The second episode begins with a much more sombre tone;
beginning where the last episode left off; with Aang and Katara returning to the
southern water tribe beneath the flare they just set off. Upon returning Sokka
accuses Aang of deliberately signalling the fire nation and subsequently
declares him banished.
With Aang gone the story comes back to Sokka, preparing the
tribe for the impending attack on the village and we see the first of a
multitude of jokes that develop punchlines based on lines or scenes in the
first episode where Sokka pre-emptively tells his would-be-warriors "and
no potty breaks!"; playing off a line in the first episode. This gag is
done quite well and Sokka's voice actor, Jack Desena is showing his talent
really well here; indeed while all of the other actors have felt a touch
inconsistent, Sokka is able to go to a variety of different moods and tones
without feeling like a different character.
The tone switches for Sokka very quickly; going from a
light-hearted gag to a preparation for a battle; Sokka dons his face paint and
takes up his spear and boomerang, while Zuko is putting on his armour and
helmet. With this scene we get some good direction cues and well framed shots;
Sokka framed mostly from above (making him look smaller or weaker) and Zuko framed
face on or from below (making him look larger or stronger) and these framing
choices come to a great end with Sokka standing atop the wall around his tribe
that crumbles as Zuko's ship comes ploughing through. Ending with Sokka having
to stumble backwards from the ruined remains of his wall as the landing ramp of
the ship falls to the ground, the scene nicely balances the dark implications
of a military force coming into a village of mostly young and elderly
with the enjoyable and lighter elements that keep the series appropriate for
younger audiences.
Enter
Zuko in his first true interaction with the main characters of the series;
after dismissing Sokka from the situation he threatens the villagers with fire
asking after the Avatar whom he still believes is an old man. Sokka briefly
gets his own back thanks to a returning boomerang but is quickly subdued again,
until Aang returns, sweeping Zuko off of his feet. If I’m honest, this sequence
feels a little strangely paced; particularly so when Aang agrees to be captured
by Zuko providing he doesn’t hurt anyone else almost immediately. The balance
between Zuko’s likeable and villainous character traits here also feel a bit
off, Zuko seems a much more standard villain and lacks somewhat the finesse
that defines his character later in the series.
Following
Aang’s capture Katara and Sokka quickly set off to free him, with a blessing
from Gran-Gran to leave they set off on Appa. Quickly we cut back to Zuko
discussing Aang’s upbringing and revealing that he was raised by Monks and not
his father as Zuko was. Although not quite as awkward as it could have been the
delivery feels a bit stiff and the ease with which Aang subsequently escapes
from Zuko’s guards feels rushed. The episode veers back towards the right
direction with Aang running back into the ship to get his staff. Here we cut
back to Sokka and Katara on top off a swimming Appa. Sokka lists a bunch of
words sarcastically trying to get Appa to fly; ascend, elevate, soar and
eventually stumbles into Yip Yip with which Appa begins to fly. It’s a nice
little gag playing off of Sokka’s cynicism while also feeling natural to his
character. It’s a sort of balanced humour the rest of the episode has lacked,
often feeling too juvenile for the subject matter.
Back on
the ship we have our first taste of different bending styles; air revelling in
evasion and using the environment and fire as fuelled by strength and direct
attacks. With this sequence we see Aang dodge and avoid while the firebenders attack
front on, culminating in Aang falling off the edge of the ship, returning with
glowing eyes and tattoos and washing the firebenders into the water with a
powerful display of waterbending after which Katara, Sokka and Aang escape on
Appa.
Aside from a brief achievement in waterbending, Katara doesn’t get much
airtime this episode and I get the feeling that this episode was the hook meant
to draw the attention of a younger male audience; focusing more on fight
sequences and Zuko than on the overarching story line. Of course it's also just the second episode, so there's that too.
For me the second
episode is a touch disappointing although its failings are quite understandable
given how deft a touch one needs to balance out the tone of the show as they do
later in the series. Thankfully the third episode makes up for the second in a huge way.
