The Gaang were standing in front of the decapitated Melon Lord Seedzai. Zuko had his arms crossed, "So, you don't want to kill my father?"
Aang was kneeling on the ground, "No. I can't."
"Okay. We'll just knock him out and take him prisoner."
Aang looked up at Zuko, "Really?"
Sokka shrugged, "Yeah, why would we need to kill him? We never killed anyone else."
Why indeed? It's almost like the whole reason they made that happen was to force drama.
Let's start with the obvious things to say. Sozin's Comet is one of the highest points of the entire series.
Zuko's arc has a very satisfying ending with him and Iroh finally reunited with that hug. That scene was very emotional and powerful.
I don't have an issue with Zuko not finishing off Azula. He showed that he was better than her by defending Katara and Katara healing him showed that he was better off.
Katara getting to beat Azula was a really good scene. Just seeing her be able to beat Azula is a treat for me.
Azula's breakdown is probably my favorite part of the entire finale. While it is a shame the Dai Li didn't get the chance to do much in Book 3, it is such a very well written breakdown.
You see how Ty Lee and Mai betraying her impacted her and that is really good stuff. When she starts crying after Katara beats her is just a really good tear jerking moment.
The White Lotus...were there and did something that was ultimately kinda pointless.
I'm of two minds about Sokka, Toph, and Suki's plot. It wasn't bad. There were some good scenes and action.
The ending gives off a real triumphant feeling and it's great.
It's time to talk about the elephant in the room. I made it the point of the parody, so let's just rip the bandage off.
I hate the plot with Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. The Lion Turtle Energy Bending thing is a massive Deus Ex Machina. I wouldn't have a problem with it, but it just comes right out of nowhere.
They establish that the Lion Turtles exist previously, but it was such a small note that I completely forgot it was there until my rewatch. Even then, they never say they could do that.
Let's not forget that Aang in the Book 1 finale DROWNED, which is a horrible way to die, a crap ton of guys. And yeah, good on them for changing it in Korra to be sending them to the spirit world, but that was years later. (Heck, even then we don't see the other soldiers in the mist that Zhao was trapped in.)
So the whole 'I can't kill' thing comes across as kind of hypocritical.
In case you want to make the argument that he was in the Avatar State when that happened as not counting, he was in the Avatar State when he was about to kill Ozai and he stops himself.
Let's talk about my biggest problem with it. It's just one question.
Why did killing Ozai come up at all?
No, I want a good answer for that. Why does Aang think he needs to kill Ozai?
Nobody ever brought up that possibility before, so why now?
Aang was about to attack Melon Lord and stopped himself.
The best I can think of is the mere thought of the possibility brought it all up, but that's just speculation on my part.
What doesn't help is that nobody says no. They all say 'Yeah, you've got to kill him!' WHY?!
Why can't you just throw him into a freezer?!
I'm sorry, but this plot just feels so contrived.
I know we all make jokes about Toph and Koyshi being bloodthirsty killers, but Sokka and Zuko are just trigger happy about it.
Why does nobody think to lock him up?
This brings me to my big problem with Fire Lord Ozai as a villain.
What is so special about this royal asshole?
Everyone in the series makes a huge deal about how mega super awesome this guy is, but there's no actual reason for us, the audience, to get that impression that he's that powerful.
It feels like they wanted to do what Dragon Ball did for Freeza, but they couldn't show him being powerful.
He is a rich asshole, never fought a single fight in his life (They say he never left the palace), and nothing about his fighting style is really that different from Zuko and Azula. If anything, his fighting style is more thuggish from what I've noticed.
I feel like they should have had a special power for the Fire Lord. Like his crown gives him power, there is an elixir, or a special fighting style he's taught in.
There is nothing about Ozai that makes him feel like that much of a threat to anyone but Azula and Zuko. And I say Azula and Zuko because he's an abusive asshole.
There's nothing about him that's different from the other people the Gaang has taken down and it makes the plot of Aang not wanting to kill him feel hollow.
It's why I think Azula should have been the main villain. She's more interesting, more dangerous, and unique. She also has a more emotional core to her.
While we're on this train of unpopular opinions, I hate the fight between Aang and Ozai.
It's clearly trying to be like the big epic final battle, but there's just nothing to this fight.
The spectacle is fantastic, it's really well animated, and it looks cool.
My problem with it is that Ozai is a BORING villain. He has about twenty lines throughout the entire show and he doesn't have a personality.
He's just evil mcevil pants in a series that's usually pretty nuanced with it's villains.
With that, the fight is not interesting. It's just a curbstomp by Ozai until the Avatar State kicks in.
This actually does remind me of an anime fight. Gohan VS Cell from DBZ.
I don't just say that because I'm a DB fan. Thematically, they are very similar.
Both have a hero who doesn't want to fight/kill the villain, both have the characters around the hero telling him they need to kill the villain, and they both have a transformation that beats the villain or at least over powers them.
The difference is that the characters could have their characters in Gohan VS Cell, while here the characters don't interact.
Outside of Aang's little rant after he goes into the Avatar State, there isn't any actual dialogue in the fight.
Speaking of the Avatar State, that's another problem I have with this finale. Too much Deus Ex Machina.
First, Aang gets to not kill people with the turtle. Second, Aang hits a rock that just so happens to be the same shape as the hole in his back and that turns the Avatar State on..somehow.
It just feels so out of nowhere that it is noticeable.
But despite these problems I have with it, I still think that this finale is great.
I've stated the reasons I feel that way, but it is a good ending and I love it.
This whole series is beautiful and amazing.
I'll be talking about Korra soon and I look forward to it. I love this franchise.
Take care everybody.