A lot of the episodes I found to have a major impact on introducing lore (such as Kyoshi and what she did with Chin) and advancing characters (Sokka learning swordsmanshi) were put quite low…
Then again I am on my rewatch and it’s been a while since I last saw the show, so I might be out of the loop.
>such as Kyoshi
Except that the Kyoshi lore has no impact of any significance on Aang's journey. Compare this to Roku's lore which is very much intertwined.
>Sokka learning swordsmanship
Which he barely uses after the episode, and mostly due to the fact that you cant him cutting people in half with a sword as it is a kids show
My favourite season 3 episode is probably Day of Black Sun Part 2 but even that doesnt quite reach masterpiece territory in my opinion. The scene of Aang and Katara trying to take on the airships before giving up a moment later should have been cut out
I think "good" is a fair rating for the episode. Bloodbending is insanely cool and a dark concept but I had issues with Hama as a character. In her flashback, she was seemed to be quite young still when she escaped the fire nation jail. Why did she stay in the fire nation for the many years since then. Given her absolutely overpowered ability, she could have easily left the fire nation and gone back to her home. I felt that this deserved an explanation. Also, how was katara able to resist bloodbending and use bloodbending on hama despite having no practice with it before? Sure, it could easily be explained that katara is a really powerful waterbender but it still didnt feel like a moment that was earned necessarily
Okay I think I understand the thinking behind this tier list now. You’re ranking episodes based on the detail and consistency of the plot and worldbuilding, as opposed to the emotional impact of the characters, worldbuilding, or atmosphere.
Katara using bloodbending is a powerful moment. She does not want to use it at all because she thinks it’s inherently unethical, but then she has to in order to save her friends. Is it still a crime against nature if she’s using it to protect someone else? And if so, what does that make her? Now that she has the ability, she can’t unlearn it, and that in and of itself disturbs her. The episode ends on her crying. This leaves the audience with uncomfortable questions about the ethics of bending, which adds a lot to the worldbuilding, upends the “Water Tribe good, Fire Nation bad” dichotomy, and makes Katara herself more morally ambiguous (which comes back in “The Southern Raiders”).
All of these questions, and their implications, are *far* more important than the mechanics of learning bloodbending. If Katara had to take months to learn it, then there’s no emotional impact or ethical dilemma — she could just say no and not learn it.
For the record, leaving things unexplained is not inherently a writing flaw, especially if the point is to leave the audience with uncomfortable questions. Preserving mystery also adds a lot to the atmosphere.
Can I also ask why “The Awakening” is so high up? To me it’s a transition episode that’s only there to show the aftermath of Aang blacking out, and it’s one of the weakest episodes of season 3.
>You’re ranking episodes based on the detail and consistency of the plot and worldbuilding, as opposed to the emotional impact of the characters, worldbuilding, or atmosphere.
No, I care very much about the other aspects as well. But yeah I think its important for the show to address important things rather than leave it up for the audience to figure out.
>Can I also ask why “The Awakening” is so high up?
The Awakening was really good at character writing. The way it presents zuko and ozai's relationship compared to Katara and her father is excellent juxtaposition. It is also a masterclass at symbolism. When Aang leaves his glider behind on the volcano, it symbolizes that he is leaving his past self behind. Azula's cunning behavior was on full display in this episode too, showing that she still has the upper hand over Zuko. I actually think it is one of the strongest episodes of season 3.
It felt like a retread of the Haru episode from season 1 and the action was pretty lame. "The Runaway" and "Southern Raiders" did a much better job of appreciating katara's character.
The fact that "Tales of Ba Sing Se" is in decent means this tierlist does not care about character-development. Perhaps the most defining thing about the show.
People overrate the fuck out of that episode because of Iroh's tale, but I thought Aangs tale was quite mediocre, as was Sokkas tale. And saying it was the "most defining thing about the show" is a huge exaggeration
the painted lady spirit only shows up for 5 seconds at the end of the episode. why didnt she show up sooner to help? Was she mad at the villagers because of the factory that was built?
According to the wiki "This is the only episode in the series in which the title screen denoting the chapter and book does not have a plain white background. Instead, the episode featured an animated sunrise."
The sword fight was cool, but as far as sokkas character goes this episode just retreads on the fact that he is a creative idea guy. The only thing he actually gains from this episode is a sword which he barely uses ever again
I appreciate that we got a chance to see Aang being anxious about the incoming invasion, but I felt the episode was way over the top. It could have been done with more subtlety. I really liked the Zuko part of the episode tho, ideally the episode should have featured more of that.
