October 28, 2014 - The Real Best Show Ever
"Anything yet, Ryu?" Zorua asked.
Ryusei Taylor was seated inside the Southern Air Temple, and he was assuming the lotus position as he meditated. Thanks to Zorua, his concentration was interrupted again.
"Like the last time you asked, no," Ryu responded. "It's kinda important that you stay quiet. You want to see Keldeo again, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, I can't enter the Spirit World unless I can concentrate on it in meditation. And need I remind you that Keldeo is there? By constantly interrupting me, you're ruining my chances of rescuing him."
"But how will I know you're in the Spirit World? You told me earlier that your body will still be right here when you cross over."
"Well, as I told you, airbenders can enter the Spirit World by meditating and projecting their soul there. It's a secondary ability of theirs."
"But aren't you a waterbender?"
"In Equestria, I was. I don't know why I changed to being an airbender when we came here. But anyway, airbenders with a strong spiritual connection are capable of entering the Spirit World. In fact, anyone can, but airbenders are the ones with the best chance of success. Not only that, but it's possible for the inanimate body to speak a message sent to it by the soul. So, when you hear me start speaking without any emotion like I'm tired, then you'll know I'm in the Spirit World. So, until then, stay quiet."
"Okay, I'll try."
With an agreement reached, Ryu began meditating again. After ten more minutes, his soul left his body and entered the Spirit World.
"I'm here, Keldeo," Ryu said to himself. "Where are you?"
Meanwhile, back in the Physical World, Zorua stayed with Ryu's now lifeless body. He felt a pulse coming from Ryu, indicating that he was still alive.
"I've…entered…" Ryu's body said. "Guard…my body…or…I can't return…"
Zorua nodded in agreement.
Within the Spirit World, Ryu concentrated on Keldeo.
"Jinora found Kai this way," he reassured himself. "I'll lead myself to Keldeo by doing the same. Where is he?"
Concentrating harder, Ryu heard a voice.
"Why would a pony-hating ferret live here?!"
With his target confirmed, Ryu focused on finding him. His soul traveled to the colt Pokémon's location, which was in front of an old tree in the middle of a marsh. Ryu recognized this location, and a sense of dread filled him. "Oh, I hope I'm not too late!" he thought to himself. He was relieved to find that he wasn't, as Keldeo stood just outside the tree's opening. He was unaware of Ryu's presence.
"I would not go in there if I were you, Keldeo," he called out to the Pokémon. He turned to make eye contact with the ferret, just as the latter said, "If you value your face, anyway." Ryu approached Keldeo.
"Inside that tree is a spirit who waits for visitors to show emotion to him," Ryu explained. "If someone shows a single bit of emotion in their facial expression to this spirit, he'll steal that person's face. And it's not just people he can do that to. Observe."
Ryu pointed toward a nearby curly-tailed bluenose monkey. When it turned to face him, both he and Keldeo saw that it was missing a face.
"WHAT IN THE—" Keldeo exclaimed.
"Yep, that spirit lives up to his name of Koh the Face Stealer," Ryu clarified. "Come to the Physical World with me, Keldeo. We'll be safe there. Besides, I need to get back to my body anyway. Otherwise, it'll die. Now, hold onto me."
Keldeo did as told. Ryu concentrated on the location of his body back in the Southern Air Temple. Carrying Keldeo with him, he returned to the location he focused on.
Ryu's eyes shot open in a flash, signaling that he had returned to his body. Behind him was Keldeo, whom he had rescued from the Spirit World.
"Well, Zorua, look who I found," Ryu said triumphantly. "Even better is that I saved him seconds before he would've lost his face."
"That's great, Ryu!" Zorua responded. He then turned to Keldeo. "So, what brings you here? Didn't a Plot Hole send you to Pokémon Paradise?"
