naturally have their bending while the lion turtles give said bending away to humans. From what I know it can't be confirmed canonically so it can only be only explained in theories and head-canon which isn't as satisfying. I feel like it wouldn't have to be explained and could be left open if was done a more idk roundabout way but due to how was it kinda does seem like it conflicts a bit with what we knew before Korra at least in my mind, though that could just be me being a nitpicky (I enjoy worldbuilding).
@@neuralinferno1765 I can accept the idea that these creatures have these abilities as some form of adaptation/evolution. Like toph says the moles are blind like her so they use the tremor sense to get around combined with earthbending as a sort of fantasy take on our world's natural evolution. They have gained these traits as a result of existing in this world for a long time where as humans needed to be granted these abilities from a creature like the lion turtle. In my opinion before korra if the assumption is that these original benders just gave the humans the ability to bend then the concept of it falling to just the lion turtles isn't too far off. Especially when we see a lion turtle grant aang his ability at the end of atla. Korras addition just cements the idea that these beings and creatures are masters of what they do because these traits are apart of them. Again just theories but to me the explanation provided in korra gives me a better understanding then atla did.
When Raava says "We are bonded forever" it hits me so hard... It's arguably my favorite scene from the entire series.
When these episodes first came out, my friends all teased me since grown up Wan looks exactly how I did in high school 😂 wound up leaning into it and making a Wan costume
Literally, the best response is to embrace it and become it! Good for you❤❤
did u post it?
Fun fact: the location that Wan dies at is the same place that Zuko passes through during his travels in the episode “Zuko Alone” from ATLA. You can tell by the giant earth coins sticking out of the ground
I remember when this first aired. There was this oddly dedicated cadre of "hate watchers" who felt they were disrespecting the lore from ATLA, where it was said that humans "learned bending" from dragons/badger moles/sky bison/Tui and La, the Ocean and Moon spirits. Here it's established that the lion turtles gave humans the (bare) ability to use an element and then strongly implied that the formal "martial art" of its use and was learned elsewhere, as we see Wan learning firebending from the dragon.
Which is an odd position to take, considering ATLA more clearly established that bending was something from birth, regardless of familiarity with the “teachers”. Katara was able to waterbend without ever knowing someone else who could, nor was she familiar with the ocean and moon explanation. Meanwhile, Yue was very familiar, surrounded by waterbenders, yet couldn’t bend at all.
That's a complaint I also can't really understand. These episodes have so many bigger problems. Why are so many people focussing on the learning bending thing?
Right, I usually agree with some but not all of the hate they give Korra but when they also complain about this story I'm just like ok you're just trying to hate for no reason. Although I do like the idea of Rava and Batu I didn't like the ending with the big spirit fight with Korra and Unaloq it didn't feel avatarish but still not enough to hate on it.
Also as someone who usually defends Korra from haters season 2 makes it hard to defend her when the best episodes and just overall best moments were not about her or even had her in the episode 😅
This is where, for me, Korra transcended being a mere shell of the former glory of Avatar TLA, and the show truly came to its own legendary status.
faaaaaacts.
Presented well yet the introduction of the good and evil trope also brought its downsides, seeing the writers fumbled with the finale which is a shame
It's only 2 chapters. The story just goes down from here to the point it is unbearable.
@@serghonest9only this season. The next season is fire literally lol
"we are bonded forever" is some iconic shit but Wan saying "I will be the bridge between our two worlds" with that music is one of the best scenes in the series
The Avatar cycle follows the same order that Wan obtained the elements. Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Also, "We will be together for all your lifetimes" always gets me, considering...
Fun facts:
*Serena Williams who voices Ming the guard who was nice to Iroh in the original series, voices one of the sages. And another one, Avatar Wan is voice by the actor Steven Yuen, who plays Gleen in the Walking Dead
*the 'arrow' tattoo on the air nomads head during wans time is actually a symbol or raava! once the air nomads met their sky bison (whom taught them how to bend air), they thought it would show a sign of respect to their long life companion, by tattooing the sky bison arrow on their own head.
