The series finale to Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was
the four-part story "Sozin's Comet" (episodes 3.18-3.21), which aired
last night, 19jul08, on U.S. TV.

Wow.

SPOILERS

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More costumes for cosplayers.

Even in a very serious tetrad of episodes, the scripts find moments of
levity.

Beach party!

"I'm with Zuko! What? Everybody else had life-changing field trips
with him, and now it's my turn."

"So, whose birthday is it?"
"Hey, guys, I can't believe the captain remembered! I guess he really
does care!"

"Lee, you're banished. Lu, you stay."
"But -- *I'm* Lu. So which of us is banished?"
(Lee shrugs.)

"Have I told you how much I love that you invented metalbending?"
"You could stand to say it some more."

Yes, Azula goes crazy, as the S3H2 trailer and prior eps have implied.
Controlling people by fear has its limits (apologies to Machiavelli),
and Azula has hit them. Mai and Ty Lee betray her, and she starts
banishing everybody else who might, including lowly personal servants.
Then she has a vision of her mother.

It did *not* end up, as I suspected, Everybody versus Azula and Ozai.
The parties were split, and Mai and Ty Lee remained in prison.

(We now interrupt this story for a "Transformers" reference:)
"Who dares disrupt my coronation?"
"This is bad comedy, Azula!"

Next, Katara plays the Hot Rod role, interrupting the fight between
Optimus and Megatron with not-quite-so-fatal-this-time results.

Apparently hot air and/or hydrogen are rather more buoyant on this
world, if they can support dirigibles with metal-clad skins and
coal-fired boilers. Also, airships aren't quite that nimble (the word
"lumbering" comes to mind). Also, if two airships of equal mass
collide, the impactor probably isn't going to conveniently stay on
course to impact the next target.

If Sokka's contingent evicts all the engine-stokers, the ship isn't
going to travel very much further.

More hybrid creatures! Giant eel-hound, giant lion-turtle.

So, Azula's silly-looking fire-flight introduced earlier was necessary
to explain new superpowers exhibited by Ozai and the White Lotus
firebender during the transit of Sozin's Comet.

We get names for more prior Avatars. Fire/Roku, Earth/Kyoshi,
Water/Kuruk (it was his girlfriend taken by Koh the Face-Stealer), and
Air/Yangchen.

The official SD short "Schooltime Shipping" aside, it looks like there
won't be any more love-triangle problems. Zuko ends up with Mai,
Sokka with Suki, Aang with Katara. Ty Lee is now a member of the
Kyoshi Warriors, but is showing no signs of fancying Sokka. (That's
where the inevitable fanfic will go.)

Hook for the possible sequel movie: Fire Lord Zuko demands of his
imprisoned father, "Where is my mother?" Ursa, if you recall (and if
I recall correctly), fled after assassinating Fire Lord Azulon, who
was probably going to kill either Azula or Zuko.

The music was a little overpowering, maybe? I kept getting flashbacks
to Chris Franke's overblown score at the end of "Babylon 5."
** Phillip Thorne ** pethorne@comcast.net **************
* RPI CompSci 1998 *
** underbase.livejournal.com ***************************