"Yes, and I actually got here from there," Keldeo answered. "I was exploring the Ultimate Wilds when a wild Espeon tossed me into a nearby Magnagate with its Psychic power. Then I ended up in some weird place that made itself up as I went along, which Ryu just told me that the place was the Spirit World. While I was there, Spike the Snob told me about Ryu and how much he hated the main characters of 'My Little Pony – Friendship is Magic' with a murderous passion. For some reason, M. Night Shyamalan was with him, too. They wanted me to tell him—"
"…That they challenged me to review Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender,' I know, Keldeo. I overheard that conversation while I was meditating during one of my failed attempts to enter the Spirit World. In fact, that was when I heard your voice."
"I see. And you know, I wanted to talk to you about your Pony hatred—"
"See, this kind of thing happens whenever anyone online has anything bad to say about Ponies; the fans want to make you a martyr."
"Oh, also, they gave me a 'humble pie' for me to give to you, Ryu. So here!"
Keldeo tossed the pie at Ryu. Ryu simply airbended a small wind sphere in front of himself and caught the pie with it. Then, with a swift hand movement, sent the pie back at Keldeo, splattering it on his face.
"'Humble Pie' sounds like something stupid enough to have been baked by someone I just got done water smacking in the face," Ryu responded curtly. "I'll do it again if she shows up here. I may have inexplicably become an airbender as soon as I came here, but I can manage that again."
"What's your problem with them, anyway?! Like Avatar Aang is so perfect himself!"
Ryu simply laughed at Keldeo's retort. "You thought I didn't know that? You think that just because I don't see any good in the cast of 'My Little Pony' that I don't see any bad in the cast of 'Avatar – the Last Airbender'? Apparently you share a trait with Spike the Snob and a lot of Bronies: anyone who hates Ponies is an arrogant fool who must be destroyed. Why else would I have gotten a challenge? Besides which, do they think a bad movie will be my end? Well, I accept their challenge. But first, let me make it clear about why I hold 'Avatar – the Last Airbender' in such high regard. Have a seat."
Ryu pushed Keldeo down into a sitting position using his airbending.
"Let me begin by explaining the basics of this world." Ryu reached into his Air Nomad garb and pulled out five Pokeballs, releasing five Pokémon: an Excadrill, a Dewott, a Delphox, a Dragonite, and a Gabite.
"As you might know, since lots of philosophies revolve around base elements, the four elements are water, earth, fire, and air," Ryu began explaining. "Dewott, may you please demonstrate water to my guests?"
"Oh, sure, he's the kindest guy ever to his Pokémon he got out of nowhere," Keldeo thought to himself.
Ryu opened a bottle of water near Dewott, who brought it out of the bottle with his waterbending. He then affixed it to his arm and cracked it like a whip, letting the end of it dissipate into drops. He then turned the remains of the water tendril into an icicle and stuck it into the ground, ending his waterbending demonstration.
"Great job, Dewott. You could give Katara a decent workout." Ryu turned to Excadrill next. "Excadrill, it's your turn. Let's all see what an excellent earthbender you are."
At Ryu's cue, Excadrill stomped on the ground with her left foot, making a stone rise from the ground and float in front of him. With her right fist, she sent the rock flying into the ceiling. She then jumped up and created a small circular fissure around herself upon her landing. Bringing her hands up from her sides, she made a square of stalagmites rise from the ground. That was the end of her demonstration.
"If Toph experienced that, she'd be impressed, Excadrill. Excellent work." Next, Ryu turned to Delphox. "Now, Delphox, please brighten up Keldeo's day."
Keldeo brought a hoof to his face in response to Ryu's lame joke. He brought it down in time to see Delphox shooting flames out her fists as she threw punches at the air with both hands. She then did a roundhouse kick that sent out a crescent-shaped fire stream from her feet. She ended her demonstration with a small cyclone of fire generated by her spinning on her head and firebending from her hands and feet.
"Amazing, Delphox. If Admiral Zhao were still alive, you could wipe the floor of his ship with him." Ryu then faced Zorua and Keldeo. "As for air, I will be demonstrating that one myself."
Ryu picked up a staff and twirled it around, generating a wind comparable to that of a box fan's medium setting. With a swipe of the staff, he generated an air slice. He ended his demonstration by creating an air sphere which he climbed on and zoomed around the room on, and then jumping off of it as it dissipated.