*the place that Wan died was the same place we see in Zuko Alone episode from TLA
That sign of respect is also something that keeps them from doing something that I can't say because spoilers
i wonder if serena got to do any cameos in the avatar studios projects, i really hope she does!
i thought i was tripping when i heard her voice lol
@@jakelovell5882can u say the spoiler? u can just do this rq
g
This episode makes you feel like you finally understand Avatar and this universe and the lore. It puts so much into perspective. I really enjoy how they do that in the following seasons too with certain revelations.
I think the style in these episodes was supposed to mimic old Chinese and Japanese style art. Like the backgrounds feel like they were made with rice paper and watercolor. I absolutely loved the aesthetic of these episodes. And when the original theme hits when they merge?! It was over for me too!! 😢🥰
Love it too bc of this reason, couldn't believe it was done bc they hadn't the budget to animate it like the rest.
Would love a whole new avatar show in this artstyle alone tbh! ❤😊
Holy crap I completely forgot how amazing the 'First Avatar' story was laid out. Now that's how you give a backstory!
Even though we just got a condensed telling of his entire tenure as avatar, I would like to see it fleshed out as its own series. Especially if it keeps the animation style.
Heck, I guess I'd even settle for a Wan comic book series
Since the day you began your Avatar journey way back when where we got to see how much you emotionally connect to what's happening - these are the episodes I was most looking forward to witnessing your reaction to. They're just breathtaking and fantastic in the amount of world-building they do of the whole Avatar world
Love the beginnings arc, truly one of the best and most beautiful world building episodes ever, so ethereal and transcendental. The fact that they're not directly adapted from any written source material and are simply a result and expression of the inspiration, influence and inquiry of the creators speaks volumes of the talent and effort put into the show and makes these two episodes even more impressive and outstanding tbh.
"In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within our own bodies."
I hope if the live action Avatar series on Netflix ever shows Wan, they use Steven Yeun for it.
Omg. YES THEY HAVE TO
Uuuh yea! at least for the more adult version of Wan he is a bit too young I think at the beginning for it to be Steven Yeun
Koh isn't that bad, he's just trying to save some face.
Hahahahaha
booooooo !!
Loved these episodes so much, always make me emotional, also loved the styalised animation on these eps which gives you the feel like its ancient
Also, the spirit that nicknamed Wan "Stinky" had characteristics of a very shy and elusive species of lemur called an Aye-Aye.
Thank you for saying it. As a aminal nerd, I wanted to say the same, but being late to the game knew someone else must surely also have done so, and am glad I looked.
I wish your comment had one of those special likes by the video's creator, because it was correct, and because I love watching people learn about species they weren't previously aware of, and lemurs hit. Yes, even mouse lemurs. And anyone who thinks lemurs don't hit is just wrong and doesn't know what's good.
But while we're on that subject, is it wrong to think that Momo was definitely inspired by colugos, or "flying lemurs" (which are in scare quotes because they're not flying, and nor are they lemurs for that matter). They're sort of para-primates the way that lagomorphs are para-rodents (not actual rodents as Mel Blanc's Looney propaganda would have us believe), and we're all sister clades, along with, I guess treeshrews or some shit, I don't know.
The most underrated thing I love the most about these episodes is how it not only explains the lore but also the title of the saga. Avatar - a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher. (Oxford Dictionary) Rava being the deity or released soul
Some people think this doesn't line up with the canon that they learned it from certain animals. like Sky bison and dragons. I think this is how the power came to exist and the animals showed them how to master them. Love this episode =)
Pretty sure that was the implication, especially because it shows a dragon teaching Wan to firebend and after that everyone is talking about how Wan uses fire as an extension of himself
Lion turtles bend energy, bending energy can allow you to change a person’s bending, they gave the, the ability to bend, the animals also got the ability to bend, the animals developed special styles of bending, these styles were learnt by people who could already bend
That's exactly how it works. The Lion Turtle gave them the ability to throw Fire/Air/Water/Earth, and the animals/the moon taught them how to use it. Just like we see Wan train with a dragon in this episode.
