Talkback - Avatar: The Last Airbender SEASON PREMIERE "The Avatar State" (Spoilers)

[Freedom Fighter]

The legend begins again...

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But I believe Aang can save the world...

The best American-produced action show to debut in 2005 returns for its second season, as we shift to a focus on Earthbending. Avatar: The Last Airbender resumes its magical journey, gaining a cult following that grows every week!

Last Time: Water, Chapters 19 & 20 "Siege of the North" Talkback
This Week: Earth, Chapter 1 "The Avatar State" SEASON PREMIERE!
Premieres Friday, March 17 at 8 pm, part of Friday Night Slimetime*
(* - Which means expect an approximate 7:53 pm start.)
Summary: Aang and the group meet an Earth Kingdom general who wants to use Aang’s powerful “Avatar State” as a weapon to defeat the Fire Nation. But getting into the “Avatar state” on purpose is more difficult than Aang thinks.
Spoilers: Even though 'Avatar' is an American show, it also seems to have a following among comic book circles... and thus, there's a bigger potential for spoilers to be floating around on the Internet! Please follow TZ's rules for spoilers... if you're mentioning anything from a future episode, please box it! Expect a lynching if you don't!

Some pre-show resources to look at:
- Nick has relaunced its Avatar show site, just in time for the premiere! This include two new games uploaded in the past month!
- Go to TurboNick and get a sneak peek at tonight's debut! Look under the 'Avatar' folder underneath the 'Nicktoons' tab!
- If you've got an iPod, go to iTunes and you can download (for a small fee) all of Season One, as well as tonight's premiere!

Skip March Madness for half an hour! You can afford to, I know you can! See ya after the episode, and don't forget to drop a review! (Poll to be added tonight after the episode airs.)

[Rook]

remember to start 10 to 15 mins before the schedule

[djthomp]

Unless this game they just started goes really quickly, looks like they might be starting a bit late for a change.

Well, that was fairly fast.

[LordTerminal]

Okay, Zuko's sister uses lightning......and this has to do with Fire Bending, HOW?

[Ultra Mike]

Okay Season 2 dosen't have a different opening outside of the "Earth" being noted in the title section instead of water. But otherwise that's the only difference.

Oh and note how Grey Desile is voicing Azula. Nice choice. Doing a good job so far.

[Strollymonster]

The new outfits for Katara and Sokka are great. I'm disappointed that it looks like Sokka won't be getting much more character development this epiosde.

Fung is untrustworthy, I can definitely say.

HOLY! Azula is the pwnzorz.

[Delthayre]

It started more or less when it was meant to. Remarkable.

The gifting scene at the beginning was nice. I especially liked Paku's mock antagonism. Quite fit the relationship between him and Katara.

I like this new villain we have. Developing her into something fuller and more dynamic would be best, but I enjoyed that exchange with her and the captain.

[Strollymonster]

Hyped-up Aang is priceless.

Zuzu

I hope Zuko figures out the ruse...

Poor Iroh...

Azula's one tricksy girl...wouldn't have figured her as a sweet-talker

This is an AMAZINGLY good premeire. Terrific writing, good characterization. Sokka with his hair down is strange, but surprisingly not bad.

Attack the avatar? He's going to try to draw it out by fighting Aang to the death!

[Ultra Mike]

Okay, Zuko's sister uses lightning......and this has to do with Fire Bending, HOW?

Well lightning is created when you spark fire together, so it is possible to make lightning from fire. (As confirmed by me and my friend). In that token, since lighting is also created from cloud particles in storm, you should also be able to use lightning in air bending, but let's see if that works.

I think we all kind of figured Fung would try to attack Aang to start the Avatar State, but ti does make for a pretty good cliffhanger.

Semi OT: Armbender? Boy Slime Time just gets lamer and lamer.

[LordTerminal]

Nice. Fire daggers!

The reincarnation cycle will cease? Is that even possible?

Wow the avatar state is a double-edged sword. More so than usual with double-edged swords like these.