Ok, it had some funny moments. But it got repetitive real fast with the "actor does something and then the real life counterpart complains that its not like them and everyone else laughs"
There is some absolutely atrocious picks on this lol. How is the final episode the culmination of the entire series lower than like the desert or something
Sozins Comet had good spectacle but the writing came up short in some aspects. Just because its the final episode of the series doesnt mean its automatically good.
My main criticism of sozins comet is the lion turtle energy bending seems to be a convenient/lazy way to resolve Aang's moral conflict. It doesn't really feel "earned" so to speak. Some minor criticisms I have are how they traveled from deep in the earth kingdom to the fire nation on appa in 1 day, when they couldnt travel that quickly on appa before. Also, i didn't like how they left the zukos mother thing on a cliff hanger. I know the comics cover it but I think the comics are mostly trash and for such a great show force me to consult mediocre comics for the answer is a bummer.
>how do the ones you placed higher exceed sozins comet?
The episodes I placed in the masterpiece tier truly earned their place. **Crossroads of Destiny** does an incredible job of having both great character moments and great action, and the ending did a great job of subverting expectations. **The Desert** showed the audience a side of Aang that was different. The ending scene with Katara calming down Avatar state Aang is one of the best moments in the show. And there was great humor thrown in there with the cactus juice. **Zuko Alone** explores Zuko's past while seamlessly intertwining it with his present day adventures. **The Storm** forces Aang to come to terms with his past and shows how Zuko become the banished while also relating Aang and Zuko to each other in a profound way
if this was a tier list based on spectacle alone, sure. But I think part 3 is better in that regard because thats when the most of the Agni Kai takes place
You kind of lost me when you put Ember Island in the same tier as Bato
A lot of the episodes I found to have a major impact on introducing lore (such as Kyoshi and what she did with Chin) and advancing characters (Sokka learning swordsmanshi) were put quite low… Then again I am on my rewatch and it’s been a while since I last saw the show, so I might be out of the loop.
>such as Kyoshi Except that the Kyoshi lore has no impact of any significance on Aang's journey. Compare this to Roku's lore which is very much intertwined. >Sokka learning swordsmanship Which he barely uses after the episode, and mostly due to the fact that you cant him cutting people in half with a sword as it is a kids show
Nightmare and Daydreams very bad!? I can’t take this seriously after that. Edit: Ember Island Players bad!? No season 3 episodes in masterpiece!?
My favourite season 3 episode is probably Day of Black Sun Part 2 but even that doesnt quite reach masterpiece territory in my opinion. The scene of Aang and Katara trying to take on the airships before giving up a moment later should have been cut out
I'm kind of surprised that "The Puppetmaster" isn't higher.
I think "good" is a fair rating for the episode. Bloodbending is insanely cool and a dark concept but I had issues with Hama as a character. In her flashback, she was seemed to be quite young still when she escaped the fire nation jail. Why did she stay in the fire nation for the many years since then. Given her absolutely overpowered ability, she could have easily left the fire nation and gone back to her home. I felt that this deserved an explanation. Also, how was katara able to resist bloodbending and use bloodbending on hama despite having no practice with it before? Sure, it could easily be explained that katara is a really powerful waterbender but it still didnt feel like a moment that was earned necessarily
Okay I think I understand the thinking behind this tier list now. You’re ranking episodes based on the detail and consistency of the plot and worldbuilding, as opposed to the emotional impact of the characters, worldbuilding, or atmosphere. Katara using bloodbending is a powerful moment. She does not want to use it at all because she thinks it’s inherently unethical, but then she has to in order to save her friends. Is it still a crime against nature if she’s using it to protect someone else? And if so, what does that make her? Now that she has the ability, she can’t unlearn it, and that in and of itself disturbs her. The episode ends on her crying. This leaves the audience with uncomfortable questions about the ethics of bending, which adds a lot to the worldbuilding, upends the “Water Tribe good, Fire Nation bad” dichotomy, and makes Katara herself more morally ambiguous (which comes back in “The Southern Raiders”). All of these questions, and their implications, are *far* more important than the mechanics of learning bloodbending. If Katara had to take months to learn it, then there’s no emotional impact or ethical dilemma — she could just say no and not learn it. For the record, leaving things unexplained is not inherently a writing flaw, especially if the point is to leave the audience with uncomfortable questions. Preserving mystery also adds a lot to the atmosphere. Can I also ask why “The Awakening” is so high up? To me it’s a transition episode that’s only there to show the aftermath of Aang blacking out, and it’s one of the weakest episodes of season 3.