The reason the lovers from the Omashu story were so terrifying wasn't because they could throw rocks, but because they knew how to do it right. And we see several examples of that in atla as well. Toph herself is the perfect one. All the other "benders" in the arena can throw rocks, but Toph learned bending from the badger-moles, she UNDERSTANDS earth-bending, and she absolutely wipes the floor with ANYONE!
lol it's not that hard to understand. Just because you HAVE fire doesnt mean you can BEND it. Like the farmer gave me vegetables, but only a CHEF can teach me how to cook em! Lion Turtles GAVE the power of the elements, but the animals (and the moon) TAUGHT people how to USE their elements, albeit in a more nuanced way AKA martial arts!
People who think it doesn't line up with the canon should look at episode 10 of book 2 (The Library) more carefully.
At some point, Aang look at a scroll with a picture of a person meeting with a lion-turtle. This seems like a foreshadowing of the lion-turtle that appear in book 3, but if you look carefully you can see multiple lion-turtles on the picture, placed in a way that could suggest the character will meet them all in succession. The Avatar's genesis was already being hinted at.
"We will be together for al your lifetimes.." I BAWLED. Ever reaction you had , i also had my first time watching. Glad to be watching it again with someone who resonates just as deeply with the emotion of this.
Coming back to comment again because I've been thinking about the parallels in Wan and Aang's stories. Both had to master all elements & save the world in a short time. They both felt the need to prove themselves after a mistake. (Wan releasing Vaatu, Aang running away from home & being gone for 100 years). Neither could kill in the moment, even if it would have "benefitted" them. And of course, both drew world-saving power from the lion turtle!
Aang and Wan learning to control all elements in less then a year gives rokus like ,,I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before" so much more impact :D
"I can't master three elements in under a year!"
"You can, for you have done it before."
The spirit that gave Wan the name of "Stinky", as he jokingly stated that he viewed Wan as his pet is the Aye-aye spirit. His name and appearance are directly inspired by the Aye-aye, a large species of lemur native to Madagascar.
And he is voiced by Jason Christopher Marsden.
These episodes hit your straight in the HEART. The lore from every avatar show, book, fanfic, everrr is all coming together!!!! Props to the writers!!!!
Girl you had me crying from your reactions to Juan and Rava, you’ve a beautiful soul, keep pouring your heart in your telecast commentaries and I will be here with everyone else to adore you. ❤️
Also i really love how they used an art style inspired by japanese oil paintings. Friggin beautiful. And we also see why the avatar cycle goes fire, air, water, and earth, in that order. Its because thats the order Wan learned them.
My absolute favorite detail about these episodes is that the battlefield where Wan died in the end is the very same battlefield that Zuko traveled through in "Zuko Alone" in season 2 of ATLA
My favourite episodes of the entire saga. I'm so happy to rewatch them with you. Thank you!!!
The avatar is able to combine with the spirit of light because the harmonic convergence is when the spirit and physical world are one. And the portal allows them to combine as one.
Just to clarify why the Fire Sages protect the bison:
For hundreds of years, the Fire Nation and the Air Nomads were tightly knit kingdoms. They shared smiles, dances, culture and also bendings. The Fire Nation has always cultivated great respect for the Nomads, but this was corrupted during the Age of Sozin.
Sozin feared that the Fire Nation would lose its identity, prestige, and military power, and this became worse when an airbending school was established in the Fire Nation. At the time, both kingdoms believed that the exchange of experiences strengthened the bending (a theory that Iroh later put to the test, as did Zuko), but Sozin didn't want that. He broke up any and all Nomad cultures that existed in the Fire Nation, and began to reinstruct a new identity (which was strengthened over the 100 years).
When Sozin announced his plan to exterminate the Air Nomads (and everything related to them, for fear of the next Avatar emerging from there), the Fire Sages were extremely against it (in ATLA we saw some still fair and honored the Air-Fire traditions) , as they knew that this would bring misfortune to their Nation.