[Scirel]

Keeping the momentum from last season`s end = awesome.

It's great so far.

Hope that earth general comes back.

[Snailbait]

Wow. That was great. I really enjoyed that. Azula was awesome. And now we know a little more about the Avatar state.

8/10

[Strollymonster]

Keeping the momentum from last season`s end = awesome.

It's great so far.

Hope that earth general comes back.

Agreed. I'm also hugely thankful that they actually care enough to update character models with new clothes and hairstyles...so many series never update their character models.

Azula is officially crazy cool, and Fung is...overanxious, to say the least.

So we know the true secret behind the Avatar State: an automatic self-defense mechanism that provides a possibility in ending the cycle of Avatars.

Man, Zuko and Iroh just can't seem to catch many breaks.

This was an EXCELLENT season premiere that didn't take the easy way out with a light-hearted turn from the Season finale, but kept the seriousness going instead.

Next Avatar: Katara x Aang shippers rejoice!

[Akelexre]

Hmm.

The good things:

--No filler. No filler no filler no filler. The plot wasn't exactly the greatest in the world (Zuko being *that* guillible and instantly turning on his uncle, especially after last season's finale? But I guess their disagreement was a good way to help cement their future relationship, which will have to be close for them to survive) but at least it moved the story forward.

--Speaking of plot, there were some decent twists and turns. The revelation about the Avatar state was a nice one. I liked the intro of Zula.

Minuses:

--No real development for Sokka. He didn't seem particularly more mature, but then again he had none of his horrible "Oh God shut him up" humor moments.

--Pacing felt a bit rushed at times, or perhaps the editing and cuts are a bit quick. I thought there were a lot of moments that would benefited from a slightly slower pacing.

--Animation: felt very off at times. Never off-model per se, just not the higher quality from the best of last season. Also, the fight scenes didn't really get me excited: the choreography was decent enough, but there wasn't a sense of weight and power to most of the blows. It felt like Zuko and Zula were more dancing then fighting.

As it stands, I'm satisfied with the episode. I just hope the plot keeps moving forward and whatever studio they used for the animation isn't used again.

3/5

[judyindisguise]

That was GREAT. Man, new characters, new twists, a GREAT new villian. She's sure a mean mutha. Now we have a secondary plot that's as interesting as the primary: Aang and his quest to master the elements, and Zuko and his uncle's flight from the Fire Lord.

And the preview for the second episode: WHOAAA. Katara and Aang demonstrate a new power: LIP-BENDING!! Can't wait for that one...

[Runaway]

Wow, another great episode of Avatar. It seems that Zuko and Iroh are now good guys. Zula looks like the next bad guy on the list. I didn't really understand why Iroh and Zuko cut off there ponytails at the end of the episode. I guess it was because they wanted to keep their identities secret.

[judyindisguise]

Wow, another great episode of Avatar. It seems that Zuko and Iroh are now good guys. Zula looks like the next bad guy on the list. I didn't really understand why Iroh and Zuko cut off there ponytails at the end of the episode. I guess it was because they wanted to keep their identities secret.

I thought it was maybe a way of symbolically cutting themselves off from their families. Like the topknots represent rank or something.

[Anyone00]

You just know at the beginning Sokka was thinking "Boomerang +1; Boomerang +1; come-on Boomerang +1......"

Great season opener; I wonder if there doing a new ep. a week or if Nick is going to alternate between repeats and new ep.s.

So that what I was drinking all these years 'chi enhancing tea'.

[Strollymonster]

The symbolism of cutting off the topknot is an old Japanese samurai tradition...if you're disgraced, you cut off your topknot. It was also like this in China and sumo wrestlers still do it.

Basically, it was them recognizing that they were disgraced in the eyes of the Fire Nation.

[RoboHobo]

Wow! That is how you start a season! That episode was basically perfect. This is why Avatar is the best show on television. Next week's episode looks a little cheesy though. At least it's next week and not 2 weeks from now.