"And there you have the basic idea of how bending works," Ryu said. "However, this is just the beginning. Each element has a subsidiary. Excadrill, may we see metalbending, please?"
Ryu tossed a pair of scissors toward Excadrill, who used her ability to morph it into a small dagger.
"Pure metals such a platinum are unable to be bent. Any metal that isn't pure in its composition can be bent by a skilled earthbender. There are small, trace amounts of earth to be found in these kinds of metals, therefore making metalbending possible. Now, observe fire's subsidiary element."
Dragonite stepped up, having heard his cue. He touched his middle and index claws together, pointed up at the ceiling, and shot a bolt of lightning. He then shot another bolt at Delphox, who caught it in her left hand. She passed the energy through herself and redirected it back at the ceiling through her right hand.
"See that? Even if a firebender can't bend electricity, he or she can redirect it. Delphox caught the energy in her left hand, let it pass through her, and shot it back out her right hand. It's a rather dangerous technique, actually. See, it's good that Delphox let it pass through her stomach. No harm will come from that. However, if it had gone through her heart, it could have killed her by stopping it."
"But how is it possible for a firebender to bend electricity?" Zorua asked.
"As a matter of fact, there's an explanation to that. You see, when the positive and negative energy of fire is separated, the moment they come back together in an attempt to rebalance itself creates lightning. Dragonite has learned to do exactly that. Also, as electricity and fire are both plasmids and sources of heat, that's another explanation of how it's possible. Of course, fire is already a wild and fierce element. Electricity is even more so, so much so that it can only be guided. It can't be commanded like regular fire. But as dangerous and wild as electricity is, it's nothing compared to the other subsidiary firebending skill. Delphox, your turn again. But please don't aim it anywhere in here."
Delphox removed her headband to reveal a tattoo shaped like an eyeball. She looked out the window and concentrated on a passing cloud. With a look of intense focus, she let loose a blast that sounded like fireworks. Once it reached the cloud, it exploded.
"This one is a bit harder to explain," Ryu said to a scared Keldeo and Zorua. "The only explanation that was given was that it's a mental power. It's literally psychic firebending, using the power of the mind to compress a fiery stream into an explosion. After all, oxygen is part of the fuel for fire, so that could have something to do with it too. But like I said, this is an even more wild and dangerous ability than lightningbending. In fact, it's so dangerous that the one practitioner of this ability in the show died because of it. If a significantly damaging blow to the head is suffered, specifically to the forehead where the tattoo is, it'll disrupt the combustionbender's mind waves and make a completely erratic attack. When it happened to the assassin known as Combustion Man, it caused his final attack to be a suicide bombing. It took a big chunk out of the Western Air Temple in addition to totally incinerating him so completely that only his metal prosthetic limbs remain of him. In short, combustionbending is a dangerous ability, both to the defending opponent and to the attacker. But another wildly dangerous element was recently discovered, too. And it wasn't even in this show that this next ability was shown. Gabite, would you like to show us?"
Gabite stepped forward at Ryu's call. Excadrill earthbended a rock toward Gabite, who caught it with his own earthbending. He spun it around very rapidly until it heated up and became lava. He then splashed it harmlessly on the ground, melting a small part of it away.
"It's been a mystery to fans as to who could bend lava," Ryu explained. "The most common theory is that only the Avatar could, since it required a mixture of earthbending and firebending. But that theory is not true after all. It's earthbenders who are able to bend lava, as lava is liquid rock. The skill required for this has to be astronomical. But that's just about it for subsidiary skills."
"Wait, what about water and air?" Zorua asked. "Those had sub-skills, right?"
"You already saw some of water's sub-skills. They can control ice and clouds."
"I didn't see the clouds part, but okay. And air?"
"I would say Astral Projection, but that's not really a sub-skill so much as it is a perk for individuals who are in touch with spirits. Air does have a sub-skill, which I'm trying to achieve. If I do, it'll mean something significant. Plus, it will only be clear when it actually happens. That's all I can say on that matter. Oh, and one more thing: there are some people in this world with no bending ability whatsoever. There are people who can bend only one element, none, or all four. And the person who can bend all four elements is the person the franchise is named for: the Avatar.