So on the day of the Ambush of Comet Sozin, many Fire Sages tried to protect as much as they could from the Nomads, be it their culture, relics, flora and even fauna, like the Bison.
With the Fire Nation moving further and further away from its spiritual side, the leaders, captains and even the Fire Lord himself stopped attending the sacred temples, so they never even thought about the possibility of anything from the Nomads having been saved.
However, to this day, many things from the Nomads reflect on the Fire Nation. Remember that breakingdance move Zuko used to do? That is the result of an airbending emerging from firebending.
I never get tired of rewatching these episodes, and I love how much you enjoyed the story and animation.
It’s interesting that the before the air nomads befriended the bison, their tattoos were different
I personally love that the origin story "contradicts" the lore from ATLA.
And yes, I know people will comment that it doesn't. That the people still learned how to use bending from dragons/moon/bison.
But I think those are mostly meant to be taken as creation myths. They might have truth to them, but no one could know. How would it be possible for anyone in that world to know what happened 10,000 years ago? Other than the avatar connecting to Wan, people would have to guess based on stories passed from generation to generation. It was an extremely long game of telephone.
There are wild creation myths in our own world. People have always tried to explain the unexplainable, that is what I think happened in the ATLA universe.
I can remember when these episodes first came out their was a lot of speculation concerning the old Fire Shaman lady. As far as I know her name has never been given, but there was quite a few people who thought she might be an elderly reformed Azula. Personally I never bought into that theory, since even if she reformed I have a hard time believing Azula would then chose a life of service but it was an interesting theory. An Azula redemption arc is something a lot of people have wanted to see, so they’d constantly be looking for an opportunity to see one.
The way I hollered "yes!!!!" when I saw this was finally posted lol I have been waiting for you to watch these 2 episodes!!
These two episodes are one of my favourite's of the Korra series. I really love seeing the Fire Sage using fire to read Korra's aura, to see what's wrong with her. To about to see Fire Bending use for something else other than shooting flames and lighting was freaking amazing. The whole Wan back story was such an important nugget of law that we needed!!!
Trusting Varrick is complicated. Now that you've seen all sides of him, you can always trust Varrick to be Varrick.
This was my favorite two episodes episodes of Kora. When first saw this when it premiered on Nickelodeon, I was playing Dragon Age, and going into the Korcan Wilds. I equated the hunters going into the spirit wilds with the Korcarn Wilds, and gave me some awesome experience in the game play.
My favorite part of these: if you've seen a bunch of Studio Ghibli movies, this is full of nods to those. Wan's travel montage like Ashitaka's, spirits that look like kodama, crossing the bridge to the bath, etc.
I'm surprised this is the only comment like this I've seen! Wan's story is suuuuuch a huge parallel to Ashitaka's. I highly recommend that anyone else who enjoys this two-parter to go watch Princess Mononoke.
One, two-part episode. They fit all this lore and delivered such an emotional saga of a story in a single two-part episode. Top tier.
As someone who could never get into TLA but looooves TLoK, I am absolutely loving how invested you are in the series so far, especially compared to some other heavy hitter shows you've reacted to. Also greatly appreciate just how much time you set aside to discuss the episodes before AND after you react. You've definitely become one of my favourite reacters that I follow because of this. Keep on keeping on!
Idk how to describe my level of excitement when I open YT and see you made a new video. Thank you so much for your content and consistent flow of videos.
i´ve just discovered you channel and i binged watched the whole Avatar reaccion since yesterday and now im watching korra, and i have to say, i really enjoyed, i have never seen someone appreciate this shows with the emotion and feelings you do, you make it an awesome experience to rewatch this show allongside you
Avatar Wan is by far my favorite... I would watch a full series of him learning and fighting.
Literally he’s my favorite avatar and aang is second for me, then Roku and then kyoshi.
