'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Season 1 Episode 5 Review
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We’re more than halfway through the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and so far it’s been mostly enjoyable. There have been some hiccups, things that just don’t land well, but on the whole, there have been some worthwhile changes that have been made from the original work that work well with the new narrative that’s being told.
Episode five is another strong character-driven episode, perhaps the strongest one yet. Everyone in the episode goes on a spiritual journey, except maybe Zuko and Iroh, but they’ve been doing that the whole time. Aang, Katara, and Sokka all take a trip to the spirit realm when they discover a stretch of forest that’s been devastated and burned. The local village explains that something odd has been going on ever since the Fire Nation torched that part of the forest to make it through the mountain. People have disappeared, and the father of one of them says it’s something not of this world. When Aang goes into the spirit realm to figure out what’s wrong, Sokka and Katara are brought with. While Aang meets an old friend, Katara and Sokka are lost in the mist to battle their fears.
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Aang readies to enter the spirit realm to figure out what’s wrong.
Image Source: CNet
We’re also treated to more of Azula and her point of view. In a couple of scenes we see her advise her father, and we quickly see that she wants her father to look at her as he would Zuko, were he not banished. She wants the throne, and in a scene with Mai and Ty Lee, Azula lets out her frustration at her father’s admonition at her plotting with Commander Zhao. It’s solid motivation for her hatred of her brother and having to live in his shadow, despite his exile.
The personal journeys of the characters in the spirit realm are some of the strongest writing of the season, and it’s facilitated by the acting of most of the characters. Ian Ousley continues to come into his role as Sokka. While he may not be as corny or cheesy as the original Sokka, he’s got the right charm and delivery to make me believe in this Sokka. Kiawentiio as Katara is improving as well, though to be fair, some of the scene in the village when her mom dies is not done by Kiawentiio.
Unfortunately, the areas that lack are again Gordon Cormier. I don’t exactly know what it is, perhaps it’s his voice, or his delivery. His lines come out stiff and robotic, almost like he can’t pick an emotion to convey. When he says lines like “What do you mean?” it comes off awkward and uninterested. It’s a shame, really, because he’s the main character of the show, and he’s not approaching the same level as the supporting characters. The only time I actually feel like he’s doing a good job is when he shows emotion, like in the scene where he talks to Gyatso. It was a powerful scene, and thankfully Cormier’s emotion came through.
June is stunning and perfectly cast.
Image Source: IGN
I can’t heap enough praise on the performance of Dallas Liu and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Their chemistry is great and their portrayal of their characters is the best part of the show. They lean into the changes the writers have made with the show and sell it, like the scene in this episode where we’re introduced to June the bounty hunter. Zuko’s sense of honor and pride is still strong when he sees her, revolted by her monetary pursuits. His uncle continues to be that conscience that he has, but doesn’t often heed, reminding him that his opponent has no qualms about using unconventional methods, so perhaps he should see alternatives to achieving his goal as well when the opportunity presents.
I hope the rest of the season is as strong as this episode, it could really turn around the chances of this show going all the way through book three, and perhaps even covering the unaired book four.
Rating: 9/10
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Source(s): Netflix
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