"The Avatar is a special being. Bending all four elements isn't the only abnormal aspect of the Avatar. He also is a continuing life form. When one Avatar dies, the next one is born, unless the Avatar dies while in the Avatar State. The Avatar State is a special ability the Avatar has, in which he calls upon the skill, wisdom, and power of every preceding Avatar for an important task. Before he masters it, it works as an automatic defense mechanism. He can master it by opening up his seven Chakra pathways within himself, at which point he can fully control it and himself while using it. But the fact that using the Avatar State empowers him with everything about the past Avatars literally means the entire Avatar Spirit acts as one, which is why the Avatar Cycle ends if the current Avatar dies while in the Avatar State. It would kill all the previous Avatars' souls, as well as the very source of the Avatar Cycle. We'll discuss the source later. For now, we'll focus on the Avatar Cycle.
"There's a particular order the Cycle goes in. Since the current Avatar is an airbender, the preceding one was a firebender, and the next one will be a waterbender. The cycle goes in the order of water, earth, fire, and air. Even though the Avatar can bend all four elements, he starts with the element he was born into. Since the current Avatar is an airbender by birth and nationality, he started with air. The Avatar learns the elements in the same order as the Cycle. Whichever nation he was born into, the order of the elements he learns goes accordingly: the current Avatar began with air, so his next element was water, then earth, then rounding it out with fire. The Avatar will encounter trouble learning the element that's opposite to his own. As an example, it's tough for a firebender Avatar to learn water. However, it's not impossible.
"And as you know, lots of people populate this world. But there can only be one Avatar at a time. The Avatar's identity is revealed to the world on his sixteenth birthday. That's when he begins his travels around the world to seek out masters who will teach him about the elements and his job as the Avatar. It isn't just the elements the Avatar must learn. He also must seek out a spiritual guru to learn about the spiritual side of being the Avatar. After all, the Avatar is the bridge between the physical and spirit worlds. It's his job to keep peace. And that's the thing that leads into the story of this show."
"FINALLY!" Keldeo said, having heard enough exposition. "You're getting on with it at last!" In response to that, Excadrill created a small rock glove and clasped Keldeo's mouth shut with it.
"The four nations are as follows," Ryu explained as Keldeo made a muffled groan of frustration. Excadrill used her earthbending to carve a map of the world into the wall. Ryu walked over to it and pointed to the topmost and bottommost continents on it. "The North and South Poles are where the Water Tribes live." He then pointed to the giant continent on the east. "The Earth Kingdom is populated by the earthbenders." Next, he pointed to the midsized continent on the west. "Firebenders live in the Fire Nation." And finally, he pointed to four little spots all over the map, one for each general compass direction. "And the Air Nomads are the airbenders living in the four Air Temples, of which we are currently in the Southern one. The show's story actually begins with the Fire Nation. You see, the four nations lived together in harmony long ago. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. They staged an imperial global takeover and are attempting to conquer all nations to unite them under the rule of the cruel Firelord Ozai. And only the Avatar could stop them, but he vanished when he was needed the most. This started with the original desire for expansion masterminded by Firelord Sozin, and over the course of the next 100 years, his plans were passed down his family line, and the Fire Nation came closer to victory every year. And with no Avatar around to stop them, the world's future looked bleak. And especially since Sozin led an attack on the Air Nomads and killed all of them, that created the possibility that the Avatar Cycle ended, since there would be no nation for the next Avatar to be born into. No Air Nation, no airbender Avatar. The Fire Nation appeared to have won by the time the show started up. The first episode picked up on the note that the Avatar was supposedly never reborn as an Air Nomad. However, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe remained hopeful that there was indeed still an Avatar. Fortunately, she was right. She and her brother Sokka found the current Avatar frozen in an iceberg. As it turns out, the one Air Nomad who got away from Sozin's attack was the current Avatar, Aang. And now that they'd found him, a glimmer of hope returned to the world. Now Ozai, the current Firelord, had some opposition that could mean the end of his family's terrible legacy. And that's the show's general premise: stop the Fire Nation's global takeover. Of course, he only has a limited time to do it. That next summer, Sozin's Comet is to enter the atmosphere and give firebenders a giant powerup. They'd be unstoppable with that much power."