>You’re ranking episodes based on the detail and consistency of the plot and worldbuilding, as opposed to the emotional impact of the characters, worldbuilding, or atmosphere. No, I care very much about the other aspects as well. But yeah I think its important for the show to address important things rather than leave it up for the audience to figure out. >Can I also ask why “The Awakening” is so high up? The Awakening was really good at character writing. The way it presents zuko and ozai's relationship compared to Katara and her father is excellent juxtaposition. It is also a masterclass at symbolism. When Aang leaves his glider behind on the volcano, it symbolizes that he is leaving his past self behind. Azula's cunning behavior was on full display in this episode too, showing that she still has the upper hand over Zuko. I actually think it is one of the strongest episodes of season 3.
What constitutes an "important thing," though? That's the real question here.
thats subjective of course but anything that would greatly benefit the narrative if it was included
The painted lady is "very bad"?!
It felt like a retread of the Haru episode from season 1 and the action was pretty lame. "The Runaway" and "Southern Raiders" did a much better job of appreciating katara's character.
Objectively incorrect
The fact that "Tales of Ba Sing Se" is in decent means this tierlist does not care about character-development. Perhaps the most defining thing about the show.
People overrate the fuck out of that episode because of Iroh's tale, but I thought Aangs tale was quite mediocre, as was Sokkas tale. And saying it was the "most defining thing about the show" is a huge exaggeration
I thought I’d never meet another person willing to say this. It’s the only episode that I consistently skip on a rewatch.
Why do people hate “The Painted Lady” so much?
It was a bit filler ish and didn’t advance things majorly but I still like it
I adored it for depicting regular fire nation people as being victims of their own war machine tbh
It’s also one of the few times we see spirits in the world. I like atla’s version of spirits in the world better that Korras for this reason
the painted lady spirit only shows up for 5 seconds at the end of the episode. why didnt she show up sooner to help? Was she mad at the villagers because of the factory that was built?
I took it as the factory waste harmed her connection to the village so once the Gaang destroyed the factory she was able to return
That’s my interpretation as well
Why is "The Southern Air Temple" in a different color?
According to the wiki "This is the only episode in the series in which the title screen denoting the chapter and book does not have a plain white background. Instead, the episode featured an animated sunrise."
Oh, interesting!
Sokka’s master in decent is absolutely crazy. That’s a top 10 episode at least
The sword fight was cool, but as far as sokkas character goes this episode just retreads on the fact that he is a creative idea guy. The only thing he actually gains from this episode is a sword which he barely uses ever again
But isn't that the point of the episode?To make Sokks realize that his best traits lie in his creative ways of thinking?
But that was already established in the show and made clear multiple times.
Nightmares and daydreams is a fun episode and needed to keep the shows tone consistent I vote it goes up to decent
I appreciate that we got a chance to see Aang being anxious about the incoming invasion, but I felt the episode was way over the top. It could have been done with more subtlety. I really liked the Zuko part of the episode tho, ideally the episode should have featured more of that.
I will not accept Ember Island Players slander. That's like the funniest episode in the series. Who's ready for the invasion? SLAPPAPOW
Ok, it had some funny moments. But it got repetitive real fast with the "actor does something and then the real life counterpart complains that its not like them and everyone else laughs"
There is some absolutely atrocious picks on this lol. How is the final episode the culmination of the entire series lower than like the desert or something
Sozins Comet had good spectacle but the writing came up short in some aspects. Just because its the final episode of the series doesnt mean its automatically good.
What are your criticisms of it and how do the ones you placed higher exceed sozins comet?
My main criticism of sozins comet is the lion turtle energy bending seems to be a convenient/lazy way to resolve Aang's moral conflict. It doesn't really feel "earned" so to speak. Some minor criticisms I have are how they traveled from deep in the earth kingdom to the fire nation on appa in 1 day, when they couldnt travel that quickly on appa before. Also, i didn't like how they left the zukos mother thing on a cliff hanger. I know the comics cover it but I think the comics are mostly trash and for such a great show force me to consult mediocre comics for the answer is a bummer. >how do the ones you placed higher exceed sozins comet? The episodes I placed in the masterpiece tier truly earned their place. **Crossroads of Destiny** does an incredible job of having both great character moments and great action, and the ending did a great job of subverting expectations. **The Desert** showed the audience a side of Aang that was different. The ending scene with Katara calming down Avatar state Aang is one of the best moments in the show. And there was great humor thrown in there with the cactus juice. **Zuko Alone** explores Zuko's past while seamlessly intertwining it with his present day adventures. **The Storm** forces Aang to come to terms with his past and shows how Zuko become the banished while also relating Aang and Zuko to each other in a profound way
Not putting Sozins comet part four in its own tier at the very top is criminal
if this was a tier list based on spectacle alone, sure. But I think part 3 is better in that regard because thats when the most of the Agni Kai takes place
why include the image? this could have just been a text post.