But the fact he became my fav just by like idk I really love his character
These two episodes are why I don't understand the dislike for Korra. This season is good, but these two episodes are top tier Avatar content.
This is an amazing look back at the origins of the Avatar
I was absolutely blow away by these episodes the first time I watched this. The Avatar cycle is so crazy cool, which is why this is an...intense season. This also doesn't contradict the stories about learning bending from the moon, badgermoles, dragons, and air bison because the lion turtles didn't give out bending when they departed, but also explains why lion turtles are still so important especially to some groups like the White Lotus. But note that Wan also has amber eyes like a certain family of Fire nation royalty...
The creators of this show originally came up with this story all the way back in book two of The Last Airbender, but they couldn't find a way to work it into the story until now. That's why they briefly mentioned the lion turtle in the library episode.
So Wan's name is kinda interesting because it's phonetically similar to the English "one" and he is Avatar number 1, but also in Mandarin Wan means "ten thousand" which is how many years there are between Harmonic Convergences.
Also we've seen the battlefield Wan died in before back in ATLA. In "Zuko Alone" Zuko passes through a field with all the rock discs in the ground which is the same place.
These episodes are incredible! Some of the best in Avatar for sure!
You might have noticed what appears at first to be a minor conflict in this episode between the story of Lion Turtles giving the ability to use the elements compared to the way it's described in The Last Airbender, where bending was learned from the Moon or from animals such as Dragons or Badger Moles. However, the episode actually addresses this - the people given elements by Lion Turtles aren't bending it so much as just wielding it crudely, and training with the animals (just as you saw Wan doing the Dancing Dragon!) or watching the Moon's push and pull taught the art of bending and mastery of those elements.
I never fail to get chills at "We are bonded forever."
7:06 It's the exact opposite for me. In my teens and 20s, I was too guarded and never shared my real feelings with anyone. Now, in my 40s, I try to be more open and direct - not to the detriment of others feelings or well being, mind you, but if my boss tells me to do something obviously ridiculous, I tell her straight to her face, "Thats a bad idea, I won't do it, and here's why:"
I'm a lot happier this way 😄😄
Two of my favorite episodes of the whole series.
Wan reminds me of the Aang, Korra crooked smile thing. There do seem to be some things in common between our main avatars. Wan's another example of wonderful familiarity.
the art style of these episodes is amazing. i believe their intention was to create a look similar to japanese ukiyo-e and/or chinese ink painting styles. it's beautiful and unique
This is one of my absolutely favorite episodes from both ATLA and TLOK both. And your reaction did not dissapoint. It is actually funny how we can relive this amazing journey just through whatching you reacting to the series. I can still get chills at the key moments just like that.
Can not wait for the next episode as always
I cannot even fully express how much I love these episodes. Wan is a phenomenal character to watch.
I'm curious, what is it about him that makes him phenomenal? As someone who doesn't like his character, I'd like to understand
@@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween I'm curious to know why so many people seem to absolutely despise these episodes. I genuinely don't understand the broiling hatred some fans have towards them and Wan as a charachter.
@@patrickwaldeck6681 unlike a lot of people who dislike these episodes, it isn't the lore aspect that frustrates me.. it's the character writing. Hence I'm interested to know why people like Wan as a character.
Vaatu vs Raava shouldn't be such a black and white conflict. Nuance is needed here, a concept like Ying and Yang would have worked better. The spirits are not likeable and are just rude. The supposed 'bad rulers' should actually be shown to be bad. The hunters have a point that's never addressed. Then there's Wan...very much a hypocrite. The episodes are pretty though. I wonder if it had a few more episodes dedicated, they'd be able to flesh out the characters more 🤔
@@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween Sometimes a situation is just if you do this something will happen and if you do that something else will happen. These beings raava and vaatu are spirit beings that transcend mortal ties. Them being mean or ignorant I think is perfect characterization not just for the scale these spirits are on but for the purpose of bringing meaning to the avatar itself. A person meant to be the bridge between spirit and human. We see the conflict within the episode itself how spirits devalue humans and how humans fear spirits to the point of hostility. Wan being the person to take this spirit after making a mistake and do his best to make amends by attaching himself to raava in an effort to help raava complete their task while also showing this spirit the value a human can have to me brings true meaning to the avatar being the bridge between the human and spirit worlds.Wan is an imperfect person as most avatars are but that leaves room for growth to which we see unfold and not only do we see it but the spirits that Wan interact with see it and change their perceptions of humans and humanity as a whole creating that bridge. The introduction to these characters are not their final form and as the story progresses these characters change so yes raava was rude and mean given the situation but they definetly changed their tune as the story continued so I don't see why we reduced this character to that.youll have to expand on Wan being a hypocrite cause I don't know where that comes from exactly.