"And he does, right?" Zorua asked. "He does stop those terrible firebenders, right?"
"At this point, I can't divulge that. I'd like to focus first on the subjective stuff. For starters, I'll focus on the aspect that turned me away from Friendship is Magic so completely that I didn't get motivated to evaluate anything else about it: the characters. And by the way Excadrill, could you undo that rock glove?"
Excadrill nodded and did as she was told. Being able to speak again, Keldeo took his chance to say, "I've wanted to hear this. How much better than the mane six are Team Avatar?"
"Worlds better," Ryu said with emphasis. "For starters, they didn't lose my respect practically as soon as I got to know them. In fact, the first episode is almost entirely devoted to introducing the main cast."
"So is—" Keldeo stopped himself as soon as he saw Excadrill's rock glove hovering toward him.
"From the first few minutes, it's established as follows: Katara is a hopeful young waterbender and Sokka is a skeptical wannabe warrior. And as soon as they meet Aang, he's established as being fun-loving. And honestly, the South Pole looks as though it could use some of that. And even if Sokka at first comes across as mean, remember that the episode's intro mentioned that his (and Katara's) father went off to fight the Fire Nation. So, Sokka is basically the incumbent Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. Not to mention his sister Katara is the only waterbender remaining there, so she can't even properly train.
"But that changes when she and Sokka meet Aang, whom they find frozen and preserved. As it turns out, he'd been like that for the past 100 years, which unfortunately gave the Fire Nation the opportunity to take over almost all of the world. But now that he's back, he can now make up for his absence. Also, now that he has a new friend who's a waterbending trainee, he won't be the only one learning it himself. At first, it seems like the show's goal is to find a master to teach Katara in the ways of waterbending. And actually, the North Pole is the final destination for our heroes in the first season. Eight episodes in, and we learn about Sozin's Comet, giving the heroes a deadline: the next summer. And since the show started at the South Pole, the trip to the North Pole literally spans half of the planet, and also the whole first season.
"The first season is mainly exposition, setting up lots of things that become important later on. Whether it be characters, location, this season foreshadows most of everything important. And speaking of characters, that's what sold me on this show. There's just about nothing wrong with them."
"I KNEW you were going to say that!" Keldeo shouted. "Spike was right! You—"
"Excadrill, steady your rock glove," Ryu said, catching Excadrill in the act of attempting to silence Keldeo once again. "I will allow some opposition to my claims this time, because Keldeo's kinda right. The characters in this show are actually not flawless. And since I'm on the topic of Book 1, it's a good time to address this. In fact, both of the most cited examples of this show's stumbling came from this very season. Those episodes were 'The Great Divide' and 'Bato of the Water Tribe.' The latter was brought up by Spike the Snob, and I'll be fair to him by conceding that it was rather stupid of Aang to keep the map to their father Hakoda from Katara, Sokka, and Bato. And I will agree with Doug Walker in that the episode had some strange contrivances throughout most of it, such as how Aang leaves just before the part of the conversation that would've motivated him not to make his bad choice. And also how flip-floppy Bato was about Katara and Sokka changing their minds about ditching Aang. I mean, he at first supports their disappointment-fueled decision to leave Aang behind after he owns up to hiding the map, and then when they change their minds and go back to Aang, he supports that decision, too. Very flip-floppy, indeed.
"However, even though the execution of that moral needed some working on, it still established Aang, Katara, and Sokka as a sort of family unit, as Doug described. Really, I can't describe it any other way. Plus, that was fifteen episodes into the show, meaning that while I was disappointed in Aang, Katara, and Sokka for their poor decisions and actions in that episode, I had thirteen episodes before it to see how they're established as being likable characters who I wanted to win their struggle against the Fire Nation. Not to mention the forty-six episodes after that as well."
"Wait, thirteen?" Keldeo asked. "Fifteen minus one isn't thirteen, Ryu."
"I know it isn't. I said there were thirteen episodes prior to 'Bato of the Water Tribe' that sold me on the main heroes because there was one episode among the fourteen that also had some dumb writing moves about it. I speak, of course, about 'The Great Divide,' the eleventh episode of the series. The episode that ended with Aang resolving a conflict between two tribes by lying to them. He made his own version of the tribes' origin story, which by the way changed depending on which tribe told it and helped cause all their trouble, and that version brought them together again. It seemed to teach that it's fine to lie to the faces of many hundreds of people for any reason at all."
"Seriously?" Keldeo asked, shocked by the brief episode synopsis. "And yet you get on the case of the Mare Do Well incident?"
"Okay, Keldeo, you do have a point there. Although I don't hate that episode, I don't like it, either. To me, it just happened. And to be totally honest, I would've liked to see the episode end like this."
Sokka: That's some luck you knew Gin Wei and Wei Gin.
Aang (sadly): Yeah. If only I actually did know them. I made the whole thing up.
(Sokka and Katara look shocked)
Aang: I couldn't think of anything else to do. The only choice I had was the wrong one.
Katara: If it was all you could do, it's fine. The tribes are finally together again.
Aang: Yeah… I guess so. I just wish there was a different way.
"Actually, I think that ending may have caught some ire due to Katara's line there," Ryu continued. "There probably was no truly good way to end that episode."
"Good try anyway, Ryu," Keldeo reassured. "All things considered, you really are a good writer yourself. You know, why don't you write a 'My Little Pony' episode or fanfic sometime? I'd watch it, or read it."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to refuse," Ryu responded. "Anyway, the bottom line is that the main cast is certainly not flawless, and those two episodes are the best examples of their track records being smudged. See, it's fine if characters have flaws about them; it gives them their own arcs in which they overcome them. In this show, they eventually did at many points. I'll even admit that the main cast of 'Friendship is Magic' overcame some of their own flaws. It's just that they fell victim to their flaws, or even worse ones, too many times for me to enjoy."
"I think I get what you're saying now, Ryu," Keldeo said. "You think the mane six are too flawed, and that they overcome them too many times or suddenly develop worse ones that made you lose respect in them."
"For the record," Zorua added. "I got that impression all along while we were in Equestria."
"That's right," Ryu clarified. "I just couldn't handle it anymore, and it drove me away from the show's other aspects."
"I understand how that feels," Keldeo replied. "I'm not fair toward 'Friendship is Witchcraft.'"
"And I don't blame you for that."
"Also, I think Spike the Snob was wrong about you. You're a lot more fair than I thought you'd be. You aren't an 'oppressor of effort and good.' Honestly, I expected nothing but favorable bias from you about 'Avatar – the Last Airbender,' but you didn't show it. You just admitted it had a problem. Well, two actually. Well done."
"Thanks, Keldeo. And you know, I guess I was out of line launching that spiel at you when I brought you here. So, I apologize for that."
"It's fine, Ryu. And I'm sorry, too for my behavior."
"You're forgiven for that, Keldeo."
"Keldeo, you traitor," Spike the Snob seethed, observing the earlier events from the Spirit World. "I guess we'll really have to do this ourselves after all, Shyamalan."
"I told you we couldn't rely on Keldeo," Shyamalan responded.
"To be honest, I'd like to hear more about this show now," Keldeo continued. "Did they ever get to the North Pole?"
"Yes, they did," Ryu answered. "But in reviewing this show, I don't want to spoil too many events. But yes, their adventure at the North Pole was a spectacular one, and a fitting end to Book 1. Book 2 puts into effect a few of the things introduced in Book 1, such as the Avatar State's power and its fatal flaw. It definitely was more story-driven than Book 1 was. In fact, the middle point of Book 2 begins the buildup to the last good opportunity the heroes have to stop the Fire Nation before Sozin's Comet arrives: the Day of Black Sun. On that day, a solar eclipse is to happen, and the firebenders would lose the ability to firebend for the entire time the moon blocks the sun. To put that plan into motion, Aang and friends needed to enlist help from the Earth King in Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom's capital city. It's there that the season ends, and on probably the bleakest note of the whole show's run."