I'm sure the rulers who were keeping food and resources away from the poor or those outside their walls have been shown to be bad rulers.Theyre living the good life while their people are scrounging to make ends neat.
@@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween Of course there are always some clueless people in this world who just have to hate on everything for no reason, even though it's pure perfection.
I have seen this episode like 6x's and seeing you enjoy it so much brought me to tears again.
My take on Lin is simply that when Mako was in team Avatar she dealt with them in one way, but as a cop under her authority, she is a bit harder on him, probably using Toph’s approach as a guide to mold him into a good cop.
And he ends up becoming the best detective
Not to mention she has a terrible politician breathing down her neck constantly because anything that "looks" bad during his first run will ruin his ratings. Especially if the issues are internal like say the police force
Wan is my favorite and hes so damn cute. His spirit and his personality are amazing. Hes so selfless
Also, fun fact, the lion turtle that gave aang energy bending was the fire lion turtle where wan came from.
Sorry for continuously commenting on my own. I tend to do that when watching cause ill forget by the end. Anyways, the air bison arent the same as appa theyre different but aang found them and asked the sages to keep them safe and raise them. Thats how tenzin has his air bison. And oogie is named after aang and kataras love because sokka used to say oogies when aang and katara showed affection to eachother in the comics. Its quite friggin adorable
@@hasicazulatv2078 Was it??? Kinda thought it was the Water turtle for a while, then maybe just a separate turtle.
You should look into Yangchen. Kyoshi gets credit as the most savage...or blunt. But Yangchen just scared the world straight. All the details aren't known, but she naturally went against some airbender beliefs, which she implies in her chat with Aang. She devoted herself to her role in the best way she could figure, and a balance came about because of it. She's covered in the comics a bit, but she was a force.
These writers are Avatar-level fanservice benders 😄
No matter how many times I’ve watched these episodes, whenever there’s an Easter egg or a phrase from the rest of the show I always have a big Sponge-bob-when-he-found-out-Squidward-liked-CrabbyPatties type of smile on my face.
Watching your emotional reactions to these is the highlight of my week.
I never realized Steven Yuen and Jk simmons starred in so many shows together
They told Wan “Even when you have the power you’re afraid to use it”. Ozai said the same thing to Aang in the finale! I love the parallels
49:43 I believe he's just called the Aye-aye spirit, named so because he's basically a humanoid aye-aye lemur
In regards to the art style. It is very reminiscent of old Chinese and Japanese paintings. And I feel that they did that as a physical representation of how old (far back in time) Wan is. How it's thousands and thousands of years before Korra.
Plus the art style gives the episodes a very distinct feel compared to any of the other Avatar stuff, which is what it needed to help it hit as hard as it does.
The music was insane in these two episodes. I loved all the callbacks to the iconic themes in ATLA. Also I loved the concept that the humans on the different Lion Turtles thought that they were the only humans in the world. That, I think is why the Air Nomad-types were so startled by seeing Wan the first time. That was the first time they saw a different type of human.
Fun Fact! The battlefield that Avatar Wan dies on, is the same field that Zuko rides through in the episode "Zuko Alone."
There are some folk who think that the story of Wan disrupts the entire mythos and introduces retcons and makes plot holes, i.e. how bending originated. This is, in my opinion, a very silly bone to pick. It's simple to rationalize in a few solid ways, and moreover, Wan is just freaking awesome. Love what you do!