"Don't tell me the Fire Nation—"
"Yep, they do. All thanks to the new villain Book 2 introduces. Book 1 had Fire Nation Prince Zuko as its main antagonist, Book 2 had his even worse sister. This is Princess Azula, a sociopath if there ever was one in family entertainment. Fear, manipulation, and power is her game, and no one else, especially Chancellor Long Feng, is even a player."
Long Feng: Now comes the part where I double-cross you. (Turns to the Dai Li agents behind him) Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation Princess!
(Nothing happens)
Long Feng: I said 'arrest her!'
(No response)
Long Feng: What is wrong with you?!
Azula: It's because they haven't made up their minds. They're waiting to see how this is going to end.
Long Feng: What are you talking about?
Azula: I can see your whole history in your eyes. You were born with nothing, so you had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with. The fact is, they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down. But I know, and you know.
(Azula walks over to the Earth Kingdom throne and sits on it)
Azula: Well?
(Long Feng reluctantly walks forward and bows)
Long Feng: You've beaten me at my own game.
Azula: Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player.
Keldeo and Zorua were bewildered at the scene they just saw.
"Did this show just get away with a coup d'état?" Keldeo asked.
"Yes it did," Ryu answered. "And Ba Sing Se fell, leaving the world practically in the Fire Nation's hands. Book 3 is, of course, the climax and resolution act of the overall story, in which Prince Zuko comes to an important decision in his loyalty, Katara confronts her mother's murderer, and the battle for the fate of the world is fought. Actually, speaking of Katara's confrontation with the man who killed her mother, that's probably my favorite ethical lesson in the show. Observe."
Yon Rha (on the ground and begging): I did a bad thing. I know I did, and you deserve revenge. So why don't you take my mother? That would be fair.
Katara: I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing. But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you. Nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty.
Yon Rha: Please, spare me.
Katara: But as much as I hate you,… I just can't do it.
(Katara and Zuko walk away, leaving Yon Rha whimpering on the road)
"She knew by that point that personal revenge wouldn't satisfy her after all," Ryu explained. "It's an empty experience, and a slippery slope. That's why I didn't do the mane six in. I may hate them with a passion, but not enough to think I'd accomplish something by killing them. In fact, I never even considering sinking so low."
"I beg to differ on that, Ryu."
Everyone turned back to see a portal opened by a man dressed in a grey hooded jacket and a mask. With him was a small purple dragon dressed in a cape and a mustache.
"Getting revenge on you would totally satisfy me," the dragon said. "You too, Keldeo, for betraying us."
"Well, Spike, Ryu's right," Keldeo responded. "I guess it's a good thing I cooperated with you. It led me to discover how wrong I was to participate in your plan. Plus, he knows what you're planning."
"Indeed, so bring it forward, Shyamalan," Ryu said, surprising everyone. "Spike, I accept your challenge. For a while, I've been intrigued by Shyamalan's adaptation of this show. Now I finally have a chance to satisfy my curiosity."
"Ryu, don't!" Zorua begged.
"Don't worry, Zorua. I can manage through this. It takes more than a bad movie or television show to subdue me." Ryu turned to Shyamalan and Spike. "Besides, I wanted some more guests in this temple to see the movie with. This should be fun."
Next review: The Challenge of the Canonbenders: Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender"
Keldeo the Critic and Zorua the young reviewer belong to Matthais Unidostres. Spike the Snob belongs to thatponywiththesword. "Avatar - the Last Airbender" belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Nickelodeon, and Viacom.
A/N: To thatponywiththesword: I mean nothing personal toward you at any point in this review, or the next one. I don't want there to be any hostility between us over what I think of MLPFiM.