To be fair, if a stranger emerged from the woods and said "Humans! I found you!" I would totally take off too
I love this reaction so much because you're just crying out of happiness over the fact that you get to learn more lore.
Crying over this episode is so real oh my god, I bawled when I watched the Wan & Raava vs Vaatu fight
My absolute favourite episode(s) in either Korra or ATLA.
Skimmed the comments, and haven't found much praise for the art style, so here it is. The decision to choose that scroll painting watercolour look was perfect. It's very true to the actual art style that you see in the large scenes in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese paintings. But seeing that style animated is a whole new level altogether.
I also loved that the introduced fire healing right at the start of the episode. It's like a redemption arc for firebending itself.
So about the Kyoshi novels, if you still havent read them, and you like audiobooks, they are both in the "plus catalouge" of audible that you can access with any audible account, even a free trial. I hope you enjoy the books!
I like how the spirits, who are literally an invasion from another plane of existance, say humans think only of themselves as the take more and more territory segregating the humans. What's the phrase? Divide and conquer.
I have to say as much as I like this episode the whole Yin and Yang being good and evil betrays so much of what the symbols actually mean. Avatar was so good about talking about balance and now they have the black thing evil and the white thing good.
The conversation Ruko had with Aang during the winter solstice really hits more harder. Wan had 1 year to learn all the elements before harmonic convergence. Aang also has 1 year to master all the elements to defeat the firelord.
"since the beginningless time darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light". this was no random proverb. that was the entire lore of the avatar
If I had a nickel for every time a protagonist found out about the 10,000 year countdown to the apocalypse with only 0.0001% of that time as notice, etc... Wan and Korra really can't catch a break.
P.S. Somebody please make and sell me a Vaatu / Raava kite - that would be amazing!
The scene where Wan dies and Raava leaves his body to be reincarnated is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever produced by the avatar team. Absolutely breathtaking composition ❤
58:02 the idea that you actually just burned through this in a weekend but just did new makeup and changed shirts between episodes is actually hilarious to visualize 🤣
I knew you would love the art style in these 2 episodes! The art style is inspired by traditional Chinese paintings, as one can tell by how the fire, water and clouds is drawn. In the old Chinese cartoons, the effects are also drawn this way. The musical instruments in the chasing action scenes from the Chou and Wan is also exactly how the old chinese animations music would be!
It's more commonly known by people who has heard of peking theatre, where they also use these musical instruments.
"Funnylilgal, do the Thing!"
"What Thing? Crying?"
"Yes, that Thing!"
I never put it together before, but him using the knowledge he gained of the spirit wilds reminds me of The Transall Saga.
These two episodes are by far my favorite of LoK. There's just so much here to love!
Edit: The spirit calling Wan "Stinky" is based on an aye-aye. Oh, and keep an eye out for Wan's teapot later!
Edut 2: Dragon Dance confirmed! Avatar Kuruk and Avatar Yangchen are the ones you're misremembering.
Honestly, the first avatar could have been its own series or movie.
2 of the best episodes ever in the entire series. The people behind these are truly great artists. I'm so sad that the two creators were not allowed to be involved in the live action Netflix series. A real shame.
Season 2 often is regarded as the "weakest" in the series but I'm sorry, these 2 episodes alone are peak Avatar, of ALL of Avatar. It's so cool to learn how the first Avatar came to be and how much impact it has on the viewer in just 2 episodes
My favorite episodes of the season and maybe the korra legend. 😁
" we are bonded forever." 😍
And the oasis with healing water like at the north pole in ATLA. Maybe even the same.
Such a perfect story. :)
Girlllll I NEED a show about the second avatar. Avatar Wan seemed to leave the world while a war was still happening, and its so interesting how people might react to a new avatar since there’s no foundation or really knowledge of their lineage yet. Plus they’ll be an air bender avatar!!!!!